Meaning of Odi Irete in the Diloggún
- This is where the bull, for doing the dog a favor, was left enslaved forever.
- It signals hunger and a change of head.
- It signals amarres (binding works).
- One must be careful with what is divined, to avoid bringing trouble on oneself.
- When the awo is going to perform ebbo under this sign for an aleyo, he first performs it on himself, so as not to be left carrying the drag and the curse of the sign.
- Here it speaks of the man who should not live with a woman who keeps her private parts shaved, for this drains his potency.
- The woman has a mole on her private parts or on one buttock, and she looks at it with a mirror.
- The obini has two okuni, or the other way around.
- In this Ifá, Orunmila takes his unyen up high, and the one who gives him the unyen will likewise be seated at a table so that his feet do not touch the floor. Amarres are made with the hairs from above and from below.
- Orunmila lives on a raised platform.
- Orunmila eats on top of a table.
- To eat, she must always do so seated at a table.
- Oshún pursues the person in order to give them a stroke of good luck.
- The man is going to have a child with a mistress who has a husband. She is going to discover him with her.
- Everyone laughs at you because you are ruptured, and you must receive Orunmila so that those who have shown you no regard are made to do so.
- One must orugbo with the tools of one’s trade, so as not to be gravely injured by them.
- Stairs must be climbed and descended slowly. A fall from them could be fatal.
- You must wear a necklace that reaches down over your body.
- One must pray to the Ibeyis.
- Take care that a child fathered by another is not attributed to you.
- There are those who say you are a thief.
- If the person is a woman, she must orugbo so that her children may thrive.
- In one Ifá, the godfather quickly gives akuko to Eshu and performs obori with etu meyi, keeping his feet raised.
- Under this Ifá, to undo the amarre, Eleguara is given an igba with cart tallow, epo (palm oil) and boiling etu elede.
- This is where the ox, for doing the dog a favor, was left tied by the horns.
What this sign indicates
- That la Caridad del Cobre pursues you, and if you have had nothing it is because she has not willed it — but you shall have it.
- You have asked for money.
- There is a person everyone mocks, because he is ruptured or is bound to be.
- You must receive Orumila so that all who have refused to show you regard will have to come to your feet.
- There are people who imagine you are in love with a woman who has never crossed your mind.
- Three strokes of luck are on their way to you.
- When you climb a ladder, do so with care, lest you fall and wound yourself with the very tool you work with.
- You have three women, and you are to have a child with a woman who, when she gives birth, will say the child is yours and will compromise you with her husband.
- You have cut the hair of your private parts.
- You are in a deep state of setback.
- You have lent money that has not been returned to you.
- Harm has been done to you; people say you are a thief.
- WARNING: one must be careful with what is divined. Maferefun Yalorde: la Caridad is going to bring you luck; you are going to have a child — she has not yet given you the child or the money because you do not keep your obligations to her. You are going to win the lottery together with another person; both of you must make ebbo. One brings osiadie meyi and a staff, owo medilogun, and the other: mello eyele, a small basket of black-eyed beans, owo medilogun.
Advice and warnings
- Pray to the Jimaguas.
- Feed your head and get yourself up high.
- Do not tell lies; it does not suit you.
The traditional reading of this sign also warns about the following:
- The loss of one’s children.
Proverbs of Odi Irete
- Hazte digno de un favor, si no, no merecerás del mismo. Make yourself worthy of a favor; otherwise you will not deserve one.
- El infortunio nace de la malevolencia y no del destino. Misfortune is born of malice, not of destiny.
- Hazte digno de todos los favores, pero no hagas ni aceptes ninguno. Make yourself worthy of every favor, but neither grant nor accept any.
- Un perro sordo no sirve para cazar. A deaf dog is of no use for hunting.
Patakíes of Odi Irete
The machete
Ebbo: Akuko, etu meyi, machete, escalera, una botella de oti, owo la maro.
PATAKIN:
Orunmila made a mistake when he told a woman that she had cut the hair of her private parts and that she was ill because of her bad habits. He also told her that she wore a strip tied around her waist and that her husband had another woman. The woman went home and told her husband everything, affirming that what Orunmila had said was true.
The jealous husband took his machete and went looking for Orunmila to kill him. But Orunmila was at the top of the staircase of his house, feeding his head etu meyi. As the man climbed the stairs in a fury, he fell and, with his own machete, wounded himself mortally, dying of the injury he received.
