How do you reconcile the lwa and their god with polytheism? No pressure or anything if that's too personal! I was just wondering because I've been having the same problem recently.
For background for other folks that may be reading, Haitian vodou is essentially a monotheistic or henotheistic religion, depending on how you squint at it. The lwa are not gods, but spirits, and, in the religion, there is only one god, sometimes called Bondye/’good god’ or other titles like the master of the universe. The master of the universe is far removed from humanity–it does not really interact with us, as it is far too big for us to really conceive of or understand. Instead, it has the lwa to work it’s will on earth and among the people, and the lwa presumably speak to it to discern what the right thing to do is (I have no idea what the inner workings of that might be, as it is decidedly not my business). The best comparison is what angels are to YHWH, or the saints in the Catholic church are to YHWH (quite literally in some ways–the saints can very much be the lwa and the lwa can very much be the saints). All that we do is liturgically apres Dieu/after God–each ceremony and prayer litany recognizes the master of the universe first, and then we call/sing/pray for the spirits.
For me, it’s almost a non-issue. I have never knowingly heard from the master of the universe and I don’t really do much to interact with it–I figure that the lwa carry my wants/needs/desires and prayers to it’s feet, and it does with those what it will. Since vodou is a self-contained religion, my other beliefs have really never been an issue. My conception of how this all works was really shaped by my mother–we had a conversation once where she outright said that what she addresses as God or the master of the universe may be completely different than what I address as God or the master of the universe, and that such things were personal. YMMV as to how other folks conceive of that, but it makes the most sense to me.
My involvement in vodou was definitely approved of and schemed about by my outside-of-vodou divinities, and I sought their approval before moving forward. When maryaj and then kanzo ended up being on the table, I consulted all of them in turn about those things via the appropriate methods for them, and they all returned the same basic message of ‘this is the best possible way to move forward, what are you waiting for’.
I (and a few other vodouizan) joke about not crossing the streams in terms of mixing practices, and that is sort of the key. I don’t involve Orisa stuff in vodou or Kemetic stuff in vodou or other relationships I maintain in vodou because it just wouldn’t be appropriate, nor would it really work. With vodou being self-contained, it doesn’t need extra stuff added and my pre-existing relationships don’t need to be crammed into that paradigm. Provided I don’t break oaths in any direction (which has yet to be an issue), I don’t have any problems. I suspect they all talk to each other behind closed doors and wheel and deal with my life and responsibilities, but that is also something that is not my business.
I conceive of my relationship to vodou at large as kind of like employment-with-benefits. Being a priest is a job and vocation, and I am employed by the lwa with responsibilities and expectations attached as to what I will do and how I will behave. I get benefits in the form of a relationship with a parent who loves me and whom I love in return, deep relationships with spirits, skills and resources to carry out my vocational responsibilities, a community to rely on, and what I joke is my Haitian health plan, as the lwa have done a LOT of heavy lifting to heal and lessen the effects of my chronic health issues. As long as fulfill my job expectations, I continue to get ‘paid’ and what I do in my off time, again provided I do not break my employment contract/my oaths, is my business. There have definitely been super clear instances where the lwa have acknowledged the presence of my other divine commitments (notably once where I dreamed prior to kanzo that they were all at a table with my other divinities negotiating what was to happen next) but they don’t meddle since it is really out of their realm.
For me, I don’t really find conflicts between monotheism or henotheism and polytheism. I see such conflicts as people problems, not religion problems. I have never seen what the big deal is on either side, and I don’t understand why polytheists deeply invest in what other people do. All monotheistic religions acknowledge the existence of other divinities (sometimes you gotta dig), they just expect to be put first. Vodou prescribes one god, but the master of the universe seems completely uninterested in who goes where in personal hierarchy. Vodou is a super pragmatic religion, and so the beliefs contained therein seem to follow suit most of the time.
I hope this helps–let me know if you have more questions!
