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the-girl-who-didnt-smile · 4 months ago

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There is additional evidence that Xɛbyoso (Xeviosso, Hevioso, Khebioso…) and/or Shango persisted in Mississippi River Valley Voudou.

In Slave Religion, Albert J. Raboteau describes four noteworthy clues:

…The way in which bits of African faith and practice persisted in folk beliefs and customs, though their original meaning had been lost, is evident in the following account from the New Orleans Times-Democrat of August 5, 1888. During a thunderstorm elderly Tante Dolores anxiously searched the house for some object. Not finding it, she ran to the yard. According to the article,

Hither and thither she ran in rapid quest, until at last she stumbled upon the object of her search, no less a thing than an axe for chopping wood…a bright expression of joy irradiated her face.

Seizing the ax and raising it over her head, “she made pass after pass in the very face of the rushing current, as if chopping some invisible thing in twain.” When the wind suddenly abated she returned to the house in triumph, stating that it never failed her if she “jest got there in time enough.”91

A similar custom among Mississippi black folk was noted by Puckett:

…foreign to European thought is the Southern Negro custom of going out into the yard and chopping up the ground with an ax when a storm threatens. This is supposed to “cut de storm in two” and so stop it. Others stick a spade in the ground to split the cloud, or simply place an axe in the corner of the house.”92

The use of the ax as an antidote to the storm is significant, since the sacred emblem of the West African god of thunder and lightning, Shango, is an ax; but equally significant is the fact that the African theological background has disappeared and what remains is a folk custom. There is perhaps a trace of the thunderstones hurled by Shango in the belief, as told to Puckett by an old “conjure doctor” in Mississippi, that “the Indian arrowheads often found in the locality were not made by man at all, but were fashioned by God out of thunder and lightning,”93 It was also a common saying in New Orleans “that when it thunders, Le Bon Dieu is rolling his stones.”94

SOURCE: Raboteau, Albert J. Slave religion: The" invisible institution" in the antebellum South. New York: Oxford University Press, 1978. pp. 80-81

Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/slavereligioninv00rabo/page/80/mode/2up?

While Raboteau connects these customs to the orisa Shango, connections can also be drawn to the vodun Xɛbyoso.

Note the similarity between the above and Ellis’ description:

On the Slave Coast, as is generally the case elsewhere, flint implements of the Stone Age are believed to be thunderbolts, and are consequently called so-kpe, (kpe stone) . After a building has been struck by lightning, the priests of Khebioso, who at once run to the spot to demand that the inmates should make amends for the evident offence they have given their god, almost invariably produce a flint arrowhead, or axe, which they of course bring with them, but pretend to have found in or near the building. As Dr. Tylor says, the fact that siliceous stones actually produce flash when struck, gives a key to the widespread belief that flint implements are thunderbolts .

SOURCE: Ellis, Alfred Burdon. The Eʻwe-speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast of West Africa: Their Religion, Manners, Customs, Laws, Languages, &c. United Kingdom, Chapman and Hall, limited, 1890. p. 38 Retrieved from: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_E%CA%BBwe_speaking_Peoples_of_the_Slave/Ak9M8SXJlekC?hl=en&gbpv=0

Many African Americans in the South descend from the Fon/Ewe, who worshiped the vodun rather than the orisa. Xɛbyoso is a counterpart to Shango, which is why they are similar to each other and are both associated with axes. Since African Americans descend from both the Yoruba and the Fon/Ewe, it’s probably pointless to identify this custom with a “pure” form of Xɛbyoso or Shango; both were likely important to the descendants of West Africans.

Another intriguing clue comes from Mary Alicia Owen’s Voodoo Tales, in which she describes folklore from Missouri Voudou. One of the recurring mythological figures is “T’undeh-Buhd” - Thunder-Bird; Owen posits that Thunder-Bird originates in the Algonquin spirit of the storm, “A great eagle”.

SOURCE: Owen, Mary Alicia. Voodoo Tales: As Told Among the Negroes of the Southwest. United States, Putnam's Sons, 1893. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Voodoo_Tales/H_kLAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

Owen argues that some of the folklore of Missouri Voudou was transmitted from the Algonquin legends of New England, noting several similarities between the two. However, there are also similarities between the description of Thunder-Bird and Xɛbyoso.

Pictured: Thunderbird and Sisiutl Headdress by Kwakwaka'wakw artist Bill Henderson. The Kwakwaka'wakw Thunderbird is likened to Xɛbyoso.

Although I have been writing it as “Xeviosso”, this is not the correct spelling/pronunciation. In his description of Vodun of the Maxi region of Benin, Cossi Augustin Ahoga explains that one of these two pronunciations is correct:

a. Xɛbyoso

Xɛ / byo / so

Oiseau / être agile, être prompt / foudre

L’oiseau agile ou prompt pour faire de la foudre

b. Xɛbyɔ́so

Xɛ / byɔ́ / so

Oiseau / demander / foudre

L’oiseau demande avant d’envoyer la foudre

SOURCE: Ahoga, Cossi Augustin. Vers un modèle africain de dialogue interreligieux: Le cas de Vodun Xɛbyoso et de l’Église des Assemblées de Dieu dans la région Maxi au Bénin. United Kingdom, Langham Creative Projects, 2023.

