Ogoun
See also the Marvel Comics character, Ogun.In
Haitian
Vodun,
Ogoun (or
Ogun,
Ogou) is a
loa who presides over
fire,
iron, hunting
politics and
war. He is the patron of smiths and is usually displayed with his attributes:
machete or
sabre,
rum and
tobacco. He is one of the husbans of
Erzulie.
Ogoun is the traditional warrior, similar to the spirit of Aries in
Greek mythology. As such Ogoun is mighty, powerful, triumphal, yet also exibites the rage and destrutiveness of the warrior who's strength and violence can turn against the community he serves. Perhapes linked to this theme is the a new face he has taken on in Haiti which is not quite related to his African roots, that of a powerful political leader.
[ Africa's Ogun: Old World and New ISBN 025321083 ]He gives strength through prophecy and magic. It is Ogoun who is said to have planted the idea, led and given power to the slaves for the
Haitian Revolution of 1804. He is called now to help people obtain a government more responsible to their needs.
Ogoun comes to mount people in various aspects of his character, and the people are quite familiar with each of them. Some of these aspects are:
* Ogoun the wounded warrior. He assumes a Christ-figure pose which the people know well from their Christian associations.
* Ogoun Feraille. He gives strength to the servitors by slapping them on the thighs or back.
* Ogoun Badagris. He may lift a person up and carry him or her around to indicate his special attention and patronage. To all the aspects of Ogoun there is the dominant theme of power and militancy.
His possessions can sometimes be violent. Those mounted by him are known to wash their hands in flaming rum without suffering from it later. They dress up in red, wave a sabre or machete, chew a cigar and demand rum in an old phrase "Gren mwe fret" (my testicles are cold). Often this rum is poured on the ground then lit and the fumes pervade the peristyle. The sword, or much more commonly, the
machete is his weapon and he often does strange feats of poking himself with it, or even sticking the handle in the ground, then mounting the blade without piercing his skin.
In
Yoruba mythology, Ogun (same as Ogoun) is a son of
Yemaja and
Orungan. even up to today Ogun is worshiped by the Yoruba people. He is worshiped in places like Ekiti, Oyo and Ondo States. He is believed to have (wo ile sun) which means to sink into the ground not to die, in a place named Ire-Ekiti. Through out his entire life he fought for the people of Ire.
In
Dahomey mythology,
Gu is the god of war and patron deity of smiths and craftsmen. He was sent to earth to make it a nice place for people to live, and he has not yet finished this task.
In
SanterĂa and
Palo Mayombe, he is identified with
Saint Peter.
In the religious tradition of the
Afro-Brazilian Candomblé,
Ogum (as this Yoruba divinity is known in the
Portuguese language) is often identified with
Saint George, for example in the state of
Rio Grande do Sul. However, Ogum may also be represented by
Saint Sebastian, as it is often done in the northeast of the country, for example in the state of
Bahia. Officially Saint Sebastian is the
Patron Saint of the city of
Rio de Janeiro, state of
Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil. According to anthropologist
Luiz Mott, Saint Sebastian is also considered by many homosexuals, especially those belonging to the lower and marginalized classes the
Patron Saint of Gays.
In all his incarnations Ogoun is a fiery and martial spirit. He can be very aggressively masculine - much like the spirit
Shango - but can also rule the head of female, or effeminate male intiates who he takes a liking to. He is also linked with blood, and is for this reason often called upon to heal diseases of the blood.
In the cult of
Orishas, he appears in other aspects, such as Ogun Akirun, Ogun Alagbede, Ogun Alara, Ogun Elemona, Ogun Ikole, Ogun Meji, Ogun Oloola, Ogun Onigbajamo, Ogun Onire, Ogun-un, Onile, the latter being a feminine incarnation.
[Ogun - in Ifa/Orisha syncretic cult]
