Trickster-Linguist of the Crossroads

The youngest son of Mawu-Lisa: trickster-linguist, messenger, gatekeeper of the crossroads and carrier of speech between humans and the vodu. The descriptive title leads name.primary; the Gbe name Legba, the Anlo form Alegba and the trickster by-name Aflakete stand in alt/etymology. Typed deity. Documented for the Ewe by Ellis (1890) and (in Anlo practice) Rosenthal (1998), and for the cognate Fon by Herskovits (1938).

Parentage

• the creator pair (engendering): Twofold Creator Pair

Domains

• messengers and divine speech
• thresholds and crossroads
• trickery and chance

Powers

• Carry and translate speech between the vodu and humankind, knowing every tongue
• Guard the threshold and open or close the way between the worlds
• Trick, confuse and overturn — the play of the crossroads

Epithets

• Aflakete Gbe · Aflakete · culttrickster by-name ('I have tricked you')Rosenthal, Possession, Ecstasy, and Law in Ewe Voodoo (1998) (secondary)

Relations

• sibling: Earth Lord of SmallpoxReciprocal within this batch.M. J. Herskovits, Dahomey (1938), vol. 2, the children of Mawu-Lisa. (secondary)
• sibling: Vodu of Iron and WarReciprocal within this batch.M. J. Herskovits, Dahomey (1938), vol. 2, the children of Mawu-Lisa. (secondary)
• sibling: Vodu of the Bush and the HuntReciprocal within this batch.M. J. Herskovits, Dahomey (1938), vol. 2, the children of Mawu-Lisa. (secondary)
• sibling: Thunder God of the StormSibling of the existing thunder-god ewe_so (Sogbo).M. J. Herskovits, Dahomey (1938), vol. 2: Legba the youngest, Sogbo the thunderer, both children of Mawu-Lisa. (secondary)
• associate of: Vodu of Divination and DestinyNon-symmetric: Legba is the interpreter and opener of the Fa oracle (ewe_afa); no reciprocal required. The converse is noted on ewe_afa.M. J. Herskovits, Dahomey (1938), vol. 2: Legba is the indispensable interpreter of the Fa oracle, alone able to translate the messages of Fa/Gbadu, which are reached through the palm-kernels. (secondary)
• equated with: LegbaThe same West African deity under its Gbe/Yoruba reflex (Legba/Eshu).West African vodun/òrìṣà cognates: the same deity across the Gbe (Ewe, Fon) and Yoruba traditions (M. Herskovits, Dahomey, 1938; G. Parrinder, West African Religion, 1961; P. Verger, Notes sur le culte des Orisa et Vodun, 1957) (secondary)
• equated with: EshuThe same West African deity under its Gbe/Yoruba reflex (Legba/Eshu).West African vodun/òrìṣà cognates: the same deity across the Gbe (Ewe, Fon) and Yoruba traditions (M. Herskovits, Dahomey, 1938; G. Parrinder, West African Religion, 1961; P. Verger, Notes sur le culte des Orisa et Vodun, 1957) (secondary)

Sources

• Legba (Anlo-Ewe Alegba; by-name Aflakete 'I have tricked you') is the youngest son of Mawu-Lisa, the trickster-linguist and messenger of the vodu who knows all their tongues, guardian of thresholds and crossroads, through whom alone humans and even the other gods may reach Mawu.: M. J. Herskovits, Dahomey: An Ancient West African Kingdom (1938), vol. 2, Legba the linguist. (secondary); A. B. Ellis, The Ewe-Speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast of West Africa (1890), the phallic guardian-god of doorways and crossroads. (secondary); J. Rosenthal, Possession, Ecstasy, and Law in Ewe Voodoo (1998), Alegba in Anlo-Ewe practice. (secondary)