Oshé Bíle

nº 240 of 256

The oracle of the coconut: the vain one Olofin cursed to roll on the ground serving before Elegbá — here «God willing» was born.

23 patakíes 8 eewó 10 ebbós and works 10 proverbs

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Oshé Bíle is Odù number 240 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Oshe family. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 23 patakíes (3 with the full text), its proverbs, 10 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 240 of 256
Composition
Oshe over Irete
Orishas that speak
Shangó · Elegbá · Olofin · Ogún · Odduduwa y Orunmila · Oshún · Egun

What Ifá says in this sign

Oshé Bíle is the Odù of the coconut oracle: here the Biawé was born, along with reading with obi and the pact that founded it: «Before you speak, you have to count on me, so that what you say can be seen and you never forget me again». And here two sayings were born that the whole world repeats without knowing where they came from: «God willing» and «Forgive me, my Father» — the words of the vain coconut Olofin cursed: white inside and black outside, rolling on the ground and serving in front of Elegbá.

Its owner is Shangó — who here is called Olufalá — and its teaching is that an inheritance is earned: Olofin hands out powers, but the secret is kept for the best one — like the inheritance of Adiatotó: the father only hands his power to the child who deserves it. Earn what is yours by deserving it, not by demanding it.

«White inside and black outside, the vain coconut rolls on the ground telling the truth — Oshé Bíle founded its oracle.»The pulse of Oshé Bíle

Its rule for living with others is blunt: join with someone to gain power — alone you are nobody — and do not repeat what Obi did to Oshé Bíle: you do not leave the partner who fought beside you for a night out, and you do not betray him out of greed — the coconut that betrayed ended up rotting, and that is why Elegbá is set in stone. This is the Ifá of the tiger and the cat: someone wants to take from you what is yours — they will not get it, if you do your part.

This person's mind needs a guide: he is light in his thinking — he does not weigh things before he acts, and that is why he fails: let yourself be guided; he tends not to do anything he is told and to doubt the word of Olofin, the way Obi doubted it. Watch out for a lie told against you and for a betrayal; there are three Santos you owe something to, and the woman whose womb is tied wins her war with ebbó.

The body speaks here: the lungs and choking are watched, the kidney infection is treated — and the good news comes in three: fortune is coming in money, in respect and in influence. Meet force with intelligence — Babá Doma beat Babá Dogun and Babá Dota — and learn from the obi every morning: the one who always tells the truth in front of Elegbá is never shamed.

The sign in one line

Join with someone, do not betray the partner who fought beside you, and think before you act — because the fortune of Oshé Bíle comes to the one who says «God willing» and then keeps his word.

The prayer of Oshé Bíle · Yoruba

Ayaun Royun Bemi Loma Tinshomo Okuni Orodan Oshe Bile Adawe Biawe Babadona, Orun Adiatoto Adafun Alakenta, Oshe Bile Adawe Biawe Babadona, Orun Adiatoto Adafun Alakisisi, Oshe Bile Adawe Biawe Babadona, Orun Adiatoto Adafun Alakentu Dada Omo Toyo Obi Atare Komalie Alakenta, Obi Atare Komalie Alakisisi, Obi Atare Komalie Alakentu Dada Omo Obi Libo Ala Ibo Obi Ifa Awo.

Súyere
Sotuto Torawa Yeye, Sotuto Torawa Yeye, Baba Dogun, Baba Doma, Baba Dota, Sotuto Torawa Yeye.

Ifá says — what Oshé Bíle tells you

Proverbs of Oshé Bíle · Òwe

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

Iré and Osogbo

8 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 Oshé Bíle · Ìbí

What is forbidden · Eewó

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

Ebbós of Oshé Bíle · The sacrifices that open the road

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

Works of Oshé Bíle · The workings of the sign

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

Patakíes of Oshé Bíle · The roads of the Odù

1The oracle of the obi

Biawé taught only his son Adiatotó the secret of turning the coconuts; when he died, the foster sons stole the papers, but when the Government looked for the true owner, only Adiatotó could prove with the coconuts — which all fell Alafia — that the inheritance was his.

Biawé, an Awó by trade, had a son he named Adiatotó and to whom he trusted the one thing he kept secret: how the coconuts are turned. Other boys were being raised under that roof; they all treated each other as brothers, and Adiatotó was the youngest in the house.

As soon as Biawé was gone, the ones who did not carry his blood took hold of the papers where that secret was explained. From then on Adiatotó lived in hardship. In time, the Government needed to clear up the truth about those lands and set out to look for their owners. Many people showed up calling themselves owners, but none of them showed what the deed required as proof, so the matter had to be announced through the criers.

The news soon reached Adiatotó's ears. He showed up, they demanded proof from him, and he was the only one able to give it, because his father, while alive, had confided it to him alone. Then he spoke: "This is mine. I will go to the walls that divide the plots and from there I will throw the coconuts. If they fall face up, that is the proof my father taught me."

The coconuts all fell in Alafia, and the Government gave him back the lands that had been taken from him.

2Adiatotó, the true son of Biawé

Biawé found the oracle of the obi through a revelation from his Guardian Angel and passed the secret to his son Adiatotó day by day; when he died, the half brothers divided up his goods, but before the Obá only Adiatotó could show the proof: he was named heir and gave the rest of his life to reading.

