Odù 202 of 256 · Otura family

Otura Alakentu

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.

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; the detail of iré and osogbo, the eewó and the full recipes open with the Babalawo plan — that locked part is still written in Spanish.

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

15 proverb interpretations in this Odù, locked.Every proverb explained: which road it comes from and how it applies. Written in Spanish for now.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… Written in Spanish for now.Unlock →

What is born in Otura Alakentu · Ìbí

What is forbidden · Eewó

6 eewó (taboos) in this Odù, locked.What the child of this sign must not eat, do or wear. Written in Spanish for now.Unlock →

Ebbós of Otura Alakentu · The sacrifices that open the road

SaludEbbó of this Odù (for the strength of the body)🔒 Babalawo
EspiritualEbbó with a frizzled young rooster🔒 Babalawo
AmorEbbó for men🔒 Babalawo
La pérdidaEbbó of destiny (the road of the young traveler)🔒 Babalawo
DineroEbbó of the inheritance (the road of the three brothers)🔒 Babalawo
5 ebbós in this Odù, locked.Each full recipe: ingredients, preparation and where it goes. Written in Spanish for now.Unlock →

Works of Otura Alakentu · The workings of the sign

SaludKobo-orí with cotton (the great rogation)🔒 Babalawo
SaludSo the legs take on strength🔒 Babalawo
EspiritualOparaldo of this Odù🔒 Babalawo
EspiritualFor Egun (white rooster)🔒 Babalawo
EspiritualInshé Osanyin🔒 Babalawo
EspiritualTo Elegbá (sarayeye with chicks)🔒 Babalawo
DineroFor Elegbá: not to lose the inheritance🔒 Babalawo
Vencer enemigosTo send enemies away🔒 Babalawo
EspiritualBaths (ebomisi) of this Odù🔒 Babalawo
EspiritualEshu Ararikoko (the Eshu of this Odù)🔒 Babalawo
10 works in this Odù, locked.Each full recipe: ingredients, preparation and where it goes. Written in Spanish for now.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.

On this road, Obatalá needed two quail, and two friends, on hearing of it, agreed between themselves to ask whatever they liked for them.

When they arrived, Obatalá asked what they cost, and one of them answered four pesos, but the other thought that too little and said eight pesos. So Obatalá did not want them. At that the quail died, and they had to hand them over for whatever price they could get.

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.

There was a father who had money and who, on dying, entrusted all his secrets to a servant. There were three brothers, and the youngest was called Balogu.

The father, who was a King, three days before dying buried all the money, with his servant along, and told him not to say anything to anyone, because he was going to leave nothing to any of them. He left out only the money needed for the days he thought he would be ill, and some clothes as well.

When he died, the eldest son came to look for the money and found nothing. Then the second son did the same and found nothing either.

Afterward the government was given to the eldest, and he died. And so on, until it came to the youngest son. Someone advised him to go to Orunmila's house to be read, since he had seen the others who had tried to govern and had died.

He obeyed and went to Orunmila's house, who made osode for him and saw this Ifá, where he told him to make ebbó with: a rooster, a goat, two hens, a dove and a whistle to call Eshu. He told him that his father had died leaving a fortune and that a servant was the one who knew of it; that after making the ebbó and the rogation, he should go and find him.

So he did, and when he arrived, he saw the servant and said: «Your blessing, my father.» The servant answered: «I am not your father; your father died, I was only his servant.» The boy told him he had come to fetch him so he would help him govern.

Once the two of them were in the house that had been his father's, he had the old servant sit at the table for lunch. The old man did not want to, but in the end he sat down. At dinner time he did the same, and the old man, seeing the boy's kindness, showed him 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.

On this road, there were two sisters: one called Yemayá, who was the more humble, and the other, the younger, called Oshún, who was very haughty. The two were always fighting and disliked each other. The more humble one, Yemayá, made ebbó.

Before long, Yemayá decided to go off to a cay that lay across from the lands where they lived. When she reached the cay, she was its only inhabitant, and every day she watched the waves throw sand onto the shore, forming a beautiful beach, where she was the Queen. It happened that people from other places began to settle the island, and a town was born with its Queen at the head, called Yemayá.

Meanwhile, her sister Oshún had formed a kingdom of her own. But before long, her people rose against her and her life was in danger. So she asked the island for help, not knowing who the Queen on the other side was. Yemayá soon came and put down the uprising.

When the fighting was over, Oshún saw her sister and went to thank her. Yemayá told her: «Whenever you need me, I will be at your side. But now I am going back to where my subjects are.»

4The will🔒 Babalawo
5Your destiny is in your hands🔒 Babalawo
6When the strength to hold the body up was missing🔒 Babalawo
7When the heads were very busy🔒 Babalawo
8The swallow🔒 Babalawo
9It was divined for the human being🔒 Babalawo
10The inheritance of the three brothers🔒 Babalawo
11The legs🔒 Babalawo
12Peace on the land🔒 Babalawo
13The betrayal of the king🔒 Babalawo
14The swindle of Olaidetu🔒 Babalawo
15The threefold path🔒 Babalawo
16The pearls and the water🔒 Babalawo
17Orunmila and the donkey🔒 Babalawo
18The round little egg🔒 Babalawo
19The bread of fortune and the bread of misfortune🔒 Babalawo
16 more patakíes in this Odù, locked.Read every road in full with the Babalawo plan. Written in Spanish for now.Unlock →
Before you subscribe: everything you read on this page is in English, but the locked part of the treatise — the full text of the other patakíes, the recipes for the ebbós and works, the iré and osogbo readings and the eewó — is still written in Spanish. We are translating it. · 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.».

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