Okana Yeku

Also called Okana Oyeku

nº 123 of 256 · Edited by Ricco Ledesma

Orunmila's secretary, the memory of Egun: sacrifice gives riches and refusing it destroys. The first three Oloshas were born here.

24 patakíes 7 eewó 10 ebbós and works 17 proverbs

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Okana Yeku is Odù number 123 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Okana family. It is also written as Okana Oyeku. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 24 patakíes (3 in full in plain sight, with their teaching, ebbó and chants), its proverbs, 10 ebbós and works and the signs it shows in the consultation — with the full eewó in plain sight; the rest of the iré and osogbo and the full recipes open with The Notebook, in English.

The sign at a glance

Order in Ifá: Odù 123 of 256
Composition: Okana over Oyekun
In the Diloggún: 1-2 · Okana tonti Eyioko
Orishas that speak: Eshu · Shangó · Olokun y Oduduwa · Osanyin · Egun · Oshún · Olugbodo

What Ifá says in this sign

Okana Yeku, also known as Okana Oyeku, is the secretary of Orunmila, the memory that keeps what others forget. In this sign were born the war of the square board, which believed itself above the round one, the consecration in Osha with its first three Oloshas, the change of head and the wrath of the Saints. Here Orunmila and Shangó, who had been paleros, knelt before Olofin and were forgiven. Its ruling is firm: sacrifice brings you wealth, and refusing it brings you destruction.

You have many enemies, and several are at war with you. They envy what you have and what God gave you, and the witches marked your forehead to single you out: that is why everything you undertake goes wrong. There is a hidden enemy planning your death, and you could die before your time. Do ebbó so that Eshu walks at your side and wins the war for you. The Saints are angry with you: attend to Shangó. You like to walk on the edge of the razor, and a trap awaits you; if you do not do ebbó, you may go to prison.

«Sacrifice brings riches and refusing it destroys: Okana Yeku walks the edge, but with ebbó.»The pulse of Okana Yeku

Until now nothing has gone well for you, you are poor and your prayers have not reached Heaven. But if you sacrifice, in a few days you will have money, and if you serve Ifá well you will lack nothing your whole life; having your own Ifá assures you a prosperous life. Be careful about borrowing, for that money brings tragedy, and keep your word so you do not sink into debt. Feed everyone who knocks at your door, do not gossip or curse, for Olofin punishes it, and do not try to know all of Ifá, because that craving leads to madness. You are a man of the road: shut up at home you feel imprisoned and fall ill.

In love, your temper brings you great quarrels with your partner, and you tend to end up alone. You have or will have a partner who envies everything about you, and your wife is held back: treat her more gently so that luck arrives. You will have a son who will receive Ifá. Orunmila dealt diplomatically with the adodi and does not discriminate against them, but he warned that the life of Ifá, with its study and very strong discipline, is one they cannot bear. A woman in your family is barren, and the woman of this sign has a hard time giving birth.

In health, take care of your heart, which hardens with the years, and your stomach: a pain that no remedy relieves may come from witchcraft, and here there is talk of ulcers, cholera and vomiting. Do your ebbó in time and be content with what God gave you, for with that this sign turns war into prosperity.

The sign in one line

Be kind, look at yourself too, and make sacrifice, because the pleas of Okana Yeku reach heaven on the day the ebbó pushes them.

The prayer of Okana Yeku · Yoruba

Ifá arufin aruda akitin bombo walashe asheto akitin bombo Orunmila ñale babashe orun arufin aruda Okana Yeku oberele inayero ashé gbogbo orumale yikotun gbogbo orumale yikosi to iban Eshu orun Orunlofun aye Okana Yeku Barabaniregun arufin aruda.

Súyere
Arufin aruda onishebo ada, arufin aruda onishebo ada Awó.

