® Basic Introduction to Vodoun
Brief History of: Although the word Voodoo tends to conjure images of zombies, pins stuck in dolls, animal sacrifices, priests drinking blood, etc., it's not exactly a realistic portrait of what Voodoo truly is. In fat because of the images associated with this word, most practitioners prefer the term Vodou.
Vodou came form the tribal practices and beliefs of the slaves who were brought to Haiti from West Africa. In the 17th century, slaves bound for the West Indies were taken from over 100 different African ethnic groups. The beliefs and customs of all these groups combined to form Vodou. The two groups who had the greatest influence were the Fon and the Yoruba.
The most important religious practice was ancestor worship. By remembering their ancestors and passing down their knowledge from generation to generation ensuring that their religious traditions would live on.
The Fon believed in hundreds of immortal spirits called vodu. Because the people had personal relationships with the spirits, they needed to communicate with the vodu. Ritual enabled them to talk to the spirits. The most important elements of the tribal rituals were…
The main purpose of the ritual was to communicate with the vodu and receive their guidance in making important decisions. They did this by communicating indirectly with the spirits via the priest/priestess to help their followers determine who their personal vodu were and to interpret the messages for them.
Priests and priestesses were chosen for their ability to connect with the spirits. They were said to have inherited this talent from their mothers or fathers. They were "born into priesthood".
Priests became the religious and community leaders of the slaves. Any rebellious priest was usually sold to prevent them from "sowing the seeds of dissent" in that empire.
These religious practices continue to thrive today for modern day Benin. Vodoun is the official religion. It is also the dominant religion in Togo and southwest Ghana.
Despite the numerous spirits the Vodoun communicate with, they believe in only one God. The spirits are the immortal souls of their ancestors. That is why the spirits are honored/served rather than worshipped like Gods.
Christianity was forced on the slaves to rid them of their "superstitions". Because of this, the Catholic Church saw the conversion of the slaves as justification for their slavery. The belief was that by enslaving these people, they were saving their souls. However the Church's efforts backfired on them. The slaves found the Christian religion to be the perfect cover to hide their true religious practices.
Because of the days of the Catholic screen, many Vodoun still have images of Catholic Saints on their altars. However it's not the saints they are worshipping. The pictures are just that --- pictures representing pre-existing African spirits.
Each major spirit of Vodou was matched with a Catholic saint based on similarity. An example would be Saint Patrick (an image of him driving the snakes out of Ireland) used to identify with Danbala, a snake spirit.
Vodou took on other things from Catholicism as well. Catholic prayers and hymns were incorporated into rituals. Candles, crosses and other symbols appear on Vodoun altars (although with different meanings). They even took communion wafer and holy water to guard against danger and witchcraft.
The Lwa:
The lwa are immortal spirits with supernatural powers. They fall somewhere between God and the human race. They are very similar to the saints, angels and demons of Catholicism. The lwa oversee all human activities such as: marriage, childbirth, health, work, money, war, art, etc.
Lwa are divided into several groups called nanchons. There are at least 17 different nanchons but only a few are known by name.
Of these, the Rada and Petro nanchons dominate the others and have taken in the lwa of the other nations.
The Great Lwa are given realms that they rule and symbols to represent them.
| Rada Name | Petro Name | Realm | Symbol |
| Danbala | None | Wisdom and Ancestral Knowledge | Serpent |
| Aida-Wedo | None | Fertility | Rainbow |
| Papa Legba | Kalfou | Gateway between spiritual world and material world | Cross |
| Ezili Freda | Ezili Danto' | Love and beauty | Heart |
| Ogou | None | War, fire and metalworking | Machete |
| Agive' | Agwe' Laflambeau | Fishing and sailing | Boat |
| Lasiren | Labalenn | The ocean | Seashell |
The family of Ogou spirits is larger than the family of any other major lwa and each aspect of Ogou takes on a slightly different role.
| Aspect | Principal Role |
| Ogou Baba | Represents a military general |
| Ogou Badagris | Lwa of the phallus |
| Ogou Batala | Patron of surgeons and doctors |
| Ogou Fer | Lwa of fire and war |
| Ogou Feray | Patron of blacksmiths and metalworkers |
| Ogou La Flambeau | Represents the fiery rage of battle |
| Ogou Shango | Lwa of lightning |
| Ogou Tonnerre | Lwa of thunder |
Another important group of lwa is Ge'de', death spirits. Ge'de' is an enormous group of spirits made up of the spirits of formerly living people who after death became lwa. Below is a list of the major Ge'de' and their symbols.
| Name | Symbols |
| Ge'de' | Black cross, skull, shovel |
| Baron Samedi | Cross, coffin, phallus |
| Baron Cimetie' | Bones, cemetery |
| Baron Crois | Cross |
| Maman Brijit | Cemetery, elm, weeping willow |
Of the Ge'de' group the majority are male. Listed below are some of the best known Ge'de' and the roles they play.
