Ofun Kana

The sign at a glance

Order in Ifá

Odù 249 of 256

Composition

Ofun over Okana

In the Diloggún

10-1 · Ofún tonti Okana

Orishas that speak

Babalú Ayé (Oluopopó) · Obatalá · Oshún · Elegbá · Shangó · Olofin

What Ifá says in this sign

The prayer of Ofun Kana · Yoruba

Ofún Kana Okana Biofún Awadó De Ifá Omó Ni Yaré Awadó Ifá Obiní Yanyará Aburé, Omó Awó Be Okana Yabún Bofún Kuin Yakún Omó Beifé Yorobafún Okana Biofún Ofún Kanan Obiní Okana Moyáre Awó Okana Biofún. Ofierá Koyá Abó Nilosó Adifafún Osokó Layú Omá Aboyó Abó Lebó, Kaferefún Obatalá Ati Eshu.

Ifá says — what Ofun Kana tells you

• The eyes and the legs must be protected and care taken with infectious diseases, such as syphilis caught through contagion; the people close to you move away from you out of fear.
• The pregnant obiní (oboñú) can lose the child because of ogú.
• The man must give his wife more attention and closeness, because she feels worn out and alone, and that pushes her toward a slip and adultery: you may discover your wife in infidelity, but the only one responsible is yourself.
• Whoever ignores the instructions of Ifá and of his elders falls ill in the genital organs; the condition becomes worse and his life may end, but Oshún saves it.
• There are liver ailments, and that organ or another may tear because of acquired germs: be clean, check what you eat, avoid organ meats and do not eat meat products about which you have doubts.
• A mother harms her child without intending to, like the hen that fell on her chick while chasing the cockroach.
• Siblings, by blood or by religion, quarrel among themselves from wanting to value themselves above others: they feel superior and believe they need no one, like the rabbit's three brothers.
• Children constantly blackmail their parents and superiors, and that conduct turns against them, like a boomerang.
• The man loses his aim (his vigor) because of the curse of disobedience.
• Intimate relations are very forceful and cause the obiní discomfort: be gentler.
• In this case the son discovers his father or mother in an intimate moment with another person, as happened to Shangó with Olofin.
• The ewé of this Odù are cannonball tree, parquia, carob and poplar.
• The jet stone speaks, guardian against the evil eye.
• The rabbit (Samba or Ejoró) speaks: chief and brother of all the animals and friend of Elegba; since the sentence of Ekundere, rabbits feed only on herbs and roots.
• The rat and the mouse speak; since the trap of the God of Whiteness, they no longer associate.
• Gout, or uric arthritis, speaks: uric acid that precipitates into urates, the tophi of chronic gout, visceral gout that damages the kidneys and heart; a hereditary illness made worse by alcohol, meats and a sedentary life. Historical note from the treatise: Hippocrates recorded its features before Jesus Christ, but Ifá did so much earlier, when describing Elegbará's suffering.
• Syphilis speaks: the chancre, the period of silence, the eruptions and the final destructive lesions; it is acquired by direct contagion or through objects used by people with syphilis.
• The cockroach speaks: it smells bad and spoils food, hides and books; males cannot be told apart from females.
• The Holy Thursday monkey speaks, who prays and trusts in the sacredness of the day.

Proverbs of Ofun Kana · Òwe

• “Nothing has been written about cowards.”

• “The loss of vigor.”

• “If you put yourself to the test and do ebbó, you will come out well.”

• “The God of the Heavens will put another person in your place.”

• “Sexual excess is your ruin.”

• “The mother, in her eagerness, harms him.”

• “The opportunist loses the ashé.”

• “The Awó who practices continence on Thursdays keeps his strength all week.”

• “Whoever eats rabbits ends up jumping or hunted.”

• “What is begun must be finished.”

• “Whoever cannot bear to see who gives to him gives to himself.”

• “Whoever builds out of love destroys out of hatred.”

• “The stubborn one does not learn; the wise one loves instruction.”

• “Experience prevents mistakes.”

• “Whoever kicks against the goad has everything to lose.”

• “In life there is only one opportunity.”

• “Sweetness is repugnant, but it is not bitter.”

Iré and Osogbo

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

What is born in Ofun Kana · Ìbí

• Jet stone.

  Here its use against the evil eye is born: in this way what should not enter does not enter; it is always included in the load of Elegba.

• That the children of Obatalá and of Ofún Kanan do not eat rabbit.

  Thanks to the rabbit, Orunmila and Obatalá were freed from a debt to death, and she was driven out of the house.

• Eating sandwiches.

  Elegbá, sick with gout from eating nothing but meat, had his diet changed by giving him ekó along with the meat.

• That Elegbá came down with gout.

  From too much meat; gout comes from too much alcohol, too much protein and sitting still. Ifá described this ailment before Hippocrates.

• The social outcast.

  Obatalá lost his home and his family, and everyone looked down on him.

• That Olofin granted Babalú Ayé the gift of having relations with all women.

  After being brought back to life thanks to the agreement with Oshún, he returned to the world and continued to enjoy that same privilege.

• That syphilis is caught from someone else.

  It comes from the punishment that Olofin imposed on Babalú Ayé on the night of Holy Thursday; the treatise describes Treponema pallidum, which also infects the rat, the mouse, the rabbit and the monkey, the same animals that speak in this Odù.

• That the rat does not keep company with the mouse.

  From the road of the snake Teremhako: only the mouse did not make the sacrifice, and the trap of the God of Whiteness caught him.

• That the bones went into action for religious work.

  Babalú Ayé prepared an inshé with which Obatalá recovered his health, from the bones of the etú, to which he added the funfún necklace and a silver coin.

• That a man cannot live in solitude: he needs to have his wife.

  From the road of the ounko who did the act wherever he pleased: this person needs a partner.

What is forbidden · Eewó

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

• Do not eat rabbit (the children of Obatalá and of Ofún Kanan).

  Orunmila and Obatalá were freed from a debt owed to death thanks to the rabbit.

• Do not use for sixteen days a thing that you use every day, when Ifá marks it.

  The enemies of Orunla hired the seller of epó to poison him with what he used every day.

• Do not eat organ meats or meat products about which you have doubts.

  Your liver or another organ can tear because of germs you take in.

• Do not fail to keep Thursdays, which are sacred, and control your sexual urges.

  Babalú Ayé died of syphilis for disobeying on Holy Thursday, and the monkey hunter lost his aim.

• Do not have sex anywhere you please or in any way you please.

  The ounko did it in the bush; besides, it bothers the obiní: be less rough.

• Stay away from alcohol and from a sedentary life.

  They bring on gout, as they did to Elegbá.

• Do not associate with people of doubtful morals or with those who commit crimes.

  You will end up in jail.

• Do not disrespect the beliefs and the religion of other people.

  A curse from heaven will fall on you and you will be left without your ashé.

Ebbós of Ofun Kana · The sacrifices that open the road

Works of Ofun Kana · The workings of the sign

Patakíes of Ofun Kana · The roads of the Odù

Frequently asked questions about Ofun Kana