Obara Yeku

Also called Obara Oyeku, Obara Yekuye

nº 108 of 256 · Edited by Ricco Ledesma

Where smoking opium and marijuana was born: the jicotea turtle was cursed for disobeying; no matter how much one progresses, here one does not reach the top.

19 patakíes 6 eewó 8 ebbós and works 16 proverbs

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Obara Yeku is Odù number 108 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Obara family. It is also written as Obara Oyeku or Obara Yekuye. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 19 patakíes (3 in full in plain sight, with their teaching, ebbó and chants), its proverbs, 8 ebbós and works and the signs it shows in the consultation — with the full eewó in plain sight; the rest of the iré and osogbo and the full recipes open with The Notebook, in English.

The sign at a glance

Order in Ifá: Odù 108 of 256
Composition: Obara over Oyekun
In the Diloggún: 6-2 · Obara tonti Eyioko
Orishas that speak: Obatalá · Yemayá · Oshún · Orunmila · Eshu · Ogún · Azojuano · Egun

What Ifá says in this sign

Obara Yeku, also known as Obara Oyeku, speaks to a person who is never satisfied with what they have. In this sign were born the rebellion of the servant who wants to rule over his master, the curse of the turtle, condemned to crawl for entering the road that Olofin had closed, and the vice of opium and marijuana. Its ruling is twofold: however much you progress, there is a summit you will not reach, but united with your family you defeat any enemy. And it warns that every child of this sign ends up at the feet of the Saint: it is better to come today of your own will.

Your greatest blessing is in your blood. Obara Yeku fought alone over an inheritance, machete in hand, and did not win until he made peace with his brothers and all of them together fulfilled what Ifá asked. Leave behind old grudges with your mother or with a relative. You have the blessing of Obatalá and Yemayá: as with the tiger, whose spots thrown on him by others Obatalá turned into adornment, the bad things thrown at you can turn in your favor if you approach him with humility.

«Thanks to my family being united I defeated my enemies; the machete of Obara Yeku is put away when brothers embrace.»The pulse of Obara Yeku

The osogbo has a name: money. You are never satisfied, and ambition can push you into acts that cost you your life. Do not let money be worth more than you yourself. Partner, subordinates and godchildren try to impose themselves on you. Mind only your own affairs, like the shoemaker who pretended to be a doctor, and think twice before doing favors, because here they are repaid with misfortune. Never entrust your children to someone else, however close a friend.

In love, this is the sign of the moorhens and it brings serious problems in marriage. The man is a womanizer and may court a visitor in front of his wife, and to the deceived partner Ifá says not to waste strength fighting. The woman does not settle down with anyone and fights with her husband over money. Protect your daughters: there is a danger that they may suffer a rape, which here leaves wounds in the mind, and the young woman may become alakuata.

In health, the head comes first. Your memory slips away and your mind escapes into impossible fantasies that later depress you; that is why alcohol and any drug are forbidden to you. An Egun to whom you owe something follows you in dreams: attend to him. Take care of your stomach, heart, nerves and feet, and see a doctor if you wake up startled or your chest hurts. United with your own and content with what is fair, Obara Yeku opens the way for you.

The sign in one line

Make peace with your own people, tame the fever for money and come to the Santo on foot, for the jicotea crawled along because it waited too long.

The prayer of Obara Yeku · Yoruba

Obara Yeku kekere oma aye ere oma aye aibo oma aye apurara re apupe gege iku opa wewe iku apashere Orunmila lorugbo ida agutan obewa ayapa akuko lebo.

Súyere
Bara niyeto Olofin akano, bara niyeku Olofin akano.

