Obatalá
The King Orisha up on the Mountain.
Epá Babá!
In drumming ceremonies, when the slow rhythms for Obatalá begin, dancers bend over as they step forward, reminding us that the great elder Orisha Obatalá is sure to arrive soon. Though often thought of an old man with a cane, Obatalá has many different roads or manifestations - both old and young, as well as male and female.
We say that Obatalá is one of the closest manifestations of the vastness of Olodumare (God) that is still accessible to us as humans. This Orisha is responsible for forming the heads, or destinies, of each person before we are born, and so we believe that Obatalá is the father of us all because he owns all heads.
Praised for his calm demeanour and rational deliberation, in patakis - the sacred myths of the Orisha - Obatalá is just as often reactionary and tempestuous. From his stories, we watch Obatalá’s journey from a fiery young warrior like Ajaguna, to a man so drunk on palm wine he harms the people in his care, and finally, triumphantly, to an elder who has learned from his past mistakes and become the cool, gentle leader to which we all aspire.
Obatalá is the first Orisha who came down from Orún (Heaven). In our creation story, he climbed down on a chain, carrying in one hand a shell full of sand, and in the other a chicken. Below Orún was the watery realm of Ayé, and here he spilled out the contents of the shell before setting his chicken down upon it. His chicken kicked and pecked at the sand, spread it across the water of Ayé, creating the world we live in today.
Obatalá’s associations with animals bring out the nuances of his character. Like the snail, Obatalá is slow and thoughtful. Like the dove, Obatalá brings peace from on high. And like the chameleon, Obatalá is sometimes strange and captivating.
Obatalá’s name means the King of the Cloth, and he is the head of the Orisha funfun - the calm, gentle Orisha who take the colour white - among whom include Ochanlá, Oké, Odúa, and even Oshún.
Maferefún Obatalá!