Otura Sa

nº 206 of 256

Otura Gasá, «Otura rises»: a cool body and a mind without fear — Olokun sacrificed to beat fear, and his children do not sing their own victories.

23 patakíes 9 eewó 28 ebbós and works 22 proverbs

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Otura Sa is Odù number 206 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Otura family. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 23 patakíes (3 with the full text), its proverbs, 28 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 206 of 256
Composition: Otura over Osa
Orishas that speak: Orunmila · Eshu / Elegba · Shangó · Obatalá · Ogún · Olokun · Egun (the ancestors) · Osain / Ozain · Oyá · Oduduwa · Olofin · Oshún

What Ifá says in this sign

Otura Sa — also called Otura Gasá, «Otura rises» — is the Ifá of the cool body and the mind without fear: «I am not afraid, I am not a fearful man» — Olokun sacrificed to beat fear, and that is the temper this odu lends to whoever carries it. Its two sides are sharp: gnosis or foolishness — wisdom or noise.

Its ethics carry their own seal: the children of this sign do not sing their own victories — they are humble, and the deeds speak for themselves. Out of that come two rules of fine dealing: do not give to others what they can never repay you — they will take it as a humiliation and you will earn their hatred — and do not always act the same way, so you do not fall into traps.

«Olokun sacrificed so as not to be afraid — a cool body and a mind without fear are the inheritance of Otura Sa.»The pulse of Otura Sa

By iré, this odu is generous: abundance, success at work, love beginning, engagement and rings. By osobo, its fearful geography speaks: the three houses — your house, the jail and the grave — and the witchcraft of whoever wants to work your fear of poverty to their own advantage. Blood does not prevent betrayal: look inward as well.

Your intimate enemy is your temper: master your feelings with a cool head and you will see the solution — the shyness and the emotional trouble you have built up in your own mind are got over with the family's support. And work: idleness and neglect lead to ruin — and to finding yourself taken in at someone else's house through your own bad head. The lame lie and adultery weigh you down inside: do not carry them.

Its worship is ancestral and without weeping: physical death is not the end but the going on of life in heaven — Egun is worshipped without grief. The weekly brew — fennel, vinagrillo and botón de oro — looks after the body, and the reflection of this sign answers every complaint: does it seem to you that Ifá is slow to put an end to your affliction? Look how slowly you turn to Him.

The sign in one line

Do not sing your own victories, cool your temper and work — Otura Sa rises when the fear goes down, and his deeds speak for themselves.

The prayer of Otura Sa · Yoruba

Aya Mi Ko Fo, Aya Mi Ko Ja, Ara Tu Mi Nene Adífáfún Olókun Wón Niki Olókun Wa Rúbo, Ara A Tuut.

Ifá says — what Otura Sa tells you

The Ifá of the cool body and the mind without fear: «I am not afraid, I am not a fearful man» — the temper of Olokun, who sacrificed so as to be cool. The Ifá of ethics: they never sing their own victories, they are humble and the deeds speak for themselves. The Ifá where it was born that for any initiation of Osha to be complete, the Babalawos must work. The Ifá of the edge of the knife: here the oluwos' right to sacrifice to the Orishas to calm the osogbos was born. The Ifá of the three houses: your house, the jail and the grave. An Ifá of witchcraft: there is someone who wants to work your fear of poverty to their own advantage. An Ifá of work and success at work: by iré it is a sign of engagement and rings, and of love beginning. The Ifá of ancestral worship: physical death is not the end but the going on of life in heaven — Egun is worshipped without grief.
By iré it announces abundance, love beginning, work and success at work, engagement and rings.
The two sides of this sign: gnosis and foolishness.
Ethics speak here: do not sing your own victories — the deeds speak for themselves.
By osobo the three houses speak: your house, the jail and the grave.
The Eshu of this sign is Eshu Alawanileba.
A lerí of agbani (deer) must never be missing from the ilé of the Awó of this Ifá: that way Olofin is always with him and the anger of his own mother, the iyá of the agbani, does not fall on him.
The weekly brew of this sign: fennel, vinagrillo and botón de oro.
The ewé of this sign: guacamaya, caisimón, yam, red mangrove, jobo, ceiba and palm.
The iyefá Otura Sa works with is the one taken on an empty stomach as a cure.
The thought this sign leaves: if the person feels that Ifá is taking too long to put an end to their sorrow, let them look at how slowly they themselves turn to Him.
Do not give to others what they can never repay you, in case they take it as a humiliation and you earn their hatred.
Do not always act the same way, so you do not fall into traps.
There is someone who wants to work your fear of poverty to their own advantage.
Your temper is causing you trouble: master your feelings with a cool head and you will see the solution.
You need to be doing something, because the day gets very long for you: idleness and neglect at work lead to ruin.
You need the family's support, since you have built things up in your mind and you have to get over them: shyness and emotional trouble.
It announces the lame lie and adultery: the guilt weighs you down.
You can find yourself taken in at someone else's house through your own bad head.
There is a danger of being put under other people's power: blackmail and danger to your good name.
There is a trap in business: it marks a swindle or a robbery — theft is no answer to going short, and it costs you your honor.
It speaks of losing money and of danger in a partnership: take more care of your own affairs.
It speaks of harm to the unborn child from stress: the pregnant woman should make ebó.
It speaks of the proper care and education of the children.
Adapt to your surroundings as soon as you can.

