#vodou lesson

[revpapaj]

Damballa and Aida Wedo : Serpents Who Shine Through The Rainbow.

all photos are not mine just using them

Here's a little info on Damballa. You know some people may know very little about Haitian Vodou, or voodoo at. But may know the story about the "Serpent and the rainbow". For many devotees the Loa Damballa Wedo and Aida Wedo are the father and mother of the Vodou.

Creation of the world and role in the world.

In the beginning, a male and female snake encircled the Earth to protect it from crumbling into the seas. Damballa the spirit lwa assisted Bondye (God) in creating the world using his seven thousand coils to form the cosmos, the stars and shaped mountains and valleys on the Earth. When the first rains began to fall, Aida Wedo appeared and when he saw her the serpent lwa Danbala fell in love with her, and they got married. Everything was good.

His wife is Ayida-Weddo, the Rainbow Serpent are always depicted together as she has assisted him in the process of creation. They both are necessary for creation because Vodou views creation as an act shared between a man and a woman. Although Damballah loves Erzulie Freda more, he is intertwined with Ayida. Damballah and Aida-Wedo, the serpent and the rainbow, are credited with teaching their people about the creation of life.

(It is said that the semen of men and the milk of women are actually the spiritual nectar of Danbala and Aida Wedo being passed through each generation)

Damballa. Is a lwa of healing, guidance, and blessings. Often represented with his wife Aida Wedo. He is one who gives intelligence and wisdom to the people. Damballah’s intellect and wisdom comes from his connection to the past and the future and is a important aspect of the world, he's presence in everyone's life, he takes special care of cripples, albinos and young children.

Now there are many Damballa's but this one is from the Rada nation. In New Orleans it's Oapa Damballa the rainbow serpent.

Damballah is syncretized to Saint Patrick and Moses, the law-giver. Damballah is Moses’ staff that transformed into a snake.

Offerings and rituals.

Although Damballah lives in the sky, he can also be found in ponds, lakes, and streams. Damballah is always clean and he avoids dirty and sick people. It is important to assure all devotees attending the ritual are healthy and clean, for Damballah might refuse to come otherwise.

Alcohol and smoking which are ever present and welcome during rituals for other loa are prohibited during his rituals, as he neither smokes nor drinks.

COLOUR: White and Green.

DAY: Thursday

ALTAR: Keep shallow vessels of clean, fresh water for him to curl up inside.

OFFERINGS: White candles and white foods, like rice; milk; whole, raw eggs white fabrics, or snakes

During his feast on March 17, devotees wear white and green, jump over streams and swim in ponds and lakes.

Aida Wedo represents fertility along with Danbala, and together the two bestow luck, happiness, and wealth on those who serve them.

If you’ve seen a rainbow, then you’ve seen Ayida-Wedo, she's a rainbow serpent, water snake spirit. She is very rarely invoked without her beloved Damballah, her soul mate. They symbolizes a happy marriage. She also symbolizes the union of earth and heaven

(She's invoked by those who desire successful, committed, faithful marriages. Request her blessings of hope and happiness, peace and prosperity.)

Ayida-Wedo is syncretized to Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, whose image is used to represent her. If you prefer a serpentine image, a stuffed fabric snake is easily constructed. Cover it with rainbow-colored sequins.

ELEMENT: Water

COLOUR: Blue and white

OFFERINGS: Ayida-Wedo craves white foods: eggs, milk, rice, whipped or clotted cream, and sweet white deserts. Give her gifts in the form of snakes, rainbows, or ornamented with a rainbow motif.

[revpapaj]

Fet Gede/Day Of The Dead Celebration.

La Source Ancienne Ounfo – is one of the New Orleans based Vodou society – that celebrats the Day of the Dead/Fet Gede with an annual Vodou ceremony to invoke the Gede so we can come together in community to honor the dead (family) or not.

