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reasoningdaily · 7 months

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12 African Gods and Goddesses: The Orisha Pantheon | History Cooperative

A vast, diverse continent, religion, and mythology across Africa is rich and vibrant. The African gods and goddesses that make up these belief systems are worshipped in many ways by millions of people around the world.

The Yoruba religion, which is today found throughout Southern Nigeria, forms the basis of many religions practiced by members of the African diaspora. These gods and goddesses are some of the more well-known in Africa yet some of the lesser known by people of the the rest of the world.

A detailed list of all the African gods and goddesses would be endless, but these twelve from the Orisha Pantheon are a good place to start.

Table of Contents

Eshu: the Divine Trickster

Ogun: the Master of Iron

Shango: the Bringer of Thunder

Oshun: the Mother of Rivers

Obatala: the King of Peace

Oya, the Goddess of Weather

Obaluaye, the Master of Healing

Yemonja: the Whisper of the Ocean

Orunmila, the Oracle of Wisdom

Oba, the Flow of the River

How Many African Gods are There?

The Concept of a Supreme African God

Olodumare and his Journey Away from Earth

The Capstone of African Mythology

Important themes

Eshu: the Divine Trickster

Mischief is something that doesn’t go unnoticed in African mythology in general. Trickster gods are present in many cultures around the world. It is something that adds that bit of extra tanginess to a stew of divine righteousness.

When mischief and trickery can be converted into an orb of power controlled by a celestial spirit, it makes way for a relatively powerful narrative that strikes awe within its believers.

Eshu, otherwise known as Elegba, is the Trickster of the Orisha Pantheon. He is the benevolent version of Loki in African mythology and a wandering trickster spirit generally concerned with probability and elusiveness.

By Western interpretation of Eshu, though, he is not seen as this malicious spirit doomed to destroy humanity through psychological trickery. Instead, he has solidified his position as a messenger between the realm of spirits and humankind, not unlike the Greek god Hermes.

He is not depicted as the devil himself. Still, He is believed to be more than capable of bringing adversity to those that do not take note of his presence. On the other hand, he requires sacrifices of resources such as tobacco to ensure constant appeasement and protection of human spirits

Ogun: the Master of Iron

No settlement can be complete without an armory. An armory provides the means to defend oneself from the dangers of the outside world. This defense was a top priority in a hostile place like West Africa.

And what better tool to carry it out than the trusty old iron?

Being abundant in the region, iron was a vital resource. Hence, the material having a specific personality induced a sense of wonder and natural instinct among those who believed in its smithing magic.

Ogun is the Giver of Iron in the Orisha Pantheon. Alongside mastering the delivery of this world-building resource, Ogun is also dubbed the Warrior God of War. Wielding weapons of fine craftsmanship, Ogun oversees metalwork and conflicts that arise within the Yoruba people.

However, he refuses to interfere in what individuals choose to do with the weapons he blesses the productions of. The destiny of the weapon is left in the hands of the human who possesses it. This is an ode to Ogun’s double-edged sword, representing two sides of justice.

Being garbed in red, Ogun represents aggression in one narrative. Hence, his being is deeply rooted in the Yoruba people’s psychology. As a result, he stands as one of the crucial Orishas in the pantheon.

Shango: the Bringer of Thunder

Modern people often underestimate the might of a crackling burst of thunder. During ancient times, a slap of thunder signaled the onset of danger, or the gods’ wrath hurtling down from the heavens.

In the Orisha pantheon, the supreme god meant existence through Olodumare, and the Yoruba storm god Shango was its bane. Filtering the very essence of wrath and fury, he was the bringer of thunder and brimming masculinity.

Sharing a commonplace with other famous gods such as the Greek Zeus and the Norse Thor, his prowess remained dominant with a chaotic sky. Shango directs the destination of thunder and lightning depending on what goes on in the world down below.

His authoritative use of raw power symbolizes typical masculinity, linking him to a more personal viewpoint for followers of the Orisha pantheon.

This power is often connected to dances conveying threatening gestures in rituals dedicated to this thunderous deity.

Shango has three wives, Oshun, Oya, and Oba. They are all mentioned within this list.

Oshun: the Mother of Rivers

The natural world generally flourishes with life. This wouldn’t have been possible without bodies of water snaking through lush, dense forests, bringing much-needed vitality to all who benefit from it. Nearly every culture associates rivers with something benevolent. After all, they are essential natural resources giving way to life thriving within its banks.

Being the Goddess of Rivers, Oshun is often attributed to being the lifeblood of the Niger River. In fact, her name comes from ‘Orisun,’ which was referred to as being the source of the Niger River. Oshun is also Shango’s favorite wife.

Oshun’s aquatic finesse over the rivers of West Africa immortalized her spot as one of the most critical Orishas. Her blessings ensure that the water remains clean and fishes remain plenty, giving the people a peek into her somewhat empathetic side.

This empathy also means that she is associated with fertility and childbirth. She is strikingly similar to Dionysus, the Greek goddess of wine and fertility. Being involved in marine affairs also implies that she is engaged in rejuvenating the human mind, further solidifying her position. In the Americas, Oshun is regarded as the ‘Orisha of Love.’

However, one thing is for sure. Whichever way she is depicted, she is always shown to be a motherly being with nothing but divine power at her fingertips.

Obatala: the King of Peace

While many Orishas are imaged through physical manifestations such as lightning or rivers, some are connected to deep human affairs. Peace, honesty, and creativity are just some of them.

Garbed in white, the King of Peace Obatala is a merciful Orisha dispatching purity. He is often noted as being the master behind shaping every child when they are within the womb.

His symbols include a white dove and, in more modern times, wreaths of olives due to them becoming a universal sign of peace. Obatala practices a more specific approach to humankind, taking deep care of their psychology while enforcing justice within their affairs.

Oya, the Goddess of Weather

Good weather brings peace to mind momentarily. A great, lasting one makes way for a civilization to flourish. Crops may live or die due to changes in the skies above, and stomachs may be quenched for hunger or thirst. Weather is a fundamental aspect of any significant settlement.

Oya is the Orisha of the weather. Defined as an embodiment of wind, she is Shango’s wife and hence the direct caterer of his will. Besides shifting the clouds, Oya is also connected to tending to the dead. The ‘dead’ doesn’t just include a human being; it consists of the natural world in the sense that dead trees would have to fall to make way for newer ones. Her Slavic god counterpart in Slavic mythology would be Stribog.

So, in reality, Oya really is the goddess of change. Like the weather’s unpredictability, she also commandeers the essence of constantly changing the natural world so it may continue flourishing. Due to this, she also holds domain over psychological qualities such as intuition and clairvoyance.

Obaluaye, the Master of Healing

The concept of regenerative vitality is crucial to every society. No human being is immune to all diseases; however, when there is a chance to heal, it is always welcomed. This duality of vulnerability to conditions and protection against them makes up the next Orisha.

Obaluaye, also known as Babalú Aye, is the Orisha of healing and miracles within the pantheon. Both revered and feared, Obaluaye is well respected by the followers, and he is said to curse you as quickly as he can heal you. Being connected to places such as hospitals where the borders of life and death are frequently grazed.

Obaluaye is also connected to rituals that promote the cure for illnesses. His healing powers range from epidemics to skin diseases and inflammations. This healing power is said to be catered more toward people closer to death.

Yemonja: the Whisper of the Ocean

The ocean is vast and seldom cruel, and it is impossible to predict what lies beneath deep waves and endless stretches of water. Such is the need for a motherly figure to watch over all the uncertainty of this blue domain.

Yemonja is the Orisha of the ocean. Not only does she hold control over it, but she also radiates the power of compassion and love. Her watch over the seas sustains life as it is and seals her importance as a motherly figure in the pantheon and the entirety of African mythology.

Speaking of which, Yemonja is the metaphysical mother of all the other gods in the Orisha pantheon. Hence, she is much revered and respected.

Orunmila, the Oracle of Wisdom

The concept of destiny is gazed upon in awe by all those who truly place their faith in it. Destiny is an important notion to believe in because it continually shapes the lifestyle of the individual who lives in its belief.

Orunmila, the Orisha of knowledge, omniscience, and wisdom, is the embodiment of destiny. His purpose might not be material, but it is a psychological one reflected in many African myths.

Human spirits exist within the mind, and hence, tending to its development is what Orunmila really does. He holds power over knowledge, including information, intuition, and instinct. General African myths deal with confusion by introducing a force that counters it. Orunmila is a prime example of it.

His role also extends to the natural world as he knows everything that takes place within it.

Oba, the Flow of the River

Orishas, too, have emotions that flow gracefully like the river. Oba, the Orisha of water and manifestation, is no exception to a story that is best linked to jealousy.

Being the third and the most senior wife of Shango, Oba was one of his consorts. In the pantheon, Oshun was Shango’s favorite wife, which greatly affected Oba. When Oba asked Oshun about what she did to become Shango’s favorite, Oshun simply lied to her (knowing Oba’s children would inherit the kingdom). She said she once cut off her ear, turned it into powder, and sprinkled it into Shango’s food.

Driven by the will to become Shango’s favorite, Oba followed Oshun and sliced off her ear into his food. Naturally, Shango noticed a floating ear in his food and exiled Oba from his abode.

Oba fell to Earth down below and morphed into the Oba river. Interestingly, the Oba river intersects the Osun river at an explosive speed, symbolizing a long-standing rivalry between two of Shango’s wives.

Oba is linked to rivers, marriage, fertility, and restoration.

How Many African Gods are There?

The pantheon of Orishas (traditionally followed by the Yoruba people) is a sequence of divine spirits dispatched by the supreme god Olodumare.

Though a specific number can’t be placed on the amount of Orishas, there is an exciting notion around it. It is said that there are 400+1 Orishas, where the ‘ stands as an incomprehensible number that implies infinity.

There isn’t an exact number, but sometimes it goes up to 700, 900, or even 1440 Orishas. As for the “400+1” concept, the 1 is an incredibly sacred number that tells you that there are countless Orishas, but you will always be one count short if you try to comprehend it.

So you may think about the total as often as you like, but there will always be one more Orisha to consider.

And yes, this does go on forever.

The Concept of a Supreme African God

In African Mythology, the Yoruba people very well received the notion of an omnipotent sky god looking over all things that live on Earth. In fact, it takes the form of Olodumare, a celestial being that transcends the boundaries of space, time, gender, and dimensions.

Olodumare is also known as Olorun, which means “the Almighty.” Although his omnipotence strikes a profound sense of existential authority, the Yoruba people do not have any dedicated shrines or places of worship for him. Part of this is due to the belief that Olodumare is so deific; his mere distance from the human world makes him incredibly detached from their daily affairs.

