Mambo (Vodou)

Last updated
Three Haitian mambos in a Vodou swearing-in ceremony by the Konfederasyon Nasyonal Vodouyizan Ayisyen (KNVA) in Harlem, New York City. Swearing-in ceremony of Diaspora GwetoDe by Konfederasyon Nasyonal Vodou Ayisyen 08.jpg
Three Haitian mambos in a Vodou swearing-in ceremony by the Konfederasyon Nasyonal Vodouyizan Ayisyen (KNVA) in Harlem, New York City.

A mambo (also written as manbo) is a priestess (as opposed to a houngan , a male priest) in the Haitian Vodou religion. [1] [2] Haitian Vodou's conceptions of priesthood stem from the religious traditions of enslaved people from Dahomey, in what is today Benin. [3] For instance, the term mambo derives from the Fon word nanbo ("mother of magic"). Like their West African counterparts, Haitian mambos are female leaders in Vodou temples who perform healing work and guide others during complex rituals. [4] This form of female leadership is prevalent in urban centers such as Port-au-Prince (the capital of Haiti). Typically, there is no hierarchy among mambos and houngans. 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). [1]

Contents

Mambos and houngans are called into power via spirit possession or the revelations in a dream. [5] They become qualified after completing several initiation rituals and technical training exercises where they learn the Vodou spirits by their names, attributes, and symbols. [2] [5] The first step in initiation is lave tèt (head washing), which is aimed at the spirits housed in an individual's head. The second step is known as kouche (to lie down), which is when the initiate enters a period of seclusion. Typically, the final step is the possession of the ason (sacred rattle), which enables the mambos or houngans to begin their work. One of the main goals of Vodou initiation ceremonies is to strengthen the mambo's konesans (knowledge), which determines priestly power. [2]

The specific skills and knowledge gained by mambos enable them to mediate between the physical and spiritual realms. [2] They use this information to call upon the spirits through song, dance, prayer, offerings, and/or the drawing of vèvès (spiritual symbols). [6] During these rituals, mambos may either be possessed by a loa (also spelled lwa, Vodou spirits) themselves, or may oversee the possession of other devotees. [2] Spirit possession plays an important role in Vodou because it establishes a connection between human beings and the Vodou deities or spirits. Although loas can "mount" whomever they choose, those outside the Vodou priesthood do not have the skills to communicate directly with the spirits or gods. This is because the human body is merely flesh, which the spirits can borrow to reveal themselves via possession. [1] Mambos, however, can speak to and hear from the Vodou spirits. [4] As a result, they can interpret the advice or warnings sent by a spirit to specific individuals or communities. [7]

Cécile Fatiman is a Haitian mambo famously known for sacrificing a black pig in the August 1791 Vodou ceremony at Bois Caïman—an act that is said to have ignited the Haitian Revolution. [8] There are also notable mambos within the United States. Marie Laveau (1801-1888), for example, gained fame in New Orleans, Louisiana, for her personal charm and Louisiana Voodoo practices. [9] Renowned as Louisiana's "voodoo queen", Laveau's legacy is kept alive in American popular culture (e.g., the television series America Horror Story: Coven ). [10] Mama Lola is another prominent mambo and Vodou spiritual leader in the United States. She rose to fame after the publication of Karen McCarthy Brown's ethnographic account Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn. Mama Lola's success provided her with a platform to challenge Western misconceptions of Haitian Vodou and make television appearances. [2] [11]

Etymology and history

Haitian Vodou gains its historic roots from the former West African kingdom of Dahomey, which Europeans also called the "Bight of Benin". Populated by the Fon, Ewe, and Yoruba people, this region covers roughly what is known today as Benin and western Nigeria. During the slave trade, many Fon and Ewe-speaking Dahomeyans were enslaved and used as the labor force for the sugar industry of French Saint Domingue (modern-day Haiti). [3] As a result, Vodou has elements that can be traced back to the Fon people. For instance, the term mambo stems from the Fon term nanbo, which means "mother of magic". Like the nanbo in West African Vodun, Haitian mambos play a vital role in Vodou temples and rituals. [4]

