Samedi: The Family Erzulie

In Haitian Voudon, a group of female lwa stands out as a particularly dysfunctional sisterhood.  These are the Erzulies or Ezilis as they are known in Creole. 

There is Erzulie Freda Dahomey, the gorgeous and luxurious.  She is the queen of all things beautiful, sensuous and graceful.  Erzulie Freda is envisioned as a light skinned woman with light eyes; she speaks only French and is the dream of every mortal man.  She is herself a sensual animal who takes lovers from among the lwa and her human worshipers.  Maryaj lwa with Erzulie, though not necessarily common, is one of the most likely such entanglements with the lwa for a man to find himself in.  Erzulie Freda is said to be the “consort” of three male lwa: Danbala, Ogou and Agwe.  All of these gentlemen are married to others.

Erzulie Freda’s sister, or perhaps her other half, is La Siren.  She is the blond haired, white skinned mermaid who is lwa of the deep blue sea.    Mermaids are extremely common in Afro-Caribbean and African American stories.  The tales generally tell of a beautiful, fish-tailed woman who lures an adult or sometimes a child down to her watery domain where they live for what seems like a year, but is in fact decades or even centuries.  La Siren follows this pattern as well.  Though generally benevolent, she can turn violent just as the sea does in a storm.  In this guise she is known as La Balien – the whale – and she can be deadly.  She is married to the sea lwa and admiral, Agwe.

The third sister is Erzulie Danto, the mother lwa of the Petwo nachon whose tongue was cut out by Haitian revolutionaries so that she would not tell their secrets.  She is a fierce mother and warrior, dark skinned and ample in form who has a scar on her cheek.  This wound was inflicted when she fought with Erzulie Freda, and the two have detested each other ever since.  Their enmity is only increased by the fact that Erzulie Danto is married to the warrior lwa Ogou.  Erzulie Danto can wreak havoc against human women in fits of rage and jealousy, but she is also known to take women in maryaj lwa and is thought to be the patron of lesbians.

The three sisters’ grandmother also goes by their name.  She is known as Grande Erzulie (or Grann Ezili) and in some sociétés she is the patron of prostitutes (in others, this task falls to Maman Brigitte).   She is also the lwa of regret, weeping over lost love, beauty and opportunity.  Grande Erzulie is envisioned as impossibly ancient and crippled by rheumatoid arthritis.  For this reason, she is the patron of people of any age who suffer from this crippling autoimmune disease.  My daughter, who has the juvenile form of arthritis, is beginning to cultivate a relationship with Grande Erzulie.

All four of the Erzulies can be of great benefit to their devoted worshipers.  But as always, know your lwa and respect them fully.  The opposite of benefit is not always simple hindrance.  Bonne chance ~

Header: Mater Dolorosa de Monte Cavario, the Catholic aspect of Erzulie Freda

Samedi: In the Trees

The spirits of Voudon are particularly fond of nature, which to me is a bit of a paradox.  There are not many wild places left in Haiti, if the truth be told, and in some areas it is particularly daunting to find a tree much less a forest.  So it would seem even more paradoxical that many of the lwa have their own favorite trees.

Most Voudon temple complexes have trees, or at least a tree, in their courtyards.  These are dedicated to the lwa and are called repozwas: resting places.  Here the lwa can sit and relax particularly after a possession when they are often asked for help and favors by the voudonists in attendance at a fete.  The courtyards will always have a tree near the door to the temple consecrated to Papa Legba, the lord of the gate between our world and the spirit world.  Other trees will likewise be consecrated but to other lwa and offerings will be left on or near them, including ribbons and beads hung in the branches.

Outside of the ounfo proper, certain trees are recognized as being sacred to certain lwa.  Here is a list of some Rada, Petwo and Ghede spirits and the trees they love:

Agwe, the lwa of the oceans, fancies the raisinier tree

Ayida-Wedo, the rainbow wife of the serpent Danbala, is fond of all trees but is particularly partial to calabash and palmetto trees

Ayizan, the first mambo, likes palm trees

Azaka, the farmer, likes avocado and banana trees

Baron Samedi, lord of the Ghede, has a weakness for citron trees

Danbala, like his consort, appreciates all trees but is most partial to the calabash and bougainvillea

Erzulie Freda Dahomey loves the laurel tree

Gran Bwa, the shy lwa of the forest, is fond of mapou trees

This is by no means an all inclusive list, but it gives you an idea of the varying tastes of the lwa, at least in landscaping.  It also gives us an historical glimpse of how varied Haiti’s forests must have been at a time long before our own.  The World is alive; Ashe!

Header: Carnival by Henri Rousseau

Samedi: Maryaj Lwa

I have done my damndest over the course of the last week to completely tune out the “royal wedding”.  I’m an American; it really has no effect on me.  I hope those two people are happy but all the rest of it is a bit much, I think.  That said, Voudon has its own kind of “royal wedding” where in a common mortal may be chosen by a divine spirit and elevated to the status of their husband or wife.  This is the maryaj lwa or spirit marriage.

Generally speaking, a man or woman will be called by their met tête or dominant spirit to take a vow of marriage with them.  This occurs through dreams, which is the way almost all voudoisants experience communication from the lwa.  On far more unusual occasions, a lwa not previously involved with the person will ask for marriage which sometimes prompts that person’s met tête to also ask for vows.  Frequently jealousy issues arise between the lwa when this happens and it can be hell to be popular (for the mortal involved) in such a case.

The human partner has large responsibilities in these marriages.  They will have to arrange a not inexpensive ceremony including bridal clothes, rings, cake and other foods favored by their bride or groom as well as guests and a prêt savann, or bush priest, to perform the ceremony.  The costs can be ruinous, and that’s just the wedding.  After the marriage the mortal is expected to wear wedding rings, both theirs and their lwa spouse’s, at all times.  They are to keep a separate bed in which they will sleep with their spirit spouse one night a week.  Any deviation from this routine – and in particular any sexual congress with another mortal on that day/night – will bring the wrath of the lwa down on their husband or wife.  It goes without saying that an altar must be kept to the lwa spouse and offerings made regularly.

In return the mortal spouse will be given special attention by their lwa.  They will be favored in those areas that the lwa controls and given precedence in intersession of prayers over the lwa’s non-spouses. 

As you may have imagined, the lwa are polygamous not only with humans but among themselves as well which can lead to some awkward interactions.  The lwa most likely to ask a mortal to marry them are Erzulie Freda, and her sisters La Siren and Erzulie Danto.  The gentlemen most frequently seen in maryaj lwa are Danbala, Ogou and Agwe.  This is where the trouble can start because Danbala, Ogou and Agwe are all married to Erzulie Freda.  While Danbala’s first wife is Ayida Wedo, Agwe’s main wife is La Siren and Ogou’s is Erzulie Danto.  To make matters worse Erzulie Freda and Erzulie Danto despise one another.  As if the pot could not be stirred up any more, Erzulie Danto will sometimes ask a woman to marry her, putting her at odds with both male and female lwa. 

Some connections are dealt with by multiple marriages to calm any potential jealousy.  A woman who marries Danbala will also marry Ogou, for instance, while a man who marries Erzulie Freda will invariably also marry Erzulie Danto.  This may make the lwa happy but it is a lot for the human spouse to take on.

Though it may sound spiritually glamorous to be called to maryaj lwa, most of us are thankful to have been overlooked.  While I love the lwa, I’m happy to simply tend to my relationships on this side of the gate.

Header: The Long Engagement by Arthur Hughes c 1859