Olodumare and his Journey Away from Earth

The Lord of the Heavens was not always this distant from the planet riddled with human beings.

It is believed that at one point in time, Olodumare was close to Earth. However, the constant need by human beings for basic things from the sky, such as food, seemed to frustrate him, so he began his journey away from the planet. Since his abode was the skies, he separated them and himself from the Earth and hence controlled the world from a cosmic distance.

It is here where he found the need to create the Orishas. As the emissaries of his power and will, the Orishas were each assigned unique functions, ensuring total order within the planet of Earth.

The Capstone of African Mythology

Most African traditional religions are extraordinarily diverse and range over countless cultures and practices. The Yoruba religion and its beliefs influence human life in both the African continent and other regions.

The Yoruba religion can be marked as a capstone of African beliefs due to its wide acceptance. Of all the African religions, this remains one of the few on the rise. In present-day Nigeria, Yoruba mythology has evolved into a faith where its followers address the gods and goddesses in respect to the complex oral traditions passed down from generation to generation.

The Yoruba people refer to this religion as Ìṣẹ̀ṣẹ. The word itself can be broken down into two parts;”’Ìṣẹ̀” means’ origin’ and ìṣe refers to “practice.” Coming together, Ìṣẹ̀ṣẹ literally means “practicing our origin.” As you can see, this is a beautiful way to honor their roots, as most of their traditions and beliefs spring from their deep-rooted faith in the Orisha Pantheon.

Important themes

A relatively common theme integrated into the Yoruba religion is Animism. Animism refers to the belief that everything (and yes, LITERALLY everything) possesses a spiritual quintessence. Due to this, every object (material or immaterial) is believed to have some sort of sentience.

As a result, they are all controlled within the domains of the Orishas. Like the gods and goddesses of Ancient Egypt and Rome, there is always a supreme being keeping watch over all.

Another belief revolves around reincarnation. The belief in reincarnation is linked to ideas from their ancestors. The notion of reincarnation is that deceased family members make their journey back to life as a new baby in the same family they once departed from.

As a direct result, Yoruba people can sometimes be identified as their departed imprints through visions and likenesses in appearances. To honor this, they are often given names such as “Babatunde,” which means “father returns” or “Yetunde” (mother returns).

These reincarnated figures are usually there to assist their progeny with everyday life and general faith. Hence, dead ancestors remain as relevant as they can ever be even after death.

Additional Resources

The Orishas, https://legacy.cs.indiana.edu/~port/teach/205/santeria2.html.

Dialogue Institute. “Yoruba.” Dialogue Institute, Dialogue Institute, 16 Sept. 2020, https://dialogueinstitute.org/afrocaribbean-and-african-religion-information/2020/9/16/yoruba .

“Home.” Staff – Works –, https://africa.si.edu/collections/objects/4343/staff;jsessionid=D42CDB944133045361825BF627EC3B4C.

#12 African Gods and Goddesses: The Orisha Pantheon #ATR #African Traditional Religion

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lonelyspelltoconjureyou · 12 days

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Exú by Kypris Aquarelas

"O garfo de Exu é firme A capa de Exu me rodeia Passei pela encruzilhada Exu não bambeia..." 🔱✨

Os Exús cultuados em tradições afroameríndias são espíritos-entidades-guias-bakuros que compõem o Povo Encantado da Rua. Tal qual as Pombogiras, são ancestrais que estabeleceram relações com as encruzilhadas, os caminhos, as ruas, as almas, são senhores da noite, amigos íntimos do luar e da magia.

O nome Exú vem de uma divindade muito conhecida por todos os iniciados em tradições afroameríndias e muito controversa aos olhos de quem não o reconhece. Dito por alguns como o Orixá mais humano, ele é senhor dos inícios, das transformações, é o dono do mercado, fala todas as línguas e tem um papel importante na conexão e comunicação entre Orum (Céu) e o Ayê (Terra), além de entre os humanos e os Orixás. Seu nome, "Exú", significa "esfera", alguns mitos relatam que ele foi a primeira divindade criada por Olodumare, o Ser Supremo.

Embora sejam seres diferentes, Exú Orixá e Exús entidades compartilham as estradas, os caminhos, a ligação com o fogo, com a magia, com a sensualidade e também recebem suas honrarias no início das ritualísticas das tradições de matriz africana onde são cultuados.

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The Exús (or Eshu) worshipped in afrodiasporic religions like Umbanda and Candomblé are a kind of ancestors or spirit guides. Just like the Pombogiras, they're ancestors connected with the crossroads, the pathways, the streets, they act like psychopomps, they're masters of the night, close friends of the moonlight and magick.

The name Exú (or Eshu) comes from a namesake well-known deity, the Orisha (deity) Eshu. To those who don't know him well, he's seen as a controversial character. Said by some as the most human Orisha, Eshu is the god of the beginnings, of transformations, he's the owner of the market, speaks every language in the world and has an important role in the connection and communication between the Orum (Spiritual World) and the Ayê (Physical World), and also between humans and gods. His name, Eshu, means "sphere", some myths depict him as the first deity created by Olodumare, the Supreme Being.

Although they're different beings, Orisha Eshu and spirit-guides Eshus share as symbols the pathways, the roads, their connection with the element fire, with magick and witchcraft and sexuality. Their roles in the ritualistics of afrodiasporic traditions are similar, receiving always worship and cult before anyone else.

"Exu's fork is steady Exu's cloak surrounds me I went through the crossroads Exu doesn't wobble…" 🔱✨

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gunk404 · 11 months

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Pick a trickster to be friends with, live with, date idc just pick your trickster.

1. Hermes (Greek Mythology):

- Powers: Superhuman speed, cunning, and the ability to travel between the mortal world and the divine realms.

2. Coyote (Native American Mythology):

- Powers: Shapeshifting, often taking the form of a coyote, and the ability to create and manipulate chaos.

3. Loki (Norse Mythology):

- Powers: Shape-shifting, illusion, and magical trickery. He's also known for being a master of disguise.

4. Anansi (West African and Caribbean Mythology):

- Powers: The ability to spin intricate webs of deception and manipulate situations in his favor.

5. Eshu (Yoruba Mythology):

- Powers: Control over crossroads, the ability to change one's luck, and the power to create chaos and confusion.

6. Dionysus (Greek Mythology):

- Powers: The ability to induce madness and revelry, control over wine and vineyards, and the power to inspire ecstatic behavior.

7. Eris (Greek Mythology):

- Powers: Inciting discord and conflict among gods and mortals, often using her golden apple to create chaos.

8. Prometheus (Greek Mythology):

- Powers: Intelligence, creativity, and the ability to steal fire from the gods, which he gave to humanity, along with the knowledge of various arts.

9. Cthulhu (H.P. Lovecraft's Mythos):

- Powers: Vast cosmic influence, control over the dreams of mortals, and the ability to drive people to madness.

10. Puck (English Folklore):

- Powers: Shapeshifting, invisibility, and the ability to play pranks on mortals.

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the-girl-who-didnt-smile · 8 days

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THE ESU-ELEGBARA COLLECTIVE

How Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára pertains to “The Spirit at the Crossroads”, and possibly Hoodoo Saint Peter

THE “ESU-ELEGBARA COLLECTIVE”

Across the African diaspora, there exists a collection of “trickster” deities, including Esu, Legba, Elegua, and their many derivatives. While these deities are different from each other, they can be grouped together because of their common origin in Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára.

Just as the Romans borrowed from the Greek pantheon, the kingdom of Dahomey borrowed from the Yoruba pantheon. The orisa and vodún were transmitted to the New World via the transatlantic slave trade, where they continued to undergo transformations.

When the Yoruba orisa Esu (Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára) was transmitted to the kingdom of Dahomey, he became the vodún Legba. When the vodún Legba was transmitted to Haiti, he refracted into the lwa Papa Legba and Mèt Kafou. When he was transmitted to Cuba, he became Elegua and Lucero Mundo.

Henry Louis Gates Jr. proposed the concept of an “Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára collective” in The Signifying Monkey (1988):

"Of the music, myths, and forms of performance that the African brought to the Western Hemisphere, I wish to discuss one specific trickster figure that recurs with startling frequency in black mythology in Africa, the Caribbean, and South America... This topos that recurs throughout black oral narrative traditions and contains a primal scene of instruction for the act of interpretation is that of the divine trickster figure of Yoruba mythology, Esu-Elegbara. This curious figure is called Esu-Elegbara in Nigeria and Legba among the Fon in Benin. His New World figurations include Exú in Brazil, Echu-Elegua in Cuba, Papa Legba…in the pantheon of the loa of Vaudou of Haiti, and Papa La Bas in the loa of Hoodoo in the United States. Because I see these individual tricksters as related parts of a larger, unified figure, I shall refer to them collectively as Esu, or as Esu-Elegbara. These variations on Esu-Elegbara speak eloquently of an unbroken arc of metaphysical presupposition and a pattern of figuration shared through time and space among certain black cultures in West Africa, South America, the Caribbean, and the United States. These trickster figures, all aspects or topoi of Esu, are fundamental, divine terms of mediation: as tricksters they are mediators, and their mediations are tricks. If the Dixie Pike leads straight to Guinea, then Esu-Elegbara presides over its liminal crossroads, a sensory threshold barely perceptible without access to the vernacular, a word taken from the Latin vernaculus ("native"), taken in turn from verna ("slave born in his master's house").”

SOURCE: Gates, Henry Louis. The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of African-American Literary Criticism. United States, Oxford University Press, USA, 1988. p. 5 https://archive.org/details/signifyingmonkey0000gate/page/5/mode/2up

Several other deities can considered “parts” of the Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára collective, including Lucero Mundo and Mèt Kafou (Maitre Carrefour).

While they may differ in appearance, mythology, and worship, the “parts” of the Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára collective have several things in common, including:

They are divine “tricksters”.

They are associated with a person’s fortune / fate.

They are associated with liminality and intermediary spaces (e.g., doors, gates, entrances, roads, intersections, crossroads…)

They are associated with an African understanding of the cross.

They feature prominently in their respective pantheons.

Above all, they share a common origin in Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára.

For a lengthier discussion of this concept, see: Cosentino, Donald. “Who Is That Fellow in the Many-Colored Cap? Transformations of Eshu in Old and New World Mythologies.” The Journal of American Folklore, vol. 100, no. 397, 1987, pp. 261–75. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/540323. Accessed 10 Sept. 2024.

