#Agaou

[rockofeye]

People rarely ask about these lwas but what can be said about Sobo, Bade, and Agassou? How are they related to Agaou when it comes to the department of thunder, lightning, etc.?

Hi,

Sobo, Bade, and Agassou are all considered royalty within Haitian Vodou, along with a lot of Rada spirits in general. While some spirits had significant changes when they crossed the Middle Passage with the kidnapped and enslaved Africans brought to the island of then Hispaniola, those ones really didn't change that much.

Sobo and Bade are considered brothers and military generals and they do have a lot to do with thunder and lightening. In the asson lineage, they are often considered to guard the djevo/initiatory chamber and the new initiates. Their energy is carried quite a bit in the laplas and pote drapo ceremony that happens during larger fetes and is a part of kanzo. Folks will say they don't come in possession any longer, but that's something that really only been said in the US...they are seen often in peristyles in Haiti.

Agassou is also royalty and is probably even less changed than Sobo and Bade. In Dahomey, he was the progenitor of a royal lineage in what is now Allada in Benin. Alada figures heavily in a lot of songs for Agassou and other lwa. In Benin and nearby areas all the way into the Congo, he is or was heavily associated with men's secret societies. Some of that translated through the Middle Passage to places like Cuba, but that is not how he is present in Haiti. He is embodiment of the connection to Ginen.

Sobo, Bade, and Agassou also have a significant presence in the Dahomey rite as practiced in the Souvenans area in the lakou there. They are also regarded as royalty from the Dahomey kingdom. Gran Lakou Souvenans Mistik is considered to have a direct portal between Haiti and Benin, and count their rite as descended from Dahomey.

Agaou is a little different. He is associated with storms that have thunder and lightening, as well as hurricanes, sometimes earthquakes, and other types of natural phenomenon. He is generally considered to walk much more closely with St Jean Baptiste and the Ti Jean closely associated there and Kouzen. A lot of people fear Agaou and consider him dangerous and violent, but it depends on relationship and lakou, really. Some folks say Agaou is closely associated with the office of the head of the Allada army prior to the founding of the modern states in Africa, and some associate him with the father of Touissant L'Ouverture who held the title of chief of the army of Allada.

At one point, Agaou told me he is in the air and sees everything from where he is above, but your mileage may vary, of course. Similarly, I had a dream a very long time ago about Agaou working very closely with Sobo and Bade (and inviting me on a road trip in a red convertible, but that's neither here nor there), but again...YMMV.

Hope this helps!

[heartmindalignedspirit]

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A post shared by Heart & Mind Aligned Spirit (@heartmindalignedspirit) on Sep 29, 2019 at 1:43pm PDT

St. Michael the Archangel priyé pou nou 🔥🗡 Bon Fet Agaou

[pwlanier]

Roudy Azor (Haitian, B. 1980) Vodou Flag. "Agaou-Cumbee," 2009, sequins and beads on fabric banner.

Material Culture

[bulletboybikers]

Benefits, Uses and Side Effects of Agave Americana

Agave Americana is a famous plant that has many medicinal values. The term agave originates from the Greek word “agauos” that means proud.

It is also called as American aloe but agave won’t belong to aloe vera, which is completely different plant that comes to the aloe family and has its roots in Africa.

To see this full post click on the image

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[hounganmatt]

Happy Thursday, Vodou’s day for the Rada Lwa! Rada spirits are powers of coolness, wealth, power, sovereignty, beauty, and so much more... on Thursdays we exalt and celebrate beloved spirits such as Damballah Wedo, Maitre Agassou, Maitresse Manbo Erzulie Freda Daome, Maitre Agwe, Maitresse LaSirene Diamant, Agaou Wedo, and many more! May their blessings extend to you today! (Beaded Haitian Drapo for Ezili Freda, 31” by 25”. mixed media, for sale at The Dark Lady of New Orleans) #vodou #haitianvodou #haitianculture #crescentcity #neworlleans #voodoo #neworleansvoodoo #beauty #ourlady #notredame #materdolorosa #spirit #spirits #lwa (at The Dark Lady of New Orleans)

[photography-prints]

Agaou Ceramic Ornament https://ift.tt/2UrBF7q. More Designs http://bit.ly/2fwNuVk

[rockofeye]

Noticed a month full of major feast days coming up and felt overwhelmed by the potential number of novenas (especially as many of them are in my eskòt). Any tips of trying to keep track and handle that many novenas, or how to decide on the matter?

