Olokun - The goddess of Ocean and Prosperity

The male and the female nature of  this great entity called OLOKUN has created a lot of controversy among the devotees  of OLOKUN and IFA pratictioners world wide, but what may be said on OLOKUN , must be taken from ODU.  the energy and the vibration that create all things therein , in the universe, and this same energy has continued to create a lot of things , which are yet to be seen  in both the physical state of existence and in the spiritual state of being.  In fact,  the male and female characteristics of IRUNMOLES or divinities should not be a subject of debate , it must be seen that Sex  classifications are only peculiar to human beings in the lower caste of life , while in the spiritual realm , nothing of such nature has any significance . Divinities assume both the male and female attributes depending on the level you want to use them . It is  once averred that ODU herself was from the womb of OLODUMARE,  and it is the word of GOD to reshape and to create  life and non living objects  in the cosmos. ODU comes from OLODUMARE , just as man comes from his mother with the help of his father . The coming together of two  living  generates another living obejcts , according to  EJI  IDI .

ifa jeko ebo naa o fin

ela je ko ebo naa o rode orun Gbure - gbure

njo nla ta di sasa

a difa fun won ni di kunrin

a bu fun won ni di obirin

nijo ti won nmekun oju rahun omo

idi ni a apa asa

igba idi ba di meji

ni la di olomo

 IFA orunmila ma ma jeki a yagan bayi

Ase

Translation

IFA , let our sacrifices go to the heaven above

Ela accepts our rituals

success depends on perseverance ,

see how rain drops  in time

wear out the stone

this declare IFA oracle to the husband

and also declare IFA oracle to the wife

when they are weeping all days for not having children

commence your effort

from bottom upwards

for when two male and female meet

A life is born in the physical state of existence

IFA Orunmila  deter barrenness from our life

Ase

Since , the vegetative body can only been born in this way , that is the coming together of man and woman to create life through the powerful  hand of GOD , while Divinities does not assume sex  or sex categories from the source of energy -OLODUMARE , on reaching  the physical life , to avoid confusion , sex was attributed to them . We have seen many times where most  or all divinities  have been classified as male and female respectively. Just like Oduduwa ,  Erinle , and the topic of the day OLOKUN  have been attributed  to female and male attributes.

Olokun as the name implies, is from the word OKUN , according to  Yoruba  cosmology means the ocean. Whenever  Yoruba used the word OLO, as in case of OLODUMARE , it means , the owner , the controller , the authority in charge and the absolute power in control or in charge of something . While OLODUMARE is in charge of all that is created and to be created  and exist in the cosmos,  HE , the infinite being in the Yoruba conception  of this authority as designated his authority to many levels of consciousness and unconsciousness , so to feel his presence.  In case of OCEAN and it inhabitant , OLODUMARE  manifests HIMSELF  through OLOKUN and empower this IRUNMOLE, vested in him or her the absolute authority to be in charge and in control and relate to him all the time concerning matters about ocean .   The reincarnation of the  OLODUMARE energy in the ocean form is called OLOKUN -- meaning the owner and the power behind the ocean and its habitant .  However the word OLOKUN has a symbolic and spiritual connection with IFA ADIMULA , that is while most babalawo says , ''ifa olokun a soro dayo '', that  is “ifa olokun that speaks of happiness and fortune”.  In fact, Odu was called from the beginning of creation as ODU OLOKUN , in the place of ODU OLOFIN which is revealled in a verse under OYEKU OTURA .

According to the Odu

ifa jeko bo naa o fin

ela je bo naa o rode orun gbure gbure

baba ba komo eni

omo eni o moo gbon sara sara

a difa fun aje tii somo olokun

baa si komo eni

omo eni a go

a go ju isu lo

a difa fun obawinni

nijo ti nsukun oun o lobirin

aje omo olokun n sunkun alai loko

Translation

if we train our child

one child would be sharp

they are the one cast divination for Aje the child of Olokun

if we refuse to train our child

one 'child would  be foolish

his stupidity can be compared to a dead yam

they are the one that cast divination for Obawinni

on the day he was crying of having no wife

Aje the child of OLokun was crying as well because  she had no husband(1)

STORY

The two personalities had gone to meet their respective IFA priest for divination , about the their lack of mates . They were advised to take their sacrifice  to different places. As fate would make a reality , the duo met and married. Although the stories of people meeting under circumstances which can only be said  to be divine appear in many verses of IFA , the peculiar nature of how this one occurred makes it worth examining .  OBAWINNI  is another name or one of the various names of ORUNMILA BARA AGBONIREGUN . After the meeting with AJE ( the goddess of riches and wealth ) they started living together as husband and wife . They had one child without Orunmila asking for the hand of the woman in marriage , not to talk about paying her dowry .  On a particular day , they both decided to take a trip to see the parents of his wife, so that the marriage  could be formalized and also  show them the new child.

