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View Full Version : Black Study Group : Esu/Elegbara

cherryblossom

04-27-2009, 04:04 AM

About Eshu
Esu/Elegbara

Esu is the Divine Messenger between God and Man. Esu sits at the Crossroad.

Esu is the Orisa that offers choices and posibility..

Esu is the gatekeeper, the guardian of the door.

Esu safeguards the principle of freewill.

Esu is the keeper of Ase.

Esu is called the divine trickster that lures man’s emotions creating variety which spices life.

Esu brings out the fool in man. Esu brings out the symbolic child in man. Esu’s mischief serves to wake a person up and teach them a lesson.

Esu represents the balance of nature. Day and night, white and black, construction and destruction. Esu is an old man and a child. Absolute balance of nature.

Esu has a voracious appetite. Esu has a constant drive and is always ready (erect penis).

Esu counterbalances aspects of our reality. Esu is the patron of the “underworld” and their way of survival.

Esu—The means justify the end!

http://dohuniversity.wordpress.com/about-eshu-4/

Esu must always be appeased first.

cherryblossom

04-27-2009, 04:07 AM

I have always been fascinated by the trickster in his many guises throughout history, religion, spirit, literature, and lore. No representation is more compelling than that of West African Esu.

‘The West African Esu-Elegbara, who Henry Louis Gates, Jr., says 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.’ Via Transformations of the Trickster by Helen Lock

More about Esu-Elegbara from my favorite book, The Signifying Monkey by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.:

‘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 penis, 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/

Alexandra

04-27-2009, 08:03 AM

cherryblossom

04-27-2009, 12:35 PM

Greetings CherryBlossom,

I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but what is the purpose of this thread on Exu (http://destee.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58963)? I ask because its at odds with alot of things for example, you are a Christian, and more importantly, the Bible explicitly warns against engageing in any activity to do with darkness i.e Baba Exu.

Ephesians 5:11

"and have nothing to do with the unfruitful works that darkness produces. Instead, expose them for what they are".

Surely, you must remember that as a Christian, you were once in the darkness but have now been saved?****please see below****

Indeed, the good book clearly states:

Ephesians 5:8

"for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light"

Note that it says you were formerly darkness and not in the darkness.

**** PS, when I write 'saved', please picture me having the same reaction you do everytime you read the term 'overstand'. The only difference is while you might sn.i.g.g.e.r, I am here riding the wave of a full blown cackle; my mirth ducts are in fulll bloom and it is such a shame there isn't a fellow demon nearby to exchange a hearty hi-five with.

Sighs.

Anyway, I look forward to your response.

Respectfully submitted,

Alexandra

LOL!

WHEW! I was wondering what happened to this post! *smacks forehead!*

I MEANT to put it in the "Black Spiritual Beliefs" forum! LMBO! I musta been some kinda sleepy! :lol:

But, to answer your question, this post was intended as an addition to the "African Traditional" sub-forum. I just put it in the wrong place by mistake.

However, because I posted this thread does not mean that I believe in it. I also posted in the other religious forums: Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism.

I've also read and posted in some of the metaphysical threads. I don't believe in that either, but where I see something I can relate to, I have commented.

Now, I'm gonna ask a Mod if they will move this thread for me! LMBO!

So, again, the purpose of this topic was meant for the ATR sub-forum. It in NO way denotes that I adhere to this belief.

Knowledge Seed

04-27-2009, 01:08 PM

Sis. cherryblossom, I'm not sure if you know this, but Eshu is not a single spirit. It is actually a family of spirits. Eshu-Elegbara is just one member of that family. There thousands of other Eshus.

Alexandra

04-27-2009, 01:31 PM

LOL!

WHEW! I was wondering what happened to this post! *smacks forehead!*

I MEANT to put it in the "Black Spiritual Beliefs" forum! LMBO! I musta been some kinda sleepy! :lol:

But, to answer your question, this post was intended as an addition to the "African Traditional" sub-forum. I just put it in the wrong place by mistake.

However, because I posted this thread does not mean that I believe in it. I also posted in the other religious forums: Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism.

I've also read and posted in some of the metaphysical threads. I don't believe in that either, but where I see something I can relate to, I have commented.

Now, I'm gonna ask a Mod if they will move this thread for me! LMBO!

So, again, the purpose of this topic was meant for the ATR sub-forum. It in NO way denotes that I adhere to this belief.

You weren't sleepy. You did indeed post this in the ATR forum, however, following the thread by the Owner of this forum about not posting titles which include the name of a member, both our threads were used as an example, with the end result being a new title for my thread and a new location for yours.

Hope that makes sense?

Now, I am so pleased you didn't read this post in a negative light! Please note that I didn't ask whether you believe in it or not. To each his own; I am not a Christian, yet I couldn't live without my Book of Psalms!

I just wanted to know why this entity would even remotely appeal to a staunch Christian such as yourself, so thought I would ask. End of. I was in no way going to attempt to influence your beliefs, or challenge them.

You are as inquisitive as I am, so you know how it goes.

Cheers!

Alexandra

cherryblossom

04-27-2009, 01:44 PM

No wahalas.

Bootzey

04-27-2009, 03:15 PM

Blackbird

04-27-2009, 04:44 PM

I love Esu, that's my pappy. I just made ebo of a goat and rooster to my baba.

Maferefun baba mi.....

Blackbird

cherryblossom

04-27-2009, 04:44 PM

As a non-Christian I actually find this practice... posting on a thread that is not your belief structure... kind of offensive.

I am not a Christian, and I have deep anti-Christian sentiments, but I would never disrespect Christian belief sytem by chiming in on the Christian threads.

Even though I USED to be a devout Christian, have a degree in theology and have read the Bible cover to cover at least 5 times; still I stay away from Christian threads. I don't understand your purpose for posting about something you clearly state you don't believe in.

:terrific: Bootzey, that is a WONDERFUL statement and question!

And I'm not being sarcastic. I, too, have wondered the same thing!

Now, yes, I am a Christian; and I have posted on subject areas here which are not aligned with Christianity. But, when I have done so, I have been respectful of the beliefs of others. I don't go into other belief topics "waving my Christian banner."

Bootzey, until last night, I had restricted my Christianity views to the Christianity sub-forum. However, I discovered that ALL of these belief sub-forums are OPEN SEASON here at Destee. Anyone can post in any religion. There were started NOT for the adherents of these beliefs but for a Destee.com STUDY PROJECT.

So, since there are others who DO NOT feel as YOU and I feel about respecting the beliefs of others, it's a "anything goes" situation. (However, there are posted "Ground Rules" for each belief.)

Now, yes, I posted this thread, but I also posted in the Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism sub-forums. However, NONE of my threads are derogatory or an attack on the beliefs of others.

Thank you for your input! I am pleased to know that someone feels as I do.

awo dino

09-23-2009, 09:25 AM

Sister Alexandra,
Esu has nothing to do with the Christian concept of Satan, nor with "darkness."
The religion in question doesn't deal in absolutes.
there is no "you're either with us or against us."

Corvo

09-23-2009, 01:26 PM

awo dino

09-25-2009, 05:16 PM

I thought I'd post some info on Esu:

I would respectfully disagree with Knowledge Seed regarding there being many Esus. Although in the Diaspora, for instance in Lucumi, there are different roads or "caminos" for different Orisa, most people understand that really there is only one Esu. So there is only one Esu “Spirit,” but hundreds of possible manifestations or aspects of this spirit or energy. (perhaps we are only dealing with semantics). Whether you call him Elegua, Elegba, Esu, etc., Orisa have many attributes and many praise names, which can cause confusion. Elegba, (this is what the Fon call him) for instance, refers to him as "the owner of power." When we call him Esu (Yoruba), we are saying "divine messenger." Esu Odara, a praise name, means "divine messenger of transformation," (some awo say Odara means “Spirit that brings division is the source of fertility in the universe”)

Oriki Esu

Esu, Esu Odara, Esu lanlu ogirioko. Okunrin ori ita, a jo langa langa lalu
Divine Messenger, Divine Messenger of Transformation, Divine Messenger speak with power. Man of the crossroads, dance to the drum.
A rin lanja lanja lalu. Ode ibi ija de mole. Ija ni otaru ba d’ele ife.
Tickle the toe of the drum. Move beyond strife. Strife is contrary to the Spirits of the Invisible Realm.
To fi de omo won. Oro Esu, to to to akoni. Ao fi ida re lale.
Unite the unsteady feet of weaning children. The word of the Divine Messenger is always respected. We shall use your sword to touch the earth.
Esu ma se mi o. Esu ma se mi o. Esu ma se mi o.
Divine Messenger, do not confuse me. Divine Messenger, do not confuse me. Divine Messenger, do not confuse me.
Omo elomiran ni ko lo se. Pa ado asubi da. No ado asure si wa.
Let someone else be confused. Turn my suffering around. Give me the blessing of the calabash.
Mo dupe Esu, mo dupe. Babami, ase o.

In the Diaspora, many believe Esu and Elegba are two different Orisa. They are wrong. Some say Elegba comes from elegbara, which is actually Alagbara (the strong one, or owner of strength – a praise name) others say elegbara comes form ela egbe ara, meaning, “the body of those who possess the light.” Either way, it is a praise name or manifestation of Esu that invokes strength and courage.
Esu, as everyone knows, is "the trickster" in that he represents chance. But I would question whether this is really Esu's most important role, or if it’s even appropriate. He is the karmic enforcer who simply provides the effect of your actions, good or bad. He is the principle of chaos, change and transformation. But more importantly, he is also the imparter of Ase; the holder of Ase. Esu is "born" in Odu Ose Otura. All awo, etc, should chant from this Odu daily for the acquisition of ase.

Ose Otura
(from Chief Fama 2004).

Bi mo duro, bi mo wure
Ire ti emi, ko ni se aigba
Bi mo bere, bi mo wure
Ire ti emi, ko ni se aigba
Bi mo joko, bi mo wure
Ire ti emi, ko ni se aigba.

If I pray while standing
My prayers will manifest
If I stoop or kneel while praying
My prayers will manifest
If I sit while praying
My prayers will manifest
ase
This chant, while incomplete, is still powerful.

