Odù 115 of 256 · Obara family

Obara Sa

The pact of Agayú and Shangó and the Egun of the whole world: an Ifá of arguing, whose secret is a pot of water in the yard, kept for life.

Obara Sa is Odù number 115 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Obara family. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 19 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 115 of 256
Composition: Obara over Osa
In the Diloggún: 6-9 · Obara tonti Osá
Orishas that speak: Agayú · Shangó · Orunmila · Eshu · Oyá · Egun Merilaye · Azojuano · Yemayá

What Ifá says in this sign

Obara Sa is the sign of the pact of Agayú and Shangó, and of the Egun Merilaye — the dead of every part of the world. It is the Ifá of arguing, and it dictates its own way out: if I do not run, I will not be able to live — there are moments when pulling back in time is the only victory.

As long as you keep arguing, everything will go from bad to worse: this odu marks scandal and public disgrace, tears and humiliation — do not take part where crowds gather (you can be hurt without anyone knowing who did it), do not put anyone in the fire (you get burned too), and answer slander with silence and ebbó.

«If I do not run, I will not be able to live — pulling back in time is how Obara Sa wins.»The pulse of Obara Sa

Its secret is one of endless water: a clay pot full of water in the yard, kept for life — and the one of omiero under the bed, calling on the Egun Merilaye: «may the dead of every part of the world help me win». With this invisible army, the attempt to push you out of your home or your job falls apart.

There is an old wound at the root: being abandoned by parents, relatives or bosses — you wake up frightened, wanting to run, jumping in the bed. Prayer over the head to cool it, treatment for your nerves, and that stone holding you back: work out what has to be done with it. The dead one asking for a mass, give it — and when it comes osobo, always paraldo.

And the patient magic of its prosperity: every time Obara Sa sings his tune and repeats it, good fortune comes into his house — a pigeon for health, a rooster for marriage, a hen for children, a female goat to fill the house, a ram for getting ahead. Sing, repeat and do not argue: that is how the house of this odu gets filled

The sign in one line

Drop the arguing, keep your pot of water full and call on the Egun of the whole world — the repeated tune of Obara Sa fills the house with good fortune.

The prayer of Obara Sa · Yoruba

Obara Sa kukute kuko adifayoko kunle adifayoko komi nibo guele arere leure sikota aikordie eyele meji intori iku etu lebo. Kaferefun Olofin Awo fi adifafun Orunmila umbati lomba eri lowo biku eyele itana medilogun eyele medilogun etu lebo.

Ifá says — what Obara Sa tells you

An Ifá that warns about dishonest clients: their sweet, polite words have their secret in a trap — they tell what is happening to them their own way, without telling the truth, and you have to know how to catch them out so they do not laugh at the Awó. It is an Ifá of indecision: you have no fixed sense of what you are doing or what you want. It is the Ifá of arguing: as long as you keep arguing, everything will go from bad to worse.
Scandal and public disgrace: watch out for scandals that ruin your good name and bring the law into it.
It orders you to run: if I do not run, I will not be able to live.
They are pushing you out of your home and your job: they are going to make you leave where you live or work.
You have a dead one behind you: when this Ifá comes osobo, paraldo always has to be made.
When it comes intori ikú it marks death: ebbó, urgently.
You can be hurt in the street without anyone knowing who did it — the work of a madman or of an enemy —, and you should not take part where large numbers of people gather.
Theft in the house: the thief is in the house itself, and what was taken will turn up.
A sick child in the house who may die; and a relative with skin trouble who should pay Azojuano.
Illnesses of this sign: throat, esophagus, digestive system, head injury, circulatory and nervous systems.
You live with an old wound from being abandoned by your parents, your relatives or your boss at work: prayer over the head to cool it.
The man mistreats the woman and she leaves him; the woman should receive ikofafún for the marriage to hold.
You cannot put anyone else in trouble — or in the fire — because you get burned too.
You should be careful of friends who live badly, however good their manners and behavior look.
You wake up frightened and you do not sleep well: you wake up wanting to run and you jump in the bed — get your nerves treated.
You have a stone that is holding you back: work out what has to be done with that stone.
Something has to be done in the Santo or in another religion, and soon — later may be too late.
If you have a younger brother, give thanks to your Guardian Angel, who is very great and has helped you a great deal.
A dead one is asking you for a mass.

