Encyclopedia of African Religion

Hoho VodunorHohovi: god of the twins who are
worshiped as well.

KinnessiorKinlinsi: goddess of witchcraft. Her
home is believed to be in Abomey-Calavi, Benin.

AtinmèvodunorLokovodun: god of the trees.

Zo Vodun: god of fire.

A Complex Idea

Among the Fon, Mawu-Lisa, the Creator God, is
called by many names that not only express his
omnipotence and omniscience, but also give him
the highest reverence due to him. These names are
Mahu (The Unsurpassable, the Transcendental
Force in comparison to whom none is bigger or
higher), Gbèdoto (Creator and Owner of the
Universe),Dada Sègbo(Greatest Spirit, King of
the Kings),Sègbo Lisa(Greatest Spirit Lisa), and
Sèmèdo(Great Spirit, Maker of Humanity).
All in all, the concept of Mawu-Lisa is difficult
to comprehend and is subject to all sorts of confu-
sion, in the sense that when Mawu and Lisa are
seen separately, which they occasionally are, it is
only Lisa who becomes a separate deity that is
worshiped. Like all other Vodun, Lisa has shrines,
priests, and priestesses, as well as rituals dedicated
to him. Thus, the adepts of Lisa are known as
Lisassi(wives of Lisa). Conversely, there is no sep-
arate Vodun called Mawu, who is worshiped and
has shrines, priests and priestesses, and rituals
dedicated to her. Likewise, there are no Vodunsi
(adepts of the Vodun) known asMawusi. People
do bear the name Mawusi among the Fon, but it
is pronounced differently as Mawusii (meaning
“all power belongs to Mawu”).
However, when Mawu-Lisa is viewed as a two-
in-one force, the entity becomes Mawu, not a
deity, but the Supreme God. Hence, it is all the
other Vodun or divinities who are worshiped in
that they constantly intervene on behalf of human
beings before Mawu-Lisa. Their divine interven-
tions, however, are within the strict limits of the
power that Mawu-Lisa has conferred on each of
these divinities in the domain that is exclusively
reserved to them. Each Vodun operates within the
realm that Mawu-Lisa has carved for him or her.
In other words, Mawu-Lisa delegates some of his

power, as a division of labor, to the Vodun, his

children, who exert their powers on all things and

on humanity.

Thomas Houessou-Adin

SeealsoVodou in Benin

Further Readings

Clochard, B. (Ed.). (1993).Ouidah:Petite Anthologie

Historique[Ouidah: A Short Historical Anthology].

Cotonou, Benin: FIT Edition.

Kossou, B. T. (1983).Se et Gbe:Dynamique de

l’Existence Chez les Fon. Paris: La Pensée Universelle.

Olabiyi Babalola, J. Y. (2004).Le Vaudou en Haiti et Ses

Racines Béninoises.Le Vaudou dans l’Histoire—

Conférence du 6 Octobre 2004. Retrieved May 15,

2007, from http://perso.infonie.be/easy/vaudou%

20olabiyi%20yai.htm

MEDICINE

African medicine is the health practice involving

the application of indigenous resources, spiritual

and material, in providing mental, psychological,

social, and physical well-being and wholeness to a

human being and his or her environment. It

addresses the well-being of the individual and the

community, the fertility of the soil, and animal

production. The material resources include the use

of elements from plants (roots, leaves, and barks),

animals (blood, intestines, flesh, bones, and shells),

and minerals. Spiritual resources involve interac-

tion of the human with spiritual entities, including

the use of words—symbols employed to invoke

the power of spiritual beings.

Medicine involves the triad practice of expla-

nation, prognostication, and control (treatment

and/or prevention) of disease or illness. The

African conception of wholeness and well-being

goes beyond a simplistic perception of the sound-

ness of body and mind and the stability of mental

and physical conditions only; it also expresses har-

monious relationship with the spiritual and phys-

ical environments. Africans conceive of disease

and illness, in a holistic manner, as having a deep

spiritual and metaphysical nature and causation.

Medicine 413