Esu Odara is considered the “father” of all Esus and represents fertility as well as transformation. Esu Odara is born in Odu Ose Otura. This Odu is actually 17th in order of seniority. It is the first Odu after the mejis. In Tefa (ifa initiation), Ose Otura is invoked on the head of the iyawo after the mejis. This invocation causes the meji odu to copulate in the head of the iyawo, at which time the initiate becomes awo (hence Esu as the source of fertility). The process unlocks all 256 Odu in the Ori of the iyawo giving awo the ofo ase (power of the word) to invoke and make all the Orisa, unlocking the ability for an awo to become “possessed” by all the Orisa. This is where Esu as “divine messenger of transformation” comes from. So to reduce Esu to the status of mischief-maker or trickster is to be completely ignorant of what Esu is.
Much of the confusion comes from the fact that every Odu and every Orisa have their own Esu. The Esus for the different Orisa are born in Odu Owonrin plus the Odu of the Orisa. For example, the Odu for making the Esu for Sango (esu ananaki) is Owonrin Iwori; for Obatala (esu oke) it’s Owonrin Ogbe. Esu IS confusion. He is contradiction.

Esu-Elegbara, Asoju (the observer)

The short and tall one
Whose head is barely visible when he walks through a peanut farm
Thanks to the fact that he is very tall
But Esu must climb the hearthstone in order to put salt
in the soup pot…
Labolarinde, if you reach the frontier
And do not encounter him at the citygate working in the field
You will find him in the vicinity and he is always accessible
To everyone, including the infirm
A le kuru a le ga
O nlo ninu epa Atari re nhan firifiri
Opelope giga ti o ga
Esu ni o gun ori aro ni o fi bu iyo si obe…
Labolarinde ti o ba de bode ti o ko ba ba ni enu odi ni nro oko
On na ni da oko nibiti arugbo le de
ASE

Another important part of understanding Esu is his relationship with Orunmila. Divination cannot take place without Esu's participation. There is a story about how Orunmila and Esu became such good buddies (remember, itan – stories – are used to explain metaphysical principals as well as teach morals and illuminate culture). Orunmila one day wanted to see how his friends would react to the news of his death, so he instructed his wife (Apetebi) to spread the news of his death, and then hid in the attic. Several Orisa came by the house to pay their respects, but all of them told his wife that Orunmila had owed them money, etc., which she paid them (these were lies). But when Esu came by, he was crying profusely, and told her if there was anything she needed to just call him, etc. In addition, he told her that he owed Orunmila some money and promptly paid. Orunmila then came down from the attic and told Esu that he was a true friend. From then on, the brothas were tight.
Esu is the messenger of Ifa, the oracle. He also watches over the divination session, to make sure it’s done right (all divination trays have an Esu carved on the edge). Olodumare made him the most powerful Orisa and he exists on heaven and earth simultaneously. Like Hermes, he has the power to bind and release. He can limit the actions of the negative forces (knowledge he shared with Orunmila) as well as bring the blessings of the white (positive) deities to humans.
The energy of Esu is instinctual, masculine, and autonomous. Like all Orisa, and energy itself, Esu is both positive and negative. Many focus on the negative aspects of Esu. Those of a higher consciousness will focus on the positive. Esu Odara, the divine messenger of transformation, will transform you. He has a special relationship with the Creator. He is the messenger of Olodumare. He has knowledge of good and evil as well as the wisdom and power to cope with these forces.

Osa Meji
(Abimbola 1970)

…exchange, exchange,
the Ifa priest of the house of Elepe
He was told to exchange an animal
For his life on account of Iku (death)

As a partner with Orunmila in divination, Esu is the enforcer and the “effector” of an action. Offerings, dictated by Orunmila as the communicator of the oracle (Ifa), are usually offered to Esu’s shrine. All ritual begin and end with Esu. He has the power to translate human language to the language of Spirit, and vice versa. Esu brings order from chaos. He might decide to no longer restrain the ajoogun (evil spirits) from affecting the arrogant person in order to teach them a lesson. He informs (as messenger again) Olodumare or Orisa or Aje when an offering has been made. He sees to the proper use of ritual sacrifice.

“Though the offering is difficult, it is not worse than death.”

Ire is life – health, money, children and long life. The conversion of death into life, or ibi into ire, is Esu’s special power. When we finish ritual or prayer, we say,
“Ose Otura (a-wu-ire-la) agbe wa, ala wa, ase.”
“Ose Otura (the Odu that makes prayers manifest) will support and bless us, ase.”
(But let us not forget, that no Orisa, not even Esu, can bless one without the consent of one’s Ori. What does this mean? Your head and your heart must be in alignment for blessings to flow from above)

So Orunmila provides the knowledge needed by the person who came for the reading, which includes time tested solutions to problems as well as the ritual offering or sacrifice to bring things back in order, or to bring the blessings to the client ( to turn ibi into ire). Order is brought by ritual sacrifice, which is overseen by Esu. The role of the diviner is to turn ibi (negative energy, or chaos, or resistance) into ire (positive energy, or order, or openness to change).

Ose Meji
(from Abimbola 1970)

The world is broken into pieces
The world is split wide open
The world is broken without anyone to mend it
The world is split open without anybody to sew it
Cast Ifa for the six elders
Who were coming down from Ile Ife
They were asked to take care of Mole
They were told that they would do well
If they made sacrifice
If the sacrifice to Esu is not made, it will not be acceptable in Orun
ase

Esu is different than the other Orisa. For one, he is never referred to as the patron of a lineage. He is closely associated with the marketplace, where fortunes can change in an instant. He also punishes those who don't do ebo when recommended (again, karmic justice). There is a story (itan) about Esu (all itan come from the oral history of the Yoruba, called Odu) that illustrates not only his connection to the market, but also how he will make you pay for your transgressions. There was a woman at the market, who didn't do her prescribed ebo. While at the market, Esu started a fire at her house. She arrives too late; her house is burned down. While she ran home to put out the fire, a thief (Esu) stole all her goods.

“Esu favors only those who have made the prescribed ebo.”

And will punish those who don’t.
Esu occupies these marginal worlds like the marketplace, crossroads and compound entrances. Esu provokes us to do stupid things. This is why Christians translate him to "devil." This is an indefensible corruption. Esu can and will bless you. Most people propitiate Esu a lot, and part of one of his most popular oriki ask, "Esu do not confuse me." However, the elevated soul, the wise person, has no need to propitiate Esu, because they aren't going to do anything stupid. The awo who has achieved iwa pele (good character), who always maintains ori tutu (a cool head) does not need to worry about Esu teaching him or her a lesson. Elders, who have lived the life of iwa pele, ori tutu, and ritual obligation, and so have prospered, are revered in Yorubaland. They do not know Esu as the trickster, but as “the gift giver.” They no longer have to make offerings to Esu.

Esu pele, Opin, Ajibike, Okaramaho, Oyinsese, Olofin- Apeka’lu, Amonisegun-mapo
(Divine Messenger, I call you by your names of praise)
Esu, I honor you because of your power
Esu, you are the road maker
Come with kindness to me and to my family,
Who serve you with gifts
Esu, you are the present giver
Make me rich and the “mother” of good children
Never allow your children misfortune
Come with your gorgeous appearance,
You, son of cowries
Ase

Sekhemu

09-25-2009, 05:54 PM

This is a great post, ya beat me to it lol

Modupe o awo @ I thought I'd post some info on Esu:

I would respectfully disagree with Knowledge Seed regarding there being many Esus. Although in the Diaspora, for instance in Lucumi, there are different roads or "caminos" for different Orisa, most people understand that really there is only one Esu. So there is only one Esu “Spirit,” but hundreds of possible manifestations or aspects of this spirit or energy. (perhaps we are only dealing with semantics). Whether you call him Elegua, Elegba, Esu, etc., Orisa have many attributes and many praise names, which can cause confusion. Elegba, (this is what the Fon call him) for instance, refers to him as "the owner of power." When we call him Esu (Yoruba), we are saying "divine messenger." Esu Odara, a praise name, means "divine messenger of transformation," (some awo say Odara means “Spirit that brings division is the source of fertility in the universe”)

Oriki Esu

Esu, Esu Odara, Esu lanlu ogirioko. Okunrin ori ita, a jo langa langa lalu
Divine Messenger, Divine Messenger of Transformation, Divine Messenger speak with power. Man of the crossroads, dance to the drum.
A rin lanja lanja lalu. Ode ibi ija de mole. Ija ni otaru ba d’ele ife.
Tickle the toe of the drum. Move beyond strife. Strife is contrary to the Spirits of the Invisible Realm.
To fi de omo won. Oro Esu, to to to akoni. Ao fi ida re lale.
Unite the unsteady feet of weaning children. The word of the Divine Messenger is always respected. We shall use your sword to touch the earth.
Esu ma se mi o. Esu ma se mi o. Esu ma se mi o.
Divine Messenger, do not confuse me. Divine Messenger, do not confuse me. Divine Messenger, do not confuse me.
Omo elomiran ni ko lo se. Pa ado asubi da. No ado asure si wa.
Let someone else be confused. Turn my suffering around. Give me the blessing of the calabash.
Mo dupe Esu, mo dupe. Babami, ase o.

In the Diaspora, many believe Esu and Elegba are two different Orisa. They are wrong. Some say Elegba comes from elegbara, which is actually Alagbara (the strong one, or owner of strength – a praise name) others say elegbara comes form ela egbe ara, meaning, “the body of those who possess the light.” Either way, it is a praise name or manifestation of Esu that invokes strength and courage.
Esu, as everyone knows, is "the trickster" in that he represents chance. But I would question whether this is really Esu's most important role, or if it’s even appropriate. He is the karmic enforcer who simply provides the effect of your actions, good or bad. He is the principle of chaos, change and transformation. But more importantly, he is also the imparter of Ase; the holder of Ase. Esu is "born" in Odu Ose Otura. All awo, etc, should chant from this Odu daily for the acquisition of ase.

Ose Otura
(from Chief Fama 2004).

Bi mo duro, bi mo wure
Ire ti emi, ko ni se aigba
Bi mo bere, bi mo wure
Ire ti emi, ko ni se aigba
Bi mo joko, bi mo wure
Ire ti emi, ko ni se aigba.

If I pray while standing
My prayers will manifest
If I stoop or kneel while praying
My prayers will manifest
If I sit while praying
My prayers will manifest
ase
This chant, while incomplete, is still powerful.

Esu Odara is considered the “father” of all Esus and represents fertility as well as transformation. Esu Odara is born in Odu Ose Otura. This Odu is actually 17th in order of seniority. It is the first Odu after the mejis. In Tefa (ifa initiation), Ose Otura is invoked on the head of the iyawo after the mejis. This invocation causes the meji odu to copulate in the head of the iyawo, at which time the initiate becomes awo (hence Esu as the source of fertility). The process unlocks all 256 Odu in the Ori of the iyawo giving awo the ofo ase (power of the word) to invoke and make all the Orisa, unlocking the ability for an awo to become “possessed” by all the Orisa. This is where Esu as “divine messenger of transformation” comes from. So to reduce Esu to the status of mischief-maker or trickster is to be completely ignorant of what Esu is.
Much of the confusion comes from the fact that every Odu and every Orisa have their own Esu. The Esus for the different Orisa are born in Odu Owonrin plus the Odu of the Orisa. For example, the Odu for making the Esu for Sango (esu ananaki) is Owonrin Iwori; for Obatala (esu oke) it’s Owonrin Ogbe. Esu IS confusion. He is contradiction.

