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Y alli estabamos simbi y yo , despues de una ajetreada mañana, mientras yo colocaba las nuevas casas coloridas para los parajitos de la nona, Simbi se dedico a perseguir ratoncillos por las canaletas del tejado, solo buscaba amigos para jugar, es mas que sociable con todos
Despues de comer buscamos el rincon mas fresco de la casa junto a la entrada del patio , cerre los ojos oia como caia el agua de la fuente y de lejos escuchaba el viejo tocadiscos de la biblioteca , Tim estaba en casa y para el la musica debia poder ser escuchada por todo ente viviente.
Senti como Simbi se subio encima mio, y entonces empezo nuestro ritual , yo cerre los ojos y el me miraba , podia sentir su mirada y como siempre despues de unos minutos asi nuestras respiraciones se acompasaban y nos adormeciamos con la calma de la tarde, estos eran nuestros verdaderos momentos de verano .
The Witches - The sorceress Pahn Suh by Daniel Arrhakis (2015)
Work of the series The Legend Of The Golden Empress.
With The music : SimBi J - Angel of Darkness [Epic Orchestral Choral]
In that Dark Night the sorceress Pahn Suh appears in dreams to the Golden Empress ... with a hiss like a poisonous snake says to her with the icy cold of a death sentence:
- I transformed your beloved emperor in stone, now you can love him for ever !! You never deceived me ... I know you have The Grail Of Ghoythyan ... if you want that he come back to life you'll have to bring it to me ... in the Jade Dragon Mountain ... Empress of Gold ... my little treasure ...
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The Base for made this work were sculptures, the face was created for this specific composition. Textured layered process, several digital painting processes and art collage.
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My last work for this week and weekend ! I must rest some days but i will be here these days in groups and trying catching up !
My best regards dear friends and thank you so much for you always so nice comments and invitations ! : )
A view of the traditional home of the flamingo in Kenya. The flamingo is the main tourist attraction at Lake Nakuru National Park. It has been reported that they have left their main sanctuary in the Rift Valley to other areas, including the minute Lake Simbi Nyaima in Western Kenya. It has been reported that Lake Nakuru has lost two-thirds of its' water.
PUBLISHED:
www.huyai.com/post/central-island-national-park-small-but...
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Lake Nakuru is one of the Rift Valley soda lakes at an elevation of 1,754 m (5,755 ft) above sea level. It lies to the south of Nakuru, in the rift valley of Kenya and is protected by Lake Nakuru National Park.
The lake's abundance of algae used to attract a vast quantity of flamingos that famously lined the shore.
The lake is world-famous as the location of the greatest bird spectacle on earth - myriads of fuchsia pink flamingos whose numbers are legion, often more than a million - or even two million. They feed on the abundant algae, which thrives in the warm waters. Scientists reckon that the flamingo population at Nakuru consumes about 250,000 kg of algae per hectare of surface area per year.
There are two types of flamingo species: the lesser flamingo can be distinguished by its deep red carmine bill and pink plumage unlike the greater, which has a bill with a black tip. The lesser flamingos are ones that are commonly pictured in documentaries mainly because they are large in number.
In 2013, the lake received an alarming increase in the water levels that led to the migration of flamingos to Lake Bogoria in search for food supply.
In recent years, there have been wide variations between the dry and wet seasons' water levels. It is suspected that this is caused by increasing watershed land conversion to intensive crop production and urbanization, both which reduce the capacity of soils to absorb water, recharge ground water and thus increase seasonal flooding. Pollution and drought destroy the flamingos' food, Cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, and causing them to migrate to the nearby Lakes, more recently lakes Elmenteita, Simbi Nyaima and Bogoria. Local climate changes have also been hypothesized to contribute to the changing environmental conditions in the lakes catchment. Recent media reports indicate increasing concern among stakeholders, as mass flamingo migrations and deaths could spell doom to the tourism industry.
Lake Nakuru is protected under the Ramsar Convention on wetlands
I took this photo in 1983 (been scanned from a Kodachrome). This was before the loss of the majority of the flamingo population to nearby lakes. When viewing the from vantage points the lake would look pink.
Canadian Museum of Civilization, Gatineau, Québec
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ncph.org/history-at-work/conference-preview-3-vodou-at-th...
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_Vodou
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Nikon Nikkor 18-135mm 1:3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S DX
_DSC4160 Anx2 1400w Q90 Ap 1343w Q11
Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU at the Partner2Connect Digital Development Roundtable, 7 June 2022 Kigali, Rwanda
©ITU/ Y. Simbi
A sample image for Irish and her editor to consider.
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Model: Irish Heather Collins
Photographyer: c'est moi
Photographer's Assistan: Judith Turano
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[Strobist info: Alien Bees AB800 bounce umbrella over camera right, AB1600 shoot thru umbrella camera right, ABR800 shoot thru umbrella camera left]
The ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) Kigali, Rwanda, 6 to 16 June 2022.
©ITU/ Y. Simbi
Mr Kefilwe Madingoane, AMAP Public Affairs Lead, Vodafone South Africa at the Partner2Connect Digital Development Roundtable, 7 June 2022 Kigali, Rwanda
©ITU/ Y. Simbi
This fella is suppossed to help me keep calm. Does he have a job going on here. .
