Glossary
Kreyòl words are followed by alternate spellings in parentheses, French
cognates (where known) in brackets, and then English translations in quotation marks. Note that Haitian Kreyòl follows the same pronunciation rules as French.
aksyon de gras [action de grâce]: A simple Vodou ceremony designed to give thanks to Bondye, the ancestors, and/or the Lwa. Not as involved as a full ceremony or f èt.
anba dlo [en bas de l’eau] “under the water”: Idiom for saying a person has died. Vodou belief states that a person’s soul rests anba dlo in Mèt Agwe’s kingdom for a year after bodily death, and then can be retrieved via special ceremony. See Dessounin, Kase-Kanari.
anvwa mo (anvwaye mo) [envoy les morts] “sending the dead”: A travay to send the spirit of an angry dead person to attack a living individual. Many Vodouisants refuse to do this kind of work, though mambos and houngans know how to protect against it.
asogwe: The highest rank of priesthood in Haitian Vodou’s asson lineage. Mambos and houngans asogwe can serve all the Lwa of Ginen, and can initiate hounsi and all priesthood ranks.
asson (ason): A small, dried gourd (kalbas kouran in Kreyòl) wrapped in a net made of beads, snake vertebrae, and other items, connected to a small silver bell. The asson, which is related to similar instruments still used in Africa, is an instrument used by mambos and houngans of the asson lineage to call Rada Lwa. Because training in its use is limited to Kanzo priesthood, it is a symbol of Vodou priesthood and kingship in the asson lineage.
Ayiti “mountain land” or “mother land”: The Taino name of the island Haiti is located on.
badji: A special room in a peristil, containing altars to various Lwa.
banda: A frantic dance performed by and on behalf of the Gede Lwa that mimics the motions of sexual intercourse; also the rolling and catchy drum beats that accompany this dance.
batem [baptisme]: The first ceremony given to an initiate who has risen from the djevo, either in Sèvis T èt or Kanzo initiation. It is a full baptism, with holy water and prayers, in the same format as a Roman Catholic baptismal rite, and is often conducted by a Catholic priest.
blan [blanc] “white”: Both the color and the term for a person of European heritage (and “white” skin). Before the Revolution, blan in Haiti were divided into gwo blan [grands blancs] (“big whites,” European landowners and plantation owners) and peti blan [petits blancs] (“little whites,” the plantation workers, lawyers, police, soldiers, merchants, immigrants, visitors, and other non-landowning whites on the island). Since the Revolution, the term blan is derisive, quite offensive, and has come to mean “anyone who is not Haitian,” regardless of skin color.
bohique: A Taino priest or priestess of the zemi. This term is also probably the basis of the indigenous name for the island now called Puerto Rico (Bohicua). Some bohiques became zemi, and some of them are honored as Lwa in Haitian Vodou and/or Dominican Vodou.
bokor: A Vodouisant who runs a peristil or performs travay like a mambo or houngan, but who has never been initiated. Some use this term derisively to refer to anyone who performs negative travay or curses or other “evil” magic, a person said to “work with both hands,” but it does not always have this connotation. In the Dominican Republic, the related term Papa (or Mama) Boko is a title in Dominican Vodou, in the same way houngan or mambo is used in Haitian Vodou.
Bondye [Bon Dieu] “(The) Good God”: The deity responsible for the creation and maintenance of the universe. Sometimes equated with the Roman Catholic or Christian God. Sometimes called Gran Mèt. Bondye is served first in all Vodou ceremony.
boutèy [bouteille] “bottle”: A bottle (usually an empty glass rum bottle) that has been decorated with bright-colored cloth, sequins, mirrors, and seed beads, among other items. Boutèy are kept on altars as a repozwa for a Lwa’s favorite drinks and are used during salutes at Vodou ceremonies. Non-Haitians have been known to collect boutèy as Haitian folk art objects.
cacique: A Taino chief or king/queen. Some caciques, such as Queen Anacoana, are honored as Lwa within Haitian Vodou and/or Dominican Vodou.
Cacos: Haitians who fought against the majority government set up by the U.S. Marines during the first American occupation of Haiti (1915–1934). Named for frogs that made lots of noise at night, the cacos were expert at guerilla warfare.
chwal [cheval] “horse”: A person whose body has been or is currently possessed by a Lwa, or who is capable of being possessed by Lwa.
