Osa Roso

nº 156 of 256

Where it was born that Orunmila decides the Guardian Angel: you live the same in a wide place as in a narrow one — you have to adapt in order to be happy.

23 patakíes 6 eewó 12 ebbós and works 16 proverbs

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Osa Roso is Odù number 156 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Osa family. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 23 patakíes (3 with the full text), its proverbs, 12 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 156 of 256
Composition
Osa over Iroso
In the Diloggún
9-4 · Osá tonti Iroso
Orishas that speak
Shangó · Oshún · Oyá · Obatalá · Orunmila · Eshu · Osain · Osun

What Ifá says in this sign

Osa Roso is the sign where it was born that Orunmila decides each person's Guardian Angel — because Obatalá wanted to be owner of every head and was cheating. And where the wisdom of adapting was set down: you live the same in a wide place as in a narrow one — you have to adapt in order to be happy… and if you live narrow, Orunmila says: make the house bigger.

Its accounting law is sacred: what you promise is a debt — Orunmila owed Shangó the ram, and Shangó closed the road to his house with álamo until he collected. Pay what you promised — above all to Shangó: your setbacks come from that debt, and when you settle with him, buy lottery tickets.

«You live the same in a wide place as in a narrow one — and if you live narrow, Orunmila says: make the house bigger.»The pulse of Osa Roso

Your ally is a heroic one: a woman will help you overcome every difficulty without sparing any sacrifice — like Oyá, who cut off her braids and dressed Shangó in her clothes to save him from Ogún. Recognize her and honor her. And the blessing this odu gives freely: those who looked after Obatalá when he was ill and everyone else had left him received his blessing — whoever cares for someone gets paid in grace, whoever they are.

The house calls for an inspection: there is a woman with a mayombe prenda nearby, a nail buried — or about to be buried — at your door, and holes to be filled. The pigeons that make a mess, leave them: your luck is there. No broken mirrors, no raised hand (and with sticks least of all), and the woman who will come to provoke you: pay her no attention — the upheaval she brings can cost lives.

For the woman of this odu, two golden warnings: no abortions brought on — you lose your health for good — and no alcohol while pregnant; and for the daughter, something to do early on. Osa Roso is a traveler: that faraway place will go well for you — with ebbó first. And the final armor is complete: nothing they do to you will harm you, because Olordumare goes with you

The sign in one line

Pay what you promised, honor the woman who sacrifices for you and let the pigeons make their mess — Olordumare goes with Osa Roso, and nothing can harm him.

The prayer of Osa Roso · Yoruba

Adifafun Osa Roso Oshún Iyá mi ikobosi Iyá niwasi Iyá ni Yalode oguiodo Obatalá abe deba omi male ado ewe kikiriso kede toshe kuele kuele Yeye Moro.

Súyere
Ari dale oñí ekó ayiloda — ekó dale Oshún ekó ayiloda.

Ifá says — what Osa Roso tells you

Proverbs of Osa Roso · Òwe

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

Iré and Osogbo

5 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 Osa Roso · Ìbí

What is forbidden · Eewó

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

Ebbós of Osa Roso · The sacrifices that open the road

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

Works of Osa Roso · The workings of the sign

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

Patakíes of Osa Roso · The roads of the Odù

1A woman's advice is worth listening to

Orunmila promised Shangó a ram, had it and never got around to giving it to him. Shangó took álamo and closed the road to his house: nobody came. Orunmila set about looking into it, and his wife told him to keep his promise of the ram he owed Shangó. So he did — and his aleyos began arriving again.

Orunmila had promised a ram to Shangó and kept not handing it over, even though the animal was already in his hands. Shangó, seeing that, closed the road to the house with álamo.

Since nobody came anymore, Orunmila set to finding out what was going on, and it was his wife who reminded him to settle the ram he owed Shangó.

He came through, and the aleyos started coming to him again.

2Unhappiness in marriage

In the land of Eru Oba, Oshún lived with Shangó, who was a tyrant and mistreated her so badly that he was slowly destroying her. Her father Obatalá advised her to go to Orunmila, but she was afraid Shangó would leave her if he saw her going in there. Oshún fell gravely ill, and Obatalá went to Orunmila's house for her: he saw this Odù and made her the ebbó of the two hens — sleep all night with them to trade warmth, and then put them with the rooster to breed. And when Shangó came back, give him a dish of honey to eat while singing «Ari dale oñí ekó ayiloda». Shangó was enchanted by the song and the dance, they did ofikale trupon — which Oshún needed — and he told her: «You will always be a woman I respect».

In the land of Eru Oba there was a girl named Oshún, who lived with a man called Shangó. He treated her harshly and mistreated her so much that she, still young, was carrying an enormous suffering: it had changed her character and was wearing her down little by little.

Her father, Obatalá, went one day to visit and understood what was going on with his daughter. He asked her: "Why don't you go where Orunmila is, so he can fix your situation?". Her answer was this: "Father, if Shangó sees me go into Orunmila's house, he is going to think I went looking for something to do to him, and then he is going to leave me, as he has already done other times". Obatalá answered nothing, and left there with the worry on him.

Soon after, Oshún fell gravely ill, and Shangó did not even find out, because he had not shown up at the house for days. As soon as Obatalá learned that his daughter was in bed, he ran to look for Orunmila, who did osode for him, saw this Odù and marked ebbó for Obatalá's daughter: two hens, cloth from her body and bed linen, earth from the house and earth from the river, bee honey, pumpkin and two hearts of mated doves.

Obatalá gathered everything Orunmila had asked for, and the ebbó was done for Obatalá's daughter. Once it was finished, Orunmila told him: "Now you take Oshún the rooster and the hens, and you tell her to sleep all night with the hens, so that she takes their warmth and they in turn take hers; afterwards you take them and put them with the rooster so they breed. And when Shangó comes back to the house, you take a plate with bee honey and give it to him to eat, and while he eats, you sing: 'Ari dale oñí ekó ayiloda, ekó dale Oshún ekó ayiloda'".

When Shangó arrived, it was done that way, and the song and the dance left him bewitched, until he proposed to Oshún: "Let's do ofikale trupon" — something Oshún needed. When they were done, Shangó declared to her: "You will always be a woman respected by me".

Note: at the time of putting the hens to bed next to the person, the prayer of this road is prayed to Oshún. And to sweeten Shangó, Oshún's stones are taken, plenty of honey is poured on them and it is left to run down from them to Shangó's stones, while the suyere is sung.

3The suffering

The mistreatment by a tyrant husband made the woman ill with suffering: here unhappiness in marriage was born, and its remedy belongs to Oshún.

A husband was somewhat harsh with his wife: he mistreated her with words and even with blows.

And from so much suffering, the woman got sick.

Here unhappiness in marriage was born, and its cure is the ebbó of the hens and Oshún's honey.

20 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 Osa Roso in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Osa Roso

What does the Odù Osa Roso mean in Ifá?

Where it was born that Orunmila decides the Guardian Angel: you live the same in a wide place as in a narrow one — you have to adapt in order to be happy.

What number is Osa Roso among the 256 Odù of Ifá?

Osa Roso is Odù number 156 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Osa family.

Which orishas speak in Osa Roso?

In the Odù Osa Roso these orishas speak: Shangó, Oshún, Oyá, Obatalá, Orunmila, Eshu, Osain, Osun.

What is a proverb of the Odù Osa Roso?

One of the proverbs of Osa Roso says: «What you promise is a debt.».

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