Skip to content

Otura Ogbe

Also called Otura Niko

nº 197 of 256 · Edited by

He is the foreman of Egun and messenger of the dead; in this Odù the oparaldo is born, and its secret consists in feeding the spirit of the father.

42 patakíes 7 eewó 12 ebbós and works 20 proverbs

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

Otura Ogbe is Odù number 197 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Otura family. It is also written as Otura Niko. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 42 patakíes (3 in full in plain sight, with their teaching, ebbó and chants), its proverbs, 12 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 197 of 256
Composition
Otura over Ogbe
Orishas that speak
Egun (the father's spirit) · Shangó · Oshún · Eshu / Elegba · Oduduwa · Osain · Orishaoko · Yemayá · Ogún · Olofin / Olodumare

What Ifá says in this sign

Otura Ogbe, also known as Otura Niko, is the sign of the messenger between the living and the dead. Here is born the communication of Egun with Olofin, and Otura Niko is the overseer of the dead in Kutone, the land of Egun. Also born here are corn, the restlessness of the sea, the nervous system, the oparaldo and the mystery that death, at times, is frightened before the living and respects them. It is an Ifá of extension, but its ruling allows no waiting: you must prepare your affairs in time, because what is left for later in this sign is lost.

You bring a gift from nature, like the baby who cried before being born, and this sign makes the awó grow. The secret of your luck lies in your father's spirit: nourish your father's spirit, or the guide who walks with you, because fortune reaches you from there, and if you forget it, death comes looking for you. Three evils hover around you, tragedy, illness and Ikú, and you also owe something to a dead spirit who follows you and gets in your way. If you fulfill your duty to Egun and to your Ifá, death respects you and you reach old age.

«In the land of the dead, Otura Niko is foreman: his Ifá gives an extension, but does not forgive delay.»The pulse of Otura Ogbe

This is also a sign of weariness and loneliness. Your relatives die, your children move away and a day may come when nothing excites you. Someone in your family took their own life, and that sorrow weighs on you. If you ever grow tired of living or think about taking your own life, do not stay alone with that thought: talk about it with someone you trust, look for a doctor or a professional who can help you and look after your Egun and your Ifá. Also beware of vices, which appear here after a loss.

With money, the children of this sign grow rich by being generous and fulfilling everything they owe. Do not ask for more money than you need, for that money could pay for your burial. You will do a favor that no one will thank you for: do it anyway. With the ebbó, three great strokes of luck can come to you, a prize that others turned down and good news from a faraway place. Do not teach everything you know, always keep one last secret and respect your teacher. Thursdays are not working days for you.

In love, infidelity between spouses comes to light, sometimes through the person least expected. Guard against sexual abuse, also against a minor in your family, and against a couple's mockery ending in violence. This sign speaks of the human races, and you live with a person of another race. If children do not come, Ifá blames it on your conduct: correct it and give thanks to Oshún and to Orunmila. In health, take care of your throat, your spine, your nerves and your blood pressure; receive Oduduwa for your health. Do not get wet in the rain or go into the river, and do not eat what is offered where you have no trust, because there is a risk of being poisoned.

The sign in one line

Dedicate the white rooster to your deceased father, arrange everything in advance and be generous: whoever cried in the womb was born blessed and will die of old age if he obeys.

The prayer of Otura Ogbe · Yoruba

Otura Niko Oniko Lo Gba Abe Si Aiye Awó Ke Tanshe Afefe Lorun Adifafún Erun Ti O Nlo Sile Orishaokó.

Súyere
Afefe laiye laiye Orún, la gba Orún, afefe laiye laiye Orún.

Ifá says — what Otura Ogbe tells you

Proverbs of Otura Ogbe · Òwe

17 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

  • This sign makes the awó evolve, and whoever cried inside the womb receives a gift of nature.

  • Whoever obeys reaches old age.

  • The awó has great power: death, at times, fears and respects them.

Osogbo · what the sign warns

  • They feel tired of life and nothing excites them anymore.

  • Someone in their family took their own life, and that sorrow stays with them.

  • They are left alone: their relatives die and their children move away.

51 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 Ogbe · 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 Ogbe · The sacrifices that open the road

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

Works of Otura Ogbe · The workings of the sign

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

Patakíes of Otura Ogbe · The roads of the Odù

1The Farmer and the Fortune

This path has two versions, depending on whether the odu arrives with iré (a favorable sign) or with osobo (an adverse sign).

With iré. An enormous drought was striking the region and a farmer went to Orunmila. The babalawo consulted Ifá, found the odu, and prescribed an ebbó. The farmer had to offer a ram, a rooster and a dove; also a machete, a hoe, hutia, smoked fish, the rest of the ingredients, and a good amount of money.

A few days after the ebbó, a downpour broke. The farmer was having lunch at that moment and said aloud that he would turn the soil as soon as the rain stopped. He did so, and when he opened the ground he came upon a fortune.

With osobo. Another farmer was on the edge of ruin: the drought in his region was killing his plants and animals. His guardian angel proposed to give him luck, but with a demand: it asked him for a goat and warned him that on that day he should neither work nor get wet in the rain.

The man handed over the goat and before long it started to rain. In his joy he forgot the warning and went out to the field to work the ground. At that very instant the luck that was his was falling from the sky, made into sacks of money, and the sacks fell on him and ended his life.

Note on this path: nobody should go out into the open while it rains.

What it teaches

The ebbó attracts luck, but luck requires respecting the conditions set by the guardian angel. If its warning is neglected, the very good that was arriving turns into harm. When it rains, the sensible thing is to take shelter.

Ebbó with iré

A lot of money; ram, rooster and dove; machete and hoe; smoked hutia and fish, plus the rest of the ingredients of the ebbó.

