Ogún

Oke!

Deep in the forest is where we find the Warrior Orisha Ogún most at home. After Obatalá created the Earth, and Eleguá arrived to bring chaos and luck, it was Ogún who climbed down from Orun (Heaven) with his machete in hand to start cutting paths in this new world. And as we mediate more and more of our lives through technology, while nations build larger and more deadly militaries than our ancestors could have worried might be possible, we know today that we are truly living in the age of Ogún.

Ogún may be the hotheaded warrior at times, who solves his problems through shows of strength, but he is also the dedicated worker who never stops creating. It is to Ogún that we attribute not just the gun shoots, but also the surgeon’s knife that saves. It is from Ogún that terrible warships come to the world, but it is also from Ogún that technology allows us to video call distant loved ones spread across the planet.

With a skirt of raffia about his waist and a machete in hand, Ogún is ready for work or war. Alongside him are his inseparable companions Eleguá and Ochossí. Ogún lives in the homes of nearly everyone in the Lucumí religion, received in his cauldron with Ochossí during the Warriors ceremony that often marks one of the early entry points to the religion for newcomers.