Ojuani Birete

nº 104 of 256

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

16 patakíes 5 eewó 7 ebbós and works 15 proverbs

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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 — 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 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 live in endless war — and of the dynasty that inherits religious matters: the godfather's things pass to the godchildren, and each person gets the loose ends their ancestors left unfulfilled. You do not start from zero: you collect and you pay 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.”

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

What is born in Ojuani Birete · Ìbí

The dynasty of religious inheritance.
What belongs to the godfather passes by inheritance to the godchildren, and each person carries the loose ends their ancestors left unfulfilled.
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.
The husband she has must be an Awó; if he is not, no man at her side will live to old age.
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

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

You are forbidden to bathe in the sea and in the river.
A whirlpool swallowed the king's son; the person of this sign gets a great fright in the water.
You are forbidden to eat rooster.
The rooster was crowned by Olofin, and died for revealing his secret.
Do not cross barren land.
So you do not pick up bad influences.
Do not step in to break up other people's fights.
Do not raise your hands against your elders, whether of blood or of religion.
You are quite lost: obedience is your main weapon.

Ebbós of Ojuani Birete · The sacrifices that open the road

Keeping death awayThe young rooster of the shadow🔒 The Notebook Beating enemiesEbbó of the three who asked for each other's heads🔒 The Notebook MoneyEbbó of the four ears of corn🔒 The Notebook LoveThe rooster and the coral🔒 The Notebook

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

Works of Ojuani Birete · The workings of the sign

Beating enemiesThe inshé of the 16 spurs🔒 The Notebook MoneyElegba's fish🔒 The Notebook HealthThe brew for the belly🔒 The Notebook

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

Osabeyi was a figure of the land of Itako, where every newborn was given that same name and told apart by different titles and numbers. The prince did not work at anything and did not listen to the elders: he did only what he wanted, and for that reason the elders ended up turning their backs on him. He imagined that his greatness and his famous name were enough for him to live happily, and he left the house for the countryside. As long as his money lasted he had no shortage of friends and flatterers; as soon as Shangó and Elegba broke up his affairs, the friends walked away, and those who used to praise him became his enemies. He fell ill from sadness and in his mind, and on top of that he was left without a house: the fire tore it apart.

When things were already very bad, he made up his mind to look for Orunmila, who did osode for him, saw this Odù, gave him a lot of advice and set up ebbó with the little he had left, with the order to leave it on a hill inside a gourd. The prince arrived worn out at the foot of the hill, and there the vulture took hold of the ebbó: "Wait, I will hand the ebbó to Oduduwa and Obatalá." Oduduwa took it out of the gourd and ruled: "Vulture, give him back the money and tell him to go back to where his parents were; first let him ask them for forgiveness and then give them gifts or throw them a party, to make them happy. 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." With the gourd, the money and the message on the way back, the prince did exactly as he was told, and that is how he got his happiness 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.

When the world was beginning, the rooster had no crest — the one that was to be his crown — and he showed up at Obatalá's house so it could be put on him. Obatalá asked Olofin for permission, and he granted it; that filled Ogún with fury and resentment: "Look, Obatalá: see how I have worked in the world and am still working, and I have no crown; and the rooster, who has not worked, you gave the crown to. I am sure you will regret it."

Obatalá's legs hurt, they were covered in sores, and he was bald, which drove him out of his mind. Ogún took it as a joke and went around singing: "Obatalá has sores on his feet and he is bald." That reached Olofin's ears, and he summoned the rooster together with Ogún; as soon as he had them in front of him, Ogún grabbed the machete and cut off the rooster's head, to shut his mouth. From then until now the rooster is killed and eaten, because before that no knife touched him: his crest was the crown Olofin had granted him.

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 get a reading, because the rooster was Orunmila's Awó. The ókpele was thrown, this Odù came out, and the rooster spoke: "Olofin, you have a problem in your chest and it hurts you." He got it right, and for that Olofin decided to crown him. When he uncovered his head to put the crown on him, the rooster managed to see that he was bald: until that day nobody in the world had seen him without the cap, and nobody knew the secret.

Being the only one with such a privilege went to the rooster's head, and he went around strutting. Elegba, who wanted to catch him, kept needling him so he would let the secret out, and he pushed him so hard that one day the rooster sang: "Lori Olofin akua akua" — Olofin is bald. When Olofin found out that his private matters were going from mouth to mouth, he called Elegba and ordered him: "Take the rooster and 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 way he asks for it.

4The three who asked for each other's heads🔒 The Notebook 5The shrimp and the king's son🔒 The Notebook 6The Awó's two pigeons🔒 The Notebook 7Three readings: Olofin, the scornful man and the poor man🔒 The Notebook 8Orunmila's dilemma🔒 The Notebook 9The rooster and the hen🔒 The Notebook 10Hidden enemies🔒 The Notebook 11From frustration to fulfillment🔒 The Notebook 12The monkeys and the moon🔒 The Notebook 13The river, the lake and the sea🔒 The Notebook 14The clever one and the strong one🔒 The Notebook 15Devilish charms🔒 The Notebook 16The three chances of a favored man🔒 The Notebook

13 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 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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