Danballa Wedo

The great serpent, named Danballa Wedo or Odan in Vodou is considered to be one of the most ancient spirit, a royalty in pure essence, the father of the mysteries and creator of life itself. A very wise and most intelligent Lwa (spirit) that does not speak; however his mere existence and presence vibrates on such high level that surpass the understanding of what even words can't begin to describe. Wile Legba is the door opener to the mysteries, Danballa in a sense acts more as a "connector" and amplifies the connection between the invisible and visible world. He can lead you on path to achieve great things in life and connect you on deeper levels of understanding the world, yourself and the spirit world.

Odan is married to a female spirit called Ayida Wedo (The rainbow spirit) and we use Saint Patrick as an Catholic image for his representation. We usually put up big ceremonies for Damballa, Ayida Wedo together with Papa Loko (Loko Atisou) in March. He is also the lover to Erulie Freda.
He is served with white foods, an raw egg mounted on a plate of white flour (Usually two, one for Damballa and one for Ayida), pompeia perfume, milk, syrop d’orgeat, white/green cakes and white rooster.

When Danballa comes down (meaning mounting a person) We immediately cover the person with white sheets; and the person hisses and crawls like a serpent would do. We do this to keep the spirit cool, while we sprinkle Pompeia perfume on the sheets and sing his sacred songs.

Danballa belongs to the Rada escort, the primary spiritual nation of what we call "root Lwa" and as he is associated with the pure essence of life; his colors are naturally white, and green is also used, as a association with the Python. He is also sometimes depicted on the poto mitan (the center pole we use symbolically in Vodou- as the "center-point of the world", -where the spirits come down-) crawling his way up the pole.

Houngan Kris
Labelle Deesse Vodou temple
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Choosing your spiritual path & initiation

First let me very briefly get into the history of Haitian Vodou. I`m not going to go  to deep into the history part, because that`s not really what the subject is about.. But try to make a short summon..  Haitian Vodou was basically created in Ayiti in the 18th century, under colonization of the French Empire. The belief system was mainly formed by the slaves of different African tribes  (The Fon, Nagos, Ibos, Ewes, Yorubas, Dahomeans, Congos to name a few..), with strong influence from Taino religious belief (the indigious people of Haiti) and also incorporated with elements from Roman Catholicism, as well as elements from European spirituality. (If you are interested you can read  more in deapth about the history by doing a quick search on google, you will find tons of information)

I also want to make it clear (cause many get it confused), African Vodou, Voodoo or Vodoun (even if  it had great influence in the formation of Haitian Vodou, are not one and the same. (Mind you, each tribe had their own set of language, and spiritual system); Haitian Vodou was formed by the understanding of the common thread, or "red thread" as it is called (because the slaves at that time couldn't understand each-others languages, they had similar spiritual common-ties, and eventually tied together and created a unique and elaborate form of spiritual and religious system, with its own language (Kreyol), With its own doctrines and its own protocols (which in Haitian Vodou we refer to as regleman).

It is important to understand; that based on the system or order you follow which is different from culture to culture, different from tribe to tribe, different from religion to religion (but note: thou every spiritual system is different-in essence- it still leads to the same source, be it the same God and yes, the same spirits as well) The important distinction thou is that each spiritual system has its own unique map, that guides you on path, to reach and connect with the divine. (Which has evolved trough generations and generations)

This is the reason why you have to chose you path wisely. I am not in any way implying not to try your way, to question, not to do research, not to travel and explore (on contrary, you should take your time- You should make sure you sense it, you should make sure you feel it; in your heart, blood and bones.. And only then; decide. Especially in referral to initiation. To initiate is not a game, it is not to be taken lightly, its not only a choice; but it is a commitment, more over a sacred commitment that you make for life. You become tied to your teacher, to your community and your society becomes part of your family (bonded trough spirit)

To go from one one path to another, will only make you confused. As mentioned, there are several paths to the mysteries, there are several paths to the invisible world, to God and the spirits; but initiating into several paths, or even worse mixing paths together, will only give you a headache, and can easily make you lost. The spirits communicate with you accordingly to the pathways you open (symbolically and spiritually) but it is trough this ritualistic approach that binds the important factor of your conscious mind and the correspondence to the spirits. It`s a language in its own (that a spirit recognize and have recognized through generations), and by learning this this is the key how to connect, read, understand and resonate with the spiritual world.

Houngan Kris

Kristian Moe

Couraj Ginin Edeyo Soulage Minfo Bon Houngan

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