Doctor René Facilier (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
takesuggestions) wrote2016-09-29 05:59 pm
takesuggestions) wrote2016-09-29 05:59 pm
Entry tags:
Other Lwa
Men anpil chaj pa lou
("Many hands make the work light")
—Haitian Proverb
There is not enough room in this book to discuss every Lwa in Haitian Vodou. I don't even fool myself thinking that I actually know of and can serve them all, and neither does anyone in my family. Some Vodouisants say there are 401 different Lwa; others say there are many thousands more, or 401 rasin or "root" Lwa—401 major Lwa and thousands of local variations on the major and minor or individual family Lwa. In the Gede nation alone, no one can know all the Lwa, because new ones are created constantly. In addition to the dizzying number of local and family-only Lwa, there are variations of the greater or more popular Lwa, and lesser-known Lwa whose service is known in some areas but has been forgotten or merged into the service of better-known Lwa in others... And every person in the world has at least one kind of Lwa—because every one of us has a mèt tèt.
It can get overwhelming for someone new to Vodou to try and keep track of all these different Lwa and their colors and foods and dances and so on. Then, when you go talk to someone in another house, they might tell you some other things about the same Lwa, or tell you about a whole bunch of Lwa you haven't heard of yet. You may wonder how anyone ever manages to become a houngan or mambo, given the sheer amount of information about the spirits that you seem to be required to keep track of.
The secret to not being overwhelmed is to remember that our Lwa are served communally. You will never be expected to serve every single Lwa in existence, even if you should become a houngan or mambo. You will be introduced to your personal Lwa and the Lwa of your family and/or lineage, and those will be the Lwa you are responsible for. From time to time, you may learn of other Lwa, or other Lwa may come to you and request attention. Vodou is a process of learning and growing. We do not do it in a vacuum; we have the support of the ancestors and our living teachers and elders, as well as the spirits themselves. Many hands make the load light, and together we manage to do what we need to do.
The Really "Other" Lwa
If you've read other books about Vodou, by now you've read about the "dangerous" Lwa, the ones talked about in hushed tones or hinted at by people who want to sound more powerful than they really are. Some of these Lwa are part of the Petro nation, some others seem to be outside of the traditional Vodou structure. You may have read about djab (job), pwen cho (pwenn-SHOW), or pwen achte (pwenn-osh-TAY): "devils," "hot points," and "bought points," respectively. These are Lwa or other lesser spirits that have been enslaved and are sold to others... Maybe you've heard about the Anvma Mo (on-VWA MO, "sending the dead") ceremony, where a magician sends the spirit of an angry dead person to harm a living one... You recognize names like Baron Kriminel and Linglessou and Mayanèt, but you don't know much of anything about them, or snippets of things that don't make sense.
There's a reason for this, and it's not because Vodouisants are just not telling you. Many experienced Vodouisants choose not to work with dangerous spirits, even if they know how, simply because dangerous things are, well, dangerous. These spirits are not dangerous in the way your mother used to tell you that if you went swimming too soon after eating, you might get a stomach cramp. They are genuinely dangerous, capricious, demanding, and hard to handle.
If you are lucky, dangerous Lwa will just ignore you if you try to communicate with them. If you're not so lucky, something worse could happen. Some of the dangerous Lwa will automatically harm those they consider strangers; it's their nature. Just because you really want to pet a snarling dog does not mean it's going to be a good idea to stick your hand through the gate and hope for the best.
I debared including information about dangerous Lwa at all in this book, as some people interpret an author saying "don't do it" as a dare to go right ahead. But I felt that I would not be responsible if I did not at least make (and explain) my warning. There are very good reasons that we consider these Lwa to be dangerous, and why we do not leave information about how to serve them just laying around for anyone to pick up.
These reasons have nothing to do with trying to deprive anyone of information. Native Haitians, even those who were born into Vodou and who have served the Lwa for generations, approach these spirits only in certain circumstances; even then, they only do so with certain training, protections, and precautions. This fact alone should give anyone who thinks to approach a dangerous Lwa pause.
Just like a responsible mother would not encourage her one-year-old son to hold a candle, no matter how pretty he thought the fire was or how still he promised to sit, there are certain things and certain spirits that really are discussed or approached strictly on a need-to-know or a when-you're-ready basis. If you need to know any of the dangerous Lwa, they will be introduced to you. At that time, you will be supplied with everything you will need to have a safe and sane relationship with them.
