9 World Chronicles

Agwé

Loa of the Sea, Earth Shaker

Venerated in      Haitian Vodou

Symbols: Shells, fish, blue, white, green, brown, oars, boats, mirrors, telescope, fish hooks, net, sailors uniform

Patronage           Sea, river, fishermen, sailors, sea captains, pirates, Thursday, ships, boats, wind, waves, sea travelers

He is known as the great Admiral and the sovereign King of the sea.

His Kingdom is shared with Laserenia,  she is a beautiful deity who many people associate as his consort.

Although in some mythology she is seen as his daughter.

These two are known as the royalty of the sea Agwe is more than simply King of the waters or the sea god is an old spirit one of the first to manifest on earth.

It is believed that Agwe existed in the primordial waters that covered the earth before life began.

Met Agwe is the loa of direction. His territory is the winds and the currents, waves and depths of the oceans. He helps sailors find their bearings when lost at sea. He provides inspiration and guidance whenever an individual needs them in times of turmoil, loss, or indecision. He lives in a glorious palace under the seas. Patron of sailors, sea travelers, and pirates. ("Master Agwe")

Papa Agwe is envisioned as a handsome African man with green eyes,, often wearing a naval officer's or sailor's uniform. He is considered to be a gentleman who commands respect and embodies several ideals of masculinity including bravery, reserve, and provision.

Worship

His colors are blue, white, and occasionally sea-green or brown. His ritual symbol) is a boat with sails. His symbols are painted shells, painted oars, and sea life like the seahorse and starfish. He is syncretized with the Catholic saint Ulrich of Augsburg and occasionally the archangel Raphael, both of whom are depicted holding fish. His holy day is Thursday.

He is saluted or signaled with blowing on a conch shell and/or volleys of gunfire. When he possesses a devotee he often pushes himself around the temple on a chair (his boat) with a cane (his oar), shouting naval commands and saluting members of the congregation. His chevals ("horses" or possessed devotees) need to be kept moist with wet sponges or damp towels and have to be kept from running into the sea, where Agwe belongs.

Offerings

Small offerings to Agwe are poured or dropped overboard in deep ocean water. Large offerings to Agwe are left on constructed rafts (barques d'Agwe) which are floated or towed out to sea. If the raft sinks, it is accepted; if it returns to shore it is rejected.After the offering is left, the supplicants cannot look back at that place or it will anger Agwe. Chevals must be prevented from falling or leaping into the sea and drowning, as it would offend Agwe. Nothing toxic (lead pipes, cement bags, garbage) must be used to weigh down the raft; if it will hurt or pollute the sea, it will anger Agwe.

His offerings include:

Beverages: champagne, naval rum, or anisette. Coffee with sugar and cream.

Items: mirrors, a telescope, toy ships or scale ship models, oars or paddles, sea shells, turquoise beads or jewelry, fish-shaped sculptures or jewelry, fish hooks and nets, nautical uniforms or medals.

Food: Savory exotic foods, melon, boiled cornmeal, rice cooked in coconut milk, rice cooked with lima beans, boiled or fried ripe bananas, white cake, cane syrup, almond oil, olive oil.

Sacrificial Animals: White roosters, male ducks, and white rams or goats whose wool has been dyed with indigo. They are afterwards prepared, cooked, and then placed in serving dishes or on plates as a sacrifice (as king of the seas, he doesn't get hot food at home)

Agwey likes songs

Takes the form of a Handsome old man

He is known for carrying the soul of Africans who died in the Slave trade.

Possession, Agwe can summoned for possession, and its described as a benevolent helpful

Muso Koroni

The pure woman with the primeval soul.

The Knowledgeable One; The Pure Woman with the Primeval Soul

Also known as:

Nyalé; Mousso Koroni

Origin:

Bamana/Bambara

According to myth, Muso Koroni, Leopard Goddess of Mali, is the world’s first female while the first male was a blacksmith. Muso Koroni is among those spirits involved with the magical traditions of smithcraft. Originally a divine Creatrix, she traveled as a whirlwind sparking the process of creation.

She was venerated as  fertility goddess Bambara Mali West Africa.

The mother of all living things she introduced mankind to the principles of farming.

She is depicted either in human form sometimes with many breasts or as a Panther in later guys she uses her claws to bring on menstrual cramps in  women and to  circumcise both sexes.

prior to circumcision a youth is set to possess an untamed wildness. Muso Koroni is pursued by the sun God Pembo. Who impregnates her in the form of a tree.

Color:

Black, associated with fertility and black fertile soil

Elements: Fire, air (wind)

Offerings:

Smiths traditionally craft metal images of her in the form of candelabra. Her spirit is invoked when the lamp’s cups, filled with shea butter, are lit.

Sopona Bringer of Small Pox

Classification: Orisha

Culture: West African Yoruba, Dahomean Religion, Afro-Brazilian

Associated: Small pox

Sopana is said to be the true name of the Orisha Babalú-Ayé, He has dominion over all skin ailments, major and minor, as well as infectious and viral diseases. He controls all illnesses that manifest on the skin, like measles or chicken pox. Babalu Ayé has emerged as the spirit of AIDS and the patron who protects those suffering from this illness. He owns all secrets of death, disease, and cemeteries. who is a patron for those who are suffering. He is the embodiment of both disease and cures.

When he was angered his true name Sopona is used. Because of the nature of this Orisha, priesthood was highly controlled and only a priest could use his real name.

people of this religion believed that if the priests were angered, they were capable of causing smallpox outbreaks through their intimate relationship with Shapona.

After the British invasion of the Gold Coast worship and priesthood of Sopona was banned.

In Dahomean religion Sopono is known as Sakpata, Shakpana or similarly Sopono. He is the divinity of smallpox and can inflict both insanity and disease on humans.

Sopona is known in the Afro-Brazilian tradition of Candomblé as Sakpata or Sakpata-Omolu in the (Jejé nation). He is associated with the colors red, black, and white, as in Africa. Insects associated with him are Sakpata-Omolu beetles, black butterflies, flies, and mosquitoes. A skirt and hood made of straw that covers the entire body is the clothing associated with Sakpata-Omolu followers and worship.

In the Trinidad Orisha tradition, Sopona is known as Shakpana, and is similarly a ferocious god associated with healing smallpox.

Buk – the daughter of the Fireflies

Classified as a goddess or guardian spirit.

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Culture : Nuer of the Sudan

Associated: River

A guardian against attack by  crocodiles.  Her protection is invoked by the ritual sacrifice of a goat,

She is typically  depicted as beautiful woman with

She’s the mother of Deng, who is the creator god in this mythology. As well as Candit and Nyaliep, both of whom are river deities.

The role of a river of water goddess is very important in its role in creation. AS the mother of the creator god the water is thus the source of the creation of life.

The river its self if of particular important inn the foundation of human settlements and essentially human civilization.

But with the benefits of the river come the danger.

The West African crocodile inhabits much of West and Central Africa, ranging east to South Sudan and Uganda, and south to Democratic Republic of the Congo (Other countries where found include Mauritania, Benin, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Chad, Sierra Leone, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Gabon, Togo, Ivory Coast and Republic of Congo.

Mauritanian traditional peoples who live in close proximity to West African crocodiles revere them and protect them from harm. This is due to their belief that, just as water is essential to crocodiles, so crocodiles are essential to the water, which would permanently disappear if they were not there to inhabit it.