Esu is not Satan! – There is a misconception in Èṣù being a Satan or He is a depiction of evil. Èṣù is not Satan!!! This is a grave misconception of who Èṣù is in the Yorùbá tradition. The Èṣù Láàlú we worship in Yorùbá tradition is totally different to Satan/Shaitan in their Bible or Quran. Èṣù is among 801 Irúnmọlẹ of Olódùmarè whose actions and purpose on earth falls within the jurisdiction of Olódùmarè. Our own Èṣù has never opposed the will of Olódùmarè. He’s the one who bore our wishes up to Olódùmarè. He stand for justice and equity. All his attributes of power, wisdom, knowledge and skills are all given to him by Olódùmarè for the purpose of his mission on earth. He does not have the power or gut to contest the position of Olódùmarè. So, there is no correlation of any form between Satan/Shaitan and Yorùbá’s Èṣù Láàlú.

Who Is Eshu?

Esu is only revealed to us in Ifa as the powerful Irunmole of justice and harmony, the divine communicator and mediator between the other Irunmole and humans, and the guardian of the crossroad (Oritameta).

As the Irunmole of justice and harmony, Esu has the power to reward the righteous and punish the wicked. He maintains a balance between good and bad, while guiding our Ori to the right path (the path of ire).

As the mediator between the other Irunmole and humans, Eṣu plays a significant role in the affairs of other Irunmole. He occupies a prominent position of accepting all sacrificial offerings. That is to say, no sacrificial offering is accepted without Esu’s stamp of approval.

As the guardian of the crossroad, Eṣu keeps peace in the marketplace and watches over the passageways and transition points in our lives. This explains why devotees offer sacrifices to Eṣu at the crossroads or at the passageways by the marketplace.

Lastly, Eṣu is many things, but he is neither the existential enemy of Olodumare (the most high) nor is he the bringer of evil on Earth. Esu is never a concept of any man-made theology and certainly not the same entity as Satan as implied by Bishop Ajayi Crowther in his Yoruba translation of the English Bible.

Esu is Esu!
The commonwealth of the people.
One who sheds blood when the victim shed tears.
The guardian of the crossroads.
One who is hard as a rock.
The mighty and the powerful one, small but in full control of the world.

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?

(Credits: Alamoja Yoruba)

Oniseese Youth

Awa ni Ẹgbẹ Ọdọ Onisẹse ti Anṣe Asaro gẹgẹbi ọdọ lati tẹ ISẸṢE siwaju pẹlu gbogbo Agbara , imọ , ọgbọn ati oye pẹlu ohun kan tabi ekeji ti a ti kọ ninu irinajọ Ati igbokegbodo aye ati iriri wa ! ire oo Iṣẹṣe lagba A gbe gbogbo wa oo .

Who Is Esu?

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