2. THERE IS MORE THAN ONE HOODOO “SPIRIT AT THE CROSSROADS”

In Hoodoo, there is an unnamed “Spirit at the Crossroads” who might be connected to the Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára collective. This spirit appears in Volumes 1 and 5 of Harry Middleton Hyatt’s Hoodoo, Conjuration, Witchcraft & Rootwork, where is called “the Devil”:

Hyatt, Hyatt, Harry Middleton. Hoodoo - Conjuration - Witchcraft - Rootwork, Vol. 1. United States, Western Publishing Company, 1970, pp. 97-111. https://archive.org/details/harry-middleton-hyatt-hoodoo-conjuration-witchcraft-rootwork-vols-1-5/HARRY%20MIDDLETON%20HYATT%20-%20Hoodoo%2C%20Conjuration%2C%20Witchcraft%20%26%20Rootwork%20Vo%201/page/97/mode/2up?

Hyatt, Hyatt, Harry Middleton. Hoodoo - Conjuration - Witchcraft - Rootwork, Vol. 5. United States, Western Publishing Company, 1978, pp. 4003-4013. https://archive.org/details/harry-middleton-hyatt-hoodoo-conjuration-witchcraft-rootwork-vols-1-5/HARRY%20MIDDLETON%20HYATT%20-%20Hoodoo%2C%20Conjuration%2C%20Witchcraft%20%26%20Rootwork%20Vo%205/page/4002/mode/2up?

An insightful video was posted on Youtube last year, titled “The Man of The Crossroads ( An Intellectual Debate) (Hoodoo)”. In this video, PapaSeer and Chan “The Musical Mystic” debate the identity of “Man at the Crossroads”.

The entire video is worth watching, and several interesting things come out of it.

At 5:17, Chan describes the crossroads spirit as “an intermediary spirit that governs the portals between the physical and spiritual”. He is associated with “keys” “windows” “doors” and “intersections”. Chan also notes that many spirits of the crossroads are considered “tricksters” , where lengthier discussions of trickster spirits take place at 36:45 and 51:28.

At 26:13, PapaSeer provides a detailed description of the “Man at the Crossroads”, who is figured as a “Dealmaker”:

“The man at the Crossroads, when he materializes, is typically – from what I’ve always seen – it’s always been in the form of some type of beggar. And it’s not always a Black person… It’s always some type of beggar… somebody that needs something. The man at the Crossroads tends to favor people who are downtrodden, who are in a very bad situation, when your luck is not lucky, when you are just at your wits end, this is when he tends to show some favor to people. Now, outside of that, he want what he wants to give you something back. And I haven’t seen anything outside of that. So when people talk about he’s a spirit of protection, and this, and that, I’m just like ‘No, he’s simple! He want something to give you back something!’ And you have to make some type of pact. You have to form some type of deal for this relationship to flourish. You can’t even just come to him just one time. It’s a succession of times that you have to petition him for it to be effective. This has been my personal experience.”

At 46:01 and 48:46, PapaSeer and Chan both describe the physical appearance of the Spirit at the Crossroads. He is described as a humble, old beggar, who wears tattered clothes and has no interest in material things.

Importantly, PapaSeer and Chan agree that the Spirit at the Crossroads is more than one thing. They assert that he can manifest as several different deities, including Jesus (Yeshua) and the Christian Devil.

Notably, both debaters of the Abrahamic Hoodoo tradition. PapaSeer is from Virginia, while Chan is from South Carolina – closer, in proximity, to New Orleans. Folklore involving the Spirit at the Crossroads is described as being “very prevalent” in the Deep South. It is not PapaSeer, but Chan who identifies the Crossroads Spirit with certain African-derived deities - namely, Esu, Elegua, and Legba.

If this Spirit at the Crossroads is a part of the Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára collective, which one(s) could he be?

3. SIMILARITIES WITH ESU

What is arguably the single most fascinating trickster god from any world religion, Esu (Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára) is a deity whose complexity is often compressed and mischaracterized.

A being with many different names and forms, Ayodele Ogundipẹ describes Esu like so:

“Èṣù…is the messenger of the gods, the mediator between God and humans between order and chaos, sin and punishment, life and death, fate and accident, certainty and uncertainty. It is no wonder then, that Èṣù in myth knows no master, that he is male and female, that he is tall and short, kind and cruel, an elderly deity of youth who lives at the crossroads.”

SOURCE: Ogundipe, Ayodele. Esu Elegbara: chance, uncertainty in Yorùbá mythology. Kwara State University Press, 2018. p. 130

Funso Aiyejina describes Esu as “the deity of choice and free will”. His behavior reflects the nature of fate itself - unpredictable. His tricks and mischief often serve the purpose of teaching lessons; especially, that one requires complete information and consciousness before exercising judgment.

SEE: Oyèláràn, Ọlásopé O. "Èṣù and ethics in the Yorùbá world view." Africa 90.2 (2020): 377-407.

Esu is also called onile orita or “the one who lives at the crossroads”, for that is where he dwells. While it is often translated as “crossroads”, the word orita refers to several different types of intermediary spaces, including front yards and gateways. For this reason, Esu is described as both “gatekeeper” and “lord of crossroads”, where the orita symbolizes the intersection of physical and metaphysical realms in Yoruba philosophy.

SEE: Aiyejina, Funso. "Esu Elegbara: A Source of an Alter/Native Theory of African Literature and Criticism." text of a lecture from his work in progress on ‘Decolonising Myth: From Esu to Bachaanal Aesthetics (2010). https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=25a632183b18b3d34abea946fb0fab4e0f6a864f

While he is often figured as being small and dark-skinned, Esu is a shape-shifter who can assume hundreds of different forms. One of the forms Esu assumes is that of an “old man at the crossroads”. In this form, he smokes a pipe:

“My informants told me that Èṣù’s pipe accouterments are for his depiction as an old man or an elder, for the elderly in Yoruba society like to relax with a pipe. My informants also told me that since Èṣù lives at the crossroads and in open places, one way people know he is there, especially after dark, is by smoke puffs from his pipe. Seeing the glow from the pipe, passersby would salute him, ‘Epa Èṣù!’”

SOURCE: Ogundipe, Ayodele. Esu Elegbara: chance, uncertainty in Yorùbá mythology. Kwara State University Press, 2018. p. 98

This is similar to how Hyatt’s “Devil at the Crossroads” manifests in different forms, ranging from a “great big black man” to a "a lil' ole funny boy”

Ogundipe describes Esu as energetic and loving to dance (p. 64), while Gates describes him as limping (p. 6):

"In Yoruba mythology, Esu is said to limp as he walks precisely because of his mediating function: his legs are of different lengths because he keeps one anchored in the realm of the gods while the other rests in this, our human world."

SOURCE: Gates, Henry Louis. The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of African-American Literary Criticism. United States, Oxford University Press, USA, 1988. p. 6 https://archive.org/details/signifyingmonkey0000gate/page/6/mode/2up?

4. SIMILARITIES WITH PAPA LEBAT (NEW ORLEANS VOODOO)

It is important to note that there are three different deities named Legba:

Legba of West African Vodún

Papa Legba of Haitian Vodou

Papa Lébat (“Papa La Bas”) of New Orleans Voodoo (Louisiana Voudou)

The most popular name for Papa Lébat was probably “Papa La Bas” or “La Bas” (“Laba”). However, I avoid calling him this, as it is a reference to “Satan”. He was called other names, like "Papa Limba". In the present day, neither “Papa Lébat” nor "Papa La Bas" is commonly used; he is usually just called "Papa Legba", which is actually the accurate pronunciation. So not to confuse him with the West African vodún or the Haitian lwa, I will refer to the spirit of New Orleans Voodoo as “Papa Lébat”.

Much like the different parts of the Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára collective, these should be considered different deities who are worshiped in different ways.

As the Romans borrowed Hermes from the Greeks, the Fon borrowed Esu from the Yoruba. In the kingdom of Dahomey, Esu became Legba.

There are many similarities between Esu and Legba, as described by Steven M. Friedson:

“A divine trickster, Legba, as with that other phallic god Hermes, is also the divine messenger, the linguist (tsiami) who speaks the language of the sky. Because he patrols the borders and protects the threshold, all sacrifice, all libation, ultimately all meaning goes and comes through him, hence his infinite possibilities, his refusal to be pinned down. Translator, trickster, protector, linguist–all this and more comes under the sign of the crossroads where Legba rules, where there are always-already multiple paths, multiple meanings. And lest we think we have finally pinned Legba down as the phallic god par excellence, pregnant with meaning, it is helpful to remember that sometimes, though it is fairly rare, Legba manifests himself in female form complete with clay breasts. Nothing is quite what it seems.”

SEE: Friedson, Steven M. Remains of ritual: Northern gods in a southern land. University of Chicago Press, 2019. https://staff.washington.edu/ellingsn/Friedson-Remains-Ritual_00_Title-Intro.pdf

AND: Ogundipe, Ayodele. Esu Elegbara: chance, uncertainty in Yorùbá mythology. Kwara State University Press, 2018. pp. 120-123

Like Esu, Legba presides over crossroads and gates:

“The assistants knelt in front of a large white basin around which a circle of chalk was inscribed in the sand for Legba, Yewevodu god of crossroads, keeper of gates, and guardian of ritual knowledge.”

SOURCE: Montgomery, Eric, and Vannier, Christian. An Ethnography of a Vodu Shrine in Southern Togo: Of Spirit, Slave and Sea. Netherlands, Brill, 2017. p. 197

Unlike Esu, the vodún Legba is associated with the dog - “the animal is sacred to him”. He also has a different origin myth from Esu, where he was made chief of the gods for his mastery over musical instruments. For this reason, he is associated with music and dancing.

SOURCE: Herskovits, Melville Jean, and Frances Shapiro Herskovits. Dahomean narrative: a cross-cultural analysis. Northwestern University Press, 1958. https://archive.org/details/dahomeannarrativ0000hers/page/138/mode/2up?

Notably, “The Devil at the Crossroads” is also associated with music, where a section of Hoodoo - Conjuration - Witchcraft - Rootwork, Vol. 1 is titled “Diabolic Music”. For a lengthier discussion about this shared connection, see: Marvin, Thomas F. “Children of Legba: Musicians at the Crossroads in Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man.” American Literature, vol. 68, no. 3, 1996, pp. 587–608. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2928245. Accessed 11 Sept. 2024.

“The Spirit at the Crossroads” might also have an association with dogs. Dogs also appear a few times under Hyatt’s “Sell Self to the Devil”, with one of the most memorable accounts involving "a lil' ole funny boy” – described as a strange dog/human hybrid. In another case, a man goes to the crossroads to acquire musical talent, but is scared off by a big black dog. Because he is associated with other animals, it is unclear whether the Crossroads Spirit has a fondness for dogs, or if it is a mere coincidence.

