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I'm often pretty skeptical when people come up and say "this name here comes from that name over here" flat out.. and a lot of times the phonology does not support the derivation and there are other problems.. but when something catches my attention even where other pieces of the picture don't necessarily hold up or where it is not much more than speculation but it is just interesting, well it is kind of cool. I want to remark on one of those for anyone with ears to hear.
I wonder why I never came on this before, but there was a famous localized Syrian divinity named El-Gabal, who was a solar power in the form of a meteorite rock. He was a Baal and Baals also were often depicted as men with bull's horns on their heads and often carried a staff in their imagery.
This particular Baal, whose "birthday" is Dec 25 [Dies Natalis Solis Invicta] was "popularized" throughout the entire Roman Empire (ie forced on everybody) by a teenaged Emperor who was also the divinity's high priest.. Emperor Elagabalus.. and that is the name the deity was known by throughout the Empire. This Emperor died in 222 at the age of 18 or 19. The Roman Empire encompassed North Africa and the Middle East.. and the founder of Ife who first brought the orisha to West Africa, Oduduwa, was said to come from Arabia or Mecca.
Linguistically it really doesn't seem like much of a jump between the name El-Gabal/Elagabalus to Elegba in case y'all didn't see that coming. It actually is a feasible transformation. Many songs in Vodou for Legba associate him in some way with the Sun. In West Africa Elegba is often depicted with horns just like the Baals of Syria/Phoenicia. There was a lot of trade from Syria and Egypt along the Sahara trade routes through North Africa to the West African kingdoms. We know culture also travels along trade routes.
I won't say that in all this is the truth, or even A truth, but just an interesting set of facts that are fascinating when they all tumble around together in the brain in juxtaposition. We have seen where Phoenician traders brought Baal/Bel to the British Isles and to the Northlands with Beli and Baldr.. as extensive as trade routes were, why not Africa?
I wonder why I never came on this before, but there was a famous localized Syrian divinity named El-Gabal, who was a solar power in the form of a meteorite rock. He was a Baal and Baals also were often depicted as men with bull's horns on their heads and often carried a staff in their imagery.
This particular Baal, whose "birthday" is Dec 25 [Dies Natalis Solis Invicta] was "popularized" throughout the entire Roman Empire (ie forced on everybody) by a teenaged Emperor who was also the divinity's high priest.. Emperor Elagabalus.. and that is the name the deity was known by throughout the Empire. This Emperor died in 222 at the age of 18 or 19. The Roman Empire encompassed North Africa and the Middle East.. and the founder of Ife who first brought the orisha to West Africa, Oduduwa, was said to come from Arabia or Mecca.
Linguistically it really doesn't seem like much of a jump between the name El-Gabal/Elagabalus to Elegba in case y'all didn't see that coming. It actually is a feasible transformation. Many songs in Vodou for Legba associate him in some way with the Sun. In West Africa Elegba is often depicted with horns just like the Baals of Syria/Phoenicia. There was a lot of trade from Syria and Egypt along the Sahara trade routes through North Africa to the West African kingdoms. We know culture also travels along trade routes.
I won't say that in all this is the truth, or even A truth, but just an interesting set of facts that are fascinating when they all tumble around together in the brain in juxtaposition. We have seen where Phoenician traders brought Baal/Bel to the British Isles and to the Northlands with Beli and Baldr.. as extensive as trade routes were, why not Africa?
posted by:
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Austin
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