Ojuani Meyi

nº 6 of 256 · Meyi · also Owonrin Meji

The mask and ingratitude: you never see the fruit of your work, until the sacrifice ties the hands of your enemies.

45 patakíes 10 eewó 15 ebbós and works 17 proverbs

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Ojuani Meyi is Odù number 6 of the 256 in Ifá, one of the 16 Meyi and the head of the Ojuani family. It is also written as Owonrin Meji. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 45 patakíes (3 with the full text), its proverbs, 15 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 6 of 256 · Meyi
Composition
Ojuani over Ojuani
In the Diloggún
11-11 · Ojuani tonti Ojuani

What Ifá says in this sign

Ojuani Meyi is the sign of the mask and of ingratitude: here the arayés — the enemies — were born, and the oldest complaint in the world: you work hard and you never see the fruit. But this odu did not come to complain: it came to teach how to tie the hands of the people who get in your way.

The secret is in how it came down: Ojuani, scared by the stories about earth, made such a complete sacrifice before coming that sickness could not follow him, and he came down with long life and prosperity at his side. The envious priests dug a hidden hole on his road — and Eshú made him jump over it, then dug another one where they fell in. In this Ifá the plotters fall into their own trap… if Eshú has been fed.

«The plotters fall into the hole they dug themselves — if Eshú has been fed.»The pulse of Ojuani Meyi

Watch out for the mask: there will always be a friend who hurts you quietly, like the leopard that pretended to be the guinea hen's friend just to learn where she lived. And watch out for your own envy, which is expensive here: the chameleon, eaten up by envy of the dog, demanded powers that were not his — and the first harm fell on his own mother. The evil you do will come back on you.

Your strengths: the patience of the ground — of the two brothers, only Ale, the ground, made the sacrifice calmly, and that is why everyone bows to him while the wind wanders with no house. Your mother, sacred and untouchable. The open door: the three soaked travelers Ojuani took in turned out to be gifts from heaven. Never refuse food to a visitor: your prosperity comes in through that door. And take care of your dead: two Eggun who were kings stand at your door blocking the way — give them light and food so they open it.

The promise of this odu is a double blessing: money and a partner. Your partner will be a great trader — like the princess of Ado, whose business grew with Eshú's street call until it passed her father's. Do not curse, do not tell people about the fights in your house, and do not waste your voice on threats: the mooing of a cow does not call human beings to a meeting — here you win in silence, with the ebbó done.

The sign in one line

Have the patience of the ground, honor your mother and your dead, and give Eshú what belongs to him — the fruit you do not see today, Ojuani harvests whole tomorrow.

The prayer of Ojuani Meyi · Yoruba

Ojuani Meyi adifafun agangara adelepeko kikomada aiku adelepeko komo Oloddumare agangara Olúwo ni oribi okun Orun wá le Eshú. Kikomakuada Ikú, kikomakuada arun, kikomakuada ofo, kikomakuada eyo, kikomakuada araye, kikomakuada ogu, kikomakuada onilu.

Súyere
Agangara omolodumare, agangara omolodumare, aiku lowao omolodumare, agangara omolodumare.

Ifá says — what Ojuani Meyi tells you

The ashé of this sign: It predicts two great blessings: the person will be blessed with money and with a partner. · The Awó of this sign will be rich from a young age, with women, children and money — if they have the tact not to lose it. · It gives the gift of healing: fame and conquests were born here. · His guiding spirit is full of light: he does well in everything he takes on. · Farming gives him the greatest reward: he will find his luck working the land. · His wife will be a great trader, and the visitors to his house bring prosperity — never refuse them food.

Proverbs of Ojuani Meyi · Òwe

14 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 Meyi · 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 Meyi · The sacrifices that open the road

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

Works of Ojuani Meyi · The workings of the sign

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

Patakíes of Ojuani Meyi · The roads of the Odù

1Fefe and Ale: the wind and the ground

The brothers wind and ground were given the same sacrifice before coming down to the world. Only the ground, patient, made it: that is why it has a firm existence and everyone bows to it, while the wind wanders invisible and with no home.

The greatest work Ojuani Meyi did in heaven was to read for two brothers who were on their way to the world: Fefe, who is the wind, and Ale, who is the ground. He marked the same thing for both, so that on earth no one would deny them respect: a palm leaf, a parrot feather and a sheep for their guardian angels, plus a goat from each of them for Eshú.

Ale listened well, did not rush and had a cool head: he complied at once. Fefe was in a hurry, he was a rascal and he thought so much of himself that he found no reason to sacrifice anything. They set out at the same hour and, where heaven ends and earth begins, each one took his own way.

Things went so well for Ale that he became the anchor of everything alive: any plant or animal that is born pays him respect before anyone else, by touching him. Fefe was denied rest, and he has to go up and down without a break between heaven and earth. That is why the ground stays firm and in its place, while the wind, besides being invisible, has no known home: you feel it pass, but no one sees it.

2Ojuani Meyi gets ready to come to the world

Scared by the stories about earth, Ojuani made a detailed sacrifice before coming down. Eshú got Oggún tangled up with death, and in that uproar sickness could not follow him: he came down with long life and prosperity at his side.

Ojuani Meyi decided to come down to earth, but he came with fear: those who had gone before him told stories of bad luck. A priest of heaven marked him a heavy sacrifice — goats to Eshú Obadara and to Eshú Jelu, a female goat to Orishanlá and to Ifá, dogs to Oggún and to Obalifon, roosters to Ozayin and to Oro — and announced three tests to him, and that death would not let go of his trail, club in hand; at the end of all that, however, wealth and prosperity would be his. He made every offering.

