Culture: OSUN GODDESS: Mysteries No One Ever told you about the beautiful goddess "Osun"

Most people, when they think of Osun, think of Her as a river Goddess, a fertility Goddess, or [Venus]. However, She is much, much, more than that. Osun is central to Yoruba thought and praxis. Her power is multidimensional. Osun means “source.” Form the word “orisun.” The source of a river, a people, of children, of wealth, of life. Osun represents the perpetually renewing source of life. As the elemental power of water, it is she that makes life possible. Osun is the child-giving and curative power of water. She is the “blue river,” the birth canal. Osun is also the owner of Eerindinlogun – sixteen cowrie divination. She is also the source and condition of political power, as leader of the Aje’ (the Mothers, Iyami Osoronga). As such, she is a founder of the Ogboni Society, the counsel of elders that bestow kingship. Like Esu, she can change at will. She can be the loquacious and beautiful young flirt who succeeds by killing you with kindness, or the deadly serious old woman, owner of the “spiritual eye” (mystical power); she can be rich or poor, loving or vengeful. She is the Benevolent Mother and the fierce warrior. She heals with her cool waters and destroys indiscriminately with her raging floods. She is the creator of children, fertility squared, yet she is the leader of vengeful spirits who will take any child away at the drop of a hat. She is the fierce defender of her children (priests and priestesses). She cries when she is happy, and laughs when she is sad. To accentuate her dual natures (Yoruba is heavy on dualities, polarities etc), Osun carries a brass cooling fan in one hand and a brass cutlass in the other. Strength and compassion; brass and honey. In Yorubaland, Orisa serve as the glue that holds communities together. Each town or city has a founding narrative that includes the founding Orisa and intertwines facts, myths and metaphor. These mythistories create “community-ship,” which is at least as strong as the larger sense of citizenship. Ijesa country in Osun State, Nigeria, is the center of Osun worship. It is the place of the largest annual Osun festival. People come from all over the world to attend the festival and be blessed and/or healed by the sacred waters of the Osun river at the city of Osogbo. In the Osogbo mythhistory, it is said that a prince (Olarooye) from Ilesa, went out to found a new city due to a water shortage in Ilesa. He set out with his buddy, a hunter named Timehin, and they led the expeditionary group in search of a water source. They came upon the Osun river. To make a long story short, they settled there with the blessing and protection (she single handedly ran off the invading Tapa – warriors from the north) of Osun. Here is an invocation given at the start of the annual Osun festival by the Oba: Osun, as leader of the Aje’ (Iyami), is much involved in the politics of kingship. The king’s crown is topped by a bird, symbol of the eleiye, “owners of birds,” the Aje’. The Oba rules at the discretion of the Mothers and under their watchful eye. Medicines that activate the King’s spiritual potency, his ase, are placed inside the crown. It is said these medicines are so powerful the mere sight of them would leave him blind. In Cuba, she is the patron saint, “La Caridad Del Cobre.” It is said that she appeared and led the fight for independence. In Brazil, the rhythms of Carnaval are Ijesa rhythms. She has been behind black movements in Cuba and Brazil. A piece of Oriki illustrates her masculinity, bravery and prowess, and her dual nature as both benevolent Mother(Osun is a cool Orisa like Obatala, Osanyin etc. as opposed to hot Orisa like Ogun and Sango) and punishing Warrior: Many Odu speak to Osun as the Benevolent Mother, who bestows money and riches on people. An example can be found in Odu Irete Obara. Osun had gone to a poor Ifa priest named Ojiyaomegun when she was childless. Ojiyaomegun’s work made it possible for her to have children. Osun wanted to reward him and his two apprentices, Ifon, ifa priest of Ido, and Duuru, Ifa priest of Liki. So, she took money, beads and expensive clothes to Ojiyaomegun and his apprentices, but Ojiyaomegun was not around. She waited a very long time, but he didn’t show up. So she left gifts with the apprentices and went home. She ordered her servants to dig a deep pit (along the river bank), and put Ojiyaomegun’s gifts there. That is why we have oriki which contain the words: In the above opening invocation for the Osun festival by the Oba, one of the stanzas says, “only Osun can mold my Ori.” We know that