Odù 104 of 256 · Ojuani family

Ojuani Birete

Religious inheritance: the godchild inherits from the godfather and carries what the ancestors left unpaid — here the first rooster was killed.

Ojuani Birete is Odù number 104 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Ojuani family. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 16 patakíes (3 with the full text), its proverbs, 7 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 104 of 256
Composition: Ojuani over Irete
Orishas that speak: Elegba / Eshu · Olofin · Olokun · Oshún · Shangó · Ogún · Oduduwa y Obatalá

What Ifá says in this sign

Ojuani Birete is the Ifá of counts and marquises — titles that are always at war — and of the dynasty of religious inheritance: godchildren inherit the godfather's things, and people inherit what their ancestors left unpaid. You are not starting from zero: you are collecting and settling old accounts.

Its proverbs come from the henhouse and the river: two roosters do not drink water together — do not share a throne or a territory with your equal, because war is certain — and the shrimp that falls asleep is carried off by the current: staying alert is what pays your rent. The old man of this odu had his enemies agree among themselves to steal the money he had put away: trust no one.

«Two roosters do not drink water together — the titles of Ojuani Birete are defended without sharing the throne.»The pulse of Ojuani Birete

The wound in this house is between father and son: the disobedient son of this Odù has his undoing right there — this odu marks trouble between the two. If you are the son: obey. If you are the father — who had or has military rank: give fewer orders and talk more. Disobedience has already cost you a fright at sea or in the river: do not let it cost you more.

Its patience has a cash reward: you will say something and nobody will believe you — and when the facts prove you right, they will come looking for you, and you will be able to ask a good deal of money. Do not turn bitter over other people not believing you: it is your investment. But watch out for envy: you will be granted something valuable, and there is always someone unhappy about it who is capable of anything.

Choose your friends under a magnifying glass — bad advice sends this odu off course — do not go seeking your fortune out of boredom, do not speak ill of the Saints, and throw the party for whichever Osha asks for one. When the person of this Odù falls ill, it is hard to get them back on their feet: prevention, not cure — of the three, the only one saved from the rain was the one who made ebbó

The sign in one line

Obey your father, do not fall asleep like the shrimp and wait to be proved right — time pays Ojuani Birete back with interest for what nobody believes today.

The prayer of Ojuani Birete · Yoruba

Ojuani Birete okiti baba opeku adifafun Olofin apari adifafun Palakore.

Súyere
Lori Olofin akua akua.

Ifá says — what Ojuani Birete tells you

An Ifá of counts and marquises: titles that are always at war. This is an Odù of theft: take great care, because someone wants to do you harm, and there will be trouble with the law. It is an Ifá that speaks of sodomy, of sexual excess, of impotence, and of a woman with no restraint in sex.
Vanity, mistrust and restlessness: you have trouble looking honestly at your own goals, and you need to change the way you behave.
The enemies of the older person have agreed among themselves to steal the money they have put away: trust nobody.
The son of this Odù is disobedient and that is why he has trouble with his father: that is his undoing — it speaks of a fight between son and father.
The father of the son of this Odù had or has military rank, and this person comes from a family with money.
You will say something and nobody will believe you; when it happens, they will admit you were right — and they will come looking for you, and you will be able to ask a good deal of money.
You will be granted something valuable, but there will always be someone envious and unhappy about it who could even kill you: take care.
When the person of this Odù falls ill, it takes a great deal of work to get them back on their feet; it marks someone seriously ill in the house.
Illnesses of this sign: blood circulation, sexual impotence, fungus on the feet and swelling in the legs.
The wife tickles her husband in a way of her own and he likes it a great deal: if she leaves him, he will miss her badly.
When you get bored, you want to go off and seek your fortune.
You have to know how to choose your friends: bad company and bad advice can send your life off course.
You had a bad fright at sea or in the river, through being disobedient.
You are very fond of money.
You are thinking of going to a certain place to look for money that belongs to an old man: be careful of the bad ideas that come to you, and of the law.
You cannot speak ill of the Saints.

