Odù 256 of 256 · Ofun family

Ofún Shé

The last Odù of Ifá, where the Okín was born, the heron of the Kings' crown: three pieces of luck have been lost — but a greater one is coming.

Ofún Shé is Odù number 256 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Ofun family. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 21 patakíes (3 with the full text), its proverbs, 10 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 256 of 256
Composition: Ofun over Oshe
In the Diloggún: 10-5 · Ofún tonti Oshé
Orishas that speak: Obatalá · Oshún Ololodí · Azojuano · Shangó (Ogodó) · Oshumaré (el Arco Iris) · Yemayá · Oggún · Agenrón (el loro) · Eshu Atilú y Eshu Osiká

What Ifá says in this sign

Ofún Shé — also called Ofún Pakioshé — is the last Odù of Ifá: when it comes up for an Awó, close attention is paid to what it says, because here Ifá came to an end. And like every ending, it is a doorway: here the Okín — the heron of the Kings' crown — public speaking, clothing and the four cardinal points of the Oracle were born.

His fortune is counted three and one: bad luck follows him and he has lost three pieces of luck — three ebboses are made one after another — but the ruling is a bright one: another and greater piece of luck is coming to him, and he will get out of all his troubles. After going through hardship and having little to eat, good will come to him: this sign rewards the one who holds out to the end.

«Ofún Shé is the last Odù: here Ifá came to an end — three pieces of luck were lost, and the one coming is greater than all of them.»The pulse of Ofún Shé

His calling is settled: this person does not have to make Osha, but Ifá — he is born to read the signs of the Oracle and tends to be a prophet who carries messages, like Obatalá in the city of Aké. But no shortcuts: doing Santo work without being crowned leads to prison for passing himself off as what he is not — and there can be a death because of it. Humility is the door: he thinks he knows a great deal — God and Orunmila are the ones who know.

The people he loves need making up to: do not abandon your child — even if a disgrace has to be hidden — so you do not lose your luck; the father who forgets his children leaves them a childhood of suffering; and do not raise other people's children, because they wreck your peace. And listen when the young ones warn you: they can save you from tragedy and death, like the skinny piglet.

His last watches: necklaces and Warriors are received, the mother washes her breast before nursing, headaches and the chest are treated — grief can bring on a heart attack — and the enemy who wants his post is beaten by keeping his word. Orunla was turned away from the door of his own tribute — and he was still Orunla: the last sign teaches the first truth: the crown of the Okín belongs to the one who keeps his word to the last — and your greatest piece of luck is on its way.

The sign in one line

Do your three ebboses, do not abandon your child and listen when the young ones warn you — because at the end of Ifá, Ofún Shé crowns the one who kept his word to the last.

The prayer of Ofún Shé · Yoruba

Ofún Pakioshé Omó Pakioshé Efururú Lokukú Okuó Odé Kolé Bonatú.

Súyere
Ebbó Sheké Sheké Akukó Lebó / Ebbó Sheké Sheké Eyelé Lebó / Ebbó Sheké Sheké Adié Lebó / Ebbó Sheké Sheké Eyá Tuto Lebó...

