St. Anthony is one of the Catholic Saints associated with Eleggua. The reason behind this is not clear. Maybe it relates to one of the functions of St. Anthony in folklore. St. Anthony is often called on to find lost objects. Since Eleggua is the Orisha who opens the ways, it makes sense that one would ask him to help open the way to recover lost objects. Likewise, Eleggua would be called upon to open the way to recover money, or to find a mate, or even to recover health. Sometimes people try to limit Eleggua's function, but that is a mistake. Receiving Eleggua and the Warriors is a great blessing, since not only do they help open the way for spiritual and material evolution, but also, they give a certain protection to you and your home. When you have received Eleggua and the Warriors, you are not alone to fight life's battles. They are always there to help and protect you. Some people look upon Eleggua as the genie in the lamp, expecting to have every wish fulfilled by him, as if he were a slave to help them win the lottery, or become rich overnight. Those people will be dissappointed, because that is not the case. Oftentimes, what we want is not always what is in our best interest, we just don't have the vision of the Orishas to see that at a particular moment. Hence, the comments: "My Eleggua does not work for me." For those that have received Eleggua, He is always there for you, protecting you and yours, as long as he is not offended or disrespected. Those people that say such things, should know that Eleggua indeed hears them, and often will not work for them, after such comments are made. How can you give Eleggua such bad press and expect him to fulfill your every desire? Orisha worship requires Faith and Patience, as well as Respect. Never forget that!
Hanuman is the monkey demi-god of the Hindus. We are sure that you are asking yourselves: "What does this have to do with Eleggua or Echu?" Well, before you protest too much, let us point out the similarities. Often, Eleggua is identified with the trickiness of the monkey. In fact, many times toy monkeys are given to him as offerings. Eleggua was supposed to be in some legends the son of Oya or Yansa, who supposedly abandoned him because she did not have time for child-rearing due to her involvement with Chango and his battles. Hanuman is the son of Vaaya, the god of the wind. He is not the goddess of the wind, but nonetheless is the god of the wind which corresponds to the same energy of Yansa or Oya. Hanuman served Rama, an encarnation of Vishnu loyally, just as Eleggua served Olofi and Obatala devotedly. Hanuman was bold and a great warrior. So do we consider Eleggua. As evidenced by this picture of Hanuman, he evidently lives in the woods and so does Eleggua in many of his encarnations. Of course, this is only our theory, as we try to look for similarities among the great religions and not their differences. You have to draw your own conclusions.
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