Work with osobo

Give a goat to the guardian angel and, during that day, neither work nor get wet in the rain.

Prohibition

Do not go out into the open air when it is raining.

2The Dead Father

An awó had a father who had already died. Once the dead man asked him for an object and the son handed it over, and in return a small piece of luck came to him. Later the dead man asked him for food; the son gave it and again received a small piece of luck. In this way the father kept making request after request, and the son did not see him send anything more.

Then the dead man asked for a ram. This time the son began to protest. He said that his father demanded a ram just when he wanted to raise animals, and that he would go and tell him to stop making so many requests in a row.

To reach him, the awó asked his wife to put him in a sack and place him beside a ceiba tree. Oniko, the messenger of death, would come for him and take him to heaven.

So it was. In heaven the awó found his father, who explained that he had sent such frequent requests (a rooster, hens, a ram and others) because he wanted to get the enormous fortune seen there to him, since nothing leaves that place unless an animal enters in exchange. Now it was no longer necessary, because all that wealth belonged to the son. And since he would not be able to return to the earth, he would stay there with the wealth and with his father.

The awó remained in heaven, beside his father.

What it teaches

What a dead person asks for, even when it seems excessive and constant, can be the way a great fortune arrives. Complaining about what is given, without waiting to learn its purpose, leads to understanding too late that it was a benefit.

3The Three Bottles of Liquor

A certain person went to have a reading with a babalawo, and the odu Otura Niko appeared in the consultation. The priest prescribed an ebbó: $3.15 as the consultation fee and three bottles of liquor, since tragedy, illness and death were lurking around the person.

The person was doing very badly for money and could not gather either the three bottles or the $3.15. So the person decided to show up with one bottle and $1.05. On the way to the babalawo's house, tragedy was waiting and snatched the bottle away.

Not until the following week did the person get another bottle and another $1.05. When Friday came, payday, the person bought the bottle and set out again. This time it was illness that waited along the way, and it took the bottle.

The Friday after that, the person left once more with a bottle and $1.05, and this time reached the babalawo's house. The person told him what had happened on the two earlier occasions, and he answered that the ebbó was already complete: the first bottle had paid for tragedy, the second for illness, and the third belonged to death. It would be given to Ifá so that Ifá would keep death far away and leave the person in peace.

What it teaches

With few resources the ebbó is fulfilled all the same, step by step, and each frustrated attempt pays for a different danger. Peace comes when what keeps death away is handed over to Ifá.

Ebbó of the odu

$3.15 as the consultation fee and three bottles of liquor. In the story, tragedy received the first bottle, illness the second, and the third was left with Ifá to push death away.

4Orunmila abandoned by his children🔒 The Notebook5The fencer🔒 The Notebook6The gifts that opened Olodumare's house🔒 The Notebook7The war with Osain🔒 The Notebook8When Shangó was a slave🔒 The Notebook9Otura Niko wanted to see Olofin🔒 The Notebook10The transformation🔒 The Notebook11The great power of the Awó🔒 The Notebook12The palm topper🔒 The Notebook13The errand runner of Olofin, Oduduwa and Shangó🔒 The Notebook14Sahori, the abandoned godson who saved his godfather🔒 The Notebook15Yemayá's betrayal of Ogún🔒 The Notebook16Otura Niko tricks Kukute and his children🔒 The Notebook17The foreman of the dead🔒 The Notebook18The son of Orunmila🔒 The Notebook19Money did not free the people of Ilerin🔒 The Notebook20When Shangó did not recognize Orunmila🔒 The Notebook21The man who made ebbó and won the raffle🔒 The Notebook22When corn was coming into the world🔒 The Notebook23Ifá was divined for Olokun🔒 The Notebook24The godson who frightened the customers🔒 The Notebook25The salvation of the ebbó🔒 The Notebook26The three wives of Otura Oriko🔒 The Notebook27Ikú and his children are placed at the service of Otura Niko🔒 The Notebook28Otura Eleji and the dog's head🔒 The Notebook29The pact of the earthly powers🔒 The Notebook30The son of Shangó who splashed the old man🔒 The Notebook31Do not show everything you know🔒 The Notebook32The luck that comes from heaven🔒 The Notebook33The oti trafficker🔒 The Notebook34The godson without a teacher who saved his godfather🔒 The Notebook35Orunmila pleaded for humankind before Olofin🔒 The Notebook36The ebbó that Ifá had not marked🔒 The Notebook37Oriko Lowao and the sack of offerings🔒 The Notebook38The reward for his obedience🔒 The Notebook39Orunmila does not tolerate ignorance🔒 The Notebook40Oriko Lowao and the Ibeyi Orun🔒 The Notebook41The beekeeper and the flatterer🔒 The Notebook42The cat and the butcher🔒 The Notebook
39 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 Ogbe in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Otura Ogbe

What does the Odù Otura Ogbe mean in Ifá?

He is the foreman of Egun and messenger of the dead; in this Odù the oparaldo is born, and its secret consists in feeding the spirit of the father.

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

Otura Ogbe is Odù number 197 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Otura family.

Which orishas speak in Otura Ogbe?

In the Odù Otura Ogbe these orishas speak: Egun (the father's spirit), Shangó, Oshún, Eshu / Elegba, Oduduwa, Osain, Orishaoko, Yemayá, Ogún, Olofin / Olodumare.

What is a proverb of the Odù Otura Ogbe?

One of the proverbs of Otura Ogbe says: «In the land of the dead, I am foreman.».

Unlock the 256 Odù See all the Odù See something to correct? Write to us with your source
← Otrupon FunIndexOtura Yeku →