Esu, Elegba

Origins

Although Esu is generally regarded as a supernatural entity, there are attempts, supported by various myths, to document his obviously anthropomorphic roots. In this regard, researchers and informants differ as to the exact place of origin in Nigeria. Some say a village in Badagry or Iworo in the vicinity of Lagos; others locate him on top of a mountain near Igbeti, close to River Niger. Other places suggested are Ofa-Ile, Ife-Wara, and Ketu. In the so-called orixa (orisha) cults in the New World (Voodoo, Candomble, Santeria), his most common name, Legba or Papa Legba, probably originated from his worship among the people of Dahomey, now the Republic of Benin. Other variations of Esu's name in the New World include Exu (Brazil) and Elegua (Cuba). There is also a female identity in Brazil—Pomba Gira.

Although Esu replicates the attributes of trickster figures found in world cultures, he is uniquely central to the Yoruba notion of man's relationship with God in terms of order and man's destiny on Earth. He has been erroneously identified with the Christian devil by Western missionaries and early ethnographers probably based on stories of him as enfant terrible; however, the deity embodies the complimentary forces of good and evil, which, in the Yoruba mind, coexist in every human.

Furthermore, parallels of the god have been made with the Greek Hermes in terms of both tricksters and messenger gods and their presence at crossroads and the market. This notion, as well as Catholic influences, account for the syncretic bind that often expresses some of the literature about him and other gods in the New World black cultures. Esu's tricks seem to differ from Hermes in at least one significant respect—they are levied to force awareness and as warnings of human shortcomings or crimes; Hermes' are imposed for the fun of it.

Attributes

Various oriki or praise chants suggest Esu's elu-siveness, stature, fateful/fatal complex, and trickster qualities—in short, all that evoke his inscrutable power and presence. For instance, of his physical and mysterious

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