Ahoga further explains the connection between Xɛbyoso (Xevioso) and the bird, likening the vodun to indigenous deities (namely, the Zuni Ahayuta and the Kwakwaka'wakw Thunderbird):

…Il se dégage de là deux lexèmes identiques au niveau de toutes les définitions : Xɛ (oiseau) et So (foudre) autour desquels se construit la quintessence de chaque nom.

Xɛ (oiseau) se comprend au sens métaphorique, qui est un principe de la loi d’analogie dans la religion. Cela rappelle la même préfiguration chez les Indiens et les Kwakiutl où les dieux « Ahayuta » et « Amoncas » sont ailés, « Oiseau de Tonnerre »…

TRANSLATION:

…It is from here that two identical lexemes emerge from all definitions: Xɛ (bird) and So (lightning), around which the quintessence of each name is constructed.

Xɛ (bird) is understood in the metaphorical sense, which is a principle of analogy in the religion. This recalls the same prefiguration among the Indians and the Kwakiutl where the gods "Ahayuta" and "Amoncas" are winged, "Thunderbird"...

Ahoga goes on to describe the origin myth of Xebyoso (Xevioso), which includes the following excerpt:

Quand le monde fut créé, la terre et tout ce qui s’y trouve furent créés. La terre avait la forme d’une calebasse à laquelle manquait le couvercle. Xɛbyoso fut le couvercle que Sɛgbo-Lisa créa pour parfaire le monde…

…Xɛbyoso acquit de Sɛgbo-Lisa une force redoutable, une force qui le métamorphosa en un oiseau pyrogène pour qu’il fût en mesure de parcourir terres et airs, brousses et forêts, et même mers. Sɛgbo-Lisa le dota également d’une arme redoutable, une arme en forme d’une hache néolithique, Sosyͻvi, que Xɛbyoso emporta au monde. Pour le châtiment des coupables, Xɛbyoso la lançait à ses cibles pour les foudroyer, tuant et humains et animaux, abattant et arbres et lianes…

TRANSLATION:

When the world was created, the earth and all upon it were created. The earth had the form of a calabash with a missing cover. Xɛbyoso was the cover that Segbo-Lisa created to perfect the world…

…Xɛbyoso acquired from Segbo-Lisa a formidable power, a power that transformed him into a firebird for him to be able to traverse land and air, brushes and forests, and even the seas. Segbo-Lisa likewise gave him a formidable weapon, a weapon in the form of a neolithic axe, Sosyͻvi, that Xɛbyoso carries to the world. For punishing the guilty, Xɛbyoso throws it as his targets to strike them down, killing humans and animals, felling trees and vines…

A similar description is provided by Ellis, who appears to have misunderstood the meaning of Khebioso (Xɛbyoso) but correctly identified his association with the bird. Much like Ahoga, Ellis also notes the similarity with indigenous belief systems:

The name Khebioso is compounded of khe (bird) , bi (to let go light, or throw out light) , and so ( fire) , so that it literally means the bird, or bird-like creature, that throws out fire. As the thunder- cloud rolls along in khe-kheme, "the free-air region ," and as that region can, to the native mind, only be traversed by birds , the Ewe- speaking negroes imagine that Khebioso is a flying god, who partakes in some way of the nature of a bird. The general idea seems to be that Khebioso is a bird -like creature, hidden in the midst of the black thunder-cloud, from which he casts out the lightning ; and by some, the crash of the thunder is believed to be the flapping of his enormous wings. This belief in the lightning-god being bird- like does not stand alone. The Mandans of North America believed that lightning and thunder were caused by the flashing eyes and flapping wings of the terrible Heaven-bird, and the Tupi tribes of Brazil hold similar views.

SOURCE: Ellis, Alfred Burdon. The Eʻwe-speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast of West Africa: Their Religion, Manners, Customs, Laws, Languages, &c. United Kingdom, Chapman and Hall, limited, 1890. p. 37 Retrieved from: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_E%CA%BBwe_speaking_Peoples_of_the_Slave/Ak9M8SXJlekC?hl=en&gbpv=0

This is just a theory, but the Thunder-Bird of Missouri Voudou might also have a connection to Xɛbyoso (Xebioso).

SOURCES CITED BY RABOTEAU IN SLAVE RELIGION:

91. Raboteau’s description of Tante Dolores can be found in Gumbo Ya-Ya, where Tallant erroneously accuses Dolores of “witchcraft”: Tallant, Robert, and Lyle Saxon. Gumbo Ya-Ya: Folk Tales of Louisiana. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1945. p. 250 Retrieved from:

92. FROM: Puckett, Newbell Niles. Folk Beliefs of the Southern Negro. United Kingdom, University of North Carolina Press, 1926. p. 320. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/folkbeliefsofsou00puck/page/320/mode/2up

Even more foreign to European thought is the Southern Negro custom of going out into the yard and chopping up the ground with an ax when a storm threatens. This is supposed to "cut de storm in two" and so stop it. 4 Others stick a spade in the ground to split the cloud, 5 or simply place an ax in the corner of the house. 6

