Iroso Güiro (Iroso Wori)

nº 79 of 256

The dockworkers and the load you can no longer bear: Agayú carried the child who weighed as much as the world — it was Oduduwa — and won the river.

19 patakíes 4 eewó 13 ebbós and works 15 proverbs

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Iroso Güiro (Iroso Wori) is Odù number 79 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Iroso family. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 19 patakíes (3 with the full text), its proverbs, 13 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 79 of 256
Composition: Iroso over Iwori
Orishas that speak: Agayú · Oduduwa · Oshanlá · Shangó · Azojuano · Eshú / Elegba · Orunmila

What Ifá says in this sign

Iroso Güiro is the Ifá of the dockworkers — of the load that can no longer be borne. Its greatest patakí is its promise: Agayú the ferryman carried the child who weighed as much as the whole world — it was Oduduwa — and for not letting go he won possession of the river. The load bending your back today may be the god who crowns you tomorrow.

But this odu asks you to see your own load clearly: there is someone on top of you getting in your way, empty ideas that cannot be carried out, and a see-saw kind of instability: you lie down one way and get up another — rich, and you wake up poor; well, and you wake up ill. The ebbó puts a keel on that boat.

«Agayú carried the child who weighed as much as the world — and that load gave him the lordship of the river.»The pulse of Iroso Güiro (Iroso Wori)

This is an Ifá of the ungrateful: you speak badly of whoever feeds you — do not do it, and do not help whoever will never thank you for it: here help given in the wrong place costs you. And inside your circle of trust there is a traitor lying low, like the crocodile still among the logs: do not jump without looking — the trusting woodcutter jumped onto its back.

Dangers of water and of the head: be careful crossing — no boat, no river, no sea without ebbó — and the pride that sends the blood up can bring on a stroke. Watch your morning steps as the rat, the fish and the antelope failed to watch theirs, and were taken before nightfall. And the frail woman of this odu, take her to Orunmila's feet: losing her could never be made good.

The promises shine: an inheritance from across the sea, prosperity that comes back whole as it came back to the town of Iwoye after the sacrifice, and the cloak of triumph waiting for whoever makes ebbó and knows how to wait at the foot of the jagüey: what Ifá marks for you today will be your great happiness tomorrow

The sign in one line

Carry without letting go, be grateful for your food and do not cross water without ebbó — the load of Iroso Güiro weighs like Oduduwa: it is a god disguised as weight.

The prayer of Iroso Güiro (Iroso Wori) · Yoruba

Iroso Wori Iroso ni bayé ni baun ni tenshe ni, lodafun Ayó omo Odé, maferefún Shangó.

Ifá says — what Iroso Güiro (Iroso Wori) tells you

An Ifá of the ungrateful: you speak badly of whoever feeds you and of whoever helps you. Kaferefún Orishaoko and Agayú; maferefún Shangó.
You are carrying a heavy load you can no longer bear, and there is someone on top of you getting in your way.
It marks madness: you do not think about what you are doing and put yourself in danger — death, long illness, long imprisonment or being left disabled.
Death on a sea crossing: be careful crossing rivers, lagoons or the sea.
You lie down one way and get up another: poor, and you wake up rich; rich, and you wake up poor; well, and you wake up ill. This is an Ifá of instability.
In the family there are people with bad nerves or out of their minds.
Your head is full of empty ideas that cannot be carried out.
You are given to taking what is not yours: one foot in jail and the other in the cemetery.
Through your own pride you may have a stroke; you suffer with your stomach, and you must look after your blood and your memory.
For a man: three people are after him over a woman; he has two women who are deeply jealous of him, and three children, one of them of mixed features.
You are held down where you live and you want to leave; to manage it, you have to make ebbó.
An inheritance from across the sea, and someone who set sail and has not reached where they were going.
The woman who must be taken to Orunmila's feet so she does not die — losing her could never be made good; and discharges, and treatment so she can have children.
Among the people you trust there is one lying low, waiting for you to slip so they can betray you, like the crocodile among the logs.
Your enemies are the dark ones, and one ruddy one.

