Oddudúa

Oddudúa is the Lucumí form of Odùduwà, the founding ancestor of the Yoruba city of Ile-Ife and the source of sacred kingship. In Cuba the figure is preserved as one of the most secret and senior of the orichas, associated with the earth, the tomb, foundations, and a closely guarded mystery received only by high priests and kept within a sealed white vessel. Oddudúa is often paired with Obatalá as the complementary half of a creative dyad, the two together representing the white, cool forces that ordered the world. Sources differ sharply on the figure's gender and independence: some traditions treat Oddudúa as a male founder-king, others as the feminine, terrestrial counterpart to Obatalá's celestial whiteness, and still others as an aspect of a single Obatalá-Oddudúa divinity.

Domains

• earth and foundation
• sealed mystery

Powers

• founds kingdoms and lineages
• keeps the sealed secret of the earth

Epithets

• El misterio de la creación — the mystery of creationBolívar Aróstegui, Los Orichas en Cuba (1990) (secondary)

Relations

• spouse: ObataláPaired with Obatalá as the complementary half of a creative dyad.Bolívar Aróstegui, Los Orichas en Cuba (1990) (secondary)

Sources

• Oddudúa is the founding ancestor-oricha of Ile-Ife, associated with the earth, kingship, and a closely guarded mystery, paired in Cuba with Obatalá.: Natalia Bolívar Aróstegui, Los Orichas en Cuba (1990) (secondary); David H. Brown, Santeria Enthroned (2003) (secondary)
• Sources differ on whether Oddudúa is male or female and on whether the figure is distinct from Obatalá or the feminine, earthly aspect of a single dual divinity.: Mercedes Cros Sandoval, Worldview, the Orichas, and Santeria (2006) (secondary)