Who is Èṣù (Eshu)

Èṣù is an Òrìṣà/Irúnmọlẹ̀ in the religion of the Yoruba people. Èṣù is a prominent primordial Divinity (a delegated Irúnmọlẹ̀ sent by the Olódùmarè) who descended from Ìkọ̀lé Ọ̀run, and the Chief Enforcer of natural and divine laws - he is the Deity in charge of law enforcement and orderliness. As the religion has spread around the world, the name of this Orisha has varied in different locations, but the beliefs remain similar.

The other names of the Irúnmọlẹ̀ called Èṣù includes Ẹlẹ́jẹ̀lú, Olúlànà, Ọbasìn, Láarúmọ̀, Ajọ́ńgọ́lọ̀, Ọba Ọ̀dàrà, Onílé Oríta, Ẹlẹ́gbára Ọ̀gọ, Olóògùn Àjíṣà, Láàlú Ògiri Òkò, Láàlù Bara Ẹlẹ́jọ́, Láaróyè Ẹbọra tí jẹ́ Látọpa.

Èṣù is powerful, relevant, and ubiquitous to the extent of having every day of the four-day (ancient/traditional) Yorùbá week as his day of worship (Ọjọ́ Ọ̀ṣẹ̀), unlike all other Irúnmọlẹ̀s and Òrìṣàs (primordial Divinities and deified Ancestor Spirits; "ọjọ́ gbogbo ni ti Èṣù Ọ̀darà".

The controversial cognomen; A-bá-ni-wá-ọ̀ràn-bá-ò-rí-dá (He-who-creates-problems-for-the-innocent) highlights the complexity of the nature of this highly unpredictable Deity called Èṣù Ọba Ọ̀dàrà (who has his abode at crossroads) across all strata of Yorùbá society in general and of spiritual communities in particular.

Èṣù is a personification of Mischief; he is the one who teaches that there are always two sides or more to every issue. He balanced and created directions. Èṣù is so necessary to an ordered life! According to Oluwo Aderemi Ifaoleepin Aderemi from Oyo Alaafin, to the criminally minded who celebrate wickedness, injustice, and immorality and unrighteous people, Èṣù Láàlù is evil and devilish, whilst Láaróyè Ajọ́ńgọ́lọ̀ Ọkùnrin Òde is an awesome and persuasive Divinity to pious and morally upright people who place a premium on justice, morality, and good character.

Èṣù is the messenger not only to the Olódùmarè, but also to the other Irúnmọlẹ̀s/Òrìṣàs. He is also the intermediary between Ajoguns (evil spirits) to the Irúnmọlẹ̀s/Òrìṣàs and the ẹ̀dá èèyàn (human beings); he is the one who distributes, and also supervises the distribution of sacrifices (ẹbọ) to the Ajoguns.

The first known instance of this came from Samuel Ajayi Crowther's "Vocabulary of the Yoruba" (1842) where his entries for "Satan" and “devil” had Eshu in English, were proven to be false, and still to be corrected. Subsequent dictionaries over the years have followed suit, permeating popular culture and Yorùbá societies as well. Lately, many online campaigns have been set up to protest this, and many activists have worked to correct it. There have also been quite a number of academic work examining the mistranslation.

The translation on Google Translate took up the same earlier mistranslations. This led to a number of online campaigns until 2016 when Nigerian linguist and writer Kola Tubosun, then an employee at Google, first changed it back to less derogatory connotations. When the changes were reverted, he changed them again in 2019. The translation for Èṣù to English now remains "Èṣù" while "devil" and "satan" translate to "bìlísì" and "sàtánì" respectively.



Appearances in popular culture

Eshu appears in K. A. Applegate's fantasy series Everworld, serving as the main antagonist of its eighth book, Brave the Betrayal. He is a trickster god who tries many times to emotionally manipulate and mentally break the book's narrator, Jalil Sherman, but is ultimately defeated when Jalil proves too strong to give in to his mental tricks and magical illusions.

The 1974 blaxploitation film Abby features Eshu, but mostly as a deranged and ruthless sex deity that possesses a young woman and causes her to sexually assault and brutally murder various men in the process.

Eshu appears as the main antagonist of the film Scooby-Doo! Ghastly Goals.

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