Culture Report, May 1994

Anthony B. Parker

Introduction

God
Creator
Sustainer
The Fa Oracle
The Word of God
Divination
Intermediary Spirits (Vodun)
Children of Mawu-Lisa
A Limitless Pantheon
Worship
Man
Origin
Soul
Death and Funerals
Ancestors
Twins
Sin and Salvation
Covens

2
2
3
4
4
4
6
6
7
7
9
9
9
9
10
11
11
13

Magic

Protective Magic
Curative Magic
Destructive Magic
Published Sources

15
15
15
17

Introduction

To speak of Fon religion as though it were some how separated from other aspects of the culture is impossible. Every aspect of traditional life among the Fon is influenced by the religious beliefs held by these people. This report is an attempt to describe those beliefs and institutions of the Fon which so deeply touch every aspect of their life.

Fon religion defies systemization. There exists no authoritative source to define an orthodox set of beliefs. An individual's understanding of the supernatural is determined by whatever stories and rumors he may have heard in his lifetime. The variety of religious societies, commonly called covens, which exist among the Fon also lead to conflicting views of the relative power of certain spirits. This inconsistency hardly bothers anyone. "Truth" is not nearly an issue as much so as "power;" one searches for power in whatever source may be indicated by his family and friends.

This report results from approximately one year of life among the Fon people. During this time, my teammates and I have observed, researched, and interviewed in an attempt to understand the Fon world view. Our understanding is far from complete. New insights are constantly being discovered and new questions arise faster than the answers. In this report, I will attempt to pull together what we have learned during this first year with the hope that our understandings can be further refined. All of this is done, not for anthropological purposes, but to enable us and others to understand and communicate the gospel to the heart of the Fon people.

God

Creator

The Fon people recognize the existence of a single, benevolent Creator who they call Mawu. The name of Mawu is invoked at many points in everyday life. The expression for "good night" (Mawu ni fòn mi) means "may God wake us up." "God will do it" (Mawu na bl¥) is used in circumstances when one wishes for the situation to change. "Thanks for the work of God" (Ku do Mawu'zò)expresses gratitude for a helpful deed. The Fon people are aware of God's existence and his interest in the affairs of man.

Mawu is responsible for the creation of the world. Ideas concerning creation vary widely. One interviewee stated that we cannot know how God created the world because man wasn't there yet.A traditional diviner agreed when he said that "No one can know how God created the heavens, the earth, and the other living creatures. God has not told how he made the first man and woman. We see ourselves created as living." The fact of creation and a Creator is obvious; the manner of his creation is obscure.

Anthropological sources reveal varying accounts of the creation. These anthropologists, many of whom worked several decades ago, often obtained their information from the elite of the traditional priesthoods. These are the recipients of the ancient traditions. It is valuable to understand these traditions, but it is also necessary to know that these are unknown, or exist in many different versions, among the Fon people today.

Many of these stories call into doubt the "unity" of the traditional Creator. The Creator may be called Mawu-Lisa, Segbo-Lisa, or Dada Segbo. According to some reports Dada Segbo is the creator of Mawu-Lisa, who created the world, while others say that Mawu created Segbo-Lisa.The most consistent explanation, however, seems to be that the original understanding of the Creator was that of a set of twins, Mawu (female) and Lisa (male). According to anthropologist Melville J. Herskovits, Mawu and Lisa were born to one Nana Buluku. Mercier describes Mawu-Lisa, not as a twin, but as "an androgynous, self-fertilizing being." The Creator's dualistic nature corresponds to the dualism which the Fon observe in the universe.
Mawu, the female principle, is fertility, motherhood, gentleness, forgiveness; while Lisa is power, warlike or otherwise, strength and toughness. Moreover, they assure the rhythm of day and night. Mawu is the night, the moon, freshness, rest, joy; Lisa is the day and sun, heat, labor, all hard things. By presenting their two natures alternately to men, the divine pair impress on man the rhythm of life and the two series of complementary elements of which the fabric is woven. (Mercier 1954, 219)

In what seems to be the "classic" account of creation, Mawu-Lisa was aided in creation by a rainbow-serpent called Dan. The exact nature of Dan is unclear. Some of Mercier's sources identified him as the first created being; others claimed that he "coexists with Mawu and its origin is to be found in the domain of earlier worlds" (1954, 117-118). Currently he is worshipped as an intermediary spirit (see below concerning the vodun.) His shrines are often decorated with a painting of a a rainbow with a serpent's head. According to the account, Dan, transported Mawu-Lisa through the universe to perform the creative work. Presently, the serpent is coiled around the earth holding everything in its place. It can be seen in the rainbow and in light reflected in the water.