In Mexico's Days of the Dead are the days when the veil separating the Living and the Dead is most diffuse and the Dead come back to visit the living – children visit on Oct 31st, the familial adults on November 1st, and the unremembered Dead on November 3rd. The Haitian Day of the Dead, Fet Gede – the festival of the Sacred Dead, coincides with the Mexican Days of the Dead. The entire month of November.

November 1st. & 2nd. In Haiti & New Orleans this holiday can be a vibrant as Mardi Gras and as sacred as St John’s Eve.

During Fete Gede we “feed” the ancestors with offerings of food or foods that their dearly departed by laying it at their gravesite and wear black white and purple clothing throughout the event.

On this day we actually dance with the spirits. The particular death Lwa that we pay our respects to on this day is (Papa Gede) Baron Samedi, Maman Brigette and the family of Gede.

Even if you are not able to make it to Haiti or New Orleans for Fet Gede festivities here is an outline on how you can still pay tribute to the dead in the New Orleans tradition on a smaller scale.

If you have your own spiritual practice review your practice’s guidelines, incorporate aspects that pay respect Below is a suggestion for honoring the core Gede of the Cemetery on this special occasion.

Preparation: Before you even walk into the cemetery you should be prepared with the following:

Offerings: Pennies and/or rice: I use pennies) To pay the dead before entering the cemetery and at gravesites.

Food: Homestyle food that your loved ones would enjoyed.

Flowers: White, purple or red & flowers that your ancestors liked.

Rum. (you can purchase the shot bottle size) or Coffee (strong/dark) A small pack of cigars or cigarettes (unfiltered)

Wear: black, purple or white.

Visit: On the day of your visit take a shower or bath before getting dressed. As you dress align your thoughts and intentions. Collect your offerings. When you arrive at the cemetery gate: You should ask permission from spirit to enter. Leave a few pennies or rice at the gate. if you get a yes or no answer. If your intuition tells you that you should not enter thank the spirits go away and come back another day, try another cemetery. It's not a bad thing try another cemetery and ask again. Once inside visit the Gede family. The first plot to visit is Papa Gede /Baron Samedi: Aka the Baron (Lord). In catholic and Haitian graveyards, this marker is usually very prominent as the Cross of Baron.

Offering Day: Rum & Cigars. Also acceptable: Coffee, roasted peanuts, sunglasses with one lens, small raunchy toys or souvenirs.

Greeting: (Taken from Voodu Visions: By Sally Ann Glassman)“For the Bawon, in her society– they say these words.

Say: Come to the crossroads, dance, joke, you who are the sentence of death. Accept our offerings. Enter into our hearts, our arms, our legs. Enter and dance with us.”or“Father of all the dead help is us in our (our named persons) grief, let us welcome the dead to the Mysterious Abyss. Make us ever potent and my our offspring be safe in your care”(Place your offering)

Place your offering by pouring some of the rum and puffing a cigar or placing some tobacco. Do not inhale the smoke.

Once you have greeted Papa Gede next visit Maman Brigit Maman Brigit (Gran/Brijit/Brigette) is honored. She is the wife of Baron Samedi and the Goddess of Death. In Celtic traditions she is Brigit. In Yoruba she is Oya. Maman Brijit is a very powerful Lwa and the queen of banda dancing and the market place.

Offerings to her: Coffee or Pepper rum, Purple flowers (violets, lavender, iris, or fuchsia). Puff smoke from the tobacco.

Greeting Maman Brijit: A song that Haitians sing to Maman Brijit goes as follows as translated from Haitian Creole.

“Gentlemen of the cross (ancestors) advance for her to see them! Maman Brigitte is sick, she lies down on her back, A lot of “talk” won’t raise the dead, Tie up your head, tie up your belly, tie up your kidneys, (imitate tying a belt around your waist) They will see how they will get down on their knees.” (get down on your knees) “Maman Brijit, awake it is Fet Gede today”!or“I am calling you Maman Brijit, can you see? I bring food/ smoke and drink to honor you. Please accept this offering. This food and drink and smoke are for you Maman, please bless me with (Healing/ Prosperity/ Favor with … through your grace Maman Brijit.” (Give your offering) Place your offering by pouring some of the rum and puffing a cigar or placing some tobacco. Do not inhale the smoke.

