At the beginning, this earth was only fire and rock. Then Olofi, the Almighty, wanted the world to exist and turned the steam of the flames into clouds. From the clouds poured a deluge of water that extinguished the fire. In the enormous caverns, between rocks, Olokun formed, the Ocean - that is terrible and whom everybody fears. But the sea is also good, because it is the source of the life, and the water created veins in the Earth so that life propagated. That is Yemayá, the Mother of Waters. For that reason also one says that before anything existed, Yemayá was tending to herself for a long time and then said suddenly: "Ibi bayán odu mi: My belly hurts", and from her burst the rivers, orishas and everything that encourages life on the Earth.
