Moral Code

The moral of Obatala’s story is simple for the right reader or researcher. Even though the moral compass may be easy to read, it does not mean the directions are easy to follow. Throughout my research, I found that Obatala is the personification of what we call peace, compassion, self-control and respect, but perfection is not a quality that Obatala holds. See Obatala makes mistakes. For example, when Obatala was tasked with creating the earth and humanity, he became drunk from palm wine for the second time, which caused humans to come out with imperfect physicalities. This can be a prime example as to what we as humans go through, called lack of self-discipline, because the problem is not that Obatala drank the palm wine, it is that he drank too much. What is interesting is that after Obatala realized the cause of his mistake, rather than disregarding them and starting over, he embraced them, paving the way for the notion that imperfection does not mean flawed and every life, no matter how different, is still a reflection of divinity. Obatala also failed the task given to him by Olodumare when he drank too much palm wine the first time around, as he was supposed to create the earth, but he ended up falling asleep, disappointing Olodumare. Instead of sulking, Obatala accepted that his pride and overindulgence got the best of him, learning that true greatness is not being flawless; it is in admittance that one has failed and making peace with it. Another example of Obatala’s mistakes is when he created the earth on Yemoja’s domain without giving her any honor, which left Yemoja angry, leading her to flood the earth. Obatala realized where he had been ignorant and humbly apologized to Yemoja, agreeing to never forget about her amongst his creations again. The last myth I want to exemplify is when the younger Orisha waged war over power. Even though Obatala held no ignorance in this matter, he still was the only one Olodumare could call on to intervene and when he descended, he did not use force to calm; he calmed the Orisha through serenity. 

All of these myths that were used as examples show that Obatala’s actions are not about the power that he holds; it is through character that Obatala shows the true reflection of divinity. 

To walk in Obatala’s way is to live within gentleness, patience, forgiveness and purity of the heart. From the myths, we see that mistakes can become wisdom and that peace, humility, and compassion are the true powers that sustain creation. Obatala's mistakes are exemplified throughout his myth to show that from failure comes understanding, from imperfection comes empathy and from humility comes divinity. We as humans go through these same functions and a lot of times, we may not see the end result of staying within harmony when things seem to go wrong. Whenever you start to feel like things are crumbling around you, think of Obatala and how he endured putting away his pride to learn from his mistakes because it is not about being unbothered, it’s about thinking clearly and acting justly to make sure you maintain humility, peace, compassion and respect for yourself and others. When others shout, you speak softly, when your heart is provoked, you breathe and respond with understanding, not reaction, understand that wisdom and feelings are not enemies but partners and remember to keep your heart cool even when the world burns hot.

-Jameek Braggs