If you are visiting relatives: Pay your respects at their grave, leaving flowers, food or wine. Talk to them.

Make sure to clean up any trash and consider cleaning off their grave. If you don’t have any relatives see if you can find a gravestone with your family’s last name, a noteworthy ancestor of a similar background as you who lived in the town or someone who resonates with you.

Leaving the Cemetery. Before you leave the cemetery Give thanks, collect your personal belongings, clean up if needed and leave immediately. Do NOT look back (Even if you hear someone call out to you…). There is a belief that looking back will invite ghosts to follow you home… When you arrive at your next location wash your hands with the bottle of water before you enter your home over some earth. Then shake the remaining water out on the earth. This helps to prevent any negative energy from ‘sticking’ to you, wipes away mourning and loss, and returns it to the earth.

[revpapaj]

Ranks in Haitian Vodou

Ok,ok the ranks in Haitian Vodou you know there's are people that wouldn't understand why the ranks in Vodou are different. What the different responsibilities and sacrifices that one would make at each level, and there meanings.

So I'm going to tell you in this post. Each person in a house have a purpose just like the working members in your church does. Like helping others like the priest, or assisting, or collecting a offering (which is the money people give to the church) so let's begin with the Vodou ranks and there purpose.

Hounsi Lave Tet:

Outside of initiation, there is the lave tet ceremony, which is a ceremony that takes place outside of the djevo and is focused on balancing someone’s head. It is available to anyone who wants it, really, as it doesn’t confer rights/responsibilities that require ritual ties and approval of the spirits–it is really focused on balance. The ceremony can bring someone under the authority of a priest who is doing the ceremony for them and opens the door a little bit for learning, but plenty of folks make lave tet their only action with their personal spirits without any further contact with a sosyete.

The one who becomes a initiate and receives the Lave Tet ceremonies. This is to bless to your new found spirituality. It's gives a non-assonis lineages of Haiti to introduce a new candidate to cleansing, fortifying and finally baptism of one's head.

Anyone can have this ceremony done no matter what spiritual development you want to achieved. One of the many benefits of this ceremony is that it can be performed here in the United States, unlike the other ceremonies.

The Lave Tet also gives you your Lwa, (through a reading) which walk with you, recognition. It refreshes, strengthens, assisting and empowering the Lwa to help you more. A person who receives the Lave Tet gets a strong spiritual cleansing.

It baptizes the head, making you more receptive by enhancing psychic ability, and spiritually giving the person a clean slate. Similar to a Catholic baptism.

The Lave Tet is three days. During the ceremony, the person’s Met Tet, or Master of the Head, will be divined through a special ritual. This Lwa serves to protect and guide the individual. It too is also strengthened and empowered. Other Lwa that walk with the individual.

The Hounsi Lave Tet is then a member of that Vodou Society. However, the tie that binds the individual and the initiator is not the same as the one in the Kanzo.

A Hounsi Lave Tet has the following responsibilities:

To serve his or her Met Tet and the Spirits that walk with him/her. To set up an altar to them To take care of their Po Tet (Head Pot) To attend ceremonies etc.

Hounsi Kanzo:

The Hounsi Kanzo undergoes the Kanzo ceremony. This ceremony is for a person undergoes a trial by fire. This ceremony is also referred to as Simple Kanzo (Kanzo Senp) these are members of the family/congregation and who are responsible for assisting in ceremony with saluting spirits, organizing materials, Hounsi are the vast majority of a sosyete and are intrinsic the function and flow. It is considered the basic ‘level’ of initiation.

This initiation can only be done in Haiti.