Ifá says — what Ofún Shé tells you

It is the last Odù of Ifá: when this sign comes up for an Awó, close attention is paid to what it says, since here Ifá came to an end. This person does not have to make Osha, but to make Ifá: the man is born to read the signs in the Oracle of Ifá. This person tends to be a prophet and carries the messages to humankind, like Obatalá in the city of Aké. It is an Ifá of tricks and of rights denied: Orunla was turned away from the door of his own tribute. It is an Ifá of theft, like the thieves at the pig pen. It is an Ifá of marriage breaking up over the fights with her okuní. There is a clash between Santo and Spirit: here people believe only in spiritism, and the Santo has to arrive for it all to end. The bastard speaks: the young woman tries to hide her disgrace and hides the baby; but do not abandon your child, so you do not lose your luck. Santo work is done here without being crowned: you can go to jail for passing yourself off as what you are not, and there can be a death because of it, like Erebé. After going through hardship and having little to eat, good will come to you. The children of this Odù are greatly envied all over the world, like the children of Shangó.
Bad luck follows this person: three ebboses have to be made one after another to hold it off.
He has lost three pieces of luck and has to orugbó to get ahead; but another and greater one is coming to him and he will get out of all his troubles.
A person who works against himself: do not be envious or proud; you think you know a great deal, and God and Orunmila are the ones who know.
Put on the necklaces and receive the Warriors.
The nursing baby gets sick in the stomach because the mother does not wash her breast before feeding him, and the baby swallows the germs.
The obiní lives without restraint because her parents did not raise her the best way, and when she was pregnant they turned their backs on her.
In this Ifá strong headaches come up, and even blows to the head; tuberculosis can be suffered here, and blood can come up from the mouth.
The woman has trouble having children.
Other people's children should not be raised here, because they wreck the peace you keep, like the girl of Ofún Shé and Ananagú.
Grief can bring on a heart attack, as it did to the wife of Ofún Shé.
Listen when the young ones warn you, because they can save you from tragedy and death, like the skinny piglet.
The man has a romance with a mayombera woman who works very strong witchcraft and then leaves him, like Iyalashé.
The father forgets his children, and they live troubled and go through a childhood of suffering for lack of his warmth, like the son of the hunter King.
For not keeping his word and not doing things right, he can lose his place: an enemy can take his post, as happened to Olobutú.
The ewé of this Odù are pomegranate and river carnation.
The Awán of Azojuano speaks: the basket with the large paper surrounded by plates of pulses, root vegetables, meat, fish, bread and herbs; each person, in order of rank, turns around, cleans themselves and throws it in the basket, while the vonduncí rings the bell and sings Awán Awán Awán Nowayá Awá Eró Gasesé; a chick is killed (or a suckling goat), it is seasoned with epó, ekú, eyá and awadó, juján is done with rum and dry wine, coconut is given, the shakuanasís dance it on their heads, and the akerú carries it to the woods. The Awoses of Orunmila can do the Awán even without having Azojuano, marking the atena: Oshé Turá (the calling of the ashé), Obara Turá (Azojuano's arrival on Earth), Obeyonó (the life of Azojuano), Okana Sá (the messenger), Otura Shé (the one who takes the ceremony to Heaven), Ojuani Meyi (the ajará) and Irete Meyi (the spirit of Azojuano risen: Eyelemeré).
The Okín speaks, the royal heron: the treatise takes as its basis the purple royal heron, with a black head and reddish-brown feathers, who lives alone on the banks of rivers, lakes and marshes, sad and easily frightened, and always comes back to the same places when she returns from her journeys.
The profaning speaks: Erebé, who thought himself the God of divination without the title of Babalawo, and the person he read for died.
The bastard speaks: the child from the basket in the river who became secretary and governor.
The room of the mystery speaks: the white staircase of 16 steps and the bust covered with a white cloth that no one could see.
Ogodó (Shangó) speaks, the Shepherd of Sheep, and the Abalashé, the Oracle of Divination that Orunmila does not own: Orunmila stands for sight, the office of adifá — he sees everything and knows everything: the past, the present and what is to come.

Proverbs of Ofún Shé · Òwe

“Living with a humble person cools the mind.”
“Whoever gives bread to another man's dog loses the bread and loses the dog.”
“If the Orishas give me nothing, I can do nothing for them.”
“Your head takes you where your destiny ends.”
“When Shangó throws his word, no one can stop it.”
“Nature is so wide that no one knows its secret.”
“The spirits take away everything you neglect in your religion.”
“Blood inheritance is the only one that is never lost.”
“Obatalá is the only one able to make a human being out of two drops of blood.”
“Everyone who does good enjoys the gifts of Olorun.”
“There are truths that bring shame, but they are truths.”
“In a trial not every witness is questioned.”
“The big fish eats the little one.”
“The hot-tempered have no place among the upright.”
“Whoever goes searching in old palm husks finds cockroaches.”

