Ogun is the orisha of iron, and in Yoruba understanding that makes him the orisha of far more than metal. He is the one who clears the path, the primordial force that first cut through the wilderness so the other orisha and the first humans could descend and settle. Because iron is the substance of the tool and the weapon, Ogun governs blacksmithing, hunting, farming, war, and the labour of clearing and building. As technology has changed, his domain has expanded with it: today devotees name him the orisha of the surgeon's blade, the soldier's rifle, the mechanic's shop and the driver's vehicle, so that lorry drivers and metalworkers count themselves among his people.
Yoruba worshippers describe him as fierce, exacting and just: a hard master who protects those who keep faith with him and is dangerous to those who break their word. In Yorubaland, an oath sworn on a piece of iron in Ogun's name has long been treated as more binding than one sworn on other objects, and this practice has been recognised in Nigerian courts among adherents of the tradition.
This is a living religion. Ogun is worshipped today across Yorubaland and, through the Atlantic diaspora, in Cuba, Brazil and beyond.