The first god to arrive on a dry hot desert made the most of his surroundings and constructed magnificent buildings. Ogun, content with what he made, invited people from all over to witness the grand spectacle. When Ogun heard criticism, he killed everyone; he regretted it as soon as it happened (Ogundele).
Gods have been worshipped for centuries all around the world. They have been a key element for religion and myths. Gods with great power often help mortals in need when called upon.
In his book, “Christianity, Islam, and Orisa-Religion: Three Traditions in Comparison and Interaction,” J. D. Y. Peel, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Nottingham and Sociology at the University of Liverpool argues that Ogun is one of the most popularly worshipped gods in the west of Nigeria and has an important cult center. “Ogun, the Yoruba god of iron and war, makes an excellent subject for this purpose since his cult is spread all over Yorubaland”, writes Peel (52).
Peel makes a convincing argument about the relevance of gods today. He shows diagrams and maps of regions in Nigeria where gods are still a prominent mode of religion (54 and 59). However, Peel’s argument is even more convincing when he disputes another writer, R.C Abraham saying, “R.C. Abraham’s Dictionary of Modern Yoruba puts it ‘Ogun is worshipped only by men, not by women.’ This may seem to make symbolic war, yet it is not true. Pierre Verger has given a detailed account of women’s participation as ‘femmes dediées à l’Orişa et qui chantent pour lui’ in a festival of Ogun Igbo.” (60)
A god kills people who he asked to come see his art, asks for forgiveness and vows to help whoever calls upon him. As shown in Peel’s book “Christianity, Islam, and Orisa-Religion: Three Traditions in Comparison and Interaction.” Ogun is still very relevant in African cultures and religion, and is called upon for help whenever he is needed. Until this day many people worship Ogun.
REFLECTION
Throughout the duration of writing this narrative summary, i struggled with grammar and punctuation but, with the help of the writing center I was able to correct a lot of my mistakes. Another struggle of mine was coming up with constructive sentences and connecting my narrative to my article. This was a struggle because my story was told by my aunt in which she added some details that may not be factual. It was hard to find an article that deals with the story that she told me.
However, I did have some strengths which were being able to connect two things that were not fully related together. Another strength of mine being able to finish this piece in a timely manner. Once i found my article it wasn’t that hard to continue writing.
Works Cited
Ogundele, Ayomide “Ogun” Unpublished Paper. 20 September 2019
“Ogun in Pre Colonial Yorubaland: A Comparative Analysis.” Christianity, Islam, and Orisa-Religion: Three Traditions in Comparison and Interaction, by J. D. Y. Peel, University of California Press, Oakland, California, 2016, pp. 52–70. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1ffjng5.8.