Proverbs of Obara Sa · Òwe

“Through arguing, I lost everything.”
“If I do not run, I will not be able to live.”
“By repeating the tune, prosperity came.”
“The child of Obara Osa does not run, never dies, is never ill, never loses their good name.”
“Through traveling too much, all my prosperity was lost.”
“There are those who fake madness to dodge responsibility.”
“Paying deceitfully is wickedness; paying fairly is kindness.”
“Losing your good name closes down your business.”
“The boat that is not tied up drifts away.”
“The road of a lie is short.”
“They come in as guests and want to leave as owners.”
“The cyclone leaves a gap where it passes, but the earth always sets itself in order again.”
“There were plenty of us already and then grandmother gave birth.”
“In the tales the lion hunter tells, it is the lion who loses.”
“For Olorun there are no secrets in the heart of man.”
“The sparks from the horse's shoes announce the rider's war.”
“There is no greater virtue in a heart than mercy.”
“Public humiliation does more harm than a flooded river does to the harvest.”
“Nobody agrees with the one who argues, even when he is right.”
“Behind an ally's praise lies the wicked one's trap.”
“Whoever does not bring in enough will soon be living under the bridge.”
“A man standing still is a man falling behind; a man on the move is a man getting ahead.”
“Tell me how you sleep and I will tell you how you live.”
“Those who split apart fight each other and make the outsider stronger.”
“First look for your keep, then look for your seat.”
“The spirit of confusion makes a man take the wrong road.”
“The just man is corrected with words, but the faithless one pays no attention even when he understands.”

27 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 Sa · Ìbí

The pact of Agayú and Shangó (with Oshún).
Egun Merilaye: the Egun of every part of the world.
Making Agayú directly.
That this person plays dead to see what kind of funeral they get.
That works be done for the aleyo and not ebbó.
The secret of the pot of water in the yard of the house, forever.
The herbs of this sign: papaya, erete, mugwort, ceiba, guava, jagüey and carob.

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 Sa · The sacrifices that open the road

Beating enemiesOyá's gourd🔒 Babalawo

MoneyIré Umbo at the foot of Agayú🔒 Babalawo

LossEbbó for lifting what holds you back🔒 Babalawo

MoneyThe buried magnet🔒 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 Sa · The workings of the sign

Beating enemiesThe pot of the Egun Merilaye🔒 Babalawo

Beating enemiesThe inshé of the tiger hide🔒 Babalawo

HealthThe bath of the child of Obara Osa🔒 Babalawo

MoneyThe soap of the debtors🔒 Babalawo

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

Patakíes of Obara Sa · The roads of the Odù

1The one who ran out of heaven

This Odù ran out of heaven: his own Guardian Angel told him to sacrifice first — a rooster to his head, a guinea fowl to the Angel, a goat to Eshu and a turtle to the earth of heaven. On earth he became a traveler, unable to settle, until a reading told him to practice Ifism as well as travel: he repeated the sacrifices — guinea fowl to the head, since rooster was forbidden him — and as a priest of Ifá he found prosperity and a settled life.

This Odù ran out of heaven. It was his own Guardian Angel who warned him to make sacrifice before leaving: a rooster was given to his head, he gave a guinea fowl to his Guardian Angel, a goat to Eshu and a turtle to the earth of heaven. Then he left for the earth without saying anything to anyone.

On reaching the earth he took up the trade of a traveler: he was always traveling from one place to another. When he realized he could not settle anywhere, he went for a reading, and was told he had to practice Ifism as well as being a traveler. He sacrificed again: to his Ifá a guinea fowl, to his head a guinea fowl — because rooster had been forbidden him —, to Eshu a goat and to the earth a turtle. As soon as he began to work as a priest of Ifá, he found a measure of prosperity for himself; people saw that he was a better priest than traveler, he prospered further still, and he was able to settle into a more domestic life. In Igbodu: stay with your profession, but learn Ifá — and resist the temptation to travel far from home too much.

2The witches' egg

There was no rain: the witch cult had left three eggs in heaven that held the rain back. Shangó's hunter shot one down without touching the others, the mechanic emptied it onto the altar of the Earth, and Sheyi put it back in its place. When the witches found out, they pretended Death was ill so as to trap whoever was responsible; Obara Osa saw through it, set his board before them with Osa Meyi and Osa Ogbe, and before the fight he invited them to eat snails: they fell asleep — and for the first time that year, it rained all night.