93. FROM: Puckett, Newbell Niles. Folk Beliefs of the Southern Negro. United Kingdom, University of North Carolina Press, 1926. p. 315 Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/folkbeliefsofsou00puck/page/n349/mode/2up

One old conjure-doctor in Mississippi told me that the Indian arrowheads often found in the locality were not made by man at all, but were fashioned by God out of thunder and lightning. To use one for good luck, strike a spark from it with your knife (if the sparks fly readily you will know that you have a good knife) and let the spark fall upon a piece of powdered punk. Let the punk smoulder into ashes, which are to be wrapped in a piece of newspaper and carried with you always for good luck. 7

Puckett’s note 7 cites: Owen, Mary A. Among the Voodoos, I. F. L. C. (1891) p. 258 94. The saying “when it thunders, Le Bon Dieu is rolling his stones” is found in Gumbo Ya-Ya: Tallant, Robert, and Lyle Saxon. Gumbo Ya-Ya: Folk Tales of Louisiana. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1945. p. 557. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/gumboyaya00louirich/page/556/mode/2up?

DID BETSY TOLEDANO WORSHIP HEVIOSO?

Représentation du Hèviosso au Musée Honmè

When the priestess Betsy Toledano was arrested in 1850, the police discovered stones (described as “flintstones” and “pebbles”) that were said to control lightning.

“...They found in one of the rooms a kind of chapel fitted up, the walls hung round with colored prints of the saints, etc., and a number of bowls upon the altar, containing stones varying from the size of gravel to the largest “pavers.” Goblets and vases filled with unknown liquids had also their place. A number of colored women were present, who escaped. Betsy Toledano, the chief priestess of the heathen temple, stoutly defended the ceremonies from any wrong construction; said that its signs and symbols were derived from the mother-land, and that the incantations were harmless; that the rocks in question were intended to protect the building from lightning, and that by placing them in water during a storm they acted as non-conductors for the dangerous element. The woman also exhibited a very curiously wrought necklace of shells which had been brought from the western coast of Africa by her grandmother, and which could influence the clerk of the weather to such an extent that he could not resist her application for rain when she insisted upon a genial shower…”

SOURCE: “The Rites of Voudou” The Daily Crescent. (New Orleans, LA) 31 Jul. 1850, p. 3. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn82015378/1850-07-31/ed-1/?sp=3

"...Betsy then went on to explain cases of sundry ominous looking vessels containing pebbles, flintstones, shells, horse-hair, curious aprons, colors, banners, &c., &c. Besides these, there were vases filled with a liquid, neither palatable nor of the odor of sanctity. And then Betsy had a necklace of strange shells and rainbow-tinted beads, which was not without its use in the craft of Voudouism. The necklace was all-potent in calling rain down on the parched earth, in seasons of drought, and the flint and pebble-stones, were for taming and turning aside the fiery shafts of "Heaven's artillery."…”

SOURCE: “Voudouism Unveiled” The Daily Delta New Orleans, Louisiana • Wed, Jul 31, 1850 Page 2. Retrieved from: https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-delta-voudouism-unveiled/40979649/

The flintstones seem similar to sokpe - stones or flint implements associated with the lightning vodún Hevioso (Khebioso):

“On the Slave Coast, as is generally the case elsewhere, flint implements of the Stone Age are believed to be thunderbolts, and are consequently called so-kpe, (kpe = stone) . After a building has been struck by lightning, the priests of Khebioso, who at once run to the spot to demand that the inmates should make amends for the evident offence they have given their god, almost invariably produce a flint arrowhead, or axe, which they of course bring with them, but pretend to have found in or near the building. As Dr. Tylor says, the fact that siliceous stones actually produce a flash when struck, gives a key to the widespread belief that flint implements are thunderbolts.”

SOURCE: Ellis, Alfred Burdon. The Eʻwe-speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast of West Africa: Their Religion, Manners, Customs, Laws, Languages, &c. United Kingdom, Chapman and Hall, limited, 1890. pp. 37-38. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_E%CA%BBwe_speaking_Peoples_of_the_Slave/ll-BAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

The “pebbles” may or may not have also been sokpe.

MUCH doubt exists as to the origin and use of the curious circular stones with holes bored through them which are well known to people living in the southern districts of the Gold Coast and Togoland. Geologically, they may be described as consisting of quartzite – usually an altered sandstone which is very common throughout the districts mentioned. That the hole found running through the two flat sides of each stone has been artificially made is obvious, but the precise manner in which this has been effected is as puzzle. As the holes are circular some form of boring has, apparently, been employed – each hole having been commenced from either side, and usually in the centre of the slightly flattened stone, and rapidly narrowing down the further the stone is penetrated until, in some cases, it is so small at the point where it meets the hole bored from the opposite side that a pin-head could not pass through it.

An examination of over 300 such stones shows that the average diameter is about 1 ⅗ inches, while that of the largest stone was found to be 2 ⅓ inches and of the smallest 1 ½ inches. Some of these stones have 3, 4, 5, or even 6-cornered edges but, in general, they are slightly flattened with smooth sides and a rounded edge. When two such stones are struck together they give a dull glow at the point of impact, but no sparks are emitted as in the case with flint….

