HOW TO APPEASE ESU.

Before giving the details on how to make sacrifice to Esu, it is necessary to understand some
fundamental features of the divinity of Evil. Orunmila has already established indubitably that
the existence of Esu is as old as the existence of Olodumare. The one did not create the other
because darkness could not have produced light or vice versa. The translucent enclave from
which God commanded light to illuminate the void, existed at the same time pan passu as the
darkness of the primeval.

There is however one point which Orunmila has not clarified to the author, which is
underscored by the invocation of Esu. When supplicating Esu to accept any offering, reference
is traditionally made to the parents of Esu, his wife, and his friend. Normally, it is enough to
mention Esu's name three times and he will accept any offering being made to him at anytime
and anywhere by saying:

E-Esu gba
E-Esu gba
E-Esu gba

So far, Orunmila has not confirmed to the author the genesis of the so-called relations and
associates of Esu, often referred to by traditional Ifa priests, when invoking the divinity of evil.
These are: -

1) Agunmana Tidi Erukpe Olodi - as the father of Esu.

2) Akuru mana nkpa - as his mother.
3) Egba - as his wife;
4) lghoroko - His bosom friend who identifies all those who did or failed to perform the
sacrifies prescribed for them at divination to Esu, for the purpose of helping or punishing
them; and

5) Agbirari, who delivers all sacrifices to Esu.

Orunmila ordered me to reveal everything for the benefit of posterity and misled mankind.
Hence the corrections.
 INVOCATION OF ESU.

I was informed by the traditional priest that Orunmila initially thought it fit to refer me to the
traditional way of making offering to Esu is as follows.

To alert Esu to wake up if he is asleep, you begin at the Esu Shrine by using the Ifa Staff Uranke
to hit the protruding stone three times.

This is quickly followed by pouring cold water from a cup on the shrine three time with the
words:
Omi Esu
Omi Egba
Omi Ighoroko, Olukesu

If the offering is being made at daytime, between sunrise and sunset, the offeror should again
whistle to say:
Esu Oologbe
Egba Oologbe
Ighoroko Oologbe.

Thereafter, the following incantation is pronounced if it is at daytime (between 7am and

7pm)
Agbo Olonono - (3 times)
Itaakun Tere fori Ialuja - (3 times)
Oruko ton kpe' ejo.
Akuru mana nkpa (3 times)
Oruko ton kpe iya Esu.
Agun mana tidi erukpe olodi (3 times).
Oruko ti ankpe baba Esu.
Thereafter, touch the stone on Esu Shrine 3 times saying on each occasion - O o I o g b e !
Incidentally, that is the only nickname tor Esu which Orunmila taught the author to utter to
invite Esu to accept the sacrifice about to be offered - without all the other embellishments and
affectations but including finally, Esu Tagrigba while muttering the word "O w i w i a" without
anyone hearing, which was the primeval name of Esu.
If the offering is being made after dusk or in the night, the process that follows the water pouring
ritual changes, with the use of the following words:

Esu Oologbe
Egba Oologbe
Ighoroko Oologbe
Is no longer done by whistling but by words of mouth. That explains why it is forbidden to whistle
in a house containing Ifa, at night, because Esu does not like the idea of inviting him by whistling,
into frivolity and futility.
The ritual continues by adding:

Oruko ye kpe' Esu

Alamu lamu, Alamu lamu bataa - (3 times clapping both hands on each occasion)
Ofe bata Uja kun bam bam - 3 times
Oologbe - 3 times (Orunmila's version)
Esu tagrigba and muttering Owiwia.
Thereafter, break the four-piece kolanut heralding the sacrifice and throw the four pieces on
the ground to ask Esu whether the sacrifice is acceptable.

Since no one, including the divinities, shares kolanuts with Esu, all the kolanut pieces are left on
the shrine. After the kolanut breaking and throwing ceremony, the food is then offered to Esu.

Finally, the pointed end of the Ifa Staff (Uranke) is pinned to the ground while beseeching God
and His divinities, the offerors guardian angel, and ancestors, to add their ASEs to enable the
sacrifice to manifest because it was God himself who taught his divinities and mortal creatures
how to bribe Esu with food not to obstruct their activities in life.

