The white orisa who moulds human bodies, the contested creation narrative in which Oduduwa takes his place, the palm wine story and what Ife devotees actually say about it, and the politics carried inside the itan.
The Yorùbá wey dem quote, the proverbs, oríkì, ẹsẹ Ifá, word list headwords, Odù names and citations dey exactly as the corpus record dem, for every language.
Ọbàtálá na di great white òrìṣà, di one wey dey mould human being body from clay before dem born dem, and inside one of di two main Yorùbá creation tori na im dem send make e go make di land. Dem dey associate am with white in every form, with coolness, with patience, with old age, with purity, and with moral seriousness wey dem no dey hold other òrìṣà to. E also dey di centre of di dispute wey carry political weight pass inside Yorùbá religion, because di question of weda na im or Ọdùduwà found Ilé-Ifẹ̀ na also di question of who get di legitimate right to rule am.
Two of im tori, di creation dispute and di palm wine, need careful handling and dem set di two down for under without comot di disagreements.
Ọbàtálá, from ọba (king) plus ti plus àlà (white cloth), king of di white cloth.
Òrìṣàńlá or Òrìṣà-nlá, di great òrìṣà, from òrìṣà plus nlá (great, big).
Òrìṣà Funfun, di white òrìṣà, wey be both im praise name and di name of a class. Ọbàtálá na di senior figure for di òrìṣà funfun, a group of divinities wey dem take white cloth and white things for their altar recognise. Count of how many dem be dey vary, and di person wey compile dis work no verify any figure.
Alábaláṣẹ, di person wey get divine authority. Bàbá Arúgbó, di ancient father. Bàbá Aráyé, father of all human beings. Olúwa Ayé, lord of di earth. Olúfẹ̀, king of Ifẹ̀.
Ògìyán na manifestation wey start from Ẹjìgbò, where Ògìyán also be di title of di king, and e dey important reach to function as separate figure for some contexts and for Brazil.
Di moulding of bodies. Ọbàtálá dey form di physical body from clay, and di title aláṣẹ and di general title elédàá (creator, moulder) dey join with dis. Na im get di body; di orí, di inner head wey carry destiny, na separate matter wey dem choose before Olódùmarè, and 04-cosmology treat di difference. Dis division of labour dey theologically precise and e matter: Ọbàtálá dey make di vessel, di person dey choose di destiny.
Coolness. Di Yorùbá concept here na tútù, cool, and na di opposite of Ṣàngó's and Ògún heat. Dem expect Ọbàtálá's devotees to dey patient, get self-control, deliberate, and slow to vex, and di ethical content of di cult dey plenty. Where Ṣàngó's cult dey about power, Ọbàtálá's dey about character.
Purity. White, for cloth, for chalk (efun), for food, for offering. Di rules of taboos around am strict pass any other òrìṣà.
White for everything. White cloth, white beads, white chalk (efun), white food, white animals.
Di ọ̀pá òṣooro (ọpáṣọ̀rọ̀, opasoro), im ceremonial staff. White doves. Di crown, wey connect am to kingship.
Ìgbín, di giant land snail (Achatina), na im main offering, and e carry di same name for Yorùbáland and for Brazil.
Di taboos. No palm wine, according to di tori wey dey under. No palm oil (epo pupa, red palm oil), wey be di regular oil for cooking Yorùbá food and wey its exclusion make im food dey clearly different. For Brazilian practice, offerings to Oxalá dem dey cook am with honey instead of palm oil, and as orixá funfun im offerings must dey totally white.
One unusual feature. Dem report say Ọbàtálá na di only male òrìṣà wey dey accept female animals for sacrifice, wey dem trace either to androgynous character or say e no get specific sex as di father of creation. Dis one dey important to note against any assumption say di Yorùbá pantheon dey assign gender with hard and fast rules.
Yemòó na im wife for Ilé-Ifẹ̀. She be separate figure and she no be Yemọja, even as di names resemble; dem dey regularly confuse di two for English writing. 09-yemoja cover Yemọja, wey no get place inside di Ifẹ̀ ritual system.
Ọjọ́ Ọbàtálá na di first day for di Yorùbá four-day week. 23-the-ritual-year cover di week.
Na dis one dem dey contest, and di two versions dey inside di tradition.
Version A: Ọbàtálá make di land. Olódùmarè send Ọbàtálá go down make e create dry land on top di ancient water. E descend on top chain, carry snail shell full of sand, fowl (for most tori na white fowl wey get five toes), black cat, and palm nut. E pour di sand, di fowl scratch am spread across di water, and land spread. After dat, e come make human bodies from clay.