East of the Volta River the stone is connected with one fetish only, viz., the So (or Hebieso, or Hevieso), the god of thunderstorms. Here the stone is called “Sokpe,” lit. stone of the god So– “kpe” meaning “stone” in the Eve language. This fetish is one of the four which, together, constitute the Yeve or Vodu cult which has spread to the Addah and Ouittah districts of the Gold Coast, and to southern Togoland from its original home in Dahomey. The uses to which the peoples of these countries now put the stones are as follows: –

They are used medicinally for the cure of any illness. The stone is put into water and the patient may then, at once, wash therewith. This he must do on seven consecutive days, after which a cure should be effected. In the case of religious ceremonies connected with the Yeve cult a candidate for admission to the secrets of the faith is shown a pot of consecrated water, and then a number of articles of symbolic import to the members of the sect, including a “sokpe.” These articles are placed in the water and the “sokpe” is then taken out by a Yeve priest who addresses the candidate, explaining his obligations to the fetish, and after drawing the “sokpe” up the candidates back to the crown of his head, concludes by saying, “If you become faithless to Yeve, or betray his secrets to someone who is not a servant of Yeve, then Yeve will kill you in this manner”; the meaning intended to be conveyed being that Yeve will appear in the course of a thunderstorm and hurl a thunderbolt as his faithless protege, splitting him asunder.

SOURCE: Newlands, H. S. "An archaeological puzzle from West Africa." Journal of the Royal African Society (1919): 40-43. Retrieved from:

As the vodún Gu is derived from the orisa Ogun, the vodún Hevioso is derived from the orisa Shango.

In Haiti, Hevioso became the lwa Kebyesou Danle, part of Rit DANWONMEN.

SEE: Hebblethwaite, Benjamin. A transatlantic history of Haitian Vodou: rasin figuier, rasin Bwa Kayiman, and the Rada and Gede Rites. Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2021.

#this is why one of my biggest missteps is probably the exclusion of a Shango/Xɛbyoso-type character #also mamiwata #commentary

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the-girl-who-didnt-smile · 20 days ago

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ALTERNATIVE CONCEPT

As previously discussed, a major flaw with “The Seven Original Creations” is how it conflates Haitian Vodou with 19th Century Louisiana Voudou. This error arose because, early in development, I failed to research Louisiana Voudou extensively enough, causing me to confuse the commercialized side of New Orleans with authentic practices. While it is important to pay tribute to the influence of Haitian Vodou on Louisiana Voudou, one must go about this tastefully, recognizing the problem of cultural imperialism that has taken root in America. The initial concept I proposed was certainly disrespectful, continuing the pattern of offensive portrayals of Haitian Vodou based out of the U.S. The alternative concept attempts to improve upon this, by being more selective about the Haitian elements.

If I were to re-do this concept from the start, I would probably call them “The Loa” instead of “The gods”, as it is acceptable to deviate from the real-world concept of loa in this fictional setting. Calling them “gods” might have been the exact wrong decision, as it contributes to the misconception that Voudou is paganism.

This is probably who I would replace “The Seven Original Creations” with:

Sir Duke (Blanc Dani)

Over the Rainbow (Rainbow Serpent)

Thunderstruck (Xɛbyoso/Shango)

La Mer (Mamiwata)

Ironman (Joe Feraille)

Lady Love (Erzulie)

Big Papa (Papa Liba)

SIR DUKE & OVER THE RAINBOW

Sir Duke and Over the Rainbow would be a pair of half-identical twins who were created on “The First Day”. Serpent worship was a key feature of Louisiana Voudou, and in African tradition the serpents always come as a pair of male and female[1]. Although “Blanc Dani” is exclusively referred to as male, it is likely that he had a female counterpart, or that he was represented by a pair of male and female snakes[2]. Rather than depicting them as a single “conjoined” character, it makes more sense to depict these two as separate characters who are paired with each other.

The male serpent Sir Duke would be associated with the color white, as a tribute to Blanc Dani. While Dan Aidowèdo is described as male in Dahomean mythology, in the New World he became the female Ayida Wèdo, who is paired with Dambala Wèdo[3]. For this reason, it would make more sense to audiences if the female serpent Over the Rainbow is associated with the rainbow. It is pretty bullshit that her color is rainbow, but what it is actually supposed to represent is the dispersion of white light through a prism. She symbolizes the rainbow and her twin brother symbolizes its reflection in the water. The twins dwell in the same pocket dimension and are often seen entwined with each other. If one is seen alone, the other is not far behind. They are the oldest of their siblings, replacing Sakpata, due to his apparent absence from the historical record of Louisiana Voudou. As each other’s reflection, the two are very similar to each other, and both communicate telepathically. Both “speak” through a pair of male and female “voices”, where Sir Duke’s male “voice” is louder while Over the Rainbow’s female “voice” is louder. The four “voices” together symbolize the four fundamental forces. Sometimes, they synchronize with each other, where all four “voices” speak in unison. Sir Duke is inspired by Sidney Bechet, while Over the Rainbow is inspired by Grace Jones.