At the end of the ceremony, the officiating Ifa Priest leads the way to Orunmila's shrine with
the following song: -

Esu, mubo Iowo otao, Ebibo bora olode, Ebibo

Mububo Iowo Odi, Ebibo bora olode ebibo
Mubolowo Iku o, Ebibo bora olode, Ebibo
Mubo lowo Aisan, Ebibo bora olode, ebibo
Mubo Iowo Aje o, Ebibo bora bora olode, ebibo,
Mubo lowo Aje o, Ebibo bora bora olode, ebibo
Mubo Iowo Olosho, Ebibo bora olode, ebibo.

On getting to the Ifa shrine, the officiating Ifa priest orders everybody to kneel including himself
to report that the sacrifice has been made and beseech Orunmila to let it manifestThereafter,
he says:

Oode Awo - Eeshi.

Although Esu is the creator, architect, and generator of all evils, he is not altogether bereft of
benign disposition. unlike God who does not need to be fed by his creatures, Esu demands food
from all organic beings created by God. That is why after creating them, God taught his divinities
how to appease the evil divinity. In fact, after establishing a rapport with him, Esu once took
Orunmila into confidence by telling him that if the divinity of wisdom could give him a part of
Whatever he eats, he (Esu) would always be by his (Orunmila's) comer to assist him in whatever
he did. Esu can remove all obstacles from the path of those who feed him regularly. He can fight
all battles for and facilitate the passage through life of those who recognize and feed him. Let
us now examine how this ambivalent amplitude of Esu, to be both amiable and hostile, has
manifested itself through the passage of time.

There is no other discernible way of serving Esu except by offering food to him from time to
time. His favorite sacrifice is the he-goat or the cock and occasionally, ram. If one is undertaking
a major project, travelling, or going for a contest, even without going for divination, it is
sufficient to offer akara, (bean buns) eko (maize porridge) meat of ram and fish, to Esu to solicit
his support. In places where these materials are not available, it is enough to offer bread, cake,
biscuits, fried corn, peanuts, and local fruits. The offering can be made anywhere outside the
house by calling on Esu in the name of Agbirari three times before depositing it, with the words;
Esu gba, Esu gba.

Traditionally, all those who have been fully initiated into Ifism are ideally required to give out
of whatever food they eat, to Esu. That is in accordance with the concordat reached at the
beginning of time between Esu and Orunmila, when the latter promised to be sending a portion
of whatever he eats, to the former. When any sacrifice is therefore being offered to Orunmila,
a portion of it is first sent to Esu before anyone eats out of it. Such offerings are different from
formal sacrifices to Esu, because although all and sundry are required to make sacrifice to him,
he is neither obligated to serve, nor to make sacrifice to anyone, let alone share out of the
sacrifices made to him with anyone else. That is why Esu is nullisecundus in terms of importance
as recipient of sacrificial offerings.

The Contest for Seniority Between God's Divinities and Esu.

It will be recalled that God created the earth as a new experiment on an evil-free universe after
Esu had demonstrated in the divinosphere and heaven that the divine creatures could not enjoy
any immunity from his disruptive machinations. As already revealed, incidentally, as the
divinities were arriving on earth, they met Esu waiting for them on top of a stone inside the
ocean.

As soon as God realized that Esu had pre-empted his designs for the world, he dispatched Orisa-
NIa to join the 200 divinities already on earth, as his personal surrogate. The arrival of Orisa-NIa
to the world marked the beginning of another conflict among the divinities on who was to be
recognized as the most senior of them all. Although Orisa-NIa was endowed by God to occupy
the chair at the earthly meetings of the divinities, that did not automatically confirm him as
being superior to his colleagues, since he was the last of the divinities to be created.
At the first meeting chaired by Orisa-NIa, they resolved the seniority dispute by declaring that
beginning with the chair divinity, each of them should throw a feast for all the others at every
meeting and that the first to succeed in hosting a feast would be recognized as the primus inter
pares.