As soon as Eshú finished eating his goat, he grabbed the skull of the dog that had been given to Oggún and left it in front of the door of the king of death. Oggún went looking for that skull until he found it there; he accused death of being a thief and went at her with his machete. Death could not take the punishment: she had two hundred and one dogs gathered and roasted seven of them for him to calm him down.

In all the running around, death's wife — the divinity of sickness — got hurt and could no longer come down behind Ojuani Meyi, as she had planned. It was in the middle of that uproar that he escaped from heaven; and once the dust settled, ariku and aje — long life and prosperity — came with him into the world.

3The hole of the plotters

The envious priests dug a hidden hole on the road from the shrine to kill Ojuani. Eshú made him jump over the trap with the skull of the sacrificed goat — and then dug another hole, where every one of the plotters fell in, one by one.

The prosperity of Ojuani Meyi in Oyó stirred up the envy of the older priests, who decided to destroy him. Under threat of being thrown out, they forced him to attend the yearly festival of a deity, and they dug a hidden hole on the road he would take back from the shrine, since the custom was to arrive as a group and to return separately.

Warned by his Ifá, Ojuani sacrificed a gray goat to Ifá and a goat to Eshú. On the fourteenth day, when the ceremonies ended, the plotters told him that, being the newest, he should leave first. As he was getting close to the hidden hole, Eshú turned the skull of the sacrificed goat into an obstacle: Ojuani tripped, jumped over the hole without knowing it and got home safe.

Then Eshú covered that hole and dug another one, right at the way out of the shrine. The plotters came out one by one; each of them tripped on the skull Eshú had put there and fell into the bottomless grave, and Eshú sealed it as if nothing had happened. When the town went looking for the missing men, Ojuani revealed in the divination what had happened, and Orunmila passed sentence: whoever goes to a shrine looking for salvation should go with a clean heart, because the wicked may not come back.

4The two witch wives and the mother's complaint🔒 The Notebook5The princess of Ado🔒 The Notebook6The three visitors in the rain🔒 The Notebook7The guinea hen and the leopard🔒 The Notebook8The war of Odduduwa and Obbatalá🔒 The Notebook9The chameleon and the dog🔒 The Notebook10When the monkey lost his freedom🔒 The Notebook11The experience of Ojuani Meyi as a trader🔒 The Notebook12Ojuani Meyi ties the hands of his enemies🔒 The Notebook13Ojuani Meyi becomes famous through his son🔒 The Notebook14The rescue of the favorite wife of the king of Ifé🔒 The Notebook15The two wives of Akiriboto (the quarrel told on the road)🔒 The Notebook16Where you have to do it for Eshu (the bet of the santos)🔒 The Notebook17Life and death (the two twin Azojuano)🔒 The Notebook18The song of the guinea hen is born (the cascarilla saved her from Death)🔒 The Notebook19Where the pepper became hot🔒 The Notebook20Trimming the palm tree is born🔒 The Notebook21The war of the guinea hen and the quail (the ja of Azojuano)🔒 The Notebook22The goat that had many customers🔒 The Notebook23Awó Mayere and Eshu Lawana (the flute player of the Eggun)🔒 The Notebook24The curse that turned the woman into a river🔒 The Notebook25Agangara Awó heals Olodumare🔒 The Notebook26Orunmila and the foreman of the estate🔒 The Notebook27The world of mirrors🔒 The Notebook28It was divined for the cat (the trip to the land of the witches)🔒 The Notebook29It was divined for the 165 animals (the cat's black cloth)🔒 The Notebook30It was divined for Opekete🔒 The Notebook31It was divined for the 165 doves🔒 The Notebook32The children of Odduduwa Akala🔒 The Notebook33The dove that became an eagle🔒 The Notebook34The santos and the earth🔒 The Notebook35When the santos made fun of Orunmila🔒 The Notebook36The thanks Eshú gave the guinea hen🔒 The Notebook37The son of the devil (Adodo Awó and the mandrake)🔒 The Notebook38The Awó Ologbo🔒 The Notebook39Why lightning goes to the palm tree (the coldness of the chameleon)🔒 The Notebook40The hidden treasure (ingratitude toward the dog)🔒 The Notebook41The man with the cat skin🔒 The Notebook42The foolish trader🔒 The Notebook43The pact of the ileke (the green and yellow idé is born)🔒 The Notebook44Ayapa, the mother of the world🔒 The Notebook45The fox and the wolf🔒 The Notebook
42 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 Meyi in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Ojuani Meyi

What does the Odù Ojuani Meyi mean in Ifá?

The mask and ingratitude: you never see the fruit of your work, until the sacrifice ties the hands of your enemies.

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

Ojuani Meyi is Odù number 6 of the 256 in Ifá, one of the 16 Meyi and the head of the Ojuani family.

Which orishas speak in Ojuani Meyi?

In the Odù Ojuani Meyi these orishas speak: Eshú, Eggún, Oshún, Azojuano (San Lázaro), Oggún, Shangó, Odduduwa, Obbatalá, Ozayin, Orunmila.

What is a proverb of the Odù Ojuani Meyi?

One of the proverbs of Ojuani Meyi says: «You never see the fruit of your work: ingratitude works harder than you do.».

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