| Name | Role |
| Ge'de'-Brav | Represent the phallus |
| Ge'de-Double | Endows people with second sight |
| Ge'de'-Fouye | The gravedigger |
| Ge'de' Janmensou | He is never drunk |
| Ge'de'-Loraj | Protects those who dies violently, usually from gunshots |
| Ge'de'-Loraye | Small woman who reveals herself in storms |
| Ge'de'-Masaka | Female spirit who carries an umbilical cord and poisoned leaves in a bag |
| Ge'de'-Nibo | Takes care of tombs |
| Ge'de'-Soufrant | Suffering Ge'de' |
| Ge'de'-z'-Aragne'e' | Imitates a spider |
| Linto | Child spirit of Ge'de' |
Baron Samedi is the lord of all the Ge'de'. Maman Brijit, wife of Baron Samedi, is the guardian of cemeteries as well as being an evil spirit of black magic and money.
Although, the following lwa are still powerful and just as frequently honored. No study of the Vodou Spirits would be complete without these important lwa.
| Name | Realm | Symbol |
| Azaka | Agriculture | Makout * |
| Gran Bwa | Forest | Tree |
| Loko | Medicine and priesthood | Red rooster |
| Ayizan | Marketplaces and priestesses | Palm frond |
| Simbi | Freshwater and magicians | Green snake |
| Marinette | Evil works | Screech owl |
| Bosou | Male virility and black magic | Bull |
| Agau | Storms and earthquakes | Thunder |
| Sogbo | Lightning | Thunderstone |
| Bade' | Wind | Wind |
* makout is a small sack made of woven straw that peasants wore to carry their tools
Every lwa has one or two days set aside to honor them, along with special colors for vodoun to wear. Here are a few examples.
| Lwa | Special Days | Colors |
| Agwe' | Thursday | White and blue |
| Ayida-Wedo | Monday and Tuesday | White and blue |
| Azaka | Friday and Saturday | Blue and red |
| Baron Samedi | Saturday | Black and purple |
| Danbala | Thursday | White |
| Ezili | Tuesday and Thursday | Pink and pale blue |
| Lasiren | Thursday | Blue-green |
| Ogou | Monday, Friday, and Saturday | Red |
| Papa Legba | Friday and Saturday | Red and white |
| Simbi | Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday | White and green |
Besides the special days and colors the lwa have favorite foods and sacrifices.
| Lwa | Favorite Foods |
| Agwe' | White hens, white sheep, white goats dyed blue |
| Azaka | Corn, barley, bread, rice and beans, yams |
| Baron Samedi | Black chickens, black goats, grilled peanuts, salted herring |
| Bosou | Fried beef, pigs |
| Danbala and Ayida-Wedo | Pair of white chickens, eggs, rice, milk |
| Ezili Danto' | Fried pork, black pigs |
| Ezili Freda | White doves, rice, sweet cakes |
| Ge'de' | Black rooster, black goats |
| Gran Bwa | Bread, cornmeal, peanut cakes |
| Lasiren | White doves |
| Loko and Ayizan | Roosters, black or white goats, russet-colored oxen |
| Maman Brijit | Black chickens |
| Marasa | Baby goat stew wrapped in banana leaves, speckled hens |
| Marinette | Chickens plucked alive, goats, black cows |
| Ogou | Rice and red beans, red roosters, rams, bulls |
| Papa Legba | Mottled roosters, grilled chicken, smoked meats, rice, yams, plantains, cassava |
| Simbi | Speckled roosters, guinea fowl, turkeys, goats, pigs |
Rituals:
Every vodou ritual is held for a specific purpose. Ritual may take place at any time, whenever need calls for it. The following are all good reasons to hold a ritual.
Most rituals last only a few hours although some have been known to go on for days. Most vodou ceremonies follow the same basic pattern: the oungan (priest) invokes one or more lwa, offers them food and sacrifices, and asks for them to materialize on the physical plane. The following are songs for different lwa.
Song for Danbala
The spirit works in the water, it's Danbala
The spirit works in the water, it's Danbala
Papa Danbala is the spring
Papa Danbala is the spring
Song for Ogou
Fire spirit where are you going, leave your children
When I remember Ogou Feray
I must be strong to call Ogou
He drinks but is never drunk
Ogou drinks but is never drunk
Song for Ge'de'
Papa Ge'de' is a handsome man
Papa Ge'de' is a handsome man
He is dressed all in black
For he is going to the palace
The songs performed in ceremonies retell the stories and myths about the lwa. They are passed down from generation to generation. Someone who has been called by the lwa would have many reasons for wanting to be initiated. First and foremost reason being that initiation is the only path into priesthood. Advantages of initiation are: 1. The initiate can contact the lwa more directly and lead a more rewarding spiritual life; 2. Initiation deepens the bond with the lwa; 3. Initiation may increase the devotee's good luck and good health; 4. Initiation gives the devotee better protection against magical attacks; 5. Initiates hold a higher place in the socyete and can participate more directly in rituals.
