Ogúm

Ogúm

Even though most people in Brazil practice Catholicism, many of them of have united Catholicism and Candomblé. Candomblé is a polytheistic “religion” that was formed in Brazil after the Portuguese exported slaves from Africa. African slaves took with them the culture and their practice of Candomblé. Professor Scott defines Candomblé as, “a ritualized performance of [the] African” (4) culture that was seen in Brazil. Candomblé is a “ritualized performance” that gives life to orixás, such as Ogúm, who each have their own trait and specific personality. The orixás of Candomblé are sometimes associated with the Catholic saints due to the intermixing of Catholicism and Candomblé.

The acceptance of the African slaves of Catholicism was somewhat easy due the similarities that the orixás share with the Catholicism saints. The orixá Ogúm "is equated with Holy Anthony" The Catholic faith is not the only faith that has connection with the Candomblé. Greek mythology can also relate to Candomblé due to the similarities that the Greek gods share with the orixás. The Greek god Ares is similar to Ogúm because Ares is the god of war. Ogúm is also associated with Mars, the Roman god of war. These are not the only similarities between Candomblé and other religions.

The orixás of Candomblé can easily be linked to the Catholic saints because like the saints the orixás have their own trait. Orixás have specific traits, skills, domains, and specific personalities that define them. According to mythology orixás are in charge of the creation of the planet. It is believed that each person is born with a certain orixá, who they pay tribute to in the form of Candomblé. Each orixá has its own “natural element and color, social domain and posture. These are further stylized into simple, yet dynamic dance dramas that can be performed in their entirety or in more truncated forms” (Scott 4). Orixás appear by invading people and performing their specific dance, this is their way of communicating with their followers. Each orixá has its own dance and music in order for people to be able to show their respect to individual orixás.

The orixá Ogúm is believed to be “the deity of iron, lord of the blacksmiths and peasants.” Since Ogúm is the deity of blacksmiths and iron he represents the human’s ability to control nature. According to Ogúm el Orixá del Hierro, Ogúm is the orixá of “iron and war”. Ogúm’s accoutrement is the machete; it can be one of two machetes, because he has to cut across the dense forest in order to open the pathway into the battle. Ogúm’s cutting of the forest shows that he can manipulate nature because he is able to make it change the course. Since he can open new pathways to different place Ogúm is believed to the master of the road. Ogúm protects “his people” from evil by fighting against what he believes to be bad. After Ogúm wins the “battle” against evil he replaces the bad with good. Ogúm can be “a mercenary” and “at your service as long as you keep the payments coming and observe his taboos” (Scott 18). The mythology behind Ogúm highlights the wrath that he can have toward people, even his own, if they do not show him respect by making their payments or observing his taboos.

There are many different legends surround the Ogúm. One of the most popular tales shows how unrelenting he can be however it also shows his ability to recognize his mistakes. In Ogúm el Orixá de Hierro, is that Ogúm had conquered the city Iré. Ogúm left one of his sons in charge of the city. It was Ogúm’s custom to conquer a city by defeating the enemy, after the defeating the enemy he would depart and go in search of new battles and adventures. That is what he did after he conquered the city of Iré. After many years Ogúm returned to Iré. Ogúm expected to be praised and be shown homage but no one from the city showed him homage or spoke to him. Researchers have many theories for the lack of acknowledgement towards Ogúm. One of the theories is that the town people had vowed to keep silent and therefore no one spoke or showed homage to Ogúm when he returned. Another theory is that Ogúm returned to wrong city and as a result none of the townspeople knew who he was leading to the lack of acknowledgment. What both theories agree on is that Ogúm became angry, took out his machete, and massacred everyone from the city. As Ogúm was destroying the earthen jars, that were supposed to contain his favorite wine “vino de Palma,” Ogúm’s son approached him and explained why the townspeople didn’t acknowledge him when he returned. Ashamed of his actions Ogúm and inability to control his rage Ogúm sank his machete in the ground forming a void. Ogúm sank into the void until he disappeared as he descended the void closed behind him.

Ogúm’s dance demonstrates his accruement and his ability to control nature. When people perform Ogúm’s “choreostory” they use angular hand movement to represent the machete cutting through the forest in order for him to reach the battle. The hand or hands of the performer are held with the palm up while the outer edge of the hand embodies the blade of the machete. After the performer reaches the battle he will switch “to a saber and shield” (Scott 18). The dance ends with the performer spinning, while “bouncing on the left leg” (Scott 18), and cutting down his opponents. The music that plays during Ogúm’s “choreostory” begins with a slow rhythm “establishing the primary movement (or base step) and works its way up to the fevered pitch drama of the battlefield” (Scott 18) intensifying the mood of the dance. The video below shows people performing Ogúm’s “choreostory”.

Even though Candomblé is not the main religion in Brazil it is still practiced because of the similarities that it shares with Catholicism. The orixás are similar to the Catholic saints and therefore it was easy for the Brazilian slaves to become involved Catholicism. Ogúm is related to Saint Anthony, Mars and Eres. The orixá, Ogúm, is related to both the Roman and Greek gods of war due to the fact that he loves to look for battles. Ogúm’s search for battle is shown in his “choreostory” though the hand movements and the rhythm of the music.

Works Cited

Scott, Anna Beatrice. Choreostories and Decipherments: Towards an analysis of Black citizenship in Salvador, Bahia-Brazil. 2005.

Posted by: Jessica Ramirez