Damballah
(Sky-serpent loa and wise and loving Father archetype) created all the waters of
the earth. In the form of a serpent, the movement of his 7,000 coils formed
hills and valleys on earth and brought forth stars and planets in the heavens.
He forged metals from heat and sent forth lightning bolts to form the sacred
rocks and stones.
When he shed
his skin in the sun, releasing all the waters over the land, the sun shone in
the water and created the rainbow. Damballah loved the rainbow's beauty and made
her his wife, Aida-Wedo. (Aida-Wedo represents the sky powers and is symbolized
by the rainbow; wife of Damballah, she shares his function as cosmic protector
and giver of blessing.)
The
revelations of the loa (deity) descended upon the first faithful in
Ifй, a legendary
city located in Nigeria. Therefore, everything in life and all spiritual
strength comes from Ifй. The
homeland of all vodun devotees, where Ifй is located,
is Ginen, from where they were forced to flee in the African Diaspora. In death,
the higher soul will return to Ginen (the world of the dead, said to be under
the water below the earth) to reside with the loa and the ancestral spirits.
Because of this, all practitioners of vodun refer to themselves as ti
guinin, sons or daughters of Ginen.
[From
Vodun Creation
Mythology (Site is
currently inoperative.)]
A Great Flood
had occurred upon Earth long, long ago. While Earth was still covered with
water, there were no living creatures upon the land. Then out of the sky one day
glided an enormous Eagle with a black Crow riding upon its back, searching for a
place to light.
Around and
around Eagle flew until he discovered a projecting tree stump, or what appeared
to be a stump, upon which he landed to rest. There was a home at last upon the
flat surface, which was amply large enough for Eagle and Crow to roost upon.
From here, they surveyed the greenish gray water as far as they could see. The
sky was a gorgeous bright blue with a few white drifting clouds, occasionally
swirled by a passing breeze. All seemed serene to Eagle and Crow.
Small fish
were visible below the water, sometimes leaping out of the sea playfully. Hunger
caused Eagle and Crow to swoop down, catching a meal for themselves from time to
time. Soon a game developed between the two birds to see which one would be the
winner in the fish-catching contest. Upon their return to the stump, however,
they always shared the reward.
Because of
Eagle's great size and wingspan, he soared to great heights and surveyed widely,
as the two birds often flew in opposite directions exploring for land. But no
land did they find. No other flying creatures did they see. But they always
returned to their home base on the tree stump. Between them, they wondered "How
can we possibly think of a way to make land?"
"We know we
cannot dive deep enough to find dirt, and the fish are of no help except to
provide food." Day after day these scenes were repeated, exploring in search of
land or wondering how to create land, only to return to their stump and catch
more fish.
One morning
soon thereafter and much to their surprise, a Duck was swimming around and
around their stump. Occasionally, it dived deep in the water, rose to the
surface chewing small fish, twisting its head from side to side trying to
swallow its meal. One time, Duck emerged with more mud than fish in its mouth.
Eagle and Crow bird-talked excitedly about this! "Can Duck possibly bring up
enough mud for us to build land?" they wondered. How could they let Duck know
that mud was what they needed most?
An idea
occurred to Eagle, which he bird-talked to Crow, "If we supply fish for Duck,
maybe he will bring up more mud than fish." By trial and error, the two birds
caught fish for Duck, placing them at the edge of the stump, until Duck learned
that the fish were for him in exchange for mud!
When Duck
appeared on the surface after a deep dive, Eagle and Crow brushed off the mud
from Duck's bill and his body with their wings. Progress was slow but steady.
Gradually, Eagle had a pile of mud on his side of the stump and Crow had a
similar pile on his side. Each placed fish on his own side for Duck, who now
responded by carrying more and more mud to Eagle and Crow. This became a great
game of fish-and-mud exchange.
Duck worked
very hard, consequently he was always hungry. The birds were surprised at how
large each one's mud pile grew every day. In bird talk they said, "Duck is
helping us to make a new world. This we will share equally."
Occasionally,
Eagle and Crow flew toward the horizon, exploring for any new signs of land. But
they returned with nothing new to report; however, they noticed a slight
lowering of water around the tree stump.
"Surely, the
flood must be coming to an end," Crow and Eagle bird-talked. Each day they
watched for a change in the waterline. Each day their piles of mud seemed higher
and higher. Faithful Duck kept up his good work as Eagle and Crow caught fish
for him and scraped off mud from him for each side of the new world.
Another time,
Eagle flew high and far in search of dry land, not returning until late. The sun
set and darkness enveloped his world on the stump. Next morning, to Eagle's
surprise, he saw how much more mud he had acquired, and he was pleased. But
after looking across at Crow's mud pile, Eagle was astounded to see that Crow
had given himself twice as much mud while Eagle was away. "Was this Crow's idea
of sharing the new world equally?" accused Eagle.
Of course,
they quarreled all that day and the next over Crow's unfairness. But the
following day, they went back to work making their new land. Eagle decided that
he must catch up. He caught two fish for Duck and put them in his usual place.
Duck responded by bringing up mud twice to Eagle in exchange for his two fish.
All three worked very hard for many, many moons.
Gradually,
Eagle's half of the new world became taller and taller than Crow's half, even
though Crow seemed to work just as hard as Eagle. Duck was faithful to his task,
never tiring in his effort to supply mud. Of course, Duck continued to give
Eagle twice as much mud for his two fish. Crow never seemed to notice why
Eagle's half became higher and higher than his half.
One morning,
as the sun rose brightly, the two birds looked down through the water and saw
what appeared to be land!
"So that is
where Duck finds the mud," they bird-talked. They were pleased to see that the
water was subsiding. How they hoped that soon they would be high and dry on
their new world.
But all was
not so easy, for that very night lightning flashed across the waters and thunder
rolled and rolled from one horizon to the other followed by a heavy, drenching
rain. Eagle and Crow sought shelter in holes they dug into the sides of their
mud piles. All night long the rain continued to fall, washing away much of the
new world into the sea.
As the rain
stopped and the sun rose, Eagle and Duck looked out upon the waters and saw an
arc of many colors reaching from one edge of the horizon across the sky to the
other horizon. This brilliant display held their eyes in wonderment. What did it
mean? They marveled at how long the colors lingered in the sky. Eagle flew
toward the scene for a closer look, returning when the arc disappeared.
In bird talk,
Eagle and Crow decided that the storm of the night before must have been a
clearing shower. They began their land-building project again, hoping that Duck
would resume his work as mud-carrier. Soon the sun's rays burned strong and hot,
packing the mud until it was hard. Duck appeared and the team of three continued
to build the two halves of the new world.
Day by day,
the waters subsided and new land began to show above the waterline but far, far
below the new creation by Eagle and Crow. Eagle's half became taller and taller
and hard packed by the hot sun. Crow's share of the new world was still great,
but never could become as large as Eagle's half of the new world.
In retelling
this creation story, Yokut tribal historians always claim that Eagle's half
became the mighty Sierra Nevada Mountains. They also tell how Crow's half became
known as the Coast Mountain Range. Yokut historians end their tale by saying
that people everywhere honor the brave and strong Eagle, while Crow is accorded
a lesser place because of his unfair disposition displayed during the creation
of the new world by Eagle and Crow.