Ika Bara

nº 173 of 256 · Edited by Ricco Ledesma

Where the wings of birds and the airplane are born: war between brothers and witchcraft, but the sun melts the wings of the enemy who crosses the sea.

12 patakíes 3 eewó 7 ebbós and works 12 proverbs

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Ika Bara is Odù number 173 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Ika family. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 12 patakíes (3 in full in plain sight, with their teaching, ebbó and chants), its proverbs, 7 ebbós and works and the signs it shows in the consultation — with the full eewó in plain sight; the rest of the iré and osogbo and the full recipes open with The Notebook, in English.

The sign at a glance

Order in Ifá: Odù 173 of 256
Composition: Ika over Obara
Orishas that speak: Obatalá · Olokun · Eshu · Orunmila · Yemayá · Osain · Egun

What Ifá says in this sign

Ika Bara speaks to someone waging an open war over what they own. In this sign were born the wings of birds and the airplane, and everything turns on rising and falling: whoever flies on borrowed wings ends up in the water. Its ruling is a promise with a condition: if you fulfill what Ifá asks, the enemy who comes by air or by sea sinks on his own and you keep the land. That is how King Ikarode won: he was afraid but trusted Orunmila, while the sorcerer who threatened him watched the wax of his wings melt and drowned.

The war in this sign is over a possession or a position, sometimes between siblings, and it comes loaded with witchcraft and spirits sent against you. Your enemies want to break up your home to take away your comfort and your standing, and you fear someone who works with a charm. Do not believe you can get out of trouble on your own: in this sign, whoever scorns advice takes the blow even with eyes wide open. One more warning: out of envy they want to entangle you with the law, but from that very trouble good luck comes to you.

«The sun melted the wings of the enemy over the sea: the wings of Ika Bara are its own, and they do not fall off.»The pulse of Ika Bara

Your protection is in the sea. You found a stone on the shore and fell in love with it: it is the Elegba of Olokun, and it is yours to receive. Go to the sea to give heartfelt thanks and say that you harm no one, because whoever does you harm will have to answer to Eshu. Keeping on good terms with the orishas, above all with Yemayá, keeps witchcraft from touching you.

In character, you wound and then want to blow on the wound, and cruelty always returns to whoever sows it. In love there appear another woman besides the main one, fights in the marriage and the urge to break up the home. Take care not to be rejected by the opposite sex. Do not leave the one who is good for you for someone else, because you will regret it, and do not break up your home without consulting Orunmila, for a misfortune could come to the family. If someone jealous wants to leave, ask them to stay, or a woman from outside will enjoy what is yours.

With money, a person of means will come to your house pretending to be poor to see how you treat them: help them, but let them know you know the truth. In health, look after the inside of your body and your sleep, and keep away from an Egun who brings you a sadness that is not yours. With faith and with respect for the weakest, you go from serving to governing.

The sign in one line

Receive the Elegba that the sea gave you, do not bite and then blow, and believe before the rush: the war of Ika Bara is won by the one with wings of his own.

The prayer of Ika Bara · Yoruba

Ika Bara Moshowe Yile Shiope Adifafun Orobe Orobe Ekure Eyere Lebo Ika Awo Eye Obara Ile Awo Yo Adie Lebo Eshu Eyele Akuko Lebo. Ika Bara Oñi Bara Losorde Orunmila Adifafun Orunmila Ati Obatala.

Ifá says — what Ika Bara tells you

War between brothers over a possession.
You have a family of twins.
Your husband has to be a Babalawo.
You have doves brooding: sacrifice the chicks, distribute the blood through the four corners of your home, cook the meat for Babá, and scatter ekrú in the corners.
The head is prayed for with ekrú.
The herb of the sign: pega pollo.
That you found a stone by the sea, became fond of it, and wanted to take it: that stone was Elegba of Olokun, and you must receive him.
That someone will tell you something: pay no attention, because they want to see you in hardship.
That you have another woman besides the main one.
That you are like the guayabito, which bites and then blows.
That you want to destroy your home: first consult Orunmila about it, lest a misfortune strike the family.
It says that a wealthy person will come to your house with deceit: she will say that she is very poor, just to test what you do for her. Do her the favor, but do tell her that you know about her money.
It says that out of envy they want to put you in a bad position before the law; from that side a stroke of luck comes to you.
It says that you resist believing what they tell you, and you will find yourself hard pressed.
That the man you have is good for you: you are thinking of leaving him for another; do not do it, for you will regret it later.
It says that you are unwell inside, do not sleep well and fight with your husband.
It says that you are very absolute, and that in your house you have a jealous person who wants to leave: tell her to stay, because otherwise it will be another woman, one from the countryside, who will come to enjoy all the good.

