Papa Legba stands at the crossroads between the human world and the world of the lwa, and no ceremony can proceed until he opens the gate — every service begins by asking him. He appears as an old man with a cane, a straw hat, and a dog, and he is honored with something small and simple. He is the Vodou form of Yoruba Eshu, and the American blues legend of a deal at the crossroads is a distant, garbled descendant.