ESU ELEGUA Libro

Esu/ Eleggua. My beliefs are t wo different beings. There is a lot about bot h I do not know, and like alm ost everyt hing in t he religion or m y branch of Cuban Lucum i, opinions vary. My philosophy in life and in our religion, is one of growt h. I have definit e opinions, and yes m ost of t hese are from wit hin m y t radit ion, ram a, ile, godfat her. Yet I am always seeking new inform at ion and som et im es t he input can change m y beliefs. My Godfat her allows m e t his flexibilit y, because I have earned it . I have exhaust ed m ost of t he fundam ent als. This by t he way, is part of t he st rengt h of our religion, t hat we can have ot her out side beliefs, unlike say I slam t hat pr ecludes followers from change ( My w ay of t he highway m ent alit y) .. Som e t each even in Cuban Lucum i, wit h t he m y way or t he highw ay m ent alit y....I recognize it , but it is not m y way. Having said t hat , I t hink one should build st rong foundat ions, before exploring ot her avenues. I ndependent st udy I believe is for advanced st udies, not fundam ent als. There are m any exam ples of t his like t he relat ionships bet ween Orishas, who is m ar ried t o whom , who is a sibling of whom , who's parent s are whom , et c. These are opinions, and t here is room for variences. Bet ween Yorubaland and Cuban Lucum i t radit ions t here are m any differences as well, say Oya's elem ent of nat ure being t he wind or a river.The t hing about knowledge is, t he m ore we learn, t he m ore we see t here is m ore t o learn. I am no different , I do not have all t he answers, m y beliefs are m y beliefs, yet I am always willing t o list en t o ot hers, I am j ust not always easy t o convince, yet m y philosophy is perpet ual or pot ent ially ever changing. I f som eone can convince m e, I am w illing t o adopt or incorporat e it int o m y own. The ot her t hing about knowledge is t he wise know it is okay t o say, " I do not know" ( aboruboye o ya j u iro lo) . There is no such t hing as a fully t rained Awo, we learn unt il we die. Aft er our form al t raining is com plet e we cont inue t o st udy. This is one of t he m ain reasons we see elders avoid t he discussions, m ost don't want t o be m y way or t he highway. I writ e for t hose out side and new t o t he religion, so you'll see m e here or on forum s. My personal odu are educat ion m ainly, yet global educat ion, as opposed t o one at a t im e, in t he t radit ional godparent - godchild way. You'll see m e here oft en com m ent ing, or som et im es st irring t he pot up. I t ry t o st ay away from t opics such as m echanics or odu, because m y pat h is like a prim ary t eacher. The ot her reason m ost elders st ay away, it t hat t hey fu lly underst and t hat each, ile, ram a, or t radit ion can vary, t hus on a forum , t he quest ion com es as general, yet ours is a specific religion. Divinat ion is specific, it s like t he quest ions you see regarding odu : Som eone asks about an odu, yet does not share t he cont ext .. This is a j oke ( unless it is for a yes or no quest ion) . You are going t o get a generic response t o your generic quest ion, or one t hat is regurgit at ed from online or inform at ion in books or t he public dom ain. These are generics.

So, t wo different ent it ies, I say t his because t hough I view t hem bot h as Cuban Lucum i Or isha, not everyone views t hem as such, but I do. Obviously cerem ony wise, Esu is earned in I FA and Eleggua ocha. I don't buy int o t he whole Esu is not an Orisha school, nor t hat he is sim ilar t o t he devil, we have no devil nor purgat ory, nor hell in our religion. These are not needed, because it is all about your ori's j ourney t o t rue enlight enm ent . The short sight ed and non believers don't GET t his, but t he wise do. As for t he whole 201, 401 t wo sides or one side issue wit h Esu, I 'm kind of delt a neut ral on t hat , m aybe so, m aybe not , frankly it really does not m at t er t o m e where he fit s. What I am int erest ed in is m y individual relat ionships w it h m y Orisha, and secondar ily ot her Orisha I have not received. Of course it is j ust not The Orishas, equally I venerat e The Dead, The Ancest ors, and I FA. I view all of t hese com ponent s as one st ep down from t he t op level where we find Olodum are, Olorun and Olofin residing. I t is not ewort hy also t o say t hat I do not rank t hese four com ponent s, and I would caut ion against anyone ranking t he four above or below t he ot hers, balance is im port ant , and respect ful. The sam e is t rue wit h t he Orisha, it is m ist ake t o rank t hem , and disrespect ful as I see it . So I do not rank Esu above any ot her, nor do I wit h such ot her not ables as Eleggua, m y beloved Orunm ila, m y fat her Aggayu, m y m ot her Oshun, Obat ala is one frequent ly elevat ed, as is Oduddua, yet not by m e. I see each as valuable m em bers, even t he lesser known Orisha. Esu as I see him / her like all Oisha has m any aspect s or roads/ cam inos. avat ars. So like t he odu, when we speak of t hem it depends on t he aspect we ar e t alking about . To say Esu is t his or t hat is like asking about t he generic odu, not enough inform at ion t o give a specific answer. This is t he essence of what I believe. However, I know som e will press m e, and so RELUCTANTLY, I will give t he general scoop, yet you NEED t o underst and, Esu or any Orisha has variables, j ust like any odu has, and t he generic, is not always reflect ive or accurat e j ust as t he generic odu is not always com plet e, or even correct . I t depends on t he cont ext . Esu is perfect balance in all t hings, part icularly nat ure. I n a way he is Orunm ila's count erpart , because he knows t he past of all, while I FA ( Orunm ila) knows t he fut ure. I t is Esu who report s t o Olorun wit h our ori when we die from our current shells. I t is The Orisha m ake det erm inat ions or recom m endat ions and t hrough Esu t hey punish and reward us. I 'm not really sure how t his works, but I know it does. I f Esu ult im at ely is som ewhat of a j udge, or how great his input is in t he decision..sorry but t his is above m y pay grade, and again, I don't really need t o know t he m echanics. While I will not use great er, m ain or principal Orisha, I will say t hat Esu ( along wit h Elehhua) is m ore involved in our lives t han perhaps any ot her Orisha . To m arginalize him , we do at our own peril. Alt hough, cert ainly it is OK, not t o fully underst and him , or his dut ies, j ust as I don't .

Now Eleggua as I see him / her has a very im port ant role in our lives, I t is he who owns t he crossroads, wit hout him we are lost . Eleggua also delivers m essages, bet ween The deit ies ( part icularly Olofin) and The Orishas, and we hum ans. He like Esu is a conduit , j ust as how we worship t he deit ies t hrough our Orishas, we worship our Orishas t hr ough Eleggua. Therefore,wit h Esu, he is m ore involved in our lives t han perhaps any ot her Orisha. Bot h are im port ant or we would be rudderless ships. Now a m ore int erest ing t angent m ight be do Esu and Eleggua funct ion solely bet ween t he deit ies, Orisha, I FA, and hum ans or do t hey also funct ion w it h The Dead and Ancest ors. Yet again, t his is above m y pay grade, and I am m ore int erest ed in m y own relat ionships w it h t hese t wo venerable Orisha, t han t he m echanics of w hat t hey do. ire o