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Message: <blockquote data-quote="kigmatzomat" data-source="post: 2240464" data-attributes="member: 9254">VoodoanFYI: I'm not even from Louisiana or one of the areas it is routinely practiced so this is mostly book learnin' but several of those books are from a few of the voodoo temples.There are a number of terms that are french/creole and I'll include them for a bit of flavor.  Some of the texts seem a bit prone to....hyperbole so I'll try to note anything that originates with them.  I doubt it's something an adherent would agree with but some of it could make for good gaming.  The basic core of the vodooan tradition is the belief in spirits, the loa.  The Great Loa are the most powerful but there is no intrinsic difference between the Great and "common" loa except power.  In theory, the weaker loa may become a great loa.  Each voodoan practictioner, sometimes referred to as an houngan, has a main tete,  an affiliated great loa one who is most similar in nature.  (think a totem or spirit animal relationship)  The houngans can still deal with the other great loa but their dealings are colored by the opinions of the main tete by the called loa.  Lesser loa may include spirits of the dead or souls of those who may one day be born.  Common loa are often referred to as loa achete ("bought loas") because they are mercenary spirits out to garner more power and work their way up the ranks.  Houngans bargain with the loa for various services using sacrifices of food, objects, animals, or construction of shrines & the like.  Gifts of rum and chickens (things slaves could have acquired) are traditional gifts.  Smaller loa who agree to perform a task later may reside within a govi, a clay spirit jar kept within the houngan's shrine.  Bargains with the great loas may require more significant tasks and in some cases require allowing the loa to turn the houngan or a follower into a cheval (horse) and be ridden (aka possession).  During this time the cheval assumes the mannerisms of the loa and often demonstrate unusual abilities.  The Cheval of the gatekeeper can speak foreign languages while one ridden by the Iron Warrior may be struck with swords or knives without breaking the skin.  The possession may be required to perform the task (like an Iron Warrior cheval seeking vengeance) or is itself payment to the loa (when Ghede goes on a drinking spree)Loa in general have no distinct leanings towards good or evil.  Many of the great loa have a "light" and a "dark" aspect.  One loa is known as both Erzuli (the beautiful, loving wife) and She of the Red Eyes (the archetype of the spiteful woman scorned).   Some loa, such as the Farmer and the Gatekeeper, only have one nature.  (Probably for the best since the "dark" farmer would probably Famine.)Some houngans believe the dark loa are reflections of their followers and are being corrupted by angry, violent, unthinking inidividuals.  It's not a universal belief but is something to keep in mind.  Much of voodoan magic is herbalistic and tied to talismans.  Small bundles of specially prepared herbs and other bits are tied in flannel as gris-gris bags (pronounced "gree-gree") as the most common talisman.  Gris-gris can be protective (good luck, warding, etc) of an attack (bad luck, illness, weakness, etc).    There are also quite a few potions for healing, love, charms, etc.  Most require more than just drinking; often it is a series of proscribed steps with a common routine being bathing with the potion while a particularly colored candle is burning (possibly including a bit of the target's hair) followed by giving the target the remainder of the potion within the next few hours.  Voodoo dolls and zombies are the two most publicized aspects of voodoan.  Voodoo dolls are nothing particularly special as many forms of magic involve a representation of the target of a spell that has some form of material link (hair, nail clippings, blood, etc).  There are two forms of zombies.  One form is a drugged, mind-controlled individual that more than likely exists.  This "living death" involves a series of drugs administered to the victim that remove all the free will and put them in a dream-like hypnotic state.  It is rumored to have been used as a form of punishment for the worst individuals.  A variant of the drugged zombie includes very potent drugs that make the victim appear to be dead (heartbeat and respiration slow to minimum levels) and in the days before embalming would cause the victim's family to have a funeral and bury the zombie, who would be retrieved by the houngan.  The zombie would then be used to serve the houngan and usually terrorize the family and the rest of the town.  A "true" zombie would be the result of a loa summoned into a host body that may or may not be alive.  (Cheval are willing, zombies are not)  There's not much said about loa zombies that isn't sensational but what else do you expect?  If a loa is used to possess a living body that the displaced spirit may be moved to a govi for the duration. The Great loa I can remember are listed below with Light/Dark and descriptions.  My memory's a little weak on some names so I've just put their title.  If it's only got one name/title then it does not have multiple natures (that I know of)Erzuli/Red Eyes  beautiful, loving wife of the iron warrior/spiteful, vengeful woman Papa Legba       master of the crossroads, full of wisdomthe farmer        first person/houngan to learn the art of cultivationHusband           the first man, married to wifeWife                 first woman, marred to husbandIron Warrior/Destroyer   a just soldier married to erzuli/destructive mayhem Samedi/Ghede    bringer of souls, life, joy/death, plaguedamballah          world creating serpentmarassa            first hounganagwe/stormlord   ruler of the sea/bringer of storms</blockquote>

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