Oko (orisha)

Oko, also known as Ocô in Brazil,[1][2][3] was an Orisha.[4] In Nigeria and the Benin Republic, he was a strong hunter & farming deity as well as a fighter against sorcery. He was associated with the annual new harvest of the white African yam. Among the deities, he was considered as a close friend of Oosa, Ogiyan and Shango, as well as a one time husband of Oya and Yemoja. Bees are considered the messengers of Oko.[5]

Oko
Agriculture, Farming, Fertility
Member of Orisha
Representation of Oko by Carybé, Museu Afro-Brasileiro, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
Other namesOcó, Òrìṣàokó
Venerated inYoruba religion, Dahomey mythology, Vodun, Santería, Candomblé
Colorred , and white
RegionNigeria, Benin, Latin America
Ethnic groupYoruba people, Fon people

In Brazilian Candomblé, he represents one of the Orisha of agriculture, together with Ogum.[6] According to Prandi, Oko songs and myths are remembered, but the presence in celebrations is rare.[7] In his representation, he had a wooden staff, plays a flute of bones and wears white.[8] Oko is syncretized with Saint Isidore among Cuban orisha practitioners of Santería (Lucumí) and Regla de Ocha.[9][10]

Notes
  1. Comissão Catarinense de Folclore 1953, p. 51.
  2. Ianamá 1984, p. 79.
  3. Prandi 2017.
  4. Adeoye 1989, pp. 270–279.
  5. Vogel 1981, p. 96.
  6. Prandi 2005, p. 103.
  7. Prandi 2005, p. 118.
  8. Amado 2012.
  9. De La Torre 2004, p. 81.
  10. Marra & Grassi, p. 20.

References
  • Prandi, Reginaldo (2017). Aimó: Uma viagem pelo mundo dos orixás (in Portuguese). Editora Seguinte. p. 200. ISBN 978-8543809670.
  • Amado, Jorge (2012). Bahia de Todos-os-Santos (in Portuguese). Companhia das Letras. p. 400. ISBN 978-8580864298.
  • Boletim trimestral (in Portuguese). Comissão Catarinense de Folclore, Instituto Brasileiro de Educação, Ciência e Cultura. 1953. p. 118.
  • Espaço-Orixá-Sociedade: arquitetura e liturgia do candomblé (in Portuguese) (2nd ed.). Ianamá. 2004. p. 84. ISBN 8585151013.
  • Vogel, Susan Mulli (1981). For Spirits and Kings: African Art from the Paul and Ruth Tishman Collection. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc, NY. p. 256. ISBN 0870992678.
  • Adeoye, C. L. (1989). Ìgbàgbọ́ àti ẹ̀sìn Yorùbá (in Yoruba). Ibadan: Evans Bros. Nigeria Publishers. pp. 270–279. ISBN 9781675098.
  • Marra, Sandrino Luigi; Grassi, Valentina. QUEL CHE RESTA DEL VODU. Lulu.com. ISBN 9781326334086.
  • De La Torre, Miguel A. (2004). Santeria: The Beliefs and Rituals of a Growing Religion in America (in Spanish). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 246. ISBN 0802849733.
  • Prandi, J. Reginaldo (2005). Segredos guardados (in Portuguese). Companhia das Letras. p. 328. ISBN 9788535906271.


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