In Haiti, Legba underwent a dramatic transformation. Where the Dahomean Legba appeared as a hypersexual young man, the Haitian Papa Legba appears as a weary, old man.

Milo Marcelin described Papa Legba him like so:

“On se le représente sous les traits d'un vieillard, cassé par l'âge, à demi paralysé, qui s'avance péniblement avec l'aide d'une canne ou d'une béquille. Le nom de Legba-pied-cassé, qui lui est parfois donné, traduit bien l'aspect pitoyable sous lequel on se l'imagine. Legba est coiffé d'un chapeau de paille à large bord, il porte une macoutte (sacoche en feuilles de latanier) et i fume sans arrêt une longue pipe en terre cuite. Son grand chapeau lui permet de protéger les loa de Guinée (d'Afrique) contre les ardeurs du soleil…”

TRANSLATION:

“He is represented as an old man, broken by age, half-paralyzed, who hobbles with the aid of a cane or crutch. The name Legba-pied-cassé, which is sometimes given to him, translates well the pitiful appearance in which he is imagined. Legba dons a large-brimmed straw hat, he carries a macoutte (palm leaf sack) and he endlessly smokes a long, terracotta pipe. His large hat lets him protect the loa from Guinea (Africa) from the heat of the sun…”

SOURCE: MARCELIN, Émile, and A. Métraux. “LES GRANDS DIEUX DU VODOU HAIÏTIEN.” Journal de La Société Des Américanistes, vol. 36, 1947, pp. 51–135. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24601899. Accessed 18 Sept. 2024.

Interestingly, Papa Legba appears similar to the form Esu assumes when disguising himself as an old man, where both smoke a pipe. Like his Fon counterpart, Papa Legba is associated with dogs and described as a “trickster”.

In the present day, Papa Legba is often associated with gates and doors, while the Petwo lwa Mèt Kafou (Maitre Carrefour) is associated with crossroads. However, this distinction does not seem to have always been the case.

Marcelin described Papa Legba as a lwa with many names and functions, where he is both doorkeeper and “master of crossroads”:

“Papa Legba ou Atibon-Legba est le dieu des portes, le maître des carrefours et des croisées de chemins et le protecteur des maisons. En vertu de ces différentes fonctions, il est invoqué sous les noms de « Legba-nan- bayè » (Legba des barrières), de « Legba-calfou » (Legba des carrefours) ou « Grand chemin », de « Legba Mait' bitation » ou « Legba Maiť habitation ». En tant que dieu qui sait toutes choses, il porte l'épithète d'Avadra...”

“...Pour invoquer Legba, l'officiant se sert d'une pierre qu'il place sur l'autel. Ensuite il trace un dessin symbolique (vèvè) sur le sol et récite la prière suivante :

Par pouvoir saint Antoine, au nom de M. Avadra Boroy, de Legba-Atibon, le maître des carrefours et des grands chemins, de Legba-Kataroulo, de vaillant Legba, de Legba-Sé, de Alegba-Si, de Legba-Bois, de Legba-Zinchent, de Legba- Caye, de Legba-Misé-ba, de Legba-Clairondé, de Legba-Signangnon, des sept Legba-Kataroulo, vieux, vieux, vieux Legba. Ago, Agoé, Angola.”

TRANSLATION

“Papa Legba or Atibon-Legba is the god of doors, the master of crossroads and the protector of houses. By virtue of these different functions, he is invoke under the names of “Legba-nan- bayè” (Legba of the Barriers), “Legba-calfou” (Legba of the Crossroads) or “Grand chemin”, “Legba Mait’ bitation” or “Legba Mait’ habitation”. As the god who knows all things, he bears the epithet of “Avadra”...”

“...To invoke Legba, the officiant uses a stone that he places on the altar. Then he traces a symbolic drawing (vèvè) on the ground and recites the following prayer:

By the power of Saint Anthony, in the name of Mr. Avadra Boroy, of Legba-Atibon, the master of the crossroads and great paths, of Legba-Kataroulo, of valiant Legba, of Legba-Sé, of Alegba-Si, of Legba-Bois, of Legba-Zinchent, of Legba-Caye, of Legba-Misé-ba, of Legba-Clairondé, of Legba-Signangnon, of the seven Legba-Kataroulo, old, old, old Legba. Ago, Agoé, Angola.”

This might explain why New Orleanians - such as Ava Kay Jones and Denise Alvarado - have described Papa Lébat (“Papa La Bas”) as both gatekeeper and guardian of the crossroads. Although I have been referring to it as “New Orleans Voodoo”, this is a misnomer, as the religion was practiced across the Mississippi River Valley of America. New Orleans Voodoo is not Americanized Haitian Vodou, but has a rich history that predates the Haitian migration wave. That being said, several Haitian elements can be identified.

Following the Haitian Revolution, a large number of Haitians fled to the city of New Orleans. With them, they brought their religious practices, which were incorporated into the Voodoo (Voudou) that was already present in America. As there is continuity between Fon Legba and Haitian Papa Legba, there is also continuity between the Haitian Papa Legba and the American Papa Lébat.

Much like his Haitian counterpart, Papa Lébat was identified with St. Peter, and a similar song was sung asking him to “open the door” (“ouvre baye”):

“Marie Laveau…even taught her a Voodoo song. It went like this:

St. Peter, St. Peter, open the door,

I’m callin’ you, come to me!

St. Peter, St. Peter, open the door …

“That’s all I can remember. Marie Laveau used to call St. Peter somethin’ like ‘Laba.’ She called St. Michael ‘Daniel Blanc,’ and St. Anthony ‘Yon Sue.’”

SOURCE: Source: Tallant, Robert. Voodoo in New Orleans. 1946. Reprint, Gretna, La.: United Kingdom, Pelican Publishing Company, 1983.

The historical record of Papa Lébat is sparse, but it is likely that there were differences between him and Papa Legba. For one, there were already people of Fon/Ewe descent in America, who may have been worshiping the vodún Legba prior to the Haitian migration wave. For two, there is no record of an American version of Maitre Carrefour. In the historical record, it is not Maitre Carrefour, but “Papa La Bas” who is identified with “The Devil”.

For these reasons, it is not the Haitian lwa, but the American Papa Lébat who might be identified with “The Devil at the Crossroads”.

5. SIMILARITIES WITH MAITRE CARREFOUR

It is presently unknown whether Maitre Carrefour was worshiped in New Orleans, or if the division between Papa Legba and Maitre Carrefour existed there. Since he is one of the Petwo lwa, it is possible that he was worshiped in secret. If so, he would have been brought to New Orleans by followers of the Don Pedro sect - the colonial precursor to the Petwo rite.

Similar to Esu and Legba, Maitre Carrefour is sometimes erroneously described as “evil” or a “demon”.

In Vol. 1 of Hyatt’s Hoodoo Conjuration Witchcraft & Rootwork (5 vol.s), there is a subsection of “SELL SELF TO THE DEVIL”, titled “BIG BLACK MAN”. In one of these interviews, “The Devil” is described as “a great big black man”. In another, he is described as “a big black man” who gives you “the power to accomplish what you want to do.”

Source: “BIG BLACK MAN” under “SELL SELF TO THE DEVIL”, in Hyatt, Harry M. "Hoodoo; Conjuration; Witchcraft; Rootwork (5 Volumes)." Hannibal, MO: Western Publishing Company (Vol. 1) (1970). pp. 103-104: https://archive.org/details/HoodooConjurationWItchcraftRootwork/Hoodoo%20Conjuration%20WItchcraft%20%26%20Rootwork%20Vol%201/page/n167/mode/2up

Tommy Johnson (unrelated to Robert Johnson) made a similar comment, as quoted by his brother Rev. LeDell Johnson:

“Take your guitar and you go down to where a road crosses that way, where a crossroad is. Get there, be sure to get there just a little ‘fore twelve o’clock that night so you know you’ll be there. You have your guitar and be playing a piece sitting there by yourself. You have to go by yourself and be sitting there playing a piece. A big black man will walk up there and take your guitar, and he’ll tune it. And he’ll play a piece and hand it back to you. That’s the way I learned how to play anything I want.” Source: Evans, David (1971 ). Tommy Johnson. Studio Vista, London p. 22-23. ISBN978-0289701515.

This is similar to Maya Deren’s description of Maitre Carrefour:

“This is no ancient, feeble man; Carrefour is huge and straight and vigorous, a man in the prime of his life. His arms are raised strongly in the configuration of a cross. Every muscle of the shoulders and back bulges with strength. No one whispers or smiles in his presence.”

Source: Deren, Maya. Divine Horsemen : The Living Gods of Haiti. New Paltz, NY: McPherson, 1983 (originally published in 1953), p. 101: https://archive.org/details/divinehorsemenli00dere/page/100/mode/2up

Maitre Carrefour’s colors are red and black, which might be relevant if “The Spirit at the Crossroads” also wears these colors.

In part, the Petwo rite has been misrepresented as “evil” because of the threat it posed to the institution of slavery, with its founder Don Pedro (Jean Petro) being a maroon leader. Lwa within the Petwo rite can grant someone immediate access to power without regard for systems of morality. Naturally, such immediate access to power would be dangerous and easily abused, but it can also be used for just causes, such as the liberation of slaves.

From Maya Deren:

"If the Rada loa represent the protective, guardian powers, the Petro loa are the patrons of aggressive action….For example, whereas Erzulie, the Rada Goddess of Love, who is the epitome of the feminine principle, is concerned with love, beauty, flowers, jewelry, femininities and coquetries, liking to dance and to be dressed in fine clothes, weeping in a most feminine fashion for not being loved enough, the figure of Erzulie Ge/Rouge, on the Petro side, is awesome in her poignancy. When she possesses a person, her entire body contracts into the terrible paralysis of frustration; every muscle is tense, the knees are drawn up, the fists are clenched so tightly that the fingernails draw blood from the palms. The neck is rigid and the tears stream from the tightly shut eyes, while through the locked jaw and the grinding teeth there issues a sound that is half groan, half scream, the inarticulate song of in/turned cosmic rage.Petro was born out of this rage. It is not evil; it is the rage against the evil fate which the African suffered, the brutality of his displacement and his enslavement. It is the violence that rose out of that rage, to protest against it. It is the crack of the slave/whip sounding constantly, a never-to-be-forgotten ghost, in the Petro rites. It is the raging revolt of the slaves against the Napoleonic forces. And it is the delirium of their triumph. For it was the Petro cult, born in the hills, nurtured in secret, which gave both the moral force and the actual organization to the escaped slaves who plotted and trained, swooped down upon the plantations and led the rest of the slaves in the revolt that, by 1804, had made of Haiti the second free colony in the western hemisphere, following the United States. Even today the songs of revolt, of "Vive la liberte", occur in Petro ritual as a dominant theme.”

