Iwori Boka

nº 56 of 256

Stubbornness, adultery and crimes of passion: whoever kills by iron dies by iron, and the wife falls in love with her husband's best friend.

15 patakíes 5 eewó 7 ebbós and works 13 proverbs

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Iwori Boka is Odù number 56 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Iwori family. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 15 patakíes (3 with the full text), its proverbs, 7 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 56 of 256
Composition: Iwori over Ika
Orishas that speak: Orunmila · Eshú · Oshún · Ode (Oshosi) · Osain / Aroní · Eggun · Olofin

What Ifá says in this sign

Iwori Boka is the Ifá of stubbornness and of crimes of passion: here whoever kills by iron dies by iron — and curiosity can cost you your life. It is an odu that asks for a cool head in exactly the place where nobody has one: jealousy.

Its stories are of the bedroom and of betrayal: the wife who takes up with her husband's best friend, the lover who eats off what another man works for, the slander thrown out of spite. The sign's ruling is flat: if you catch your wife in something bad, do not try to kill her — you would die in jail, of grief. Step away, make ebbó and leave the collecting to the Saints.

«Curiosity can cost you your life — when Iwori Boka gets the hunch, he does not look: he steps away.»The pulse of Iwori Boka

You have a gift you should respect: a sixth sense that warns you of danger — but curiosity sabotages it: when you get a hunch or a fright, do not go looking for the cause: take shelter in time. The curious one of this odu dies from going to look.

Look after your name and your company: this is an Ifá of theft and of gambling addiction — the law circles this odu: do not run around for everyone, do not promise what you will not deliver (you can convince anyone, and that is a debt), do not court your friends' wives and cut down the visits to your house. War is declared on you over a lie: that person is not your enemy — find out before you fight.

Your gifts: skill in the feet — dancer, runner, hunter — and the luck that comes to you through a woman or a godchild: treat her well, and Oshún rewards you for it — five yellow hens for her, a rooster with honey for Eshú. Flowers and masses for your dead, and a steady head: being strict with yourself is what saves this passionate sign.

The sign in one line

Master your jealousy, respect what is not yours and do not go and look at the danger — the luck of Iwori Boka dances, runs, and arrives by a woman's hand.

The prayer of Iwori Boka · Yoruba

Iwori Boka baba boka buko gunugun ashaba boko buko adifafun Enilayo oba baba boka bako baba gushoni afedu muye asha ni baba yedeye apata piti anasi odoba teni.

Súyere
Ambe igi kokokua · Iku embelori kokokua · Arun embelori kokokua · Ofo embelori kokokua · Eyo embelori kokokua.

Ifá says — what Iwori Boka tells you

Kaferefún Orunmila. An Ifá of adultery and crimes of passion.
An Ifá of theft, of things falling apart, and of addiction to gambling and to stealing.
Curiosity can cost you your life.
The wife takes up with her husband's best friend, or falls in love with him, and may become pregnant by him.
You have a sixth sense that warns you of danger, but curiosity keeps losing it for you.
The man has a woman he cannot be with, since she is Olofin's woman and he falls ill every time he touches her.
The wife brings her lover into the house when her husband goes out, and the two of them enjoy what he works for.
The wife treats her husband with scorn — the only man who does anything for her.
If the husband catches her in something bad, he must not try to kill her, or he will die in jail of grief.
Someone is trying to set you against another person, to get what they want.
You may be slandered by a friend's wife, out of spite.
You commit to things you do not deliver, and you can convince anyone — women especially.
You declare war on someone over something that is a lie; that person is not your enemy.
The man may be left unable to father a child through an illness he had as a boy; see a doctor.
You are in a hurry to marry and have children; learn how to choose a wife.

Proverbs of Iwori Boka · Òwe

“Whoever kills by iron dies by iron.”
“Curiosity can cost you your life.”
“Whoever runs around everywhere makes enemies.”
“Whoever stays at home with their family does not sleep alone.”
“It is not only the stench that tells us something is rotten.”
“Seeing is believing, and so is feeling; but so is sensing beforehand.”
“The wise fear the anger of Olorun; the fool is arrogant and careless.”
“The poor are hated even by their neighbor, but the rich are loved by everyone.”
“The wise will soon be rich; the foolish will soon be in need.”
“Like father, like son.”
“The truthful witness saves lives, but the false one is a traitor.”
“The glory of a king is his people, and the ruin of a prince is having no followers.”
“Fear sometimes saves, and curiosity kills.”

10 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 Iwori Boka · Ìbí

Stubbornness.
Skill in the feet: this person is a dancer, a runner, a jumper.
The taste for hunting.
The turtle wood (Igi Aya Ura), which has the gift of speech and serves for sorcery.

