Who Are The Loa?

Adjassou-Linguetor is a loa with protruding eyes and a bad temper. She governs spring water.

Adjinakou is an elephant loa.

Adya Hount'tò is a loa associated with drumming

Agassou (also Ati-A-Sou) is a loa, who guards the old traditions of Dahomey.

Agwé is a loa who rules over fish and aquatic plants, as well as the patron loa of fishermen and sailors. He is alternately married to Erzulie or La Sirene.

Offerings to Agwe are traditionally left on constructed rafts which are floated out to sea

Anaisa Pye commonly referred to as Anaisa, is a loa that is serviced within the religion of the 21 Divisions, also called Dominican Voudoun. Anaisa is from the rada division, or the cool division. Her nature and personality are full of laughter, mirth and joy, although she can be extremely vindictive if crossed or offended. She is associated with St. Anne. Her husband is Belie Belcan. Anaisa does manifest in different "points" or divisions, such as petro and the Indian division. Candeleo Sedife is viewed as her godfather. Anaisa's color is yellow and her number is 7. Her feast day is July 26th.

Ayida-Weddo (aso Aida-Wedo, Aido Quedo) is a loa of fertility, rainbows and snakes, and a companion or wife to Damballah-Wedo. Also Ayida-Weddo is known as the Rainbow Serpent

Ayizan (also Grande Ai-Zan, Aizan, or Ayizan Velekete) is the loa of the marketplace and commerce. She is a root loa, associated with Vodoun rites of initiation (called kanzo).

She is syncretised with the Catholic Saint Clare, her symbol is the palm frond, she drinks no alcohol, and is the wife of Loko Atisou.

Azaka-Tonnerre (also Azaca or Azacca) is in the same "family" of Loa as Azaka Medeh - the Loa of agriculture. Azaka-Tonnerre is a loa of thunder.

Bacalou is a feared loa (or spirit), represented by a skull and crossbones.

Bedessy is a minor loa who holds the domain of the sky.

Baron Samedi (Baron Saturday, also Baron Samdi, Bawon Samedi, or Bawon Sanmdi) is one of the aspects of Baron, one of the loa. He is a loa of the dead, along with Baron's other incarnations Baron Cimetière, and Baron La Croix. Baron Samedi is usually depicted with a white top hat, black tuxedo, dark glasses, and cotton plugs in the nostrils, as if to resemble a corpse dressed and prepared for burial in Haitian style. He has a white, frequently skull-like face (or actually has a skull for a face) and speaks in a nasal voice. He is one of the Guédé, or an aspect of them, or possibly their spiritual father. His wife is the loa Maman Brigitte. His usual name may be a corruption of or euphemisation for "Baron Zombi", though 'Samedi' also means 'Saturday' in French, which influenced the names of much of voodoo folklore.

Baron Samedi stands at the crossroads, where the souls of dead humans pass on their way to Guinee. As well as being the all-knowing loa of death, he is a sexual loa, frequently represented by phallic symbols and noted for disruption, obscenity, debauchery, and having a particular fondness for tobacco and rum. Additionally, he is the loa of sex and resurrection.

He is New World in origin, not African. The Haitian dictator François “Papa Doc” Duvalier was infamous for taking on the guise of Baron Samedi, a persona which helped the tyrant oppress the rural populace of the island. It is said that Papa Doc looked exactly like the classic representation of the Baron and used this much to his advantage

Boli Shah is a minor loa who guards families

Boddou Ashadeh is a loa, the spirit of the deceased Dahomean King Tegbésou.

As the Petro mannifestation, Bossou is often depicted as a horned bull.

Bugid Y Aiba is a loa of war.

Clermeil was the loa who made rivers flood their banks. He was usually depicted as a white man.

Congo is a handsome but apathetic loa.

In the Congo Savanne aspect, he is a fierce petro loa, said to eat people. His color is white.

Damballa is one of the most important of all the loa. He is associated with snakes. He is also the father of all the rest of the loa and is considered to be the loa of creation. Some of his ritual songs indicate that he "carries the ancestors" on his back to Ginen (the afterlife) His wife is the rainbow serpent Ayida Weddo (he is also married to Erzulie Freda). As a loa of the Rada nation he is associated with the color white. His particular color is white. In Africa he was known as Da. His offerings are very simple and he prefers an egg on a mound of flour. Some houses also serve him with anisette and corn syrup. When he presents himself in possession, he does not talk, but makes hissing noises like a snake.

In most houses, he is represented by either Moses or St. Patrick.

