Houngan
Encyclopedia
Houngan is the term for a male priest
in the voodoo religion in Haiti
(a female priest is known as a mambo
). The term is derived from the Fon
word "hùn gan". There are two ranks of houngan, houngan asogwe (high priest) and houngan sur pwen (junior priest). A houngan asogwe is the highest member of clergy in voodoo; he is the only one with authority to ordain other priests.
It is the houngan's role to preserve the rituals and songs and maintain the relationship between the spirits and the community as a whole (though some of this is the responsibility of the whole community as well). They are entrusted with leading the service of all of the spirits of their lineage. Sometimes they may also be bokor
(sorcerers).
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
in the voodoo religion in Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
(a female priest is known as a mambo
Mambo (voodoo)
Mambo is the term for a female High Priest in the Vodou religion in Haiti. They are the highest form of clergy in the religion, whose responsibility it is to preserve the rituals and songs and maintain the relationship between the spirits and the community as a whole...
). The term is derived from the Fon
Fon language
Fon is part of the Gbe language cluster and belongs to the Volta–Niger branch of the Niger–Congo languages. Fon is spoken mainly in Benin by approximately 1.7 million speakers, by the Fon people...
word "hùn gan". There are two ranks of houngan, houngan asogwe (high priest) and houngan sur pwen (junior priest). A houngan asogwe is the highest member of clergy in voodoo; he is the only one with authority to ordain other priests.
It is the houngan's role to preserve the rituals and songs and maintain the relationship between the spirits and the community as a whole (though some of this is the responsibility of the whole community as well). They are entrusted with leading the service of all of the spirits of their lineage. Sometimes they may also be bokor
Bokor
Bokors in the religion of vodou are sorcerers or houngan or mambo for hire who are said to 'serve the loa with both hands', meaning that they practice both dark magic and light magic...
(sorcerers).