Odù 108 of 256 · Obara family

Obara Yeku

Where smoking opium and marijuana was born: the turtle was cursed for disobeying — however far you get here, you never reach the top.

Obara Yeku is Odù number 108 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 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 is the sign where Olofin lost himself in the scents of the garden, living out fantasies — opium and marijuana were born here — and where the turtle was cursed to drag itself along for being disobedient. Its ceiling is written: however far you get, you never reach the top — but so is its floor: with my family united, I beat my enemies.

Money is the hardest drug here: it drives you out of your mind, you are never satisfied, and to get it you can do things without thinking — right up to finding your own death. Every fight in the marriage of this odu is about money: take it out of the bed and off the table, and what is left will be love — or it will be clear.

«With my family united I beat my enemies — the machete of Obara Yeku is put away when the brothers embrace.»The pulse of Obara Yeku

Its epic is a household one: Obara Yeku fought alone over the inheritance, machete in hand — until he made peace with his brothers, they made ebbó together, and nobody could take anything from them. Let the old resentments go — with your mother, with that close relative — and look for unity: it is quite literally your weapon of war.

Take care of your head at every level: your memory is slipping — three prayers, one after another —, your mind dreams of airplanes and fantasies out of reach that leave you low when they hit reality, and waking up frightened at night calls for a doctor (chest and stomach) and for ebbó. Insubordination is all around you: a domineering partner, subordinates and godchildren trying to impose themselves — steady authority, not the machete.

For the skeptical apetebí, the greatest warning: being a spiritist, she does not work it and she believes in nobody — Orunmila will punish her if she does not pray and feed them. And for everyone under this odu, the end of the road is already stated: in the end you always arrive dragging yourself along, to fall into the Santo — better to arrive walking now than dragging yourself later

The sign in one line

Make peace with your own, break the fever for money and come to the Santo walking — the turtle ended up dragging itself for waiting 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

An Ifá of insubordination at home and at work: you are up against a very domineering partner, and your family, your subordinates and your godchildren all try to impose themselves on you. Kaferefún Yemayá and Obatalá; the herbs of this Odù are embeleso and pomegranate. It is an Ifá of serious marriage trouble, and of jealousy among women.
Loss of memory: you have to have your head prayed over regularly — three prayers one after another are recommended.
Money can bring death to you: it drives you out of your mind, you are never satisfied, and to get it you can do things without thinking them through.
There is a curse from disobedience, and an Egun following you.
They are going to send for you to give you money or a job: before you go, make ebbó so nothing goes wrong.
In the end, you always have to arrive dragging yourself along, to fall into the Santo.
They will try to shame you — and whoever does it will go through the same shame.
You should not trust anyone with the care of your children, not even a friend, so you do not lose them — like the children of heaven and earth.
Illnesses of this sign: memory loss, sores on the feet, stomach trouble, heart disease, nervous imbalance and psychiatric illness (after sexual assault).
For a man: a dark, thin woman wants to kill him; he has three women, and the Guardian Angel of one of them is at odds with him over how he treats her daughter. For a woman: a dark, thin man wants to harm her with witchcraft; she may have three lovers, and one of them was her husband a long time ago.
The man who lives loosely: he disrespects his partner, courts the woman who visits the house right in front of his wife, and goes off with another one without caring that he leaves her alone with the problems.
The woman who will not do anything for her husband or her children and does not settle down with any man, because all she is after is money: every fight with her husband is about money.
The apetebí who runs her husband or Ifá down: she believes in nobody — not in Orunmila, not in the Babalawo, not in Egun, not in the Santo — being a spiritist, and she does not work it. She should pray a great deal and feed them, or Orunmila will punish her.
You are sly and tricky, you are not in a good way and your memory is failing: you want to be wherever they give you more money, without looking at what it may cost you.
You dream about airplanes: your mind lives in fantasies out of reach, and when it hits reality you get low.
You do bad things in secret and you are being watched.
There are resentments with your family over things in the past: you look badly on your mother or on a close relative — let it go, and look for family unity.
Someone is hurt with you and blames you over a dead one.
You wake up frightened over and over, you feel unwell and you want to see a doctor: pains in your chest and your 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.”

16 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 Yeku · Ìbí

Smoking opium and marijuana.
Olofin used to gather herbs in the garden of scented plants and would lose himself in the scents, living out fantasies in his mind.
That the turtle is under a curse.
It did not respect Olofin's rulings, and he condemned it: «from this day on, you will walk dragging yourself along».
That the servant wants to impose himself on the master.
The Ifá of the water rails.
That however far you get, you never reach the top.
That family unity helps you beat your enemies.
That Olofin ordered woman to live tied to man.
Placing a wooden hand, a wooden ruler and a wooden dagger on Orunmila.

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 Yeku · The sacrifices that open the road

Beating enemiesThe ebbó of the cooled ember🔒 Babalawo

Beating enemiesThe goat of the clay figures🔒 Babalawo

LoveThe ebbó of the water rails🔒 Babalawo

SpiritualAgainst sexual assault🔒 Babalawo

MoneyThe bath of the ten rats🔒 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 Yeku · The workings of the sign

SpiritualThe turtle at the door🔒 Babalawo

HealthThe turtle powder🔒 Babalawo

SpiritualThe hen that calms Ifá🔒 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 Yeku · The roads of the Odù

1The people of heaven and the people of earth

The people of heaven and the people of earth became friends, and in times of hunger they looked after each other's children while they went to market. The earth people killed and ate their heaven friends' children «because they were hungry»; the heaven people did not react — and when their turn came, they took the same late revenge. The quarrel was so fierce that the Supreme God had to step in: seeing an eye for an eye, he ruled that the friendship between heaven and earth would be in discord forever. Do not trust anyone with the care of your children.

