Puerto Rican Vodou - 21 Divisions - Sanse
Sanse is a mystery religion that evolved from the interactions between Dominican Vodouisants and Puerto Rican Espiritistas. But before that it started in Africa, and Sanse is an African Religion. To start in this tradition, and all the ATRs, you must first find a Sancista who will give you a reading. This initial reading is for the Sancista to assess where you are at and what needs to happen next. The Sancista will need time to do an investigation into your spiritual frame and will communicate messages from your dead and your guides as to what you need to do to “get right” with the spirits. Next you will discover who is in your spiritual court and how to communicate with them. This is the portion that directly relates to Espiritismo. When this stage is complete you will have a boveda set up that will be dedicated to your ancestors and spirit guides. The paraphernalia and iconography will directly reflect your relationship to your guides. That is something unique to each individual and must be divined. Then a second investigation must be made into the spirits of Vodou to progress in Sanse. You must find out which spirits are walking with you and your court.
In African Traditional Religion the spirits choose you, not the other way around. If Vodou is a path for you then you will be claimed by a Loa who wants to be your main spirit. You will have other Loas attracted to you for whatever reasons. When the Sancista has told you which Loa are with you it is ok to set up your divisional or Saint altar. You will be instructed by the Sancista as to what the spirits want on your altar. You can continue to serve and communicate with your spirits without getting initiated but why stop there? When you are initiated into Sanse you will be crowned with your head spirit which will connect you on a deeper level with them. From there you will continue to bond with your ancestors, your spiritual court, and your loas. If you choose to be a spiritual worker then you might decide to give readings, make spiritual baths and other herbal products, and as a Sancista who is initiated into the mysteries you can initiate others.
Defining Vodou
The word Vodou translates as Spirit. You are Vodou and I am Vodou. Vodou is a mixture of shamanism, animism, and spiritism. It’s shamanistic because one who engages in its practices aims to control their environment through magic and occult forces. Whether that is to heal or to kill. It is animistic because it affirms the concept that all things possess a spiritual form and a life of their own. It is spiritistic because it interacts with non physical intelligences. In this sense other magical religious traditions that are most similar to Puerto Rican Vodou would be Chinese Taoism and Japanese Shinto. Vodou looks at the Universe operating in its totality and not just it’s parts. It sees the world of spirits interacting with human beings constantly on a daily basis. It is amoral in the sense that black and white definitions about what is good and bad are subjective and debatable. The constant Vodou teaches is God is, and everything we do has consequences. So be careful what you think, what you say, and what you do. Everything you do vibrates through the entire universe. What kind of force do you want to be? Vodou leaves that up to you.
The 21 Divisions of Sanse
The spirits worked with in Puerto Rican Vodou are divided into 21 Divisions. It refers to the different ethinic/linguistic groups brought from Africa as slaves and the geographical locations from which they came. Spirits are also categorized into three “Nations' ' which are Rada, Petro, and Indian. This gets a little complicated, and varies from practitioner to practitioner, so I am going to try and make this as simple as possible. There are no tests! I am going to teach you according to the family tradition I follow. The following list of 21 Divisions can change depending on who you ask but for the sake of this book my list is:
- The Yoruba
- The Bantu
- The Foula
- The Ewe
- The Fon
- Dahomey
- Arara or Arada
- Ibo Lele
- Angola
- Ogoun
- Ketu
- Sango
- Togo
- Danwomen
- Mayonbe
- Wangol
- Makay
- Bambara
- Igbo
- Ado
- Hausa
In Puerto Rico, the Dominacan Republic, Haiti, and Cuba the slaves were mainly of the Yoruba, Igbo, Congo, Fon, Ewe and Bantu people. The Ashanti and other tribes were also brought to the New World. Now we are going to switch gears and talk about the three Nations of Loa in terms of white, black, and water divisions. When a Sancista speaks of an individual Loa they will refer to it as either white, black, or Indio. They are the:
White Division: Rada and Nago Loa
Black Division: Petro and Ghede Loa
Water Division: Female and Indian Loa
The female division is composed of all the female spirits but they can also be considered white, black, and water depending on their “path”. I know this is very confusing at first but it's not. For practical purposes when you learn about a Loa he/she will fall into one of three categories generally according to the nature of the spirit in its particular aspect. Two things are very important about this categorization. These three divisions are used to set up a divisional altar which separates the spirits accordingly and also at Vodou parties is the order in which they are called. Certain spirits walk with each other and get along while some spirits do not like each other and should not be placed beside each other on your altar or called at the same time. If you do not understand this and make a mistake you can bring absolute havok on yourself.
This is not Wicca! People who practice witchcraft will set up an altar, pick a spirit they want to work with, and start practicing magic. There is no consultation by the American witch used to determine if the spirit even wants to be called or is in that person’s spiritual frame. Now, you can call any spirit you want but you will have to deal with the aftermath if you make a mistake which is why in the ATRs we have a protocol for determining the spirits who want to work with you and how to set them up on your altar. That makes sense right? These spirits are real, they have feelings, they have likes and dislikes, and they travel in crews. When you call on one spirit he is not the only one who listens. He comes with his friends. They work together and are also served on different days of the week. This understanding and intimate relationship between a vodouisant and his spirits is what makes the Vodou system of magic so powerful.
African Traditional Religions have been practicing/perfecting these methods for… well forever. I am not being disparaging to any other magical system. Matter of fact the Western system of magic most similar to Vodou protocol is the Grimoire or Solomonic tradition. Traditional song and dance, offerings, libations, intimate knowledge of the spirits and their powers, their symbols and all the fetishes that are used are complex. Calling a Loa out of context into a ritual environment it does not recognize or understand is not going to get you results. The spirit could either show up to see what's up, not be impressed and leave, or worse case scenario get pissed. Don’t believe me? Please do not try.
Initiation is important because you will fall under the protection of that lineage and are protected by the spirits that rule that house/tradition. After you sort out your dead, unify your Spiritual Court, make contact with your Principle Guide, be chosen by your main Loa and develop an intimate relationship with them there is not much another magician can do about it. You have created an impenetrable fortress of spiritual protection. You have a force of Nature that is acting on your behalf and has your back. When you are initiated it is also a rebirth. All of your past sins do not matter after you are “born again”. You can start over. You can try again assisted by the spirits walking with you. Puerto Rican Vodou is a very powerful tradition of magic exactly because of the work that must be done to become a Sancista. You will get out of it what you put into it just like everything else in life.
There is a superstition in Vodou that you should not tell anyone who your main Loa is or else a sorcerer or another practitioner could steal them from you. That might be true but is harder to do than people think. If you abuse, mistreat, or ignore your spirits they can become distressed, detach from you, or find someone else to work with. If you are connected to your spirits and they are well fed they will fiercely guard you while you are awake or asleep, in front of your altar or not. The reason your spirits must be fed is the same reason you have to. You need an energy source to keep going and so do they. Do not neglect your spirits.
Are you excited? You should be. This is a beautiful tradition and a powerful one. If it’s right for you then you have come home. I think you know right now whether it is or not. If you feel it is don’t wait and don’t be late. Let’s keep training. My philosophy in life is work smarter not harder so be smart and sit in front of that Boveda everyday and do the work. Next we are going to talk about the Rada, Petro, Nago, Congo, Female, Indian, and Ghede spirits as well as the Seven Chiefs that rule them who are Papa Legba, Belie Belcan, Ogou Balenya, Papa Candelo, Mistrisili, Tin Djo Alagwe, and Baron de Cementerio.