Odù 253 of 256 · Ofun family

Ofún Batrúpon

Where languages were born — the Tower of Babel and the father of tongues — and the knife that holds up because of its temper.

Ofún Batrúpon is Odù number 253 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Ofun family. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 20 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 253 of 256
Composition
Ofun over Otrupon
Orishas that speak
Yemayá y Olokun · Oluwo Popó y Oggún · Shangó · Elegbá · Olofin · Oyá · Abita

What Ifá says in this sign

Ofún Batrúpon is the father of tongues: here the Tower of Babel speaks — Olofin separated men for their disobedience by confusing the way they spoke, and they walked away from the work because they could not understand each other. His house inherits that echo: everyone talks a great deal and nobody understands anybody — without agreement there is no peace: the sign even orders you to move house if the noise does not stop.

His gifts are on loan: Olofin gives the three gifts — and takes them back because of the hidden greed of the one who got them. That is his portrait: greedy without letting it show, people think he is simple and he is very clever — but money blinds, and greed costs you your health, like the man who cut down the ikín plants: do not cut down your own treasure with your own hands, and do not turn into a dealer in what is sacred.

«At Babel they left the tower because they could not understand each other — the house of Ofún Batrúpon is built by coming to an agreement.»The pulse of Ofún Batrúpon

What he owes, he owes the Santos: they are spoken badly of here, and his word does not reach Olofin — the ceremony has to be done so he is heard in Heaven. He comes from a family with religion in it and with more than one faith — he believes in the Bible as readily as in the Koran — put that altar in order, because scattered belief in one God builds no towers either.

His tables are risky: be careful at dinners and gatherings — they can put ogú in what you eat or drink, like the etú prepared for Orunmila; they will buy from you for a peso what they will sell you for a hundred; they want you out of your post and use you for work that is not yours. And this is an Ifá of attacks: do not carry weapons of any kind, so you will not use them on anyone.

What happens in bed can be fixed: the weak nature of the duck and the rooster was lifted by ebbó — so can yours — the husband worked on by another woman through a ring is freed with the etú; and if the obiní wants to make peace, look twice: it may be to punish him for shaming her. His final emblem is the knife: it lost its edge and keeps it through its temper — by its grace, coconut is given to it after every killing: the temper holds up what the edge lost.

The sign in one line

Speak plainly and in one single language with your own, pay what you owe the Santos and let go of greed — because the knife of Ofún Batrúpon holds up through its temper.

The prayer of Ofún Batrúpon · Yoruba

Aporodé Ifá Monairé Olodún Bafún Agbalodé Focún Batrupón Bliguadé Eliguadé Pebeyé Modocún Intorí Arun Eyé Opó Mobadiré Intorí Arun Lerí Modocunyé Ofó Oyairé Yemayá Iyamí Badé Bayoún Dumbayé Wadé Ilé Olokun Mayó Oumbó Iré Ashegún Otá Koleñadió.

Ifá says — what Ofún Batrúpon tells you

Proverbs of Ofún Batrúpon · Òwe

15 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

8 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 Ofún Batrúpon · Ìbí

What is forbidden · Eewó

8 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 Ofún Batrúpon · The sacrifices that open the road

SaludEbbó of the strength of the duck and the rooster🔒 Babalawo
EspiritualEbbó of the knife🔒 Babalawo
DineroEbbó of the ikín cutter🔒 Babalawo
EspiritualEbbó of the father of tongues🔒 Babalawo
Vencer enemigosEbbó of the dinner (the etú with the ogú)🔒 Babalawo
5 ebbós in this Odù, locked.Each full recipe: ingredients, preparation and where it goes. Written in Spanish for now.Unlock →

Works of Ofún Batrúpon · The workings of the sign

EspiritualThe moforibale to the knife🔒 Babalawo
Vencer enemigosWork of the etú at the corner🔒 Babalawo
EspiritualInshé of the kuekueyé🔒 Babalawo
3 works in this Odù, locked.Each full recipe: ingredients, preparation and where it goes. Written in Spanish for now.Unlock →

Patakíes of Ofún Batrúpon · The roads of the Odù

1The needs of Oluwo Popó and Oggún

Oluwo Popó and Oggún were in need in a town where everyone was rich and no one wanted their services; Oluwo Popó came up with the plan: Oggún, with his powers, would poison the water everyone drank, and he would cure the sick afterward. And that is how they were able to stay and live well in that town.