Another version of the previous patakin
Ebbo: Un akuko, 2 etu, escalera, un machete, las etu para la leri y se dan en alto.
A woman wished to have a child with her husband, so she went to the Babalawo to have Ifá performed for her. There he saw that the woman wore a necklace that reached her waist, and that the day before she had cut the hair of her private parts. As a result, the Babalawo ordered her to make Ebbo with those things. When the husband learned of this, he flew into a rage, believing his wife had slept with Orunmila.
While this was happening, the Babalawo received an Oddun instructing him to give two Etu to his Leri and a Rooster to Eshu — and while feeding his Leri, not to set his feet on the floor. At that moment, the husband arrived at the Awo’s home with a Machete in his hand, intending to kill him; but as he climbed the stairs he slipped, ran himself through with that same Machete, and died.
The ox and the dog
Ebbo: Una tira colorada, 4 pelotas de ñame, bastante oñi. Y el ebbo va a la orilla de un árbol.
The Dog was in a bad way, so his friend the Ox took him to see Orunmila to make Ebbo. On the way out, the two could not talk along the road, so the Ox proposed to the Dog: «Come on! Set the Ebbo up here on my horns and that way we can talk along the way.» So it went; but when they arrived at the foot of a tree to cast it off — for the Ebbo was sticky — the Ox struck his head hard against the Tree, trying to shake it loose.
Just then, a Countryman who had been watching from afar saw the strength of the Ox’s Horns and at once thought he would serve to be Yoked, so he Took him and Tied him. From then on, the Ox was left Tied by the Horns, and ever since they pull the Cart, while the Dog goes free beneath it.
Do not do favors.
Works and ebbó of Odi Irete
Works of odi irete
- Ebbo
- Akuko, adie meyi, a dried güiro, carita beans, cigars, ada, a ladder, 2 kerchiefs.
To Olokun, 3 roosters; his secret is placed with Yemayá, and beside it a basin of seawater. One line is drawn with oñi (honey) and another with red ochre. One asks whether the operation is to continue, and if not, more lines must be drawn until seven are completed; then the roosters are given around the lines, taking care that not a single drop of blood falls into Yemayá’s tub, and around the tub is placed a necklace of large blue and red beads. Afterwards everything is cleansed with the feathers, which first cover the tracing, drawing all the feathers toward the place where the person stands. Then everything is cast into the sea.
- Ebbo
Akuko, owunko, cart tallow, a rope for tying a dog, a rope for tying an ox, opolopo oñi, nails of aya and of malu, abiti, eku meyi, epo.- Ebbo
Etu meyi, eyele meta, a necklace, pañuelo meyi, the etu were for the leri, owo mefa, $6.30.- Ebbo
Akuko, a dried güiro, a machete, adie meyi, eku, eya, ewefa, owo meni.- Ebbo
Akuko, a red strip of cloth, plenty of oñi, eku, eya, balls of fufu. The ebbo goes at the foot of a tree.- Ebbo
A pupua band, balls of ishu meni, an arrow, pelotas meyi of ashes, one akuko, and aikordie if the ebbo does not close. One asks whether it should be akuko meyi because Yemayá wants one, or whether aikordie meyi should be placed for Yemayá, or whether the balls of ashes are not necessary.
Orishas in this sign
The orishas that the letter itself links to this sign, according to what the source records:
Other aspects of this sign
Ewé of this sign
Guásima and guayabita
To defeat the arayes (enemies)
Take a rope used to tie a bull or ox and a rope used to tie a dog; the two are braided together with the araye’s personal details, and afterwards ebbo is made with the braid itself.
To dismantle a work
Three atare, earth from 2 hills, a wasps’ nest, 7 grains of salt, sesame, iyefa, oyuoro, ere dun dun and pupua.
Amarre on a woman
(Pain is felt in the waist.) A soft cloth-tape ribbon, a large nail, twine, etu, or eyele meyi. Once it is made, a loop is fashioned with the twine and passed over the body from top to bottom. When it falls to the floor, the person leaps out of it, saying at the same time: may he come out of the amarre in that very same way. The nail is taken and the ribbon, cut to size, is wound around it; it is set in place, and afterwards it is untied, saying: may the amarre I carry come undone. The twine is broken into seven pieces and placed on top of the santo who takes it. Through Eleguá: he is sent to give eku and eya at the four corners of the marketplace.
Odi Leke Awari Odi Olowo Ashupa Odoloro Odiguin Odafun Orunmila Orubo.