Irete Ansa

nº 221 of 256

Too much joy makes you ill and kills you —the Frog lost the throne—: there is only one Shangó, and it is the mother who blesses.

20 patakíes 7 eewó 11 ebbós and works 18 proverbs

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Irete Ansa is Odù number 221 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Irete family. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 20 patakíes (3 with the full text), its proverbs, 11 ebbós and works and the signs it shows in the consultation — with the full eewó in plain sight; the detail of iré and osogbo and the full recipes open with The Notebook, in English.

The sign at a glance

Order in Ifá: Odù 221 of 256
Composition: Irete over Osa
Orishas that speak: Shangó · Oyá · Obatalá (Oshanlá) · Elegbá · Olofin · Olokun · Osun · Egun de la madre

What Ifá says in this sign

Irete Ansa carries an unusual warning: too much joy makes you ill and kills you — the Frog and Akere Kokoyo lost the throne when they broke their legs out of too much happiness. A blessing is coming, and it can slip out of your hands if you celebrate it too soon: take your luck with both feet on the ground — and look after your legs, your intimate excesses and your drinking.

Here jewels and the ruin of beauty were born, and one truth of fire: the true Shangó and the false Shangó — there is only one Shangó. Your quarrel at work comes from that: you work for other people's benefit and see no reward, because someone takes credit for what you do, like the impostor of Shangó — look after your post, because they want to put another man in, and sign the papers that settle what is yours.

«The Frog lost the throne by breaking his legs out of sheer happiness — the joy of Irete Ansa is celebrated with both feet on the ground.»The pulse of Irete Ansa

Your salvation has a mother's name: it is the mother who blesses — the shadow of her Egun will always help you out of trouble. Give rogation to her head with two doves; if she is dead, give food to her Egun. And the young one in the house, between fourteen and sixteen, with solitary habits: he should be brought into harmony with his mother and treated gently — his head is full of complexes.

Its traps are of the tongue and of the table: a liar is never saved before Ifá, the people around you are false — Obatalá pulled the frogs out of the hole and they cheated him with two hundred songs — and they can poison your food and your fruit. Do not sit in a broken chair, do not put off what you have to do, and do not let the rain fall on you — and do not cross the sea or jump over holes.

Your model of faith is Orunmila in prison: he made atefá there with his dinner plate and a rib bone — the ants carried the ebbó and Elegbá set him free: no poverty prevents a sacrifice — from whoever cannot give 200 rams, Ifá accepts the guinea fowl with the words «in keeping with my means». Beat your idleness and **ask God with your whole heart — otherwise you will see nothing==.

The sign in one line

Give rogation to your head through your mother, tell no lies and sacrifice in keeping with your means — even in prison, Orunmila made atefá and the ants carried his ebbó.

The prayer of Irete Ansa · Yoruba

KERA AWO MOWATE OMO SHANGO OMO OYA AYENI ONI BABALAWO UBANYORO BANYOKO IFA BANYOKO ORISHA BANYOKO YENKORO YENI IFA YORO YERENI KAFEREFUN SHANGO MAFEREFUN ORUNMILA.

Súyere
EMI ALAMO LOMI SHANGO BOGBO ARAYE EME KELEKE EWE AYO EWE AYO.

Ifá says — what Irete Ansa tells you

An Ifá of frustration and unhappiness: the Prince wanted to be King and never could be. An Ifá of rain: do not let that water fall on you. The Ifá of the liar: a liar is never saved before Ifá — you are saved, if I speak. The Ifá of the mother: it is the mother who blesses; the shadow of the mother's Egun will always help you out of trouble.
Too much joy can kill you: a blessing or a happiness is coming, but it can slip out of your hands.
You can break both legs in a fall or an accident; look after your legs, your intimate excesses and your drinking.
It speaks of a parting between godfather and godchild: they should do the work of the bonfire in the bush with a rooster, to avoid it.
The Awó of this Odù shows off, thinks himself handsome and likes to live on appearances.
The woman does not fall pregnant: give a goat and a rooster to Elegbá.
The couple cannot make the marriage work: do the works for it, with the speckled hens to Oyá.
You tend to be lazy: idleness is the vice that keeps you from work and from effort.
They poison the food and the fruit; you face competition in your love affairs.
People are liars or false: a friend in appearance can be a false friend.
Obatalá pulls people out of the hole and afterward they cheat him with false promises, like the frogs of the two hundred songs.
The young one in the house, between fourteen and sixteen, is going through solitary habits made worse by things he saw at home and did not accept: he should be brought into harmony with his mother and treated gently, since his head is full of complexes.
The pigment of the skin speaks: vitiligo.
Sign papers to settle what is yours.
You have to take care of your job or your post, because they want to seat someone else there; you work for the good of others without seeing any reward, because someone else takes the credit for what you do — like the impostor of Shangó.
Respect the waters: you can be involved in a death.
Orunmila made atefá in prison with his dinner plate, a rib bone as an irofá and iyefá scraped off the wall: the ants carried the ebbó and Elegbá set him free.
About giving rogation to your mother's head with two doves, so that within a year she does not die; if the mother is dead, food is given to her Egun with the tile, the four doves and the sixteen candles.
About the four ebboses to different cities, with four roosters for Shangó, Elegbá, Ogún and Oshosi, each one in a pot with three clubs.
The Awó should give Shangó 200 rams, 200 fish and 200 roosters — and what he does is give him a guinea fowl, saying: «Allow me to make you a sacrifice in keeping with my means», with the three brooms to sweep the heart of his house.
About not sitting in a broken chair and about not putting off what you have to do.
About asking God with your whole heart, because otherwise you will see nothing.
About not crossing the sea and not jumping over holes.
The herbs of this Odù: manajú (its resin heals wounds on the feet) and llerén (an antidote to poison).

