Exu is one of the important spiritual entities in the African Yoruba religion. He found his way into Brazilian Candomble.
Learn more about Candomblé and its beliefs here.
In the 1700s, there are records that Exu was considered a “great god” and protector of the kings of ancient Dahomey, a kingdom near modern Benin. The earliest written reference to him in Brazil dates to 1741, where he is mentioned in the Obra Nova de Lingua Geral de Mina (new work on the language of Minas Gerais), by Antonio da Costa Peixoto, in which he was referred to as a demon.
For centuries, Exu was synchronized with the Christian devil, but this has more to do with his appearance and little to do with the character of the Orixa.
Divine Messenger
Like all the Orixas, Exu was a lesser deity created by the great god Olorun. He participated in the creation of the world and mankind. While Olorun remains aloof and is beyond human understanding, Exu is also active in the mortal realm.
Exu acts as a messenger of the great god and also of all the other Orixas. He also mediates communication with the Ajoguns, which are evil spirits. In some cases, spirits of the dead believed to torment people are also called Exus. When afflicted, these Exus must be vanquished through rituals of spiritual cleansing.
As an extension of his intermediary role, Exu also oversees the delivery of sacrifices to their intended recipient. He can also punish those who break divine laws or fail to honor the Orixas. This makes him the overseer of divine order.
As an extension of his role as messenger, Exu is seen as the patron of travelers and is known to excel at communication, including in multiple languages. He is also linked with trade and commerce, and governs aspects of sex and fertility, magic, union, power, and change.
Chthonic Guardian of the Crossroads
Exu is also a guardian of the crossroads, which is seen as a portal between realms. He sometimes used the epithet “he who has his abode at the crossroads.” In this way, he was also a chthonic deity, as he oversaw the gateway between life and death. He is invoked in necromancy rituals. As a god of the crossroads, Exu is closely associated with the Voodoo god of the crossroads, Papa Legba, and is sometimes called Legba.
As the mediator of universes, Exu is sometimes seen as a dual being, containing two opposites. There are images of Exu with two heads, one male and one female, or one black and one native Brazilian. The two heads also allow Exu to look both ahead and behind. He can easily move between the different realms of existence.
Bringer of Fortune and Misfortune
Exu sometimes used the cognomen “he who creates problems for the innocent,” reflecting the fact that he was associated with unexpected turns of fortune. He is seen as a trickster, but his tricks always have the purpose of teaching an important lesson.
He can bring both fortune and misfortune, and his choice is often seen as necessary for maintaining the divine order. As Odara, he is considered the Lod of Luck.
Symbols & Sacrifices
Exu is represented by a three or seven-pointed star, an ogo, which is a staff with gourds symbolizing male genitalia, and an erect phallus. Exu himself often has animal horns and sometimes a tail.
His colors and black and red. His stones are ruby and garnet.
He is associated with both the elements of earth and fire.
His greeting is Láaròye Èsù!, which his sons will say to one another when they meet.
He accepts blood sacrifices of goats, black cocks, dogs, and pigs and libations of alcohol and palm oil.
When possible, his altars are set up at crossroads of the thresholds of buildings, where boundaries get crossed. He also has altars at marketplaces, such as a famous example set up in Porto Alegre in 1869.
At “terreiros” of Candomblé in Brazil, Exu is worshipped at the entrance to the space at a collective shrine on the ground and in the open air, on which offerings are made. All rituals start with singing praise of Exu, and he receives offerings before all others as the Orixa that opens the gates.
In some cases, his altar is a ritually prepared mound of earth that grows in size in accordance with the volume of offerings. In the 1930s, ethnographers described his image as being made from clay kneaded with the blood of birds, palm oil, and plant infusions.
As part of 20th 20th-century decolonization and decatholicization of Candomblé, previously rare initiations to Exu are now more common in Brazil. Initiates wear a traditional conical hat with strips of red and black cloth and cowries around their waist while holding Exu’s characteristic staff.
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