While he was busy traveling, he had no time for his family: he gave his son Sheyi to Shangó as a servant. Shangó had two other servants: a hunter, and a mechanic who could repair anything broken. Once there was hunger in the land because it did not rain in the rainy season, and the people asked Shangó, who was in the habit of communicating with heaven. At the meeting of the Divine Council he was told that the witch cult — Awon Iyami Oshoronga — had left three eggs in heaven with the effect of holding back the rain; God explained that if he grew angry, the eggs would break and there would be chaos. The Council told him that if anyone managed to empty the contents of one of the eggs and put the shell back in place, it would rain for three days. On his return, Shangó's hunter put on his gear, shot one egg without touching the other two, and it fell to earth without breaking; the mechanic opened it and emptied its contents onto the oropéndola of Obara Osa — the altar of the divinity of the earth —, they put it back together, and Sheyi, who was used to going to heaven, put it back in its place. It was all done in daylight, and the cult knew nothing.

When night came the witches found the empty egg, and sent out a message: the divinity of Death was ill and they wanted Awó volunteers from the earth to cure her — and that if the contents of the egg turned up, Death would recover. Everyone concluded that Obara Osa was the only one who could cure her; but on consulting his okpele he discovered there was nothing wrong with Death: the Elders of the Night were looking for a victim to sacrifice. From then on he decided the aim of his life would be to fight the witch cult. That night he went out with his board, written with Osa Meyi and Osa Ogbe; when the witches challenged him, accusing him of having the contents of the eggs, he replied that he could not have them, since he had not gone to heaven, and he set his board inside the oropéndola. When they were about to begin the fight, he invited them to enjoy a meal of snails before the contest: as soon as they finished, all the witches fell asleep — and for the first time that year the rain began to fall, and it rained all night, to general rejoicing throughout the land. In Igbodu: offer a sacrifice to the Night immediately; never have a servant; a hen to the head if your mother is living — a hen and a fish if she has died.

3Ojulewa's father

«When a slave escapes, the owner will look for him; when a child is lost, the parents will look for them too»: those were the Awoses who read for Ojulewa's father when she ran away from home. He was told to sacrifice a goat, and he did: and so the girl was found.

«Tolo tolo abi eru ba sa, bi omo ba saa, a o basa»: when a slave escapes, the owner will look for him; when a child is lost, the parents will look for them too. These were the Awoses who made the reading for Ojulewa's father when she ran away from home.

He was told to make sacrifice with a goat, and he did. And so the girl was found: what is lost in this sign is recovered with the sacrifice made in time.

4The war Orunmila won without fighting🔒 Babalawo

5The tune of prosperity🔒 Babalawo

6The debtors who pay🔒 Babalawo

7The child of Obara Osa does not run🔒 Babalawo

8When Shangó did not make ebbó🔒 Babalawo

9The secret of the bees🔒 Babalawo

10Obatalá's daughter and the false wake🔒 Babalawo

11The Obá of Yemayá's treasures🔒 Babalawo

12When Oshosi killed his mother by accident🔒 Babalawo

13The pact of Agayú, Shangó and Oshún🔒 Babalawo

14The cat who fell ill in the throat🔒 Babalawo

15The pact with the witches🔒 Babalawo

16The two old men🔒 Babalawo

17The fantasy you cannot deny🔒 Babalawo

18One person's faults are another's virtues🔒 Babalawo

19Nobody plays with Iroko🔒 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 Obara Sa in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Obara Sa

What does the Odù Obara Sa mean in Ifá?

The pact of Agayú and Shangó and the Egun of the whole world: an Ifá of arguing, whose secret is a pot of water in the yard, kept for life.

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

Obara Sa is Odù number 115 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Obara family.

Which orishas speak in Obara Sa?

In the Odù Obara Sa these orishas speak: Agayú, Shangó, Orunmila, Eshu, Oyá, Egun Merilaye, Azojuano, Yemayá.

What is a proverb of the Odù Obara Sa?

One of the proverbs of Obara Sa says: «Through arguing, I lost everything.».

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