Houngan/Mambo Sou Pwen: priest/ess

In addition to the previous ceremonies, a Houngan or Mambo Sou Pwen has also received additional ceremonies. He or she will have the same responsibilities as a Hounsi but is given an Asson to “borrow”. Being Sou Pwen is a huge responsibility! Very few really know that, but it is. A Sou Pwen initiate can serve in a House in a variety of positions. He or she might be the one who dresses the Lwa, or gives them the bottles and mushoirs.

Houngan/Mambo Asogwe: ( High priest/ess)

This is considered the high priest/ess in Vodou, some do not to like to use this term because it overlooks the most important knowledgeable person in the temple and that person might be a hounsi who has been serving the spirits for 50 years. In addition to all the ceremonies above, the person will need to undergo even more ceremonies.

They will be fully empowered. They must know how to do all of the above. In addition, they will need to know how to perform a Kanzo themselves and confer the asson. They will need to create new initiates within the tradition. They will also perform all ceremonies, cleansings,baths, protections, gads, wanga, kanzos, lave tets, etc.

They serve there community.

[revpapaj]

Basic Vodou Lesson.

How To Begin:

A of questions people have for me, in this (AMAZING) religion, all revolve around where do I begin my journey into Vodou. I’m a fairly typical American, not born into Vodou and I'm not Haitian, but I'm from and started practicing New Orleans Voodoo. so it made sense to me that our voodoo is a mixture of Congo Vodun and Haitian Vodou that I should take my knowledge and become initiated into to The House Of La-Siren. Some lessons took a while but gave me more appreciation for the religion. (If your looking for a house, Sosyete Nago. I hear is great)

Tradition with respect, knowledge, integrity, and of course safety. Be cautious and discern the real from the fake houses. And If you plain on learning in New Orleans there are a few houses but they don't initiate you too into priest or priestess hood. Only in Hati or the house that I mentioned above.

First Things First: besides what a lot of what you’re going to see online and on the bookshelf , Vodou isn’t a religion you can really practice fully on your own.

There’s no amount of reading that’ll put you in a position of priest or authority, no matter the written material. Same as witchcraft or wiccan you can be self taught but to become a High Priest/Priestess your need to train it's a community practice. in a way is like a bridge that can only carry you half-way to where you want to be.

In today modern culture is full of other traditions where self learning and self-appointed responsibility carry great weight; if that is where you are called, be proud of that… but, it will preclude your involvement in Vodou.

This tradition’s through initiation and the ceremonies built around it the individual is given license to know and license to practice. Vodou as it is practiced is a family structure of initiates who come together as a unit to perform religious services we call fetes (sounds like fets, the second e is silent) The majority of the energy expended by a non-initiate who feels called to Vodou or its spirits really should be directed towards finding a House, a place to begin training in the religion and the process that builds understanding of the individual’s relationship to their own spirits…

The core of why we say a House is a “Vodou family”; This decision is not going to be made by online interaction alone… so when people pushing initiations of strangers where all you have to do is pay a deposit or full payment and you only meet the people when it’s your time to be initiated…. Be cautious. That kind of behaviour neither fits the rules of the tradition nor does it provide *any* feeling of safety or support…

As a non-initiate, you have the luxury of exploring houses (respectfully!) Watch out for while you’re getting to know people so you can keep yourself SAFE.

Kanzo, also, happens in Haiti. If travel is an extreme difficulty and you’re not in an area where Vodou houses of good quality are prevalent, Im afraid this is a bit of a FULL STOP situation.

[revpapaj]

What is a Asogwe mean in Vodou.

You know theirs some people that don't understand how a non Haitian person can be trained in Vodou then call themselves a Haitian Houngan or Manbo, Let me explain.

Vodou is much more then fèy (song) or drapo (flag) the same way witchcraft is more then spell work, it's a way of life, it's a practice something that is done every day not only when a person needs something.

Now most people in the U.S like New Orleans who practice and become priest/edd or not of Haitian descent, and they do not call myself a Haitian houngan or manbos; they are called houngan asogwe or manbo asogwe in Haitian Vodou meaning the hands of the spiritual mother and her djevo in Haiti.

