#orishaoko

TRANSITION OF OBATALA TO ORISA OKO

[Español:http://101.myyoruba.com/la-transicion-de-obatala-orisha-oko/?lang=es]

As Jeggua entered the cemetery, The earth began to shake , strong winds began to blow, furious oceans began to churn, Volcanoes erupted.

Everyone could see that the elements where angry , but nobody knew why.

Only Obatala knew the reason, he had become so furious that he sentenced his daughter to the house of the dead , that he decide to teach his children a lesson , who until then had given him nothing but problems in the kingdom.

At that very moment Jeggua entered the land of the dead Obatala’s body began to shake and quiver with unbridled rage…..

And he will now go through a new metamorphosis and become known as ORISA OKO .

Orisha Oko is the earth we walk upon , the earth where we live and the earth we return to when we die. Orisha Oko is man by day and Death by night. His fury at having to punish his daughter Jeggua was so great that Obatala recounted the same suffering he had years ago when he changed into Obatala from Oddua, this time he would be known as Orisa Oko.

In this avatar he was more laborious and more earthly than before , also he would become more human , as he tried to understand those of the kingdom.

From Obatala’s body rose the spirit of purity and peacefulness in order for the new spirit of Orisa Oko to enter.

This spirit was unknown and feared by all since Orisa Oko’s spirit showed he had come to place order among his children. Together with Olodumare and Yembo , they decided it was time their children learned a lesson they would not soon forget .

The skies above opened and the Omi’rure ( waters from heaven) began to fall for many days. It was welcomed at first by all the inhabitants of the kingdom, but soon after 16 days the rains where know threatening . They asked why this punishment from heaven that would surely end all life on earth and destroy the human race.

Assessing the situation the Orisa formed a committee in order to calm the fury of the heavens; in other words, the fury of their father, who as far as they could see, was ready to end all signs of life on earth.

Here the Mythology speaks of the great floods that all mythologies and beliefs speak of.

THE PATAKI OF ORISHA OKO

[Español:http://101.myyoruba.com/pataki-orisha-oko-es/?lang=es]

Orisha Oko was a man that tended to his job with the up most respect. He would work all day on his crops to make sure the crops are growing as said. Once the sun would start to go down and the moon would rise, he would go to bed and leave his brother Korinkoto to tend the crop fields as tomorrow was another long day. One morning Orisha Oko was walking near the seashore planting his crops in a new town to help bring harvest for them. He noticed a beautiful women in the waters and was struck by her. He put down his farming tools and walked towards the sea and yelled out to her. She turned around and stayed looking at him. In his eyes you can notice the look of a similar puppy love he had for the women laying in the sea. The women looked straight at him and told her that her name was Ibu Agana Eni and she was not looking for any type of love affairs of puppy looks because she had a defect that made it impossible not to leave the ocean.

Note* Different people say that the woman he saw in the ocean was Olokun and that’s who spoke to him. Olokun to some including myself is derived as a male orisha, father of the bottom of the ocean floor. It was an aspect of Yemaya that spoke to Orisha Oko.

Orisha Oko looked at Agana and told her that he didn’t care of her defected looks. He told her that he did not care of that. Agana told him ok, and she then told him to make a pact with her. She told him, you never discuss or make fun of my defect or we will separate and never talk again. Orisha Oko who was yearning for love none the less a wife agreed to the pact. Ibu Agana agreed and she started to come to the waters edge. Now Agana had a beautiful face but her body was somewhat deformed. She had one leg bigger than the other, multiple scars and blisters near her womb area and she had one breast. Orisha Oko seeing this paid no attention to it. Olofi seeing all of this from the heavens came down and told Orisha Oko that he did not want any disrespect towards Agana. He told Orisha Oko that he made a castle for Agana deep in the ocean so she wouldn’t be ridiculed by anyone for her defects. Orisha Oko gave Olofi his word that he will never disrespect Ibu Agana and he will always cherish her. Olofi then told the both that they needed to be married.

Years passed on and Orisha Oko and Ibu Agana lived happily together. Due to the fact that Orisha Oko’s harvest were so abundant, he decided to sell his crops. So Orisha Oko would go and collect the crops and the fruits that he grew and took them to his wife where she would sell them to the people. Everyday the towns people would come and purchase their harvest from Agana at the seashore. She always was dressed to hide her defects from the world so they would not make fun of her.

One day some townsmen came to the seashore to buy some fruits from Agana. They stayed staring at the orisha and were whispering under their breath to one another. Ibu Agana was feeling very reluctant and asked them what where they discussing. They told her that they came because there was a man who plowed the fields has said that there is a women by the seashore who is totally deformed. Agana got such in a rage that she turned into a ghostly figure. You could see the hurt and dismay of her face. She left the sea and went to where Orisha Oko was at. When Orisha Oko saw her approaching him, he was wondering why his wife was coming to him at such a fast pace and in such a rage.

Agana told him of the hurt and the promise he broke to her and she stated that as while the world is the world, I will always detest you and we will live in separate places. And you will live far from me and you and I will go upon your lands whenever I feel like it. I will never talk to you and everyone must pay homage to me and with that I will save my children who honor me. I will assign Elegua who is the guardian of Olofi’s house, to receive the souls of the children of the earth as well as yourself. I curse you that your own weapons will turn against you, your animals will also turn against you. The lands that you fertilize will become bad soil. Your children will no longer be your children, you will never see the fruit of your harvest and man will always step on your grounds. She then turned around and disappeared into the ocean.

Olofi who was very upset at Orisha Oko and he descended to where he was at and told him with a strong voice that upon what Agana told him, his harvest will always shrivel and die. The ox that he uses to help with his harvest will die of thirst, and the land will become sour.

Orisha Oko upset and shamed didn’t know where to turn his head as he has just be scolded by the great Olofi. He went and collected fruits, a pig and harvest and made a haste to the seashore. He constructed a make shift boat and sailed out into the sea. The oceans water became very rocky as Agana was still in such a rage. There Orisha Oko made sacrifice to Agana and told Elegua to take the sacrifice to her. He returned to land and picked up all the scraps from the market place with 2 roosters and made sacrifice to Elegua at the well. He left there and sacrificed one of the ox’s to Olofi in forgiveness. By him doing these ebbos or offerings, he was able to diminish the epidemic that was coming upon the land from Agana. Olofi spoke to him from the heavens and told Orisha Oko that he was pleased with the sacrifice and he saw his serenity of what he did and from that day forth Orisha Oko will have his harvest and be the orisha of ii and his lands will always live very far from the ocean.

This is where love was born and then died.