Oyekun Meyi

The sign at a glance

Order in Ifá

Odù 2 of 256 · Meyi

Composition

Oyekun over Oyekun

In the Diloggún

2-2 · Eyioko tonti Eyioko

Orishas that speak

Shangó · Orunmila · Ikú (Death) · Eshu / Elegba · Egungun (Eggun) · Olofin / Olodumare · Oggún · Oshún · Osain · Oyá · Azowanu (Oluo-popo) · Odduduwa

Eweses of the sign

Mar Pacífico · Osun · Sangre de Drago · Agracejo · Ewé Aró · Pendejera · Güirito · Yerba Cortadora

What Ifá says in this sign

The prayer of Oyekun Meyi · Yoruba

Baba Oyeku Meyi Ariku Madawá Eyó Oggún Sigun Mole Pororo Yarun Oní Po Un Babalawo Adifafun Ogbe Olúwo Agogo, Abó Lebó.

Súyere
Ejá Nire Shangó Ogba Lodeo · Ejá Nire Ni Shangó.

Ifá says — what Oyekun Meyi tells you

The ashé of this sign: It is the oldest of all the Odù: it was born before the others and it keeps an ancient wisdom. · Its child was born to be at the top; Olodumare gave him a great power, and he must use it for good. · The child of this Ifá is never beaten by his enemies. · He escapes from illness and from accidents. · It marks long life, as long as he never stops making ebbó. · Shangó protects him and does not want him to die. · If he lives in honesty, love and loyalty, he will be great and loved by the people around him.

Proverbs of Oyekun Meyi · Òwe

• “One single man saves a town.”

• “Dog does not eat dog.”

• “A town without elders is a lost town.”

• “He came out of the war alive and anger killed him.”

• “Arrows between brothers.”

• “Oyekun is good, but do not abuse it.”

• “Without light there is no eye that can see.”

• “The world changes every moment, like the mother lizard.”

• “An alligator does not eat ikines while they are still on the tree.”

• “It is easy to be good to a good person, but very hard to be good to a bad one.”

• “Smoke is the glory of fire, lightning is the glory of rain, and the air is the glory of Eggun.”

• “Secrets heard by women stop being secrets very soon.”

• “The sun warms the farmer's back, but it cannot warm the face of the diviner.”

• “Whoever refuses a favor today will get no favor tomorrow.”

• “Whoever plans evil against the one who trusts him offends Olorun.”

• “The wisdom of an elder is like wet clay: if we jump on it, we can slip and break our head.”

• “It is foolish to live in the dark when Olorun has you surrounded by light.”

• “A man's shadow never leaves him.”

• “Death never comes back from the hunt without its prey.”

• “What is never finished never gives a beginning.”

• “Only a fool looks down on someone else's wisdom.”

• “A man's life can be forgotten; the life of a scribe cannot.”

Iré and Osogbo

What is born in Oyekun Meyi · Ìbí

• Ikú (death) in the world.

  Oyekun Meyi was the one who brought Ikú to Earth; death and resurrection depend on him.

• The night and the darkness.

  The sign stands for the West, the night and death.

• The funeral rites (Ituto).

  Oyekun takes care of the honors for the dead, with the help of his daughter Oyeku Bika.

• Sacred writing and ink.

  From the road where Shangó created writing so that Olofin could do the consecrations.

• The secret of giving Ejá-Tuto (fresh fish) to Shangó.

  It is the ceremony with which Shangó saved mankind from hunger and sickness.

• The sense of modesty.

  Here human beings began to cover themselves, first with leaves and skins, until they reached clothing.

• The twins (Ibeyi).

  Here their spirits speak: one single spirit in two different bodies.

• Divination with a glass of water.

  Oshún Agbeyami set it up for spiritual clairvoyance.

• The color red.

  And from here comes the rule that the dead are not buried in red clothes.

• The kidneys, the ankles and broken bones.

  The sign rules these parts of the body and their ailments.

• Feeding Egungun.

  Oyekun is the Odù Isalaye of Egungun, the ancestors.

• The Atemoleta ceremony.

  From the road of Oranniyán and the forming of the earth.

What is forbidden · Eewó

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

• Do not eat pork.

  The virtue of this odu is to offer the pig to the spiritual guide and to Egungun.

• Do not dress the same as anyone else.

  From the patakí of the two friends: Oggún, drunk, buried the one who was sleeping alive, mistaking him for the dead one.

• Do not dress in red.

  From the patakí of the cloths; the dead are not dressed in red, and the color draws death.

• Do not tell your personal matters or secrets, above all to women.

  Because they break the oath, and the secret turns against you.

• Do not get drunk.

  From the same patakí of the drunken friends, which ended in death.

• Do not wear borrowed clothes or lend your own.

  So that you are not mistaken for someone else and put in danger.

• Do not keep cats, dogs, birds of prey, or wild animals in the house.

  This odu forbids it plainly.

• Do not go into the bush or the forest alone.

  Because of the danger of death this odu marks in wooded places.

• Do not keep beehives.

  This odu forbids it.

Ebbós of Oyekun Meyi · The sacrifices that open the road

Works of Oyekun Meyi · The workings of the sign

Patakíes of Oyekun Meyi · The roads of the Odù

Frequently asked questions about Oyekun Meyi