Ògún is the Orisha of iron and of everyone who works with it: blacksmiths, surgeons, soldiers, mechanics, engineers. He clears the path through the forest with his cutlass. He is not a god who glorifies violence but the god of necessary force, and of the discipline it takes to make things that work.
Ògún lives in the forest, not the palace. He has little use for rank or ceremony. His is the knowledge of how things are made, how metal yields to heat and hammer, how a road is cut through thick bush. Today his domain reaches everyone who works with metal, from surgeons to engineers to soldiers.
In Trinidad and Cuba, oaths are sworn on iron, on a piece of Ògún’s own domain, because he will not abide dishonesty in his presence. In parts of West Africa, court oaths are still taken on iron rather than on a book.
His colours are black and green. His sacred number is three or seven, depending on the tradition, and his day is Monday. Traditionally he is offered palm wine and dog meat, though practice varies widely across diaspora communities.
