#klemezin

[rockofeye]

Who is Lovana? Odan, La don, and ceverine? If you don't mind. I see them mentioned with Lasiren and Freda often but people don't really talk about them as often

Hi there,

Manbo Lovana is a lwa that walks closely with some other lwa who are often thought of as coming from the north of Haiti; there is one particular lakou near Limonade that she is most often associated with. Some folks say she lives in a basin there where folks might see her as a fish.

She walks with some other mistresses/lady lwa who are primarily concerned with cleansing and cleanliness; some folks say if Manbo Klemezin (who comes to sweep the floor) mounts a head, Lovana will be sure to follow. Lovana comes as the washerwoman, and when she mounts a head she is presented with a basin with moushwa that she will 'wash' and then wash vodouizan with. She has the type of magic that the women who do the unseen work carry....big and deep and powerful, and comes in the most unsuspecting ways.

You can see a salutation for and mounting of Manbo Lovana here, starting at about 38:12....Klemezin is directly before her.

Metrès Severinn is another lady lwa from the north. I often see her as older than Manbo Lovana and Manbo Klemezin, but those things kinda slide all over the place. Some folks say it's her who sprinkles the floor and keeps it fresh after sweeping, and she's given a krich when she mounts a head. I am not really familiar with her more than that, but she does walk with that eskòt of ladies that includes Manbo Klemezin and Manbo Lovana.

Both of those ladies are associated with Freda and LaSiren for sure...some folks say Lovana and Severinn work for Metrès Freda or walk very close to her (though some folks maintain that Metrès Freda is not as prevalent in the north as some other lwa who are similar to her). Of that group of lady lwa from the north, many folks see Metrès Klemezin as the leader, both because of her place in some ceremonies and because some folks see her as working Agwe's ship, Imamou.

Odan generally considered the progenitor or father of Danbala Wedo; some folks say otherwise, but I've not seen that in Haiti where I've gone. Some folks see him as a snake as well, but he has shown himself as a man, too. He generally is not seen in possession...if Danbala is hypersensitive to cleanliness and purity, Odan is even more so...but sometimes folks get confused because Danbala's songs mention him first.

I have personally known Odan as a doctor and surgeon, and in particular a doctor who treats ancestral issues. There's a lot of mystery wrapped up in Odan, as he is ancient beyond our ability to really measure. We often talk about Danbala as the lwa who spans the various distances; between our world and the world of the lwa, between heaven and earth....but Odan is deeeeeply rooted in L'Afrik. He is the root that lived in the python temples for Da there before the Middle Passage was ripped open.

I am not sure I recognize La Don...is there another way that might be spelled or is there a song that you know for them? If it's not a spirit I know, I can dig for some info if I have a little more to go on.

Hope this helps! Feel free to let me know if I can be more clear or if you have more questions.

[heartmindalignedspirit]

People so rarely talk about the emotional nature of the Rada nachon and the healing they can provide. I have been SWIMMING in tears this week and the entire time, La Sirène has been by my side, singing soothing songs for my soul🧜🏾‍♀️🎶 Papa Loko has been next to me with herbal tinctures and teas to keep my energy up🌿 Klemezin, Filomez and Lovana have been taking turns sweeping away negative thoughts and bathing my mind in a gentle sort of clarity.🧹🧺🧼

Oh, the nurturing! Oh, the support! Oh, the blessings! Ayibobo!

🤍💙💗

[rockofeye]

Do you know anything about Klémezin? I recently got a reading and was told she walks with me but I can't find much about her

Hi,

Metrès Klemizin (also Klemezin Klemay/Klermay) is one of the female lwa sung for in the Rada rite. While she has a presence all over Haiti, she originates from the north of Haiti and walks with some other ladies from the north, like Manbo Lovana, Severinn, Filomiz, etc. She's often called a lwa dlo since she comes from the water but also because many people consider her to be on Agwe's ship with her husband, General Klemey/Klermay.

