Jan 23, 2020 but my favorite is t he legend of aido hwedo, a giant rainbow serpent referenced in folklore coming out of benin and haiti. The draig sidhe path is an evolving mystery tradition practicing a unique form of dragon magick. Mawu, the female, is the moon and lisa, the male, is the in the beginning, before mawu had any children, the rainbow serpent, aido hwedo, already existed, and this great serpent assisted in the creation. A very nice, suitable style and palette of color is used, as well. Aidohwedo cannot stand heat so the creator made the ocean for the dragon to live in like the midgard serpent in teutonic legend. Not sure what initially compelled me to buy the serpent and the rainbow i get book cravings the way pregnant women get food cravings. Rainbow serpent dragon history the circle of the dragon. The rainbow serpent kindle edition by shanti, lyra. I see this book won an award in the 1970s and assume it was printed then. As a result, many haitian voodoo practitioners invoke damballah rather than buluku, mahu or lusa when seeking assistance from their supreme creator. Fonbenin aidohwedo dramatizes a creative force that is primal, existing before mawulisa, the power that enabled that creator god to shape the universe. Yurlungur is a ferocious giant snake that is part of the. An illustrated retelling of the aboriginal myth of the rainbow serpent.
Haiti if youve seen a rainbow, then youve seen ayidawedo, rainbow serpent, water snake spirit, and ancient root lwa. Whenever aido hwedo shifts or readjusts his position, he causes an earthquake or tidal wave. A gathering of the punks planetary union naming known sentients settled on aidohwedo as an official, nondiscriminatory name, but the name rainbow serpent. Recounts the dreamtime story of creation featuring goorialla, t. Variants of ayidaweddos name include aidaweddo, ayidawedo, aido quedo, and aido hwedo. Art by alectorfenceran expansion of the oshunmareaido hwedo focusing more on the. Apr 03, 2012 this video shows you the aboriginal belief of the rainbow serpent and how australias mountainous landscape was created as believed by the aboriginals. Shadow council damballah wedo damballah wedo is the serpent. Dragonhenge is an online community for those interested in learning more about dragon magick or connecting with others who follow the path of the draconic pagan. Discuss and record the features of this type of narrative. All of these legends of the dragon found in worldwide creation mythology substantiate the strength and foundation of our very way of being, now and in the future. Mar 11, 2017 the first rain began to fall, and aido hwedo, in the guise of the first rainbow, appeared. He was sometimes called the great python, for he served mawulisa during the creation of the world. The rainbow serpent is a beautiful pythonlike creature with a shinning, multicolored body.
Other animals disobeyed the rules and were turned into the stone that. Read the story again and identify the parts of the story. The serpent and the rainbow bill pullman cathy tyson zakes mokae 1988 an anthropologist is plunged into the world of voodoo while in haiti looking for a powder that turns men into zombies. Aug 20, 2016 art by alectorfencer an expansion of the oshunmare aido hwedo focusing more on stay safe and healthy. I was born in 1940 and had a book on the rainbow serpent when a child and it was not a new book. She is married to husbandcompanion damballahwedo, the. The serpent and the rainbow, by wade davis the little book. Mar 31, 2014 the serpent and the rainbow, by wade davis simon and schuster, 1985 297 pages. Browse the amazon editors picks for the best books of 2019, featuring our favorite reads in more than a dozen categories. Months passed and aido hwedo changed its position to rest and all the earth shook with earthquakes. They say that aido hwedo came with the first man and the first woman of the world. The dung from this serpent or dragon created the mountains, and nourished the earth so that plants could grow. Her message is one of healing and strength for the whole of the world.
Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. Monkeys bring up iron from the sea and beneath the sea for aido hwedo to eat. Aido hwedo dragons of fame the circle of the dragon. Leah gordon 1985, page 62 the book of vodou, barrons educational. Rainbow serpent by glaiceana on deviantart rainbow serpent. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The rainbow serpent which has coils around the egg, and then. She is very rarely invoked without her beloved damballah, her soul mate and other half. Rainbow, tailhand, slitherer, snake, worm naming history the language of aidohwedos is impossible to translate properly. Childrens book the rainbow serpent read aloud youtube. Damballah danayidohwedo powers, enemies, history marvel.
That power is manifest in human beings in the form of white liquids. The fon hold the belief that eclipses are moments when the love. The rainbow serpent is the symbol of integration in many parts of the world, including africa, australia and america, and represents that which links heaven and earth, and encircles the world to. In the beginning, the rainbow serpent, aido hwedo, already existedcreated to serve nanabuluku, the one god. There are winding curves and both high and low places. The rainbow serpent is the symbol of integration in many parts of the world, including africa, australia and america, and represents that which links heaven and earth, and encircles the world to unite her disparate elements. This god gave birth to twins, mawu and lisa and it is they who shaped the world, and control it still. Art by alectorfencer an expansion of the oshunmareaido hwedo. A very interesting story and an easy introduction to some aboriginal mythology, especially for younger readers.
