Obatala

[LithiumViolets]

....what can anyone tell me about the King of the White Robe, if they work with him? I've never gotten too much into finding out about Him, and I've worked mainly with Oya, Oshun, Yemaya, Shango, Eleggua/Exu...but today I'm attending a Bembe/drumming for Him and was just wondering what anyone had to say about Him, His attributes, working with Him, etc.

[Teresa]

Creation story: New Orleans Mystic 3 writes

"There are many variations on the story of creation and how the Orisha were born from the coupling of Oduduwa and Omonide (Obatala and Yemaya). An example is given in this excerpt from Dr. Marta Maria Vega's "Altar of My Soul:" 4

"The Orisha Olodumare, the Supreme God, originally lived in the lower part of heaven, overlooking endless stretches of water. One day, Olodumare decided to create Earth, and sent an emissary, the orisha Obatalá, to perform this task. Olodumare gave Obatalá the materials he needed to create the world: a small bag of loose earth, a gold chain, and a five-toed hen."

"Obatalá was instructed to use the chain to descend from heaven. When he reached the last link, he piled the loose earth on top of the water. Next, he placed the hen on the pile of earth, and ordered her to scatter the earth with her toes across the surface of the water."

"When this was finished, Obatalá climbed the chain to heaven to report his success to Olodumare. Olodumare then sent his trusted assistant, the chameleon, to verify that the earth was dry. When his helper had assured him that the Earth was solid, Olodumare named Earth 'Ile Ife,' the sacred house."

"Before he retired to the uppermost level of heaven, Olodumare decided to distribute his sacred powers 'aché.' He united Obatalá, the Orisha of creation, and Yemayá, the orisha of the ocean, who gave birth to a pantheon of orishas, each possessing a share of Olodumare’s sacred power. At last, the divine power of Olodumare was dispersed. Then one day, Olodumare called them all from Earth to heaven and gave Obatalá the sacred power to create human life. Obatalá returned to Earth and created our ancestors, endowing them with his own divine power. We are all descendants from the first people of the sacred city of Ile Ife; we are all children of Olodumare, the sacred orisha who created the world."



References used:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.

1.

E. B. Idowu, "Olodumare: God in Youruba Belief," Page 56. Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store
2.

"The Yoruba Religious System," Africa Update Archives, Vol VI, Issue 3, 1999-Summer, at: http://www.cultural-expressions.com/
3.

"Ifa religion," New Orleans Mystic, at: http://www.neworleansmistic.com/
4.

Marta Moreno Vega, "The Altar of My Soul: The Living Traditions of Santeria," One World/Ballantine, (2001). Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store
5.

Ibid, excerpt from Amazon.com at: http://www.amazon.com/
6.

"Ceremonies," The Ifa Foundation, at: http://ifafoundation.org/
7.

"Ifá," Wikipedia, at: http://en.wikipedia.org/
8.

"Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity," UNESCO, 2005, at: http://en.wikipedia.org/
9.

Philip Neimark, "The Way of the Orisha,"

[Teresa]

http://63.134.236.176/ileife/oba/obatala.html

http://home.coqui.net/ifalaiye/IfaEStoryObatala.htm

http://www.angelfire.com/fl3/OBATALA/index.html

http://wanderling.tripod.com/seven_powers.html

http://sharif-enterprizes.com/ifa-source-ile-ife/orisaobatala.html

He is the King of the White Cloth a symbol of Purity and Peace
He also is known as the Father of Mankind
His number is 8 and all of its multiples
His Feast day is September 24th

In Voodoo Obatala would be seen as Danballah

I have held a relationship with Danballah for some time now. I had dreams of Danballah and visions.
He welcomed me in the most peculiar way. Semi was here back then and we actually spoke by phone about some of these dreams as I was seeking guidance in what I should do. I knew there was a decision to make from the dreams.

To me Danballah has been like a Father type of deity. Very nurturing and guiding gently along the way. Papa Legba was actually the first Loa that made his presence known long ago. Danballah has helped me to grow and welcome change a little easier than I used to. In the past I hated changes and changing. He taught me to embrace the changes and look forward to the new journey I am embarking on.

[plumedsnake]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb0IqZS37ag

[yemayashija]

alafia,

Obatala...

it is said that all deformed people belong to him, because while creating people he was known to drink and had gotten drunk one day; all the people he created were misformed/deformed. horrified by his drunken error he vowed that all misformed/deformed peoples should be his, and that he would never drink again.

his saint is generally accepted as Our lady of Mercy

he has many paths and each path represents one of his aspects or periods of life and has a corresponding saint identified with it.

his feast day is September 24th (for our lady of mercy)

he is the creator of all inhabitants on earth, therefore he is both the great father and creator to all. He represents wisdom, peace, creativity and intelligence. some of his paths have other attributes such as being a warrior.

his number is 8 and his day of the week is thursday and the 8th of the month.

he owns all things white, mountains tops, hills, bones, the brain, silver and platinum.

his attributes are the dove, owl, chameleon, cascarilla, snails,any fruit with white meat, coconut, milk, cocoa butter, rice, names, yucca, cotton and white pumpkins, ivory, mother of pearl, and white flowers.

his foods are meringues, milk and rice puddings, name with cocoa butter and cascarilla, she-goats, doves, guinea and white hens.

some of his herbs are albahca, almendro, cebollo, maravilla, acacia, azafran, tamarindo.

he cleanses people with his white horse tail whip, and carries a long walking staff.

he rules over all head injuries, mental illness, blindness and paralysis. he can cure head injuries and mental illness as well as several other illnesses.

his male children may be marked to progress to Ifa and become Babalaos.

Hope this helps.

[LithiumViolets]

thank you much to everyone who provided me with such information. Coincidentally, I've recently had some issues going on in my life and after consulting my Madrina, I was told my mother Oya and Obatala SPECIFICALLY were helping me through my current ordeals. So, its funny that after I posted this thread with just a casual, passing interest in Obatala, now He's actually with me :)

[plumedsnake]

I connect him with meditation and relaxation too. He is the calm diety. When you're stressed or acting in a panic he can help to cool you down and regain your presence of mind. When serving him it is important not to get too agitated but to remain calm and collected. Avoid things that excite the mind like alcohol, cos that will push him away from you.