#Ogou altar

[conjuremanj]

Pics From New Orleans Voodoo House's & Shops.

Hey guys I went back home to check out some voodoo / hoodoo altars and to get some ideas for myself, I even ended up making a spirit bottle for my self enjoy.

(left) A bottle I made of St. Michael aka Papa Ogou wit Ogun Statue. (Right) Other spirit bottles.

Papa Legba altar. ☝️

Ogou/ Ogun altars.

La Syrenn altar (below) & Yemaya Orisha altar (above)

Muilty purpose New Orleans voodoo altar (left) Gede Painting (right)

Pics I took of a Gede altar

More pics I took of the Gede altar wit Papa Gede & Gran Brigitte.

Another Gede altar pic I took (left)

[ace20xd6]

Mama Lola

Mama Lola: a Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn is a biography of Haitian born priestess Marie Thérèse Alourdes Macena Champagne Lovinski, better known as Mama Lola, by anthropologist Karen McCarthy Brown, turning Mama Lola into the most famous Vodou priestess in America.  First published in 1991, Karen McCarthy Brown’s biography of Mama Lola’s life and family lineage, beginning with her great-great-grandfather Joseph Binbin Mauvant, acts also as a cultural and religious history of Haiti, Vodou practices, and the Haitian immigrant experience to the United States.  They met in the summer of 1978 when Karen Brown was working for the Brooklyn Museum on a survey of the local Haitian immigrant community (1).

Arguably anthropologist Karen Brown approached Caribbean history with a gendered feminist lens, an approach that had been done before to Latin American history with Ann Pescatello with her article “The Female in Ibero-America,” in the Latin American Research Review in 1972, and the essay collection Health and Healing in the Early Modern Iberian World.  Gendered history of Haiti was still a new approach for Haitian historians and anthropologists at the time Karen Brown’s book was published in 1991, even though women have played a part in Haitian history since before the revolution, an aspect delved into by modern historians like Philippe Girard in his 2011 book The Slaves Who Defeated Napoleon and “Rebelles with a Cause: Women in the Haitian War of Independence, 1802-1804,” for Gender & History in 2009.

The past books we’ve read delved into African healing approached as a more scientific history, like Pablo Gómez’s The Experiential Caribbean, or narrative like James Sweet’s book on Domingos Álvares.  Here with Karen Brown’s book our class had finally read a work that approached African healing, as a religion, comparing aspects of Haitian Vodou to Catholicism, noting how the lwa are often called saints despite not being traditionally saintly (6).  As a more anthropological work, Dr. Brown’s book had a more similar methodology with Clifford Geertz, than Jacob Burckhardt, quoting Ms. Alourdes heavily throughout the book, aiming to tell Mama Lola’s story and refute the negative stereotypes of Haitian Vodou (14-15).

In Chapter One we learn about Mama Lola’s great-great grandfather Joseph Binbin Mauvant in Jean Rabel, his daughter Marie Noelsine and her granddaughter Philomise, Marie Alourdes’s mother (26-27).  Chapter Two was dedicated to one of the lwa spirits that influenced Mama Lola the most, Azaka Méde, also known as Papa Zaka, and the connection Mama Lola stated to have, describing the work Marie Alourdes had fashioned to celebrate the spirit’s birthday when Dr. Brown visited her, including an altar (36, 40-42).  Chapter Three was dedicated to Alourdes’s grandfather Alphonse Macena and the relationship with her great grandmother Marie “Sina” Noelsine (84).

Chapter Four was dedicated to the warrior spirit Ogou with brief mentions of other spirits like Ibo, and the connection to Haitian politics; the later half of this chapter is dedicated to a vodou marriage Karen Brown went through to the spirit Ogou (100, 134-138).  Chapter Five was dedicated to the baka, evil incarnate spirits, and the baka summoned out of jealousy to Mama Lola’s grandmother Elsa Fouchard, separating her from her daughter Philo, but leading Philosmise into becoming a Vodou Priestess herself (142-143, 153-154).  Chapter Six used Mama Lola’s story to showcase the spirit Kouzinn, the female counterpart to Azaka and one Alourdes did not cite a Catholic counterpart (156).

Chapter Seven Philosmise formed a friendship with pharmacist Clement Rapelle, him asking her to treat his son in the Haitian tradition and he bought the medicine Philo needed after she gave birth to Mama Lola (205, 213).  In Chapter Eight, Mama Lola explained to Dr. Brown the female spirit group, the Ezili (222-223).  Chapter Nine delved more towards Mama Lola’s present, showcasing the conversations Dr. Brown had with Marie Alourdes, especially the ones over Mama Lola’s daughter Maggie and how Alourdes really wants Maggie to get married than to follow in her footsteps (263-264).

With Chapter Ten Dr. Brown to Danbala and the Haitian rituals performed in New York (272, 281).  In Chapter Eleven Dr. Brown again dedicated a chapter to watching Mama Lola’s religious practice one Sunday and the conversations Karen had with Mama Lola, her second-level helper Robert Gerard, and her daughter Maggie (313-320). The final chapter, Chapter Twelve, was dedicated to the Vodou spirit of death, Gede; Mama Lola also admitted that she is also Christian, telling a story of a time she turned down a customer away for being a paying member of a satanic group, saying “Satan is more powerful than me,” (330, 337).

Overall, religious anthropologist Karen McCarthy Brown, had created an interesting approach to Vodou history that still primarily focused on Mama Lola, and her family lineage, not delving out too much into Haitian history and the Vodou religion the way Dr. Sweet’s biography of Domingos Álvares did.  Although that was likely to happen when your “subject” is still alive and became a lifelong friend.  I also appreciate how Karen Brown avoided otherizing the Vodou religion, even participating in a spiritual marriage with the lwa spirit Ogou.

[ancestralvoices]

POWERFUL! Family, how many National Flag motifs do you know are based on Cosmic understandings? #Repost @vodou_film • • • • • • Vodou always reflects our Cosmic connection - have you identified and living yours? "Found in most hounfo and wogatwa (personal and family altars), the national flag found its meaning in esoterism. The dark blue symbolizes cosmic energy, particularly in the form of the ”female" deity, Ezili Danto, which represents maternal love and collective welfare. The dark red represents Ogou Feray, the iron will necessary in warfare.” - The Spirit of the Thing, Patrick Bellegarde-Smith, PhD #vodou #cosmicconsciousness #flag #flagstone #cosmicmind #identify #dark #blue #female #femaleempowerment #ezili #erzilidantor #maternal #matriarch #red #ogun #ogouferay #male #maleempowerment #iron #ironman #success https://www.instagram.com/p/CNbETuCj2e1/?igshid=1ujlvc23ta955

[didanawisgi]

Written by Tony Kail

“The practices of African traditional religion manifested as a number of diverse spiritual cultures throughout the Caribbean. As Africans were taken as slaves from their homeland the indigenous healing and spiritual traditions of African religion stepped into the soil of the island of Hispaniola. The surviving spiritual practices of Africa could become seen in Haiti and the Dominican Republic in various forms. In Haiti the religion formed what we know as ‘Vodou’, a term from the Fon people of the region of Dahomey in West Africa that means ‘spirit’. The religion of Vodou focuses on the worship of spirits known as ‘Loa’ that rule over nature and humanity. Worship involves various magico-religious rituals, the creation of sacred shrines and interaction with deities.