Esu-Elegbara, Asoju (the observer)

The short and tall one
Whose head is barely visible when he walks through a peanut farm
Thanks to the fact that he is very tall
But Esu must climb the hearthstone in order to put salt
in the soup pot…
Labolarinde, if you reach the frontier
And do not encounter him at the citygate working in the field
You will find him in the vicinity and he is always accessible
To everyone, including the infirm
A le kuru a le ga
O nlo ninu epa Atari re nhan firifiri
Opelope giga ti o ga
Esu ni o gun ori aro ni o fi bu iyo si obe…
Labolarinde ti o ba de bode ti o ko ba ba ni enu odi ni nro oko
On na ni da oko nibiti arugbo le de
ASE

Another important part of understanding Esu is his relationship with Orunmila. Divination cannot take place without Esu's participation. There is a story about how Orunmila and Esu became such good buddies (remember, itan – stories – are used to explain metaphysical principals as well as teach morals and illuminate culture). Orunmila one day wanted to see how his friends would react to the news of his death, so he instructed his wife (Apetebi) to spread the news of his death, and then hid in the attic. Several Orisa came by the house to pay their respects, but all of them told his wife that Orunmila had owed them money, etc., which she paid them (these were lies). But when Esu came by, he was crying profusely, and told her if there was anything she needed to just call him, etc. In addition, he told her that he owed Orunmila some money and promptly paid. Orunmila then came down from the attic and told Esu that he was a true friend. From then on, the brothas were tight.
Esu is the messenger of Ifa, the oracle. He also watches over the divination session, to make sure it’s done right (all divination trays have an Esu carved on the edge). Olodumare made him the most powerful Orisa and he exists on heaven and earth simultaneously. Like Hermes, he has the power to bind and release. He can limit the actions of the negative forces (knowledge he shared with Orunmila) as well as bring the blessings of the white (positive) deities to humans.
The energy of Esu is instinctual, masculine, and autonomous. Like all Orisa, and energy itself, Esu is both positive and negative. Many focus on the negative aspects of Esu. Those of a higher consciousness will focus on the positive. Esu Odara, the divine messenger of transformation, will transform you. He has a special relationship with the Creator. He is the messenger of Olodumare. He has knowledge of good and evil as well as the wisdom and power to cope with these forces.

Osa Meji
(Abimbola 1970)

…exchange, exchange,
the Ifa priest of the house of Elepe
He was told to exchange an animal
For his life on account of Iku (death)

As a partner with Orunmila in divination, Esu is the enforcer and the “effector” of an action. Offerings, dictated by Orunmila as the communicator of the oracle (Ifa), are usually offered to Esu’s shrine. All ritual begin and end with Esu. He has the power to translate human language to the language of Spirit, and vice versa. Esu brings order from chaos. He might decide to no longer restrain the ajoogun (evil spirits) from affecting the arrogant person in order to teach them a lesson. He informs (as messenger again) Olodumare or Orisa or Aje when an offering has been made. He sees to the proper use of ritual sacrifice.

“Though the offering is difficult, it is not worse than death.”

Ire is life – health, money, children and long life. The conversion of death into life, or ibi into ire, is Esu’s special power. When we finish ritual or prayer, we say,
“Ose Otura (a-wu-ire-la) agbe wa, ala wa, ase.”
“Ose Otura (the Odu that makes prayers manifest) will support and bless us, ase.”
(But let us not forget, that no Orisa, not even Esu, can bless one without the consent of one’s Ori. What does this mean? Your head and your heart must be in alignment for blessings to flow from above)

So Orunmila provides the knowledge needed by the person who came for the reading, which includes time tested solutions to problems as well as the ritual offering or sacrifice to bring things back in order, or to bring the blessings to the client ( to turn ibi into ire). Order is brought by ritual sacrifice, which is overseen by Esu. The role of the diviner is to turn ibi (negative energy, or chaos, or resistance) into ire (positive energy, or order, or openness to change).

Ose Meji
(from Abimbola 1970)

The world is broken into pieces
The world is split wide open
The world is broken without anyone to mend it
The world is split open without anybody to sew it
Cast Ifa for the six elders
Who were coming down from Ile Ife
They were asked to take care of Mole
They were told that they would do well
If they made sacrifice
If the sacrifice to Esu is not made, it will not be acceptable in Orun
ase

Esu is different than the other Orisa. For one, he is never referred to as the patron of a lineage. He is closely associated with the marketplace, where fortunes can change in an instant. He also punishes those who don't do ebo when recommended (again, karmic justice). There is a story (itan) about Esu (all itan come from the oral history of the Yoruba, called Odu) that illustrates not only his connection to the market, but also how he will make you pay for your transgressions. There was a woman at the market, who didn't do her prescribed ebo. While at the market, Esu started a fire at her house. She arrives too late; her house is burned down. While she ran home to put out the fire, a thief (Esu) stole all her goods.

“Esu favors only those who have made the prescribed ebo.”

And will punish those who don’t.
Esu occupies these marginal worlds like the marketplace, crossroads and compound entrances. Esu provokes us to do stupid things. This is why Christians translate him to "devil." This is an indefensible corruption. Esu can and will bless you. Most people propitiate Esu a lot, and part of one of his most popular oriki ask, "Esu do not confuse me." However, the elevated soul, the wise person, has no need to propitiate Esu, because they aren't going to do anything stupid. The awo who has achieved iwa pele (good character), who always maintains ori tutu (a cool head) does not need to worry about Esu teaching him or her a lesson. Elders, who have lived the life of iwa pele, ori tutu, and ritual obligation, and so have prospered, are revered in Yorubaland. They do not know Esu as the trickster, but as “the gift giver.” They no longer have to make offerings to Esu.

Esu pele, Opin, Ajibike, Okaramaho, Oyinsese, Olofin- Apeka’lu, Amonisegun-mapo
(Divine Messenger, I call you by your names of praise)
Esu, I honor you because of your power
Esu, you are the road maker
Come with kindness to me and to my family,
Who serve you with gifts
Esu, you are the present giver
Make me rich and the “mother” of good children
Never allow your children misfortune
Come with your gorgeous appearance,
You, son of cowries
Ase

awo dino

09-26-2009, 01:56 PM

Thanks, awo
please add to the discussion of Esu. I'm sure you have much to add.
aboru aboye

Sekhemu

09-26-2009, 02:23 PM

Modupe awo

I most certainly will

Odabo

cherryblossom

09-26-2009, 04:21 PM

Dear cherrybloosum,
I did not look into the site you posted, but the ESHU, you described does not represent what I know of EXU, in my believe system. If you have a question? Please ask it.

EXU does not have any thing to do with darkness.

AXE!

No, Brother Corvo, I don't have any specific questions. You're kinda new here. So, you're not aware of the past conflicts concerning the Christianity sub-forum and the treatment of some members within that belief system. On page 1 of this thread is a reference to that time of conflict when I responded to Sister Bootzey.

When I posted this thread, it was not intended as any slight or disrespect to those who adhere to this belief. It was only an experiment to see the reaction of those who entered the Christianity sub-forum with covertly or overtly antagonistic comments. And it was exactly as I thought it would be. Several members took offense that I, a Christian, would dare post in another belief system; but some of them felt they had carte blanche to blatantly disrespect what I believed in.

If you have any refutation of what was said from that link, I would be glad to read/digest the clarifications about this belief system. By posting that information even if it is incorrect, I was not co-signing its information. So, I am very open to any corrections you and others provide through your discourse on this subject.

Sincerely,

CherryBlossom

Alexandra

09-26-2009, 08:02 PM

Several members took offense that I, a Christian, would dare post in another belief system; but some of them felt they had carte blanche to blatantly disrespect what I believed in.

Yes, a "Christian" daring to do so indeed, is exactly what I personally found offensive.

Awo and co, this thread does not deserve the renewed attention that is is getting, on the basis that there was no hard intellectual transmission going on then and certainly not now, but merely the crass offerings of a conflicted character, er I mean "Christian" high on good "Christian" citizenship.

A

cherryblossom

09-26-2009, 09:29 PM

Yes, a "Christian" daring to do so indeed, is exactly what I personally found offensive.

Awo and co, this thread does not deserve the renewed attention that is is getting, on the basis that there was no hard intellectual transmission going on then and certainly not now, but merely the crass offerings of a conflicted character, er I mean "Christian" high on good "Christian" citizenship.

A

Look. I don't know what your problem is but you really need to step off.

First, how dare YOU come in here and tell anyone else what they can or can not respond to. If Brother Corvo and Brother Awo wish to discuss this subject, they don't need YOUR permission. They can take this topic where ever they so, respectfully, choose. THIS IS A BELIEF SYSTEM STUDY SUB-FORUM. How dare YOU insult these brothers by saying "there was no hard intellectual transmission going on, then and certainly not now." ---Brother Corvo and Brother Awo were having a wonderful exchange. So, how dare YOU demean/debase the discourse they were having.

I only entered here to answer Brother Corvo because he directly addressed ME.

You see, unlike some OTHERS here, I am quite capable of respecting another's beliefs. I may not agree with it or accept; but I can RESPECT their choices.

So, by coming in here with your poorly-attempted, back-handed insults, you have only shown YOURSELF in PETTY, CHURLISH CHILDISHNESS!

YOU are the very one who first made comment about me posting this thread and just like a DOG RETURNING TO HIS VOMIT, here you are AGAIN.

I did not reference YOU at all. But, just like in my thread titled "TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN," you thought it was all about YOU.

ACTUALLY, I wasn't even referring to YOU! ---YOU never came into the Christianity sub-forum. ---I was only referencing those other NON-CHRISTIANS who DID....But, YOU seem to have some kinda complex that makes you think I was talking about YOU!

GET OVER YOURSELF! You're not as important as you THINK you are!

And I don't give a fat baby's behind that you were "personally offended" by me posting this thread. My whole reason for doing so was to expose the HYPOCRISY of some others who came into MY belief system with their disrespectful views and comments but who acted a FOOL when I posted in another belief sub-forum.

And even now, I only mentioned my exchange with Sister Bootzey, but here YOU are showing YOUR true colors just like you did the first time.

