Yoruba Traditionweapon
Ogun's Iron
- Path Clearing
- Metal Mastery
- Warrior Strength
Sacred iron of Ogun, orisha of metalworking, war, and the open road. Tools, machetes, and weapons dedicated to him carry his cutting, clearing power.
About Ogun's Iron
Iron that opened the road
Yoruba oral art and Ifá associate Ògún with iron, clearing, war, hunting, and the path from òrun to ayé. He is said to have cut the way with iron when the orisha came to earth. Tools, machetes, rail, and forge-scrap are his, not a single named sword in a written epic. Written Ifá and ethnography are late relative to the practice; the tradition is living and oral. There is no West African "one true blade of Ogun" with a palace pedigree. The iron is the orisha's domain in every cutting edge.
Origin
Ogun cleared the path from heaven to earth with iron, technology and force bound together.
Sources and further reading
Source notes
These references are recorded in the catalog. Their passage wording and translation have not been checked, so quotations are not displayed here.
- Yoruba Ifá / oríkì of Ògún (oral; recorded in later ethnography)
About this entry
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
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