It has been suggested that Christian-Voodoo relations be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)
(French pronunciation: [vodu], usually Voodoo in English) is a syncretic[1] religion that originates in the Caribbean country of Haiti. It is based upon a merging of the beliefs and practices of West African peoples (mainly the Fon and Ewe; see West African Vodun), with Arawakian religious beliefs, and Roman Catholic Christianity. Vodou was created by African
slaves who were brought to Haiti in the 16th century and still followed their traditional African beliefs, but were forced to convert to the religion of their slavers.[2] Practitioners are commonly described as Vodouisants.
[edit] Overview
The principal belief in Haitian Vodou is that deities called Lwa (or Loa) are subordinates to a god called Bondyè, This supreme being does not intercede in human affairs, and it is to the Lwa that Vodou worship is directed.[3] Other characteristics of Vodou include veneration of the dead and protection against evil witchcraft.[4]
Haitian Vodou shares many similarities with other faiths of the African diaspora, including the Louisiana Voodoo of New Orleans, Santería and Arará of Cuba, and Candomblé and Umbanda of Brazil. A Haitian Vodou temple is called an Hounfour.[5]
Vodou paraphernalia, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.In Haitian Vodou Sèvis Lwa in Creole ("Service to the Lwa"), there are strong elements from the Bakongo of Central Africa and the Igbo and Yoruba of Nigeria, although many other African nations have contributed to the liturgy of the Sèvis Lwa. A significant portion of Haitian Vodou often overlooked by scholars until recently is the input from the Kongo. The entire northern area of Haiti is heavily influenced by Kongo practices. In northern Haiti, it is often called the Kongo Rite or Lemba, from the Lemba rituals of the Loango area and Mayombe. In the south, Kongo influence is called Petwo (Petro). Many lwa (a Kikongo term) are of Kongo origin, such as Basimbi, Lemba, etc.
Haitian creole forms of Vodou exist in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, eastern Cuba,[1] some of the outer islands of the Bahamas, the United States, and anywhere that Haitians have emigrated to. However, it is important to note that the Vodun religion (separate from Haitian Vodou) already existed in the United States, having been brought by enslaved West Africans, specifically from the Ewe, Fon, Mina, Kabaye, and Nago groups. Some of the more enduring forms survive in the Gullah Islands. There has been a re-emergence of the Vodun traditions in the United States, maintaining the same ritual and cosmological elements as in West Africa. These and other African-diasporic religions such as Lukumi or Regla de Ocha (also known as Santería) in Cuba, Candomblé and Umbanda in Brazil, all religions that evolved among descendants of transplanted Africans in the Americas.
A large sequined Vodou "drapo" or flag by the artist George Valris, depicting the veve, or symbol, of the loa Loko Atison.Haitian Vodou or Vaudou (French pronunciation: [vodu], usually Voodoo in English) is a syncretic[1] religion that originates in the Caribbean country of Haiti. It is based upon a merging of the beliefs and practices of West African peoples (mainly the Fon and Ewe; see West African Vodun), with Arawakian religious beliefs, and Roman Catholic Christianity. Vodou was created by African slaves who were brought to Haiti in the 16th century and still followed their traditional African beliefs, but were forced to convert to the religion of their slavers.[2] Practitioners are commonly described as Vodouisants.
[edit] Overview
The principal belief in Haitian Vodou is that deities called Lwa (or Loa) are subordinates to a god called Bondyè, This supreme being does not intercede in human affairs, and it is to the Lwa that Vodou worship is directed.[3] Other characteristics of Vodou include veneration of the dead and protection against evil witchcraft.[4]
Haitian Vodou shares many similarities with other faiths of the African diaspora, including the Louisiana Voodoo of New Orleans, Santería and Arará of Cuba, and Candomblé and Umbanda of Brazil. A Haitian Vodou temple is called an Hounfour.[5]
Vodou paraphernalia, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.In Haitian Vodou Sèvis Lwa in Creole ("Service to the Lwa"), there are strong elements from the Bakongo of Central Africa and the Igbo and Yoruba of Nigeria, although many other African nations have contributed to the liturgy of the Sèvis Lwa. A significant portion of Haitian Vodou often overlooked by scholars until recently is the input from the Kongo. The entire northern area of Haiti is heavily influenced by Kongo practices. In northern Haiti, it is often called the Kongo Rite or Lemba, from the Lemba rituals of the Loango area and Mayombe. In the south, Kongo influence is called Petwo (Petro). Many lwa (a Kikongo term) are of Kongo origin, such as Basimbi, Lemba, etc.
Haitian creole forms of Vodou exist in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, eastern Cuba,[1] some of the outer islands of the Bahamas, the United States, and anywhere that Haitians have emigrated to. However, it is important to note that the Vodun religion (separate from Haitian Vodou) already existed in the United States, having been brought by enslaved West Africans, specifically from the Ewe, Fon, Mina, Kabaye, and Nago groups. Some of the more enduring forms survive in the Gullah Islands. There has been a re-emergence of the Vodun traditions in the United States, maintaining the same ritual and cosmological elements as in West Africa. These and other African-diasporic religions such as Lukumi or Regla de Ocha (also known as Santería) in Cuba, Candomblé and Umbanda in Brazil, all religions that evolved among descendants of transplanted Africans in the Americas.
