Otura Alakentu

nº 202 of 256

Death as part of the order of the cosmos: here mourning and the wake for the dead are born — and staying close to the old is the road to luck.

19 patakíes 6 eewó 15 ebbós and works 15 proverbs

First time with an Odù? Learn how to read one →

Otura Alakentu is Odù number 202 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Otura family. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 19 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 202 of 256
Composition
Otura over Ojuani
Orishas that speak
Obatalá · Eshu · Elegbá · Oshún · Odudúwa · Osanyin · Egun · Yemayá · Orí · Olofin · Olorun · Olordumare

What Ifá says in this sign

Otura Alakentu is the Ifá where Egun always speaks: here family mourning, the wake for the dead and the power of life that lets human beings live years on the Earth were born. Its truth is a calm one: we are born in order to die afterward — the people of the earth go back where they came from — and that is why the living and the dead talk to each other: this sign is the astral vehicle between the two worlds.

Your dead bring you luck by name: the dead father you dreamed about is sending you a fortune — because you were the only one who looked after him. But there are accounts pending: the relative who died mad is given food, and the disturbing egun stuck to you is taken off with an oparaldo in the bush, birdseed scattered at the end.

«In Otura Alakentu it is always Egun who speaks — the dead father sends luck to the child who looked after him.»The pulse of Otura Alakentu

Inheritances are your minefield: trouble between brothers and sisters over inheritances, someone who died without a will — and a buried inheritance, with papers put inside a tube, that an old man knows about and will uncover. Out of that comes the law of this sign: stay close to the old, so you do not fail — they keep what you are looking for.

Your legs are your thermometer: the strength to hold the body up is missing, the kneecap and the joints speak, fractures and what they leave behind, arthritis and the eyes. The remedy is set out: the legs are given rogation at the foot of Obatalá with two candles, and the head rogation — which was born here with cotton leaves — is done by whoever it belongs to.

Your standing duties: receive the Warriors and attend to Oshún — that is the secret of this Odù —, a horn for Eshu, and the ebbó with sand and two stones that is set before Olorun, the Sun, and goes to the market. Be more loving with your children — Abikú speaks: the child born to go back —: the dead of Otura Alakentu look after whoever does not forget them.

The sign in one line

Attend to your dead, stay close to the old, and give rogation to your legs before Obatalá — the inheritance of Otura Alakentu is revealed by an old man who knows.

The prayer of Otura Alakentu · Yoruba

OTURA NI WANI OBATALA OSHANLA ORI ABA ORI LEKE NI ELESE OBORI AÑAÑI OTUN AÑAÑI OSI ELEGBA KE MOSU ELENI FEMERISHE OBATALA JEKUA OTURA OWORIN OWERIN NI OWERIN OLANLA OBATALA NI ORI ASHO FUN FUN, KAFEREFUN OBATALA IFA OLOFIN.

Súyere
ORI KOFIBORI ITUN KOFIBORI OLORUN ARELE ORI AWASHE.

Ifá says — what Otura Alakentu tells you

Proverbs of Otura Alakentu · Òwe

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

Iré and Osogbo

9 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 Otura Alakentu · Ìbí

What is forbidden · Eewó

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

Ebbós of Otura Alakentu · The sacrifices that open the road

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

Works of Otura Alakentu · The workings of the sign

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

Patakíes of Otura Alakentu · The roads of the Odù

1When Obatalá needed quail

Two friends tried to overcharge for the quail Obatalá needed; the birds died and they had to hand them over for whatever price they could get.

Obatalá was in need of 2 quail. When they found out, two friends agreed between themselves to charge him whatever they felt like for the birds.

Once in front of Obatalá, he wanted to know the price. One answered 4 pesos; the second thought that was too little and raised the figure to 8 pesos. With that Obatalá gave up on the purchase. A little later the quail died and the two friends had no choice but to hand them over at any price.

2The King's inheritance

A King buried his fortune, trusting only his servant with it; his elder sons died looking for it, and the youngest, through his humility toward the old servant after making ebbó, received his father's secret.

A man with money trusted all his secrets to a servant at the hour of his death. He had 3 sons, and the youngest was called Balogu.

That man was a King. Three days before his death he went with the servant to bury all the money he had and asked him not to tell anyone: he did not plan to leave anything to any of his sons. He set aside only what he worked out he would need while the sickness lasted, and some clothes.

When the father died, the oldest son started looking for the money without finding anything. The second one tried the same, with the same result.

Then the government passed to the oldest, who died; and so it went with each one until it was the turn of the youngest. Someone advised him to have a reading at Orunmila's house, since he had seen the others die when they wanted to govern.

He listened and went there. Orunmila made osode (reading) for him, saw this Ifá and marked him ebbó with a rooster and a goat, 2 hens and 1 dove, plus a whistle to call Eshu. He warned him that his father had left a fortune when he died, that only one servant knew about it, and that he should go look for him once the ebbó and the rogación were done.

He did it that way. When he found the servant, he greeted him: "Your blessing, my father." The other answered: "I am not your father; your father died, I was only his servant." Then the boy explained that he had come for him so he would help him govern.

Once the two of them were settled in the house that had been his father's, he ordered the old servant to sit at the table for lunch. The old man resisted, but he ended up sitting down. At dinner time he did the same, and the old man, moved by the way the boy treated him, ended up revealing his father's secret.

3When Yemayá saved Oshún

Two sisters at odds: Yemayá, the humble one, made ebbó and became Queen of an island; when Oshún's people rose against her, Yemayá came to save her and they were reconciled.

Two sisters lived there. Yemayá was humble in her ways; Oshún, the younger one, was very haughty. Between them there was nothing but fights and dislike. The humble one, Yemayá, did ebbó.

Yemayá soon went to live alone on a key across from those lands. Nobody else lived in that place, and every day she watched the waves drag sand up to the shore, until they raised a beautiful beach where she was Queen. In time people came from other places to settle the island, and so a town was born with its Queen, Yemayá, at its head.

Oshún, for her part, had also built a kingdom; but soon her people rose up against her and her life was in danger. So she asked the island for help, not knowing who ruled on the other shore. Yemayá came at once and put down the revolt.

When the fight was over, Oshún recognized her sister and came to thank her. And she answered: "Whenever you need me, I will be at your side. But now I am going back to where my subjects are."

16 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 Otura Alakentu in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Otura Alakentu

What does the Odù Otura Alakentu mean in Ifá?

Death as part of the order of the cosmos: here mourning and the wake for the dead are born — and staying close to the old is the road to luck.

What number is Otura Alakentu among the 256 Odù of Ifá?

Otura Alakentu is Odù number 202 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Otura family.

Which orishas speak in Otura Alakentu?

In the Odù Otura Alakentu these orishas speak: Obatalá, Eshu · Elegbá, Oshún, Odudúwa, Osanyin, Egun, Yemayá, Orí, Olofin · Olorun · Olordumare.

What is a proverb of the Odù Otura Alakentu?

One of the proverbs of Otura Alakentu says: «Do not leave the road for the footpath.».

Unlock the 256 Odù See all the Odù See something to correct? Write to us with your source
← Otura MoIndexOtura Bara →