Aje knowing the set up of her parent's house , warned her man about some rules in the realm  they were visiting and how to cope with them . My parents are discreet , exclusive  and divine . They are  not the kind of person anyone can see just anyhow. They have formations along the way to warn  any visitors  of the danger . When  you get to the first station , you will see a person  holding on enormous  crown  in his palms . His name is IRIN, he does not wear it , he must not drop it , and neither would he sit down . He is an enormous figure , his stature tower above many giants and his dressing surpass that of hundreds of earthly kings  put together. But you must not prostrate to greet him , as he is a slave of my parents. Aje said  and warned Orunmila, Obawinni .

 After we may have walked for a long distance again , you will meet  another being  holding a staff  in his hands. The staff is so tall that nobody can see the end . The person holding it is adorned with expensive ornaments , but he is equally a slave of my parents. You must not prostate to greet him . All these warnings are to prepare you for the sacredness of the place  you are going, and to give you an idea of what the real person we are visiting may look like , AJE warned.

Orunmila in great awe , decided to consult IFA according to his habit to know about the trip. ''What do I do about these intricate observations along the way to see the parents of my wife  ?'' In the verse  of the same Oyeku Otura above , we have these

oro lana

enikan kii ri ana fin

a difa fun orunmila

nijo ti nba Aje aya re lo sile Olokun Seniade

Translation

in laws are comparable to sacred rites

no one disparages his in law

cast diviantion for Orunmila

on the day he was visiting with Aje his wife in the house of OLOKUN Seniade

One important materials of sacrifice which IFA asked Orunmila to offer was a puppy . After sprinkling the puppy with the powder of IFA, that is iyereosun , the babalawo returned the dog to him and instructed him to raise her as a pet . Some weeks  after the sacrifice , he called AJE , so that they could begin their trip to the realm of OLOKUN . Orunmila did not forget his dog. He carried it while his wife strapped the child to her back upon their arrival at the netry of the enormous home. Orunmila saw the first person , IRIN , exactly as described by AJE . The sight was awe inspiring and he quite forgot the warning of his wife. He has almost prostrated in greeting, mistaking him for OLOKUN.  Aje stopped and bursts into the song of IJASI to bring him back to his sense.

Obawinni , mo dobale ki o

Obawinni , mo dobale ki

irin to gbade lowo

eru obi mi ni

Obawinni mo dobale ki

Translation

Obawinni do not prostrate to greet him

I warn you not to prostrate

Irin whom you see carrying the beaded crown

is actually the slave of my parents

Obawinni do not prostrate  to greet him

The same things almost happened  when they got to the second one carrying the staff. Again, Aje  reminded  Orunmila not to prostrate to greet him.  Finally they arrived at the close quarter of OLOKUN, who spoked from afar. The voice of the person speaking sounded like a thousand  canons blasting at the same time. However, Aje had warned her husband  to close his eyes before entering  into the close quarters, which he did. With the eyes closed, she introduced  him and the new child which they have . "Aje, you are back". The voice has said , if not all for all the messages you have , been sending back home, I would have been apprehensive  but I am happy  that you are back ''. For a long time , the voice continued to speak , greeting his i-law, his wife  and the child , praying that they would not lack again in life .

Orunmila was unsettled.  Being the inquisitive person, he had always been , he bent his head to one side  and stealthily opened one of his eyelids to have a glimpse of OLOKUN , despite having been warned by Aje. According to the details given by the verse , what he saw was startling . He could  not help heaving deep breaths to contain his amasement in the presence of his wife and of OLOKUN. He ultimately opened his two eyes wide in bewilderment at the creature in front of whom they stood. OLOKUN did not rebuke him neither did she stop taking to the couple and their child.

After a time , she allowed them to leave so that the  woman could go into the inner rooms to greet the entire household.  As soon as they left the place , Orunmila's eyes became swollen and reddish . Aje did not say anything neither did she sympathized even as he scratched his itchy eyelids. He had willfully broken the taboo and was the reason for the eye troubles. When they got to the quarters where OLOKUN told them to lodge, she left the child with her husband  and proceeded to greet her people. With the eyes troubling him , the child in his hand , the dog on the ground , he became highly uncomfortable but did not complain . Orunmila  decided to lie on the mat so that he could at least be sure that he would not collapse when walking with his eyes almost blinded. It was while he was lying down that the new baby defecated on his face, compounding his troubles . The mother was not around and Orunmila did not know how to get anything to clean the mess. It was then the dog which he offered the last time  came to his rescue. It started licking  the feces off his face . He licked all of it and did not stop until he licked the gum on the eyes. Abruptly , the eyes opened and orunmila could see again.

Olokun herself realized that her in-law had eye problems as a result of the breaking of the taboo. She called Orunmila and had an accord with him by giving him and his male children the opportunity of seeing her in a veilded form. Also given to Orunmila was the neutralizer which would soften the effect  of seeing the odu with naked eye (2).