The first step in initiation is the lave te't (washing the head). This functions like a baptism, cleansing and purifying initiates and readying them for proceeding down the path to konesans (the complete body of knowledge of the lwa, rituals, and herbal cures held by an oungan). Rewarding effects of the lave te't (besides having a clean head) are: 1. It removes negative energies, such as evil spirits or black magic; 2. It can appease an offended lwa; 3. It strengthens the bond with the me't te't (patron lwa); 4. It gives the devotee a deeper connection to the spiritual world; 5. It refreshes the soul and so can help heal sickness. The second step of initiation serves as a rite of passage, transforming the initiate into a member of the ounfo's (vodou temple) spiritual family. This ritual is call kanzo.
Calendar of Major Vodou Ceremonies
| Jan. 6 | Les Rois - honors the ancestral African kings | |
| Feb. 25 | Manje Te't Dlo - ritual feeding of the springs, or sources of rivers | |
| March/April | Souvenance Festival - a week long festival celebrating the great Rada lwa in Souvenance (only oungans and mambos (priestesses) can attend) | |
| March 20 | Legba Zaou - honors Papa Legba with the sacrifice of a black goat | |
| April 29 | Case Kanari - sends the souls of those who died in the past year to the realm of the dead | |
| April 30 | Manje-mo' - ritual feeding of the family ancestors | |
| May 12 | Manje-lwa - ritual feeding of the lwa sacred to the ounfo' | |
| July 16 | Pilgrimage to Saut-d'-Eau - pilgrimage to the sacred waterfall | |
| July 25 | Papa Ogou - pilgrimage to Plaine du Nord in honor of Ogou Feray | |
| July 26 | Day for Ezili - rituals and pilgrimages honoring Ezili | |
| Aug. 15 | Soukri Kongo Festival - weeklong ceremony at Nan Soukri to collectively honor the Kongo lwa | |
| Nov. 1 | New year's Day - ritual bonfires are lit for Papa Legba | |
| Nov. 2 | Fe't Ge'de' - festival to honor dead family members, Baron Samedi and Maman Brijit | |
| Nov. 25 | Manje-yanm - harvest festival held in rural Haiti | |
| Dec. 12 | Bato d' Agwe - offerings to Agwe' and the other ocean lwa are floated out to sea on an ornamental raft | |
| Dec. 25 | Fe't des Membres - devotes return home to receive purifying baths | |
| Dec. 28 | Manje Marasa - ceremony to honor the divine twins |
And of course this would not be complete without an example of a single ritual.
So here goes:
"Papa Legba, open the gate for me
Atibon Legba, open the gate for me
Open the gate for me, Papa, for me to pass
When I return, I will thank the lwa"
Myths and Magic:
For too many, the word "voodoo" conjures up some wild images. Weird curses involving bones and pins stuck in poppets. Secret societies making sacrifices to their demonic gods. Evil priests raising zombies. Media has given us a sensational but unrealistic view of the vodoun religion.
Although some of these are mildly accurate (sacrifice, animal bones and voodoo dolls) they are but a small part of the religion that is practiced today. Just as in Wicca, the vodoun make charms and create spells for money, health, etc. Although media would have us believe the vodoun are strictly in it for self-gain, that's not true. According to Vodou belief, magic shouldn't be employed for selfish gain, especially if it would hurt someone else.
As in every religion, there are those who use it for wrong. With any religion that deals with magic it is said these wrongful users practice black magic. Although legitimate priests and priestesses are taught both the good and the bad, they take an oath upon initiation not to cause harm to others.
The lwa most likely to assit in black magic are : Kalfou, Ezili Danto', Marinette, Bosou, Ti-jean-petio, Maman Brijit, Ge'de'- Nibo, and Baron Krimine'l.
Once a priest/priestess begins to practice black magic, they are known as a bo'ko'. A bo'ko' has no temple or devotees and does all his/her rituals in secret. Bo'ko' are said to serve the lwa with both hands because they practice both white and black magic. When a bo'ko' buys the powers of one of the dark lwa, he'she must pay a high price, usually life-long service to the lwa. This pact between the lwa and the bo'ko' is called an angajan. An angajan is like a shortcut to quickly harness the powerful forces of the lwa. Sadly, the majority of the time the bo'ko' becomes the lwa's slave and has to be at the beck and call of the lwa.
There are 4 types of black magic spells:
Some movies to watch for a better idea about vodou would be "Angel Heart" or "I walked with a zombie".
On a different note, some of the vodoun priests and priestesses can perform a wide range of services, for a fee of course.
These services would include:
::::: Voudoun Encyclopedia :::::
