Odù 16 of 256 · Ofun family

Ofun Meyi

Meyi

The powerful one on earth: mother of the fourteen Odù, owner of the empty space, the one who speaks with life and with death as an equal.

Ofun Meyi is Odù number 16 of the 256 in Ifá, one of the 16 Meyi and the head of the Ofun family. It is also written as Ofun Meji. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 34 patakíes (3 with the full text), its proverbs, 15 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 16 of 256 · Meyi
Composition
Ofun over Ofun
In the Diloggún
10-10 · Ofún tonti Ofún
Orishas that speak
Obbatalá · Ikú (la Muerte) · Orunmila (Oragun) · Odduduwa · Eshú · Oke · Oshún · Oro (Orun) · Shangó · Los Ancianos de la Noche

What Ifá says in this sign

Ofun Meyi is the powerful one on earth: mother of the fourteen Odù, owner of the empty space and of gray hair, the one who speaks with life and with death as an equal. It can do everything — the good and the bad — and for that very reason it has one single law: power is handled with respect, or it charges you your life.

Its patakíes about the doctor teach it without mercy: Death was his godmother and his partner — if the candle stood at the head of the bed, the patient got better; if it stood at the feet, the patient belonged to her. The godson disobeyed twice out of ambition, and the sentence stayed forever: the first time the angel forgives; the second time, it kills. In Ofun pacts are kept — with the santos, with the dead and with people.

«The first time the angel forgives; the second time, it kills — in Ofun the pacts are kept.»The pulse of Ofun Meyi

Money here is sacred and dangerous: in this sign silver and paper money were born, and also being serious about money at the cost of your life. The Awó of Ofun does not keep money, does not chase it in a hurry — «because it will pay for his own burial» — and when it arrives all at once, it should not be for his ruin: make ebbó first.

Its house has rules of mystery: nothing empty — no empty bottles or jars, because empty things call what you do not want —, do not blow out candles or let them burn all the way down, do not wear mourning, do not curse, do not let strangers sleep over. These are the precautions of someone who lives with Death as a friend: she will not take you just like that — but she lives close by.

And the promise, for the one who holds on: when you are young everyone laughs at you, but as an old person you will be respected and powerful, and everyone will come to you for your chest of wisdom. You are a diviner from birth: everything you say comes true. Hold back your ambition, listen to advice, and the gray hair of Ofun will be your crown: the one who learned how to wait ended up ruling the daylight.

The sign in one line

Respect your pacts, hold back your ambition and do not live with empty things in the house — Ofun rules in old age, and his gray hair is a crown.

The prayer of Ofun Meyi · Yoruba

Oragun minikun tikun Obatalá laona guru guru moba kpui minu moba kpui nikabo kuana tara tara niwafun asho koworoso Orunmila adifayoko kanpun Obatalá iwo omo eruko omo Orunmila koyo omo osha Obatalá ashomo awo ogue la waya kaiti kaiti moroko kafi mewe nire nishe iya Elegbara adifafun Orunmila.

Súyere
Peregun alawa tun tun, peregun alawa tun tun, bogboadewadie atewo mirin, peregun alawa tun tun.

Ifá says — what Ofun Meyi tells you

The ashé of this sign: He is the powerful one on earth: he can do everything, the good and the bad. · He is the one who brings the dead back to life; death is his constant friend, but she does not take him just like that. · When he is young everyone laughs at him, but as an old man he will be respected and powerful, and everyone will come to him for his chest of wisdom. · His intelligence gets him out of the trouble he walks into. · He is a diviner: everything he says comes true, and he reads the mind of whoever he deals with before they speak. · His guardian angel will give him wealth and fame, if he holds back his ambition.

Proverbs of Ofun Meyi · Òwe

21 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 Ofun Meyi · Ìbí

What is forbidden · Eewó

10 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 Ofun Meyi · The sacrifices that open the road

MoneyEbbó so you do not kill over money🔒 Babalawo
MoneyEbbó to become noble and rich🔒 Babalawo
LoveEbbó for the woman who wants children🔒 Babalawo
LoveAgainst whoever lights candles upside down🔒 Babalawo
Keeping death awayThe pact with Ikú🔒 Babalawo
Keeping death awayThe saraekó for the sick child🔒 Babalawo
LossAgainst cancer (the compound of Orunmila)🔒 Babalawo
LossWork of Oshún to dissolve the tumor🔒 Babalawo
Beating enemiesThe fence of the three cloths (of Oke)🔒 Babalawo
Beating enemiesWork to get rid of the arayé🔒 Babalawo
10 ebbós in this Odù, locked.Each full recipe: ingredients, preparation and where it goes. Written in Spanish for now.Unlock →

Works of Ofun Meyi · The workings of the sign

MoneyThe basin of the itá (the sixteen years)🔒 Babalawo
HealthTo lift the health of the sick person🔒 Babalawo
Keeping death awayThe sixteen-day candle to Obbatalá🔒 Babalawo
LossPraying the okpele made of coconut shell🔒 Babalawo
Beating enemiesSarao of ekó for the house🔒 Babalawo
5 works in this Odù, locked.Each full recipe: ingredients, preparation and where it goes. Written in Spanish for now.Unlock →

Patakíes of Ofun Meyi · The roads of the Odù

1Death and her partner the doctor

The doctor and Death made a pact: if the candle stood at the head of the bed, he cured the patient; at the feet, the patient was hers. He cured a patient who belonged to Death, and for breaking the pact he had to pay with his own life.

There was a doctor who lived off his trade and was a close friend of Death, so much so that no patient of his ever died. Death was losing a lot of work because of her friend, and they agreed on this: when the patient was for the doctor, he would see a candle at the head of the bed; and if the patient was for Death, she would light it at the feet.

