Odù 110 of 256 · Obara family

Obara Dila

Where the ebbó of the year was born and daylight came into the world: Eshu moved the genitals down from the forehead, and Shangó handed Yemayá his crown.

Obara Dila is Odù number 110 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Obara family. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 20 patakíes (3 with the full text), its proverbs, 8 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 110 of 256
Composition
Obara over Odi
In the Diloggún
6-7 · Obara tonti Odí
Orishas that speak
Shangó · Yemayá · Eshu · Ogún · Oshún · Olokun · Eni Osha Abuken y Obá Kolaba

What Ifá says in this sign

Obara Dila is the sign that brought daylight into the world — and where the ebbó of the year was born, the prayer that renews your destiny with every turn of the sun. Here Shangó pulled the bad wind out of the earth and handed his crown to Yemayá: from then on they eat together — strength and the sea, allies.

Its first defense is balance between partners: this odu warns against losing your independence and your integrity to what the other one demands — and it paints the jealous man: do not be so jealous of your wife, who is a good woman, a fortunate one and a head for money — in anger she can leave, and take with her the three children this odu promises.

«When the one holding the house up gets tired, the house falls apart — Obara Dila shares out the load in time.»The pulse of Obara Dila

The house comes with a contract: the one whose duty it is to hold it up does not do it — and when the one who is holding it up gets tired, the house falls apart. Share out the load today. And the young girl of the house who could go astray: rein her in while there is time, with affection and without a scene.

Its rules for the season: seven days without getting on a horse, sixteen without parties and without closing any deal; know who comes into your house (so you are not blamed for what someone else steals), and do not talk about your plans or your secrets — there is gossip going around, and other people's bad thoughts pull apart whatever you announce. And do not try to know everything either: that appetite is poison here.

And the promise with a name like rest: you say you are tired of doing so much and seeing nothing — Orunmila says stop saying it: you are going to see what you want, he will reward you, and every harm done to you will turn to good. They will send for you twice from one place: go, because you are going to make money — the daylight this sign brought also rises for you

The sign in one line

Do not let jealousy run you, hold your house up between all of you and do not announce your plans — Orunmila has already signed off on your reward, and other people's harm turns to good for you.

The prayer of Obara Dila · Yoruba

Obara Dila bara di adifafun Awo olobo oko roko oma shekoye eure owo la meni lebo.

Súyere
Mamba ire mamba osire Iku ba fowao, mamba osire Arun ba fowao, mamba osire Ofo ba fowao (se mencionan los osobos), mamba ire ba fowao.

Ifá says — what Obara Dila tells you

Proverbs of Obara Dila · Òwe

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 Obara Dila · Ìbí

What is forbidden · Eewó

6 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 Obara Dila · The sacrifices that open the road

Beating enemiesThe split fish🔒 Babalawo
Pushing death awayEbbó of the beach🔒 Babalawo
HealthEbbó of the bad wind🔒 Babalawo
SpiritualThe ebbó of daylight🔒 Babalawo
LossEbbó of the chameleon🔒 Babalawo
5 ebbós in this Odù, locked.Each full recipe: ingredients, preparation and where it goes. Written in Spanish for now.Unlock →

Works of Obara Dila · The workings of the sign

MoneyThe inshé of Elegba's coconut🔒 Babalawo
HealthThe waters of this sign🔒 Babalawo
SpiritualThe medicine of Olofin's people🔒 Babalawo
3 works in this Odù, locked.Each full recipe: ingredients, preparation and where it goes. Written in Spanish for now.Unlock →

Patakíes of Obara Dila · The roads of the Odù

1The two hundred divinities and the founding of the earth

God had flooded the first world because of how depraved its people were; seven thousand years later he sent the two hundred divinities to populate it again. Koin-koin — Obara Dila in heaven — told them to sacrifice, and only Orunmila did. Arriving last, he was given the shell holding the sand; the divinities were left hanging in the palm above the mass of water, until Arugba the messenger told Orunmila to put the mouth of the shell in the water: the sand fell, the earth grew solid, and the second peopling of the world began — the one still standing today.

«Koin-koin mi ta lu idi»: the Odù that tells how the earth was founded made the reading for the two hundred divinities of the right and of the left when they were about to carry out the founding of the earth. God had used water to flood the first peoples because of the lust and moral depravity of those first inhabitants: that is why he destroyed the world with water. After seven thousand years, he decided to make a second attempt at peopling the earth: he called the two hundred divinities and commissioned them to go, as one single body, to make the world a better place. Koin-koin, the heavenly name of Obara Dila, read for them: each of them was to sacrifice to Eshu white cloth, cascarilla, cowries and a parrot feather at the heavenly river Mimikpo, and a guinea fowl to their Guardian Angel. Not one of them sacrificed, except Orunmila.

