I dedicate June to Yemaya, the orisha of the ocean and motherhood. This month, she’s been the centre of my working altar and morning devotionals. I also give extra attention to Olokun this month, but I’ve never written exclusively about this mysterious orisha. This entry is dedicated to the Olokun, the orisha of the ocean depths.
Who is Olokun?
Olokun is an orisha, a divine figure in the Yoruba religion of West Africa and the African diaspora, including the Lukumi religion that developed in Cuba. Viewed as female, male, or androgynous, Olokun is the “owner of the seas”. They are connected to the River Ethiope in Delta State, Nigeria, the deepest inland waterway in Africa and is said to be the source of all the bodies of water in the world.
Olokun is the ocean depths and, like the sea, may be serene or violent and commonly described as compulsive and dangerous. Stories of Olokun tell us they are calamitous, having caused a great flood, and restrained by being chained to the bottom of the ocean.
Associated with strength and darkness, Olokun, like the depths of the ocean, is unfathomable, full of secrets and mysteries. Olokun is best understood cosmologically. As the owner of the rivers and seas, Olokun controls the realm that human spirits must cross to be born or depart after death. The stories tell us that the soul goes to heaven, falls to the earth as rain, and becomes a stone at the bottom of the river. We transform from earth to flesh to earth again; therefore, Olokun’s realm is where our ancestors rest. Ancient stones are ancient souls. Stones figure prominently in the Lukumi religion.
Olokun, enslaved people, and their descendants
The connection between Olokun and the Middle Passage is rooted in the history and experiences of the African diaspora. The Middle Passage refers to the brutal transatlantic slave trade that forcibly transported millions of Africans from their homelands to the Americas and other parts of the world.
During this harrowing journey across the Atlantic Ocean, enslaved Africans faced unimaginable horrors, including overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, disease, physical abuse, and death. Many perished at sea, their bodies becoming part of the vast depths that Olokun presides over. For millions of Yoruba and Edo people of West Africa who survived the journey, Olokun and Yemaya became symbols of deliverance and rebirth.
For enslaved people, their descendants, and many Cuban exiles today, Olokun is the unseen power that can restore people from a miserable, deadly state to miraculous success, from oppression and hunger to material and spiritual wealth and a more secure future for children and grandchildren. Lukumi practitioners receive Olokun for their blessings of health, wealth, and stability.
Olokun and the Mothers
Like Yemaya, Olokun is closely connected to women and Gelede, a ritual masquerade celebration of Mothers, which includes female ancestors and elderly women, and their power and spiritual capacity, or Aje. Due to women’s innate life-giving powers, the purpose of the Gelede is to enlist the support of the Mothers to bring wealth, children, and long life to the community. Olokun and Yemaya are champions of women, who are the means of salvation and rebirth.
Olokun and wealth
Although we commonly see Oshun as the orisha responsible for bringing money, in the form of cowrie shells, to the marketplace, Olokun is the ultimate provider of the cowrie shells used in transactions and divination. Olokun’s role as the caretaker of souls, including departed diviners, reinforces his importance in divination.
Olokun's correspondences
When you undergo the ceremony to receive Olokun, like many orishas, you receive them in a blue container, reflecting the colour of the ocean. White is also a colour of Olokun. This orisha is associated with seashells, oars, anchors, mermaids, and other marine and nautical motifs. The plants associated with Olokun live near or in water, such as the water lily, water lettuce, and watercress. Cuban practitioners also use Romaine lettuce. Olokun’s favourite food is the duck, and practitioners offer sweets, sugar cane syrup, and flowers. Olokun’s number is seven.
My experience with Olokun
In my first divinatory consultation in 2008, Elegua advised me to receive the Guerreros (warriors) and Olokun, which I did in 2008 and 2015. Out of respect for the tradition, I won’t disclose the details of that ceremony here. I will tell you that many years later, I still find Olokun to be mysterious and reclusive. Olokun lives quietly in a cabinet covered by a blue cloth. Olokun prefers to avoid being seen and doesn’t demand attention or regular offerings. I tend to Olokun primarily at the start of the new year, make offerings a few times, and use their medicinal waters as needed.
