Wade Davis - The Serpent and the Rainbow

GOVI The sacred clay vessels in which the spirits of the dead or the loa are housed.

GRANS BWA A vodoun loa, the spirit of the forest.

GROS BON ANGE “Big good angel”; that aspect of the vodoun soul shared by all sentient beings; one individual’s part of the vast pool of cosmic energy.

GROUPE D’ÉTAT-MAJEUR Said to be executive leadership of the Bizango society.

GUEDE A vodoun loa, the spirit of the dead.

GUINÉE Africa, or the mythical homeland; the land of the loa.

HOODOO A variation of the word voodoo used commonly in the southern United States.

HOUNFOUR The vodoun temple, including the material structure and the acolytes that serve there. When used in opposition to peristyle, it refers to the inner sanctuary with the altar.

HOUNGAN Vodoun priest.

HOUNSIS Members of the société, or hounfour, at various levels of initiation. From the Fon language (hu —a divinity; si— a spouse).

INVISIBLES, LES Term for all the invisible spirits including the loa.

LAMBÍ Conch shell used as a trumpet.

LANGAGE Sacred language used only in ceremonies of African origin.

LEGBA A vodoun loa, the spirit of communication and the crossroad.

LEOPARD SOCIETY The secret society of the Efik of Old Calabar.

LOA The deities of the vodoun faith.

LOCO A vodoun loa, the spirit of vegetation.

LOUP GAROU The werewolf. The flying queen, or reine voltige, of the Bizango is said to be a loup garou.

MACANDAL, FRANCOIS Mandingue slave born in Africa and believed to have been executed in 1758 for his part in a poison conspiracy; also in contemporary Haiti the name of a secret society.

MACOUTE Straw shoulder bag of the Haitian peasant.

MADOULÈ The sacred coffin and symbol of the Bizango societies.

MAÎT’ Master, as in the dominant loa.

MALFACTEUR Evildoer, particularly an individual who specializes in powders.

MAMAN The mother, the largest of the three drums in the Rada battery.

MAMBO Female vodoun priestess.

MANGÉ MOUN “To eat people,” a euphemism for killing someone.

MAPOU The sacred tree of the vodoun religion, Ceiba pentandra of the botanical family Bombacaceae.

MAROON Fugitive slave, from Spanish root cimarrón , meaning “wild, unruly.”

MORT BON DIEU A call from God, a natural death.

MYSTÈRES The loa.

NAM Generic term derived from the French âme , or soul, and referring to the complete vodoun soul including gros bon ange, ti bon ange, and the other spiritual components.

N’ÂME The spirit of the flesh that allows each cell to function.

NÈG GUINÉE A person of Africa, of the mythical homeland, of African descent.

OGOUN A vodoun loa, the spirit of fire, war, and the metallurgical elements; the blacksmith god.

PAQUETS CONGO A small sacred bundle containing magical ingredients that serves to protect a person against illness or evil; the closest object there is to the notorious and often misrepresented “voodoo doll.”

PARESTHESIA An abnormal sensation, as of prickling of the skin.

PERISTYLE The roofed, usually unwalled area where most ceremonies occur.

PETRO A group of vodoun loa traditionally said to be of American origin, now increasingly believed to be derived from Congolese rites.

PIERRE TONNERRE The thunderstones said to be created by the spirits and thus imbued with mystical healing powers.

PORO A secret society among the Mende of Sierra Leone.

POTEAU MITAN The centerpost of the peristyle and the axis along which the loa rise to enter the ceremonies.

POUDRE (POUD) Magical powder.

PRESIDENT The highest position below that of the emperor within the Bizango societies. Member of the groupe d’état-majeur.

PSYCHOACTIVE Designates a drug that has a specific effect on the mind.

PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY The study of the actions of drugs on the mind.

PULMONARY EDEMA An abnormal accumulation of fluid in the lungs.

PWIN Magical power or force summoned to execute the will of the sorcerer or Bizango society; may be used for good or evil.

RADA Vodoun rite; a body of loa, songs, and dances of Dahomean origin. Name derived from the town of Arada in Dahomey, now Benin.

RARA Festival during the spring characterized by processions associated with particular hounfour or Bizango societies.

REINE The queen: high-ranking female position in the Bizango societies. Première reine, the first queen, is a member of the groupe d’état-majeur. Below her are the deuxième reine (second queen), troisième reine (third queen), reine drapeau (flag queen).

REINE VOLTIGE The flying queen; also conceived of as a loup garou, or werewolf. The four reines voltiges carry the sacred coffin during the formal Bizango processions.

SAINT DOMINGUE The French colony that later became Haiti.

SÉANCE The term used to describe the nocturnal gatherings of the Bizango.

SECONDE The second or middle drum in the Rada battery of three.

SECRÉTAIRE The secretary; rank of the Bizango society.

SECTION RURALE The fundamental administrative unit of local government in rural Haiti.

SENTINELLE The sentinel; rank of the Bizango society; the guard or scout who moves ahead of the processions and secures the entryway into the Bizango ceremonies.

SERVI LOA The term used by vodoun acolytes to refer to their faith, “to serve the loa.”

SERVITEUR One who serves the loa.

SHANPWEL Term used to refer to the secret societies; sometimes used interchangeably with Bizango, but more properly refers to the members of the Bizango, not the rite itself.

SOBO Vodoun loa, the spirit of thunder.

SOCIÉTÉ A hounfour and its members, not to be confused with Bizango society.

SOLDAT The lowest rank in the Bizango society.

SUPERVISEUR Rank of the Bizango society; said to be responsible for conveying messages between different society leaders in different regions of the country.

TAP TAP Popular Creole term for the kaleidoscopic buses.

TETRODOTOXIN Potent neurotoxin found in puffer fish and various other animals that blocks the conduction of nerve signals by completely stopping the movement of sodium ions into cells.

TI BON ANGE That aspect of the vodoun soul said to be responsible for creating a person’s character, willpower, and individuality.

TI GUINÉE A child of Guinée, the mythical homeland; also used to refer to a member or offspring of the vodoun society.

TONNELLE A thatch or corrugated tin roof improvised in the absence of a complete peristyle; a canopy beneath which ceremonies and dances occur.

TON TON MACOUTE From ton ton, or uncle, and macoute, the straw shoulder bag of the peasant. Name for the independent security forces established by Dr. François Duvalier.

TOPICALLY ACTIVE Designates a chemical or pharmaceutical substance that may be applied effectively to the skin.

TOUSSAINT L’OUVERTURE Ex-slave, revolutionary leader, general, liberator historically perceived as the Simon Bolívar of Haiti. Betrayed by Napoleon and deported to France, where he died in 1803.

UREMIA Toxic condition caused by the presence in the blood of waste products normally eliminated in the urine.

VÉVÉ Symbolic designs drawn on the ground with flour or ashes and intended to invoke the loa. Each spirit has a characteristic vévé.

VLINBLINDINGUE A name of a secret society (also vinbrindingue).

VODOUN The theological principles and the practice of the Haitian traditional society.

VSN Acronym for the Volontaires pour la Sécurité Nationale, the militia established by François Duvalier to protect his regime.

WANGA A magical charm used for selfish or malevolent intent.

WÉTÉ MO NAN DLO “To take the dead from the water”; the ritual whereby the ti bon ange is reclaimed by the living and given a new form.