Eshu The Trickster: Mischievous Mediator Between Heaven And Earth In Beliefs Of Yoruba People

A. Sutherland - AncientPages - In mythology, Eshu is a spirit (Orisha) of African origin, from the religious traditions of the Yoruba people in present-day Nigeria. Eshu is the most famous trickster god, known for his various disguises. He is the magician, the troublemaker, and the sorcerer who has many faces and may behave either favorably or ominously, threatening people with his unpleasant mischief.

Eshu in a carving by Carybé  (1911 – 1997, an Argentine-Brazilian artist, researcher, writer, historian, and journalist.

As religion has spread around the world, the name of this Orisha has varied in different locations. In Benin, he is known as Legba or Elegba; in Afro-Brazilian religions, as Papa Legba.

Like other tricksters (Stikini, Anansi, Loki, Pukwudgie, Coyote, Iktomi), Eshu doesn't follow rules. He is responsible for all clashes between humans and gods.

He is the messenger and general intermediary between the gods and humans, and, like the Greek god Hermes (also occasionally a trickster), he is the god of thresholds. He has never good intentions and likes to destroy or change things around him.

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See also: 

Sinister Stikini ‘Man-Owl’ That Mimics Human Behavior In Beliefs Of Seminole Tribe Of Florida

Iktomi – Native American Spider-Trickster Spirit Whose Stories Teach Moral Values

Askeladden – Little Trickster That Succeeds Where All Others Fail

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