Odi Ogunda

Also called Oddi Oggunda

nº 69 of 256 · Edited by Ricco Ledesma

Where the trap and the lie were born, and the ashé is in the mouth: speaker, singer, teacher; the voice of this sign is a drum of kings.

19 patakíes 5 eewó 13 ebbós and works 12 proverbs

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Odi Ogunda is Odù number 69 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Odi family. It is also written as Oddi Oggunda. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 19 patakíes (3 in full in plain sight, with their teaching, ebbó and chants), its proverbs, 13 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 69 of 256
Composition: Odi over Ogunda
In the Diloggún: 7-3 · Odí tonti Ogundá
Orishas that speak: Ogún · Shangó · Eshú Joroki · Yemayá · Obatalá · Osanyin · Eggun protectores

What Ifá says in this sign

Odi Ogunda is the sign where trickery and lies were born, espionage and the recorded voice, and also the great Ilu drum, which carried the messages of kings. Its ruling is this: your ashé is in your mouth; always speak well, sing and teach, because luck comes to you through your voice and leaves you through lies. You can shine as a speaker, singer, broadcaster or teacher, but wisdom and good character must weigh more than strength.

This is a sign of division and instability. The witchcraft of the envious pursues you and it is hard for you to get ahead, and three people are watching you in order to betray you: when someone calls you, do not rush out to the corner, for your enemy may be there. You owe debts to the dead, and a war with them ends badly; do not go to parties with the dead, which can end in blows and even in a death. Have a mass said for your protective Egun, lean on Ogún and on your Guardian Angel. Give Eshu his fair share, because when it is denied to him, the house closes.

«The ashé of Odi Ogunda is in the mouth: that is why his mouth can only speak good.»The pulse of Odi Ogunda

With money, your jewels may be pawned with no way to redeem them, but with the ebbó a lottery prize or an inheritance may come to pay what you owe. It is also the sign of the farmer, for whom Ogún made the iron plow, and as the animals of your house grow, so will you. If you clean the house and cook early without going out, work and money come to you. After much humiliation comes respect: be patient, for the tree thrown on the rubbish heap gives shade again.

In love, luck comes to your house and leaves if it finds arguments. Two women may fight over you, and their selfishness can end up costing you your life: do not let your guard down. Promiscuity leads you to disaster, and if you keep company with adodis or alakuatas, that is why people talk about you. An infidelity, even if explained later, can cost you your partner's trust forever. With your children you have lost authority; regain it calmly, because here there are tragedies with them.

In health, take care of your throat and your voice, for you could lose them, and attend to your liver, your blood pressure and nodules; if you see blood from the mouth or from below, go to the doctor without delay. A woman may suffer from her period, lose pregnancies and need surgery on the womb. An obsessing Egun can throw you to the ground, and that blow can be serious; the powders thrown at you can disturb your reason. Moving house with the help of Yemayá frees you from those who lie in wait for you.

The sign in one line

Sing to call luck, do not argue in the house and pay your debts to the dead, for the voice of Odi Ogunda is a drum of kings.

The prayer of Odi Ogunda · Yoruba

Odi Ogunda baralele awo omi oye baralele awo, awo abiti abaranile yewe ifa motorilaye Shango omo alara awalade ni Shango babino boribo awo, awo abiti moyare bini beyekofun, kaferefún Eshu moyebi wa alaramo abiti.

Súyere
Omo ladeo baranila awo leri ifa ladeo.

Ifá says — what Odi Ogunda tells you

The person's ashé resides in the voice: they work as a speaker, broadcaster, singer or teacher, and must take care with their words and always speak only good words.
Physical strength is balanced by wisdom of character; sexual promiscuity leads to ruin.
Luck arrives, and if it finds arguments in the house, it leaves.
It is an Ifá of division (the soup tureen of Ifá was split) and of instability; the Awó is not allowed to make Ifá for more than two people.
The person came into the world cursed, so they will suffer disturbances, and they must make sacrifice and be initiated into Santo.
About liver diseases, blood pressure (high or low), removal of genital organs (hysterectomy), operations, nodules and menstrual disorders.
Of ailments of the throat and the vocal cords: the person may lose their voice or suffer bleeding from the mouth or the anus.
Of tragedies and conflicts with the children, caused by having lost authority over them.
About the material and moral abandonment in which her spouse keeps her.
About an obsessing Egun that attaches itself to her and throws her to the ground, and about her possibly going mad.
That the person keeps company with adodi men or alakuata women, and for that reason there is gossip.

Proverbs of Odi Ogunda · Òwe

“A steady character balances physical strength.”
“Sleeping around leads to disaster.”
“Whoever is being watched does not get away.”
“A debt to the dead is bad food; a war with the dead ends badly.”
“Tell me who you keep company with and I will tell you who you are.”
“Whoever reaches out too far loses their balance.”
“Insults do not kill love; kind words feed it.”
“What you cannot eat, let others eat.”
“Whoever fights someone else's war loses their own peace.”
“Do not want what is not yours by right.”
“Whoever mistreats another's child is asking for someone to mistreat their own.”
“A monarch's rage means death in the town, unless there is a wise man to calm him.”