As one looks at the religion of Haitian based Vodou they may see some familiar Masonic aesthetics. The square and compass, the use of the letter ‘G’ and various Masonic tools can be spotted among a number of the rituals and shrines of Vodu. As we look deeper into the culture, we can also see a number of practices and symbols found in Freemasonry.

History French rule of the island of Hispaniola established the colony of Saint Domingue from 1659 to 1804 in the area of what we now know as Haiti. Freemasonry was officially established in the colony as two lodges were established in 1749. In 1778 a Provincial Grand Lodge was also established under the direction of the Grand Orient of France.

Slaves were initially prohibited from lodges as they were required to be ‘free born’ however some free people of color were admitted into lodges where many obtained Masonic wisdom. Some traveled to France and became members of lodges. Freed slaves from Saint Domingue were recorded as members of the lodge in Bordeaux France. Upon their return to the island some members would establish lodges based on their familiarity and membership with the Craft.

Historian Sally McKee noted that “Scottish-Rite Freemasonry linked the colony of Saint Domingue and Bordeaux. The masonic lodges established in the French Caribbean were part of a transatlantic network, whose mother lodge was located in Bordeaux.” Stephen Morin, considered by some as the founder of the Scottish Rite established several Scottish Lodges in Saint Domingue as did Martinés de Pasqually, the founder of the esoteric order known as ‘Elus de Cohën’. Pasqually’s order combined angelic operations, ceremonial magic and Scottish Rite Freemasonry as a path to return man to his state before the Adamic fall. Morin was a member of the Bordeaux lodge and in Saint Domingue started a ‘Ecossais’ or ‘Scots Masters’ Lodge in the city of Le Cap Francais.

The impact of Freemasonry on the Vodou culture could be seen in the life of one of Haiti and Vodou’s most recognizable historical figures. Francois-Dominique Toussaint Louverture the leader of the Haitian Revolution was a former slave and believed by some historians to be a Freemason. However, many base his affiliation with the Craft based upon his use of a possible Masonic based signature he used when signing documents. One of the other leaders in the Haitian revolution Jean-Jacques Dessalines who later became Haiti’s ruler under the 1805 constitution was a well-known Freemason and had great influence on local Haitian culture. Masonic knowledge would also become disseminated in the practices of some of Africa’s secret societies that operated in secret on the island as well.

Reflections of the Craft Some of the subtle reflections from Freemasonry in Vodou are reflected in the use of cultural terms like ‘Grand Master’ a term used to describe God or ‘Grand Met Bondye’ the ‘good God’. Masonic practices including the use of passwords, gestures and handshakes can be seen in rituals and various initiations in the Vodou religion. One example of this can be seen as the priest known as the ‘Houngan’ greets fellow priests with a sacred handshake. This is elaborated on when competing priests meet together. Donald J. Cosentino, professor of English and World Arts and Cultures at UCLA observed that ‘When competing oungans meet at the beginning of ceremonies, they greet each other with elaborate Masonic handshakes”.

The pantheon of gods and goddesses in the Vodou religion is composed of a number of diverse spirits known as ‘Loa’. Teachings surrounding the Loa speak of many of the spirits as being Freemasons. The warrior Loa of iron known as Ogou and the Loa of the crossroads known as Legba are frequently referred to as Masons. Ogou is depicted and symbolized by the sword, a military symbol and a tool found in Masonic culture as well. Masonic symbolism abounds in the imagery of Masonic Loa Baron Samedi. Baron Samedi, Baron Kriminel and Baron La Kwa are spirts associated with the graveyard. The Baron wears a familiar top hat much like found in lodge regalia and is often depicted with familiar Masonic symbols of coffins, skeletons and various Masonic tools. Some images of the Barons are depicted wearing Masonic aprons. The Loa Agassu, Linglenso and Agau are also viewed as Masonic Loa.

Vévé are symbols traditionally used to call forth the Loa. Priests (Houngans) and priestesses (Mambos) create sacred diagrams from cornmeal and various powders to invoke the energies of specific deities. The square and compass is reflected in the Vévé of the Loa Ayizan and Véve of the spirits of the dead known as ‘Ghede’. In Vodou the square and compass also take on the meaning of symbolizing the male and feminine united together. One writer has pointed out that the Vévé for the Loa Ayizan Velekete not only appears very similar to the square and compass with its overlay of the letter ‘a’ and v’ but has a philosophical component that speaks to Masonic concepts as well. Ayizan Velekete is the protector of the temple and ritual purity and acts as the defender of morality. In the Craft the square and compass speaks to ideals of squaring our actions as we reach for purity and morality (Robinson 2013). The Masonic patron saint of John the Baptist also takes an important role in Haitian Vodou. Legendary Vodou priest and scholar Max Beavior claimed that John the Baptist taught Jesus the secrets of Vodou. His importance is also reflected in a traditional Vodou song. As St. John’s Day is a celebrated holiday in Masonic culture it is also celebrated in Haitian Vodou.

Legrace Benson in the work Nou La, We Here: Remembrance and Power in the Arts of Haitian Vodou speaks of how the Masonic ‘All Seeing Eye’ can be seen in some of the elaborate sequined flags (Drapos) used in Haitian Vodou. Benson claims the image came from Jesuits and Freemasons that came to Haiti. (One particular Vodou priestess I spoke to claims that Freemasonry introduced the Kabballah and the use of sigils to Vodou.) There are some historical accounts that speak of examples of esoteric imagery such as the tetragrammaton and all seeing eye found in the ritual décor of Vodou temples in Haiti.

Masonic tradition is believed to have affected the manner in which some Vodou ceremonies are conducted. Milo Rigaud in his book Secrets of Voodoo states “The older houngan requests the assistance of two other houngans — the oldest he can find-by virtue of the esoteric prescription that holds three masons together form a regular lodge”.

Secret Societies There are secret societies that exist in Haitian Vodou culture such as the Bizango and Sanpwèl societies. Masonic references abound in these cultures with the membership in both societies observing 33 ranks as in Scottish Rite Freemasonry.

Members of these societies utilize a number of forms of coded recognition. Anthropologist Wade Davis notes that many of the societies such as the Bizango society utilize a number of signs and signals upon entering and exiting ritual spaces and in greeting each other. There is an interesting use of symbolic ‘reversal’ in giving and receiving such signs. Ethnologist Andrew Aptar concludes that “Many reversals play in Masonic symbols and even handshakes, suggesting an appropriation of European or Creole signs of power and value through secondary coding.”

