All rituals open with an invocation to Legba, the loa of the gate and crossroads. Without Legba's permission, no other loa may cross from the astral plane to the material one. The houngan invokes Legba by entreating him to open the gate:
"Papa Legba, ouvri barriè pou nous passer."
After this, water is usually presented to the four cardinal points. Water is then poured three times before the peristyle and before the poteau-mitan, tracing a line from the entrance of the peristyle back to the poteau-mitan. The poteau-mitan is kissed twice. This center-post is sacred to Legba and provides an entranceway for the loa to enter the peristyle. Finally, water is poured three times before each drum. Three drums are used in Rada rituals, and they are treated as sacred objects. The largest drum is called the maman, the next largest the seconde, and the smallest the cata.
After this, La Place and two hounsis perform salutations with drapeaux and the sacred sword to the four cardinal points, the poteau-mitan and the drums. They then light candles inside the circle.
With a special flour called farine, the houngan traces vévés on the ground or on a sheet of white paper. The vévés symbolize the particular loa to be honored in the ceremony and serve as both a place to put the offerings to the loa and a magical symbol that calls the loa invoked. The houngan blows the remainder of the farine to the four cardinal points. The order of salutations, candle-lighting and the drawing of vévés may be rearranged to suit different ritual types and traditions.
Chanting begins with Catholic prayers, followed by langage. Langage represents a long-forgotten African liturgy that supposedly invokes the loa in hierarchical order but is usually not even understood by the chanters themselves. In vodoun mythology, langage is descended from Damballah's hissing.
At this point, the houngan calls the loa. Offerings are made to feed the loa. The ritual ends with the battérie, a unison rhythm of clapping, drumming and shaking of the asson.
The male assistant is called La Place. He is the marshal of the ritual and directs the overall movement. He carries a ritual sword, called the ku-bha-sah, which he uses to cut away the material world, leaving the faithful open to the loa. The ku-bha-sah symbolizes the loa Ogou, the loa of iron and weaponry. La Place also orchestrates the flag-waving and the drumming.
The female assistant is called the houngénikon. She leads and controls the chorus of hounsi canzo who chant during the ritual. She also supervises the offerings made to the loa and demands their presence on earth.
The chorus, made up of hounsi canzo and so sometimes called the canzo, is composed of fully initiated members of the société. Performing under the direction of the houngénikon, they send chants to the loa in the astral plane and so call the loa down to earth. Other important figures are the hounsi ventailleur, who obtains the sacrificial animals, and the hounsi cuisiniere, who is the sacrificial cook.
Alternatively, the houngan may call the loa by leaning upon the pé and calling the loa down into a govi. The houngan uses magical words to attract the loa in this form of calling the loa. He can then consult the loa residing inside the govi, asking it questions about present or future concerns.
Ritual feeding of the loa, called mangé loa in vodoun, is offered to nourish, enliven or fortify the divine spirits, or to make contact with a particular loa. Each loa has special "favorite" foods; the more the ritual offerings are adapted to a particular loa's requirements, the greater the magical power made available by the ritual will be. Ritual food is always placed on a vévé when made inside the hounfort and on a crossroads when made outside.
Tasting the offerings increases the power the loa brings, including the blood of animal sacrifice and part of the farine used to make vévés. Libations of favorite drinks, particularly kleren, are made by pouring the liquid three times on the ground.
Sometimes animal sacrifices are made in very important rituals to feed the loa. In sacrifice, the animal's lifeforce becomes a part of the loa. The animal's blood is collected in a calabash gourd and drunk so that the devotees can share in the loa's divine energy. Each loa has an animal symbolic of them and used in their particular sacrifice.
Washing the head, called in vodoun laver tête, is used to baptize or cleanse devotees. The ritual takes place on a mat of banana-leaf stems or a couch of fragrant tree branches sprinkled with flour and a little syrup. The devotee whose head is to be washed wears a long white shirt for the ritual. While chanting the incantations particular to laver tête, the houngan sprinkles the devotee's head with water from a white pot. The use of the color white, flour and sweet syrup show that this is a ritual for Damballah, whose blessing is asked as the head is washed.
Copyright 1995 Shannon
Turlington Settle disclaimer
Last
revised 9/27/95
