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 Who are the Lwa of Vodou? Although they are often taken to be gods, they are not. In Vodou,
there is only one God, and the Mysteries which serve under Him/Her/It, or however you choose to define Deity.
The Lwa of Vodou are many things - energy patterns long establish through prayer and ritual;
entities that once were human; spirits that have never had corporeal bodies. Think of them as the Ancestors of the human race, elevated to the status of Lwa or Saints. The Catholic church
continues to elevate simple human beings to supernatural status every year. Here in Philadelphia, we have the great Lwa Mother Katherine Drexel. She's a saint by definition of the
Church, but a lwa by any other name. People pray to her and serve her by going to mass, holding pieces of her clothing against their bodies and asking her to effect cures for them or
family. Hmmm...sounds like a Vodou Lwa to me!
Folks who come to Vodou often want to work with the main Lwa of the Rada or Petro
pantheons; I tell my students, start with your family Lwa first. When they look at me like I am crazy, I gently remind them that all Vodousant serve their family lwa first - their ancestors.
Bring your Great Grandmother her favorite drink regularly to your ancestor altar, and watch her go to work for you! Bring your family into your circle, and they will always reward you.
It's not unlike making friends. Would you approach a stranger on the street and ask for their
help, or would you go to someone more familiar? Family is even a better bet - after all, they have a vested interest in you succeeding. It makes them look good by vicarious association.
The Lwa of Vodou are much the same.
You can have a big Lwa like Ogoun or Damballah come to you and ask that you serve them. This is often an indication
that they might be your Met Tet, the master of your head. Other times, it simply means you are interesting to them, and
they are making the first move in a life time of complicated dance steps. So before you go jitter-bugging away with some
stranger, start a two step with your ancestors first. They will then make the proper introductions, so you and the Lwa can begin a graceful dance that will last a lifetime.
I've listed here the main players of the various nations. Again, there are many, many variations on a theme, but these are
some of the primary energies one encounters in Vodou work.
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