Papa Legba is a lwa, or loa, in

West African Vodun West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

and its diasporic derivatives ( Dominican Republic Vudú,

Haitian Vodou Haitian Vodou () is an African diasporic religions, African diasporic religion that developed in Haiti between the 16th and 19th centuries. It arose through a process of syncretism between several traditional religions of West Africa, West and ...

Louisiana Voodoo Louisiana Voodoo, also known as New Orleans Voodoo, was an African diasporic religion that existed in Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to ...

, and

Winti Winti is an Afro-Surinamese traditional religion that originated in Suriname. It is a syncretization of the different African religious beliefs and practices brought in mainly by enslaved Akan, Fon and Kongo people during the Dutch slave tra ...

), who serves as the intermediary between God and humanity. He stands at a spiritual crossroads and gives (or denies) permission to speak with the spirits of Guineé, and is believed to speak all human languages. In

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

, he is the great

elocution Elocution is the study of formal speaking in pronunciation, grammar, style, and tone as well as the idea and practice of effective speech and its forms. It stems from the idea that while communication is symbolic, sounds are final and compel ...

er. Legba facilitates communication, speech, and understanding. He is commonly associated with dogs. Papa Legba is invoked at the beginning of every ceremony. Papa Legba has his origins in the historic West African kingdom of

Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African List of kingdoms in Africa throughout history, kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. It developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in ...

, located within present-day

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 ...

Appearance

He usually appears as an old man on a crutch or with a cane, wearing a broad-brimmed straw hat and smoking a pipe, or drinking dark rum. The dog is sacred to him. Legba is syncretized with

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

, Saint Lazarus, and Saint Anthony. His ''

veve A ''veve'' (also spelled ''vèvè'' or ''vevè'') is a religious symbol commonly used in different branches of Vodun throughout the African diaspora, such as Haitian Vodou and Louisiana Voodoo. The ''veve'' acts as a "beacon" for the '' lwa'', a ...

'' incorporates a walking cane on the right side. Offerings to him typically include candy. Legba is a favorite lwa of children due to his jolly, grandpa-like image. He is often tasked with babysitting and distracting children (a typical male role in the matrilineal religion) while more serious rituals are being performed by the adults.

In popular culture

In his study of the

Delta blues Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...

, Robert Palmer discusses the appearance of Legba in blues lyrics and lore. Palmer notes that Legba can be referred to/identified as "the Devil", "Papa Legba", and "The Black Man" throughout the history of the blues. This is also made clear in ethnomusicologist

Bruno Blum Bruno Blum (born October 4, 1960, Vichy, France) is a French singer songwriter, guitar player, music producer and musicologist sometimes nicknamed "Doc Reggae". He is mostly known for his work in the reggae, Caribbean music, rock music and Afric ...

's text for the CD box set ''Voodoo in America'' where reference to Papa Legba, deity of roads and crossroads, in

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His singing, guitar playing and songwriting on his landmark 1936 and 1937 recordings have influenced later generations of musicians. Although his r ...

's iconic song "Crossroads" is explained. There is extensive referencing to voodoo in the

Sprawl trilogy The Sprawl trilogy (also known as the Neuromancer trilogy) is William Gibson's first set of novels, and is composed of ''Neuromancer'' (1984), ''Count Zero'' (1986), and '' Mona Lisa Overdrive'' (1988). The novels are all set in the same fictio ...

(1984-1988) by

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as cyberpunk. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ear ...

. In the second book, ''

Count Zero ''Count Zero'' is a science fiction novel by American-Canadian writer William Gibson, originally published in 1986. It presents a near future whose technologies include a network of supercomputers that created a "matrix" in "cyberspace", an acce ...

'' (1986), Papa Legba stands at the gateway to cyberspace as the "master of roads and pathways," with other loa appearing throughout the book. Papa Legba and Voodoo appear again in '' Spook Country'' (2007), a book from one of Gibson's other trilogies. A 1985 episode of the TV series ''Miami Vice'' (Season 2, Episode 8, "Tale of the Goat") centers on a malign Vodou priest by the name of Papa Legba (played by

Clarence Williams III Clarence Williams III (August 21, 1939 – June 4, 2021) was an American actor. He played the character of Linc Hayes in the police television series ''The Mod Squad'' from 1968 to 1973. He also appeared in films such as '' Purple Rain'', '' 52 P ...

). In keeping with the image of Legba often conceptualised in Haitian Vodou subculture, Papa Legba is depicted as "controlling" the gateway to the spiritual world (through the use of drugs), walking with the aid of crutches, and smoking a pipe. The musical group

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.Talking Heads

made a song named after him. The song can be found on their 1986 album (and soundtrack to the

David Byrne David Byrne (; born May 14, 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was a founding member, principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American New wave music, new wave band Talking Heads. Byrne has ...

film of the same name), '' True Stories''.Tiller, Jo
TRUE STORIES: THE STRANGE TALES OF TALKING HEADS’ SOUNDTRACK ALBUM
/ref> In the film, this song is sung by

Pops Staples Roebuck "Pops" Staples (December 28, 1914 – December 19, 2000) was an American gospel and R&B musician. A "pivotal figure in gospel in the 1960s and 1970s", he was a songwriter, guitarist and singer. He was the patriarch and member of singing ...

, whose character performs a kind of love ritual. The Danish band Volbeat features what appears to be a cartoon interpretation of Papa Legba in their 2017 animated video for "The Black Rose." Papa Legba is a recurring character in ''

American Horror Story ''American Horror Story'' (''AHS'') is an American horror film, horror anthology series, anthology television series created by Ryan Murphy (producer), Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for the Cable television, cable network FX (TV channel), FX. Th ...

'', appearing in the

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

and eighth season, as a gatekeeper of the afterlife. He is an acquaintance of

Marie Laveau Marie Catherine Laveau (September 10, 1801 – June 15, 1881)''Marie Laveau The Mysterious Voodoo Queen: A Study of Powerful Female Leadership in Nineteenth-Century New Orleans'' by Ina Johanna Fandrich was a Louisiana Creole practitioner of ...

, having granted her immortality in exchange for the offering of one innocent every year. Papa Legba’s portrayal in the show has attracted some criticism, with many noting that the portrayal of Papa Legba was more similar to Baron Samedi than the mythical Papa Legba himself. In the 2024 Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Movies (SPUMM) film Kraven the Hunter, the titular protagonist (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) develops supernatural abilities after receiving a potion allegedly derived from the traditional spiritual scholarship of Papa Legba by the grandmother of the film's primary female protagonist, Calypso (Ariana DeBose).

References

11 Felix Kuadugah, contributor- Legba worship among the Gbe speaking people of Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Ghana.

External links

Papa Legba, protector of the home and guardian of gates and crossroads
photo from {{Afro-American Religions Haitian Vodou gods Crossroads mythology Liminal gods

Appearance

In popular culture

See also

References

External links