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Ogun Ogun is of the classification of Spirits called the Orisa. In several New World cultures, such as Haiti and New Orleans, they are called the Lwa. This level of being is in between humanity and an ineffable god, but closer to the god end of the spectrum. Most practitioners consider themselves to be monotheists and the Orisa are a sort of angel. The origins of Ogun are shrouded in time. He was probably an actual king in the town of Ife, in modern day Nigeria. He is so important a fixture in the local culture that the state is called Ogun State. He was a notorious king in his day, and his story has become quite mythologized. Some suspect that he may have already been a legend when the African religion that he is most closely associated with, Ifa, came to the area from somewhere to the east. His cult became a part of Ifa, along with many other Yoruba cults. The Yoruba are the nation from which most of the slaves that were kidnapped to what is now the United States were taken. Some of the Yoruba also ended up in Haiti, but most of the slaves of Haiti originated in neighboring cultures, such as the Fon. There was quite a bit of religious crossover in Africa, but the borrowed bits of religion always took on the flavor of the adopting culture. So, Ogun was known to the neighboring cultures that other slaves were kidnapped from as well. All of this means that when Ogun crossed over on the slave ships, he was already broke up into many different individual spirits. The Orisa religions of the United States have a strong Yoruba overtone, and the Ogun of Haiti is very Fon. Of course, Ogun continued to change in accordance with his new people in the past several centuries, so the Ogun of Nigeria is different from the Ogun of Pennsylvania. There are some characteristics of Ogun that are core to Oguns everywhere. In general, he is associated most strongly with hunters, soldiers, and blacksmiths. Not considered fit company for polite society, Ogun lives just outside the village, which is where you usually find barracks, hunting cabins, and forges. He is very masculine and muscular, and his most popular symbols are the tools of the blacksmith shop and bladed weapons, especially the machete. He is said to be all energy, as well as iron itself. He is very direct in speech and detail oriented in work. A final interesting note in Ogun’s history: the successful slave rebellion that ended with kicking the French out of Haiti and giving the country its independence was begun with a single voodoo ceremony designed to invoke a particularly violent, or “hot”, aspect of Ogun. So, Ogun is associated with the kind of dirty work that is necessary for any culture to flourish. He is the one credited with building roads through the jungle. But this same energy is the stuff that nightmares are made of if approached without self-control, or if set loose during the liminal times of war. During combat, Ogun tends to become quite the berserker. He goes into a blind rage and kills any around him, even if they are of his army. One of his most well-known stories has him going into one of these blood lusts, setting upon anybody from either side that got in his way. At the end of the battle, when he came back to himself, Ogun saw the horror he had caused. He attached one end of a chain to one of his ankles, buried himself in the ground (like iron ore) outside of the village compound, leaving the opposite end of the chain on the surface. He told the people to pull him up only when they were sure they needed him in battle again. In this way, Ogun gave up his kingship. In the modern world after World War II total war is usually avoided. This seems to have led to an interesting development in the monstrous qualities of Ogun. In Haiti, one of the most important personality types associated with him is the strong armed political tyrant. Lying and boastful, this Ogun does not avoid killing off his political opponents in large numbers. He just has his underlings do it for him now.

Symbolism As defined by Asma, Ogun is unmanageable, as well as inhuman. He represents the fear of what cannot be controlled. There is also an aspect of attraction and repulsion in the fear and worship of Ogun as a god-like figure.

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