Time and time again people ask “What are the lwa and what can they do?,” So, in an effort to both save some precious time and to educate peopole about Haitian Vodou I have decided to write a short article on the nature of the lwa and the roles they play in the lives of Haitian and non-Haitian Vodouisants. If after reading this article if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask. I am always willing to answer questions and use those questions and comments to further clarify this subject.

I suppose I should begin this discussion by defining the word “lwa”. In Haitian Vodou a lwa is a spirit. Because of problematic translations on the part of many anthropologists uninformed people have called the lwa “gods” and “goddesses” and that translation couldn’t be farther from the truth. In fact, Vodou is a monotheistic religion with a strong belief in a single all-powerful God. God’s superiority is easily observed by a new comer to Vodou, all they need to do is open their minds and listen to the words of practicing Vodouisants. It’s not uncommon to hear Houngans and Mambos openly assert that they serve, not worship, the lwa, “apre Bondye” (after God). By placing the lwa after God Vodouisants emphasize the lwa’s subordinate role to Almighty God. In Haitian Vodou God is a mysterious, unknowable, omnipotent, and omniscient force, who resides in Heaven. In fact since most Haitian Vodouisants are Catholic, the way God is conceptualized in Vodou is very similar to way he is understood  by practicing Catholics.  

While Vodouisants adore and worship God this is normally done in the context of a Catholic Mass and/or prayer or personal rituals of adoration. The fact remain that God’s influence is believed to be unchangeable, yet benevolent. To exemplify this fact many people in Haiti will come to Houngans and Mambos when they are ill (houngans and mambos often simultaneously serve their communities as priests, doctors and psychoanalysts). Nevertheless it is the job of the Houngan or Mambo to determine if an illness or a misfortune is the work of spirits, magic, or God. If the person’s aliment, whether is be physical or metaphysical, is the work of God, there is nothing the Houngan or Mambo can do to subvert the power of God.

While God’s influence is often more implicit, the lwa are the entities who play a critical role in the lives of Vodouisants. The word lwa is a very complex concept because in Haitian Vodou there are many different classes, or types of lwa, and to complicate our understanding of lwa the word “lwa” is often used interchangeably with the words “zang” (angel), “miste” (mystery), and even “pwen” (point).

Therefore, before we can begin talking about the lwa more abstractly and theoretically let’s take a step back and discuss the various categories of lwa that are understood within the framework of Haitian Vodou. The category most thought of when talking about the lwa are the racine lwa, or root lwa. These are the lwa of Ginen, such as Damballah, Erzulie Freda, Ogoun, Erzulie Dantor, Simbi Makaya, etc. Even as I type this I am reminded that some people in Haiti understand the racine lwa to be only the rada lwa (i.e. those lwa who are of the rada group and most commonly Dahomian and Nago in origin), while others believe the racine lwa to include the petro lwa (i.e. those lwa who of the petro group which is made of many nations including Kongo, Ibo, and creole). Personally I have always been more comfortable understanding the racine lwa to be the lwa of Ginen, which include both Petro and Rada lwa.

Another type of spirit found in Haitian Vodou are personal lwa – or djabs. While the word “djab” would translate to “devil” using that translation is often problematic because of the baggage associated with the word “devil” in the English language. Therefore,  I am normally more inclined to not translate “djab” into English. As it is understood by Haitian Vodouisants, djabs can be earthbound spirit, spirits of the dead or even spirits who have been in one’s family for generations. Nevertheless, there is a belief by some that unlike the racine lwa, who serve and adore God, a djab exists in the absence of God’s light and is not governed by his rules or codes of conduct. Thereby making a djab the perfect spirit for more aggressive types of magic because there is a belief that a racine lwa will not harm the innocent, and to ask them to do so would be an infraction against God himself.

A third and less talked about spirit is the baka. The baka is perhaps the most misunderstood type of spirit in Haitian Vodou. I have heard some people describe the baka as a “hot spirit” (note: in Haiti “hot” generally refers to one’s temperament and aggression. To say someone has a “tet cho” or a “hot head” is to say they are angry). However, a “hot spirit” would more accurately be classified as a djab – not a baka. In fact, a baka is a spirit that is created to guard and protect a place. They are tied to this place and usually installed by a Houngan, a Mambo, or a bokor. People may have a baka protect their homes or their livestock or even their lakou. Think of the baka as a ravenous spirit who will stop at nothing to do the only job it was created to do – protect its “place”. They can be mean, vicious, and seemingly diabolic. However, while I was in Haiti I was talking to a Mambo about baka and she chuckled and said “A baka ... their bark is bigger than their bite. They are made to perform and they are very good at it”. Of course judging from the way they are described I wouldn’t want to test their willingness to “bite”, they seem to be ruthless and well suited for their job.

