Odù 137 of 256 · Ogunda family

Oggunda Biode

The Odù of the children of Oduduwa that gets you out of any tight spot: inside the Igbodun room, it stands for the godfather.

Oggunda Biode is Odù number 137 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Ogunda family. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 29 patakíes (3 with the full text), its proverbs, 13 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 137 of 256
Composition: Ogunda over Ogbe
In the Diloggún: 3-8 · Ogundá tonti Eyeunle
Orishas that speak: Elegba · Oshún · Orunmila · Shangó · Ogún · Yemayá · Egun · Osain · Olokun

What Ifá says in this sign

Oggunda Biode is the first omoluo — the first child of kings Olofin chose to stand for him on earth — and the sign that gets you out of tight spots and out of bad situations: as a child, he freed every Babalawo held prisoner in Metalofin. It comes with one condition: here you obey — whoever disobeys can lose everything, even their life.

Your character needs a rein on it: willful and headstrong even when it walks you into the fire — you even tear your clothes off when you get upset: stop doing it, because it holds you back. Friendships show you two faces: in this odu you have no friends who care for you — care for them without handing yourself over, and do not help up the one who will betray you.

«As a child he freed the Babalawos from prison — Oggunda Biode gets whoever obeys him out of trouble.»The pulse of Oggunda Biode

Your dead are calling you: three dead elders say they need you over there — the ebbó cancels that summons —, and three eguns are wearing you down: that is why nothing you do holds firm. Send them away and you will feel the ground harden under your feet.

Marriage here is sacred and watched: your wife is a good woman and there is someone who wants to take her with witchcraft — ebbó, take her out, and no mistreatment; the apetebí of this sign marries a Babalawo, and the great warning is flat: adultery is what opens the grave. Be careful where you eat — no meatballs or croquettes from outside — and watch for the loaded doll keeping an eye on you: the asokere of majagua for Oshún saves you.

Your destiny belongs in the santo room: you have to make Ifá before you die — or at least your Ikofafun or Awofakan —, and the santo house you do not like is exactly where your good and your salvation are: kneel down. The green tobacco leaf for Elegba keeps cancer away, and the Oshas are praying for you: whoever stands for Olofin does not walk alone — but he walks obeying

The sign in one line

Obey, send away the three dead who are calling you and make your Ifá — Oggunda Biode stands for Olofin, and gets his people out of any tight spot.

The prayer of Oggunda Biode · Yoruba

Ogunda Biode ferelanko temitan ashé manowa lokun igara nigara iré oferegbe oferigbo omo nimu amunita omo yumu atanleria moleri osa igara monife ekú eni afetefete eniba ribebe aburega lodafun se tinsheya Orunmila tio lo woro igara nigara amuni tinshoma Awó otun Awó osi.

Súyere
Baba yomi wawao — baba yomi wawao; Odun-Aremu wawao — baba yomi wawao.

Ifá says — what Oggunda Biode tells you

The Ifá of the first omoluo: Olofin said that no single Odù can live on earth on its own — the children of the Meyi are called omoluo, children of kings, and they stand for them too. An Ifá that gets you out of tight spots: Oggunda Biode, though a child, freed every Babalawo held prisoner in Metalofin. The Ifá of the godfather: it stands for the godfather inside the Igbodun room, and on the atena of Egun it stands for everyone recently dead. An Ifá of prison, disobedience and turning away from the religion: anyone with this Odù has to be obedient, because they can lose everything — even their life — by ignoring advice.
You have to make Ifá before you die, unless something greater stands in the way (being a spiritist, being adodi, or having trouble with one of your hands); the aleyo is told that the Santo or Ifá is waiting for them — at least Ikofafun or Awofakan.
You are very willful and headstrong, even when it walks you into the fire; when you get upset you tear your clothes off — stop doing it, because it holds you back.
Your friends treat you falsely: one face to your front and another behind your back — in this odu you have no friends who care for you.
A child can uncover a secret of yours.
There are three dead elders calling you — they say they need you over there: make ebbó so it does not happen; there are three eguns wearing you down, and that is why nothing you do ever holds firm.
There is someone ill in your house who may die: let them make ebbó so they are cured.
The apetebí of this sign: her husband should be a Babalawo — if he is not, she will stumble and come to grief; that kind of man was not to her taste before. She puts 16 okra on her Ikofafun so she is not caught being cheated on.
Cheating is what opens the grave: be careful of adultery and what it brings with it.
Your weak points are your throat and your stomach: a steady brew of guarro blanco, bejuco wako and romerillo.
You go to a santo house you do not like, and you should kneel down there: that is where your good and your salvation are.
There are three of you, brothers and sisters.
Your wife is a good woman, but there is someone who wants to take her from you using witchcraft: make ebbó. Take your wife out and give her something else to think about; do not mistreat her, and she should never go to be read by paleros.
Someone in the house is watching you and following your movements: be careful of a doll loaded with egun (shisherikú) — the way out is to give Oshún a fine asokere of majagua.
Do not take pity on anyone: do no harm, but do not help back up the one who will betray you or forget you either.
Be careful where you eat: witchcraft can be put in your food — do not eat meatballs, croquettes or stuffed potatoes cooked outside your own house.
Ebbó has to be made with tobacco leaves to keep cancer away: Elegba is given a green tobacco leaf.
People envy you and treat you with contempt; be careful of another powerful person who wants to clash with you and destroy you.
If you go out to the country you have to have your head prayed over; the Oshas are praying for you.
Be careful of fights, trouble with the law and catching venereal disease.

