« Elementary » Lwa
The elementary Lwa are not to be distinguished too clearly from the ones we grouped together in the utilitary Lwa. But their links to the forces of nature are generally stronger and less manageable, let's say…
Are listed here also the most powerful Lwa, if not the most active of the Hattean Voodoo pantheon…
Daddoo Eshoo, « Master of the Gates »
Voodoo ceremonies never begin without an invocation to Daddoo Eshoo because he opens the passage between the world of Lwa and that of Man… Note by the way that, even if in some ceremonies one starts with an invocation to the Twins because they are considered as outpowering the Lwa, one has later or sooner to invoke Eshoo, not doing that leading to an « inappropriate » - to not say « inauspicious »! - opening of the World of Lwa: very irascible, by midnight, he becomes evil and harmful. Daddoo Eshoo could well take it wrong to have been forgotten and let know that it is no good manner…
He takes most often the form of the elegant valet of a luxury hotel, holding always in hand an impressive set of keys attached to a huge ring; but some would have seen he true form and would have become mad to the point of claiming he would not only be « The Key » but as well « The Door » and the least incomprehensible way to describe his unthinkable form would be to compare him to bubbles of soap or a sparkling foam… They probably forgot to mention about all the rum they drank!
Another form he can take - particularly if he's not in a good mood or if he descends on a ceremonie where it would have been « forgotten » to give him an adequate offering - is that of a jailer of frightening appearance; the common point with the elegant valet? Of course… The huge set of keys!
At last, he appears, though rather rarely, under the form of an old gardener bearing a straw hat, smoking a pipe and holding a stick… But let us avoid making some given parallels too promptly…
Anyway, Daddoo Eshoo's colours are red and black.
Loko
Loko is the spirit of plants; more precisely he is the personification of the trees - in particular of those ones which grow only on Hattea, the mapoos – and of the substances, beneficial or not, which they contain.
He is at the same time a healing Lwa and the protector of the Voodoo sanctuaries, particularly of all sacred places on Hattea of which he possesses the « key ». Healing Lwa, his powers on vegetal substances make him a poisoner as well: thus the ones who would damage a mapoo or desecrate a Hoomfo or any other sacred place should take good care of themselves!
In order to find favour with Loko, one must sacrifice him offerings in bags which one hangs to the branches of the trees, particularly of mapoos as is now easy to understand. For a ceremony where it is intended to get Loko riding a participant, a stick and a pipe, which one must light and maintain smoking, must be available because those are his only characteristic attributes… For the rest, apparitions of Loko, invoked or not, can take the most diverse forms and it will be only thanks to a smoking pipe and a stick that Loko will be to recognised for sure! He would even have been seen in the form of a grumpy yet philosophical caterpillar, with dark rings of tiredness around the eyes of a human face, smoking the pipe and standing on the hat of a giant mushroom with the help of a stick… As a matter of fact, nobody could confirm what the pipe contained at the beginning of the ceremony!
One will have understood, it is impossible to even think of getting in a Hattean forest without an appropriate rite dedicated to Loko before the leave… It is equally impossible to think to come back alive or sane if, on the way, it is thought to be wise to desecrate a holy place of the Voodoo! One could incline to forget too quickly the (not that old) history of Hattea but with no doubt that would have fatal consequences!
Great Moose
Great Moose (and not Great Mouse!) is an Elementary Lwa associated to herbs and plants. He can take the form of - how surprising! - a moose with particularly large antlers. He can also appear under extremely wild, fierce and impredictable forms. His colour is all in nuances of green, sometimes with a red gleam.
In the hope to find favour with him one offers him leaves and herbs, honey and spiced rum.
As well as for Loko, it would be quite adventurous to dare enter the woods and mountains of Hattea without any propitiatory rite to bring him to a « gracious mood », with which he is rather sparing…
Hebieso
He is Lwa of thunder and storms.
He is always accompanied by a female homonculus - or isn't it more likely a saimiri?! – named Abui, which forges thunderbolts for him.
Correctly invoked, Hebieso is an extremely powerful Lwa who can grant protection but if a mistake is done or if one acts opposite to Hebieso's interests, one can well meet an end struck by a lightning!
An interesting question for our Pirate friends is the following: are thundery storms a manifestation of Hebieso's activities? Would it be so, one could think of prevent them with Ceremonies or Talismans specifically blessed by Hebieso? Close to the coastal line it would still be a reasonable assumption but the crucial Lwa to have on one's side (or at least as a neutral power) as a Pirate - and at sea! – is Agweh, of whom we speak next.
Agweh
Agweh is the Lwa reigning over the Seas.
To serve him, one usually puts out to the deep sea to bring him offerings and perform propritiatory Rituels. Agweh generally appears as coming out of a giant surfacing shellfish or from the horizon line on a Curry-Bean canoe, often wearing the uniform of an officier and rowing with power and elegance by the means of his « Batterwell » (ornated oar).
However Agweh, as the Master of the free immensities of the oceans and seas, is very impredictable: he may suddenly appear in the middle of a ceremony where he is not at all the « expected guest » though that would be impossible if the location for the ceremony is far enough from any coast; he may as well decide not to appear in a ceremony where he would be the « star guest »! A mirror of the sea waves, he has a very changeable character, being able of the most extreme violence. Some among the Seawolves and Gentlemen o'Fortune cannot refrain from connecting him with the legendary Ghost Pirate of the Bermudas Islands, Barrent Van der Fokke by his name and his Ship, the « Foulin' Touch », and they claim that he would be Agweh personified. Moreover, isn't it said of Agweh that he also is the King of the dark and silent Realm of Under the Seas, nurtured by each new wreck and feasting at each new naval battle? Isn't it a sign that Agweh is said to love the sound of the cannon?…
Agweh is represented by a little chair, a figure of his canoe, on which his oar - the batterwell - is placed together with a sea conch in which it must be blown when starts his Ride.
Mummy Woto
Mummy Woto is a wife of Agweh or one of his servants, it is difficult to really know. She cares exclusively about fishing zones close to the coast and because of that is feared a lot, not only by fishermen but also by coasters, because she as well grants extraordinary takes as she gets Ships caught in her swells and reefs when she is in a bad mood.
She often has in the huts of fishermen - particularly those who practice « treasure hunting » at night with a lantern… – a corner dedicated to her cult with a painting representing her under the form of a mermaid with a knot of morays as a hair…