Temples The traditional Vodou temple is known as the Houmfort. The main ritual area where most ceremonies occur is known as the Peristyle and much like Masonic lodges has specific pieces of architecture that symbolize various spiritual principles.

Legrace Benson speaks of a Bizango ceremony where the All Seeing Eye of Providence is painted on the central pole (Poto Mitan) in the temple . She also documented the leader of a Sanpwèl society adorning his temple with photographs of himself in Masonic regalia as well as various lodge symbols. She also observed the leader wearing a white Masonic apron while creating a spiritual bath. Benson also observed wooden coffins used by many of the secret societies that are placed by sacred altars. The coffin is a symbol in Freemasonry used to represent death and resurrection.

As a Freemason and a student of African studies I am fascinated by the meeting of these two worlds. I am reminded that both traditions contain elements that are kept as secrets in order to preserve their wisdom. I am reminded that both traditions have survived years of persecution and demonization from those who live in fear and ignorance. Lastly, I am reminded that both traditions have maintained a sacred lineage that has provided community, guidance and fulfillment for thousands of initiates.”

Sources Avengers of the New World, Laurent Dubois, Belknap Press, 2004

Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti, Maya Deren, McPherson, 1983

Face of the Gods: Art and Altars of Africa and the African Americas, Robert F. Thompson, Museum for African Art, 1993

Freemasonry and Vodou, Journal of the Vodou, 2013

Hegel, Haiti and Universal History, Susan Buck Morss, University of Pittsburgh Press, 2009

Institut de la Maison Impériale ď Haïti, http://www.imperialhaiti.fr/the-haitian-empire/freemasonry/

Morin’s Book Plate, Josef Wäges, The Plumbline: The Quarterly Bulletin of the Scottish Rite Research Society, Spring 2017, Volume 24, №1

On African Origin: Creolization and Connaissance in Haitian Vodou, Andrew Aptar, American Ethnologist, Vol. 29, №2 (May, 2002), pp. 233–260

Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodu, Donald J. Cosentino, University of California Museum, 1995

Secrets of Voodoo, Milo Rigaud, City Lights Publishers, 2001

The Exile’s Song: Edmond Dédé and the Unfinished Revolutions of the Atlantic World, Sally McKee, Yale University Press, 2017

The Plantation Machine: Atlantic Capitalism in French Saint Domingue and British Jamaica (The Early Modern Americas), Trevor Burnard, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018

Voodoo in Haiti, Alfred Métraux, Pantheon, 1989

[rockofeye]

Hi Houngan, I was curious about an altar kit I saw for a lwa and was wondering if that's a good way for someone to get started or what you thought about them?

Hi there,

Altar kits are kind of a confusing thing to me because they basically embody the spirit of That’s Not How Any Of This Works in sèvis lwa. Like, it doesn’t make sense in the context of Haitian Vodou because no one sets up an altar for one spirit, ever...everything is done in balance and in accordance to regleman, the ritual order of how we serve the lwa. Like, even for ceremonies for a specific spirit (like a fet Damballah or fet Ogou or whatever) have an altar that is set for the entire host of lwa, not just Damballah and his eskòt. Any priest should know this...it’s a part of basic instruction for anyone involved in the religion.

And...I have some concerns about motives. Like, if someone needs to serve the spirits and needs to set up a table/altar to do that with, the information for how to do that is not secret or something that needs to paid for, really. I mean, if I do a reading for someone re: if the lwa want their service and attention and the person wants to set a table, part of the follow up is ‘here is a brief write-up of the lwa who have stepped forward for you and the basic items they receive, and here is how to set a basic table’. That’s straightforward information for someone to begin developing relationships with the lwa who spoke for them, and you have already engaged in a fair exchange with me as a priest (meaning you have paid me for the reading). There’s no reason to gate-keep further.

The basic things for the lwa are fairly available in most places in the US, too, and are much more affordable that way than me buying it for someone and shipping it to them. Like, a bottle of almond syrup is a bottle of almond syrup...it’s not more special if I ship it to you, versus you going to your local well-stocked liquor store and buying it for yourself. Some items can be difficult or pricey to get in the United States because they have to be imported one way or the other, but the lwa can understand this and those are things that can be purchased over a longer period of time or when they are more easily available. 

I tell folks from the jump that setting up a table is not like assembling one of those pop-up tents that you remove from the bag and it springs up fully formed. These things take time and money, and the lwa can provide that. I tell folks to start small with some specific thing and grow it over time. There’s no reason to try to assemble everything immediately because the lwa have an understanding of what are limitations can be, particularly when we communicate that. When I built my table for the first time, I started with a candle and some water because that’s all I could afford. I told them I wanted to get them more and that I needed the means to do that, and it came piece by piece because they wanted their things. 

The only thing that is really remotely ‘altar kit’-like in traditional Haitian Vodou is having a legit priest come and set your table for you. That means you pay a priest to purchase all the materials necessary for a complete table to serve the lwa and they come to your home to set it up, teach you how to maintain it, and perform a brief ceremony to sort of open it or awaken it with a prayer litany called the priye Ginen/the prayers of Ginen and a particular style of lamp. You benefit from the abilities of the priest to call in the lwa and ask for their blessings upon your table and you, and you don’t have to worry about sourcing everything because it’s sourced for you. It’s not cheap at all--you are paying for time, effort, expertise, materials, and, if you live far from the priest, travel--but it is basically the only sort of kit-like thing that can be purchased. It’s not necessary to do that to begin serving the spirits, but it is an option.

So, all that to say that I don’t think purchasing an altar kit is a worthwhile investment because it’s just not useful. More often than not, they are sold by folks who lean into neo-pagan traditions and want to bring the lwa into that and I can’t understand why a traditional priest would sell those. The knowledge of how to set a table is not secret or a product to be sold because relationships with the lwa are not something you buy. Setting an altar for a lwa does not guarantee that they will be a part of your life, and it is almost certainly creating problems if they are part of your life because it throws things out of balance. If the lwa are reaching for you, it can be discerned with a priest as to what the next steps are and how to begin to develop a space for them in your home.

I hope this is helpful...please let me know if anything doesn’t make sense.

[beloved-judged]

Thoughts on the eve of a marriage

Three years ago, I promised I would marry Ogou Feraille after a series of lucid and numinous dreams and trance states. A dream of going up a square pole to a huge and beautiful house, of seeing a half-finished bedroom with a huge bed of carved wood battle scenes and iron gray sheets. It rained on the bed and I mourned with it. Such a beautiful bed to be open to the elements.

Two years ago, on realizing what a large commitment it would be, I asked for the time necessary to grow up. To be capable of honoring that commitment.

The rings, the last of the things I needed for the marriage, came in a week ago--for my ring, an iron ouroborus with 24k gold eyes. For his ring, a circle of iron with veins of gold, in kintsugi style.

At the end of this month, we'll be married.

I'm wearing my ring right now, anticipating the event and getting used to its surprisingly heavy weight on my finger. The ring is probably 6-8 oz, a good half pound of iron covered in the slight roughness of scales stamped into its thick band and a complicated knot of tail just before it enters the mouth of the serpent.

