H I M E G O T O

And a colored version of the sketch I posted earlier!

Medusa Private commission 5.5x8.5 Artwork copyright 2014 Autumn Frederickson

Maîtresse Mambo Erzulie Fréda Dahomey

Erzulie Fréda Dahomey, the Rada aspect of Erzulie, is the Haitian African spirit of love, beauty, jewelry, dancing, luxury, and flowers. She wears three wedding rings, one for each husband - Damballa, Agwe and Ogoun. Her symbol is a heart, her colours are pink, blue, white and gold, and her favourite sacrifices include jewellery, perfume, sweet cakes and liqueurs. Coquettish and very fond of beauty and finery, Erzulie Freda is femininity and compassion embodied, yet she also has a darker side; she is seen as jealous and spoiled and within some Vodoun circles is considered to be lazy. During ritual possession, she may enter the body of either a man or a woman. She enjoys the game of flirtation and seduces people without distinguishing between sexes. In Christian iconography she is often identified with the Mater Dolorosa, as well as another loa named, Metres Ezili. She is conceived of as never able to attain her heart’s most fervent desire. For this reason she always leaves a service in tears. Her syncretic iconographical depiction is usually based on that of the Virgin and Child, because she is the mother of Ti. Common syncretizations include Iyalorde Oxum as she relate to that Yoruba Vodu goddess of Erotic Love, Gold and Femininity.

Erzulie Dantor

In her Petro nation aspect as Erzulie Dantor she is often depicted as a scarred and buxom black woman, holding a child protectively in her arms. She is a particularly fierce protector of women and children. She is often identified with lesbian women.

A common syncretic depiction of Erzulie Dantor is St Jeanne d'Arc, who is displayed carrying or supporting a sword. Another is as the Black Madonna of Częstochowa, as she is represented as being dark-skinned. Her colours are red, gold and navy blue. Her symbols are a pierced heart and knives or swords. Her favourite sacrifices include black pigs,griot (seasoned fried pork), and rum.

Ti Jean Petro is her son and sometimes considered her lover or husband.

Aziza

Fairies/Forest dwellers

Friendly

Origins- Dahomey

                                               Types of Vodun

It would be a vain enterprise to claim to enumerate the types of Vodun or to classify them exhaustively. Mgr. Robert Sastre tried to tackle the question in Les Vodun dans la vie culturelle, sociale et politique du Sud-Dahomey. Honorat Aguessy did the same thing in Cultures Vodun, Manifestations – Migrations – Métamorphoses (Afrique, Caraïbes, Amériques). With this important background, in our approach we will focus on the mystical origin of the Vodun(s) as proposed by Fr. Mêdéwalé Jacob Agossou in Gbêto et Gbêdoto.

Firstly, the Vodun(s) are considered as the sons of Mawu, God the Creator. Here are the seven most important of these:

Sakpata: This is the eldest son of Mawu to whom the earth was entrusted: “Ayi Vodun”, the Vodun of the earth. His power is feared and terrifying. His attributes are the arm of smallpox, scissors, a chain and black, white and red spots. Sakpata has many sons, including the Vodun of leprosy (Ada Tangni), and of incurable sores (sinji aglosumato).

Xêvioso (or Xêbioso): This is the Vodun of the sky (Jivodun) who manifests himself in thunder and lightning. He is Mawu’s second son and is considered a Vodun of justice who punishes thieves, liars, criminals and evil-doers. His attibutes are the thunderbolt, the double axe, the ram, the colour red and fire. Xêvioso has several sons including Sogbo, Aklobè, Avlékété.

Agbe: This is the Vodun of the sea (Tovodun). He is also known as Hu. He is represented by a serpent, a symbol of everything that gives life. One of his powerful children is Dan Toxosu who manifests himself in the birth of monster babies.

Gu: This is the Vodun of iron and war. He gives man his different technologies. He is the Vodun who does not accept complicity with evil. Therefore he is capable of killing all accomplices in acts of infamy if he is appealed to. This is expressed by the Fon saying “da gu do”.

