Meaning of Otrupon Bara in the Diloggún
- Peanuts and sesame are not eaten.
- Favours are not done, because one may lose one’s life.
- Here the owunko lost its leri for doing favours, and oshakope lost it as well; and here Orunmila and his wife went out walking and his wife, being pregnant, had a craving to eat peanuts.
- It marks pride; the person is proud and warlike.
- One must change one’s character in order to be happy.
- Ozain must be received.
- It marks the loss of a man because of a woman, and of a woman because of a man.
- There is suffering from pain in the feet, from the heart, from strokes, from hernias.
- The legs must be looked after with great care.
- One must beware of blown powders.
- Give oku and awado every day at the shilekun ilé.
- Place peeled ishu before Obatalá.
- Do not help anyone lift a weight from the floor: your misfortune lies there.
- Do no harm to anyone, but neither help anyone, so that you do not fall behind.
- Do no favours for anyone, and least of all for the sick or the disabled.
- Cleanse yourself with gbogbo ere.
- Receive Oluo Popo.
- It marks persecution.
- They try to pick up your trail in order to harm you.
- They want to keep you restless.
- Beware of accidents at work, at home and in the street.
- You must do Yoko Osha for the child, possibly a child of Shangó.
- Listen to the counsel of the Santo so that you are not lost.
- Do not give your opinion on matters that are not your concern.
- Give thanks to Shangó, Obatalá and Eshu: there is war in your house.
- You are very violent, and when you are upset you settle everything the wrong way.
- This Ifá forbids eating in a hurry.
- Obini: she is not a maiden.
- There are disorders of the brain.
- If you are a babalawo and you drink or smoke, you must take care with the butt of your cigar, because if it is taken from you, it can be worked against you.
- The walls are painted with white lime.
- Here is where Orunmila, for stealing to please his wife Oyá, was taken prisoner and had to make ebbo with his plate of food, using as iyefa the scrapings of the wall, and as irofa the beef bone from the soup he was given to drink in jail.
- The ebbo of this Ifá as a rule carry scrapings from the wall of the room where the person lives.
- When this Ifá comes out in atefa, two eure are given to Orunmila, one directly over the añari, and with that eyerbale and the añari the oluwo bathes his body.
- When this Ifá comes out for a deceased person, the ceremony of the añari and the eure is done at the seashore.
- A small jar with omi is placed for Shangó, along with an eshun fun fun with a large ileke from Shangó’s strand.
- Through this Ifá one receives Obba.
Born in this sign
- Cement.
- The placing of grass in the mouth of the four-legged animal sacrificed to the Oshas.
What this sign indicates
- That you should do no favours for anyone, because you will be harmed by it.
- You have a commitment that is already half settled by word.
- You have many people who cannot bear the sight of you, and it is because you have a great deal of luck and you are to win the lottery.
- You are to be sent for from another place for something good, but before you go, make a rogation; there are many people who want to know how you live.
- You must give eku and ella at your door every day and place a hairy yam before Babá.
- Your feet hurt.
- There is a woman who is going to force you into committing a theft.
- Your wife will come to you with a craving for you to take her out walking.
- You are to receive a visit from the countryside, or a letter that brings you luck.
- You are about to make a deal: try not to gain too much, and be careful with greed.
- If someone asks you for a favour, do not do it, because it may harm you; nor should you help carry heavy things, because your misfortune lies there. Make ebbo so that your affairs are not overturned.
- You owe a hen to Oshún.
- It has been years since your mother looked upon you.
- If the daughter is of age, there may be a rupture between mother and daughter out of jealousy.
- You have a dead brother who accompanies you, and you must light a lamp high up for him so that he pleads on your behalf. To that lamp you must add cascarilla and cinnamon.
- Everything you say is true, and for that reason you have many envious people around you; but no one kills you other than Olofin.
- You must have Elegbá of Olokun, so that in this way you obtain what you desire.
