Haitian mythology consists of many folklore stories from different time periods, involving sacred dance and deities, all the way to Vodou. Haitian Vodou is a syncretic mixture of Roman Catholic rituals developed during the French colonial period, based on traditional African beliefs, with roots in Dahomey, Kongo and Yoruba traditions, and folkloric influence from the indigenous Taino peoples of Haiti. The lwa, or spirits with whom Vodou adherents work and practice, are not gods but servants of the Supreme Creator Bondye (pronounced Bon Dieu). A lot of the Iwa identities come from deities formed in the West African traditional regions, especially the Fon and Yoruba.[citation needed] In keeping with the French-Catholic influence of the faith, Vodou practioneers are for the most part monotheists, believing that the lwa are great and powerful forces in the world with whom humans interact and vice versa, resulting in a symbiotic relationship intended to bring both humans and the lwa back to Bondye. "Vodou is a religious practice, a faith that points toward an intimate knowledge of God, and offers its practitioners a means to come into communion with the Divine, through an ever evolving paradigm of dance, song and prayers."[1]
Voudon encapsulates an assortment of cultural elements, including personal creeds and practices, among which is a complex system of folk medical practices. Voudon to some is more than a belief but a way of life, upon which popular proverbs, stories, songs, and folklore are based around.[3] Voudon teaches belief in a supreme being called Bondye, an unknowable and uninvolved created god.[3] Voudon believers worship the lwa. There are in total 180 lwa in the Vodou religion, each of them carrying a name and, a specific and exclusive function. For instance, Gede[4] are the spirit of life and death who is assigned to separate the souls and bodies of people when the time comes and also to watch over their graveyards. Gede also serve the role of connecting the past, present, and future, as well as amalgamating them into one reality.
Mythology in Haiti was used not only for politics but also for the revolution. Myths like: L'Union Fait La Force (Togetherness is Strength), is a story about slaves who rose up on August 22, 1791, in a heroic battle to win their freedom, and is a story about solidarity between two different groups of people to get freedom for the collective.[5] Mythical symbols of Voudon and the tradition of the shifting from chaos to collectivity known as the religion of Vodou play a big role in the forming of Haitian mythology.[5] Today, individuals referred to as Alchemists of Memory are the keepers of Vodou history and Haitian mythology, preserving the stories told by their ancestors.[6]
Related notions
Asagwe - Haitian Vodou dancing used to honor the lwa.
Lakou - the central location for worship.
Mapou tree- A sacred tree that is considered the link between the spirit world and earth. Avalou - ("supplication") Haitian Vodou dance.
Coco macaque - Haitian Vodou implement. It is a stick, which is supposed to be able to walk on its own. The owner of a coco macaque can send it on errands. If it is used to hit an enemy, the enemy will die before the dawn.
Kalunderik - A giant bird with brilliant feathers, originally from Africa.[7]
Gangan, Houngan - Haitian priests. They lead the peoples in dancing, drumming, and singing to invoke the lwa.
Gede - family of spirits related to death and fertility.
Guinee - Haitian afterlife. It is also where life began and the home of their spirits.
Bokor - The male equivalent of a Vodou witch. They are said to serve the lwa with "both hands" meaning they are practicing for good and evil.
Ville au Camp - ("House in the Fields") the underwater capital of the lwa.
Mermaid - A creature with the upper body of a woman(sometimes man) and the lower body of a fish-like creature. Mermaids are known to lure children to the ocean to take them to their homes and teach them dark magic, or drown them.
Zombie - A reanimated body without a soul meant to complete or perform tasks by a Bokor. [8]
Veve, a religious symbol commonly used in Vodou and Palo
References
^Vye Zo Komande LaMenfo, Mambo (2011). Serving the Spirits: The Religion of Vodou. United States: Mambo Vye Zo Komande LaMenfo. p. 12. ISBN978-0615535241.
^Largey, Michael (July 2005). "Recombinant Mythology and the Alchemy of Memory: Occide Jeanty, Ogou, and Jean-Jacques Dessalines in Haiti". Journal of American Folklore. 118 (469): 327–353. doi:10.2307/4137917. JSTOR4137917. ProQuest3030890449.
