Every society and culture on this earth has a creation story drenched in deep symbolism and mysticism. When you want to know about the spirituality of a people, it's best to examine their story of creation. It is the foundation of not only their spiritual tradition but also a glimpse into their understanding of the powers of the universe.
The Yoruba creation story has two main variations: cosmogonic and political. The cosmogenic version also has two versions. This creation story comes from the Yoruba people of Nigeria, Togo, and Benin. In the religion of the Yoruba, the supreme being is Olorun, and assisting Olorun are a number of heavenly entities called orishas.
Here, we delve into the fascinating Yoruba creation myth, exploring its key figures, stages, and variations.
Map of Yorubaland in West Africa
Cosmogonic Versions of the Yoruba Creation Story
The cosmogenic version also has two versions. The first version of the cosmogonic creation story goes as follows. In the beginning, all that existed was the sky and water. A supreme being named Olorun (Olodumare) ruled the sky above, while the goddess Olokun ruled the watery world below. Along with Olorun in the sky, there were also many Orishas.
Read also: Decoding "Oloribu Omo Ofo Yoruba"
The Orishas were both male and female; however, Olorun was neither male nor female, but instead an all-powerful supreme being. Olorun and the Orishas lived around a young baobab tree, which provided everything that they needed. Olorun told the Orishas that the vast sky was theirs to explore. All the Orishas except one were content to live and explore the sky. Obatala was the Orisha who was not content with living around the baobab tree. Like all other Orishas, he had certain powers, but he wanted to put his to use.
As he pondered what to do, he looked far down through the mists below the sky. As he looked and looked, he began to realize that there was a vast empty ocean below the mist. Obatala went to Olorun and asked Olorun to let him make something solid in the waters below. Touched by Obatala's desire to do something constructive, Olorun agreed to send Obatala to the watery world below.
Obatala went to Olorun and asked for permission to make something solid in the waters below. That way there could dry land for all creatures to inhabit. Olorun was pleased that Obatala wanted to do something constructive, and gave Obatala the permission to create land in the waters below. Obatala then asked Orunmila, the orisha who knows the future, what he should do to prepare for his mission.
Orunmila told Obatala that he would need a gold chain long enough for him to reach the waters below, a snailâs shell filled with sand, a white hen, a black cat and a palm nut. Orunmila brought out a sacred tray and sprinkled the powder of baobab roots on it. He tossed sixteen palm kernels onto the tray and studied the marks and tracks they made on the powder. He did this eight times, each time carefully observing the patterns. Finally he told Obatala to prepare a chain of gold, and to gather sand, palm nuts, and maize.
Orunmila and the other Orishas helped Obatala find the items he needed and Obatala went on his journey. Obatala went to his fellow orishas to ask for their gold, and they all gave him all the gold they had. He took this to the goldsmith, who melted all the jewelry to make the links of the golden chain. Meanwhile, as Orunmila had told him, Obatala gathered all the sand in the sky and put it in an empty snail shell, and in with it he added a little baobab powder. He put that in his pack, along with palm nuts, maize, and other seeds that he found around the baobab tree.
Read also: Cultural Wedding Traditions: Yoruba
Obatala hung the chain in the corner of the sky and began to climb down. Obatala hooked the chain into the sky, and he began to climb down the chain. For seven days he went down and down, until finally he reached the end of the chain. When he climbed halfway down the chain, Obatala realized that he was leaving the world of light and entering the world of twilight. He hung at its end, not sure what to do, and he looked and listened for any clue. He continued to climb down, and when he got to the end of the chain, he realized that it was too high for him to jump down safely. He wondered what to do and then he heard Orunmilaâs voice which told him to use the sand in the snail shell.
Finally he heard Orunmila, the seer, calling to him to use the sand. He took the shell from his pack and poured out the sand into the water below. Obatala did as he was told, he pulled out the snail shell from his bag and poured out the sand into the water below. The sand hit the water, and to his surprise it spread and solidified to make a vast land. Still unsure what to do, Obatala hung from the end of the chain until his heart pounded so much that the egg cracked. From it flew Sankofa, the bird bearing the sprits of all the orishas. Like a storm, they blew the sand to make dunes and hills and lowlands, giving it character just as the orishas themselves have character.
