Otura Ka

Also called Otura Iká

nº 207 of 256 · Edited by Ricco Ledesma

Scatter the enemies in order to prosper. Here one is born without a crown and must crown Santo; disobedience costs a life.

23 patakíes 6 eewó 9 ebbós and works 17 proverbs

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Otura Ka is Odù number 207 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Otura family. It is also written as Otura Iká. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 23 patakíes (3 in full in plain sight, with their teaching, ebbó and chants), its proverbs, 9 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 207 of 256
Composition: Otura over Ika
Orishas that speak: Eshu · Elegbá · Obatalá · Ogún · Oshún · Orunmila · Oshosi · Azojuano (San Lázaro) · Olofin

What Ifá says in this sign

Otura Ka, also known as Otura Iká, is the sign where the pride of Ogún was born. Here it was born that every awó keeps a rasca barriga staff beside Eshu, because only it gave health and strength in the Iyoyé; that the Apetebí marries an awó; and the art of moving in a couple's union, which Eshu Afotifo taught by watching the animals. Here it was also born that the man who beats his wife is left impotent by her guardian angel. Its ruling is twofold: here disobedience costs your life, while with calm and patience you can come to govern. You live without a crown: you are to make Saint first and Ifá afterward.

Ogún, in his pride, threw everything when he got angry; he ignored Orunmila's warning, hurled his machete against the wall and the rebound wounded him in the belly. Do not be violent. You lost three blessings: through pride, for not asking favors and for not listening to advice. You are proud, you have little faith, you are in debt to the saints, you are not grateful and you hide what you need. Nobody pleases you, and only a very calm partner can bear your foolishness. What you go out searching for is already in your home, like the snake Ogún chased in the forest that fell on him from the roof.

«Three fortunes were lost: through pride, through not asking for favors and through not listening. The fourth awaits the obedience of Otura Ká.»The pulse of Otura Ka

Your enemies are watching you: do not whistle, for they can find you by your whistle. Beware of theft and of losing the money in your pocket, do not keep what belongs to others or be greedy, and watch out for a thief who uses your name so that you get the blame. Do not linger on street corners, for you could be struck and a tragedy could happen, and beware of knives and blades. Some take you for a sorcerer. Azojuano visits you and does not approve of how you live. A departed relative who left a machete suffers for lack of light; help him and he will help you.

In love, never strike your wife: if you mistreat her, her guardian angel punishes you with impotence and great setbacks. It speaks of impotence and of a woman who wants to bind her husband; the single woman should receive Ikofafún, and married to an awó she will be happy. At work, a trip to the countryside goes well for you, and over the years you will be the awó of your town. For whoever lives in poverty a year of money arrives if they listen and sacrifice, and if you care for Eshu, what was stuck begins to move. You will have to part with a little animal of yours that knows a great deal.

In health, take care of your stomach: diarrhea, colitis, blood from the intestine and sharp pains. The liver suffers, with risk of hepatitis, and the brain wears down; in the family there is paralysis, or someone died paralyzed. The woman suffers in the lower belly, and surgery, above all in the belly, is a risk. Receive Orunmila and Ogún, feed Obatalá, look after your guardian angel and do not let this warning pass: Orunmila will not call you again.

The sign in one line

Make Santo, keep calm and give light to the dead man of the machete. The crown of Otura Ká is won with patience, and what you are looking for is already close.

The prayer of Otura Ka · Yoruba

OTURA KA ADIFAFUN OBANILE KOADE MEWE ONI WERE BOGBO MABINU UMBOWA ORUNMILA LOFOBANI ESHU MAFUN OTURA KA ADDIE LORUBO BOGBO TENUYEN OSIADDIE FIFESHU SHONSHON UMBO WANILE OBATALA ADDE NI ODARA LERI BODE ASHO ARAE LERI ODARA ORUNMILA AMONA INLE NI KEDE NILE LODDAFUN ORUNMILA KAFEREFUN ESHU ATI OBATALA.

Súyere
OTURA KA MOKA MORGUN, OTURA KA MOKA MORGUN AWO.