Proverbs of Iroso Güiro (Iroso Wori) · Òwe

“Get out of the way so I can save myself.”
“You lie down one way and you get up another.”
“Whoever carries more than they can bear bursts.”
“He planted the palm, and the thorns kept him from taking the fruit.”
“One foot in jail and the other in the cemetery.”
“Whoever takes what is not theirs ends up losing what is.”
“Looking back freezes us; looking ahead gets us moving.”
“However much we gather in this life, on the last journey we carry no luggage.”
“The rich man through carelessness can end up poor, and the poor man through effort can end up rich.”
“Prosperity adds friends and enemies alike.”
“Whoever gains good sense loves themselves.”
“Rising early does not make the sun come up any sooner.”
“Idleness brings sleep to the mind and hunger to the stomach.”
“Whoever corrects their child in time secures a quiet old age.”
“Discipline lets a man sleep content that no harm has touched him.”

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

Iré and Osogbo

6 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 Iroso Güiro (Iroso Wori) · Ìbí

The dockworkers, the carriers.
From Agayú's trade, carrying people on his shoulder from one bank of the river to the other.
Agayú's possession of the river.
He carried the nameless child for nothing, and the child grew heavier and heavier; when he looked at him he cried out «Oduduwa!», and Oduduwa told him: «For your effort I give you possession of the river».
Fire, and the first raft.
Agayú Sola felled the tree with his axe, made the bonfire that gave rise to fire, and with the wood built the raft with which he conquered the waters.

What is forbidden · Eewó

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

Do not let the mosquitoes bite you.
You may suffer malaria (paludismo); if you get a fever, go to the doctor quickly.
Do not eat black beans.
Do not ride boats or launches, and do not cross rivers or the sea, without ebbó.
This odu marks death on a sea crossing; you may drown.
Do not help anyone who will not thank you for it.
It is a hard Ifá, of ungrateful people: like the farmer who planted a palm that was not his own, and the thorns did not let him pick the fruit.

Ebbós of Iroso Güiro (Iroso Wori) · The sacrifices that open the road

Beating enemiesEbbó of Iroso Güiro🔒 The Notebook Beating enemiesAgainst the witches of the night🔒 The Notebook MoneyThe drunkard's toasted corn🔒 The Notebook MoneyThe palm fruit from across the sea🔒 The Notebook Keeping death awayParaldo of the atena on black cloth🔒 The Notebook Keeping death awayWatching your morning steps🔒 The Notebook LossThe sacrifice at the family home🔒 The Notebook HealthThe soap of Aweda🔒 The Notebook LoveBath for the pregnant woman🔒 The Notebook

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

Works of Iroso Güiro (Iroso Wori) · The workings of the sign

MoneyThe prosperity of the town of Iwoye🔒 The Notebook HealthFood at the door🔒 The Notebook SpiritualOduduwa for the children of Agayú🔒 The Notebook Beating enemiesThe palm fruit in the mouth🔒 The Notebook

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

Patakíes of Iroso Güiro (Iroso Wori) · The roads of the Odù

1The twins and the sixteen witches

The twin brothers Irosun and Iwori came down to the world together, but Irosun plotted with sixteen witches to be rid of Iwori. A dream warned him; with the goat for Eshú, the hen for Ifá and his Osanyin, which showed him the witches' gatherings, he uncovered the plot, and the bath of leaves set him free.

Before coming down, in Heaven he was advised to sacrifice to a divinity who worked under the cover of a witch —a rooster, kola nuts and palm wine— and to offer a goat to Eshú. Once the sacrifices were done, the twins Irosun and Iwori came down to the world together. Meanwhile, Irosun made a deal with sixteen witches of the night to get rid of Iwori. One night, Iwori dreamed of an execution chamber; since he did not understand the dream, he went for divination, and Ifá told him that they were about to deceive him, though none of it would work if he fed his Ifá a hen and wrapped dried fish and gave a goat to Eshú. He did so, and of the sixteen plotters two died.

It was the Awoses who revealed to him that the plot had been put together by his own younger brother. Iwori had an Osanyin that let him see what happened in the meetings of the witches: he gave it a rooster and powdered yam with ginger leaves, went to the meeting that night and managed to see the tricks of the fourteen who were left. They noticed the intruder and caught him, accusing him of spying, but he disappeared before they could hurt him. When he woke up, Ifá told him to bathe with the leaves the priests would prepare for him; after the bath, the plotters understood that they had been found out, left the place and let him be. When this Ifá comes out, the person is told that their younger brother is a witch who is plotting against them.

2Agayú and the possession of the river

Agayú, humiliated by the encounter with the woman who turned out to be Oshanlá, demanded a fee from anyone who wanted to cross the river. A poor nameless boy begged to be taken across; he carried him on his shoulders, and the boy grew heavier with every step. When he looked at him he cried out «Oduduwa!», and Oduduwa gave him possession of the river.