Dessounin: A special Vodou ceremony held shortly after a Vodouisant’s death, to permit their soul to be separated from their physical body. See anba dlo, Kase-Kanari.
djab [diable] “devil”: A nickname for Lwa or other spirits that are angry, fierce, dangerous, or “hot,” often used to describe Petro and Kongo spirits. A female djab is called a djabla.
djevo: A specially prepared room within a peristil where initiations are conducted. This may be a temporary or permanent space, and only initiates and candidates for initiation may enter.
drapo (dwapo) [drapeau] “flag”: A large piece of cloth that has been intricately decorated with sequins, seed beads, and other items to depict various Lwa and their symbols. Drapo can be large or small, hung on altars or in peristils, or worn like capes across the shoulders of Vodouisants as they salute the Lwa. Like boutèy, drapo are purchased and collected by non-Haitians as folk art.
esko [escort]: A small “family” of Lwa. There are esko within the various nations of Lwa, and there are esko of Lwa that are served by Vodouisants individually, or by individual lineages.
f èt [fête] “party”: A Vodou ceremony involving dancing, singing, drumming, and lots of food.
F èt Gede “Gede Party/Festival”: A special holiday for the Gede Lwa held November 1–3 annually (and/or the entire month of November, depending on lineage).
gad [garde] “guard”: A form of travay that provides protection. Gad can be physical, involving anything from liquids to drink, to herbs rubbed into the skin, to talismans and intangible magic. The term is also used to describe spirits that are either Lwa-invoked strictly for protection services, or the “servants” of various Lwa who perform such services.
Gede: The nation of Lwa associated with the unnamed and unknown dead. Baron Samedi and Manman Brijit are the parents and leaders of the Gede nation.
gens de couleur “people of color”: The French term for men of mixed-race backgrounds in the colony of Saint-Domingue. The gens de couleur changed sympathies from pro-European (pro-blan) to pro-slaves at several different times during, before, and after the Revolution. Their mixed-race, lighter-skinned descendants in Haiti today often consider themselves apart from darker-skinned Haitians, perpetuating a class disparity that has been going on since Haiti started.
Ginen (Ginè) [Guinea]: The mythical, ancestral Africa of Vodou philosophy and liturgy.
Gran Mèt [Grande Mâitre]: See Bondye.
houngan (ou(n)gan): A Haitian Vodou priest. The equivalent female rank is mambo.
hounfo (houmfor, houmfort): A Haitian Vodou temple and its supporting buildings.
hounsi: A male or female Haitian Vodou initiate who is not a priest. Two forms of initiation can create a hounsi: the Sèvis T èt and the Kanzo. The term is sometimes also used generically for an uninitiated Vodouisant who has been accepted as a member of a Vodou sosyete.
Iliminasyon [illumination]: A Vodou ceremony involving lighting a lamp for a special purpose.
jete-dlo [jeter de l’eau] “throw(ing) water”: Pouring ritual libations of water along with prayers. The number of times the water is poured and the words said while pouring differ from sosyete to sosyete; individual techniques are taught by lineage elders.
Kanzo: The initiation ceremony that creates hounsi, mambos, and houngans in the asson lineage of Haitian Vodou. Not all Vodou lineages perform Kanzo.
Kase-Kanari “breaking pots”: A Vodou ceremony held a year after a person’s death (see Dessounin), to release their soul from anba dlo and send it to the afterlife, as well as to ensure it has a welcome place in the peristil, if it should come to visit.
kivet [cuvette]: An enameled steel basin, used as a wash basin in Haiti. With the advent of plastics, many larger kivet are now made of plastic, but in Vodou we use enameled and/or plain metal kivets for many ritual purposes, as well as for a safe, fireproof place to burn candles.
kleren [clairin]: Raw sugarcane rum of exceptionally high proof (up to 180 proof is common). Nago Lwa and Petro Lwa are very fond of kleren, which they often drink or set on fire.
kòlye [collier]: Long ritual necklaces made of beads, snake vertebrae, and other objects, that are worn by Kanzo initiates. The style and weight of a kòlye indicate the initiate’s rank; a hounsi’s kòlye consists of a single strand of beads and other items up to four feet long, whereas mambos and houngans have much more elaborate kòlye.
Kongo: A subset of the Petro nation, the Kongo Lwa hail from areas of modern-day Benin, reaching eastward toward modern Congo. Some of these Lwa are served in other Kongo-derived rites in the Western Hemisphere, including Palo.