God sent the messenger Arugba to summon all the divinities to the Divine Chamber the following morning, and she told Orunmila what to do, because he was the only one who had sacrificed. At the assembly, God gave his orders with the instruction not to return home before setting out; Orunmila was the last to appear, and therefore took the shell that held the sand for making the earth solid — and with divine permission he traveled with Arugba. Since there was no solid ground and everything was flooded, the two hundred divinities stayed at the top of a palm with its roots in heaven and its branches on earth, looking at the mass of water below them. It was Arugba who told Orunmila to put the mouth of the shell in the water: the sand fell, made the earth solid, and before long they were able to come down from the palm. So began the second attempt at inhabiting the earth, the one still standing in our days. In Igbodu the special sacrifice of the bush snail and the chameleon is made, and the person will live a long life; in an ordinary reading, a goat for Eshu and receiving Orunmila, since serious difficulties may be ahead.

2The penis and the vulva

The genitals were on the forehead, where they were barely any use. The vulva stopped at the house of the Awó Mikiligui: she sacrificed a black goat, an axe, a machete and yams — bought without paying, because nobody ever refused her a favor. Eshu, the only one with the power to alter creation, used the axe to cut down the tree on the road children took to come down from God, and moved the genitals to their place between the legs, covering them with the goat's hide: pubic hair. And he ruled: whoever wants to have children must come before Obó — and pay the debt from her sacrifice: the cost of caring for a wife.

Originally, the genitals of animals and of plants were on the forehead, where they could barely serve any purpose. One day, the Ifá priest Mikiligui was holding his annual festival near the market, and the vulva (Obó), who was on her way to market, stopped to be read: she would prosper if she sacrificed a black goat, a hen, kola nuts, three water yams, four white yams, an axe and a machete. She obtained every one of the materials without paying, because traditionally nobody refused her a favor. The goat, the axe, the machete and the water yams were sent to Eshu, who after eating asked Obó what she wanted: honor and prosperity. Eshu was the only one with the power to alter or change what God had created.

Before this, whoever wanted a child asked God for one, and God created it, and there was a road along which the child walked to its parents on earth. Eshu, using the axe, cut down the tree so as to block that road forever. Then he called in two people with their genitals on the forehead: he removed the penis and set it between the man's legs, removed the vulva and set it between the woman's legs, and with pieces of hide from the sacrificed black goat he covered the parts — which is human pubic hair today. Then he brought out his ashé and ruled that from that moment every being created by God would have their genitals, and that whoever wanted to have children no longer had to go before God, but before Obó; and that whoever went before Obó had to pay the debt she took on when she sacrificed. That is the debt paid today by those who want to have a child: it is not a dowry, but the cost of caring for a wife during the marriage. In Igbodu: the person has suffered terribly before their initiation, but by serving Eshu with a goat, an axe and a machete they will prosper from that moment on.

3Why Ogún never dies

A reading was made for Ogún when he came down to earth: he was to sacrifice so as to avoid death. He made the sacrifice with two roosters, a hen and a dog — that is why Ogún never dies. When this sign appears, the person should receive Ogún so as to live a long life, and so their name lives forever.

«Ebara ji ji ji» made the reading for Ogún when he came down to earth. He was told that he had to make sacrifice so as to avoid death on earth.

He made the sacrifice with two roosters, a hen and a dog — which is why Ogún never dies. When this sign appears in an ordinary reading, the person is warned that they should receive Ogún so as to live a long life, and so their name lives forever.

4Eshu Obadara, God's servant🔒 Babalawo
5Olokun and the chameleon🔒 Babalawo
6The small pepper🔒 Babalawo
7Awele, the flirt🔒 Babalawo
8Olofin and the foreign enemies🔒 Babalawo
9The prostitute who slept with everyone🔒 Babalawo
10When they left Elegba holding the house up🔒 Babalawo
11When Shangó crowned Yemayá🔒 Babalawo
12The bad wind of the land of Omo Laye🔒 Babalawo
13The night, Olorun and Osha Abuken🔒 Babalawo
14The hen that laid the golden eggs🔒 Babalawo
15What is not advertised is not sold🔒 Babalawo
16How Shangó and Yemayá were saved🔒 Babalawo
17The lion and the fox🔒 Babalawo
18The donkey and the horse🔒 Babalawo
19The bad wind🔒 Babalawo
20The false coup🔒 Babalawo
17 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 Obara Dila in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Obara Dila

What does the Odù Obara Dila mean in Ifá?

Where the ebbó of the year was born and daylight came into the world: Eshu moved the genitals down from the forehead, and Shangó handed Yemayá his crown.

What number is Obara Dila among the 256 Odù of Ifá?

Obara Dila is Odù number 110 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Obara family.

Which orishas speak in Obara Dila?

In the Odù Obara Dila these orishas speak: Shangó, Yemayá, Eshu, Ogún, Oshún, Olokun, Eni Osha Abuken y Obá Kolaba.

What is a proverb of the Odù Obara Dila?

One of the proverbs of Obara Dila says: «The dog has four legs and takes only one road.».

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