Elegua Statue 12”

Elegua is one of the four Orishas of the Santeria religion. He is also known to be the most important of the four. His importance among the Orishas is due primarily to him being the first of them to be created. The Orishas are warriors, with the other three being named Oggun, Ochosi and Osun. Elegua existed before creation and was witness to it after being created by Olodumare. He is the Orisha of the crossroads, which includes all other doors and roads. He is the very personification of destiny and fate and allows for the happiness of men. The number that symbolizes Elegua is 3, while his colors are black and red, displayed through a necklace. His partner is named Echu, who governs over all misfortune.
As touched upon previously, Elegua is the personification of destiny and fate among all of mankind. As he is the ruler of all crossroads, roads and doorways, it is said that he is present in all places at all times. All prayers are allowed to reach the other Orishas by Elegua. It is up to him whether the prayers or any religious practices reach the rest of the Orishas at all. Elegua has a wide variety of different roads at his disposal, each signifying a different and unique personality of his. In fact, it is said that Elegua has 101 roads in all, each of them found in different places of nature. He allows roads and doors to open from the spiritual world to the material world as a means of providing mankind with their destinies, allowing a persons fate to change at his will. He also has the ability to test a persons word and their integrity in order to find if that person is honest.