Myth, Ritual, and Visible Expressions of O?bàtálá and Olókun Ilé-If?`

In Myth, Ritual, and Visible Expressions of Ọb?t?l? and Ol?kun Il?-Ifẹ̀, Oluwafunminiyi Wasiu Raheem and Ayowole S. Elugbaju explore Ọb?t?l? (Yor?b? deity of creation) and Ol?kun's (preeminent owner of the ocean) existence in myth, history, and religion through various facets of pan-human worship, belief, and everyday ritual practices. Raheem and Elugbaju explore Yor?b?'s history and religion to provide an extensive analysis of core themes in Ọb?t?l?'s and Ol?kun's stories. They argue for a more complex reading Ọb?t?l? beyond the often sustained and single narrative of struggle and defeat as well as a more nuanced reading of Ol?kun's presentation as a holy well beyond its popular exemplification of a female deity of wealth, childbirth, and pre-eminent owner of the world's ocean. Drawing from oral accounts, chants, folk songs, praise poems, and verses from the If? corpus, the authors provide new insights into the worlds of both deities hitherto missing in the literature.