Ifá says — what Okana Yeku tells you

You must have a Kuanardo (knife), Oduduwa and more than ten years of Ifá to make the ebbó of this Odù.
Ebbó is not made for an aleyo with osogbo Ikú without first asking Orunmila.
It is indispensable that the ebbó include a spotted hen (jabada) that is not killed but is left alive in the sick person's home.
With this Odù no Santo should be seated on the head, nor when, at the washing, all the dilogunes fall face down: the Santos manifest themselves on the forehead.
There are serious difficulties in marriage: the person tends to end up alone and must prepare for the end of life; the cause is their character.
The Awó is not satisfied with the way work is done in his branch, and he leaves that place.
Illnesses of the sign: cardiac sclerosis, cholera, chronic stomach pain from witchcraft, ulcer and vomiting; strange things are vomited here.
The woman has difficulty conceiving or giving birth: seven yams and a mother goat are offered to Olugbodo.
The Awó absorbs the bad shadow of the ebbós and paraldos he performs, because he never notices that effect or counteracts it; so, even when everyone else is well, the only one left ill and uneasy is he. It is remedied with a rogación de cabeza with doves, covered with white cloth, and two hens for Orunmila.
You are being attacked with a witch's cauldron (cazuela), perhaps of Sarabanda; Ogún must be fed so that he takes our side.
That you have many enemies set against you: perform ebbó so that Eshu will be at your side and you come out victorious in that fight.
That none of your prayers has reached heaven; they will reach it once you make the sacrifice.
That you are a man of the road: after several days shut in at home you feel imprisoned and ill; you need to be active all the time.
That you do not agree with the direction your religious house follows and want to leave for somewhere else.
That all the Santos are angry with you; take care of Shangó with a bunch of plantains.
That many envy what you have and the gifts God gave you; your spouse will be someone who envies you everything.
That you will have a son, for whom you will have to do Ifá.
That today you will be poor, but tomorrow or the day after you will have money if you make ebbó.
That borrowed money will bring you a tragedy, and that there is gunpowder on the person.
That your wife is going through a delay: be kinder to her, and also to the people you deal with, so that luck comes to you soon.

Proverbs of Okana Yeku · Òwe

“If pure oil sets its eyes on the fire, it melts.”
“The snail never suffers a hot life.”
“The square board wants to be more than the round one.”
“Be content with what you have.”
“Old trouble comes back around.”
“When there is too much fire, Yemayá puts it out with water.”
“Slyness is a sentence and kindness an approval.”
“The root of hatred is trouble; the root of forgiveness is love.”
“Whoever thinks only of deceit will never have a place among the just.”
“Nobody suffers more than whoever will not adapt.”
“The one who puts an end to the beginning is death.”
“She is like the Moorish queen, who sometimes sings and sometimes weeps.”
“The hunter chasing an elephant does not stop to throw stones at birds.”
“You are working for nothing.”
“Whoever serves the orphan serves Olorun.”
“A man only thinks things over when the osogbos touch him.”
“While the wicked fall, the just stay standing.”

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

Iré and Osogbo

Three iré and three osogbo of this sign, open to everyone.

Iré · what the sign brings

If they carry out the sacrifice they are given, wealth comes into their life.
If they serve Ifá very well, they never lack the things they need throughout their life.
With their own Ifá in the house, they enjoy a prosperous life.

Osogbo · what the sign warns

Refusing to make the sacrifice they are given brings destruction.
They have many enemies, and several of them are at war with them.
There are dangerous enemies, aggressive and ambitious, whom they must treat with caution and cunning.

50 more iré and osogbo readings in this Odù, locked.The rest of the iré and osogbo of the sign, sorted by subject — health, money, love, death, loss…Unlock →

What is born in Okana Yeku · Ìbí

The conflict between the square board and the round one.
The square one (Osain) wanted to be more than the round one (Orunmila and Oduduwa).
This Odù is recited when the sign of the ebbó is lost or forgotten.
Okana Yeku was Orunmila's secretary and filed all his papers: his prodigious memory saved the ebbó of Obatalá Oloyú Okuní.
That Orunmila and Shangó were paleros (Arufin and Aruda), and their redemption before Olofin.
The Awan of Olokun.
The change of head.
For this reason an Awó does not perform the ebbó of this Ifá for another, elder Awó, and even less so if the sign is osogbo.
The anger of the Santos, called Osha Babinú.
It is avoided with the speckled hen for all the Oshas, the ají guaguao, the Indian plantain yam and the gourd split in two.
The first three Oloshas, Akodá, Ashedá and Obaralokue, and the ceremony by which one is consecrated in Osha.
Madness from wanting to know the whole of Ifá.
No single person can grasp all of Orunmila's knowledge: anyone who tried would lose their mind.
That Orunmila allows his Odù of Ifá to be made known.
If someone warns you not to reveal your sign to another Babalawo, it is a sign that the one who warns is a liar: avoid him.
The deformed belly, and the prayer over it with a gourd.
Giving a bird to Osanyin, the guinea fowl to the feet, and the special ókpele of this Odù.