Dan Petro is the loa who protects farmers; he is the father of Ti-Jean Petro.

Dan Wédo (also called Saint Louis) was the loa of the King of France.

Diable Tonnere is a loa who presides over thunder.

Diejuste is a kind-hearted loa

Dinclinsin is a European loa feared for his temper and cruelty.

Erzulie (sometimes spelled Ezili) is a family of lwa, or spirits.

Erzulie Freda Dahomey, the Rada aspect of Erzulie, is the spirit of love, beauty, jewellery, dancing, luxury, and flowers. She wears three wedding rings, one for each husband Damballa, Agwe and Ogoun. She is often represented by a heart symbol. Her colors are pink, blue, and gold. Coquettish and very fond of beauty and finery, Erzuile Freda is femininity and compassion embodied, yet she also has a darker side; she is seen as jealous and spoiled and within some vodoun circles is considered to be lazy. She is also often associated with gay men.

Guédé (also spelled Gede or Ghede, pronounced GAY-DAY in french) are the family of spirits that embody the powers of death and fertility. They are closely associated with the loa Baron

Gede Nibo is a psychopomp and acts as an intermediary between the living and the dead, who gives voice to the dead spirits that have not been reclaimed from "below the waters".

Papa Ghede is also a psychopomp. He waits at the crossroads to take souls into the afterlife and is considered the good counterpart to Baron Samedi. He has a very crass sense of humor and a deep hatred of European-based cultures because of the sexual repression they encourage. Papa Ghede is supposed to be the corpse of the first man who ever died. He is widely recognized as a short, dark man with a high hat on his head and a cigar in his mouth and he's constantly holding an apple in his left hand. It says that he has a divine ability to read others mind and the ability to know everything that happens in the both worlds.

Ghede Bábáco is supposedly Papa Ghede's less known brother and is also a psychopomp. His role is somewhat similar to that of Papa Ghede, but he doesn't have the two very special abilitys that his brother has.

If a child is dying, Papa Ghede is prayed to. It's believed that he won't take a life before it's time, and that he will protect the little ones. He is married to Maman Brigitte.

Gran Maître (or Gran Met) is one of the primary creator goddesses
In her Petro nation aspect as Erzulie Dantor she is often depicted as a scarred and buxom woman, holding a child protectively in one hand and a knife in the other. She is a warrior and particularly a fierce protector of women and children. She is also the patron of lesbians. It is believed that a common depiction of Erzulie Dantor has its roots in copies of the icon of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa, brought to Haiti by Polish soldiers fighting on both sides of the Haitian revolution from 1802 onwards

Grand Bois (meaning great wood, also Grans Bwa, Bran Bwa, Ganga-Bois) is an elemental, nature-oriented loa closely associated with trees, plants and herbs. Offerings to him include leaves and herbs, honey, and spiced rum. As a loa of the wilderness he can be fierce and unpredictable in some aspects.

Guinee is the underworld. It is guarded by the Ghede, who newly dead souls must pass.

Kalfou or Carrefour (literally crossroads) is the Petro manifestation of Papa Legba and can be quite dangerous, whereas Legba, his kinder Rada counterpart, is associated with the sun, Kalfou is regarded as a lwa of the moon.

Kalfu also controls the crossroads. Not unlike Hecate in Greek religion and myth, Kalfu controls the evil forces of the spirit world. He allows the crossing of bad luck, deliberate destruction, misfortune, injustice

Kalfu also controls the crossroads. Not unlike Hecate in Greek religion and myth, Kalfu controls the evil forces of the spirit world. He allows the crossing of bad luck, deliberate destruction, misfortune, injustice

Kalfu controls the in-between points of the crossroads, the off-center points. Legba controls the positive spirits of the day; Kalfu controls the malevolent spirits of the night.

When Kalfu mounts a person everyone at the service stops speaking because he allows evil loa to come to the ceremony. He claims that most of the important loa know him and he collaborates with them. Kalfu says that some people claim he is a demon but he denies this. A respected loa though he is not liked much, he is the grand master of charms and sorceries and is closely associated with black magic.

L'inglesou is a loa who lives in the wild areas of Haiti and kills anyone who offends him.

Loco (also spelled Loko) is a loa, patron of healers and plants, especially trees.

He is the husband of loa Ayizan.

Mademoiselle Charlotte is a loa of European descent and a symbol of all white women. She manifests with the perceived personality traits of a white woman, but appears during the course of Voodoo ceremonies only rarely, possibly because of her non-African origin.

