Glossary

Naked in School

The Vodou Physicist

Glossary: Abbreviations and Haitian Lwa

Abbreviations

AG - attorney general; both state and federal chief law enforcement officer
CBP - Customs and Border Patrol, Department of Homeland Security
CERN - Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire, Geneva, Switzerland; the European laboratory for particle physics and site of the LHC
CIA - Central Intelligence Agency
CPO - chief petty officer, a Navy and Coast Guard non-commissioned officer
CPS - Child Protective Services, a division of most states’ Health and Human Resources Departments or their equivalent
CRT - cathode ray tube; the picture tube in the original television
DARPA - Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Department of Defense
DoD - Department of Defense
DSS - Diplomatic Security Service, unit of Department of State, provides security for U.S. embassy officials plus other related duties
E-5, E-6 - sergeant and staff sergeant in Army and Marine Corps; non-commissioned officer pay grades. These grades have different rank names in the other military services
EE - electrical engineering, “double-E”
EMF - electromagnetic frequency
eV - electron volt; the energy an electron gains when accelerated by one volt of electricity. K prefix - thousand; M prefix - million. G prefix - billion. See TeV below
FBO - Fixed base operator, airport general aviation office
fMRI - functional MRI, MRI application to visualize oxygenated blood flow in the brain to detect neural activity
HMCM - hospital corpsman, master chief, U.S. Navy.
IC - integrated circuit. Miniature electronic device (chip) consisting of tiny transistors, resistors, capacitors, and other circuit components to perform a discrete task
ITF - International Taekwondo Federation
LED - light-emitting diode
LHC - Large Hadron Collider, Geneva, Switzerland. World’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator.
LT - lieutenant, first or second, in shorthand speech (Marines or Army). Pronounced “ell-tee”
MMA - mixed martial arts
MP - member of U.K. Parliament; also military police
MPS - Metropolitan Police Service, Greater London’s police force, informally “Scotland Yard”
MRI - magnetic resonance imaging, the machine or the process, which excites protons using RF to image structures inside bodies
NCO - non-commissioned officer
NDA - non-disclosure agreement. Contract to restrict a party from sharing confidential information of another party.
NSA - National Security Agency, Department of Defense
OAS - Organization of American States
RF - radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation
RFID - radio-frequency identification
SAT/PSAT - Scholastic Aptitude Test, achievement screening exam used for college admissions. “P” is for preliminary, a kind of practice exam
SI - International System of units, for example, gram and meter
STEM - science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; educational program
TA - teaching assistant in university
TDY - temporary duty
TeV - tera (trillion) electron volts, an amount of energy equivalent to 1.602176634×10^-16 joules
TeV/c² - eV mass equivalent at atomic scale. 1 TeV/c² = 1.78266192×10^-24 kilograms
TSA - Transportation Security Administration, Department of Homeland Security
UHF - ultra high frequency
VA - Department of Veteran’s Affairs
XO - executive officer

Terms (most Haitian Creole (Kreyòl) terms have several different spellings)