Biawé was a Babalosha, and his son Adiatotó was serious and had ashé. Through a revelation from his Guardian Angel, Biawé came upon the obi oracle and put together the reading with four pieces of coconut; from then on he lived from consulting, and for each consultation he charged $1.05: the five cents were left for Elegbá, who had helped him both to find the secret and to build the reading.

Nobody learned that from his mouth. Until one day the instruction came to him: he had to hand his son the oracle and with it every secret the Santo kept. He sent for him, and Adiatotó answered: "I love my Osha." The father replied: "My son, the Santo spoke to me for you: he told me you will be a diviner." In the consultation, day after day, he handed him the secret. That special treatment sat badly with the other boys, whom Biawé raised as if they were his own sons.

Biawé died and, when Ituto was done for him, those half brothers ignored the dead man's will: they split up the land, the animals, the house, the money and the clothes, and left the true son in poverty. Word reached the Obá of the city, who called in everyone who claimed to be a son and demanded proof from them. None of them had any, except Adiatotó.

So he was recognized as the true heir: they gave him back his father's goods and he devoted himself for life to consulting.

3The story of Oshé Bíle (the secrets of Biamegbón)

The Awó Biamegbón shared out the five secrets of the coconut among his sons — Alafia, Oyekun, Eyeife, Etawé and Okana — keeping the last one for Adio Tootoó, the only one who never left him; when the father died, before the Obá and over his grave beside the wall, Adio Tootoó asked with the coconuts and every letter answered, handing him the inheritance by full right.

Rezo: Oshe Bile Ara Onu Roy Adifafun Tinshe Omo Okun Adio Adawe Biwegbon Orun Adiatoto Alakentu Otito.

Ebbó: earth from a wall, obi, ekú and epó, itaná, akukó, two yellow adié and opolopo owó.

Biamegbón was an Awó and lived in the city of Adio with Jaga, his wife. Several children were born to them there. The eldest he named Adio Tootoó, which means the oldest one of Adio; the next one, Adamegbón, the one who breaks the coconut; the third was Alakenta, the one who chips the coconut the most, and the fourth Alakesí, the one who creates the most doubt in the coconut. Under the same roof other boys were also being raised, foster sons who called themselves his sons.

From Olordumare this Awó had received the ashé that made him owner of the secrets of the coconut and let him divine with them; the power of the Odù he shared out among his sons, so that divination would rest on them.

He called each one aside and put a secret in his hands. The first got the greatest of the coconut ones, which he named Peace and Happiness, Alafia, backed by Eyiogbe: when the four whites come out, the answer is confirmed. To the second he gave the death of the coconut, which he named Oyekun, a dark sign, backed by Oyekun Meyi: the four darks deny what is asked. To the third, the one of fairness, which is the balance of Meyife — two whites and two darks confirm exactly what is true —, held up by six Odù: Iwori, Odi, Iroso, Ojuani, Oshé and Ofun. To the fourth he handed the vanity of the coconut, which deceives and for that very reason saves and kills: he called it Etawé, and with it you have to ask again to know if it saves or if it kills; four Odù back it: Ogunda, Osa, Otura and Irete.

With the last secret it was different: he kept it, because he saw that his blood sons, except Adio Tootoó, went abroad as soon as they learned. To Adio Tootoó he did teach that final secret and all the emblems: the only one that denies everything, Okana, in which three darks and one white deny the question completely.

Years went by. A trip took Adio Tootoó to the city of Ekirun, and there he was caught by the sudden death of his father. The foster sons wasted no time and came out to claim the inheritance, closed in by the wall Biamegbón had raised to defend his property and at whose foot he was buried. As soon as the news reached him, Adio Tootoó set out for Adio and asked the Obá to act as judge, because he held the secret with which he would prove he was the legitimate firstborn.

With the parties called together at the foot of the wall, Adio Tootoó faced those who said they were sons and demanded their proof; none of them could hold up anything. He then took four coconuts out of his apó, turned toward his father's grave and prayed: "If you really are Biamegbón, resting there, answer me with the sign of death that you taught me: the four darks." He threw them, and everyone was amazed when the four darks fell. He picked up the coconuts and turned again to the dead man: "Do you recognize as your sons these men who say they are? If you do not recognize them, answer me with Okana, the flat denial." Okana came out, and with that the supposed sons were left out. Once more he spoke to his father: "Do you recognize me as Adio Tootoó, your beloved son? Answer me with Alafia, the emblem of my person." The four whites fell. It was still left to know whether the inheritance was his: he asked for the sign of fairness, Meyife, and two darks and two whites came out. The inheritance was handed to him with full right.

Last of all, he wanted to know if his brothers would ever come back for their share. Etawé came out; he repeated the question and Etawé came out again, so the possibility was confirmed. And that is how it went: years later they came back to claim, each one pretending to be the eldest, but Alafia, which is the greatest of all, upheld the power of Adio Tootoó.

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 Oshé Bíle in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Oshé Bíle

What does the Odù Oshé Bíle mean in Ifá?

The oracle of the coconut: the vain one Olofin cursed to roll on the ground serving before Elegbá — here «God willing» was born.

What number is Oshé Bíle among the 256 Odù of Ifá?

Oshé Bíle is Odù number 240 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Oshe family.

Which orishas speak in Oshé Bíle?

In the Odù Oshé Bíle these orishas speak: Shangó, Elegbá, Olofin, Ogún, Odduduwa y Orunmila, Oshún, Egun.

What is a proverb of the Odù Oshé Bíle?

One of the proverbs of Oshé Bíle says: «When you choose the road well, you get to the goal well.».

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