Santería Creation Story

This creation story has been written down by Marta Moreno Vega, a modern-day santera, or priestess. The orishas of Santeria have roots in Yoruba mythology. Olodumare and Obatalá are orishas in Yoruba mythology. Olodumare is considered the creator of the universe and the source of all life. However, Olodumare is seen as somewhat distant from human affairs, and worship and communication with the divine are often mediated through the Orishas, who serve as intermediaries between humans and the supreme deity. Obatalá is revered as the father of the Orishas and is associated with wisdom, purity, and justice. In the Yoruba cosmology, Obatalá is considered the Orisha of the sky and is associated with the color white. Symbolically, white represents purity and the highest level of spiritual enlightenment. 

The orisha Olodumare, the Supreme God, originally live in the lower part of heaven, overlooking endless stretches of water. One day, Olodumare decided to create Earth, and sent an emissary, the orisha Obatala, 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, Olo-dumare 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 Yemaya, 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.