The Vodún Portal

The short story is that the ancient Ajã people found divinity manifested within nature itself, in all things, and called that expression Vodún. Flowering peaks, flowing rivers, venerable trees, the ocean, sky and mystic forests, for example, were thought to be sanctified by the deities, or hùn, that inhabited them. This indigenous “way of the spirit,” we call Vodún, can be overstood as a multifaceted assembly of practices, attitudes, and institutions that express the Ajã people’s relationship with their land and the lifecycles of the earth and humans. This is why we always say that the original zun (shrines) were in and of nature. It is also interesting that the word "zun" is the same word for "forest" in Ajã language. We say: ߝߊ߫ߘߋ ߥߍ ߢߌ ߖ߭ߎߣߚߐߛߎ " Fáde wɛ nyi zunxɔsu. The palm tree of Fá is the king of the forest. (the palm tree where the sacred divination palm nuts come from)

Vodún emerged gradually in ancient times and is said to be of a natural organic way of spiritual progression over thousands of years. The nature of Vodún is to absorb certain things that contributed to the original divine laws as time went on. Hence, Fá/Ifá (ancient oracular science) would come later as humans progressed in time. Thus, before there was Fá and certain other oracular systems, there was Vodún.

Vodún is the indigenous way of life of the Ajã and related people and is as old as the people themselves. In fact, for them, Vodún was here from the inception of the universe. Propaganda and preaching are not a part of its worldview, because Vodún is deeply rooted in the people and culture. There is no desire for proselytizing that which is natural to your spiritual and physical DNA; especially to those who do not have the Vodún spiritual and physical DNA that would otherwise connect them to the culture.

One can say that Vodún is optimistic in orientation since it views humans as naturally decent. But Vodún is not aloof to the fact of human imperfection and the tendency to "fall", and thus ancient protocols have been put in place for order in our world. The essence of Vodún lies in the gbɛmɛ sinsɛ̀n (worship/adoration of nature) and the wish to be in harmony with the living world – the relationships of people to nature with developed rites and rituals for requests, express gratitude or atonement, to ward off the negative, and to retain harmony graciously given to us by Măwù (the Creator).

Hùn (deities) can inspire or shock, as can be experienced in the beauty of nature and landscape, or in the ominous rumble of thunder, the onslaught of torrential rain, or the tragedy of an earthquake. The earliest stories among the Ajã describe some of the hùn as being the creators of the land (Mãwùfɛ/Afrika), who descended from the heavens to rule the land under the first king, Metalɔnfín. Hùn were responsible for all manner of tasks, from managing natural resources to protecting against disease, but only descended to earth to inhabit special places in nature such as mountains, forests, waterfalls, the sea, rivers, lakes, certain trees outside of the forest, certain mounds, kwk.

Vodún is associated with sacred spaces, originally places of striking natural beauty, places that had an atmosphere that could strike awe in the heart of the observer, or places that involved sheer mysticism in the spirit. People who are trying to express gbɛ́sù (divine law) will be living "according to the hùn". Beauty, Truth, and Goodness are essentially related and when beauty is perceived, truth and goodness follow close behind.

Through participating in the spirit of gbɛ́sù, mɛtɔ (the animated or ordinary person) is set to bring earth and heaven together to achieve harmonious union; thus becoming gbɛtɔ - "authentic elevated human beings". When their relationship is perfectly harmonious, the ideal universe comes into being. But of course, this does not always happen, and the reason is that humans often make mistakes that lead to their becoming corrupted. When people become corrupted in this sense, they stray from themselves and they have to find themselves again. If people can return to being themselves, then the hùn/òrìṣà rejoice and human progress and prosperity become possible.

To be initiated into Vodún is Mɔ̀ hùn dò (“find the spirit’s depths”), to be initiated into the secret ancestral Egúngún society is to become a atokun (those initiated into the secrets of ancestral science), but to divulge the secrets of the spirits is to “break” or “shatter” the spirit beyond repair (gbà hùn). In the sacred forest, ritual allows for the depths of the spirits to be simultaneously exposed safely and made vulnerable through revelation. Through initiation, secrecy becomes the social shell that protects the spirits and the initiates who now know each other’s depths. The secret then becomes an adorning possession made more potent because its exact nature is unknown to those who seek the hidden.

The "root" of Vodún is mystical and somewhat unfathomable. This is represented by one of the most important ama (herbs) in Vodún called agbègbé (Agbègbé is a Fɔ̀n  name for the parasitic vine plant known in English as “seaside dodder” and scientifically as Cassytha filiformis L.); which is an herb that appears prominent in the sacred Kpólí Fá (Odù) Ji Gbè (Éjì Ogbè). Agbègbé’s roots are indiscernible, as the plant grows parasitically on other plants, wrapping itself around its hosts’ branches. This quality frames the way in which Vodúnvi, especially bõkɔnɔn (Fá priests), apply meaningful interpretations to the symbolic and esoteric power of agbègbé. A Fɔ̀n proverb,  Agbègbékúntɔ́ nɔ́ mɔ̀ dò tɔ̀n ǎ “the agbègbé root- digger will never succeed”, highlights agbègbé’s social and spiritual value, as the proverb teaches us that seeking Vodún’s mystic metaphorical roots is a task in futility. Those who overstand Vodún will never be found searching for the proverbial root of the agbègbé vine. Western "logic" will often not work when applied to a way of life so ancient and connected with nature and the universe. One key thing must be remembered: Vodún nɔ blo mɔ dò zun mà - Vodún does not exist without the forest.

The above is but a snippet of the worldview that envelopes African Vodún.

By Ayìnɔn (H.I.M.) Àgɛ̀lɔgbàgàn Agbɔvi I