Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
is called Dessounin, the animula vagula blandula is released from its prison of china. It then takes refuge
in the element of water. A year after death, a service called Withdrawal from the Water takes place, when
the Houngan, surrounded by sheeted houncis, obtains permission from the Baron for the release of the
soul. Then, raised to a status not unlike that of a minor Lwa, it flies away to join the shadowy throng
of his ancestors. Unwithdrawn spirits are dangerous, and spend their time circling the air and wreaking
damage.
The early years of life are considered to be adequately equipped by the ceremonies of the Church,
though Christening is sometimes supplemented by a secret baptism of fire to solicit the favour of the
Lwas and the manes . The child is thrown through flames crackling with salt and gunpowder and in cer-
tain regions, fortified against danger from loups-garous by a bath of ox's bile, tortoises' blood, magic
leaves and fæcal matter. The first serious stage of initiation takes place, some time in the 'teens, at the
ceremony of Haussement . The catachumen, dressed in first Communion clothes, performs his (or her)
first libations and swears to respect the Voodoo hierarchy and the mysteries of Guinea. He is hoisted aloft
in an arm-chair, to a chorus of 'Ah! Bobo!'; emerging afterwards as a Hounci-Bossale. The next step is
from Hounci-Bossale to Hounci-Canzo, a long and arduous process which culminates, after six days of
preparation, in the solemn rites and sacrifices of Brûler Zin . The later rungs of initiation, which are re-
served for very few, are the secret gnosis of the priesthood, which carries the candidate by slow degrees
through the ranks of Hougenikon, Houngan and Mambo or Papalwa and Mamalwa. There is no higher
central authority or synod which pronounces on liturgical or doctrinal or disciplinary matters.
It is hard to say exactly what this final priestly matriculation entails. Knowledge of the function and
choreography of the dances, the many rhythms of the drums, the conduct of the ceremonies, the invoca-
tions and the duties of the houmfor; ' langage ' (a kind of inspired and meaningless articulation) and the
abracadabresque jargon of the liturgy, which is a mixture of African, Créole, French and Latin; the abil-
ity, aided by the use of the bell and the açon , which are the pontificalia of his office, to control, assist
or suppress possession; the practice of white magic for curative purposes; a knowledge of the meaning
of dreams; the ability to 'call the god on a Govi'—to prophesy, that is, and make oracular pronounce-
ments over a draped pitcher containing a god (long dialogues take place behind a curtain, and the god
announces his presence in a cavernous voice, with the words: ' Messieurs et dames la Société, bonjour! '
Delphic pronouncements follow, and the Houngan or mambo emerges, as from a trance, exhausted and
with bloodshot eyes); the handling of the souls in their various phases; a knowledge of the complex hagi-
ography of the Lwas, their habits, their many names, attributes, sacrifices, colours and armorial bearings,
and the knack of marshalling their escutcheons in maize-flour; and the use of the bizarre and dust-covered
stage properties of the cult: the pots, pans, basins, calabashes, gourds, crosses, images, rosaries, oleo-
graphs, drums, horns, conches, leaves, herbs, blood, bile, offal, salt, gunpowder, sheets, ribbons, feathers,
lingams, skulls, crossbones, chains, whips, pincers, cutlasses, sabres, goggles, frock-coats, top-hats and
bowlers that make the inside of the houmfor such a bewildering sight.
What is the final goal of this ladder of initiation? Mawu? Schango? Jesus? I do not think anybody
knows. Again, as with the Lwas, the religion loses itself in a jungle of detail, and (I think) goes no farther.
One writer says that Voodoo, like all ancient religions, is impatient of explanation.
It was developed instinctively to lead the slaves to a private liberty that the state of things in their world
forbade. The open air and the sunlight meant the cane-fields, the sweat, the chains, the whip, the endless
toil and misery of a slave's existence. So, like children who build up a dark and secret world of freedom
and womb-like intimacy out of chairs and carpets, and sit there in felicity for hours, the slaves went war-
Search WWH ::




Custom Search