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

9 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 Shé · Ìbí

The Okín: the heron.
The bird of the Kings' crown: a white heron with a collar of red feathers on its neck; the birds made her Queen when Olobutú lost the kingdom for not sacrificing his red cloak.
The Awán of Azojuano.
The cleaning ceremony with the basket surrounded by plates, which is done first in every ceremony of Azojuano.
Public speaking.
From the bastard Ofún Shé, the only one who understood and read the word of Obatalá.
Clothing.
From the road of the room of the mystery of the modest one, who had everything lined in white.
The four cardinal points of the Oracle of Ifá.
When the 365 days of the year are divided among the 256 Odù, the remainder is 109; divided among the 21 rings of the rainbow, that is 5 each with 4 left over: the 4 roads of Shangó's board that rule over the signs of Ifá.
The loss of memory.
Obatalá, from so much walking and knowing everything by heart, began to lose his memory; the secret is to have your head prayed over with petals of river carnation and to wear a parrot feather in your cap.
That the Moon went to Obatalá's house.
It happens in this Odù.
That the guts twist.
From the powdered dish the envious ones gave Ofún Shé.
That the turning of the world is shown by the rainbow.
Oshumaré shows half his body in the Heavens and the other half passes under the earth, ruled by Agbón Niregún, the God of Ifá, who is Irí (Elá), the Savior.
That chinimá is made with pomegranate, charcoal and dove.
Obatalá grated the pomegranate into a gourd with charcoal, gave the dove and made chinimá, beginning with Ofún Pakishé, and they all got well.
The family of the wild pigs.
The sow broke the fence, the skinny piglet followed her, and they bred in the woods with the wild boars.

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 Shé · The sacrifices that open the road

La pérdidaEbbó of the three pieces of luck🔒 Babalawo

EspiritualEbbó of the memory (Obatalá and the parrot)🔒 Babalawo

Vencer enemigosEbbó of the wild pigs🔒 Babalawo

AmorEbbó of Iyalashé (the mayombera)🔒 Babalawo

DineroEbbó of the King's son🔒 Babalawo

EspiritualEbbó of Oggún (the otá of the banquet)🔒 Babalawo

6 ebbós in this Odù, locked.Each full recipe: ingredients, preparation and where it goes. Written in Spanish for now.Unlock →

Works of Ofún Shé · The workings of the sign

SaludThe chinimá of the pomegranate🔒 Babalawo

EspiritualPocket Ozain🔒 Babalawo

EspiritualInshé of Ozain of the banana stalk🔒 Babalawo

SaludSecret of the river carnation🔒 Babalawo

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

Patakíes of Ofún Shé · The roads of the Odù

1Oshún Ololodí saves the bastard, secretary to Obatalá

A princess, to hide her disgrace, put her son in a basket at the riverbank; Oshún Ololodí raised him. In a town that believed only in spiritism, Obatalá preached and only that boy understood him: he named him his secretary. The envious threw powders on him; Obatalá saw the dove pecking the pomegranate, made chinimá with pomegranate, charcoal and dove, and the boy and the whole town got well.

This was a princess who fell in love with a commoner and every afternoon, hiding from her parents, met with him. As time went by, she took a wrong step. Time passed and she, however hard she tried to end the pregnancy, could not; and when she gave birth, trying to hide her disgrace, she took the child and put him in a basket, left him on the bank of a river and said: «This child is a bastard».

Oshún Ololodí took the child and began to raise him. There was a town where the people believed in nothing but spiritism and did not believe in the Santos; and the people, when they did not have one trouble, had another. So they decided to go for a reading with Orunla, and he said that the problem was that there was no Santo there, and that the Santo had to arrive for it all to end; and he decided that Obatalá should go to that town and explain things properly to them. And Obatalá did.

He got to that town, gathered the people together, took a book he was carrying out from under his arm and began to read. After he had finished reading and explaining things, Obatalá said: «I believe you have not understood me». Then a boy came forward and said: «Yes, father, I did understand you». And when he spoke, Obatalá said: «Yes, it is true, you understood me, and for that I name you my secretary».

Obatalá left and, from that moment on, the people, out of the envy they had for the boy, began to throw powders on him.