Once, Oluwo Popó and Oggún were in great need, since they were in a town where everyone was rich and, for that reason, lacked for nothing and did not need the services of either one of them.

One day, Oluwo Popó and Oggún were talking and, when they asked each other how things were going, Oggún told Oluwo Popó that things were very bad, and Oluwo Popó answered the same way, since he barely earned enough to eat.

Oggún suggested to Oluwo Popó that they leave that town, to see if they had better luck somewhere else. Oluwo Popó answered no; that if the two of them joined together, he had found a way to live in that town, and he explained what they had to do: Oggún would make the people of that town sick, and he would cure them afterward.

Oggún asked him how he was going to make those people sick, and Oluwo Popó called him thickheaded, saying: «Do not all the people of this town drink water from the same place? Well then, what you have to do with the powers Olofin gave you is poison that water. And I, with the powers Olofin gave me, will cure the people. And that way we can stay and live well in this town».

2The strength of the duck and the rooster

Yemayá showed Olokun her young ducks, which fell over when they mated; Olokun, displeased, said he only ate strong blood, and Yemayá cried in shame. After Orunmila's ebbó — rooster and duck in the basin taken to the sea — Olokun fed the roosters and, in secret, the ducks: the strength of both was born, and from then on Yemayá eats akukó and Olokun eats big, strong ducks.

When this sign comes out, the Awó blows air upward and to the sides.

Ebbó: a duck, a rooster, aroldó cloth, sea water, indigo, 9 candles, a basin, a broken piece of jewelry, ekú, eyá, epó, agbadó, opolopo owó.

Yemayá told Olokun she had a brood of animals he would very much like to eat. Olokun in turn told Yemayá that he also had a brood of an animal she was going to like very much: that animal was the rooster. Until then, the only thing Yemayá ate was hen, and Olokun, for his part, ate nothing but abó and eledé.

One day, Yemayá went to Olokun's house to invite him to see her brood. Olokun went with Yemayá to her house to see the brood, which was ducks, and he saw that they were all falling over, since when they walked and the males mounted the females, they fell. Olokun was displeased and told Yemayá that all those animals were sick and that he only ate strong blood.

When Yemayá heard this, she began to cry, ashamed by what Olokun had said. He invited her to walk, and they came upon Elegbá who, seeing Yemayá crying, began to sing: Ofún Mawá Lodeo Ayauró Loná Olokun / Mawá Lodeo Ayauró Loná.

Olokun and Yemayá took a road, got turned around, and came back to Yemayá's brood of ducks. When they saw where Yemayá kept the ducks, they noticed in amazement how well they all swam, and Olokun said: «How fine they look, how lovely they are». Yemayá took some ducks and gave unyén to Olokun.

Elegbá said: «That is a tasty meal», and Olokun told them: «Come with me». And they went to Olokun's pens, where he had a brood of rams, pigs and roosters, and he gave them those animals to eat and asked them which they liked best. Yemayá and Elegbá said the rooster, and Olokun told them: «I am going to give you something else to eat, and we will see if you like it». He went to the pen and brought back two geese. Yemayá and Elegbá took fright and ran off, throwing up the ram and the pig they had eaten, and they got to Orunmila's house.

He did osode and saw Ofún Batrúpon for them, telling them: «You have eaten three things and two of them have made you ill. So you have to make ebbó with a rooster, a duck, a basin, sea water, blue and white cloth and 9 candles».

