worldview that are nowadays deeply imbricated in
African cultures, where the concept of a Supreme
God has become generally accepted.
Ana Monteiro-FerreiraSee alsoMossi
Further Readings
Asante, M., & Abarrry, A. (1996).African Intellectual
Heritage. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Belcher, S. (2005).African Myths of Origin. London:
Penguin Books.
Bongmba, E. K. (2001).African Witchcraft and
Otherness.A Philosophical and Theological Critique
of Intersubjective Relations. Albany: State University
of New York Press.
Nicolas, F. J. (1952). La question de l’ethnique
“Gourounsi” en Haute Volta (A.O.F.).Africa, 22 (2),
170–172.
Westermann, D., & Bryan, M. A. (1952).Handbook of
West Africa. London: Oxford University Press.
Zwernemann, J. (1958, April). Shall We Use the Word
“Gurunsi”?Africa:Journal of the International
African Institute, 28 (2), 123–125.
GWOBONANJ
According to Vodu ontology in Haiti, the human
being is made up of three parts. In addition to the
most obvious one, that is, the physical body, it
also has a bipartite spiritual component, thetibo-
nanj (one’s personality, conscience) and the
gwobonanj.The latter is thought of as the immor-
tal spirit, of divine origin—that is, the life force.
This ontological structure is reminiscent of and
derives from original African ontological models,
such as the ancient Egyptian spiritual duality
ka/baor the Fonsemedo/selido.
At the time of death, the gwobonanj leaves its
physical shell, the body, to start its journey back to
the watery abyss of the ancestral world,Ginen,
the abode of the spirits.However, this journey will
be successful only if the gwobonanj receives proper
and special care. The performance of a ritual
known asDesounenis of critical importance here
because, without it, the gwobonanj will wander
around and eventually take revenge on the living
for their negligence by harassing them and creating
havoc in their lives. Worse than that, maybe, is
the fact that the ancestral line would be broken
because the gwobonanj would not be available for
inheritance by the deceased’s offspring.
The Desounen ritual, which can only be per-
formed by a Houngan (Vodu priest) or Mambo
(Vodu priestess), officially and properly releases
the gwoboanj from the body so that the gwobo-
nanj may reincorporate the spiritual community
of Ginen and eventually receive a new life.
However, the gwobonanj will have to be removed
from Ginen 1 year and 1 day after death has
occurred. Again, failure to do so could have dire
consequences for the relatives of the deceased.
This reclamation happens through an elaborate
ritual known as Wete mò anba dlo (literally,
“removing the dead from under the water”). The
ceremony that accompanies the ritual will last all
night long and, like most Vodu ceremonies, will
involve intense drumming, singing, and dancing.
The purpose of reclaiming the gwobonanj is sim-
ply to separate it from the world of the living dead,
thus allowing it to become again an active member
of the community of the living, with the govi, the
receptacle of the gwobonanj, acting as a substitute
for the now decayed physical body. It is believed
that when a Lwa mounts a person, that individual’s
gwobonanj is temporarily displaced, thus allowing
the Lwa to take control. The gwobonanj is also
believed to momentarily leave during sleep.Ama MazamaSee alsoVodou in HaitiFurther Readings
Crosley, R. (2000).The Vodou Quantum Leap:
Alternative Realities,Power and Mysticism. St. Paul,
MN: Llewellyn.
Deren, M. (1972).The Divine Horsemen:The Voodoo
Gods of Haiti. New York: Delta.
Desmangles, L. (1994).Faces of the Gods.Vodou and
Roman Catholicism in Haiti. Chapel Hill: University
of North Carolina Press.
McCarthy Brown, K. (1991).Mama Lola:A Vodou
Priestess in Brooklyn. Berkeley: University of
California Press.
Métraux, A. (1958).Le Vaudou Haitien. Paris: Gallimard.302 Gwobonanj