In a discussion of language and religion, a friend and I lamented the “modernization” in churches. Things are changed over time to make it more relatable to most people. I miss the occasional Latin prayers (if you don’t agree, mea culpa!) and she preferred the “thee” and “thou” that were disappearing. “It’s a special language we have to talk to God,” she explained.
We have that in Voodoo. Haitian Creole is spoken in Haiti, and is a mix of French, west African, Taino, Spanish and Portuguese languages. Langaj refers to some things that are not translatable, such as parts of the invocations for the Lwa. You can hear this in the beginning of our prayer rituals.
The Lwa understand all of our prayers and petitions, thanks to master translator Papa Legba. We can relate the most thoroughly modern things to Voodoo. But I do like having a traditional language just for Voodoo.
Love, Khouzhan Lucy
Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net