We joined joined the #esuisnotsatan awareness late December 2018. The reason for the campaign was to let people know what Èṣù is and what it is not and to encourage people to own up to their mistakes without saying “Iṣẹ́ èṣù ni”.
There have been misconceptions about Èṣù, what people think it is. In this post we will like to tell you what Èṣù truly is and what it is not.
WHO ÈṢÙ IS:
- Èṣù is a deity in Yorùbá land, an Òrìṣà of crossroads, duality, beginnings, travelers, fertility and death.
- Èṣù serves as an intermediary between humans and other deities in Yorùbá land. He is like a messenger that humans can send to other deities.
- Èṣù is neutral, he is friends with every other deity, this is why it is easy for him to access every other deity.
- Èṣù is a friendly prankster. He has good rapport with every other deity and he knows how to whine them if need be.
WHO ÈṢÙ IS NOT:
- Contrary to what many people think/believe, Èṣù is not evil. As mentioned above, he is a messenger so he delivers whatever message he’s been sent be it positive or negative (a messenger does not dictate what he should be sent).
- Èṣù is not the notorious, cursed serpent of old in the (Garden of Eden) story of creation. different from the the biblical Satan.
- Èṣù is not the fallen angel, that was casted down from the paradise.
THE SOURCE OF THE MISCONCEPTION.
Samuel Ajayi Crowther Translated the Bible from English to Yorùbá Language. Ajayi was only 12 years old when he was captured, along with his mother and toddler brother and other family members, along with his entire village, by Muslim Fulani slave raiders in 1821 and sold to Portuguese slave traders. However, before his slave-ship left port, it was boarded by a British Royal Navy ship under the command of Captain Henry Leeke, and Crowther was taken to Freetown, Sierra Leone, where he was released.
Some mistakes were made during the translation of the Bible into Yoruba language, most of the translations works was done single-handedly. Anyone who has been engaged in any form of translation knows how challenging it can be. And also, this man was forcefully taken from his homeland and sold out at the age of twelve, what does a twelve year old know about Èṣù?
Crowther however made the writing of Yorùbá language possible today.
OUR CONCLUSION:
- Èṣù láàlú does not have an English name just the way Ṣàngó, Ògún, Ọbàtálá, Ọ̀ṣun and others don’t have an English name. Èṣù is Èṣù!
- Èṣù láàlú does not have all the bad features that the Biblical Satan has.
- People should stop seeing Yorùbá Traditions, Customs, Beliefs and Spirituality as a “sin”. Every religion should continue to do their thing without castigating other religions.
- Let us embrace our Culture (All these oyinbo people are buying our culture, don’t be surprised if they come back to sell it to you at an expensive price).
With these few points of ours, we hope we’re able to convince you and not confuse you that Èṣù is not Satan!
How can Baba Esu be Satan, if Ifa tradition does not even recognize Satan? It always seems to me that the world’s morals are dictated by the major religions that don’t necessarily help people to truly understand themselves wholly, but rather to “protect” the people from their true selves.
Very marvellous write up. Thanks so much.
E kuu ishe takuun takuun ó.
Very educative write up👍. African tradition was misinterpreted by Oyinbo people and sold back to Africa to deviate their attention from the originality of the their tradition. No African tradition I know recognize Satan. All African deity has their function and reason for existence. If you come to my village there are different gods being served for different purpose but most of my people have been deceived to think that a Jew died for their sins even before they were conceived.