ELEGGUA ORISHA - Afro Cuban Culture and Folklore

Описание: Performers from Raíces Profundas Group, based in Havana, Cuba. En Español, abajo.

General information about Orishas & ELEGGUA (source Oscar van Dillen)

Yoruba believe that nature, or God, is the Supreme Being, called OLUDUMARE. Oludumare had no time to involve himself in the affairs of men and that’s why he divided his power amongst his messengers, called ORISHAS. They are considered deities in the Yoruba pantheon. They are superior to men but inferior to God. Yoruba people use them as messengers and pray to them instead of directly to Oludumare.

The Orishas are parts of God, and every one of them rules upon one part of the Universe. They personify the different forces of nature, like for example the wind, the ocean or thunder. An Orisha is not considered to be perfect. He has human characteristics, which are both, good and bad. These aspects are called CAMINOS, meaning roads. As already mentioned in the chapter about Santeria, each Orisha is linked to a Catholic Saint. This is due to the fact that during slavery time the Spaniards wanted to Christianize the slaves. Those hided their Orishas behind the faces of the Catholic Saints and kept on praying to them.

Furthermore every Orisha has his own rhythms, his specific objects, and favourite food and drinks as well as a special day, number and colour. There is a huge number of Orishas in Yorubaland. It is often said that there are 401 of them in Yorubaland, which is a mystic number symbolizing a multitude. In Cuba however, there are only around twenty-four Orishas left.

ELEGGUA

Characteristics of Eleggua
✅ Colours: Red and black
✅ Number: 3 and 21
✅ Day: Monday
✅ Catholic saint: St. Anthony of Padua
✅ Symbol: a cement or sandstone head with eyes and mouth formed of seashells
✅ Accessory: Whistle and a hooked staff painted red and black
✅ Field of Power: He is the messenger, the trickster, and guardian of the crossroads
✅ Patron: Eleggua is Patron of doorways, messengers, tricksters and justice
✅ Personal Characteristics: Playful, clever, childlike
✅ Eleggua belongs to the three warriors. He can be compared to Eshu (Nigeria), Exu (Brazil), or Legba (Haiti).

In Nigeria every City belongs to one single Orisha. The origin of Eleggua lies in the Yoruba city of Ketu. Even if Eleggua is the youngest of the Orishas, he is, after Obatala, the most powerful. In every ceremony he must be worshipped and fed first.

Yoruba believe that, if he is not appeased first, he will confuse the ceremony and prevent the offering from reaching the Orishas. He is the divine trickster and does what he wants without restriction. Eleggua is an old man and a child at the same time. He is an endless wanderer who is often disguised as a beggar or a crazy person. Eleggua lives in the streets and eats rats. Because he is always carrying a club he is called the club bearer. The club is a symbol for Eleggua being a man and for being the warrior with the strongest power.

His role
In Yoruba his name literally means “messenger of the gods”. This is also his role in the Pantheon. He is the messenger between God, the Orishas and men. He wears a magic wand, which allows him to travel the roads of God.
Eleggua offers choices and is therefore the guardian of the crossroads, marketplaces, the thresholds of houses, and the streets curves.
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Los yoruba creen que la naturaleza, o Dios, es el Ser Supremo, llamado OLUDUMARE. Oludumare no tuvo tiempo de involucrarse en los asuntos de los hombres y por eso dividió su poder entre sus mensajeros, llamados ORISHAS. Son considerados deidades en el panteón yoruba. Son superiores a los hombres pero inferiores a Dios. Los yoruba los usan como mensajeros y les rezan en lugar de directamente a Oludumare. Los Orishas son partes de Dios, y cada uno de ellos gobierna una parte del Universo. Personifican las diferentes fuerzas de la naturaleza, como por ejemplo el viento, el océano o el trueno. Un Orisha no se considera perfecto. Tiene características humanas, que son buenas y malas. Estos aspectos se denominan CAMINOS, que significa caminos. Como ya se mencionó en el capítulo sobre la Santería, cada Orisha está vinculado a un Santo católico. Esto se debe a que durante la época de la esclavitud los españoles querían cristianizar a los esclavos. Aquellos escondían sus Orishas detrás de los rostros de los santos católicos y seguían rezándoles.
Además cada Orisha tiene sus propios ritmos, sus objetos específicos y sus comidas y bebidas favoritas, así como un día, número y color especial. Existe una enorme cantidad de Orishas en Yorubalandia. A menudo se dice que hay 401 en Yorubaland, que es un número místico que simboliza una multitud. En Cuba, sin embargo, sólo quedan alrededor de veinticuatro Orishas.

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