ᐈ Oggún 【Who is he, his Story, his Day, Children and More】

The Orisha Oggun is a saint belonging to the Yoruba religion or better known as Santeria in the Caribbean. He is highly respected and revered within the cult. So if you are one of those people that you are interested in meeting who is ogun and more, then stay in this detailed article.

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Oggun, who is it?

To start learning about this deity we have to be very clear that this is part of the Yoruba pantheon. Therefore, it occupies one of the highest positions. This saint is the guide of people who practice blacksmithing, of large-scale world conflicts, technological advances, of doctors who operate, of policemen and of the national army of each country.

He is known to possess a personality extremely strong , angry and violent towards those who dare to harm their children. The most characteristic element of him is the machete, which in turn symbolizes masculine virility.

This is the one in charge of opening and protecting his children in the densest trails and paths that his neighbor Eleguá opens. He often syncretizes in Catholicism with Saint Peterbecause this is the guardian of the door of heaven and both the entrance and the key are made of metal (element of the Orisha Oggún).

On the other hand, he is the official messenger of the Orisha Obatalá and because he owns the knife (or faca) he is only behind the saint Elegguá within Santeria. He is the protector of the great entrances and homes of humanity.

History

Historically speaking according to the santero cult and its long history, Oggún is the family of Shangó and Elegguá. Son of Obatalá and the Orisha Yemu. All these deities come from Africa, specifically from Nigeria, Ilesha. Due to his insatiable power, together with other deities, they founded great monarchies, such as those of Benin and Oyó.

He dominates the great bushes and jungles like the back of his hands, which is why he is considered a sorcerer. Despite this, he is actually your typical meat-eating, hunting warrior with a barbarian lifestyle and of beast

For a long time the vision that has been held about this deity is varied, for people and saints it can be very good and protectiveand in turn, it can be quite the opposite. This is because it has the ability to cause great conflicts between nations and the total devastation of towns or a specific person.

His romantic story that has had the most diffusion is the one he had with the Orisha Oyá. On the other hand, since always, he has been the first to feed during ceremonies.

Prayer to Oggún

Like all deities, Oggún has a prayer to be venerated. However, he does not have a specific one since the reasons for which he prays to him can vary from love, money, work or to lash out / drive away those who want to hurt the devoted santero.

To Ogun different prayers are performed to obtain different blessings, such as to obtain love, for work and even to ward off enemies. Here is a prayer dedicated exclusively to Oggún:

«Winner of lawsuits, owner of everything green, plants and trees in the world. I come to ask for your help, so that you can heal me in mind and soul. Grant me that those who dare to disturb my peace and integrity are banished, feel sorry and leave. I ask you for strength and vigor, that which you possess so much, so that the battles are simple. Cover my body with your mantle of hypocrisy and evil that haunts the planet so much. Oggún, brandish your machete to protect me, Ashe».

It should be noted that this sentence must be performed with total devotion and faith that the Orisha will attend and solve your request. Also, if the request has other purposes such as money or love, the procedure is different. since generally These types of prayers are accompanied by a brief ceremony and offering, for the greater pleasure of the deity. Instead, this prayer can be simply performed in a solitary space, preferably an altar, with the hope of an answer.

Children of Oggún

All the children or guides of the Orishas have unique and very distinctive characteristics and qualities, so the Orisha Oggún was not going to be less.

Their children They are known for their violent moods. and hotheads, which they often do not control. In addition, when they feel bad about their actions, it is difficult for them to apologize for what happened. On the other hand, in terms of gastronomy, these are not fussy, due to the food temperament that the Oggún warrior possesses.

In a social sense, they usually have several partners, to maintain relationships with them or to simply hang out. They are not usually iron with a particular person. your friends are fun and they often get into trouble and then escape.

How to put someone in Oggún’s cauldron?

According to various Santeria forums “place a person” is not recommended inside the cauldron of Oggún and Oshosi, because both are considered the most angry and violent Orishas of all the Yoruba religion. Therefore, the person who was introduced into the container would be brutally attacked by the deities, although a justification would have to be given beforehand.

