Mèt Kalfou

THE HEADLINE OF THIS LANE. Legba opens the way and Kalfou blocks it, and the corpus held the first without the second - the fault this programme has now found in nineteen traditions. He is also the first Petwo lwa in the corpus: every one of the twelve records that preceded this batch was Rada or Gede, and an entire rite of the religion was missing.

Domains

• the crossroads
• obstruction
• petwo nation
• sorcery

Relations

• dark counterpart of: Papa LegbaNON-SYMMETRIC, written from this end only; Papa Legba is a pre-existing record and this batch mutates none. THE CORPUS HELD THE ONE WHO OPENS THE WAY AND NOT THE ONE WHO BLOCKS IT.Reference treatment of Papa Legba and Kalfou: Papa Legba stands at the spiritual crossroads and gives or denies permission to speak with the spirits, and is invoked at the beginning of ceremonies to open communication with the other lwa; the literal embodiment of the crossroads is Kalfou, also Kafou or Carrefour or Mèt Kalfou, described as Legba's cousin-brother and his dark counterpart; where Papa Legba is the benevolent opener of the way, Kalfou is the spirit of dangerous crossroads, of confusion and of blocked pathways; Papa Legba belongs to the Rada nation, whose spirits are considered benevolent, healing and protective and are held to come from the African homeland, and Kalfou to the Petwo nation, whose spirits are fiercer and more aggressive and are described as born of the harsh conditions of slavery and resistance in the New World. (secondary)
• of the petwo nation with: Dan PetroIn-batch. SET MEMBERSHIP: the source places Kalfou in the Petwo nation, whose rite Dan Petro founded.Reference treatment of the Petwo lwa: the Petwo are a family of lwa regarded as volatile and hot, in contrast with the Rada, who are regarded as sweet-tempered and cool; Dan Petro is a violent lwa, the deification of the legendary founder of the Petwo rite, the houngan Dom Pedro; Ti Jean Petro is a powerful lwa and the son of Dan Petro, known as a trickster with a fierce nature and a connection to fire and heat; Marinette is a lwa of power and violence; Bosou is portrayed as a man with bull horns and is served in the Petwo rite. (secondary)
• of the master magicians with: Gran BwaIn-batch and reciprocated. The source counts Gran Bwa, Kalfou and Baron together among the master magicians of the lwa, because of their role in the Haitian secret societies. THE THIRD MEMBER OF THAT TRIAD IS BAWON. When this record was written the corpus held only vodou_bawon_samdi, with two other Barons folded into his aliases, so no edge could be drawn: which Baron the source meant was exactly what the alias list had made unanswerable. THE NEXT LANE FREED THE ALIASES AND CREATED vodou_bawon, AND THE EDGE IS DRAWN FROM THAT RECORD.Reference treatment of Gran Bwa: Grand Bois, 'great wood', also Grans Bwa, Bran Bwa and Ganga-Bois, is an elemental, nature-oriented lwa closely associated with trees, plants and herbs in Haitian Vodou; he is master of the forest, especially the wilderness and the mysteries it holds, governs the leaves and roots used for both healing and harming, and is revered as a powerful healer and magician; he plays an important role in the kanzo initiatory cycle of asson-lineage Vodou, and along with Kalfou and Baron is often counted among the master magicians of the lwa, because of their role in the Haitian secret societies. (secondary)

Sources

• The literal embodiment of the crossroads and Papa Legba's dark counterpart, described as his cousin-brother: the spirit of dangerous crossroads, of confusion and of blocked pathways, belonging to the Petwo nation as Legba belongs to the Rada.: Reference treatment of Papa Legba and Kalfou: Papa Legba stands at the spiritual crossroads and gives or denies permission to speak with the spirits, and is invoked at the beginning of ceremonies to open communication with the other lwa; the literal embodiment of the crossroads is Kalfou, also Kafou or Carrefour or Mèt Kalfou, described as Legba's cousin-brother and his dark counterpart; where Papa Legba is the benevolent opener of the way, Kalfou is the spirit of dangerous crossroads, of confusion and of blocked pathways; Papa Legba belongs to the Rada nation, whose spirits are considered benevolent, healing and protective and are held to come from the African homeland, and Kalfou to the Petwo nation, whose spirits are fiercer and more aggressive and are described as born of the harsh conditions of slavery and resistance in the New World. (secondary)