WHAT IS THE ELEGUA? MAIN FEATURES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The Elegua or Eleggua is a deity belonging to the Yoruba religion, revered and invoked in the religious rituals performed in Santeria. This deity is present in African-influenced folk dances.

Compared to the Catholic religion, Elegua presents similarities and representations similar to those of the Santo Niño de Atocha or San Antonio de Padua.

In the Yoruba religion, Elegua is represented as the owner of the roads and paths, as well as the controller of destiny.

It is he who decides to open or close the path of life to mortals. It also has the ability to bring man joys or tragedies, prosperity or misfortune.

He is considered a mischievous deity and royalty, as he is a prince. Elegua can influence the actions of the other Yoruba deities.

Elegua is an orisha; that is to say, a descendant and manifest divinity of Olodumare, a name given to the highest god of the Yoruba religion.

In short, Elegua is the intermediary between the divine and the earthly world. As guardian of the trails, he is also in charge of delivering human offerings directly to Olorun and the other orishas.

At the time of any ceremony, Elegua is the first of all the deities that must be invoked, since this will allow the passage towards contact with the rest of the deities.

Elegua history

The origin of Elegua dates back to an African legend, in which the son of a monarch meets a small coconut during one of his walks. Ignoring his guardian, he decides to save it.

The coconut whispers to the little prince Elegua that if he cares for him and prevents him from rotting, he would bring him health and prosperity.

The boy did so, but when he related what happened to his father's court, he was the victim of mockery and they hid the coconut away from the young prince.

That same day, Prince Elegua became seriously ill and died three days later. Devastated, the African monarch learned that inside the coconut there lived a genius who now took revenge for his ignorance.

Following the advice of a wise man, the monarch managed to communicate with the entity inside the coconut, and managed to get it to forgive him, after transmitting his wisdom to the once ignorant people.

This version of the origin of Elegua is quite old and may differ from the versions used in the Santera religion.

characteristics

Elegua is considered a warrior, he is taken into account as the first of these along with other orishas such as Eshu, Osun, Oshosi and Oggun.

He is said to be a great warrior and when he hangs out with Oggun or Oshosi, they are unstoppable. Being considered the guardian of the roads, it is represented by the rocks that are found in these.

He is considered the first deity that every initiate in religion must venerate, since he can always be counted on for any request.

He is recognized as the interpreter of the oracular system and of communications between men and deities.

Among its representative characteristics are the snails around it or in its hand. There are 21 snails, which represent the number of roads that Elegua protects.

The number that represents it is three and it is always manifested under the colors mainly red and black.

Elegua has a series of tools that characterize it and that represent the confluence of beliefs that have been built around this figure.

Notions of the original African religions and Santeria, more popular in Latin America and the Caribbean, converge in this deity. Her power object is a guava staff, also known as a squiggle.

He usually wears a frock coat, pants and a hat. Her costume is sometimes ornamented with snails, always sporting red or black patterns, be they full or striped.

Offerings and rites to Elegua

Elegua is venerated by offering certain types of offerings that will cause the approval of the deity, such as the sacrifice of certain animals such as chickens or roosters, mice and goats.

Birds such as pigeons should not be offered to him, as they are considered to be capable of weakening him.

Among the herbs to be offered, Elegua accepts different types of chili, basil, almonds, watercress, jobo, galllina's foot, pica pica, raspalengua and camphor, among others.

During the ceremonies and the dances to Elegua there are certain choreographies represented, such as the descent of Elegua and the corporal possession of some of the dancers during the ritual.

The dancer possessed by Elegua will perform actions typical of a mischievous deity, such as disappearing among those present and making jokes to the audience.

The accompanying dancers must imitate the movements of the one possessed by Elegua, who differs by having with him the guava cane that characterizes the orisha. The movements of the dance to Elegua usually have erotic connotations.

Elegua demonstrations

Elegua can manifest itself in different ways, according to certain conditions and scenarios, responding to different types of offerings and representing differentiated elements.

There are more than a dozen manifestations of Elegua, each one with particularities for its call, veneration and descent to earth. Among the best known and documented are the following:

1- Eleggua Abaile

He is the Elegua interpreter and messenger, in charge of transmitting the messages received and getting them to their destination.

2- Eleggua Afrá

This Elegua is said to help in health cases. Its presence can be felt in hospitals and helps those suffering from contagious diseases.

He wears his face covered, a cane and a mortar where he prepares the medicines. Unlike another, he is referred to as a rather cautious Elegua, who does not drink brandy.

3- Eleggua Agbanuké

Elegua is considered the friend of the saints and the sacred houses. Give help to all those honest devotees to the other deities.

It is also capable of blinding all those who approach sacred spaces with bad intentions.

References

1. Granados, M. (2005). Notes for a history of the Negro in Cuba, written by a Negro in Cuba - and may Elegguá be with me. Afro-Hispanic Review, 133-145.
2. Lafarga, AC (2006). Playhouse: eroticism as an ethic of subversion. Notebooks of Aleph, 59-72.
3. Menéndez, L. (1997). Interstices of a religious daily life in Cuba. Enunciation, 29-32.
4. Santeria. (June 7, 2012). The pantheon of the orishas: Eleggua. Obtained from Santeria: Everything you always wanted to know about Santeria: en.santeria.fr