Èṣù
name
/è.ʃù/
Definitions
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The orisha and primordial divinity (irúnmọlẹ̀) of judgement, trickery, crossroads, and the messenger of Olódùmarè in the Yoruba religion. He is believed to epitomize the duality of goodness and malevolence, and is the intermediary between humanity and the evil forces, the Ajogun.
Èṣù Láàlú, Èṣù Ọdàrà, Èṣù elépolẹ́nu; Èṣù Láàlú, Ògiri-òkò! Eshu Láàlú, Èṣù Ọdàrà, Èṣù who has red oil on his mouth; Èṣù Láàlú, the stone wall!Similar words
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Satan, the Devil
Similar words
Etymology
Etymology is unclear, some propose it may come from è- (“nominalizing prefix”) + ṣù (“to bring together, to harmonize”), literally “The one who allows for coexistence”, though this may simply be a folk etymology.
* This is said to refer to the role of Èṣù as an intermediary between the evil and good forces of the universe.
Compare with Edo Èsù, Ede Idaca Èchù, Itsekiri Èṣù
Component words
è-nominalizing prefixṣùto bring together, to harmonize
Used in
Words in other languages from this one
These are words in other languages that came from this Yorùbá word, mostly through trade, the Atlantic slave trade, and contact with neighbouring languages.
They are not translations. A word here means what it means in its own language, which may have drifted a long way from the Yorùbá it started as.
EshuEnglishExuPortugueseeshuKrio
Source: Wiktionary,
where this word is spelled “Eṣu”.
Reference:
en-Eṣu-yo-name-9GrTWOeR