Proverbs of Otura Sa · Òwe

“Whoever answers a fool passes for a fool.”
“You never know when a woman sins and when she falls in the millet.”
“Whoever says everything he knows ends up saying what he should not.”
“Laugh with me, but not at me.”
“Today's student is tomorrow's teacher.”
“Blood does not prevent betrayal.”
“A known enemy is not deadly.”
“Evil and good cannot walk side by side.”
“Small town, big bell.”
“Whoever knows how to answer a fool makes himself look like one.”
“It is a great mistake to tie the stone to the sling; it is a greater mistake to act out of nerves.”
“Only a naive man expects kindness and help from his enemy.”
“Adultery makes a mockery of the pact of faithfulness.”
“A careless man comes to know hunger and thirst.”
“Attacking from the front does not make your back safe.”
“The spell has three faces: enemies, jail and the grave.”
“To comfort the afflicted is a sign of compassion.”
“There is no mother who stops loving her child, and no jewel in the world to equal him.”
“Nobody can take from a great soldier what he won in battle.”
“Whoever falls in love with money loses his way through it.”
“The tyrant is followed only by his servants' fear.”
“Olorun created nothing better for keeping you from falling, and nothing worse than the eye for making you fall.”

19 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 Sa · Ìbí

The illness called vitiligo, or loss of pigment in the skin.
The consecration of nuns.
That for any initiation of Osha to be complete, the Babalawos must work.
All the priests of the Orishas tried to wake Olokun's daughter from her trance and none of them could: only Orunmila, with the drums and the fourteen tools of heaven, got Olokun to release her.
The Egyptian code of conduct, or Book of the Dead.
Rising above both merit and demerit.
His father's tunic called Gbariyee and his cape called Labagadeen.
The edge of the knife.
A lightning bolt fell beside the ebó and there appeared an odu ará and a stone of emery with which the knives were sharpened; ever since, it is the oluwos' right to sacrifice to the Orishas to calm the osogbos.

What is forbidden · Eewó

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

The one initiated in Ifá who is born from this Odù cannot eat awodí (hawk — Polyboroides radiatus).
Your Ifá forbids the use of igi atorí (a rod like the rascabarriga — Glyphaea brevis), nor its leaves, nor its use as medicine.
You cannot eat ejá òjíjí (electric eel).
You cannot eat eiyé awokó (parakeet).
Your Ifá forbids the use of soil from the road (erupé ojú oná).
From this list of eewó, three or four are set apart, and Ifá is asked which of them the person's creator (Eledá rè) chooses as eewó.
Do not give to others what they will never be able to repay you.
They can take it as humiliation and you will earn their hatred.
Never break your word: what you say must be law.
That was the condition of the spirit in the great consecration of Awó Otura Sa.
Do not act out of nerves.
It is a great mistake to tie the stone to the sling; it is a greater mistake to act out of nerves.

Ebbós of Otura Sa · The sacrifices that open the road

Keeping death awayEbó to avoid death from ingratitude🔒 The Notebook Keeping death awayEbó to send Ikú away🔒 The Notebook Keeping death awayEbó so you do not die because of your partner🔒 The Notebook MoneyEbó for prosperity🔒 The Notebook MoneyEbó to save your money🔒 The Notebook Beating enemiesEbó before going to war🔒 The Notebook Beating enemiesEbó so kindness is not repaid with ingratitude🔒 The Notebook FamilyEbó for a settled home🔒 The Notebook FamilyEbó to avoid trouble in giving birth🔒 The Notebook HealthEbó for health🔒 The Notebook LoveEbó for the marriage🔒 The Notebook FamilyEbó for the children🔒 The Notebook

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

Works of Otura Sa · The workings of the sign

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

Patakíes of Otura Sa · The roads of the Odù

1The inheritance of the ancestral ashé

Ifá Ewonje taught only his chosen son how to drink the ashé from his inú when he died, but the brother with the worse character listened at the window and drank it first, keeping the power of head of the family. People turned away from him, but since he was the only one who could settle anything, they gradually followed him; he improved his character, earned his place, asked his brother's pardon and gave him the political command, keeping the religious one.

Ifá Ewonje had two babalawo sons: one with a good character and one less respectful. When he felt old, he called the one he had chosen and showed him how to draw the vomit of the ashé out of his inú, so he could drink it as soon as he left for heaven. But the son who was not chosen heard everything from a window and stayed awake: as soon as the father died, he got there first and drank that ashé, which gives a babalawo the power to stay as head of the family. His brother came later, and no matter how much he handled his father's body, he got nothing.