HA! And you've got the NERVE to say I'M "conflicted!" ROFLMBO!

Yet, AGAIN, just like I asked some others here, "IF I GIVE YOU A QUARTER, WILL YOU GIT YOU SOME BUSINESS AND STAY OUTTA MINE!"

But, I still HOPE that Brother Corvo and Brother Awo, Sekhemu, etc.. can continue in their discussion on this topic. Whatever they offer here will be educational for me and others who read it.

And in the meantime, YOU NEED TO MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS and allow these Brothers to discuss this spiritual system as THEY see fit!

cherryblossom

09-26-2009, 09:49 PM

Greetings CherryBlossom,

I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but what is the purpose of this thread on Exu (http://destee.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58963)? I ask because its at odds with alot of things for example, you are a Christian, and more importantly, the Bible explicitly warns against engageing in any activity to do with darkness i.e Baba Exu.

Ephesians 5:11

"and have nothing to do with the unfruitful works that darkness produces. Instead, expose them for what they are".

Surely, you must remember that as a Christian, you were once in the darkness but have now been saved?****please see below****

Indeed, the good book clearly states:

Ephesians 5:8

"for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light"

Note that it says you were formerly darkness and not in the darkness.

**** PS, when I write 'saved', please picture me having the same reaction you do everytime you read the term 'overstand'. The only difference is while you might sn.i.g.g.e.r, I am here riding the wave of a full blown cackle; my mirth ducts are in fulll bloom and it is such a shame there isn't a fellow demon nearby to exchange a hearty hi-five with.

Sighs.

Anyway, I look forward to your response.

Respectfully submitted,

Alexandra

Sister Alexandra,
Esu has nothing to do with the Christian concept of Satan, nor with "darkness."
The religion in question doesn't deal in absolutes.
there is no "you're either with us or against us."

Furthermore, if you weren't so intent on being insulting to me, YOU and I MIGHT ACTUALLY LEARN SOMETHING!

So, please shut your trap and let these Brothers enlighten or clarify whatever is misunderstood about this belief system!

And if you weren't working so hard at being CATTY with me, this thread could have continued with some sincere, in-depth discussion without this additional, unnecessary exchange NOW.

That's why I told Brother Corvo that I had no questions (at this time, anyway).....I just didn't want to interrupt the discussion that was going...But, NOOOO! You just couldn't leave well enough alone!

GET OVER YOURSELF!

Maybe NOW, these Brothers can continue to discuss this subject without YOU butting your MESSY nose in!

Instead of trying to be so nasty to me, why not try to OVERSTAND whether "DARKNESS" is associated with this belief??

awo dino

09-26-2009, 11:04 PM

I can only plead that everyone respect eachother and eachother's beliefs. To do otherwise is to succumb to the YT in you. lol. no but seriously, we don't need to be "infiltrating" other threads to attack belifs systems of which we are ignorant. Let's learn from eachother. I have a hard time trusting Christians, yet i have learned a lot from the threads. I never post there because I consider my self a guest. The thing is, cat fights (or dog fights) have no place on any spiritual thread. You got to walk the walk.

WARRIOR

09-27-2009, 04:09 AM

I WILL MAKE AN EFFORT TO KNOW MORE.....

THANK YOU SIS. CHERRYBLOSSOM....

WARRIOR

cherryblossom

09-27-2009, 05:48 AM

Clyde Coger

09-27-2009, 03:02 PM

Alexandra

09-27-2009, 05:41 PM

There..there “Christian” CherryBlossom. Let it all out…

I recently watched Kat Williams ‘Kathouse’ DVD, and one of the opening act’s sketches went something along the lines of ‘you ever seen a n*ggas lips so dry, you put chapstick on yours? and you’d be thinking this ***** dun got me reaching into my pocket.’ Now, relating this to your situation, I normally wouldn’t give thought to your existence unless I was on at work and the only other way to amuse myself was to make prank calls, or forward chain letters, like the ones which calmly announce that you will die in the next one minute, or never meet the love of your life if you don’t send it to ten people. However, today I shall make an exception; you ‘dun got me’ reaching for my laptop.

I hope you now feel purged of some of that resentment and hostility you have been clearly been lugging around. As usual, don’t be disheartened to know that I did not read your post; no doubt it follows the usual pattern of unfounded accusations, disjointed ramblings, personal attacks, childish insults and lastly a ‘woe is little old innocent Christian me being attacked when all I was doing was minding my own Christian business, won’t Admin please help me’ thrown in for good measure. Soon after, said ‘attacking’ gets suspended/banned.

Wash, rinse, repeat cycle.

If it was your intention to humiliate, or hurt me with your words, please be assured you have a better chance of converting Baba Darkside Magick to Christianity. As Nietzsche said, ‘lives dominated by impossible ideals will be experienced as continuous failure.’ Consider this (and all other attempts) to verbally debase me one such impossible ideal, and subsequently your life a continuous failure.

This has been a powerful month, with the Great Mother’s energy being felt in a most powerful way all over the world. On Friday I was honoured to be in the presence of Durga/Sekh-met. My point is this; I refuse to let your toxic nature the peace, harmony and contentment that I currently feel. To make the point a little more specific; in my eyes, you remain a deluded human being; an unsown seed which neither belongs to the earth, nor to the sky and is at the mercy of the elements. This makes you deaf and blind to spiritual perspectives other than your own, higher than your own and more inclusive than your own. That is my opinion, one which you do not have to accept or agree with but it shall remain so, and thankfully, your actions constantly validate it.

Today is the 9/9/11. The 9 represents the Great Mother, while the 11 represents Balance, therefore my intuition tells me that this lesson relates to the Goddess Ma’at, she who represents Truth, Harmony and Balance. I therefore see this is an opportunity for reflection, healing, growth, and restoration and offer up this prayer for myself and all the other women reading this.

I call upon the Divine Great Mother Ma’at to protect
My womb and the wombs of my sisters
Heal our wombs from anger, hurt, and pain
From this day forward, we must speak up for
And guard our wombs with all our inner power
As we call on the ancient Afrakan spirit of
Meshkenet, Afrakan Guardian Angel of the Sacred Womb
I call upon the Afrakan spirit Ma’at
For womb balance and wellness
I call upon the spirit Het-Hru within me
To demonstrate divine love of my womb and absolute harmony
I call upon the spirit Tehuti within me, so that I may make wise
Decisions on behalf of my womb’s restoration
I call upon Aset, the Great Afrakan Mother Spirit within me
To inspire the continuous nurturing of my sacred womb
I affirm that all abuse and desecration of the womb are to be no more
My womb speaks and commands peace upon the earth
And throughout the ‘wombniverse’
Through the healing of my womb, all wars shall cease
Through the healing of my womb, all men and womben shall be at peace
According to my womb, Peace

Source: The Sacred Woman by Queen Afua

Alexandra

truetothecause

09-27-2009, 07:21 PM

Just some things that came up as I listened to the two of you.....:SuN030:

...don’t be disheartened to know that I did not read your post; no doubt it follows the usual pattern of unfounded accusations, disjointed ramblings, personal attacks, childish insults and lastly a ‘woe is little old innocent Christian me being attacked when all I was doing was minding my own Christian business, won’t Admin please help me’ thrown in for good measure. Soon after, said ‘attacking’ gets suspended/banned.

"In the rhetoric of European value the deck is clearly stacked. This "new" person is smart! What we see is the epistemological basis of the conviction that literacy renders progressiveness and that when the literate mode becomes valued and finally dominant, we have a "higher" form of culture in terms of European civilizations, since that is where human being learned to be "critical,""indeed to think." to hear more go here... (http://www.afreekalive.com/Bilal%20Sankofa%20on%20Yurugu.html)

I thought of this passage as I listen and learn from others sharing's. Especially in light of this noted correlation

Yes, there are practices we also inherited from the Europeans and Christianity...

I experience the aboved-mentioned style of communicating (yes cherryblossom I experience you doing this more often than not) as part of the root 'problem' WE as a people are struggling to overcome. And stop with all the undercoming....as in "missionary position".....on the bottom swallowing up smaddy else's stuff.....just lapping it up like....down there in the understanding.. of words...spoken or otherwise...

These two are uniquely joined and spells trouble for Afreekan Descendants. Remember Step One of the R.N.A. program. Help is available tho for those who want it.

Today is the 9/9/11. The 9 represents the Great Mother, while the 11 represents Balance, therefore my intuition tells me that this lesson relates to the Goddess Ma’at, she who represents Truth, Harmony and Balance

This may explain why my Feminine energy and Senses have been on hyper-alert, aroused and sensitive this weekend...http://destee.com/forums/images/smilies/em0200.gif

FEELING...stuff.....Longing....Mother Energy in Motion.....

. I therefore see this is an opportunity for reflection, healing, growth, and restoration and offer up this prayer for myself and all the other women reading this.
I call upon the Divine Great Mother Ma’at to protect
My womb and the wombs of my sisters
Heal our wombs from anger, hurt, and pain
From this day forward, we must speak up for
And guard our wombs with all our inner power
As we call on the ancient Afrakan spirit of
Meshkenet, Afrakan Guardian Angel of the Sacred Womb
I call upon the Afrakan spirit Ma’at
For womb balance and wellness
I call upon the spirit Het-Hru within me
To demonstrate divine love of my womb and absolute harmony
I call upon the spirit Tehuti within me, so that I may make wise
Decisions on behalf of my womb’s restoration
I call upon Aset, the Great Afrakan Mother Spirit within me
To inspire the continuous nurturing of my sacred womb
I affirm that all abuse and desecration of the womb are to be no more
My womb speaks and commands peace upon the earth
And throughout the ‘wombniverse’
Through the healing of my womb, all wars shall cease
Through the healing of my womb, all men and womben shall be at peace
According to my womb, Peace

Source: The Sacred Woman by Queen Afua

Alexandra

Thank You for posting this.....providing me with another tool to channel said FEELINGS and ENERGY...:bowdown:

M.E.
:hearts2:

awo dino

09-27-2009, 09:38 PM

awo dino,

More than a mouthful can be found in these words, and because of that, I offer my friendship, there is no need for to consider yourself just a guest...Peace In, for real.

