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Congo is a handsome but apathetic loa in Vodou. [1] [2] In the Congo Savanne aspect, he is a fierce petro loa. He is a powerful man-eating loa whose patron color is white.
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Congo is a handsome but apathetic loa in Vodou. [1] [2] In the Congo Savanne aspect, he is a fierce petro loa. He is a powerful man-eating loa whose patron color is white.
Lwa, also called loa, are spirits in the African diasporic religion of Haitian Vodou. They have also been incorporated into some revivalist forms of Louisiana Voodoo. Many of the lwa derive their identities in part from deities venerated in the traditional religions of West Africa, especially those of the Fon and Yoruba.
Ayida-Weddo, also known as Ayida, Ayida-Wedo, Aido Quedo, Aido Wedo, Aida Wedo, and Aido Hwedo, is a powerful loa spirit in Vodou, revered in regions across Africa and the Caribbean, namely in Benin and Haiti. Known as the "Rainbow Serpent", Ayida-Weddo is the loa of fertility, rainbows, wind, water, fire, wealth, thunder, and snakes. Alongside Damballa, Ayida-Weddo is regarded among the most ancient and significant loa. Considered in many sources as the female half of Damballa's twin spirit, the names Da Ayida Hwedo, Dan Ayida Hwedo, and Dan Aida Wedo have also been used to refer to her. Thought to have existed before the Earth, Ayida-Weddo assisted the creator goddess Mawu-Lisa in the formation of the world, and is responsible for holding together the Earth and heavens. Ayida-Weddo bestows love and well-being upon her followers, teaching fluidity and the connection between body and spirit.
Damballa, also spelled Damballah, Dambala, Dambalah, among other variations, is one of the most important of all loa, spirits in Haitian Voodoo and other African diaspora religious traditions such as Obeah. He is traditionally portrayed as a great white or black serpent, originating in the city of Wedo in modern-day Benin. Damballa is said to be the Sky Father and the primordial creator of all life, or the first thing created by Gran Met. In those Vodou societies that view Damballa as the primordial creator, he created the cosmos by using his 7,000 coils to form the stars and the planets in the heavens and to shape the hills and valleys on earth. In others, being the first thing created by God, creation was undertaken through him. By shedding the serpent skin, Damballa created all the waters on the earth. As a serpent, he moves between land and water, generating life, and through the earth, uniting the land with the waters below. Damballa is usually syncretized with either Saint Patrick or Moses. He is counted among the Rada loa.
Azaka-Tonnerre is a loa of thunder in Vodou, especially in Haiti. He is in the same "family" as Azaka Medeh, the loa of harvest.
In the religion of Haitian Vodou, Captain Debas is a loa of the guede.
Haitian mythology consists of many folklore stories from different time periods, involving sacred dance and deities, all the way to Vodou. Haitian Vodou is a syncretic mixture of Roman Catholic rituals developed during the French colonial period, based on traditional African beliefs, with roots in Dahomey, Kongo and Yoruba traditions, and folkloric influence from the indigenous Taino peoples of Haiti. The lwa, or spirits with whom Vodou adherents work and practice, are not gods but servants of the Supreme Creator Bondye. A lot of the Iwa identities come from deities formed in the West African traditional regions, especially the Fon and Yoruba. In keeping with the French-Catholic influence of the faith, Vodou practioneers are for the most part monotheists, believing that the lwa are great and powerful forces in the world with whom humans interact and vice versa, resulting in a symbiotic relationship intended to bring both humans and the lwa back to Bondye. "Vodou is a religious practice, a faith that points toward an intimate knowledge of God, and offers its practitioners a means to come into communion with the Divine, through an ever evolving paradigm of dance, song and prayers."
Oungan is the term for a male priest in Haitian Vodou. The term is derived from Gbe languages. The word hounnongan means chief priest. ‘'Hounnongan or oungans are also known as makandals.
Homosexuality in Haitian Vodou is religiously acceptable and homosexuals are allowed to participate in all religious activities. However, in West African countries with major conservative Christian and Islamic views on LGBTQ people, the attitudes towards them may be less tolerant if not openly hostile and these influences are reflected in African diaspora religions following Atlantic slave trade which includes Haitian Vodou.
A bokor (male) or caplata (female) is a Vodou witch for hire who is said to serve the loa "with both hands", practicing for both good and evil. Their practice includes the creation of zombies and of 'ouangas', talismans that house spirits.
The Arará people form an Afro-Cuban ethnoreligious group descended from the Dahomey kingdom of West Africa, and retaining an identity, religion, and culture separate from those of other Afro-Cuban peoples. Although, historically, the Arará people have been staunch defenders of their separate heritage and religion, this distinct identity - while it still persists - has, over time, become increasingly blurred and harder to maintain.
The Petwo, also spelled Petro and alternatively known as dompete, are a family of lwa (loa) spirits in the religion of Haitian Vodou. They are regarded as being volatile and "hot", in this contrasting with the Rada lwa, which are regarded as sweet-tempered and "cool."
Paquet congo are Haitian spiritual objects made by vodou priests and priestesses during ceremonies. Their name comes from the ancient Kongo Kingdom in Africa, where similar objects called nikisi wambi are found.
A manbo is a priestess in the Haitian Vodou religion. Haitian Vodou's conceptions of priesthood stem from the religious traditions of enslaved people from Dahomey, in what is today Benin. For instance, the term manbo derives from the Fon word nanbo. Like their West African counterparts, Haitian manbos are female leaders in Vodou temples who perform healing work and guide others during complex rituals. This form of female leadership is prevalent in urban centers such as Port-au-Prince. Typically, there is no hierarchy among manbos and oungans. These priestesses and priests serve as the heads of autonomous religious groups and exert their authority over the devotees or spiritual servants in their hounfo (temples).
The Rada are a family of lwa spirits in the religion of Haitian Vodou. They are regarded as being sweet-tempered and "cool", in this contrasting with the Petro lwa, which are regarded as volatile and "hot".
Vodou drumming and associated ceremonies are folk ritual faith system of henotheistic religion of Haitian Vodou originated and inextricable part of Haitian culture.
Saut-d'Eau is a commune in the Mirebalais Arrondissement, in the Centre department of Haiti. It has 34,885 inhabitants.
Christian-Vodou can be seen as a syncretism of different cultures and religions. Primarily focused on Haitian Vodou and Catholic Christianity, the two have been merging together in a way since around the 18th century, when a majority of Haiti was part of the Atlantic slave trade.
Afro-Haitians or Black Haitians are Haitians who trace their full or partial ancestry to sub-Saharan Africa. They form the largest racial group in Haiti and together with other Afro-Caribbean groups, the largest racial group in the region.
Dominican Vudú, or Dominican Voodoo, popularly known as Las 21 Divisiones, is a heavily Catholicized syncretic shamanistic religion of African-Caribbean origin which developed in the erstwhile Spanish colony of Santo Domingo on the island of Hispaniola.
Cuban Vodú is a religion indigenous to Cuba. It is a religion formed from the blending of Fon and Ewe beliefs and Dahomey religion which came to form Haitian Vodou. Loa are worshiped by the religion's practitioners. Cuban Vodú is noteworthy for its popularity in the Oriente Province of Cuba and a lack of academic study of the religion.
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