about both faiths and has accorded to Vodouists a
religious freedom and legitimacy that heretofore
they have not been able to experience.
TheologyAccording to Vodou theology, the lwas are
grouped into several pantheons or families called
nanshons. Vodouists believe that there are 17 nan-
shons, although they know only a few of these:
the Rada (or Arada), the Kongo, the Ibo, the
Petwo, and the Nago (or Anago). Each nanshon
has its own characteristic ethos and demands of
its devotees certain corresponding attitudes. The
Wangol and Nago are the least known in Haiti
and derive from the region of Angola. Ibo refers to
Nigeria and Benin, whereas Rada derives from
Arada, the name of an important kingdom in
ancient Dahomey during the Haitian colonial
period. Similarly, the Kongo lwas originated in the
Bakongo region of West Africa, which was the
place of origin of thousands of Africans sent to
Saint Domingue. Petwo reportedly derives from a
legendary character Dom Pedro, a leader of a
rebellion during the latter half of the 18th century.
Some lwas bear African-derived names such as
Ezili Freda Dahomey and Damballah Wèdo,
where both terms,FredaandWèdo, derive from
the name of the kingdom of Whydah in Dahomey.
The lwas are said to reside in the mythological city
of Vilokan in Dahomey or, more precisely, on a
mythological island far below the sea that few
privileged Haitians are said to have visited, having
been taken there by the lwas. Some nanshons are
known for their healing power and manifest their
aptitudes through various medicinal plants or
other ritual paraphernalia prescribed to believers
by folk healers. Others are cosmic spirits that
ensure the mechanical operation of the universe.
Hence, the principle that guides the particular
choice of the nanshon to which a lwa belongs is
based on his or her mythological persona, as
envisaged by the devotees.
Because Vodou teaches that a lwa can have sev-
eral functions related to his or her persona, each
lwa can belong to several nanshons simultane-
ously and bear a different name for each. In spirit
possession, for instance, the devotees’ behavior
reflects the lwas’ different personae according to
their respective nanshons, sometimes consecu-
tively or simultaneously. Thus, they can present
themselves as creative and destructive or as terri-
ble and beneficent. Despite the notable differences
between these personae, Vodouists do not see
them as belonging to different spirits, but rather
as attributes of the same being, each correspond-
ing to the notion of complementarity of opposites,
of what may be called acoincidentia opposito-
rum. On the one hand, a lwa expresses the dia-
metric opposition of two divine personae sprung
from the same divine principle. On the other
hand, each lwa is a manifestation of Bondye who
is the Godhead, the creator, and Grand Master of
the universe. Hence, the lwas and their diverse
personae are “faces” of the one cosmic spirit who
reconciles all differences and whose power tran-
scends that of the lwas; his vital force permeates
the cosmos and fosters the forces of good and evil,
florescence and decay, permanence and change.Communal Rituals
The lwas are said to live in a sacred world and can
be invoked in the context of religious ceremonies.
To invoke the spirits, devotees use every possible
auditory and visual means possible in their rituals.
Each lwa has its own songs, drum rhythms, and
dance movements. Ritual paraphernalia associated
with the lwas are used during the ceremonies and
are kept in a part of the oumfò’s (or temple’s) holy
of holies. During a ceremony, the houngan (priest) or
his laplace (assistant) draws a geometric cabbalah-
like figure that includes the various symbolic trac-
ings that are associated with a lwa’s personae. The
drawings are made on the floor of the oumfò with
cornflower that the officiant sifts through his or
her thumb and index fingers of the right hand.
Vodouists believe that these auditory and visual
media summoned the spirits to leave Vilokan to
possess them during the ceremonies offered in their
honor. The number of lwas who are invoked dur-
ing a ritual depends on the occasion, the particular
feast day in Vodou’s liturgical calendar, or the par-
ticular needs of the community. Although the ritu-
als are performed in honor of the spirits, indirectly
they are offered to Bondye, the Godhead himself
for whom, as in West Africa, libation is poured at
the beginning of each ceremony.Vodou in Haiti 697