8340: Spiritual Evolution in Haitian Vodou - the story of a Baron (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Racine125@aol.com

The story of the lwa Kanamayen, and his service, is a story of spiritual 
evolution. Kanamayen is a Baron, and like some Barons and all Gede lwa he was 
once a man. We do not know much of his life as a mortal, or of his death. 
Once deceased, however, we know that he was reclaimed by a bokor, a 
specialist in magic, and then placed under a bridge in Miragoane, a town in 
southern Haiti. 

Kanamayen was then sold to a certain Mr. Jean, who took him home and began to 
serve him. Kanamayen worked for Mr. Jean, and was paid for his work with 
particular services at regular intervals. When Mr. Jean knew that his own 
death was near, he called his son, Yves Jean-Louis, and explained to him in 
detail how to serve Kanamayen and how to work Kanamayen's point. 

Kanamayen continued to work with Yves Jean-Louis "freely", without a magical 
contract. He had evolved from being a "djab", a "bought lwa" to being a lwa 
inherited through family lines. He never asks for money or any other payment, 
although he likes to drink rum. Interestingly, although Yves Jean-Louis is 
also possessed by a Brav Gede from time to time, especially after possessions 
by Kanamayen, Brav Gede refuses to drink from the same bottles as Kanamayen 
and derisively calls Kanamayen a "vagabond". 

Yves Jean-Louis found Kanamayen to be a very strong and very helpful lwa. He 
eliminated a few personal enemies with Kanamayen's help, but then 
reconsidered and became a Houngan asogwe, Bon Houngan Salbadja Menfo. As he 
prepared for his own initiation, Kanamayen worked with him to help him get 
the money and things he needed. Yves Jean-Louis was sick with chronic 
bronchitis for a time, and he credits Kanamayen with assisting the doctor in 
effecting his cure. Kanamayen also 
worked with Yves Jean-Louis to heal other sick people. 

Kanamayen's power object is made in a three-legged metal cauldron about four 
inches high. Magical ingredients are wrapped in black cloth and surmounted 
with the Cross of Baron, and then Kanamayen himself comes to "charge up" the 
object and to make a special black kerchief to go along with it. The power 
object is then also called a point, and a very useful one it is indeed! 

During Fet Gede, Kanamayen visited with me, Houngan Lance, and Houngan David. 
Now the three of us have Kanamayen's point, as well as Houngan Yves. I am 
convinced that this point enables telepathic contact between us, and enables 
us to call each other's lwa. 

Here is an interesting story about what I have been able to do with 
Kanamayen's point. One day, one of my initiates wanted to bring two human 
skulls, gifts from Houngan Yves, back to the States with him. We packed them 
carefully and with some trepidation we navigated Customs in Miami. Just when 
we thought we were in the clear, we were required to pass our hand luggage 
through yet another X-ray. The technician flew off his stool three feet into 
the air when he saw the skulls grinning up at him out of my initiate's 
valises. He yanked his supervisor's sleeve, pointed frantically to the screen 
- ah, we 
were sure the game was over. But the supervisor, an older Latino man who 
looked like he might even be a Palero, so knowing was his smile, just waved 
us on through, motioning his subordinate to be silent. 

Okay, so far so good. My initiate took his two skulls home, and since he had 
already baptized them at our house in Haiti, he gave them nine days of rest 
and then put them to work. They worked for him just fine. 

Then, on this trip to Haiti I became anxious about my suitcases and flight 
connections and I decided to call on those "morts", the two skull-workers. I 
envisioned Kanamayen's point since he is a Baron, and I called the two 
skull-workers to come and help me through my trip. Like a flash they were 
beside me, behind my left shoulder, wiggling and bobbing like cartoon 
characters and not particularly friendly. They wanted to know who I was and 
what I wanted and by what power I had even been able to summon them. I showed 
them a series of mental images explaining my relationship to their owner, 
reminding them that they had already met me, and informing them that I wanted 
to go to the exact same place from which they came (since they were buried, 
resurrected, and baptized at our house). They became quite gleeful, really! 
They zoomed off ahead of me, and my trip was smooth as silk. 

Kanamayen's point remains in my badji between the two skulls I now own. Soon 
I will bury, disinter, clean, and baptize these two skulls, and they will 
work for me the same way my initiate's work for him. Kanamayen will continue 
to assist me to rule them and work with them. 

When my initiates return to feed their sacred necklaces, they receive 
Kanamayen's point. I am looking forward to the day when we have quite a few 
people equipped with Kanamayen's point! We could do all sorts of things... 
:-) 

Peace and love,

Bon Mambo Racine Sans Bout Sa Te La Daginen

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

The VODOU Page - http://members.aol.com/racine125/index.html