9 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

Their ashé is in the mouth: they can stand out as a speaker, broadcaster, singer or teacher, and singing brings them luck.
If they clean the house and cook early without going out, work and money come to them.
Luck comes to them, although it leaves if it finds arguing in the house.

Osogbo · what the sign warns

Witchcraft pursues them: envious people send works to finish them off and they cannot lift their head.
They have no peace: their jewels are pawned, they have no money to get them back and sometimes they lose one.
They have debts with the dead, and a war with them ends badly for them.

43 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 Odi Ogunda · Ìbí

The trap and the lie.
Oshanla swore in the son of Shangó within the secret of Abiti; since then, living well requires telling lies to oneself and to the world.
The great ILU drum, messenger of the Kings, and the spirit of the drum of Dahomey (Teghesu Sama).
Teghesu hid inside the Gohne drum and made war at the cry of Teghesu Sama.
The act of spying and the recorded capture of the voice.
Editola's jar repeated the conversations of the plotters; his dog Ayafa was named its guardian.
The confusion of sight and the drifting of the clouds.
Eshú, with his cap of four colors, fooled Olofin's four-eyed goat, and the clouds covered the sun.
The operating theatre and the removal of the womb.
A woman undergoes surgery that removes her internal genital organs; Ogún receives surgical instruments.
The prohibition on giving corn oil (Adín) to the deities, except to Osain.
Adín, an unfaithful wife, was cast out by every divinity except Osanyin, who kept her as his mistress.

What is forbidden · Eewó

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

Do not catch the glow of the moon.
It is the Ifá of the moon; the glow harms him.
Do not come out suddenly when they call you.
Your enemy is there, hiding in order to attack you.
Do not share your house or anything else with another person.
Do not go around with adodi or alakuata, and do not listen to gossip.
They bring gossip and problems.
Do not be initiated into Ifá without the approval of your Guardian Angel.
This Odù indicates that Ifá was made without that permission, and that obligation must be fulfilled.

Ebbós of Odi Ogunda · The sacrifices that open the road

Overcoming enemiesFood for the four points of the compass🔒 The Notebook Overcoming enemiesThe Awó's ebbó against the disrespectful one🔒 The Notebook Overcoming enemiesThe flat stone of the enemies🔒 The Notebook Keeping death awayQuick work when the hole is already open🔒 The Notebook Keeping death awayMass for the Eggun, and care with the drum🔒 The Notebook HealthTaking the curse off in twelve baths🔒 The Notebook HealthProcession and praying to Obatalá🔒 The Notebook LoveMoving house, asking Yemayá for it🔒 The Notebook MoneyChickens at the corners for Eshú🔒 The Notebook

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

Works of Odi Ogunda · The workings of the sign

Overcoming enemiesThe Inshé-Osanyin of the four colors🔒 The Notebook HealthA gelded ram for Yemayá🔒 The Notebook Overcoming enemiesThe dog Ayafa🔒 The Notebook Keeping death awayA dove at the door, and Ogún's chain🔒 The Notebook

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

Patakíes of Odi Ogunda · The roads of the Odù

1When the trap and the lie were born

Shangó and Oshanla had a son. Without Shangó knowing, Oshanla made a strong oath over the child, intending that he would live well and be able to act as he pleased with others.

One day she took him in secret to Obara Nile, Orunmila's land, where he would receive Ifá, and during the trip she sang a song dedicated to the child. Shangó was nearby; he hid and kept silent. On returning home, he discovered the secrets she had made over the son behind his back, and he was displeased.

Orunmila celebrated that the child was Shangó's; he called the Awoses and performed the Ifá for him. In Untefa, when the odu appeared, the Awoses grew angry and warned that, although at times he would be loyal, at other times he would try to deceive Shangó with traps. Then Shangó came in and declared that he would greet the child, but that this son of his would be the trap of the world and that his name would be Awó Abiti.

Next he turned to Oshanla: she had made the oath inside the secret of Abiti, without understanding its consequences. He said that, with Orunmila's pardon, from that instant the trap existed, and that to live well one would have to lie to her, to him and to the whole world.

What it teaches

What is done behind other people's backs, even when it comes from affection, leaves effects that cannot be reversed. An oath made without measuring its reach can mark a child's character. When lying becomes the way to get ahead, the trap is born.

Ebbó of this path

This path has its own ebbó; the full list is in the complete treatise.

