Noe Soria

Exú:The Trickster God

When African slaves were forcefully brought to various parts of the Americas, they brought their culture along with them. By bringing along their customs, slaves were able to maintain a connection between themselves and their native countries. One of the most important aspects of African culture was religion. Bringing together various beliefs from the Yoruba, Bantu, and Fon, the African-Brazilian religion of Candomblé was born. This belief holds that there is one supreme god, Oludumaré, and the various deities known as Orixás who serve him. These Orixás represent different manifestations of the supreme deity, and it is believed that each person has their own Orixá guiding their life. One such Orixá who is very important in the practice of Candomblé is Exú. He is known as the messenger god, a trickster, he rules over crossroads of life, and is the gatekeeper to the spirit world. Depictions of Exú include a young man or an old man, accompanied by a staff (phallus symbol) or an erect penis. Exú is well known, and a very important deity with many responsibilities, who is a large part of the Candomblé religion.


Exú is seen as the most important of the many Orixás. He is the mediator between the physical world and spirit world. Exú is the gatekeeper to Heaven, guardian of the door. He presents humans the ability to communicate with the gods. The most important aspect of Candomblé is the rituals of choreographed dance as a way of worshiping the gods. Through dancing, people are trying to communicate with an Orixá, and they become possessed by the power of the god during the dance. The movements are made up of symbolic gestures that are associated to each Orixá that is being communicated with. All of this is possible thanks to Exú. It is him who can open the doors for communication between humans and gods. Before one can to communicate with any Orixá, they must first call upon Exú for any sort of contact to occur. He transports the offerings from the humans to the gods, but he must first be appeased himself. The most common offerings for Exú include rum and cigars. Exú is usually worshipped on Mondays, his holy day.


The Orixá Exú is most famous and well known for being a god of trickery. His trickery is not meaningless chaos, but instead, Exú brings pandemonium into to people’s lives in order to teach them a lesson. He brings mischief not only into the lives of humans, but sometimes also causes disorder among the gods. According to myth, it is thanks to Exú’s trickery and the turmoil that he cause to others that made the supreme deity leave Earth, and left behind Exú in order to maintain some connection with the world. Through this story of things not going according to plan, the story of why Exú was left on Earth presents a moral of what happens to those who cause trouble. One story dealing with Exú’s trickery involves friendship. The story concerns two friends who were seeking consultation on their friendship. They were told that in order to maintain a strong relationship, one that will last, they had to perform a sacrifice. Instead of performing this task, the friends decided that their friendship was strong enough without the required sacrifice. Doing so, they had disobeyed the orders given to them by the gods. Exú found out about this, and set up a trap for the two friends. He wore a hat that was half one color and half another color. He walked by the two friends, who discussed the man they had just seen, and began to disagree over the color of the hat. The friendship between these two people ended thanks to the argument caused by Exú. Through this story, and the different variations of it, one can clearly see the power that Exú has over humans. He also has the ability to bring about the justice that people deserve because of their actions.

Through syncretism with between Candomblé and the Catholic Church, Exú’s wicked behavior has associated him with the Devil. Through syncretism, the belief systems of two different religions are fussed together. Since slaves where sometimes forced to convert to Catholicism, and to give up their old practices, they came up with a way of combining the two. By doing this, they could avoid any persecution for not following Catholic beliefs. Through this fusion, they could continue practicing their original religion, while covering it up with the new. When Christians saw that Exú brought trouble to others, they immediately associated him with the Devil. The fact that his symbol was a phallus was also a concern for Christians. What they failed to realize was that Exú was “evil” because he wanted to show humans the true side of their character. He brings trouble in order to teach people a lesson on life. Exú’s goal is not to cause havoc, but instead to change one’s perception on life. He allows us to reexamine the evil aspects of human nature, and allows for change. Instead of representing evil, Exú provides a way of ridding the evil in your life, hence he is more often associated with Saint Michael, who overcame the devil. He is sometimes also linked with Santo Nino de Atocha. Looking back at the comparisons between Exú and his Christian counterparts, the comparisons are from two different parts of the spectrum. Some see him and the actual representation of evil, while others see him as vanquishing evil.


In conclusion, despite being associated with mischief and know as a trickster, Exú has a much more important role when it comes to the worship of the Candomblé Orixás. He presents its followers with a connection to the spirit world, and allows communication between the two realms. He is represented in a variety of ways, and when it comes to comparing him to other religions, there are very differing opinions. Through the troubles that Exú brings into people’s lives, he shows them that they can change, or he teaches them a lesson.

Written By:

Noe Soria