Samedi: Paket Kongo

What might look like an onion shaped piece of silk or satin tied up with ribbon and sporting a crown of feathers or an almost awkward set of arms is, in fact, a bundle of magick.  This is the Voudon paket kongo used for healing and protection.

The paket, which is a Haitian Creole word, is made by an houngan or mambo in a specialized ceremony performed during one of the three days of the full moon.  The paket is dedicated to a lwa or djab with close connections to the person for whom it is intended.  Alternately, but also rarely, the paket is dedicated to a lwa the person would like to become more familiar with.  The size, color and confirmation of the paket depend on the lwa being served.  A red silk paket with peacock feathers protruding directly from its base may be dedicated to Ogou Ferraille while a pink satin paket studded with sequins and with a number of sensuously curving “arms” holding duck down may be for Erzulie Freda.  These “arms”, which often appear in odd numbers, are reserved for “female” pakets.

Inside the cloth are specific ingredients that will draw the help of the spirit in question.  Usually ashes from an animal sacrifice are included; perhaps those of a black pig for Erzulie Danto, for instance.  Herbs are added, most commonly known by their Haitian names as bwa-din, twa-pawol and zo-devan.  The lwa Simbi, controller of all magickal working, is called upon as the paket is tied up with appropriately colored ribbon which must be knotted seven times.

Once made and consecrated, the paket kongo is kept on an altar either in the home or in the Voudon temple.  The paket may be passed over the body of a sick person to effect healing, or used in other ceremonial ritual or even surprisingly mundane practices to draw the help and support of the spirit it serves.  Regardless of its intended use, the paket kongo has a life span of seven years.  After that, its power is gone and the ritual must be repeated to make a new paket all together.

Header: Paket Kongo to Erzulie Freda via Haitianna

Samedi: Lwa Nachons

In Haiti, the lwa run in packs. It may sound a little irreverent to put it that way but I’m betting Baron Samedi and Maman Brigitte at least are having a good laugh about it right now. Lwa families, or nations known in Haitian Creole as nachons, are worshipped together at fetes. They have different family characteristics and they are approached according to same. At one point there were numerous nations but over the years some have been absorbed into the more recognizable groups that we know today. In this post, I want to give a little background information on each of the five major nations with whom I am personally familiar.

Rada: The Rada nation contains the lwa considered the most benevolent and easiest to work with. They are probably also the most familiar to people who know only a little about Voudon. The lwa in the Rada nation originated among the Fon people of Dahomey and includes Damballah, Papa Legba, Erzulie Freda and Agwe. These lwa are thought to be distant, ancient and forgiving but they are said to work very slowly so they are rarely consulted in a situation of dire, immediate need.

Petwo: The fiery Petwo nation originated in Haiti. They do not claim African origin but were kindled by voudonists on their native soil, particularly during the era of rebellion and revolution in the early 19th century. This nation includes Bossou, Simbi, Erzulie Danto and Kalfou. Because this nation is much less predictable and more quick to anger than the Rada, they are sometimes referred to as ze rouge meaning “with red eyes”. They are more demanding of their devotees but they can hurry along workings for healing, prosperity and even revenge.

Kongo: This nation originated in the Congo area of Africa and many of their individual lwa have been assimilated into the Petwo nation. They too are considered fiery and quick to anger. The Kongo lwa are often referred to collectively as lwa-gad or guardian spirits. They are associated with magick and with protecting the voudonists who serve them.

Ibo: The Ibo nation came to Haiti with the Igbo people. These are ancestral lwa who are particularly concerned with protecting the downtrodden and the enslaved. This association may come from the fact that the Igbo people tended to be enslaved by their neighbors in Africa before European slavers appeared on their soil.

Ghede: This is, of course, the nation of the dead. Ruled by Baron Samedi they are the closest to living humans. They do not have their only rituals per ce but will happily barge in while other nations are being called, heedless of whether or not they were invited. They are frequently called upon for help in matters of health, money, love and particularly fertility. Talking to the Ghede is a daily occurrence for many voudonists who very much feel them to be part of everyday life.

Other nations exist as well, including the Nago of Yoruba and the Bambara from the Sudan but, as noted earlier, many of these have been absorbed into other nations. There are also lwa who are the almost exclusive domain of secret societies like the Zebop which no one with my limited knowledge has any business talking about. In the end, the lwa are like a large clan with each family having its own area of expertise and with certain members openly loving or despising one another on an ongoing basis. But that’s another story for another time. Ashe ~

Header: RaRa band in Haitian metal art via haiticheri.com

Jeudi: Great Spirits

One of the most shy and retiring spirits in the religion of Voudon is not, as one might imagine, a woman or girl. Quite far from it. This lwa – or in fairness group of lwa – is all together masculine. Known as Simbi, or The Simbis, they are often anthropomorphized as water snakes gliding elegantly over the swampy waters that are their domain. Green is their color and they are of neither salt water nor sweet, but the place where the two come together.