Deren, Maya. Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti. United States, McPherson, 1983. pp. 61-62 https://archive.org/details/divinehorsemenli00dere/page/60/mode/2up?

For this reason, Hoodoo has been likened to the Petwo rite - not the Rada rite - of Haitian Vodou:

“The Petwo side of Vodou is one largely of action; it can be said that it is the Petwo incarnation of Vodou that is recognizable in American Hoodoo Conjure.”

Lane, Megan. Hoodoo heritage: A brief history of american folk religion. Diss. University of Georgia, 2008. https://getd.libs.uga.edu/pdfs/lane_megan_e_200805_ma.pdf

If Maitre Carrefour had already split off from Papa Legba, maybe he was incorporated into the Hoodoo community, where he was identified with “The Devil at the Crossroads”.

6. THE CROSSROADS SPIRIT - A NOVEL ASPECT OF ESU-ELEGBARA?

Rather than being Esu, Papa Lébat, or Maitre Carrefour, “The Spirit at the Crossroads” might be a novel aspect of the Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára collective.

Every time Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára is transmitted to a new culture, he undergoes transformations. Furthermore, African Americans of the South are ethnically heterogeneous, where some descend from the Yoruba, the Fon, the Ewe, and so on. Historically, Esu and Papa Lébat were both identified with Satan. Over time, African Americans forgot the names Esu and Lébat. He was simply called “the Devil”; later, “The Spirit at the Crossroads”.

Because they were both identified with “The Devil” and “crossroads”, it is plausible that Esu and Papa Lébat recombined with each other, forming a new part of the Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára collective. This could explain why “The Spirit at the Crossroads” shares traits with Esu and Papa Lébat.

7. ESU-ELEGBARA, THE DEVIL, & JESUS CHRIST

It may be worth noting that parts of the Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára collective are paradoxically associated with both the Devil and Jesus Christ.

Historically, he was not called “Spirit” but “The Devil at the Crossroads” (see: Harry Middleton Hyatt’s Hoodoo, Conjuration, Witchcraft & Rootwork, Vol. 1 & Vol. 5)

Esu was associated with the Devil, to the extent that the word “Devil” was translated as “Esu” in the Yoruba language. See: Kanu, Ikechukwu Anthony. "The hellenization of African traditional deities: The case of Ekwensu and Esu." AQUINO| Journal of Philosophy 1.3 (2021). https://acjol.org/index.php/aquino/article/download/1830/1808

In Dahomean Narrative (1958), Herskovits describes how the vodún Legba was identified with the Devil: "It has been conjectured that the Christian missions, by identifying Legba with the Devil, have helped to make him an especially popular figure in Dahomean lore." p. 36

In America, Papa Lébat (“Papa La Bas”, “Papa Limba”) was identified with the Devil by interviewees of the Federal Writer’s Project, which can be found in Robert Tallant’s (1984) Voodoo in New Orleans.

One of these interviews involves Alexander Augustin, described by Noël Mellick Voltz as a “former free person of color”, “an old mulatto”, and a “spiritualist”:

“Alexander Augustin remembered some of the tales of old people which dated to the era of the Widow Paris.

They would thank St. John for not meddlin’ wit’ the powers the devil gave ’em,” he said. “They had one funny way of doin’ this when they all stood up to their knees in the water and threw food in the middle of ’em. You see, they always stood in a big circle. Then they would hold hands and sing. The food was for Papa La Bas, who was the devil. Oldtime Voodoos always talked about Papa La Bas. I heard lots about the Maison Blanche. It was painted white and was built right near the water wit’ bushes all around it so nobody couldn’t see it from the road. It was a kind of hoodoo headquarters.”

SOURCE: Source: Tallant, Robert. Voodoo in New Orleans. 1946. Reprint, Gretna, La.: United Kingdom, Pelican Publishing Company, 1983. pp. 65-66

A second interview involves Josephine McDuffy (“Josephine Green”), described by Jeffrey E. Anderson as a “former slave”:

Josephine Green, an octogenarian, recalled her mother’s stories about Marie Laveau.

“My ma seen her,” Josephine boasted. “It was back before the war what they had here wit’ the Northerners. My ma heard a noise on Frenchman Street where she lived at and she start to go outside. Her pa say, ‘Where you goin’? Stay in the house!’ She say, ‘Marie Laveau is comin’ and I gotta see her.’ She went outside and here come Marie Laveau wit’ a big crowd of people followin’ her. My ma say that woman used to strut like she owned the city, and she was tall and good-lookin’ and wore her hair hangin’ down her back. She looked just like a Indian or one of them gypsy ladies. She wore big full skirts and lots of jewelry hangin’ all over her. All the people wit’ her was hollerin’ and screamin’, ‘We is goin’ to see Papa Limba! We is goin’ to see Papa Limba!’ My grandpa go runnin’ after my ma then, yellin’ at her, ‘You come on in here, Eunice! Don’t you know Papa Limba is the devil?’ But after that my ma find out Papa Limba meant St. Peter, and her pa was jest foolin’ her.”

SOURCE: Source: Tallant, Robert. Voodoo in New Orleans. 1946. Reprint, Gretna, La.: United Kingdom, Pelican Publishing Company, 1983. Pp. 57-58

This is probably why the most popular name for Papa Lébat is “Papa La Bas”, “La Bas”, or “Laba”. “La Bas” used to mean “Down There”, and was associated with Satanism, while “Laba” is the Creole form of “La Bas”.

Ironically, the Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára collective is also associated with Jesus Christ, for two reasons:

Both are both figured as connection points between humanity and the divine.

They have a common association with the cross symbol.

In African religious systems, the cross is a cosmographic symbol. It represents the intersection of the spiritual and mortal realms, which are figured as two perpendicular planes.

A complete discussion of this concept can be found here:

Desmangles, Leslie Gerald. “African Interpretations of the Christian Cross in Vodun.” Sociological Analysis, vol. 38, no. 1, 1977, pp. 13–24. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3709833. Accessed 10 Sept. 2024.

Pictured: Papa Legba’s vèvè

This explains why Papa Legba’s vèvè features a prominent 4-point cross, and why parts of the Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára collective are associated with Jesus. For example, the Haitian author Milo Rigaud identified Legba as “the Voodoo Jesus”, while Eleguá is syncretized with the Child Jesus of Atocha.

It might also relate to why Chan, who is from deeper South, differentiates forks in the road from crossroads. Here, he stresses the importance of the crossroads as a “cross”. The crossroads are figured as having “four specific points”, while forks do not. PapaSeer, who is from further north, disputes the importance of the “four specific points”. He argues that forks and crossroads are the same, in that they are both points of intersection between the spiritual and physical realms.

The parts of the Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára collective are characterized by their extreme unpredictability, where they are capable of Christ-like benevolence and devilish malevolence. This reflects the unpredictable nature of a person’s fate, and the liminal space between ‘good’ and ‘evil’. For this reason, it is possible that different aspects of the Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára collective can manifest as “The Spirit at the Crossroads”.

On the off chance that someone from the Abrahamic Hoodoo tradition is reading this, I do not mean that Jesus does not appear at the Crossroads, or that Jesus and Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára are the same thing. That would be equally erroneous as equating Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára with the Devil. Rather, I mean that these benevolent and malevolent aspects of Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára might also be able to manifest, alongside Jesus and the Devil. At that, it would be crucial to analyze if and how the Crossroads Spirit(s) is benevolent and/or malevolent.

8. HOODOO SAINT PETER

Hoodoo Saint Peter might also be a part of the Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára collective.

In Hoodoo, Saint Peter is figured differently from European traditions. He is associated with a person’s fate, where he is petitioned to “open” or “close” the doors to opportunities. This is a feature he shares with the Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára collective, which is tied to a person’s fortune / fate, and associated with “doors” “keys” and “entrances”.

Here is how Legba is described in Dahomean Narrative:

“Myth (hwenoho). The long stories about Legba are particularly useful for a closer analysis of narrative. But before we turn to the stories, we must give attention to the role Legba plays in Dahomean life. As had been shown, he is a figure of the greatest importance both in the generalized form in which he participates in the worship of the vodun pantheons, and more particularly a guardian of entrances to villages, to markets, to shrines, compounds, and houses, until he is brought into the closest association of all—with a man’s personal destiny (his Fa).”

Source: Herskovits, Melville Jean, and Frances Shapiro Herskovits. Dahomean narrative: a cross-cultural analysis. Northwestern University Press, 1958. p. 36 https://archive.org/details/hersokovits-dahomean/page/35/mode/2up

In Haitian Vodou, Papa Legba was identified with Saint Anthony, but also Saint Peter:

“Legba est identifié à saint Antoine l'ermite et à saint Antoine de Padoue…Mais Legba est aussi saint Pierre qui, tout comme lui, est un portier divin.”

TRANSLATION:

"Legba is identified with Saint Anthony the Hermit and with Saint Anthony of Padua...But Legba is also Saint Peter who, just like him, is a divine doorkeeper."

In New Orleans Voodoo, Papa Lébat was associated with Saint Peter.

From the interview with Josephine McDuffy (“Josephine Green”):

Josephine Green, an octogenarian, recalled her mother’s stories about Marie Laveau.

SOURCE: Source: Tallant, Robert. Voodoo in New Orleans. 1946. Reprint, Gretna, La.: United Kingdom, Pelican Publishing Company, 1983. Pp. 57-58

From an interview with a woman named Mary Washington (“Mary Ellis”):

Mary said that most of the things she knew about Marte Laveau had been told her by an aunt who had been a Voodoo.

“My aunt told me one time she had trouble wit’ her landlord. He told her to git out of her house or he’d have her put in jail,” Mary said. “He even sent a policeman after her. The next day she went to Marie Laveau and she told my aunt to burn twelve blue candles in a barrel half full of sand. She done that and my aunt never did have to move and she never went to jail in her whole life. Marie Laveau used to tell people not to burn candles in church ’cause that gived their luck to somebody else, so they burned ’em in her house instead. She’d tell my aunt, ‘If you gonna fool ’em, fool ’em good, Alice.’ She was real good to my aunt. She even taught her a Voodoo song. It went like this:

St. Peter, St. Peter, open the door,

I’m callin’ you, come to me!