Contact with deities or spirits is considered dangerous. For this reason, many West African religions require male and/or female professionals (priests, priestesses, diviners, herbalists, etc.) who know the rituals, dances, songs, and objects that can be used to approach deities or spirits without upsetting them. Enslaved Africans brought these gendered notions of religious leadership with them to the New World. As a result, female religious figures are part of the religions of the African Diaspora (e.g., mambos in Haitian Vodou). The dominance of Vodou female practitioners later became prevalent in the urban contexts of Haiti and nineteenth-century New Orleans in French Louisiana. [12]

Vodou priesthood

Generally, mambos and houngans serve as the heads of autonomous Vodou religious groups—rather than clerical hierarchies—and exert their authority over the devotees or spiritual servants in their temples. [1] They have the ability to call upon deities or spirits to remove barriers between the spiritual and the earthly realms. [13] Before they can put these skills into practice, these priests and priestesses receive a technical education wherein they learn about the different Vodou spirits and ritualistic practices. They must also cultivate a konesans (knowledge)—typically regarded as intuition, psychic power, or the "gift of eyes". [1] Stemming from supernatural gifts, a konesans affords Vodou priests and priestesses the ability to read people and heal them. [1] [2] This, in turn, allows them to diagnose and treat human sufferings, which they ascribe to the living, the dead, or the spirit world. [2]

The Vodou spirits choose mambos and houngans either through revelations in a dream or the utterances of a possessed person. These candidates for priesthood are then taken under the wing of a mambo or houngan for days, months or even years. Although anyone can receive the call from the spirits to enter the priesthood, the houngan and mambo profession is oftentimes hereditary. [1] Nevertheless, those called to be a mambo or houngan will rarely refuse the position in fear of being severely punished by the gods. [14]

In a humfo (Vodou temple), mambos and houngans are commonly referred to as manman (mother) and papa (father) respectively. [2] [5] Hounfos are highly decorated religious places of worship and contain one or more stone altars for deities or spirits. Some priests or priestesses draw large followings in their hounfo, which aid them in establishing notable reputations. Thus, with the office of the houngan or mambo comes power, prestige, and wealth. [5] There are, however, other positions and roles meant to help a head priest or priestess. For instance, hunsi are devotees who have gone through the rite of fire, abide by the orders of the mambo and are qualified to assist with ritual activities. The hunsi are further subdivided based on particular tasks (e.g., the hungenikon (song leader) and laplace (master of ceremonies and sword holder)). [15]

Patriarchal structures with male priesthood often prevail in rural areas of Haiti. Female leadership, on the other hand, is often seen in urban centers such as Port-au-Prince (the capital of Haiti). The autonomous nature of the Vodou priesthood enables mambos to exercise leadership entirely independent of male control. [12] Despite providing female practitioners with greater social mobility, Vodou still mirrors aspects of misogyny in Haitian culture. For instance, houngans are more prone to undergo scrutiny for the mistreatment of female hunsi in their temples. [2]

Initiation rituals

Scenes from a Vodou ritual in Haiti, depicting the bodily movement of a female Vodou practitioner. Voodoo scenes from Haiti (2).jpg
Scenes from a Vodou ritual in Haiti, depicting the bodily movement of a female Vodou practitioner.

Mambos must undergo a multi-step initiation process to enter the priesthood and establish their communication with the Vodou spirits. One of the main goals of Vodou initiation ceremonies is to strengthen the mambo's konesans. The first step in initiation is lave tèt (head washing), which is aimed at the spirits housed in an individual's head. It is believed that the head contains the gwo bonanj (big guardian angel)—a spirit that directs a person's consciousness and provides ancestral/spiritual wisdom. An agitated gwo bonanj can cause an individual to lose their insight and understanding. Head washing works to circumvent this issue by "refreshing" these restive head spirits. [2]

Kanzo, a trial by fire, is the second step of initiation. During this rite of passage, hot materials from boiling pots are pressed into the initiate's left hand and left foot. [2] This step is used to purify the initiate and transform their suffering into power. The kanzo ritual is important because it places the initiate under the direct care of a loa (also spelled lwa, Vodou spirits). [1]

The next step is known as kouche (to lie down), which is when the initiate enters a period of seclusion. [2] The future mambo is locked in the djévò (initiation room) for nine days with an ason . [14] The ason is a beaded rattle that mambos and houngans use in Southern Haiti to give them leverage in the spirit realm. The final step of initiation is the transferred ownership of the ason to the mambo or houngan in training. Possession of the ason enables the initiates to take on their formal roles and start their healing work. [2]

An asson, the beaded rattle used by houngans and mambos in the asson lineages. Asson2.jpg
An asson, the beaded rattle used by houngans and mambos in the asson lineages.

