Asson (Voodoo)
An Asson is a vessel rattle for cult purposes, which symbolizes the priesthood in African and Haitian Voodoo . As a cult item, the asson is intended exclusively for use by houngans and mambos . It is used to summon ancestral souls or loa , spirit beings mediating between God and man . The assumption of priestly duties and rights is described by voodoo believers as a prize d'asson (acceptance of the rattle).
The asson consists of a calabash with a long neck that serves as a handle. The outside is often surrounded by a network of pieces of coral and snake bones, sometimes with porcelain . Inside there are eight varieties of stones corresponding to eight loa and vertebrae of snakes. In Africa these come from the ball python , which symbolizes eternal life . In Haitian voodoo, the snake is on the one hand the being that the high-ranking benevolent spirit Damballah shows itself to be . On the other hand, the spirit Simbi Andezo , who is seen as ambivalent and also belongs to the warlike loa nation Petro , who bestows the ability to precognition and lives in fresh water , is said to manifest itself in the form of a snake .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Milo Rigaud: Secrets of Voodoo . 1969, p. 36 f, ISBN 978-0872861718 at Google Books
- ^ Bob Corbett: A Dictionary of Voodoo terms. Hartford Web Publishing, July 16, 1995
- ↑ Jan Chatland: Descriptions of Various Loa of Voodoo . Webster University , Spring 1990
- ↑ Simbi. Priest King of the Congo Nation. ( Memento of the original from July 18, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Monograph on the Sosyete du Marche , Pennsylvania Voodoo Community website