Agê: This fifth son of Mawu is the Vodun of agriculture and the forests. He reigns over animals and birds.

Jo: This Vodun is characterized by invisibility. He is the Vodun of the air.

Lêgba: This is Mawu’s youngest son. He received no endowments at all because all had already been shared out among his elders. He is jealous, and it is he who loosens the rigid structure of the pantheon. He is the Vodun of the unpredictable, of what cannot be assigned to any other and he is characterised by daily tragedies; all that is beyond good and evil.

Alongside Mawu’s sons, one finds other Vodun(s) that are protectors of equally important clans. These are the Toxwyo: eponymous deified ancestors. They maintain a link between the invisible world and human beings in their daily lives.

From the above, we can classify the Vodun(s) as follows:

Inter-ethnic Vodun(s) linked to natural phenomena: Jivodun: Xêvioso;Ayivodun: Sakpata; Tovodun: Agbe.

Inter-ethnic Vodun(s) linked to historical-mythical persons: Lêgba, Gu.

Ethnic Vodun(s): Akovodun (Agasu for the Houégbajavi of Abomey). TheToxwyo are in this category.

Modern Vodun(s): These Vodun(s) are mainly from Ghana. They are Goro who protects against witchcraft, and Koku, the Vodun of the occult powers of violence.

After these investigations, it seems important to ask the question: so what exactly is Vodun?

It can be said that the Vodun(s) constitute a special class of Mawu’s living creatures. They are above mankind, but they are not “God”. Let us recognise, together with Fr. Barthélemy Adoukonou and all the others, that defining Vodun is not an easy task, even for Vodun adepts. Fon expressions like: “Vodun gongon”, “Vodun d’ablu” (Vodun is deep, Vodun is obscure) say it all. This is why, as Mgr. Robert Sastre said, we must refer to the social and cultural context which gives rise to Vodun in order to grasp what Vodun really is.

Dionysus

Aphroditus

Hermaphroditus

Loki

Sedna

Ghede Nibo

Ezrulie

Mawu-Lisa

Nana Buluku

Abrao

Aku

Awo

Mwari

Hapi

Wadj-Wer

Oyamakui

Ungud

Labraindja

The African Goddess of the Moon, Cosmos, and Creation;; Mawu “Mawu is the Creator/Moon Goddess known among the people from the Dahomey region of West Africa. After creating the earth and all life and everything else on it,she became concerned that it might be too heavy, so she asked the primeval serpent, Aido Hwedo, to curl up beneath the earth and hold it up in the sky. When she asked Awe, a monkey she had also created, to help out and make some more animals out of clay, he boasted to the other animals and challenged Mawu. Gbadu, the first woman Mawu had created, saw all the chaos on earth and told her children to go out among the people and remind them that only Mawu can give Sekpoli - the breath of life. Gbadu instructed her daughter, Minona, to go out among the people and teach them about the use of palm kernels as omens from Mawu. When Awe, the arrogant monkey climbed up to the heavens to try to show Mawu that he too could give life, he failed miserably. Mawu made him a bowl of porridge with the seed of death in it and reminded him that only she could give life and that she could also take it away.” (Source: http://dickinsg.intrasun.tcnj.edu/diaspora/africangoddesses.html) “Mawu is the West African Moon Goddess; She rules both the Moon and the night sky. She is honored for the cool temperatures She brings to the African world. Coolness is an expression of wisdom and age. She is the essence of Motherhood and teaches Her people how to celebrate and revere their ancestors. She is the female principle that is associated with fertility and compassion. Cowrie necklasses are sacred to Her.

In Haitian Vodou, we believe that the Creator’s presence is within us all. It is very much the essence of our being. Thus, we say “Nou se Bondye nan Bondye.” In English, this would translate to “We’re one within God.” For there to be a god, there must be us. Much like we are, in fact, the creator of our own conditions. So, before life, we must take charge of our own responsibilities and understand each and everyone of our actions.

— The Experience

Two sides of a hug