Obatalá came back, to see how things were going. He gathered the people again and looked around for the boy, who was sitting off to one side, seeming dizzy from the powder they had thrown on him. Obatalá spoke to the people again and, when he finished, he said: «There is no way, nobody here understands!».

Then, looking toward the place where the boy was, Obatalá noticed another spot where there was a pomegranate tree, and in it a dove pecking at a fruit. Obatalá cried out: «That is the answer! Take the dove and bring me a pomegranate». He got a gourd and a piece of charcoal, grated the pomegranate, gave the dove and made chinimá, beginning with Ofún Pakishé, who got well right away, and with him all the people of that town.

The Santo saved him. Iború, Iboyá, Iboshishé.

Note: this person has to make Santo.

2The bastard, Maferefún the parrot: envy, public speaking and the loss of memory

The child from the basket, found by the washerwoman of the town of Ofún Shé, grew up apart and was the only one who understood the words of Olofin that Obatalá explained, who made him his secretary. The envious poisoned him with a powdered dish; Obatalá, his memory failing and the messenger dove held up at the pomegranate, made the pomegranate cross on his forehead, covered the boy with his cloak, and the boy whispered the message in his ear: he was named governor, and with the very powder of his enemies he governed them.

There was a girl whose family mistreated her constantly. She had a boyfriend named Okana Lobé, but she kept up relations with two other men. In time she found herself pregnant and did not really know who the father of her child was. Given this, she could not show up at her family's house, so she went to Orunla's house, and he told her: «You cannot get rid of that child!».

The girl gave birth, but put the child in a basket and threw it into the river so he would drown; the current carried the basket with the child away.

On the bank of a river that ran past a town called Ofún Shé there was a woman washing her clothes who, when she struck them against a rock, got a surprise: it was the basket with a child inside. Shouting nervously «Ofún Shé, Ofún Shé!», all the people of the town came running and saw what she had found in the river. They took the child and brought him to the town, and took charge of him.

Ofún Shé was an extremely spiritual town, and by that way of thinking they believed they could reach all the way to Olofin, who, seeing this, sent Obatalá to that town, to speak to them and to have them pull down the walls they had raised around it.

By this time, the child abandoned in the river had come of age, and lived apart from everyone. Since his origins were not known, out of something sad and for that same reason, they named him Ofún Shé.

Obatalá went on Olofin's errand, and Ofún Shé went very elegantly dressed, with parrot feathers in his hair. When Obatalá got to the town, he knew by heart the first of the 3 messages Olofin gave. Obatalá gathered everyone and began to speak to the town about their fanaticism and the beliefs they held. And when he finished he said: «It seems impossible that, among so many grown men, no one has understood what I said, and the boy is the only one who did». And he left.

Some time later, Obatalá came back to the town and gathered the people again. When he had finished speaking he said: «Has anyone understood me?». And it happened as it had the first time: only Ofún Shé answered. And, displeased, Obatalá said: «Since only Ofún Shé can read what I say, I take him as my secretary from this day on». And they began to work together, and envy grew up around Ofún Shé.

When the day was drawing near to explain the third and last of the 3 messages, Obatalá realized that his memory was failing him and sent a message to Ofún Shé with a dove. But the dove was held up on the way, eating and pecking at a pomegranate tree. Just then, Obatalá was attacked with balls of mud that dirtied his clothes, and he hid behind a cotton plant. Obatalá sentenced the dove to pay with her head for disobeying. He took three pomegranates, a melon and a gourd, mashed it all, made a cross on his forehead and went on to the town.

In the town, the people wanted to get rid of Ofún Shé and prepared him a powdered dish. He ate greedily and felt bad in his stomach. Bent over, he came to where Obatalá was, with his gray parrot on his shoulder. The parrot, seeing him, ruffled up and its feathers turned red. Obatalá took off his cloak and threw it over Ofún Shé. He straightened up and came to Obatalá, leaning on his staff, which was the pauyé, and began to say Olofin's message in Obatalá's ear, and Obatalá to explain it.

