The Dahomean religion was practiced by the Fon people of the Dahomey Kingdom. The kingdom existed until 1898 in what is now the country of

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

. People taken from Dahomey to the Caribbean used elements of the religion to form Vodou and other religions of the Afro-Caribbean diaspora.

''Mawu'' and ''Lisa''

Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...

(male) and

Mawu Mawu-Lisa (alternately: Mahu) is a creator goddess, associated with the Sun and Moon in Dahomey mythology. In some myths, she is the wife of the male god Lisa. Mahu and Lisa are the children of Nana Buluku, and are the parents of Xevioso. Af ...

(female), married twin siblings of

Nana Buluku Nana Buluku, also known as Nana Buruku, Nana Buku or Nanan-bouclou, is the female supreme being in the West African traditional religion of the Fon people (Benin, Dahomey) and the Ewe people (Togo). She is one of the most influential deities in We ...

, are the creator spirits, occasionally combined as Mawu-Lisa, an androgynous spirit. Mawu-Lisa created the world and made it orderly, then made

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclu ...

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...

s, and

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...

s; the entire process took four days. *The first day, Mawu-Lisa created the world and humanity; *The second day the earth was made suitable for human life; *On the third day, humans were given intellect, language, and the senses; *Finally, on the fourth day, mankind received the gift of technology.

Offspring-spirits of ''Mawu'' and ''Lisa''

* Gbadu *Da and Gu * Dan

Other spirits

* Agé * Avrikiti * Ayaba * Egberun * Fa * Gleti * Gu *

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 be ...

* Loko *

Nana Nana, Nanna, Na Na or NANA may refer to: People and fictional characters * Nana (given name), including a list of people and characters with the given name * Nana (surname), including a list of people and characters with the surname * Nana ( ...

* Okanu *

Sakpata Ṣọ̀pọ̀na (or Shapona) is the god of smallpox in the Yoruba religion. The Yoruba people took their traditions about Shapona to the New World when they were transported in the slave trade. He has become known as Babalú-Ayé, among many ot ...

* Sogbo *

Xevioso Xevioso (alternately: Xewioso, Heviosso, Hevioso) is a god of thunder of the So region in Dahomey mythology. He is the twin brother of Gun, and is one of the children of Mawu and Lisa. See also * Shango References This divinity is al ...

* Zinsu and Zinsi * Jo

References

{{reflist, 2, refs= {{cite book , last = Akyeampong , first = Emmanuel , title = Africa's Development in Historical Perspective , publisher = Cambridge University Press , location = Cambridge , year = 2014 , isbn = 9781107041158 , page = 452 {{cite book , last = Anderson , first = Jeffrey , title = The Voodoo encyclopedia : magic, ritual, and religion , publisher = ABC-CLIO , location = Santa Barbara, California , year = 2015 , isbn = 9781610692090

External links

Vodoun Culture
Haitian Vodoun as chronicled by native Haitians
Baba Alawoye.com
Baba'Awo Awoyinfa Ifaloju, showcasing Ifa using web media 2.0 (blogs, podcasting, video and photocasting) Traditional African religions