🏴 🗝 • @vodou.renaissance Legba Petwo “Just as the Rada ritual begins by asking Legba (leg-BA) to open the gate to the other Lwa, we invoke Legba again, to open the door to Petwo. Whereas Legba in the Rada rite is an old man, Legba Petwo is generally depicted as a younger man, controlling the crossroads between the spiritual world and the physical world. Instead of Saint Lazarus, the Petwo version of Legba is most often depicted by Saint Peter, dressed in red and holding two keys next to a crowing rooster.” Excerpt from the book: "Haitian Vodou: An Introduction to Haiti's Indigenous Spiritual Tradition" by Mambo Chita Tann (@mambochitatann) Since Legba essentially rules communication and the gate, everyone has him [as opposed to other Lwa, who either walk with individuals or not]. He is one of the Lwa who shows up most often for people who are either new to vodou or whom the Lwa are trying to have come join the community because of this. If someone wants to be involved with vodou, Legba–along with ancestors–is the Lwa to pray to so that he opens the gates for that to happen and brings the opportunities to the surface, if vodou is where that person is meant to be. Anyone can offer prayers to him and light a white candle for his guidance. Beyond his gatekeeper duties, Legba is also a bit of a trickster but not really in a ‘ha ha funny’ sort of way. Most of his ‘tricks’ involve learning hard lessons in rather swift and potentially uncomfortable ways, rather than making you, or perhaps anyone but him, laugh. He can also be notoriously temperamental and easily offended. Don’t piss off Legba. He can work fast when he wants to, but when he is upset/offended/angry? He moves like lightening. When he slams the gate shut, it stays shut until he decides to open it again, if he does at all. No Lwa will cross him when he decides that things are not right, and he can be hard to appease if the offense is serious. #vodou #voodoo #ritual #haitianvodou #haitianvoodoo #spirituality #tradition #africanspirituality #art #haitianart #haiti (at AYITI) https://www.instagram.com/p/CjoNA0BrcO5/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
