Gbadu is a god in the Dahomey mythology of the

Fon people The Fon people, also called Dahomeans, Fon nu, Agadja and historically called Jeji (Djedji) by the Yoruba in the South American diaspora and in colonial French literature are a Gbe ethnic group.

, who are now based in

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, and

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

. She is one of Mawu-Lisa’s daughters, and just like her parents, consists of both a female and male aspect though she is mostly referred to with female pronouns. Gbadu is described as the female counterpart to Fa. According to certain accounts, Gbadu is considered the goddess of fate in Dahomey mythology. Her myths are heavily associated with the Ifa or Fa divination, and according to Dahomean folklore, her offspring were responsible for teaching and spreading the practice among humans.{{Cite journal, last=Sørensen, first=Jørgen Podemann, date=1999-01-01, title=On divination: an exercise in comparative method, journal=Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis, language=en, volume=17, issue=1, pages=181–188, doi=10.30674/scripta.67252, issn=2343-4937, doi-access=free

Representation

Since her birth, Gbadu was instructed by

Mawu Mawu-Lisa (alternately: Mahu) is a creator goddess, associated with the Sun and Moon in Gbe mythology and West African Vodun. Mawu and Lisa are divine, put together they are an agender god. Mawu (Mahu, Mau) and Lisa are the children of Nana Bulu ...

to sit on top of a palm tree and watch over the Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom of the Earth, the Kingdom of the Sky, and the Kingdom of the Sea. According to certain accounts, the name of this palm tree is “Fa”. Gbadu has sixteen eyes surrounding her head, which will later signify her abilities to see the future. However, these eyes remain closed to what is present before her, and if she wishes to open even one of her eyes, she must ask for

Legba Papa Legba is a lwa, or loa, in West African Vodun and its diasporic derivatives ( Dominican Republic Vudú, Haitian Vodou, Louisiana Voodoo, and Winti), who serves as the intermediary between God and humanity. He stands at a spiritual crossroa ...

’s assistance.

Relationship with other Dahomey gods

Legba

Just like Gbadu, Legba is one of Mawu-Lisa’s children. Yet, at the same time, Gbadu is also one of Legba’s lovers—and so is Gbadu’s daughter, Minona. Legba’s role in Gbadu’s mythos cast him in a central position since without him, Gbadu is unable to open her eyes to see her surroundings. Since Gbadu’s ability to speak is also limited in her role as overseer of the Three Kingdoms, Legba can only communicate with Gbadu through the use of

palm kernel The palm kernel is the edible seed of the oil palm fruit. The fruit yields two distinct oils: palm oil derived from the outer parts of the fruit, and palm kernel oil derived from the kernel. The pulp left after oil is rendered from the kernel ...

Mawu

Gbadu is the daughter of Mawu and was born after the twins Agbè and Naetè. Although Legba often intermediates the communication between Mawu and Gbadu, the former has directly interacted with Gbadu, most notably during the events where Legba was discovered to have engaged in sexual intercourse with both Gbadu and her daughter Minona. As a result of this incident, Mawu punished Legba with a form of

priapism Priapism is a condition in which a penis remains erect for hours in the absence of stimulation or after stimulation has ended. There are three types: ischemic (low-flow), nonischemic (high-flow), and recurrent ischemic (intermittent). Most cases ...

that will never reach climax.

Myth

The origins of Fa divination

It is said that one day, Legba informed Mawu that a war is about to break out in the Three Kingdoms, leading to their destruction. To prevent the war from taking place, Mawu told Legba to find three men who can teach the people living in these kingdoms “the alphabet of Mawu”, which would allow them to use Fa divination to guide their actions in life. Prior to this, Mawu had taught Gbadu how to understand “the alphabet of Mawu”, which in turn she taught to her children; her two daughters, which included Minona, and her six sons, Aovi, Abi, Duwo, Kiti, Agbanukwè, and Zosẽ. And so, when Mawu asked Legba to send three men to earth to teach them his alphabet, Legba chose to send Gbadu's sons: Duwo, Kiti, and Zosẽ. Before Gbadu's sons set down to earth, Mawu gave Gbadu the keys to the future—thus affirming her position as the goddess of fate—which are connected to her eyes. Each of her eyes represents a different meaning to a person's future. To access this knowledge, just like Legba, humans must use palm kernels to communicate to Gbadu. This knowledge is then organized in the teachings of Fa divination, which Duwo, Kiti, and Zosẽ set out to teach to humanity.

References

Dahomean goddesses Time and fate goddesses Androgynous and hermaphroditic deities