Papa Legba

Encyclopedia : P : PA : PAP : Papa Legba

Veve of Papa Legba

In Haitian Vodou, Papa Legba is the intermediary between the lwa and humanity. He stands at a spiritual crossroads and gives (or denies) permission to speak with the spirits of Guinea, and is believed to speak all human languages. He is always the first and last spirit invoked in any ceremony[Pantheon.org: Legba], because his permission is needed for any communication between mortals and the loa - he opens and closes the doorway. In Haiti, he is the great elocution, the voice of God, as it were. Legba facilitates communication, speech and understanding. In Africa, his counterpart, Eshu, is a god of prophecy and taught humans how to interpret oracles.

He usually appears as an old man on a crutch or with a cane, wearing a boad brimmed straw hat and smoking a pipe, or sprinkling water[Pantheon.org: Depiction of Papa Legba]. The dog is sacred to him. Because of his position as 'gate-keeper' between the worlds of the living and the mysteries he is often identified with Saint Peter who holds a comparable position in Catholic tradition. But he is also depicted in Haiti as St. Lazarus, or St Anthony[Gede.org: Legba symbols and associations].

In Benin and Nigeria, Legba is viewed as young and virile, is often horned and ithyphallic, and his shrine is usually located at the gate of the village in the countryside. He is somewhat cognate to the Eleggua of the Yoruba pantheon, honored in Nigeria, Cuba, Brazil, and elsewhere in the Yoruba diaspora. In contrast to Papa Legba, Eleggua is a trickster child.

Alternative: Legba, Legba Atibon, Atibon Legba, Ati-Gbon Legba.

Legba in fiction

• The US TV series Angel features the Loa Legba (named Alegba during a summoning ritual) in the episode "Loyalty." Legba inhabits a humanoid burger-shaped drive-through intercom and offers vague predictions and guidance to those who summon him.
• In part of the 1986 cult film Crossroads the devil goes by the name Legba.
• In the books Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive, by William Gibson, Legba and other Loa appear as the human perception of the fragments of the Wintermute/Neuromancer super-intelligence in the Matrix.
• "Papa Legba" is the title of a song by Talking Heads from the album True Stories.
• Legba and other Vodun entities play a central role in Dean Koontz's Darkfall.
• Legba is the name of a Hatian vodou gangster in the TV series Miami Vice.
• Legba, played by Ménothy Cesar, is the name of the lead male character in the movie Vers le sud (Heading South; 2005), directed by Laurent Cantet.

References