Mademoiselle Charlotte loves the strict observance in her honor of all the niceties of ritual protocol. She prefers to speak French. She is served in much the same way as Erzulie. She enjoys sweet rose, blue, white or cream colored beverages; water sweetened with syrup; all kinds of non-alcoholic liqueurs; and clairin. Her color is rose. She prefers the tender meat of young chickens as her ritual food offering. Her services are difficult to obtain; she only works for people to whom she takes a fancy.

Maîtresse Délai is the patron loa of tambourine players.

Maîtresse Hounon'gon is the loa who presides over the chanting done during an ordeal by fire, called a canzo.

Maman Brigitte (Grann Brigitte, Manman, Manman Brigit, Manman Brijit) is a death loa, the wife of Baron Samedi. She drinks hot peppers and is symbolized by a black rooster. Like Baron and the Ghede, she uses obscenities.

She protects gravestones in cemeteries if they are properly marked with a cross.

A New World loa, Maman Brigitte is probably traceable back to the Irish Saint Brigid.

Marassa are the divine twins. They are children, but more ancient than any other loa. "Love, truth and justice. Directed by reason. Mysteries of liaison between earth and heaven and they personify astronomic-astrological learning. They synthesize the voodoo Loa as personification of divine power and the human impotence. Double life, they have considerable power which allow them manage people through the stomach. They are children mysteries." (source: Voodoo Diagrams & Rituals: by Milo Rigaud, Trilingual edition)

They are somewhat different to standard loa in that they are not channelled through possession in Vodou ritual. Their importance in the Vodou pantheon becomes clearer in that the core trinity of Vodoun service is the Lwa, the Ancestors, and the Marassa.

Marassa Jumeaux are a pair of dead twins, now ghosts. They are the symbols of the elemental forces of the universe.

Marinette is a cruel and vicious loa.

Marinette is represented by a screech owl and is often seen the protector of werewolves. Her Catholic counterpart is the Anima Sola who can either free one from bondage or drag you back. Her name is also Marinette Bwa Chech, which translates into Marinette of the Dry Arms suggesting that she is skeletal. Her colors are black and deep blood red. Her offerings are black pigs and black roosters plucked alive. Marinette was elevated to a lwa after her death. She is believed to be the Mambo who sacrificed the black pig at the culmination of the start of the first Haitian Revolution. While she is feared and tends to ride the horses violently, she can also be seen as one who frees her people from bondage.

Mombu is a loa who stutters and causes heavy rains.

Ogun (or Ogoun, Ogum, Ogou) is a loa and orisha, who presides over fire, iron, hunting, politics and war. He is the patron of smiths and is usually displayed with his attributes: machete or sabre, rum and tobacco. He is one of the husbands of Erzulie and is a husband of osun and oya in yoruba mythology

Ogun is the traditional warrior and seen as a powerful deity of metal work, similar to the spirit of Ares and Hephaestus in Greek mythology. As such Ogun is mighty, powerful, triumphal, yet also exhibits the rage and destructiveness of the warrior whose strength and violence can turn against the community he serves. Perhaps linked to this theme is the new face he has taken on in Haiti which is not quite related to his African roots, that of a powerful political leader.[1]

He gives strength through prophecy and magic. It is Ogun who is said to have planted the idea, led and given power to the slaves for the Haitian Revolution of 1804. He is called now to help people obtain a government more responsive to their needs.

Pie is a soldier-loa who lives at the bottoms of lakes and rivers and causes floods.

Simbi (also Sim'bi) is a large and diverse family of serpent Loa (Vodoun spirit) from the West Central Africa / Kongo region. Some prominent Simbi Loa include Simbi Dlo (also Simbi d'l'eau - Simbi of the Water), Simbi Makaya, Simbi Andezo (Simbi of Two Waters), and Gran Simba. Traditionally in their Kongo context they are all associated with water, but in the Haitian Vodoun context they have wide ranging associations. For example Simbi Makaya is a great sorcerer, and served in particular in the Sanpwel secret societies. Simbi Anpaka is a Loa of plants, leaves, and poisons.

Milo Rigaud (City Lights, NY; c1969; "Secrets of Voodoo") speaks of Simbi as the Vodou Mercury, the messenger of Legba (the Sun). In this aspect Simbi is the bearer of souls to all places, and the creative principle

Sousson-Pannan is a hideously ugly loa, covered in sores, who is known for drinking copious amounts of both liquor and blood.

Ti Jean Quinto is a cruel loa who lives under bridges and assumes the shape of a police officer

Ti Malice was a trickster-loa

Ti-Jean Petro is a snake-loa and son of Dan Petro.