Ekwensu is a Trickster God in the Igbo mythology in Nigeria.
Rank
Ekwensu was along with Ani the Earth goddess, and Igwe, the Sky God, one of the three highest Alusi of the ancient Igbo. He served as the Alusi or God of Bargains. Like most Trickster Gods, the deity was a force of Chaos and Change, thus in his more violent aspects, Ekwensu was also revered as a God of War and Victory who ruled over the wicked spirits and the chaotic forces of nature. His companion was Death.
With the advent of Christianity, the more beneficent aspects of the deity were supplanted by missionaries who came to misrepresent Ekwensu as Satan or the Christian Devil.
Powers
Crafty at trade and negotiations, Ekwensu was often invoked for guidance in difficult mercantile situations. Ekwensu was also invoked during times of conflict and banished during peacetime to avoid his influences inciting bloodshed in the community. This is based upon the finding of old shrines dedicated to the worship of the deity as well as the recounting of old oral lores which depict the character of Ekwensu.
See also
References
- A.I. Bewaji, John. OLODUMARE: GOD IN YORUBA BELIEF AND THE THEISTIC PROBLEM OF EVIL., University of Florida, Gainesville, April 03, 2010
- 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.