One handmade wooden cane baston (Ayelala) for Orisha Oduduwa, Oddua, Olofin, Obatala and all orisha funfun including Boromu and Borosia. Can be beaded. Can also be used for Eggun, boveda, and palo.
9 inches long
Oduduwa was a Yoruba divine king, legendary leader of the Ife Empire and a creator deity and orisha in the Yoruba religion. According to tradition, he was the holder of the title of the Olofin of Ile-Ife, the Yoruba holy city. He ruled briefly in Ife, and also served as the progenitor of a number of independent royal dynasties in Yorubaland.

He is believed by some historians and some traditions to have emerged in Yoruba life about 900 years ago as an exiled prince from outside Ile Ife, who left his homeland with a retinue and journeyed south, subsequently settling among the aboriginal Yoruba at some point in the 12th century. According to other Yoruba traditions, Oduduwa was a divine or semi-divine being sent by the creator deity, Olodumare from heaven to create the earth upon the waters. These beliefs are held by Yoruba traditionalists to be the cornerstone of their story of creation. Obatala, Oduduwa's sibling, and Oduduwa here are represented symbolically by a calabash, with Obatala taking the top and Oduduwa taking the bottom. In this narrative, Oduduwa is also known as Olofin Otete, the one who took the Basket of Existence from Olodumare. Historical accounts say that the time and length of his reign are not certain but Oduduwa is believed to be as old as time itself. Oduduwa was not only the first ruler of a unified Ife, but also the progenitor of various independent royal dynasties in Yorubaland, and is today venerated as “the hero, the warrior, the leader, and father of the Yoruba race”.

Obatala is an orisha in the Yoruba mythology that was given the task to create the Earth but failed the task by being drunk on palm wine and was outshined by his little brother Oduduwa. As punishment for his negligence to an important task he was given the job to create humans beings. This was authorized by his father, Olodumare which gave Obatala the name sculptor of mankind. According to Yoruba myths, Obatala was in charge of the complexion of humans after moulding them. Those he fairly burnt ended up being the Europeans(Whites) while those he forgot in the fire due to his drunkenness ended up being the Africans(ebony). Those he forgot to burn are the present day 'albino'.

"Now Olodumare [the supreme being] once called on Obatala and told him that he would love him to assist in creating human beings that would live in the world he was about to create. This is because as he (Olodumare) said further he would not like the world he was planning to create to exist without human beings."

While Obatala worked on his task with the assistance of Osun. He was successful at creating human beings with water and clay, but during the creation phase he had become drunk with too much palm wine due to thirst. This caused him to create human beings with disabilities. When his mind became clear and saw his mistake, he vowed to never drink again and reinvented himself as The Great White God, protector of people with disabilities. Due to this reinvention, he was given ascendence over human beings.

According to the oral traditions of Ife, the mortal Obatala was the founder and king of Ife during its classical period. His position as the King was challenged by Oduduwa who assumed leadership of the town for a brief moment. However, Obatala was able to emerge victorious in the contest and it led to the murder of his rival Oduduwa and the retrieval of his throne.

While there exists an Obatala in the Yoruba pantheon, the understanding of the qualities of the Obatala god was merged into the human Obatala that ruled in Ife upon his posthumous deification. Thus, the human Obatala who was the king at Ife was admitted to the Yoruba pantheon as an aspect of the primordial divinity of the same name.

Oddua cane baston Wooden herramientas oduduwa ifa orisha Obatala orisa funfun ochanla lucumi santeria Odua orisanla orunla babalawo iyawo