Obara-Okanran

Obarakanran was cast for the Parrot,
who was told to sacrifice, in order
to prevent him becoming the subject
of wrath of all other birds. The offering
was corn, alligator pepper, and 2000 cowries.
Ifa says here is a person stuck into
old, preconceived ideas on how things should go.
I tell you, reality is different from your ideas,
my friend! Sacrifice, that people may not
turn away from you. And do not turn your back
in anger, when you are told how things truly are.
Look, my friend, if you are not a smith
you should not try to shape metal, and if
you cannot write you should not tell
a writer how to shape his letters.
The customs of your doghole
are no cosmic laws, my friend!
The adimu is corn on the cob,
alligator pepper and 2000 cowries.

"We must put the hoe in the attic,
and decide to be lazy. When the front
of the leg which we call the shin
has eaten to the full, its stomach
swells up in the rear of the leg,
which we call the calf"
was the one who cast Ifa for
Olopirigidi, on the day
that he wanted to cover all evil
with an upturned pot in his room.
They instructed Olopirigidi to offer
12,000 cowries to the right,
12,000 cowries tot he left,
12,000 cowries in the middle, and then
a black hen, a black goat, and a black pigeon,
in order not to see evil everywhere, and they
added one pot to be offered.
Olopirigidi listened, and made the full offering.
The diviners took all of the offering
as their payment, except the pot,
which they gave back to Olopirigidi.
They told him to put the pot upside down
in his room, in order for all evil
to be captured underneath it.
Olopirigide had children, and Death did not taken them,
nor did Sickness bother them. All the work
that Olopirigidi did, he managed
to finish the same day. Olopirigidi
praised the diviners and the diviners praised Ifa,
because what was said had turned out to be the truth:
"We must put the hoe in the attic,
and decide to be lazy. When the front
of the leg which we call the shin
has eaten to the full, its stomach
swells up in the rear of the leg,
which we call the calf"
were the ones who cast Ifa for
Olopirigidi, on the day
that he wanted to cover all evil
with an upturned pot in his room.
They sang: "Pirigidi covered evil with a pot,
and we didn't die anymore. Ifa covered evil
with a pot, so that we would have money.
Pirigidi covered evil with a pot, in order
for us to have healthy children. Ifa
covered evil with a pot, and when Death
came inside, he saw the secret and left.
Pirigidi covered evil with a pot. Disease
entered the house, saw the secret and left.
Ifa covered evil with a pot, in order
for us to see blessing. Pirigidi covered
evil with a pot, so that we wouldn't die.
Pirigidi and Ifa covered evil with a pot".
Ifa says that he will lock all evil
away in heaven, so that it cannot touch
us on earth. This person must go,
and sacrifice to Obatala. Ifa says
that this person will know the blessings of abundance,
when adimu is given to Obatala. And Ifa says that this person
must put an upside down pot in his room, to ward off negativity.
Ifa says that negativity will then stay in Orun,
for Olodumare to deal with it.
Optional: After reciting the above text, the Awo might feel the need to continue by reciting the following interpretation.
Ifa says that a person is sadly wasting his efforts,
even while the whole universe is bursting
with energy and willingness to help him! This person
must be very clear about what he wants, towards
others, yes, but especially towards himself! He
will get what he wants, but he must make it very clear.
This is a matter of common sense: most problems
this person has, Ifa says, are so small that they can
be covered and put out of action with an earthenware pot.
We should not inflate our problems and make them
unnecessarily big; we should deflate them, and let
them return to their own tiny proportions. If we have
finished something, we should not let it bother us anymore, for
Ifa says: finished is finished, and we should be very well aware
when things are done, instead of keep wasting our energies on them
Order, neatness, system, structure: that is what this person needs,
and never, never complain or nag: that's the message.