Proverbs of Ika Bara · Òwe

“They made you king and you prospered; now you want witchcraft to make you a god.”
“Cruelty breeds cruelty.”
“The little mouse bites and blows.”
“A good gift opens more doors than a good key.”
“Divine judgment puts an end to lawsuits.”
“Better the bad you know than the good you do not.”
“A father without children is like a bow without arrows.”
“I have to learn to walk on three legs, says the hyena when she is old.”
“The day never goes backward.”
“Do not claim the victory before its time.”
“Pride is the spell that keeps you away from the truth.”
“An offended man shuts tighter than a walled city.”

9 proverb interpretations in this Odù, locked.Every proverb explained: which road it comes from and how it applies.Unlock →

Iré and Osogbo

Three iré and three osogbo of this sign, open to everyone.

Iré · what the sign brings

In this sign the wings of birds and the airplane are born.
If the ebbó contains wax and is left open by the sea, the enemies who cross to attack them fall and drown, and they win the war.
If they get along well with the orishas, especially Yemayá, the witchcraft and spirits sent against them do them no harm.

Osogbo · what the sign warns

Brothers clash in a war over a possession.
Witchcraft and spirits are sent against them to harm them.
Their enemies want to tear their house apart so that they lose their well being and position, and may even make them ill or kill them with witchcraft.

35 more iré and osogbo readings in this Odù, locked.The rest of the iré and osogbo of the sign, sorted by subject — health, money, love, death, loss…Unlock →

What is born in Ika Bara · Ìbí

The wings of birds.
The airplane.
The sorcerer Omologú glued wings on himself with wax to cross the sea through the air, and Olofin melted them.

What is forbidden · Eewó

The full eewó of this Odù, open to everyone — with the road each ban came out of.

Do not tear down your house without asking Orunmila first.
You can have a misfortune in the family.
Do not leave the good man you have for another one.
Later you will regret it.
Do not pay attention to what people come to tell you.
They want to see you suffering hardship.

Ebbós of Ika Bara · The sacrifices that open the road

Overcoming enemiesThe great ebbó of Ikarode🔒 The Notebook Keeping death awayEbbó to keep death away from the family🔒 The Notebook Overcoming enemiesThe ebbó of the tongue🔒 The Notebook MoneyThe ebbós of this Odù🔒 The Notebook

4 ebbós in this Odù, locked.Each full recipe: ingredients, preparation and where it goes.Unlock →

Works of Ika Bara · The workings of the sign

LoveOsain inshé against rejection by the opposite sex🔒 The Notebook Overcoming enemiesThe inshé for the arayés🔒 The Notebook SpiritualThe cleansing for homesickness🔒 The Notebook

3 works in this Odù, locked.Each full recipe: ingredients, preparation and where it goes.Unlock →

Patakíes of Ika Bara · The roads of the Odù

1The wings of wax

Yarodi, an Awó, was in conflict with an omo Ogún who cast spells on him without stopping and sent spirits to him. But Yarodi was on good terms with the saints, especially with Yemayá, since the road to his enemy's territory passed over the sea. So no attack harmed him.

At a consultation this sign appeared, which ordered an ebbó with a rooster and wax, and asked that it be left uncovered on the coast. Yarodi did it to the letter.

Meanwhile, the omo Ogún had an idea: he ordered his followers to fasten wings of wax on themselves and cross the water with them to fall upon Yarodi. But the wax was already placed in the ebbó. When they were in the middle of the sea, the sun melted the wings of the omo Ogún and of all his people, who sank into the waters and died.

That is why, in this sign, the ebbó is left open, not closed, and includes wax.

What it teaches

Making the ebbó with the material that Ifá marks and leaving it open by the sea turns the enemy's own weapons against him. A person who is on good terms with the orishas is protected even against witchcraft.

Ebbó of this sign

A rooster and wax, placed unclosed on the coast. This ebbó is never closed.

2The one who thought himself enough

This Ifá came out for a person, and Orunmila announced that a misfortune was approaching. To free him from it, he told him to make an ebbó.

The person did not do it. He trusted that he would know how to solve it without help when the moment came.

The moment came, in the form of a war. Although he was awake and alert, the person was trapped, and running away did him no good.

What it teaches

Relying only on one's own strength against a foretold evil leaves one without defense. The ebbó that Orunmila marks is what frees a person from what is coming, and being alert is not enough without it.

3Ikarode and the wax wings

There was an Obá named Ikarode who ruled with his son in a land beside the sea. On the opposite coast reigned another Obá, the sorcerer Omologú, who envied him.

Envy ended up dominating Omologú. He thought of Ikarode and was sure that Ikarode respected him. He reasoned that Ikarode feared him because he was a son of Ogún, and he decided to seize his territory. He sent a messenger with a demand: Ikarode had to give up his land; if he refused, Omologú would end his life and that of his son.

