Calendar of Vodoun Ceremonies

Note: this calendar should be taken as a general calendar of vodoun ceremonies. Keep in mind that different hounforts in different geographical regions may vary widely in their practices of vodoun, including when they acknowledge certain ceremonies. Do not expect these dates to remain constant wherever you encounter vodoun.

January

2, 3, 4: Breaking the cakes (casé gâteaux), a communal form of mangé loa
6: Les Rois (the kings)

February

25: Ritual feeding of the springs (manger têtes d'l'eau)

March

16: Loko Davi--eating of the ritual wood and of its guard
19: Saint Joseph--expression of the jurisdiction of Legba
20: Legba Zaou--eating consists mainly of a black goat

April

27: Dan Wédo
29: Breaking the jugs (cassé canarie)--deliverance of the souls from purgatory
31: Feeding the dead (mangé-les-morts)

May

12: Feeding of different loa
18: Feeding of Grande Aloumandia
20, 21: Sim'bi blanc
30: Sung masses (chanté-messes) in the Roman-Catholic church

June

24: Saint John
28: M'sieu Guimeh Sauveur; Mystère Grande Délai; common table served for Maîtresse Erzulie, Maîtresse Ténaise and Maîtresse Mam'bo

July

25: Papa Ogou or St. James the Greater--sheep and goats are offered
26: Common table for Grande Saint Anne, also known as Mystère Grande Délai and Grande Aloumandia
29: Maîtresse Silvérine (who only very slightly tastes of the food offered to her) and Maîtresse Lorvana (who smells flowers for her nourishment)

August

25: Communion table for Dan Wédo, also known as Saint Louis or the King of France
29: L'Orient, one of the most important mystères
30, 31: Agwé--offerings of goats, peppers and peppermints

September

25: Roi Wangol and Mousondi
29: Manman Aloumandia
30: Maîtresse Délai

October

30, 31: Masses sung in the Roman-Catholic church; communion table and Martinique dance; armchair ritually covered with 30 or 40 scarves of different colors, exposed to the peristyle and "served".

November

1, 2: The Guedé loa come out of the cemeteries, possess their horses, and come into the hounforts to amuse themselves in the forms of souls incarnated or reincarnated.
25: Eating the yams (manger-yam)

December

10: Ganga-Bois
12, 13, 14: Feeding the sea (agoueh r oyo)
25: Bath of Christmas; leaf-rubbing for medical treatments and talismans for magic protection; ritual sacrifices of pigs and goats; boucans for amusement, to which the loa come to bathe themselves and their protégés; sacrifice of turkeys for Caplaou