As soon as the decision was acclaimed, Esu appeared in their midst to raise a point of objection.
He challenged them' for daring to argue about seniority without deferring first to him. When
they hushed him down by reminding him that he was not one of them and therefore did not
have any locus standi at the divine council, he replied that he merely wanted to give them the
opportunity of appreciating the aphorism that first in time is first in law. Esu then proceeded to
explain that not even God their creator could claim to be senior to him. They retorted by
insisting that they were discussing seniority among God's created divinities and that unless he
wanted to regard himself as God's own creature, he should leave them alone to continue with
their deliberations.

Before taking leave of them, Esu told the divinities that the seniority they were contesting
resolved itself into a competition for supremacy and therefore he was claiming the night to
begin the feasting since he preceded them in arriving on earth. When he was eventually ordered
to get lost, he warned them that none of them was going to succeed in pulling a feast through
without allowing him to be the first to throw one.

Five days later. Orisa-NIa prepared an elaborate feast replete with plenty of food and drinks•
As the chairman of the Council, Orisa-NIa had to say the opening prayers with the breaking of
kola-nuts. No sooner did he start saying the prayers than screeches and squeals bellowed from
the direction of Orisa-Nla's harem. Esu has esoterically winked his eyes to two Of Orisa-Nla's
little children, which instantaneously made them to develop convulsion. Before anyone could
reach them. they both died. The sad event abruptly made the feast a non-event.
The same fatalities were repeated at the attempted feasts subsequently prepared by all other
divinities until it came the turn of Orunmila. To obviate the risk of losing his children to the feast,
Orunmila consulted Ifa for directions. He was advised to serve Esu with a he-goat and the day
images of a rabbit and a lizard. and a piece of brass. He made the sacrifice after which he
proceeded to arrange for his feast with down-beat despondency, not knowing what to expect.

On the day of his feast, as soon as Orisa-NIa was breaking the kolanuts with prayers, a comic
yell was heard from the direction of Orunmila's backyard. Members of his household were
astonished to find a live rabbit and live lizard both having brass pigmentation, fighting at the
rubbish dump at the back of his house. The cries of amusement and bewilderment attracted
the divinities to watch the strange spectacle. After watching the brass rabbit and lizard fighting
for what lasted about an hour, the divinities returned to the feast table only to discover that
fowls, ducks, and other domestic pets had helped themselves to the food. Once again, the feast
turned out to a non-event, but Orunmila did not lose a human soul on account of the sacrifice
he had made,
That was the point at which the divinities realized the inexorability of Esu's proclamation, as a
result of which they invited him albeit belatedly, and after tremendous cost in human lives, to
start the feast. It is that feast made by Esu that all divinities and their human servants, pay for
to this day in the form of sacrifices to Esu, which confirmed his pre-eminence over all the
divinities created by God.

The event also explains why Esu is the only one-way recipient of sacrifice without reciprocating
or requitting. He receives sacrifice from all and sundry without the obligation to make sacrifice
to anyone, which makes him nulli secundus.

Far from being a totally malevolent divinity therefore, Esu can be beneficent to, and supportive
of, those who have the good sense to appreciate his importance by offering sacrifice to him. I
will now illustrate this truism with the experience of the elephant and the tortoise on the one
hand and the buffalo and toad on the other.

The Land Dispute Between the Elephant and the Tortoise

There was a piece of farmland in heaven the ownership of which was being contested between
the mighty elephant and the meek tortoise. Both were arguing that the land belonged to them
by inheritance from their parents. When the dispute assumed crisis proportions, God invited
the divine council to intervene.

The council subsequently invited the elephant and the tortoise to indicate the physical landmark
or feature exemplifying their avowed title to the disputed land. They were given fourteen days
within which to come with their attestations. The elephant, who was convinced that the
innocuous tortoise stood no chance with him, went to the land, and established his footprints
all over it as proof that the land belonged to him. On his part, the tortoise went to Orunmila for
divination, at which he was told to serve Esu with a he-goat and plenty of raw beans. The
tortoise made the sacrifice immediately.