Vodouisants believe in a supreme being called Bondye, but also worship many lesser spirits, as the loa. This belief is held in several West African religions, such as that of the Yoruba, Odinani, and Vodun. When it came in contact with Roman Catholicism, the supreme being was associated with the Judeo-Christian God, the loa becoming the saints.
Bondye
Bondye is the supreme god in Haitian Vodou. The word is derived from the French bon Dieu (good God).[3] Vodouisants regard Bondye as the creator of everything. Bondye is distant from its creation, being a pandeist deity. Because of this, he is aloof from every day affairs and Vodouisants don't believe they can contact Him for help.
] Loa
Because Bondye is unreachable, Vodouisants aim their prayers to lesser entities, the spirits known as loa, or mistè. The most notable loa include Papa Legba (guardian of the crossroads), Erzulie Freda (the spirit of love), Simbi (the spirit of rain and magicians), Kouzin Zaka (the spirit of agriculture), and The Marasa, divine twins considered to be the first children of Bondye.[6]
These loa can be divided into 21 nations, which include the Petro, Rada, Congo and Nago [7] The Petro and the Rada contrast most with one another, because the Petro are hot or aggressive and restless, whereas the Rada are cool or calm and peaceful.[citation needed]
The loa also fall into family groups, who share a surname, such as Ogou, Ezili, Azaka or Ghede. For instance, "Ezili" is a family, Ezili Danto and Ezili Freda are two individual spirits in that family. Each family is associated with a specific aspect, for instance the Ogou family are soldiers, the Ezili govern the feminine spheres of life, the Azaka govern agriculture, the Ghede govern the sphere of death and fertility. Each of the loa is associated with a particular Roman Catholic saint.
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"Voodoo doll" redirects here. For other uses, see Voodoo doll (disambiguation).
It has been suggested that Christian-Voodoo relations be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)
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A large sequined Vodou "drapo" or flag by the artist George Valris, depicting the veve, or symbol, of the loa Loko Atison.Haitian Vodou or Vaudou (French pronunciation: [vodu], usually Voodoo in English) is a syncretic[1] religion that originates in the Caribbean country of Haiti. It is based upon a merging of the beliefs and practices of West African peoples (mainly the Fon and Ewe; see West African Vodun), with Arawakian religious beliefs, and Roman Catholic Christianity. Vodou was created by African slaves who were brought to Haiti in the 16th century and still followed their traditional African beliefs, but were forced to convert to the religion of their slavers.[2] Practitioners are commonly described as Vodouisants.
Contents [hide]
[edit] Overview
The principal belief in Haitian Vodou is that deities called Lwa (or Loa) are subordinates to a god called Bondyè, This supreme being does not intercede in human affairs, and it is to the Lwa that Vodou worship is directed.[3] Other characteristics of Vodou include veneration of the dead and protection against evil witchcraft.[4]
Haitian Vodou shares many similarities with other faiths of the African diaspora, including the Louisiana Voodoo of New Orleans, Santería and Arará of Cuba, and Candomblé and Umbanda of Brazil. A Haitian Vodou temple is called an Hounfour.[5]
Vodou paraphernalia, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.In Haitian Vodou Sèvis Lwa in Creole ("Service to the Lwa"), there are strong elements from the Bakongo of Central Africa and the Igbo and Yoruba of Nigeria, although many other African nations have contributed to the liturgy of the Sèvis Lwa. A significant portion of Haitian Vodou often overlooked by scholars until recently is the input from the Kongo. The entire northern area of Haiti is heavily influenced by Kongo practices. In northern Haiti, it is often called the Kongo Rite or Lemba, from the Lemba rituals of the Loango area and Mayombe. In the south, Kongo influence is called Petwo (Petro). Many lwa (a Kikongo term) are of Kongo origin, such as Basimbi, Lemba, etc.
Haitian creole forms of Vodou exist in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, eastern Cuba,[1] some of the outer islands of the Bahamas, the United States, and anywhere that Haitians have emigrated to. However, it is important to note that the Vodun religion (separate from Haitian Vodou) already existed in the United States, having been brought by enslaved West Africans, specifically from the Ewe, Fon, Mina, Kabaye, and Nago groups. Some of the more enduring forms survive in the Gullah Islands. There has been a re-emergence of the Vodun traditions in the United States, maintaining the same ritual and cosmological elements as in West Africa. These and other African-diasporic religions such as Lukumi or Regla de Ocha (also known as Santería) in Cuba, Candomblé and Umbanda in Brazil, all religions that evolved among descendants of transplanted Africans in the Americas.
[edit] Beliefs
[edit] Deities
Vodouisants believe in a supreme being called Bondye, but also worship many lesser spirits, as the loa. This belief is held in several West African religions, such as that of the Yoruba, Odinani, and Vodun. When it came in contact with Roman Catholicism, the supreme being was associated with the Judeo-Christian God, the loa becoming the saints.
[edit] Bondye
Bondye is the supreme god in Haitian Vodou. The word is derived from the French bon Dieu (good God).[3] Vodouisants regard Bondye as the creator of everything. Bondye is distant from its creation, being a pandeist deity. Because of this, he is aloof from every day affairs and Vodouisants don't believe they can contact Him for help.
