Ogbe Bara

nº 22 of 256

Betrayal and hidden things, where Shangó is born and speaks: enemies dressed as friends, and the debt of never being ungrateful to the one who raised you.

33 patakíes 4 eewó 6 ebbós and works 17 proverbs

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Ogbe Bara is Odù number 22 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Ogbe family. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 33 patakíes (3 with the full text), its proverbs, 6 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 22 of 256
Composition: Ogbe over Obara
In the Diloggún: 8-6 · Eyeunle tonti Obara
Orishas that speak: Shangó · Orunmila · Eshú Forun · Olofin · Obbatalá · Oggún y Oshosi · Odduduwa Alawana
Eweses of the sign: Hiedra · Avellanas · Árbol del pan

What Ifá says in this sign

Ogbe Bara is an Ifá of betrayal and of hidden things: there is a secret in your life, there are enemies dressed as friends, and there is a lesson this odu repeats and never tires of — do not be ungrateful to the one who raised you. Shangó was born here and speaks here.

Betrayal hangs around parties and gatherings: do not go in printed clothes, do not eat mottled beans, do not argue. And protect yourself with the tricks of the sign: do not give your name easily, do not look back when someone calls you in a voice you do not know, and if they ask who you are, answer as this odu says: «Thin as a needle» — you give the enemy nothing to grab hold of.

«Do not be ungrateful to the one who raised you — the vulture eats thanks to the sky that holds it up.»The pulse of Ogbe Bara

The particular pain of Ogbe Bara is among his own: the godchildren — and even the children, if they do not make ebbó — turn into enemies further down the road. This is the sign of the one who goes out looking for heads, wanting to be more than his godfather. Do not repeat against others the sin they commit against you: be grateful to whoever taught you, because the vulture — his representative — eats thanks to the sky that holds it up.

You have a close ally: an Eggun who speaks in your ear. So look after that ear in the body — the trouble can be serious and leave you deaf — and in the spirit: feed Eggun on a day of rain, storm and lightning, because that is how this odu moves forward. And with a gravely ill person in the family, a ram to Shangó without delay: he rules here and he saves from death.

The promise is one of lineage: Olofin receives this person with open arms — the king is dead, long live the king: the one who has a part to play in life is known by their birth. Receive the Warriors, Osain and Ifá, and do not lose yourself over love: Ogbe Bara is lost if he believes he cannot live without the woman he loves — love with your heart, not with your head on its knees.

The sign in one line

Be wary of the party, be grateful to your godfather and listen to the dead who speaks in your ear — Olofin is waiting for Ogbe Bara with open arms.

The prayer of Ogbe Bara · Yoruba

Ogbe Bara bi aboré baba tereré adifafun sesé, bi aboré baba tereré adifafun Shangó, bi aboré baba tereré lordafun Olofin. Baba Yeku koladeo oyé unlo aguere ni Orunmila to Iban Eshu.

Ifá says — what Ogbe Bara tells you

An Ifá of hidden things and of betrayal.
For a young woman, it speaks of rape.
Strange happenings.
Trouble with your ear: do not neglect it, it can turn serious and leave you deaf.
For a sick person, that they will die: as the ivy lives clinging to damp, that person will go to live in the damp of the grave.
In the Ituto, the funeral rite, it is favorable.
To get what you want, you hold nothing back.
Illness of the chest.
Your family: there are sick people in it, and you are being held back.
Receive the Warriors, Osain and Ifá.
The woman who may fail and never marry.
An Eggun who speaks in your ear.
You go out looking for heads in the religion and want to be more than your godfather.
The Awó's godchildren turn into enemies, and so does the person being read.
Ogbe Bara is lost if he believes he cannot live apart from the woman he loves.
If your children do not make ebbó, they turn into your enemies further down the road.
The vulture has to be fed, since it stands for the Awó Ogbe Bara.