Proverbs of Oggunda Biode · Òwe

“One man alone, with Ifá's help, challenges 30 men to fight and beats them.”
“Cheating is what opens the grave.”
“Eye of fire, adultery of the heart.”
“If a slave dies, only his mother weeps for him; if a free man dies, the whole world talks about it. This is the unjust law of men.”
“The pig always looks for the mud.”
“Loving is good; trusting is dangerous.”
“A debate with no passion in it gets nowhere.”
“For as long as the world is the world, the vulture does not eat grass.”
“A man is one person when he is in need and another when he has plenty.”
“Using Ifá to lie destroys everything.”
“Before you ask a man for clothes, look at the clothes he is wearing.”
“A woman in the trousers, a man with no character.”
“Whoever is ill does not refuse the medicine.”
“Criminals mock believers; believers pity criminals.”
“As soon as the ship reaches port, they tie it up with a rope.”
“A ship with no captain will end up adrift.”

16 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

5 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 Oggunda Biode · Ìbí

The Osun of Osain.
Olofin, beaten by the magic box covered with the 16 ewe of Ifá, put ashé on it and gave it great power.
The destruction of human beings by pork.
It breeds a germ that sickens the blood and the insides — that is why pork is not eaten in this Odù.
That the dead are buried.
Before, they were laid out at the foot of Iroko: after the adulteress's deceit, Oggunda Biode buried her in a hole and slept on top of it for 16 days.
Standing for Olofin on earth.
Oggunda Biode was the first omoluo chosen: he was placed at the center of Oragún.
The decay of the body.
The person smells bad; they suffer from stomach and duodenal ulcers or malignant tumors inside.
That the Oluos ate Orunmila's adié.
From the ebbó of the two black hens: one wing for Iború, another for Iboya and a thigh for Iboshishe.
That Oshún brought Orunmila his wealth, and that Osun was left mute.
The three marks on the right leg of the okpele, and where Osun casts the shadow of egun at the Awó's door.
That the goat was killed for disobedience, by Olofin's ruling, for the first time in the world.
That Orunmila planted the secret of Igbodun for the first time.
The Awoses took the head of the thieves prisoner and made Ifá for him where nobody could see: the powerful light that drew him was Odun.
Yemayá's sadness and melancholy, and that Yemayá carried Orunmila and rocked him.

What is forbidden · Eewó

7 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 Oggunda Biode · The sacrifices that open the road