St. Peter, St. Peter, open the door …

“That’s all I can remember. Marie Laveau used to call St. Peter somethin’ like ‘Laba.’ She called St. Michael ‘Daniel Blanc,’ and St. Anthony ‘Yon Sue.’ There was another one she called ‘On Za Tier’; I think that was St. Paul. I never did know where them names come from. They sounded Chinee to me. You know the Chinee emperor sent her a shawl? She wore it all the time, my aunt told me.”

SOURCE: Source: Tallant, Robert. Voodoo in New Orleans. 1946. Reprint, Gretna, La.: United Kingdom, Pelican Publishing Company, 1983.

New Orleans Voodooists hid African-derived spirits like Papa Lébat and Daniel Blanc under the names of Catholic Saints, who were petitioned for the following reasons:

These merchants also sell pictures of saints. To certain Roman Catholic saints particular Voodoo power has been attributed: St. Michael is thought best able to aid in conquering enemies; St. Anthony de Padua is invoked for “luck”; St. Mary Magdalene is popular with women who are in love; St. Joseph (holding the Infant Jesus) is used to get a job. Many Voodoos believe a picture of the Virgin Mary in their homes will prevent illness, and that one of St. Peter (with the Key to Heaven) will bring great and speedy success in financial matters (without the Key to Heaven, St. Peter is still reliable in helping in the achievement of minor successes; the power of the picture is less, however). Pictures of the Sacred Heart of Jesus are believed to have the ability to cure organic diseases.

SOURCE: Source: Tallant, Robert. Voodoo in New Orleans. 1946. Reprint, Gretna, La.: United Kingdom, Pelican Publishing Company, 1983.

In Hoodoo, the real identity of the being petitioned as “Saint Peter” might not be Peter the Apostle, but Papa Lébat, whose name was forgotten over time.

If this is true, it seems that Papa Lébat refracted into two different entities: Hoodoo Saint Peter, and the Hoodoo Spirit at the Crossroads. This is similar to how the vodún Legba refracted into Papa Legba and Mèt Kafou when he was transmitted to Haiti. It is unclear whether these two refractions correspond with each other, or if Hoodoo Saint Peter and The Spirit at the Crossroads should be considered novel aspects of the Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára collective.

9. CONCLUSIONS

The above are merely personal hypotheses of mine, which can readily be verified or debunked by members of the Hoodoo and Voodoo communities. I belong to neither, nor do I have any Black African heritage. It would be these two groups who contain the most accurate information about the Spirit at the Crossroads, Hoodoo Saint Peter, and Papa Lébat.

In other words, they can tell you if this is bullshit or not.

For example, they can tell you if there’s any association between the Spirit at the Crossroads and dogs, if he smokes a pipe, if he wears a hat, if so what kind, if he limps, what his colors are, etc…

Here’s another opinion no one asked for!

Americans have attempted to reconstruct Voodoo by drawing from Haitian Vodou and West African Vodun. While it is prudent to connect with Haitians and West Africans, American Voodooists should prioritize communication with members of the Hoodoo community. There are many African Americans who descend from the Haitian slaves that arrived in New Orleans following the Haitian Revolution. While there exists an ancestral tie, there is also a large, 200-year discontinuity between this migration wave and the present day. Vodou – of the Mississippi River Valley, and of Haiti – is an ancestral tradition. The one who has maintained an unbroken ancestral chain is not the Haitian lwa Papa Legba, but the Hoodoo Spirit at the Crossroads.

In the words of Albert J. Raboteau, “In the United States the gods of Africa died” ...except one! Arguably, the most important one, who “holds the keys” to the other gods…!

AND PEOPLE JUST LEAVE THEIR TRASH IN THE PLACE WHERE HE DWELLS!!!!!

HE DOESN”T EVEN HAVE A NAME!!!!!!!!

…Sorry. I’m a very sensitive person, so this upsets me.

But isn’t that interesting?

In the entire Yoruba pantheon, Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára might be the single most persistent deity!

#commentary #EVERY NIGHT I CRY MYSELF TO SLEEP KNOWING THAT THE HOODOO SPIRIT AT THE CROSSROADS DOESN"T EVEN HAVE #A NAME!!!!!!!!!!!!

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machudson · 3 years

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alpha flight #130 moodboard

alternatively titled,

the master of the world has joined the polycruel

#alpha flight #mac hudson #heather hudson #eshu #master of the world #i cannot fucking believe. master of the world gay for mac hudson.#cyborg mac propaganda #god. god god god. ive been going insane for the last hour. possibly two hours.#MAC TURNED ON MOTW AND MOTW IMMEDIATELY JUST LIKE. GAVE UP. VANISHED #I SWEAR TO GOD #'HE JUST... GAVE UP. [...] I WAS HIS LAST HOPE‚ HIS LAST DREAM. HE HAD NOTHING LEFT TO LIVE FOR.'#LITERALLY WHAT DO I DO WITH MYSELF AFTER READING THAT!!!!!!!!#im literally. this issue broke me. i'm a cold and broken astro.#guardian #vindicator #james hudson #james macdonald hudson #doubt those tags will be worth shit but alpha fandom is like one really tight knit group and otherwise very sparse.....#let us find each other and be united as brethren #I BEQUEATH IT ALL TO YOU HUDSON......... GOD. HIS WIFE IS RIGHT THERE YOU GAY BITCH

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comicwaren · 4 years

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From M.O.D.O.K.: Head Games #002, “Casino Mentale”

Art by Scott Hepburn and Carlos Lopez

Written by Jordan Blum and Patton Oswalt

#m.o.d.o.k.: head games #m.o.d.o.k.#george tarleton #iron man #tony stark #master of the world #eshu #monica rappaccini #gwenpool #gwen poole #marvel #comics #marvel comics

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why-i-love-comics · 4 years

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M.O.D.O.K.: Head Games #2 (2021)

written by Jordan Blum & Patton Oswalt art by Scott Hepburn & Carlos Lopez

#eshu #iron man #modok #tony stark #marvel #master of the world #wednesday spoilers #spoilers #comic spoilers #wednesday spoiler

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docgold13 · 5 years

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365 Marvel Villain paper cut-outs - one villain, every day, all year.

December 23rd - The Master of The World

Eshu was a prehistoric wanderer who came across a downed alien spaceship near the North Pole. The craft originated from a planet called Plodex and, though its pilots had died in the crash, its onboard computers remained online and initiated a preset program to study life on earth. Eshu was captured by the ship, studied and experimented upon. Having been dissected and reassembled countless time, Eshu eventually bonded with the artificial intelligence of the ship; his own will becoming dominant. He emerged from the craft thousands of years later, transformed into a peak physical and intellectual being. Considering himself the pinnacle of human potential, Eshu renamed himself The Master The World and set out to conquer the planet. His initial scheme of conquest was foiled by Alpha Flight yet he would return to battle The Avengers, The Heroes for Hire, Captain Marvel and The Champions. The Master of The World first appeared in the pages of Alpha Flight Vol. 1 #2.

#365 Marvel Villains #Master of The World #Alpha Flight #Champions #cut-out #paper art

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bitter69uk · 4 years

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Abby (1974). Taglines: “Abby doesn't need a man anymore... The Devil is her Lover Now!” “The Story of a Woman Possessed!” I’m using this period of enforced social isolation to explore the weirder corners of YouTube for long forgotten and obscure movies. (my boyfriend Pal is accompanying me only semi-willingly). Think of this one as The Blackorcist. Dr Garrett Williams (William Marshall, best remembered from Blacula and Scream, Blacula, Scream!) is an esteemed authority on pagan African religions. While working on an archaeological dig in Nigeria, he inadvertently unleashes an evil Yoruba “sex spirit” called Eshu – which promptly possesses the body of his devoutly Christian daughter in law Abby across the globe in Louisville, Kentucky! (The movie doesn’t even attempt to make sense of this, so don’t worry). Williams must rush back to the US to perform an emergency exorcism. Can he save Abby’s soul? Aside from Marshall, the biggest name in the virtually all-black cast is African American character actress Juanita Moore (from great fifties Hollywood films like The Girl Can’t Help It and the Douglas Sirk masterpiece Imitation of Life) as Abby’s mother. Full credit to the gutsy star Carol Speed, who is totally game and really goes for it once Abby is possessed and transformed into a lewd, vomit-spewing, sexually insatiable and foul-mouthed devil. The film is at its unintentionally hilarious best when the formerly virtuous Abby begins growling dialogue like, “I’m gonna fuck the shit outta him!” and “You ugly motherfuckers, I’ll see you in hell!” in a demonic guttural male voice. (None of the characters ever think to ask, “Abby? What’s happened to your voice?”). The climactic finale takes place at a dive bar, where “bad Abby” has been wantonly flirting and reveling in vice. (The film seems to imply that dim nightclub lighting, drinking cocktails and dancing to disco music is the height of sin! In which case: hail, Satan!). As you may have guessed, Abby is freaky so-bad-it’s-GREAT fun. No wonder kitsch connoisseur John Waters himself has cited it as a favourite. If Abby sounds like The Blaxploitation Exorcist, Warner Brothers certainly thought so too – they successfully accused the distributors (American International Pictures) of copyright violation, the film was yanked from cinemas and subsequently legally suppressed. (Before that, Abby had been an instant box office smash, grossing $4 million in its opening month against an estimated budget of $100,00 - $200,000). Long considered a “lost film”, the version of Abby available online is apparently from an inferior 16 mm print and is in faded, grainy (but still watchable) condition. In theory, there is a pristine original master print languishing in a vault somewhere for legal reasons. Hopefully, this will eventually be resolved, and we’ll get the digitally re-mastered deluxe director’s cut edition of Abby the world has been waiting for! Link: https://youtu.be/KvSwjBAYpp0

Let’s face it: the puritanical, hypocritical and homophobic hellsite Tumblr has become a dying platform since it banned adult content in December 2018. I post here less and less. Follow me instead on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or on my blog. Fuck Tumblr!

#abby #blaxploitation #cult cinema #bad movies we love #bad movies for bad people #the exorcist #lobotomy room #lobotomy room club #vintage sleaze

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justdealingwithsomeissues · 1 year

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We know painfully little about Witchfire... and every little bit we get is just hints and nothing more... also Eshu can just... suck up the particles of someone and pull them into his armor and then use their power?

#Marvel #Alpha Flight #Ananym ~ Witchfire #Eshu ~ Master of the World #Infinity War

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meditationadvise · 5 years

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7 Powerful Books That Will Unleash The Hidden Potential Of Your Mind

" A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to maintain its side."

