The Book of the Beginning

About this audiobook

So begins this majestic retelling of the Yoruba creation story—a sweeping epic of gods and spirits, of failure and redemption, of the birth of a world and the founding of a civilization. When the wise and pure Ọbàtálá is chosen by the Supreme Being to descend from the realm of light and create the world, he carries with him the sacred tools: a golden chain to bridge heaven and earth, a snail shell filled with sacred soil, a hen and a pigeon to spread it abroad, and a palm nut that will become the first tree. But the journey through the void is long, and temptation awaits in the form of a timeless feast where wine flows and dancers never tire. When Ọbàtálá falters, it falls to his brother Odùduwà to complete the sacred mission. With unwavering determination, Odùduwà descends to the primordial waters, scatters the earth upon the deep, and plants the palm nut that grows into the great tree of sixteen branches—a symbol of the sixteen kingdoms that will one day arise from his descendants. Here too is the story of Ọbàtálá's redemption, as he is given a new sacred duty: to mold the physical forms of humanity from the clay of Ilé-Ifẹ̀. And when he stumbles again, creating bodies that are differently formed, Olódùmarè transforms his "mistake" into a profound lesson about diversity, love, and the true meaning of perfection. Drawing from the rich oral traditions of the Yoruba people, A Adeyemi has woven these sacred stories into a single, luminous narrative—a work of spiritual depth and literary beauty that stands alongside the great mythologies of the world. From the founding of Ilé-Ifẹ̀, the sacred city, to the dispersion of the sixteen grandsons who would establish the great kingdoms of Ọ̀yọ́, Benin, Ketu, and beyond, this is the epic story of a people's origin, told as it has never been told before.