On my altars, his ring will live on top of Ferai's machete. My ring, I intend to wear daily: a symbol of commitment and frankly a beautiful work of art. It was a one-of-a-kind piece made by an artist that he couldn't seem to sell for years before I saw it and bought it.

The last few weeks have been an exercise in surprises.

Maybe I'd better say up front that I've spent most of my life feeling distinctly not feminine. There's been no room for... softness. Kindness. I'm taller than average, I run muscular if not obviously so, I've been in a lot of physical fights, and I've been the person making the sacrifices so other people could eat, or sleep. I've been the person wearing the same clothes worn to bits because the kids needed clothes, skipping meals because I can get by on one a day if I have to.

I've been the person checking out the noises in the night and sometimes sleeping in front of the front door, weapon in hand.

On top of that, watching my father control my mother with his money, watching my mother's family (which is, despite their protests, wealthy) do terrible things to one another over money, and going to quite a few religious private schools--well, let's just say that when it comes to male-female relationships where a man provides, I've been downright avoidant.

The idea terrified me.

Since I moved to Florida, I keep ending up in conversations with veterans. They have uniformly indicated that they find me feminine, that they're horrified I haven't been in relationships where men took care of safety and to varying degrees money, and that they're generally disgusted by the relationships I've been in.

Oddly, I find their presence very comforting. I say this as someone who has trouble sleeping on the best days and has had to take a lot of medications for it: I've actually almost fallen asleep like a weary child in the middle of the day, trusting that if something happened, I'd be okay.

I didn't even feel this comfortable as a child, because trust me, you did not want to sleep too deeply in a house with my immediate family. Being homeless as a child cured me of the rest of the ability to sleep through the night.

A part of me is uncomfortable with all this--what am I doing sitting in a room full of men carrying guns and knives who actually have a documented kill count and who feel most comfortable armed?

I usually avoid men like this. I've had enough trouble with violence without adding people taught to perform institutional violence.

And yet.... and yet all I seem to be feeling when they're around is peaceful.

And yet... I feel soft.

And yet I remember being so angry, deep down in my soul, as I pulled the couch in front of the door and curled up around a claw hammer, because I knew that I shouldn't have to, feeling despair that it would be me falling into that position.

No one else could do it. No one else would do it. It was me laying in the dark, sandy eyes staring at the slow transit of the streetlights on the opposite wall, stumbling into work the next day in ill-fitting boots sticky with the blood of popped blisters and skin raw around a knife stuffed into the top of it, scanning traffic and over my own shoulder for a familiar face.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely will employ violence to defend myself. But I find myself remembering being angry at the universe because violence is... because I felt as if I should not have to employ violence. As if it were fundamentally wrong that me, personally, should be who was employing it.

For a time, I genuinely hated the people around me who managed to get through their lives without knowing what these things are like.

What's on offer, from the veterans around me, is something I've never had. I've never been protected. Not as a child, not as an adult.

It's always been me, trying to outsmart the world, trying to figure out how to survive this time, trying to figure out (since before I was 18) how to ensure that my friends and loved ones survive as well.

I can't contemplate my marriage to Ogou Feraille without thinking about these changes in my life. The traditional marriage compact with him includes those things I've been running from my whole life: protection, but a protection that does not include breaking me to make me fit a mold. A husband to take care of me, to ensure that I would not be alone, that there would be someone to turn to.

I seem to be uncovering acres of things I thought were dead in me, ranging from a surprisingly passionate and emotional nature (seriously, I didn't cry for a decade. Or smile.) to the urge to nurture and deeply appreciate someone. I want to be the soul and warmth to someone, to pour out all these things in me that appear to have been dammed up.

As silly as it sounds, I genuinely thought that part of me was dead and I wondered if it ever existed in the first place. Where did I ever have an outlet for it?

And now, on the eve of this, I find myself contemplative. I thought I knew myself, but I am finding that I do not.

While I am anxious, hoping that I am capable now of honoring that commitment, I am also... excited. And I feel oddly tender.

I hope he comes down yelling, which my papa says is a good sign. I also hope he comes down feeling as tender as I do, or at least that I can share that with him.

And some small, nagging part me of says that I hope he comes down at all, so used to being abandoned and so unsure that anything this beautiful is for me.

A red dress. I promised I would make myself up fully (I rarely wear makeup). A set of rings. A mass of wildly wavy hair. I will stand barefoot on the concrete in front of the altar.

Here I am, Ogou Feraille. Will you still have me?

[wozwouj]

i got to go to my first fet this past weekend! it was fet kouzen, a celebration for the haitian vodou spirit of work and agriculture! although things didn’t quite go as planned, i still had an absolutely wonderful time ♡

kouzen didn’t stay long, but i got to briefly meet him, as well as ogou. i wasn’t expecting ogou to have such a... charming presence? i understand why he has so many wives now! i can easily say my biggest impressions of him during his visit were: passionate, and handsome. it’s so nice to see the spirits face to face, as someone whos only heard stories and read about them in books. it almost feels like meeting someone that you’ve always known.

the highlight of my night though by far was seeing ezili freda! ♡ she showed up last, earlyyyyy in the morning as we were wrapping things up. it was unexpected, but far from unwelcome. she arrived in her chwal and was powdered by adoring men immediately. me, a lesbian, seethed in jealousy for a brief moment but ended up losing my mind watching people lay down paper towels at her feet as she walked across the temple floor, refusing to touch the bare ground as her host wasnt wearing shoes. talk about an entrance. god i love her.

as a small personal preference, i wear a bracelet when i leave my house for freda. its rose quartz, and i have a matching one on my altar. (i have the same system set up with dantor, naturally) they make me feel close to my altars when i’m away from home, which helps greatly with my social anxiety. i was wearing my bracelet for her, and at some point she got my attention from across the room and pointed at her wrist, then at mine, acknowledging the bracelet i wear for her. ironically, this was shortly after she chewed out a woman for selling the ring she was supposed to wear for her.

a bit later, she called me up to her. she blessed me with perfume and gave me a warm hug. i cried, of course, out of pure joy, and muttered as many thanks as i could muster. she hummed in affirmation and nuzzled our foreheads together. ;__; it was one of the most intimate moments of my life, and thinking about it makes me wanna cry again, oh dear. i finally got to meet a spirit very important to me, and it truly felt like coming home. even as i walked away, she wrapped me in another hug from behind. all i could do was weep into my hands, and when people asked what was wrong, all i could say was, “i just love her so much.”

meeting freda in person... she is beautiful. she is the most beautiful thing i’ve ever seen. not her host, but her. (not that her host was not ALSO beautiful, but i digress). she’s so graceful, and her voice is so co cute. she is so lovely, and intelligent, and full of light, and life, and love. i could wax poetry about her forever, and i very much believe she’d like that, but i’ll stop rambling here. please, just know i love her so much. so, so much. and the love she gives is so whole, so fulfilling and warm and beautiful. 