Proverbs of Ogbe Bara · Òwe

“The jug that loses its bottom holds no liquid.”
“The bat, hanging head down, watches the way the birds behave.”
“The ideas of a good man are like bars of gold.”
“A king who dies, a king who eats: the king is dead, long live the king.”
“The good sun is known at dawn.”
“If you clothe the naked and then throw your favor in their face, you have not clothed them.”
“The great jar cannot break itself.”
“Every pleasure ends up tasting of bile.”
“Whoever dies leaving no work behind never lived.”
“No one sees their own old age, even though they feel it.”
“In a perfect story there is little truth.”
“A hard birth, a great life; a hard life, a great rebirth.”
“The sweet words of a stranger are a straight path to loss.”
“Wicked people always forget the way back.”
“To dull messages, little attention.”
“Charity expects no reward from the one it helps.”
“A man's memory earns him the regard of an angel.”

14 proverb interpretations in this Odù, locked.Every proverb explained: which road it comes from and how it applies.Unlock →

Iré and Osogbo

4 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 Ogbe Bara · Ìbí

The secret of the breadfruit.
That birds feed their young by bringing food up into their beaks.
Linen cloth.
Gesturing while speaking.
Why the head is prayed with white doves.
That the Oshe (soap) is taken off at the shaving of the omo Aggayú.

What is forbidden · Eewó

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

Do not trust anyone.
Do not eat any large speckled or red beans.
They are served before your enemies.
Do not go to any meeting or party in patterned clothes.
Do not argue with anyone.

Ebbós of Ogbe Bara · The sacrifices that open the road

Getting things movingWork to Elegba with lard and sun🔒 The Notebook Getting things movingWork for money🔒 The Notebook SteadinessThe three little gourds of Elegba🔒 The Notebook ConfusionPraying the head with breadfruit🔒 The Notebook

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

Works of Ogbe Bara · The workings of the sign

ObataláOffering to Obbatalá🔒 The Notebook Secret of AlawanaKara Eru Awó (the duality)🔒 The Notebook

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

Patakíes of Ogbe Bara · The roads of the Odù

1Ogbe Bara divined for Shangó

Ogbe Bara, as poor as he was, made Ifá for Shangó in heaven. Later, when Shangó, outraged at the wickedness of the world, was about to tear off the roofs with a tornado, he recognized his benefactor's house by a song and stopped the storm.

Ogbe Bara divined and prepared Ifá for Shangó when Shangó was very poor in heaven; Ogbe Bara was poor himself. When the ceremony was over he invited him to his house, but Shangó, knowing he was in no state to be seen, would not accept.

Shangó looked down from heaven and saw that the world was dirty and wicked, and he swore to wipe out the wrongdoers. As he made ready for battle, a tornado tore the roofs off many houses. Ogbe Bara was away on a journey and had left his wife at home.

As trees and buildings came down, Shangó saw the roof of Ogbe Bara's house fall, not knowing it was his. The woman was singing, calling on the house of Ifá, and the song told Shangó it was his benefactor's house. So he left the house alone and went back to heaven. Because of this Ifá you must be careful never to be ungrateful to your benefactor.

Prayer of the road

Ogbe barira raba, ononegigi araba soso orire Ogun.

Súyere

Arira, arira mo juare, ule Ifá dowo re-o arira mo-ju-are

2The three brothers and the chain of misfortune

Three fisherman brothers and several animals refused the sacrifice to Eshú. The eldest sank, the second lost his hands and the third broke his jaw; a laugh from the squirrel set off a chain of misfortunes that only stopped when they admitted it all came from not sacrificing.

Three brothers went to Orunmila to improve their father's fishing business, and he told them to give a goat to Eshú, but they had doubts and did not do it. The boa, the rabbit, Iroko and the guinea fowl were given the same advice and also refused.

At work, the eldest brother sank into the swamp; the second, pulling him out, had his hands torn off; and the third broke his jaw as he shouted. The squirrel laughed, and the branch it was sitting on fell on the boa; frightened, the boa took shelter with the rabbit and ate its seven young; the rabbit fled to Iroko and broke the guinea fowl's 201 eggs, and the guinea fowl cried war.

God sent a heavenly Rider, who ordered a ceasefire and heard each one out. He freed the three brothers, who confessed that their misery came from not sacrificing; he forbade the squirrel to laugh at other people's misfortune, ordered the rabbit to block its burrow and the boa never to go into caves again, and the guinea fowl to lay its eggs in the sand. That is why things are as they are today. No sacrifice should ever be put off.