This past summer (2006) I went to Haiti to participate in the annual pilgrimage to Saut D’eau, and while I was there I had the opportunity to speak to many Houngans and Mambos about the nature of the lwa. There were many common threads in their understanding of the lwa and there were some ideas that seemed very personal and individualized. Nevertheless, many of the people whom I spoke with described the lwa as “angels of God” and some of them described them as “fallen angels of God” who came to earth by the command of God to help the people of the earth.

Either way there is no doubt that the lwa, that is to say the racine lwa, are strongly tied to God. As I have already mentioned the word “lwa” is often used interchangeably with “zang” (angel), this is done because in the worldview supported by Haitian Vodou that is exactly what the lwa are – messengers of God, sent to earth to help his children. I have heard only one “Mambo” describe the lwa as something other than real, living, entities – she called them disembodied and formless “vibrations”. I suppose if you approach the lwa from a metaphysical standpoint they are all vibrations, just as we are. However I don’t suspect that is what she meant. It’s is her contention that the lwa are not living beings who live in a place called Ginen, rather they are cosmic-universal vibrations (i.e. archetypes) that exist in the world around us that the Vodouisant can “tune in to” by using objects, food, and drinks that share the “vibration” of the given spirit/vibration. Nevertheless, this assessment of the lwa is not true, and to be honest most Vodouisants would find this disembodiment of their beloved lwa rather insulting.

The lwa are real. They live their daily lives in Ginen. They bask in the light of God. They adore God. They serve God. And they help us when we help them. Because the lwa are seen as “fallen” or “earthbound” angels created by God with the intent to help humanity, they need us. They gain their strength from us through the offerings you give them. Like us, they are imperfect. They experience joy, happiness, anger, jealously, lust, etc. And it’s important to remember since they are in fact, imperfect, they don’t embody the capacity to perform miracles – that feat is reserved only for Almighty God, himself. The reason I say this is because many clients and students have come to me wondering why the lwa didn’t do X Y and Z. The truth us, perhaps they couldn’t or perhaps God intervened and said “No.” Wanga (i.e. magic) isn’t 100%. There is a song in Haitian Vodou, for the lwa Simbi Makaya, that starts by saying “Houngan pa Bondye ou pa we” (The Houngan is not God, don’t you see?).  While the Hougnan and Mambo aren’t God, we should also remember, neither are the lwa.

So, the next logical question is “If they lwa can’t perform miracles, and wanga is sometimes ineffective, why waste our time and money performing wanga?” Well, the simple answer is “because it works”. However, let’s take a step back and examine this question in more detail. Perhaps one of the most beautiful explanations I ever received about this very question was given to me by a dear Mambo in Port-au-Prince. She said “When you perform wanga, sometimes God just says ‘no’.” I took a step back and thought about it, and for me many things began making sense. I think many people enter into Vodou because they are desperately seeking help. They have usually tried everything else and they have come to the Houngan or Mambo as a last resort. As a practicing Houngan I can tell you that the vast majority of letters I receive are from people seeking my help – not as a priest, but as a magician. And because of this I think we all tend to forget that Vodou is more than a system of magic. While Vodou provides its adherents with a very effective and powerful magical system it is also a religion that is built on a strong belief in an all powerful God, Bondye. And often times we forget to have the necessary faith in God, and after him, in our lwa – after all Vodou is a religion that helps to govern the lives of many people. Sometimes they know things we are unaware of, sometimes God has different plans for you than you realize, and sometimes the mysteries of God and of Ginen are just too mysterious for human consciousness.  

The fact is wanga doesn’t always work. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t effective. I have been practicing various forms of magic for over fifteen years and there have been times when my work didn’t come to fruition. And when I was faced with that reality, in the beginning, I grew tiresome and sometimes angry at God or at the spirits. However, over time I came to realize that had those magical works manifested I would not be in the place I am today and I would not be the person I am today. The truth is, sometimes the greatest gifts from God and from Ginen are prayers that go unanswered.