all in all, despite some issues, it was a very lovely very life changing evening for me. i come to vodou from a weird place, as my paternal family is haitian but i’ve had little interaction with them. it was so nice to feel like i belonged for once, surrounded by fellow haitians who were happy i had finally come home, as well as finally meeting the spirits i’ve only seen in my dreams. i was worried to meet my manmi irl too, but we hit it off very well -- not to mention the group i’ll be traveling to haiti with this summer is absolutely wonderful and we all get along swimmingly! theres a buzz of excitement in the house, as we’re all elated to have a lovely group of all haitian women working together as we are. it’s nice to feel such a strong sense of unity, thats one of the many reasons i’m proud to be haitian! ♡

[actual-runner5]

Personal voodoo notes for DnD

It’s the best way I can send them to @runners345ready without spamming their askbox so please ignore :D

Initiation to voodoo : Rebirth. An Iwa (a guide, master and protector) fixes itself to the head (it’s then called Iwa-met-tet) and the initiate becomes hounsi (either this happens by dream or a ritual)

Ritual: A godfather ( papa-Iwa) or godmother (maman-Iwa) is watching over the initiate which is isolated and submitted to a strict diet so they can get to know their Iwa better while purifying themselves. There is a big secret final ceremony in which the initiate wears white and a mix of medicinal herbs and food that appeals to their Iwa (this part is called “laver-tête”, wash head) and the ceremony culminates when the Iwa-met-tet mounts the initiate’s head to attach himself until they die. The trance is when the human and the Iwa can communicate.

The rituals are usually to get in contact with the Iwas, to ask for protection and healing or to give thanks or to relay messages to the material world.

Rada ritual: To honour the living light in humans, always used in the initiations. Associated element: air.

Pétro ritual: The violence of Iwas, use of trances, not maleficient, honours the dark side of humans and life, emotions in their dangerous aspects, symbolises war, associated with fire.

Kongo ritual: Basically a big party. Less practiced, associated with water.

Vèvè: Geometrical symbols drawn on earth (preferably) with corn wheat, cinder or coffee. Vertical lines represent Iwas, horizontal line represent the material world, crosses represent the intersection of both and circles represents humans.

Drums contribute to the Iwas descending on Earth.

Sacrifices are an important part of the religion but they can be replaced by sacrificing food.

Zombification: Taboo, capturing someone’s soul the slave them, can be used on living people with a kind of poison and is considered the worst of magic (it’s not unanimous if it’s real or not but the poisoning thing has been proven scientifically. The poison damages the nervous system.)

Voodoo dolls with pins and such doesn’t actually exist. That belief was derived from European beliefs. There ARE dolls that were used to transfer energy, notably to suck bad energies out of a body to be transferred in a doll. You can also represent a loved one by a doll and put it on an altar to bring good things to them or make them recover from something.

Legba: Barrier guardian, master of crossroads, can open Truth’s and Knowledge’s doors.

Erzulie Freda: Godess of passion and love

Erzulie Dantor: Fertility, nourishing mother, mother of love

Ogou: War, steel, fire spirit, virility

Damballah: Supreme master, holds Knowledge and extreme magic powers

Aïzan: Initiation god

Baron Samedi: Death, cemetery master

Sorry for the mess, I had to translate them from french but I tought it was really interesting to build a character around. I also didn’t want to decide the lore without your permission since it’s your world.

[manbomary]

Christianity and Vodou

Bonjou zanmi! Let’s talk about the role of Christianity in Haitian Vodou.

Haitian Vodou is a mix of African religious tradition, Catholic Christianity, and native Taino Indian religious practice. You can’t separate Catholicism from Haitian Vodou, not really; if you take it out, it’s not the same. Vodou uses Catholic prayers in its liturgies, the Catholic saints represent lwa, and we are even “baptized” and given godparents and a new name when we initiate.

That’s not to say that Vodou has an easy relationship with Catholicism, especially in Haiti. After the Haitian Revolution, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the revolutionary who became the new Republic’s leader, tried to limit jurisdiction of the Catholic Church; in response to this, Rome stopped sending new priests and missionaries into Haiti. Haiti went for many years without official supervision from Rome, and the syncretization of Catholic practice and Vodou religion got even deeper. Men who knew the Catholic liturgy, or who had trained as priests but weren’t officially ordained, became what was known as “pret savann”, or “bush priests.” Pret savann are still important in Vodou today; they oversee the baptem ceremony at the conclusion of kanzo, and say the Catholic prayers in French during other ceremonies.

The night before I left Haiti this summer, I went looking for my godmother to say goodbye. I ran into my mama hounyo (an official position in the sosyete; she manages all the needs of the initiates during the time they’re secluded in the djevo) and asked her where my godmother was .

“Oh, li prale a legliz!” (She went to church).

Many Vodouizants take the same attitude as my godmother; going to Vodou ceremony on Saturday night and then to church on Sunday. Most Haitians, even Vodouizants, identify as good Catholics along with serving the spirits.

As for Protestant Christianity, that can be a bit more complicated. Many Protestant churches rail against Vodou and some Protestants have been known to harass and assault and even kill Vodouizants, or destroy Vodou temples. Even my sosyete has been picketed by Protestants, praying loudly and singing hymns outside while we’re in the middle of initiations.

However, there are plenty of “good Christians” who publically will deplore Vodou and call it devil worship, but as soon as they have a problem they can’t solve, off they go to the local manbo or houngan.

I myself go to Mass and say Catholic prayers. That’s how I was raised. I do know people who practice other religions along with Vodou, but the important thing is not to mix traditions. Don’t cast a Wiccan circle and call the lwa into it, and don’t put Thor’s hammer on a Vodou altar (although I can’t help but think that Ogou and Thor might get along well).

In order to practice Haitian Vodou, you have to understand its Christian roots and the Christian practices that still influence it and are part of its function.

[vudutarot]

Some African spirits come in pairs, triplets, and even whole families. You think you are working with one entity and many follow especially in Haitian and Dominican vodou. So before you start an altar, buy a statue because one spirit may want one, give you hints etc do your research.

For example, I just forgot a basic rule with erzulie, don’t bring Freda in your house and leave out dantor ( I need to buy a new statue of equal size). Erzulies also have a whole family of other spirits both in Rada and petro rites. Also, don’t have them on the same altar space.

Another example is ogou (Nago) or guede. Bring one and you probably will encounter others.

So if you don’t have the space to setup or time to maintain it like you need it’s better to just not do it and use pictures, prayer cards instead of statues.

[wallpaperpainting]

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[rockofeye]

can you tell more stories about your experiences? i find your stories really comforting and warm because it gives me hope that there are spirits out there that love us all in the ways you describe.

Hi there!

This is a really sweet compliment, so thank you for making me smile. I am happy to share more stories because stories were how I started to learn about my spirits and how they move in the world.