There are different reasons as why Vodou practitioners perform rituals and ceremonies. Some believers view their relationship with the gods and spirits as a binding contract in which humans are obliged to provide the spirits rituals or ceremonies in exchange for protection. By serving and communicating with the spirits via rituals, devotees can bring about good luck, ward off evil, and heal the sick. As religious specialists, mambos know the Vodou spirits by their names, attributes, and symbols. [5] They utilize this information during rituals to call upon the spirits and interact with them—whether it be through song, dance, prayer, offerings, or the drawing of vèvès (spiritual symbols). [6] Theatrical aspects such as drumming, singing, and dancing are used by mambos as a means of "heating up" the process through which a person enters a state of possession or trance. [5]

During rituals, mambos may either be possessed by a loa themselves, or may oversee the possession of other devotees. [2] Spirit possession is one of the most important goals in Vodou rituals because it puts human beings in direct contact with the spirits. [7] During possession, an individual's consciousness and sense of control leaves their body, which increases mental and corporeal reception of the spirits. [2] The possessed individual becomes a vessel for the spirit to reveal its persona and cosmic knowledge. [6] This is important because Vodou spirits can offer advice, healing, or even warnings to the individuals in a place of worship. [7] Although loa can incarnate themselves in whomever they choose, the intimacy afforded to the devotees does not include a direct communication with the spirits or gods. This is because the human body is merely flesh, which the spirits can borrow to reveal themselves via possession. Mambos, however, have the knowledge and training necessary to speak to and hear from the Vodou spirits. [1] Since human contact with the spiritual realm can be a dangerous endeavor, mambos use their skills to supervise possessions and actively direct individuals back to consciousness. [13] [16]

A portrait of New Orleans Voodoo priestess Marie Laveau. Marie Laveau.png
A portrait of New Orleans Voodoo priestess Marie Laveau.

Cécile Fatiman is famously known for her participation in the August 1791 Vodou ceremony at Bois Caïman, which is considered to be a catalyst for the Haitian Revolution. This historical Vodou priestess inspired the first act of the uprising by sacrificing a black pig and sharing the blood with other slaves. [8] [17] Following the ceremony at Bois Caïman, a slave revolt began on August 21, 1791, resulting in the destruction of plantations surrounding Cap Francais (modern-day Cap Haitien) and the deaths of thousands of French men, women and children. [17]

Another notable mambo was Marie Laveau (1801–1888), a Louisiana Creole woman who became a legendary Voodoo practitioner in New Orleans. [9] Like its Haitian counterpart, New Orleans Voodoo was brought by enslaved Africans from West Africa to French Louisiana during the slave trade. Contrary to popular belief, Haitian Vodou and Louisiana Voodoo are not the same—these African diaspora religions have their own history and identity. From its beginning, female practitioners played a dominant role in New Orleans Voodoo. Approximately eighty percent of Voodoo leaders were said to be women during Laveau's time. [12] Laveau herself gained great fame for her personal charm and Voodoo practices. Today, she is still renowned as Louisiana's "voodoo queen". [9] Her legacy and image as a Voodoo practitioner lives on in modern-day popular culture. For instance, a fictionalized Marie Laveau (played by actress Angela Bassett) appears in the third season of American Horror Story: Coven. [10]