Keep in mind that these stories of creation are unknown to most of the Fon. For most, the explanation that "God made everything" is sufficient. As one man said when asked how God created the world, "I'm only sixty-four years old. You would have to ask someone older to find someone who would know these stories."

Sustainer

The Fon speak of Mawu as being concerned with the affairs of his creation and he is seen an the one sustains it. This sustaining work must, however, be done indirectly, for although Mawu is powerful enough to create the world, he is neither omnipotent nor omnipresent. He has, however, in the traditional understanding, created a host of spiritual powers who more directly control and govern the created order. It is through these powers that Mawu sustains the universe.

The Fa Oracle

The Word of God

Fa is said to be the first of the powers created by Mawu to assist in the governing of his creation. Fa was created to reveal knowledge of the unseen realm to man. This is done through divination, which is practiced by the Bokònò, the traditional diviner.

Fa may be spoken of either as a personal being or as an impersonal, guiding force. Making reference to the intermediary spirits, called vodun (see next section), the anthropologist Maupoil noted, "The majority of the Bokònò diviners declare that Fa is 'like a Vodun. ' It is just as difficult for them to affirm that he is one as to demonstrate that he is not. He is vodun to the extent that he is unknowable; but he does not have certain properties of the vodun, especially to possess, to cause one to enter trances, to momentarily throw the adherents into a panic." He further notes, "Fa does neither good or evil. He is impartial and his role stops there. In practice, the information he gives permits a man to keep up his guard, and in that sense he does good. ... Fa does not judge, he is an agent of information (1961, 10, 13). A Bokònò with whom I spoke on several occasions, almost always referred to Fa in impersonal terms, yet in his courtyard there is a small, man-like statue representing Fa.

Da Silva (1963-64, 117-118) records a legend which would support a personal conception of Fa.According to his sources, Fa is the child of Meto-Lonfin, a powerful king and chief of all the fetishers, and his first wife, Adje . They gave their son the name of Ayidegoun. This child never spoke until, one day, while being beaten by his father, he said the non-sense word "gb‚-mŠdji." After further beating he said "YŠku-mŠdji." With successive beatings he said more words. One day he explained to his father, "I can only pronounce one word for each time you hit me. If you keep beating me, I can have a conversation." As his father continued to beat him, the son explained that he would die, but that he would leave his father a magnificent inheritance. He told his father to care well for a palm tree that would grow near the hut. He then revealed to his father the Fa divination techniques which he could use to predict the future using the shells of the palm nuts. His father then became the first priest of Fa.

Divination

Whether personal or impersonal, Fa reveals the will of Mawu through a complex divination process practiced by the Bokònò. One consults the Bokònò during times of trouble or to find protection in order to avoid trouble. One who wishes to consult the Bokònò brings a gift of money and/or food. He then takes small objects given to him by the diviner, including colored rocks and various shells, and secretly describes his problem to the objects. These are then placed before the Bokònò. The Bokònò then takes his essential tool of divination, eight concave palm nut shells, strung together on a cord. The cord is held in the middle, producing two parallel lines with four shells on each side. The cord is waved in the air and the shells are allowed to fall on the ground. The Bokònò then observes the pattern in which the shells have fallen, whether face-up or face down. He then notes this pattern by marking it on the ground or a piece of paper. The pattern that has emerged refers the Bokònò to a collection of proverbs. Each pattern has its own set of proverbs. Using the proverbs, the Bokònò divines the nature of the problem and then receives additional details from the one who has come to consult. Usingthis information, the Bokònò describes the source of the problem and the remedies available.The sources may include sorcery or failure to honor an ancestor or a vodun. Remedies include sacrifices to the offended ancestor or vodun, or the purchase of charms, amulets, or other protective objects.