 Odu in conjuction with initiations may be said to be a way through which one may have spiritual  rebirth. Odu may also be said to invoke a kind  of spiritual affinity on the new initiate so that he can tap from the vast esoteric energy of the universe flowing freely in space . By this , he may be said  to have empowerment  for astral travelling . This  apart from its bringing one spiritually closer to OLODUMARE 's spiritual  pedestal, gives the human the ability to become Babalawo .  All these are however possible if the human is spiritually docile and vulnerably presents himself before he can become fully encapsulated in his spiritual realm . What is seen  and the extent of spiritual contentment is not describable in the pages of a book as there are diverse spiritual satisfaction . This experience is better left for anyone willing to go through the Igbodu.

It was since then that sighting of the odu has been the final rites of a full initiation into the cult of ifa . This was one of the promised of OLOKUN  to Orunmila . Also by being exposed to the ODU , one becomes empowered and insulated from attacks of force which may usually have negative impact on the life of  the man.

The odu is usually covered in a wooden bowl and is not exposed unless there is the need to offer sacrifice to her or when someone wants to experience her. She is venerated and sacrifice offered to her regularly . The design of the bowl takes different  forms and these days , some  people  are improvising by using leathers bags as containers(3).

SOURCE---

(1) "YORUBA THEOLOGY AND TRADITION,THE WORSHIP"  AYO SALAMI. PUB NIDD 2008. PAGE 559

(2) "YORUBA THEOLOGY AND TRADITION,THE WORSHIP"  AYO SALAMI. PUB NIDD 2008. PAGE 561

(3) "YORUBA THEOLOGY AND TRADITION,THE WORSHIP"  AYO SALAMI. PUB NIDD 2008. PAGE 564

  

Olokun as ocean divinity is frequently coupled in IFA verses as an embodiment of aquatic vibration radiating the entire cosmos with power to enrich men and women's destiny and improve their lives in a greater proportion. One of the various verses of IFA pointing to the expanse power and greatness of Olokun is shown below under ejiogbe

Gbogbo ola omi ti nbe laye

ko le to ti Olokun

Gbogbo iyi odo ti o se ni isale

iyi won ko le to ti osa

olokun mo pe ooo

olosa mo pe ooo

to ba too sanni , sisan nii san ni

to ba to yeni , yiye ni i yeni

ewo ni keni sowo sowo

keni ma rona koo dele

a difa fun orunmila

ifa nsawo lo apa okun elakeji osa

ni wan ran ola nibi ojumo ti mo wa

Yoo gba gun okun

Yoo gba gun ide

yoo gba gun olginniginni aso irada

orunmila yoo kokun oro wa nwu -ile

Translations of eji ogbe

the greatness and the importance of the world can not rival the quantity of the water in the oceans

the greatness of the streams cannot rival the importance and the greatness of the sea

 the divinity of Ocean , I give my obeisance

the deity of the sea , I  give my obeisance

there should be time enough

there should be time

time to succeed , time to prosper

hard would it be , forver to bear

a life of struggle without success

a life of commerce without profit

thus declare IFA oracle for Orunmila

when he intended going to the city accross the ocean

to practise  ifa divination  in that prosperous land full of opportunity

the land full of prosperity , and wealth of higher proportion

ifa will receive in that land the reward of beads , gold and other ornaments of higher value

presents of various cloth in high quality

orunmila will return with riches and wealth of higher proportion back home

ifa let all our steps attract the spiritual and physical gifts and presents of higher proportion

Ase 

Olokun here is seen as the energy responsible for blessing of wealth, riches and prosperity of higher proportion .  However some tradition refer to Olokun as a male energy in the universe according to IFA verse

 “olokun nii gbogbo awon obirin re lo yagan  ni won a loyun , un , lo da fa pe awon obirin wonyi le bimo fun oun “

Translation

“there was this client olokun with a problem , his wives were infertile , so OLOKUN consulted the diviner asking , would his wives become fruitful and bear him children !!! (4)

Olokun as a male energy is a symbolic representation of IFA , as a surbodinate and  coadjudant  of Orunmila to enrich his devotees in a miraculous manner . The energy of wealth , riches and prosperity embedded in the deepest part of ocean manifesting in the surplus enrichment of the people in the universe. Olokun enjoys the surbordinate role of IFA in the universe. He is divinity of wealth , symbol of large  and abundance surplus of riches in the cosmos

Moreso her  female role as one of the greatest, favourite, and closest  wife of Oduduwa  could be seen in the most of Ifa verses, according to the story . Olokun was the wealthiest woman of her time.  She started the trade of making beads and other precious ornaments of greater value. Till the present date , there is a grove attributed to OLOKUN as IGBO OLOKUN , where traditions believed that she strived to initiate the habit of making beads which consequently enrich her in the world.

 (4) ifa festival - abosede emanuel pg 192