THUNDERSTRUCK & LA MER

Thunderstruck and La Mer replace Baron de la Mort and Maman de la Vie, due to their importance in Dahomean mythology and likely importance in Louisiana Voudou.

Thunderstruck is blacked out, because I couldn’t decide whether to base him off of Xɛbyoso, Shango, or a combination of the two. Xɛbyoso and/or Shango was probably an important feature of Louisiana Voudou, but it is not entirely clear which one(s) appears in the historical record[4]. Since people of Yoruba and Fon descent were both present in the American South, it is plausible both were important. There are many different artistic directions Thunderstruck’s design could go in, but he must carry his trademark axe. I don’t think he would be bald… His name could also be changed, if necessary. He would be associated with the color red.

The concept here for La Mer is very rough. Once again, her outfit is very bad… We have to try to one-up Rose Quartz (Steven’s Universe) in terms of BBW Levels…(coughs) Anyways, it is important to include her, as it is also plausible that Mamiwata was worshiped in Louisiana Voudou; possibly, as the only female divinity of African origin[5]. She would be associated with the color blue, and is inspired by Ella Fitzgerald.

IRONMAN & LADY LOVE

Ironman is included, based on the theory that Joe Feraille is derived from Ogou Feray, who is himself derived from Ogun[6]. This too is a creative liberty, as it is possible that Joe Feraille is unrelated to Ogou Feray. He would have to be redesigned, it’s just really funny to me that he cosplays Whitebeard. He needs to carry his trademark machete, and would be associated with the color green.

Lady Love appears as a replacement for “Mama You”. Erzulie does not appear in the historical record of Louisiana Voudou. A mysterious divinity named “Mama You” appears to have been syncretized with the Virgin Mary instead[7]. While I have theorized that “Mama You” might have been Mama Erzulie, this is merely speculation. The obvious alternative is that “Mama You” is a spirit who was unique to Louisiana Voudou, with no connection to Erzulie[8]. As a creative liberty, I would still replace “Mama You” with a fictional counterpart to Erzulie.

While she may not have been a feature of historical Louisiana Voudou, Erzulie is included here, on the grounds of her importance to modern practices[9]. Since there is only room for one Erzulie, it makes sense to combine elements of Erzulie Freda with Erzulie Dantor. However, the “Ochun-like” aspects of Erzulie Freda are emphasized. Although yellow (gold) is present in her color palette, she would be associated with the color pink, and inspired by Bessie Smith.

BIG PAPA

Last but not least, Big Papa remains as the Doorkeeper to “The Spirit World” and the youngest of “The Seven”. He would have some important role alongside Lady Love, as the fictional counterparts to Legba (Saint Peter) and Erzulie (Virgin Mary) respectively. I would mostly leave his design unchanged, with the Haitian symbol on his staff as a tribute to the Haitian influence on Louisiana Voudou.

Big Papa's gender would be changed to "androgyne" for the purpose of gender-balancing, since vodun Legba can appear as male or female[10]. This also establishes a parallel between him and the twinned serpents, to mirror the real-world connection between Da and Fa[11]. Although he wears a lot of red, Big Papa would be associated with the color gold to symbolize his status as their leader. He is inspired by Louis Armstrong.

If it was necessary to collapse the seven down to three (or four) characters, the most important characters would be Big Papa, Sir Duke, and Lady Love, in that order, due to the importance of “Papa Liba” “Blanc Dani” and the Virgin Mary (“Mama You”) to Louisiana Voudou. I would also argue for the inclusion of Over the Rainbow, a character who is so similar to her twin brother that they are practically two sides of one being. Her inclusion would allow for symmetrical gender-balancing and a greater degree of historical accuracy, where Big Papa’s gender would no longer have to be changed to “androgyne”.

Side Note: A really cool backstory for Alastor would be if he’s just the grandson of Marie Laveau and Delphine LaLaurie; the coolest spin-off series would be one that tells the story of Alastor’s mother, and possibly her relationship with her own mother. A story focused on Alastor’s family line could involve fictional counterparts to “Papa Liba”, “Blanc Dani”, and the Virgin Mary (“Mama You”), who were key features of worship by the followers of Marie Laveau. Other characters could have connections to the other “Loa”; for example, a character inspired by Betsy Toledano could have a connection to the fictional counterpart of Xɛbyoso/Shango.

BARON DE LA MORT & MAMAN DE LA VIE

Baron de la Mort and Maman de la Vie would not have to be removed entirely but would no longer be part of “The Seven.” Actually, their inclusion would be ideal, as it would confirm that “The Spirit World” is much bigger than the domains relegated to The Original Seven Creations. Both of their designs would be improved. In particular, Maman de la Vie would be redesigned to give her a more unique silhouette. She no longer needs to be heavy set, but I was picturing her as an older, beautiful woman. I wanted her to be visually inspired by Moonlight Benjamin, but this could be changed.

