Olokun

Olokun is a West African deity associated with the sea and other waters, wealth and fertility. Olokun is documented in the traditions of the Yoruba, Edo, Esan and Urhobo, as well as in some western Igbo and coastal Ijaw communities. In some western Igbo and Urhobo communities, Olokun is called Onoku. Closely related forms include Umalokun among the Itsekiri and Malokun among the Ilaje and Ikale. The historical origins of Olokun worship remain uncertain. Olokun also appears in religions of the African diaspora, including Santería and Candomblé. Depending on the tradition, Olokun may be described as female, male or androgynous.

Different geographical and cultural origins have been proposed for Olokun worship. Ese Odokuma reports Ben-Amos's suggestion that the name Olokun may be of Yoruba origin. Odokuma considers it probable that the figure was originally a king from the western Igbo area or another riverine part of the Niger Delta. She also proposes that Olokun worship and its associated mud sculptures may have spread from the western Igbo riverine area to neighbouring communities. These are proposed reconstructions rather than established origins.

West Africa

In one Yoruba account from Ile-Ife, Olokun was Oduduwa's wife and became the sea after leaving him when he took another wife. Excavations at the Igbo Olokun site in Ile-Ife have found evidence of glass bead production dating mainly from the eleventh to the fifteenth centuries.

In Edo traditions of the Benin Kingdom, Olokun is regarded as the senior son of Osanobua and is associated with the sea, human fertility, children and wealth. Bradbury described Urhonigbe as the principal centre of his cult, where a temple housed life-size clay figures depicting Olokun as an Oba with his wives and retinue. He also noted that Olokun was widely worshipped at household shrines elsewhere in the kingdom.

Among the Esan, Olokun is also called Onokun and was worshipped especially by women seeking fertility and wealth. Christopher Okojie described white-painted mud altars attached to houses, holding pots, cowries and chalk. To establish an Onokun shrine, a woman provided a priestess with a white goat, a white fowl and white cloth; the ceremony included fourteen days of dancing. Worshippers sometimes entered possession trances.

Among the Itsekiri, Umale okun is the deity of the sea. Curnow writes that the Itsekiri regarded all water spirits as aspects of Umale okun. Lloyd recorded that it was the principal deity at the Ogheye community and was also important at Ureju. People could pray to the deity at a creek or by spreading a white cloth before a dish of water. A small fish called ogiden was believed to be its messenger.

Olokun is worshipped at Ozanogogo, Abavo, Owah-Abbi and Umuaja in the western Igbo area, where the deity is also known as Onoku in some communities, and at Agbarha-Otor among the Urhobo. Odokuma documented shrines with mud sculptures at these sites, some depicting the deity with spouses, attendants or guards. She interpreted a mother-and-child figure at Ozanogogo as representing fertility. At Umuaja, she recorded four white-painted figures at a shrine to Onoku near the source of the Ethiope River.

Among the Ijaw, Fabiyi and Oloukoi documented Olokun worship at Ogulaha and Burutu in Delta State. At Ogulaha, worshippers hold an annual festival by the Atlantic Ocean to ward off floods.

Candomblé In Brazil, Olokun is revered in some Candomblé terreiros, although Iemanjá became more prominent as a sea deity. At Casa de Oxumarê in Salvador, Olokun has a public celebration on the Thursday before the terreiro’s Festa de Iemanjá (Festival of Iemanjá).

Santería In Santería, Olokun is associated with the depths of the ocean and its hidden riches. Mary Ann Clark describes two Cuban lineages, one that regards Olokun as male and another that regards the deity as female. Some devotees see Olokun and Yemayá as aspects of the same orisha, while others regard them as spouses.

Olokun

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