The Haitian Vodou Handbook: Protocols for Riding with the Lwa
Kenaz Filan
Language: English
Pages: 304
ISBN: 1594771251
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
A working guide to the proper methods of interacting with the full Vodou pantheon
• Includes the myths, cultural heritage, and ancestral lineage of the lwa and how to honor and serve them
• Provides an introduction and guide that is especially useful for the solitary practitioner
• Discusses the relationship between Vodou, Haitian culture, and Catholicism
In The Haitian Vodou Handbook, Kenaz Filan, an initiate of the Société la Belle Venus, presents a working guide to the proper methods of interacting with the full Vodou pantheon, explaining how to build respectful relationships with the lwa, the spirits honored in Haitian Vodou, and how to transform the fear that often surrounds the Vodou religion.
Until recently, the Haitian practice of Vodou was often identified with devil worship, dark curses, and superstition. Some saw the saint images and the Catholic influences and wrote Vodou off as a “Christian aberration.” Others were appalled by the animal sacrifices and the fact that the Houngans and Mambos charge money for their services. Those who sought Vodou because they believed it could harness “evil” forces were disappointed when their efforts to gain fame, fortune, or romance failed and so abandoned their “voodoo fetishes.” Those who managed to get the attention of the lwa, often received cosmic retaliation for treating the spirits as attack dogs or genies, which only further cemented Vodou’s stereotype as “dangerous.”
Filan offers extensive background information on the featured lwa, including their mythology and ancestral lineage, as well as specific instructions on how to honor and interact fruitfully with those that make themselves accessible. This advice will be especially useful for the solitary practitioner who doesn’t have the personal guidance of a societé available. Filan emphasizes the importance of having a quickened mind that can read the lwa’s desires intuitively in order to avoid establishing dogma-based relationships. This working guide to successful interaction with the full Vodou pantheon also presents the role of Vodou in Haitian culture and explores the symbiotic relationship Vodou has maintained with Catholicism.
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But they may well have small mirrors attached to deflect negative energy thrown at the owner, and scissors or other sharp objects to cut or stab an enemy. Often these bottles will contain bone fragments scraped from skulls and mixed with alcohol and herbs. The sorcerer passes the mixture through a flame while chanting or singing songs designed to “heat up” the spirit. This bottle closely resembles the Kongo nkisi, or spirit container. Because it is believed to contain the spirit of a dead person,.
Leaders: they’ll happily intercede on behalf of the deserving, whatever their religious orientation. Filomez (St. Philomena) On May 25, 1802, excavators in Rome’s catacomb of St. Priscilla discovered a hitherto unknown tomb, which was sealed with terra-cotta slabs in the manner usually reserved for nobility or for great martyrs. Upon those slabs were three tiles, inscribed with the words LUMENA/PAXTE/CUMFI, and with the symbols of a lily, arrows, a scourge, an anchor, and a lance. When the.
Buckets of blood, and burning sulfur. In Cuba, Exu became Ellegua—more a childlike prankster than a bloodthirsty killer, but still not a spirit to be trifled with. Those Cuban slaves who preserved La Regla de Congo—the traditions we now call Palo—knew Exu as Lucero Mundo. Like Met Kalfou, Lucero’s colors were red and black, and many of his firmas (sigils, or signs) featured crosses with lines intersecting the cardinal points. Kalfou in Haiti Much Christian theology is Manichean: it postulates.
The spiritual challenges that lie ahead. Initiation also makes the new member part of an extended family. Vodouisants speak of initiatory “parents” and refer to other members of their societé as brothers and sisters. Like churches, synagogues, and mosques, peristyles function as community centers where members of the Vodou family seek medical help, psychological counseling, legal advice, commercial assistance, and other services. In return, members are expected to contribute to the well-being of.
Primitive lust-befogged orgies. In reality, sexual magic and sex rituals are not part of Haitian Vodou. Still, as in the Pagan community, there are those who will try using their priesthood to seduce people. People who try to coerce you into sex as part of a “Vodou ritual” are liars; people who tell you that you must sleep with them to be an “authentic initiate” are authentic sleazeballs. If someone’s advances make you uncomfortable, you should feel free to decline politely. If the advances.