Erzulie Freda - Haiti Observer Blog

Standing as the rival of the ever fierce mother figure of Ezili Dantor is not an easy place to be, but the beautiful and magical Ezili Freda seems no worse for the position. This Haitian Lwa, known fully as Metres Mambo Ezili Freda Daome, is a love goddess, associated with romance, luck in gambling, luxury, refinement, cleanliness and abundance.

Seen as the mistress figure, rather than as a wife, she is always depicted as a fair, white woman wearing three gold rings for each of her Lwa husbands, Danbala, Ogoun Feray and Met Agwe Tawoyo. Haitians flock to leave offerings of cakes, soap, gold jewelry, basil and perfume to the Lwa's most material girl, in hopes she will grant them the quick success in pecuniary matters she is known for.

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Voodoo is more correctly pronounced as "Voudon". It is an Afro-Caribbean religion originated in Haiti. Voodoo teaches belief in an unknown, uninvolved, supreme creator god called "Bondye" (good god). The believers of Voodoo worship many 'loa' or spirits. Each of these spirits or loa has own domain that represents specific parts of life. A farmer praises and offers to the spirit of agriculture; Erzulie Freda is the spirit of love. Loa are the intermediaries between humanity and Bondye-- the Creator who lives far from the world.

A Haitian professor, Leslie Desmangles who teaches at Hartford's Trinity College has written a book related to these practices named "The Encyclopedia of the Paranormal". He has said that "voudon" in Haiti refers to an assortment of many cultural elements that include folk medical practices, cult of ancestors, many traditional system of ethics, stories, songs, proverbs, folklores, personal beliefs and practices. It is more than a religion or belief; it is a way of life. The followers of this practice can be found in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, United States, Brazil and elsewhere.

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