Olokun is an orisha in Yoruba religion. Olokun is the deity of the bottom of the ocean and is believed to be the parent of Ajé, the orisha of great wealth. Olokun is revered as the ruler of all bodies of water and for the authority over other water deities. Olokun is highly praised for their ability to give great wealth, health, and prosperity to their followers. Communities in both West Africa and the African diaspora view Olokun variously as female, male, or androgynous. Water deities are “ubiquitous and vitally important in southern Nigeria”; Olókun worship is especially noted in the cities of the Yoruba and Edo people in southwest Nigeria. In West African areas directly adjacent to the coast, Olokun takes a male form among his worshipers, while in the hinterland, Olokun is a female deity.
Appearance List The voice of Africa v. 1 (1913) by Leo Frobenius — valued for early observations and visual documentation despite controversial diffusionist interpretations of African civilization [Smithsonian]; The history of the Yorubas : from the earliest times to the beginning of the British Protectorate (1921) by Rev. Samuel Johnson, Paster of Oyo; ed. Dr. O. (Obadiah) Johnson, Lagos [Internet Archive]; Os africanos no Brasil (1932) by Raymundo Nina Rodrigues; The Religion of the Yorùbá (1948) by J. Olumide Luca; Candomblés da Bahia (first ed. 1948; 2nd ed. 1954) by Edison Carneiro; West African Religion (1949) by Geoffrey Parrinder; Dieux d’Afrique (1954) by Pierre Verger (original edition; later reissued); Olódùmarè: God in Yoruba Belief (1962) by E. Bolaji Idowu; Three Yoruba Plays (1964) by Duro Ladipo; The Shango Cult in Trinidad (1965) by George Eaton Simpson (monograph; first ed. 1965); African Religions in Brazil (French: Les religions africaines au Brésil, 1960) by Roger Bastide; Ifa Divination: Communication Between Gods and Men in West Africa (1969) by William Bascom; Yoruba Beliefs and Sacrificial Rites (1979) by J. Ọmọṣade Awolalu.
Sample Read Yoruba Beliefs and Sacrificial Rites (1979) [Internet Archive]
Description Olokun is an orisha in Yoruba religion. Olokun is the deity of the bottom of the ocean and is believed to be the parent of Ajé, the orisha of great wealth. Olokun is revered as the ruler of all bodies of water and for the authority over other water deities. Olokun is highly praised for their ability to give great wealth, health, and prosperity to their followers. Communities in both West Africa and the African diaspora view Olokun variously as female, male, or androgynous. Water deities are “ubiquitous and vitally important in southern Nigeria”; Olókun worship is especially noted in the cities of the Yoruba and Edo people in southwest Nigeria. In West African areas directly adjacent to the coast, Olokun takes a male form among his worshipers, while in the hinterland, Olokun is a female deity.
