[The following is an excerpt from:
Barnes, Sandra T. 1997. "The Many Faces of Ogun: Introduction to the First Edition," in
Africa's Ogun: Old World And New, 2nd expanded ed. Sandra T. Barnes, ed.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press, pp.12-14.
I made bold the key sections that Prof. Cosentino read and mentioned in class.]
"Be that as it may, the outcome so far as Ogun is concerned is that he remains
firmly embedded in a repertory of mystical ideas that perpetuate ancient themes, yet
contribute to the making of new combinations, new religious groupings, and new
interpretations of the ultimate questions that have puzzled humans since the beginning of
time.
Methods for Uncovering the Meanings of Ogun
Earlier I indicated that devotees see Ogun as having a host of meanings and that
they came about historically through continued layerings, fusions, and so on. In one
West African community alone at least six separate Ogun themes are developed by as
many separate cult groups. If we were to compare meanings in various cult groups on
both sides of the Atlantic, a more daunting number of themes would emerge. Suffice it
to say here that the variations in meanings and themes are sufficiently marked that
we may well ask if Ogun is one god or many. The answer to dealing with variation
lies in two propositions. First is the insistence by Durkheim and Mauss (1963:78)
that a deity collects and classifies information. The second, by Lévi-Strauss
(1966:36), is that information of this sort is not collected randomly.
Attributing certain things to a deity is like placing these things under the same
rubric or in the same class. Each class (or "domain" as it should be called when one is
dealing with a polytheistic religious system) is ordered according to logical principles. A
typical one is the single common denominator principle whereby phenomena are classed
according to one feature. Using this principle, one might propose that all things relating
to iron belong in the Ogun domain, and therefore this is the diagnostic principle for
deciding whether not something is Ogun-related. In some New World contexts, however,
iron has receded compared to other elements (Brown, Ch. 4). Likewise, at Yoruba
hunters' funerals iron is not a featured symbol (Ajuwon, Ch. 8). How, then, do we find
logic in the way Ogun classes information?
The principle by which Ogun information is classed accepts variation in
meanings. Rather than being an exclusive principle, it is inclusive. The technical
term for this kind of classification is polythetic. In a polythetic system of
classification, no one feature gives definition to a domain. A polythetic system
identifies a domain through combinations of features. Again, no one thing need be
present to make a deity Ogun. Rather, a sufficient number of features should be present
to allow an identification to be made (Douglas 1978:15). A useful way of dealing with
polythetic classification is to think, as Wittgenstein proposed, of a chain of "family
resemblances," where the defining attribute changes from one link to the next
(Needham 1975:350). Take, for example, the following sets:
ABCD
AB DE
A CDE
BC E F
There is no one monotypic feature that gives definition to all of the sets. Yet there is
sufficient overlap in the features of each set to establish a family or a chain of
overlapping resemblances. In polythetic classifications, stress is laid on each set's
having a simple majority of the defining features, and not on assigning decisive
weight to any one of them.
Thinking of Ogun as a system of classifying information—according to an
inclusive, or polythetic, principle—shifts the discussion of meaning from singular to
plural. It therefore relieves us of finding a single common denominator with which
to identify and then compare this divine figure. Taken as a domain of related ideas,
diversity and unity in meaning can then be thought of as being simultaneously
present. One of the most useful implications of being able to think of meanings in
the plural is that we can, by extension, visualize the processes by which some
meanings remain unchanged while, at the same time, other meanings can be added,
subtracted, or altered, little by little, over time and space. It allows us, further, to
make order out of what seems to be contradiction, diversity, and unevenness. Needless to
say, the logic used by insiders in assigning meanings to a deity's domain is intuitive. For
the outsider, it is artificial and done mainly for heuristic purposes.
A problem for the outside analyst comes in drawing boundaries, since a chain of
overlapping resemblances can, theoretically, extend indefinitely. Drawing lines around a
domain is like giving a medical diagnosis: a certain amount of indeterminacy must be
accepted. Nevertheless, when certain clusters of symptoms are present, there is a strong
indication that the diagnosis is correct. The rule of thumb when dealing with cultural
representations is to think of a deity's domain as sufficiently porous and adaptable
to allow for creativity, but sufficiently stable to reject distortion.
Still, a deity does not absorb information randomly. The meanings in a
domain do not shift and adapt to new stimuli without consequences. When the
weight of distinctive features in any one domain tips too far in the direction of
another domain we can say that a transformation has taken place. Orpheus may well
have presided over the prototypical domain from which Christ emerged (Goodenough
Vol. IV 1953:36), but over time the Christian messiah developed his own distinctive
features to the extent that a new deity, and with it a new domain, emerged. Ortiz (Ch. 5)
indicates a transformation may be occurring in the ideology of Ogun in Brazil's fiftyyear-old Umbanda religion. Unlike the older (150 years) Candomblé, which adheres
closely to its West African antecedents, Umbanda represents an authentically Brazilian
world view—a coming together of African, European, and native American ideologies.
As part of this synthesis, Ogun has gained sufficient stature to become a symbol of
Brazilian national identity. Ogun of Umbanda is familiar: an aggressive, violent defender
in the fight for a just and balanced social order. But more and more he represents the
positive side in what Umbanda adherents see as a clear division between good and evil,
something that is not done in Candomblé or West African world views. The
transformation of the Umbanda Ogun into a force for good is not complete, for he is the
only deity in the new Umbanda pantheon who can still move freely between both evil and
good forces. Whether not he will retain an ability to mediate between the two sides, or be
compelled to represent only one side, and thus represent a major shift in cognitive
orientations, only time will tell."