Ifá says — what Otura Ka tells you

Disobedience costs a life.
One must not act with violence: it is advisable to stay calm and not exaggerate the importance of things.
It speaks of a person who likes nobody and is looking for an ideal spouse; to put up with his nonsense, one needs a person of great calm, of a phlegmatic temperament.
The person likes to take what belongs to others; he cannot do it, because he will be discovered.
Three fortunes were lost: one through pride; another, through not asking for favors; the last, through ignoring what was said to him.
The person has mental exhaustion.
Some say that the person is a witch who knows a lot.
This sign speaks of a dead person: he left a machete and wants to do something for someone in the family, but he cannot; he lacks light and suffers. That spirit must be helped, so that he no longer suffers and can help them.
Much commotion surrounds the person; do not give it so much importance. In your house, sometimes the smell of herbs is noticed, and sometimes the smell of medicines.
Someone is watching you and may catch you by surprise: beware of thefts and of money slipping out of your pocket.
What the person is looking for has been in their possession for a long time; it is close and they do not notice it.
The woman wants to tie her husband to her.
This Ifá is associated with families who suffer paralysis or with someone who died paralyzed; stomach pains and stabbing discomfort are also suffered.
If, while bathing in the sea, the person finds something, he picks it up and, for his luck, places it behind the door.
Here different sticks were tried for the Iyoyé ceremony, and all of them made the Alawó sick, except the rasca barriga stick, which gave him health and strength.
That Ogún lacked vigor for the conjugal act (ofikalé) and pretended to his wife that he was ill: the person has problems of impotence.
That here a crown of 16 parrot feathers is made, prayed over on the tablet and then placed in the tureen where the Guardian Angel of the person being attended resides.
That one must protect the stomach (diarrhea, colitis and intestinal bleeding) and the liver (hepatitis).
That one must be careful with surgical operations, especially those of the abdomen, and with carrying bladed weapons.
The unmarried woman must receive Ikofafún so that she can marry, since she lives without a crown.
The person owes all the Santos, is not very devout and is very proud.
That the person is ordered to separate from an animal of theirs that knows a lot.
Herbs of the Odù: taboni, sensitive plant, cotton and alacrancillo.
Ailments of this Odù: hepatitis and other liver ailments, intestinal bleeding, diarrhea, colitis, brain disorders, extrapyramidal syndromes (paralysis), lower abdominal problems in women and pains or stabbing sensations of the stomach.

Proverbs of Otura Ka · Òwe

“Disobedience costs a life.”
“Through pride, a man can lose his life.”
“With calm and patience, the world can be moved.”
“Whoever picks the wrong road loses himself on his own road.”
“Whoever offers himself too much is not wanted.”
“Whoever does not want to make noise should not carry palm thatch.”
“Whoever listens to the doctor does not lack for health.”
“Be able and you will be envied; be unable and you will be forgotten.”
“Whoever looks in the street for what he has at home loses his home and ends up in the street.”
“Whoever argues with Olorun is prey to the demons.”
“Everyone who listens to Ifá deserves the light.”
“Olorun collects promptly from the proud soul.”
“The intelligent man does not lie, so as not to be caught by his own tongue.”
“Behind a great man there is a great woman.”
“Nobody is more lost than the one who doubts.”
“Being content is the mother of hope.”
“Whoever tries to take on too much ends up with nothing certain.”

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

With calm and patience, and with the help of Eshu and Obatalá, they come to govern and in time will be the awó of the town.
A trip to the countryside, for a walk or for work, goes well for them.
For one who lives in poverty a time of money and abundance arrives, if they listen and fulfill the sacrifice.

Osogbo · what the sign warns

Disobedience can cost them their life.
Out of pride they can lose their life: if they throw things when angry, they can stab themselves in the belly with the machete.
They are at risk in surgical operations, above all those of the belly.

