Ekwensu

{{Short description|Trickster deity in the Igbo religion}}

Ekwensu is a trickster of the Igbo people, a trickster spirit of confusion,Ndubisi, Ejikemeuwa J . O. “The Notion of Satan.ekwensu.” OWIJOPPA, 25 Apr. 2020, https://www.academia.edu/42852598/The_Notion_of_Satan_Ekwensu. that serves as the Alusi (god) of bargains and the tortoise.Kanu, Ikechukwu, Anthony.“The Hellenization of African Traditional Deities: The Case of Ekwensu and Esu.” African Scholar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences. Vol.22. No. 6. Sept. 2021. ISSN: 2110-2086. 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.{{cite book|author1=Molefi Kete Asante|author2=Emeka Nwadiora|title=Spear Masters: An Introduction to African Religion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QS3Y93DBe4QC&pg=PA108|year=2007|publisher=University Press of America|isbn=978-0-7618-3574-5|pages=108–}} His companion was Ogbunabali.

Despite contemporary interpretations, Ekwensu was not originally regarded as the devil. With the rise of Christianity, the more beneficent aspects of the deity were supplanted by missionaries who came to represent Ekwensu as Satan.A.I. Bewaji, John. [http://web.africa.ufl.edu/asq/v2/v2i1a1.htm "OLODUMARE: GOD IN YORUBA BELIEF AND THE THEISTIC PROBLEM OF EVIL."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100517004419/http://web.africa.ufl.edu/asq/v2/v2i1a1.htm |date=2010-05-17 }}, University of Florida, Gainesville, April 03, 2010 Europeans influenced their beliefs of good and evil to convince Igbo that Ekwensu was Satan-like.Ezeh, P-J. “The Ekwensu Semantics and the Igbo Christian Theolinguistics.” Google, Google, 2005, https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=c291dGhzYXhvbnMuY29tfGJlcnJ

5fGd4OjMyMDg0MzNlMjA2Mzg5NTg. The goal of European's influence was to easily colonize the Igbo tribe, forcing them to be fearful of something.Ndubisi, Ejikemeuwa J. O. PhD. “The Notion of Satan.Ekwensu.” OWIJOPPA, 25 Apr. 2020. Originally, Ekwensu was highly honored as one of the benevolent lunar deities.Enugu, Discover. “How Evil Is Ekwensu?” Medium, 17 Nov. 2019, https://discoverenugu.medium.com/how-evil-is-ekwensu-23cb43786224

The traditional Igbo do not think of Ekwensu as the force that stands in opposition to other beings. Hence, Ekwensu is the IGBO god of war, who guided warriors in battle. They were tricksters. They only believe in spirits whose nature is either good or bad, but they do have what humans know as an afterlife.Enugu, D. (2019, November 17). How evil is Ekwensu? Medium. Retrieved May 20, 2022, from https://discoverenugu.medium.com/how-evil-is-ekwensu-23cb43786224

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.