What is forbidden · Eewó

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

On Thursdays, the Awó must not spend the night with women.
Stubs (mochos) of candles must not be lit; and when several candles are lit, they must not all be put out at the same time.
You cannot eat dried okra, nor okra with its head.
Do not do the ebbó of this Odù for an older Awó.
He changes his head, and if it is osogbo, even less.
Do not refuse food or offerings to anyone who comes to your home.
Do not dig into gossip and do not curse.
Olofin punishes that.
Do not break your word.
He falls into irreparable debts, like the gourds that failed in their promise to the Devil and were defeated.

Ebbós of Okana Yeku · The sacrifices that open the road

Overcoming enemiesThe secretary's ebbó🔒 The Notebook SpiritualThe two paraldos of Awó Waorun🔒 The Notebook SpiritualThe paraldo on the hill🔒 The Notebook SpiritualThe ebbó of the gourd🔒 The Notebook Keeping death awayThe ebbó of the big land and the small land🔒 The Notebook HealthThe sacrifice of the embrace🔒 The Notebook MoneyThe sacrifice of well-being🔒 The Notebook

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

Works of Okana Yeku · The workings of the sign

SpiritualThe prayer for the forgotten Odù🔒 The Notebook HealthThe prayer over the belly🔒 The Notebook Keeping death awayThe live speckled hen🔒 The Notebook

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

Patakíes of Okana Yeku · The roads of the Odù

1The mark of the witches

Before leaving heaven, this odu was consulted by two awó named Uroke mi lawo Ligonrin and Uroke mi lawo Leturuye. They warned it that many enemies awaited it on earth and asked for an offering for Eshu, made up of a goat together with roasted yam. It obeyed.

As soon as it reached the world, the Cult of Witchcraft left a sign engraved on its forehead, so that any witch could recognize it anywhere. It had been set apart as a victim of destruction. From then on obstacles harassed it and none of its projects prospered.

One night, in a dream, its Guardian Angel ordered it to wash its head with goat blood before Eshu's altar. At dawn it sought a consultation, and Ifá made clear that this offering would give Eshu the power to remove the sign placed on its head by the Elders of the Night, also called Awon Iyami Osoronga. It complied, and soon after the witches began to admit what they were plotting against it.

Some time earlier it had started to suffer a persistent stomach pain that no medicine relieved. One morning a woman with only one eye appeared and gave it leaves and other materials to cook and drink as a liquid. After drinking it, it vomited a scorpion, and the illness disappeared along with it.

When this odu comes out in an ordinary consultation, the advisable thing is to go to an Ifá priest so that he performs the head washing of the person before Eshu's altar, using goat blood, and thus the witchcraft problems are reduced. The stomach pain probably comes from the Elders of the Night, and the priest will have to attend to the Night on behalf of the person consulted.

What it teaches

An offering made in time and another made when Ifá asks for it can erase the sign that enemies left. Help sometimes comes from where nobody expects it, and whoever fulfills what was commanded sees the persecutors exposed.

Earlier offering to Eshu

Before coming down, roasted yam and a goat.

Cleansing of the head

Goat blood to wash the head before Eshu's altar, by which Eshu removes the sign placed by those Elders.

Advice when this odu comes out

Ask an Ifá priest for that washing to ease the witchcraft. If there is a stomach illness, the priest must serve the Night for the person.

The name-verse of the two awó who consulted this odu

Uroke mi lawo ligonrin, uroke mi lawo leturuye

2Odogbonikere, who bought without paying

A verse of this path speaks of two plants. The coconut tree holds its fruit at such a height that no hand can reach it without help, and the palm has long legs and a long neck. These figures describe everything that Ifá granted Odogbonikere in his life.

At the market he took away rats, fish, goats and even a wife without handing over anything in exchange. His verse repeats that what he enjoyed was the wealth of Ifá. For Odogbonikere had come to earth to enjoy the fortune and protection of Orunmila. The consultation had already announced an enormous wealth to him.

He offered a goat and enjoyed great prosperity. If this odu appears in the Igbodu, the person consulted is warned to look after Ifá with great care, and then he will never lack what is necessary. In an ordinary consultation, it is advisable for the person to receive their own Ifá in order to have a prosperous life.

What it teaches

The goods of whoever looks after Ifá arrive as a gift from Orunmila and not as a purchase. A completed ebbó opens abundance, and caring for one's own Ifá sustains it.

Ebbó of Odogbonikere

A goat.

Recommendation when this odu comes out

Look after Ifá very well when it comes out in the Igbodu; in an ordinary consultation, receive one's own Ifá.