CONCLUSION

This enhances the degree of historical accuracy, although several creative liberties are still taken. The rough concept sketch shown at the top is a very early draft; most of the characters would have to be redesigned. Their birth order is as listed, with the exception of the twins Sir Duke and Over the Rainbow being born on the same day. Overall, this concept improves the portrayal of Louisiana Voudou without conflating it with Haitian Vodou. Due to the prominence of “The Seven African Powers” across the world, characters across the African diaspora could be introduced, each having some connection to “The Seven”.

Side Note Regarding “The Seven African Powers”: The criticisms coming from people of African descent are understandable. Some of the “Seven Powers” are proper vodun/orisa counterparts, such as Legba-Elegua, Gu-Ogun, Mamiwata-Yemaya, and Xɛbyoso-Chango. However, Erzulie has a different origin from Ochun, as do Grann Brijit and Ayida Wèdo from Oya. Blanc Dani has an orisa counterpart, but it is Osumare instead of Obatala. Rather than equating “Erzulie” with “Ochun” or “Ayida Wèdo” with “Oya” etc., I would argue that this continues the tradition of religious syncretism in Louisiana Voudou. Rather than identifying them with the European Saints, they are now identified with African divinities. Within the Creole culture of New Orleans, I defend the concept of “The Seven African Powers”, to the extent it has made Voudou more accessible to Americans of African descent.

NOTES

Melville Herskovits describes the depiction of Dan Aidowèdo as a pair of male and female snakes in Dahomean mythology: "There are two Aido Hwedo, however, only one of whom lives in the sea. Just how there came to be two of them the theologians are not clear, but they say that for serpents to multiply, both the male and female had to exist." Source: Herskovits, Melville Jean. Dahomey, an Ancient West African Kingdom, Vol. II. United States, Northwestern University Press, 1967. p. 248-249. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/dahomeyancientwe0000hers/page/248/mode/2up; Ellis made a similar comment about Dangbé: “Dañh-gbi has his special offerings, iron rods bent so as to give the appearance of the serpentine curves or concentric folds of a snake, and a rude, bell- shaped image of iron. These are considered representations of Dañh-gbi, the former representing the male python, and the latter the female, and are constantly to be seen on the shores of lagoons, the banks of streams, or near springs or pools, for the god loves the neighbourhood of water…” Source: Ellis, Alfred Burdon. The Eʻwe-speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast of West Africa: Their Religion, Manners, Customs, Laws, Languages, &c. United Kingdom, Chapman and Hall, limited, 1890. pp. 54-63. Retrieved from: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_E%CA%BBwe_speaking_Peoples_of_the_Slave/Ak9M8SXJlekC?hl=en&gbpv=0; This is in keeping with depictions of the divine serpent Dan as a twinned pair of a male and female snake, as described by Tom Oloorê: “...Essa dualidade não está ligado ao fato de Oxumarê ser bissexual, mas sim conta da origem de seu culto em terras de Dahomé, Mahi, onde o culto é sempre dual, sempre se cultua dois voduns Dan, um macho e uma fêmea… Source: Tom Oloorê. “Oxumarê | Òṣùmàrè - Orixá da Transformação e Riqueza - EP#180”. YouTube, 10 Oct. 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLvhCRX5Ikk; In describing vodun Dan, Hùngbónò Charles also wrties: “...Une o macho e a fêmea, sendo sempre cultuado em casal e recebendo como sacrifícios animais de ambos os sexos. Dizem os mais antigos que serpente nunca anda só, onde uma está a outra está por perto, a espreita…” Source: Hùngbónò Charles. “Vodun Dan.” Candomblé O Mundo dos Orixás, 3 Jun. 2011. https://ocandomble.com/2011/06/03/vodun-dan/;

A possible clue of this comes from Missouri Voudou, where an interesting myth describes how “Ole Gran'daddy Rattlesnake” had a twin sister who he killed in a fit of rage, by turning her into snakeweed. In another account, “Gran'daddy Rattlesnake” is the father of a pair of twins, a boy and a girl; it is the son - not “Gran’daddy” himself - who kills the twin sister. This is in keeping with African tradition, where the serpent Dan is always depicted as a pair of male and female snakes. Source: Owen, Mary Alicia. Voodoo Tales: As Told Among the Negroes of the Southwest. United States, Putnam's Sons, 1893. pp.257-258. Retrieved from: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Voodoo_Tales/H_kLAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0; See also: Anderson, Jeffrey E.. Voodoo: An African American Religion. United States, LSU Press, 2024.

This is true in Haitian Vodou, as it is in Candomblé Jeje.

