Eshu-Elegbara Comes to Town

Eshu-Elegbara is the African figure of creativity, guardian of the crossroads, and part of the "signifying monkey" of African folkloric tradition. Considering this is the first day of the Chinese New Year, singified by monkeys, I'm feeling very good-omen-ish. Since I've been studying voodoo as part of the dissertation work on Brown Girl in the Ring, I know he's also one of the voodoo loa who help the initiate participate in religious ceremonies. I put a veve to Eshu on my laptop the other day, to try to help beg for some help in the dissertation inspiration department. Today, I wrote four or five pages of the best work I've done in a long time, as intro to Chapter three, which will be the chapter that features Brown Girl in it. I'm very excited. Maybe, instead of invoking the dissertation fairies, I've been talking to the wrong cultural mythological tradition. If so, then so be it-- I'll get out the cigars and rum and candy and promise more to the loa if they just help me unleash the creativity of scholarship that I need before I can get on with my life. Really, now that I think of it, guardian of the crossroads is exactly the spirit to invoke for a dissertation-- which is a sort of crossroad between "student" life and "professor" life-- a key to the Ivory Tower. So, thank you Eshu. Keep my tongue signifying, please please! There's a huge bag full of chocolate candies and some Pina Coladas in it for you.