The Story of Oluronbi: Popular Yoruba folktale.

art work by Ayanfe Olarinde.

The story of Oluronbi is a popular Yoruba folktale that has been passed down through generations in Nigeria and other parts of West Africa. It tells the story of a woman named Oluronbi who is beautiful, but vain and selfish.

Oluronbi was married to a wealthy and loving husband who provided her with everything she could want or need. However, despite her privileged status, Oluronbi was not content with her life and constantly sought more attention and admiration from others. She spent her days admiring her reflection in the mirror, dressing up in the finest clothes, and attending parties where she could show off her beauty.

One day, while Oluronbi was out fetching water from the river, she encountered a group of strangers who offered her a special potion that promised to make her even more beautiful and irresistible. The strangers told Oluronbi that the potion was made from a rare flower that only grew deep in the forest, and that it had the power to transform anyone who drank it into the most beautiful person in the world.

Greedy for more admiration, Oluronbi drank the potion without thinking twice. Immediately after drinking the potion, Oluronbi began to notice changes in her appearance. Her skin became smoother and more radiant, her hair more lustrous, and her body more shapely. Everywhere she went, people were drawn to her beauty and showered her with compliments and gifts.

However, as time passed, Oluronbi realized that the potion had come with a terrible cost. She had become completely dependent on it and could not go a single day without drinking more of the magic elixir. If she tried to go without it, her beauty quickly faded and she became sickly and weak.

Despite the cost, Oluronbi could not stop herself from drinking the potion. She became obsessed with her appearance and the attention she received from others. She stopped spending time with her husband and friends, and spent all of her time seeking out more of the potion and basking in the admiration of strangers.

One day, Oluronbi's husband became suspicious of her behavior and decided to follow her to the river where she had been meeting with the strangers who gave her the potion. When he arrived, he saw Oluronbi drinking from a small bottle and confronted her. He demanded to know the truth about the potion, but Oluronbi was too ashamed to confess her mistake. Instead, she lied and told her husband that the potion was a natural remedy for her beauty.

Despite her lies, Oluronbi's husband knew something was wrong. He went to a wise elder in the village and asked for advice. The elder knew about the potion and told Oluronbi's husband that it was a dangerous substance that could have serious consequences. He advised him to confront Oluronbi and to tell her to stop drinking the potion.

When Oluronbi's husband returned home, he told her the truth about the potion and begged her to stop drinking it. However, Oluronbi had become so addicted to the potion that she could not stop herself. She continued to drink it until she eventually became completely dependent on it.

In the end, Oluronbi's addiction to the potion became her downfall. She became so dependent on it that she lost all of her natural beauty and was left with nothing but her own greed and vanity. She became a pariah in the village, and no one wanted to be around her. She died alone, without any friends or family to mourn her passing.

MORAL LESSON OF THIS STORY.

The moral of the story is clear: true beauty comes from within, and seeking external validation and attention will only lead to a shallow and empty life. The story of Oluronbi is a cautionary tale about the dangers of vanity and the importance of staying true to oneself.