OSHUN: Ifa and the Spirit of the River

OSHUN: Ifa and the Spirit of the River by Awo Falokun Fatunmbi

Oshun is the Spirit of the river in the West African religious tradition called Ifá. The word Oshun is the name given to describe a complex convergence of Spiritual Forces that are key elements in the Ifá concept of fertility and the erotic. Those Spiritual Forces that form the foundation of Oshun’s in the Spirit Realm relate to the Creation of new forms through the interaction between polar opposites. According to Ifá, Creation occurs through the polarity between the Forces of expansion and contraction. Together these Forces create light and darkness, which in turn sustains and defines all that is. Ifá scripture often refers to Forces of expansion as "Orisha Okunrin", which means "Male Spirit" and to Forces of contraction as "Orisha Obinrin", which means "Female Spirit". Both forms of Spiritual Power are considered of equal importance in the evolution of all that exists. One is not better than the other because it is only through the balance of opposites that life comes into Being.