- There are times when you do not believe what you are told, and you will find yourself in straits, and then you will believe.
Advice and warnings
- Be careful with your enemies, who could do you harm; they are hidden and they are at war with you.
- Be careful with the loss of money or of family; do not go so far as to attempt against your own life.
- Give thanks to your wife, for she is the one who brings the good fortune.
- Do not eat peanuts or sesame.
- Do not speak of what does not concern you, because you may be in danger.
- Do not go out into the street for seven days, because it may turn out badly for you.
- Do not lose your temper over food.
Proverbs
- El chivo por hacer favores perdió la cabeza. The goat, for doing favours, lost its head.
- La basura lo salvó. The rubbish was what saved him.
Patakíes
Orunmila’s owunko
The Saints called a meeting for the wellbeing of humanity and invited Orunmila, but the meeting was being held in Ife, a place very far from where Orunmila was. Orunmila walked so far that his feet swelled and he had to sit down; but a goat saw him and offered to carry him. Orunmila climbed onto the goat and so reached Ifá. However, on entering the meeting it was obligatory to offer blood at the door, and since Orunmila was carrying no animal at that moment, he thought of the goat that had brought him there and that would serve him. He took it, and the goat begged him: «after I have done you a favour, you repay me by taking my life». Orunmila answered that there was no other remedy, since his presence at the meeting to set humanity right was of great necessity, but that he would always be grateful to him. Then and there, he killed the goat.
That is why, when four-legged animals are sacrificed to the Oshas, grass is placed in the mouth while saying: “ Oloweweoeran Orisha Owaweo”.
The goat and the peanut field
Prayer: Fakuya Esa Fakuye Guere Ba Eshu Ere Limo Timo Isa Lueye Aramete Orishaoko Selu Eru Baba Lade Ogue Silufu Aye.
Ebbó: Akuko, owunko, peanuts, sesame, 3 kinds of pepper, salt from three different stores, quicksilver, sulphur, peony to be ground into powder.
When Orunmila was in the countryside with his pregnant wife, she wanted to eat peanuts and went to the plantation to gather some. The keeper of the plantation, a goat, saw him and asked him what he was doing there. Orunmila told him he was on his own land, but the goat insisted that he was stealing. Orunmila offered the goat money to leave him in peace, and everything seemed to be well; but then Eshu appeared and asked what was going on. Orunmila told him everything, and Eshu told him that Olofin’s daughter was ill and that he could cure her. Orunmila set an ebbo and asked for eko, but when he tasted it, he realised it was not right. So he asked Olofin to bring him the man of the goat, the one who wore a red cap, and the one who shouted like Santa Bárbara. Furthermore, Olofin was to put a loaf of bread in their mouths and forbid them to speak. All of this was necessary to save the life of Olofin’s daughter.
NOTE: from here comes the fact that the Saints eat animals such as the goat and the rooster.
Where Orunmila goes to prison because of Oyá
Ebbó: Osiadie, a doll, lime rubbish, a bone, obi, itana, oñí, otí, a trap, atitan bata, opolopo owo.
Distribution: The osiadie is given to the rubbish with the doll inside it, calling Eshu; atitan, and everything is left there. This is to get someone out of the life they were living.
Orunmila lived in the jail with Oyá, but he disobeyed Ifá. Once, they set out for a certain land, but their food ran out. When Oyá grew hungry, she threw herself on the ground and refused to keep walking. Orunmila told her that they should walk on and that they would soon find something to eat. Before long, Oyá spotted a field of ishu and pointed it out to Orunmila so that he would steal some yams. Orunmila went into the farm, but the owners saw him and accused him of being a thief, and took him prisoner.
While in prison, Orunmila lamented what had happened, since it had been Oyá’s fault, and he decided that he would no longer live with her. Then he made an osode and saw that Ifá marked him an ebbo, but Orunmila did not have the means to make it.
