In Yoruba cosmology, the ocean isn't just a body of water — it's the domain of Olokun, a deity associated with wealth, mystery, and the vast unknown that lies beneath the surface. Olokun's influence stretches well beyond Nigeria's coastline, echoed in water-spirit traditions across West Africa and, later, in the diaspora through figures like Mami Wata.
Water deities hold a particular kind of power in these belief systems: they're everywhere and nowhere, worshipped by coastal communities who depend on the sea and feared by those who don't fully understand it. That duality — reverence and caution held at the same time — runs through this episode.
It's a chance to sit with a tradition that rarely gets the spotlight compared to more widely known òrìṣà, and to understand why, for the people who honour Olokun, the ocean has never been just scenery.