Once there was a patient who would not get better no matter what. The doctor promised to cure him; then Death put out her candle and the patient got well.

One morning, when he woke up, the doctor saw a candle burning at his feet and said to his friend Death: «how is this?». Death answered that he had cured a patient who was supposed to die and, for breaking the pact, now he had to die and pay with his own life. That is why pacts with death are not broken.

2Death, godmother of the doctor

A poor man made Death the godmother of his son, who became a doctor with her herb. Twice he disobeyed and cured someone who was meant to die; Death forgave him the first time, but the second she showed him his own candle burning down and took him.

A man with many children did not want anyone in this world to be godparent to his newborn. The Devil came to offer and he turned him down; Death came and he agreed that she would be the child's godmother. When the boy grew up, his godmother Death asked him what he wanted to be, and he said a doctor. So she took him to the foot of an iroko and told him: «every patient you give this herb to will get well; but when you see a candle at the foot of the bed, that one has no cure: give him nothing, so I can take him».

His fame grew. One day the King fell ill and, although the young man saw his godmother at the foot of the bed, faced with so much wealth on offer he made up his mind and cured him. Death came to complain, he made his apology and she forgave him. Shortly after, the princess fell ill; they offered him her hand in marriage, and again he disobeyed and cured her.

This time Death allowed him no apology: she took him to a place full of little burning candles and showed him one that was going out. «That is your life». No matter how much he begged, he got nowhere. That is how his life ended, for saving the life of another who necessarily had to die. So be careful with ambition: the angel forgives once, not twice.

3Obbatalá was a moneylender

Obbatalá lent money. Elegbá asked him for three pesos and never paid, leaving Oggún working in his place; and Obbatalá fell ill from the last money he lent. Only by running off the man who came asking again did he get well. Cheap turns out expensive.

On this road Obbatalá was a moneylender and had a silver tray with piles of money, and he lent against the crops of the field. One day Elegbá told Oggún that he wanted to throw a party: «I am going to ask Babá for it and I will not pay him back». He went to Obbatalá, asked him for three pesos, and Obbatalá gave them to him along with a sickle, in exchange for working in the field. Elegbá threw the party and spent it all, without paying.

Oggún, upset that he could not do the same, was put by Elegbá to work in his place — but he did not pay either. Obbatalá, seeing how clever Elegbá was, kept him at his house to help him. A few days later, Obbatalá fell gravely ill and had to go looking for Orunmila.

Orunmila saw this Ifá for him and told him: «you are very sick because of the last money you lent. If that person asks you for money again, give it to him, but run him off so you can get well». He did so, and he was healed. The lesson of this road: cheap turns out expensive, and you have to keep whoever stays in your house from becoming a burden.

4The omó of Oshún stole the cloth of Obbatalá🔒 Babalawo
5Ikú dresses and writes in black🔒 Babalawo
6The land where it was always night🔒 Babalawo
7The hunter who lost his three sons🔒 Babalawo
8The gramophone in the room of Oragun🔒 Babalawo
9The pact of Orunmila and Death (why Odduduwa speaks through Ifá)🔒 Babalawo
10The younger one arguing with the elder (Shangó and Obbatalá)🔒 Babalawo
11Shangó clears the road for Obbatalá🔒 Babalawo
12Elegba asks Obbatalá for three pesos🔒 Babalawo
13Silver and paper money were born🔒 Babalawo
14When they stole the harvest from Oke🔒 Babalawo
15The farmer and his planting on the hill Oke🔒 Babalawo
16Orula comes down to earth with everything he needs🔒 Babalawo
17The destruction of Eyiogbe by Oragun🔒 Babalawo
18The daughter of Olofin and the pact between Orun and Orunmila🔒 Babalawo
19The creation of Olorun (why women do not receive Orun)🔒 Babalawo
20The pact between Osain Arugbo, Airá and Abokú (the four roots of the world)🔒 Babalawo
21Odduwa eats a young she-goat🔒 Babalawo
22The curse of Obbatalá (Ananagú)🔒 Babalawo
23Eyá and Oro, the guabina (memory is born)🔒 Babalawo
24Oragun betrayed Eyiogbe🔒 Babalawo
25The rise of death (the sixteen Irunmole Eggun)🔒 Babalawo
26Ikú comes down to the town (the dove and the staff)🔒 Babalawo
27The turncoat🔒 Babalawo
28The two friends (what the bear whispered)🔒 Babalawo
29You build your own heaven or your own hell🔒 Babalawo
30From anger to loss (the old woman at the canal)🔒 Babalawo
31The land with no sun (Ifá Fumi and the bears)🔒 Babalawo
32The professional and the smart one🔒 Babalawo
33The cat and the seven lives🔒 Babalawo
34The moon and death (the chain from heaven)🔒 Babalawo
31 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 Ofun Meyi in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Ofun Meyi

What does the Odù Ofun Meyi mean in Ifá?

The powerful one on earth: mother of the fourteen Odù, owner of the empty space, the one who speaks with life and with death as an equal.

What number is Ofun Meyi among the 256 Odù of Ifá?

Ofun Meyi is Odù number 16 of the 256 in Ifá, one of the 16 Meyi and the head of the Ofun family.

Which orishas speak in Ofun Meyi?

In the Odù Ofun Meyi these orishas speak: Obbatalá, Ikú (la Muerte), Orunmila (Oragun), Odduduwa, Eshú, Oke, Oshún, Oro (Orun), Shangó, Los Ancianos de la Noche.

What is a proverb of the Odù Ofun Meyi?

One of the proverbs of Ofun Meyi says: «Death is never far away and never tired.».

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