Without knowing who she was, Agayú had relations with Oshanlá, the most powerful woman of those parts, who had the gift of changing shape. That encounter left him humiliated as a man, because in his view it was up to him to have taken the first step. From then on he changed his way with those who asked him to cross the river: he demanded payment from each one, and without that he would not take them over. "Find another man and pay; if not, you are wasting your time."

One day a boy came up to him: "Agayú, I want to see my mother, who is on the other side of the river." Agayú asked him: "What is your name?" "I have no name." "Then I cannot help you." The child broke into tears: "It has been a long time since I saw her, and I am very poor… so carry me on your shoulders, since until now you have not told anyone what you charge for that." The ferryman stared at him: "Boy, you have a good head; I will carry you." He picked him up and went into the water; with every step the boy weighed more, until he became an unbearable load. "What is going on, that you have become so heavy?" "Do not complain and keep your word." "Boy, I cannot go on." "Then look at me." Agayú turned his face, dropped him in the water and shouted: "Oduduwa!" Floating, the child said to him: "For your effort, I give you possession of the river," and vanished.

3The conquests of nature

Agayú Sola beat the first great difficulty man ever met: the river. With his axe he felled a tree, made the bonfire that gave rise to fire, and built the raft with which he conquered the waters, setting up trade between the two banks. One passenger paid him with her body: she was Oshanlá, and out of that meeting Shangó was born.

The first great difficulty that man found on his road was the river, and the one who beat it was Agayú Sola. The others pulled back defeated; he stayed by the water and decided to master it. He was a strong farmer, well on in years, but with the drive of a young warrior: he took his sharp axe, cut down a big tree and with one of its branches he built a bonfire, and from those flames fire was born. From the wood he made a poor raft with its oars and put it in the river; by sheer effort he conquered it, and from crossing it so much he ended up doing it easily. His work opened up communication between one bank and the other, and trade brought him great wealth.

One day a woman with wide skirts, a beautiful face and fine manners came to the boat; Agayú settled her in without saying a word about his terms. On the other bank she jumped out in a flirty way and started fixing herself up without looking at him; he asked her for the payment, and then the woman took off her clothes, lay down on the grass and invited him to collect with her body. When it was over she said to him: "You have had the pleasure of lying with Oshanlá," and she left without looking back, toward her white palace. In time the troubles of pregnancy came to her and a boy was born named Shangó: "Shan-gó," the one who runs off course — like the zigzag of lightning.

4The trusting woodcutter🔒 The Notebook 5Get out of the way so I can save myself🔒 The Notebook 6Kaferefún Agayú: the palm fruit from the far bank🔒 The Notebook 7The cloak of triumph and the reward🔒 The Notebook 8The prosperity of the town of Iwoye🔒 The Notebook 9The return to the family home🔒 The Notebook 10The bath of Aweda🔒 The Notebook 11The thorny palm🔒 The Notebook 12The warrior and the serpent🔒 The Notebook 13When Shangó's omo hanged himself🔒 The Notebook 14The farmer who was ungrateful over the palm🔒 The Notebook 15The priest and the man of the world🔒 The Notebook 16Forgive and forget🔒 The Notebook 17The turtle and the net🔒 The Notebook 18The triplets (Eta Ako)🔒 The Notebook 19The law of cause and effect🔒 The Notebook

16 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 Iroso Güiro (Iroso Wori) in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Iroso Güiro (Iroso Wori)

What does the Odù Iroso Güiro (Iroso Wori) mean in Ifá?

The dockworkers and the load you can no longer bear: Agayú carried the child who weighed as much as the world — it was Oduduwa — and won the river.

What number is Iroso Güiro (Iroso Wori) among the 256 Odù of Ifá?

Iroso Güiro (Iroso Wori) is Odù number 79 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Iroso family.

Which orishas speak in Iroso Güiro (Iroso Wori)?

In the Odù Iroso Güiro (Iroso Wori) these orishas speak: Agayú, Oduduwa, Oshanlá, Shangó, Azojuano, Eshú / Elegba, Orunmila.

What is a proverb of the Odù Iroso Güiro (Iroso Wori)?

One of the proverbs of Iroso Güiro (Iroso Wori) says: «Get out of the way so I can save myself.».

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