Finding Your Met Tet and Choosing to Serve, for Omi Juba
Mambo Racine Sans Bout
are here to learn. Aboudja, for instance, conflates two different
things when he writes:
>In the Vodou as it is practiced authentically in Haiti, one can NOT
>choose who they serve or who owns their head any more than in Lukumi.
Wait, wait! You are talking about two different thing here.
A person is indeed born with their lwa met tet, the "lwa who is
master of the head". One is born with it, and it never changes.
However, a person can choose to serve any lwa they want. A
good Houngan or Mambo serves more than one lwa, after all! LOL!
For instance, my lwa met tet is La Sirene. (Now, let me add as an
aside that it is considered impolite in Haiti to directly ask a person
who is their lwa met tet, because there is a suspicion that the
questioner may be trying to influence the lwa met tet, in order to
gain influence over the person.) Okay - so my met tet is La Sirene.
I serve her of course. But I also *choose* to serve quite a few
other lwa, including an aspect of Baron, Simbi Makaya, Erzulie
Dantor, Papa Loko Atisou, an apect of Ogoun, a personal lwa
who calles herself La Reinne Indienne... I am a Mambo asogwe,
I serve whichever lwa I choose. Likewise, even an uninitiated person
can choose to serve any lwa.
>tradiksyo` peye mwe
He means "tradisyon peyi mwen" "Peye" means to pay, as
in to pay money. "Tradisyon peyi mwen" means "the tradition
of my country", but Aboudja is NOT Haitian, he is from Pflugerville,
Texas! LOL! And that's okay, he could be from East Oshkosh
and still be a Houngan, it's okay to be a slim little white guy
from Texas, Aboudja. :-)
Now, Omi Juba - one's met tet is determined in a variety of ways.
In a functioning Voou congregation, a person who has been in
that congregation for a while (but who is not initiated) has probably
undergone episodes of possession. The first lwa to possess the
person, or alternatively the lwa who possesses the person most
often, is commonly held to be that person's met tet.
For people who have not participated in Vodou service, or who
have not been possessed, there are two ways to determine their
met tet. One is to do a reading, and most Houngans and Mambos
use cards to do this. Or, a lwa may be called. The lwa may simply
look at the person and pronounce their met tet, or the lwa may
also do a reading by gazing into a candle flame or water, or even
use cards.
The temperament of a person is generally held to reflect the identity
of the lwa met tet as well. I knew a man who worked together with
me when I was a private investigator in Haiti, and we did some insurance
fraud cases together. He wore black, smoked a cigar, investigated
reports of deaths, liked to tell salty jokes, and promptly earned himself
the nickname of "Ti-Baron", Li'l Baron. I bet that was his met tet, too.
There was another very well known journalist, Ed Barnes, who went
around with me sometimes. He was great! He wrote for Time
Magazine. He was a real ladies' man but always a gentleman, no
skirt hound, and he had a pink complexion and blue eyes, and he
was reasonably well-to-do... he was considered a child of Freda, and
when he went into war zones and came out unscathed, it was
considered that Freda's husband Ogoun was protecting him.
When a person is initiated, by the way, they have a "point" lwa
in the djevo. Because the djevo is under the Rada rite, if a person's
met tet is a Petro lwa or Baron, Gede, or Maman Brigitte, they
have to choose a Rada lwa for their point in the djevo. And in that
case, the person does have the freedom to choose their point
(not their met tet).
Peace and love,
Bon Mambo Racine Sans Bout Sa Te La Daginen
"Se bon ki ra",
Good is rare - Haitian Proverb
The VODOU Page - http://members.aol.com/racine125/index.html
houngan...@my-deja.com
raci...@aol.com (Mambo Racine Sans Bout) wrote:
>>>There are a few miconceptions going around. That's okay, we
are here to learn. Aboudja, for instance, conflates two different
things when he writes:
>In the Vodou as it is practiced authentically in Haiti, one can NOT
>choose who they serve or who owns their head any more than in Lukumi.
Wait, wait! You are talking about two different thing here.
A person is indeed born with their lwa met tet, the "lwa who is master
of the head". One is born with it, and it never changes.
However, a person can choose to serve any lwa they want.<<<
Again rasine, you seem to not be able to understand what normal people
write. How oh GREAT WHITE VODOU HOPE did you get this out of that?
Ofcourse a Houngan/ Manbo....no less a Hounsi or anyone else for that
matter may serve whatever Lwa they wish. That is NOT what I said. Why
do I feel like I have a classroom of 1...YOU? Everyone else Ill bet
dollars to doughnuts was on the same page as me.
When I say, "one can NOT choose who they serve or who owns their head<<<
I mean the same thing. If your head is Manbo LaSiren, you
cannot "choose" to NOT serve her IF you are a Manbo in Vodou, any more
than you can change to have Ogou as your Met Tet. (period) That is all
*I* said....nothing more. Damn you are slow!
H.A.
