In that case, the Odu might represent so many elements in the story, from the Gods that Obatala is said to get gold (ethical and intelligible values) from, to the materials for the descent, to the goldsmith who fashions the chain (a very strange entity. I need to know who he is. Maybe Ogun?).

(I say Ogun because of his familiarity with Metals. Ogun is also in another myth clearing the road into the world. He is very much some kind of "Chronic" God, but a hypostasis in more "heavenly" quarters might work on different metal?)