Beating enemiesThe abo dun dun for Orunmila (to win a war)🔒 Babalawo

HealthThe ebbó of the sick person🔒 Babalawo

SpiritualThe three oparaldos (intori osogbo)🔒 Babalawo

SpiritualThe oparaldo at the river🔒 Babalawo

LoveThe ebbó of the asokere🔒 Babalawo

MoneyThe ebbó of the three arrows🔒 Babalawo

Pushing death awayThe ebbó of Olofin and Abita🔒 Babalawo

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

Works of Oggunda Biode · The workings of the sign

LoveTo keep from being cheated on🔒 Babalawo

LoveThe Awó's Inshé-Osain🔒 Babalawo

MoneyOgún's steak🔒 Babalawo

Beating enemiesTo reach power on earth🔒 Babalawo

HealthFor impotence🔒 Babalawo

MoneyThe akará-fule of the blessing🔒 Babalawo

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

Patakíes of Oggunda Biode · The roads of the Odù

1When Orunmila made ebbó for Oká

The boa had no teeth to eat with: Orunmila made ebbó for him with four white pigeons and three coconuts, and sent him to wait for Obatalá. Obatalá needed those coconuts: he accepted the trade and pinned four pins in the boa's mouth — two above, two below — turning them into teeth: «every animal you bite will drop at your side». On the road, Obatalá dropped something; his servant Okete disobeyed him and went back for it: Oká bit him and swallowed him. Obatalá cursed Oká: «every time you swallow an animal you will have to stop and rot it inside you». To Iban Eshu.

On this road, Orunmila made ebbó for Oká — the boa — because he had no teeth to eat with, using four white pigeons and three coconuts. Then he told him: «Go and wait for Obatalá on the road, give him the coconuts and the pigeons, and ask him for that favor». Oká did so, and when Obatalá saw him, he said: «My son, how I need those coconuts you have». Oká said: «I will give them to you, and the pigeons too, if you grant me the favor of having teeth to eat with». Since Obatalá needed the coconuts, he agreed, and taking four pins he had, he pinned them in Oká's mouth, two above and two below, and with his power turned them into teeth, and told him: «From today and for as long as the world is the world, you have the gift that every animal you bite will drop at your side».

Obatalá went away very happy with the coconuts and the pigeons; on the road something fell out of his bag, and when he noticed he mentioned it to his servant Okete, who told him: «Wait for me here, I will go and get it». Obatalá told him: «No, leave it, let us go on our way». Okete disobeyed him and turned back for what was lost: when he got there, he met Oká, who bit him and swallowed him. When Obatalá learned what had happened to his servant, he cursed Oká, saying: «For as long as the world is the world, every time you swallow an animal you will have to stop and rot it inside you, in your own belly». To Iban Eshu.

2Metalofin and the pregnant statue

Metalofin put the diviners to the test: he had a pregnant woman carved out of wood with a live pigeon inside, and paved his courtyard with stones covered over with sand. Eyiogbe and Oyekun Meji broke their staffs against the stones: off to jail. Oggunda Biode — a child, sharp, head of the thieves — was coming back from a journey with three roosters, three akará and three coins: Elegba tested him three times in disguise, and each time got his share. Then he told him the secret: the only unpaved spot was under Metalofin's seat, and the pregnant woman was a statue with a pigeon in it. Oggunda Biode planted his staff at the king's feet and called him out: «Why did you not tell the others?» — «I was afraid of you». Metalofin, full of shame, freed every prisoner: that is why Oggunda Biode gets people out of tight spots.

Metalofin wanted to put the diviners of the city to the test: he had the statue of a pregnant woman carved out of a piece of wood, and at the same time paved the whole surface of his courtyard with great stones. He laid the statue in the entrance hall, covered it with clothing and put a live pigeon inside it, whose movement gave the statue the look of being alive; then he had all the stones in the courtyard covered with sand. Eyiogbe was the first invited: «Here is my wife about to give birth; I have sent for you to help me with the delivery». Eyiogbe went for his ashé akrolode, and as he raised it to drive it hard into the ground, the point broke against the stones: «You know nothing — off to jail». Then Oyekun Meji: his ashé also broke against the stone floor, and he was sent to jail. Oggunda Biode, though a child, was very sharp — he was even head of the thieves — and traveled from country to country reading Ifá. On that journey he earned three roosters, three balls of akará and three five-cent coins. On his way back, about six kilometers from the city, he met Elegba: «Where are you coming from?» — «From a client's house, where I read Ifá» — «Did you earn anything?... And my share?». Oggunda Biode gave him a rooster, a ball of akará and a coin. Four kilometers on, Elegba in disguise asked the same questions — and got the same; two kilometers on he came back in his own form, took his share, and added: «Metalofin needs you: he has jailed a great many diviners. I will tell you a secret: he has spread stones all over the courtyard — only the spot where he places his seat is unpaved. And the pregnant woman is a common wooden statue with a live pigeon hidden inside. Plant your ashé as close to his seat as you can, right at his feet, and tell him the truth to his face».

