Ojuani Boka

nº 101 of 256

The Ifá of measure: the yam is Orunmila's crown, and the sea is king of the rivers because they all run into it — greed is this sign's undoing.

16 patakíes 5 eewó 8 ebbós and works 15 proverbs

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Ojuani Boka is Odù number 101 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, 8 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 101 of 256
Composition
Ojuani over Ika
Orishas that speak
Osanyin · Elegba / Eshu · Ogún · Obatalá · Olokun y Yemayá · Oshún · Egun · Esi

What Ifá says in this sign

Ojuani Boka is the Ifá of measure: it guarantees success in moderation — because you have to keep your measure in everything you do in life. Its law of the waters says it on a grand scale: the king of all the rivers is the sea, because every one of them ends up there — whoever knows how to receive without overflowing, reigns.

Its undoing has a name: greed — Eshu knocked Ika right off his own pile of corn. Greed brings you enemies and curses, and it is the reason your luck never quite comes in. Add pride and ingratitude — the other two faults this odu paints — and you know what to correct so that people deal with you straight.

«The sea is king because every river ends up in it — the measure of Ojuani Boka receives without overflowing.»The pulse of Ojuani Boka

Your front door is a spiritual customs house: death stays there tearing everything apart — and there are also three strokes of luck standing at it that never quite come in. Feed the door: it sends one away and lets the others through. And do not complain about your wife inviting people over to eat: it is the visitors who bring you your luck.

The yearly secret of this sign: a black young rooster for Osanyin out in the bush at the start of every year — it neutralizes the sorcerers and omologú, the way Odomi Awó and Oyeye won their war. And respect the golden rule among Awoses: you do not read another man's wife without him present or without his permission — a war between sorcerers over exactly that ruined two lands.

Take care of your nerves (beef blood for Ifá with plenty of aguardiente), do not push around people weaker than you — one of them can give you the fright of your life — and keep an eye on your house: the people you support, your own children included, can turn on you. The santera who will come to visit you will be good for you: everything you do will come out right — and the crown is waiting: the yam is Orunmila's crown, and measure is a man's crown

The sign in one line

Keep your measure, feed your front door and give Osanyin his young rooster every year — the three strokes of luck in Ojuani Boka come in as soon as greed goes out.

The prayer of Ojuani Boka · Yoruba

Ojuani Boka Obatalá ademi ikabale adiña awi adifafun ote tinshomo beishe tinshomo abure Ika aka ada omo Olofin.

Súyere
Abidide Osanyin abidide Osanyin ikabure babalokuta Ofun adifafun Ika.

Ifá says — what Ojuani Boka tells you

Proverbs of Ojuani Boka · Òwe

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 Boka · Ìbí

What is forbidden · Eewó

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

Ebbós of Ojuani Boka · The sacrifices that open the road

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

Works of Ojuani Boka · The workings of the sign

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

Patakíes of Ojuani Boka · The roads of the Odù

1Baduto and the power of Esi

The Awó Baduto, a wise man of the land of Baribia, earned the enmity of the sorcerers, who killed him with poisoned arrows and then went after his son Oyeye. Orunmila revealed to him that his father had lost by trusting in his own wisdom: to win, he had to put himself in the hands of Esi — the protecting god of Ifá who defeated Karakambuka, the owner of black magic — with the board of the 16 Meyi, the consecrated plate and the seven piles of sulfur set alight. With that, Ojuani Boka defeated every one of his enemies.

Baduto was an Awó of the land of Baribia, a talented man who found a way out of any problem. He had a son, Oyeye, whose Odù was Ojuani Boka and who was a godchild of Orunmila. That ashé brought Baduto the hatred of quite a few sorcerers, since he had freed many people from their hands. One day when he was going to see a sick person, they waited in ambush on the road and killed him with poisoned arrows; not even with that were they satisfied, and they went after the son.

