The ''potomitan'' (also spelled ''poteau-mitan'', ''poto mitan'', ''poto-mitan'':

Haitian Creole Haitian Creole (; ht, kreyòl ayisyen, links=no, ; french: créole haïtien, links=no, ), commonly referred to as simply ''Creole'', or ''Kreyòl'' in the Creole language, is a French-based creole language spoken by 10–12million people wor ...

: "central pole" - from the French: , "post", and , an archaism for "half") is an essential structural feature of the ''

hounfour A ''hounfour'' (also called ''oufo'', ''hounfor'', ''oum'phor'', or ''houmfort'') is a Vodou temple. The leader of the ceremony is a male priest called a ''houngan'', or a female priest called a ''mambo''. The term is believed to derive from the ...

'' (temple) in

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 ...

. Occupying the central position in the peristyle (sacred space at the centre of the / ), the ''potomitan'' takes the form of a decorated wooden post (occasionally a living tree) by means of which, it is believed, the ''

loa ( ), also called loa or loi, are spirits in the African diasporic religion of Haitian Vodou. They have also been incorporated into some revivalist forms of Louisiana Voodoo. Many of the lwa derive their identities in part from deities venerat ...

'' descend to earth to inhabit, for a time, the bodies of the faithful through

spirit possession Spirit possession is an unusual or altered state of consciousness and associated behaviors purportedly caused by the control of a human body by spirits, ghosts, demons, or gods. The concept of spirit possession exists in many cultures and rel ...

. The structure consists usually of the whole trunk of a

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

tree, being fixed to the ground by a masonry pedestal commonly known as a ''socle'' and attached at the top to the roof of the temple. A ''potomitan'' is often painted with designs in bright colours, featuring usually the motif of two intertwined serpents, symbolizing the primordial male and female divine couple

Damballa Damballa, also spelled Damballah, Dambala, Dambalah, among other variations ( ht, Danbala), is one of the most important of all loa, spirits in Haitian Voodoo and other African diaspora religious traditions such as Obeah. He is traditionally po ...

and

Ayida Weddo Ayida-Weddo is a loa of fertility, rainbows, wind, water, fire, and snakes in Vodou, especially in Benin and Haiti. Ayida-Weddo is known as the "Rainbow Serpent". Variants of Ayida-Weddo's name include Aida-Weddo, Ayida-Wedo, Aido Quedo, and A ...

who, according to the cosmogony of the Haitian religion, support the sky, preventing it from crumbling and falling to earth. Taken its entirety, however, the ritual post represents the deity

Papa Legba Papa Legba is a lwa in Haitian Vodou, Winti and Louisiana Voodoo, who serves as the intermediary between the lwa and humanity. He stands at a spiritual crossroads and gives (or denies) permission to speak with the spirits of Guineé, and is bel ...

, the

gatekeeper A gatekeeper is a person who controls access to something, for example via a city gate or bouncer, or more abstractly, controls who is granted access to a category or status. Gatekeepers assess who is "in or out", in the classic words of managem ...

or messenger of the ''loa'', without whose intercession communication with the realm of the divine would be impossible. Sacrifices are carried out regularly to sanctify the structure and honour the deity, either at the foot of the ''potomitan'' itself or at the base of the ''socle'' - most notably prior to Vodou ceremonies proper - in order to keep it a fit conduit for the transmission of the divine powers. The ''potomitan'' constitutes a ritual representation, in a specifically Haitian context, of the

axis mundi In astronomy, axis mundi is the Latin term for the axis of Earth between the celestial poles. In a geocentric coordinate system, this is the axis of rotation of the celestial sphere. Consequently, in ancient Greco-Roman astronomy, the '' ...

and, more specifically the

world tree The world tree is a motif present in several religions and mythologies, particularly Indo-European religions, Siberian religions, and Native American religions. The world tree is represented as a colossal tree which supports the heavens, thereb ...

.Gordon, Leah, (1985), ''The Book of Vodou'', Barron's Educational Series

References

{{Reflist Haitian Vodou Voodoo art