The lightning stones seized from the home of Betsy Toledano might have been sokpe, possible evidence of Xɛbyoso worship. There are also several other clues of Xɛbyoso or Shango worship, as described by Albert J. Raboteau in Slave Religion, and a possible connection between Thunder-Bird of Missouri Voudou and Xɛbyoso. For a complete discussion, see: https://archiveofourown.org/works/54861145/chapters/150620104

The Louisiana Gazette published an article titled “Idolatry and Quackery” on August 16, 1820, which describes a raid that took place in the Tremé suburb of New Orleans. According to Jeffrey E. Anderson, a mix of enslaved and free people of color were present, along with one white person. The reporter describes the worship of “an African deity called Vaudoo”, and how the police seized an item that resembled “a woman, whose lower extremities resembled a snake.” The description is similar to Mamiwata, who is worshiped in West African Vodun, and as tovodún in some places of the world. See: Anderson, Jeffrey E. Voodoo: An African American Religion. LSU Press, 2024; see also: Alvarado, Denise. “Mami Wata”. Marie Laveaux. Retrieved on Dec. 14, 2024 from: https://www.marie-laveaux.com/mami-wata.html; see also: Montgomery, Eric and Vannier, Christian. An Ethnography of a Vodu Shrine in Southern Togo: Of Spirit, Slave and Sea. Netherlands, Brill, 2017.

For a complete discussion, see:

Jeffrey E. Anderson provides a brief description of “Mama You”: “Finally, some divinities survive only as names recorded in old documents, while others were probably no more than creations of imaginative authors. Mama You is one of the former, with her lone mention being a brief reference in a 1939 Federal Writers’ Project oral history. The only details supplied by the document are that she was “the mother of the child Jesus” and that she would sometimes answer from the ground when called by Marie Laveau.” See: Marie Dédé, interview by Robert McKinney and Arguedas, 9 January 1939, transcript, Northwestern State University of Louisiana, Watson Memorial Library, Cammie G. Henry Research Center, Federal Writer’s Project, folder 533, 2-3; this interview is described in: Anderson, Jeffrey E. Voodoo: An African American Religion. LSU Press, 2024; For my own speculation regarding “Mama You” and Erzulie, see: https://archiveofourown.org/works/54861145/chapters/150620104

Several male divinities of African origin appear in the historical record of Louisiana Voudou, including “Blanc Dani” (Vodun Dan), “Papa Liba” (Legba), "Agoussou" (Agasu), “Monsieur D’Embarras” (Dambada), “Vériquité” (Avrekete), etc. Female divinities are largely absent, with the key exception of the “female deity with lower limbs resembling serpents” (likely, Mamiwata) and the “Voudou Virgin”, who might have actually been the male divinity Agasu. See: Anderson, Jeffrey E. Voodoo: An African American Religion. LSU Press, 2024; For my own commentary, see: . It is possible that only male African divinities worshiped in Louisiana Voudou, which would be consistent with Gaiaku Luiza’s commentary on the traditional practices of the Jeje (Ewe): “As Gaiaku Luiza explained, among the Jeje, there were only male voduns, and the absence of female voduns was the reason for the appropriation of the yaba cult, thus instituting in the Jeje pantheon the “Nagô-vodun” group.” Source: PARÉS, LUIS NICOLAU, and Richard Vernon. The Formation of Candomblé: Vodun History and Ritual in Brazil. University of North Carolina Press, 2013. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.5149/9781469610931_pares. Accessed 5 Mar. 2025.

For two examples of this, Brenda Marie Osbey writes poetry for Erzulie in “Faubourg Study No. 3: The Seven Sisters of New Orleans”. Source: Osbey, Brenda Marie. “Faubourg Study No. 3: The Seven Sisters of New Orleans.” Callaloo, no. 36, 1988, pp. 464–76. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2931518. Accessed 5 Mar. 2025; Erzulie also appears in Ishmael Reed’s (1972) Mumbo Jumbo, and her iconography is featured on the cover of the book: Reed, Ishmael. Mumbo Jumbo. Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday, 1972. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/isbn_0385056753; See also: Gates, Henry Louis. The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of African-American Literary Criticism. United Kingdom, Oxford University Press, USA, 1989. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/signifyingmonkey00gate_0/

