Much has been said by defenders of Yoruba tradition about why Esu is not Satan and that is why you are coming across this topic “Esu is not Satan” the umpteenth time.
While their efforts are commendable, I believe much remains to be exposed about the motives and strategies of the colonial stormtroopers who arm-twisted Yoruba spirituality into submission, calling black white for us.
A key aspect of the Yoruba religion of the Orisas is the elevation of one’s Ori (head) above the influence of the deities, affirming its primacy and acknowledging traces of human independence.
This idea is encapsulated in the Yoruba adage: “Ori la a bo, ka to bo Orisa.”
I think it is this idea that defines the character of Esu Olailu, who religious invaders reincarnated as Satan/Devil in their attempt to indigenize the Bible and Christianity.
It is this role of Olailu as an intermediary between Orunmila and the Diviner (Baba Alawo) that prepared the route followed by colonial missionaries to misrepresent and demonize him.
Meanwhile, Olailu (AKA Elegba), simply mischievous, was a human turned deity with no horns, Satan is the fallen angel sporting a devilish look.
As Ba Agbon-miregun’s courier, Esu, without malice, delivers messages to humanity, perhaps in what we may tag as cunningly. He believes that human beings should be made aware of possessing free will and how it shapes their destiny.
Esu’s deliveries put the consulter at a crossroad and leave them to reach a conclusion based on their free will. Esu does not entertain human ignorance as an excuse; he believes that people are always aware of the consequences of their choices.
He is convinced that an average human being knows the consequences of stealing another person’s belongings, making him tease recipients during deliveries.
“How would you say that you don’t know that if you kill another person, you would be thrown into prison?” Esu refuses to indulge human hypocrisy, as he believes that individuals always know the consequences of their actions.
In contrast, contemporary people now shift responsibility for their evil doings and undoings onto harmless Ola-ilu, which was the same thing he actively exposed. So, next time you think of Esu as evil, remember: he’s more about guiding choices than tempting people into chaos.
Ajayi Crowther’s rechristening of Esu as ‘Satan’ was the last nail that sealed the demonization of Yoruba traditional beliefs. Whether he did this out of religious conviction or as part of the broader colonial agenda, the outcome was the same: call Yoruba culture darkness and evil while offering European tradition as light and pure.
Put bluntly, it was a strategic move by Fraudulent Christian missionaries to undermine the influence authority of Yoruba spirituality.
Understanding that for a people to be converted, their ways must be condemned, the missionaries portrayed Esu as a devil figure to instill fear and discredit indigenous beliefs, making their own doctrine appear as the only path to salvation.
They recognized that for their message of salvation to resonate, they had to first demonize a people and their culture; only then would the populace be induced to accept their ‘savior’.
Damilare Adenola