September is usually mostly given over to Ezili Freda and some of the other Rada ladies, as well as Agaou. I usually go with whatever the general association is, and if I have a close relationship with a particular spirit that has a day in there, I might add in something.

Novenas are good, but so is having time to breathe. 9 days is a LOT, and I have tended to use novenas for purposes rather than strictly regular devotion when dealing with a whole bunch of lwa. Instead of a novena, I might light a lamp or buy a saint candle and burn it for them on their day, or maybe a bottle of their favorite drink or a new saint image or just sitting and chatting with them.

I'm a big fan of doing what is maintainable over the long term, versus anything that feels overwhelming. Overcommitting just burns me out and that's not who I want to be when I sit in front of the lwa, nor do I want to commit to what I cannot do long term in perpetuity. So, I keep it simple. Simple is different for everyone, I personally could not keep up with stacking novenas!

[rockofeye]

do you have a lot of spiritual husbands, is it difficult to serve all of them? Is it Damballa, Kouzen, Simbi (Anbadlo?), Oguo, Met Agwe or someone else? Thanks!

I do have quite a few lwa that I married; in addition to those you mentioned, I also married Agaou, Kriminel, gave rings to Gede and Bawon, and Ezili Freda had a place at my wedding as well. I've had lwa after the fact ask for rings as a symbol of my relationship with them and my commitments, so I have a crowded jewelry box! Marrying as many as I did is not the norm and honestly not something I recommend, as it's a lot of work and not the easiest of burdens...but they demanded and said I could not move forward without them, so they were all included.

It can be a lot to juggle and the search for balance is constant. Sometimes there is jealousy because I did a thing for one and another wants the same, but in general they seem to understand that I am doing the best I can and am one person with the means that they have blessed me with. I had a chat with them before I did my marriage and told them what they see is what they are getting and they should not expect grand gestures or expansive offerings on the regular, since I am not that kind of person.

They took that to heart and have always been kind to me. My marriage was a huge blessing for me, and I am glad I did it every single day.

[rockofeye]

Can you elaborate more on The Lougawou in Haitian culture? What Lwas are associated with it? And how it’s connected to Vodou adjacent groups and rites. Along with how people protect themselves from them in Haiti. Thank you love your blog.

Hello!

So, lougawou are a bit different than what I think you are thinking about.

Lougawou are basically people who tranform into beasts, like a werewolf in Western culture. It's not something considered positive or normal in any way, it's really a curse or a punishment. Lougawou can be made by houngans/manbos who work both hands, which is the connection to other rites, or by bòkò who work that way. It's really dirty work that's done in a variety of ways, some including boiling the fat out of the body of a deceased infant or child removed from a a cemetary or worse. Bad stuff.

Folks will sometimes say Agaou makes lougawou or if you serve Agaou you are a lougawou, but this isn't true...it is the association with flying, as lougawou are known to fly and Agaou is one lwa who is well known to have wings. There aren't lwa that make lougawou, it is a people-made monstroisity.

The best way to protect against lougawou is to be mindful. It would be hard to stumble into something outside of Haiti that would give you problems, but not impossible. Don't get yourself involved in spiritual work that is aimed at giving you unnatural powers, like flying. If you are in Haiti, stay out of crossroads people are actively doing work in at night. If you see weird stuff at night, no you don't and mind your business and go in a different direction. Don't open the gates or doors at night to people you don't know or are not expecting.

A lot of the protective work done in Haiti involves mounting protective work in the yard or the house to keep lougawou from coming around. There's a particular oil that they hate the smell off that can be kept at the door. Folks like to put a pikan foufou, which is similar to a pufferfish, at the door and there is work that can be with a sour orange and some other stuff. If someone has a real lougawou problem like being stalked by one, a gad could be put in place to address the issue or work could be done to send it back where it came from. Protective work for children is common, too.

I've seen a lougawou once or maybe twice when I have been out at night in Haiti. Once when we were on foot, the folks I was with saw something ahead they didn't like and I got hustled off and was told later that it was someone doing work to make a lougawou. Another time I was in a car very late at night in a pretty quiet area and there was a fire in a crossroads and I would swear I saw a person changing shape. I don't know...Haiti is a special place.

Hope this helps, let me know if I can be of more assistance!

[rockofeye]

While St. Michael usually represents Agaou and sometimes other lwas like Osan, what lwas walk with the other archangels as Gabriel, Raphael, and perhaps even Uriel? Would 4 instead of 3 archangels be best for the cardinal directions (or 7)?