In addition to the collection of proverbs associated with the position of the shells used in divination, there is a host of honorific names for Fa, prayers, formulas which accompany the preparation of amulets, and incantations used by the diviners. Together these are called Fagbe,the language of Fa. (Maupoil 1961, 27).Intermediary Spirits (Vodun)

Children of Mawu-Lisa

After having created Fa, Mawu is said to have created a hosts of other spirits to aid him in the governing of the world. The Bokònò that I interviewed stated that God created the vodun because he is unable to protect all people. Though the vodun are said to be created by Mawu, they may work against man, whereas Mawu is said to be always benevolent. The Bokònò referred to the vodun as awovi, a term meaning literally "son of lies" and used by Christians to translate "devil," or "Satan." Non-Christians accept readily the assertion that the vodun do the work of Satan. Some will admit that this is at cross-purposes with the will of Mawu. Others will argue that, since Mawu created all, their working must be consistent with his will.
According to the cosmogony described by Agossou (125-126), the following vodun were created as sons of Mawu-Lisa, each, except the last, being given a specific domain.

• Sakpata is identified with the earth as well as with smallpox.
• Xævioso is thunder. The Fon associate the destructive power of a storm with thunder more than with lightning. One source identified Xævioso as a pantheon of deities, especially important to coastal peoples because of its association with the sea (Argyle 1966, 33).
• Agbe , according to Agossou, is the deity of the sea and the waters. In the cosmology constructed by Argyle (1966, 180-181), he is the male counterpart of his female twin, Naete, these two being the children of Sogbo, the androgynous head of the Xævioso pantheon.
•Gu is referred to as the "civilizing vodun" by Agossou. He is the patron deity of a wide variety of professions involving the use of metal. Mercier (1954, 223) reports two different accounts of the origin of Gu. "He is regarded either as a person or as an instrument in the hands of Mawu-Lisa. As a person, he is the heavenly blacksmith, patron of the blacksmiths of the earth and inventor of all crafts (except weaving; originally clothing was made of bark). He is identified with iron and with his emblem the gubusa, a kind of ceremonial sword. In relation to Mawu-Lisa, Gu is specially linked with Lisa, strength and the sun. Man was given technical skills at the time of a journey taken by the creator, like the one he made when putting the world in order. But this time it is the creator in his character as Lisa, accompanied by his helper or instrument, Gu, who travels over the earth."

• Age reigns over animals and birds.
• Ji or Loko has the trees as his domain.• Lægba, is the last-born to Mawu-Lisa, and does not have a precise domain. He is the vodun of the unpredictable and unassignable. He is the divine trickster. He is widely worshipped, or at least besought, by the Fon. Although all anthropological sources indicate that Lægba is last among the children of Mawu-Lisa, the Bokònò whom I interviewed identified him as among the first, along with Fa, to be created. This confusion can be attributed to the tremendous importance attached to both Lægba and Fa. Lægba has strategems and tricks to evade the rigid government of the world. It is clear that the mythology of Lægba is connected with Fa, of which it is in some sort the reverse. He is not the power of evil, he may be the bearer of evil or good, he may protect man but equally he may make his lot harder. Lægba is universally venerated in all the cult groups and in every home. Each man has a Lægba as he has a destiny, and he must propitiate him lest his destiny become worse. (Mercier 1954, 228-229) My recent inquiries bear out Mercier's forty-year old description. In a strictly traditional household, each person has his own Lægba shrine which is destroyed at the person's death. I asked some young men in Azozoundji whether Lægba does good or evil. Their response, "He does good for us," seemed to imply that he may do evil to others. Another article identified Lægba as the most malevolent vodun. "He is the author of all sorts of quarrels, of all accidents, wars, and public calamities. ... He must be ceaselessly appeased by sacrifices and gifts" ( tudes Dahom‚enes Jan. 1968, 47).

