Words carry histories. Each entry gives the origin, the tradition it belongs to, its context — and the terms it is most often confused with.
Ashé
ah-SHAYIfá, Santería/Lukumí
The animating power that makes things happen; present in people, words, objects and nature.
- Origin
- Yoruba
- Context
- A central Yoruba concept carried into Cuban Lukumí practice.
- Often confused with
- Sometimes wrongly equated with 'magic' or with the Haitian notion of pwen.
Bondye
bon-DYEHHaitian Vodou
The supreme creator, remote from everyday affairs.
- Origin
- French 'bon dieu'
- Context
- Reflects the Catholic-Creole language layer of Haitian religion.
- Often confused with
- Not equivalent to a lwa; Bondye is not served directly.
Egun
eh-GOONSantería/Lukumí, Yoruba tradition
The ancestral dead, honoured before most ceremonies.
- Origin
- Yoruba
- Context
- Ancestor rites open ritual sequence in Lukumí houses.
- Often confused with
- Distinct from the Gede of Haitian Vodou.
Gris-gris
GREE-greeLouisiana Voodoo, Hoodoo
A charm or amulet, often a small prepared packet.
- Origin
- West African via French
- Context
- The term travelled from West Africa through French colonial usage.
- Often confused with
- Popularly, and inaccurately, treated as a synonym for 'curse'.
Lwa
lwahHaitian Vodou
Spirits served in Vodou, organised into nations such as Rada, Petwo and Gede.
- Origin
- Fon / Haitian Creole
- Context
- Intermediaries between Bondye and the living.
- Often confused with
- Not the same as Orisha, though some names and histories overlap.
Manbo
MAHN-bohHaitian Vodou
A female priest of Vodou; the male counterpart is a houngan.
- Origin
- Haitian Creole
- Context
- Initiated leadership with responsibility for a house.
- Often confused with
- Not a 'witch' or 'sorceress'.
Nganga
n-GAHN-gahPalo Mayombe, Kongo traditions
In Kongo languages, a ritual specialist; in Cuban Palo, also the consecrated vessel of the tradition.
- Origin
- Kikongo
- Context
- The meaning shifted between Central Africa and Cuba.
- Often confused with
- Not a Santería concept, though the two traditions are often conflated.
Odù Ifá
OH-doo EE-fahIfá
The 256 signs of Ifá divination, each carrying a body of verses, stories and guidance.
- Origin
- Yoruba
- Context
- Memorised over years by babaláwo.
- Often confused with
- Not a 'fortune-telling deck'; the Odù are a corpus of knowledge.
Orisha
oh-REE-shahIfá, Santería/Lukumí, Candomblé
Divinities of the Yoruba religious system, each with domains, stories and rites.
- Origin
- Yoruba
- Context
- Carried to Cuba and Brazil through the transatlantic trade.
- Often confused with
- Frequently and incorrectly used as a synonym for lwa.
Ounfò
oon-FOHHaitian Vodou
A Vodou temple and the community attached to it.
- Origin
- Haitian Creole
- Context
- Led by a houngan or manbo.
- Often confused with
- Not a church in the congregational Protestant sense.
Rootwork
ROOT-workHoodoo
Practical work with roots, herbs, minerals, prayer and intention.
- Origin
- African American English
- Context
- Developed in the American South within a Protestant Christian frame.
- Often confused with
- Not a religion, and not the same as Vodou or Voodoo.
Vèvè
veh-VEHHaitian Vodou
Ritual ground drawing, traced in cornmeal or ash, that calls a specific lwa.
- Origin
- Haitian Creole
- Context
- Each lwa has its own design, drawn at the start of ceremony.
- Often confused with
- Not a decorative logo or a 'sigil' in the Western occult sense.