Thank you Mr. Coger, for your offer of friendship. I will continue to read your posts in the Christian section as they are quite interesting. One of my jobs is working with high school drop outs. Here down south, most are young brothers and sisters. I have always made buidling up there knowledge in their cultural legacy part of my project. Most of these kids are Christians, so i point them to the African roots of their religion. I have been pointing them to you. I believe your project, illuminating the "blackness of the bible" so to speak, is a very powerful way to instill pride and confidence in these broken children. God bless your mission.
ase

Clyde Coger

09-27-2009, 10:01 PM

Thank you Mr. Coger, for your offer of friendship. I will continue to read your posts in the Christian section as they are quite interesting. One of my jobs is working with high school drop outs. Here down south, most are young brothers and sisters. I have always made buidling up there knowledge in their cultural legacy part of my project. Most of these kids are Christians, so i point them to the African roots of their religion. I have been pointing them to you. I believe your project, illuminating the "blackness of the bible" so to speak, is a very powerful way to instill pride and confidence in these broken children. God bless your mission.
ase

:bowdown:awo dino,

And you, awo dino, are a godsend, for real. I cannot say thank you enough for considering my work and passing it on to the broken children you work with.

If you are stateside, I would have no problem visiting and sharing my published book with those brothers and sisters, which goes even deeper, perhaps. If this is feasible, just let me know so that arrangements can be made, in advance...Peace In awo, and my friendship request is pending at the e-mail adress you gave to destee.com.

awo dino

09-29-2009, 09:21 AM

Brother Clyde,
I was surprised by your offer to come out and speak. I'm in Gainesville, fl at Santa Fe College. If this were to happen, I would want it to be throught the Black Student Union, so we could maximize exposure. Any ways, let's keep that on the backburner for now, but I'm not gonna forget your offer!
Any ways, I've been thinking about this situation which came up in those unfortunate emails between Alexandra and Cheryblossom, regarding people being disrespectful of eachother's Religion. It's stuck in my craw, and I didn't know where exactly (which thread) to talk about it, so I'll just do it here.
You know, those of us who have chosen to return to the religion of our ancestors sometimes look upon Christians from our "culturally superior" position with disdain. In our nationalistic fervor, we feel llike we are in tune with the culture from which we came, and that Christians remain in a delusional state, praying to YT's God.
Christians sometimes look at us as misguided souls, idol worshippers, or worse (as Alexandra coins us, Baba Darkside Magick). They believe we are chasing the past in a futile attempt to reconnect with who knows what.
Both of these views are wrong, of course, and based in ignorance and hubris.
What we have here is a classic "Eastside vs. Westside" rivalry. I'm talking east Afrika and west Afrika. Both of our respective religions are Afrikan. Yours east coast (ethiopia), mine west coast (yorubaland). Ethiopia being the birthplace of monotheistic religion, holds its place in global history. west Afrika, from which most African-American's ancestors come, holds its place in history also. Not only as the seed of the black atlantic diaspora, but also for its history of urbanization, its great ancient city of benin, its wondrous art. We should be proud of both!
I haven't said anything of consequence here. This is what is stuck in my craw: When we engage in this east coast/west coast nonsense, we are choosing. and I say choosing, to remain in the cage that is YT's discursive space. The whole "traditional/modern" dichotomy which is really "primitive vs. civilized", "superstition and magic vs. rational," is an illusion created by Eurocentric anthropologists. Why can't we create our own space? Must we continue to define ourselves from YT's perspective? Why do we persist in playing this fixed game? We are like the fool who, addicted to gambling, keeps going back to his neighborhood "casino" even though he knows the game is rigged. It makes my head hot.
Let's not use these white words like primitive, magic, etc. Let's create our own discourse that frees us from the shackles of Eurocentric arrogance and deceit. Both of our religious traditions are AFRIKAN. Period. And should be framed as such. Divide and conquer is played out. Let's rise to a state of higher conscienceness and leave YT in his "primitive" state, The way we found him many moons ago when we (Afrikans) pitied him and educated him (to no avail).
ase.
amen.
(by the way, i say this as a man with both Afrikan and European ancestors. Problematic? perhaps. But those of my ancestors who have elevated beyond the planes of material and mind, are down with me, I'm sure, whether while on earth they were "white" or "black")

Destee

09-29-2009, 01:05 PM

Corvo

09-29-2009, 01:57 PM

I ask that everyone respect one another and each other’s belief systems.

Seriously, we don't need to "infiltrate" other threads to attack beliefs systems of which we don’t know much about.

We can learn of each other. I believe there is no place on any spiritual thread for arguing about beliefs.

We all could benefit from understanding other perspectives.

Please create harmony not disharmony!

With Love, AXE!

DARKSIDE MAGICK

09-29-2009, 04:04 PM

THANATOS/EROS

OHH GREAT PAPA LEGBA... MEET ME AT THE CROSSROADS.. I GOT CANDY!

DARKSIDE MAGICK --- THE GREAT PAPA IS THE BEST!

awo dino

09-29-2009, 06:03 PM

My apologies, darkside magick, in an earlier post I thought your username was a bit of sarcasm when mentioned. didn't know it was a real person. I believe it was in a post by Alexandria. My apologies for the misunderstanding to you both.

DARKSIDE MAGICK

09-29-2009, 06:20 PM

Clyde Coger

09-29-2009, 08:28 PM

awo dino

09-29-2009, 09:21 PM

THANATOS/EROS

I LOVE THESE LITTLE SITES THAT GIVE "VAGUE" INFORMATION ABOUT PAPA LEGBA, UNLESS ONE KNOW THE GREAT PAPA THEMSELVES AND LISTEN TO WHAT HE SAY, THERE IS NO SITE ON THE NET WHICH CAN TELL YOU ABOUT THIS LWA AND ANY OTHER LWAS

DARKSIDE MAGICK --- THREE COPPER PENNIES AND BLOWING SMOKE IN YR FACE.

True

cherryblossom

09-30-2009, 01:28 PM

http://www.awostudycenter.com/Articles/art_what_is_esu.htm
Awo Study Center

What Really is Esu?
by Ebun-Oluwa Kumuyi

Due to Christian syncretism in Nigeria, the Deity or Orisa Esu has become synonymous with the Christian devil. There are many different reasons why and how this came to be so. Let us examine those reasons, and allow us to come to a better understanding of Olorun's messenger, aka Esu!

Esu has many different personalities and can do many things, as most Orisa. He is most popularly known as the trickster, the guarder of the crossroads, the gatekeeper of Heaven, the choice giver and justice maker. The latter task, in my scholarly opinion, is the main reason why the European decided to mask Esu as the "bad one."

In naming Esu as the trickster, let us refer to Odù Iwori-Ofun which says:

Owon so ibi di ire agba lo da'fa fun ogejan, elegbe Ifá. Owon so ibi di ire on li o da inu aye on li o ko gbogbo ire wa inu aye, oran ti ko ba dara ehin ni da si.

Nigbati Esu gbo pe awon ore meji so pe awon ko ni ja lai-lai nigbana ni Esu lo da fila aliawo apa kan fun-fun, apa kan si dudu; o si lo koja larin awon meji ore, o si da ija sile larin awon.

This verse tells the story of two best friends who visited a Babalawo for a consultation. It was told by Olodumare through Ifá to the Babalawo that the friends needed to make a sacrifice in order to preserve their friendship. They had enough faith in their relationship that they refused to perform the sacrifice. Esu heard of this, and decided to put on a hat that was half white and half black and walked past the friends where one stood on the right, and the other at Esu's left. They both commented on the same man, but argued over the color of his hat; one seeing only the white side, and the other seeing only the black. It turns out that through this disagreement their friendship ended. Had they performed the prescribed sacrifice to God, they would have died best friends instead of having lived as enemies.

This is an example of Esu being the trickster, as well as him being a dealer of justice. Not performing a sacrifice is a slight to God, a suggestion that you have more power than He to control your own destiny and deny His advise. Neither God, Orunmila nor Esu appreciate this type of arrogant behaviour. When this happens, humans are punished. Esu's role as the "punisher" is what lead the Europeans to convince our own people that God's messenger is really the devil!

Let us now compare Esu and the devil according to the Bible and verses of Ifá. The Bible says that the devil was cast out of Heaven for competing with God. This is not true of Esu, nor is there any historical/mythical evidence through Yoruba text to back this assertion.

The devil makes his home in hell-fire and is the antithesis of anything Heavenly. Esu resides between Heaven and Earth, serving as God's messenger to man and carrying sacrifices from Earth to Heaven. He is also the gatekeeper of Heaven, which the devil certainly is not!
Esu does not wait for humans to die so that he may carry them off to hell. Esu does not encourage evil, nor is he the father of evil. These are attributes of the Christian devil that are non-existent in traditional Yoruba culture.

Many times Esu will force us to look at the ugliness within ourselves so that we may see who we are in true light, recognise the wrong and change it so that we are better able to please God. It is Esu that makes us remember:

S'otito, s'ododo, ma s'ika - Orisa gbe iwa pele O!

This basically means to do good, and perform well without doing harm - the Orisa support good character!

This is not to say that the Yoruba are naive enough to have a disbelief in evil and evil forces. That would be foolish - especially of a culture that strongly believes in a balance of nature. Where there exists good, there must also exist evil and our ancestors understood this clearly. It has been misunderstood, however, that Esu is the master of this evil when in fact he is not. The Yoruba do have a belief in evil forces that parade around during the dark hours and cause harm to humans and nature. These forces work with those with iwa buruku (bad character) and help them achieve evil goals on earth; it should be noted that those forces are not Orisa. It is strongly believed that Olodumare ni idajo - meaning that God is the owner of ALL judgement. Those who intentionally perform evil acts on Earth will eventually be judged by God and will have to answer for their acts.

Alexandra

09-30-2009, 02:02 PM

Awo,

Consider this an acknowledgement that I have read your thoughts on what you deem to be a fall out between two people of opposing beliefs. An erronous conclusion, particularly since this chastisement of "hubris" comes from the stance that I did it from a position of superiority (though personally I see it as triumph of the underdog), but nonetheless, I acknowledge it.

I see you have already realised your other error; that of thinking 'Baba Darkside Magick' is a phrase I 'sarcastically' 'coined' and not the alias of a Destee member. It would appear that I am not the only one who is guilty of ignorance.

You have much to teach it seems, and you will no doubt find an audience here, so I wish you all the best with that; and your future partnership with the good Brother Clyde.

Alexandra

Corvo

09-30-2009, 02:32 PM

http://www.awostudycenter.com/Articles/art_what_is_esu.htm
Awo Study Center

What Really is Esu?
by Ebun-Oluwa Kumuyi

Due to Christian syncretism in Nigeria, the Deity or Orisa Esu has become synonymous with the Christian devil. There are many different reasons why and how this came to be so. Let us examine those reasons, and allow us to come to a better understanding of Olorun's messenger, aka Esu!

Esu has many different personalities and can do many things, as most Orisa. He is most popularly known as the trickster, the guarder of the crossroads, the gatekeeper of Heaven, the choice giver and justice maker. The latter task, in my scholarly opinion, is the main reason why the European decided to mask Esu as the "bad one."

