Esu Laalu , the Orisa in the streets of Brazil , yesterday , attained another level of importance amongst other Orisas in Brazil.
The trickster was dragged to the stages of Sapucaí in Rio de Janeiro as “Grande Rio” a Samba College celebrates Esu in the public . It was all songs, displays, and of cause, Ebo ruru.
Elevated higher , Laalu , to some traditionalists in Brazil, has attained the class of a supreme being , Esu Is the Messenger god who holds the key to human existence .
The Carnaval College celebrated all phases of Esu on stage , it described the positivities of Esu Alaje, Esu Lanroye and its attributes to mankind.
The samba college displayed a dance drama of African tribes , it described the history of the Yorubas enslaved and forcefully transported to Brazil by the Portuguese slave traders .
The Esu songs títled “Fala, Majeté! Sete chaves de Exu”, by Gabriel Haddad and Leonardo Bora , expressed the wrongs in the Christian faith which tagged Esu as the Satan in the Bible
The Samba college also launched a campaign, the @Esuisnotsatan , which condemned the bastardization of Yoruba religion.
It paraded famous artists , actors , actresses who dressed and danced to Esu rhythms . Paolla Oliveira , Brazilian actress dressed and danced in the functions of Esu .
Attending to Ancestrals.com.ng , a culture and tradition news outfit in Brazil , the Brazilian Carnival Artist who led the college , said :
“Anyone who associates Esu with heavy, dark and evil things is wrong. On the contrary, he is a complex entity, full of variations and the most similar to man. It is associated with carnival, parties, arts and even garbage. Not material rubbish, but the rubbish of values, the rest of society that nobody wants, that is on the sidelines. Esu is a complex deity, it is circular and infinite energy, movement, struggle, insubmission, change, which transforms itself into countless entities and which has a lot to do with our ancestry. But it is seen with restriction by many people. The plot this year, like the previous ones, aims to deconstruct this stereotyped image, religious racism, intolerance and the demonization of religions such as candomblé, umbanda and macumbas” Gabriel Haddad revealed .
The Acadêmico de Grande Rio is one of the several Samba colleges who dedicated this year’s carnival to the Yoruba religion, the Gaviões da Fiel , Portela , Mocidade and other colleges also celebrated Orisa religion this year