After enjoying the sacrifice made to him. Esu went with a team of workers to cover up all the
footmarks of the elephant and planted beans all over the land. Within a span of three days, the
beans had germinated and sprouted into a thick farm of beans.

On the appointed day, both contestants appeared at the meeting of the divine council. Once
again, they were both asked to establish their title to the land. The elephant re-iterated that the
land was laden with the footmarks of his late father and himself. However, the tortoise's
guardian angel, acting as his advocate, observed the elephant's footmarks were imminent in
other stretches of the bush.

On his part, the tortoise averred that his parents and himself used to plant bean on the farm_
land every year and added that verifiers would see that there was a full-blown bean vegetation
on it at that point in time. On that note, the divine council dispatched a team of heavenly
policemen to verify the averments of the two litigants.

When the verifiers got to the land, they saw no traces of the elephant's footmarks. In contrast,
they saw that it was completely covered up with bean plants that were already bearing fruits.
Following the report of their findings to the divine council, the latter declared that the land truly
belonged to the tortoise. Esu had favorably intervened on the side of the one who made
sacrifice to him.

The Race Between the Toad and the Buffalo

Following God's decision that the Lion was to be the king of all quadruped animals, there was a
subsequent conference to lay the ground rules for ensuring harmony and love among them. The
meeting had gathered before they realized that they needed a red parrot's feather for the
chairman to wear on his head as an insignia of authority. To establish his supremacy, the lion
called on the buffalo who instantly objected to the lion's derisive instruction, wondering why
he did not send the smaller quadrupeds like the toad. The toad lost no time in taking umbrage
to the irreverent remarks of the Buffalo. He added that much as he realized that he would move
faster than the over-weighted buffalo, the latter had no right to challenge the authority of their
God chosen leader. The lion however persuaded the toad to go quickly to fetch a red parrot's
feather.
Since the Toad was familiar with the bush fountain where a flock of parrots went daily to have
their baths and to drink water, he quickly dashed off to the spot where he found plenty of red
parrot feathers. In a matter of minutes, he was able to turn up with three feathers, while
keeping the rest for his own use whenever the need arose. The alacrity and agility with which
the Toad produced the parrot's feathers earned him the appreciation of all the animals except
the buffalo, who instinctively challenged the toad to a race. After some heated argument, it was
resolved that the two of them were to be prepared for a race in nine days’ time.
The Toad, who did not disclose the secret of how he procured the parrot's feathers, was a little
more circumspect on what chance he stood in winning a race with the fast-moving Buffalo. On
getting home from the meeting, he quickly raced to Orunmila for divination, at which he was
advised to serve Esu with a rat, a fish and a red parrot's feather. He made the sacrifice without
delay.
Three days after the sacrifice, Esu transfigured into an amphibious knight of the heavenly grail
and visited the toad in his abode to advise him on how to prepare for the up-coming contest
with the buffalo. He asked the toad how many children he had, and he disclosed that he had
ten• The knight gave twelve red parrot's feathers to the toad and advised him that on the night
Of the eve of the contest, he was to line up his ten children throughout the route of the race,
with each of them holding a red parrot's feather on its mouth. Since there is no remarkable
difference between one toad and the other. the toad and his wife were also to wear a parrot's
feather in their mouths. His wife was to begin the race with the buffalo while he was to conceal
himself at a spot just before the finishing line of the race.
As soon as the race started between the toad's wife and the buffalo, she was to return home
and at regular intervals, the children who were already lined up ahead of the buffalo were to
call on the giant animal to hurry up as soon as he approached where they were waiting. The
Toad thanked the Knight for his advice and the visitor went away.
Before the day of the contest, the Toad and his family had positioned themselves throughout
the entire stretch of the route of the race, with each of them holding a red parrot's feather in
its mouth.
As soon as the race began, the Buffalo soon got astounded at seeing that the Toad was always
ahead of him. That made the former to run as fast as his legs and strength could afford, until he
became thoroughly enervated. At the last stretch before the finishing line, the Buffalo, who was
now thoroughly exhausted, fell to the ground, dead. That was the point at which his challenger
announced his arrival at the finishing line.