Prayer of this path

BARALELE AWO OMI OYE BARALELE AWO, AWO ABITI ABARANILE YEWE IFA MOTORILAYE SHANGO OMO ALARA AWALADE NI SHANGO BABINO BORIBO AWO, AWO ABITI MOYARE BINI BEYEKOFUN BURO BOBO BORE BEYE AWO ABITI IFA KAFEREFUN ESHU MOYEBI WA ALARAMO ABITI.

What Oshanla sang on the road to Obara Nile

Omo ladeo baranila awo leri ifa ladeo

What Shangó prayed on the road to Obara Nile

OBARA NILE AWO KUYO LOYE AWO ABITILE

This path keeps 1 awó secret in the complete treatise.🔒 The Notebook

2The Mother and the Dead

A certain woman had her mother alive. The old woman loved to sing and dance with her little drum. The daughter begged her every day to stop playing it, and the mother ignored her. To keep her daughter from discovering her, she went to the placer, accompanied by the young people she invited, and held her celebrations there without her daughter knowing.

One day the daughter dreamed something bad about her mother and the dead. She told the old woman, who once again paid no attention. The young woman then went to the awó of the town, who consulted Osode, discovered that the odu was Odi Ogunda, and ordered her to perform an ebbó.

While the young woman was getting what she needed and having the ebbó made, the mother saw her chance: she grabbed the little drum and set off for the placer, where the dead beat her with blows. She shouted, calling her daughter, but the daughter could not hear her, and the dead ended her life.

What it teaches

Not heeding a plea made with affection can leave a person alone before a danger she cannot see. The parties of the dead demand respect and care, and whoever approaches them without protection runs a real risk.

When this path comes out

One must proceed with caution around the deceased and spiritual celebrations.

This path keeps 1 awó secret in the complete treatise.🔒 The Notebook

3Teghesu Sama, the spirit of the drum

Noranjo and Ñonufo were important gods of the sacred drum of Dambala Laken Mali. Noranjo carried messages to the dead and Ñonufo served as messenger to the Orishas. Their son Teghesu was such a brave warrior that the whole region of Weme feared him.

The spirit of the Amazons fell in love with Teghesu. She went to an omologu, Aseka Tereka, who prepared a spell for her to leave him defeated and subject to her.

Soon afterward, in the middle of a battle, Teghesu felt ill and his enemies came close to defeating him. Since this never happened to him, he went to consult the awó Afaata. Afaata saw this odu, indicated an ebbó for him and told him that, once the ebbó was finished, he should give the drum Gohne to his mother. Teghesu did so and went back to the battle.

He was winning when the spell reached him again. He fled, pursued, to his mother's temple and got inside the drum Gohne. The enemies who arrived thought Ñonufo was there and knelt down. Teghesu took the chance to kill them all with his scimitar while shouting “Teghesu Sama,” which means the spirit of the drum.

From then on he fought hidden in the drum Gohne. That is why in Dahomey the image of the great spirit of the drum is Teghesu Sama.

What it teaches

A hidden spell can take the strength even of the bravest warrior, and consulting an awó shows him the remedy. Fulfilling the ebbó, honoring his mother and using cleverness at the right moment changes the result of the battle.

What Afaata marked

An ebbó, whose elements are in the complete treatise, and after making it, to give the drum Gohne to his mother.

This path keeps 1 awó secret in the complete treatise.🔒 The Notebook

4The cap of four colors and the goat with four eyes🔒 The Notebook 5The spying and the dog Ayafa🔒 The Notebook 6Palm oil and corn oil🔒 The Notebook 7Yemayá's castle with four towers🔒 The Notebook 8The argument between Eshu and Eyiogbe🔒 The Notebook 9Yemayá punishes the thieves who offended her daughters🔒 The Notebook 10Eshu Laberin Laye closes Orunmila's house🔒 The Notebook 11The ones who spoke against Orunmila🔒 The Notebook 12The tree of life and the garbage dump🔒 The Notebook 13The sandbox tree and the Awó🔒 The Notebook 14The king who looked for the most beautiful woman🔒 The Notebook 15The wise and the strong🔒 The Notebook 16Gourd, calabash and honey🔒 The Notebook 17No one knows who they are working for🔒 The Notebook 18The book of life🔒 The Notebook 19The life lived backward🔒 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 Odi Ogunda in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Odi Ogunda

What does the Odù Odi Ogunda mean in Ifá?

Where the trap and the lie were born, and the ashé is in the mouth: speaker, singer, teacher; the voice of this sign is a drum of kings.

What number is Odi Ogunda among the 256 Odù of Ifá?

Odi Ogunda is Odù number 69 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Odi family.

Which orishas speak in Odi Ogunda?

In the Odù Odi Ogunda these orishas speak: Ogún, Shangó, Eshú Joroki, Yemayá, Obatalá, Osanyin, Eggun protectores.

What is a proverb of the Odù Odi Ogunda?

One of the proverbs of Odi Ogunda says: «A steady character balances physical strength.».

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