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In the beginning, according to a version of the Yoruba creation story, Olodumare, the creator of the universe, sent 17 Oriṣas on a mission to establish the earth. 16 of them were male and one was female; her name was Oṣun.
In the beginning, according to a version of the Yoruba creation story, Olodumare, the creator of the universe, sent 17 Oriṣas on a mission to establish the earth. 16 of them were male and one was female; her name was Oṣun. Without informing Oṣun, the 16 male Oriṣas made decisions about the ways in which the Earth would unfold. They picked out the textures and the colours of this new world without considering that Oṣun might have her own views about just how brown the sand should look or how fine it should feel. Essentially, 16 male Oriṣas fashioned the order of the world without asking Oṣun how she wanted to live; or, even, what she needed to stay alive within it.
All of a sudden, rain stopped falling on Earth. The male Oriṣas watched the earth crack in the dry heat. But that wasn’t the worst of it: The heat turned all the plants into ash and soon, they had no food to harvest. There was no drop of water to quench their thirst. The famine caused too much hunger and the drought, too much thirst. So the male gods spoke amongst themselves and agreed they should return to Olodumare and ask their creator for a solution.
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About the Author
is a Theatre and Dance maker. Her works have shown in South Africa, Czech Republic and USA.
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