In dahomey mythology, nana buluku or mawu, the one god created aido hwedo, the rainbow serpent, to serve him. That power is manifest in human beings in the form of. The serpent and the rainbow taught humankind the link between blood and life, between menstruation and birth. He studied ethnobotanical poisons, discovering their use in a reported case of a contemporary zombie, clairvius narcisse.
Ayida wedo, the rainbow serpent lwa of haitis vodu tradition comes from fon dahomey in present day benin, and in fon was the goddess aido hwedo who. He is mythically viewed as a serpent that carried mawulisa in its mouth as the creator passed through the universe. Inhabiting the undersea with the rainbow dragon is a troop of red monkeys who forge the iron bars that are. Amphiptere, a famous dragon from north african mythology. For me, the line that sums up this stunning poem by audre lorde offered in celebration on this historic day as barack obama, a black man, is elected president of the united states is. Jul 28, 2010 both aido hwedo and the rainbow serpent remind us our past, present and future are interconnected and interdependent.
In vodou, especially in benin and haiti, ayidaweddo is a loa of fertility, rainbows, wind, water, fire, and snakes. Sage reference aida wedo sage knowledge sage publications. Aboriginal artist jimmy njiminuma with his bark painting of rainbow serpent arnhem land. Some report this creature as having a kangaroolike. He is mythically viewed as a serpent that carried mawulisa in its mouth as the creator passed through the. Cosmic serpent, aurora eel, aido hwedo, rain wyrm is a massive flying aether elemental renowned for its multicolored skin and gentle nature. Claiming all that is within me and loving myself fiercely. Mawulisa created humans on the first day, and thereafter made everything else with the help of aido hwedo, who carried the deity in his mouth.
I also found that this tale of the rainbow serpent can be found not only in africa, but in australian and in central and southern america too. Inhabiting the undersea with the rainbow dragon is a troop of red monkeys. Aido hwedo, the serpent, is a vodun, but is not of the family of the gods. Ayidaweddo is a loa of fertility, rainbows, wind, water, fire, and snakes in vodou, especially in benin and haiti. In many of the dreamtime legends, native australian fauna is used to portray a message about how things came to be the way they are. He remains the servant of mawulisa, this creative force continuing today, sustaining the shape given to the universe by the creators. Another childrenfriendly tale is told in dick roughseys childrens book, which tells how the rainbow serpent creates the landscape of australia by thrashing about and, by tricking and swallowing two boys, ends up creating the population of australia by various animal, insect, and plant species. A harvard scientists astonishing journey into the secret societies of haitian voodoo, zombies, and magic is a 1985 book by anthropologist and researcher wade davis. The serpent carried the god as he created the earth. The dahomey of west africa bel the world was created by nanabuluku, their interpretation of god. Mawu ordered aido hwedo to coil beneath the world to support it. It was said that the dragons droppings made mountains and.
Damballah is envisioned as a great snake arching across the sky. Aido hwedo, the rainbow serpent deity in kpasse sacred forest. Aido hwedo cannot stand heat so the creator made the ocean for the dragon to live in like the midgard serpent in teutonic legend. The rainbow serpent kindle edition by shanti, lyra, varon, jennifer juniper. The rainbow serpent kindle edition by shanti, lyra, varon. A red monkeys that live under the sea, make iron bars to feed the cosmic serpent as the iron is depleted and aido hwedo not have to eat, eat its own tail. I loved the illustrations and story by dick roughsey, indigenous artist and writer. The movie was bad, the book is good, but its not a horror story. They say he is not the son of the great mawu, because aido hwedo existed before any of the children of mawu. The rainbow serpent has also appeared as a character in literature. Rainbow serpent seraphia the engem series wiki fandom. Loa of snakes, rainbows, fertility, fire, wind and water. Aido hwedo was a giant python or an enormous pythonlike serpent with vast coils. If youve seen a rainbow, then youve seen ayidawedo, rainbow serpent, water snake spirit, and ancient root lwa.
Both aido hwedo and the rainbow serpent remind us our past, present and future are interconnected and interdependent. Inhabiting the undersea with the rainbow dragon is a troop of red monkeys who forge the iron bars that are aido hwedo s food. The fon creation myth is the traditional creation story of the fon peoples of west africa. I reread this for ya lit, as this was one of my fav picture books as a child. Aido hwedo is need to support the great weight of the earth, or it will collapse. Inhabiting the undersea with the rainbow dragon is a troop of red monkeys who forge the iron bars that are aidohwedos food. However, the color of the creature tends to vary some say that this creature is celestial blue, others say that it is multicolored, and others say it had yellow and red stripes down its body. Aido hwedo could not stand heat so the creator made the ocean for the dragon to live in. A west african rainbow serpent before the earth was formed the genderless creator god, named nanabuluku by the fon people of dahomey, created a companion dragon called aido hwedo who was both male and female.
