Adjasou

(DL) Characterized by protruding eyes and a bad humor, lives under the mombin tree near a spring and is very fond of vermouth, rum, and cognac.

Agassu

(DL) Dahomean in origin and belonging to the Fon and Yaruba tribes. When a person is possessed by Agassu, his hands become crooked and stiffened, therefore resembling claws. In Dahomey, he is the result of a union between a panther and a woman. He is associated with water deities and sometimes takes the form of a crab. He is one of the mythical creatures who once gave assistance to the Ancestor. He is considered one of the loa masons.

Agau

(DL) Agau is a very violent god. Earth tremors and the frightening sounds are associated with storms are because of Agau. The trances induced by his mounting are so violent there have been deaths associated with his brutality. When one is mounted one attempts to imitate the sounds of thunder and tremors, if they are strong enough to utter sounds under the possession. The possessed person keeps repeating, "It is I who am the gunner of god; when I roar the earth trembles." It is said that when the earth tremors, Agau is angry. Those who are strong enough to keep him in their bodies are puffing with all their strength and sputtering like seals. One has to be very strong to harbor this spirit.

Ago

(V.ENC) A ritual exclamation used in the sense of Amen.

Agoué (Aga-ou, Agoueh, Agwé)

(V.ENC) The loa who represents the sea, is the patron of fishermen and sailors, and is the husband of Erzulie in the aspect of La Sirène. His symbol is the drawing of a boat. In sacrificial rituals to Agoué, champagne and other offerings are loaded on small, specially constructed rafts and set adrift at sea; if the boat sinks, the sacrifice has been accepted.

Agwe

The lwa who oversees fishing, sailing, and all activities in and on the ocean.

Aida-Wedo (Ayida Wèdo, Ayidohwédo)

(V.ENC) The loa who represents with her husband Damballah-Wedo, fertility and new life, and who has special influence in the realms of conception and childbirth. Her symbol is the rainbow, and in the hounfort, the rainbow colors painted on the poteau-mitan represent her. Her color is white, and she is offered white chickens and eggs.

(DL) The female counterpart of Dumballah, his mate, is Ayida. She is the mother figure. She is the rainbow. Together they are the unitary forces of human sexuality. Her symbol is also a serpent. She is quite submissive and very delicate. Her co-wife is Erzullie. It is said that whoever "can grasp the diadem of Ayida will be assured weath". Also known as Ayida Wedo: her job is that of holding up the earth.

Aizan (Ayizan, Ayezan)

(V.ENC) The loa who represents the marketplace and herbal healing. As an aspect of Legba, she is the protector of the hounfort and guardian of religious ceremonies, who never possesses anyone during ritual; she is also the wife of Loco. Her symbol is the palm leaf, and her colors are white and silver.

(DL) This is Legba's wife. She protects the markets, public places, doors and barriers, and has a deep knowledge of the intricacies of the spirit world. Selects and instructs certain novice houngans. When feeding her or her husband, a black or white goat or russet colored ox is offered up. Her favorite tree is the palm tree. Ayezan is symbolized by mounds of earth sprinkled with oil and surrounded by fringes of palm. Ayezan is Dahomean in origin and represented by an old woman in personification. She is one of the oldest gods and is therefore entitled to first offerings at services. She often mounts people only after her husband appears at the scene. Her mounts are never severe; therefore, she can sometimes take quite a while to spot. She is the mate of Loco (Loko). As a Mambo, Ayezan is reputed to have many children (devotees); she cares for her children greatly; she has a good, loving heart. She punishes those who have made mistakes not because she is a sadistic woman but to correct their behavior in the future. She will punish those adults taking advantage of the young, the rich of the poor, the strong of the weak and the husband of the wife. She is believed to have the ability to purify her surroundings and to exorcise malevolent spirits from her devotees.

Ancestors

(V.ENC) The ancestors are always with the practitioners of vodou; wherever they go, whatever they do, they act with awareness of their ancestors' presence around them. The spirits of deceased family members offer protection, healing, and advice, and they bring messages through intuition and dreams. If you travel through the countryside of Haiti, you will quickly see how important the peasants consider their ancestors to be. A family graveyard adjoins each house, and the tombs are as elaborate as the family can afford. Some resemble houses built above the ground, and the most elaborate contain small, completely furnished sitting rooms inside. Often, lit candles are placed before the tombs and prayers are said to the spirits of the family's ancestors. Visitors must pour a small libation of water before the tombs so that the ancestors will welcome the newcomer into the house.