[edit] Loa
Because Bondye is unreachable, Vodouisants aim their prayers to lesser entities, the spirits known as loa, or mistè. The most notable loa include Papa Legba (guardian of the crossroads), Erzulie Freda (the spirit of love), Simbi (the spirit of rain and magicians), Kouzin Zaka (the spirit of agriculture), and The Marasa, divine twins considered to be the first children of Bondye.[6]
These loa can be divided into 21 nations, which include the Petro, Rada, Congo and Nago [7] The Petro and the Rada contrast most with one another, because the Petro are hot or aggressive and restless, whereas the Rada are cool or calm and peaceful.[citation needed]
The loa also fall into family groups, who share a surname, such as Ogou, Ezili, Azaka or Ghede. For instance, "Ezili" is a family, Ezili Danto and Ezili Freda are two individual spirits in that family. Each family is associated with a specific aspect, for instance the Ogou family are soldiers, the Ezili govern the feminine spheres of life, the Azaka govern agriculture, the Ghede govern the sphere of death and fertility. Each of the loa is associated with a particular Roman Catholic saint.
Vodou's moral code focuses on the vices of dishonour and greed. There is also a notion of relative propriety—and what is appropriate to someone with Dambala Wedo as their head may be different from someone with Ogou Feray as their head. For example, one spirit is very cool and the other is very hot. Coolness overall is valued, and so is the ability and inclination to protect oneself and one's own if necessary. Love and support within the family of the Vodou society seem to be the most important considerations. Generosity in giving to the community and to the poor is also an important value. One's blessings come through the community, and one should be willing to give back. There are no "solitaries" in Vodou—only people separated geographically from their elders and house. A person without a relationship of some kind with elders does not practice Vodou as it is understood in Haiti and among Haitians.
Vodou is an ecstatic rather than a fertility based religion
[edit] Orthodoxy and diversity
There is a diversity of practice in Vodou across the country of Haiti and the Haitian diaspora. For instance in the north of Haiti the lave tèt ("head washing") or kanzwe may be the only initiation, as it is in the Dominican Republic and Cuba, whereas in Port-au-Prince and the south they practice the kanzo rites with three grades of initiation – kanzo senp, si pwen, and asogwe – and the latter is the most familiar mode of practice outside of Haiti. Some lineages combine both, as Manbo Katherine Dunham reports from her personal experience in her book Island Possessed.
While the overall tendency in Vodou is very conservative in accord with its African roots, there is no singular, definitive form, only what is right in a particular house or lineage. Small details of service and the spirits served vary from house to house, and information in books or on the internet therefore may seem contradictory. There is no central authority or "pope" in Haitian Vodou, since "every manbo and houngan is the head of their own house," as a popular saying in Haiti goes. Another consideration in terms of Haitian diversity are the many sects besides the Sèvi Gine in Haiti such as the Makaya, Rara, and other secret societies, each of which has its own distinct pantheon of spirits
Liturgy and practice
Vodou ceremony, Jacmel, Haiti.After a day or two of preparation setting up altars, ritually preparing and cooking fowl and other foods, etc., a Haitian Vodou service begins with a series of Catholic prayers and songs in French, then a litany in Kreyòl and African "langaj" that goes through all the European and African saints and lwa honored by the house, and then a series of verses for all the main spirits of the house. This is called the "Priyè Gine" or the African Prayer. After more introductory songs, beginning with saluting Hounto, the spirit of the drums, the songs for all the individual spirits are sung, starting with the Legba family through all the Rada spirits, then there is a break and the Petwo part of the service begins, which ends with the songs for the Gede family.
As the songs are sung, participants believe that spirits come to visit the ceremony, by taking possession of individuals and speaking and acting through them. When a ceremony is made, only the family of those possessed is benefited. At this time it is believed that devious mambo or houngan can take away the luck of the worshippers through particular actions. For instance, if a priest asks for a drink of champagne, a wise participant refuses. Sometimes these ceremonies may include dispute among the singers as to how a hymn is to be sung. In Haiti, these Vodou ceremonies, depending on the Priest or Priestess, may be more organized. But in the United States, many Vodou practitioners and clergy take it as a sort of non-serious party or "folly".
In a serious rite, each spirit is saluted and greeted by the initiates present and gives readings, advice, and cures to those who ask for help. Many hours later, as morning dawns, the last song is sung, the guests leave, and the exhausted hounsis, houngans, and manbos can go to sleep.
On the individual's household level, a Vodouisant or "sèvitè"/"serviteur" may have one or more tables set out for their ancestors and the spirit or spirits that they serve with pictures or statues of the spirits, perfumes, foods, and other things favored by their spirits. The most basic set up is just a white candle and a clear glass of water and perhaps flowers. On a particular spirit's day, one lights a candle and says an Our Father and Hail Mary, salutes Papa Legba and asks him to open the gate, and then one salutes and speaks to the particular spirit as an elder family member. Ancestors are approached directly, without the mediating of Papa Legba, since they are said to be "in the blood".
