Odù 116 of 256 · Obara family

Obara Ka

The betrayal of godchildren and appearances that deceive: what it looks like is not what it is, and the slanderer is left looking ridiculous.

Obara Ka is Odù number 116 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Obara family. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 13 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 116 of 256
Composition: Obara over Ika
Orishas that speak: Orunmila · Olofin · Ogún · Oyá (Yansa) · Shangó

What Ifá says in this sign

Obara Ka — Obara Kasika — is the sign of religious ingratitude: here the godchild, on his wife's advice, refused food to his own godfather, and here people speak ill of the Babalawos right after the Babalawos have solved their problems. Its law of perception governs everything: appearances deceive — what you think you see is not, and what you do not think you see, is.

The patakí of the message lost in the mud teaches it in blood: the farmer killed the Obá because he did not clean off the mud covering the reply — check before you act: in this odu, judging in a hurry kills. Do not let yourself be blinded by what you see or by what you are told.

«Appearances deceive: what it looks like is not, and what it does not look like, is — the lens of Obara Ka.»The pulse of Obara Ka

You will be slandered — they will say you are a liar and a thief — and you will be thrown out of a place: do not get angry: the slanderer will be left looking ridiculous, and you will be sent for. The patience in this odu collects with interest. But do not go to that town you have never set foot in without ebbó: there is an enemy there bigger than you — the circle of cascarilla with Orunmila gets you clear.

That bound feeling — like a man in prison — is real: the prayer and the circle of chalk untie it. Your wife is crying: look at her. And the treasure of the house: your youngest child is the best of them and the one with the best head — look after them so they get ahead: your luck carries on through that child.

For the Awó of this odu, the consolation of the office: humankind will always need the Awoses of Orunmila — and will always speak ill of them: serve anyway, charge fairly and do not expect gratitude: expect the iré. Good fortune is coming to you along the road: thanks to Ogún and to Orunmila — and may other people's ingratitude never make you ungrateful

The sign in one line

Check before you act, hold out against slander and look after your youngest child — Obara Ka gets sent for with honors, and the slanderer is left looking ridiculous.

The prayer of Obara Ka · Yoruba

Obara Kasiku legun omodo Olofin Ika lele aramanamana aka tanpo adifafun Oleye adifafun Eshiye omo Olofin agboran limele akati ashoteluwa Olofin, Shangó unbo wa belefun adde Olofin lodafun agungun Orun ni male.

Ifá says — what Obara Ka tells you

An Ifá of betrayal by children and godchildren: Obara Kasika betrays the trust placed in him. It marks that Olofin's presence is essential for the consecrations of Ifá here on earth. Humankind will always need the help and the resources of the Awoses of Orunmila — and will speak ill of them afterwards: they will always be their potential enemies.
Betrayal by your children and your godchildren.
The woman is pregnant, or will be soon.
You are thinking of going somewhere you will be thrown out of, because someone has spoken ill of you — saying you are a liar and a thief: do not get angry, because that person will come off badly and look ridiculous, and you will be sent for.
You want to go to a town you have never set foot in, and in that town they will want to kill you: the enemy who is making war there has more power than you do — to come out on top, make ebbó.
A binding has been put on you, and you feel like a man in prison.
Your youngest child is the best in the house and the one with the best head: look after them well so they can get ahead.
You are going to be sent for about a job — someone with money who has a dead person's tools put away: ebbó with a stick your own height, a pipe, a basin of water, the dead person's tools and yagruma leaves.
Appearances deceive: what you think you see is not, and what you do not think you see, is.
Here people speak ill of the Babalawos right after the Babalawos have solved their problems.
You were talking with a woman who told you she was hungry, and you answered that you had nothing — and someone else was listening to you both.
Your wife is crying.
Have the prayer made if you want to live in peace and not fall into a trap.

Proverbs of Obara Ka · Òwe

“Appearances deceive.”
“On this earth there is no divine justice.”
“The world is unjust because men are.”
“The unjust king's bad name goes ahead of him and his steps trouble him everywhere.”
“Smallpox marks never fade.”
“In a war you were warned about, nobody dies.”
“The dwarf does not beat the giant hand to hand.”
“Hunger is the poor man's ailment, gluttony the rich man's.”
“In a liar's mouth, what is certain becomes doubtful.”
“The leopard's spots keep illness away.”
“Whoever faces reality with a lie is shown reality by the pain.”
“There is no hardship without joy, and no joy without hardship.”
“A beautiful woman with no virtue is a flower on a dung heap.”

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

5 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 Ka · Ìbí

That appearances deceive.
The farmer read only the Obá's letter — his wife's reply was covered by mud — and killed over an unfaithfulness that had never happened.
That Orunmila handed the chalk to the mayombero.
Here the mayombero went to war with the Awó or with the godchild: that is why mayomberos work with chalk, and the Awó with the circle of chalk and cascarilla.
That the mouse falls into the trap and the fish into the net.
Neither of them would make ebbó; the water hyacinth and the net did, with a rooster.
The herbs of this sign: water hyacinth and yagruma.

