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

E.A. Koetting/Baron DePrince
The Spider and the Green Butterfly
knows the secrets of the crossroads, and is willing to open
them for the impure of heart. Met Kalfu, also called
Carrefour, is an astonishingly evil Loa who controls the
off-center and in-between points of the crossroads, the
hidden paths between the worlds - the backdoors to
heaven. On the rare occasion that Kalfu spontaneously
rises up in a ceremony, all participants cease their music,
dancing, singing and chanting, their full attention funneling
into quickly pleasing Met Kalfu and ridding themselves of
him, as once he has opened the secret doorways between
the worlds, legions of wicked Loa will begin pouring
through them into this world. When Kalfu is intentionally
summoned, however, bane becomes bounty and the
backdoors will allow the forbidden, invited guests to be
present.
A true Petro ceremony, a secret and forbidden Petro
rite, then, might begin with the invocation of and a sacrifice
to Met Kalfu. The participants might also either adorn
themselves in red or black clothing, or would perform the
ritual in the nude, their skin covered or highlighted with
black and red paint.
It is said that the only sacrifice made to the Petro
Loa is that of a pig, although black and red roosters or hens
have been used, as well as goats, dogs, humans, and a
variety of other sacrificial victims. The sacrifice is
determined not by the written rule, but instead by either the
Loa that is going to be called down, or by Met Kalfu, as the
Opener of the Doorways.
The Asson is often used in the Petro ceremony as
well, the power of Damballah seeming to transcend the
divisions between the spirits. The drums, however, are
different than those employed in the Rada ceremony. Only
two are used, the Ti Baka and the Gwo Baka, translated
simply as the "little drum" and the "big drum." The Petro
drums are conical rather than cylindrical, and are both
rather small, handheld drums. Both the Ti Baka and the
Gwo Baka are played with the hands rather than with
drumsticks. The way that the drums are played is quite
different in the Petro ceremony as well: rather than being
played exactly on the appropriate beat, as the rhythmic
drumbeats of the Rada rite are often played, the Petro
drumbeats are played in syncopation. Syncopation is an
extremely difficult style of musical performance in which
the notes are played off-beat, or the notes that are stressed
are those that normally would not be. Or, conversely,
syncopation can involve not playing or stressing a note as
would normally be expected. This seems to "throw off the
entire rhythm, instilling in the music an unexpected and
chaotic essence. The art of syncopation is studied and
employed by the most talented musicians in jazz, reggae,
blues, and some rap.
Softwood is used in the construction of the Ti Baka
and the Gwo Baka, while the wood used in the construction
of the Rada drums is hardwood. Rather than stretching
cowhide across the openings of the drums using pegs,
goatskin is stretched across the opening of the drums and is
tied with rope onto the body of the drum itself. The rituals
of consecration of the material used in the construction of
the drums is similar to that of the Rada, although blood
might replace the egg, and various deadly herbs, such as
asafetida, hemlock, or wolfs bane can be added to the rum
that is poured onto the wood.
The Veves are still often made on the ground in
cornmeal or flour immediately before the ceremony begins,
regardless of the type of Loa being called, although, again,
this may at times be substituted with blood.
The Possessed will usually display magnificent
power and strength, performing superhuman feats, or will
sometimes torture the body of the Possessed with fire, selfmutilation,
ingesting dangerous materials or foods, or
various others forms of self-affliction. Above all, the Petro