Nairaland Forum

The West African Esu-Elegbara is a figure of double duality, of unreconciled opposites, living in harmony. . . . the epitome of paradox with the “capacity to reproduce himself ad infinitum. But these two examples raise a point over which there is considerably less agreement. … Esu-Elegbara—and his variations throughout the African diaspora—is a divine figure: so, do tricksters belong to the world of men or gods, or neither, or both? In some respects they seem decidedly earth-bound—a strong scatalogical vein runs through many trickster tales, for instance—but at the same time they seem to have god-like transformative powers.

‘Each version of Esu is the sole messenger of the gods (in Yoruba, irnase), he who interprets the will of the gods to man; he who carries the desires of man to the gods. Esu is the guardian of the crossroads, master of style and of stylus, the phallic god of generation and fecundity, master of that elusive, mystical barrier that separates the divine world from the profane. Frequently characterized as an inveterate copulator possessed by his enormous joystick, linguistically Esu is the ultimate copula, connecting truth with understanding, the sacred with the profane, text with interpretation, the word (as a form of the verb to be) that links a subject with its predicate. He connects the grammar of divination with its rhetorical structures. In Yoruba mythology, Esu is said to limp as he walks precisely because of his mediating function: his legs are of different lengths because he keeps one anchored in the realm of the gods while the other rests in this, our human world.

Scholars have studied these figures of Esu, and each has found one or two characteristics of this mutable figure upon which to dwell, true to the nature of the trickster. A partial list of these qualities might include individuality, satire, parody, irony, magic, indeterminacy, open-endedness, ambiguity, sexuality, chance, uncertainty, disruption and reconciliation, betrayal and loyalty, closure and disclosure, encasement and rupture. But it is a mistake to focus on one of these qualities as predominant. Esu possesses all of these characteristics, plus a plethora of others which, taken together, only begin to present an idea of the complexity of this classic figure of mediation and of the unity of opposed forces.

The Fon [of Benin, Dahomey] call Legba “the divine linguist,” he who speaks all languages, he who interprets the alphabet of Mawu [sky-god] to man and to the other gods. Yoruba sculptures of Esu almost always include a calabash that he holds in his hands. In this calabash he keeps ase [usually translated as divinely-generated power or energy], the very ase with which Olodumare, the supreme deity of the Yoruba, created the universe. We can translate ase in many ways, but the ase used to create the universe I translate as “logos,” the word as understanding, the word as the audible, and later the visible, sign of reason. Ase is more weighty, forceful, and action-packed than the ordinary word. It is the word with irrevocability, reinforced with double assuredness and undaunted authenticity. This probably explains why Esu’s mouth, from which the audible word proceeds, sometimes appears double: Esu’s discourse, metaphorically, is double-voiced.

Esu’s most direct Western kinsman is Hermes. Just as Hermes’ role as a messenger and interpreter for the gods lent his name readily to hermeneutics, our word for the study of methodological principles of interpretation of a text, so too is it appropriate for the literary critic to name the methodological principles of the interpretation of black texts Esu-’tufunaalo, literally “one who unravels the knots of Esu” [this word is a Yoruba neologism coined by the Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka]. Esu is the indigenous black metaphor for the literary critic, and Esu-’tufunaalo is the study of methodological principles of interpretation itself, or what the literary critic does. Esu-’tufunaalo is the secular analogue of Ifa divination, the richly lyrical and densely metaphorical system of sacred interpretation that the Yoruba in Nigeria have consulted for centuries, and which they continue to consult. Whereas the god Ifa is the text of divine will, Esu is the text’s interpreter (Onitumo), “the one who translates, who explains, or ‘who loosens knowledge.


http://chrisabraham.com/2006/12/06/the-trickster-as-esu-elegbara/?replytocom=2208

When OLODUMARE ordered AJALAMO to mould man, He also ordered ELA to supervise AJALAMO's work. This infuriated ESU to whom ELA was junior, as ESU thought he had been by-passed in favour of a junior. ESU and his followers then levied war against ELA, on a day known as QJO ETI, i.e., the day of (attempting) the impossible; ESU lost, and he and his followers were chucked out of Heaven. QJO ETI corresponds to our Friday. With ESU removed, ELA became the senior of all the Heavenly Powers, and next only to OLODUMARE. Then OLODUMARE instructed ELA to go down to Earth to put things in order; at that time, the whole Earth was one vast mass of water and sky, with chaos everywhere. ESU got to know of this plan, and he and his followers took three alternative decisions: (a) either to prevent ELA from gaining a foothold on Earth, or failing that; (b) to prevent ELA from carrying out OLODUMARE's instructions, or failing that; (c) to ensure that ELA was unable to return to Heaven to report back to OLODUMARE; this is known as the day of the Three Tries; QJO ABAMETA, corresponding to our Saturday. ELA and his followers descended to Earth on OJO AIKU - the Day of not-dying, or of survival, corresponding to our Sunday (presumably implying that ESU was unable to prevent ELA 's descent; anything in parenthesis like this are the writer's comments, for which he alone is responsible).

On the day of ELA 's descent, the whole Earth was convulsed by terrible upheavals. Arriving on Earth, ELA first had to break ESU 's power; terrible battles followed, and the goddess AJE was sent down by OLODUMARE from heaven to assist ELA against ESU; hence the day is known as OJO AJE, or AJE's day; it corresponds to our Monday. ELA gained a decisive victory over ESU by establishing order; thus the day is known os OJOBO -- the Day of the return (of things to normal), or the Day of Restoration, corresponding to our Thursday. ELA then stayed on Earth for two more days, Friday -QJO ETI and Saturday -- QJO ABAMETA, and returned to Heaven on the same day he descended from Heaven, i.e. on OJO AIKU -- Sunday. Hence, the YORUBA believe that every person dies on the day of the week he was born; and that where this is not so, either the person died on somebody else's day (as an unconscious substitute) or that he had actually died on that day of his birth, but had enough energy left in him to last out a little longer before collapsing altogether.

For some time, things went on fine, mankind was fruitful and multiplied, and the Earth was populated; order was everywhere. When ESU saw this, he called his followers together, and was able to attract some of mankind to his band of followers. Trouble began again; women became barren, those with child had miscarriages or difficult births, the sick remained sick, and similar wicked things were done by ESU and his followers. Again OLODUMARE instructed ELA to go down to Earth to restore order, but this time to take on human flesh.

Ystranger:

Eke ko kuni, ika  KO gbe omo eniyan

Bi eniyan ba n yo leda.

ohun buruku a ma yo won se

Bi aba ni ase Ystranger, ara  eni ni won ma n se

owo ti ogede ba gbe, ara re ni fi nna 


Talk I am listening, say what you have to say!

No editing, no fear fear. I dont scare people.

13Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

14But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

15Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

16Do not err, my beloved brethren

Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour

EzeUche:



Yorubas say Esu and Igbos say Ekwensu.

See an Igbo-Yoruba connection.

Is the name related to the Ijaw war god, Egbesu?

^{Very interesting dear. . . . i so much love this kind of thread even though i can't read those weed Yoruba write-ups lol}

ekt_bear:

Interesting. . .