THE METAPHYSICS OF ESU, A YORUBA ORISA.

I cannot overemphasize that to fully understand what or who Eshu is, it's paramount for one to fully understand the metaphysical concept of Ori and freewill. 

According to the Yoruba pantheon, Ori or the immaterial head is the initial condition that determines the outcome of human activities.

Human activities are ever complex and random, for humans exist in a chaos dynamic world (Aye loja). And while the outcome of the ever complex human activities is totally deterministic, free will or human's ability to randomly choose makes this outcome rather unpredictable.

It suffices to say that freewill or choice is a binary process (I.e. Digital process), which, intrinsically, is the nature of reality itself and the nature of Eshu Lalu - Tibi Tire!

Consequently, it's no surprise that Eshu is a neutral force that represents the transitional or center point of the crossroad where one must make a decision. In other words, Eshu symbolizes binary choice, perfect balance, and the dualistic nature of reality (I.e. Male and female principles, yin and yang, zeros and ones, negative and positive, good and evil etc). 

Unfortunately, Bishop Ajayi Crowther, as a useful tool of the missionary propaganda, had taken away the inherent, dualistic nature of Eshu, reducing Eshu to a negative principle (I.e. Devil or Satan). Again, Eshu is not Satan; rather, Eshu embodies both negative and positive principles.