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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 Guinee, and is believed to speak all human languages. He is always the first and last spirit invoked in any ceremony^[1], 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 Yoruba, Ellegua is mostly associated with Papa Legba since both share the role of being the god of the crossroads, yet Legba also shares similarities to Orunmila, the orisha of prophesy who taught mankind how to use the mighty oracle Ifá.

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 sprinkling water^[2]. 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^[3].

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.

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• The U.S. 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 are seen by some characters.
• "Papa Legba" is the title of a song by Talking Heads from the album True Stories. In the film True Stories, the song is sung by Pops Staples of The Staple Singers. It has also been covered by Widespread Panic.
• In the X-Files episode "Fresh Bones", a simplified version of Papa Legba's veve is used to mark the bodies of the dead GIs.
• "Hey Papa Legba" is the title of a 1982 B-side by Elton John.
• Legba and other Vodou entities play a central role in Dean Koontz's Darkfall.
• Legba is the name of a Haitian 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.
• Papa Legba is discussed together with Haitian Vodou in the Gabriel Knight series of PC video games.
• Papa Legba, as well as several other loa, are mentioned frequently in Barbara Hambly's Benjamin January mysteries.
• Legba is the name of a tough, no-nonsense rooster in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel Witches Abroad.
• Papa Legba, as well as other loa and elements of vodou lore, figure prominently in Tananarive Due's novel The Good House.
• Papa Legba is mentioned numerous times in Merrick a book of the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice.

v • d • e Afro-American Religions
Religions	Candomblé · Hoodoo · Kumina · Obeah · Palo · Quimbanda · Santería (Lukumí) · Spiritual Baptist · Umbanda · Haitian Vodou · Louisiana Voodoo · Winti
Deities	Babalu Aye · Eshu · Iansan · Mami Wata · Obàtálá · Ogun · Ọlọrun · Orunmila · Ọṣun · Shango · Yemaja
Roots	Ifá, Oriṣa (Yorùbá) · Lwa (Dahomey) · Nkisi (Kongo) · Catholicism (Portugal, Spain)