Otura Niko

nº 197 of 256

The foreman of Egun, messenger of the dead: here the oparaldo is born, and its secret is giving food to the spirit of your father.

42 patakíes 7 eewó 12 ebbós and works 20 proverbs

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Otura Niko is Odù number 197 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Otura family. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 42 patakíes (3 with the full text), its proverbs, 12 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 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 Niko is the messenger of the dead: the foreman of Egun in Kutone, the country of the land of the dead — «in the land of the dead, I am foreman». Here corn, the nervous system and the oparaldo were born, and its law runs by the clock: this Ifá grants extensions, but it allows no delay — prepare everything in good time.

Its secret is in a father's blood: give food to the spirit of your father — a white rooster. Whoever carries this sign carries a gift of nature — you are the child who wept in the mother's womb, and the one who wept in the womb is blessed — but you carry the risk of weariness too: you get tired of living and you are left alone; obedient, you live into old age.

«In the land of the dead, Otura Niko is foreman — his Ifá grants extensions, but it forgives no delay.»The pulse of Otura Niko

Your luck comes with exact signs: if the brown-skinned woman with the red shawl comes back, a ram and two roosters to Shangó at once — and three very great pieces of luck will come to you; for money, wear an apron and buy the lottery tickets others turned down. On the other hand, do not ask for so much money — it can end up paying for your burial — and know that the favor you are about to do will not be thanked: do it anyway, because the children of this Odù grow rich by being generous.

Your house keeps its warnings: the pregnant woman will give birth to a boy they will call «Know-it-all», because he will be a Babalawo; where you live they once had money and today they have not enough to eat — you break that run with a work. Plug the mouse holes, so your ashé does not leak away, and that thing of mayombe you keep, attend to it: it holds you back.

Your standing rules: no working on Thursdays, nor on the day you give food to the santos; no pins in your mouth; your head is not touched by just anyone — the animals are only presented to it. Look after your throat, your spine and your nerves, and know why the children do not come: God is angry with how you behave — give thanks to Oshún and to Orunmila: the foreman of the dead walks blessed among the living — as long as he does not run late.

The sign in one line

Give the white rooster to your father's spirit, prepare everything in good time and be generous — the one who wept in the womb was born blessed and dies old if he obeys.

The prayer of Otura Niko · 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 Niko tells you

The Ifá of the messenger of the dead: Otura Niko is the foreman of Egun in Kutone, the country of the land of the dead. The Ifá where corn, the rough sea, the nervous system and the oparaldo were born. An Ifá of extensions: it orders things prepared in good time, since it allows no delay. An Ifá of weariness and solitude: you get tired of living and you are left alone, but obedient you live into old age. The Ifá of the schoolchildren: you were raised together with other children or lived near a school. The Ifá of the child who wept in his mother's womb: he carries a gift of nature — the one who wept in the womb is blessed. An Ifá of the human races: you live with someone of the opposite race.
No one should touch the head of a person who has this Odù: animals and the other things are only presented to them.
There is someone in the family who hanged themselves, and some relative who was educated in a convent or a convent school.
Whoever has this Odù must not have their head touched: only the animals and the other things are presented to it.
You tend toward vices.
Here you should not work on Thursdays.
The gourd is used for good and for ill.
The children of this Odù should be generous, since that is how they will grow rich, and should keep every commitment so they are not called irresponsible.
For the pregnant woman this Odù comes up for: sacrifices to make sure of a healthy child.
The herbs of the sign: anacahuita, forget-me-not, caimito, castor plant and canutillo.
You are going to do a favor that nobody will thank you for.
In your house there is a pregnant woman who will give birth to a boy who will be called «Know-it-all», because he will be a Babalawo.
Where you live they once had money and today they have not enough to eat.
You have something of mayombe: be careful, that holds you back.
Do not put pins in your mouth, and do not ask for so much money, since it can end up paying for your burial.
A brown-skinned woman with a red shawl was in your house: if she comes back, give a ram and two roosters to Shangó at once, because after that three very great pieces of luck will come to you.
To get that money you will have to go about wearing an apron and buy lottery tickets that others turned down.
On the day you give food to the santos, do not work.
You have no children because God is angry with how you behave: give thanks to Oshún and to Orunmila.
Plug the mouse holes, so your ashé does not leak away.
You have an unsettled matter with a dead one.
Buy your wife a dress with an oval pattern, and an apron.
They deal with you two-faced: keep a branch of caimito behind your door.
Get ready for the end of your life: do not be alone.

