Talk:Crossroads (folklore)

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 24 August 2018 and 18 December 2018. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Druzydragon.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 18:43, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

Hoodoo-Voodou Conflation

I am not an expert in this area. Currently in the section called Voodoo, both Hoodoo and Voodou are discussed without clear delineation. My limited understanding of Papa Legba would not lend my understanding to these two concepts belonging in the same paragraph as each other as, at the very least, Papa Legba fills a much larger role in Voodou belief than any tangential connection to a black man at a crossroads. The current article would lead a casual reader to draw a much more direct inference between the two. There is more parallel between Papa Legba and Janus than the Devil. More context needs to be given by somebody who knows more wherefore she or he speaks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.187.10.133 (talk) 01:05, 20 January 2014 (UTC)

The origin of the crossroad in Hoodoo originates from the Kongo Cosmogram in Africa. Archeologists unearthed on several slave plantations in the United States on clay pots made by African slaves showing a cross mark or crossroads. The crossroads in Hoodoo did not originate with an European influence, but Kongo region in Africa. There has been academic and scholarly research done on this, and archeological discoveries done by universities. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23070092?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=All+of+Cross+African+potters&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DAll%2Bof%2BCross%2BAfrican%2Bpotters%26acc%3Don%26wc%3Don%26fc%3Doff%26group%3Dnone%26refreqid%3Dsearch%253A5b61562e2772321a65504f1170e24b03&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_SYC-5187_SYC-5188%2F5187&refreqid=fastly-default%3A2afdff76865c38195f141e8a692ffcf3&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents https://www.nps.gov/ethnography/aah/aaheritage/lowCountry_furthRdg4.htm and https://www.nps.gov/afbg/learn/historyculture/nkisi-sarabanda.htm and there is an article on JSTOR about it, https://www.jstor.org/stable/43306192?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hoodoowoman (talk • contribs) 22:53, 22 January 2021 (UTC)

relation of crossroads to Christianity

The current article says:

<Christian Mandala and medicine wheels are metonymic of crossroads and share in their lore.[citation needed]>

Problems: 1) Mandalas and medicine wheels aren't part of the Christian religious tradition. 2) There is no citation to use an authority to make the quoted claim.

I suggest that the section be removed since the claim is wrongly classified ("Christian"), and there is no evidence for the claim.

198.48.224.196 (talk) 06:04, 25 February 2015 (UTC)Dat Tran, Feb.25, 2015

I lobe these types of movies Michelle Exsted (talk) 10:23, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Source for Voodoo Section

No reference at all? I realize some other issues have been pointed out as well, it seems like someone should perhaps redo that entire section with citations. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mopacpl (talk • contribs) 03:54, 11 May 2015 (UTC)

Summoning Section

The summoning section mirrors the ritual used in the TV show "Supernatural." The show might have based their ritual on something, but there really needs to be a source. However, I can't seem to find a source which meets the citation criteria for the statement made, and what I did find appears to have been plagiarized from the show's wiki (http://www.supernaturalwiki.com/index.php?title=Crossroads_Demon) - DeLukas (talk) 12:51, 21 May 2015 (UTC)

/*Janus*/

Hello, I'm new and want to add to this page. I was looking it over and saw that there is no mention of Hermes or Janus, who are greek/roman gods associated with crossroads. So I'm planning to add a section about them. Any thoughts or ideas? Druzydragon (talk) 18:18, 24 October 2018 (UTC)

adding a Greek section

There is not much here on the Greek significance of crossroads in their mythology. With an eye towards Hermes and Hecate, I plan to add a section for this. Sources to come --Druzydragon (talk) 02:18, 4 December 2018 (UTC)

everyone

I was told I have the best natural expressions Michelle Exsted (talk) 10:22, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Origin of association with demons/the devil: African, European, or both?

Clearly there was a lot of syncretism beween African and European mythology around the 16th century, but it's unclear if the association between crossroads and summoning demons/devils originated in one or the other, or maybe a coincidence of common humanity. In some African disapora, for example, Legba is the quasi-demonic messenger found at the crossroads, which could be the link back to Africa (conversely, Legba was also heavily influenced by St Lazarus, or even Hermes or Hecate, all messengers of the crossroads). Other people associate it with the German story of Faust, who summons Mephistophales at a crossroads, although in many earlier versions of that tale that I've seen, the demon is summoned by necromancy in his study or lab. The same goes for Theophilus, another European demon-summoner. I'm leaning towards that story being influenced by African tradition. Does anyone know of any European sources which associate crossroads with demons, which might predate an African influence? 71.223.72.252 (talk) 21:35, 2 November 2020 (UTC)

After some digging, I found in the original 1587 Faust book, it does indeed mention a crossroads so perhaps the influence went the other direction. Updated the article to reflect this. It could still use more details on how the two cultures may have exchanged ideas, so please keep an ear open. 71.223.72.252 (talk) 20:10, 4 November 2020 (UTC)