Proverbs of Irete Ansa · Òwe

“Whoever owes Babá should pay him.”
“Fly carefully, bat, or you will lose your clothing in flight.”
“Too much joy makes you ill and kills you.”
“A liar is never saved before Ifá.”
“You are saved, if I speak.”
“I am King of Kings, said Shangó.”
“A friend in appearance can be a false friend.”
“The wicked man flees though nobody is chasing him.”
“When a country is going badly, the number of rulers grows.”
“The fanatic's happiness is clothing that falls to rags.”
“When the head is full, we call the barber; when the river is full, the boatman.”
“The body's enemy is illness; the cure is its friend.”
“Complaining is the father of misfortune.”
“Arguing does not prove intelligence.”
“Do not hand your wisdom to someone who may become your enemy.”
“Against the wise man, ignorance can do nothing.”
“Beatings only teach you to bow your head, not to use it.”
“Whoever crushes the poor is rain that destroys the harvest.”

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

Iré and Osogbo

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

What is born in Irete Ansa · Ìbí

That six candles and six stones are set before Shangó at his consecration.
From the road of the true Shangó and the false one: the secret of Irete Ansa is the six odduará inside the pot.
Setting a hand of Ifá before Shangó to keep the power in hand.
Jewels and the ruin of beauty.
When you do the moyugba, say: "ASHE EGUN QUE TIMBELORUN, ASHE BABA QUE TIMBELORUN, ASHE YEYE QUE TIMBELORUN, ASHE OLUO QUE TIMBELORUN".
From the road of the land of Moñaña, where the Egun poured their ashé into the food of the ebbó.
The monster of the world that came out of the sea.
Shangó calmed it with the three meals and made it swear that everything would last until its time came.
The true Shangó and the false Shangó: there is only one Shangó.
That Olordumare laid down that everything on Earth lasts until its time comes.
The Ifá of the five bear cubs and vitiligo.
The skin of the disobedient bear covered Shangó's skin where the pigment was gone.
That the cockroaches eat the money.
Do not keep money in banknotes.
The destruction of the omologú (the sorcerer).
Whoever, in order not to die, has to pass through Osha or Ifá.
The three clubs and the pot.
The kumombó of Shangó, which lives in the pot of Irete Ansa.

What is forbidden · Eewó

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

Do not argue stubbornly.
A piece of luck is coming to you.
Do not let the rain fall on you.
This is an Ifá of rain: the bad weather made the Prince's legs sick.
Do not cross the sea and do not jump over holes.
Do not sit on a broken chair.
Do not keep money in bills.
The cockroaches eat it.
Do not do anything foolish with a sharp weapon.
Be careful with something shameful that you will find on your road.
Do not leave anyone in charge of your things (the Awó).
They try to take your place and destroy you; hold back when you teach your secrets to the godchildren you trust the most.