A seasonally appropriate story:

Part of my kanzo preparations was basically cutting deals with my lwa to get stuff down. Among other things, I promised to go the mass/Catholic church services weekly if they would assist me in getting the money together for kanzo. I worked overnights at that time from Sunday to Thursday, so being up early in the mornings was a no-go but I still needed to go to mass because I Had Promised.

After some searching, I found the closest Catholic church to me that had a Sunday evening service. Coincidentally (read: not at all), the church I picked was about a 7 minute drive from my apartment and turned out to be the only church that had a Haitian ministry. It was also the only church in the city that had a shrine for Therese de Lisieux. So, I would head over to the church for mass and get there a little early so I could visit Therese and basically beg for her help to stay faithful and keep my eyes on the prize (kanzo). It was a really rough time for me because my lwa were going scorched earth to clear the way for me to get to the djevo and I was being stubborn but was desperate enough to pray to anything I thought might help. I didn’t know much about Therese except that she was an example of deep love for her god…and we all know how that turned out for me.

Anyway, it was a Sunday in December during Advent/lead up to Christmas, which is a very hot time of year in Haitian Vodou. The divine becoming mortal is imminent and that is a cornerstone of Vodou. It was cold and dark and I really didn’t want to go to mass because Netflix and my couch sounded way better. But…I had promised and you do not betray promises to the lwa, especially before kanzo.

So, my own compromise to make going to mass on a cold night was to wear comfy flannel pants. I grumbled my way to church, said hello to Therese which probably involved ‘I don’t want to be here, but here I am. My life is a disaster and I don’t know what to, please help me not lose my shit’, and hunkered down in a pew in the back to endure the service.

The service began and then…. Most Catholic churches have a large main altar where the priest does his stuff and then small votive altars on each side, often to Mary or a saint or an aspect of Christ. This church had St Joseph on the right and a votive altar to the sacred heart of Jesus on the left. These particular altars had racks of vigil candles in front of them where a person can light a candle after praying. Lots of churches have electric candles, but this church still has actual candles.

The service is progressing and all of a sudden the votive candles in front of the sacred heart votive shrine are a massive fireball. Like, half the rack of candles is one big fire which is very much NOT supposed to happen. I’m sitting there watching this and no one else seems to notice. The priest is reading from the gospel, which is the accounting of Christ’s life and work, and this shrine is just on fire and no one moves or says anything. I sit there and look around and wonder if I am hallucinating or something when the altar server–a tiny older Vietnamese man–suddenly leaps over the side rail of the altar with the pitcher of water the priest uses to wash his hands while preparing communion and flings the water at the fire (and Jesus) and all is well. 

Later, it is communion time and I didn’t take part at that point in my life for Reasons. Out of nowhere, though, my spirits were all ‘go get blessed’ and I said nope, not gonna and gave them all the Reasons why. They insisted, I said no, and this kept up for a few minutes (I was WAY more stubborn and argumentative then) and suddenly Ogou was all ‘GET. UP. AND. GO. GET. BLESSED’. Papa doesn’t like to suffer foolish children and I did have at least a small bit of self preservation left in me, so I stood up, got in line, and grumbled my way up to the priest. 

It was my turn to get blessed and he said something about the lord pouring out blessings upon my head, but I missed some of it because he blessed me by placing his hand on my head and it hit me like electric shocks. It felt exactly like what the precursors to being mounted by the spirits feels like for me, and I am still surprised I didn’t end up on the ground and go down in history as That Guy who ended up flopping around on the floor at church.

As soon as the service was over, I basically fled the church, threw myself in the car, and swerved down the street while leaving my future godfather a message that essentially was ‘OH GOD this thing just happened at CHURCH and I don’t understaaaaand CALL ME BACK’.

The spirits wanted me to get blessed and see the heat inherent to the season, I suppose. At that time, it was really good and important for me to see and feel how the lwa really move in the world and really can affect change when they want to.

[rockofeye]

Anon with the IG question:

I’m not going to publish your ask because it names specific names which translates to drama and being the Vodou Police (both of which I am not into), but I can answer a bit.

That person isn’t lying, nor are they learning from someone who is taking advantage of them. What is happening is what happens with many folks (including me) when they are at the very beginning of their involvement with Vodou: they/we get super excited and want to talk about All The Things without realizing that they/we do not know enough to be talking about anything at all...or know just enough to make it clear they have a teacher but are either not listening or are speaking expansively.

It is kind of a mark of coming from outside the religion/culture: receiving a small piece of information (or reading it on a blog or in a book) leaves a person feeling like they have the whole story or a lot more of the story than they really do. The actual reality is that Vodou is multi-layered and someone who has not gone through the djevo and spent time learning with their parent and with the spirits that have allied with them through ceremony and longer term service is not going to have access to more than a surface layer or two. It’s the nature of the religion and of the culture that supports it. There is a spiritual ‘ticket’ for admission.

I have a serious  love/hate relationship with social media and initiatory religions for this reason. Social media has been a great gateway to connect people who might not have any other opportunity to speak to a priest to find the religion and be reached by the spirits. Social media has also created the atmosphere that leaves folks who are not initiates and/or the time in the seat to advise others feeling like they can do that and can teach things because they saw it mentioned in a Facebook group or read a book or whatever. It’s a hard thing to balance out, and it’s hard for new adherents. We all want to feel valued and find belonging and share our excitement, but many times when we are brand new and/or do not have license to speak on a lot of things it is hard because we need to really sit and learn instead of sit and type.

Instagram is particularly awful because it is easy to look at a lovely picture with some pretty text attached and think it is something accurate. It creates an atmosphere that devalues things that are very important and should not be placed in the public eye. Like, vodouizan should not be posting pictures of their personal altars for any reason. To a trained eye, an altar tells the story of who you are, who your spirits are, and, in some cases, who is teaching you and what specifically they are teaching you. For someone who is not too ethical, you can be destroyed through that--it doesn’t matter if you are about to rearrange things or whatever or you think your spirits are telling you to post pictures (why on earth would they do that?), it is absolutely to be avoided. I mean, we don’t even post pictures of altars/tables for ceremonies until the ceremony is over for the same reasons--someone can harm the party through that. The same goes for spiritual work where the outcome has not manifested and cemented itself. This leads to a whole other conversation about the rise of ‘Vodou aesthetics’ on social media and the like.

And, fwiw, what people post on social media regarding information and how-to stuff is a direct reflection on their teacher and/or spiritual parent, and the Vodou community is QUICK to go to someone’s elders and say ‘why is your child saying this? Is this how you do your work?’. There is nothing quite so uncomfortable as having a conversation with your spiritual parent about what you post and what your inconsistencies or misinformation was (I have had that conversation exactly once and will never, EVER put myself in that place again...ugh).

