Vodou Culture 101: The Godparent
I have, as an adult, witnessed the ritual of designating a godparent in the Christian church a few times, generally during a baptism. It struck me at the time as a bit of leftover formality from a much earlier time. The degree to which it was taken seriously depends on the people involved, but I haven’t seen that many people in Christian churches take it very seriously.
In vodou cultures, to be someone’s godparent is incredibly serious—when they say parent, they mean it. Watching my own godfather at work, I’ve seen him lend money, pay bail, talk someone down out of a manic episode, arbitrate fights, hold people when they cry, counsel people before death and their families afterward, feed people who can’t afford it, give people a place to stay in his home when they were homeless. I’ve seen him drop everything, scoop his phone up, and go deal with everything from the police to a marital squabble. He is the first person people call when their relatives are sick and he’s had to tell them to hang up and call 911. He gives parenting advice, employment advice, relationship advice, money advice. He answers the phone at 3 am, midday, 11 pm, whenever it needs to be answered.
For his godchildren, and he has a lot of godchildren, there is little he does not do. There is a level of love and commitment in that which is downright inhuman, something which defies the ability to explain. I’ve seen him staggering with exhaustion and still answering stupid questions from adults who could, conceivably, notice that he was swaying and pale, but don’t because they want something or they just have one question or they’re just really upset. I’ve seen other godparents in our temple literally glue themselves together so that they can serve at parties, or show up in a cast or brace and still do the physical labors involved in a spiritual party because their children needed something or the community needed an opportunity to heal.
This is what it is to be a godparent in vodou cultures. I try to chase my godfather around with a sandwich, water, and a cup of coffee when I see him in person, on general principles. I don’t know when he’s last slept, eaten, or drank.
A godparent is a partner with the spirits in the elevation of the person. The commitment is lifelong. To initiate someone is to say to them and the spirits that you are willing over the course of that person’s life to assist them: not to do everything they want to do, nor to fix all their problems, nor to be there for everything that happens, but that if the spirits call on behalf of that person, you will answer.
It’s 24/7 on call, for people typically going through various shades of crisis as they experience trials and tests. As a godparent, you will fully be expected to be a resource for those crises, someone who helps stabilize a person or situation. One of the reasons in vodou that a godparent commands respect is because of this.
The other is that your godparent usually has spiritual insight about you, and it’s real stupid to trifle with someone who can do magic and can see the state of your soul.
Godparents are usually people who have had a combination of sufficient experience and sufficient elevation to do it, and like all participation in vodou, it is not voluntary. The spirits elect godparents, and the spirits assign people to godparents. Not everyone a priest works with is their godchild. We do work just fine for people we aren’t intended to initiate, the relationship just isn’t as intimate. Not every priest is a godparent.
Finally, godparents do not recruit. It’s a lot of responsibility and a workload that requires supernatural help to complete.