She is a powerful manbo in her own right, which often gets underestimated. When she comes in possession, she is given a broom and will sweep the temple and attendees and folks undervalue what that means. It's not just about the physical act of cleaning...it is about spiritual cleaning. She likes a lot of the things other ladies like, such as sweet drinks and food often given to Rada lwa. Perfumes are used differently in the north, but in other parts of Haiti, Rev d'Or is a scent commonly given to her.

She is also integral to the process of kanzo; it is Klemezin who made the first kolye, which is a spiritual adornment given to folks who undergo initiation, and so she is given special attention when kolye and asson are made.

Hope this helps!

[rockofeye]

What else can be said about Manbo Klemezin besides being a broom-wielding lwa represented by St. Claire found in northern Haitian regions? And is Manbo Filomiz a representation of Lasirenn or a lwa of her own right?

Hi,

Metrès Klemezin Klemey is a lwa who originates in the north of Haiti, but the north has had it's own WIDE diaspora within the country. Klemezin comes with her broom because she is concerned very much with cleanliness, purity, and the out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new stance. Folks often reduce her along with other metrès yo from the north like Filomiz, Severinn, Lovana, and sometimes lwa like Marie Bossou or Madan Letan as small spirits who do not occupy important places in wider practice, and that's a mistake.

In many areas of Haiti, Klemezin is the spirit who makes the kolye for initiates; which is a piece of ritual gear that tells the story of the initiate's spirits and provides important protection. It takes different forms across Haiti, but in most places it is worn in various patterns that denote initiatory status across the the chest and belly of the initiate. Without the kolye, initiation cannot move forward and is not complete. It was Klemezin who created the first kolye and who is responsible for the ceremony of creating them. It is not a ceremony like a fet or anything, but each sosyete has their own regleman for their construction and wear. Her attributes (including her veve in many area) get assigned to Lasirenn a lot, but that is a Mistake.

Filomiz is similarly a lwa who comes from the north. I've seen folks talking about how the Filomiz served in the north is different than the Filomiz served elsewhere, but that's a misunderstanding of the spirit and spiritual diaspora within Haiti. I'm not sure why she would get equated with Lasirenn, unless it's an interpretation that is saying that all female lwa who come from the water (which is a lot of them....almost all the ones I named above are considered lwa dlo in some way or another, and there are many more). In the north, she is one of the female lwa who some say takes the form of a fish in some places, and there is a lakou that has a large basin where folks say she lives as a fish.

Instead of being equated with Lasirenn, I see Filomiz often described as the Ezili Freda of the north or more important than Freda in the north, which is not really a thing. Filomiz and Severinn are very similar to Metrès Freda in presentation, but neither are they more important or less important than the other. Filomiz often arrives as the untouchable woman; she can come across as a bit cold because she doesn't always want to be touched or embraced if she feels the situation is not elevated enough for her. She is often powdered h-e-a-v-i-l-y when she arrives, and receives attention like a queen with folks more often approaching her than her approaching them.

The misunderstanding of importance of Metrès Freda versus Metrès Filomiz or Metrès Severinn or as there being multiple spirits named Filomiz often relates back to a misunderstanding of Vodou in the north. It is strongly lakou-based in that the lakou does not share the same regleman as the lakou down the road, which is a divergence from the asogwe line of Vodou, which is what most people outside of Haiti are familiar with.

With asogwe temples, of which there are thousands, you can go from one to another and see recognizable regleman in each. Things may vary a bit here and there, but the principles are the same. When you venture to the north, asogwe does exist there but lakou-based Vodou is much more common. A lakou may only serve a very small handful of spirits, like five or less. They may be spirits very linked to a particular place, like Filomiz in her basin or a family spirit that lives in a particular tree or Souvenans or Soukri, or they may be spirits that have chosen to attach themselves to a particular family and that family/lakou may have a very visible presence of serving that spirit only and holding that spirit above everything else.

None of those things mean those spirits don't walk elsewhere and don't present themselves in different ways, it just means in that very visible lakou, that spirit is held in a different way. That's something we learn with discernment and instruction, so it takes time.

I hope this answers your question!