Life can be understood as a war, a battle and a journey through the jungle. Every day, we confront challenges connected with survival, livelihood, prosperity, recognition, justice, protection and the well-being of our families and communities.

Within Ìṣẹ̀ṣe tradition, we do not face these battles through our strength alone. We seek the support of Olodumare through the divinities, especially Ogun the warrior, Ossosi the great hunter and Sonikere the mighty one in battle.

Each of these sacred powers deserves to be examined individually so that we may understand their importance to the Creator, creation and all creatures.

This teaching reflects a particular oral and spiritual lineage. Accounts, names and genealogies may vary among Yorùbá families, communities and temples.

Life as Hunting and Spiritual Battle

Every day, people hunt—not necessarily with weapons, but through work, effort and purposeful action. We hunt for food, prosperity, success, recognition, protection and the means to support our families.

We also seek justice when we are wronged and protection when we encounter danger or adversity.

Life requires wisdom, courage and preparation. Those who understand how to combine their own abilities with the support of Olodumare and the divinities are better prepared for the battles of existence.

Even a small challenge may become a battle that must be addressed. We confront such challenges through the different powers available to us:

• Physical power
• Mental power
• Emotional power
• Spiritual power
• Divine power

These powers must be used wisely, ethically and with good character. A person who refuses to confront problems may eventually become overwhelmed by them.

Ogun Ereja: The Primordial Ogun

The primordial Ogun who descended from heaven with the divinities is known as Ogun Ereja.

Because he travelled continuously from one place to another—working for limited periods and participating in warfare—the people of his era also called him Ogun Ogun, meaning Ogun the warrior or Ogun the warlord.

Ogun transcends every sphere of human endeavour. He trains his family, children and initiates in the fundamental philosophy of life, preparing them to remain strong, disciplined and ready for the challenges ahead.

He teaches that survival requires courage, wisdom, work and spiritual preparation.

The Family of Ogun Osin Imole

The spiritual family of Ogun Osin Imole includes:

• Ossosi
• Sonikere
• Ologunede

According to the tradition presented here, Ologunede was the reincarnation of Ogun approximately five thousand years after the earlier Ogun departed for the land of the ancestors.

Ologunede is regarded as a hunter, warrior, lord and sacred king of the city of Ede. His identity preserves the qualities associated with Ogun: courage, authority, hunting, protection and mastery of the path.

Ohùn, the Son of Ogun

One of Ogun’s numerous sons is known as Ohùn.

Another traditional account identifies Ohùn as the son of Olofin Ajalaye. Because of Ohùn’s unruly behaviour, Olofin instructed Ogun and a group of great hunters to take him to the sacred city of Idanre.

Idanre is also the birthplace of Babalawo and Oluwo Ogunsina Olayinka Babatunde.

Upon reaching Idanre, Ohùn joined a special group of initiated people known as the Aworo.

The Aworo and the Cult of Orosun

The Aworo were initiates within the cult of Orosun, another great divinity of immense importance in creation.

Her followers were originally called Aworo or Aworo Sasa. With time, the term Aworo also came to describe selected and deeply initiated worshippers of Òrìṣà and Irúnmọlẹ̀, as well as faithful devotees who serve Olodumare through Ifá.

The term therefore carries the meaning of sacred selection, initiation, responsibility and devotion. It does not merely identify a worshipper; it describes a person entrusted with spiritual obligations.

Ogun Onire: Lord and King of Ire

The Ogun associated with the founding and rulership of the sacred city of Ire may have been a reincarnation of Ogun Ereja, also called Ogun Ogun—the primordial warrior and warlord.

He became known as Ogun Onire, the lord and king of Ire.

According to tradition, the city of Ire already existed before Ogun, the son of Yemoja and Orungan, arrived there. Ogun entered the city, conquered it and became its ruler. He was consequently called Ogun Onire, meaning Ogun, the lord or king of Ire.

Ogun Onire represents the earthly, royal and deified manifestation of Ogun. He came into the world through human birth, lived among human beings and demonstrated extraordinary spiritual and mystical power.

The First Great Irúnmọlẹ̀

The Irúnmọlẹ̀ or Ẹbọra who descended from Alede Orun, the heaven above, with the first group of divinities included:

• Obatala Oseremagbo, Arugbo Ojo
• Orunmila Bara Agbonniregun
• Ogun Ereja
• Sango, also known as Jakuta
• Esu Odara, also called Lalu Okunrin Ode Onile Orita

These five great divinities are understood within this teaching as direct creations of Olodumare. For this reason, they are called Irúnmọlẹ̀.

They lived temporarily in the physical world before returning to Orun Ajante. Because some of their duties and responsibilities in the world of matter remained unfinished, they later returned through the ordinary process of human birth—the union of male and female.

Reincarnation and Deification

The reincarnated Ogun and Sango possessed extraordinary mystical and supernatural powers. Their achievements were so remarkable that people recognized within them the return of the primordial forces of Ogun and Sango in human form.

Their lives demonstrated how a spiritual power might enter the human condition, participate in society and accomplish sacred duties through an earthly body.

Their deaths were surrounded by mystery, and their departures generated controversy. They were spiritual beings who had assumed human bodies and lived among ordinary people.

Such extraordinary people are called:

Eni Orisada — Chosen by Destiny

Eni Orisada means a person chosen by destiny.

Such a person enters the world with a particular spiritual mission, sacred responsibility and unusual capacity. Although living within a human body, the individual carries an extraordinary destiny that may eventually reveal a deified or divinized nature.

Ogun Onire entered the world as a human being but departed as a mystic. His life brought together the human, royal, ancestral and divine dimensions of Ogun.

Through Ogun Ereja, we encounter the primordial Irúnmọlẹ̀.

Through Ogun Onire, we encounter the warrior, king and deified ancestor.

Through Ogun Osin Imole, we encounter the leader who prepares divinities and human beings for the difficult paths of existence.

Praise to Ogun

Heepa Ogun
Honour and profound reverence to Ogun.

Heepa Imole
Homage to the divine light and sacred power.

Heepa Osin Imole
Reverence to the leader of the divinities.

Heepa Ogun Onire
Homage to Ogun, lord and king of Ire.

Hee Imole
Honour to the sacred divine power.

May Ogun open our paths, strengthen our character and give us the courage, wisdom and discipline required to confront the battles of life.

Ase.