A Limitless Pantheon

Though the above vodun are said to be children of Mawu-Lisa, all vodun are considered to be creations of God. Almost anything, especially anything impressive, can be construed as a vodun or fetish. (The word fetish properly refers to the material objects by which the vodun is worshipped. Among the Fon, however, the words are used interchangeably.) Some of these have been noted above. In an interview with Andrew Gordon (April 23, 1994), a group of Christo-pagans explained, "Our ancestors misunderstood things. Anything they saw that was extraordinaire, they would think had a power and would make it into a fetish." A covert to Catholicism gave this explanation of his pre-Christian beliefs.

What the pagans call vodun, it's all that depasses the strength or the intelligence of man, everything that surprises ... like the whirlwinds, the rainbow, the sea so vast and always turbulent, the rivers so majestic like the Mono; the lakes, like the Nokou‚ and the Ah‚m‚; the thunder and the lightning, the tiger, among the Fon, the boal, among the inhabitants of Grand-Popo, the serpent fetish dangb‚, among the P‚dah, the smallpox (sakpata) ... all these beings are the fetishes. ( tudes Dahom‚enes Jan. 1968, 41)Though in the classic cosmology both Lisa and Dan are creative agents, on a popular level they are worshipped as the other vodun. As such, they do not share in Mawu's ultimate sovereignty, but they exist in a closer relationship with man.

According to the Bokònò interviewed, even the human spirit may be considered a vodun. In his view, man is a vodun incarnate. At his death, he becomes once again a vodun. Though this explanation is not widely given, it forms a logical link between the worship of the vodun and the veneration of ancestors.

Worship

The vodun desire worship and have certain needs that must be satisfied by man, especially the need to eat.This is the most basic function of sacrifices. A vodun who is not being fed will call attention to itself by sending sickness or other disasters on man. Mawu, by contrast, does not need to eat.

Worship of the vodun follows largely the instructions of the Bokònò. It is he who advises as to which vodun has been offended in case of trouble, or which must be besought for protection. Individuals and families pay special honor to particular vodun. They build shrines where sacrifices are offered. It is said that the vodun dwells in or beneath the shrine.

These shrines take many forms. Some are unrecognizable to the untrained eye. A piece of tin lying on the ground may conceal a small hole with a pot in it where sacrifices are made. Most are more easily recognizable, but reflect considerable variety. A simple shrine may consist of a mound of dirt covered by a small, dilapidated tin roof. The shrine may be made of concrete. It may resemble a small house, or a large one with several entrances. Larger shrines are often painted or sculpted with representations of vodun, ancestors, and royal symbols.Lægba shrines are the most evident among the Fon. Each shrine has the characteristic phallusand may or may not include other life-like characteristics. Many are little more than mounds of dirt, but some shrines show considerable artistic effort. An elaborate Lægba may have the face of a man or a beast with horns on the head. In a highly traditional family, each person will have a Lægba located just outside the family compound. This is destroyed at the person's death. A new Christian may also destroy his personal Lægba. There is also a Lægba for the collectivity or for the entire village.

Vodun are often worshipped through individual or communal dedication. A person may be given to a particular vodun as a child or may consecrate him or herself later in life to the service of that vodun. This is done in order to secure the protection and blessings of the spirit. A person's dedication to the vodun may be shown by certain scars, amulets, particular clothing or by the observance of dietary taboos. A person thus given to a vodun is known as voduns . Communal dedication to spiritual powers will be further discussed under "Covens."

Man

Origin

Man is a creation of God, through the details of the creation are obscure. Many Fon have adopted the biblical creation account even though they are not Christians. Others find the biblical account interesting as it fills a gap in their traditional understanding. According to one tradition, God created an original man and woman, but did not place them together. The man searched out the woman and they began to have children. Thus men search out women today in order to have children.

Soul

At least four words are used by the Fon to speak of the human soul or spirit. YÝ is the word used by the Bokònò who said that the soul is a vodun. YÝ can refer to a shadow or a spirit. According to the Fon-French dictionary, "YÝ designates the spiritual, the immaterial, the sacred. It carries the notion of mystery. The YÝ localised in material beings (trees, animals, rivers, etc.) animates these material beings. The belief in YÝ is the basis of animism." Thus, while the human soul may be said to be yÝ, the terms are not equivalent. YÝ is a general term for an animating spirit.

