« Utility » Lwa
Utility ? And what else please? Why not frankly « usable » or even « used »?! You'd better not repeat that to them!
The word, absolutely inaccurate, simply indicates that the Lwa discussed here, differently from the « elementary » Lwa, are rather associated to an activity like healing, make war or love (but not both of them), etc.
But to make really a separation is, as already said, not always very easy and the links between them are many and important. And, looking straight into it, those Lwa are not easier at the negociation table (or in other words the prayer altar) than the others…
Good Oll'Ayon
The is the Lwa of fire and war, hence of blacksmiths and of soldiers. His emblem is a machete and his favorite animal a red rooster. But when it comes to appear to Man, he usually prefers to take the form of an old and powerful black ram with firy eyes and his courage has no match… The Curry-Bean go on saying that he is the one who lead them to victory when they expelled the first settlers of Hattea and he is likely the most venerated of the Lwa, even if he is not necessarily the most powerful…
He is however certainly one of the three most important Lwa, which can be confirmed through his network of relationships: he is in a very intimate relationship with Arzully, who personifies sensuality, he is the cousin of Zakka and, last but not least, he adopted Brad-Giddy as his son.
Arzully (Fridda / Dantor / Ol'Ma Rollin')
Arzully is a Lwa of a complex personality to the point that it is usually spoken of three different Arzully while of a fourth we do good not to dare speak here at all: Fridda, Dantor and Ol'Ma Rollin'. As much as Fridda is the sweet lover and Dantor the creative - or sometimes destructive - power of passion, so Ol'Ma Rollin' personifies the « castrating » mother, armed with her favourite symbol: the rollin'pin, which actually never spread a pastry but bears instead the indubitable marks of leather tanning, in particular that of Giddy's scalp, all them all! The symbol of Dantor, not less evocating and at least as violent, is a heart pierced by a dagger. Fridda for her part is symbolised by bunches of huge and magnificient flowers, by which the Hoomfor is abundantly decorated when one wants to become in favour with Arzully while avoiding to summon her others personalities…
Why in fact - and this is the funniest about it!- by invoking Arzully in the course of a ceremony one never really knows in advance which personality of her will dominate and come… There thus exist a multitude of Rituals and Talismans to make sure to summon the wished Arzully but the most sincere hopes are generally deceived and Arzully is the perfect personification of a woman in that, like each of us know it since many a year: « often a woman changes her mind, what a fool who trusts her » ! The sour-tempered Ol'Ma Rollin' or the very violent Dantor may well come and bring disorder to the ceremony while everybody is trying to call the sweet and lovely Fridda… You heared it once, now beware!
John Dantor
Jonn Dantor, The-One-Walkin'on-Fire, is the cousin of Arzully in her Dantor personality… And the least we can say is that the kinship link between the two is immediately clear! John Dantor is the master of ordeals, the one who offers the chance of a « salvation » or of a transformation… But beware! That one will never be painless and will rather be dangerous since the challenge which his summoner has to face consists in dancing on a vessel filled with burning rum by crossing it several times: the true faithful shall be transformed, shall they survive the test or not…
Foolbagga
We don't know and won't tell much about the Lwa of illness, especially of smallpox, but also of healing and the soil. He actually rarely appears and is not summoned very often because he tends to be epidemic when one wishes him to be therapeutic and vice-versa, so that the encounters with him can become extremely tragic…
He is a great knower of plants and of the way to prepare them to heal or kill; he is thus in that respect a true follower of the Great Moose, himself being a worshipper of Loko.
His colours are the green and a vivid red and he appears often under the form of an enormous animated canvas bag, lively and foolishly never stopping dancing the boogie woogie to the point of bursting at the seams, each moment threatening to spill its foul contents over the place of its apparition: carrion flesh worms, centipedes, mould and other tasty things of the kind!
Pedalambdalo
Pedalambdalo is the Lwa of knowledge. He is symbolised by a boa but no allusion is ever made to any apple tree… He can be incarnate in the form of a cyclist and it is quite a good idea to invite him to ride a worshipper who is pedalling on a bicycle, even if some risks have then to be taken into account…
He is the discreet husband of Ayibadalo, the magnificent but terrible mistress of the sky. He brings and gives Men access to pieces of wisdom and secret knowledge, including about the Voodoo; he even is the personification of wisdom and is an excellent advisor if you are able to understand his oracle! Considered as soft-tempered and well-intentioned for a Lwa, one can find him more easily close to rivers or springs because those are the places where he likes to spend his time.
To accept to come to worshippers he requires offerings with a link to white and purity, such as clean eggs, flour, etc. When Pedalambdalo rides them, worshippers start dancing and contorsionate like snakes, a danse which is called, to honour him by the way, by his own name…
The Cousin Zakka
Zakka is called in a familiar way « The Cousin Zakka ». He is a farmer and… a great player of Pok-ta-Pok (a Curry-Bean ball game said to have its origin in the legendary Breamlands).
His peasant side makes him blessing harvest and breeding. In ceremonies, he is offered his attributes: the straw hat and a bag made of green latan palms with sisal bobbles coloured in red and white.
The Cousin Zakka may be quick-tempered or also be very busy womanising and thus not answer to the prayers of worshippers but presenting him a ball of Pok-ta-Pok and he rushes in in a breath, taking a « Mount » and requesting at once to play… And then, beware! The ones who summoned him have to be ready to play in their own interest because the game will be a crazy and tiring one! And if in the end of the game one is not dead exhausted, maybe he will condescend to answer to one prayer… or not! (Or if the petticoat was worth coming…)
Whatever it be with his temper, The Cousin Zakka is – at least for a Lwa – of the nice and benevolent kind and it is not the least of his qualities!