Vodou Culture 101: The Offering
If you have an opportunity to see an altar or attend a vodou party, you will notice piles of flowers, food, candles, and alcohol. Sometimes, you’ll also see piles of plants, herbs, or coins. The altar tends to be in the center of a wall, and will be as loaded as the temple or society can provide. The party is often held facing the offerings, and the offerings will often be used as the party progresses for many purposes.
The idea of offerings has a history in every culture—the idea of appeasing a divinity or gaining a favor from divinity is mankind’s long established attempt to manipulate the relationship with the divine. From the tithing practices of Christian churches to animal sacrifice, which has a history in almost every religion, human beings have been trying to set the terms of their relationship to the divine and the mood of their lives for about as long as there has been people. In the US majority culture, this is mostly financial and in the form of either an automated deduction from a bank account or cash given to a church or temple during the service.
Vodou takes a much broader view of offerings, reflecting where it came from. In vodou, there are multiple kinds of offerings, from something tangible like cash or flowers to the energy spent doing the labor which facilitates a party. Any action taken which allows a party to happen, or any action taken which helps the person throwing the party (or their assistants) is part of the offering. The energy spent and the emotions which accompany them is as much a part of the offering as anything that can be touched.
This comes from a few things, not just poverty: it comes from the communal nature of vodou, in which the community is both the place where parties happen and the people who throw the parties. A party is a reminder that you have people with you, and a reminder of what it is to work together though not everyone labors the same. The priests or horses of the spirits (the people who can be possessed) provide the vast majority of the labor, energy, and effort which facilitates parties, not infrequently out of pocket. They are often first to arrive and last to leave, utterly exhausted because they have given their bodies to the spirits as host in addition to often providing the labor to set up the party, run the errands, make the food, etc.
Vodou’s view of offerings also comes from a fundamental difference in how offerings are understood. In a Ginen (positively aligned) house, an offering is an expression of appreciation, not an attempt to buy the attention or good will of the divine. You already have that, though it does not mean that the divine will give you things you like or make your life easy. If you exist, you have had the benefit of the positive attention of the divine.
Offerings are a way to demonstrate that you understand the advantages you’ve already been given. They are a way to directly tell the divine or the spirits that you know you are lucky, that you appreciate the love which they demonstrate by showing up and doing the work they do. They are also a way to tell the community that you appreciate them. Offerings are used to help the people at the party, not infrequently feeding people or providing them with other forms of help.
Offerings also help the priests or horses at the party, many of whom consistently pay for or provide services to the community as a part of their role. None of us get a tithe, nor any sort of guaranteed income. We only get what people are willing to pay or give.
The divine does not need the offerings. The community needs them. The priests and horses need them.