What is forbidden · Eewó

2 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 Ka · The sacrifices that open the road

LoveThe fish of the marriage🔒 Babalawo

Beating enemiesThe circle of cascarilla🔒 Babalawo

Beating enemiesThe mayombero's circle of chalk🔒 Babalawo

Pushing death awayEbbó of the trap and the mouse🔒 Babalawo

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

Works of Obara Ka · The workings of the sign

Beating enemiesThe nine akará on the roof🔒 Babalawo

MoneyThe wheel of the two hens🔒 Babalawo

HealthThe infusion of this sign🔒 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 Ka · The roads of the Odù

1Appearances deceive

An Obá was courting the farmer's beautiful wife behind his back, and she was refusing him. Orunmila warned the farmer: «Do not let yourself be blinded — appearances deceive». The Obá sent a letter saying he would come by night; she sent it back with «if you dare, I will kill you» written on the reverse. The letter fell in the mud: the farmer found it and read only the Obá's side. Wild with jealousy, he hacked the Obá to death and went in to kill his wife — who in the dark took him for the Obá and buried the knife in him. «Do not cry: I die happy, because now I know you truly love me».

There was an Obá who had a farmer working for him, and the farmer had a very beautiful wife; the Obá courted her behind the farmer's back, but she refused him. One day the farmer went to be read by Orunmila, who saw this sign for him and told him he must not let himself be blinded, that appearances deceive — but the farmer paid no attention.

One day the Obá sent the woman a letter saying he would come that night to be with her; she sent it back with the messenger, writing on the reverse that if he dared to come, she would kill him. The messenger dropped the letter in the mud on the road without noticing, and when the farmer passed by, he picked it up, opened the envelope and read it — but since his wife's reply was written on the back and the envelope was muddied, he read only the Obá's side. He went out of his mind, took a machete and hid behind a palm tree near the road to his house. That night, when the Obá passed by, the farmer hacked him to death, and then went home to kill his wife: he came in furious, without a word, and since it was night and dark, his wife took him for the Obá and buried the knife in him. When he cried out, she realized it was her husband; he told her he had meant to kill her because he believed her unfaithful, because of the letter on the road. «Did you not read my reply, on the back of the envelope, where I threatened to kill him if he dared to come?» — «I did not see it, because the envelope was muddied». She burst into tears, and her husband said to her: «Do not cry, because I die happy: now I know you truly love me».

2Orunmila is saved by the yagruma

Once Orunmila was traveling through a land and a great many porcupines came at him on the road, throwing themselves at him to eat him. In trouble, he caught sight of a yagruma tree and climbed it, saving himself from the porcupines, who did not devour him. Maferefún the yagruma: that is why it is an herb of this sign.

Once Orunmila was traveling through a land, and along the road a great many porcupines appeared and, on seeing him, threw themselves at him to eat him.

Orunmila, finding himself in trouble, caught sight of a yagruma tree and climbed it, and there he was able to save himself from the porcupines, who did not devour him. Maferefún the yagruma: that is why the yagruma is an herb of this Odù, and whoever goes to war inside the circle bathes with its leaves.

3The fish and the mouse

Orunmila told the mouse to make ebbó, and it would not: «I am very happy in my hole». He went to the fish, and it would not either. Ever since, the mouse falls into the trap and the fish into the net. And the water hyacinth and the net did make ebbó, with a rooster.

Orunmila told the mouse to make ebbó, and it would not, saying it was very happy in its hole. So he went to where the fish was and told it to make ebbó, and it would not do it either.

And ever since, the mouse falls into the trap and the fish into the net. And the water hyacinth and the net made ebbó with a rooster: that is why the net catches and the water hyacinth floats — whoever sacrifices sets the trap, and whoever does not falls into it.

4How Orunmila and his wife got food🔒 Babalawo

5The enemy who moved first🔒 Babalawo

6Yansa and Orunmila's enemies🔒 Babalawo

7Orunmila cures the king🔒 Babalawo

8Idolatry accepted as an act of faith🔒 Babalawo

9From drop to pearl🔒 Babalawo

10The power of the ewe and the eye🔒 Babalawo

11The farmer and the swindler🔒 Babalawo

12Self-sufficiency🔒 Babalawo

13Orunmila feeds a whole town🔒 Babalawo

10 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 Ka in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Obara Ka

What does the Odù Obara Ka mean in Ifá?

The betrayal of godchildren and appearances that deceive: what it looks like is not what it is, and the slanderer is left looking ridiculous.

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

Obara Ka is Odù number 116 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Obara family.

Which orishas speak in Obara Ka?

In the Odù Obara Ka these orishas speak: Orunmila, Olofin, Ogún, Oyá (Yansa), Shangó.

What is a proverb of the Odù Obara Ka?

One of the proverbs of Obara Ka says: «Appearances deceive.».

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