Orisha-Oko

Òrìshà-Oko plants no melon; yet he eats its seeds. Once a mortal hunter and soothsayer, Òrìshà-Oko (literally “Farm Òrìshà”) is country as hell, but he’s a great friend to everyone. You can trust him with any secret, but he’ll always tell the truth — and neither of those things is a contradiction to him. He may have a less glamorous job than “lady of the storm” or “master of smallpox,” but we all survive by Òrìshà-Oko’s power. Any time the Òrìshà can’t resolve a conflict themselves, they drag ÒO away from his farm to mediate. When he and Baldr of the Æsir hang out at parties, it’s adorable.

ÒO’s symbol is the bull behind the plow. All cultivated plants are his domain. He wears nononsense workman’s clothes in earth tones, and his Incarnations are farmers, hunters, or ranchers, people who live close to the soil and the plants. West African agriculture’s sorry state demands most of his attention these days. His Scions have joined those of the Shén Yandi Shennongshi and the Kami Prince Inari in an agricultural think tank, researching new techniques to improve crop yields while campaigning against cocoa plantations’ child slavery and wasteful corn ethanol. Òrìshà-Oko’s goal is to ensure that no human need ever go hungry again.

Òrìshà-Oko’s Scions tend to be unpretentious, generous, and hardworking, the glue holding bands together. When everyone else is too wrapped up in themselves and their own stories to realize “we should figure out who’s cooking breakfast this morning” or “we should resolve this personality conflict on the off chance we need to use teamwork in the near future,” Òrìshà-Oko’s Scions step in to save you from ignominious failure.