This verse tells the story of two best friends who visited a Babalawo for a consultation. It was told by Olodumare through Ifá to the Babalawo that the friends needed to make a sacrifice in order to preserve their friendship. They had enough faith in their relationship that they refused to perform the sacrifice. Esu heard of this, and decided to put on a hat that was half white and half black and walked past the friends where one stood on the right, and the other at Esu's left. They both commented on the same man, but argued over the color of his hat; one seeing only the white side, and the other seeing only the black. It turns out that through this disagreement their friendship ended. Had they performed the prescribed sacrifice to God, they would have died best friends instead of having lived as enemies.

This is an example of Esu being the trickster, as well as him being a dealer of justice. Not performing a sacrifice is a slight to God, a suggestion that you have more power than He to control your own destiny and deny His advise. Neither God, Orunmila nor Esu appreciate this type of arrogant behaviour. When this happens, humans are punished. Esu's role as the "punisher" is what lead the Europeans to convince our own people that God's messenger is really the devil!

Let us now compare Esu and the devil according to the Bible and verses of Ifá. The Bible says that the devil was cast out of Heaven for competing with God. This is not true of Esu, nor is there any historical/mythical evidence through Yoruba text to back this assertion.

The devil makes his home in hell-fire and is the antithesis of anything Heavenly. Esu resides between Heaven and Earth, serving as God's messenger to man and carrying sacrifices from Earth to Heaven. He is also the gatekeeper of Heaven, which the devil certainly is not!
Esu does not wait for humans to die so that he may carry them off to hell. Esu does not encourage evil, nor is he the father of evil. These are attributes of the Christian devil that are non-existent in traditional Yoruba culture.

Many times Esu will force us to look at the ugliness within ourselves so that we may see who we are in true light, recognise the wrong and change it so that we are better able to please God. It is Esu that makes us remember:

S'otito, s'ododo, ma s'ika - Orisa gbe iwa pele O!

This basically means to do good, and perform well without doing harm - the Orisa support good character!

This is not to say that the Yoruba are naive enough to have a disbelief in evil and evil forces. That would be foolish - especially of a culture that strongly believes in a balance of nature. Where there exists good, there must also exist evil and our ancestors understood this clearly. It has been misunderstood, however, that Esu is the master of this evil when in fact he is not. The Yoruba do have a belief in evil forces that parade around during the dark hours and cause harm to humans and nature. These forces work with those with iwa buruku (bad character) and help them achieve evil goals on earth; it should be noted that those forces are not Orisa. It is strongly believed that Olodumare ni idajo - meaning that God is the owner of ALL judgement. Those who intentionally perform evil acts on Earth will eventually be judged by God and will have to answer for their acts.

Loved cherryblosom,
I'm going to assume, that you are asking if the above is correct? It is only a half truth. Humans make the choices and Humans pay the consequence, Justice is not dispensed by Echu. We have no heaven. this is a eurocentric notion. We have no Hell. There is no Judgement by any god after we die. The judgement is made by us Humans, here on earth. Evil forces are create by Humans Evil intents.

I'm not soppose to say even this much, for it may cause disharmony among other practitinors of similar believes. We don't debate believe systems in public. We listen closely to the Mai or Pai of our house,as to what is going on, and how to address it. Each house does things differently.

The person that you got this information from is in buisnes. He lives in his own world. Each of our paths is different. our spiritual paths are very personal. Not to be discussed in a public forums.

I hope this helps your understandings.

With love, Corvo

awo dino

09-30-2009, 02:55 PM

Dear Alexandria,
I have no malice towards you, and am not judging you; I don't know you at all. My post that you are referring to was not directed at you at all. It was about the "infiltrating" of threads by those who only want to badmouth another's religion. I'm not sure if it was you or Cherryblossom who had mentioned that. So I was writing down my thoughts regarding that situation. I was talking about the ignorance of people in general from both sides who critisize other religions. I wasn't referring to you; you weren't even in my thoughts. I used the reference of Darkside Magick as a general example, not to attack you personally. I said people on both sides are guilty. If you want to call me ignorant because i didn't know Darkside Magic was a real person, go ahead; I can take it. My point is, we need to move beyond this, and realize that both of these traditions are Afrikan. I was not calling you ignorant. My apologies for giving you that impression.

I am left wondering, however, if Darkside Magick uses this username as tongue in cheek sarcasm, or what. I don't mean this disrespectfully. Just curious.

DARKSIDE MAGICK

09-30-2009, 03:03 PM

Alexandra

09-30-2009, 03:19 PM

awo dino

09-30-2009, 03:26 PM

THANATOS!

HMMMM????

DARKSIDE MAGICK --- YOU ARE THE QUESTION AND THE ANSWER

man of mystery... i guess the answer will come in time.

ire,

dino

DARKSIDE MAGICK

09-30-2009, 03:46 PM

man of mystery... i guess the answer will come in time.

ire,

dino

THANATOS

I GAVE CLUES WITH THE BOLDNESS OF CERTAIN WORDS!!

BABA DARKSIDE -- "The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural."―Palpatine to Anakin

cherryblossom

10-03-2009, 04:37 PM

Loved cherryblosom,
I'm going to assume, that you are asking if the above is correct? It is only a half truth. Humans make the choices and Humans pay the consequence, Justice is not dispensed by Echu. We have no heaven. this is a eurocentric notion. We have no Hell. There is no Judgement by any god after we die. The judgement is made by us Humans, here on earth. Evil forces are create by Humans Evil intents.

I'm not soppose to say even this much, for it may cause disharmony among other practitinors of similar believes. We don't debate believe systems in public. We listen closely to the Mai or Pai of our house,as to what is going on, and how to address it. Each house does things differently.

The person that you got this information from is in buisnes. He lives in his own world. Each of our paths is different. our spiritual paths are very personal. Not to be discussed in a public forums.

I hope this helps your understandings.

With love, Corvo

No, Brother Corvo, I only posted this link to give another perspective on the topic. This site was explaining the erroneous correlation between Eshu and any Christian belief, specifically the devil. As for the "justice" part, this site is just one view, not mine.

However, I did want to ask if public discussion is taboo for all African belief systems or only Eshu? ----I ask because if this were not acceptable, I would have thought that someone who adheres to ATR would have stipulated such at the creation of this sub-forum several years ago.

If open discussion is frowned upon, how can a person who seeks to know more about Eshu or other ATRs learn and study? Even though I am a Christian, I had hoped this topic would garner explanation and clarification on Eshu from those who follow this path. IMO, it doesn't matter that a Christian started the thread but that others would participate in it so that readers would also be enlightened.

There are many, many, many threads on Destee concerning ATRs in the open forums. So, I was not aware that any part of these paths should not be discussed publicly.

Corvo

10-03-2009, 09:26 PM

cherryblossom

10-03-2009, 10:38 PM

Dear cherryblossom,

Are you addressing me with anger?

I don't know what ATR is. I'm not sure why you are posting different takes on spiritual believe systems. I commented on what you posted, and stated that people have their personal paths to their believes. and that they are not normaly discussed in public. This was not an attack on you. But that it is best to talk with some one in person. I don't know much about other African religions. So I can't say any thing about their practices.

peace

No, Brother Corvo, I am not addressing you with anger, and I did not receive your post as an attack on me. I was just asking for clarification about discussion on Eshu....(I think somewhere we got our wires crossed.)

When I used the abbreviation "ATR" I was referencing "African Traditional Religions."----That's the title for this sub-forum.

I certainly didn't intend our exchanges to be construed as any kind of "attack."

DARKSIDE MAGICK

10-12-2009, 04:46 PM

THANATOS

OH GREAT PAPA LEGBHA... DIDNT WE HAD FUN THIS MORNING AT THREE O CLOCK..THAT RUM TASTES GREAT.. SEE YOU LATER BIG HOMEY!!!

BABA DARKSIDE ---- THAT CIGAR WAS BIG!!!

Sekhemu

10-12-2009, 09:08 PM

THANATOS

OH GREAT PAPA LEGBHA... DIDNT WE HAD FUN THIS MORNING AT THREE O CLOCK..THAT RUM TASTES GREAT.. SEE YOU LATER BIG HOMEY!!!

BABA DARKSIDE ---- THAT CIGAR WAS BIG!!!

question. do you have an actual esu in your home?

awo dino

10-17-2009, 12:16 PM

Esu-Elegba: Ifa and the Spirit of the Divine Messenger
by Awo Fa'lokun Fatunmbi

Esu, for any of you who are familiar with any earth-centered religion, fulfills the role of the Divine Messenger. Every earth centered tradition that I know of, believes that there is some Force in Nature, or Spiritual Presence, or some power that allows humans to communicate with Nature and allows Nature to communicate with humans. It is the function of translation. The Divine Messenger translates the language of Nature into the language of humans and the language of humans into the language of Nature.

If you have ever gone to the beach feeling depressed and came away feeling better just by being in the presence of the ocean, then we can say that you had some kind of dialogue or communication with the ocean. The translating factor in this interaction is a Spiritual Force that we call Esu. That is the most immediate and tangible manifestation of Esu as a Force in Nature.

I want to take it back to the more primal aspect of Esu and then see if we can't bring that forward to a place where it relates to life in Oakland in 1993. The most abstract manifestation of Esu is as it comes into Being in the Odu Ose'Tura which appears as follows:

I I
II II
I I
I II

This is the symbolic representation of the energy pattern that incarnates Esu. This Odu is used as a magnet to invoke the power of the Divine Messenger. In Ifá Creation Myth, the Eternal Rock of Creation is called Oyigiyigi. This Rock separated into four Calabashes of Creation. These four calabashes interacted with one another to form sixteen sacred principles called Olu Odu or the primal principles of Creation. In Ifá the sacred number seventeen represents the sixteen primal Odu plus Ose'Tura which is the seventeenth Odu of Ifá. This Odu has the function of causing the Olu Odu to copulate generating the two hundred and forty Odu that are generated by the first sixteen Odu. This suggests that Esu, in addition to being the Divine Messenger, is also primal seed of generation.

Ifá is the religious tradition of Yoruba culture. It is the parent religion of all the different spiritual societies, fraternities and sororities that exist within the culture. The reason that Ifá is considered the source of all the other forms of worship within Yoruba culture has to do with the role of Esu and Ose'Tura in relationship to the primal Olu Odu. In essence when an Ifá priest is initiated, they invoke the first sixteen Odu, then they invoke Ose'Tura. This is a ritual reenactment of the original moment of the Creation of diversity within the Universe. This ritual event gives the initiate a glimpse of the primal event that generated Being as we experience in human life. It is the mystical vision of that event that gives the Prophet Orunmila the praise name "Eleri-ipin" which means "Witness to Creation."