Adja - language and people of the Adja-Tado Gbe group of the Atlantic-Congo family, primarily of south-western Benin, south-eastern Togo, and south-eastern Ghana
alamyet - Kreyòl, Vodou service held without drums
álfr - Old Icelandic, Norse spirit, “elf,” associated with light and beauty, plural, álfar
anvizib - Kreyòl, “invisibles”
asson - from Fon, rattle made of a gourd, symbol of Vodou priest’s/priestess’ position
baka - from Fon, evil spirits
bòkò - from Fon, bokono, “sorcerer”; those who serve baka.
Bondye - Kreyòl, from French, bon Dieu. The Supreme Being, God. Also, Gran Mèt.
bonswa - Kreyòl, “hello” (said after 12 pm), from French, bon soir, “good evening”
chérie - French, “darling”
caplata - Kreyòl, “witch”
choché - from French (?), magician or sorcerer, lit., “hot”
chwal - Kreyòl, “horse,” from French, cheval
dís - Old Norse, Norse guardian (tutelary) spirit for a person, group, or site, plural, dísir
djévò - Kreyòl, room in ounfò where initiate is sequestered for the duration of the kouche
femèl chen - Kreyòl, “bitch,” from French, “female dog”
Ewe - language and people descended from the Adja; primarily of Benin, but also of Togo, Nigeria, and eastern Ghana
Fon - language and people descended from the Adja; primarily of Benin
Ginen - the ‘African heaven’
gris-gris - from French, “amulet”; originally referred to a type of fetish or amulet.
gwo-bôn-nanj - Kreyòl, “big good angel,” from French, grand bon ange. In Vodou theology, immortal aspect of the human spirit, the soul
in camera - Latin, “in chambers.” Legal term meaning “in private”
kanzo - Fon, “initiate.” Vodou clergy initiation rite, or the initiate to become an oungan or manbo
konesans - Kreyòl, Vodou initiate studies, from French, connaissance, “knowledge”
kouche - Kreyòl, “to lie down;” final part of kanzo rite, the seclusion. From Old French, couchier
Kreyòl - Haitian Creole language
lav tèt - Kreyòl, “head washing,” from French, laver tête. Part of kanzo initiation
lwa - Kreyòl, “spirit,” possibly derived from “law,” thought to have been combined with the Tswana term “to bewitch”
lwa acheté - Kreyòl, evil lwa, lit., “bought lwa” from French, acheté, “bought” or “purchased”
maman - French, “mother, mom”
manbo - Kreyòl, Vodou priestess, from Fon, nanbo, “mother of magic.” Also mambo
manman - Kreyòl, “mother”
mèd - Kreyòl, from French, merde, “shit”
Médecins Sans Frontières - Doctors Without Borders, humanitarian organization
merde - French, “shit”
mezanmi - Kreyòl, interjection: “Oh goodness! Damn! Wow!”
modi - Kreyòl, “damn,” from French, maudire, “to put a curse on”
mystè - Kreyòl, “mysteries,” referring to the lwa, from French
nanchon - Kreyòl, “nation,” from French, nation
Nihongo - Japanese language
oui - French, Kreyòl, “yes”
ounfò - Fon, Vodou temple
oungan - Fon and Ewe, Vodou priest, leader of rituals and ceremonies. Hounnongan means chief priest in Fon. Also spelled houngan.
ounsi - Kreyòl; worship leaders, from Fon, “spouse of the lwa”
ountògi - Fon, ritual drummers
pakèt kongo, pakèt - Kreyòl, “packet” or “bundle.” Kongo, from Kikongo, a Bantu language of central Africa, Talismans made of wrapped bundles of twigs
peristil - Kreyòl, “peristyle,” the main ceremonial room and the sacred space in an ounfò
Petwo - nanchon forged in the blood of the Haitian colonial era. It reflects the rage, violence and courage that threw off the shackles of slavery.
pititt-caye - Kreyòl, Vodou worshipers, from French, “children of the house”
pòte ou byen - Kreyòl, “farewell,” from French, porte tu bien, “carry yourself well”
pwen - Kreyòl, “point,” an object or person of spiritual or magical focus
Rada - nanchon that represents the emotional stability and warmth of Africa. The Rada rite is derived almost directly from the Dahomean traditions and is highly religious in nature.
renmen anpil - Kreyòl, “dear,” lit., “very much love”
seid - Old Norse, seiðr. Norse ritual of altered consciousness practiced by a völva
sert des deux mains - French, one who does evil magic, lit., “serves with both hands”
serviteurs - French, devotees or adherents of lwa
sèvi lwa - Kreyòl, “serve the lwa”
sosyete - Kreyòl, “society,” congregation, from French, société
ti-bôn-nanj - Kreyòl, “little good angel,” from French, petit bon ange. In Vodou theology, the personality, character and willpower of the human spirit
travaillant des deux mains - French, one who does evil magic, lit., “works with both hands”
travay - Kreyòl, folk talismans, from French, travailler, “to work”
vevé - Kreyòl, ceremonial symbolic drawing representing a lwa
vodou - Fon, “spirit, deity”
vodouisant - French, practitioner of Vodou
völva - Old Norse, Norse seeress, plural, völur
wanga - from Bantu; as used in Haitian Vodou, a charm which causes bad luck and sickness
ye gaga - Adja name for the immortal aspect of the human spirit: soul, lit. “long shadow”
zanj, lezanj, anj - Bantu (?), “angels”; often used as a form of greeting to show respect and honor to the lwa.
zanmi - Kreyòl, “buddy”
zonbi - Fon, reanimated deceased spirit, zombie, Kikongo, zumbi, “fetish”

Lwa (Spirits) of Vodou

This list is only of those entities mentioned in the story. All lwa have many aspects and not all of their aspects are included here. Many lwa are known by multiple names, depending on the African region their adherents originated from, or other factors, such as the Vodou tradition which the worshiper follows.

Agwe Tawoyo - Sovereign of the sea. Ruler of all the flora and fauna of the sea and all ships which sail on the sea.

Anansi, Nambo-Nansi - Spider trickster spirit, patron of those who cause or get into mischief or trouble.

Ayida Wedo - The mother figure, the rainbow. One of the unitary forces of human sexuality. Her consort is Damballah. Like Atlas, her job, together with Damballah, is to hold up the earth.

Ayizan Velekete - Papa Legba’s consort. Protector of the markets, public places, doors, and barriers; scholar of the spirit world. Defender of the young, the poor, the weak, and the disadvantaged.

Azaka Mede - Spirit of agriculture. Controller of the fields and is very watchful of detail.

Baron Samedi, Papa Ghede - Dual spirit; controller of the eternal crossroads which every person must someday traverse. The spirit of death and the power behind the magic that kills. The Ghede aspect is the spirit of eroticism, a clown, and the keeper of history.

Damballah Wedo - The serpent spirit, very popular; the creator spirit and father figure. He is benevolent, innocent, and a loving father.

Erzulie Fréda - Rada aspect of Erzulie, the spirit of love, beauty, jewelry, dancing, luxury, and flowers. She wears three wedding rings, one for each husband: Damballah, Agwe and Ogorin.

Erzulie Mansur - Spirit of maternal love and protector of children from harm.

Lord Kalfou - Controller of the evil forces of the spirit world. Allows bad luck, deliberate destruction, misfortune, and injustice to enter the world. Controller of the in-between points of the crossroads, the off-center points, which represent wrongness.

Granne Erzulie - Spirit of wisdom granted by experience and maturity and that of grandmotherly kindness and love.

Manman Brigitte - Female death spirit, consort of Baron Samedi. Protector of women’s graves in cemeteries.

Marinette-Bwa-Chèch - The most dreaded spirit; a she-devil; the sworn servant of evil. Dual aspects, she either frees persons from or commits persons to bondage.

Ogorin, Ogou Feray - Spirit of the warrior, mighty, powerful, and triumphant. Spirit of blacksmithy and craftsmanship, Also, the crafty and powerful political leader and diplomat.

Papa Legba, Atibon Legba - Guardian of the spiritual crossroads; the spirit of the origin of life. Controller of the crossroads from one world to the other and the contact between the mundane and spirit worlds. The speaker of all human languages.

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