Undated: (Lwa, the Spirits of Vodou Who Serve as Intermediaries Between Humanity and Bondye, Each With Distinctive Music, Dances, Colors, Foods, and Symbols,…

Undated: (Lwa, the Spirits of Vodou Who Serve as Intermediaries Between Humanity and Bondye, Each With Distinctive Music, Dances, Colors, Foods, and Symbols, Syncretized With Catholic Saints During the Colonial Period and Organized Into Nations Including Rada, Petro, Kongo, Ghede, and Nago): The lwa are the spirits at the heart of Vodou practice. The word comes from the Yoruba language of West Africa and means “mystery.” They are not gods. Like Catholic saints, they are intermediaries between human beings and the supreme deity, Bondye. But each lwa is a fully realized spiritual personality with specific music, dances, clothing colors, sacred days, favorite foods, chants, and ritual symbols. A single lwa may have multiple names, appearances, and even personalities that represent different facets of the same essential spirit. During the eighteenth century, enslaved Africans in Saint-Domingue syncretized the lwa with Catholic saints, a process that was both adaptive survival and quiet theological resistance: the saints provided cover, but the lwa retained their original character. In ceremonies, the houngan or mambo summons the lwa, who then take temporary possession of a member of the congregation, each spirit recognizable by distinctive behavior. The lwa are organized into nations, the most prominent being the Rada, Petro, Kongo, Ghede, and Nago families, each reflecting specific African ethnic origins carried across the Atlantic in the holds of slave ships.