African Mythology

The Gods and Spirits of Africa

LEGBA

Fon Trickster God

Trickster God of Language and Destiny

He appears as a shabby old man, but in fact he’s extremely clever and cunning. He knows all the languages of the world and is also fluent in the Cosmic Tongue (does that mean Esperanto?).

If you need to get a message to the Gods, Legba is the one to go for. But he’s not very reliable — he likes nothing better than to confuse. Not only that, but as he gets older, garbled messages and confusion have a tendency to creep in.

Legba is known as Eshu among the Yoruba, where he does much the same thing but with more up-to-date technology. He also makes a guest appearance in certain Vodou circles — see Legba.

Legba Facts and Figures

Name: Legba
Pronunciation: Coming soon
Alternative names:

Gender: Male
Type: God
Area or people: Fon people of Benin and Togo
Celebration or Feast Day: Unknown at present

Role:
In charge of: Mayhem
Area of expertise: Trickster, Mischief, Mayhem

Good/Evil Rating: GOOD, quite approachable
Popularity index: 11071

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Article last revised on May 19, 2019 by Rowan Allen.
Editors: Peter J. Allen, Chas Saunders

References: Coming soon.

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