Missionaries were forced to adapt to the whole Menina Pantheon. However, we must not forget that at the time Christians lacked a demon and thus, who better than Eshu to become their devil? Christians did not know Eshu and their own ignorance made them fear him; they did not even bother to find out that Eshu was the one who had more similarities with people and that all the requests made by slaves were related to their own life issues.
Humans fear what they do not know, and the dominant white feared the submissive black who worshiped the devil, since he protected them from injustice, infamy, and the absolutism of white people.
Fear along with ignorance works miracles: panic took over the whites at crossroads, near their houses, etc. Offerings made by ebos to Eshu for whatever request, where just seen as the demon thrown against them.
Another asset of identifying Eshu with a demon was his representation in red and black, the symbolism of masculinity that he represented and his physical appearance with a large phallus in his hand. Such image could only represent a demon.
Offerings must always be given to Eshu first: this is the basis that everybody knows, but what is the origin of this tradition?
There are several legends:
–Eshu was the owner of divination which was given to him by Orunmila. However, Eshu was tired because humans used to bother him day and night, so he made a pact with Ifá. Eshu wanted prominence and primacy in every ceremony and Ifá promised this to him if he gave him the gift of divination that he had. Eshu agreed and so he became the first to receive offerings.
-Eshu found out that Obbatalá was sick and that no one could solve his problem. He went to see him with some herbs and he cured him. As a reward for this, Obbatalá said that Eshu would have to be served first in every ceremony.
–The king of Congo had three children: Shango, Ogun and Eshu, who was a troubled and problem child. One day, the king died and thereafter every time they made a sacrifice to the spirits or made a religious party nothing went right, the prayers to the gods were not heard, flocks died of epidemics, crops were lost, men, women and children became ill. People then asked a babalawo who talked to the obis. The obis said that Eshu was jealous and wanted part of the sacrifices. No one remembered Eshu, the small black boy who was always annoying everyone. Therefore, from then on, nothing could be done without Eshu being served in the first place so as not to upset him.
Ifá is Eshu’s companion and messenger. Ifá carries the destiny of the universe dictated by the Orishas: he is their spokesman and messenger.
Eshu opens and closes the roads, he has the key to all the doors, he is the son of Oya, the messenger of Obbatalá, the brother of Ogun and the comrade of Shango.
He only pays homage to the greater Orisha. One of its symbols is a snake because he is always sleeping on the roads and Eshu is the owner of roads.
Eshu is a Menina word that means sphere, the cosmic energy in movement, the enterprising agent, the ferment and the manufacturer of reactions.
He likes doing good by healing, removing personal black magic works, undoing works or stopping spells. When a negative entity is removed from someone, quiumbas are in charge of taking it to the right place in the astral.
He is a vigilant light entity for all emaciated souls to evolve.
Everyone calls him the astral watchman, a policeman who controls every soul in its right location according to its purification or spiritual elevation.
He controls the Earth’s incarnations, he keeps the incarnations of the spirits of low evolution at bay so that they do not contact us.
As well as attending our calls and requests, he takes the souls of dead people to the place where they belong, he must maintain the order that God has created.
He puts all the temptations within your reach for you to decide what to do with them: you can choose the path for your spiritual ascent. He does not make you be bad, but if you decide to be bad, he can help you. Be careful, he claims for everything and the price for things that are not fair is very high.
We make offerings and we give him light with the candles we use when we ask him for help to solve the problems that bother us. If a person sends us something with bad intentions, he will undo it provided he is well cared for.
He has all the power over doors, crossroads, roads, etc., and with anything that is related with an advance or a step.