An Ifa (traditional) priest has addressed long-standing misconceptions about the Oro deity, insisting that the traditional rite does not kill women.
Speaking during a Pulse Hot Takes segment, the priest, who is also a member of the Oro cult, explained that Oro is primarily a community cleansing ritual, not a violent practice.
I am a member of the Oro cult and the cult is a part of the community. Oro is a banishing ritual which is used to banish negativity from the community.
The Oro festival is an annual traditional festival celebrated by Yoruba communities, specifically by male descendants who are native to the specific locations where the event is taking place. Women are usually barred from being on the streets when the festival takes place because of the belief that seeing the deity may bring them harm.
He stressed that the Oro deity does not kill women, as many believe.
The part about Oro killing women is not true, you know when you tell a lie too many times it becomes the truth. Oro, according to ancient history and what history has said, is a woman. She is a female deity who does not want to see women and they should not see her either.
He explained the reason why women are usually asked to stay indoors: it is for their own safety as some people may take advantage of the festival to harm them.
People with different motives might use the avenue of Oro to do negative things and cause havoc, this is why they make announcements all the time.
Every community has an oro grove where members go around to make sure that women don’t go outside. They’re like security details, and are the ones that you see but you’d never see Oro because they’re in the grove. They just send the women back. There is no place on the earth that does not conduct cleansing rights, even in the urban areas.
