Terms and Spirit Listing
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Rada

(V.ENC) The Rada are the benevolent, gentle loa who originated in Africa and who represent the warmth and emotional stability of the home continent. The Rada nation got its name from the city of Arada, located on the coast of Dahomey, where many slaves where abducted. Rada rites follow traditional African patterns and emphasize the positive, gentle aspects of the gods. Most of the Rada loa were imported from Dahomey in West Africa, and they reflect their place of origin. Dahomey was a well-organized, stable monarcy founded on agriculture and cooperative work systems. In that setting, the gods played protective role, guarding the stability of the nation against whatever outside forces might threaten it. Therefore, the Rada gods were essentially benevolent, passive, and paternal. Rada rituals are characterized by the all-white clothing of the devotees and by dignified, stately drumming and dancing, which is always on the beat. At Rada ceremonies, a large fire with an iron bar stuck in the flames, representing the loa Ogoun, perpetually burns. The Rada loa never demand a larger sacrificial offering than chickens or pigeons, although sometimes goats and bulls are sacrificed to them. They will perform services for their devotees without causing any harmful consequences to the person asking the favor, but their services are by definition not very powerful. The majority of vodou ceremonies are of the Rada type.

(DL) The loa that represents the emotional stability and warmth of Africa, the hearth of the nation. Rada derived almost directly from the Dahomean deity is highly religious in nature; rite is never celebrated without the performance of Mahi dances and without honoring and invocation of Nago gods. The Rada drumming and dancing is on beat whereas the Petro is offbeat. Rada stands for light and the normal affairs of humanity.

Raide

(V.ENC) This term means strong or stern and is used to characterize Petro loa.

Range

(V.ENC) A ritual in which an object is charged with the power of a loa.

Regler

(V.ENC) To have command or authority over the loa, or to restrain the loa; generally, only a houngan or mambo attains this level of authority.

Reine silence

(V.ENC) The person in charge of maintaining order during rituals.

Reler

(V.ENC) To invoke, when used in vodou songs.

Renvoyer

(V.ENC) To ritually send away a loa.

Reposoir (repozwa)

(V.ENC) Trees in the yard and around the peristyle are sanctuaries, or sacred reposoirs, where some of the ancestor spirits and vodou gods live permanently. One tree in particular is consecrated to Legba, the most important god in the vodou pantheon. These trees are honored as divinities and are decorated with the colors of the god who lives there. A pedestal at the base of each tree holds a lit candle and food offerings for its inhabitant. Often, ritual dances are held around these trees. Heaps of stones or other objects around the hounfort can also serve as reposoirs, as long as the object is consecrated to the use of the god who inhabits it.

Retirer d'en bas de l'eau

(V.ENC) After death, the ti-bon-ange must be taken care of in a special ritual presided over by Baron Samedi. A year and a day after death, the houngan performs a ritual to ensure that the ti-bon-ange is put to rest. If this isn't done, the ti-bon-ange may wander the earth and bring illness and disaster on others, particularly the remaining family members who have the responsibility of caring for the souls of their deceased ancestors. This ritual is called retirer d'en bas de l'eau, "taking the dead out of the water." Because the ritual costs so much, many families may pool their money to hold mass ritual once a year, and the souls of family members who died during the past year may all be raised at the same time. During the ritual, the soul - now called an esprit, meaning simply "spirit" - is raised by the houngan through a vessel of water covered by a white sheet and placed in a special govi. The voice of the dead may speak from the govi or the esprit may briefly possess someone attending the ceremony to express love for family members or even bitterness at being neglected, if they put off holding the ritual for too long. The houngan then places the govi inside the hounfort, where the family can continue to feed the spirit inside the jar and treat it like a divine being.