These days, I only say something if there is obvious misinformation being put out into the world as fact. For me, it is not worth my own inner peace to engage people on what they are saying or get into big discussions because, 98% of the time, folks on social media are not interested in hearing what they may not be accurate on, particularly around things that are fundamental to the religion. Not my job, not my calling in life, and it doesn’t help me or my students.  In the past, this was something I struggled with a lot because I did (and still do) think a lot of how Vodou is spoken about and what specifically is said by folks who do not have license to speak on the religion is deeply harmful and, in some cases, deeply disrespectful to the legacy of the culturebearers. However, I am not the Vodou Police nor am I Ogou or any other spirit...just a houngan. The majority of the time I keep it moving because my primary goal is to live in harmony with my destiny as laid out by my spirits and they don’t have Facebook/Instagram/etc so....  

I hope this answers your question and I hope you understand why I didn’t publish your actual ask. No shade or anything meant. Let me know if there is anything I can offer more information on.

[rockofeye]

@oldmotherfrost said:

I guess I may be a little controversial here and say a thing or two. Just to clarify I'm white and no stretch of the word "vodoun" but I'll chime in anyways. I (understandably so) see a lot of black practitioners who usually aren't practitioners getting angry at white folk entering this faith. I feel however at the end of the day we as human beings really need to stop telling spirits and deities who and whom can or cannot be "called". Because we're just that. HUMAN.

ultimately spirit/deity will sometimes have the bigger say over ours at the end of the day. stop telling them what to do.

anyways call me out or correct me if I'm wrong. it's ok.

I’ll start here, I guess: I am white, and I largely think what white people talk about as ‘vodou’ on the internet is utter horseshit. Unfortunately, what white folks (and other outsiders) often pass off as vodou is taken as fact and actuality, when in truth, they have no contact with the religion or very limited contact, in that they have attended very limited public functions and/orhave undergone no ceremony that confers a religious right to speak on the religion. The audience for those folks are other outsiders who are looking for something spooky to make money with and gain prestige with or looking for a fast way to do/get whatever they want.

Often, folks who behave like that--and they are not all white, some of the most profound frauds in ATRs/ADRs are people of color--are not actually looking to vodou-the-religion, but are looking to/for voodoo-the-aesthetic. Social media is full of it. Anybody can put saint candles and icons on a table and call it an altar, or throw a piece of cotton in a bowl or oil and call it a lamp, or crush some leaves in a basin and say it’s a bath. Anyone can put on a bone necklace and say they are honoring Gede or talk about how much Danto loves them and loves everything they give her. It’s easy, but, at the end of the day, it’s ugly and the folks who do the real stuff know exactly what is up.

With all of that in mind, it’s totally logical to me why some Black folks would really balk at white folks/outsiders being involved in vodou because, honestly, when white folks/outsiders show up and claim something as their own, what goes right? (Nothing.)

It’s especially awful because most of the white folks and outsiders (fun fact: in Kreyol, the word for ‘outsider’ is the same word for ‘white folks’: blan. Some folks get called nwa blan, which is not hard to figure out.) who show up and decide they are now doing vodou really fuck shit up. It’s not even imitation-is-the-sincerest-form-of-flattery kind of stuff where they are doing their best to glean what they can, it’s outright upfuckshit. It’s elekes/collares for lwa and getting your met tet from a Tarot card reading over the internet from someone in Boise who calls themselves High Priestess Ezili and Loko is the same as Orula and Freda is really Oshun and non-initiates tracing veve for ceremony and making baths that are secrets passed down priest-to-priest and ‘feeding’ Damballah with a plate of uncooked spiral pasta and a pile of salt. (For folks who may not have a background in vodou, none of those things are actual things and all of those are real-life examples I have seen). It’s not like they gave Ogou the wrong cologne, it’s that they literally aren’t speaking the same language and, more importantly, they don’t care to learn.

I mean, you should hear white practitioners from reputable houses get together and shriek about people who are doing these mystifying, horrific things. We get super frustrated--I can’t imagine what it is for Black folks who are a part of the religion to watch folks who can’t be bothered to sit still and listen declare themselves experts. The history of the religion and, in some places, the continual reality *hasn’t* maintained that we are all human--the roots of vodou are in revolution, where enslaved Africans violently ejected the colonizers.

So, I can’t and won’t tell Black folks who are in the religion what they should/should not think. There are plenty of Haitian-only houses that will not kanzo white folks where Black folks who want that sort of setting might find a home.

The thing with Haitian vodou is that the process of initiating is a two-fold agreement--the spirits must say ‘yes’, but the community one is coming to the spirits through must say ‘yes’, too. So, if it is a community that doesn’t accept non-Haitian folks, white people/outsiders have to look elsewhere (a ‘yes’ from the community also doesn’t mean it’s the right place for a person, either, but that is another post entirely). 

If the spirits really want someone and that someone puts in the work for discernment and learning, the spirits will bring them to the right person and place. Who the spirits ultimately pick up entirely rests with them, and it can make absolutely no sense to anyone else looking in....but reputable folks who are on the inside *KNOW* that no one gets into the djevo if they do not need to be there. 

At the end of the day, vodou only speaks to people who have a real need for the spirits, who have a deep understanding of humanity and the brokenness therein. In Haiti, vodou is usually called sèvis lwa/service to the lwa and those who practice are sèvitè lwa/servants of the lwa. Haitians don’t really describe sèvis lwa as ‘practicing vodou’, it is serving the lwa. It’s what is done and how it is described. Part of being a servant-priest is listening to the spirits who show up with a person and listening to what they say and what they say the person needs. Sometimes that means white folks or other outsiders show up with spirits who say they really need the medicine of the djevo.

After I attended my first fete and had a spirit tell me that they had been waiting on me to show up, I had a visit with the lineage head who eventually became my spiritual mother. She is Haitian, grew up in Haiti and began serving the spirits there, and maintains a traditional Haitian sosyete. The first question I asked her was essentially ‘why is this happening, I’m white’. I didn’t even get to finish it, because she cut me off and told me that the lwa are for anyone who seeks them with an open heart. She’s not representative of everyone nor does anyone not her child have to agree to her position, but it’s a reality of the religion. White folks/outsiders who are invited to join have to keep at the front that the roots of the religion are in the above mentioned revolution. If white folks/outsiders cannot engage constantly in decolonization and rejection of white supremacy and spiritual entitlement, then they are gonna have a bad time.

Overall, though, people who have strong opinions either way are not likely to be swayed, and with good reason. If they want to see a traditional house that has white folks and see how it remains focused on Haitian tradition and culture, they are absolutely welcome to come and see and speak with Manbo Maude.

[rockofeye]

Time for some maryaj photos!

I was looking at some of my pictures from the wedding (more coming soon, as soon as I meet up with my sister, who juggled her camera and my camera during the wedding because she is a saint) and they make me giddy with joy, so time to share! I’ll explain as best as I can what is going on in the picture, but don’t hesitate to ask questions--I am SUPER HAPPY to talk about my wedding!

Under the sheet with Damballah, the first spirit I married. When he arrives, he falls to ground and slithers like a snake, so he slithered across the temple on banana leaf mats that were laid in front of him and we lay together in front of the table/altar. He is always covered in possession, for privacy and cleanliness. When we want to greet him (or marry him!), we go under the sheet.

