Obatala is an orisha in the Yoruba mythology that was given the task to create the Earth but failed the task by being drunk on palm wine and was outshined by his little brother Oduduwa. As punishment for his negligence to an important task he was given the job to create humans beings. This was authorized by his father, Olodumare which gave Obatala the name sculptor of mankind. According to Yoruba myths, Obatala was in charge of the complexion of humans after moulding them. Those he fairly burnt ended up being the Europeans(Whites) while those he forgot in the fire due to his drunkenness ended up being the Africans(ebony). Those he forgot to burn are the present day 'albino'. "Now Olodumare [the supreme being] once called on Obatala and told him that he would love him to assist in creating human beings that would live in the world he was about to create. This is because as he (Olodumare) said further he would not like the world he was planning to create to exist without human beings." While Obatala worked on his task with the assistance of Osun. He was successful at creating human beings with water and clay, but during the creation phase he had become drunk with too much palm wine due to thirst. This caused him to create human beings with disabilities. When his mind became clear and saw his mistake, he vowed to never drink again and reinvented himself as The Great White God, protector of people with disabilities. Due to this reinvention, he was given ascendence over human beings.
According to the oral traditions of Ife, the mortal Obatala was the founder and king of Ife during its classical period. His position as the King was challenged by Oduduwa who assumed leadership of the town for a brief moment. However, Obatala was able to emerge victorious in the contest and it led to the murder of his rival Oduduwa and the retrieval of his throne.
While there exists an Obatala in the Yoruba pantheon, the understanding of the qualities of the Obatala god was merged into the human Obatala that ruled in Ife upon his posthumous deification. Thus, the human Obatala who was the king at Ife was admitted to the Yoruba pantheon as an aspect of the primordial divinity of the same name.
Mythology
According to Yoruba mythology, Obatala is one of the oldest of all of the orishas and was granted authority to create the Earth. Due to Obatala being drunk, Oduduwa took this opportunity to show his worth to his father. He took the satchel that Olodumare had given Obatala to aid him in creation and used it to create land on the primeval ocean. Oduduwa did such a great job that Olodumare granted him the title "God of the Earth."
Obatala was then given the task to create human beings. With this task he took a "long gold chain, a snail's shell filled with sand, a white hen, a black cat, and a palm nut" and climbed down to the end of the chain.
He released the white hen which spread the sand from the shell onto the ocean to create mountains and valleys. He also planted the palm nut to create a forest.
After being content with what he created, he started to mold human beings from clay. During this creation progress he was drinking a large amount of palm wine, created from the palm nut forest, which cause him to create deformed figures in his drunken state.
When he became sober and realize what he had done, he vowed to never drink again and protect the people with disabilities.
After he successfully created the human being figures, they were given ase, a copper knife, and a wooden hoe. They were able to prosper.
In Africa
Primordial Obatala
According to the tenets of the Yoruba religion, Obatala is one of the oldest of all of the orishas and was granted authority to create the Earth. A tradition states that before he could return to heaven and report to Olodumare, Oduduwa usurped his responsibility (due to Obatala's being drunk at the time). He took the satchel that Olodumare had given Obatala to aid him in creation and used it to create land on the primeval ocean. A great feud ensued between the two siblings. However, an assessment of Yoruba traditional religion shows that each of the 201 deity are understood by their descendants and adherents to have carried out the creation of the earth. This suggests beginning of the world is an aspect of Yoruba cosmogenesis associated with numerous deities in Yoruba pantheons beyond Obatala or Oduduwa.