The babalawos met in council and wanted to know which of the two sons was the chosen one, and Ifá answered that it was the one with the worse character. Little by little people moved away from him; but misfortunes began, and no one had the ashé of a leader. So they went to the one who had taken it, and he was the one who solved things for them, through the power kept in his inú.

In time they came to follow him, and he kept polishing his character until he earned his place. In the end he looked for his brother to ask for his forgiveness and handed him the political command, keeping only the religious one.

2The plantain and the cucumber

The plantain, having no faith, sent the cucumber in his place with everything for the ebó when Orunmila consulted them; the animals and the tools were presented to the cucumber, and that is why the plantain and his children are bent, while the cucumber and his own are straight.

Orunmila consulted the plantain and the cucumber. Since the plantain had no faith, he put the things for the ebó in the cucumber's hands and sent him in his place. It was the cucumber who had the animals and the tools presented to him.

Since then the plantain goes about bent, and so do his children; the cucumber and his own, on the other hand, are straight.

3The successor

The old Awó Oshere Igbó, near death, was looked after only by his youngest student, who cleaned his house, cut his firewood and fed him. His godfather entrusted him with his secrets, and when he breathed out for the last time, that last breath was drawn in by the youngest, who inherited the ashé without knowing it. Only he could bear the seven hours beside the body; they called him mad, but with patience he became wise, settled the family's chaos and was able to initiate his godfather's children in Osha and Ifá.

When the old Awó Oshere Igbó had run out of time on earth and it was his turn to go back to heaven, Orunmila consulted Ifá for him. He had seven children of Ifá, and two by blood; since these were still small and he had not managed to initiate them into the cult of Orisha-Ifá, worry was eating him up. Six of his students were with him; the youngest, who lived far away, hardly ever saw him.

Oshere Igbó said a prayer, and a white parrot dropped a feather that fell on the lerí of his omó keké of Ifá; the boy understood that his oluwo was in trouble and went to see him. He found the house dirty and in a mess, and he set to cleaning it; then he cut firewood in the forest and with it he warmed his oluwo's bed, and he served him a soup of ewé and igbín to eat.

Alone with him, the godfather took the chance to put his children in his care and the road they would have to walk, and he told him a secret: in his funeral rites neither salt nor epó could be used for anything, because he was omó of Babá. Then he died; that last breath was breathed in by the youngest student, and so, without him knowing it, the ashé passed to the youngest of the students.

The funeral rite came, and animals were sacrificed for the meal. When the youngest asked for the Egun altar to be painted black and for no salt or epó to be put in the food, they all laughed at him; and so it happened that they all ate what was taboo for Egun. Custom said that each godchild had to sit alone with the godfather's body for seven hours to beg for the ashé: everyone who tried was left at the edge of death, and the others saw his face like a skull. The youngest one's turn came, and he did hold out the seven hours beside his dead godfather: he was left as the heir of the ashé.

A long time went by with no one recognizing the young Awó's ashé; some even called him crazy to bring him down. He kept begging his godfather, who appeared to him in dreams to push him to study Ifá, with the promise to be with him always until he saw him carry out his mission: to initiate the blood children into the cult of Orisha-Ifá. He put up with a lot, until he became wise and disciplined. When the chaos in the family got worse, they called him in, and one by one he solved the situations; that way everyone gave him their trust.

The elders let him take the reins; then he was able to take the children of Oshere Igbó first to the land of Osha, and later to Ifá, and they became wise priests, very hard-working and very successful in Ifá.

4The slander🔒 The Notebook 5Olokun's daughter🔒 The Notebook 6The ayapa and the hunchback🔒 The Notebook 7Orisha, or the chosen head🔒 The Notebook 8The birth of the edge of the knife🔒 The Notebook 9The mosquito who was king and was dethroned🔒 The Notebook 10The road of the mummy🔒 The Notebook 11The mummy (another version)🔒 The Notebook 12Ode and the agbani🔒 The Notebook 13The birds who were enemies of Otura Sa🔒 The Notebook 14Orunmila does not shelter crime🔒 The Notebook 15The ancestral cult🔒 The Notebook 16The stammerer🔒 The Notebook 17The tiger and the lion🔒 The Notebook 18One piece of advice for a whole life🔒 The Notebook 19The danger of not listening🔒 The Notebook 20The great consecration of Awó Otura Sa🔒 The Notebook 21The whip🔒 The Notebook 22The butterfly and the caterpillar🔒 The Notebook 23The brotherhood🔒 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 Sa in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Otura Sa

What does the Odù Otura Sa mean in Ifá?

Otura Gasá, «Otura rises»: a cool body and a mind without fear — Olokun sacrificed to beat fear, and his children do not sing their own victories.

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

Otura Sa is Odù number 206 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Otura family.

Which orishas speak in Otura Sa?

In the Odù Otura Sa these orishas speak: Orunmila, Eshu / Elegba, Shangó, Obatalá, Ogún, Olokun, Egun (the ancestors), Osain / Ozain, Oyá, Oduduwa, Olofin, Oshún.

What is a proverb of the Odù Otura Sa?

One of the proverbs of Otura Sa says: «Whoever answers a fool passes for a fool.».

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