The divination verse of Odogbonikere

AGBON LOSOO SIBI HARI HARI. OKPE ELUJU LO GASE LOGARUN. ADIFA FUN ODOGBONIKERE TI YIO JE OLA EDI TI TI TI. MORA EKU LOJA, EMI KO SAN WO, ODOGBONIKERE. OLA EDU LAANJE, ODOGBONIKERE. MO RA EJA ATIN ERAN LOJA, MIO SAN WO, ODOGBONIKERE. OLA IFA LAANJE. MORAYA LOJA, MIO SAN WO, ODOGBONIKERE. OLA IFA LAANJE, ODOGBONIKERE.

3Osogeregere and the sentence of the Night

Okana Yeku did not practice witchcraft, although he was allowed to attend the meetings of the Witchcraft Club and understood how they communicated with one another. His brother Osogeregere was a mischievous and unserious man.

In one of those night meetings they spoke of Osogeregere. The witches agreed to hand him a basket and send him to bring water from the river, with no right to return before filling it, which was impossible. The one who had passed the sentence was the Night.

Okana Yeku learned of the task, but did not want to tell it openly. He sent for his brother and suggested that he go and consult Ifá. Osogeregere answered no, that he lacked nothing and nothing bothered him in life; in the end he agreed. In the consultation they ordered him to offer seven yams to Olugbodo, a deity of lesser rank, and told him that during the ceremony a woman unable to give birth would approach the altar. He was to advise her to buy a mother goat and offer it to Olugbodo, and so she would obtain a child.

Osogeregere did as indicated. While he was making the offering, the woman appeared and he spoke to her of the goat for Olugbodo, necessary if she wished to conceive. That woman was in fact a witch whom the Night had charged with carrying out the sentence against him. Even so she attended to Olugbodo, became pregnant and later had a boy. Since she had set her own course among the witches, she refused to give him the basket to gather the river water.

What it teaches

A person who does what Ifá indicates and helps another solve a need can undo a sentence passed against him. A warning given with tact and without alarm changes destiny, even that of the one who came to carry out the punishment.

Work of the story

Seven yams for Olugbodo. Also a mother goat that the woman had to buy and offer to that same deity in order to have a child.

When it appears in Igbodu

There is in the family a woman without children and a household deity whose priest the person is meant to be; he must not refuse that service. Prior to the close of the Ifá ceremonies he will make offerings to Ogún on three occasions, and he will give Eshu a second goat.

Ordinary consultation

A goat for Eshu and a rooster for Ogún, to resolve a conflict within a relationship.

4The voice with authority🔒 The Notebook 5Orunmila says farewell and allows the name of Ifá to be spoken🔒 The Notebook 6The embrace of the oil and the snail🔒 The Notebook 7Eshu takes death to the town that did not make sacrifice🔒 The Notebook 8The war that passed from Igbeyin Odo to Itori🔒 The Notebook 9The reading for well-being🔒 The Notebook 10Orunmila and Shangó were paleros🔒 The Notebook 11Oshún recovers the shape of her belly🔒 The Notebook 12Orunmila visits the prisoners🔒 The Notebook 13Okana Yeku, Orunmila's secretary🔒 The Notebook 14Koko the hunter and the debt to the Devil🔒 The Notebook 15The army that went over to the generous king🔒 The Notebook 16The awó who carried everyone's bad shadow🔒 The Notebook 17The five hens that Odi Moyedí gave to Oshún🔒 The Notebook 18The consecration of Osha: Ashedá, Akodá and Obaralokue🔒 The Notebook 19The fight of the four Odù of power🔒 The Notebook 20When the king won the war🔒 The Notebook 21The toad and the princess with the golden ball🔒 The Notebook 22The twin shadow of the king of Oyo🔒 The Notebook 23The king and the goose🔒 The Notebook 24The three enchanted gourds🔒 The Notebook

21 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 Okana Yeku in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Okana Yeku

What does the Odù Okana Yeku mean in Ifá?

Orunmila's secretary, the memory of Egun: sacrifice gives riches and refusing it destroys. The first three Oloshas were born here.

What number is Okana Yeku among the 256 Odù of Ifá?

Okana Yeku is Odù number 123 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Okana family.

Which orishas speak in Okana Yeku?

In the Odù Okana Yeku these orishas speak: Eshu, Shangó, Olokun y Oduduwa, Osanyin, Egun, Oshún, Olugbodo.

What is a proverb of the Odù Okana Yeku?

One of the proverbs of Okana Yeku says: «If pure oil sets its eyes on the fire, it melts.».

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