Proverbs of Ojuani Birete · Òwe

“The young rooster goes for the old one, all because of the hen.”
“The shrimp that falls asleep is carried off by the current.”
“Disobedience costs you your life.”
“Two roosters do not drink water together.”
“A man who is awake does not get dragged around the world.”
“Whoever is born a penny never gets to be a dollar.”
“God does not hear the one who does not speak.”
“To do justice you need experience.”
“Whoever does not learn is because they do not want to.”
“The one who grieves bears the loss, and bad advice is no company.”
“The tongue of the just is just; the tongue of the wicked is wicked.”
“The adulterer wipes his mouth after eating and does not recall doing anything wrong.”
“Greed never has its fill of bread.”
“The wise man builds on rock, the fool on swamp.”
“Pride leads to disgrace; the humble man is always wise.”

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

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 Ojuani Birete · Ìbí

The dynasty of religious inheritance.
Godchildren inherit the godfather's things, and people inherit what their ancestors left unpaid.
The rooster's first stroke of luck, and the first time it was killed and eaten.
Its comb stood for the crown Olofin gave it — until it talked too much.
That the party be thrown for whichever Osha asks for one.
That the woman be the elder over the man.
Her husband will have to be an Awó: otherwise no man will grow old at her side.
That the young rooster pecks the old one because of the hen: the young man goes for the old one.
The proverb «the shrimp that falls asleep is carried off by the current».
That two roosters do not drink water together.

What is forbidden · Eewó

5 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 Ojuani Birete · The sacrifices that open the road

Pushing death awayThe young rooster of the shadow🔒 Babalawo

Beating enemiesEbbó of the three who asked for each other's heads🔒 Babalawo

MoneyEbbó of the four ears of corn🔒 Babalawo

LoveThe rooster and the coral🔒 Babalawo

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

Works of Ojuani Birete · The workings of the sign

Beating enemiesThe inshé of the 16 spurs🔒 Babalawo

MoneyElegba's fish🔒 Babalawo

HealthThe brew for the belly🔒 Babalawo

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

Patakíes of Ojuani Birete · The roads of the Odù

1The disobedient prince

Prince Osabeyi paid no attention to his elders, and thinking his great name was enough, he left home. As long as he had money he had friends and flatterers; when Shangó and Elegba turned his affairs upside down, the flatterers became enemies, he fell ill from sorrow and fire tore his house apart. The vulture carried his ebbó in the gourd to Oduduwa and Obatalá, who ruled: let him go back, ask his parents' forgiveness and obey — it is his last chance. And so his happiness came back.

In the land of Itako there lived a man called Osabeyi: there everyone born was given the same name, with different titles and numbers. This prince did nothing and paid no attention to his elders, only what he himself wanted, so his elders turned their backs on him. He believed that, being important and having a great name, he could live happy, and he left his house for the countryside. As long as he had money he had many friends and flatterers; but when Shangó and Elegba turned his affairs upside down, his friends drifted away from him, to the point that those who used to pay him court were now his enemies. He fell ill from sorrow and in his mind, and he was left without a house, because fire caught it and tore it apart.

In a very bad way by then, he decided to go to Orunmila's house. Orunmila made osode for him, saw this Odù, gave him a great deal of advice and made him ebbó with the little money he had left, sending him to place it on a hill inside a gourd. When the prince reached the foot of the hill, exhausted, the vulture took the ebbó from him: «Wait, I will take the ebbó to Oduduwa and Obatalá». Oduduwa took the ebbó out of the gourd and said: «Vulture, give him back the money and tell him to go back where his parents are; first let him ask their forgiveness, and then give them gifts or throw them a party, to make them glad. And from that moment on let him obey his elders, so he does not fall into the same thing again — because this is the last chance he has». The vulture gave him the gourd with the money and the message; the prince did as he was told, and that is how his happiness came back.