There it is: your mind -all leashed-up, bored, bookless and chasing its very own tail in the edge. It's time to unleash it. It's time to throw it back into the surprising waters of wonder and admiration. It's time to sidetrack it from the all as well familiar tail (or story, to wit), as well as give it a juicy carrot to chase around rather. Seven juicy carrots, to be exact.

So, shop that leash, open up your mind, snuggle with your ideal close friend, and dive precisely into the complying with mind-unleashing publications. However keep the light on. As Groucho Marx wittily believed, " Beyond a pet dog, a publication is guy's best buddy. Within a pet dog it's too dark to check out."

1.) "The Beginning of Infinity" by David Deutsche

" We never ever recognize any type of information prior to translating it via concepts. All monitorings are, as Popper put it, theory-laden, and thus imperfect, as all our concepts are."

From epistemology and also quantum fungibility to ecological values and societal advancement, David Deutsche takes us on a provocative trip right into addressing a single inquiry: Is there a restriction to exactly what can be comprehended? He comes at a mind-expending solution of “no” by diving deep into the broadening waters of epistemology and also ontology. He profoundly claims that our understanding of anything is constantly at the “beginning of infinity” and also there will certainly constantly be a boundless amount a lot more left for us to recognize. Basically speculating that, with exact and versatile understanding, anything is feasible unless it is restricted by the laws of physics.

Highly sensible as well as integrating, The beginning of Infinity releases us into greater thinking on the path towards much better and also far better descriptions. He takes us from parochial, obsolete methods of believing to the idea of universality and upgraded ways of thinking of the cosmos as a thing to be gradually evolved right into making use of ever-expanding modern technologies. Therefore bridging the void from guy to overman. As he explained, "There is just one method of believing that is qualified of making progress, or of enduring over time, as well as that is the means of seeking great descriptions with creativity and also objection."

2.) ' Circulation: The Psychology of Optimal Experience' by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

" The majority of satisfying activities are not all-natural, they demand an effort that initially one is unwilling to make. Once the communication begins to offer feedback to the person's abilities, it typically begins to be intrinsically rewarding."

Thanks to Csikszentmihalyi, the concept of the “flow state” has come to be an essential aspect of our social awakening. The optimum experience is gained through deep self-control in a particular field/art/sport that gives inherent reward, difficulty, and also comments, therefore integrating self-confidence, focus, control, flexibility, and also connectivity. Time stops or decreases. Instabilities go away. We quit respecting what others consider us. A creative unraveling of something bigger shows up. Every little thing flows easily in interconnected unison with us as its synergistic spearhead. In brief: we stop believing and also simply do.

By just asking the concern, " When are people most pleased?" Csikszentmihalyi, with time checked study, identifies flow states as the response. Professional athletes call it "remaining in the area," mystics have actually defined it as “ecstasy,” and artists term it “rapture.” Releasing ideal experience is concerning doing what we enjoy as a pathway toward better meaning, happiness, and also a self of higher intricacy. By doing just what we love in challenging ways, we take advantage of ideal experience right into our lives. This book powerfully discusses the psychology of this important process.

3.) "Phi: A Trip from the Mind to the Soul' by Giulio Tononi

" Dirty ideas, like dirty waters, can serve 2 objectives only: to hide what lies beneath, which is our ignorance, or to earn the shallow appear deep"

Phi takes the viewers on a mind-altering trip through the nature of consciousness. It interweaves scientific research, art, as well as the imagination with golden proportions, Fibonacci series, as well as fractal cosmology. The visitor has the happiness of viewing the world through such masters as Galileo, Alan Turing, Darwin and Francis Crick, amongst others. From neuroscience to pseudoscience, from deep introspection to mindful meditation, Tononi illuminates on exactly how awareness is a progressing, ever-deepening recognition of ourselves as finite, souls in a limitless universe.

We find out just how awareness is integrated information and just how the power of that combination requires miraculous duty and also credulity. It instructs exactly how the brain is the seat of our understandings, as well as is an innovative force par quality, as well as can also create brand-new forms and also brand-new qualia. It shows just how, by growing awareness, deep space comes increasingly more into being, and synthesizes the one and the many, the ego as well as the eco, the individual and the interdependence of all points into a linked force of Nature.

4.) "The Art of Fear" by Kristen Ulmer

"" Every little thing is great" is really a copout, a stuck area, an obstruction to the exploration of who and just what you are broadening right into higher and even more, as well as the advancement of humankind."

The Art of fear has to do with curiously accepting fear rather compared to conquering or repressing it. It has to do with restoring our understanding of fear from scratch. It has to do with realizing that Anxiety is just one of 10,000 employees at You Integrated, as well as how they all require a voice. Yet Fear many of all, lest all voices become quelched darkness. The key to fear, she discusses, is wondering regarding it, consequently utilizing its power rather compared to overcoming it. In between guts and curiosity is whatever we should be fearless.

Ulmer's individual trip with anxiety at some point led her to examine with Zen masters, where she discovered a mindfulness device called "Shift" which moves our perspective of worry from oblivious repression to aggressive curiosity, thus aligning it authentically with our real nature. The standard tenet being this: As opposed to quelching fear, equip it, by being curious as well as examining instead of judgmental and implicating. Honor it with deep respect so it does not operate secretly in twisted means below the surface.

5.) "Endgame: The Problem of Human being' by Derrick Jensen

" Property One: People is not and could never ever be sustainable. This is specifically real for commercial civilization."

Endgame will certainly take every little thing you think you understand about being a social remaining in an apparently useful society as well as turn it on its head. Absolutely except the regular statist, neither the faithful obedient resident. Endgame has to do with the vital demand to right away take apart the unhealthy human being that surrounds us. Endgame is a scathing, surging review against the harmful, unsustainable, and also ecologically unhealthy man-machine that is our contemporary culture.

Breaking guide down right into a series of easy yet increasingly intriguing facilities, Jensen takes us on a psychedelic as well as convincing flight into the undesirable stubborn belly of the fierce, ecocidal beast that is modern human being. His standard property is straightforward: Industrial people is unsustainable. It's not an inquiry of “if” but a question of “when” it's going to fail.

He suggests that the longer it takes people to fall, the worse the tragedy will be. In that light, there are 2 points we must be doing: Causing the autumn sooner rather than later, and preparing to endure it. His attitude is caustic as well as not so serious, however all the better for the shock worth it offers. This book actually squashes the box we're all so desperately attempting to assume beyond. A free (and maybe less hostile) read is Beyond Human being by Daniel Quinn.

6.) Trickster Makes this Globe: Mischief, Myth, and Art by Lewis Hyde

" Better to run with detachment, then, much better to have a method but instill it with a little humor, best, to have no way at all but to have rather the wit constantly making one's method anew from the materials at hand."

Trickster Makes This World is a mythological cornerstone for Spiritual Clowns and also practicing trickster-gods the world over, digging into the intestines of the prehistoric significance of sacred play and also brawler actions. Hyde checks out just how trickster numbers represent the “disruptive imagination” that inverts, reorganizes, and also overturns standard wisdom. From Raven to Coyote, Ape to Crow, Hermes to Loki, Eshu to Legba, Hyde reveals connections in between mythical tricksters that develop a concealed network that links social divides.

The ideal part regarding this publication is its capability to reveal just how mythology ends up being reality. “Trickster consciousness'” is a crucial component of human imagination. It reveals that we are the gods of renewal as well as rebirth, if we decide to be. We are the designers of mischief and also mayhem. We are the trickster gods in training. Charlatan is us, and also we are Charlatan. We are the supreme boundary-crossers. No manmade policies or legislations could have us, unless we let them. Also planetary regulations and also regulations can barely contain us. Charlatan makes this globe by tearing the old world down through high wit, ethical ambiguity, absurdity, and critical transgression and also then dancings in the ashes of its devastation. It is specifically from the dancing, the kicking up of dirt and also ash, where endure new globes emerge.

7.) 'Ethical Tribes: Feeling, Reason, and also the Void Between Us as well as Them' by Joshua Greene

" We need a kind of believing that allows teams with clashing principles to cohabit and flourish. To puts it simply, we require a metamorality. We need a moral system that settles disagreements amongst groups with different moral ideals, equally as common first-order morality solves differences among individuals with various egocentric rate of interests."

Moral Tribes is hands-on moral psychology and a revitalizing brand-new take on utilitarianism. Greene wraps video game theory, evolutionary biology, as well as neuroscience into a wonderful absorbable package to strengthen his concept of cognition, which builds elegantly into a theory of moral psychology. A sweeping synthesis of neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy, Ethical People opens up a container of psychosocial worms that takes the principle of principles to the next level, exposing exactly how we are incredibly well-adept at fixing the problem in between “Me” and “Us,” through the concept of the “tribe,” yet how we are ridiculously less-adept at solving the meta-dilemma between “Us” and “Them.”

Greene's principle of metamorlity squares this psychosocial circle by counterintuitively applying utilitarianism to our base, pavlovian response to morality (advanced morality) by coming to be aware of our apathy in order to end up being a lot more understanding. By enhancing humankind as opposed to nationalism, and life patriotism rather of patriotic nationalism, we turn the tables on both prejudice as well as lethargy and we come to be a lot more caring as well as empathetic toward others. When we celebrate variety rather than trying to pack the square secure of manifest destiny right into the round hole of social association, we turn the tables on the monkey-mind's one-dimensional moral tribalism and we introduce Joshua Greene's multi-dimensional metamorality.