38 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 Otura Ka · Ìbí

That every Awó must keep a cuje de rasca barriga beside his Eshu.
It was the only switch that at the Iyoyé gave the Alawó health and strength, and Olofin blessed it forever.
The pride of Ogún.
He wanted to settle everything with arrogance and, when he threw the machete, it stuck into his belly: disobedience costs life.
That men copied from animals the positions of the conjugal act, and the art of moving during it.
From the road of Eshu Afotifo: before, only the mind worked, and the wear was such that it could be done only once a year.
That the Apeterbí should marry an Awó.
The woman who has this Odù in her Ikofafún will marry an Awó in order to be happy.
That what is sought outside is already inside the home.
Like Ogún, who was looking for the snake in the bush and caught it sitting on his own stool.
That the man who hits his wife is made impotent: the Guardian Angel who watches over that woman punishes him.
A punishment that speaks on the road of the King's impotence.

What is forbidden · Eewó

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

Do not whistle.
Your enemies are watching you and could catch you by your whistling.
You may not take what does not belong to you.
From the road of the thief: Elegbá and Oshosi find you out.
You cannot be greedy.
Do not be violent or arrogant, and do not throw things when you get upset.
Arrogance can cost a man his life, as it did Ogún with the machete.
Do not stand on street corners.
You can be struck.
Do not mistreat your wife.
As punishment, the Guardian Angel who protects that woman causes him impotence and a great setback.

Ebbós of Otura Ka · The sacrifices that open the road

MoneyEbbó for luck🔒 The Notebook SpiritualEbbó before going to that place (to the country)🔒 The Notebook Overcoming enemiesEbbó of the crown (the road of the King)🔒 The Notebook HealthEbbó of the King's impotence🔒 The Notebook

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

Works of Otura Ka · The workings of the sign

SpiritualFor the Awó: the switch of rasca barriga🔒 The Notebook MoneyFor Eshu: the three plates🔒 The Notebook HealthFor Ogún🔒 The Notebook SpiritualThe crown of sixteen parrot feathers🔒 The Notebook Overcoming enemiesSoup against the sorcerers (the charm of Otura Ka)🔒 The Notebook

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

Patakíes of Otura Ka · The roads of the Odù

1When Ogún Was Missing Something

Ogún, son of Obatalá, had a house, jewelry, sticks, iron tools and everything one could name. Even so, to be happy he needed something he could not obtain: the majá, a snake.

Whenever he entered the forest with his machete to hunt it, the majá escaped. Exhausted, he went to see Orunmila, who did an osode for him and found this Odù. He told him that he longed for something impossible to reach, that what he sought in the forest was in his own house and that he would find it there, but that first he had to make ebbó.

Ogún did not trust the saints much and skipped the ebbó. He returned to the forest with his machete and the same thing happened as before: he saw the majá and could not catch it, although he was very skilled with the machete and cleared the undergrowth. Without strength and desperate, he went back to Orunmila to make the ebbó.

When Orunmila finished it, he advised him to stop going to the forest after the majá and to wait seated in his house, because there he would catch it.

Ogún had a stool. While he was sitting on it, the majá dropped from the roof and fell on him. He grabbed it, and only then did he know happiness.

What it teaches

What is chased with desperation far from home may already be inside it. Whoever fulfills the ebbó and waits calmly receives what was missing, without needing to keep searching.

2Eshu Afotifo and the Art of Movement in the Couple

At the beginning of the world, men and women came together in another way and hardly enjoyed it. In the land of Mawami Inlé lived a married couple who were unhappy with this. The act went on for a very long time, since everything depended only on the strength of the mind. The couple decided to go to where Orunmila lived to look for a remedy.

Orunmila performed osode for them and saw this odu. He explained that they came because of the problem of their intimacy: since it lasted so long, they could only have it once a year, and when it ended they were left with their minds and bodies exhausted.

Orunmila indicated an ebbó for them and ordered that, once it was done, they take it to Eshu, who was at a crossing of four roads. They complied and went to the place. A man was waiting for them. He took the ebbó and told them to watch closely, because that was how they would find the solution. He released a female dog and a male dog that he had tied up, and the couple watched how the animals, with natural movements, came together without tiring.

