people believe in reincarnation, it can be said that
life is born out of death and that death is the pro-
longation of life.
Denise MartinSeealsoAfterlife; Reincarnation
Further Readings
Abrahamsson, H. (1977).Origin of Death in African
Mythology.New York: Arnon Press.
Bamunoba, Y. K. (1979).La mort dans la vie africaine.
Paris: Présence Africaine.
Egberongbe, P. W. (2003).African Traditional Religion:
We Are No Pagans. Lagos, Nigeria: Nelson.
Wiredu, K., & Gyekye, K. (1992).Person and
Community:Ghanaian Philosophical Studies.
Washington, DC: Council for Research in Values and
Philosophy.
DESOUNEN
Desounen (also sometimes writtendessounin) is an
important ritual of death that is observed by Vodu
practitioners in Haiti. It has its origins, like much
of the Vodu religion practiced in Haiti, among the
Fon people of Dahomey (Republic of Benin), West
Africa. It is the first among several rituals per-
formed after the death of a Vodu initiate and can
only be conducted by a Houngan (priest) or a
Mambo (priestess). This entry looks at the belief
and practice and its roots in Fon cosmology.
Vodu BeliefThe worddesounenis French in origin and implies
the extraction of sound from a voice and, by exten-
sion within the world of Vodu, the removal of the
life substance from the body. The life substance or
spiritual entity is removed or extracted immedi-
ately following the death of a Vodun practitioner.
This delicate ritual is meticulously carried out by a
priest who is familiar with the guardian entity that
first possessed the deceased. The main purpose of
this ritual is to properly remove the guardian lwa
andmèt tètthat were placed into the practitioners’
head when they were initiated or called out by the
lwa/loa. This process has also been referred to as
the dispossession of thegwobonanj, which is the
essence of one’s soul.
According to Vodu belief, the soul resides in the
body and consists of at least two aspects that are
of particular relevance for thedesounenceremony.
Thegros-bon angeand thetibonanjcomprise the
soul and represent the spiritual and physical
natures of an individual. Theti-bon-ageis respon-
sible for one’s personal character, and it is this
aspect of the soul that stands in judgment to
account for the life one has lived. Theti-bon-ageis
related to the Egyptians’Kaor one’s double, which
is responsible for bestowing personality; it pos-
sesses an independent existence. It is one’stibonanj
that lingers around the body for 9 days after the
funeral and finally goes to a place to receive judg-
ment. After this, the tibonanj will not “mount”
another horse (any living person in spirit posses-
sion), nor can its powers be accessed for any use.
Thegwobonanj, in contrast, is the primal sub-
stance that gives life to a human being. It is the
divine essence of an individual, and it derives its
force directly fromBondyé, the Supreme Being,
whose presence permeates the cosmos. Unlike the
tibonanj, the gwobonanj is recycled and given a
new life to continue its eternal mission, which is to
carry out the will of the Creator. The desounen
ceremony, therefore, aims to extract this sacred
nature or vital force from the deceased to ensure
that it ends up in the proper place.
Extracting the gwobonanj from the deceased
properly removes the force and sacred substance
that makes one fully human. Releasing the
gwobonanj provides for a new body to be given
the mission of the lwa and, on the completion of
its obligations, it too will be received among
the community of spirits in Ginen, only to be
rebirthed again in another’s soul. Hence, death is
not the ending, but simply an essential part of the
cycle of life.
The performance of the desounen ritual
requires the direction of a person initiated at
the highest level, that is, a Houngan or Mambo.
Pieces of the physical body, such as pieces of nails
or hair, are removed and placed in the deceased’s
govi. The lwa who was the mèt-tèt of the deceased
is then called on and invited to mount him or her
one last time. Sacrifices are made, blood is sprin-
kled on the deceased’s body, and the lwa is asked196 Desounen