[edit] Priests
Houngans (Male Voodoo Priest) or Mambos (Female Voodoo Priest) are usually people who were chosen by the dead ancestors (loas) and received the divination from the deities while he or she was possessed. His or her tendency is to do good by helping and protecting others from spells, however they sometimes use their supernatural power to hurt or kill people. They also conduct ceremonies that usually take place "Amba Peristil" (under a Voodoo Temple). However, non-Houngan or non-Mambo as Vodouisants are not initiated, and are referred to as being "bossale"; it is not a requirement to be an initiate to serve one's spirits. There are clergy in Haitian Vodou whose responsibility it is to preserve the rituals and songs and maintain the relationship between the spirits and the community as a whole (though some of this is the responsibility of the whole community as well). They are entrusted with leading the service of all of the spirits of their lineage. Sometimes they are "called" to serve in a process called "being reclaimed," which they may resist at first.[8] Below the houngans and mambos are the hounsis, who are initiates who act as assistants during ceremonies and who are dedicated to their own personal mysteries.
[edit] History
[edit] African origins
Vodou original areaThe word vodou derives from vodũ, which in Fon, Ewe, and related language (distributed from contemporary Ghana to Benin) means spirit or divine creature (in the sense of divine creation).
The cultural area of the Fon, Ewe, and Yoruba peoples share common metaphysical conceptions around a dual cosmological divine principle Nana Buluku, the God-Creator, and the vodou(s) or God-Actor(s), daughters and sons of the Creator's twin children Mawu (goddess of the moon) and Lisa (god of the sun). The God-Creator is the cosmogonical principle and does not trifle with the mundane; the vodou(s) are the God-Actor(s) who actually govern earthly issues.
The pantheon of vodoun is quite large and complex. In one version, there are seven male and female twins of Mawu, interethnic and related to natural phenomena or historical or mythical individuals, and dozens of ethnic vodous, defenders of a certain clan or tribe.[citation needed]
West African Vodun has its primary emphasis on ancestors, with each family of spirits having its own specialized priest and priestess, which are often hereditary. In many African clans, deities might include Mami Wata, who are gods and goddesses of the waters; Legba, who in some clans is virile and young in contrast to the old man form he takes in Haiti and in many parts of Togo; Gu (or Ogoun), ruling iron and smithcraft; Sakpata, who rules diseases; and many other spirits distinct in their own way to West Africa.
European colonialism, followed by totalitarian regimes in West Africa, suppressed Vodun as well as other forms of the religion. However, because the Vodou deities are born to each African clan-group, and its clergy is central to maintaining the moral, social, and political order and ancestral foundation of its villagers, it proved to be impossible to eradicate the religion. Though permitted by Haiti's 1987 constitution, which recognizes religious equality, many books and films have sensationalized voodoo as black magic based on animal and human sacrifices to summon zombies and evil spirits.
[edit] Haitian Revolution
The majority of the Africans who were brought as slaves to Haiti were from Western and Central Africa. The Vodun practitioners brought over and enslaved in the United States primarily descend from the Ewe, Anlo-Ewe, and other West African groups.[citation needed] The survival of the belief systems in the New World is remarkable, although the traditions have changed with time and have even taken on some Catholic forms of worship.[1] Two important factors, however, characterize the uniqueness of Haitian Vodou as compared to African Vodun; the transplanted Africans of Haiti, similar to those of Cuba and Brazil, were obliged to disguise their loa (sometimes spelled lwa) or spirits as Roman Catholic saints, an element of a process called syncretism.
Roman Catholicism was mixed into the religion to hide their "pagan" religion from their masters, who had forbidden them to practice it. Thus, Haitian Vodou has roots in several West African religions, and incorporates some Roman Catholic and Arawak Amerindian influences. It is common for Haitians followers of the Vodou religion to integrate Roman Catholic practices by including Catholic prayers in Vodou worship. Thus Vodou incorporated some formal elements of Roman Catholicism, while remaining totally unChristian in its essence. Throughout the history of the island from independence in 1804 to the present, missionaries repeatedly came to the island to convert the Haitians back to the Christian religion previously forced on them. This missionary influence—as well as experience with abusive practitioners—has made many Haitians regard Voudu as evil.
Vodou, as it is known in Haiti and the Haitian diaspora, is the result of the pressures of many different cultures and ethnicities of people who were uprooted from Africa and imported to Hispaniola during the African slave trade. Under slavery, African culture and religion was suppressed, lineages were fragmented, and people pooled their religious knowledge and from this fragmentation became culturally unified. In addition to combining the spirits of many different African and Amerindian nations, Vodou has incorporated pieces of Roman Catholic liturgy to replace lost prayers or elements. Images of Catholic saints are used to represent various spirits or "mistè" ("mysteries", actually the preferred term in Haiti), and many saints themselves are honored in Vodou in their own right. This syncretism allows Vodou to encompass the African, the Indian, and the European ancestors in a whole and complete way. It is truly a Kreyòl religion.
The most historically important Vodou ceremony in Haitian history was the Bwa Kayiman or Bois Caïman ceremony of August 1791 that began the Haitian Revolution, in which the spirit Ezili Dantor possessed a priestess and received a black pig as an offering, and all those present pledged themselves to the fight for freedom.[9] This ceremony ultimately resulted in the liberation of the Haitian people from French colonial rule in 1804, and the establishment of the first black people's republic in the history of the world and the second independent nation in the Americas.
