Ogun

Orisha of iron, war, and metallurgy. Among the Irunmolẹ̀ — the primordial divinities sent by Olodumare. Cleared the path for the other orisha to descend to earth. Sworn-on by Yoruba oath-takers; the iron of his cult tools is the hardest material in the social fabric.

Children

• Oranmiyan

Domains

• iron metallurgy
• war
• hunting
• oaths and justice

Powers

• iron mastery
• martial prowess
• oath witness
• path clearing
• Clear the path/cut obstacles with the cutlass
• Deal violent divine judgment in war/hunt
• Forge and transform iron
• Witness oaths on iron and strike down liars

Epithets

• Ògún oníìré yoruba · orikiOgun, lord of Ire (the town Ire-Ekiti, his chief cult centre)P. Verger, Notes sur le culte des orisa et vodun (1957), Ogun chapter; S. T. Barnes (ed.), Africa's Ogun (1989) (secondary)
• Ọ̀ṣìn ímọlẹ̀ yoruba · orikiChief/foremost of the divinities (an Ogun praise-title)S. T. Barnes (ed.), Africa's Ogun: Old World and New (1989); Yoruba Ogun oriki (secondary)
• Ògún Láàkáyé latin · Ogun Laakaye · praise-nameOgun whose presence fills the world; the opening of his great oríkìJ. O. Awolalu, Yoruba Beliefs and Sacrificial Rites (secondary)

Relations

• equated with: GuThe same West African deity under its Gbe/Yoruba reflex (Gu/Ogun).West African vodun/òrìṣà cognates: the same deity across the Gbe (Ewe, Fon) and Yoruba traditions (M. Herskovits, Dahomey, 1938; G. Parrinder, West African Religion, 1961; P. Verger, Notes sur le culte des Orisa et Vodun, 1957) (secondary)
• equated with: Vodu of Iron and WarThe same West African deity under its Gbe/Yoruba reflex (Gu/Ogun).West African vodun/òrìṣà cognates: the same deity across the Gbe (Ewe, Fon) and Yoruba traditions (M. Herskovits, Dahomey, 1938; G. Parrinder, West African Religion, 1961; P. Verger, Notes sur le culte des Orisa et Vodun, 1957) (secondary)

Sources

• existence: Yoruba oral tradition (Itan) (primary); Verger, Notes sur le culte des orisa et vodun (1957) (secondary); Idowu, Olódùmarè: God in Yoruba Belief (1962) (secondary)