AN ODE TO MÁGÙN

Abstract

"An Ode to Mágùn" by Prof. S. Idowu Fabarebo is a poetic tribute to Mágùn, a traditional Yoruba magical charm used to combat adultery and sexual promiscuity. The poem personifies Mágùn as a paradoxical entity: a benevolent guardian of marital fidelity yet a ruthless destroyer of transgressors. Through vivid metaphors, it depicts Mágùn's arrival as heralding death, lamentation, and catastrophe for victims, often adulterers who face grotesque punishments like vomiting, gymnastic convulsions, or eternal silence. Mágùn is portrayed as an enigmatic, hydra-headed force -chameleonic, androgynous, and defying definition, capable of melting life's essence, extinguishing desires, and enforcing cosmic stability. Drawing from Yoruba oral traditions, mythology, and prayers, the ode celebrates Mágùn's role as a leveler of the powerful, a ridiculer of the promiscuous, and a paradoxical worker who redeems curses with curses. It underscores themes of irony, where paths of pleasure lead to demise, affirming Mágùn's fearsome prowess in preserving social and moral order

Keywords: Mágùn, Yoruba magic. Adultery, Marital fidelity, Mythological paradox