Mama Zogbé notes that Legba can appear as male or female: “In the Mami Wata Yeveh Vodoun tradition, this “spiritual linguist’ and “traffic guard,” and best friend of the Bokono and vodoun is known as “Legba,” the youngest and most favorite child (once also known as brother) of Ma-wu. Legba can be either male or female. However, universally, under African patriarchy, the male is emphasized”. Source: Hunter-Hindrew, V. (2007). Mami Wata: Africa's Ancient God/dess Unveiled Vol. II. United States: Mami Wata Healers Society of North America, Incorporated. pp. 557-558. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/mamiwataafricasa0002mama/page/557/mode/2up; This is corroborated by Friedson’s description: “A divine trickster, Legba, as with that other phallic god Hermes, is also the divine messenger, the linguist (tsiami) who speaks the language of the sky. Because he patrols the borders and protects the threshold, all sacrifice, all libation, ultimately all meaning goes and comes through him, hence his infinite possibilities, his refusal to be pinned down. Translator, trickster, protector, linguist–all this and more comes under the sign of the crossroads where Legba rules, where there are always-already multiple paths, multiple meanings. And lest we think we have finally pinned Legba down as the phallic god par excellence, pregnant with meaning, it is helpful to remember that sometimes, though it is fairly rare, Legba manifests himself in female form complete with clay breasts. Nothing is quite what it seems.” SOURCE: Friedson, Steven M. Remains of ritual: Northern gods in a southern land. University of Chicago Press, 2019; Ellis also described Legba like so: “III. LEGBA. - Legba, Elegba, or Lekpa is a phallic divinity whose worship is very prevalent throughout the Slave Coast. The phallus is seen everywhere, in front of houses, in the streets and public places, sometimes alone, but more frequently in connection with the image of Legba, to whom the organ is sacred, and whose principal attribute is the exciting of sexual desires...The image of Legba is made of red clay, and rudely represents the human figure, generally male, rarely female, and always entirely nude. It is always represented as squatting down and looking at the organ of generation, which is enormously disproportionate...When female, the figure is provided with long pointed breasts, and the other necessary adjuncts." SOURCE: Ellis, Alfred Burdon. The Eʻwe-speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast of West Africa: Their Religion, Manners, Customs, Laws, Languages, &c. Chapman and Hall, limited, 1890. pp. 41-42; Burton also observed: “…Legba is of either sex, but rarely feminine. Of the latter I have seen a few, which are even more horrid than the male; the breasts project like the halves of a German sausage, and the rest is to match…” Source: Burton, Richard Francis. A Mission to Gelele, King of Dahome: With Notices of the So Called "amazons", the Grand Customs, the Yearly Customs, the Human Sacrifices, the Present State of the Slave Trade. United Kingdom, Tinsley, 1864. p.83. Retrieved from: https://books.google.com/books?id=729CAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA7&source=kp_read_button&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&gboemv=1&ovdme=1#v=onepage&q&f=false; This is similar to Legba’s Yoruba counterpart Esu, who can also appear as male or female: “It is no wonder, then, that Esu knows no master, that he is male and female, that he is tall and short, kind and cruel, an elderly deity of youth who lives at the crossroads." Source: Ogundipe, Ayodele. Esu Elegbara, the Yoruba God of Chance and Uncertainty: A Study in Yoruba Mythology. Kwara State University Press, Ilorin, Kwara State, 2012

For the similarities and differences between Da and Fa, see: Herskovits, Melville Jean. Dahomey, an Ancient West African Kingdom, Vol. II. United States, Northwestern University Press, 1967. Retrieved from: https://archive.org/details/dahomeyancientwe0000hers/mode/2up

“Blanc Dani” was surely one of the serpent vodun called “Dan”, but it is not entirely clear to me which one he was. For a complete discussion, see:

Kyrah Malika Daniels explains the African origins of Erzulie: “I assert that the clue to uncovering Èzili’s African origins lies in her association with fresh waters. More recently, some scholars have linked the refined Haitian lwa Èzili with the Dahomean river vodún Aziri (Thompson 1983, 167; Rush 2010, 66). Even earlier sources indicate veneration of an aquatic vodún named for the Benin Lake Azili (Paul 1962, 273; Montilus 1981, 77) or Àzlì (Hebblethwaite 2015, 72). Curiously, the vodún Azili was masculine (Montilus 1981, 77) but became feminized as the queenly Èzili in Haiti, perhaps due to female spirits’ connection to fresh waters. Indeed, the feminine aquatic spirit Azili is still revered in Candomblé Jéjé houses today.” Source: Daniels, Kyrah Malika. "An Assembly of Twenty-One Spirit Nations: The Pan-African Pantheon of Haitian Vodou's African Lwa". In Adeleke, T., & Sonderegger, A. (Eds.). (2023). Africa and its historical and contemporary diasporas. Lexington Books/Fortress Academic, p. 82.; Benjamin Hebblethwaite elaborates: “An enslaved woman from Agonli-Houegbo, east of Abomey, established a shrine for the spirit Azili in the Tové neighborhood. Azili is the namesake of Haiti’s Èzili spirit family. The Dahomian army sold the woman in Hueda during the reign of Agaja, where she ended up remaining...Given Èzili’s importance in Haiti’s Rada and Petwo Rites, the narrative of the spirit’s origin in Dahomey and implantation in Hueda after 1720 suggests that the Èzili spirits have a Dahomian or Mahi origin…Some have claimed that Ezili is a Haitian spirit (Dayan 1995, 58). However, the spirit Azlì or Azili is still served today in the Fon language area of Benin. Azlì dwells in the waters of Lake Azili that surround the island of Agonve, located on the left bank of the Oueme River (Brand 2000b, 7). In addition to their common traits, major differences include leprous male manifestations of Azlì in Fon culture (Tossounon 2012).” Source: Hebblethwaite, Benjamin. A transatlantic history of Haitian Vodou: rasin figuier, rasin Bwa Kayiman, and the Rada and Gede Rites. Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2021.

Although he is more commonly referred to as “Papa La Bas”, I have chosen to refer to him as “Papa Liba”, to conform with Luisah Teish’s nomenclature. While she did not invent the concept of “The Seven African Powers”, she proposed the change of replacing Orula with Oya, where describes “Aida-Wedo” and “Brigette” as New Orleans counterparts to Oya. See: Teish, Luisah. Jambalaya: The Natural Woman's Book of Personal Charms and Practical Rituals. United States, HarperCollins, 2021. Originally published in 1985

#commentary #the gods (hazbin hotel)#hazbin hotel ocs #the loa (hazbin hotel)

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