Odù 114 of 256 · Obara family

Obara Kuña

The remora fish that spots the traps and never falls into one: an Ifá of binding, where you do not love your partner but cannot leave — make yourself indispensable.

Obara Kuña is Odù number 114 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Obara family. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 21 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 114 of 256
Composition
Obara over Ogunda
In the Diloggún
6-3 · Obara tonti Ogundá
Orishas that speak
Shangó · Ogué · Obatalá · Ogún · Yemayá y Oduduwa · Oshún · Egun

What Ifá says in this sign

Obara Kuña is the sign of the remora — the fish that spots the traps and never falls into one — and of the swan that passes through mud without getting muddy. Its formula for winning was born here and it reads like a manual: you have to make yourself necessary in life in order to win — nobody throws out the one they cannot do without.

Its knot is a binding: you are not in love with your partner, but you cannot leave — like Oyá enslaved to Ogún — and you may even have been worked on with a sorcerer's pot while you slept. The untying exists: ebbó, the oath in Orun, and the truth spoken respectfully at home — resentful silence binds you too.

«The remora spots the traps and the swan does not get muddy — Obara Kuña wins by making himself necessary.»The pulse of Obara Kuña

The hardest warning is about someone else's bed: do not take married women — Ogún cut that man's feet off: make ebbó to get away from that woman and out of her husband's revenge. And for the daughter who runs off with her boyfriend: no report to the authorities and no curses — that man is going to look after her well, and cursing would cost you everything.

If you work from January to January and are always badly off, the cause has a name: a dead one carrying off everything you earn — send them away, and you will see your wages stretch. Take care of tumors and cysts (inside and out) and your stomach, with its brew of marilope and red mangrove. And for whoever in this odu lives in «the sound of silence» — great, and with no affection given them: the Saints do value you.

And the marriage promise: a woman is coming for the man to marry — she is apetebí, a wife of Orunmila — receive her with the leaves prepared and her ikofafún. Repair your reputation with spiritual work and your business blooms again: like the remora, learn to see the trap — and like the swan, come out of the mud clean

The sign in one line

Make yourself indispensable, send away the dead one collecting your wages and leave another man's wife alone — a wife of Orunmila and a new reputation are coming to Obara Kuña.

The prayer of Obara Kuña · Yoruba

Obara Guña owolowo ewelegue adifafun olu eri kowo komaburo adifafun igba eja umbo Obara Ogunda Ifá nire aye adifafun Orunmila.

Ifá says — what Obara Kuña tells you

Proverbs of Obara Kuña · Òwe

17 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 Kuña · Ìbí

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 Obara Kuña · The sacrifices that open the road

HealthThe squash of the one who has surgery🔒 Babalawo
Beating enemiesShangó's ball🔒 Babalawo
SpiritualThe Egun rooster of the spiritist🔒 Babalawo
Pushing death awayThe ebbó of the board and the net🔒 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 Kuña · The workings of the sign

SpiritualThe loading of Shangó's Ogué🔒 Babalawo
Beating enemiesThe Osanyin of the dry coconut🔒 Babalawo
SpiritualThe Osanyin of the young bull's horn🔒 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 Kuña · The roads of the Odù

1Why Shangó carries Ogué

Ogué the healer was sent by Obatalá to cure a sick woman; Shangó told her husband: «Go home, she is unfaithful to you with Ogué». The husband ran with his machete; Ogué jumped out the window and fell into a hole. Obatalá cleared up the lie, made Shangó get him out by his own cunning, and ruled: «For lying, for as long as the world is the world, you will have to carry Ogué on top of you». To iban Eshu — that is why Ogué lives on Shangó's vessel, and for the Awó they eat together.

Ogué was a man with a reputation as a doctor, or rather as a healer, and in the tribe he was taken for a doctor. There was a married couple whose wife was ill, and Obatalá sent Ogué to try to cure her. Ogué went to the house; but Shangó saw him go in, went to where the sick woman's husband worked and told him: «Go home right now, so you can see for yourself that she is unfaithful to you with Ogué the healer». The husband believed him, flew into a rage, left work, and taking up a machete ran home.

When he arrived he saw his wife lying down and Ogué standing in front of the bed: he began to insult them, and drawing his machete tried to attack Ogué. There was a window in that room through which Ogué was able to jump; he ran off with the husband behind him, and since he did not know the way, he fell into a hole he could not get out of. Obatalá happened to pass by and asked what was going on; the husband told him furiously what Shangó had said, and Obatalá — who knew perfectly well what had happened — told him: «That is a lie of Shangó's: Ogué went to your house to cure your wife on my orders». Obatalá sent for Shangó and told him: «You are responsible for all of this: therefore you are the one who has to get Ogué out of the hole». Shangó used his cunning and managed to get him out. Once Ogué was out, Obatalá turned to Shangó: «For lying, I order that for as long as the world is the world, you will have to carry Ogué on top of you». To iban Eshu. For the Awó, Shangó and Ogué eat together.

