Haitian mythology

Haitian Vodou (also known as Voodoo in the United States) is a syncretic mixture of Roman Catholic rituals introduced during the French colonial period, African beliefs, with roots in the Yoruba, Kongo and Dahomey mythology, and folkloric influence from the indigenous Taino Amerindians that once populated the island. It is not found commonly anymore.

Pantheon

• Adjassou-Linguetor - Haitian loa in the form of spring water (goddess) .
• Adjinakou - Haitian loa in the form of an elephant.
• Adya Houn'tò - Haitian loa of the drums
• Agassou - Haitian loa which guards the Dahomean traditions.
• Agwe - loa of fish and aquatic plants.
• Aido Quedo - loa of fertility and snakes.
• Ayida-Weddo - Haitian goddess, where she is also known as Rainbow Snake. She is married to Damballa.
• Ayizan - Haitian goddess of the marketplace.
• Azaka Medeh - loa of harvest.
• Azaka-Tonnerre - Haitian god of thunder, agriculture and farmers.
• Bacalou - Haitian vodou evil spirit depicted by the skull and crossbones.
• Badessy - Haitian god of the sky.
• Baron La Croix - loa of the dead and sexuality.
• Baron Samedi - loa of the dead.
• Boli Shah - Haitian family loa.
• Bossou Ashadeh - Haitian loa, king of Dahomey.
• Boum'ba Maza - Haitian family loa.
• Bugid Y Aiba - Haitian (and Puerto Rican) god of war.
• Captain Debas - Haitian family loa.
• Clermeil - Haitian god of flowing waters.
• Conga - Haitian vodou deity.
• Congo - Haitian vodou deity.
• Damballa - father of the loa and humankind.
• Dan Petro - Haitian god of farmers.
• Dan Wédo - Haitian loa of the king of France.
• Diable Tonnere - Haitian god of thunder.
• Diejuste - Haitian vodou deity.
• Dinclinsin - Haitian vodou deity feared for his severity.
• Eleggua or Eshu - Child trickster deity.
• Erzulie Dantor - Haitian vodou goddess of wealth, vengeance, and protection. She is syncretised with Our Lady of Czestochowa.
• Erzulie Freda Dahomey - Haitian vodou goddess of beauty, dancing, flowers, jewels, love and luxury. Married to Damballa, Agwe and Ogoun. She is syncretised with Mater Dolorosa. Also called Mami Wata in African mythology.
• Gran Ibo - Haitian goddess of wisdom and patience.
• Gran Maître - Haitian creator god.
• Grand Bois - Haitian loa of creation.
• Kalfu - Haitian god of the night, symbolized by the moon. Thought to be very dangerous.
• Lemba - Haitian vodou deity.
• Limba - Haitian loa believed to live among rocks. Thought to have insatiable hunger and eats people, even his own followers.
• L'inglesou - Haitian loa which lives among rocks and in ravines.
• Loco - Haitian god of trees, plants and healers.
• Lutin - The ghost of an unbaptized child in Haitian vodou tradition.
• Mademoiselle Charlotte - Haitian loa who resembles Caucasian women.
• Mait' Carrefour - Haitian god of magicians and lord of the crossroads, also called Kalfu.
• Maîtresse Délai - Haitian loa who is a patron of the hountor or tambourine player.
• Maîtresse Hounon'gon - Haitian loa which chants the canzo or ordeal by fire in vodou tradition.
• Maman Brigitte - Vodou death loa.
• Marassa - The twin gods of Haitian vodou.
• Marassa Jumeaux - The ghosts of dead twins in Haitian vodou tradition.
• Marinette - Haitian loa, violent and powerful.
• Mambo - Haitian loa who brings storms.
• Mounanchou - Haitian vodou deity.
• Nago Shango- Haitian vodou deity.
• Obatala - yoruba creator god.
• Ogoun - Haitian vodou god of fire, iron, politics, thunder and war.
• Oshun - yoruba goddess of love, also Erzulie Freda (in Vodou).
• Oya - yoruba warrior goddess.
• Papa Legba - intermediary between the loa and humanity.
• Pie - Haitian god of floods, soldier loa.
• Simbi - Haitian water snake loa, which is one of the three vodou cosmic serpents.
• Sobo - Haitian god of thunder.
• Sousson-Pannan - Haitian loa thought to be evil and ugly, with a body covered in sores.
• Ti Jean Quinto - A mean Haitian spirit which lives under bridges and assumes the form of a policeman.
• Ti Malice - Haitian trickster loa.
• Ti-Jean Petro - Haitian snake deity and the son of Dan Petro.
• Yemalla - Yoruba mother goddess, also called LaSiren, Mami Wata

Related notions

• Asagwe - Haitian vodou dancing used to honor the gods.
• Avalou - Haitian vodou dance which means supplication.
• Coco macaque - Haitian vodou implement. It is a stick, which is supposed to be able to walk on its own. The owner of a coco macaque can send it on errands. If it is used to hit an enemy, the enemy will die before the dawn.
• Gangan - Haitian vodou shaman.
• Ghede - family of spirits related to death and fertility
• Guinee - Haitian afterlife. It is also where life began and the home of their gods.
• Houngan - Haitian priests. They lead the peoples in dancing, drumming and singing to invoke the loa.
• Loa - Haitian god or goddess.
• Mambo - Haitian priestess who, together with the Hungan, leads the vodou rituals and invokes the loa.
• Paket kongo - charms made of organic matter wrapped in cloth, intended to rouse the loa.
• Petro - aggressive and warlike family of spirits
• Rada - old, benefic family of spirits
• Ville au Camp - The underwater capital of the loa

External links

• List of Voodoo loa

Grand Bois (Gran Bwa) - spirit of wilderness, forests and healing

source: Patrick A. Polk, Haitian Vodou Flags. University of Mississippi Press, 1998.