There is no overarching regleman of what saint is present with what lwa; it is largely very specific to lineage. Osanj does not walk with St Michael in large swaths of Haiti, that would be a very unusual occurrence for a number or reasons.

All archangels are not necessarily represented. Some folks will give Agwe the image of Raphael with the fish, but again that is lineage specific and the lwa can have very strong opinions when a saint image is placed with them that they do not associate with in the lineage someone is learning with or born from.

The lineage I am initiated in does not utilize cardinal directions. Cardinal directions are not really utilized too much in Vodou, though there are certainly things that look like that.

[rockofeye]

What exactly are "faces" when referring to Rada "faces" as opposed to Petwo "faces" for different lwas such as talking about the "Rada" face of Simbi, Ti-Jean, and Ezili Dantó? While I understand Danbalah Wèdo being Rada as opposed to Danbalah LaFlambeau being Petwo, does this mean that some Petwo spirits' forms are venerated in their Rada form during the Rada section? Would Simbi Dlo be honored in Rada, or is he still Petwo? Does having a Rada face mean a specific form or a certain nature?

Hi,

There are different ways to explain it. Sometimes describing a spirit as having a more Rada face or a more Petwo face means that their nature is changeable. Sometimes it is a way to describe a family of spirits. Sometimes it's a way to describe a group of spirits that have the same root and then diverge.

Danbala is a family name; while we most often refer to Danbala Wedo when we speak about Danbala, there are hundreds of spirits called Danbala. Some are snakes, some come as men, some come as half man half snake. Danbala Wedo is the most well known Rada Danbala, but there is also Danbala Yenou, Odan Missi Wedo, and others who take the name Danbala, and similar in the Petwo rite.

Similarly, Ogou and Ezili are family names and various Ogou and Ezili extend or can extend into different rites, like Ezili Freda and Grann Tessi Freda in the Rada rite, Ezili Danto, Ezili Kè Nwa, Ezili Mapyang in the Petwo rite, Ezili Danto and many of her sisters extending into Makaya, Chanpwel, and Bizango rites, Ogou Sen Jak and sometimes Ogou Ashade in the Rada rite, Ogou Badagris, Ogou Feray, and numerous other Ogou in the Nago rite, and Ogou Feray, Ogou Demanyè, and Ogou Je Wouj in the Petwo rite. They are all spirits who share a family name and, especially with Ogou, the same root, but show a different 'face' at different times in different rites.

Simbi Dlo is always honored in the Petwo rite; all Simbi spirits come in the Petwo rite or other fiery rites that extend from there.

Rada spirits in general are considered as royalty and are generally cooler spirits with more reserved temperaments, though that doesn't mean calm and quiet. Agaou is welcomed in the Rada rite yet can come screaming like Ogou, and Bossou called with the Rada rhythms is as unpredictable and volatile as his Petwo counterparts.

Hope this helps!

[rockofeye]

Hi I have a quick question I was thinking of naming

A newborn girl Erzulie or Michaela, do you agree or think it is a bad idea or you think I might upset the Goddess herself ?

Hi,

I do not recommend people name children (or pets) after the lwa. It can create a lot of unnecessary issues for the child and/or family, and it's best to avoid it. It's also considered unlucky for the child; what if you name them after a spirit and then that spirit is not one they have a relationship with? Or a spirit that loves them very much is jealous because they are not named after them? Easier and less complicated to do something else.

It's not uncommon for folks to give names inspired by the lwa, but not the actual names of the lwa. Michaela/Michael or Michel/Michelle would be a beautiful name for a child whose parents have a relationship with Agaou or would like the child protected by Ogou. Fredlene is a common name in Haiti given to baby girls whose parents may want the influence of Freda in the child's life.

So...I would suggest staying away from the names of the lwa for kids. Go with an inspired name to give homage, if you'd like!

[rockofeye]

While St. Joseph is usually associated with Papa Loko, what about his other images such as St. Joseph the Worker (carrying an axe/hammer) or St. Joseph the Terror of Demons? Would those kinds of images be more appropriate to different Ogous, Agaou, etc? Does St. Francis have a correspondent in Vodou?

Those other images of St Joseph are not often used. It's possible someone does somewhere, but it's not common practice and I imagine most folks would feel pretty unsettled about transmitting a saint who is with Loko on to others.

We don't assign saint images based on what we might think might match; the lwa and saints are pretty specific about how things line up.

St Francis does and does not walk within Ginen, and it depends on where you are and whom you are learning from if he does.

