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Esu is a complex deity in Yoruba cosmology. Esu Elegba opens the way, moves between spiritual and physical worlds, is a messenger of the gods, Lord of the crossroads and the one who tests the judgment of the foolish and arrogant. Mammy, Aunt Jemima, is an American stereotype meant to de-feminize the African American woman and reassure racist assumptions about the role of African Americans in the U.S. There are many other layers of metaphor and allegory in this work.