2The rooster's crown and Ogún's machete

At the beginning of the world the rooster had no comb, and Obatalá begged Olofin for the crown. Ogún took offense: «I, who work the whole world, have no crown — and this one, who has never worked, gets one. He will be sorry». And as a joke he went about singing that Obatalá had sores and was bald. Olofin sent for them both: Ogún cut off the rooster's head with one blow of the machete so it would not talk — and from then on the rooster began to be killed and eaten, when before nobody touched it because of its crown.

At the beginning of the world the rooster had no comb — the comb that would stand for its crown — and it went to Obatalá's house to have one put on. Obatalá begged Olofin to allow it, and Olofin agreed, which enraged and offended Ogún: «Look, Obatalá: how I have worked in this world and go on working, and I have no crown; and the rooster, who has never worked, gets a crown from you. I am sure he will be sorry for it».

Obatalá was ill in his legs, with sores, and his head was bald, which made him furious. Ogún, as a joke, began to sing: «Obatalá has sores on his feet and he is bald». Olofin, hearing that, sent for the rooster and for Ogún; when they arrived, Ogún took his machete and cut off the rooster's head, so it would not talk. And from then on the rooster began to be killed and eaten, since in the old days it was not killed: its comb stood for the crown Olofin had given it.

3The rooster who found out Olofin was bald

Olofin sent for the rooster — who was an Awó of Orunmila — to be read: «You have a complaint in your chest». It was true, and Olofin, to crown him, took off his cap: the rooster saw that he was bald, a secret nobody knew. Emboldened by the privilege, he went about proud; Elegba tempted him until one day he sang: «Lori Olofin akua akua» — Olofin is bald. And Olofin ruled: «Take the rooster and eat him, for saying what he should not have said».

Olofin sent for the rooster to be read by him, since the rooster was an Awó of Orunmila. When the rooster threw the ókpele, he saw this Odù and told him: «Olofin, you have a complaint in your chest and it is hurting you». Since it was true, Olofin thought to crown the rooster; and on taking off his cap to crown him, the rooster saw that he was bald — something nobody knew, since nobody had ever managed to see him with his head uncovered.

The rooster, emboldened by being the only one to have had that privilege, went about very proud. But Elegba kept tempting him to tell the secret, meaning to catch him out. He pressed him so hard that one day the rooster began to sing: «Lori Olofin akua akua» — Olofin is bald. Olofin, learning that the rooster was spreading his personal secrets, called Elegba and told him: «Take the rooster so you can eat him, for saying what he should not have said». That is why this Odù forbids eating rooster, and Elegba is given ekó in whatever form he asks for it.

4The three who asked for each other's heads🔒 Babalawo

5The shrimp and the king's son🔒 Babalawo

6The Awó's two pigeons🔒 Babalawo

7Three readings: Olofin, the scornful man and the poor man🔒 Babalawo

8Orunmila's dilemma🔒 Babalawo

9The rooster and the hen🔒 Babalawo

10Hidden enemies🔒 Babalawo

11From frustration to fulfillment🔒 Babalawo

12The monkeys and the moon🔒 Babalawo

13The river, the lake and the sea🔒 Babalawo

14The clever one and the strong one🔒 Babalawo

15Devilish charms🔒 Babalawo

16The three chances of a favored man🔒 Babalawo

13 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 Ojuani Birete in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Ojuani Birete

What does the Odù Ojuani Birete mean in Ifá?

Religious inheritance: the godchild inherits from the godfather and carries what the ancestors left unpaid — here the first rooster was killed.

What number is Ojuani Birete among the 256 Odù of Ifá?

Ojuani Birete is Odù number 104 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Ojuani family.

Which orishas speak in Ojuani Birete?

In the Odù Ojuani Birete these orishas speak: Elegba / Eshu, Olofin, Olokun, Oshún, Shangó, Ogún, Oduduwa y Obatalá.

What is a proverb of the Odù Ojuani Birete?

One of the proverbs of Ojuani Birete says: «The young rooster goes for the old one, all because of the hen.».

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