Eleguá lives behind the door, protecting homes ≫ Pataki

Eleggua He is always on his otá (stone) behind the door, protecting the ilé or the house of the devotees as one of the seven fundamental gods of the Yoruba Pantheon.

For this reason, he is the first to be called in every religious act or festival and the last to say goodbye. He is the messenger of the gods and the one who allows offerings and prayers to reach the ears of the Orishas.

And it is that Eleguá, one of the first Orishas to be received, is highly revered in Cuba. It is the first of the group of four warriors (Elegguá, Oggún, Ochosi and Osun), and considered the absolute owner of the roads and the destination.

The Yoruba religion indicates that Elegguá is based on several representations, in an otá (stone), a conchífera otá, a reef, a loaded otá, a loaded cobo snail, a dry coconut or a loaded mass, the same ones that are placed in a flat vessel behind the door, delimiting the dangers inside and outside the dwelling.

Pataki: Why does Eleguá live behind the door?

This Pataki tells that one day the great Creator Olofin He became ill and became very serious, and his worried son could not find a way to cure him.

The boy was desperate when Eleguá found him, who asked him the reason for his sadness.

The young man told him about his father Olofin's illness and the great Elegguá replied that he knew the cure and would give it to him if he received something in return.

The young man replied that he would give him everything he wanted if he cured his father, then the powerful Orisha sent him to the beach where he would find a very fat woman sitting on a pylon, under which was the secret that would save Olofin.

He also warned him that, in order to take the cure, he would have to fight hard with the woman until he knocked her out of her seat and took the secret with him.

Constitution is saved and Eleguá fulfills his wish

Determined, the son of Olofin undertook the road to the beach and after defeating the woman in a strong fight, he took the secret with which his father recovered his health.

Then he sought out Eleguá to fulfill his promise and give him whatever he wanted.

But the Orisha only asked him to grant him the wish to always be behind the door so that everyone who entered would greet him first.

His wish was granted and since that day Eleguá lives behind the door.