[edit] Contemporary
Today Vodou is practiced not only by Haitians but by Americans and people of many other nations who have been exposed to Haitian culture. However (as may occur within other religions), because of the loyalty and demand many have imposed on vodou, some high priests and priestesses have taken the opportunity to exploit their followers, asking large sums of money for work that brings no result. It has been asserted that Vodou as a religion is dying because of the greed of many who practice it.
Many Haitians involved in the practice of Vodou have been initiated as Houngans or Mambos. In Haiti, a houngan or mambo is considered a person of possible high power and status who acquire much money; it now is a growing occupation in Haiti, attracting many an impoverished citizen to its practice, not only to gain power but to gain money as well. Some Vodou practitioners with a hunger to live a life of wealth and power became practitioners so they could exploit foreigners and Haitians who are uneducated about vodou, bringing them into a web of deceptions to collect large incomes in exchange for poor quality work.
In January 2010, after the Haiti earthquake there was an outburst of solidarity prayers in Benin with the victims. Traditional ceremonies were organized to appease the spirits and seek the blessing of ancestors for the Haitians. Also a "purification ceremony" was planned for Haiti.[10]
[edit] Myths and misconceptions
Vodou has come to be associated in popular culture with the lore of Satanism, zombies and "voodoo dolls". While there is evidence of zombie creation,[11] it is a minor phenomenon within rural Haitian culture and not a part of the Vodou religion proper. Such manifestations fall under the auspices of the bokor or sorcerer rather than the priest of the Loa.
The practice of sticking pins in dolls has history in folk magic, but its exact origins are unclear. How it became known as a method of cursing an individual by some followers of what has come to be called New Orleans Voodoo, but more appropriately Hoodoo (folk magic), is unknown. This practice is not unique to Vodou or Hoodoo, however, and has as much basis in magical devices such as the poppet and the nkisi or bocio of West and Central Africa. These are in fact power objects, what in Haiti is called pwen, rather than magical surrogates for an intended target of sorcery whether for boon or for bane. Such Vodou dolls are not a feature of Haitian religion, although dolls intended for tourists may be found in the Iron Market in Port au Prince. The practice became closely associated with the Vodou religions in the public mind through the vehicle of horror movies and popular novels.
There is a practice in Haiti of nailing crude poppets with a discarded shoe on trees near the cemetery to act as messengers to the otherworld, which is very different in function from how poppets are portrayed as being used by Vodou worshippers in popular media and imagination, i.e. for purposes of sympathetic magic towards another person. Another use of dolls in authentic Vodou practice is the incorporation of plastic doll babies in altars and objects used to represent or honor the spirits, or in pwen, which recalls the aforementioned use of bocio and nkisi figures in Africa.[citation needed]
Although Vodou is often associated with Satanism, Satan is rarely incorporated in Vodou tradition. Mississippi Delta folksongs mix references to Vodou and to Satan.[citation needed]
Further adding to the dark reputation of Vodou were films such as The Serpent and the Rainbow and Live and Let Die (part of Ian Fleming's widely successful James Bond series). Fleming's depiction of the schemings of a fiendish Soviet agent (see Mr. Big, Baron Samedi) using Vodou to intimidate and control a vast network of submissive black followers reached an incomparably greater audience than any careful scholarly work on the subject of Vodou.[citation needed]
To address the myths and misconceptions that have historically maligned the practice and present a more constructive view of the religion, in April 1997, fifteen scholars gathered at UCSB for a colloquium on Haitian Vodou, The Spirit and The Reality: Vodou and Haiti created a new association under the name, the Congress of Santa Barbara also known as KOSANBA.[12]
[edit] Organizations
In the aftermath of the Duvalier dictatorship, a number of individuals, including many houngan, sought to organize means of defense for Haitian Vodou from defamation by evangelical Christian missionaries and congregations. One of the first leading houngan to formally organize other houngan in solidarity was Wesner Morency (1959-2007), who established the Vodou Church of Haiti in 1998 (registered in 2001 by the Ministry of Justice) and the Commission Nationale de Structuration du Vodou (CONAVO). Another individual who has pursued the organization of houngan is Max Beauvoir, who established and heads the National Confederation of Haitian Vodou.
However, the ability to organize and speak on behalf of most, if not all Vodouisants is hampered by the spirituality's historically-decentralized nature.
(As of today 052509, 140 people have viewed this image. It has been added to Mrbill's Geriatric Ward to see if members can determine why the interest in this image and its subject matter.)
... when Exu shows up at a festival in honor of Lemanja, things get very exciting. Mostly it's just excitement. Lemanja and Exu are not all that incompatible.
Here is the link to Chris (Garota CaRIOca's) Flickrsite:
www.flickr.com/photos/crisguedes/
Yemaja
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Offering to Iemanjá
Small boat with Iemanjá image, flowers and gifts
Gifts for Iemanjá usually include flowers and objects of female vanity (perfume, jewelry, combs, lipsticks, mirrors). These are gathered in large baskets and taken out to the sea by local fishermen. Afterwards a massive street party ensues.
Iemanjá is also celebrated every December 8 in Salvador, Bahia. The Festa da Conceição da Praia (Feast to Our Lady of Conception of the church at the beach) is a city holiday dedicated to the catholic saint and also to Iemanjá. Another feast occur this day in the Pedra Furada, Monte Serrat in Salvador, Bahia, called the Gift to Iemanjá, when fishermen celebrate their devotion to the Queen of the Ocean.
