By: Adeola Soetan
Esu a gbe gbogbo wa o"
Congratulations to all faithful of Esu deity and all Yoruba sons and daughters on the occasion of Esu Day Celebration tagged "Esu is not Satan.
I must confess, like millions of Yoruba, that I didn't know for many years that Esu is not the Satan in the Bible or" Ashitani" of the Islamic faith.
Not until I read "Oju Merindinlogun" and "Ijinle Ohun Enu Ifa" by Prof. Wande Abimbola, the Awise gbogbo Agbaye and former VC of University of Ife now OAU.
And not until I met adherents of Esu deity in Abeokuta who were very pleasant and God fearing honest but frank people.
Esu is a kind, gentle, straightforward but a no nonsense deity when provoked just like Sanponan.
When you enter a covenant with Esu you must fulfill it, if not, he gets provoked and does the needful.
Adherents are very proud to bear his name like Esubiyi, Esugbemi, Esufunke.
I think the mix up of thinking Esu is Satan started with the Yoruba interpretation of the Bible by the intellectual theologist, Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther who translated Satan as Satani.
And the non informed, newly converted Christians in the era for the absence of appropriate word decided to call the Bible Satan as Esu.
It's good that the error is being corrected globally where Yoruba culture permiates.
I saw similar "Esu is not Satan rally in Brazil recently.
That's a good one since the religious colonialists won't correct the generational error because it pays their objective to condemn what you have to impose their own culture and tradition.
Eshu, also spelled Esu, is a trickster deity from the Yoruba religion, originating from southwestern Nigeria.
Esu is the spirit of crossroads, thresholds of homes, markets, or gathering places.
In African Diaspora religions, Esu is also called Papa Legba or Elegba.
Congratulations on Esu not Satan celebration.
Esu lalu, Okiri Oko agbe gbogbo awa omo Yoruba o.
Ase waaaa!
Adeola Soetan is a culture preservation activist
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