{"id":6077,"date":"2026-05-19T11:54:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T11:54:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/simbi\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T09:24:58","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T09:24:58","slug":"simbi","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/simbi\/","title":{"rendered":"Simbi"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"6077\" class=\"elementor elementor-6077 elementor-3061 elementor-bc-flex-widget\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-31a26b0 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"31a26b0\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3922802 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"3922802\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-12c04c2 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"12c04c2\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dc1db37 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"dc1db37\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Simbi, Loa of Springs and Magic in Vodou<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b9b8d1f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b9b8d1f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The Simbi are water <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A bodiless being to which agency in the world is attributed.\" tabindex=\"0\">spirits<\/span> and serpent loa of Vodou who act at springs, rivers and swamps and guard the knowledge of <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Practices that seek to intervene in the course of events through special actions or formulas.\" tabindex=\"0\">magic<\/span>. Simbi (also Sim&#8217;bi, Simbi Dlo, Simbi Andezo) denotes, in Haitian Vodou, a family of serpent and water spirits connected with freshwater, rivers, lakes and springs.<\/p><p>It belongs to the Petwo family, the younger and more hot-blooded current of Vodou, and is clearly distinct from the Rada loa Damballa, even though he too has a serpent form. The Simbi are venerated as healers, magicians and guardians of the hidden water mysteries.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-55f9448 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"55f9448\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-371c637 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"371c637\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"iwg-pill-row\"><span class=\"iwg-klasse-badge\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"God \/ Goddess: Personified supreme power in the pantheon of a culture, with clear areas of responsibility: forces of nature, fate, war, fertility. Venerated through cults, sacrifices and temple institutions.\">God<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/vodou\/\" class=\"iwg-kultur-badge\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Haitian-West African Vodou tradition with lwa beings, which in the history of religion migrated from West Africa to the Caribbean.\">Vodou<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1174f35 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"1174f35\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ec0c8c0 elementor-toc--minimized-on-tablet elementor-widget elementor-widget-table-of-contents\" data-id=\"ec0c8c0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;exclude_headings_by_selector&quot;:[],&quot;no_headings_message&quot;:&quot;Es wurden keine \\u00dcberschriften auf dieser Seite gefunden.&quot;,&quot;headings_by_tags&quot;:[&quot;h2&quot;,&quot;h3&quot;],&quot;marker_view&quot;:&quot;bullets&quot;,&quot;icon&quot;:{&quot;value&quot;:&quot;fas fa-circle&quot;,&quot;library&quot;:&quot;fa-solid&quot;,&quot;rendered_tag&quot;:&quot;&lt;svg class=\\&quot;e-font-icon-svg e-fas-circle\\&quot; viewBox=\\&quot;0 0 512 512\\&quot; xmlns=\\&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.w3.org\\\/2000\\\/svg\\&quot;&gt;&lt;path d=\\&quot;M256 8C119 8 8 119 8 256s111 248 248 248 248-111 248-248S393 8 256 8z\\&quot;&gt;&lt;\\\/path&gt;&lt;\\\/svg&gt;&quot;},&quot;minimize_box&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;minimized_on&quot;:&quot;tablet&quot;,&quot;hierarchical_view&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;min_height&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;min_height_tablet&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;min_height_mobile&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]}}\" data-widget_type=\"table-of-contents.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-toc__header-title\">\n\t\t\t\tTable of Contents\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__toggle-button elementor-toc__toggle-button--expand\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"elementor-toc__ec0c8c0\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-label=\"Open table of contents\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-chevron-down\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M207.029 381.476L12.686 187.132c-9.373-9.373-9.373-24.569 0-33.941l22.667-22.667c9.357-9.357 24.522-9.375 33.901-.04L224 284.505l154.745-154.021c9.379-9.335 24.544-9.317 33.901.04l22.667 22.667c9.373 9.373 9.373 24.569 0 33.941L240.971 381.476c-9.373 9.372-24.569 9.372-33.942 0z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__toggle-button elementor-toc__toggle-button--collapse\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"elementor-toc__ec0c8c0\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-label=\"Close table of contents\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-chevron-up\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M240.971 130.524l194.343 194.343c9.373 9.373 9.373 24.569 0 33.941l-22.667 22.667c-9.357 9.357-24.522 9.375-33.901.04L224 227.495 69.255 381.516c-9.379 9.335-24.544 9.317-33.901-.04l-22.667-22.667c-9.373-9.373-9.373-24.569 0-33.941L207.03 130.525c9.372-9.373 24.568-9.373 33.941-.001z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-toc__ec0c8c0\" class=\"elementor-toc__body\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__spinner-container\">\n\t\t\t\t<svg class=\"elementor-toc__spinner eicon-animation-spin e-font-icon-svg e-eicon-loading\" aria-hidden=\"true\" viewBox=\"0 0 1000 1000\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M500 975V858C696 858 858 696 858 500S696 142 500 142 142 304 142 500H25C25 237 238 25 500 25S975 237 975 500 763 975 500 