USA Africa Dialogue Series - BENIN OLOKUN SYMBOLISM AND INFINITY OF BEING 2

                                                                             BENIN OLOKUN SYMBOLISM AND INFINITY OF BEING 2

                                                                     

                                                                                                  Toyin Adepoju

I marvelled at an Ocean without shore

and a Shore without ocean,

At a morning Light with no darkness

and a Night with no dawn,

At a Sphere without any location

known to pagans or priests,

At an azure Dome,raised high,revolving,

All-Compelling Power at its centre,

And a rich Earth without dome or location,

the Mystery concealed.

This Igha-ede design] ...signifies the ability of Olokun to travel anywhere to send messages:

Ehoho Okun (Air of Olokun).

Because there is water in the air, Olokun can move freely. It is believed that he can enter any of the fourteen paths or roads drawn in this figure in order to communicate with worshipers. The deity's fourteen important praise names are also signified by these lines.

The central intersection represents "201 junctions" ["ada n' uri..The number 201 is traditionally associated with infinity[and]the infinite power of spiritual beings-Rosen]; therefore, worshipers perceive that Olokun's protection is constant:

Ohinmwin Ame n'Ogboi I Khue (The Depth of a Big Sea Which a Novice Dares Not Try).

The lines radiating from the center can also be viewed as early morning- sun rays casting shadows or outlines around objects. On a ceremonial day, this design is drawn in the four corners of the shrine.

Benin Olokun Igha-ede image and explanatory text from Norma Rosen, "Chalk Iconography in Olokun Worship" African Arts, Vol. 22, No. 3 (May, 1989), pp. 44-53+88.

Poem on ocean and shore from Kitâb 'Anqâ' Mughribby Ibn Arabi,trans.by Gerald Elmore in Islamic Sainthood in the Fullness of Time:Ibn Al-Arabi's Book of the Fabulous Gryphon.Leiden: E. J. Brill,1999.Quoted in Stephen Hirtensten,The Unlimited Mercifier:The Spiritual Life and Teachings of Ibn Arabi.Oxford:Anqa Publishing,1999.16.

Also blogged at Olokun Waters

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