When it was over, he gave Ofún Shé river water to drink. He brought up the harm he had taken in the form of a bag, and Obatalá made him governor of that town, handing him the bag and telling him: «Take it: with this your enemies wanted to kill you. Blow it to the four winds, so you can govern them with their own powder». And from that day on, the people of that town have gone on changing, and Ofún Shé governed it in complete peace.

Notes: here the guts twist. Three pieces of luck have been lost: make 3 ebboses one after another to hold it off. Work for health: grind a piece of coral, a piece of jet stone and iyefá of the sign, add river water and drink it. To drink: iyefá, dew and juice of banana stalk with baking soda, every morning.

3The loss of memory is born (Obatalá and Agenrón)

Obatalá, the prophet of the city of Aké, from knowing so much by heart began to lose his memory; Ifá marked him to carry a river carnation flower under his cap. He forgot it at home when he went to Adowá, where his enemies were waiting for him to fail so they could accuse him before Olofin; Agenrón, the parrot, ran with the secret and got there in time: Obatalá remembered the message, the arayé were arrested, and in thanks the parrot's feathers are part of his crown.

On this road, in the city of Aké lived Obatalá, who was a prophet and carried messages of wisdom from town to town. But it happened that, from so much walking and knowing everything by heart, his memory began to fail him.

So he went with his helper Agenrón (the parrot) for a reading with Orunmila, and Ofún Shé came out, and Ifá told him to be careful, since from knowing so much he would lose his memory and, with it, his ashé. So Orunmila marked him an offering with a flower of ewaró odó (river carnation), to put under his cap whenever he went to give a message.

So he did; but it happened that he had to give a message in Adowá and forgot about the carnation, leaving it behind at home. Now, Obatalá's enemies, since they knew his memory was failing, had gathered in Adowá so that, when he forgot the message, they could accuse him before Olofin and arrest him, to take his post from him.

It happened, as we said, that he had left the carnation behind at home and, when he gave the message at Adowá, he could not remember it well; then the enemies were already ready to seize him, when Agenrón, who saw that Obatalá had left the secret at home, took it and ran to Adowá, and got there in time to give Obatalá the secret. With this he remembered the message, which was nothing less than one sent by Olofin to the people of that city, who arrested the arayé enemies of Obatalá.

In thanks to Agenrón, he ruled that his colors (his feathers) would be part of his crown.

Secret of the Odù: for the memory, have your head prayed over with petals of river carnation and wear a parrot feather on your lerí (in your cap or hat).

4The profaning (Erebé, the false diviner)🔒 Babalawo

5In a town where the King was good and fair🔒 Babalawo

6Orunla cures King Obatalá of his illness🔒 Babalawo

7The room of the mystery of the modest one and the girl🔒 Babalawo

8Ofún Pakishé and the death of Ananagú🔒 Babalawo

9The piglet's cleverness saves them all🔒 Babalawo

10The thieves and the pig pen🔒 Babalawo

11Iyalashé, the mayombera obiní of Orunmila🔒 Babalawo

12The King's hunt and the bastard son🔒 Babalawo

13The bird Olobutú loses the kingdom to Okín (the heron)🔒 Babalawo

14The four cardinal points of the Oracle of Ifá🔒 Babalawo

15The honorable Bomun🔒 Babalawo

16The rock of punishment🔒 Babalawo

17The daughter of the giant egg🔒 Babalawo

18The treasure of the ewe platanillo🔒 Babalawo

19The fox and the hens🔒 Babalawo

20The red carnation🔒 Babalawo

21The power of the stranger🔒 Babalawo

18 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 Shé in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Ofún Shé

What does the Odù Ofún Shé mean in Ifá?

The last Odù of Ifá, where the Okín was born, the heron of the Kings' crown: three pieces of luck have been lost — but a greater one is coming.

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

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

Which orishas speak in Ofún Shé?

In the Odù Ofún Shé these orishas speak: Obatalá, Oshún Ololodí, Azojuano, Shangó (Ogodó), Oshumaré (el Arco Iris), Yemayá, Oggún, Agenrón (el loro), Eshu Atilú y Eshu Osiká.

What is a proverb of the Odù Ofún Shé?

One of the proverbs of Ofún Shé says: «Living with a humble person cools the mind.».

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