Ifá says — what Obara Yeku tells you

Memory loss: the head must be prayed for periodically; three rogations in a row are recommended.
That death may come to you because of money: money drives you mad, you are never satisfied and to obtain it you are capable of acting without thinking.
That there is a curse for disobedience, and an Egun pursuing the person.
That they are going to send for you because they hold some money or a job for you: do ebbó before you show up, and then you will have no setbacks.
That the person, in the end, will always arrive crawling at the Santo.
That they will try to embarrass you, and whoever does it will go through the same shame.
That you must not leave the care of your children in anyone's hands, not even a friend's, so as not to lose them, as happened to the sky and earth children.
Ailments of this sign: heart disease, stomach disorders, sores on the feet, nervous imbalance, memory loss and psychiatric illnesses (due to rape).
Man: a slender woman with dark skin wants to kill you; you have three women at your side, and one of them has a daughter whom you mistreat; because of this, the Guardian Angel who belongs to that mother opposes you. Woman: a slender man with dark skin wants to harm you through witchcraft; you may have three lovers, and one of them may have been your husband before.
About the man of loose morals: he disrespects his spouse, courts in front of his wife the woman who visits the house, and goes off with another without caring that he leaves her alone with the problems.
About the woman who refuses to look after her husband and children, and who cannot settle down with any man because the only thing she chases is money: all the fights with her husband are over money.
About the apetebí who discredits her husband or Ifá himself: she believes no one, neither Orunmila nor the Babalawo, neither Egun nor the Santo, and, even though she is a spiritist, she does not practice it. She has to pray a lot and make food offerings; if she does not, Orunmila will punish her.
That the person is cunning and deceitful, is not doing well and has a poor memory: he or she seeks to be wherever the pay is higher, without looking at what could harm him or her.
About dreaming of airplanes: the mind lives in unreachable fantasies, and on colliding with reality the person becomes depressed.
That the person does improper things in secret and is being watched.
Of grudges against your family because of past events: you do not look kindly on your mother or on a close relative; forget, and seek family unity.
That someone is resentful toward you and holds you responsible for a death.
That you wake up startled often, feel unwell and want to go to the doctor: you have pains in the chest and the stomach.

Proverbs of Obara Yeku · Òwe

“The servant wants to impose himself on the master.”
“Shoemaker, stick to your shoes.”
“Because of money, I found my death.”
“Through loose living, I lost everything in life.”
“You cannot have lunch without having breakfast.”
“Thanks to Obatalá I received the ashé.”
“Whoever minds their own business will not be touched by the racket.”
“Whoever has done nothing has nothing to suspect.”
“Death fancies the fat one as much as the thin one.”
“Whoever lends never gets ahead.”
“It is not sane to value money above life.”
“Working the land is hard, but hunger is harder.”
“Wine makes you forget your sorrow, but the sorrow does not go away.”
“Whoever eats bread in the dark will go without in the sunlight.”
“While greed crushes, intelligence saves.”
“The prosperity of the just is cause for joy; the death of the wicked, for relief.”

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

Iré and Osogbo

Three iré and three osogbo of this sign, open to everyone.

Iré · what the sign brings

The unity of the family gives them victory over their enemies: if they make peace with their brothers and sisters and do the ebbó together, no one can strip them of what is theirs.
What others throw upon them turns in their favor if they seek Orunmila and do what he indicates.
Obatalá turns what is bad into a blessing when one comes to him with humility and an offering.

Osogbo · what the sign warns

Family, subordinates and godchildren try to impose themselves on them, and there is insubordination at home and at work.
They live with a very dominant partner and with serious problems in the marriage.
There is jealousy among women, and the man disrespects his wife: he courts a visitor to the house in front of her.

33 more iré and osogbo readings in this Odù, locked.The rest of the iré and osogbo of the sign, sorted by subject — health, money, love, death, loss…Unlock →

What is born in Obara Yeku · Ìbí

Smoking opium and marijuana.
Olofin was gathering herbs in the garden of aromatic plants and was left enraptured by the scents, lost in daydreams.
That the turtle is under a curse.
She disobeyed the decisions of Olofin, and he sentenced her: “from today on you will go about crawling.”
That the servant wants to impose himself on the master.
The Ifá of the water rails.
That, however much one advances, one does not reach the top.
That family unity helps you beat your enemies.
That Olofin decreed that the woman should live crawling behind the man.
Placing a wooden hand, a wooden ruler and a wooden dagger on Orunmila.

What is forbidden · Eewó

The full eewó of this Odù, open to everyone — with the road each ban came out of.

Drinking alcohol and any kind of narcotic is forbidden.
You can become an addict: here the smoking of opium and marijuana was born.
No favors are done.
A favor you do will become your misfortune for life.
You cannot argue stubbornly.
So that you are not lost; and do not stand in high places, because you can fall and break an arm or a leg.
Do not wear brown socks.
Do not climb stairs carrying heavy objects, and do not help others carry loads upstairs.
You can get a hernia.
Do not get involved in matters that are not your business.
Shoemaker, stick to your shoes: you will surely have problems.

