Èṣù, Orisha of the Crossroads
Èṣù is known by several names across the African diaspora: in Yorubaland, Benin and Togo, Èṣù or Eshu, Eschu is Èṣù-Elegba or Laolu-Ogiri Oko; Exu de Candomblé in Brazilian Candomblé; Echú in Santería and Latin America; Papa Legba in Haitian Vodou; Leba in Winti; Exu de Quimbanda in Quimbanda; Lubaniba in Palo Mayombe; and Exu in Latin America.
Èṣù is the Chief Enforcer of natural and divine laws, the deity in charge of law enforcement and orderliness. He is powerful and ubiquitous to the extent of having every day of the four-day ancient/traditional Yoruba week as his day of worship, which is unlike any other orishas.
Èṣù is the personification of mischief, the one who teaches that there are always two sides or more to every issue. He is balanced, benevolent and created the concept of directions. In order to carry out his assigned functions of conveying sacrifices and divining the future, Èṣù requires constant appeasement by worshippers. According to Oluwo Aderemi Ifaoleepin Aderemi from Oyo Alaafin, to those of impure thought and intention, Èṣù is evil and devilish. While in other contexts, Èṣù is seen as an awesome and persuasive deity to the morally upright. This orisha is a messenger not only to Olodumare, but to all the other orishas, acting as an intermediary between evil spirits and human beings.
In all of this, Èṣù seems to have a mysterious alter-ego: Elegua, known as the spirit of the crossroads. As such, in Western folklore, Èṣù/Elegua is a kind of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde character – jokester, a trickster – where Èṣù is both the messenger of all information and also the joker of all misinformation. And as the orisha who is both sides of the same coin, Èṣù can be both male and female.
In the Americas, Èṣù is syncretized with Saint Anthony of Padua or Archangel Michael (June 13).
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