[rockofeye]

Bon fet St Gerard Majella! Gede walks beside many saints, and St Gerard is one of the more well-known ones. I’m not cooking for Gede today (he eats soon enough..), but the Dead Man has some fresh flowers next to his seat.

It’s been BUSY over here at kay Bonkira; September and October are packed on my personal calendar and it usually catches me by surprise after a summer full of ceremony down in Haiti. Things were different this summer--we postponed ceremony until January, but I did go to Haiti in August--and so I had a little more brain space to plan.

September is often a month where folks hold a fet Metrès over several days (or one really long day), which is a fet for many of the feminine lwa and most often for Metrès Ezili Freda, Metrès Danto, and sometimes Metrès LaSiren as well. Several feast days for these ladies fall within that month, so it’s a good time for them to be celebrated.

While I didn’t hold a fet, I certainly spent a lot of time with those ladies. I try to keep at the front a message that LaSiren had for me and that has come up in a leson more than once: I am male-spirit heavy by default, in that my closest relationships with the lwa are with masculine ones, and so I need to make sure I am balanced out. This means conscious effort to keep the ladies at the front as much as I keep the masculine spirits, and that’s not nearly as easy as I wish it was. It’s been a long, LOOOONG process of digging in deep to being more comfortable with femininity and finding how I can connect with that in ways that don’t feel too out of character. 

The ladies are patient with me and probably more patient than I really earn, so that’s a grace I don’t take lightly.

Then, it was time for Marassa, the divine twins and multiple births. I have previously been a person who has not really enjoyed children, but taking care of my pack of Marassa and my own twin who did not make it to life has changed things. The happy, playful energy lightens my household; I am a fairly quiet and reserved person (really) and so my household tends towards quiet and perhaps kind of serious...but children shake that up and remind me to be looser and more playful. We hold our Marassa in a set of special purpose-built clay vessels called plat Marassa, as well as utilizing some traditional wooden trays as well, and they all got bathed and refreshed, and then given an assortment of traditional snacks called manje marassa. Like all the metrès, they give me grace to understand and open up another part of myself and I think that’s pretty great.

A few days later was Michaelmas, which is Agaou’s feast day. Agaou has always been what is honestly a sort of gleeful surprise for me. He wasn’t a spirit I knew well at all until after my kanzo, when I started dreaming with him regularly. As I prepped for my maryaj lwa, he began presenting me with rings in dreams and asked to be included in the wedding. When he came down to marry me, the first thing he told me was that the choice for maryaj had been his, and that he would have pursued me until I said yes if I had fought him. 

How I have come to know him is unique and he is a huge presence in my day-to-day, so when his feast day rolled around you know I was making some of his favorites. He eats turkey, so there was sòs kodenn (heavy on the sòs), diri ak pwa wouj, a few kinds of labouyi, and kafe ayisyen. Something small to hold him over until fet Agaou this January in Haiti(!!!). I have never been to a fet Agaou before, so I am really REALLY excited.

And each year that I celebrate Agaou’s feast day, he gives me a gift in an area that I don’t have a lot of knowledge in: somehow, he is invested in my family and family history. Last year, he clarified a really significant dream I had about my family while in the djevo, and that was a personal and spiritual bomb going of, and this year he chose to answer a long-standing lifelong question about my parentage, complete with some namedropping of someone who actually exists. It’s like spiritual Jerry Springer and I sit with all of this in a mixture of gratitude and ‘you have got to be fucking kidding me’. Agaou holds his cards close when he wants, so the pieces he gives me are important. Mapping out my ancestors and family--a hugely difficult area for me--has become it’s own small act of devotion.

October 2 was for my girl Thérèse de Lisieux and, if it was Before Plague Time, I’d have gone to mass at one of the local Carmelite monasteries and brought her some flowers but the majority of the churches here are still closed and Thérèse knows I love her without me needing to go to church. And, as a saint who died of a respiratory illness (TB), pretty sure she doesn’t need me getting sick just to prove a point. 

What’s next? November brings Gede and time to feed ancestors, as well as a special time for Simbi right before Petwo season kicks off full force in September. January bring fet Twa Wa/Three Kings, and unless things burn down even worse than they are now, I’ll be in Haiti celebrating and enjoying all the ceremony we postponed from this summer.

In between those things, I am working on a contribution for a book on folks who are converts to African and African-descended religions which will be out in early 2021, pumping out art (pestilence has been good for my creativity), and celebrating some career milestones and successes. 2020 has been an absolute bitch of a year, but I’m glad there are some positives to hang onto.

