Ofún Shé

nº 256 of 256

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.

21 patakíes 8 eewó 10 ebbós and works 15 proverbs

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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 — with the full eewó in plain sight; the detail of iré and osogbo and the full recipes open with The Notebook, in English.

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 (the Rainbow) · Yemayá · Oggún · Agenrón (the parrot) · 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 any restraint: her parents did not know how to raise her the best way and, when she became pregnant, they disowned 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.”

12 proverb interpretations in this Odù, locked.Every proverb explained: which road it comes from and how it applies.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…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.
From so much walking and knowing everything by heart, Obatalá's memory began to fail; the secret: the head is prayed over with petals of river carnation, and a parrot feather is put in the 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

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

Do not lend your jewelry to anyone.
Rule of this Ifá.
Do not argue in your marriage.
There can be a marital separation because of the fights with your okuní.
Do not be envious or proud.
Olobutú lost the kingdom for not giving up his red cloak.
Do not raise other people's children.
They destroy your rule of peace, and it can end in tragedy, as it did with Ananagú.
Do not abandon your child.
So you do not lose your luck: the abandoned bastard son was the salvation of the town.
Do not do work of Santo without having it crowned.
Erebé was taken to jail for not having the title of Babalawo, and his client died.
Do not think that you know a lot.
God and Orunmila are the ones who know; nature is so wide that there is no one who knows its whole secret.
The mother should not give the breast without washing it.
The nursing baby gets sick in the stomach from swallowing the germs.

Ebbós of Ofún Shé · The sacrifices that open the road

LossEbbó of the three pieces of luck🔒 The Notebook SpiritualEbbó of the memory (Obatalá and the parrot)🔒 The Notebook Beating enemiesEbbó of the wild pigs🔒 The Notebook LoveEbbó of Iyalashé (the mayombera)🔒 The Notebook MoneyEbbó of the King's son🔒 The Notebook SpiritualEbbó of Oggún (the otá of the banquet)🔒 The Notebook

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

Works of Ofún Shé · The workings of the sign

HealthThe chinimá of the pomegranate🔒 The Notebook SpiritualPocket Ozain🔒 The Notebook SpiritualInshé of Ozain of the banana stalk🔒 The Notebook HealthSecret of the river carnation🔒 The Notebook

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

A princess fell in love with a commoner and every afternoon, without her parents knowing, she met with him. In time she made a false step, and although she tried everything to end the pregnancy, she did not manage it. Once the child was born, to cover her shame she laid him in a basket, left it on the bank of a river and declared: "This child is a bastard".

Oshún Ololodí picked up the baby and took charge of raising him. There was a town around there where nobody believed in anything but spiritism and they paid no attention to the Santos; for those people, when one trouble ended, another was waiting. They decided to go and look at themselves with Orunla, and his answer was that the problem was that there was no Santo there: the Santo had to come in for that to end. So he arranged for Obatalá to go to the town and explain things clearly to them, and Obatalá did it.

When he arrived he gathered the neighbors, took out a book he carried under his arm and began to read. When the reading and the explanation were over, he said: "I think you have not understood me". A boy stepped forward from the crowd and answered: "Yes, father, I did understand you". Hearing him speak was enough for Obatalá: "Yes, it is true, you understood me, and for that I name you my secretary".

Obatalá left, and from that very moment envy made the people of the town start throwing powders on the boy.

Some time later Obatalá came back to see how things were going. He gathered the neighbors again and looked around for the boy: he was sitting apart, and you could see he was dazed from the powders they had thrown on him. He spoke to the people again and, to close, he said: "No way, nobody here understands!".

It was then, turning his eyes toward where the boy was, that he noticed something else: a pomegranate tree, and on it a dove pecking at a fruit. Obatalá raised his voice: "That is the solution! Catch the dove and bring a pomegranate". He got a gourd and a piece of charcoal, grated the pomegranate, gave it the dove and made chinimá, and he started with Ofún Pakishé, who was well right away, and with him all the people of that town were put right.

That is how the Santo saved him. Iború, Iboyá, Iboshishé.

Note: the 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.

A girl was mistreated by her family every day. Her boyfriend was Okana Lobé, though she also saw two other men. When she got pregnant she did not know which of them the child was from and, since she did not dare face her family, she went to Orunla's house, and he warned her: "You cannot get rid of that child!".

The baby was born and the girl put him in a basket and threw it into the river so he would drown; the current carried the basket away with the child inside.

Downriver, in a town called Ofún Shé, a woman was washing her clothes on the bank and, as she beat them against a rock, she came upon the basket with the child in it. Her nervous shouts of "Ofún Shé, Ofún Shé!" brought the whole town together to see what the river had brought. They took the child in and all of them took care of him.

Ofún Shé was a town of extreme spirituality; with that they believed they would reach Olofin, who, noticing it, sent Obatalá to speak to them and to have them tear down the walls they had raised around the place.

