Notes- “The Creation of the Universe and Ife” (510-514)
Mr. Huitt
Mythology
African Myth- no one myth that permeates the entire continent
“The Creation of the Universe and Ife” (509)
- Yoruba people’s creation myth (people of the Niger River)
- Lived in something like city-states (miniature country that is self-reliant but has ties to a larger country- Greece)
o Ife was the principal city and was looked at as sacred
- Hundreds of gods- major gods (creation) down to minor gods (protected villages or regions)
o Human in form, thought and way of life
o Relate to one another as a large family- experience love, jealousy, anger and sympathy
o Sensitive to human problems and receptive to human prayers
- Similarities to other myths
o Creation of land (Japanese myth)
o Creation of humans (Chinese myth)
o Great flood (Greeks, Sumerians, Babylonians, Irish and Scandinavians)
- Myth
o Universe consisted of sky, water and wild marshland
o A young god (Obatala) is unsatisfied with the world as it is and wished to create more. Particularly interested in the idea of living things enlivening the land.
o Asks his father for his wisdom on how to create land and living things
§ These gods do not necessarily have true magical powers, but they have knowledge to guide them
§ Obatala is told to procure a long chain of gold, a snail’s shell with white sand, a white hen, a black cat and a palm nut (these objects have cultural importance (could be found in the area))
o Gold is possessed by all of the gods and Obatala needs to ask all of them for their gold in order to make his chain. The gods give him their gold because they are “sympathetic to Obatala’s cause” (Rosenberg 510).
o Uses this gold chain to climb down from the sky; however, the chain does not reach all the way down
§ Does not jump because he fears he will drown
§ Dumps the sand and sends the hen down before him. The hen scratches at the sand, sending it many places to help create the land.
o Palm nut- planted immediately and brought forth the palm tree, which was used to create shelter with its bark and leaves.
o This created the city of Ife and the black cat was used for company.
o Up until this point, everything that Obatala had done was in the darkness. Asks for the sun to be created by Olorun, ruler of the sky.
o The creation of humanity stems from Obatala lacking in companionship- wants companionship that is more like him.
§ Use of clay to create humanity- starts by creating all humans exactly alike
§ Fermented palm juice gets Obatala drunk and his creations begin to differ.
§ Olorun-the ruler of the sky- had to breathe life into humanity
· The humans created a village based on Obatala’s house
· Given a copper knife and wooden hoe to use as tools
o Other gods, being fascinated by the stories of humanity, go to live among the humans themselves.
§ Fascination in humanity- an idea that is not shared in other myths
§ As the gods left the sky, they were counseled on the fact that they needed to listen to the human’s prayers and protect them- obligation
o Jealousy from the goddess Olokun, ruler of the sea
§ Jealousy stems from the fact that Obatala is creating land on her sea and usurping her power.
§ Insult to her honor
§ Reaction- Olokun waits until Obatala is gone to flood the land (513)
· Act of revenge, an underhanded act
o Sacrifice is needed for the gods to give help during the flood.
§ Sacrifice was a goat
o Obatala does not know what to do and goes back to Orunmila for knowledge
§ Uses the knowledge to cause the waves to recede and to dry out the land
§ Orunmila stayed on the earth long enough to teach the gods and humans to tell the future in order to control the forces they could not.
o Olokun tries to destroy humanity again- challenges Obatala to a weaving contest. Beating him will allow her to exert her powers in other ways.
§ Obatala knows Olokun can beat him in a weaving contest and has to use his intelligence to create a challenge he can win
§ Use of the chameleon- a simple messenger
· The chameleon’s ability to change colors frustrates Olokun. As Olokun weaves each color, the chameleon changes to the same color, making Olokun believes that her weaves are ordinary.
· Chameleon is a clever animal with importance in the culture.