Odù 55 of 256 · Iwori family

Iwori Bosaso

Struggles and changes of the weak one who defends himself with skill: Obatalá Ayaguna speaks, the revolutionary spirit — without discord there is no progress.

Iwori Bosaso is Odù number 55 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Iwori family. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 19 patakíes (3 with the full text), its proverbs, 7 ebbós and works and the signs it shows in the consultation; the detail of iré and osogbo, the eewó and the full recipes open with the Babalawo plan — that locked part is still written in Spanish.

The sign at a glance

Order in Ifá: Odù 55 of 256
Composition: Iwori over Osa
Orishas that speak: Obatalá (Ayaguna) · Eshú (Niki Niki) · Azojuano · Yemayá Mayelewo · Oduduwa (Aremú) · Oshún · Orisha-Oko

What Ifá says in this sign

Iwori Bosaso is the Ifá of struggles and changes: here Obatalá Ayaguna speaks, the revolutionary spirit who holds that without discord there is no progress — and his war lasts until he chooses to rest. The changes of this odu cut both ways: in iré, favorable; in osobo, not. The ebbó decides which side they fall on.

In the war where half the town fights the other half, the weak one loses — unless he uses his head: learn from the goat, who, being certain prey, made a pact with Ikú so as never to die. That is why no goats live in your house (only passing through on their way to the Saints): they are the memory of the pact it falls to you to renew, with ebbó and not with force.

«Without discord there is no progress, says Ayaguna — but the weak one of Iwori Bosaso wins with his head, not his hands.»The pulse of Iwori Bosaso

The cleanliness of this odu is literal: cutlery and washing your hands before eating were born here — make it law. And the moral cleanliness the same: do not be a schemer or a cheat, pay whoever you owe and whoever works for you, because over money you can be cursed, and that curse carries off luck and health.

Keep watch at night: there is an Egun attached, in love, that comes to be with you at night — send it away, since it brings impotence and heart trouble. Eat low in salt, look after your circulation and your chest, and pay your debt to Azojuano: the «creatures in the body» of this odu — parasites, infections — are him collecting.

Your luck has messengers: your godchild and your wife — Oshún will reward you through them. Change how you live, take up the good life, bathe in the river to let the bad go and pray your head with a large fresh fish: the changes that are coming will be favorable for whoever arrived clean to receive them.

The sign in one line

Live clean, pay what you owe and send away the dead one of the nights — the changes of Iwori Bosaso favor whoever made ebbó in time.

The prayer of Iwori Bosaso · Yoruba

Iwori Bosa adifafun oyugbona wosa bereni awo eshu ori iku mawa eyoni wowoni ewe ounko weweni eshu obi añañajun ounko tiboni bokun akoba.

Súyere
Ounko iku oku boro boro · Ota eshu oba ona yale eshu.

Ifá says — what Iwori Bosaso tells you

Maferefún Oggún, Oshosi, Obatalá, Eshu ati Oshún. Kaferefún Obatalá; lodafun Oshún and Oduduwa.
Olofin left the earth, and this is an Ifá of changes: in iré they are favorable, in osobo they are not.
Wars where half the people fight the other half, and the weak ones lose.
Cheating in the marriage, unfaithfulness, disrespect and mistreatment.
You look for discord and try to stir up war among people.
Debts with Azojuano, and creatures in the body: parasites, cancer in the bones, infections in the blood.
An Egun attached to you, in love with you, that comes to you at night; if you are a man, it will leave you impotent.
You may die of choking at night, of your heart, or of a stroke.
Over money you can be cursed, and that curse takes your luck and your health.
You have a bad temper and you live at war with the world.
Change how you live and take up the good life, and you will get out of your troubles.
Do not be a schemer or a cheat: pay whoever you owe, and whoever works for you.
Your luck comes through your godchild or your wife, and Oshún will reward you for it.
A child who fails on seeing their parents will only look out for themselves.
Eat low in salt, because of your circulation and your heart.

Proverbs of Iwori Bosaso · Òwe

“The weakest one loses.”
“Discord brings war.”
“Whoever lives on nothing reaches nothing.”
“Whoever is chased is caught sooner or later.”
“A strong man with his arms folded does not prosper more than a thin one working.”
“Digestion begins in the mouth.”
“Whoever does not know their enemy does not dodge the blow.”
“When the storm clouds pass, the sun shines out.”
“The worst enemy is the one inside; the one outside can be beaten.”
“The barber of the poor never lacks something to eat.”
“The truthful witness does not lie, but the false one charges for lying.”
“Everyone wants to make firewood out of a fallen tree.”
“Even in laughter, the heart can be in pain.”

13 proverb interpretations in this Odù, locked.Every proverb explained: which road it comes from and how it applies. Written in Spanish for now.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… Written in Spanish for now.Unlock →

What is born in Iwori Bosaso · Ìbí

Cutlery for eating, and washing the hands.
You do not eat with dirty hands, or without washing them before touching food.
That a mouse is given to Osain, washing it first with omiero of maravilla herb.
That the rivers were set free and Olokun gave Yemayá the waters near the coast.
The goat's pact with Ikú, so as never to die.
With his bleating he warned Ikú when people were asleep; that is why no goat is kept in the house.