This also contradicts one of the fundamental principles and objectives of Santeria, which are the search for the emotional well-being of people and promote good vibes within society.

Despite all of the above, if you still want to enter a person’s name Inside the cauldron, you must previously perform a small ceremony in order to justify that action. In addition, you must put the full name of said person on a piece of paper and then throw it into the pot.

Works to Oggún for Enemies

Oggún being the saint of war and destruction You have various works or activities that have the sole purpose of hurting a person who is your rival in life. Before doing any of the following activities, pray and light a candle in their names so that the effectiveness is increased. Besides, this shows your faith by the Orisha, who can sense your true intentions.

The first of them requires the following elements:

With all this, a kind of grit is prepared which will be dispersed over the enemy when the opportunity arises. After this, that person will be vulnerable to you and your attacks.

Another of them, which is one of the most intense and rigorous, consists of buying a piece of beef, any part of the cow will do. After this, the fillet should be placed on a disposable white plate. Season the meat with a lot of black pepper and then proceed to cut it with a sharp knife on both sides.

Now, you should take a big drink of white rum to be able to spit the meat a total of three (3) times. After this, the mouth must be washed well to be able to light a tobacco in the name of Oggún, which will be invoked inside the room. All that smoke that comes from the tobacco will be thrown against the meat and while this happens, you must pray and ask the Orisha for protection against everything that he wants to threaten your physical and mental integrity. (including your rivals).

You must leave the meat on a glass of wine which will contain smoke and let it rest so that it is impregnated with the smell. After ten minutes you can proceed to shower as usual, only at the end you must place your hand inside your fist and rub it all over your body as if it were ordinary soap (the meat should not make contact with the skin, only the fist).

To finish, you must place the meat on the disposable plate at the beginning and go to an intersection street and throw the piece of meat there. Once at home you can light a candle to increase the effectiveness of this work for enemies, which works like a repellent against them.

Oggun necklace

The necklaces are one of the most characteristic and representative elements that a person adept at Santeria can have in relation to their Orisha, it symbolizes their union and spiritual commitment. Most deities have particular ones, some with many colors and others with fewer variations.

In the case of Oggún, his necklace in comparison it’s quite simple, the number where the colors vary are three (3) and seven (7). He generally uses shades such as black, green and sometimes red.

The first seven beads are black, followed by one reddish and ends with another seven but this time green. This pattern is repeated as many times as necessary to complete the necklace. It should be noted that when one of the green beads is transparent, it means that the person who owns it complied with the machete ritual.

one of the variations It is made up of green beads and black beads that alternate every seven or three, following the patterns and numbers of the Orisha. The remaining alterations are composed mostly of the same previously mentioned colors, such as green, black and some transparent or jet color. What varies in these cases is the number of times the colors and their patterns are repeated.

Your day

The Orishas have their special day within the yoruba calendar, so that tribute is paid to him and venerated on this date, and in exchange, he will offer his faithful followers a series of special rewards. In this sense, for the holy Oggún his favorite or festive day is April 23 of each year.

Therefore, numerous followers of Santeria or children of this deity meet and promote ceremonies at the altars that correspond to Oggún. Generally they pray, make offerings and shout Yoruba expressions such as “Ok Ogun! Oggun Kobú Aguanilé!».

This day is not usually overlooked due to the great fear and respect that they have to Oggún’s anger, so if you want to avoid such annoyance, it is better that you remember to offer him or at least dedicate a prayer to him on his day.

Oggun and Ochosi

Oggún in Santeria he has multiple friendships and family ties with the rest of the saints. This is the case of Oggún and Ochosi, who mainly have to live together in a boiler, which shows how inseparable their family bond is in this life.

The patakí (story) that unites these characters begins when Oggún, despite being a master with the machete, had a hard time getting his food. Because his brute strength did not allow him to approach with enough delicacy and silence to hunt down an animal. However, he managed to untangle the entire jungle, leaving clean and passable paths for other people.

On the other side of the story is Oshosi, who was an expert in hunting, especially with the bow and arrow. He managed to hunt animals from impressive distances, and all in incredible silence. However, he often got lost in the undergrowth of the jungles due to the immense amount of vegetation and could not leave the place or take with…