Eshu / Elegua With Two Face. Yoruba Nigeria / Santeria

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Eshu / Elegua With Two Face. Yoruba Nigeria / Santeria:
$229.00

Eshu (other names include Exu, Esu Eleggua,Esu Elegbara, Eshu Elegbara, Elegba, Legba, and Eleda)is an orisha,and one of the most known deities of the Yorubamythology and related New World traditions. He has a wide range ofresponsibilities: the protector of travelers, deity of roads, particularly crossroads,the deity with the power over fortune and misfortune, and the personificationof death, a psychopomp.Eshu is involved within the Orisa (also spelled Orisha or Orixa)-Ifá system of theYoruba as well as in African diasporic faiths like Santeria/Lukumiand Candombledeveloped by the descendants of enslaved West Africans in the Americas, whereEshu was sometimes identified with SaintAnthony, Saint Michaelor Santo Niño de Atocha , depending on thesituation or location. He is often identified by the number three, and thecolours red & black or white & black, and his caminos or paths (compare:avatar) areoften represented carrying a cane, shepherd\'s crook, as well as a pipe. Eshu is a god of Chaos and Trickery, andplays frequently tempting choices for the purpose of causing maturation. He isa difficult teacher, but a good one. As an example],Eshu was walking down the road one day, wearing a hat that was red on one side and black on the other.Sometime after he departed, the villagers who had seen him began arguing aboutwhether the stranger\'s hat was black or red. The villagers on one side of theroad had only been capable of seeing the black side, and the villagers on the otherside had only been capable of seeing the red half. They nearly fought over theargument, until Eshu came back and cleared the mystery, teaching the villagersabout how one\'s perspective can alter a person\'s perception of reality, andthat one can be easily fooled. In other versions of this tale, the two tribeswere not stopped short of violence; they actually annihilated each other, andEshu laughed at the result, saying \"Bringing strife is my greatestjoy\". In Brazil, the female counterpart ofExus are called Pomba Gira. Eshus are constantly related to Hermes/Mercury for their herald function.

Measures: 16 1/2\" by 5\" Materials: wood, twine, large seed, strands of cowrie shells