What is forbidden · Eewó

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

You must not get into dispute or quarrel with those around you.
You cannot court the wives of your friends.
You must respect them to avoid problems.
If you catch your woman doing something wrong, do not try to kill her.
You will die in prison from sorrow.
You must not look into the cause when you have a hunch.
Curiosity can cost you your life.
This odu forbids frequent visits of men and women to the house.
That is where the breakup of the marriage comes from.

Ebbós of Iwori Boka · The sacrifices that open the road

LuckEbbó for the iré🔒 The Notebook EggunWork of the flowers at the cemetery🔒 The Notebook ProsperityEbbó of the turtle wood🔒 The Notebook AdulteryEbbó against the tragedy of passion🔒 The Notebook

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

Works of Iwori Boka · The workings of the sign

OsainTurtle wood (Igi Aya Ura)🔒 The Notebook EshúEshú on the roof🔒 The Notebook EggunMass for the dead Awó🔒 The Notebook

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

Patakíes of Iwori Boka · The roads of the Odù

1The messenger dove

Some peaceful men, attacked and besieged by a warrior army that took them for enemies, let their messenger doves go. Seeing a dove settle on an olive tree, the army's chief understood they had not come for war and let them go on.

A group of men from a peaceful town had to pass through a land of warriors. The army, thinking they had come to fight, attacked them, but could not break their resistance. The chief ordered a siege: «since they carry no food to speak of, they will not hold out». The chief of the peaceful men, who always carried a cage of messenger doves, said: «let us let them go; if they come back, the siege is broken and they will carry the message to our town». They let the doves go; one settled on an olive tree. When the army's chief saw that dove, he understood that those men had not come to make war on them, and he gave them the chance to go on with their journey.

2The trade in the wood

Akelu, a woodcutter who worked and never had money, ignored the ebbó. Eshú set a turtle that made the tree speak; frightened, Akelu went back to Orunmila, made the ebbó and grew rich selling the turtle wood for sorcery.

Akelu, a woodcutter annoyed that he worked and never had money, went to Orunmila, who saw this Ifá for him and marked him an ebbó; he did not do it and went off to the bush to cut timber. Eshú, seeing that he had not made ebbó, set a turtle in a hole under the tree he was going to cut. When Akelu went to swing the axe, the turtle sang, and he, terrified, ran off to the town telling everyone that a tree was speaking. The king did not believe him, but sent messengers who came back horrified. Akelu went back to Orunmila and made the ebbó he owed. Then Eshú told him: «that is the turtle face of Osain; from today the tree will be called Igi Aya Ura, turtle wood, it will have the gift of speech, it will be a secret of Aroní and Osain, and you may sell it for sorcery». So Akelu grew rich.

3The quarrel of the yam and the malanga

The yam, bigger and stronger, trampled the malanga and boasted to Orunmila that it served every Saint, running the malanga down. Orunmila, who knew the truth, listened to the humble malanga admit it was not at fault.

Before Orunmila, the yam and the malanga were fighting over which of the two was needed more, and the yam, bigger and stronger, would not stop humiliating the malanga. Orunmila called them in to hear them both, and warned them: "I love you and I need you". The yam spoke with arrogance: "I serve you, Obatalá and all the Santos; and this one, what is he good for? Look, Oshún once took him and stained him". That was false and Orunmila already knew it, so he turned to the malanga, which answered humbly: "yes, that was true, but it is not my fault". From here the quarrel was born; with those around you, it is not good to argue.

4The woman scorned by Orunmila🔒 The Notebook 5The adultery🔒 The Notebook 6Curiosity🔒 The Notebook 7When Kusika stole by night🔒 The Notebook 8The thieves and the toads🔒 The Notebook 9The wise advice🔒 The Notebook 10The monkey woman🔒 The Notebook 11The land of plenty🔒 The Notebook 12The bear betrays Orunmila🔒 The Notebook 13The three filters🔒 The Notebook 14Idleness🔒 The Notebook 15The tree that speaks🔒 The Notebook

12 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 Iwori Boka in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Iwori Boka

What does the Odù Iwori Boka mean in Ifá?

Stubbornness, adultery and crimes of passion: whoever kills by iron dies by iron, and the wife falls in love with her husband's best friend.

What number is Iwori Boka among the 256 Odù of Ifá?

Iwori Boka is Odù number 56 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Iwori family.

Which orishas speak in Iwori Boka?

In the Odù Iwori Boka these orishas speak: Orunmila, Eshú, Oshún, Ode (Oshosi), Osain / Aroní, Eggun, Olofin.

What is a proverb of the Odù Iwori Boka?

One of the proverbs of Iwori Boka says: «Whoever kills by iron dies by iron.».

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