Letra 2000

Letra de Año 2000

Odu: Odi Bara (Ifá of commitments)

Oshanlá governs – Aladimú: Any offering.

Oshosi helps governing – Aladimú: Any offering.

Elegbá defends – Adimú: 3 small fishes broiled with epó (palm oil) for an undetermined length of time. Iré is given by Elegba. To comply with the Ebó of the year, ask your Ifá godfather to do the Ebó of Odi-Bara for you.

The flag we should put this year in our houses and place of business is as follows: A rectangle diagonally divided in half to form 2 triangles, one white and the other one light violet. The white color represents Oshanlá and the light violet represents Oshosi. The border of the rectangle is formed by three stripes of the following colors: white, red and black, representing Elegbá.

Odi-Bara in times of yore, marriage or commitments didn’t exist. Men used women to satisfy their biological needs without any type of commitment. Women were abused, beaten and disrespected. This continued until the institution of marriage, which established a commitment within a couple. This Ifá Odu teaches that men must not mistreat women, but show respect for them. It is a good year for marriage for any couple that wishes to formalize their relationship. Since this Odu Ifá talks about commitments, we must understand that there are many types of commitments, with the Orishas, with our children, godchildren, blood and religious family, friends, any other type of obligations existing in the society where we live, etc.

We must have much tolerance this year, since it is a year of trials that prepares us for the millennium. Many political changes may happen during the year. This Odu advises us to do as many herbal baths (ebó misi) as possible. The most important plants (ewé) of this Odu are: Ewéréyeye – sp. peonía, Eng. rosary bead (abrus precatorius), ewé ekisán – sp. verdolaga, Eng. purslane (tanilum paniculatum) and Olúbbo – sp. platanillo de cuba, Eng. canna lily (canna glauca). We should keep in perspective that in this Odu talks kueyé kueyé (the duck), who lost its religious position because of its arrogance. We should not be arrogant in order not to lose our position like the duck did. In this Odu the black side and the red side of the rosary bead (peonía) were in constant fight. They made so much noise that it bothered Shangó, to the point that one day he got so upset that he took the rosary bead (peonía) and put it inside a calabash, and this is how the asheré (maraca) was born. We must understand from this story that we should be careful while doing any type of activity and not to make excessive noise in order not to upset our neighbors. Oshosi and Orishaoko are Orishas that we should receive this year. We must feed the earth, for the earth not to claim us. It is very important that we take care of the soft and moist parts of our body, such as: breasts, vagina, testicles, penis, anus, etc. Those are the vulnerable parts of the body this year. Shangó plays a very important role in the year 2000. We must use a necklace made out of rosary beads (peonía) and we must be careful of receiving blows or injuries that can affect us later. Yemayá is asking for a crown with seven (7) okras. This year we must tend after and take much care of our mothers, biological as well as adoptive or religious, because we can lose them if we don’t take care of them. We must take good care of our health with proper nourishment and rest, regular visits to the doctor and frequent head rogations (ebó lerí), because otherwise we can lose our memory.

This is the Odu where flower gardens are born. We did an astral Ifá equation with these Odus and in the year 2000, which is a leap year, and it is very relevant that there are going to be 4 solar and 2 lunar eclipses. We must take into consideration the relevance of the number 4 in our religion, since we have 4 cardinal points and 4 seasons, which is where the leap year is born in our Yoruba calendar. Olofin created the world in 4 days and in the fifth he rested with his disciples. This is why every 4 years in our Yoruba Calendar the leap year is born. We must be attentive of those solar eclipses, and which earth pole or season are going to be affected by it. In places where rain is abundant there can be droughts, and in dry places there can be abundant rain. With the emergence of these problems and aided by the two lunar eclipses, there can be alteration in the air currents, maritime movements and atmospheric problems in our planet.

We trust that in all the places where the Odu of the year is brought down, like in Africa, Cuba, United States, Venezuela, Spain, Mexico and Brazil, as well as any other place unknown to us where the Odu of the year is brought down, they have made the necessary preparations for such a ceremony, like we do in Puerto Rico. We must pray with all our faith to Olofin asking for his benevolence towards those that have complied with their religious duties. We also pray for those who haven’t complied with their duties due to ignorance or lack of knowledge. Because of the fights, the intolerance, the disrespect, the abuse towards women, arrogance, spiritual curses, witchcraft powders (afoshé), and negative works between religious brothers and sisters, Oshún went to live to the land of Yesá. From there she controlled the atmospheric problems of the land of Odi-Bara. Those who lived there lost all of the seeds needed for planting and without a harvest, food was soon scarce. When Shangó saw the hunger and needs of his people, he decided to resolve the problem and invited Yemayá to come with him to a nearby land where there was much abundance. The King (Obá) of that land was a dictator, avaricious and egotistical, who didn’t share with nobody his possessions. Shangó, knowing nobody could lie in front of Olofin, told Yemayá that as soon as they arrived to that land, she had to climb up to his shoulders, and from there she was to gather all the yam (ishú) seeds that she could gather, and anything else she could grab to take back to their religious brothers and sisters that were hungry.

After their arrival the king of that land realized what they had done, and went to Olofin to complain. Olofin asked Yemayá if she had taken the yam seeds. She told Olofin that her feet had never stepped on that land. Then Olofin asked Shangó if he had stolen those yam seeds to which he replied that his hands had never touched anything on that kingdom. This is how between them two they managed to bring food to their people and saved them from misery. Lie is not accepted in this Odu.

Obatalá saved his son by hiding him in the Ewéréyeye (rosary bead, peonía) plant. Botany (Osayin), is very important in the medical field this year. If science comes closer to things from nature, like herbs, plants, etc., it is very possible that cure will be found for the many contagious diseases that exist nowadays in our planet and that are decimating humans. We should plant a rosary bead plant in our houses, since this plant substitutes any other plant missing at the moment of doing Osayin.

This Ifá forbids spiritual witchcraft, negative powders, etc., since it can come back to the sender like a boomerang, or a sanction from Oshanlá, Orisha who is governing this year and doesn’t like this type of doings. Oshosi is also governing, and this Orisha doesn’t like injustices. It is very important for everybody to be aware that the name of the Egun (spirit) that accompanies this Odu Odi-Bara, is Idena Borobosile. To close, a philosophical thought from Ifá that says… “Humans can’t be like a ship that travels the whole world without leaving a trace.”