Odù 44 of 256 · Oyekun family

Oyekun Birete

The Ifá of disbelief: here sickness (Arun) works its way into the body and Ode, the hunter, is born — whoever neither respects nor believes is lost.

Oyekun Birete is Odù number 44 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Oyekun family. This page brings together its prayer in Yoruba, 15 patakíes (3 with the full text), its proverbs, 7 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 44 of 256
Composition
Oyekun over Irete
Orishas that speak
Shangó · Azowanu (Oluo Popó) · Oshosi (Ode) · Orunmila · Obatalá · Yemayá · Oggún

What Ifá says in this sign

Oyekun Birete is the Ifá of disbelief: this person lives at Orunmila's feet only when the rope is round their neck — they believe out of trouble, not out of faith. And this odu paints them without mercy: whoever neither respects nor believes is lost on their own.

Something was born here that explains many lives: the working of Arun — sickness — into the human body. Health in this sign is a battle front: cold in the bones, arthritis, the legs, the hernia that must not be neglected and the scar that aches when the sky clouds over. And one exact warning about witchcraft: ogú scattered on the ground — mind where you step; if you get careless, you can be left unable to walk.

«You live at Orunmila's feet with the rope round your neck — Oyekun Birete learns to believe before the trouble comes.»The pulse of Oyekun Birete

Born here too was Ode — Oshosi the hunter: receive him, along with Elegba, and attend San Lázaro with Oshún and Yemayá. The dead is asking for attention: give it. This odu promises that a daughter of Yemayá will be the one who saves you — when she appears, know her.

The temper is the other enemy: a violent person, with no calm and no seat, who fights with whoever was their friend yesterday and keeps company with wild people looking for trouble. Keep away from them and from those brawls: the marriage break-up and the wrecked home this odu marks always start with an argument. Do not argue with anyone — and with your partner, less than anyone.

The remedy is to believe truly, not as an emergency: respect your elders, live calmly, keep up before the rope tightens. The person of this sign has luck when they attend the saints — that is the whole science of it: the faith of every day is worth more than the faith of the emergency.

The sign in one line

Believe before the trouble comes, master your violence and receive Ode — whoever attends the saints every day is given luck and health by this Ifá.

The prayer of Oyekun Birete · Yoruba

Oyekun Birete Molala Awo molala intori Ifa Arun molala abe oyu layé tinsheré Ifá Oluo Popo Molala Awo tinsheré Ifá Oshanlá Ifá molala ni yabé otoroni Ifá moyaré ni layé molala.

Ifá says — what Oyekun Birete tells you

Proverbs of Oyekun Birete · Òwe

12 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

7 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 Oyekun Birete · Ìbí

What is forbidden · Eewó

3 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 Oyekun Birete · The sacrifices that open the road

Sickness (Arun)Ebbó intori Arun🔒 Babalawo
Tying down the luckEbbó of the bellows (Ewiri)🔒 Babalawo
Beating enemiesEbbó of the three arrows at the foot of Aragba🔒 Babalawo
EggunParaldo of the sign🔒 Babalawo
4 ebbós in this Odù, locked.Each full recipe: ingredients, preparation and where it goes. Written in Spanish for now.Unlock →

Works of Oyekun Birete · The workings of the sign

LeukemiaWork for leukemia🔒 Babalawo
CleansingSeclusion and stripping of the Awó🔒 Babalawo
OzainThe jute sack🔒 Babalawo
3 works in this Odù, locked.Each full recipe: ingredients, preparation and where it goes. Written in Spanish for now.Unlock →

Patakíes of Oyekun Birete · The roads of the Odù

1The unbelieving woman

A woman railed against the saints while her husband believed. San Lázaro covered her 41-day-old daughter in sores; he told her so in a dream, and the mother, offering herself instead, promised to wear his badge for 5 years and so saved the child.

