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
RebirthPoverty to wealthJealousyChildrenWanderingReputation
Kékeré ni à ń pẹ̀kẹ́ ọmọ, bí ó bá dàgbà ó di ìgbá.
English
Proverb — it is while it is small that the gourd is shaped; when it grows it becomes a calabash.
Offerings
The commentary prescribes ẹbọ to outshine one's competition at work, ẹbọ for peace of mind, and ẹbọ for long life; it also notes that initiation into an òrìṣà is possible for the person. The odù names no single presiding òrìṣà, and its prescriptions are attached to the situations the verse describes — jealousy at work, a relative returning from abroad, the birth of children — rather than to one power.
Meaning
Ọ̀gbẹ̀-Òdí is the open road arriving at rebirth, and the tradition gives it as the odù of rising out of poverty through hard work and a positive attitude: the qualities the odù names attract people, the network expands, and opportunity follows. It also carries a considerable warning, because the tradition holds that every positive creates its balancing negative, so the person who rises should expect jealousy and ridicule from those who watched the rise. It speaks of many children, of a relative abroad who returns with something good, and of the danger of wandering aimlessly once the struggle is over.