Oshun
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Ọṣun (or Oshun, Oschun) (pronounced [ɔʃún]) in Yoruba mythology, is a spirit-goddess (Orisha) who reigns over love, intimacy, beauty, wealth and diplomacy.[1] She is worshipped also in Brazilian Candomblé Ketu, with the name spelled Oxum. She should not be confused, however, with a different Orisha of a similar name spelled "Osun," who is the protector of the Ori, or our heads and inner Orisha.
Ọṣun is beneficient and generous, and very kind. She does, however, have a horrific temper, though it is difficult to anger her. She is married to Ṣàngó, the sky god, and is his favorite wife because of her excellent cooking skills. One of his other wives, Oba, was her rival. They are the goddesses of the Ọṣun and Oba rivers, which meet in a turbulent place with difficult rapids.
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[edit] Santería
In Cuban Santería, Oshun (sometimes spelled Ochún or Ochun) is an Orisha of love, maternity and marriage. She has been syncretized with by Our Lady of Charity (La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre), Cuba's patron saint. She is associated with the color yellow, metals gold and copper, peacock feathers, mirrors, and anything of beauty, her favorable day of the week is Saturday and the number she is associated with is 5.
In one story, she had to become a prostitute to feed her children and the other Orishas removed her children from her home. Oshun went insane from grief and wore the same white dress every day; it eventually turned yellow. Aje'-Shaluga, another Orisha, fell in love with her while she was washing her dress. He gave her money and gems which he collected from the bottom of the river he lived in. They were married and she was reunited with her children.
Osun- by a worshipper, follower, avatar and prietess of this Munificent Mother
According to the Yoruba elders, Osun is the "unseen mother present at every gathering", because Osun is the Yoruba understanding of the cosmological forces of water, moisture, and attraction. Therefore she is omnipresent and omnipotent. Her power is represented in another Yoruba scripture which reminds us that "no one is an enemy to water" and therefore everyone has need of and should respect and revere Osun , as well as her followers.
Osun is the force of harmony. Harmony we see as beauty, feel as love, and experience as ecstasy. Osun according to the ancients was the only female Irunmole amongst the 401 sent from the spirit realm to create the world. As such, she is revered as "YeYe" - the sweet mother of us all. When the male Irunmole attempted to subjegate Osun due to her femaleness she removed her divine energy, called ase by the Yoruba, from the project of creating the world and all subsequent efforts at creation were in vain. It was not until visiting with the Supreme Being, Olodumare, and begging Osun pardon under the advice of Olodumare that the world could continue to be created. BUT not before Osun had given birth to a son. This son became Elegba, the great conduit of ase in the Universe and also the eternal and infernal trickster.
Osun is known as Yalode- the mother of things outside the home, due to her business acumen. She is also known as Laketi, she who has ears, because of how quickly and effectively she answers prayers. When she possesses her followers she dances, flirts and then weeps- because no one can love her enough and the world is not as beautiful as she knows it could be[citation needed].
[edit] Further reading
- Joseph M. Murphy, Mei-Mei Sanford, Osun Across the Waters : A Yoruba Goddess in African and the Americas
- S. Solagbade Popoola, "Ikunle Abiyamo: It is on Bent Knees that I gave Birth" 2007. Asefin Media Publication
[edit] References
Osun Seegesi: The Elegant Deity of Wealth, Power, and Femininity by Dr. Diedre Badejo
[edit] External links
- OCHUN - Goddess of Love
- Alawoye.com Baba'Awo Ifaloju, showcasing Ifa using web media 2.0 (blogs, podcasting, video & photocasting)
- OsunPriestess.comYeye Siju Osunyemi, information about Osun and other Orisa, Yoruba culture and religion. Trips to Osogbo and the Osun Grove, blogs.
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