Olokún
Amongst the Lukumí, Olokún is the orisha of the
oceans, from where all life originates, and caretaker of it riches and
mysteries.[1] Like the ocean that conceals countless
mysteries, this deity is considered one of the most mystifying orishas
of the Lukumí pantheon. A proverb
from the odu Irosún—the major dilogún odu in which Olokún
is manifest—states that “no one knows what lies at the bottom of the sea.” By extension, no human being can ever truly
comprehend the magnitude and vigorous force of this mysterious deity.
There is no consensus as to Olokún’s gender. In some areas of
Despite Olokún’s general beneficence and good nature, this orisha
is a power to contend with when upset. A
number of patakí refer to Olokún’s wrath. One such myth, narrated in the odu Ejiogbé
Odí, describes the orisha’s dissatisfaction with the way Olorún
distributed domains amongst the orishas.
The argument was that since Olokún had been assigned to rule over the
oceans, and these made up the major part of the planet, Olokún was more
powerful than Olorún and thus was the Supreme Being. To demonstrate this, the oceans began to issue
unremitting and ominous waves that threatened to drown the earth and its
inhabitants.
Taking care of Olokún
Olokún has become such a popular orisha that today,
it resides in many ilés. This
expansion has done some very lamentable damage to the orisha,
particularly because many of today’s mechanized olorishas may not offer
their omós the necessary counseling on the proper care of Olokún.
Once an individual has received Olokún, many aspects of his
or her behavior must be adapted or changed.
For starters, Olokún should be kept in an area of the home where there
is little traffic, preferably enclosed inside a curio if the individual does
not have a separate room for the orishas. Olokún must be covered. Oshabí preferred white cloth, though
some olorishas who received it with her insist that she told them to
cover Olokún with a panel made from strips of different colored
cloths. In both cases, Olokún should
also have a curtain of mariwó preceding the place where the attributes
are kept, or placed directly on top of the jar.
In no case should Olokún become an ornament in anyone’s living room as
is often the case!
It is forbidden to stand before Olokún improperly dressed
or, with but one exception—an ebó of the odu Ejiogbé mejí—while
wearing black clothes. Never must anyone
approach Olokún in underclothing or scantily clad. Additionally, one must assure to be ritually
“clean” before approaching this orisha.
Likewise cussing and foul language are offensive to this orisha.
Olokún’s water should be changed once a year. It is important to remember that one should
never stare directly inside of Olokún’s jar immediately after uncovering
it. The old water may be discarded in
one’s doorway or used to bathe. Many
people use Olokún’s water for remedies, and especially to soothe very high
fevers by passing a cloth that was immersed in the water over the body of the
afflicted individual. If when changing
the water, one notices that the attributes need cleaning, then one should
carefully proceed to do so in the room, preferably in seclusion. The contents should be emptied out into a
clean basin and washed well with cool water.
The jar should also be washed inside and outside. Once this is done, the attributes are
replaced inside the jar. Olokún should
never be washed inside a sink as I have seen many do, nor should it be cleaned
in front of those who are not initiated into its worship.
Some further points need to be made here. In recent times, more and more frequently
olorishas are consecrating Olokún in conjunction with ordinations. This is a grave error as Olokún’s ceremonies
must be performed in a more serene atmosphere, and should not be carried out in
conjunction with that of other orishas.
If for some reason the iyawó has to receive Olokún—and, surprisingly,
does not have it by that time—it should be given before the ordination, even if
this requires consecrating it on the eve of the ceremony.
Another issue is the basket with offerings that is prepared
during the consecration of Olokún. This
ceremony is referred to by many as agbán—basket, though the term is used
to refer to the ritual performed for Olokún and a similar one for Babaluaiyé. After Oshabí’s death, many lazy
olorishas began to use raw foodstuffs and fruits for the agbán
instead of the traditional cooked foods that Oshabí and Obá Tero
offered Olokún. This custom became
especially popular in
On this same topic, it must be stressed that Olokún’s agbán
is not a cleansing ceremony. Instead, it
is an offering. The devotee that has
Olokún consecrated for him/her sends this agbán to Olokún as a grand
offering, much similar to the agbán caravans sent by subjugated states
to the Oyo palace in ancient Yorubaland.
The agbán is a symbolical offering, praying to Olokún so that the
individual will always have a piece of cloth to cover his/her body, a plate of
food on the table, and a hearth on which to cook—i.e. a roof over his/her
head. The person who receives Olokún
should not be cleaned with the contents of the plates nor should anyone present
at the ceremony as is being done more and more often these days. This is only done in the case of Babaluaiyé’s
agbán, and some other ebó usually done for Elegbá. The plates are placed around the basket
and left there to rest for a while.
Afterward they are presented to the individual and the offerings are
deposited inside the basket.
Olokún’s offerings are taken to the ocean. When receiving the orisha, the person
responsible for taking the agbán to the sea is the individual who
received it as it is an offering that this person has made to Olokún, and a
sign of devotion and praise. Still, the
olorisha is obliged to instruct the receiving omó on how to
properly submit this offering so that it is not offensive to others. We often forget that we live in a very
heterogeneous society, and an especially Christian-centric country where many
of our co-citizens see an African religion as an ugly and deplorable cancer
that should be extirpated.
The proper disposal of ebó and adimú is an
area in which we as a religious community have much ground to cover. The plastic bags we use to line our baskets
so that they do not get stained are not part of the offering and do not belong
in the sea, dirtying the water and damaging our environment. Neither do glass bottles or plastic cups that
once contained honey or cane syrup, or the pieces of obí that we used to
cast in our ceremonies, belong floating in the water or laying on the sea
floor. Olokún, nor any other orisha, can
be pleased by our lack of common sense and sensibility.
When the ocean is not available, as was the case of towns
like Jovellanos in
Olokún’s adimú
Olokún’s favorite adimú—offerings— are fried pork
and fried green plantain chips.
Additionally, Olokún enjoys akará—black eye pea fritters; ekurú
aró—a type of loaf made from black eye peas which is steamed inside banana
leafs; egbojá—a plate made with hominy, pork and/or dried shrimps;
stewed black eye peas with pork; baked fish covered with a tomato and onion
sauce or a green sauce made with parsley and other seasonings; watermelons and
melons of all sorts; red grapes; cane syrup; grated coconut cooked in cane
syrup with cinnamon; gofio—roasted corn or wheat meal—balls with cane
syrup or honey; boniatillo—a type of pudding that is made with white
sweet potatoes. There may be other
regional variants that have been adapted with time.[4]