What is forbidden · Eewó

5 eewó (taboos) in this Odù, locked.What the child of this sign must not eat, do or wear. Written in Spanish for now.Unlock →

Ebbós of Iwori Bosaso · The sacrifices that open the road

Power of the weakEbbó of the she-goat🔒 Babalawo

EshúEbbó of the goat's pact🔒 Babalawo

Bad habitsEbbó of the union (not eating with dirty hands)🔒 Babalawo

LegsBaths for the legs and the insides🔒 Babalawo

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

Works of Iwori Bosaso · The workings of the sign

EshúEshú Niki Niki🔒 Babalawo

OsainMouse for Osain🔒 Babalawo

EggunOparaldo of the flame tree🔒 Babalawo

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

Patakíes of Iwori Bosaso · The roads of the Odù

1The revolutionary spirit

Ayaguna's lot was to be the maker of quarrels. Olodumare, wanting peace, sent him to peaceful Asia, but he set off war there too. Olodumare ruled that the world would last until Ayaguna rests from discord.

In the share-out Olodumare made, Ayaguna's lot was to be the maker of quarrels; he would arrive, impose himself and rule by arms, fighting with all the neighbors. Olodumare, who wanted peace for his children, rebuked him, and Ayaguna answered: «you, Father, are always sitting down, as if no blood ran in you». To see whether he would mend his ways, Olodumare took the command of Africa from him and sent him to Asia, where all was peace.

But Ayaguna decided those people were fools and, setting one tribe against another, let loose the war, which spread to the whole world. The peoples complained to Olodumare, who called him back: «I want only peace, I am Alamore, white flag». Ayaguna answered him: «Father, if there is no discord there is no progress; with discord the world moves forward, whoever has two wants four, and the most capable wins». Olodumare ruled: «if that is so, the world will last until the day the wars end and you turn your back on discord and lie down to rest; but that day will be a long time coming».

2The power of the weak

The hyena, a false friend, invited the she-goat on a journey so as to eat her. The goat made ebbó and took a sack with eko and bread; when the hungry lion appeared, by cleverness she got him to eat the hyena, and she was saved with Oduduwa.

When the world began, the she-goat had nowhere fixed to live. She had a false friend, koriko (the hyena), who invited her on a journey. The goat, wary, went to Orunmila, who saw this Ifá for her and warned her that the weak lose against the strong; he marked her an ebbó and told her to take a sack with eko, bread with honey and a hen. Halfway through the journey, the hungry hyena was about to spring on the goat, but the lion appeared with a pain in his belly. The goat kept giving him things from her sack — eko, bread — and, when the lion asked for more, she told him he would be cured by eating from the hyena's leg.

The hyena, out of fear, let her leg be eaten, then her foot, until, seeing that the lion wanted all of her, she ran off crippled. The goat took her chance to flee to Oduduwa's house and asked him to save her. Oduduwa did her an Oparaldo with the hen from the sack, the choking from the fright left her, and she stayed on serving him; her head was Oduduwa's seat in that land, so the weak could defend themselves against the strong with intelligence.

3The scheming, cheating boss

A boss cheated his workers out of their pay. Two of them, taken in by Orunmila (the little old man), reported him; Osain sickened his plantations and Eshú tormented him, until he learned to pay and to respect his fellow men.

Two poor men from out of town took work with the boss of some timber cutters, where the sea had to be crossed to work. When they finished and asked for their wages, the boss — a schemer and a cheat — tricked them out of their pay. A little old man who lived alone took them in; he was Orunmila, who had already had a word with the boss to no effect. He made them osode, saw this Ifá and did the ceremony for them: he gave the turtle and the rooster to Osain so he would sicken the boss's plantations, and the goat to Eshú so he would torment him day and night.

Osain sickened the trees and Eshú, with his changes of shape, tormented the boss, who came to Orunmila. Orunmila marked him the works to have peace, but warned him that he had to pay everyone who worked for him, so as to take off the curse of those he had cheated. The boss did it and had his peace back.

4You do not eat with dirty hands🔒 Babalawo

5Why the dog and the cat are enemies🔒 Babalawo

6The partnership of the goat, the tiger and the dog🔒 Babalawo

7When Oshún gave him the luck🔒 Babalawo

8The partnership of the three friends🔒 Babalawo

9The goat's pact with Ikú🔒 Babalawo

10When Oshún lived with Shangó🔒 Babalawo

11Kayode the poor and Kayode the rich🔒 Babalawo

12The goat's secret deal with Ikú🔒 Babalawo

13Ero, brother of Oyá🔒 Babalawo

14Ikú turned into a gorilla🔒 Babalawo

15The witches and the hunchbacks🔒 Babalawo

16The sheep and the dogs🔒 Babalawo

17The attempt to dry up the sea🔒 Babalawo

18The androids🔒 Babalawo

19Why the she-goat walks on four legs🔒 Babalawo

16 more patakíes in this Odù, locked.Read every road in full with the Babalawo plan. Written in Spanish for now.Unlock →

Before you subscribe: everything you read on this page is in English, but the locked part of the treatise — the full text of the other patakíes, the recipes for the ebbós and works, the iré and osogbo readings and the eewó — is still written in Spanish. We are translating it. · This page is also available in Spanish: See Iwori Bosaso in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Iwori Bosaso

What does the Odù Iwori Bosaso mean in Ifá?

Struggles and changes of the weak one who defends himself with skill: Obatalá Ayaguna speaks, the revolutionary spirit — without discord there is no progress.

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

Iwori Bosaso is Odù number 55 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Iwori family.

Which orishas speak in Iwori Bosaso?

In the Odù Iwori Bosaso these orishas speak: Obatalá (Ayaguna), Eshú (Niki Niki), Azojuano, Yemayá Mayelewo, Oduduwa (Aremú), Oshún, Orisha-Oko.

What is a proverb of the Odù Iwori Bosaso?

One of the proverbs of Iwori Bosaso says: «The weakest one loses.».

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