Oko (orisha)

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Oko
Agriculture, Farming, Fertility
Member of Orisha
Representation of Oko by Carybé, Museu Afro-Brasileiro, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
Other names	Ocó, Òrìṣàokó
Venerated in	Yoruba religion, Dahomey mythology, Vodun, Santería, Candomblé
Color	Red and white
Region	Nigeria, Benin, Latin America
Ethnic group	Yoruba people, Fon people

Oko, also known as Ocô in Brazil,^[1][2][3] was an Orisha.^[4] In Nigeria and the Benin Republic, he was a strong hunter and farming deity, as well as a fighter against sorcery. He was associated with the annual new harvest of the white African yam. Among the deities, he was considered a close friend of Oosa, Ogiyan and Shango, as well as a one-time husband of Oya and Yemoja. Bees are said to be the messengers of Oko.^[5]

In Brazilian Candomblé, he represents one of the Orishas of agriculture, together with Ogum.^[6] According to Prandi, Oko songs and myths are remembered, but their presence in celebrations is rare.^[7] In his representation, he had a wooden staff, played a flute of bones, and wore white.^[8] Oko is syncretized with Saint Isidore among Cuban orisha practitioners of Santería (Lucumí) and Regla de Ocha.^[9][10]