The opening invocation for Ifá is always "Orunmila Eleri-ipin" meaning "The Realm of the Immortals is our salvation, the Witness to Creation." The mystical invocation of this event occurs through the invocation of Ose'Tura. I know that this is an abstract concept, but it is out of this primal event that all the other sub groups within Ifá emerge. Every Orisa, every ancestral lineage, every society, every vocation are all manifestation of one Odu, or a grouping of several Odu. It is understood that all of these groups come into the world through the Divine intervention of Ose'Tura.

In addition to being the Divine Messenger, Esu has several other functions. If we take them one at a time, I hope this will give you a broader understanding of Esu as a Force in Nature. Esu is the Divine Enforcer in issues of Justice. Esu also has a role as the Divine Trickster and Esu is the Orisa which opens doors.

So we all understand the idea of Esu as the Divine Messenger. If you can communicate with the ocean, if you can gain inspiration anywhere in Nature you have established a relationship with Esu as the Divine Messenger. This is true whether or not you have received some symbolic representation of Esu that you use in a ritual manner. For those of you who are familiar with chakras, Esu communicates through the third eye. In Yoruba we say "Iwaju." The word Iwaju means "The Eye of Character," and is used commonly to mean "forehead".

In order to communicate with Esu there has to be an unbroken connection between the head and the heart. If you are in Yoruba culture and you hear someone say think about what you are doing, they do not point to their head. They point to their heart. The reason for that is they understand the link between the third eye, the brain and the heart. So in Yoruba there is a link between iwaju, ori and okan. That link is at the back of the neck. In the West they call this link
Esu ni ba ko. In Ifá we say "ipako" which literally means "not disjointed." No matter which phrase you use, the back of the neck is still the link between the head and the heart.

If you only look at the world through the power centers in your head, you have shut down the power centers in the rest of your body. When this occurs your shoulders tense up, you get a pain in the neck, this tension leads to agitation and the development of illness and is considered reflective of bad character.

Ifá tradition describes this lack of connection by saying that the hands and the feet are moving in different directions. So if there is no unity between what you feel and what you think, which is a fundamental issue of psychology, you have a problem. The image of hands and feet suggests that hands bring what you need to survive and feet take you out in the world. You need to have your hands and feet motivated by the same program in order to function with efficiency.

In the role Esu as Divine Trickster, most of the anthropological literature identifies the Trickster as a random form of harassment. In some literature Esu is described as an "evil" phenomena. But there is a very sacred function for all Tricksters in all traditional cultures. That function is to bring to each one of us the truth that we are all interconnected and interrelated. It is the Eternal Truth that no one can be totally self reliant. Once you have the idea that I can handle all of my problems, I've got it covered, I'll never cry, I'm the tough guy, call me John Wayne or now-a-days Rambo or whatever archetype that you're stuck in, the role of the Divine Trickster is to let you know that this self perception may not be true. Occasionally things occur and we don't have all the answers. So there is a spiritual influence that pushes us all towards the idea that one tree does not make a forest and no man is an island. It is pushing us towards the idea that we are interrelated, that when take the solitary, I can handle everything approach, sooner of later reality is going to greet us in the street.

I am not just speaking here of other people. We are dependant on other people to survive in the world and we are dependant on communication with Nature to survive in the world. The Divine Trickster slaps us up side our head when we empty too much garbage in our water. When we piss in our drinking water, eventually it tastes funny. As George Carlin said the whole purpose of life on earth is to feed Mother Earth Styrofoam cups. That maybe true, but until we know for sure, that could be disruptive. If it is disruptive, we can expect a wake up call from Esu.

The Divine Trickster is not some arbitrary, malevolent Force that is out to get you if you don't behave. That is the Christian "boogy man" model. The Divine Trickster is a fundamental principle of the structure of reality, based on the idea that if you see an egg that hatches and something comes out with wings, there's a pretty good chance that its a bird. The universe is not arbitrary.

The great African Shaman Malidoma has said that rocks, trees and animals are much smarter than humans, and that humans are the lowest rung on the consciousness scale. He said that because birds always act as birds, you rarely find a bird trying to be an elephant. You rarely find a tree trying to be a rock and you never find a rock being anything but a rock. That is one of the reasons rocks are sacred. They are inflexible in their insistence on maintaining their intrinsic identity. A rock is very evolved spiritually because it always functions in perfect alignment with its destiny. Humans on the other hand are constantly trying to be birds and elephants and whatever else they can image. It is the role of the Divine Trickster to suggest that we might have a personal destiny and that we may have a purpose for being on earth and that we may have some eternal essence that the Universe is guiding us towards bringing into Being. So the Divine Trickster has a very important and very sacred function. This leads us to the idea of opening doors. I hate to trash the literature on Orisa, but right now I'm going to. You read time and time again that Esu opens doors. That sounds good, but what does it mean? Its like everybody is rewriting what someone else wrote. Let us consider what door it is that Esu opens. And when in the course of your life it is important to have that door open.

Fa'lokun: Does anyone know what door we are talking about?

Answer: Your head.

Fa'lokun: Well, sort of. Let us say it like this. In Ifá they say initiation is the process of elders guiding the novice up the seven steps of initiation. They knock on the door and kick it open, then step back. This is the door that they are talking about. I'm not just speaking of the door that is kicked open during ritual. It is a bigger door than that. Initiation occurs every time we expand our own consciousness. This can be in the context of a communal ritual, or it can be in the context of overcoming difficulty in the world.

Ifá says that we can draw a map of consciousness through the use of a circle that contains an equal armed cross. So lets image a circle with a cross that is the size of a baseball. Lets say that this circle represents the consciousness of a young man the day before puberty. Then puberty kicks in and your consciousness is forced to deal with the issues of being an adult, raising a family, finding a productive role in society and so on. Lets say the consciousness of man before puberty is the size of a baseball. Lets say the consciousness of the man who has assimilated these new roles is represented by a circle the size of a basketball. To get from the baseball to the basketball requires the death of the old self. The boy no longer exists and in his place stands a man. This shift in consciousness can only occur if we tear down the parameters of conscious that define how we see ourself in the world.

When this barrier breaks down we go through a period of death and rebirth. The death of the old self and birth of the new self. This process always involves walking through some doorway, some portal, some barrier that leads us into the realm of the unknown. This is always true, there is no exception. This occurs daily if you are in tune with it. Ifá says that once we are initiated, it is our task to re-initiate ourself every day. Each day you have to incorporate, assimilate and integrate the life lessons that occur in the world. Otherwise you become stagnant, you regress and the circle that represents the parameters of your consciousness becomes smaller.

So there is a doorway that we walk through that allows us to make the leap into the next level of consciousness. The key to unlocking that doorway is the willingness to confront the fear of the unknown. It always involves embracing the need for change. The doorway that Esu opens is that doorway that exposes a mirror that allows you to see yourself. When you see yourself clearly, you grab yourself by the lapels, you look yourself in the eye and you say, "Who I am in this moment isn't going to cut it, what do I have to do to take the next step?"

Esu as the Orisa that opens doors, really becomes the primal source for the confrontation with fear. So historically, one of the reasons why Esu tends to be described as "evil" or "negative" is because he brings us face to face with our fears. If you don't like this experience, or if you can't handle it. The tendency is to blame Esu rather than admit to your own lack of courage.

I want to say that again. If you are unwilling to walk through the door that Esu has opened, the common human response is to blame the door keeper. Esu as the opener of doors is that which we invoke so that we can confront our fears. The point being, don't invoke Esu unless you are ready to deal.

What happens is that people come to me saying they are ready for growth. We invoke Esu and they blame me for all the problems that greet them in the street.
But I am not the one who is causing the problem. The problem was caused by asking the Universe to open the door. The key point here is that Ifá is not about sprinkling juju dust over your head and washing away all your problems.
Anybody that tells you that maybe doing something wonderful, but it isn't Ifá.
Let's say I did have some juju powder that gave you the courage to confront your fears. So every time you had a problem you'd come to me and I would sprinkle the juju on your head and you would handle the problem. What you would be creating is reliance on me and not the ability to work through the fear. There is only one antidote to fear and that is courage. Understand? Courage is the only antidote to fear and there is no way to invoke courage other than to do the right thing in spite of the fear.

Fundamentally, cosmologically, psychologically and spiritually that's just the way it is. In fact, most initiations include a healthy dose of time to allow you to experience your fear. This is the primary reason why initiations are secret, because if you really figured out what they were doing, its not all that scary. If you don't know it can make your anus pucker. Believe me I have experienced many an anus pucker and it is a valuable process.

All this to answer the question what doorway does Esu open? The doorway that allows you to confront your fears.

There is an idea in Ifá that appears in every earth centered religion that I have ever encountered. It is the idea that everything is interconnected. If you read all the great mystical writings in literature, they are all about trying to explain how it feels when you really get that idea. The point is, we can sit here and talk and say; "Oh yeah we're all interconnected, I can get with that, we're all connected to Source, so we're all the eyes of God, sounds good." Its a wonderfully noble and universally recognized idea. But it remains an idea until you really experience it. Now all the folks who write about experiencing it say that the prelude to that experience is what I call the Mother of all Fears. Ifá literally calls it "Fear of the Mothers." It is the fear of total loss of self, which it is, followed by a sense of we're all inter connected.

So how does this relate to the idea of the Divine Enforcer? You can only move so far away from this idea before Nature itself, and human beings who are in the process of becoming conscious, create counter - balancing forces to guide you back to center. Esu has the function of Divine Enforcer. You can all say, "What about this tragedy, and what about that tragedy?" That is a difficult question to come to terms with objectively. But as an aspect of faith, in Ifá there is the belief that within the bigger picture, Divine Justice is at work. This is based on the belief that it is possible to get along, that it is possible to relate.

The symbolic analogy that Ifá uses is "Ifá Olokun o saro dayo," meaning "The
Spirit of the Ocean always provides for those who live in the sea." Every fish that lives in the ocean has a home and food to eat. So they have it figured out in the ocean, we just haven't figured it out yet on land. That's probably because they've had more time in the ocean to work on it. The idea of Esu as the Divine Enforcer is that the ground rules for figuring it out are in place. When we get too far away from that, things occur that bring the truth back to us.

This is all related to Chaos theory. Western science has a discipline called Chaos theory which postulates the idea that things which seem to be symmetrical in the universe have a range of variation when viewed at a distance. Things which appear random have a degree of symmetry when viewed at a distance. So the issues of justice and randomness are issues of perspective. If you get the big picture, the pieces start to fall in place. So Esu as the Divine Enforcer is what we invoke to get the big picture. You can do things on the short term that feel effective, righteous and ethical that can have long term negative effects.