Haitian Vodou requires a bitasyon, a place that your family has lived, or have land and the thought there was that the lwa only accept people who can have land or ownership. A bloodline, meaning you must literally be related by blood to the person who is welcoming you, and anyone not related by blood is not welcome. In Africa their wasn't really a ceremony it was passed down through their family to family like their children. Same on Hati but years later it changed.

An asogwe are priest who has the asson. In an Asson lineage, it means that the demanbwe of the priest must accept the outsider as their child and be ‘adopted’ into its family, no matter what–the lwa can’t overrule that, and a priest cannot overrule that. So you're being initiated and becoming a priest or priestesses outside of the bloodline. That's all it means, and it's a great thing that's people want to continue their tradition.

A big part of most asson lineage initiations is a representative of the demanbwe arriving in the presence of independent priests from outside the house.

[revpapaj]

Kalfou.

VeVe (Symbol)

This is one type of veve for him.

Kafou O!

Se ou ki mama mwen, Se ou ki papa mwen

Kafou O!

Se ou ki mama mwen, Se ou ki papa mwen,

Se ou ki ba mwen tete,

Se ou ki ba mwen lavi,

Pa kite mwen wont O,

Devan sobadji lwa yo.

One of the important lwa in the Haitian Vodou. He is the Master of the Crossroads, Met Kalfou is the Kryeol version of the French word “Carrerfour” which means crossroads. He is one of the most universal of all the lwa. Where four roads emanate from a single point, there is Kalfou, be that two roads crossing, or the crossing of two tracks, or paths, that is the manifestation of Kalfou.

Sometimes his work takes place bat night. He works with The Baron, Legba or Simbi.

Mèt Kafou is indeed the lwa of the crossroads and is also the embodiment of the crossroads, so going going and drawing a online veve at a crossroads may get you something that might say their Kafou by someone or something that is not. So don't stand at the crossroads and call for a spirit they don’t have the authority to bother might be a bad idea…but that is also buying a WHOLE LOT of trouble.

Color: Kalfou is a strong and powerful Petro lwa. He is served in the red with black accented and this tells you how strong, hot and powerful this spirit is. Red and black is also the colour manifestation of two of the secret sosyetes within Haiti, both of which are focused on the manifestation.

Offerings: Being a hot spirit he eats only blood from his sacrifices, but as an offering he also accepts other foods, such as cakes and red apples, and these are used sometimes to “cool” Met Kalfou down after working with him. Whatever food is given to Met Kalfou, should be red or black or both. He gets pleasure from looking at these offerings as anything else.

Make sure they are aesthetically pleasing and presented in an even number and a multiple of 4. If you are offering him apples, offer him 4 or 8 or 12 or 16 apples, never 3 or 5 or an uneven number.

Drink: is a special Vodou mixture called Kiman. Kiman is a drink that has white rum, and other herbs are then added. The exact recipe for Kiman may vary from my house to other house's, but this drink is common drink given to lwa of the Petro nation because it is hot and fierce and heats them up to do work.

The spirit Met Kalfou is often mistaken as the “Devil” or with some kind of demon or being evil. This is most common misconceptions of him. That he's evil or that he is involved with evil. He's not evil but he is a gate keeper and holds the keys to the gate for low vibrational energies, (Evil Spirits) This is a misconception that comes from manifestation in magical workings when someone is using Kalfou who is the essence of real magic, he is the force were all magic flows, or to put it another way, all magic, be it for good or bad, passes through the crossroads.

The crossroads is the point upon which magic manifests, doesn't matter which lwa Spirit) is helping. It is not Kalfou that directs negative magical work but again he does hold the keys, he is simply part of the way that it travels, and he allows it to travel without judgement.

Example (Think of it this way: a crossroads does not stop a car from passing through because it does not like the colour of the car, the crossroads can be a detour a part of the journey and cars use it to get to where they are going. It's the same is true of magic, Met Kalfou does not judge that magic that passes through him, he simply does what he is called upon to do.)