975Z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d7ff833 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"d7ff833\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a05ac13 iwg-hero-image elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"a05ac13\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/goetter_vodou_simbi-683x1024.webp\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-6078\" alt=\"Simbi - gods from the Vodou tradition, historical-illustrative\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/goetter_vodou_simbi-683x1024.webp 683w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/goetter_vodou_simbi-200x300.webp 200w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/goetter_vodou_simbi-768x1152.webp 768w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/goetter_vodou_simbi.webp 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-aa43659 e-con-boxed e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"aa43659\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5965313 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"5965313\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-db05f2f elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"db05f2f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Roots in the Kongo Cult<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-66f820c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"66f820c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Unlike most Haitian loa, the roots of the Simbi lie not in the Yoruba or Fon sphere, but in the Bakongo belief of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola.<\/p><p>In the Bakongo <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The passing on of knowledge and narratives across generations.\" tabindex=\"0\">tradition<\/span> the \u00abBisimbi\u00bb (singular: simbi) denote a class of water spirits who live in rivers, lakes and underground watercourses. They are regarded as guardians of special powers and are <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The petitioning or invoking address to a deity or power.\" tabindex=\"0\">invoked<\/span> by \u00abnganga\u00bb, traditional healers and priests, in healing rituals.<\/p><p>Robert Farris Thompson, in \u00abFlash of the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"An incorporeal being to which effects in the world are attributed.\" tabindex=\"0\">Spirit<\/span>\u00bb (1983), systematically examined the Bakongo origin of Simbi veneration and showed that, with the deportation of enslaved people from the Congo basin in the 17th and 18th centuries, this tradition too reached the Caribbean.<\/p><p>In Haiti it blended with other African and with Creole traditions, but kept its characteristic connection to freshwater and to the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Practices that seek to intervene in the course of events through special actions or formulas.\" tabindex=\"0\">magical<\/span> healing arts.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-720b8d6 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"720b8d6\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-70b0d0e elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"70b0d0e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Function and Manifestations<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4de5615 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4de5615\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The Simbi are venerated in several manifestations. Simbi Dlo (\u00abSimbi of the water\u00bb) is the main manifestation and is invoked at rivers and springs. Simbi Andezo (\u00abSimbi of the two waters\u00bb) marks the place where freshwater and saltwater flow together and is regarded as a mediator between different worlds.<\/p><p>Simbi Makaya is the magical-medicinal form invoked by \u00abbokors\u00bb (magical specialists) to practice their art. Simbi Yandezo is a female form connected with the healing of women and with attendance at childbirth.<\/p><p>Alfred M\u00e9traux, in \u00abLe vaudou ha\u00eftien\u00bb, documented the diversity of Simbi manifestations and pointed to their often differentiated <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The petitioning or summoning address of a deity or power.\" tabindex=\"0\">invocation<\/span> in different <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"An ordered sequence of symbolic actions with religious or cultural meaning.\" tabindex=\"0\">ritual<\/span> contexts.<\/p><p>Maya Deren, in \u00abDivine Horsemen\u00bb, described the Simbi as a \u00abgrowth of the water\u00bb, whose appearance is often accompanied by the sound of flowing water, by water symbolism and by cool, smooth movements when they ride a horse-believer.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-30613b7 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"30613b7\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a40605d elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"a40605d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Symbolism and Attributes<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8b6d244 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"8b6d244\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The central symbols of the Simbi are the serpent, water, the crescent moon and the colors green and blue, in some traditions also black.<\/p><p>Unlike Damballa, whose serpent form appears calm and fatherly, the Simbi serpent is agile, dangerous and charged with magical power. In the \u00abv\u00e8v\u00e8\u00bb, the ritual ground drawings, Simbi serpents often appear in water, in spirals or in connection with crescent and stars.<\/p><p>The preferred offerings are fresh freshwater, milk, white rice, fish and small water creatures. In some rites the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A gift to a deity, to express thanks, a request or veneration.\" tabindex=\"0\">offerings<\/span> are placed into the river or into a spring.<\/p><p>The <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The petitioning or summoning address of a deity or power.\" tabindex=\"0\">invocation<\/span> often takes place at specific water sites where the Simbi are said by local tradition to dwell. This geographical placement distinguishes the Simbi from many other loa, who can be venerated independently of any particular place.