Proverbs of Otura Niko · Òwe

“In the land of the dead, I am foreman.”
“The one who wept in the womb is blessed.”
“The iron tried to argue with the fire.”
“Whoever does good by the heap will receive it by the heap.”
“A cracked gourd will never fill.”
“Nobody ever calls the law on a cracked gourd.”
“The sun rises for everyone except you.”
“Good and evil threatened the Babalawo.”
“The father says: if you are not happy in your house, better that you come with me.”
“When the innocent is punished or the guilty absolved, the curses do not wait.”
“Whoever does not settle his business in the street will have no peace at home.”
“The stubborn man means to split the rock with his head.”
“Whoever seeks revenge finds amends.”
“When thorns grow in the vineyards, the owner is lazy.”
“Whoever boasts of his knowledge can pass for ignorant.”
“Disobedience is the father of innocence badly understood.”
“Pay, so they give you credit.”
“A young man's advice can carry an old man's wisdom.”
“Among the poor the rich man is king, and among debtors the moneylender.”
“There is no jewel in this world more precious than wisdom.”

17 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 Otura Niko · Ìbí

Corn.
Awó Otura Niko divined Ifá for corn when it was first coming into the world; for refusing the sacrifice, people eat corn and what is made from it.
The rough sea.
The nervous system in the body.
The oparaldo.
It means «to kill behind the body»: the work for taking a dead one off a person's back or sending him away.
The disfigurement of the human being at death.
Death turned itself into bone and into a shadow nobody knows, with the power Oduduwa gave her.
That death is sometimes frightened and respects the living.
Awó Abeyení woke the town, and Oduduwa ordered Ikú not to take anyone before their time.
Egun's way of speaking with Olofin.
Through Oniko, the messenger, consecrated at the foot of the poplar tree by Shangó and Oduduwa.

What is forbidden · Eewó

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

Do not eat caimito, zapote, round fruits, octopus or squid.
Do not eat pork.
This is offered to Egun.
Do not kill ants or insects.
With the ants, luck comes into the house.
Do not go to the river, do not get wet with rainwater, and even less bathe in a downpour.
The luck from heaven can fall on top of you, as it did on the farmer.
Do not work on Thursdays, nor on the day you give food to the santos.
Do not argue stubbornly, and be careful with a betrayal where they can poison you.
Do not reveal your secrets or teach everything you know.
The last transformation is the one that saves; the one who reveals it is left limited.

Ebbós of Otura Niko · The sacrifices that open the road

MoneyThe great ebbó of this Odù🔒 The Notebook MoneyEbbó for Ifá fore🔒 The Notebook Keeping death awayThe ebbó of the great power (of the hole)🔒 The Notebook SpiritualThe ebbó of the foreman of the dead (Iyalaye Maire)🔒 The Notebook Beating enemiesThe ebbó of the seven transformations🔒 The Notebook Beating enemiesThe ebbó against Kukute (the death that hounds you)🔒 The Notebook

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

Works of Otura Niko · The workings of the sign

SpiritualThe oparaldo of Otura Niko (it was born here)🔒 The Notebook Keeping death awayThe three gourds so Ikú does not come in🔒 The Notebook HealthWork for the sick person (the pot and the switches)🔒 The Notebook SpiritualThe jar of the great power of Otura Niko🔒 The Notebook SpiritualThe spiritual work of Otura Niko🔒 The Notebook MoneyFor luck and for the good to come🔒 The Notebook

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

Patakíes of Otura Niko · The roads of the Odù

1The farmer and the riches

When it is iré: in a great drought, a farmer went to Orunmila, who marked him ebbó with a ram, a rooster, a dove, a machete and a hoe. A few days later it rained, and turning the earth he found riches. When it is osobo: a farmer almost ruined was offered a piece of luck by his guardian angel in exchange for a goat, with the warning not to work and not to get wet in the rain that day. He forgot: when it began to rain he went out happily to turn the earth, and at that very moment the luck was coming down from heaven — sacks of money that fell on him and killed him. Going out in the open while it is raining is forbidden.

When it is iré: those were times of a very hard drought and a man who lived off farming went looking for Orunmila. They did osode for him, this Odù came out and ebbó was marked with a ram and a rooster, a dove, a machete and a hoe, jutía with smoked fish, the remaining ingredients and plenty of money.

A few days after the sacrifice was done, the farmer was having lunch when the downpour broke, and he said: "When it clears up, I will start turning the soil." When he set to turning it, he found a treasure.

When it is osobo: a farmer was almost ruined by the huge drought punishing the region where he lived. His crops and his animals were dying. His guardian angel then offered him good fortune, with one condition: "Give me a she-goat, but do not work and do not get wet with rain water that day."

When the farmer handed his guardian angel what he had asked for, a short while later the rain broke loose. He completely forgot his guardian angel's warning and went out, very happy, to turn the soil. Right then the good fortune that was his was coming down from the sky: sacks of money, which fell on him and took his life.

Note: going out in the open while it is raining is forbidden.

2The dead father

A Babalawo had a dead father who kept asking him for things — and every time he gave, he got a small piece of luck in return. One day the father asked him for a ram, and the son grumbled: «He will not let me build up my stock; I am going to speak with him.» He had himself put in a sack at the foot of a ceiba so that Oniko, death's messenger, would carry him to heaven. There his father told him: «If I asked you for things so often, it was to send you this great fortune you see here, because nothing can leave this place unless an animal appears for what leaves. It is no longer needed: the riches are yours, and since you will not be able to go back to earth, you stay with the riches and with me.» And the son stayed with his father in heaven.