Outside Bahia State, Iemanjá is celebrated mainly by followers of the Umbanda religion.
On New Year's Eve in Rio de Janeiro, millions of cariocas, of all religions, dressed in white gather on Copacabana beach to greet the New Year, watch fireworks, and throw flowers and other offerings into the sea for the goddess in the hopes that she will grant them their requests for the coming year. Some send their gifts to Iemanjá in wooden toy boats. Paintings of Iemanjá are sold in Rio shops, next to paintings of Jesus and other catholic saints. They portray her as a woman rising out of the sea. Small offerings of flowers and floating candles are left in the sea on many nights at Copacabana.
In São Paulo State, Iemanjá is celebrated in the two first weekends of December on the shores of Praia Grande city. During these days many vehicles garnished with Iemanjá icons and colors roam from the São Paulo mountains to the sea littoral, some of them traveling hundreds of miles. Thousands of people rally near Iemanjá's statue in Praia Grande beach.
In Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul State, on February 2, the image of Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes is carried to the port of Pelotas. Before the closing of the catholic feast, the boats stop and host the Umbanda followers that carry the image of Iemanjá, in a syncretic meeting that is watched by thousand of people on the shore[7].
Cuba and Haiti
She is venerated in Vodou as LaSiren.
In Santería, Yemayá is seen as the mother of all living things as well as the owner of all waters. Her number is 7 (a tie into the 7 seas), her colors are blue and white (representing water), and her favorite offerings include melons, molasses ("melaço" - sugar cane syrup), whole fried fishes and pork rinds. She has been syncretized with Our Lady of Regla.
Yemaja has several caminos (paths). At the initiation ceremony known as kariocha, or simply ocha, the exact path is determined through divination. Her paths include: These paths are in Voodoo/Candomble.
Ogunte: In this path, she is a warrior, with a belt of iron weapons like Ogun. This path lives by the rocky coastliness. Her colors are crystal, dark blue and some red.
Asesu: This path is very old. She is said to be deaf and answers her patrons slowly. She is associated with ducks and still or stagnant waters. Her colors are pale blue and coral.
Okoto: This path is known as the underwater assassin. Her colors are indigo and blood red and her symbolism includes that of pirates.
Majalewo: This path lives in the forest with the herbalist orisha, Osanyin. She is associated with the marketplace and her shrines are decorated with 21 plates. Her colors are teals and turquoises.
Ibu Aro: This path is similar to Majalewo in that she is associated with markets, commerce and her shrines are decorated with plates. Her colors are darker; indigo, crystal and red coral. Her crown (and husband) is the orisha Oshumare, the rainbow.
Ashaba: This path is said to be so beautiful that no human can look at her directly.
Site for the correct paths in Lucumi/Cuba books.google.com/books?id=DgN8h0GreckC&pg=PA97&lp...
In the Congo religions, such as Palo Mayombe, Palo Monte, Kimbisa and Briumba, she is known as Kalunga, Mà Lango, or Madré D'Agua—Mother of Waters.
In popular culture
The worship of Yemanja by the fishermen of Bahia, Brazil, is a central element of the 1936 Modernist novel "Mar Morto" ("Dead Sea") by the famous Brazilian writer Jorge Amado, himself a native of that state. The book's wide publicity and translations to various languages made this goddess well-known to many people around the world - for example in Israel, where Hebrew books and songs make references to Yemaja, inspired by Amado's work (see Hebrew Wikipedia page [2]).
In 1994, A House Music track was produced, arranged and written by Little Louie Vega and his wife at the time, La India, called "Love & Happiness (Yemaya Y Ochún)" which features a Cuban chant/prayer dedicated Yemaya and her sister Ochún. It is considered a House music classic by many critics, and is always very well received. The song can be found on Cream Classics Volume 2, or Renaissance: The Mix Collection [Disc 1].
As Yemanja, the goddess is also a very prominent subject of veneration by a Brazilian chef in the 2000 romantic comedy Woman on Top.
In 2009, GaiaOnline released an evolving item designed after her, Yemaya's Pearl.
Eshu (Exu)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eshu (other names include Exú, Esu Eleggua, Esu Elegbara, Eshu Elegbara, Elegba, Legba, and Eleda) is an orisha, and one of the most known deities of the Yoruba mythology and related New World traditions.
He has a wide range of responsibilities: the protector of travelers, deity of roads, particularly crossroads, the deity with the power over fortune and misfortune, and the personification of death, a psychopomp. Eshu is involved within the Orisa (also spelt Orisha or Orixa)-Ifá system of the Yoruba as well as in African diasporic faiths like Santeria/Lukumi and Candomble developed by the descendants of enslaved West Africans in the Americas, where Eshu was sometimes identified with Saint Anthony, Saint Michael [1] or Santo Niño de Atocha , depending on the situation or location. He is often identified by the number three, and the colours red & black or white & black, and his caminos or paths (compare: avatar) are often represented carrying a cane, shepherd's crook, as well as a pipe.
