Oshun - dance

Ochún (also Oshún) is the Orisha of sweet water, love, beauty, and femininity. Her dance is the most sensual and joyful in the Orisha repertoire — flirtatious, flowing, and irresistibly charming.

Dance Character

Where Yemayá is the vast, maternal ocean, Ochún is the sweet, playful river:

• Light and joyful — Ochún smiles; her dance is full of pleasure and delight
• Flirtatious and coquettish — she plays with her hair, looks over her shoulder, invites admiration
• Sensual hip movement — flowing, rolling hips that move like water over smooth stones
• Golden energy — her movements have a warmth and luminosity to them; even her pauses are inviting

Key Movements

• Hair play — running hands through the hair (or a wig); smoothing, lifting, arranging; Ochún is vain in the best sense
• Mirror gesture — looking into an imaginary mirror, admiring herself, adjusting her appearance
• Honey gesture — dipping a finger into honey and tasting it — Ochún loves sweet things
• Fan work — if carrying a fan (abanico), it opens, closes, and flutters as part of the dance
• Flowing hip rolls — figure-eight hip motions, smooth and continuous
• River arm movements — arms flowing forward like water moving downstream

Props

Ochún dancers often carry:

• A fan — gold or yellow, used throughout the dance
• A mirror — for the self-admiration gesture
• Honey pot — sometimes carried or referenced

Color and Dress

Ochún's color is gold and yellow. Her dress is typically yellow or gold, often with layers that move beautifully during turns and hip movements.

Toques: Oshún rhythms including Chachalokefún in some lineages; Iyesá tradition also closely associated with Ochún