Orunmila then instructed Obatala to free the white hen. Again, Obatala did as he was told. The hen landed on the sandy waters below. She began scratching the sand, scattering it around. Wherever the sand landed, dry land was created. Obatala watched dry land grow beneath him and decided to jump down onto the ground below. He named the place where he landed Ife (Ile-Ife). He saw that the land was barren so he dug a hole and buried the palm nut from his bag into the hole. The tree quickly grew and reached it full height, grew palm nuts which dropped to the ground and grew other trees.
Finally Obatala let go of the chain and dropped to this new land, which he called "Ife", the place that divides the waters. Soon he began to explore this land, and as he did so he scattered the seeds from his pack, and as he walked the seeds began to grow behind him, so that the land turned green in his wake. Obatala used bark from the trees and built a house. He took the black cat out from the bag and settled with it as his companion. Some time passed and Obatala grew bored.
After walking a long time, Obatala grew thirsty and stopped at a small pond. As he bent over the water, he saw his reflection and was pleased. He took some clay from the edge of the pond and began to mold it into the shape he had seen in the reflection. He finished that one and began another, and before long he had made many of these bodies from the dark earth at the pond's side. By then he was even thirstier than before, and he took juice from the newly-grown palm trees and it fermented into palm wine. He drank this, and drank some more, and soon he was intoxicated.
Read also: "Ire": A Deep Dive into Yoruba Meaning
He decided to make beings like himself who would be his companions. He began to make figures out of clay, but quickly grew tired and took a break. He went to a palm tree and tapped some wine out of it. He drank some of the wine and without realizing he was drunk, he continued working on his creations. When he was done he called out to Olorun to give life to his creations. He fell asleep, and the next day, he realized that some of his creations were deformed. He swore to never drink again and promised to forever protect those who become deformed because of him. This is how Obatala became the protector of the deformed.
He returned to his work of making more forms from the edge of the pond, but now he wasn't careful and made some without eyes or some with misshapen limbs. Before long, Olorun dispatched Chameleon down the golden chain to check on Obatala's progress. Chameleon reported Obatala's disappointment at making figures that had form but no life. Gathering gasses from the space beyond the sky, Olorun sparked the gasses into an explosion that he shaped into a fireball. He sent that fireball to Ife, where it dried the lands that were still wet and began to bake the clay figures that Obatala had made. The fireball even set the earth to spinning, as it still does today.
Obatalaâs creation saw his hut and began to construct their own homes around the hut. The people that Obatala created needed food and they began to work the earth. Since iron did not yet exist, Obatala gave his people a copper knife and a wooden hoe. The people grew grains and yams and Ife grew from a small village to a prosperous city. When his work on Earth was done and Obatala grew tired of being the King of Ife, Obatala climbed back the golden chain and went back to the sky. From then on, Obatala spend half his time in the sky and half in Ife.
The second version of the cosmogonic story does not credit Obatala with the completion of the task. According to this version Obatala was given permission by Olorun to come to the waters below and create land and a new society. However, Obatala got drunk even before he got to the earth and he was unable to do the job.
Olorun got worried when he did not return on time, and sent Oduduwa to find out what was going on. When Oduduwa found Obatala drunk, he simply took over the task and completed it. Thus, Oduduwa created land. The spot on which he landed from heaven and which he redeemed from water to become land is called Ife and is now considered the sacred and spiritual home of the Yoruba. Obatala was embarrassed when he woke up and, due to this experience, he made it a taboo for any of his devotees to drink palm wine. Olodumare forgave him and gave him the responsibility of molding the physical bodies of human beings.
Statue of Obatala
IFA's Creation Story
This is the creation story as told by the Holy Odus (oh-doos) of Ifa (ee-fah). Odus hold the esoteric wisdom of the universe and meaning of life. There are 256. Each Odu has sacred text associated to it that provides insights and narratives (verses) regarding all aspects of life and existence. Given in the blog are the exact verses in both Yoruba and English translation that explain the order of creation.
STAGE 1: OSA OGUNDA
According to the Holy Odu of Osa Ogunda, there are five parts of creation that were meant to achieve the Earthâs perfection. In the space of no time and nothingness, there was only one being: Akamara. A being with no flesh, no blood, no human form. Neither overly masculine or overly feminine, Akamara exists just as. Akamara is the consciousness of the entire galactic universe, the living universal spirit.