Version B: Ọdùduwà take over. Ọbàtálá, wey palm wine tempt, come drink high sleep off. Ọdùduwà collect di bag from Olódùmarè, descend, and create di land by himself, come earn di title god of di earth. Ọbàtálá, as e wake up, come remain only di making of human bodies for am.
Inside several tori, na Èṣù's do di temptation, wey agree with Èṣù's work of setting things up wey dey make character show. 08-esu cover dat one.
A third strand: di mortal Ọbàtálá. Oral tradition also hold say Ọbàtálá na di founder and king of Ilé-Ifẹ̀, say Ọdùduwà hijack im throne, and say dem restore am after fight, and after dat leadership come dey rotate between Ọbàtálá's lineage and di one of Ọbalùfọ̀n Ògbógbódìnrìn (Ọbamakin). Dis na tori of dynastic struggle instead of cosmology.
Di two creation versions match two claims about who get Ilé-Ifẹ̀, and di connection clear well well.
Ọdùduwà na di ancestor wey di Yorùbá royal dynasties claim. Di Ọọ̀ni of Ifẹ̀ and, inside di standard account, di rulers of di other Yorùbá kingdoms trace their origin go meet am. Creation tori wey Ọdùduwà make di land establish say na di ruling houses come first and dem be di foundation.
Dem dey connect Ọbàtálá with di original people of di land (autochthonous population) of Ifẹ̀, di people wey dem believe say don dey there before Ọdùduwà reach, wey dem dey sometimes call Ìgbò (dis word no get anything to do with di Igbo of south-eastern Nigeria). One creation tori wey talk say na Ọbàtálá make di land show say na dem dey first, and e turn Ọdùduwà to person wey seize power.
Di historical meaning wey follow, wey plenty historians agree with, na say dis group of tori dey hide real conquest or displacement: say one group wey just dey come under one leader wey dem remember as Ọdùduwà take over one settlement wey don dey before, wey di people na Ọbàtálá's. For dis meaning, di palm wine tori na explanation wey dem make up later to explain why di first claim fail. 03-history handle di Ifẹ̀ origin matter and di evidence palava well-well, and make readers check there before dem treat any of dis as history.
Di special thing na say Ifẹ̀ no settle di argument. E dey act am out.
Di Ìtàpá festival for Ilé-Ifẹ̀, wey dem dey do for Ọbàtálá and Ọbamerì, dey act di fight between Ọbàtálá and Ọdùduwà again, wey di different cult groups dey perform . Di Ifẹ̀ king wey dem choose must travel go di Ọbàtálá temple for Igbó Ìtàpá as part of di coronation process, so new Ọọ̀ni's installation dey require am to go di shrine of di side wey im own lineage displace . Iron gongs, làálọ̀ ewọ̀, wey dem dey use for di procession dey refer to Ògún and di Ifẹ̀ thunder god Ọ̀ràmfẹ̀ .
Jacob Olupona book wey be City of 201 Gods na deep study on how Ifẹ̀'s festivals take encode di town history and how power arrange, and na im be di essential source for here . 23-the-ritual-year cover Ìtàpá for di festival calendar and 14-oduduwa cover Ọdùduwà.
Di standard tori: as e dey mould human body from clay, Ọbàtálá drink plenty palm wine, and as e high, e come produce people wey get physical defect. When im eye clear wey e see wetin e don do, e swear say e no go drink again and e promise to protect people wey dem born with physical difference.
Eni Òrìṣà. From here na im di category ẹni òrìṣà come from, people of di òrìṣà, wey cover people with albinism, hunchback, dwarfism, and people wey get congenital physical difference generally, wey dem believe say dey under Ọbàtálá's special protection.
And Ọbàtálá's devotees no dey drink palm wine. Dem also dey avoid palm oil and salt when dem dey serve am. Dem understand dis taboo say e dey continue di promise wey e make.
Di tori as dem usually dey present am for English no be di only position wey dey inside di tradition, and di difference big reach make person state am clearly.
Fieldwork for Ilé-Ifẹ̀ see devotees wey reject di disability explanation, wey believe instead say Ọbàtálá's work no get defect at all and dey use di phrase alámọ̀ rere, di clay good or di clay perfect, and dem put di blame of di wahala on top Ọbàtálá's enemies instead of im own mistake. According to dis tori, ẹni òrìṣà no be mistakes wey e dey protect because guilt dey catch am; dem na people wey dem make deliberately, differently, by one òrìṣà wey no dey make mistake.
Dis compiler receive di alámọ̀ rere finding through one research summary wey connect am to Olupona Ifẹ̀ fieldwork and never verify am directly from di text. Dem report am here because di alternative, to just present di drunkenness tori as simply wetin di Yorùbá believe, dey carry only one side of an active internal argument, and because di two tori get very different meaning for how dem dey look people wey get disability. Reader suppose treat dis section as something to note and consult Olupona directly .
