''Bondye'', also known Gran Maître (),Torres, Rafael Agustí. "Loas y Vèvès del Vudú", p. 19 (in Spanish) is the supreme creator god in the

African diasporic religion African diaspora religions, also described as Afro-American religions, are a number of related beliefs that developed in the Americas in various areas of the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Southern United States. They derive from traditional ...

Haitian Vodou Haitian Vodou () is an African diasporic religions, 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 Africa, West and ...

. Vodouists believe Bondye was responsible for creating the universe and everything in it, and that he maintains the universal order. They nevertheless deem him to be transcendent and thus inaccessible to humans, who must instead interact with spirits called ''lwas''. Vodou developed among

Afro-Haitian Afro-Haitians or Black Haitians (; ) are Haitians of the African diaspora. They form the largest racial group in Haiti and together with other Afro-Caribbean groups, the largest racial group in the region. The majority of Afro-Haitians are de ...

communities amid the

Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of Slavery in Africa, enslaved African people to the Americas. European slave ships regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Pass ...

of the 16th to 19th centuries. It arose through the blending of the traditional religions brought to the island of

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...

by enslaved West Africans, many of them

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a t ...

, Yoruba or Fon, and the Roman Catholic teachings of the French colonialists who controlled the island. Bondye took his name from the

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

term ''Bon Dieu'' ("Good God"). Conceptually, Bondye occupied the role played by God in Roman Catholicism and other forms of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

, as well as that of the supreme deity found in various

African traditional religion The beliefs and practices of African people are highly diverse, and include various ethnic religions.Encyclopedia of African Religion (Sage, 2009) Molefi Kete Asante Generally, these traditions are oral rather than scriptural and are passed dow ...

Bondye in Haitian theology

Teaching the existence of single supreme God, Vodou has been described as

monotheistic Monotheism is the belief that one God is the only, or at least the dominant deity.F. L. Cross, Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. A ...

. This entity, the creator of the universe, is called the Bondye or Gran Mèt. The word Bondye is derived from the French ''Bon Dieu'' ("Good God"). For Vodouists, Bondye is seen as the ultimate source of power, deemed responsible for maintaining universal order. Bondye is also regarded as remote and transcendent, not involving itself in human affairs; there is thus little point in approaching it directly. Haitians will frequently use the phrase ''si Bondye vle'' ("if Bondye is willing"), suggesting a belief that all things occur in accordance with this divinity's will. The scholar of religion

Leslie Desmangles Leslie G Desmangles is an author and college professor focusing his research on Haiti and religion. Leslie G. Desmangles was born in Port-au-Prince (Haiti) on September 28, 1941. Professor Desmangles graduated from Eastern University (United States ...

referred to Bondye as "the Godhead". While Vodouists often equate Bondye with the Christian God, Vodou does not incorporate belief in a powerful antagonist that opposes the supreme being akin to the Christian notion of

Satan Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...

. Bondye occupies the role played by the Christian God in Christianity and by the supreme deity in various African traditional religions.

Cosmology and mythology

Vodou teaches that one of Bondye's first creations was the sun, the appearance of which was necessary for all other things, including laws and humans, to exist. It holds that Bondye then created humanity in his own image out of clay and water.

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* * * * * * * * * * * {{refend Afro-Caribbean religion Afro-Haitian culture Religion in Haiti Voodoo gods