Authentic Haitian Vodou

I am the mother of many. I love all my god children and followers. I have given birth to five children. Four in my hand and one is in my heart. My two boys are teenagers now. One son is very fair and light skin. The other one is very dark. They have always gotten along so well. They are a team and don't compete. Now my younger son (light and fair skin) is a water spirit. I knew that from his birth. I have told him for years and years he is a water spirit. He only heard me this month, lol. He came to me sick and wanted to be taken for treatment. I asked what was wrong. He said he ate some food with hot pepper and it hurt his stomach. He was in pain and vomiting. I refused to take him to bother the hospital. I told him, " You are a water spirit. You can not eat hot pepper." He has been a vegan for a year now, and wanted to spice up his baked potatoes. I could tell by the look on his face that he finally heard me. His brother is an Ogou. He has been eating hot pepper on his food from a young age and enjoys Haitian food. He is six foot, three inches tall, and solid. But he has a very quit , relaxed personality. He is often the only one who comes when I call for someone to come help me do something.

I told my son , I will not carry him to the hospital. That he can not eat hot pepper. He must eat fruits, vegetables, sweet things. That his choice to be a vegan is something I show him support for, because I know it is spiritual. I am also to blame. You see, in Haitian Vodou we respect everything and everyone God (Bondye) made. He loa (angels) teach us how. My son has taken it to a whole new level, lol. He goes to the barber shop and comes out looking the same way. He has a head full of curly hair and I worry he will start looking like a dirty rasta, lol. Some rasta people I knew in Florida would not eat anything that did not come straight out the ground or off a tree. My son saw how I would not even kill a snake that lived in a hole in our house steps. I can't stand to see people keep snakes in a tank. I think in their next life they should be some poor animal that is kept in a small cage and see how they like. Do they not have a heart? Do they not feel to correct this situation? How are they okay with this? I would rather enjoy a colorful bird flying free for a minute, then keep a bird in a cage.

I, as a mambo, know that most of our loa require blood or money (blood is money). You must come with something or our loa don't move. Prayer alone does not move them. So don't come to them with nothing. Everyone has something to offer. No one is that poor. Not even in Haiti. So when people in the USA tell me; "I can't afford to pay anything" , it shows me what Vodou is worth to them.

Will my son continue to be a vegan all his life? I don't know. I just know that I do not need to tell him he is a water spirit anymore. He heard me. I pray the loa lead him and he finds a balance between being a vegan and Vodou. He does not want to do anything that hurts any animal.

Peace and love from Mambo Odette