Falola, Toyin. Èṣù : Yoruba God, Power, and the Imaginative Frontiers / Edited by Toyin Falola. Carolina Academic Press African World Series. 2013. pp.18-20

I found this book through the UVM Catquest search database. I was particularly interested in the passages found between pages eighteen and twenty of Falola’s work. Here, the author discusses creative representations of Esu. These representations provide background and reference for the sculpture of Esu I am researching.

Professor Falola is a well respected researcher and author/editor of many works focusing on African religions. His perspective is in line with many of the authors discussed in class. Professor Falola approaches his work not from a religious viewpoint, but a historical one, which is helpful when learning about Yoruba.

Falola, Toyin., and Genova, Ann. Orisa : Yoruba Gods and Spiritual Identity in Africa and the Diaspora / Toyin Falola and Ann Genova, Editors. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 2005.

I discovered this work through the UVM Catquest search database. I believe the section on historical Orisha worship in Nigeria will be helpful to my research. This section discusses ceremonies and rituals found in Nigerian and Cuban Orisha worship.

Once again I selected a Falola work for my research. Falola’s writing is clear and indiscriminate. It allows the reader to easily comprehend what is being talked about. Once again, Falola’s perspective as an unbiased historian is extremely helpful in understanding subtleties of Esu worship within Yoruba culture.
Ogundipe, Ayodele. Esu Elegbara, the Yoruba God of Chance and Uncertainty : A Study in Yoruba Mythology / by Ayodele Ogundipe. 1978, 1978. pp.89-90

I discovered this book through the UVM Catquest search database. I found that the passages found on pages 89 and 90 of this work to be helpful to my research. Here, the author discusses narratives of Esu. This information is helpful as it provides contextual support to my analysis of the sculpture.

Ayodele Ogundipe provides great insight into the history and practice of Esu worship. The author seems to provide an unbiased depiction of Esu worship. However, the work is from 1978, meaning that it is inevitably dated. Nevertheless, the information contained in this book will be extremely helpful to my research.