E. A. Koetting and Baron DePrince - The Spider and The Green Butterfly

E.A. Koetting/Baron DePrince
The Spider and the Green Butterfly
While rituals such as Lave Tet do to a degree
initiate the aspirant into a deeper understanding of the Loa
and the Current, the first official initiation into the practice
and the identity of Vodoun is Kanzo. The word Kanzo is
strongly tied to our English word "fire." In Kanzo, the
initiate passes through the fire, and receives the sacred
flame of power. When the aspirant is initiated into Vodoun
through Kanzo by a specific Mambo or Houngan, the
initiate is then considered to be a child of the spiritual
house in which he is initiated, the initiating Mambo
becoming his mother and the Houngan becoming his father.
The specific ceremonies, requirernents, and tests for
receiving Kanzo vary from house to house. Before
receiving Kanzo, the Houngan or MambVuses divination
and often levels of possession to contact the Met Tet of the
aspirant and discern the specific elements of the initiation.
The aspirant's Met Tet may also require certain things of
the aspirant, certain sacrifices of self or signs of devotion
before Kanzo can be received. In some cases, Kanzo can
be a week-long process of fasting, devotion, and ceremony.
At other times Kanzo can be delivered with a few words
and a passing of the spiritual flame to the initiate. This is
dependant on the traditions of the particular house, as well
as the instructions of the Loa.
Si Pwen is the second grade of outer Vodoun
Initiation, and literally means, "On the point," under the
patronage of the Loa, and Met Tet in particular. It is at this
time, if not before, that the identity of the initiate's Met Tet
is revealed, so that he may begin to actively work with that
Loa to the fulfillment of his own personal spiritual destiny.
Outwardly, the Si Pwen may lead congregations in
ceremony and song, as well as use the Asson to raise the
powers of Vodoun and to call down the Loa. It is after this
initiation of Si Pwen that the individual is considered a
Houngan or Mambo, and can also begin to work on the
behalf of others.
The third and final grade of outer Vodoun Initiation
is Asogwe. It is at this time that the Houngan or Mambo is
considered to be a Master, a Grand Houngan or Mambo.
Whereas after the Si Pwen initiation the initiate is able to
use the Asson, they receive the Asson in the ceremony of
Asogwe. They are no longer using the Asson, and the
whole of the Vodoun powers, under the direction of the
Mama or Papa of their house, but are now masters of their
own house and wielders of the Asson that is given to them
to have, rather than merely to use.
Inner Initiations and Vodoun Cults -
The modern idea of what it is and what it means to
be initiated into a cult is quite a bit skewed by media
sensationalism as well as by their own latent fantasies.
Perhaps it is through a sexual orgy that person is inducted
into a cult, or through a cannibalistic rite, through swearing
upon blood-soaked bibles, or simply through giving oneself
entirely to another person who claims to represent
perfection. Once inside the Vodoun Current, however, all
of these terms with which we have grown so comfortable
assume different definitions, our entire vocabulary
morphing itself in a continuous pattern of greater and
deeper understanding.
A person must be initiated into the Vodoun Current
by a Grand Houngan. The Grand Houngan must have been
initiated in the same manner by one before him, tracing a
chain of power back to Dahomey, where the Loa first made
contact with man. These initiations cannot be bought, as is
becoming so common, nor can they even be requested.
True initiation into the Vodoun Current is offered to one
who is ready, who is chosen by the spirits. All that the
Grand Houngan does is listens to the voices of the spirits,