nº 225 of 256
The one who opens the door to death and drives Egun's cart: here the deathlessness of the soul is born — the body dies, but the self does not.
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Irete Otún is Odù number 225 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Irete family. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 22 patakíes (3 with the full text), its proverbs, 12 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.
Irete Otún — also called Irete Unfá and Irete Ekún — is the Ifá of the Aggó Ikú Abila: «I open the door to death» — the Odù that shares death out and drives Egun's cart to the cemetery, the one who announced a King's death. But its other side is bright: here the deathlessness of the soul is born — the body dies, but the self does not — and the Ituto while you live, made with everything broken in the house.
This is an Ifá of a change of heads: a servant died in the King's place — be careful with favors that put you where the blow lands. Its watchword is watchfulness: keep to your house and to your own life, send Ikú away from the door with works — Oyá and the Owl are her messengers and they give warning.
Its armor is rare and valuable: this Ifá protects against witchcraft — witchcraft aimed straight at your head is made useless — with the sacrifice made, since otherwise Eshu will do you one harm after another with his thorns. The ash figures looked alive because of the wind: sometimes appearance alone is enough to scare an enemy off.
Its fables lay down conduct: the Mockingbird won Obatalá's prize with a song of his own, and the Cotunto, for copying him and betraying him, was cursed as the ugliest bird in the world — whoever copies fails; the ox went without a tail for being in too much of a hurry: whoever does not wait for Olofin to finish his work lives a torment. Sing with your own voice and wait your turn.
Its household warnings: they can throw you out for taking someone else in, a comadre is your worst enemy, the tiger is on the loose — and fierce as he is, he falls into a trap through a woman or through what he wants — and the sadness you carry is caused by an Egun: he is sent away. The family gives rogation to their heads with river fish, and the good news is already sounding: the money is at the door — and it is going to come in.
Have your Ituto done while you live, copy nobody and wait for Olofin to finish his work — the money is already sounding at the door of Irete Otún.
Emonobi Minobo Dowena Dometo Tutunido Yiwe Nalewado Akewe Ayanaru Geli Mosedo Meta Ko Kabio Boeda Tebi Nikabio Zowe Mogoa Jaga. Owiwi Owiwi Olele Oya Nkala Kala Olele.
Súyere
Letefa Nimaña Mono Ñala Bomi Dingbofi Dinkale. Letefa Wini Wini Olele Oya Kala Kala Olele.
“Whoever copies fails.”
“A horsefly that makes things move gently.”
“Death said: I go through this at every hour.”
“Whoever dresses in white should watch out for the lard.”
“The man with arms who does not work is the father of idleness.”
“The stick you throw into the air can come back to meet your own head.”
“The false line is found out with the square.”
“Only whoever has made a pact with Iku knows her.”
“Whoever goes about with dung does not smell of fruit.”
“The diviner has to die, the doctor is mortal, the magician does not live forever.”
“Too much sweetness turns bitter.”
“Bad blood makes the intelligent man ignorant.”
“All the money in the world does not buy one life.”
“Favors and more favors bring bitterness.”
“Bitterness wipes out the fool's head.”
“Vices are the murderers of ability.”
The announcement of a King's death.
The sign appeared on the altar warning of the King's death; that is why this Ifá is one of a change of heads.
Aggó Ikú Abila: «I open the door to death».
When this Odù traveled to Earth, that is what he said on arriving.
The deathlessness of the soul: the body dies but the self does not; they are separate.
From the pataki of Ikú and Koré: the soul goes free, it does not die.
Doing the Ituto while you live.
With everything that is broken in the house, a circle of ash and an eyelé (dove) to the Odù.
Ikú's daughter, Onireggun, turned into an ekú (jutía).
Olorun granted her the virtue her mother did not have and sent her to the bush.
That Olorun sent the menstruation to the jutía.
From the same road of Onireggun.
The cart driver of death (Aluja, in Arará).
Irete Unfá drives Egun's cart to the cemetery.
The deformity of Ozain.
He burned a hand, a foot and an eye when Elegbá set the bush alight smoking gunpowder in his pipe.
The four marks on the Ikín.
The leopard clawed Orunmila and marked him forever: the four eyes seen on the ikines of Ifá.
That the children of Orun, the Awó-Orun, die too.
