Home›Vodou Deities›All Vodou DeitiesBrowse ByAll Vodou DeitiesThe lwa of Haitian Vodou, served through possession, drumming, song and offering, and grouped into nations and families each with their own character, symbols and rites. Vodou formed from West and Central African religion under slavery in Saint-Domingue, in contact with Catholicism, and the lwa were widely identified with Catholic saints. It is a living religion, and one persistently misrepresented outside Haiti.FactsLearn MoreAll Vodou DeitiesConnectionsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsAttestationEra of AttestationWell-attestedThe religion took shape in colonial Saint-Domingue. The earliest detailed European descriptions date from the end of the eighteenth century, and Vodou is served today throughout Haiti and its diaspora. 3Veneration TodayWell-attestedServed today throughout Haiti and in the Haitian diaspora. 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedDeities 1OverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedThe lwa served in Haitian Vodou - one religion, not a regional survey. It formed in colonial Saint-Domingue among enslaved people from many West and Central African nations, and carries Fon, Yoruba and Kongo material together with Catholicism. The lwa are organised into nanchon and into the Rada and Petwo rites. 2Contested UseContested or Appropriated Modern UseWell-attestedVodou has been represented in American and European popular culture through a caricature - zombies, pins and dolls, malevolent sorcery - that took shape during and after the United States occupation of Haiti and bears almost no relation to the religion described here. 3OriginsOrigin of the NameWell-attestedThe name is the Fon word vodún, meaning spirit. The English spelling voodoo belongs to the sensational literature and film of the United States occupation period and after, and not to the religion. 3Learn MoreThe Lwa of Haitian Vodou This group gathers the lwa (loa), the spirits served in Haitian Vodou, a living religion that took shape among enslaved West and Central Africans in colonial Saint-Domingue, blending Fon, Yoruba, Kongo and other traditions with Catholicism. The lwa are intermediaries between humanity and the distant creator Bondye, and are served through ritual, offering and possession. The browser will find the lwa organised into nations and families, Rada spirits of coolness and Petwo spirits of heat, including Papa Legba who opens the way, Erzulie, Ogou, Damballa and the Gede of the dead. The atlas treats Vodou as a coherent religion, not the sensationalised caricature of popular film, and notes each spirit's Catholic-saint associations where they exist.All Vodou DeitiesFilter Results16 entriesHistoricityAllNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human being (16)TheologyAllHenotheistic: a supreme being above served lesser divinities (15)Polytheistic: many gods (1)ArchetypeAllThe Caregiver (2)The Creator (1)The Hero (1)The Innocent (1)The Jester (3)The Lover (1)The Magician (2)The Ruler (1)The Sage (1)Veneration StatusAllActively venerated in a living tradition (16)Era Attested Start YearAll1797 (13)1800 (2)Worshipped InAllHaitian Vodou (15)Domain / FunctionAllBeauty (1)Childbirth (1)Craft, metalwork and smithing (1)Creation and cosmogony (1)Death (3)Divine messenger (1)Fertility and generation (2)Guide of the dead (2)Healing and medicine (2)Justice, law and oaths (1)Love and desire (1)Magic and sorcery (1)Motherhood (1)Protection and guardianship (2)Purification (1)Rain and weather (1)Rivers, lakes and springs (2)Sea and ocean (1)Seafaring and fishing (1)The underworld (1)Travel, roads and boundaries (1)Tutelary of a place or community (1)Vegetation and forests (1)War and battle (1)Wisdom and counsel (1)GenderAllCollective / plural, not a single figure (2)Female (6)Male (7)PantheonAllVodou (15)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 16AgweVodou DeitiesAyida-WeddoVodou DeitiesAyizanVodou DeitiesBaron SamediVodou DeitiesDamballaVodou DeitiesErzulie DantorVodou DeitiesErzulie FrédaVodou DeitiesGedeVodou DeitiesLocoVodou DeitiesLwaVodou DeitiesMaman BrigitteVodou DeitiesMarassaVodou DeitiesMarinetteVodou DeitiesOgou FerayVodou DeitiesPapa LegbaVodou DeitiesSimbiVodou DeitiesConnectionsBelongs to TraditionHaitian Vodou, Religions Well-attested The lwa of Haitian Vodou.Source The Faces of the Gods: Vodou and Roman Catholicism in HaitiLeslie G. Desmanglestier 1Sources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. The Faces of the Gods: Vodou and Roman Catholicism in Haititier 1Leslie G. Desmangles, University of North Carolina Press, 1992chs. 1-2View the Source3. Voodoo in Haititier 1Alfred Metraux, Oxford University Press, 1959IntroductionView the SourceDivinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.