The man was Eshu Afotifo. He told them to imitate the dogs: that way they would feel more pleasure, be happier, and be able to be together more often.

The couple obeyed Eshu Afotifo, and from then on they enjoyed it more and more often. Later they taught this practice to the men and women of Mawami Inlé; from there it reached other lands, and each person adopted it in his or her own way.

According to the story, this is how movement between man and woman began when they are together, to enjoy it more and not wear out the mind as in the ancient way, when only the mind acted and it left them so exhausted that they could hardly repeat it each year. For this reason, they say, a woman's pregnancy lasts nine months. The custom of imitating various animals also began.

What it teaches

A limit believed to belong to nature can be overcome by watching and learning. Knowledge that comes after fulfilling the ebbó is received in order to share it with others.

Ebbó of the path

A rooster, two hens, a dog, and a jicotea (a freshwater turtle); everything that is eaten; the clothing of the one who makes the ebbó; the other ingredients; and plenty of money. It is taken to Eshu at the crossing of the four roads.

Opening prayer of the path (it ends by naming Eshu Afotifo)

Adifafún Aleti Okuní Mawani Inlé Ofikalé Mi Koma Adasile Dobo, Okuya Iko Yeye Kadun Ibale Ibaota Lerí Bogbo Otá Meleri Lodo Kateno Oni Yure Abayi Koyiri Koshe Komboshe, Miye Olaluba Orí Bogbo Koromafun Orí Ka Shoshe Eshú Korika Ebana Kaferefún Orunmila Loddafún Eshú Afotifo.

3Disobedience Costs a Life

Ogún wanted to settle everything with pride and lived in a bad mood. If something did not go well for him, he hurled it and broke it. He noticed this was not right and went to Orunmila's house, and Orunmila consulted osode for him and found the odu Otura Ka. Orunmila told him plainly that he must not be so proud or hurl objects whenever something bothered him, that he had to make ebbó, and that he should keep in mind that disobeying could cost him his life.

Ogún paid no attention to those words. One day he came back from work very angry and threw the machete he was holding. It struck the wall, came back in the opposite direction, and lodged in his belly. So what Ifá had said came true: because he disobeyed, he lost his life.

What it teaches

Pride and a bad temper can turn against the one who has them. Ignoring the warning of Ifá and not making the ebbó that was indicated brings a price that is sometimes one's own life.

4The thief🔒 The Notebook 5The King's impotence🔒 The Notebook 6Otura Ka drives away the sorcerers with a soup🔒 The Notebook 7Otura Ka, blamed for someone else's theft🔒 The Notebook 8Ilé Sanmi and his year of prosperity🔒 The Notebook 9Orunmila, crowned King for his calm🔒 The Notebook 10The rasca barriga rod for the Iyoyé🔒 The Notebook 11The dwarf and the giant🔒 The Notebook 12The great mother🔒 The Notebook 13The crown of Otura Ka🔒 The Notebook 14The incest of Otura Ka🔒 The Notebook 15The crane and the wolf🔒 The Notebook 16Whoever does not work does not eat🔒 The Notebook 17Oshosi and the sorcerer🔒 The Notebook 18The bullfrog and the white heron🔒 The Notebook 19The stick and the mules🔒 The Notebook 20The duel between Otura Ka and Ikú🔒 The Notebook 21The man who reads faces🔒 The Notebook 22Meanness turns the miser into a beggar🔒 The Notebook 23The elephant's guests🔒 The Notebook

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 Otura Ka in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Otura Ka

What does the Odù Otura Ka mean in Ifá?

Scatter the enemies in order to prosper. Here one is born without a crown and must crown Santo; disobedience costs a life.

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

Otura Ka is Odù number 207 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Otura family.

Which orishas speak in Otura Ka?

In the Odù Otura Ka these orishas speak: Eshu · Elegbá, Obatalá, Ogún, Oshún, Orunmila, Oshosi, Azojuano (San Lázaro), Olofin.

What is a proverb of the Odù Otura Ka?

One of the proverbs of Otura Ka says: «Disobedience costs a life.».

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