3Ogbe Bara and the bandit Akensheolu

Sent to kill the feared bandit Akensheolu, Ogbe Bara made ebbó and faced him with arrows. With incantations he turned the bandit's arrows aside and drove his own into his heart; he then beat even the darkness his widow called down.

Akensheolu was a depraved bandit who terrorized the town, keeping everyone from going to the market, to the farms and to the river. The elders sent for Ogbe Bara. In the divination they marked him ebbó with a rooster, a goat, a machete and food, and he set out to face him.

At a fork of four roads, he pretended to be senseless so that passers-by, talking about him, would let slip which road led to the bandit's house. When he got there, he challenged him with his bow and three arrows. Akensheolu shot, but Ogbe Bara, with an incantation, turned each arrow aside; and when he charmed his own, saying that a messenger goes where it is sent, it went through the bandit's heart.

He cut off his head as proof. The widow called down an eclipse so he would not find his way back, but Ogbe Bara called down the light — because whoever closes their eyes opens them again in time — and the road cleared. He was received in triumph. Because of this Ifá you must make ebbó to survive a hard mission, and not refuse it out of pride.

Prayer of the road

Ogbe Obara da telegan loku, adifa fun Akensheolu.

4Ogbe Bara the hunter and the mother of heaven🔒 The Notebook 5Ogbe Bara survives the fire🔒 The Notebook 6Prince Adegoroye of Ewi-Ado🔒 The Notebook 7The man bewitched by his wife🔒 The Notebook 8The disobedient young man (the three names of Shangó)🔒 The Notebook 9The duality (Odduduwa Alawana)🔒 The Notebook 10Eshú Forun and the greatness of Ogbe Bara🔒 The Notebook 11The war of the horse and the breadfruit🔒 The Notebook 12They wanted to sacrifice the king's son🔒 The Notebook 13The road of Odduduwa (Olofin's secretary)🔒 The Notebook 14Ifá of the doves (the lost purity)🔒 The Notebook 15The Ifá of the traitor🔒 The Notebook 16When the Islán shook Ilé Ifé🔒 The Notebook 17The servant, the king's enemy🔒 The Notebook 18Ifá of the orchids and the flying fish🔒 The Notebook 19The secret preparation of Awó Orikoye🔒 The Notebook 20Ifá of the disabled🔒 The Notebook 21The road of life (the pact with Shangó and the Earth)🔒 The Notebook 22When Alakoso was king🔒 The Notebook 23The mayor of the city and his dog🔒 The Notebook 24Where Ozain held a council of awoses🔒 The Notebook 25When the doves disobeyed Obbatalá🔒 The Notebook 26Where Olofin gave the doves their red feet🔒 The Notebook 27The eternal worshippers of Obbatalá🔒 The Notebook 28Alagberi and the journey to the land of Arakato Nile🔒 The Notebook 29Where Orunmila lost his okpele🔒 The Notebook 30The flamingo, the parrot and the quail (body language is born)🔒 The Notebook 31Orunmila tells the farmer from the hermit🔒 The Notebook 32Peace comes in through the kitchen🔒 The Notebook 33Happiness takes sacrifices🔒 The Notebook

30 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 Ogbe Bara in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Ogbe Bara

What does the Odù Ogbe Bara mean in Ifá?

Betrayal and hidden things, where Shangó is born and speaks: enemies dressed as friends, and the debt of never being ungrateful to the one who raised you.

What number is Ogbe Bara among the 256 Odù of Ifá?

Ogbe Bara is Odù number 22 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Ogbe family.

Which orishas speak in Ogbe Bara?

In the Odù Ogbe Bara these orishas speak: Shangó, Orunmila, Eshú Forun, Olofin, Obbatalá, Oggún y Oshosi, Odduduwa Alawana.

What is a proverb of the Odù Ogbe Bara?

One of the proverbs of Ogbe Bara says: «The jug that loses its bottom holds no liquid.».

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