DARKNESS AND LIGHT

Some truth brings more trouble.

Fatima believed this as she walked closer to the podium, using the keypad similar to that of a bank A.t.m terminal, she typed. M.A.R.S

The cursor blinked.

'caution before you strike enter key, please check the accuracy of your password for your security. If the computer does not recognize your password, this system will automatically shut down.'

Fatima frowned, "looks like we only get one trial."

Standard A.T.M machines allow users three attempts to type a pin before confiscating their bank card. This was no ordinary cash machine.

"The passwords look right," Jabbir said, carefully checking what she typed. He motioned her to the submit key.

Fatima extended her index fingers towards the keypad and pressed the enter key.

A second later, the cursor blinked again, and a text was displayed, written on the screen was a four verse poem.

"It's a pentameter," Akande blurted turning to Jabbir with excitement.

"A cryptic verse was written, in la lingua plural."

In the cradle If existence lies, a god interred. The remainder of the poem implied that the second task can be found visiting a place known as the cradle of existence.

"Cradle of existence?"."Thought that has to do with the garden of Eden!" Akande said.

"No," jabbir replied. "Ile Ife is locally known as the cradle of existence.

In the beginning, there was only the sky above, water and marshland below. The chief god Olorun ruled the sky and the goddess Olokun ruled what lies below.

Obatala, another god reflected upon the situation, then went to Olorun for permission to create dry land for all kinds of living creatures to inhabit.

He was given permission, then he sought advice from Orunmila, the oldest son of Olorun also known as the god of prophecy.

Orunmila instructed him to get a gold chain, long enough to reach the earth below, a snail shell filled with sand, a white hen, and a palm nut seed.

Obatala begged all the gods for their gold, forged a long chain, hung it from a corner of the sky, place a bag with all the materials inside over his shoulder, and started a downward climb. On reaching the end of the chain, he poured the sand from the snail's shell and release the white hen. Which started scratching and scattering the sand about and wherever the sand landed formed the dry land, the bigger piles becoming hills and the smaller piles valleys.

Obatala then jumped into a hill which he named Ife. Dug a hole, plant palm nut which grows into maturity in a flash. The mature palm tree dropped more palm nuts on the ground, each of which grew immediately to maturity and repeated the process.

Obatala settled down but grew bored after some months, and decided to create beings like himself to keep him company.

He is also known as the protector of the deformed as he one day got drunk from the palm wine made from nearby palm trees, he went ahead with his task of creation and asked Olorun to breathe life into them. Since then, he had sworn never to drink again and to take care of those who are deformed.

The new people built huts as Obatala had done and soon Ife prospered and become a city.

All the gods were happy and visited the land often, except Olokun, the ruler Of all below the sky. She was angry because obatala had not consulted her but had seized so much of her kingdom.

When Obatala visited his home in the sky, Olokun summoned a great wave after waves of her vast oceans and surge them across the land, drowning and killing many people. Others fled to the high lands and sacrificed to Eshu to help report what was happening to them. When Orunmila heard this news, he climbed down the golden chain to the earth and cast many spells which caused the floodwaters to retreat and the dry African land reappears but not for long. The male spirits attempted to make the world without female influence and this exclusion is what caused the world to fail.

Among the gods that come to visit, the earth is Orunmila; the custodian of the Ifa oracle.

Eshu; often ill translated as the devil or the evil being. Eshu in truth is neither of those but known as the trickster. He deals a handful of misfortune to those that do not offer tribute to Olorun or are deemed to be spiritually novices, known for his phallus powers and exploit, Eshu is said to lurk at gateways on the highways and the crossroads where he introduces chances and accidents into the life of human.

Ogun; Custodian of Iron and metallurgy.

Shango; virility, masculinity, fire, thunder, lightning, and magnetism. Oya; the tempest guide of the cementary, winds of change, storms and progression.

Years later, one of the gods was crowned the third king of the Oyo empire. Shango was a powerful and often violent ruler with a thunderous voice and a mouth that spewed fire when he spoke. He reigns only for seven years, the whole of which period was marked by his continuous campaigns and many battles. The end of his reigns resulted from his spell, he inadvertently destroys his palace by lightning. Ashamed for this misuse of power, coupled with other internal problems, he left Oyo with remorse, went back to Ife to commune with Olorun.

He was told he was punished for his bloodthirsty. Power was given to him to aid Olorun in bringing fairness and justice but he had been using It for personal political campaigns.

Ashamed, Shango commanded ground to swallow him up. And it came to pass, the ground opened and swallow him up.

Shango followers eventually succeeded in securing a place for their god in the religious and political atmosphere when Oyo became the center of an expansive empire, dominating most of the other Yoruba kingdoms as well as the Edo and Fon, both of whom incorporated Shango worship into their religions and continued his cult even after they ceased been under Oyo's control.