voodoo possession

by al tyas

the very word voodoo conjures up quite a storm for those of us who know little
about the subject, which is just about everyone outside of ghana, haiti and new
orleans. animal sacrifice, dolls with pins and zombies are all misunderstood
aspects of this fascinating and supernatural religion. however, although many
aspects of voodoo (or voodou) can be terrifying to most people here in the united
states, one fascinates me the most, and that�s voodoo possession. an important
part of voodoo is ritual, and in ritual practitioners are possessed by the voodoo
spirits (called lwa, or loa ) to the point of performing feats that are beyond our
laws of reasoning! to really understand the concept of voodoo possession, we have
to understand one major aspect of this religion, the lwa themselves, and their
relationships with the practitioners. there are a few very important points to
understand when it comes to the lwa of voodoo, and once it is understood that
these entities actually participate in their own rituals causing the possessed to
perform supernatural acts it can be understood that there is a constant active
relationship among both the living and the non-living.

an important thing to understand about voodoo is that it is not a pagan religion.

many will tell you lwa are gods, but in my findings this is a common
misunderstanding. in voodoo, there is only one god. however, like buddhism, the
voodoo god interferes little in the lives of the people. it�s really not that
interested; therefore prayers and devotions really aren�t needed. so whom do the
voodoo people go to when they need help? the lwa! the lwa are active spirits that
may or may not have been human at one time who assist the people of the religion
with what they want and need, such as love, money, a house, babies or advice. they
aren�t gods, because they don�t �live� forever. in fact, if the devotions to any
particular lwa completely end, the lwa goes away as well. the lwa needs his or her
people as much as the people need the lwa. confused? perhaps an example will be
helpful:

a fisherman has little business and he desperately needs to get more fish, and
none are available. if he practices voodoo, he can offer a ritual to the lwa of
the sea. agwe and sirene. if agwe and sirene accept his prayers and offerings,
he�ll find plenty of fish! in turn the fisherman will have a devotion to the lwa
of the sea. if no one has any devotion to agwe and sirene, they will fade away.
therefore, they�re not eternal.

now that we know the lwa are actual spirits who are constantly active in people�s
lives, what makes them so interesting? in my opinion what�s fascinating about the
lwa is their ability to produce some very unusual paranormal activity in both
humans and objects that truly go beyond the forces of nature!

lwa have special objects they like. some like rum, others candy, still others like
fancy clothes. many voodoo practitioners will tell you that if a lwa wants
something, they will let you know! objects will float around the room, masks and
pictures on walls will turn up side down, objects can break, and people can be
touched and even pushed. usually this isn�t because the lwa want something, it�s
simply they want attention or something you have! the lwa can be pranksters as
well, but they also have a dark side. haitians will tell you if you make a lwa
angry watch out! put on a helmet and run because they can get very nasty. you have
to remember to step out of the judeo-christian matrix when it comes to voodoo.
most of the lwa at one time were human at some point but evolved to these powerful
spirits, and many of them get easily offended and can really fly off the handle
when not given the respect they feel they deserve! some of the lwa are always
quick tempered, and others are exclusively used for black magic. just keep in mind
they aren�t guardian angels but have dark sides�that�s crucial in studying the
lwa!

in addition to the lwa making themselves known through moving or throwing things,
they also possess their practitioners quite frequently. each voodoo ritual invites
all the lwa in to participate, and remember, there are hundreds of them. they come
in a precession, with dambala and ayida weddo (the fertility lwa) first. then papa
legba, who holds the keys to the spirit world and lets the rest of the lwa
participate in the ritual and opens communication of both sides. and then the
party begins! these rituals aren�t solemn occasions, there�s dancing, drinking,
and more dancing, especially when the ghede show up (the lwa of the dead who love
to drink). then along comes the possession. people start having what look like
nervous fits, jerky movements and throw themselves onto the ground in apparent
seizures. when the recover, a lwa is visiting. by the possessed actions alone the
other guests will know which lwa is visiting. some ride their possessed�s
shoulders for a while, then others just knock the possessed on the ground in one
big shove. regardless, the person by choice is possessed (only people who want to
be possessed have the opportunity).

during possession, the possessed person does some quite unusual feats. sometimes
they dance for hours and pass our right on a fire without getting the least bit
singed. some will reach into a fire and pull out a burning piece of wood and will
not be affected by the flame. if a person is possessed by maman brigite, they will
drink her favorite beverage, rum mixed with gunpowder! yet nothing will happen to
the person! a person possessed by dambala will crawl up tall trees without using
their arms or legs. the love lwa ezili-freda will choose a man or woman as her
body, and will flirt in french with the men and hiss and spit at the women. a
person possessed by agwe or sirene will swim for miles out to sea, even if the
person never swam before. once the lwas of death comes, feats get even stranger
with highly unusual amounts of food being eaten, and hard liquor consumed so
quickly most people would be in the hospital! yet the lwa never act drunk, and
never get hurt. they answer questions asked by the other participants, get adorned
in their favorite clothing, and are offered their favorite foods and drinks.

so what happens when the lwa leaves the possessed body? they remember nothing. and
in haitian tradition no one who is chosen by the lwa is either praised or scorned.
they were simply chosen. everyone goes back to their old lives until the have a
ritual to the lwa again.

questions or comments? please email me! if this works out id live to write more
extensive on the lwa and their role in the voodoo tradition.

thanks al tyas
director, dcmag