How Akamara came to be in itself is a mystery. According to the odu of Osa Ogunda, when Akamara emerged, the first thing they created was sand. Akamara blew a mighty breath into the sand. And from the grain of sand turned into a bag of sand. And then the bag of sand became hot with gases and dews, leading to a mighty explosion that lasted for quite some time. This is Ifaâs Big Bang. Everything that you see around you was the creation of Akamaraâs cool breath. Through their breath, it gave us all life.
Yoruba
Iri tu wili tu wili
Iri tu wili tu wili
Iri tu wili-wili
Koo nterga-reke
Dia fun Origunnterga sâeda ibu orun ati aye niâgba ijinji
Iri tu wili tu wili
Iri tu wili tu wili
Iri tu wili-wili
Koo nterga-reke
English
May the dew burst out quickly
May the dew burst out rapidly
May the dew burst out continuously
And be so vast throughout the expanse
These were the declarations of Ifa for Origun
When going to coordinate the creation the vast expanse of the Universe
In the very dawn of time
May the dew burst out quickly
May the dew burst out rapidly
May the dew burst out continuously
And be so vast throughout the expanse
The second assignment Akamara did was the creation of the Origun (oh-ree-goon). Which are intergalactic universal beings who are higher than the Irunmole (primordial beings). Origun was assigned the responsibility of coordinating all the gases and dews to create the stars. The Origun was responsible for star formations and constellations which still continues to this day as per Akamaraâs order. This is how we are able to find new stars and galaxies every second... they are constantly at work!
STAGE 2: OSA OGUNDA
The gases and dews were solidifying into stars and other heavenly bodies nicely, but a problem ensued! It was found out that the stars and other bodies were too hot and couldn't complete the assignments Akamara gave them because of it. The stars had to be cooled down to a normal temperature! The lower temperature would allow them to solidify with greater ease. This is why Akamara created another higher-being named Olu-Iwaye to cool down these bodies... and it succeeded allowing them to rapidly form.
Yoruba
Dia fun Olu-Iwaye
Ti nloo pâero si ibu orun ati aye in kutukutu owuro
Iri tu wili tu wili
Iri tu wili tu wili
Iri tu wili-wili
Koo tu reke-reke
English
It was also declared for Olu-Iwaye
When going to sooth and pacify the hotness of the universe
In the dawn of life
May the dew burst out quickly
May the dew burst out rapidly
May the dew burst out continuously
And be so vast throughout the expanse
Within the verses of this odu, you can see that the Origin (creator) of all existence is not directly involved in the creation process. The Origin tasked certain Beings with carrying out the formation of existence.
Key Figures in Yoruba Creation
Several key figures play crucial roles in the Yoruba creation myth:
- Olorun (Olodumare): The supreme being, ruler of all orishas, and the ultimate creator.
- Obatala: The orisha tasked with creating the earth and human beings.
- Oduduwa: In some versions, Oduduwa completes the creation of the land, becoming the ancestor of the Yoruba people.
- Orunmila: The god of prophecy and wisdom, who advises Obatala on his mission.
- Olokun: The goddess of the waters, who initially resents the creation of land.
Obatala's Role: Purity, Wisdom, and Creativity
Obatala is one of the most revered and prominent African deities, particularly within the Yoruba religion, which originated in Nigeria. As an Orisha, Obatala is considered to be one of the oldest and most wise of the deities and is associated with creativity, civilization, and human beings themselves. This mythic figure plays a vital role in the creation story of the Yoruba people, and his influence can be seen in various aspects of Yoruba culture and society.
According to Yoruba mythology, Obatala was created by Olodumare, the Supreme God, along with other deities, known as âOrishas.â Olodumare tasked Obatala with the divine mission of creating the world and all of its inhabitants. In order to accomplish this, Obatala was given a bag full of sacred earth or clay, as well as a golden chain. With this, he descended from the heavenly realm of Orun to the earth, which was then covered in water.
As Obatala descended, he hung the golden chain from the sky and used it to descend safely onto the earth. Once he reached the water-covered planet, Obatala poured the earth from his bag onto the waterâs surface, creating land. He then fashioned the first human beings out of clay, giving them life and breath. These humans became the progenitors of the Yoruba people and were imbued with divinity as they were created by Obatala himself.
However, the myth takes a tragic turn when Obatala becomes overwhelmed by the responsibility of his creative duty. He begins to drink palm wine excessively and eventually becomes intoxicated. In his inebriated state, Obatala starts creating imperfect and disabled individuals. When Olodumare discovers Obatalaâs mistake, he is disappointed and decides to intervene.