After his release from jail, Orunmila decided to separate from Oyá and never to live with her again. On his way, Orunmila met Elegbara, and Elegbara helped him escape from the jail where he was unjustly held for stealing yams on a farm.
Later, at the jail they realised that someone had escaped and they set up a trick to keep it from happening again. From then on, Orunmila never again had trouble with the law, and he decided to go his own way, apart from Oyá.
Orunmila and the proud king
There was a very greedy and proud king who believed himself the lord and master of the world. He had a daughter whom he always slighted, and he belittled every suitor who came near her. In order to marry the princess, the king demanded an exorbitant dowry that no one in that territory could pay. On one of his journeys, Orunmila came to the town of Ife, and on seeing the young woman he fell in love with her, as she did with him.
The following day, Orunmila went to the palace to see the king and ask for his daughter’s hand. The king raised no objections, but demanded that he pay a dowry for her, since it was a tradition of his family. The next day, Orunmila brought all his capital into the king’s presence. Seeing that he could not discredit Orunmila, the king imposed a new condition on him: he must beg for alms from house to house for three months.
The king wanted to humiliate and belittle Orunmila, but he also wanted the people to think he was a man of good feelings for giving his daughter’s hand to a man in need, so as to clean up his image. Faced with the king’s new condition, Orunmila accepted.
Over the following three months, Orunmila asked for alms at his house from everyone who was in need of his help. At the same time, he performed rogations, oparaldos and inshe Ozain. His fame grew enormously during this time and, moreover, he managed to increase his capital. After three months, Orunmila presented himself before the king accompanied by an enormous multitude. On seeing this display, never before witnessed in that land, the king hypocritically told Orunmila that he had been waiting for him in order to grant him his daughter’s hand, the princess’s hand, since he was a true king.
Works and ebbó of Otrupon Bara
Works of otrupon bara ife
- Rogation of the leri with Shangó for the nerves
- Four guinea hens are needed, obi, orí, efun, eu, itana meyi aru, an obbi orogbe tail; Shangó is placed before the person, the guinea hens are presented two by two, they are killed over the leri, letting the eyebale fall; afterwards, from the head inwards for Shangó; then the leri is prayed over with the items indicated above.
- Inshe to appease an enemy
- An ota is taken and it is worked with whichever Osha takes it; after the ota has been asked about which Osha defends it, an iyefa is prepared with the following igui: amansaguapo, dominador, vence batalla, vencedor, yo puedo más que tú, tate quieto, dormidera, precipitado rojo; it is given unyen with osiadie and eyele, and afterwards everything goes into a joro joro.
- Note
- An agboran may also be used. The person must receive Elegbá and give unyen to Eshu so as to be saved from entanglements, tragedies, from ashelú and from the ilé of Oshosi.
- Ebbo
- A basket of corn and another of yam, akuko meta, mefa owo, eyele meyi.
- Ebbo
- Akuko, adie meyi, euco, obi, eku, eya, opolopo owo.
- Ebbo
- Aikordie, owunko, eku, eya, the remaining ingredients, opolopo owo.
Orishas in this sign
The orishas that the letter itself links to this sign, according to what the source records:
- Elegbá — You must have Elegbá of Olokun, so that in this way you.
- Eshu — Give thanks to Shangó, Obatalá and Eshu: there is war in your house.
- Obatalá — Give thanks to Shangó, Obatalá and Eshu: there is war in your house.
- Shangó — You must do Yoko Osha for the child, possibly a child of Shangó.
- Orunmila — When this Ifá comes out in atefa, two eure are given to Orunmila, one directly over the añari, and with that eyerbale and the añari the oluwo bathes his body.
Other aspects
Ewé of the sign
Carmada, doncella, tabano, maní.
Otrupon Obara Ife Eyuquele Kañua Eku Eñi Lodafun Orunmila Luba Onle Ile Onife Eye Eya Ludenben Okara Ingara Okayi Aun Barin Aye Obe Loda Kaferefun Orishaoko, Shangó, Orunmila Ati Oggún.