Kreyòl [Creole]: The official language of Haiti. Kreyòl is a mixture of French with various West African dialects, featuring French pronunciation and some West African vocabulary and grammar. There are other creole languages in the Antilles and even in other parts of the world, but in this book, Kreyòl denotes the language of Haitian Kreyòl.
lakou: A compound or walled structure, containing houses and other buildings that belong to one family unit or group. In Vodou, a lakou refers to the peristil and all its outbuildings, as well as the houses of mambos and houngans and hounsi who live on the property.
langaj [language]: Non-Kreyòl words of West African origin, sung or recited as part of Vodou ceremony or travay. While many of these words are taken from Fon, Bantu, Yoruba, Kikongo, or Bakongo, among other languages, a few of these words can no longer be translated.
leve [lever] “to rise”: The phrase indicating the ceremonies of leaving the djevo and public baptism as a Vodou initiate.
Lwa [Loa]: The spirits of Haitian Vodou.
macoute (makout): A woven straw bag with a shoulder strap, used like a backpack or purse. Tonton Macoute, “Uncle Sack,” is both a Haitian folklore bogeyman and the name for the secret police forces employed by Papa Doc and Baby Doc Duvalier.
mambo (manbo): A Haitian Vodou priestess. The equivalent male rank
is houngan.
Manje-Lwa “feeding the Lwa”: A ceremony where food is offered to a Lwa or group of Lwa.
manje-sèk [manger-sec] “dry food”: Bloodless offerings that do not contain animal products.
manman-hounyo (mama hounyor): The mambo who oversees and takes care of initiation candidates while they are secluded in the djevo. The manman-hounyo is usually a different mambo than the initiatory mother, and she is treated like a second mother forever afterward.
maroon: Taino, African, or mixed-race slaves who ran away from their masters and hid in the mountains of Ayiti. The maroon resistance fueled and eventually caused the Haitian Revolution. The word derives from the Spanish word for “runaway,” cimarron.
Maryaj-Lwa “Lwa marriage”: A Vodou ceremony where a human being marries a Lwa.
mèt t èt [maître tête] “master of the head”: The single Lwa that is one’s personal Lwa, the personal guardian angel, and special protective spirit.
MINUSTAH: French acronym for the late-twentieth-century and early-twenty-first-century United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti.
moushwa [mouchoir]: A headscarf or kerchief worn during Vodou service. These are often made of satin or other shiny and beautiful material.
Nago: Both a tribal name and the nation of Lwa hailing from the Yoruba-speaking peoples of what is now Nigeria and Benin. The Nago nation in Haitian Vodou is considered a subset of the Rada nation. Outside Haiti, these Lwa are often called orishas.
nanchon [nation]: A larger grouping of Lwa and Lwa esko. The most common nanchon served in Vodou are Rada, Petro, Kongo, and Nago, though tradition says there are twenty-one nanchons total.
noiriste: A group of black-empowerment academics that sought control of Haiti during the early twentieth century. The most successful noiriste was President François “Papa Doc” Duvalier.
orisha (olisha): See Nago.
paket [pacquette]: A pwen made of various items, tied up in cloth to make a bag-like object.
paket Kongo: A special kind of paket made with cloth and other things such as ribbons, sequins, and feathers, and used by initiates. Like drapo and boutèy, non-functional paket Kongo replicas are often sold as art objects, and they represent one of the more beautiful forms of Vodou folk art.
peristil [peristyle]: A Vodou temple and all its rooms.
Petro (Petwo): A nation of Lwa comprised of spirits of the Haitian Revolution, Taino spirits, and spirits from the Kongo and non-Rada areas of Ginen. Petro spirits are hotter and fiercer than Rada spirits, and they are served with their own colors, songs, and drumbeats.
piman: A favorite drink of the Gede Lwa, made by marinating very hot peppers in kleren.
poto mitan [poteau Mitan] “Mitan pole”: The central pillar in a Vodou peristil. Dances revolve around the poto mitan, and offerings and salutes are given at its base. The word mitan is most likely langaj, but it could be etymologically derived from French matin, “morning.”
