---
title: The Gods of Voodoo
description: vudu - candomble - mitologia africana - The Gods of Voodoo - Ghede,
  Lord of Life and Death
author:
  name: Graciela Paula Caldeiro
  url: http://graciela-caldeiro.idoneos.com
canonical: https://mitologiacaribena.idoneos.com/en/297912/
source: en/297912/index.md
---

<h2 id="los-dioses-del-vudu">The Gods of Voodoo</h2>

The gods of Haitian **voodoo** (and their counterparts in **Candomblé** and in the Santería of Brazil and Cuba respectively) derive from the mythologies of West Africa, but have also been shaped by slavery and the influence of Catholicism in the New World.

The word _vodu_ in the African Fon language (see **mitologia\_africana**) means "god"; _loa_, meaning spirit, is a word from the Congo region.

Voodoo is a religion that has many _loas_ dedicated to serving humans, provided they are treated well and fed properly. However, there is little mythology in the traditional sense: that is, accounts of Creation or heroic deeds by the gods. The reason for this is that the gods act within the very lives of the faithful, and even take possession of them during **voodoo** rituals. Thus the attributes and personalities of the gods as living beings are considered more important than their stories. For example, the account in which a group of Ghedes besieged the presidential palace seems to "describe" the idea that the voodoo gods would hold real political power in the life of Haiti.

<h2 id="ghede-senor-de-la-vida-y-de-la-muerte">Ghede, Lord of Life and Death</h2>

Ghede, lord of the underworld, is also the lord of life, strongly linked with eroticism and the protection of children. He is gluttonous in his eating and drinking. He shovels food into his mouth by the handful and washes it down with gulps of distilled spirits. Yet at the same time he is elegant and sophisticated. He will not tolerate having his authority questioned.

On one occasion, crowds of ghedes (voodoo priests possessed by the spirit) marched toward the palace of President Borno in Port-au-Prince singing "Papa Ghede is a handsome fellow." All were dressed in their finest ghede attire: top hat and frock coat, dark glasses, a cigarette or a cigar, and a cane in hand. When they arrived, they demanded money, and the President, who knew that there is no man more powerful than death, handed it over. Ghede wears dark glasses because he spends so much time underground that his eyes are very sensitive to sunlight. With his left eye, he watches over the entire universe&#46;&#46;&#46; with his right eye, his food.