Aido hwedo was a west african demigod whose primary function was holding up the world but was also associated with moisture and fertility. The rainbow serpent australian childrens classics by dick. The first rain began to fall, and aido hwedo, in the guise of the first rainbow, appeared. He was so enormous that he had to eat vast quantities of iron to sustain his strength. Im glad i didnt read this then, because the book is nothing like the movie of the same name, from which it was adapted by wes craven in 1988. Many of the creation accounts tell of mawu creating everything as she was carried from place to place on the back or in the mouth of aido hwedo, the rainbow serpent. Big enough to surround the entire world, keeping everything snugly in place and then coil underneath it. The writhings of the dragon created rivers and valleys.
When the supply of iron runs out, then aido hwedo will begin to eat his own tail as olledumare decreed, and the world will collapse. His wife, ayida wede, also often manifest as a large snake, and is often referred to as the rainbow serpent. Benin, west africa, ouidah, aido hwedo, the rainbow. In it mawu and lisa create the world with the aid of the great rainbow serpent, aidohwedo. Ayidaweddo is a member of the rada family and a root, or old french racine loa. Rainbow serpent wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. Aido hwedo holds his own tail in his mouth to hold fast to the earth, and rests in the cool of the seas which mawu made for him to protect him from the heat.
See the aido hwedo for an elaboration of the serpent concept in this. Jun 18, 2019 dragon serpent before the earth was formed the genderless creator god, named. Aido hwedo the rainbow serpent of dahoney mythology. Bird coloring pages, adult coloring pages, coloring books, coloring sheets, coloring. Indigenous dreaming story about goorialla, the rainbow serpent and how it created the rivers and gorges in the northern territory of. As the first rains fell, a rainbow encompassed the sky and danbala took her, ayida wedo, as his wife.
Audre lordes years in berlin in which she catalyzed the first movement of black germans to claim their identity. The rainbow serpent is a vaguely biblically inspired fantasy tale. It was a dragon able to move with ease between heaven and earth who carried the creator in its mouth. Nanabuluku created himself a companion named aido hwedo. It is hard to explain the story without spoiling it entirely. Damballah usually manifests as a large snake who speaks in barelyintelligible hissing. He investigated haitian vodou and the process of making zombies.
Sometimes a topic just overtakes me and i need to have it. Art by alectorfencer an expansion of the oshunmareaido. The lardil peoples dreaming story of the rainbow serpent was retold in dick roughseys awardwinning australian childrens book the rainbow serpent. The creator was carried everywhere in aido hwedo s mouth. Rainbow serpent who must not go unspoken i have ottered up the safety of separations sung the spirals of power and what fills the spaces before power unfolds or flounders in desirable nonessentials i am a black woman stripped down and praying my whole life has been an altar worth its ending and i say aido hwedo is coming. He said all animals that obey the rules will be rewarded by becoming humans. Dec 05, 2008 childrens book the rainbow serpent read aloud duration. I had such a sense of wonder about the magic of how the rainbow serpent created the australian landscape and colourful native animals.
They are admired and sometimes feared by creatures all across the known world. The rainbow serpent made rules that all animals had to obey. Aidawedo is the lwa spirit or goddess of water, snakes and the rainbow, represented by the rainbow python, a snake whose scales are iridescent. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the rainbow serpent. The serpent and the rainbow by wade davis goodreads. Aido hwedo was the rainbow serpent and the great cosmic serpent in dahomey and fon mythology. He carried the mawulisa in his mouth while she created the world. The intensive all pervasive power of that love infiltrated the entire universe. Aido hwedo was so large it could hold up the entire world, but once the multitude of creation was completed, nanabuluku asked aido hwedo to coil up beneath the land to cushion it. The spiritual nectar that they created reproduces through all men and women as milk and semen. It is a complete narrative that references classic biblical events but it is not at all a fantasy spun reselling.
In the beginning, the world was created by nanabuluku, the one god, who was genderless. Aida wedos symbols are rainbows and rainbow serpents. Nanabuluku made itself a companion named aido hwedo, who was a rainbow serpent. Oshunmare, oxumare, oshunmaire, aida hwedo origins yorubadahomey celesitial friendly reptiliandragon oshunmare is a giant rainbow serpent that is of both sexes and represents procreation and is. The rainbow serpent is a dreamtime story told many years ago. Oshunmare, oxumare, oshunmaire, aida hwedo origins yorubadahomey celesitial friendly reptiliandragon oshunmare is a giant rainbow serpent that is of. There are even some version of the rainbow serpent where hes not in the heavens. The earth was created first, its curves, slopes and rises shaped by the winding, snaking motions of aido hwedo. When i bought the serpent and the rainbow by wade davis i was on a horror kick, a quest to find a genuinely scary book. The animals that disobey the rules will be punished some animals followed the rules and were rewarded by being turned into humans. It was hard backed from memory and in old measurements, it was about 15 inches or more high and about 7 or 8 or more inches wide. In dahomey, damballah specifically manifests as a serpent spirit named dambada, who represents the spirits of the old, old ancestors who are not known, while ayida wedo is known as aido hwedo, a male rainbow serpent, whose name means you were created before the earth and before the sky. This creature also created the mountains and was also an ouroboros.
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