A Babalawo had his father dead. One time the dead man asked him for something and the son gave it to him; in payment a small bit of good fortune came to him. After a while, the dead man asked him for food again, the son obeyed and again a small bit of good fortune came to him. That is how the requests went on, one after another, without him sending anything back in return.

The day came when he asked him for a ram, and the son started to grumble: "Now my father asks me for a ram and he will not let me build up the herd. I am going to go talk to him to tell him to stop asking me for things so often."

So he sent for his wife and gave her an order: to shut him in a sack and leave him at the foot of a ceiba, so that Oniko, death's messenger, would pick him up and take him up to the sky; there he could talk with his father.

That is what happened: the Babalawo reached the sky and found the dead man, who explained to him: "My son, if I sent for things so often, like a rooster, hens, a ram, etc., it was to send you this great fortune you see here, because nothing can leave here unless an animal turns up for what goes out. But it is not needed now, since the wealth is yours; and since you will not be able to go back to earth, you stay with the wealth and with me."

And there he stayed, with his father, in the sky.

3The three bottles of aguardiente

This Odù came up for a person, and the Babalawo marked them ebbó with three bottles of aguardiente and $3.15, because illness, disaster and death were stalking them. Having no money, they decided to bring one bottle and $1.05; on the road disaster, who was waiting for them, took the bottle. A week later they bought another one: illness took it. The next Friday they set out with the third and this time they got there. The Babalawo told them: «You have already made ebbó — the first bottle was for the disaster, the second for the illness, and this third one is for death: we are going to set it before Ifá so he sends death away and leaves you in peace.»

A certain person went to get a reading with a Babalawo, and this Odù came out, Otura Niko. The offering was marked as three bottles of aguardiente and $3.15 as the fee, because sickness, trouble and death were after that person.

Since their money situation was terrible and they could not cover the three bottles or the $3.15, they decided to show up with a single bottle and $1.05. On the way, trouble came out to meet them, since it was waiting for them, and kept what they were carrying.

They had to wait until the next week to gather another bottle and another $1.05. On Friday, payday, they bought it and set out for the Babalawo's house; on the way sickness was waiting for them, and it also took the bottle away.

The next Friday they left home again with one more bottle and $1.05. This time they did reach the Babalawo's house and told him what had happened on the two earlier tries. He answered: "You already made ebbó, because the first bottle of aguardiente was for trouble, the second was for sickness, and this third one is for death, and we are going to put it on Ifá so that death moves away and leaves you in peace."

4Orunmila abandoned by his children🔒 The Notebook 5The fencer🔒 The Notebook 6When Orunmila went to see Olodumare🔒 The Notebook 7The war with Osain🔒 The Notebook 8When Shangó was a slave🔒 The Notebook 9Otura Niko wanted to see Olofin🔒 The Notebook 10The transformation🔒 The Notebook 11The great power of the Awó🔒 The Notebook 12The palm topper🔒 The Notebook 13The errand runner of Olofin, Oduduwa and Shangó🔒 The Notebook 14Sahori, the one who makes the santos speak🔒 The Notebook 15Yemayá's betrayal of Ogún🔒 The Notebook 16Good and evil threaten the Awó (Kukute)🔒 The Notebook 17The foreman of the dead🔒 The Notebook 18The son of Orunmila🔒 The Notebook 19Shangó in the land of Ilerin🔒 The Notebook 20When Shangó did not recognize Orunmila🔒 The Notebook 21The man who made ebbó and won the raffle🔒 The Notebook 22When corn was coming into the world🔒 The Notebook 23Ifá was divined for Olokun🔒 The Notebook 24Intelligence wins🔒 The Notebook 25The salvation of the ebbó🔒 The Notebook 26The three wives of Otura Oriko🔒 The Notebook 27Otura Oriko calms Iku and her children🔒 The Notebook 28The Alafín of Oyo🔒 The Notebook 29The pact of the earthly powers🔒 The Notebook 30Go slowly so you can win🔒 The Notebook 31Do not show everything you know🔒 The Notebook 32The luck that comes from heaven🔒 The Notebook 33The oti trafficker🔒 The Notebook 34Otura Niko sees his father die and saves his godfather🔒 The Notebook 35Orunmila pleaded for humankind before Olofin🔒 The Notebook 36The unthinkable mistake🔒 The Notebook 37You reap what you sow🔒 The Notebook 38The reward for his obedience🔒 The Notebook 39Orunmila does not tolerate ignorance🔒 The Notebook 40Ibeyi Orun🔒 The Notebook 41The beekeeper and the flatterer🔒 The Notebook 42The 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 Niko in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Otura Niko

What does the Odù Otura Niko mean in Ifá?

The foreman of Egun, messenger of the dead: here the oparaldo is born, and its secret is giving food to the spirit of your father.

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

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

Which orishas speak in Otura Niko?

In the Odù Otura Niko 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 Niko?

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

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