I AM...IKU

Iku is the Yoruba personification of death. He was a manifestation of the dark nature of the Spirit of Olorun.Iku is not a true Orisha, but because of his power and psuedo-kinship to the Spirit of Yemoja, he is a member of the Orisha Royal Court. Arcane Lore: Iku possesses great skill in wielding mystical artifacts. He also has a great deal of skill in his use of arcane lore.

Iku It is a term pronounced with great respect by all the santeros who profess the Yoruba religion. It represents an evil and a shadow for all those who follow religion. And is that Iku It is the manifestation of the Yoruba Pantheon represented as death itself, it appears suddenly and claims those who have concluded their life time. Physically it appears in the guise of the skeleton of a man or dressed in black that does not sleep and eats humans. When looking for someone, he walks outside the house in search of a small hole or opening through which he can penetrate and carry the chosen one.

Death has always coexisted in the Yoruba religion, and through it, ancestor spirits who are no longer on the earthly plane are mentioned and honored.Iku is the traditional symbol of death and Eggun it is the name of the ancestors that death took away. In the Afro-Cuban religion, death is not directly worshiped, but it is an indissoluble part of the solemn and ritual processes of Santeria and therefore Ikú is present in the foundations of the Afro-Cuban religion.

Yoruba legend indicates that Iku was also Orisha, but who lost her status due to her arrogance and by fighting and losing a duel with Orunmila.