text: Offerings and rituals In terms of offering to orishas, Female orishas (Iabás) "eat" female animals, while male Orishas (Borós) "eat" male animals. However, Obatala is the only male orisha who "eats" in the Iabás circle, thus accepting sacrifices of female animals in his honor. Bastide, commented on the androgynous characteristics of Obatala as an explanation of why this orisha accepts female animals as offerings. According to some priests, however, Obatala does not have a sex, since, according to the myths, he is the Father of Creation. Obatala is therefore the equivalent of God in the catholic syncretism who also does not have a specific sex.
  Unlike other Orisha, Obatala only accepts offerings cooked in honey, as he has a distaste for dende oil.
  Like any other Orisha, Obatala does not specifically eat the offering himself, but consumes the energy of the offering, or Axé. The expression "eat" is used as a symbolism for a spiritual form of feeding. Orishas do not "come down" from the spiritual plain to eat (literally speaking) the animal being offered.
  Traditionally speaking, for sacrificial offerings to Obatala, considered an orixá-funfun (literally "white orisha"), the animals or their parts should be completely white, such as the white blood of the mollusk called Igbin (Achatina fulica).
  Oriki (praise names)
  Oluwa Aye - Lord of the Earth
  Alabalashe - He who has divine authority
  Baba Arugbo - Old Master or Father
  Baba Araye - Master or Father of all human beings
  Orishanla (also spelled Orishainla or Oshanla) - the arch divinity
  Olufe - King of Ife or Lord of Ife
  Oseremagbo - King of Ugbo