ezilikonnen/the_lwa/lwa.html You may not know how God is viewed in Haitian Vodou. So let me give you some explanations. God in Vodou is most often seen as distant and not readily accessible to humans. Yes, Vodou is a monotheistic tradition. Oftentimes, God is considered as not accessible because simply he is too busy. Meaning that God has the whole universe to take care of, he has many things to do. This is understandable. We see God in the same way Roman Catholics do. He is a good, kind, loving God. Most Vodouisants are also Catholic. We attend mass and church services. One thing about God is certainly true, we listen about God (when we go to mass), we hear about God, but we do not see God. We worship God. Due to all of this, God has invested power in the spirits we know as Lwa. The Lwa, unlike God, are readily accessible to us. A Lwa is, at its most basic definition, a spiritual entity. Lwa can be contacted through possession. Now, this is not considered demonic. Possession is essentially what all Vodou ceremonies are directed to achieve. This is what we want. We seek possession. In fact, the Kanzo (Vodou initiation) is aimed to invoke possession and improve the ability of its candidates to become possessed. We, Vodouisants, do not worship the Lwa. The Lwa are served. We serve the Lwa by giving them their favorite foods, wearing their colors, observing their sacred days (by abstinence), through Vodou ceremonies, etc. The Lwa in turn serve us. They confer upon us material blessings, physical well being, protection, abundance, etc. See this is a double sided matter. Without us the Lwa would not exist, and without them we would cease to exist as well.
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 06:50:57 +0000
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