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Legba, the Gate(part two)
There are certain spirits in the world that everyone must and does have naturally with them. Everyone has ancestors, everyone has Gede, the Lwa Met Tet. But a Lwa which everyone may not necessarily have walking with them, yet everyone is able to get in contact with him is the Lwa Legba.
The Lwa Legba is the opener of the gates allowing us to walk through life to new places and walk "Gran Chemen" (The big road- journey through life) In order to get in contact with any Lwa at all, Legba's blessing must be had. He blesses us immensely by opening the gates. Having one's gates closed is not a good thing at all and can lead to many problems.
A person's gates can be closed due to a variable number of causes. This is usually divined by the Houngan/Mambo doing the work in order to restore flow and open gates in his or her client's life. One cause of having one's gates closed can be Legba feeling neglected or forgotten, or he may be angry at the individual. If you have your gates closed, you will find much trouble in all areas of your life. I was given permission by a personal friend of mine to tell you what had happened to her. Allow me to recount something that happened here a few years ago.
I had someone come here who needed help desperately and fast. She needed to acquire a job so that she could continue living at her father's house (she was staying there due to being in a financial wreck as well as being evicted) until she gathered the money to move back on her own. Her father was giving her two weeks to get a job or her and her child would be out of a home.
She came to me in a state of confusion, anguish and worry. She knew I was a Houngan and although she believed in Vodou she was very ignorant of the subject. She avoided any conversations about it at all, and I never pressed her about it. But this was an emergency, any means necessary was what she had as her motto. So she asked me if there was anything I could do.
I looked her over and said "Yes and I know just who to fix it"
"Who?"
"St. Lazarus and this is what I will need . . ." and continued to give her a list of supplies that I informed her I would need right away. The next day, she arrived to bring me everything I had told her I would need. I prepared everything and did the work. After I was finished I told her to light a seven day candle I had specially prepared for her, meanwhile she needed to be praying her prayer for work and remind Legba of her promise to him.
She did such and three days later, BOOM . . . a phone call. She just got a job at the location she wanted even though she didn't think she would've really been qualified for the position as she had little experience. She was also making a great wage, which was one of the highest paying positions she's ever had. I congratulated her and reminded her not to forget her promise to Legba. She thanked me again and said that she did not forget and on her first paycheck she would bring what she owed him.
Well, what did she do? Her first paycheck came and left. She spent all the money and didn't even pay Legba. Two days after her due date, I left to make a trip to Haiti. By the time I arrived, her life was in shambles. I spoke to her two days after my arrival, I asked her about work.
She told me "I got fired. I don't live at my Dad's anymore, I am staying with a friend. I feel tension between us two and Hector, I think she is going to kick me out soon too. I've been putting applications and more applications and I can't get a job. I'm depressed, and I don't know where me and my son will go to if we get kicked out. My husband started cheating on me and left first, then I got fired, then I got kicked out. What's wrong with me?" I looked at her "You forgot to pay Legba!"
She said "Oh My God, Oh My God, Oh My God, that is why all this is happening to me. I forgot Hector I really did. When I got my first check, I paid what I had to and spent the extra money. That's right, it was almost a week after I owed him that all this started. I found out about my husband three days later, I got fired five days after, and then seven days after the due date I was kicked out. I got to pay him, I got to pay him, what is it that I owe him? Oh, sh*t I remember!"
Well then when can I bring them to your House?
"Later today around five" I told her.
She brought the items to me that same day. I offered them to Papa Legba. Legba added some additional items he wanted as payment for the lateness. She brought them the next day. But . . . Legba gave her a job quickly, he destroyed her life quickly but to put it back together he did that quite a bit slower. While it took him mere days to ruin her, he took a little over a month to put the pieces back together. Shortly after the payments, however, she did start to see an improvement and things getting better.
You see how important it is to keep Legba happy! Legba is needed by everyone including the Lwa. In fact, almost every nation has their own Legba who helps open the road for them. These Legbas are often referred to by the nation they walk with (i.e.: Legba Nago, Legba Kongo, Legba Ibo) but initiates know the true names of these Legbas in order to open the gates to those nations.
There are some Legba that do not walk with specific nations. They help where they can, wandering through the nations and the rites. No surprise as Legba is known to be a wanderer.
But for non-initiates, it suffices to know that there are two main Legba. The Legba that serves to open the gate into the Rada rite of Lwa and he who opens for the Petro. The Rada Legba is an old man and is often represented by the image of Lazarus. Lazarus walks on crutches and is accompanied by two dogs. Legba dan Petwo (Legba in Petro) is served with the image of St. Anthony of Padua. This is appropriate as the Petro Legba is young and works with fire. I was cleansed by this Legba with a burning branch at a dance in Haiti.
If you would like to read more about Legba, check this out: http://www.ezilikonnen.com/legba.html
Legba carries around a straw sack known as a djakout Legba in Haiti. These are special bags in which Legba receives his service. Certain items are placed within the djakout when serving Legba and this also acts as his carrying device for him to place all of his things. I have a few Legba djakouts still available, and if you would like to know about them, check this out: http://www.ezilikonnen.com/supplies.html
Since Legba is such an important Lwa to get along with, I highly suggest having a djakout to help serve him better. Typically in Haiti, these are hung near the entrance of the peristyle off of a tree. Here, however, you can hang them inside your altar room or near your front entrance if you serve Legba there. Preferably it would be hung, and if you have a crutch for Legba you can even hang it off of that.
I hope this post has done some to enlighten you, feel free to ask any questions you may have. |