You can do things that seem negative in the moment and end up having positive results. It is Esu that we invoke to get a clue where we are in that polarity.

Fa'lokun: So what does all of this have to do with life in Oakland in 1993?

Answer: One thing that I get is there are no absolutes.

Answer: It seems like Esu is necessary to find some form of spiritual centering.

Fa'lokun: The Yoruba word for shrine is "Ojubo." I'm going to tell you a secret. Every shrine I've seen in Africa contains a rock. In our religion we pray to rocks. Ojubo means "the place we face when we say our prayers." So when you are given a rock during initiation by wise and powerful elders, they bring a Spirit to live in that rock so that you have something to dialogue with when you face the rock. They also teach that if you don't talk to the rock, that which they brought to the rock will go away. What you are left with is just a rock.

Despite what the Christian missionary's taught, no one in Africa believes that the rock is Esu or the spirit. They believe that the rock is the place you face when you are speaking to Esu. This gives you a place to initiate the centering process.

If all the Universe is created by the 256 Odu, then those 256 Odu have to be a part of your consciousness, because they all emerged out of the light that came from the Big Bang. That same light created your consciousness. This consciousness includes the Odu Ose'Tura which we said invokes Esu. So somewhere inside of you Esu is alive and waiting to go to work. When you are centering, you are facing that rock and you are calling Esu out of your own consciousness and bouncing it off that rock. Hopefully, if Ose'Tura exists somewhere else in the world, which we believe it does, your prayer will attract other manifestations of that Odu. That will create a convergence of forces that will allow for dialogue and inspiration.

Nobody believes that Esu is a rock. Ojubo, just look at the language. The rock is the place you face when you say your prayers.

Now the thing that I didn't realize when I went to Africa for the first time was the importance of the extended family in relationship to Ifá and Orisa worship. First and foremost, Ifá is the sanctification of the extended family. The extended family is an eternal structure that exists forever and different faces evolve into the role of elders within the ongoing family unit. I think the reason why no one has ever written about this aspect of Ifá is because we in the West don't know what a functional extended family looks like. We barely know what a two parent family looks like, let alone an extended family.

There is a lot of talk about dysfunctional families and co-dependant behavior and that's all good. But we need to start thinking about, seeing and understanding what a functional family looks like. For example the role of grandmother and grandfather are eternal roles within the family that are assumed by different faces. Children are being trained for the day when they become grandmother and grandfather.

Jobs are also sanctioned through initiation. The profession of blacksmith is sanctioned through initiation to Ogun. The role of healing female problems is sanctioned through initiation into Oshun. The role of herbalist is sanctioned through initiation into Osanyin. Divination is sanctioned through initiation into Ifá. Within the extended family there are different roles that sustain the well being of the family.

On a communal level there is a sanctification of farming and a sanctification of the role of those who run the market. All these roles fit into an ideal version of how a family and a community functions. Can you imagine what shopping at the mall would be like if every shop keeper was initiated into the Mysteries of Oya. It would be a different place.

Just so that you will know, when I say sanctification, I mean some form of communal blessing, another way to say that would be initiation. Sanctification is a communal process that identifies certain people as carries of a particular kind of wisdom.

Now in the United States, Orisa families are not usually using the African model of the extended family. Instead they are using the General Motors model of the extended family which has one patriarchal leader at the top of a pyramid. That isn't it.

Superficially, the Yoruba extended family looks like a patriarchy. It is not. The women have veto power over what is apparent in public. There is a balance of power within the structure of community. So for example, if you go through an Ifá initiation, it looks like you are being initiated by a fraternity of men. But the last thing that you do involves a blessing from a mother. If she does not give her blessing you are not initiated. You have to walk past her to come into the world after initiation. So there is a weave of influences that sustains the eternal structure of the family.

Part of the function of Esu is to maintain the cohesive fabric of the family structure.

So here comes my answer to the question how does Esu relate to life in Oakland in 1993. I think that Esu can begin to give you a vision of the big picture. That vision here and now gives us insight on how we can relate as extended family. In Africa there is no word for uncle and there is no word for cousin. Anybody older than you is father or mother, and if you don't call them father or mother you are in deep trouble. It has nothing to do with them being initiated.
My baba is the Araba of Ode Remo, he bows to no man in the village, but when his older sister comes into the room he bows to her as Iya or mother.

We are talking about the eternal idea of respect for elders as part of the process. Ifá is one particular vision of how to make the family work and every other vision that works is Ifá whether they call it that or not. And if you call yourself doing Ifá and you don't know what a family looks like, then you are lying to yourself and whoever you're talking too. So within the Orisa community there is a lot of concern about disruption, competition, jealously and the question of why can't the community come together. That is a very real issue. The way you deal with that is not to try and convince everybody that you are right. You deal with that by joining hands with those who have the same vision of family and it doesn't matter what they call themselves. It doesn't matter if they are Ifá.

Luisah Teish has gone to New Zealand and Australia and joined hands with people who know what an extended family looks like and they have treated her as a sister and mother. That is the point. If you are just trying to make a big theological argument, you know I've got the right way, I've got the most information blah blah blah, all this nonsense that goes on in the community is not relevant. There are people who get it and there are people who don't. If you get it, you join hands with those who do and together you become the model for what a family looks like. That's where the transformation occurs, in the doing, not in the saying.

Based on a simple idea, the idea of Esu's power as Divine Enforcer, we come up with the ethical notion that if your life gets better my life gets better. If you suffer, I suffer. If I really get that idea and not just think about it, but feel it, then I have to examine the notion that jealousy is inappropriate, competition is inappropriate, gossip is inappropriate, back biting is inappropriate, diminishing anyone verbally is inappropriate. That's regardless of background, status, intelligence, poverty or abundance. The feelings I have listed are inappropriate to alignment with Esu as Divine Enforcer, end of story.

When you find yourself experiencing these emotions there is transformation work that needs to be done. Its not hard to identify and its not hard to recognize. The problem is taking those emotions and transforming them into something worthy of praise.

It becomes a real struggle. There are the eternal images of Ifá scripture that motivate us to transcend our limitations. Then there are the contemporary manifestations of those principles. One example is what I call the Mandela standard. Nelson Mandela is negotiating with the government of South Africa without any apparent anger, without any apparent viciousness, without any apparent hidden agenda, without any apparent need for revenge. He has a vision, he is right on it, he is moving towards bringing it into being, he knows what it is going to take, and he knows what his place is in the process. He knows all of this I believe because he knows what a family looks like, he knows what it feels like, he knows what it smells like, and he is walking with unyielding determination in a straight line towards creating that and everything else is irrelevant. That is as inspiring as it gets. That is Ifá whether he's heard of it or not.

He becomes one of the living manifestations of what it is that we are struggling for. Its an example that we want to grasp and elevate. Believe me I am not saying this out of some personal admiration of Mandela. My African elders recognize that he represents something worthy of admiration and respect. We use the example of his life and we say where do I fall short of that?

That's where the idea of Esu comes in as the motivating factor to give us a glimpse of the bigger picture. Certainly as a religious community we need to be more outspoken in our support of fundamental issues and in our recognition of those living elders who embrace the ethical standards of our faith, even when they are not of our faith.

I encourage anyone who is concerned about these issues to become a prophetic voice in expressing these ideas. The point is to express these ideas effectively. I don't say get up on a soap box and say that you are right about everything. We can at least engage in some dialogue on how to elevate these ideas.

So part of what Mandela represents, in the framework of Ifá, is a fundamental point that is difficult to grasp in Western culture. There is a thing that exists in the Universe that I call spiritual power, that Ifá calls ase. It is generally neutral, which means that it can be directed towards creation or destruction. But it has physical substance. When you are in the presence of spiritual power it is unmistakable. Once you have been in the presence of ase, no one will ever be able fake the funk. If you have experienced spiritual power, and someone says they have it and you don't see it, smell it, taste it and feel moved by it, don't believe it.

What do I mean by spiritual power? It is the ability to place yourself so perfectly in alignment with the Forces of Nature that surround you that you can move in such a way that your life becomes continually transformed. And the life of those around you become continually transformed. So again, power is not sprinkling juju on your head. It is assuming a position in relationship to Nature that becomes transformative simply because you are a conduit for the essential balance of Nature itself. In India they call that darma, you get blessed by the elders by sitting in their presence. They don't have to say anything. Its all about having a real experience of spiritual power.

In Ifá they call it ase, in China they call it Chi, in Japan they call it ki, in Hinduism they call it prana. Those are all real things that feel a certain way and the essence of ceremonial work within Ifá is to unlock that power. If you are unable to unlock that power on your own, being in the presence of those who can is of value. Ase will become unlocked in you merely by being around it. At that point what you call it is profoundly irrelevant. Because at that point you will know what it feels like.

I was very blessed to be with some elders from Ile Ife in Rhode Island recently. We did an initiation. It is a three day ceremony and there is a place in the third day where the Orisa is suppose to come and mount the initiate. In Rhode Island we did three initiations and each time the Orisa came during the opening prayer on the first day of the ceremony.

I felt that I was in the presence of real spiritual power. When you know this feeling and you invoke Esu and ask for the power to do something, the issue of am I doing it right, am I doing it in an African way, am I doing it Ifa, am I doing it Umbanda, am I doing it pagan, doesn't matter. The question is am I raising the spiritual power that will solve the problem. That is the only question. You can convince yourself until you are blue in the face that you've caused a transformation that has not actually occurred.

As a diviner when someone comes to me, they want their problems transformed. They don't care if I'm coming from a pure African point of view, a Santeria point of view or doing a horse and pony show as long as the issue gets resolved and there are ways to objectively evaluate that. This should be the basis for building a community.

Malidoma says that community is three or more people who have come together for a purpose. The purpose of the Orisa community is to come together and to support each other's spiritual development, so that we can have a life, have a family, experience abundance and know a little joy. Its not a mysterious agenda that's being put out here. But there are ways to evaluate this process that will give you some basis for determining if you are standing in the presence of real juice or kool aid.

Awo Fa'lokun Fatunmbi is co-founder of Ile Orunmila Oshun and founder of the Awo Study Center, both based in Oakland, California. He is a popular author of several books on traditional African Orisa worship, including "Iwa-Pele; The Search for the Source of Santeria and Lucumi," "Awo; Ifa and the Theology of Orisa Divination," and "Iba Se Orisa; Ifa Proverbs, Folktales, Sacred History and Prayer."

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