Di main point still stand no matter which tori a particular community prefer: Yorùbá tradition put people wey dem born with physical difference under di protection of a major òrìṣà, wey be very different social position from wetin such people get for plenty societies during dat same period.
One well-known tori talk say Ọbàtálá travel go Ọ̀yọ́, dem accuse am wrongly, and Ṣàngó lock am put for prison, and disaster come dey fall on top Ọ̀yọ́ until dem release am. Di tori spread well-well and dem dey dramatise am for di Ẹjìgbò tradition.
Di source warning. Di most popular version for English na di play The Imprisonment of Obatala, wey Heinemann publish for 1966 under di name Obotunde Ijimere. Obotunde Ijimere na pen name of Ulli Beier, di German editor and scholar wey do pass anybody to bring Yorùbá material to English readers, and peer-reviewed scholarship don establish dis fact . Di play na Beier write am by himself using Yorùbá material, and person must never cite am as transcribed itan. Because Beier also collect genuine Yorùbá poetry collections, im whole work need dis warning throughout: wetin e collect and wetin e write na different things, and dem no always present dem like dat.
Dem dey worship Ọbàtálá for towns wey dem believe say na places of im incarnations: Ìrànjẹ Ilé, Ìrànjẹ Oko, Ifọ̀n, Ẹjìgbò, Ìkirè, and Òwu.
Ilé-Ifẹ̀ na di main centre, with di Ìtàpá festival and established Ọbàtálá priesthood and temple.
Ẹjìgbò get di Ògìyán manifestation, and Ògìyán na di king title for there. Di Ẹjìgbò festival for Ògìyán na big yearly event.
Ipetumodu dey appear for di Ọbàtálá genealogical accounts.
Di general titles bàbálòrìṣà and ìyálòrìṣà apply, and di Ifẹ̀ Ọbàtálá temple get established priesthood. Dem dey identify Ọbàtálá priests by white cloth, and di ethical requirements on top dem, especially di rule say dem no must drink palm wine, na something wey dem dey keep strictly.
Di specific title hierarchies dey vary by town and dis compiler no verify any general scheme.
Cuba, Lucumí: Obatalá. Dem combine am with Our Lady of Mercy (La Virgen de las Mercedes), wey dem dey celebrate im feast on 24 September, and for some context with Jesús Nazareno. Cuba practice dey give Obatalá plenty caminos, or road dem, with almost equal number of male and female path, and e dey crown woman pass man. Dem dey treat am as the senior and most respected oricha, the one wey dem dey beg for peace of mind and for judgement.
Brazil, Candomblé: Oxalá. Dem combine am with Nosso Senhor do Bonfim, Our Lord of Bonfim, the patron of Bahia. E get two main qualities, and dem keep this difference from the Yorùbá material: Oxaguiã, the young warrior aspect, wey be Ògìyán from Ẹjìgbò; and Oxalufã, the old aspect, wey correspond to Ọbàtálá as Bàbá Arúgbó. Friday na im day, and to wear white cloth on Friday na practice wey spread well well for Bahia pass only people wey dey inside Candomblé.
The Festa do Bonfim for January, wey women wey wear white Bahian dress dey wash the steps of the Bonfim church with sweet-smelling water, na one of the biggest religious event dem for Brazil and na Catholic feast and Oxalá observance at the same time, wey people wey fit describe am either way dey join do. The heavy use of white cloth wey join with Oxalá don become symbol of Candomblé in general.
The fact say the most white and calm òrìṣà come turn the main visual signature of the most publicly visible African-derived religion for Americas na matter wey make sense to think about well. 08-diaspora dey treat these tradition dem through their own understanding.
The figure Yoruba dynasties descend from, held simultaneously as a creation divinity, a migrating conqueror, and an ancestor, sometimes as female, and now as the name of a political identity.
Esu as orisa in his own right: the messenger who carries sacrifice, the keeper of the crossroads, the activator of ase, the one who tests. The Satan conflation is handled in 04-cosmology; this page is about what Esu actually is.
The thunder orisa and fourth Alaafin of Oyo, the contested question of whether a king became a god or a god absorbed a king, the Oba ko so narrative, and Sango in Cuba and Brazil.
The Yoruba four-day week and the orisa days, the annual festival cycle, and detailed treatment of Osun-Osogbo, Sango, Olojo, Itapa, Igogo, Agemo and Ojude Oba including their present condition under tourism.
How many practitioners there actually are and why nobody knows, the real relationship with Christianity and Islam including genuine syncretism, Susanne Wenger and the Osogbo grove, the Ooni and traditional authority, and the return-to-tradition movement.
The primordial Yoruba deity of ethical purity, creation, and coolness, tasked with sculpting human forms from clay before the breath of life is bestowed.