Hounfour
Hounfour ( French Oufo ) is the Creole name for the temples of Haitian Voodoo . It is used to worship the Loa , the powerful spirit beings in the Voodoo belief, often combined with sacrifices . The Sosyete is the community of voodoo believers belonging to a particular temple.
construction
Architecturally , a hounfour is a rotunda or another central building , in the middle of which there is a vertical post, the poteau-mitan . This symbolizes the communication between the believers and the loa. The altar is erected around the center post. Among other things, it is decorated with candles , individual loa symbols and, if it is a temple of the syncretic direction of voodoo, with catholic images of saints . Each hounfour is surrounded on the outside by a péristyle , roofed and wallless porch; There, interested people who do not or do not yet belong to the corresponding Sosyete (temple community) can watch the ceremonies inside the temple.
management
Depending on the individual spirituality of the priest , the temple is led by a houngan (white magician), a bocor (black magician) or a mambo (white or black magical priestess) and is used to invoke either the peaceful Rada-Loa or the bellicose Petro-Loa . The loa of the Nachon Ghede , who are considered the protectors of the deceased ancestors and stand neutrally between the Rada and the Petro, are mostly worshiped in cemeteries . The respective clergy in the Hounfour are supported by hounsis , religious students , as altar boys ; the assistant of the houngan is the hounganikon. The individual ceremonies are very different and their design depends on the individual sosyete as well as on the spirit beings called upon. All have in common that white magic ceremonies invocation of Legba , black magic by invocation of Kalfu be initiated; these serve as door openers to the material world for the other loa.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b B. A. Robinson: Vodun (aka Voodoo) and related religions . Religious Tolerance , February 7, 2010
- ↑ Google Books : Michael R. Hall: Historical Dictionary of Haiti , p. 133.Scarecrow Press, Lanham, January 2012
- ↑ a b Jan. Chat Country: Descriptions of Various Loa of voodoo . Webster University , Spring 1990
- ↑ Papa Nemo: The Way of Voodoo - From the Basics to Practice , Specialized Publishing House for Esoteric Philosophy, Siegburg 2003, ISBN 3-936830-01-0 .