Twenty-One Divisions
The 21 Divisions tradition is similar in many ways to Haitian Vodou, however there are also some important differences. I do not proclaim to be able to teach about it yet, I am still learning and must be humble, but I am pleased to provide some links and material here, so that you can explore this beautiful and often unheard-of spirituality for yourself (the page will grow with time).
From Drumming for Blackness: Dominican Vudú, Palo Music and the Creation of an African Identity, CUNY Africana Conference March 2006 By Angelina Tallaj (Angelinatallaj@aol.com) available in full here: http://web.gc.cuny.edu/iradac/conference/documents/Af-lat%20Tallaj.pdf
Vudú’s music was prohibited as early as 1775 because of its connection to religious activities not approved by the Catholic Church. During the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo (1930-61), with the help of the Catholic Church, vudú was heavily persecuted. According to some of my older informants, palo drums were burned and players were even killed because they “smelled too much like Haiti.” Nevertheless, vudú continued in a parallel existence with the Catholic Church. Because vudú has had to hide within the Catholic religion, voodoo in the Dominican Republic has been forced to become very eclectic and very flexible. Dominican vudú is less rigid in its liturgy, structure and organization than Haitian vudú. It possesses elements of European spiritism, Cuban santería and popular Venezuelan religion. It is not surprising, for example, to find a Buddha in a Dominican vudú altar. Furthermore, divination in Dominican vudú occurs not only by calling the deities but also through reading tarot cards, hand palms, shells and other such devices. Unlike Haitian vodoun, Dominicans have no fixed dogma, or defined temples and ceremonies. Dominican vudú does not have a particular place for the celebrations because it is still illegal to have a vudú church in the Dominican Republic.
The lack of dogma of Dominican vudú is reflected in the music used in vudú ceremonies. While in Haitian vudú and Cuban santería the spirit that comes down is one that is specifically called through the music, in Dominican vudú one spirit can come down even when another one is being called and pieces could be performed in any order…
From the Dominican Vodou Page on Sosyete Gade nou Leve:-
Some will say that Dominican Vodou is Haitian Vodou, just practiced in the Dominican Republic. This is not true. Although there are many similar Lwa in Dominican Vodou, there are many different Lwa. They are worked with in a different manner, and things are done differently…
How one performs spiritual works (“wangas” which means spells) and cleansings is taught by the Misterios (Mysteries) themselves. How one does many other things, the Mysteries teach. There are three main divisions, and each of these divisions has seven parts, thus the 21 divisions as three times seven, which is twenty one.
Dominican Vodou is practiced through a Tcha Tcha lineage (“maraca” – which means rattle – lineage). In Haiti, Vodou has come about and become more popular through another lineage known as the Asson. However, before the Asson, the Tcha Tcha lineage was the prominent lineage. Thus the Tcha Tcha lineage is one of the oldest lineages within the Vodou tradition.
The purpose of initiations in Dominican Vudú is different to that in Haitian Vodou (see above website). In addition, while the Met Tet of Haitian Vodou (‘Master of the Head’: this has been compared to a person’s ‘Holy Guardian Angel’) is kept secret, the Mama or Papa Lua (referred to as ‘owner of the head’) of the 21 Divisions initiate is not a secret at all, in fact most of the work they do will be under that Spirit’s guidance.
To Be Continued…
