Nobody knows the exact origin of the Eshu clan, though it’s clear they originated their powers in the middle passage when Africans were brought as slaves to the Caribbean. During the long ship ride, when many men and women died in agony, they were the ones who “brought the people to God,” who opened the roads for the souls of people who had died. They continued this trade in death when they arrived in the islands. They took their name from Eshu, a trickster god of the Yoruba in Nigeria, but they have no relationship to the orishas of that name, which have many different meanings from Nigiera to Haiti, the Caribbean islands, and Brazil.
The Eshu clan is famous for their sense of humor and for their joy in life. But if they are provoked, they will rush to open the path to death to those who have angered them.