Met Kalfou however is a good sorcerer in his own right. To popular belief, he is not obsessed with or associated with black magic but most people who does black magick does call apon him. But with all the spirits, they are bound by the knowledge that as humans we have, by God's Divine Will, the manifestation of free will.

Basically you have to go through Legba first. Lega opens the positive forces while Met can opens the negative forces.

He is seen as having the cross. He bears the transgressions of evil doers. He is a advocate for them or acts as there lawyer.

When people do bad things karma comes then they might call on him to help with that karma.

In Vodou there is no hell like describe by christians. But there is spirit world called guinea and that's where Legba holds the keys to and is divided into different areas low vibrations and high vibrations. Met Kalfou holds the keys to where the bad spirits are, another reason why he's also considered to be like satan. Some consider Met and Lega to be twins because they have the similar jobs both crossroads spirits but they both have different positions. This is not true they are not related.

Despite all the stories that go around, Met Kalfou is a spirit of luck, even if that luck is ask for by the wicked. He's seen as the manifestation of the crossroads is able to see multiple outcomes to a situation dependent on the various actions taken by the person he is consulting for. If we ask him nicely, he will push us through the crossroads in the direction of luck, however he can just as easily be push us to the centre and leave us to find our own way out, which may lead to ill luck.

[revpapaj]

Vodou. The Soul and the Body.

Unlike many of the commonly known Western spiritualities. Vodou looks at the individual human in a unique way. The Western view of a Body animated by a singular Soul is simple in relation to the Vodou which has many factors. These pieces are thought to be placed their by God during the creation of the individual life, and upon death are ritually separated and allowed to go to their separate destinations.

Animating the body, instead of a single ‘soul’, Vodouisants see two main principles/components, the Gro Bon Ange (big good angel) and the Ti Bon Ange (little good angel).

The Gro Bon Ange is the animating principle, a piece placed in the person at their creation by God (also known as the ‘life spark’, This is the individual’s “spirit”. an energy that gives life, motion, and bestows self awareness). Without this component, the person wouldnt be a person…

Upon the death of the individual and the completion of the funerary rites, the Gro Bon Ange is believed to return to its Maker.

The Ti Bon Ange, is seen as the seat of the personality where all the traits that define that person. Thoughts, memory, temperament, character, all are housed in the Ti Bon Ange. Ti Bon Ange has a more tenuous connection to the body, and in certain situations it can be be temporarily separated from its seat in the person’s head. Let me explained. Shock and trauma both of these can temporarily push away the Ti Bon Ange the spirit. (if you’ve ever seen or been a in a car accident and is dazed and unfocused it is seen as a temporary loosening of the Ti Bon Ange as it trys to escape the trauma or finds its way back after being shaken out).

In possession, it is the Ti Bon Ange of the individual that is unseated and pushed out by the incoming Lwa or possessing spirit; to convey a message to a bystander in hopes that the listener would convey the message after that, the person had returned to normal consciousness understandably dangerous, these practices are known only to initiates, but have different applications. In kanzo initiations and Lave Tet (ritual head washing), the bodily connection to the Ti Bon Ange is loosened to make future possessions a lot easier for the body. accompanied by the making of a Pot Tet, or head pot. A physical zonbi is a person who has had their Ti Bon Ange removed or banished, leaving them devoid of thought or personality; (like some who is on a mental hospital they may look all there but aren't.)

After death, Vodou’s funeral ceremonies disconnect these pieces and send them on their way. Just like a Catholic priest would preforming a last rite. The body is prepared for burial, the Gro Bon Ange (soul) is returned to God, and the Ti Bon Ange is ritually sent “anba dlo“, or “under the waters” to rest for at least a year and a day.

After its rest period, the Ti Bon Ange of the deceased is ritually called forth from the waters and installed in a specially prepared Govi, or terra cotta jar, which is then placed in the temple or in the altar for the Family, now that individual’s Ti Bon Angeis now served as an ancestor spirit, and will watch over future generations.