Damballa
A serpent lwa associated with water and wisdom, whose possession causes slithering and tongue-flicking.
↻ synthesized from 5 sources
When
- Historical notes
- Central serpent deity in Haitian Vodou who brought the tradition from Africa to the Americas.
Relationships
- co occurs with
- Ogu, Nago, petwo lwa, Ghede lwa, Mawu-Lisa, Adanhu, Yewa, Oshumare, Ogoun, Metres Ezili, Iyalorde Oxum, Marasa, Legba, Agwé, Zaka, Ghede, Lwa, Azaka, Papa Legba, Ezili Freda
- syncretized with
- Saint Patrick, Moses
- consort of
- Ayida-Weddo, Ayida Wedo, Erzulie Fréda Dahomey, Erzulie Freda, Erzulie
- child of
- Bondye
- has aspect
- Damballa Tocan, Damballa La Flambo
Mentioned by
Sources
Source passages
“Those believing themselves possessed by the serpent Damballa, for instance, often slither on the floor, dart out their tongue, and climb the posts of the peristil.”
#181 · extracted by claude-sonnet-4-6
“In Haiti, Ayida-Weddo is said to have crossed the ocean with her husband Damballa to take the ancient knowledge and traditions of Vodou from Africa to the Caribbean.”
#3213 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5
“She wears three wedding rings, one for each husband - Damballa, Agwe and Ogoun.”
#3219 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“may a lost god damballah, rest or save us / against the murders we intend / against his lost white children / black dada nihilismus." A 1981 short story collection by African-American writer John Edgar Wideman is entitled Damballah. In the Child's Play franchise, Damballa himself appears in the third season of the television series Chucky, acting as a god of death”
#20555 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001