There was a married couple: the husband a great believer and the wife an unbeliever, who spent the day railing against the saints while they lived in great misery. Babalú Ayé, seeing that she went on railing, wanted to give the man some relief without the wife enjoying it, but warned him that it would touch him closely too. The couple had a daughter who, at 41 days old, became gravely ill and was covered in sores, since she was coming to serve out the time left over from another life.

San Lázaro appeared to the woman in a dream and told her that it was he who had covered the child in sores. The mother, sorry for it, begged him that whatever was to happen to the girl should happen to her instead, since she was the guilty one. San Lázaro told her she had to wear a badge of his for 5 years; the woman kept the promise, saved her daughter, luck came to her and they were happy. Kaferefún Oluo Popó.

2Road of the working in of Arun

Awó Tinsore Ifá railed and did not respect his father Oluo Popó. Shangó took the secret from his neck and gave it to Molala's obedient son; Arun took hold of him forever for his disrespect.

Awó Tinsore Ifá (Oluo Popó) lived cursing and never went to see his father, while Molala Awó lived proud of his obedient son Boribokun. Obatalá, upset that Tinsore believed in nothing, not even in his own father, went out on the road and met Shangó, who offered to break all the pride of Awó Tinsore. Oluo Popó, who was on his way to visit Obatalá accompanied by Arun (sickness), heard Shangó and sent Arun to give Tinsore what he deserved.

Shangó arrived, took from Awó Tinsore the iñale with the secret he wore at his neck and carried it to Molala so he could put it on his son Boribokun; he also took the ikokó of Oluo Popó from him. Arun took hold of Awó Tinsore and told him: «I am doing this to you for not respecting your father Oluo Popó; I will never leave you again». Boribokun, with the secret, felt well prepared and fed Shangó, Obatalá and Ifá. On this road, the ikokó of Oluo Popó must be taken up.

3The general of the king's army

An upright general retired; the king called him back to win a war, and he won it. Telling the story of the battle before the king, gesturing with his sabre, he took the king's head off by accident, and for that they killed him too.

There was a general of the palace army, upright and expert with the sabre, who, seeing how badly the palace was run, withdrew to a place on his own. When the king was faced with a war and had nobody able to win it, he sent for him; the general asked for full authority, weapons and army, and came out victorious.

The king had a field tent set up for him beside the palace so they could meet alone and he could tell him what had happened. The general, who gestured a great deal when he spoke, drew his sabre and acted out the fighting, and at one point the sabre reached the king's head and took it off. When this was known, the others killed him too.

4The power of Oluo Popó🔒 Babalawo
5A life is lost for doing a favor🔒 Babalawo
6Maferefún Oshosi, maferefún Orunmila🔒 Babalawo
7Ode is born in the Odù Oyekun Birete🔒 Babalawo
8The finest steel in the world🔒 Babalawo
9The young palm🔒 Babalawo
10The right wife (a son named Owo)🔒 Babalawo
11A trap on the route🔒 Babalawo
12The princess and the seven demons🔒 Babalawo
13False honor🔒 Babalawo
14The positive frame of mind🔒 Babalawo
15The beheaded king🔒 Babalawo
12 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 Oyekun Birete in Spanish →

Frequently asked questions about Oyekun Birete

What does the Odù Oyekun Birete mean in Ifá?

The Ifá of disbelief: here sickness (Arun) works its way into the body and Ode, the hunter, is born — whoever neither respects nor believes is lost.

What number is Oyekun Birete among the 256 Odù of Ifá?

Oyekun Birete is Odù number 44 of the 256 in Ifá, part of the Oyekun family.

Which orishas speak in Oyekun Birete?

In the Odù Oyekun Birete these orishas speak: Shangó, Azowanu (Oluo Popó), Oshosi (Ode), Orunmila, Obatalá, Yemayá, Oggún.

What is a proverb of the Odù Oyekun Birete?

One of the proverbs of Oyekun Birete says: «People only believe with the rope round their neck.».

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