Marie Thérèse Alourdes Macena Champagne Lovinski, commonly known as Mama Lola, is a prominent mambo and Vodou spiritual leader in the United States. She rose to fame after the publication of Karen McCarthy Brown's ethnographic account Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn. In 1962, Mama Lola left her native Haiti and emigrated to Brooklyn, New York, in search of a better life. In a return trip back to Haiti, the warrior spirit Ogou possessed Mama Lola's mother and revealed Mama Lola's calling into the Vodou priesthood. She underwent a long series of initiation rituals in Haiti to complete this spiritual transition. Brown notes that as a practicing mambo, Mama Lola "combines the skills of a medical doctor, a psychotherapist, a social worker, and a priest". Her successful reputation has led her to perform rituals and healing work throughout the eastern United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and Benin. The attention afforded to Mama Lola after the publication of Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn provided her with a platform to reshape American perceptions of Vodou and establish a role as a public figure in New York's Haitian community. [2] In 2007, Mama Lola made a guest appearance on Season 2 Episode 7 ("Mama Lola Knows Best") of the reality TV show Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood. [11]

Related Research Articles

Lwa

Lwa, also called loa or loi, 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.

West African Vodun Religion practiced by the Aja, Ewe, and Fon peoples

Vodun is a religion practiced by the Aja, Ewe, and Fon peoples of Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Nigeria.

Damballa Creator and snake loa

Damballa, also spelled Damballah, Dambala, Dambalah, among other variations, is one of the most important of all loa, spirits in Haitian Vodou and Louisiana Voodoo traditions. He is portrayed as a great white 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.

Ayizan

Ayizan is the loa of the marketplace and commerce in Vodou, especially in Haiti.

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 Loa, or spirits with whom Vodouisants work and practice, are not gods but servants of the Supreme Creator Bondye. In keeping with the French-Catholic influence of the faith, vodousaints are for the most part monotheists, believing that the Loa 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 Loa 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."

Loco is a loa, patron of healers and plants, especially trees in the Vodou religion. He is a racine (root) and a rada loa. Among several other loa, he is linked with the poteau mitan or center post in a Vodou peristyle.

<i>Houngan</i> Male priest in Haitian Vodou

Houngan, or oungan, is the term for a male priest in Haitian Vodou. The term is derived from the Fon word hounnongan. Houngans are also known as makandals.

Haitian Vodou and sexual orientation

Homosexuality in Haitian Vodou is religiously acceptable and homosexuals are allowed to participate in all religious activities. However, in countries with large Vodou populations, some Christian influence may have given homosexuality a social stigma, at least on some levels of society.

The Petwo, in older sources sometimes spelled Petro, and alternatively known as dompete, are a family of lwa 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

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.

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".

Haitian Vodou Syncretic religion practised chiefly in Haiti and among the Haitian diaspora

Haitian Vodou is an African diasporic religion that developed in Haiti between the 16th and 19th centuries. It arose through a process of syncretism between several traditional religions of West and Central Africa and the Roman Catholic form of Christianity. There is no central authority in control of the religion and much diversity exists among practitioners, who are known as Vodouists, Vodouisants, or Serviteurs.

Louisiana Voodoo African diasporic religion in Louisiana

Louisiana Voodoo, also known as New Orleans Voodoo or Creole Voodoo, is an African diasporic religion which originated in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It arose through a process of syncretism between the traditional religions of West Africa, the Roman Catholic form of Christianity, and Haitian Vodou. The religion existed from the 18th century to the early 20th century, by which point, it had effectively died out, only to be revived in an altered form in the late 20th century. No central authority is in control of Louisiana Voodoo, which is organized through autonomous groups.

Vodou drumming and associated ceremonies are folk ritual faith system of henotheistic religion of Haitian Vodou originated and inextricable part of Haitian culture.

A hounfour is a Vodou temple. The leader of the ceremony is a male priest called a houngan, or a female priest called a mambo. The term is believed to derive from the Fon houn for, "abode of spirits."

Christianity and Vodou

Christian-Vodou relations have been marked by syncretism and conflicts, especially in Haiti, but less so in Louisiana and elsewhere.

Marie Thérèse Alourdes Macena Champagne Lovinski (1933-2020), also known by the name Mama Lola, was a Haitian-born manbo (priestess) in the African diasporic religion of Haitian Vodou. She had lived in the United States since 1963.