Yemayá went out quickly and brought the duck. Elegbá brought the rooster, stolen from Olokun's pen, and between the two of them they did it. Orunmila made the ebbó for them and said it had to be taken late. He killed the rooster and the duck inside the basin, and they took it to the sea along with the ebbó. Olokun, in the morning, saw that lovely thing swimming on the sea and was very pleased.

The next day, he began to feed the roosters well and, in secret from Yemayá, he also fed the ducks, so they would have strength. He sent for Yemayá and Elegbá and told them: «Every day you, Elegbá, have to come and eat rooster and take some to Yemayá too, and let her send me ducks».

Here the strength of the duck and the rooster was born; his nature is weak. Ewefá: purple basil, purple canutillo, coolness plant, bitter broom. From then on, Yemayá eats akukó and Olokun eats big, strong ducks.

3The tempered knife does not lose its edge

Oggún used to sharpen any piece of iron and it soon became useless; Shangó tempered the iron and the edge lasted. The knife, knowing it would be used and then ignored, asked Olofin: that everyone who used it would cut himself, that it be the first to taste everything, and that moforibale be given to it after it had served. Olofin granted it: that is why, after every killing, coconut is given to the knife.

There was a time when, every time Oggún wanted a knife, he sharpened any piece of iron he came across. But with use it quickly became useless. Shangó, cleverly, tempered the iron and, when he gave it an edge, the edge lasted through the uses.

The knife, seeing that it was going to be used constantly and that after being used it was going to be ignored, went before Olofin and asked him to lay a curse on it instead of a blessing, saying: «Now that my edge will last through use, they are going to ignore me after they use me; and I want everyone who uses me to cut himself, and I want to be the first to taste everything, ahead of anything that is to be eaten. And I want them to give me moforibale after I have served them».

The knife insisted so much that Olofin said: «To Iban Eshu. For as long as the world is the world, so it will be».

Note: that is why, after a killing is finished in Osha or in Orunmila or in any Santo or religion, coconut is given to the knife, and moforibale is paid to it, because Olofin granted it that grace.

Ebbó: akukó, 4 eyelé, aberé medilogún, yarako, ekó, ekú, eyá, awadó, the necklaces he is wearing, etú, opolopo owó (the ebbó goes to the market).

Notes: organ meats are not eaten in this Ifá; no black hat and no black ribbons are worn; no costume jewelry is used.

4The man who cut down the ikín plants🔒 Babalawo
5The ikín trade🔒 Babalawo
6The father of tongues🔒 Babalawo
7The Tower of Babel🔒 Babalawo
8The Blacksmith (Diablo Bobo), Elegbá and Olofin🔒 Babalawo
9Orunla and the gathering he was invited to🔒 Babalawo
10The evil shadow over the world (Oyá, the salta perico and Abita)🔒 Babalawo
11Real friends🔒 Babalawo
12The price of going bad🔒 Babalawo
13Stubbornness and getting along🔒 Babalawo
14Death at the wrong hour🔒 Babalawo
15The innocent pay for the guilty🔒 Babalawo
16The tree of life🔒 Babalawo
17The post that came alive🔒 Babalawo
18The simple devil🔒 Babalawo
19The orphan and the witch🔒 Babalawo
20The volcanoes of anger🔒 Babalawo
17 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 Ofún Batrúpon in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Ofún Batrúpon

What does the Odù Ofún Batrúpon mean in Ifá?

Where languages were born — the Tower of Babel and the father of tongues — and the knife that holds up because of its temper.

What number is Ofún Batrúpon among the 256 Odù of Ifá?

Ofún Batrúpon is Odù number 253 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Ofun family.

Which orishas speak in Ofún Batrúpon?

In the Odù Ofún Batrúpon these orishas speak: Yemayá y Olokun, Oluwo Popó y Oggún, Shangó, Elegbá, Olofin, Oyá, Abita.

What is a proverb of the Odù Ofún Batrúpon?

One of the proverbs of Ofún Batrúpon says: «There is no such thing as chance.».

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