2Deyi, the stingy cattleman

Obara Ogunda was called to cure Deyi, the cattleman, who was gravely ill. At night, the town's witches revealed the cause: his stinginess — with great profits, he had never sacrificed. At the reading, Deyi politely refused the sacrifice of two of every bird and animal, and the Awó left angry. Deyi recovered and went back to business — until one day all his birds and animals gathered their things and fled into the forest, singing. He then made the sacrifice and saved his life: but his herd was already gone.

Obara Ogunda was asked to look after Deyi, the cattleman, when he was gravely ill. When he reached the house it was too late to make a reading, and he promised to do it the next morning; the town was inhabited mainly by women. Late in the night, the town's witch cult sent him some witches: when they asked what he had come to do, he explained that he had to find out what Deyi had done to fall ill this way without responding to treatment. The witches told him the man was ill because of his stinginess: in spite of the great profits from his cattle, he did not think it necessary to sacrifice; and they warned him that if he wanted Deyi to recover, a sacrifice had to be made to the Night with two birds and two of each of the animals.

In the morning, when Obara Ogunda made the reading, he told Deyi that he would only recover by sacrificing two of each of the different birds and animals. Deyi politely refused; the Awó, angry, went home without doing anything more. Deyi got well and went back to his business. One day he came back from the market — and all his birds and animals had gone into his room, gathered their things, and run off into the forest, singing «ija bele ta ko ko». On learning what had happened, he sent for Obara Ogunda in a hurry: he finally made the sacrifice and saved his life — but his herd was already gone. In Igbodu: a female goat to the ancestors, a dog to Ogún and a female goat to the Night; in an ordinary reading, a goat to Eshu and a rooster to Ogún.

3Agbe and the crocodile

The bird Agbe was a friend of the crocodile Onne: both sacrificed — the guinea fowl for the bird, the goat and the Ifá board for the crocodile. Onne asked for help against the humans hunting him, and Agbe promised to warn him. When the men arrived with their gear, Agbe sang «onne waka waka, gbe kpakoru»: the crocodile went under and covered his head with the board — and not even the poison poured into the water touched him. That is how he worked out his way of surviving.

The bird called Agbe was a friend of the crocodile, Onne. They both went for a reading, and were told they had to make sacrifice: Agbe a guinea fowl, and Onne a goat and the Ifá board. They made the sacrifices. Onne explained to Agbe that human beings were after him, and asked for his help; Agbe assured him he would always give him a signal whenever his human enemies were about to attack.

Soon after, the men arrived with gear to catch Onne. As soon as Agbe saw them, he began to sing «onne waka waka, gbe kpakoru», over and over. When Onne heard the warning, he went down into the water and covered his head with the board that had been prepared for him after the sacrifice; and in spite of the poison the hunters poured into the water, it did not touch him. That is how he worked out his way of surviving. In an ordinary reading: serve Eshu with a goat, including a crocodile bone and a red feather from Agbe, in order to survive the devilish scheming of your enemies.

4Gberesi, Ominikun's bride🔒 Babalawo
5The sixteen witches🔒 Babalawo
6The king of Idanren and the foreign god🔒 Babalawo
7Olofin Iwatuka and the full house🔒 Babalawo
8Olu-Iwo and the early death🔒 Babalawo
9Babá Luaye, the spiritist🔒 Babalawo
10The little fish who did not make ebbó🔒 Babalawo
11The two soldiers🔒 Babalawo
12The loss of the feet🔒 Babalawo
13When Ogué had nowhere to live🔒 Babalawo
14Why Ogue lives with Shangó🔒 Babalawo
15The joining of thunder and lightning🔒 Babalawo
16The hoe and the handle🔒 Babalawo
17The burial of the potato🔒 Babalawo
18The ambush🔒 Babalawo
19Attachment to things🔒 Babalawo
20Ifá rejects binding🔒 Babalawo
21A special occasion🔒 Babalawo
18 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 Kuña in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Obara Kuña

What does the Odù Obara Kuña mean in Ifá?

The remora fish that spots the traps and never falls into one: an Ifá of binding, where you do not love your partner but cannot leave — make yourself indispensable.

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

Obara Kuña is Odù number 114 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Obara family.

Which orishas speak in Obara Kuña?

In the Odù Obara Kuña these orishas speak: Shangó, Ogué, Obatalá, Ogún, Yemayá y Oduduwa, Oshún, Egun.

What is a proverb of the Odù Obara Kuña?

One of the proverbs of Obara Kuña says: «Whoever does not want broth gets three cups.».

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