Ekwensu
Ekwensu is a trickster of the Igbo people who serves as the Alusi (god) of bargains and the tortoise. Crafty at trade and negotiations, he is often invoked for guidance in difficult mercantile situations. He is perceived as a spirit of violence that incites people to perform violent acts.[1] His companion was Ogbunabali.
| Ekwensu | |
|---|---|
Alusi of bargains and violence | |
| Symbol | Tortoise |
Despite contemporary interpretations, Ekwensu was not originally regarded as the devil.[1] With the rise of Christianity, the more beneficent aspects of the deity were supplanted by missionaries who came to represent Ekwensu as Satan.[2]
He was the testing force of Chukwu, and along with Ani the earth goddess, and Igwe, the sky god, make up the three highest Arusi of the ancient Igbo people.
References
- Molefi Kete Asante; Emeka Nwadiora (2007). Spear Masters: An Introduction to African Religion. University Press of America. pp. 108–. ISBN 978-0-7618-3574-5.
- A.I. Bewaji, John. "OLODUMARE: GOD IN YORUBA BELIEF AND THE THEISTIC PROBLEM OF EVIL." Archived 2010-05-17 at the Wayback Machine, University of Florida, Gainesville, April 03, 2010
Further reading
- Opata, Damian U. Ekwensu In the Igbo Imagination: a Heroic Deity Or Christian Devil, Nsukka, Nigeria : Great AP Express, 2005.
- Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (New York: Doubleday, 1993).
- Opata, Damian U. Haunted Ontologies: Translation and Trauma in Postcolonial Igbo Society of Southeastern Nigeria.
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