Oyeye had a reading with Orunmila, who explained that his father had been lost by trusting too much in his own wisdom; if he wanted to come out the winner, he had to put himself in the hands of Esi — the god who protects Ifá and who had defeated Karakambuka, owner of black magic — and also of the Iwi of his father Baduto. He marked ebbó for him with a wooden board 150 by 20 centimeters, with the 16 Meyi carved on it, and a consecrated white plate turned over with Oshe Tura, Ojuani Boka and Otura She. He laid an atena of Egun on the floor, put the board on top and the plate on the board, spread the sulfur in seven piles, called Esi and Baduto and set it on fire. That is how Ojuani Boka beat all his enemies. Esi is represented by an arrow like Oshosi's, with a moon and two stars behind it; he lives hanging behind the door, eats doves and works hanging from the neck.

2The king's white elephant

The white elephant, the king's closest friend, was arrogant and behaved badly: it threw the soldiers into the pond, killed horses and kept the whole town on edge — and the king had anyone who touched it killed. The animals met, and the ant's plan won: the mouse gnawed through bark and honey stores, and the ants dug a tunnel under the palace. On the day of the great contest, they bit the elephant's legs, the floor caved in, and the king, humiliated, made it a slave and put it to hard labor.

In the king's court there lived a proud white elephant, the ruler's best friend: arrogant, with a terrible temper and bad manners with everybody, he thought he had a right to every bit of attention there was. His strength was such that he had the other animals and the palace soldiers harassed: he threw them into the pond, broke the floors, stole the fruit and killed the horses. People hated him and could do nothing about it, since the king ordered anyone who touched him killed.

The animals of the kingdom got together one day to look for a remedy, being careful that the king would not suspect. Each one proposed a plan, and they all turned out risky, until the ant came. This is what was agreed: the mouse, being family, would gnaw the bark of the trees and also the honey stores, so the resin and the honey would spill; the ants, for their part, dug a tunnel that would come out at the palace floor and would bring its foundations down. The day came for the endurance contest the Obá of another town had proposed, and as soon as the king rode out on the white elephant, the ants got on his legs and bit him: the animal staggered and the palace floor caved in. The king had to be helped down. Ashamed — he had to take out his treasures and hire caravans of camels to be able to get to the palace —, he came to hate him, reduced him to a slave and sent him to forced labor. Pride makes you lose; and the small thing, united and steady, brings down the biggest one.

3The missionary with the powder

An Awó of this Odù was read, arun otonowá came out, and he set out as a missionary. He reached a land where nobody paid him any attention: «There is no prosperity and no hope here — we are all sick, and every day we are robbed». «Then this is where I can be of use», he said: he handed out his powder of toasted hawk feather, with a cross on each person's forehead — and peace and prosperity came.

A certain Awó of the Odù Ojuani Boka had a reading and arun otonowá came up; so he decided to go out to other lands to serve as a missionary. He crossed a town without stopping and went on toward the neighboring lands, where none of the people living there paid him any attention. When he asked why, they explained: "There is no prosperity or hope here, since we are all sick, and we are robbed every day".

The Awó spoke up: "Well, if that is so, this is where I can be useful, because I come to carry out a mission. For those ills I bring a little powder: all of you will rub it on your forehead, and that way your sorrows and suffering will end, the robberies will end and the sicknesses will stop". Those people did as they were told, and calm and prosperity came. The little powder is made from hawk feather, toasted and ground, and with it a cross is drawn on the forehead; that is why the iyefá of this Odù never lacks hawk feather powder.

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 Boka in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Ojuani Boka

What does the Odù Ojuani Boka mean in Ifá?

The Ifá of measure: the yam is Orunmila's crown, and the sea is king of the rivers because they all run into it — greed is this sign's undoing.

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

Ojuani Boka is Odù number 101 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Ojuani family.

Which orishas speak in Ojuani Boka?

In the Odù Ojuani Boka these orishas speak: Osanyin, Elegba / Eshu, Ogún, Obatalá, Olokun y Yemayá, Oshún, Egun, Esi.

What is a proverb of the Odù Ojuani Boka?

One of the proverbs of Ojuani Boka says: «The bad comes in through the same door as the good.».

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