Key Info

- Queen to all water deities and rules all bodies of water

Brief Bio

Olokun is a Yoruba goddess of the ocean. Though the name “Olokun” is sometimes used as an epithet for Yemọja, the mother goddess and the source of all water, Olokun herself has a more specific domain: she is the goddess of the primordial seas that covered the world before the creation of the earth. During that early period, Olokun lived in a “world of sea, marshes and mist,” while the other gods inhabited the skies.

Like many water deities, Olokun is a fertility goddess who can provide children for her barren followers. But Olokun can also be unpredictable (much like the waters she controls), often with devastating consequences. She protects those who worship her, especially sailors, but many myths also highlight her anger and her need for appeasement and sacrifice.