Okó, Orisha of Fertility
Also known as Ocô in Brazil.
In Nigeria and the Benin Republic, Okó is a formidable hunter and farming deity, associated with the annual new yam harvest celebration. Among the pantheon, his close friend is Shango. In fact, Okó gave Shango, the thunder god, a gift of the color red and a thunderstone. It is Okó who holds the secrets to farming, maintaining the harvest, and keeping crops fertile and alive. He was the first to build a farm, after all. As such, he is responsible for the stability of life through planting the fields. Okó tends to his crops daily, ensuring the eventual harvest is up to par. He particularly protects those who are hard workers, especially harvest workers. Bees are considered the messengers of Okó.
And being the orisha of the crop and fertility, he is often petitioned in occurrences of infertility. Regardless the gender of the petitioner, male or female, he is the one to assist in such delicate matters. He is also consulted to bring about prosperity, good fortune, and health. Okó is known as a phallic orisha; “orisha of the penis”.
Okó is the judge of the orisha, disliking arguments, he is the first to jump to the defense of women. He also helps against the influence of witchcraft, especially defending woman accused of witchcraft.
In Santería, Okó is syncretized with Saint Isidore (March 22nd or May 15th) and Regla de Ocha. In Candomblé, he is joined by Ogún as the orishas of farming and agriculture. He is known to carry a wooden staff, called opa orisa oko, a representation of his relationship with fertility. He also plays a flute made of bones, a representation of sexuality. Like Obatalá, Okó wears white clothing.
There is a pataki (mythological story, parable, oral narrative, often from the Lukumí tradition), which speaks of the only mistake Okó ever made. Agganda, (often also known as Yemaya) the daughter of Olokun, was born with a fish tail in place of her feet. When Okó saw her, he wanted to marry her immediately, although Agganda told him she could not leave the sea due to her “defect” for fear of shame and ridicule. Okó promised to never make fun of her and to love her exactly as she was. When they married, word eventually got back to Agganda that in fact Okó was speaking about her body as a deformity. Filled with rage, she left Okó and pronounced that the ocean and the harvest would never make contact. To avenge his daughter, Olokun almost sent a mighty wave to destroy Okó’s lnds and harvests. Okó pleaded and pleaded, making many sacrifices to be pardoned of Olokun’s wrath. Agganda never returned to Okó, and his harvest lands grow far away from the ocean.
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