Iwo ni Iko Olodumare ati Orisha ati Egun.
Iwo ni Oluwa Awo Erin Ona; ariwa, gusu, ila orun, iwo orun.
Iwo ni Olupamo Ase Orisha.
Iwo ni Oluso Enu Abafu, Rere ati Buburu.
Iwo ni Oluwa Ilo.
Iwo ni Oluwa Yiyan, Esi, ati Iparo.
I humble myself before the mysteries of Eshu-Elegba.
You are the Messenger of Olodumare and Orisha and the Ancestors.
You are the Owner of the Mysteries of the Four Directions, north, south,
east, and west.
You are the Keeper of the Ase of the Orisha.
You are the Guardian of the Gates of Fortune, Good and Evil.
You are the Lord of Flexibility.
You are the Lord of Choice, Chance, and Change.
Eshu is
that essential quality or characteristic of the ‘Cosmic
Essence’ which allows information to be exchanged within the Consciousness
of Creator and the Womb of Creation. In the language of Ifa, Eshu is
the one, “...without whom nothing can be accomplished”. My
personal experiences dealing with the Ase of Eshu-Elegba have given
me a strong sense of his dual nature. I might say that it is Elegba
to whom I pay homage when I ask for the Gates of Heaven to be opened
so that my voice might be heard in the High Places; and it is Eshu to
whom I make ebo when taking a journey, or trying to avoid failure. But
this would provide too narrow a perspective of this complex sentient
Being and the powers that he exercises in the Ase. Epega-Agbede’s
descriptions of Elegba and Eshu may emphasize my point.
“Elegba or Elegbara is both a cognomen and aspects of the orisha
Eshu. Elegba is the trickster and the keeper of ase. He opens and closes
the doors to opportunity. He is the policeman of the spirit world.
He
has the ability to turn order into chaos. He is the spirit that allows
transformation. It is Elegba who offers you choices. It is Elegba who
is the divine messenger, carrying prayers, petitions and sacrifices
to other orisha and spirits. He is always appeased first because he
is capable of disrupting or misguiding prayers, offerings, sacrifices
and rituals.”
“Eshu is the most complex orisha in the Yoruba pantheon. Known
to have twenty-one different aspects, Eshu is known as the Trickster.
He is the keeper of Force (Ase). He is the divine messenger, carrying
prayers, petitions, food and sacrifices to the orisha. He is the Policeman
of the orisha, who deals out punishment, when it is due.”
