Èṣù e a origem do “tempo que passa” na tradição yorùbá

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to present a reflection on Èṣù, a yorùbá deity and its relationship with time, from an oríkì (praise) that was used as the epigraph of the VIII Ousia International Symposium. The Symposium, which had as its theme "The Problem of Time in Antiquity," on its poster displayed an oríkì that states, "Èṣù pa ẹyẹ láná pẹ̀lú sọ li òkúta lóní." The most common translation is "Èṣù killed a bird yesterday with the stone he threw today." The statement, as can be seen, is counter-intuitive and hurts (or at least inverts) the well-known cause and effect relationship. Due to this inversion (the effect happening before the cause), our mind searches for a solution to what seems to us like a riddle. We are left wondering how is it possible to act in this way? What do the ancient yorùbá people mean by this statement? These are the questions that guide this reflection.