The message filled Ikarode with fear, and he ran to see Orunmila. Orunmila performed the osode, and the Ifá revealed an enormous conflict that was coming upon him. Ikarode confirmed it and told what had happened. Orunmila ordered him to make an ebbó, then to distribute its animals in the places Ifá indicated and to carry the offering to the highest point of a hill. In addition, he was to answer Omologú that he did not fear him, that he would not give him his land and that, if he wanted it, he would have to come and take it.

Ikarode hesitated, because Omologú filled him with dread, but his trust in Orunmila was stronger and he complied.

The answer left Omologú so surprised that at once he organized his men and gave them an order: they would advance by sea and he would go through the sky.

Omologú was a magician. He made a pair of wings, fastened them with wax and rose very high, so that no one would hear his flight. But Ikarode had already fulfilled the ebbó and the rest of the works, and Olofin saw what was happening. He made the wings grow hot, the wax melted and Omologú plunged into the sea, where he drowned. His men were left without a leader and scattered.

Ikarode went to tell everything to Orunmila, who ordered him to go and occupy Omologú's lands. He obeyed and left his son governing there. In this way he ended up winning the war.

The final note explains what this road announces: a war between two people over a possession or a post. Sent spirits of egun intervene, along with other harmful works made in a sorcerer's pot. They seek to ruin the house of the one affected so that he loses his post and his welfare, and for this purpose they may make him ill or even kill him with sorcery.

What it teaches

Trusting in Orunmila is worth more than fear: obeying despite fear brings down the arrogance of the one who threatens. Fulfilling the ebbó in time is what protects when conflict arrives.

Ebbó of the story

One rooster (akuko), three hens (osiadie), two doves (eyele), one small guinea hen (etu keke), a man doll (malaguidí), obí, timbelara cloth, an igba to place inside Olokun, itun, abiti, akofa, black cloth, all kinds of sticks (bogbo igi), the herbs onibara, meloncillo, aberikunlo and odan, shewerekuekue, otí, three candles, smoked jutía, smoked fish, palm oil, awado, añigan and pork.

How it is prepared and distributed

The dolls are made of virgin wax, and each one carries two wings, also of wax, sewn to its body. They are put in an igba with a small stone (ota keke) marked with the person's name. At the start, in front of Olokun, the person is thoroughly cleansed with the two doves, which are then sacrificed to Olokun and to the igba; the igba is afterward left inside Olokun. The heads of the doves are kept in the igba, and their bodies are taken to a joro joro (hole) beside the coast.

The other animals: one hen is for the oparaldo and another for oyiyi (the person's shadow). The rooster is sacrificed on top of the hill (oke), once the ebbó is finished. At the end, the igba with the dolls, the stone and the heads of the doves are taken to the sea.

Prayer of Ika Bara for this road

Ika Bara Omo Bara Losorde Orunmila Adifafun Orunmila, Adifafun Obatala Ika Bara Ifa Moche Yiyase Ofe Adifafun Olokun Ekure Aicordie Eyele Owo Mesan Toke Orunmila Ibe Oku Korie Gi Lebo Aicordie Ewo Erin Eyo Ikarode Wabari Bara Intori Omolugu Omo Ni Ikarode Ire Asgagun Ota Eshu Ati Orunmila.

4Orunmila's ladder🔒 The Notebook 5A favor is paid with a favor🔒 The Notebook 6The mice and the squabs🔒 The Notebook 7The red and black fish🔒 The Notebook 8The rich man who wanted to be poor🔒 The Notebook 9The stones of the orishas🔒 The Notebook 10The old woman's four fruits🔒 The Notebook 11The coconuts of reproach🔒 The Notebook 12The first steps on the earth🔒 The Notebook

9 more patakíes in this Odù, locked.Read every road in full with The Notebook.Unlock →

The full treatise is in English. With The Notebook, the whole sign opens on this page in English: the full text of every patakí, the recipes for the ebbós and works, and the iré and osogbo readings. · This page is also available in Spanish: See Ika Bara in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Ika Bara

What does the Odù Ika Bara mean in Ifá?

Where the wings of birds and the airplane are born: war between brothers and witchcraft, but the sun melts the wings of the enemy who crosses the sea.

What number is Ika Bara among the 256 Odù of Ifá?

Ika Bara is Odù number 173 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Ika family.

Which orishas speak in Ika Bara?

In the Odù Ika Bara these orishas speak: Obatalá, Olokun, Eshu, Orunmila, Yemayá, Osain, Egun.

What is a proverb of the Odù Ika Bara?

One of the proverbs of Ika Bara says: «They made you king and you prospered; now you want witchcraft to make you a god.».

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