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Agassou
Agassou (also Ati-A-Sou) is a loa who guards the old traditions of Dahomey in the West African Vodun religion and the rada loa The Rada are a family of lwa spirits in the religion of Haitian Vodou. They are regarded as being sweet-tempered and "cool", in this contrasting with the Petro lwa, which are regarded as volatile and "hot". Description The Rada lwa have been des ... of Haitian Vodou. Agassou: Royal Leopard King of Africa Agassou is the product of a divine mating—his mother was princess Aligbonu and is said to have mated with a leopard, giving birth to Agassou. Agassou is further noted as ruler and king of a particular sect in Africa that has come to be known as the Agasuvi (children of Agasu). In an act of incest with his mother, he had three sons. Their lineage, their royal regalia, and their legacy are still held by the Agasuvi of West Africa. In that society, the men take their lineage from the clan of Agassou. His shield and his spear are still guarded today ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Veve
A ''veve'' (also spelled ''vèvè'' or ''vevè'') is a religious symbol commonly used in different branches of Vodun throughout the African diaspora, such as Haitian Vodou and Louisiana Voodoo. The ''veve'' acts as a "beacon" for the ''loa'', and will serve as a ''loa''s representation during rituals. ''Veves'' should not be confused with the ''patipembas'' used in Palo, nor the ''pontos riscados'' used in Umbanda and Quimbanda, as these are separate African religions. History Possible origins include the cosmogram of the Kongo people, or originated as the Nsibidi system of writing for the Igboid and Ekoid languages from West and Central Africa. Function According to Milo Rigaud, "The ''veves'' represent figures of the astral forces... In the course of Vodou ceremonies, the reproduction of the astral forces represented by the veves obliges the loas... to descend to earth." Every ''loa'' has his or her own unique ''veve'', although regional differences have led to different ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haitian Vodou
Haitian Vodou is an African diasporic religion that developed in Haiti between the 16th and 19th centuries. It arose through a process of syncretism between several traditional religions of West and Central Africa and Roman Catholicism. There is no central authority in control of the religion and much diversity exists among practitioners, who are known as Vodouists, Vodouisants, or Serviteurs. Vodou revolves around spirits known as '' lwa.'' Typically deriving their names and attributes from traditional West and Central African divinities, they are equated with Roman Catholic saints. The lwa divide up into different groups, the ''nanchon'' ("nations"), most notably the Rada and the Petwo. Various myths and stories are told about these lwa, which are regarded as subservient to a transcendent creator deity, Bondye. This theology has been labelled both monotheistic and polytheistic. An initiatory tradition, Vodouists usually meet to venerate the lwa in an ''ounfò'' (temple), run ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Folk Catholicism
Folk Catholicism can be broadly described as various ethnic expressions and practices of Catholicism intermingled with aspects of folk religion. Practices have varied from place to place, and may at times contradict the official doctrines and practices of the Roman Catholic Church as well as overall Christianity. Description Some forms of folk Catholic practices are based on syncretism with non-Catholic or non-Christian beliefs or religions. Some of these folk Catholic forms have come to be identified as separate religions, as is the case with Caribbean and Brazilian syncretisms between Catholicism and West African religions, which include Haitian Vodou, Cuban Santería, and Brazilian Candomblé. Similarly complex syncretisms between Catholic practice and indigenous or Native American belief systems, as are common in Maya communities of Guatemala and Quechua communities of Peru to give just two examples, are typically not named as separate religions; their practitioners generall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dahomey
The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a regional power in the 18th century by expanding south to conquer key cities like Whydah belonging to the Kingdom of Whydah on the Atlantic coast which granted it unhindered access to the tricontinental triangular trade. For much of the middle 19th century, the Kingdom of Dahomey became a key regional state, after eventually ending tributary status to the Oyo Empire. European visitors extensively documented the kingdom, and it became one of the most familiar African nations to Europeans. The Kingdom of Dahomey was an important regional power that had an organized domestic economy built on conquest and slave labor, significant international trade and diplomatic relations with Europeans, a centralized administration, taxation systems, and an organ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West African Vodun
Vodun (meaning ''spirit'' in the Fon, Gun and Ewe languages, with a nasal high-tone ''u''; also spelled Vodon, Vodoun, Vodou, Vudu, Voudou, Voodoo, etc.) is a religion practiced by the Aja, Ewe, and Fon peoples of Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Nigeria. Elements of the West African religion survived slavery and evolved into the current forms of religions with similar names that are found in the New World among the African diaspora in the Americas, such as Haitian ''Vodou''; Louisiana ''Voodoo''; Cuban ''Vodú''; Dominican ''Vudú'', Venezuelan Yuyu, and Brazilian ''Vodum'' (Candomblé Jejé and Tambor de Mina). Theology and practice Vodun cosmology centers around the ''vodun'' spirits and other elements of divine essence that govern the Earth, a hierarchy that range in power from major deities governing the forces of nature and human society to the spirits of individual streams, trees, and rocks, as well as dozens of ethnic vodun, defenders of a certain clan, tribe, or na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo, as well as Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha ( United Kingdom Overseas Territory).Paul R. Masson, Catherine Anne Pattillo, "Monetary union in West Africa (ECOWAS): is it desirable and how could it be achieved?" (Introduction). International Monetary Fund, 2001. The population of West Africa is estimated at about million people as of , and at 381,981,000 as of 2017, of which 189,672,000 are female and 192,309,000 male. The region is demographically and economically one of the fastest growing on the African continent. Early history in West Africa included a number of prominent regional powers that dominated different parts of both the coastal and internal trade networks, suc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rada Loa
The Rada are a family of lwa spirits in the religion of Haitian Vodou. They are regarded as being sweet-tempered and "cool", in this contrasting with the Petro lwa, which are regarded as volatile and "hot". Description The Rada lwa have been described as a "pantheon" of deities in Haitian Vodou. The Rada lwa are deemed sweet-natured and dependable. In this, they contrast with the Petwo lwa, whom are deemed volatile and hot-tempered. The Rada are referred to as ''lwa rasin'', meaning "root lwa." As they are often regarded as having an intimate relationship with their worshippers, they are often given names implying a family connection, such as ''Papa'' ("father") and ''Kouzen'' ("cousin"). The Petwo lwa are kept separate from the Rada lwa, both spatially, by placing their altars in different parts of the ''ounfo'' (temple), and temporally, by invoking them at different stages in a ritual. History The Rada pantheon have West African origins; specifically, the pantheon of Rada lwa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