Sent via Deja.com
http://www.deja.com/
Mambo Racine Sans Bout
>Again rasine, you seem to not be able to understand what normal people
>write. How oh GREAT WHITE VODOU HOPE did you get this out of that?
Because YOU, oh slim little white windbag from Texas, :-)
said, "one can NOT choose who they serve or who owns
their head". By the way, Aboudja, it's okay that you are white,
you can still be a Houngan. A mixed race person like me can
be a Mambo, an African-American (usually also mixed race)
can be a Houngan, you don't have to be black and Haitian.
Which lwa owns your head, and which lwa you serve, are *two
different issues*. Naturally a person will serve their met tet, if
they know who it is. They are also free to serve other lwa, by
choice.
Omi Juba, in your tradition, can people serve more than one orisha?
For example, if I was a daughter of Yemonja, and I really liked
Ogoun, could I serve him too, or not?
OmiJuba
specific method of worship, but you can be dedicated to only one. You "can"
work with other Orisha but the Orisha are very jealous of each other and
don't take to kindly their children worshiping anyone by them.
Also unlike Vodoun, during possession, ONLY a child of that particular
orisha can be mounted by them, the Orisha only mount THEIR children,
Babaluaye on the other hand can mount anyone, and I believe so can Obatala
(but I may be wrong about that).
--
-ÓmėJubā
Mambo Racine Sans Bout
<omi...@home.com> writes:
>No you couldn't, but you could honor him, taking into consideration his
>specific method of worship, but you can be dedicated to only one.
Really, that's interesting. So I could serve only Yemonja, and
suppose I wanted to give something to Ogoun, there might be
a specific and carefully limited way I could do that, if I understand
you correctly. Is that right? And thank you for the time you are
taking to answer my questions, I appreciate it. :-)
>Also unlike Vodoun, during possession, ONLY a child of that particular
>orisha can be mounted by them, the Orisha only mount THEIR children,
Ahhh... so unlike my capabilities as a Mambo, if I were to, say,
make Yemonja in the Lukumi tradition, I would never be possessed
by any lwa other than Yemonja (with the possible exception of
Obatala or Babaluaye, as you have noted.) Okay, so here is another
question, if you will indulge me:
I understand that if I were to make Yemonja, then after some time
I could make other people - to various Orishas, not just Yemonja,
right? Now, let's say I was going to make someone to Oshun,
how could I do that if I couldn't be possessed by Oshun?
OmiJuba
Yemaya) but you automatically receive the other major santos, but not on the
same level as your crown...after your year is done, you can receive the less
major Orishas if the permission is granted, such as Babaluaye, the Ibeyi,
Orisha Oko ect...
As far as your other question goes, you can crown anyone who does not sit on
your head, foe example, since I am a child of Yemaya, I only have the power
to give Yemaya, I could not give Ochun, Chango or any other Orisha EXCEPT
the one who owns my head.
Hope this answered your questions...:)
-Omi
OmiJuba
Sorry, that should have read, you can NOT crown anyone who does not sit on
your head.
-ÓmėJubā
Mambo Racine Sans Bout
<omi...@home.com> writes:
>When you make asiento, your not only receive your crown Orisha (in my case,
>Yemaya) but you automatically receive the other major santos, but not on the
>same level as your crown...after your year is done, you can receive the less
>major Orishas if the permission is granted, such as Babaluaye, the Ibeyi,
>Orisha Oko ect...
Ahhh, I see, and this would vary from person to person, I take it?
>As far as your other question goes, you can crown anyone who does not sit on
>your head, foe example, since I am a child of Yemaya, I only have the power
>to give Yemaya, I could not give Ochun, Chango or any other Orisha EXCEPT
>the one who owns my head.
You mean you can *not* crown anyone who does not sit on your head? I
am sorry, I am confused. You are a child of Yemaya, so you can only
make other people to Yemaya, I understand that. Sooo... I mean,
is that the same in all houses? I was previously told that once a person
has made asiento, they can then give any other orisha, was that wrong
or is that different in different houses?
This is really interesting, I hope you don't think I am bugging you! :-)
OmiJuba
all the Orishas speak and give you sort of a "guide book" for your spiritual
progression, but also through divination you can determine if you need to
make other santos, depending on your situation.
>
It is the same in all houses, that you can not crown anyone if they don't
sit on your head, I could not give anyone Chango, because that ase is not on
my head. In Ocha, someone can not just come to you can say, "please give me
Ochun" or "please give me Obatala", these things are done only at the
asiento. It is different with an Orisha like Babaluaye where anyone can
receive him and if you are already crowned you can give him, because he does
not go to the head. You can only put on someone's head who you already have
there. It's a great structure, where you are born from the santos of your
godparents. No one will just "give" you Ochun or Oya, you MUST receive them
during the asiento, no one can sell you specific Orishas, if they do, then
watch out!
>
-ÓmėJubā
Hawk Shango
He corrected himself... He wrote that one can not give the one that one
does not have.... in another post. *grin*
Once one has the asiento, one has received the major orishas and ita (life
reading) one can give only what one has received except where prohibited by
an odu in your ita...
