Ọ̀gbẹ̀-Ìwòrì (Ogbe-Iwori)

Ifá odu

Tradition · Yoruba Ifa
Alternate Names
Ogbe IworiỌ̀gbẹ̀ ÌwòrìOgbe-IworiOgbe Iworin
Kind
Amulu
Odu Number
3
Binary
11112112
Notation

1 = single line (I); 2 = double line (II). Eight marks: the first four are the right-hand leg, the last four the left-hand leg, each read top to bottom; in an amulu the two halves are different figures. In the 0/1 notation used in the scholarly literature, 1 here = 0 there and 2 here = 1 there.

Themes
Conflict resolutionEmotional confusionChildrenArgumentVitality
Orisha
ObatalaShango
Counsel
Ire omoIre ayaIre iseOsogbo ijaOsogbo arayeOsogbo oran
Proverbs
Yoruba
Gúnnugún bá lórí òkè, ojú rẹ̀ a tó ilẹ̀.
English
Verse opening — the vulture settles on the height, and its eye reaches the ground.
Offerings

The commentary prescribes ẹbọ to Èṣù where emotion is confusing the situation, ẹbọ to Ọbàtálá including a light at his shrine, and offerings to Ṣàngó, whom it names as one of the powers at work in the odù. Its ẹ̀wọ̀ are specific and unusually social: do not hold bad feelings for anyone, and do not argue with the troublesome relative — the advice is to speak well to each other and to be generous with each other instead.

Meaning

Ọ̀gbẹ̀-Ìwòrì is the open road arriving at the resolution of a conflict. It is the odù of being on the right path in the middle of emotional confusion, and of the patience and calm that the confusion requires; it speaks of vitality and fertility, of children and of taking responsibility for them. It also marks a troublesome person close to the client — the odù says not to argue with them and not to hold the grudge, and it warns that careless speech is what turns the situation. The vulture at the height with its eye on the ground is the image the verse gives for the odù's kind of sight: distant, unhurried, and seeing everything.

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