Today, on a day for Gede, celebrate that you are still alive even in the most difficult of situations. Eat something delicious and try to find an opportunity to laugh. If you drink alcohol, have a favorite drink and remember the Dead Man (and Woman) that live in death with the fullness of life. 

[rockofeye]

Bonswa Papa (p.s. Is it cool if we call you Papa, or do you prefer Houngan? If not, my mistake), I heard that Agawou has a petwo aspect. Is this true? And what's he like. Thank you, and god bless.

Hello!

While I appreciate your sentiment, titles like Manman and Papa are really only used with someone’s initiatory parent, and that’s not a relationship that would sort of play out on my blog. Most folks just call me Alex or Houngan Alex, either are fine with me!

Agaou is a really unique spirit. He’s often considered to be somewhat mysterious due to the fact that he is kind of a loner spirit, meaning that he does not walk with a court of spirits like many other lwa do. He sort of does his own thing and goes where he wants. He is largely served in the Rada rite which causes a lot of confusion for folks, as the assumption is that Rada spirits are all cool spirits. Instead, what most Rada spirits are is royalty and the idea that they are cooler is usually a misinterpretation of status (another whole post)...many spirits who are hot tempered as a default are or can be served in the Rada rite (Agaou, Bossou, Ti Jean, and more..).

A lot of his names relate back to what he is known for: thunder, lightening, earthquakes, and the sort of energy those phenomenon bring. Agaou Tonè, Agaou Zèklè, Agaou Loraj...all those names speak about natural occurrences Agaou is associated with. He also has interesting names that tell stories and talk about alliances as well, like Agaou Wedo, Agaou Bèt San San/Agaou Beast Without Blood or Agaou Lefan/Agaou Elephant. The mention of an elephant is REALLY interesting because Haiti does not have elephants. Some folks think it may be a tie to Africa, some folks say it is because the earth shakes when Agaou walks.

All of those things can definitely lead to a more Petwo understanding of Agaou or the choice to serve him Petwo style. A lot of internet stuff paints him as dangerous, feared, and known to kill his chwal...which I don’t find to be true. He is dangerous in the same way that all lwa are dangerous, and I see no reason to fear the lwa unless you wrong them or have purposefully been avoiding what they tell you to do. Like all spirits, they reflect how you treat them...if you approach Agaou as if he is a terrifying spirit who might harm someone, he may come through like that or he may surprise you and set you back on your heels by showing you what you don’t know about him.

I have known Agaou to be a somewhat selective spirit and even secretive in hsi day-to-day business...but that could be said of most lwa, who can choose to ignore you until they want to speak with you or have decided you’re ready to hear from them. He is often considered to be from the Jacmel area, which is where the lineage I am from is rooted, and so I know him quite well because he is very present in his hometown.

While Agaou may choose to remain distant, he sees EVERYTHING. When he came down during my maryaj to get his ring, that was one of the messages he left me with: I am in the sky, and I see everything so don’t think anything is beyond my notice. He is heavily associated with St. Michel Arcange, and there’s a lot of mystery there as to why.

I hope this helps; please let me know if you have more questions. Agaou is near and dear to my heart, and any chance to chat about him makes me happy.

[rockofeye]

Hi Hougan Alex, I'm the guy who asked the earlier question, is Agaou related to Belie Belcan Tonner? Both thunder spirits heavily connected to St Michael (some say Belie and Michael are one and the same, while others disagree), both are Rada (although Belie is an Ogou at the same time), connected to thunder and earthquakes, etc. Many similarities makes me wonder if they're aspects of eachother. Thanks, and take care.

Hello!

So, how I tend to see things is not dissimilar to how we talk about how the lwa relate to Africa: it is all (potentially) the same root that has divided into separate plants. It could be that Belie Belcan and Agaou have similar roots.

For me, I don't see spirits from different cultures as aspects of each other because (again, for me) it is looking for what we may think of as similarities in an effort to connect understandings in our brain. It is a backhanded curse descended from Joseph Campbell and the roots of anthropology. Culture has definitely developed very differently on the island, and so Agaou is very, VERY Haitian with potential roots in Africa, as Belie Belcan is very Dominican.

I have heard folks say that Belie is most similar to Ogou and the songs I have heard for Belie Belcan make that make sense for me...but YMMV, of course.

And fwiw Agaou is not the only lwa associated with thunder! Off the top of my head, there are at least three or four others I can think of.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have more conversations.