Oggunda Biode followed Elegba's advice to the letter: he planted his staff beside the seat and told Metalofin: «You are nothing but a troublemaker: you have set up a wooden statue covered with clothing to deceive people. If my family has wronged you, say so openly, rather than jailing my relatives one by one with tricks like this. You have buried stones all over the courtyard to deceive people». Metalofin answered: «What are you saying?» — «Only the truth: the one who told me is Ifá» — «And why did you not tell the others?» — «I was afraid of you». After a while, Metalofin, full of shame, ordered the prisoners freed, and that is how Oggunda Biode won the freedom of all his relatives. Note: this is the reason Oggunda Biode is considered an important Odù — it gets whoever it comes to out of tight spots and out of bad situations.

3When Oshún was poor and made Santo

Oshún, poor, went to Orunmila: an ebbó with three arrows inside three balls of yam, with cakes and jutía, carried out to the country walking until she was tired. At the end of the road, a man invited her into his house under false pretenses — he had fallen for her, and there were two more bandits inside. Before laying hands on her, the three ate the food from the ebbó: they swallowed the arrows and died. Oshún found the money stacked up, ran to tell Orunmila — the prayer had been made to find the money for her Santo. Orunmila announced that something bad would pass through the city: every house was shut and covered with white cloth, Oshún came in with the money unseen, and made Santo with a feast — with nobody knowing where the money came from.

On this road, Oshún was poor and went to see Orunmila, who made osode for her and marked her an ebbó with three arrows and three balls of yam — with the arrows inside them —, cakes, jutía, fish and the rest, and told her to carry the ebbó out to the country and walk until she was tired. At the end of the road she met a man who offered her his house, saying he would introduce her to his wife. Oshún accepted, believing it was true; but it was all a lie: he said that so as to lay hands on her, because he had fallen for her. When they reached the house there were two more men, who were bandits, and all three took a liking to Oshún. But before they set about laying hands on her, they began to eat the food Oshún was carrying: they swallowed the arrows that were inside the balls — and all three died.

When Oshún began to search the house and saw a great deal of money stacked up, she ran out and went home to tell Orunmila; she had had the prayer made in order to find the money to make Santo. Then Orunmila announced that something bad was going to pass through the city, and every house was shut and covered with white cloth. Oshún took the chance and came into the city with all the money unseen, and made Santo. And there was a feast, and nobody knew where the money came from.

4Where Orunmila ate abo dun dun🔒 Babalawo

5When Yemayá carried Orunmila and rocked him🔒 Babalawo

6Oshún's asokere🔒 Babalawo

7Standing for Olofin on earth🔒 Babalawo

8The birth of the Osun of Osain🔒 Babalawo

9Destruction by pork🔒 Babalawo

10Cheating is what opens the grave🔒 Babalawo

11The road of weakness🔒 Babalawo

12The three thieves and Oshún's wealth🔒 Babalawo

13The argument between Olofin and Abita🔒 Babalawo

14The band of thieves and the birth of Igbodun🔒 Babalawo

15Another man's wife is respected🔒 Babalawo

16Elá, the elephant's child🔒 Babalawo

17When Osun lived with Olofin🔒 Babalawo

18Olodumare's honesty🔒 Babalawo

19The dishonest one who never came back🔒 Babalawo

20Karangbada: may wealth come looking for me🔒 Babalawo

21The stingy hunter🔒 Babalawo

22The rogue and the palm🔒 Babalawo

23A mother's heart🔒 Babalawo

24The exclusion of Ogunda Bede🔒 Babalawo

25The low blow🔒 Babalawo

26The devil's bird🔒 Babalawo

27The silk road🔒 Babalawo

28The dishonest maiden🔒 Babalawo

29The leopards and the gold🔒 Babalawo

26 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 Oggunda Biode in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Oggunda Biode

What does the Odù Oggunda Biode mean in Ifá?

The Odù of the children of Oduduwa that gets you out of any tight spot: inside the Igbodun room, it stands for the godfather.

What number is Oggunda Biode among the 256 Odù of Ifá?

Oggunda Biode is Odù number 137 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Ogunda family.

Which orishas speak in Oggunda Biode?

In the Odù Oggunda Biode these orishas speak: Elegba, Oshún, Orunmila, Shangó, Ogún, Yemayá, Egun, Osain, Olokun.

What is a proverb of the Odù Oggunda Biode?

One of the proverbs of Oggunda Biode says: «One man alone, with Ifá's help, challenges 30 men to fight and beats them.».

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