("Many hands make the work light")
—Haitian Proverb
There is not enough room in this book to discuss every Lwa in Haitian Vodou. I don't even fool myself thinking that I actually know of and can serve them all, and neither does anyone in my family. Some Vodouisants say there are 401 different Lwa; others say there are many thousands more, or 401 rasin or "root" Lwa—401 major Lwa and thousands of local variations on the major and minor or individual family Lwa. In the Gede nation alone, no one can know all the Lwa, because new ones are created constantly. In addition to the dizzying number of local and family-only Lwa, there are variations of the greater or more popular Lwa, and lesser-known Lwa whose service is known in some areas but has been forgotten or merged into the service of better-known Lwa in others... And every person in the world has at least one kind of Lwa—because every one of us has a mèt tèt.
It can get overwhelming for someone new to Vodou to try and keep track of all these different Lwa and their colors and foods and dances and so on. Then, when you go talk to someone in another house, they might tell you some other things about the same Lwa, or tell you about a whole bunch of Lwa you haven't heard of yet. You may wonder how anyone ever manages to become a houngan or mambo, given the sheer amount of information about the spirits that you seem to be required to keep track of.
The secret to not being overwhelmed is to remember that our Lwa are served communally. You will never be expected to serve every single Lwa in existence, even if you should become a houngan or mambo. You will be introduced to your personal Lwa and the Lwa of your family and/or lineage, and those will be the Lwa you are responsible for. From time to time, you may learn of other Lwa, or other Lwa may come to you and request attention. Vodou is a process of learning and growing. We do not do it in a vacuum; we have the support of the ancestors and our living teachers and elders, as well as the spirits themselves. Many hands make the load light, and together we manage to do what we need to do.
If you've read other books about Vodou, by now you've read about the "dangerous" Lwa, the ones talked about in hushed tones or hinted at by people who want to sound more powerful than they really are. Some of these Lwa are part of the Petro nation, some others seem to be outside of the traditional Vodou structure. You may have read about djab (job), pwen cho (pwenn-SHOW), or pwen achte (pwenn-osh-TAY): "devils," "hot points," and "bought points," respectively. These are Lwa or other lesser spirits that have been enslaved and are sold to others... Maybe you've heard about the Anvma Mo (on-VWA MO, "sending the dead") ceremony, where a magician sends the spirit of an angry dead person to harm a living one... You recognize names like Baron Kriminel and Linglessou and Mayanèt, but you don't know much of anything about them, or snippets of things that don't make sense.
There's a reason for this, and it's not because Vodouisants are just not telling you. Many experienced Vodouisants choose not to work with dangerous spirits, even if they know how, simply because dangerous things are, well, dangerous. These spirits are not dangerous in the way your mother used to tell you that if you went swimming too soon after eating, you might get a stomach cramp. They are genuinely dangerous, capricious, demanding, and hard to handle.
If you are lucky, dangerous Lwa will just ignore you if you try to communicate with them. If you're not so lucky, something worse could happen. Some of the dangerous Lwa will automatically harm those they consider strangers; it's their nature. Just because you really want to pet a snarling dog does not mean it's going to be a good idea to stick your hand through the gate and hope for the best.
I debared including information about dangerous Lwa at all in this book, as some people interpret an author saying "don't do it" as a dare to go right ahead. But I felt that I would not be responsible if I did not at least make (and explain) my warning. There are very good reasons that we consider these Lwa to be dangerous, and why we do not leave information about how to serve them just laying around for anyone to pick up.
These reasons have nothing to do with trying to deprive anyone of information. Native Haitians, even those who were born into Vodou and who have served the Lwa for generations, approach these spirits only in certain circumstances; even then, they only do so with certain training, protections, and precautions. This fact alone should give anyone who thinks to approach a dangerous Lwa pause.
Just like a responsible mother would not encourage her one-year-old son to hold a candle, no matter how pretty he thought the fire was or how still he promised to sit, there are certain things and certain spirits that really are discussed or approached strictly on a need-to-know or a when-you're-ready basis. If you need to know any of the dangerous Lwa, they will be introduced to you. At that time, you will be supplied with everything you will need to have a safe and sane relationship with them.