World Dance Cultures Final Haiti

Haitian Vodou

Syncretic religion combining Vodun, Yoruba, and Catholicism.

Taíno People

Indigenous group enslaved by Columbus in 1492.

Saint Domingue

French colony established in 1697, replacing Taínos with African slaves.

Code Noir

Louis XIV's 1685 decree mandating to slaves convert to Catholicism within 8 days

of arrival in the New World

discreet ways of hiding beliefs under Catholicism

-Slaves hid their religion through one main god,

saints, afterlife, altars, etc

Bois Caïman

Site of secret Vodou ceremony initiating independence war. 1791-1804: War for independence waged by slaves.

Jean-Jacques Dessalines

Declared Haiti's independence in 1804, he renamed it

Haiti --"Land of the Mountains" (Taíno)

Bondyè

Supreme Being in Vodou belief system.

Lwa

Intermediary spirits between humans and Bondyè. Can inhabit water, forces of nature, or fetishes, and live in below the sea in

Ville-aux-Camps

What/who do Devotees worship in Vodou

Devotees worship lwa and ancestors daily; believe reincarnation occurs through children.

Houngan

Male priest in Vodou ceremonies. They summon

Lwa in ceremonies at a hounfort (temple).

What does a Lwa do if pleased?

A Lwa descends and communicates by "riding the head" of a devotee, through spirit-possession trance

Manbo

Female priestess in Vodou ceremonies. They summon

lwa in ceremonies at a hounfort (temple).

Hounfort

Temple where Vodou ceremonies are held.

How do devotees worship

Devotees propitiate lwa through songs, dances, gifts, and animal sacrifices in exchange for protection

Spirit possession

Lwa communicates by 'riding the head' of a devotee.

Trance

Sacred state achieved during Vodou ceremonies, is considered to be the most sacred act a devotee can experience

Types of Lwa

Divided into three naysons, or families: Rada, Gede, and Petro

Rada

Family of lwa, Lwa of the crossroads. sweet in nature; color: white. From Africa—ex. Damballah and Legba

Gede

Nayson of Lwa. Represents the realm between life and death—ex. Papa Gede,

Lwa of death and sexuality, and Baron Samedi, guardian of cemeteries. Faces are black and white; color: black.

Petro

"hot" lwa, reflecting African New World oppression—ex. Ogou,

lwa of iron and thunder. Color: red.

Mèt tet

One's protective lwa, or 'master of the head.'

Gwo bonanj

one's "big guardian angel," which vacates a devotee's body when a lwa possesses it, and later returns

Manje les anges

"feed the spirits." Animal sacrifice

Poteau mitan

Central pole in hounfort courtyard during ceremonies.

Vèvè

Cornmeal designs traced by the houngan or manbo, are associated with various lwa.

Yanvalou dance

The dance attracts Legba, who opens Ville-aux-Camps's gates, allowing lwa to leave and enter the courtyard through the

poteau mitan.

Bien eshofe

State of being 'well heated' during ceremonies. When the crowd is byen eshofe descending lwa are propitiated with their favorite foods and drinks.

How are dances performed at Voudu ceremonies?

Accompanied by singing and drumming, dances are performed in a counter-clockwise direction around the poteau mitan.

Ville-aux-Camps

the underwater home of Vodou lwa/spirits in Haitian Vodou. "House in the Fields"