OBATALA

[African] One of the most important gods of the Nigerian Yoruba people. He is the creator of the human body in which his father Olorun breathes the soul. Since Obatala, under influence of palm wine, created crippled people he became the patron god of the handicapped. He is the god of the north. In Umbandism, Obatala is the sky-god of the Orisha pantheon, the first Orisha to be created. In Santeria he is the equivalent of the Catholic saint Our Lady of Mercy.