By then, that child rescued from the river was already a grown man and lived apart from the others. Since nobody knew where he came from, and because of how sad the case was, for that very reason they had named him Ofún Shé.

Obatalá arrived with Olofin's errand. Ofún Shé was dressed very elegantly, with parrot feathers adorning his head, and by the time Obatalá showed up in the town he already knew by heart the first of the 3 legacies Olofin gave. Obatalá gathered everyone and spoke to them about their fanaticism and the beliefs they held. To close he said: "It seems unbelievable that, among so many grown men, none has interpreted my talk, and the boy is the only one who did". Having said that, he left.

After some time he came back to the town and gathered them again. When he finished speaking he asked: "Has anyone understood me?". The same thing happened as the time before: the only one who answered was Ofún Shé. Annoyed, Obatalá decided: "Since only Ofún Shé can interpret what I say, I take him as my secretary from today on". From then on they worked together, and envy grew around Ofún Shé.

With the day to explain the third and last of the 3 legacies drawing near, Obatalá noticed that his memory was failing and sent Ofún Shé a message with a dove. The dove, however, stayed on the way eating and pecking at a pomegranate tree. Just then, Obatalá was attacked with balls of mud that stained his clothes, and he took cover behind a cotton plant. He sentenced the dove to pay for its disobedience with its head. He took three pomegranates, a melon and a gourd, crushed it all, painted a cross on his forehead and went on toward the town.

There, the people wanted to finish off Ofún Shé and prepared him a dish laced with powder. He ate greedily and it went badly in his stomach. Doubled over with pain he reached Obatalá, who carried his gray parrot on his shoulder; the animal, seeing him like that, ruffled up and its feathers turned red. Obatalá took off his cloak and threw it over Ofún Shé, who straightened up and came to him leaning on his staff, the pauyé, and dictated Olofin's legacy in his ear while Obatalá explained it.

When it was over he gave him river water to drink. Ofún Shé threw up the harm he had swallowed in the shape of a bag, and Obatalá named him governor of that town; he handed him the bag and told him: "Take it: with this your enemies tried to kill you. Blow this to the four winds, so you may rule them with their own afoshé". And from that day on the people of the town keep going through a transformation, while Ofún Shé ruled in complete peace.

Notes: here the guts twist. Three strokes of luck have been lost; to counter it, 3 ebboses are done one after another. Work for health: a coral, a piece of jet and iyefá of the sign are ground; river water is added to that and it is drunk. Another one to drink: iyefá with dew mist and juice of banana stalk, plus 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, Obatalá lived in the city of Aké; he was a prophet and went from town to town carrying messages of wisdom. From so much walking and from keeping everything in his memory, it began to fail him.

So he went with Agenrón, the parrot, who was his helper, to look at himself with Orunmila, and Ofún Shé came out. Ifá warned him to take care, because from knowing so much he was going to lose his memory and with it his ashé, and marked him a rogación with ewaró odó flower (river carnation), to carry under his cap every time he went out to give messages.

He did that; but one day he had to give a message in Adowá and he left the river carnation forgotten at home. His enemies, who knew about that failing memory, had gathered in Adowá waiting for the moment the message would slip away from him, so they could accuse him before Olofin and arrest him, and take his post away.

Since the secret had stayed at home, when he gave the message in Adowá he could not remember it well, and the enemies were already getting ready to seize him. It was Agenrón who, seeing that secret forgotten at the house, took it and ran off toward Adowá, and made it in time to hand it to him. With it Obatalá remembered the message, which was no less than what Olofin was sending to the people of that city, and they arrested the arayé, Obatalá's enemies.

In thanks to Agenrón, he arranged that his colors — his feathers — would appear in his crown.

Secret of the Odù: for the memory, the head is prayed over with petals of river carnation, and a parrot feather is carried in the lerí, that is, in the cap or the hat.

4The profaning (Erebé, the false diviner)🔒 The Notebook 5In a town where the King was good and fair🔒 The Notebook 6Orunla cures King Obatalá of his illness🔒 The Notebook 7The room of the mystery of the modest one and the girl🔒 The Notebook 8Ofún Pakishé and the death of Ananagú🔒 The Notebook 9The piglet's cleverness saves them all🔒 The Notebook 10The thieves and the pig pen🔒 The Notebook 11Iyalashé, the mayombera obiní of Orunmila🔒 The Notebook 12The King's hunt and the bastard son🔒 The Notebook 13The bird Olobutú loses the kingdom to Okín (the heron)🔒 The Notebook 14The four cardinal points of the Oracle of Ifá🔒 The Notebook 15The honorable Bomun🔒 The Notebook 16The rock of punishment🔒 The Notebook 17The daughter of the giant egg🔒 The Notebook 18The treasure of the ewe platanillo🔒 The Notebook 19The fox and the hens🔒 The Notebook 20The red carnation🔒 The Notebook 21The power of the stranger🔒 The Notebook

18 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 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 (the Rainbow), Yemayá, Oggún, Agenrón (the parrot), 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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