The Loa - Getting To Know the Voudou Spirits

The Loa - Spirits of the Vodou Religion

In the Vodou religion, there is one God who rules over all the worlds, visible and invisible.  He is known by different names in different parts of the world. 

In Haiti he is called Bondye, which is also sometimes spelled in the French manner, as Bondieu.  This means "good God."  Bondye is a benevolent God, but the problem with him is that he so powerful and so omniscient that ordinary believers cannot access him with their prayers or problems. Luckily, there is a whole class of intermediate spirits that have access to Bondye.  There are thousands of these spirits.  They are called the loa.  The loa act as intermediaries between Bondye and Vodou believers and control the daily lives of mortals, influencing health, happiness, wealth, and nature. 

To fully understand the religion of Vodou, you must understand the loa, and the fact that they exist in a complete hierarchy.  There are some loa that are very powerful and venerated, and have their own ceremonies and rituals.  Some of their names are Damballa, Erzulie, Ogou, Agwe, and Legba.   Many sprits of lesser importance also exist.  Families and communities also have their own spirits. 

The loa tend to have personalities, with certain colors, food, plants, and objects thought to be associated with specific spirits.  These are then used as offerings to the loa.  Certain loa are associated with certain qualities.  For example, Erzulie is often consulted in matters of love.  Papa Legba is invoked at the start of each ceremony because he guards the crossroads and controls access to all of the loa.  If he is not happy, the ceremony may not be effective.  Damballa is associated with snakes, and is a very ancient spirit who is consulted for matters of love, knowledge, wealth, and good health. Ayizan purifies initiates, and Loko is her husband.  He guards the hounfour, or temple, and it is believed that his help is needed to make any ritual successful.  La Sirene, the goddess of the sea, gives gifts of great wealth.  She is especially beloved in the city of New Orleans, where there are many practitioners of Voodoo. Ogou presides over war, politics, and hunting.

In order to better understand the veneration of the loa, people with more traditional western religious and spiritual backgrounds may equate the worship of the Loa to the pantheon of Greek and Roman Gods.  Just as the Greeks and Romans had many Gods that were the personification of elements of their lives, so, too, do believers of Vodou.  The loa become very personal and real spirits to them.

To a Vodou practitioner, the loa are as real as any living human being with whom they interact on a daily basis.  Through ceremony and ritual, the loa offer advice and solve problems for Vodouisants - that is, if they are pleased with the quality of the offerings.

There are many more loa than we have time to look at in this brief survey, and a large part of Vodou tradition involves learning about the various loa and their personalities.  Another important aspect of Vodou tradition is ancestor worship, and we'll take a look at that next.

If you're as excited as I am and want to learn all these tips at once, check out the Vodou Guide.  It's the only complete guide to Voodoo and Vodou practices available online.

Article by Secrets to Voodoo

Tags: haiti voodoo, voodoo practice, voodoo book