The word sç is also used in some contexts to refer to the soul, but it too can also have a wider application. In addition to the human soul, it can be used to speak of a guardian angel, or even of God. Heaven is sæxwe, house of the soul. A newborn may replace an ancestor. The spirit of this ancestor is the person's jòtò. The most precise word for the soul seems to be l ndón. It's use is limited to refer to the human soul. Mercier relates these aspects of the soul in the following manner. The human soul (sæ) has many forms, although its essential unity is insisted on. There is the jòtò, the soul handed on from the ancestor of whom each living man is the representative, and who is his guardian; the sæ, which strictly speaking is a portion of Mawu, the great Sæ of the world; the great sælidon, which is life, feeling, personality, the individual's peculiar qualities which kpòli, the destiny revealed by Fa is identified; finally there is the yæ; this is the term most commonly used, and denotes the shadow, the indestructible portion of the individual, which, at the time of burial, becomes invisible and leaves the body. ... The sæ has an individual character, but at death it is reabsorbed into Mawu. (1954, 227)

Death and Funerals

Funeral activities among the Fon embody many expressions of traditional belief. Interpretation of these events are difficult, however, for the outsider and varies from individual to individual. Almost all activities in traditional funerals have some religious significance. In many cases, the original meaning of the act has been lost and may be carried on simply out of respect for tradition. If one asks why a certain practice is done, many times the response is, "This is the way our fathers taught us to do it."

Funeral ceremonies usually take place in two parts. The first part usually comes soon after the death and involves the burial of the body. At this time hair and fingernail clippings of the deceased are kept for the "second burial." This second ceremony comes later when the family has had time to gather the resources for a more elaborate ceremony. Ideally, this occurs very soon after the death, but may be delayed months or even years if the family is unable to properly complete the funeral. At this time, family members and close friends wear new clothing made from identical fabric, food and drink are served, music is played, and people dance into the early morning hours. If the death has been anticipated or if the family can afford to keep the body in the morgue, the two ceremonies may be combined.

It is believed that the spirit of the dead person stays in the area until the ceremonies of the second burial are held to send it away. Failure to perform the appropriate ceremonies will deter the spirit of the deceased from joining his ancestors. The spirit will then punish, perhaps killing, his survivors who have failed to honor him. Several sources reported that all spirits of the dead are evil. Whether that belief is universal, it is obvious that special measures are taken to protect the living from the dead. In one instance, the dead woman's husband could not come near the body. He remained in a different compound with another of his wives, for fear that the dead wife would come and take him with her. Houses and compounds in the vicinity of a corpse bear palm fronds which are strung over doorways and around fetishes, to protect them from the spirit of the dead. People who are viewed as being close to the spirit world, such as a surviving twin, wear the palm fronds for protection. Depending on the whether the person was given to a particular vodun or coven, secret ceremonies may be performed around the corpse. These may involve libations or animal sacrifices. One informant witnessed a ceremony in which a live chicken was passed over the corpse. The chicken was subsequently killed and given to Lægba. This informant's interpretation is that the chicken removed the fetish from the deceased. In doing so, the soul can appear before God without the fetish. This protects not only the deceased but also the coven as it is recognized that God would not approve of the worship of the fetish. The grave is dug by specialists who are paid both with money and with palm wine (sodabi). Burial traditionally takes place inside the house of the deceased or in one of the other houses of the compound. Most floors are dirt, but sometimes a concrete floor may be broken up in order to dig a grave. The digging of the grave is punctuated by the drinking of palm wine and the singing of songs to encourage the grave diggers. For the burial itself, the corpse, already in a coffin, is covered with cloths that family members and friends have contributed.

Music is one of the most obvious elements at a Fon funeral. Those in the household, as well as friends who come to console them, stay up all night with the corpse. Music is broadcast over loudspeakers to announce the death and to help those keeping watch to stay awake. Traditional drums are also played. According to some, these are used to placate the spirit of the dead person, while others.