Kalfu

Kalfu
Venerated in	Haitian Vodou, Folk Catholicism
Attributes	Rum, gunpowder, red, black, bulls, demons, 7 tree leaves
Patronage	Fire, crossroads, misfortune, destruction, sorcery

Kalfu, Kalfou or Carrefour (literally crossroads - see crossroads (mythology)) is, in Haitian Vodou, one of the Petwo aspects of the spirit Papa Legba. He is often envisioned as a young man or as a demon; his color is red and he favors rum infused with gunpowder. He is often syncretised with Satan.

As his name indicates, he also controls the crossroads and has the power to grant or deny access to all other Loa, or spirits, and he allows the "crossing" of bad luck, deliberate destruction, misfortune, and injustices.

When Kalfu mounts a person, everyone at the service stops speaking because he allows evil Loa to come to the ceremony. "He claims that most of the important Loa know him, and he collaborates with them. When being ridden by Kalfu, Cheval are often stricken with black, weeping eyes, swollen muscles, and a need to show off how tall and strong they are. Kalfu likes to use tree leaves in his magic and is often seen helping people cope with personal problems, also acting as a master of the 'human condition.' Kalfu says that some people claim he is a demon, an allegation that he denies. Kalfu is a feared and respected Loa reputed to be the grand master of charms and sorcerers. He is closely associated with black magic.

Although other Loas recognize and know him, he is often a "Lone Wolf." During a possession of Met Kalfu, the possessed only feels his presence and rarely, if at all, feel any spirits of the dead, shades, or any other Loa.

In popular culture

Mate Care-For ("Maitre Carrefour") is one of the principal Loa revered by the pirates in Tim Powers's 1987 novel On Stranger Tides.

Kalfu appears in the film The Zombie King played by actor Corey Feldman.

It is a common misconception that Petwo spirits are evil. Though they can be dark, violent and dangerous at times, as representatives and reflections of humanity-so by all accounts can we. Kalfou is a Loa not to be trifled with by any means. He is the god of the crossroads, controlling all who venture within it and creating confusion and disorder wherever he goes; he is also the god of black magic, a malicious magician with enormous powers over life, death and everything in between. He is Legba's twin, and as such, often plays the trickster, impersonating his brother or following behind him, nullifying his deeds; he is the uncontrollable force of bad luck, grinning as he throws everything around him into disarray. Despite the healthy fear with which the worshipers (and even the Loa themselves) regard him, he is also viewed as a necessary evil; there must always be a Kalfu to balance Legba, and a force of overwhelming creativity and expression, even if that expression often takes horrifying forms. The balance of the dark and the light being the eternal conflict.

Kalfu is revealed as one of the angelic Grigori masquerading as a Loa in Edward M. Erdelac's 2009 novel Merkabah Rider: Tales Of A High Planes Drifter.

Erzulie, Papa Legba, Baron Samedi and Damballa, all appear in the WildCats original comic series, assisting Voodoo against Mait' Carrefour.

Kalfu appears in the comic series The Sixth Gun in arcs "Crossroads" and "Winter Wolves," assisting various characters to pass between the living world and the spirit world in exchange for rum and gunpowder.