The origin of these spirits is just as elusive as they are. Some authorities say that Simbi was born of the interaction between slaves on Sante Domingue and the Native Arawak and Taino. These people worshipped a group of spirits called zemi who consisted of female and male rulers of salt water, fresh water and destructive magick. Other writers point to the Congo spirit Zambi Mpungu, a god of lightening, whose wife – also called Zambi – was a queen of water. This spirit may have in turn become the child-spirits that are called cymbees in American hoodoo and are said to roam in bayous and swamps.

Not surprisingly, the symbols used to represent Simbi are just as numerous. The Christian icons and Catholic Saints standing in for Simbi include St. Anthony, St. Charles Borromeo, and the Three Kings. Moses, who overcame the snakes produced by Pharaoh’s magicians, is also a favorite.

Whatever the origin of the Simbi lwa, they have a lot to do. Just to name a few there is Simbi Andezo who keeps watch over swamps and salty plains upriver from the sea. Simbi Makaya is a powerful magician. Simbi Anpaka is an herbalist who knows the forest and is called on to heal disease. Simbi Dlo is the keeper of freshwater springs, and Simbi Ganga is a warrior and sorcerer who protects those who serve him.

As noted, all the Simbi are retiring and a little challenging to get to know so working with any of them takes commitment. They like to be remembered with offerings and candles but are not as demanding as many of the other lwa. That said, they will not be forthcoming immediately. They want to know that a petitioner is sincere and, if they find otherwise, no amount of entreaty will coax them out. There is a saying that either you “have Simbi” or you do not. But if you do, and if you are consistent and honest with the Simbi lwa they will give you help when you call.

Header: Dwapo lwa for Simbi

Samedi: Pot Tet et Govi

According to the religion of Voudon, we are all born animals. Fish in the sea, birds in the air, monkeys in the trees, moles in the ground and men on the land; all animals. The only difference is that people can become human by choosing to go through initiation into Voudon and thereby being born again as humans. Most people I mention this to find it off-putting, which is amusing to me. None of the Big Three Western religions think twice about using the same language with regard to their rites of initiation.

This rebirth is the reason for the two articles, or some would say “fetishes”, that I’m bringing up today. One, the pot tet, is for the living. The other, the govi, houses the dead.

Pot tet can be literally translated as head pot and it is a vessel used to hold the gros bon ange, that part of the initiate’s soul that carries a little piece of Bon Dieu and will live on after death. The pot tet is a crockery jar, usually white, that accompanies the initiate on their journey to join humanity. Once initiation has concluded, personal concerns from the initiate such as hair and nail clippings, some ash from the ceremonial offering, corn meal and sweets such as hard candy will be placed in the pot tet and it will be sealed. The jar is then ensconced in the initiate’s oumphor. Here it will be guarded by the presiding mambo (priestess) or houngan (priest).

The pot tet is a symbol not only of initiation itself but of the initiate’s trust in his or her spiritual leader. In theory, an unscrupulous priest could use the pots tet under his care to maliciously control some or all of the oumphor’s members. When a houngan or mambo falls under suspicion of such dealings, people will remove their pot tet from the oumphor and find another house of worship.

This kind of trust is particularly critical in the case of the second receptacle of the soul: the govi. As we’ve discussed before, when the gros bon ange is released in desounen it goes into the waters of Ginen. This part of the human soul only resides in this abyss for a year and a day – a marking of time that will be very familiar to many who practice alternative religions. On this anniversary, the priest and family of the deceased will call the gros bon ange in a ceremony known as “calling the dead from the low water”. The receptacle for this now immortal force is the govi.

The govi is usually made of clay in a form more or less like a human uterus. It is usually draped in a skirt of cloth in the favorite color of the lwa who was the deceased’s met tet. A woman who held Erzulie Freda on her head might have pink satin draping her govi; one who was favored by Simbi would have a govi swathed in green cotton. The govi, like the pot tet, is kept in the oumphor. Interestingly, mambos and houngans report that once the gros bon ange has entered the govi, the clay pot is heavier than it was before.

These traditions are an example of Voudon’s honor for those who have gone before, which is an ancient wisdom unfortunately neglected in our “enlightened” world. Bon Samedi ~

Header: Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1, New Orleans