#how to meditate #meditation #meditation music #spiritual

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harrelltut · 8 years

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♀ My Phonically Advanced [PA] Gullah Ebonik [G.E. = GREEK] Lexicon of A HIGHLY Sacred Wordsmith Master I Spiritually Developed from My HIGHLY Crucified Black Christ [B.C.] Life of HEAVY MENTAL DRAMA that BEE So Alkhemically Potent 4 My Dually Reincarnated Black Christ [B.C. = Orisha Èsù = Yoruba Eshu] Bloodlines that Make Me [ME = U.S. Michael Harrell = TUT = JAH] Cosmically Migrate 2 Our NEW… MOST HIGH [MH = JAH] PARALLEL GOLDEN BLACK EDEN EARTH [BEE] DIMENSION… ABOVE Compton California [CA] ♀

#U.S. Michael Harrell #U.S. King TUT of Celestial Atlantis [CA]#My Phonically Advanced [PA] Gullah Ebonik [G.E. = GREEK] Lexicon of A HIGHLY Sacred Wordsmith Master #Magical Mental Alkhemy #Mental Alkhemy of Kemet #HEAVY Mental of Alkhemical [MA] Transformation Intel #Our NEW… MOST HIGH [MH = JAH] Parallel Golden Black Eden Earth [BEE] Dimension… ABOVE Compton California [CA]#Central Congo Afrikkan [CA] American Ijo Worlds of Ancestral [WA = WATTSTAX] Spirits #Ancient Black Wattstax Energies #Interstellar Worlds of Afrikkan [WA = WATTSTAX] Atlantis #My HIGHLY Crucified Black Christ [B.C.] Life of HEAVY MENTAL DRAMA #HEAVY MENTAL DRAMA that BEE So Alkhemically Potent 4 My Dually Reincarnated Black Christ [B.C. = Orisha Èsù = Yoruba Eshu] Bloodlines

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tonystarksredthong · 7 years

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Hall of Infamy

Hall of Infamy (Villains):

Aleksei Sytsevich (Rhino)

Alex Wilder

Apocalypse (En Sabah Nur)

Ara Tanzeria

Bane

Carl Creel (Absorbing Man)

Carl Donewicz (Steeljacket)

Dario Agger (Minotaur)

Davis Harmon

Digger Harkness (Captain Boomerang)

Don Gill (The Blizzard)

Ebbtide

Eddie Ferbel

Elliot Boggs (Magician)

Enigmo

Erik Josten (Atlas)

Erik Lehnsherr (Magneto)

Eshu (Master of the World)

Flash Thompson (Venom)

Frank Simpson (Nuke)

Fred Myers (Boomerang)

Gah-Ran

Greg(Aggregate)

Herman Schultz (Shocker)

Dr. Hugo Strange (Doctor Strange)

J Q Stamp

Jason Blood

Jerome Jackson (The Box)

Johann Schmidt (Red Skull)

Jon Webb (Skeleton Man)

Joseph (Cloneto)

Dr. Karl Malus

Kerwin Korman (Doomsday Man)

Lash

Lex Luthor

Lineage

Lizard

Loki Laufeyson

Madcap

The Mandarin

Mark Scarlotti (Whiplash)

Max Dillon (Electro)

Maximus the Mad

Mephisto

Michael Korvac

Mikhail Rasputin (Rasputin)

Misfit

Modred the Mystic

Morbius the Living Vampire

Mr. Hyde

Neron

Orb

Pantu Hurageb (Reaper)

Paul Duval (Gray Gargoyle)

Paul Norbert Ebersol (The Fixer)

R'as al Ghul

Punch

Samuel Smithers (Plantman/Blackheath)

Temugin (Mandarin)

Thanos

Thomas Andrew Tresser (Nemesis)

Tiberius Stone

Tommy Elliot (Hush)

Victor-Creed(Sabertooth)

Victor von Doom (Doctor Doom)

William Baker AKA Flint Marko (Sandman)

General Wo (Sumo)

Wong-Chu

#hall of infamy

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watchingtheworldflyingby · 8 years

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Voodoo:

History: Voodoo refers to "a whole assortment of culture elements: personal creeds and practices, a system of ethics transmitted across generations" -Leslie Desmangles, a Haitian professor at Hartford's Trinity College. Voodoo is bases to the combination of spiritual and ancestral cults and healing traditions that the African slaves brought to the new world and on the form of folk Catholicism of Africa and Europe. It 12 is still practice today, and is extremely common the region of Haiti's where it is said that among 8 million people practice it. It is also practiced in places such as the Bahamas, Miami, New York and Montreal. Voodoo emerge in the 16th century among enslaved African's in the Spanish Caribbean colony of Santo Domingo, which became the republic of Haiti in 1804. Voodoo was first practiced by the Africans and Creole slaves feeling the violence of the Haitian Revolution in 1791-1804. The majority of these settled in New Orleans. "A law created in 1685, prohibited the practice of African religions, and required all masters to Christianize their slaves within 8 days of the arrival in Haiti." From the beginning of the 16th century to the end of the 18th century, 800,000 African slaves were brought to Santo Domingo. Catholic missionaries managed little in preaching to slaves beyond giving them the sacrament of baptism. Shortly after, a resilience of the slavery begun, in which Catholic saints and symbols joined spiritual forces with refashioned African traditions. Although African slaves were brought to Haiti and New Orleans about the same time, Voodoo development is quite different in either area. Voodoo in Haiti was used to give strength to the slaves through hardships and suffering. Revolts inspired by practitioners, led the survivors to flee to New Orleans, in which is was greatly suppressed each time if tried to reemerge until the 19th century.

Voodoo neither depends on the teachings of a founder, nor scripture, nor formal concept. There a significant variations around the world. In some parts of Haiti, voodoo is characterized by ancestral relevance. Whereas in other parts of the West Africa, it is cultivated by spirits. The Voodoo place of worship is called a Pantheon, and is divided into to principle rites. These are:

• The Rada: Deities that are 'cool' and serene

• The Petwo: Deities that are 'hot' and feisty

Communication and contact with Voodoo's miste (mysteries) include:

• Prayer

• Praise

• Ablutions

• Offerings

• Spirit possession

• Drum and dance ceremonies

• Divination

• Animal sacrifice

These rituals aims's are to "ensure, establish or reestablish harmony between practitioners and the miste to protect practitioners from sorcery." When bad things happen, consultation of the ritual specialists occurs, who arrange ceremonies to provoke spirit possession, so that communication with the miste can occur in order to discover what the cause of the discord, disease, problem or misfortune is and to determine means of resuming to harmony and healing. Some of the ritual appeasement's that occur for the miste include:

• Artistic communal drum and dance ceremonies

• Animal sacrifices

• Praising and feeding the Iwa

Healing rituals consist of:

• Herbalism

• Ritual baths

• Leaves

• Water

• Song

• Dance

• Blood

• Healing

• Communication the with the sacred

God's of Voodoo: There are many different Gods that voodoo worships. Listed below with a short summary:

• Legba/ Elegba, Eshu, Ellegua: This is the God of crossroads, singer, fighter, fool, and the guardian of the door into the spiritual realm. He appears as a child or a old man with a crutch. This is an expression of his speed and unpredictable behavior. He is believed to be a cheater, but also delivers messages of destiny. The symbolism is a rebellious child, yes also a wise old man. Some myths say he has stolen the secrets of the Gods, and given them to the people. Because he is the guardian at the door, every ritual begins with invoking him and saying goodbye to him, which enables communication with other god to flow better. Those who have died, are able to return back to the world of the living in they obtain Legba's blessing.

• Shango/Xango/Chango: This is the God of fire, fighter, judge and Lord of the lightning and thunder. He is said to be a brave, healthy looking man God. He was initially worshipped by the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria. He was born as one of the Earth Gods, and lived as a king in the Oyo land on earth with people. Today he is worshipped as a god of justice. Invocation can help with legal proceedings or it can give more power or courage.

• Oshun/Oxum/Ezili/Erzulie: The Goddess of love and power of creation, abundance and passion. A seductive and beautiful young lady. Oshun: She is beauty, sensuality and love. Erzulia: A lady of visual arts and jewels. Spreader of joy and passion. This goddesses heal diseases with cold water upon which she rules. She feed the hungry with her generosity. She increases universal prosperity so all can enjoy the beauty of creation. She is the mother of witches and colours herself in the blood of her enemies. The ruler of virtue.

• Oya/ Yansa/ Aida-Lenso/Olla: This is the Goddess of wind, fire, water and rainbow. She is the ruler of nature. A fighter who is courageous, beautiful, passionate and unpredictable. She is a goddess of sudden change. She can show her power through paths of destruction such as wind storm, floods and earthquake. Her power stems from her speed and ability to change things instantly.

• Yemaya/ Imanje/ La Balianne: Goddess of the seas and personification of female power. She gives nutrition, food, and takes care of female power. She protect children (unborn and living). She has the power to nurture and destroy. In many places, she is celebrated on the days of a full moon.

• Obatala/ Oxala/ Batala/ Blanc Dani: Goddess of heavens and personification of creative energy. She/ He is old with white hair, kind and powerful. In the Yoruba tribe, she/ he is the goddess of creation. She/ he is both male and female at the same time. She/ he personifies justice, wisdom, abilities and generosity. She/ he bring wealth and well being, heals the most serious and deadly diseases.

• Ogun/ Ogum/ Ogu: A man who is wild of the woods. The God of Iron and smithery. Protector of wealth and work. He is both peaceful and dangerous. He transforms wild forests into new lands for the Gods. He is called 'The one who prepares the way'. He teaches people how to use knives for self defence in the jungle. He teaches people smithcraft so they can build new homes and villages. He is considered the father of civilizations and technology.

• Agwe or Agwe- Taroyo: God of water. Lord of season. He is handsome and proud and like order. Strong in character and in tasks. Protector of animals and places and preserves harmony in nature. He is summoned to calm waves of the sea, and is mainly worshipped by those who fish. People under his protection will never drown and water will never harm them.

• Damballah or Aida-Wedo: Primordial god. God of snakes. He has the form of a snake. Protector of trees and waters, he is vivacious, strict and brave. He is an ancient god. The original creative power.

• Loco: He is the spirit of vegetation and male form of plants. Another primordial god. There is a legend that says he was the first priest that was transformed into a spirit from a human being. He is recognized at ceremonies by a gnarled stick that he always has with him, or by his companion who always smokes a pipe.

• Simbi: The lao of white magic. Depicted as a green snake, and considered to be very wise. He provides a certain connection between people and ghosts.

• Symbol Petro; He represents the aggressive side to voodoo. He has only a dark and negative character. A sacrifice is always given

• Baron Samedie, La Croix, Cemetiere Boumna and Guede: God's of death and cemeteries. Baron Samedie appears as a thin black man wearing a hat and holding a walking stick. Baron La Croix appears as a skeleton, in which he answers all questions sarcastically and has chilling looks. Baron Cemetiere Boumba has a sinister look and his behaviors invoke fear. The colours that represent the barons are black and purple. Rituals to barons are to be done at night-time in a cemetery.

• Marassa: The specialty of voodoo is the worship of twins. Two godly twins: Mawa and Lisa symbolize active male and passive female energy, personify the sun and the moon. Together they create one god that symbolizes inseparable divine unity.

Voodoo Dolls:

Voodoo dolls are mostly identified with a form of African folk magic called "Hoodoo". This is a combination of animism, spiritism, and other religious beliefs and practice at originated in Africa. They have been traditionally made to represent someone that a practitioner is trying to put a spell on or curse. They are made from corn shaft, potatoes, play, branches, roots or clothes stuffed with plants. Fictional movies have extremely is characterized their uses.

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