This pictures is really touching because so many family members are there to help and witness. This is what family does.

Exchanging vows, led by the pret savanne/’bush priest’/priest who can read the traditional Catholic prayers. He is a wonderful guy who got almost all the way through Catholic seminary before the spirits snatched him up. When it was time for Damballah to assent to our wedding vows, the microphone was placed in front of his mouth and he hissed right into it, which is one of the most inadvertently hilarious things I have ever witnessed a spirit do. 

This marriage took a LOT out of me--I had some sort of weird trance-y passe/pass through going on the whole time. I was definitely there, but my body kept moving like Damballah’s does--he rocks back and forth when he arrives, and my body kept doing the same thing. When we were done, I came up feeling like I had been under for hours.

Salye/salutation Agwe. A priest is saluting Agwe, the Admiral and owner of all the oceans, with the goal of calling him into possession.

Agwe in possession and I am getting all the kisses. Like, I got kissed more that night than I have been kissed in at least a year or two. Behind us are the marenn/godmother and parenn/godfather for the marriage--the witnesses who sign our marriage certificates with us.

When we went to sit at the table, Agwe was NOT HAVING me in a regular size chair--he sits in a backwards ti chez/small chair when he comes in possession, and he demanded I have a small chair, too, and that it be close enough that we were practically on top of each other.

Signing the marriage certificate, with Agwe draped over me. When he wasn’t feeding me or whatever else, he was draped over me. It was a huge departure for how I usually see Agwe--he is essentially royalty, and he comes as such. Very regal, very reserved. He was here to collect his husband, though, and so I got him wrapped around me for the entire time.

Agwe’s bottle of Moet has already ejaculated all over me, and here he washes my head with the rest of it so that I achieve full-on wet rat status. The basin collects various things all my husbands and other spirits want included in a bath I will have after the wedding.

Agwe loves my marenn/godmother a LOT and so she got called over for some special blessing. I have got wet rat status on lock--in addition to an entire bottle of champagne and a lot of water Agwe washes me with, it was also a million degrees in the temple, to the point where cool liquid on my skin was steaming. But, I am stupid happy in this photo, and so is he.

A surprise appearance by Ezili Freda! She and I have grown a really deep and surprising (to me) relationship, and she decided to come to the wedding. We did not marry, but she sat at the table with me and we fed each other and she did some work for and to me. I have a lot of love for this lady.

Agaou and I having some cake after we get married. The first thing he said to me when he was settled in his chwal was that he chose me to marry and that he expected big things from me. Agaou falls outside the ‘standard complement’ of masculine lwa we marry in our house, and so he was an unexpected husband. He has become a huge part of my life, though, and is such a compelling spirit for a variety of reasons.

Ogou Sen Jak escorts me and the marenn for the marriage to the table. On the other side of me outside of the picture is the parenn. I didn’t know either of them, but Sen Jak did and he selected them specifically.

I wore the hat and got more kisses. It was like being on this really important date. I felt so weird with everyone watching me kiss my husbands. I have gotten shy in my old age.

Sen Jak parades around his new husband and enjoys his paparazzi. All of the spirits that I married that stand up and walk did this, in a sort of ‘look at my new hotness’ kind of way. It was very much like being on the arm of a CEO or the president--we would parade around and they would stop and shake hands and greet the crowd, and then we would inevitably dance at the drums for a bit before they decided to leave. It was really wonderful.

Ogou Feray approaches the table with me and the godparents for our marriage on his arms. He arrived in the same chwal that held Sen Jak. Sen Jak left the head of his chwal when we were finished at the table and the chwal stood up to leave and got no more than three feet from the chair before Feray arrived and threw his chwal across the temple screaming and howling. Sen Jak came hot, too, in ways I haven’t seen Sen Jak before. Both of them were incredible to be next to.

‘I will cut your tongue out if your mouth betrays me or your mother’. Spirits are no joke. When Feray made this point, he shoved his chair back to make sure I could see exactly what he was doing and exactly what he meant. Loud and clear.

Feray does some work with me and his machete.

This is one of my favorite photos from the wedding. I am getting all the kisses again, while my mother looks on. Feray had just explained to her, at length, how much he loves me and it made her blush, just a little. He had been there quite awhile--he stayed the longest out of all my husbands--and people had taken a Prestige/beer break or wandered out for air, so it was almost a private moment, or as private as it is going to get in the middle of a temple full of people.

It wasn’t going to be my wedding without Gede showing up. We don’t marry the dead, but sometimes they get rings in recognition of relationship and there was no way in all of Ginen that I was going to get away with not giving my Gede a ring. He had told me months prior that he wanted three rings for the dead, and I said absolutely not. What did I end up with? Three rings for the dead--one for him, one for a personal Gede, and one for Bawon, who is also not married but asked for a ring anyways. 

Gede showed up directly after Ogou left the head of his chwal. He likes to do that in general, and particularly likes to do it in the head of this chwal in particular--if Gede wants to show up to a party and this priest gets possessed, he will almost always show in his head directly after another spirit leaves. He dragged me in front of the drums, made me banda with him, and then humped the hell out of me before exchanging rings. I was a little put out because I had brought an outfit for him, too, but that’s just how Gede rolls: he does what he wants.

Simbi Andezo and I getting hitched. Like Ogou, Simbi is a family and so marrying Simbi is really marrying all Simbi. Andezo happened to step forward in the moment. He arrived in two chwal--the first arrived and literally cartwheeled his chwal across the drum platform, culminating with him with his feet way up in the air while people pulled his shoes off, and then the Andezo above arrived screaming and whirling around the temple before settling down with me.

In the midst of his screaming and heat, he was incredibly calm, peaceful, and tender. I often experience Simbi in a variety of ways--as a master sorcerer working in the background, as a healer, and as a just judge who is also willing to be an executioner if necessary--but this was a new way: incredibly still and focused on what was right in front of him. By this time, it had begun to pour outside--practically raining sideways--and some water was coming into the temple. He washed my head with rainwater, which was incredible, and then very carefully selected which finger his ring was to go on. Most of my other husbands simply put it on the traditional marriage finger, and left me to switch it around for the next marriage, but not Simbi. He chose the pictured finger and did a lot of work on that finger before sliding the ring on. The ring he wanted was fairly unusual--my other rings are very masculine, both by design and by the input of the spirits and the one he insisted on is gorgeous, but more feminine than I would have chosen for myself. It makes a lot of sense, though--Simbi is a very liminal spirit and I am a liminal person. It was also very interesting to me that, for my wedding, he chose to come in a female-id’ed person. Spirits will come in whomever they choose and it is quite common for women to mount masculine spirits, but it is quite interesting here given the ring shenanigans.

There is one more husband who I do not have any pictures of, since he was not able to attend the wedding for a whole bunch of reasons, but there is a wonderful story that is the subject of an upcoming post that will get written as soon as I can stop getting teary (in good ways) over it.

These pictures are so happy and joyful for me. I hope that comes through.