5938: Worldwide Service for the Vodou Lwa Erzulie Dantor (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Racine125@aol.com

Greetings!  You are invited to join a group ceremony for Erzulie Dantor, on 
Saturday, December 2, at noon Eastern Standard Time.

You know, for a long time I didn't like Dantor, and I refused to serve her.  
She always seemed to me like the quintessential bitch - demanding but 
virtually inarticulate, agressive amd knife-weilding, a baby on her arm but 
no husband by her side.  I couldn't stand her!

But then, recently, during the preparations for Fet Gede, I was placed in the 
position of advocating for and defending the interests of my initiatory 
children.  Suddenly I understood Dantor!  At her best, she is the protective 
mother.

Erzulie Dantor's colors are navy blue and golden yellow.  She is represented 
by the image of Santa Barbara Africana (not the Santa Barbara used to 
represent Chango in the Lukumi tradition).  She is depicted as a black woman 
with tribal scars on her cheeks, a boy child in one arm, rich robes and a 
crown.

Dantor loves silver chains and other items of silver jewelry, Creme de Cacao, 
black female pigs, Reve d'Or perfume, and daggers.  When she possesses a 
person she is all but mute - she points at what she wants and she says 
"Ke-ke-ke-ke-ke-ke!" and "Te-te-te-te-te-te!"

Here is a song about Dantor which describes her affinity for knives and her 
indestructibility:

Set kout kouto, set kout pwenya,
Prete m dedin a pou m al vomi sang mwen,
Set kout kouto, set kout pwenya,
Prete m dedin a pou m al vomi sang mwen,
Sang mwen ape koule.

Seven stabs of the knife, seven stabs of the dagger,
Lend me the basin so I can vomit my blood,
Seven stabs of the knife, seven stabs of the dagger,
Lend me the basin so I can vomit my blood,
My blood is pouring down.

She is a Petro lwa, but she is not served with red. Erzulie Dantor offers her 
devotees her protection, but more than that she is a capital magician!  She 
has two husbands, Simbi Makaya and Ti-Jean Petro, both important magicians in 
their own right.  Because of her fierce nature, although she is a lwa of 
orthodox Vodou, she is frequently referred to as a "djab".

Here is another song for Dantor which points to her magical abilities:

Erzulie fanm Ti-Jean metres kay la,
Erzulie fanm Ti-Jean metres kay la,
Pa rele, se ou pote Houngan nivo,
Pa rele, so ou pote wanga pi fo,
Erzulie fanm Ti-Jean metres kay la,
Paket mwen a tout mare.

Erzulie Ti-Jean's woman, mistress of the house,
Erzulie Ti-Jean's woman, mistress of the house,
Don't cry out, it's you who carries the new Houngan,
Don't cry out, it's you who carries the strongest spells,
Erzulie Ti-Jean's woman, mistress of the house,
My paket is all tied up.

A paket is a power object made during the bat guerre, the opening ceremony of 
Vodou initiation.  Interestingly, pakets are among the very few Petro-related 
objects permitted in the initiatory djevo.

Most Haitian women serve Dantor.  She is the patron of women's finances, and 
supports independant businesswomen.  She is also the defender of women 
against violence by men, so Haitian women invoke her against their domestic 
partners should they become violent.  Lesbian women in particular are 
considered to be under the patronage of Dantor, but of course one need not be 
a lesbian woman to serve her.  And men also serve Dantor, especially men who 
really love to be with women.

To serve Erzulie Dantor, here is what to do:

Prepare an altar draped in navy blue and yellow.  Provide offerings of Creme 
de Cacao and cooked pork.  You can offer her cooked sweet potatos as well.  
Put the food offerings in bowls or plates that you only use for Dantor.  In 
each food offering place a small dark blue or yellow candle.  If you have 
more than one food offering, use both colors.

You may also place on your altar silver chains, daggers, and rich perfumes 
such as Amarige, since Reve d'Or is unavailable in the USA except in Haitian 
botanicas.  If you are an initiate, do NOT use your asson, Erzulie Dantor is 
a Petro lwa and is therefore served with a maraca, which even non-initiates 
may use.

Light a dark blue or golden yellow candle, spray yourself and the altar with 
perfume.  Say the Lord's Prayer or some other appropriate prayer.  Then 
invoke the lwa Legba in the Petro branch with the following words:

Legba, Papa Legba, open the gate for the lwa!
Open the gate for the djab, Papa Legba! 
Open the gate for the lwa!
We have arrived, we wait for them.

Let us go, Papa Legba, let us go!
Let us go, Papa Legba, let us go!
We will go see what is happening in that house,
We will go see where Legba commands.

Now call on Dantor!  If you know the songs for Dantor above, sing them, if 
not, repeat the words.  Shake your maraca and call Dantor.  Say this:

"Erzulie Dantor, strong and fierce!  Make magic for me.  I offer you these 
things to eat and drink, these beautiful objects for you."  At this point, 
present each thing you offer Dantor to the four directions, that is, lift 
them to the east, west, north and south.

"Erzulie Dantor, wife of Ti-Jean, wife of Simbi Makaya, mother of a child, be 
my mother too!  Help me, protect me, fight for me!"  Then name your specific 
requests.  If there is a person or a problem which is particularly bothering 
you, write down the person's name or a description of the problem on a piece 
of rich paper decorated in blue and gold.  Fold the paper several times.  
When you fold it, fold it away from you, rather than towards you.  Then place 
the paper on the altar and STAB IT!  Stab it seven times, and say, "I win!  I 
overcome!  You can't beat me, you have no power over me!  Erzulie Dantor is 
my mother, and you can't hurt me any more!  Down with you!  DOWN WITH YOU!"

After this is done, sit quietly in front of your altar for a time, then leave 
the room and let the candles in the food offerings burn out.  Watch and see 
what happens, and especially pay attention to your dreams and to your 
relationships with other women.

The Mambo sur point Erzulie Dantor in our house is Ms. Elsa Rodriguez of 
Great Neck, New York, who became a Mambo in the July 2000 Kanzo.  
Unfortunately she is not online and does not have email, but I will be 
coordinating with her.  For the rest of you, do this ceremony alone in your 
own house or together with others.

If you have questions, comments or suggestions before this ceremony, let me 
hear them!  And after the ceremony, please share your experience.  This is 
the third worldwide ceremony we have done, and each time the results have 
been very interesting.

Peace and love,

Bon Mambo Racine Sans Bout Sa Te La Daginen

"Se bon ki ra", 
     Good is rare - Haitian Proverb

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