While God’s influence can sometimes affect your work as a magician, there are times when the failure of a wanga is the fault of the magician. And we must also consider that reality as well. Magic is a precarious thing that is often based on laws of symbolism, imitation, and contagions. Sometimes the new magician isn’t proficient enough to perform a complex ritual and sometimes the would-be magician isn’t familiar enough with the lwa to get their attention. Getting the attention of the lwa is a necessary part of ritual work in Vodou. This is why we use their favorite colors, foods, drinks, dances, songs, etc. We desperately want them to join us when we ritualize. Think of drawing in the lwa as something akin to drawing children in to “play”. We entice them with instruments, movement, food, and even shinny fabrics; all to capture their attention and their “playful” gaze. We seek out the influence of the lwa, and we desire, and sometimes need, their help. However, we have to utilize methods that inform the lwa of our intentions. When you kanzo you are given passwords (langaj) for many of the racine lwa. Along with the asson, the langaj is used to automatically capture the attention of any given lwa. This information is one of the things that make the kanzo such a powerful ceremony. It bestows the houngan or mambo with the ability to summon the lwa at will; however, there is still a degree of skill required to maintain the lwa’s attention for the duration of the ceremony. And once you have the attention of a lwa you need to know how to handle them, what to feed them, and what to offer them, otherwise you will quickly lose their attention, thus leaving your request unrealized.

When I took my asson for the first time in Jacmel Haiti, and for the second time in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, I don’t think I realized how influential the lwa would be in my life. Prior to my kanzo I served several of the lwa with great diligence and they of course they returned the favor by positively influencing my life. The lwa who I attribute much of my pre-kanzo success to is Papa Legba, and because of the wonders he worked in my life, and continues to work in my life, I hold Papa Legba in great esteem. However, people who beginning to study Vodou and serve the lwa quickly become disenchanted when their own requests go unanswered. And the truth is, not every person can or should serve every single lwa in Ginen. I have received more email than I can count from people asking to serve some of the most notorious lwa served in Haitian Vodou. For one reason or another, the neophyte seems to be attracted to those lwa who are infamous for more aggressive deeds. While there is a certain degree of romanticism attached to the service of these lwa, we should also remember that many lwa simply do not “walk with you” and because of that, it would take a great deal of work on your part to garner their attention, much less their influence. I would offer the new Vodouisant this piece of advice. Everyone should serve their ancestors, everyone should serve Legba, and everyone should serve the Ghede; after that listen to the whispers from Ginen and begin to build your service to include those lwa who have undoubtedly called you to their service.

As a side note: while it is the opinion of a great many of Houngans and Mambos (including myself) that one’s met tet can not be ascertained through a system of divination (the met tet can only be divined through the Kanzo or Sevis Tet), a skilled diviner can tell which lwa walk with you and which lwa you, as a Vodouisant, can serve while maximizing your greatest ritual potential.

The lwa are glorious angels of God who love us and desire our interaction. They are not all powerful, they are not all knowing, but do they live in God’s light and want only the best for you. A lwa will never insult you or intentionally harm the innocent (especially children); a lwa will never destroy the life of a person who seeks to only love them and serve them. However, promises must always be kept and contracts always fulfilled. There is not a reason to “fear” the lwa if you have fulfilled your promises to them. For example, I knew a young woman in Haiti who lived a very challenging life, she lived in abject poverty and restored to prostitution in order to survive. While her life circumstances are not necessarily uncommon among young women in Haiti, she personally attributes her misfortune to a debt she has owed the lwa, Azaka, since her childhood. She told me that when she was a young girl she stole food and money off of Azaka’s altar. That night Azaka appeared to her in a dream and demanded his offerings back – and she refused. She feels that it is because she refused to pay Azaka back for the things she stole as a child, that she now lives the life of an impoverished prostitute, as an adult. And to this day, Azaka haunts her dreams asking for payment, something she asserts that she is still unable to give him.

I hope this article has given you a deeper look into the world of the lwa. I hope you can begin to see the lwa and loving angels of God, who want nothing more than for you to achieve your full potential. However, we must remember that they need us as much as we need them. They desire our service and we desire their influence. The relationships we have with the lwa must be relationships built on rules of reciprocity and symbiosis. The devotee and the lwa undoubtedly live in a world of give and take. If one party takes too much, the delicate balance that may have taken years to build could be destroyed beyond your ability to repair it. Remember, the lwa are in fact God’s mysteries. Just when you think you know what a lwa will do, they will always prove you otherwise. Good luck in your journey to Ginen, may God, the lwa, and your ancestors bless you abundantly!

Ayibobo!