Ebbós of Obara Yeku · The sacrifices that open the road

Overcoming enemiesThe ebbó of the cooled ember🔒 The Notebook Overcoming enemiesThe goat of the clay figures🔒 The Notebook LoveThe ebbó of the water rails🔒 The Notebook SpiritualAgainst sexual assault🔒 The Notebook MoneyThe bath of the ten rats🔒 The Notebook

5 ebbós in this Odù, locked.Each full recipe: ingredients, preparation and where it goes.Unlock →

Works of Obara Yeku · The workings of the sign

SpiritualThe turtle at the door🔒 The Notebook HealthThe turtle powder🔒 The Notebook SpiritualThe hen that calms Ifá🔒 The Notebook

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

Patakíes of Obara Yeku · The roads of the Odù

1Revenge Between Heaven and Earth

On the day the people of heaven and the people of earth became friends, two awoses consulted the oracle on their behalf. The diviners were sons of kings: one the son of the Ewi of Ado, the other the son of the Obá of Erin. It is said that they used palm leaves as plates and wore light clothes.

It was a time when food was scarce. Whenever the people of heaven went to the market, they left their children with their friends from earth. One day, while they were away, the people of earth killed the children and devoured them. When the parents came back and asked, they were told that the hunger was enormous and that they had had no alternative. The people of heaven did not respond with violence.

As the years passed, the people of earth forgot about it. The day came when it was their turn to go to the market, and they entrusted their children to their friends from heaven. These then collected the pending debt: they killed and devoured the children before the parents returned and gave the same excuse, that they could no longer bear the hunger. There was a great scandal, and the dispute was so violent that the Supreme God himself had to step in.

He listened to both sides and saw that each had paid the other back in the same coin. Even so, he ruled that the two peoples would always live in disagreement and would never again have dealings.

What it teaches

Friendship between those of different natures cannot withstand a very strong need. One revenge calls for another until a higher authority stops it. This path advises people to look after their own children themselves.

Warning of this odu

When it comes out in a reading, the care of the children must not be left to anyone, not even a friend, so as not to lose them.

Prayer of this path

OMO EWI NILE ADO, OMOOBA NI ODE ERIN AJO JE LORI EWE, AFO SUN LO RI IMA AJO FI ASHO OLIWE RIWE BO RA. ADIFA FUN OMO ARAYE, ATUN BU FUN OMO ARA ORUN AWON MEJEJI NJO SHE ORE PO ARA ORUN WON LOSI OJA WON MU OMO WON TI ARA AYE.

2When the Divinities Isolated Shangó

The Obá was challenged by the sword, the trumpet and the drum, all royal, which decided not to serve him. These were the same names borne by the awoses who divined for Shangó at the time when the other divinities, who numbered 199, excluded him and stopped calling him to their assemblies.

Shangó went before Orunmila. Orunmila ordered an ebbó for him with ekó, akará, a fish, a rat and a ram, and Shangó did what he was told.

Some time later, Eshu appeared before all the divinities gathered together and questioned them: what had Shangó done to receive such a punishment? No one answered precisely. They claimed that Shangó talked too much, lacked tact and said the first thing he thought. Eshu replied that this fault did not justify losing someone so necessary. The divinities agreed to calm things down and sent two invitations, which Shangó refused. Finally, they went in person to visit him to make peace, and with that the dispute ended.

What it teaches

Someone who speaks without measuring his words may end up set aside, but if his place is important, the others end up looking for him. The ebbó that Orunmila prescribes restores peace and lost bonds.

Shangó's Ebbó

Ekó, akará, a fish, a rat and a ram, which Orunmila told Shangó to offer and which he carried out.

When This Odu Comes Out

Making an ebbó is recommended; with it the friendships and bonds the person lost return.

The divination prayer for Shangó

ALUKOSO OBA ONI, OUN KOOBO OBA SHE MO ALUDONDON OBA ONI OUN KO OBO OBA SHE MO AFON FIRI OBA ONI, OUN KO OBA SHE MO ONI IJE OBARA OYEKU YE, IWO NA GBO OBE RI EGUNGUN ALE OGBE RON LOWO OKO, OBARA OYEKU YE IWO NA GBO OBE RI, AWON NI WON DAFA FUN SHANGO ONI IJA OOLE. ONBE LAARIN IGBA TE MO OMO ERUN-MOLE. (La espada real, la trompeta real y el tambor real, los tres se rebelaron contra el OBA y decidieron retirarle sus servicios. El OBA preguntó a OBARA-OYEKU si de alguna forma él tenía conocimiento que la familia de una concubina demandaba algún derecho por el amor de una mujer.)

