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

E.A. Koetting/Baron DePrince
The Spider and the Green Butterfly
chromosphere, allowing the latter to only be seen during an
eclipse, when the brilliance of the photosphere has been
blocked out by the moon. The Second is played with bare
hands by a seated drummer, the drum being held between
the knees. The smallest drum, called the Bula or the Bebe,
often as small as one foot in diameter, represents the
nucleus of the sun, and is played with long, wooden sticks
by a seated drummer.
In order to produce the energetic vibrations of the
Vodoun drums, they cannot simply be purchased at any
music store or be commissioned for manufacture by an
instrument crafter. A living tree is found which will be cut
and hollowed to make the drum, and the tree itself must be
consulted concerning the matter. Much in the way that
many Native American tribes teach that the quarry of the
hunt must be willing to give its life so that others might
live, the tree must give its permission to be cut and used as
a ceremonial drum. A white candle is lit next to the tree
and cornmeal or flour is spread out from its base, forming a
solid circle of the cornmeal or flour. A Loa may also be
invoked to bless the tree and the whole process of making
the drum. An egg is then smashed against the trunk of the
tree and rubbed into the bark. Rum is either poured onto
the ground, allowing the roots to absorb the liquid, or is
rubbed onto the bark along with the egg. Once all three
drums are cut and hollowed, the first peg hole on which the
drum skin will be laced is marked in each of the drums, and
they are aligned outside, the Bula in the east, the Second in
the middle, and the Manman in the west. A white candle is
placed on the marking of the peg hole, which is called the
"mother hole," rum is poured on the inside of the hollowed
drums, and the rising sun is allowed to caress the drums,
baptizing them in Legba's light. Cowhide is the usual skin
that is stretched across the tops of the drums and beaten.
The Asson is a sacred rattle held only by the
Houngan or Mambo. The Asson is made from a hollowed
gourd and is often decorated with either colorful beads or
snake bones, or both. Serpent bones or fangs, especially
the bones of the vertebrae, might also fill the Asson along
with beads to create the rattling sound. The Asson is quite
obviously the tool of the chief Loa of Vodoun power,
Damballah, although it also holds within it rivets to every
other major Loa, saturated in their essence, thereby
commanding by their power, rather than one's own. The
Asson cannot simply be made or purchased, the power and
sacred nature of the thing even rivaling that of the
ceremonial drums. The Asson is obtained only when a
person is initiated as a Houngan or Mambo. The Asson is
shaken, usually either high in the air or close to the earth, or
over specific parts of a person's body, to call forth the Loa.
The rattling sound, imbued with the essence of Damballah,
summons the most powerful spirits to the side of the
Houngan who holds the Asson.
The Asson is shaken over the ground, around the
Loa's Veve, and throughout the entire ritual area. The
drums will also begin, initially being beaten in a controlled
manner, but the tempo quickly intensifies, and the sounds
of the three drums and the Asson seem to become wild and
chaotic. The specific rhythms of all of the instruments,
however, are extraordinarily calculated, the drum players
and the Houngan or Mambo having studied and trained in
the various songs or rhythms specific to the different Loa.
Similarly, the Houngan or Mambo is trained in specific
dance movements favored by or associated with the Loa
that is being called, and will begin the dance with a series
of such movements. The celebrants will then join the
dance, following the lead of the Mambo, focusing their
minds on the Loa being invoked, and the relation between
the music, the dance, and the spiritual forces entering the
area.
All of this, from the initial feast to the drawing of
the Veve upon the ground to the musical rise to the