Description
Ijapa, not only known for his cunning, deviousness and laziness, but for his greed, lets the latter get the better of him when he eats the ‘obe aseje’ – a special and potent stew that a babalawo prepares for Yannibo, his wife, a stew well-known for making women pregnant.
With the famine over in Teregun, Ijapa, married for several years, despairing that there is no child in sight, does not heed the babalawo’s warning about the consequences of eating any of the ‘obe aseje’. “…your stomach will undergo similar changes as those of a pregnant woman without a baby growing inside you…If this happens, I can’t guarantee a happy ending because your stomach is likely to burst, and that may mean death!” the babalawo has warned, again and again.
After eating all the ‘obe aseje’ on his way back home from the babalawo, alarmed at what is happening to his stomach, and fearing the end in sight, Ijapa decides to go back to the babalawo, using his cunning and deviousness to persuade the latter to help him. The question is: will this work on the babalawo, and even if he agrees to help him, what exactly can he do for Ijapa?
