The Oro Deity Proverb and Pedigree (Oriki Orisha Oro ati Owe Oro)

Orò Proverbs

Òwe, Yoruba for proverbs, allow us to take a closer look on the Orò cult in Nigeria. One rule for proverbs is: translating does not mean understanding. Without knowing the cultural context often you can not interpret them correctly. It is a good way of getting familiar with another culture. Oyekan Owomoyela has published a great book I can recommend to everyone interested into Yorùbá culture (Oyekan Owomoyela: Yoruba Proverbs. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and London, 2005). There I found some good examples that express how present-day people think about the Orò-cult.

A kì í dájọ́ Orò ká yẹ̀ ẹ́.One does not set the day for an orò rite and then ignore it. (One must not let important matters slide.)

Etí l’obìnrín fi ngbọ́ ohùn Orò.It is only with the ears that a woman hears the voice of Orò. (One must not intrude into affairs that do not concern one; undesirable people should be kept in the dark about important or delicate matters.)

“Mo mọ̀ ọ́ tán” l’Orò-ó fi ńgbé ọkùnrin.“I know it all” is the reason for Orò’s carrying a man away. (Knowing it all leads to disaster. “I know it all” is used like a name for a person here.)

A kì í rí àjẹkù Orò.No one ever sees the leavings of Orò. (What must be consumed must be completely consumed.)Bí eégún ó bàá wọlẹ̀, Orò ní n ṣe.A masquerader who wishes to disappear into the ground cries “Orò!” (A person intending to do something extraordinary should give prior warning.)

Ẹni tó ránṣẹ́ sí Orò-ó bẹ̀wẹ̀ fún àìsùn.Whoever sends for Orò is contracting for sleeplessness. (Whoever deliberately provokes trouble should be prepared for a difficult time. Orò is feared by all.)Bí ẹnìkán bá fojú di Orò, Orò a gbé e.If anyone defies the Orò mystery, it does away with him or her. (Whoever disdains potential dangers eventually pays for the disdain.)

Bí obìnrín bá wọgbó Orò, a ò lè rí àbọ̀-ọ ẹ̀ mọ́.If a woman enters the ritual grove of the Orò cult, no one will ever see her return. (Any person who engages in forbidden action courts destruction.)Ẹni tí Orò-ó máa mú mba wọn ṣe àìsùn Orò.The person who will be the sacrificial victim of Orò is joining in the revelry onthe eve of the sacrifice. (The intended victim innocently helps in making preparations for his or her own demise; if there is the slightest possibility of peril, one should not act carelessly.)

Obìnrin tó gégi nígbó Orò, ó gé àgémọ.A woman who cuts wood in the grove of Orò has cut her last. (Whoever tempts a fate that is known to strike unfailingly has tempted her last.)Òjò n rọ̀, Orò ń ké; atọ́kùn àlùgbè tí ò l’áṣọ méjì a ṣe ògèdèmgbé sùn.The rain is falling, and the call of the secret cult is sounding loudly outside; the shuttle that lacks a change of clothing will sleep naked. (If one has not made provisions for rainy days, when they come one must suffer the attendant hardship.)

Àpagbé l’Orò n pagi.Killing-without-recourse is Orò’s way ofkilling trees. (When unanswerable disaster befalls a person, there is neither recourse nor response.)

Àwíyé n’Ifẹ̀ n fọ; gba-n-gba l’Orò n pẹran.Explicitly is the way Ife speaks; it is openly that Orò kills animals. (Whatever one has to say, one should say without mincing words. Ife refers tot he oracle here.)

Àgbà l’ó tó Orò-ó lọ̀; ọba l’ó tó ehín erin-ín fun.Only a (male) elder is qualified to invoke Orò; only a king is qualified to blow a horn carved out of elephant tusk. (Certain tasks are for august people only.)Ọ̀pọ̀ èèyàn kì í wọ Orò kí Orò gbé wọn.A multitude of people cannot enter the Orò grove and be carried away by Orò. (There is strength and security in numbers.)

Ní inú ilẹ̀kú l’Orò n jẹ.Where the dead are buried, there Orò feeds. (Some people’s misfortune is other people’s good fortune.)

Awo Eégún l’obìnrín lè ṣe, awo Gẹ̀lẹ̀dẹ́ l’obìnrín lè wò; b’óbìnrín bá fojú kan Orò, Orò á gbé e.Only the mystery of Eégun is accessible to women; it is only the mystery of Gelede that women may watch; if a woman catches a glimpse of Orò, Orò will make an end of her. (Only certain rites are allowed to certain people; the rest are proscribed.)

Etí l’obìnrín fi n gbọ́ ohùn Orò.Only with her ears does a woman hear the voice of Orò. (The sight of Orò is forbidden to a certain class of people.)

Obìnrin kì í tóbi k’Órò má gbèe e.A woman is never so large that Orò cannot carry her off. (There are certainoffenses a woman cannot get away with.)

Pàtàkì Orò ò ju ilé Àjànà.The greatest authority within the Orò cult is not to be sought beyond the Ajana’s home. (Said of a person or thing that is not surpassed in importance. Ajana is the title of the head of the Orò cult.)

Orò = Oru in Cuba

It is interesting that Orisha Orò’s cult survived the Middle Passage and is still worshipped among the Lukumí in Cuban Santeria. The Cuban colonial context left no room for the political functions of the Orisha. His cult is devotional, secretive and mostly in the hands of the babalawo, Ifá-diviners. His ìlèkè, the beaded necklace, is completely black. Women are also excluded completely not to be harmed by the virile powers. Cubans call Orò intheir Lukumí dialect Oru, Orun, Oro or even Orus (Horus) – see also theYorùbá Guide to Lukumí in this blog. Omo Oru have a close relationship withikú, the death,eégún, the ancestors andòru, the night time, in their spiritual work and perform efficient chanted invocations supported by his power and sacred tools.

Fernando Ortiz, the famous ethnographer, still witnessed the sounding of bullroarers in Afrocuban funeral rites around 1950. The small bull-roarer ajá Orò, Orò’s dog, in Cuba became the  ẹjaOrò or Luk.eyá Oru, literally Orò’s fish. It is not far from Luk.ayá(dog) toeyá(fish). Ortiz described in his influential books the “pesciform” bullroarer, what might have influenced the Santeria priests to carve them in the form of a fish today. Various other forms of miniature bullroarers can be bought in the Botanicas as "Oru set" for babalawo today, see the links below. Its sound is enforcing the spiritual powers of the devotee initiated into the Orisha's cult. Elements of Yorùbá Egúngúnworship also have been included into Cuban Oru worship as well. I found this especially interesting, as usually the common opinion is thatEgúngúncult and ancestor worship was substituted by the Espiritismo in Cuba. So this would be worth some more research.

Michael Marcuzzi,ìbà’ẹ, wrote an elaborate study of the bullroarer cult in Cuba, that leaves hardly any questions.In his study he focuses on various levels on the Yorùbá roots of Lukumí words, the influence of academic literature on the worship and is mentioning many details, speaking about the rites, Oru’s tools, pots, switches and even transcribed Lukumí songs for Oru.