3The Son of the Oloje and the Ori Ikin

Among the diviners of heaven, the greatest was Sokoti Aganbede. He wished to own an irofá, so he summoned the wood carvers who lived on the earth. Ogún's carver won the contest, since his talent was superior; however, his fame brought him so many enemies that he was forced to leave his house and take refuge elsewhere.

Some time later the Oloje passed away. Sokoti sent word to the earth again, this time to gather carvers who could make an Ori Ikin. It is the sixteenth ikin, an ornament with four eyes engraved in ivory. Ogún was far away and could not take part, so nobody was able to carve it. Then Sokoti promised the throne of the Oloje to whoever managed to make it.

The son and the servant of the dead man came forward, both with a claim to inherit. Apart from the Oloje, nobody else had mastered that carving, so the two were asked to present an Ori Ikin to prove their kinship with him. While his father was alive, the son had never shown any curiosity about this work. The one who had learned it with dedication was the servant, the only one.

First of all, the son asked Orunmila for advice. Orunmila told him to make ebbó and to visit his father's tomb to ask for help. When the ebbó was done, he went to the tomb with an ikin and a piece of ivory and called on his father's spirit; he begged for help to carve the Ori Ikin, if he was truly his father. Meanwhile, the servant made his piece but forgot to add the four eyes.

On his way back, the son dreamed that his father showed him how to carve the Ori Ikin with its four eyes. With that he gained the necessary skill, and when the day came both handed in their works.

They named Ogún as judge, but he had been away from the town for a long time, so they sent messengers to bring him. On his return, Ogún concluded that only the son had worked in the manner of the Oloje, because only his piece had the four eyes. He was proclaimed the winner, and this explains why he came to sit on his father's throne.

What it teaches

A craft belongs to whoever studies it, and not only to whoever carries the family blood. Respecting the ancestors and completing the ebbó opens the doors to knowledge and to position.

When it comes out in Igbodu

The one who receives this odu will compete with someone for a gain. To win, Ogún will receive a rooster; Eshu, a goat and, with it, two clay figures, man and woman.

In an ordinary consultation

To achieve what he or she longs for, the person must make ebbó to Eshu; the person must also give a rooster to Ogún.

4The statesman and the vain woman🔒 The Notebook 5The giant's six wives🔒 The Notebook 6The prayer against insubordination🔒 The Notebook 7When the clients abandoned Orunmila🔒 The Notebook 8Why the tortoise crawls🔒 The Notebook 9The shoemaker who pretended to be a doctor🔒 The Notebook 10The jealous hens trapped in the mud🔒 The Notebook 11The inheritance defended by united brothers🔒 The Notebook 12The tiger's spots, a gift from Obatalá🔒 The Notebook 13The rape of Aroni Kuin🔒 The Notebook 14Obatalá and the monkeys🔒 The Notebook 15Olofin and the garden of scented plants🔒 The Notebook 16Obatalá, the monkeys and the hawks🔒 The Notebook 17The black bull🔒 The Notebook 18The baker's insubordination🔒 The Notebook 19The buffalo that stopped doing ebbó🔒 The Notebook

16 more patakíes in this Odù, locked.Read every road in full with The Notebook.Unlock →

The full treatise is in English. With The Notebook, the whole sign opens on this page in English: the full text of every patakí, the recipes for the ebbós and works, and the iré and osogbo readings. · This page is also available in Spanish: See Obara Yeku in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Obara Yeku

What does the Odù Obara Yeku mean in Ifá?

Where smoking opium and marijuana was born: the jicotea turtle was cursed for disobeying; no matter how much one progresses, here one does not reach the top.

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

Obara Yeku is Odù number 108 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Obara family.

Which orishas speak in Obara Yeku?

In the Odù Obara Yeku these orishas speak: Obatalá, Yemayá, Oshún, Orunmila, Eshu, Ogún, Azojuano, Egun.

What is a proverb of the Odù Obara Yeku?

One of the proverbs of Obara Yeku says: «The servant wants to impose himself on the master.».

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