By Olorun's ruling, in spite of the pact with Ikú.
That by Natural Law the old die before the young.
From the wager between Death and Illness: illness attacks the young, but death respects the old less.
Obatalá's curse on the Cotunto (Sijú).
For betraying the Mockingbird: he will be the ugliest and most wicked bird as long as the world lasts.
That Oyá and the Owl are Ikú's messengers.
They appeared on the Earth to serve death; the owl's cry announces her.
Not killing male animals for seven days when Aron (illness) is present.
It is this Ifá's rule of Ituto when it is seen for a sick person.
The full eewó of this Odù, open to everyone — with the road each ban came out of.
Do not let rainwater fall on you; you cannot get wet with rainwater.
The Mockingbird slept in the street under the rain because of the Cotunto's betrayal.
Do not dress in black anymore; do orugbó (cleansing prayer) with the black clothes.
This is an Ifá of Ikú: black draws what this Odu hands out.
Do not kill male animals of any kind for seven days when this Odu comes up for a sick person.
Rule of Ituto of this Ifá.
Do not do works while drunk.
Onireggun, drunk, fell asleep and her own mother killed her; the drunk man can be caught by surprise and die.
Do not copy anyone.
The Cotunto copied the Mockingbird, got into his hole and could not get out: the one who copies fails.
Do not eat anything outside your house and do not be such a big eater.
Know how to hold back when the moment calls for it; look at your diet and your age.
Do not keep things for anyone and do not take anyone into your house.
They throw you out of your house for giving room to another person.
Do not rush into anything and do not act in a hot temper.
The Ox, impatient, went off without his tail and was a victim of the insects of the bush.
Both came to Earth as death's messengers, they fell out, and the Owl had to flee.
Two messengers of Ikú showed up on Earth: Oyá and the Owl. It did not take long for them to fall out, and the Owl got the worst part, because she went through a lot of hardship and ended up having to run away.
Note: when the owl screeches, it is announcing a death. When this Odù came down to Earth it said: "Aggó Ikú Abila", that is: I open the way for death.
Yewá was finishing off humankind; Shangó, on Orunmila's advice, made figures of ash that the wind moved, and Yewá, thinking them alive, took fright and left.
Prayer of the sign: Irete Otun, Kaferefun Yewa, Obatala, Shango, Oshun, Elegbara, Olofin. For the ebbó: akukó, adié, malaguidí, ashes of herbs and opolopo owó.
In a certain land the dying was so great that Yewá was finishing off all of humanity. Olofin sent Shangó as his messenger, to fix that place and put an end to what Yewá had unleashed.
Shangó looked for Orunmila, who saw this Ifá for him and marked the ebbó: akukó and adié for Egun. He also told him that, once in that land, he should set up many dolls made of ashes, because over there the wind blew without stopping and, when it scattered the ashes, the dolls looked like they were alive.
Going around the place, Yewá caught sight from far off of countless dolls moving and said to herself: "How is this possible, if everyone in this land is dead?" Fear made her leave, and that is how Shangó, with Orunmila's help, put an end to the dying.
This Ifá is of Ituto. If this sign comes out when reading a sick person, for seven days no male animal is killed. The Ituto is done in life, with everything that has broken in the house: a circle of ashes is drawn, in the center the Odù is marked with ashes too and an eyelé is given there.
Irete Unfá drives Egun's cart to the cemetery: when he comes into the Awó's house, he leaves with a body.
Irete Unfá is the one who drives the cart that carries Egun to the cemetery. When this Ifá comes into an Awó's house, a dead body goes out of there. His is the handing out of death and of illnesses. In arará his name is Aluja.
Note: this is an Ifá of Ituto, which does harm without charging anything for it and opens the way in for the dead, for the ones who stay buried under the ground. That is why this sign asks for works to keep Egun away from the door, to keep Ikú away and to keep away the bad luck that it announces itself.
The one who opens the door to death and drives Egun's cart: here the deathlessness of the soul is born — the body dies, but the self does not.
Irete Otún is Odù number 225 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Irete family.
In the Odù Irete Otún these orishas speak: Obatalá, Yewá, Shangó, Oshún, Elegbá, Ozain, Oyá, Shakuana, Orishaoko, Egun.
One of the proverbs of Irete Otún says: «Whoever copies fails.».