Elegua is also known as Esu in the Yoruba Pantheon oI Orisha.

Orisha are the deities oI

the Yoruba tradition. He was brought to the Diaspora via slavery to the Carribean in
places like Cuba where the Lucumi/Santeria tradition continued the Yoruba worship oI
orisha in the New World. He is the messenger who takes one's prayers and sacriIices to
the Ioot oI God in heaven.
Elegua opens and closes the road or way Ior us in liIe. He stands in the crossroads and 4
corners. No ceremony is started without paying tribute to him Iirst. He takes many Iorms
and has many names. He is considered a trickster and can be a diIIicult teacher when
there is a lesson needed to be learned.
There are said to be 256 roads or paths oI Esu/Elegua. These paths correspond to the 256
Odu in IIa. Many have not made it to the New World with the slaves. They remained in
Nigeria. No priest or priestess in the Yoruba/Lucumi Iaith is without an Esu/Elegua. Each
person who receives an Elegua receives one speciIic to their path and needs. Divination is
done to determine what path oI Elegua is to be given to the person. Elegua is one oI the
Iew orishas that you don't have to be Iully initiated to receive. One can be an aleyo,
outsider (literal translation) or not initiated and receive and Esu/Elegua iI they have
issues he can help with. This is one oI the aspects that what makes Elegua so unique.
He is a very complicated deity. He is known as one that can create conIusion very easily.
So he always has to be pampered and treated with reverence to avoid hassles created on
his behalI. Anytime there is a sacriIice or ceremony he has to be given something Iirst.
He is the appropriator oI ceremonies. Without Elegua being acknowledged Iirst chances
are the outcome desired in a ceremony will not come to Iruition. He is considered one oI
the primary Warriors given in the Ibora or set oI Warriors given by a Babalawo. A
Babalawo is an IIa priest initiated in the secrets oI IIa. He gives the set oI Warriors to
those who need it. The warriors in the Diaspora consist oI Elegua, Ogun, Ochosi and
Osun. In Nigeria Osun is not given with the warriors. Priests and Priestesses oI Orisha
may give Elegua to their godchildren but not the whole set oI warriors. It is with this
Elegua the godchild is initiated to Orisha with when they decide to get initiated.
Contrary to what most people believe not all roads oI Elegua like children or want to
play. Some can be very serious and dangerous iI annoyed or played with. One has to
know the road oI their Elegua and his particular characteristics. They are not all the same.
Regina has done it again with her site on Santeria. Being initiated in both Yoruba and
Bantu religion she is very knowledgeable on the subject oI AIrican Religions in the
Diaspora. This is deIinitely the site to check out iI you are interested in Santeria-Lucumi
and related topics. santeria-lucumi