Priyè Ginen [prière Guinea] “African Prayer”: The formal songs and prayers that begin Vodou ceremonies. The Priyè represents an oral history of Vodou and of the specific lineage leading the Priyè.
pwen [point]: A magical object designed to act as a repository (repozwa) for a Lwa or spirit.
pwen achte [point acheter] “bought point”: A pwen constructed by a bokor or a mambo or houngan, with a spirit that has been compelled to reside inside, like the “genie” of Islamic magic. A pwen achte, as the name implies, can be sold for the use of another. Some mambos and houngans do not create pwen achte, citing ethical issues.
pwen cho [point chaud] “hot point”: A pwen that traps a spirit considered strong or fierce or dangerous (“hot”) and is more difficult to handle and control than a regular pwen achte. (Pwen cho can also be sold.) Some mambos and houngans do not create pwen cho for ethical reasons.
pwomès (promès) [promesse]: A formal arrangement that one will do something for a Lwa in return for a favor granted by that Lwa. For example, a person can make a pwomès to give a party for a Lwa in return for a job, a marriage, or recovery from illness.
Rada: The nation of Lwa associated with Ginen, containing all the esko of the various spirits of Dahomey and other African nations, as well as the Nago nation. Rada spirits are cooler and less fierce than Petro spirits, and they are served with their own colors, songs, and drumbeats.
rara: A Haitian cultural tradition engaged in mostly during Lent, where Vodouisants and other Haitians go from town to town singing, dancing, and performing instrumental folk music.
rasin [racine] “root(s)”: The place where one’s ancestors come from, or the ancestral spirits themselves.
règleman [règlement] “rule(s)”: The agreed-upon regulations for how a Haitian Vodou ceremony is organized and conducted.
repozwa [reposoir] “resting place”: A ritual object, place, or person designated as a sacred place or altar for a Lwa or other spirit to reside. From the French word for “altar.”
Sanpwel [Sans-Pouils]: A secret society in Haitian culture, sometimes associated with Vodou, but actually separate of it. They are rumored to use wanga as punishment for severe crimes, for example, by creating
a zombi.
sèviteur (Sèvite) [Serviteur]: A Vodouisant. One who serves (the Lwa).
Sèvis T èt [Service Tête] “head ceremony”: The initiation ceremony of the non-asson lineage of Haitian Vodou. Sometimes it is referred to as Lave T èt, “head washing,” but this is also a term for a non-initiatory travay where a person’s head is washed in herbs for various purposes. Not all Vodou houses perform Sèvis T èt.
si pwen [sûr point]: The first rank of priesthood in the asson lineage of Haitian Vodou. A mambo or houngan si pwen is permitted to serve his or her Lwa esko, the Lwa of his or her house, and to assist in almost all other ceremonies. A si pwen person cannot initiate Vodouisants.
sosyete [société]: An individual Vodou house and/or lineage.
tcha-tcha: A gourd rattle painted in bright colors used to call the Petro, Kongo, and Gede Lwa in the asson lineage; and to call all spirits in the non-asson lineage. A similar instrument was used in Taino ceremony, and is still used in parts of West Africa and in other African Diasporic traditions in the Western Hemisphere.
ti-mesh: Hand-twisted cotton wicks placed in ritual lamps.
tohossu: In Dahomey, a child born with congenital defects, born only to die at birth or before puberty, or said to be the child of a human being and a spirit, was called a tohossu. Some of our Lwa, including Bosou and Agassou, are tohossu.
travay [travaille] “work”: A word used to describe magical practice in the abstract.
trêteman “treatment”: Where a bokor or mambo or houngan diagnoses and offers treatments for medical or spiritual illnesses, or other problems.
veve: A symbol indicating a Lwa or esko of Lwa, drawn on the floor of the peristil before or during a ceremony using a special powder made from cornmeal and other ingredients. Veve are often incorporated into Vodou art, including drapo and boutèy, peristil paintings, and nonreligious folk art. The prevalence of and particular uses of veve differ from sosyete to sosyete.
wanga: A type of travay involving tangible objects. Also used to describe special herbal packets made in other African-derivative traditions in the Western Hemisphere (e.g., “wanga bag”).
woulo “steamroller”: Flash-mob demonstrations and riots of lower-
class Haitians, orchestrated by Haitian Presidents including Fignolé and Aristide.
zansèt-yo “the ancestors”: All the blessed dead.
zanj (lezanj) [les anges] “the angels”: Another word for Lwa.
zemi (cemi): Spirits and/or gods of the Taino people. Some zemi are now honored as Lwa.
zombi: A person rendered into a catatonic state by herbs, either as punishment (see Sanpwel) or other reasons; sometimes also a phrase to describe wandering dead (see the entry in Chapter 6 for Gede Plumaj about “astral zombi”).