Olodumare then creates another deity, Oduduwa, to finish the creation of the world. Oduduwa is given the task of shaping the physical landscape, casting out Obatala from his position of responsibility. Oduduwa arrives with a golden chain, similar to the one used by Obatala, and uses it to descend onto the earth and complete the creative process. Oduduwa is considered the ancestor of the kings of Yoruba tribes and the founder of the Yoruba civilization.
Despite his demotion, Obatala remains an influential deity within the Yoruba pantheon. He is revered for his role as the creator of human beings and civilization and is often depicted as a wise and elderly figure, clothed in white robes and carrying a staff. Obatala is believed to reside in the heavens, where he continues to contribute to human affairs as a guardian and caretaker.
The myth of Obatala reflects the Yoruba peopleâs understanding of the creative process and the potential for human fallibility. It teaches important lessons about responsibility, moderation, and the consequence of oneâs actions. Obatalaâs intoxication represents the dangers of excess and the need for self-control, while Oduduwaâs arrival reestablishes balance and order. This myth serves as a cautionary tale, encouraging individuals to understand and fulfill their responsibilities with focus and sobriety.
Obatala with white clothes
Obatala's Instrument: Aye
âAYEâ (SekereObatala â Ose Oregbe)âAye is a percussion instrument that is used by Obatala, also called (Orisanla). He uses it for entertainment, invocation, and messaging purposes. Now, it is used by Obatala devotees to invoke his spirit during prayers, rituals, and festival periods for his spirit to descend. Aye is a very important tool in worshiping the Gods, especially Obatala. Whenever the God sends any of his spirits or priestesses to deliver a message, it is this instrument that he or she will be beating while on the journey to ward off evil and attacks. On getting there, the Aye has to be beaten for the Godâs spirit to possess the priest or priestess for him to speak through him or her.
Influence on Yoruba Culture
Beyond the creation myth, Obatala has a significant influence on various aspects of Yoruba culture. For instance, rituals and festivals dedicated to Obatala are common, with devotees dressing in white and offering sacrifices to honor this revered deity. White is considered the sacred color of purity and is associated with Obatalaâs essence, as well as representing peace, harmony, and clarity.
In addition, Obatalaâs wisdom and intelligence are highly respected within Yoruba society. He is considered the patron deity of doctors, healers, and diviners, and his guidance is sought in matters of decision-making and problem-solving. The values of fairness, justice, and respect for all are seen as virtues embodied by Obatala, and his myth serves as a reminder of the importance of these principles in maintaining social harmony and cohesion.
Food for Obatala
In the Yoruba religion, it is believed that Obatala prefers to eat plain white food such as white yam, white hens, snails, white melon soup, pounded yams, and other white food such as eko, fermented corn wrapped in plantain leaves. The taboo associated with Obatalaâs food is that it must be cooked without any salt or other seasoning. This is because Obatala is associated with purity, and salt is seen as a contaminant that can diminish the deityâs power. Therefore, any food that is offered to Obatala must be prepared in a special way that ensures that it is completely free of salt or any other seasoning.
Additionally, it is believed that anyone who cooks food for Obatala must be completely pure and free from any impurities. This means that they must abstain from sex and other bodily pleasures for a certain period of time leading up to the preparation of the food. This is because Obatala is associated with purity and spiritual cleanliness, and it is believed that any impurities in the preparation process could taint the offering and make it unacceptable to the deity.
The Significance of the Myth
The myth of Obatala is not just a tale of creation but a symbol of wisdom, responsibility, and social order within Yoruba mythology. From his role as the creator of the world and the first human beings to his influence on various aspects of Yoruba culture and society, Obatala embodies the ideals and values that the Yoruba people hold dear. Through his myth, the Yoruba people are reminded of the importance of balance, moderation, and personal accountability, as well as the potential for growth and unity. Obatalaâs legacy continues to shape and inspire the Yoruba people, ensuring that his story remains central to their cultural and spiritual identity.
The Yoruba creation myth, with its rich symbolism and complex characters, offers a profound insight into the values and beliefs of the Yoruba people. Whether through the actions of Akamara, Obatala, or Oduduwa, the story emphasizes the importance of creation, responsibility, and the balance between divine powers.
Popular articles:
tags:
