Yoruba Creation Myth
The Yoruba creator is called Olurun or Olodumare and is often assisted by the lesser god, Obatala. In
the beginning, there was only water and chaos. The supreme being sent Obatala or Orishanla down
from the sky to create some land out of the chaos. He descended on a long chain (umbilical cord) and
brought with him a rooster, some iron, and a palm kernel. First, he put the metal on the earth and
the rooster on top of that. The rooster scratched the metal and spread it out to create land. Then he
planted the palm seed and from it grew the earth's vegetation. Olurun named earth "Ife" and the first
city "Ile-Ife." Orshilana created humans out of the earth and got Olurun to blow life into them.