Eshu is a god of Chaos and Trickery, and plays frequently tempting choices for the purpose of causing maturation. He is a difficult teacher, but a good one[2]. As an example[3], Eshu was walking down the road one day, wearing a hat that was red on one side and black on the other. Sometime after he departed, the villagers who had seen him began arguing about whether the stranger's hat was black or red. The villagers on one side of the road had only been capable of seeing the black side, and the villagers on the other side had only been capable of seeing the red half. They nearly fought over the argument, until Eshu came back and cleared the mystery, teaching the villagers about how one's perspective can alter a person's perception of reality, and that one can be easily fooled. In other versions of this tale, the two tribes were not stopped short of violence; they actually annihilated each other, and Eshu laughed at the result, saying "Bringing strife is my greatest joy".
In Brazil, the female counterpart of the Exus are called Pomba Gira.
Eshu in different cultures
The veneration Eshu is widespread in the New World, as well as in Africa, and he is venerated under many different names and attributes[4]:
Exu de Quimbanda: The Exu who is the messenger of the deities in Candomble is not Exu de Quimbanda. Exu de Quimbanda has a few similarities in how he is worshipped, such as in the colours he likes, but he is an entirely different entity, originating among the people of Angola, not the Yoruba of Nigeria. While the Exu de Candomble is an Orisha, the Exu of Quimbanda is like a Lordly or Kingly Spirit, and unlike the Candomble Orishas, he can be "bought" or "controlled" by the Quimbanda practitioner to go and do many sorts of deeds, while the Candomble Exu must only be petitioned. Exu de Quimbanda is a Nkuru, a spirit of the forest, while Exu of Candomble is a universal elemental spirit, the spirit of the crossroads and the divine messenger. The similarities between the two are that they both respond to red and black, they both are fed on the road, and they both are very tricky. Beyond that the similarities cease.
Eleggua: Ellegua is another name used among Lukumi for Eshu.
Legba: In Vodou, Papa Legba is the intermediary between the divine and humanity, while Kalfu is his Petro manifestation. Eshu also resembles the Voudon loa Simbi who is both the god of magic and the intermediate between humanity and Papa Legba.
Lucero: In Palo Mayombe, Lucero (also Nkuyo\Mañunga\Lubaniba) is the deity of balance and guidance through paths.
Esu: In Yorubaland, this is an energy that rose out of the Yangi (sacred red rock) and allows people to communicate with the Irunmole, Orisa, Orunmila, and so on. Is the oldest Esu. Also important in the African diaspora.
"Eshu": in the play A Tempest (1969), by Aimé Césaire of Martinique, Eshu is the virile trickster who comes to sing defiant songs laden with sexual innuendo and add humor to this highly political rewriting of Shakespeare's classic play, The Tempest.
Best Known Exus in the Brazilian traditions
Exu Rei
Exu Tranca Rua
Exu Tranca Rua das Almas
Exu Sete Encruzilhadas
Exu Sete Capas
Exu Tiriri
Exu Veludo
Exu de Marabos
Exu Zé Pelintra
Exu Mirim
Roads of Eshu-Elegba in Lukumi
Eshu-Elegba in Cuban Lukumi tradition has 101 different roads, or manifestations. His most well number in 21 and they are:
Eshu Añiki
Eshu Laroye
Eshu Alagwana
Eshu Kilalu
Eshu Bararaki/Bararikikeño
Eschu Ocuboro
Eshu Afra
Eshu Mike
Eshu Bi
Eshu Tulu
Eshu Agosole
Eshu Alabode
Eshu Beleke
Eshu Onibode
Eshu Myulu
Eshu Otole
Eshu Miwa
Eshu Osika
Eshu Araibode
Eshu Yemi
Eshu Aye
Eshu Ocholforo
The ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) Kigali, Rwanda, 6 to 16 June 2022.
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Mr Kefilwe Madingoane, AMAP Public Affairs Lead, Vodafone South Africa at the Partner2Connect Digital Development Roundtable, 7 June 2022 Kigali, Rwanda
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The ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) Kigali, Rwanda, 6 to 16 June 2022.
©ITU/ Y. Simbi
The ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) Kigali, Rwanda, 6 to 16 June 2022.
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Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU at the Partner2Connect Digital Development Roundtable, 7 June 2022 Kigali, Rwanda
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H.E. Mr Bogdan Dumea, Secretary of State, Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalisation, Romania at the Partner2Connect Digital Development Roundtable, 7 - 9 June 2022 Kigali, Rwanda
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H.E. Mr Yuji Sasaki, Vice-Minister, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Japan at the Partner2Connect Digital Development Roundtable, 7 - 9 June 2022 Kigali, Rwanda
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H.E Idriss Saleh Bachar, Minister of Posts and Digital Economy, Chad at the Partner2Connect Digital Development Roundtable, 7 - 9 June 2022 Kigali, Rwanda
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H.E Idriss Saleh Bachar, Minister of Posts and Digital Economy, Chad at the Partner2Connect Digital Development Roundtable, 7 - 9 June 2022 Kigali, Rwanda
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The ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) Kigali, Rwanda, 6 to 16 June 2022.
©ITU/ Y. Simbi
The ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) Kigali, Rwanda, 6 to 16 June 2022.
©ITU/ Y. Simbi
Mr Ivan Suarez, Senior Policy Manager, Access Partnership, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the Partner2Connect Digital Development Roundtable, 7 - 9 June 2022 Kigali, Rwanda
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