Angajan

(V.ENC) See engagement

Animal sacrifice

(V.ENC) Unlike the gods of other religions, the vodou loa need to eat. And just as we do, they lose power when they aren't fed. If a community feeds the gods to keep them strong, then the gods will use that strength to support the community in times of hardship and trouble. Because of this, most rituals include a food offering of some kind, which can include animal sacrifices. To people who get their chicken for dinner from a supermarket already cleaned, packaged, and ready for the oven, an animal sacrifice may seem like a barbaric practice. But to a Haitian peasant, who frequently doesn't own a refrigerator and usually must kill his food shortly before eating it to keep it fresh, killing a chicken to feed a loa is no different than killing one to feed his family. In fact, the sacrifice has even more meaning because the peasant has given up something of real value - an animal that he was probably planning to eat (although the entire community actually eats the animal during the ritual). In sacrifice, the animal's life force becomes part of the loa. The animal's blood is collected in a calabash gourd and tasted so that the devotees can share in the loa's divine energy. The cooked meat; as well, is shared by both the devotees and the loa; nothing is wasted in vodou. Doves and chickens are the most common sacrifices, although for important ceremonies, the community may offer a more expensive animal like a pig, goat or bull.

Ardra

Locality on the coast of Dahomey, from which Moreau de Saint-Mery refers to the Dahoman people generally as "aradas," and from which comes the term "Rada" denoting a main group of Voudoun rites

Assen

(SV) The assen is an iron object, a rod surmounted by a round plate fastened horizontally, which from a hermetic standpoint relates to the loas of fire and the forge who, beginning with the siderial action of the heavenly bodies, are at the base of Voodoo doctrine and revelation. By its magical principle which is the finest and the most highly developed, the assen serves, as a ritual object, to make an unfailing success of any intercession in the form of a prayer or a sacrificial offering. For this reason govis and candles are placed upon the assen, the ritual form of which may be anything from that of a stake or a simple cross to the most complex shapes, more complex in fact, than the cabalistic form of the parasol. Placed on the assen, the govis and candles have a remarkable power of intercession. Consequently, every sacrificial offering presented in a proper fashion upon the small iron plate atop the assen has a greater chance of being accepted by the mystères for whom it is intended.

Asson (açon, ason)

(V.ENC) In vodou, the symbol of the priestly office is the asson, a ritual rattle made from a hollow calabash gourd filled with stones, snake vertebrae (which represent Damballah-Wedo), and small bones and decorated with beads on the handle. The asson serves as the voice of invocation and controls the direction of the rituals. When a houngan is ritually raised to priestly authority, he is said to have been "given the asson."

Audowido

The Deity of the Rainbow among the Nago people in Africa, represented as a serpent surrounded by spectrum colors.

Ayida Wedo

One of the revered Serpent-Deities of Rada Voudoun, who represent the sky powers; the rainbow is her symbol, and as wife of Damballah she shares his function as cosmic protector and giver of blessing. Her "surname" Wedo may signify her association (along with Damballah) with the Serpent cult of Whydah or it may be simply a part of the name of the Nago Rainbow-Deity, Audowido.

Ayizan

The primal or archetypal Mambo, sometimes considered to be the wife of Loco, with whom she shares the guardianship of religious traditions, healing powers, and the reverence due to parents and to ancestors. She is patroness of initiation, and the palm-tree is her symbol.

Azaca (Azaka, Azzaca, Zaka, Azacca)

(V.ENC) In loa who represents agriculture and who protects crops. He is depicted as a coarse peasant carrying a straw bag called a macoute. His color is blue, he is given corn cakes and cornmeal as offerings and he often takes his food into a corner to eat in secret.

(DL) This is the loa of agriculture, but is generally seen as the brother of Ghede. For this reason Ghede will often come to the ceremonies for Zaka and come when Zaka has mounted someone. Zaka is a gentle simple peasant, but greatly respected by the peasants since he is a very hard worker. He is addressed as "cousin." He is found wherever there is country. He is usually barefoot, carries a macoute sack, wears a straw hat, and has a pipe in his mouth. By nature he is suspicious, out for profit, fond of quibbling, and has a fear and hatred of town folk. His vocal stylization consists of the almost unintelligible sounds of a goat. He is known for his gossip he spreads and for his "girl chasing." He is young and like to play when not working. There are interesting similarities between the sophisticated Ghede and the more bumbling Azacca, as though a younger less sophisticated brother were imitating a more secure older brother. Like Ghede, Zaka loves his food. But, unlike Ghede, he is rude and voracious in his eating habits, often running away to hide with his food and eat it quickly. His favorite dishes to eat are the ones peasants feed on-boiled maize, bread soaked in oil and slices of small intestine with fatty membrane fried, unrefined sugar. His favorite drink is white rum and his tree is the avocado. Zaka controls the fields, and like the farmers themselves, he is very watchful of detail. He notes who is treating whom in what manner, who is flirting with whom, who says what to whom, etc. When he mounts someone he often spills out all the local gossip to the embarrassment and amusement of all. He does not forgive easily. It is rumored that Zaka often appears in concrete forms. In this concrete form, he assumes a limp and dresses in a ragged peasant outfit. Then he begs for rum or cassava melons. Those that refuse to give him anything are punished. Zaka is a polygamist and considers all his children as investments. He stands for the incest taboo though, and will not break it no matter how rich he could become.