Ebbós of Irete Ansa · The sacrifices that open the road

LossThe four ebboses to different cities🔒 The Notebook Keeping death awayEbbó of the Frog (against too much joy)🔒 The Notebook LoveEbbó for the union of the marriage🔒 The Notebook HealthEbbó for vitiligo🔒 The Notebook HealthEbbó so you do not put on weight🔒 The Notebook

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

Works of Irete Ansa · The workings of the sign

Beating enemiesShangó's pot and the three clubs (the secret of this Odù)🔒 The Notebook SpiritualFood for the mother's Egun (Iyaré)🔒 The Notebook SpiritualOparaldo for the mother🔒 The Notebook SpiritualWork so godfather and godchild do not part🔒 The Notebook Beating enemiesInshé Osain of this Odù🔒 The Notebook SpiritualOparaldo of the three little pots🔒 The Notebook

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

Patakíes of Irete Ansa · The roads of the Odù

1The Prince wanted to be King

The Prince, desperate because his father lived on for years, went off to the country to make palm liquor; up at the top of a palm he got the news of the King's death and, out of joy, let go and fell, breaking his legs — unable to walk, he could never govern.

That Prince was in a hurry for the crown, but the King, his father, kept on living and the years went by without the throne being free. Tired of waiting, he left the palace and went to the countryside.

There he got the idea of drawing liquor from the palm seed. He was warned not to climb those trunks at all; he paid no attention and climbed anyway.

One morning, while he was working at the top of a palm, a messenger reached him: the King had died. The news filled him with joy, because at last he would be King, and in that careless moment his hands let go. He fell from up there and his legs were broken in several places. Crippled as he was left, he never came to rule that land.

Note: sign of frustration and unhappiness.

2The Prince and the conquered lands

The Prince fought tirelessly and won all his battles, but he walked so far that his legs fell ill; the rain and the weather were his worst enemies — he could never be King and was left frustrated forever: an Ifá of rain, do not get wet.

The Prince fought without rest for each one of the lands, wanting them all to recognize him as King, and he lost no battle. The road defeated him: from so much walking his legs got sick and there was no way to cure them. His worst enemies were not the armies, but the water that fell on him, the harshness of the weather and the hardships of the journey.

So he was left without a crown, and the Prince carried that frustration for the rest of his life.

Note: this is an Ifá of rain; you have to take care not to get wet. From here come the 4 ebboses, each one for a different city, with the 4 roosters that are given to Shangó, Elegbá, Ogún and Oshosi.

3The Awó crowned by Shangó

Shangó crowned as Obá the Awó of the land of Adarasa — the Awó of this Odù owes Shangó 200 rams, 200 fish and 200 roosters, and what he does is give him a guinea fowl, saying: «Allow me to make you a sacrifice in keeping with my means», with the three brooms to sweep the heart of his house.

In the land of Adarasa, Shangó placed the crown of Obá on the head of the Awó.

Note: whoever has this Odù as Awó is left in debt to Shangó for 200 rams, 200 fish and 200 roosters. The debt is proclaimed out loud with these words: "I cannot deny that I am at your service." Then the sign is prayed and this is added: "Allow me to make you a sacrifice in keeping with my means." Right after that, an Indian rooster is sacrificed to Shangó. 3 brooms are also taken, and he is charged with sweeping the heart of his house with them every day.

4The Frog (too much joy)🔒 The Notebook 5Akere Kokoyo and the two pieces of news🔒 The Notebook 6The pigment of the skin: the five bear cubs🔒 The Notebook 7The mother's blessing (Awó Akere)🔒 The Notebook 8Awó Akere and the rain🔒 The Notebook 9Shangó gets free of an impostor🔒 The Notebook 10The two Shangós🔒 The Notebook 11False Shangó and true Shangó (Ona Magba)🔒 The Notebook 12The murdering beggar🔒 The Notebook 13The monster of the world that came out of the sea🔒 The Notebook 14The poisoned fruit🔒 The Notebook 15How happiness came to the land of Moñaña🔒 The Notebook 16Where the ants helped Orunmila🔒 The Notebook 17Oyá gives everything🔒 The Notebook 18Dealings of exchange (the war of Heaven and Earth)🔒 The Notebook 19The breeding ram and the frizzled rooster for power🔒 The Notebook 20Obatalá and the hundred and sixty-four people🔒 The Notebook

17 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 Irete Ansa in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Irete Ansa

What does the Odù Irete Ansa mean in Ifá?

Too much joy makes you ill and kills you —the Frog lost the throne—: there is only one Shangó, and it is the mother who blesses.

What number is Irete Ansa among the 256 Odù of Ifá?

Irete Ansa is Odù number 221 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Irete family.

Which orishas speak in Irete Ansa?

In the Odù Irete Ansa these orishas speak: Shangó, Oyá, Obatalá (Oshanlá), Elegbá, Olofin, Olokun, Osun, Egun de la madre.

What is a proverb of the Odù Irete Ansa?

One of the proverbs of Irete Ansa says: «Whoever owes Babá should pay him.».

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