Obatala: Creator of Humans
AKA the
Big-Friendly-Giant
of the orisha
By: Jenn Zhang
Obatala is universally referred to as the most powerful and sweetest god. He is the son of Olorun; ruler of the sky, and is one of the highest ranking Orisha. He sounds very grand, but in actuality, he has one of those “big-friendly-giant” personalities. Like all gods and deities, there are many variations to his story, for now, we will stick to the simplest.
Obatala is mainly referred to as male, however, he may also be referred to as female or neither. Not only did he create land and mankind, but he became the god of purity as well, after realizing that he had created deformed humans whilst intoxicated, and swore off alcohol. Obatala is also against discrimination and is closely associated with whiteness since white light is polychromatic. His asexuality and non-colourism is what makes him a true god of all humans. [See “Meet the Orisha”]
Obatala is mainly referred to as male, however, he may also be referred to as female or neither. Not only did he create land and mankind, but he became the god of purity as well, after realizing that he had created deformed humans whilst intoxicated, and swore off alcohol. Obatala is also against discrimination and is closely associated with whiteness since white light is polychromatic. His asexuality and non-colourism is what makes him a true god of all humans. [See “Meet the Orisha”]
Obatala’s compassion is shown in his self-awareness and sense of duty. Upon creating land, Obatala planted a palm nut which grew into the first tree; a 16-branched palm tree. He responsibly nurtured the palm tree groves until he drank the palm wine offered to him by the Orisha. Under the intoxication, he shaped human forms out of clay and requested Olorun breathe life into the empty shells. The next day, upon awaking, he realized that the beings that he had created were deformed and defective. He swore to never drink alcohol again, and created perfect human beings. Obatala thus became the universal deity of humankind, protector of the handicapped, and god of purity.
Obatala is the fairest and kindest god since he recognises he shoulders part of the blame and redeems himself by protecting his creations. He, as the father of mankind, represents the Orisha and closely guides us. Unlike other cases where a perfect god shows compassion towards imperfect beings, Obatala shows compassion because he believes himself to be at fault and relates to us.
The first ruler and father of all Yoruba was Obatala. Although he thinks of all mankind as his “children”, he did have children with his wife, Yemaya; goddess of childbirth, fresh water, and the moon. Over time, their 16 sons and grandsons were crowned and sent off to establish their own kingdoms, creating the first 16 Yoruban kingdoms. As descendants of Olorun, these first Yoruban rulers and their descendants were divine kings and only people of such lineage could wear special veiled crowns that symbolized their sacred power.
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