Ajala Mopin is the molder of heads as he works with Obatala in the molding of humans, so what is Oba referring to? Osun provides the water that Obatala (and Ajala Mopin) uses to smooth the clay with which he molds human beings. Osun’s traditional occupation is hair-plaiting, which is a mark of honor to Ori. The hair plaiting style of Osun is similar to the pattern weaved into the making of Ile-Ori, house of Ori, a cowrie covered structure that serves as a shrine, or pot to one’s Ori. The oriki stanza, “Osun owner of the beaded hair comb for beautiful women” alludes to Ori. This aspect of Osun is often overlooked, but is important to her role as owner of sixteen cowrie divination (eerindinlogun, or dilogun), and the efficacy of ebo (no divinity can bless one without the consent of his/her Ori). Obatala molds the body, Ajala Mopin molds the head, Olodumare supplies the breath . Osun supplies the water, Thus Osun is integral to human creation itself. The Osun pot contains stones (ota Osun) from the Osun river. Alongside the pot is a special pot for water drawn at dawn (before anyone else gets there) from a spring and containing one of the stones. This water is called Agbo and is used for healing, fertility, security, success, protection, progress, etc. In the Diaspora we use oriki and ese Odu to invoke the spirit of Osun in the water. In the following itan from Odu Ose’tura, we are introduced to the real power of Osun. When Olodumare sent the first Irunmole (God’s task force) down to earth, he sent 16 male Orisa and Osun. In accordance with Olodumare’s instructions, they started to set up the world, but they didn’t include Osun in any of their activities. The result was that everything they did was a total failure. Rain did not fall, women were barren, illness prevailed, there was bitterness and restlessness all over the world. The sixteen male Orisa went back to Olodumare to find out what was going on. They said they were living on earth in accordance with the instructions of Olodumare, but nothing they did was good. Olodumare asked them if they had included Osun in all they were doing. They said no, they hadn’t bothered with her; after all, she’s just a woman. He told Orunmila to go back to his colleagues and that all of them should go and beg Osun for forgiveness, so that she would agree to to be involved in their affairs. He assured them their affairs would then be good. So the sixteen male Orisa went and begged Osun for forgiveness, but she didn’t yield until Orunmila made his personal appeal. She said: “Begin to beg your Ori and your Creator, so that the fetus which is in my womb be delivered as a male child.” She assured them that if it was a male child, their matters from then on would be straight, but if it was a female child, war would begin in earnest. Obatala used his powers to peer into Osun’s womb, and saw that it was a girl. He (Obatala is androgynous) pointed his ado asure at her womb and commanded that the fetus change into a male. Orisanla was the first to hold the baby when born. Then Orunmila, the father, carried the baby and named him Osetuura, who became Odu Ose Otura, the Odu that imparts ase and invokes Esu. They said, “If someone is pounding yams without the knowledge of Osun, his or her pounded yam will not be smooth. If someone is preparing oka without involving Osun in it, the oka will not come out fine. We will involve Osun in whatever we do. We will involve Osun in all our deliberations. Our Great Mother, who must be present at every important deliberation.” Nothing moves without Osun!! Ore yeye O! Ogun can’t even begin his evolutionary work without Osun. Osun completes the Female-Male principle in the universe. Osun as aesthetic beauty, a reminder of the wonders of creation, and all that is good in the universe. Osun the fertility goddess, protector of children, soothing healer, bestower of wealth. Osun as Leader of the Iyami, and the potential for destruction. She can destroy at “night,” with the awesome power of the eleiye, or during the “day,” with the awesome power of the flood. Osun as fierce warrior, defender of her people, leader of revolutions and revolts. The Water Goddess, the perpetually renewing source of life. Osun transforms through water and through the “blue canal,” the mystery of birth. Osun, from Orisun “The Source.” Osun is the embodiment of women’s mystical power, the real power in Yoruba cosmology. The ability to control physical and spiritual forces, to create life through procreation, and the sustenance of life, are considered to be the ultimate power in the Yoruba worldview. It is this secretive power, that men can never understand, that has driven men to try and control women throughout the ages. It is the power of the Iyami. Another facet of Osun energy (no, she ain’t done yet!) is her ownership of Eerindinlogun, sixteen cowrie divination, the “seeing eyes” of Orisa. Osun priestesses are the best diviners, hands down. Another Itan from Odu Ose’Tura tells the story of how Osun became the owner of sixteen cowrie divination. We learn much about Osun’s intimate connection with Ifa divination in her own right, as well as through her son, Osetuura. Osun was married to Orunmila, the prophet, and keeper of the oracle. He was leaving town on business, and told Osun to tell his many clients that he would be back in a couple of weeks. Well, Osun, being Osun, got tired of sending away all of Orunmila’s clients so she figured out his divination system and started divining for his clients! So when Orunmila comes home, he finds his house full of people; “What’s going on!” “We’re waiting for Osun to divine for us,” he was told. “Say what!” So he was angry with her for a little while, but no one stays angry at Osun for long. He was actually quite amazed with her ability to learn so quickly. Orunmila then gave Osun the eerindinlogun and told her that from then on, she would own the cowrie system and he gave her the oracle. Osun shared her knowledge with other Orisa, starting with Obatala. Although Osun receives the Eerindinlogun system from Orunmila and he created it, another verse of Odu Ose’Tura tells how this system of divination received its own ase from Olodumare, thus making it independently Osun’s. Every sixteen years, Olodumare would subject the earthly diviners to a test, to find out whether they were telling lies or the truth to their clients. When Orunmila finished his turn divining for Olodumare, Olodumare said, “Who’s next?” Orunmila said, “She is.” Olodumare asked if this woman (Osun) was a diviner at which point Orunmila answered, “Yes, she is.” Olodumare asked, “Who is this one?” Orunmila explained how he had given her eerindinlogun. When Osun divined for Olodumare, she hit on all those things in his mind. But she did not say it in full. She mentioned the gist, but she didn’t tell the root of the matter, like Ifa. Olodumare said, “It’s all right.” He further said that even though she did not go into details, he, Olodumare, gave his assent to it. He added, “From today on and forever, even if what eerindinlogun says may not be detailed, anybody who disbelieves it would see the consequences instantly. It must not wait until the following day.” This is why the predictions of eerindinlogun come to pass quickly, even though the stories might not be impressive. Before the diviner starts the divination process, she pays homage to Onile, the Earth diety, pointing to the ground, and to Iyami (eleiye) pointing to the sky. The connection between Osun and Esu is interesting. Esu controls the Ajogun, malevolent spiritual beings. Osun is the leader of the Aje, even more feared than the ajogun. Yet both are capable of bestowing the greatest of blessings; Esu bestows ase, and Osun fertility. As revealed in Odu Ose’tura, the Odu that incarnates Esu and contains much information about Osun, Osun is Osetuura’s mother. Like Esu, she has a central role in the maintenance of creation. Aje’, also known as Iyami, are powerful. Olodumare has committed the universe to their care. He has given them power and authority over its affairs. They strongly hold the universe together. They maintain the order in the world. Osun is not only one of them, she is their leader. Osun, through the Iyami, and Esu, preside over ebo, and support or empower the efficacy of herbal preparations and ritual elements. Osun is a complex, dynamic, and powerful energy. Osun, wife of Orunmila and subsequently Sango, spirit who cures with water, one of the founders of the Ogboni society, partner of Orunmila in the establishment of the Ifa corpus, and fertility Goddess. To understand Osun is to know the intelligence, vitality, caring, and nourishing abilities of womankind. Long-suffering, cheated, overlooked, and overworked, but always committed to the survival of humanity. Besides signifying wealth, brass never rusts, it is eternal. In Osun we have the embodiment of wealth, prosperity, love, beauty, elegance, sexuality and sensuality and a divinely sanctioned feminist. Ase. Osun Foods Eko – a corn product made from ogii powder. Yanrin and tete – Osun’s favorite vegetables Adiye agagda – fowl with the feet tied together Eyin adiye – chicken egg Oti sekete – corn wine Yellow and orange fruits (pumpkins, bananas, oranges, mangos), vegetables and flowers