My madrina can not give Ochosi even tho she is Yemaya and has received
Ochosi. Her ita prohibits it. I have receive Ibejii twins but my ita
prohibits me from giving them. I can give others that I have but not the
ones that I don't have and believe me, I am glad... Not enough room... LOL
;o)
This is basically the same throughout Lucumi.
Think of it this way... One can NOT give what one does not have.
Hawk Shango
"Mambo Racine Sans Bout" <raci...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20001220225536...@nso-mn.aol.com...
OmiJuba
Thank you Hawk Shango, this is exactly what I was trying to say. You can not
give what you don't have and we only have ONE crown, an even though we
receive many santos during asiento and throughout our life, only ONE is
placed on our head.
I guess this is yet another MAJOR difference between Ocha and Vodoun.
In all honestly, Vodoun confuses me VERY much...
-ÓmėJubā
Denise Oliver-Velez
<Hawk...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>Once one has the asiento, one has received the major orishas and ita (life
>reading) one can give only what one has received except where prohibited by
>an odu in your ita...
>
>My madrina can not give Ochosi even tho she is Yemaya and has received
>Ochosi. Her ita prohibits it. I have receive Ibejii twins but my ita
>prohibits me from giving them. I can give others that I have but not the
>ones that I don't have and believe me, I am glad... Not enough room... LOL
>;o)
>
>This is basically the same throughout Lucumi.
>
>
>Think of it this way... One can NOT give what one does not have.
>
>Hawk Shango
Yes, (agreeing with previous posts from Hawk and Omi Juba)
Though there are some differences between iles in terms of overall
restrictions - in many Lucumi houses a Shango cannot crown an Ochun
and vice-versa, nor can a Shango or a Yemaya crown an Oya (and
vice-versa). My house is slightly different - Shangos can crown
Ochun's and Ochun's Shango's (unless restricted in ita) but the Oya
restriction holds.
Though Yemayas can receive Oya (I actually received Oya and Babaluaye
prior to making ocha - which is rare, but it came out in a reading and
we follow what the reading directs) they cannot crown an Oya.
Its good when a house has a number of Obatala's (grin) since Obatala's
can crown everyone (Obatala is referred to as the "owner of all
heads')
Denise
anti...@amccom.com
>Its good when a house has a number of Obatala's (grin) since Obatala's
>can crown everyone (Obatala is referred to as the "owner of all
>heads')
>
>Denise
However it should be noted that in initiation the oyigbon and the
godparent cannot all be of the same god as the iyawo even if they are
Obatala initiates. Thus making three of the same diety in a Kariosha.
At least one of them must be of a different initiation i..e. Obatala
godparent, Iyamoeja godmother and Iyamoeja initiate. (iyawo)
Antinous
sou...@my-deja.com
A lot of bilvese (crazy things) none of it is true.
> There are a few miconceptions going around.
A lot of miSconceptions that you are spreading around.
And so what? there are a lot of foreigners serving Vodou in Haiti and
they are very well accepted. People like you are rejected.
>
> Now, Omi Juba - one's met tet is determined in a variety of ways.
> In a functioning Voou congregation, a person who has been in
> that congregation for a while (but who is not initiated) has probably
> undergone episodes of possession. The first lwa to possess the
> person, or alternatively the lwa who possesses the person most
> often, is commonly held to be that person's met tet.
>
> For people who have not participated in Vodou service, or who
> have not been possessed, there are two ways to determine their
> met tet. One is to do a reading, and most Houngans and Mambos
> use cards to do this. Or, a lwa may be called. The lwa may simply
> look at the person and pronounce their met tet, or the lwa may
> also do a reading by gazing into a candle flame or water, or even
> use cards.
>
.................
> The temperament of a person is generally held to reflect the identity
> of the lwa met tet as well. I knew a man who worked together with
> me when I was a private investigator in Haiti, and we did some
insurance
> fraud cases together. He wore black, smoked a cigar, investigated
> reports of deaths, liked to tell salty jokes, and promptly earned
himself
> the nickname of "Ti-Baron", Li'l Baron. I bet that was his met tet,
too.
>
> There was another very well known journalist, Ed Barnes, who went
> around with me sometimes. He was great! He wrote for Time
> Magazine. He was a real ladies' man but always a gentleman, no
> skirt hound, and he had a pink complexion and blue eyes, and he
> was reasonably well-to-do... he was considered a child of Freda, and
> when he went into war zones and came out unscathed, it was
> considered that Freda's husband Ogoun was protecting him.
>
> When a person is initiated, by the way, they have a "point" lwa
> in the djevo. Because the djevo is under the Rada rite, if a person's
> met tet is a Petro lwa or Baron, Gede, or Maman Brigitte, they
> have to choose a Rada lwa for their point in the djevo. And in that
> case, the person does have the freedom to choose their point
> (not their met tet).
>
Racine, you are a disaster.
--
Soutini
http://host.awwm.com/soutini/
www.freeyellow.com/members5/lamitie/index.html