Methods of Evocation

Eshu, also referred to as Eschu or Legba, is a trickster deity in the Nigerian Yoruba religion and part of the order of orishas. In the Yoruba religion, orishas are a type of lesser divinity that communicates some essential part of the supreme being Olodumare and who mediates between the physical and metaphysical realms. Eshu takes the job of the messenger of the orishas and knows how to speak every language on Earth while also delivering the sacrifices made in the physical world to Olodumare.

Eshu's image has been carried over to a multitude of other African religions, such as the Lwa Papa Legba in the Vodou religion. Who is an old man who, much like the traditional Eshu, overlooks the transferring of souls from the physical world to the afterlife and is an intermediary between Bondye and humanity. However, far from his portrayal of Eshu in Yoruba, Papa Legba is a frail, exceedingly mild-mannered, caring old man with a slight streak of powerful energy as opposed to the crass and comic Eshu. The origins of the Vodou religion stem from Africa, though gained popularity in Haiti through the slave trade at the time. Originally, Vodou only contained lwa (also called loa) which often took a darker role in Haitian Vodou versus traditional Vodou; however, the Christianization of the religion led to the ultimate creator Bondye (god) being added as a divine force. There are forty-four main lwa, though there are over one thousand in total.