The Fon also subscribe to a historical record,
the Book of Fa or the “system of writing of the
Creator,” which, much like the Book of Ifa, is
used for divination. Fa is the deity of destiny/fate,
but Legba supersedes Fa, so by appeasing Legba,
one can ultimately change the course of one’s des-
tiny or fate. In the Fon worldview, all individuals
have a specific life path and particular destiny.
However, much like the everyday affairs, one can
win the influence of the deities through special
ritual and sacrifices or favors.
Great and Lesser Gods
Although the Fon attribute creation to a singu-
lar deity, due to the distant nature of Nana
Buluku, lesser deities must be invoked for the
daily favors of man. There are three pantheons of
public gods: Mawu-Lisa, Xevioso, and Sagbata.
Pantheons are collectives or “families” of gods
and goddesses. Each is organized in a hierarchal
manner based on age and specialization of tasks.
As mentioned previously, Mawu-Lisa represents
the gods and goddesses whose domain is the sky.
Xevioso is the pantheon of deities that reign thun-
der and the sea, as well as other meteorological
elements of nature. Sagbata is the pantheon of
deities of that reign over Earth and small pox.
The Creator gave deities specific powers over
all aspects of the universe except for creation.
The gods cannot add to the Universe or take
away from it, which is reflective of the basic laws
of metaphysics. Each “family” is headed by its
oldest known ancestor. Other deities are given
rank in order of importance to Fon life and in
order of the deities’ order of birth among others
in accordance with Fon cosmogony. Also, deities
are restricted to the powers that they have been
given and cannot extend their powers into other
realms. For instance, the goddess of fertility
cannot give influence over those who are seeking
favor over their crops.
Ancestral Reverence
Like most other ethnic groups in Africa, the
Fon have strong ties with their ancestors. Within
Fon society, individual families, entire villages,
and the ruling class observe strict ancestral rever-
ent practices. Through appropriate worship, Fon
people acquire security in the physical/material
world because they receive protection and guidance
from the spiritual world. There is an inter-
dependent relationship that exists between indi-
viduals in the physical community and those in
the spiritual community. Living individuals need
ancestors for spiritual protection, and ancestors
need their living descendants to keep their mem-
ory and spirit alive through ritual. Also, if people
wish to be remembered after their transition into
the world for the deceased by their descendents,
they must first afford the same respect to their
ancestors.
To achieve official “ancestral” status, the Fon
believe that the soul must pass over three rivers
and climb up a mountain to reach the valley of his
or her ancestors. Upon arrival, the newly arrived
spirit sits at the feet of his or her elders on a low
stool in the lowest position among the group
because he or she is the youngest. The soul cannot
enter this realm until living descendants have car-
ried out all of the necessary rituals and cere-
monies. Ancestral shrines, known asdexoxos, are
located in all compounds. It is here that particular
rituals and sacrifices are carried out to createashe,
or life force. Funerals can be expensive especially
if the newly deceased is of royal lineage.Magic and Charms
The wordmagichas generally carried deroga-
tory and misleading connotations associated
with its use, especially as it relates to traditional
African spirituality. Several terms include gris
gris,ju ju, orobeah. The Fon terminology for the
variations of supernatural powers that cure,
heal, or harm is referred to asgbo. According to
the Fon, all of the gods need gbo to cure. The
Fon narrative tells us that Legba is the first being
to make gbo, giving him the power to cure or
cause disorder. He then passes the knowledge of
this power on to Awe, who is the first man to
know about gbo.
Many of the other gods and goddesses also pos-
sess power over gbo. However, Legba knows more
gbo than any other being both spirit or human,
which is one of the reasons that individuals in the
material world pay tribute to Legba before all
other gods. Also important to gbo are theaziza,
which are beings associated specifically withFon 271