Vodou dream interpretation: dreams in the Haitian tradition

What is Vodou?

Vodou is the religion that arose in Haiti among enslaved Africans. It brought together traditions of the Fon and Ewe from present-day Benin and Togo, where the word vodun means spirit or deity, of the Kongo and the Yoruba, among others, and blended them with the Catholicism imposed by the colonists. According to tradition the Haitian Revolution began in 1791 with a ceremony at Bois Caïman. Since 2003 Vodou has been officially recognised as a religion in Haiti.

Whoever knows Vodou only from films knows mostly a caricature. In reality it is a living religion of community, family, healing and service. Practitioners often speak not of Vodou, but of sèvi lwa: serving the spirits.

Bondye, the lwa and the ancestors

Above everything stands Bondye, the good God, who is far from the world. Between Bondye and people stand the lwa: spirits who each have their own character, domain, colours and rhythms. Papa Legba opens the gate, Erzulie Freda stands for love, Ogou for iron and struggle, Damballa for wisdom and calm, the Gede for the boundary between life and death. Many lwa are connected in Haiti with Catholic saints.

There are also the ancestors, lemò, and the family lwa, who are served from generation to generation in the lakou, the family compound. A houngan (priest) or manbo (priestess) leads the ceremonies in the peristil, the temple.

Dreams as visitation

According to Vodou a person has two soul parts: the gwo bonanj, the big good angel, which carries consciousness and personality, and the ti bonanj, the little good angel, which resembles conscience. During sleep the gwo bonanj is said to be able to leave the body and travel. That is why a dream can be a real meeting: with a lwa, an ancestor or a living person far away.

According to practitioners lwa often make themselves known in dreams. They may give counsel, warn, ask for something or reassure. A dream in which a lwa appears is taken seriously, and often discussed with a houngan or manbo, who can help discern who spoke and what was asked.

Recognising the signs of the lwa

Practitioners recognise a lwa in a dream by signs: colours, objects, places and behaviour. An old man with a cane at a crossroads or gate recalls Papa Legba. Pink, perfume, jewellery and tears recall Erzulie Freda. Red, iron, a machete or a soldier recall Ogou. A white snake, calm and water recall Damballa. Purple and black, a cemetery and sharp humour recall the Gede. The sea and ships recall Agwe.

Those signs are a language, not a dictionary. A red dress in a dream does not automatically mean Ogou is speaking. The atmosphere, the feeling and the rest of the dream count, and the final interpretation belongs to people who know the tradition and the dreamer.

How Dreamkin reads Vodou dreams

A Vodou reading on Dreamkin begins with the feeling and atmosphere of the dream. Then we look at whether there are signs of a lwa or an ancestor, and what they may be asking, always as a possibility and never as certainty. We do not prescribe ceremonies, offerings or initiations: those belong to a houngan or manbo who knows the dreamer.

Vodou is diverse: customs differ by house, family and region, and many Haitians combine Vodou with Catholicism. What is described here is how dreams are often read, not what applies to everyone.

Symbols in this tradition

• Dreaming of the forest in Haitian Vodou
• Dreaming of dying in Haitian Vodou
• Dreaming of crying in Haitian Vodou
• Dreaming of a house in Haitian Vodou
• Dreaming of a deceased loved one in Haitian Vodou
• Dreaming of rain in Haitian Vodou
• Dreaming of snakes in Haitian Vodou
• Dreaming of keys in Haitian Vodou
• Dreaming of fire in Haitian Vodou
• Dreaming of water in Haitian Vodou

Guides

• Vodou and dreams: the lwa, the ancestors and what the tradition really is Forget the pin dolls from films. Haitian Vodou is a living religion of family, community and healing, in which dreams are one of the main ways the spirits and the ancestors speak.