Karen McCarthy Brown was an anthropologist specializing in the anthropology of religion. She is best known for her groundbreaking book Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn, which made great strides in destigmatizing Haitian Vodou. Until her retirement in 2009 due to illness, McCarthy Brown was a Professor of Anthropology at Drew University. At Drew University, McCarthy Brown was the first woman in the Theological School to receive tenure and to achieve the rank of full professor.

Dominican Vudú

Dominican Vudú, also known as Las 21 Divisiones, is a syncretic religion of Caribbean origin which developed on the island of Hispaniola.

Bondye, also known as Bonié or the Grand Mèt, is the supreme creator god in the African diasporic religion of Haitian Vodou. Vodouists believe Bondye was responsible for creating the universe and everything in it, and that he maintains the universal order. They nevertheless deem him to be transcendent and thus inaccessible to humans, who must instead interact with spirits called lwa.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Métraux, Alfred (2016). Voodoo in Haiti. Pickle Partners Publishing. ISBN   9781787201668. OCLC   969020248.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Brown, Karen McCarthy (2001). Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn. The University Press Group Ltd. ISBN   9780520224759.
  3. 1 2 Fandrich, Ina J. (2007-03-09). "Yorùbá Influences on Haitian Vodou and New Orleans Voodoo". Journal of Black Studies . 37 (5): 775–791. doi:10.1177/0021934705280410. ISSN   0021-9347.
  4. 1 2 3 Blier, Suzanne Preston (1995). African vodun : art, psychology and power. The University of Chicago Press. ISBN   0226058581. OCLC   717640759.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kessel, William B. (2011). Lutheran Mission Work Among Haitian Vodouisants.
  6. 1 2 3 Watkins, Angela Denise. Mambos, priestesses, and goddesses (Thesis). The University of Iowa. doi: 10.17077/etd.putbe084 .
  7. 1 2 3 McAlister, Elizabeth (2018), "The Rite of Baptism in Haitian Vodou", Religions of the United States in Practice, Volume 2, Princeton University Press, pp. 362–372, doi:10.2307/j.ctv346rkb.34, ISBN   9780691188133
  8. 1 2 Cosentino, Donald J., 1941- (1995). Sacred arts of Haitian vodou. UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. ISBN   0930741463. OCLC   906668425.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. 1 2 3 Ward, Martha (2004). Voodoo queen : the spirited lives of Marie Laveau . University Press of Mississippi. ISBN   1578066298. OCLC   896142435.
  10. 1 2 D'Angelo, Rafi (January 30, 2014). "Is There Justice for Marie Laveau?". Slate . Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  11. 1 2 "Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood". Oxygen Official Site. 2014-02-16. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
  12. 1 2 3 Fandrich, Ina J. (2005-04-21). The Mysterious Voodoo Queen, Marie Laveaux. doi:10.4324/9780203942628. ISBN   9780203942628.
  13. 1 2 Toliver, Victoria (1995). "Vodun Iconography in Wilson Harris's Palace of the Peacock". Callaloo . 18 (1): 173–190. doi:10.1353/cal.1995.0018. ISSN   1080-6512.
  14. 1 2 Ferère, Gérard A. (1978). "Haitian Voodoo: Its True Face". Caribbean Quarterly . 24 (3–4): 37–47. doi:10.1080/00086495.1978.11829297. ISSN   0008-6495.
  15. ↑ Rigaud, Odette M.; Métraux, Alfred; Métraux, Rhoda; Metraux, Alfred; Metraux, Rhoda (1946). "The Feasting of the Gods in Haitian Vodu". Caribbean Quarterly. 19 (1/2): 1–58. doi:10.2307/3316153. ISSN   0887-3925. JSTOR   3316153.
  16. ↑ Anderson, Michelle (1982). "Authentic Voodoo Is Synthetic". The Drama Review: TDR . 26 (2): 89–110. doi:10.2307/1145433. ISSN   0012-5962. JSTOR   1145433.
  17. 1 2 Juang, Richard M. Morrissette, Noelle Anne. (2012). Africa and the Americas : culture, politics, and history : a multidisciplinary encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN   9781849723800. OCLC   858902344.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.