The son of the Ewi of Ado and the son of the Obá of Erin — who ate off palm leaves and wore light-colored clothes — were the Awoses who read for the people of heaven and the people of earth when they became friends. While the citizens of heaven went to market during the hungry season, they left their children in the care of their friends on earth. Before they came back, the earth people killed the children left in their care and ate them; when they returned and asked, they explained that they had had to eat them because they were very hungry. The heaven people did not react violently.

The earth people completely forgot what they had done, and their turn came to go to market: they too left their children in the care of their friends from heaven. Those friends, in late revenge, killed and ate the children of their earth friends before they got back from market, and told them the hunger had become unbearable. Pandemonium broke out, with a fight so fierce that the Supreme God had to step in. When he asked for explanations, he realized it was a case of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth; but he ruled that the friendship between the people of heaven and the people of earth would always be in discord, and that there would never again be any dealings between them. When this Odù appears in an ordinary reading: do not trust the care of your children to anyone at all, not even a friend, so you do not lose them.

2When the divinities shut Shangó out

The royal sword, the royal trumpet and the royal drum rebelled against the Obá; and the other 199 divinities decided to shut Shangó out and leave him out of their meetings. Orunmila had him sacrifice a ram, a rat, a fish, ekó and akará. Eshu asked among the divinities what the offense was: nobody could say more than «he talks too much and says what he thinks». Eshu reminded them that Shangó was far too necessary to be pushed aside: they went to his house to make peace.

The royal sword, the royal trumpet and the royal drum, all three rebelled against the Obá and decided to withdraw their services from him. Those were the names of the Awoses who made the reading for Shangó when the other 199 divinities decided to shut him out and leave him out of their meetings. Shangó went to see Orunmila, and he was told to make sacrifice with a ram, a rat, a fish, ekó and akará. He made the sacrifice.

Afterwards, Eshu, standing among the other divinities, asked them what offense Shangó had committed to justify such a heavy punishment. Not one of them was able to give a clear explanation, except that he talked too much, that he had no tact when he spoke, and that whatever he thought he said. Eshu reminded them that Shangó was far too necessary to be pushed aside. They agreed to smooth things over and invited Shangó twice, but he declined; finally they went to his house to make peace, and the quarrel was settled. In an ordinary reading: make sacrifice so that all the friendships and relationships you have lost come back to you.

3Oloje's son and the Ori Ikin

Sokoti, the greatest diviner in heaven, called for the carvers of the earth: Ogún's carver won the irofá, and the envy it brought forced him to leave. When Oloje died — the only other man who knew how to carve the four-eyed Ori Ikin — Sokoti offered his throne to whoever could carve one: his son, who had never taken any interest in the trade, competed against his servant, who had studied it. The son made ebbó and took ikin and ivory to his father's grave: in a dream, his father taught him the four eyes. Ogún, the judge, declared him the winner — and so he rose to his father's throne.

Sokoti Aganbede was the greatest diviner in heaven. He invited the wood carvers of the earth to carve him an irofá: Ogún's carver turned out to be the best and won the contest, but his triumph brought him so much enmity that he had to leave where he lived and take refuge somewhere else. Shortly afterwards the Oloje died, and Sokoti sent word again calling for carvers to make an Ori Ikin — the sixteenth ornamental ikin, with four eyes carved in ivory. Ogún was no longer there, and nobody was able to carve it; so Sokoti proclaimed that whoever managed it would receive Oloje's throne. Oloje's son and his servant put themselves forward as his heirs: the Oloje was the only other carver who knew how to make it, and his son had never taken any interest in his father's profession while he was alive, while the servant was the only one who studied it thoroughly.

The son decided to go to Orunmila, who told him to make sacrifice and to visit his father's grave and ask him for help: he went with an ikin and some ivory, and called on his spirit to help him carve the Ori Ikin if he really was his father. The servant prepared his carving, but forgot to put the four eyes on it. The son, after coming back from the grave, dreamed that his father was teaching him to carve the Ori Ikin with the four eyes — and he woke up able to do it. When the carvings were presented, the judge chosen was Ogún, brought back by messengers: he decided that the son was the only one who had carved as Oloje did, since he was the only one who put in the four eyes. So he was declared the winner and rose to his father's throne. When this Odù appears in Igbodu: the person will compete for something to their advantage — a rooster for Ogún to win it, and for Eshu a goat with the clay figures of a man and a woman.

4The statesman and the vain woman🔒 Babalawo

5The giant's six wives🔒 Babalawo

6The prayer against insubordination🔒 Babalawo

7When the clients abandoned Orunmila🔒 Babalawo

8The curse on the turtle🔒 Babalawo

9Shoemaker, stick to your shoes🔒 Babalawo

10The rooster, the hens and the water rails🔒 Babalawo

11With his brothers' help he won the war🔒 Babalawo

12When Obatalá gave the ashé to the tiger🔒 Babalawo

13The assault on Aroni-Kuin🔒 Babalawo

14Obatalá and the monkeys🔒 Babalawo

15Olofin and the garden of scented plants🔒 Babalawo

16Obatalá, the monkeys and the hawks🔒 Babalawo

17The black bull🔒 Babalawo

18The baker's insubordination🔒 Babalawo

19The bull and the bullfighter🔒 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 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 turtle was cursed for disobeying — however far you get here, you never 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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