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Popular Things To Do | Other Things To Do Tips | All Tips (18) A group of special people will provide the ‘music’ in the form of shaking rattles and playing drums. Three drums, covered with ox-hide, provide the rhythm. They represent the three atmospheres of the sun: the largest represents the chromospheres, the middle one the photosphere, and the smallest one the solar nucleus. The instruments will have to be purified prior to the ceremony. Drummers are called houn'torguiers.
The large ritual rattles are called asson and are made from calabash. Symbolically these rattles represents the union of the two most significant magic principles: the circle at the round end and the wand at the handle. The rattle contains the vertebrae of the serpent, which is considered the bones of the ancestors as well as sacred stones. This is what makes the noise when it is being shaken. Eight different coloured stones are used to symbolise eight ancestral gods. Eight is a symbolic number in Vodoun religion, it represents eternity. By rattling the asson, the musician is calling the Loa to the ceremony. Leave a Comment
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As soon as we arrived in the village, a clearing was made in the throngs of the spectators and benches brought out for us to sit on. The ceremony was already in full swing. We took time to greet the chief as is customary in this part of the world, before asking permission to take photographs. This was granted and we settled down to watch this amazing spectacle. I have never experienced anything like it before or since. Leave a Comment
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Chanting is an integral part of a Vodoun ceremony. The chorus is made up of a group of people, usually led by a strong spiritual woman. The idea of the chanting is to attract the Loa on the astral plane in order to attract them down to earth. Leave a Comment
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Dancing is an expression of spirituality. It is seen as a connection with divinity and the sprit world. The dancing and drumming intensifies repeatedly and repetitively until the dancer is possessed by their Loa, by which stage they appear to completely lose control of their body and some even appear to lose consciousness. Their limbs go stiff, they appear to fall backwards of they flail their arms and legs about, thrashing anyone and everyone in their way. This is the Loa’s way of having a bit of fun with the devotee. The Loa may even try to encourage the supporters to injure themselves or others. In order to stop them from harming themselves and others around them, fellow dancers come forward and grab the possessed devotee and lead them into the shrine until they come back to ‘normal’. Sometimes the possessed dancers would try and escape, or come rushing back out again from the shrine. I pitied Michael and Kristin who were sitting right next to the entrance to the hut; I think I would have been quite concerned for my safety. Michael did in fact move after a while. It is said that even foreigners witnessing such a ritual may fall into a trance and be possessed. That is a really scary thought, as we have not been brought up with this culture and would not know what to do under such circumstances. You are advised to move away if you feel yourself ‘going’, or if too many people around you go into a trance. Leave a Comment
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I personally found it quite scary to watch a dancer becoming possessed by a Loa or spirit. I was afraid for many reasons. Frightened they might hurt themselves or others, nervous of what they might do whilst they were not in control of their own bodies and mind. Worried that they were not going to ‘snap out of it’ and be able to escape from the possession. There have been stories of people who have been unable to control the Loa and have gone insane and died.
One episode that rather concerned me was the mother with her baby on her back joining in the dancing. When she fell into a trance, I was anxious as to what would happen to the baby, but onlookers quickly stepped in and grabbed the infant before taking care of the possessed woman. All is well that ends well. Leave a Comment
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I was amazed at the spatial awareness of the dancers, even when in trance. Not once did they collide with each other, and even whilst thrashing about, and appearing to be totally out of control, did they actually hit pr land on the audience. A few came worryingly close to where we were sitting, but they seemed to be able to miraculously stop within inches of our feet. Leave a Comment
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Most of the dancing was done by women. A couple of hours into the ritual, a couple of young lads did get up to join and, much to the approval of everyone present. There was much cheering and clapping and they seemed to be rather embarrassed by all the attention. They didn’t last very long though, and soon went to sit down again, leaving the dance floor to the ladies yet again. Leave a Comment
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Often the dancers would come back out of the shrine, drinking from a hollowed out gourd. This could either be homemade alcohol (there seemed to be an awful lot of that going around), or blood from a sacrificed chicken or goat. By drinking the blood whilst possessed by the Loa, it is believed that the Loa’s hunger is satisfied. After the sacrifice has taken place, the animal is cooked and eaten. This way, nothing goes to waste. Leave a Comment
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Probably the most frightening of all the incidents during the dance, was the woman who came out dancing with an empty beer bottle in each hand. For a while she would just dance around waving her hands in the air, but as she became possessed by the Loa, she gleefully slapped her hands together, smashing the bottles in the process. She then proceeded to attempt to rub the broken glass in her face. She was quickly assisted by many onlookers, preventing her prom harming herself or others. Of course, the ground was now littered with broken glass which had to be cleared up to prevent anyone else from stepping on it causing cuts to their feet. This task appeared to be carried out with utmost efficiency, despite weaving in and out of dancers. Leave a Comment
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The chief is seated by the side of the clearing in which the dancing takes place. Next to him is the fetish (or vodoun) priest. As part of the ritual, the faithful will greet the priest, partly to show respect, and partly to ask for favours, advice, treatment of illnesses, spiritual guidance or help with their problems. The priest will, through divine intervention, act as an intermediary between the devotees and the spirits, and tender his services by way of herbs and potions. The knowledge of natural remedies will have been passed down through generations. The priest has been given total authority from the Loas, and his powers can be compared with that of the Pope in the Catholic faith. Leave a Comment
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on April 24, 2007