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-220c47e e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"220c47e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-74c1021 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"74c1021\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Simbi as Spirits of Magic and Healing<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-34cbca1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"34cbca1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The Simbi have a special relationship with the magical healing arts. Bokors and magical specialists seek their help when they need difficult healings or special powers.<\/p><p>In Haitian folk medicine there are numerous healing recipes prepared with the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The petitioning or summoning address of a deity or power.\" tabindex=\"0\">invocation<\/span> of the Simbi at rivers. This \u00abmedsin fey\u00bb (leaf medicine) and other traditional healing forms are widespread among the Haitian rural population and are passed down from generation to generation.<\/p><p>Karen McCarthy Brown, in \u00abMama Lola\u00bb, documented the healing function of the Simbi in urban diaspora practice. The priestess she describes uses Simbi rites for chronic illnesses, for healing blockages and for cleansing negative energy. This healing function is strongly widespread in Haitian Vodou practice and is among the most frequently sought services.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a69ccad e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"a69ccad\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-19e7c5a elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"19e7c5a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Connection to Children and the Protection of Children<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-37e60b7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"37e60b7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>A special function of the Simbi consists in accompanying children. In some Haitian families, children regarded as spiritually especially sensitive are placed under the protection of a Simbi spirit.<\/p><p>These \u00abSimbi children\u00bb often wear <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"An object to which a fortune- or success-bringing effect is attributed.\" tabindex=\"0\">talismans<\/span> or small ornaments that mark their connection to the protective spirit. In times of illness or threat they are washed at rivers or springs, in the expectation that the Simbi will bring them healing.<\/p><p>This connection between Simbi and childhood is also attested in the Kongo and is regarded as one of the most direct continuities between the African and the Caribbean form. The belief that certain spirits especially protect children is widespread in many religious traditions, but in Vodou it has a specific form connected with water symbolism.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-89998ea e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"89998ea\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e581c51 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"e581c51\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Syncretic Identification<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8633ff9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"8633ff9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In the Catholic-Vodou syncretic system the various Simbi manifestations are identified with different Catholic saints. Simbi Dlo is often connected with the \u00abThree Wise Men\u00bb, because in Catholic <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The study of pictorial content and its meaning.\" tabindex=\"0\">iconography<\/span> they are frequently associated with water and travel.<\/p><p>Simbi Andezo is identified with Saint Andrew, who is venerated as a fisherman and patron of seafarers. Simbi Makaya is connected with Saint Mark.<\/p><p>These identifications vary regionally and follow local iconographic conventions. Leslie Desmangles has shown in his studies that the Simbi identifications are less firmly established than those of the main figures Damballa or Ogou, which may be because the Simbi are less central in the general Vodou hierarchy and have therefore undergone less iconographic stabilization.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-14f9884 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"14f9884\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4ac781d elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"4ac781d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Simbi and the Petwo Family<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-27b8c8e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"27b8c8e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The Simbi belong to the Petwo family of Vodou, which is regarded as a younger, Creole-shaped current. Unlike the Rada family, which has its roots directly in Fon and Yoruba traditions, the Petwo family arose in the Caribbean, possibly in the context of the experience of slavery and of the revolution.<\/p><p>The Petwo loa are regarded as more hot-blooded, aggressive and magically powerful than the Rada loa, which is also reflected in the music and in the rites.<\/p><p>Joan Dayan, in \u00abHaiti, History, and the Gods\u00bb, described the Petwo family as a specific answer of the enslaved population to the experience of slavery. The aggressiveness of the Petwo loa corresponds to the necessity of resisting a violent system.<\/p><p>The Simbi have a mediating role in this family: they are not as warlike as other Petwo loa, but clearly more powerful and more magical than the Rada family.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7ad7dc0 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"7ad7dc0\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dcd7e8c elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"dcd7e8c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Research and the Present Day<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-104d1aa elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"104d1aa\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Research on the Simbi is part of the broader study of Vodou and draws on the works of Maya Deren, Alfred M\u00e9traux, Karen McCarthy Brown, Leslie Desmangles, Joan Dayan and Robert Farris Thompson.<\/p><p>Specific studies on the Bakongo origin and on the continuity of the water-spirit tradition have been presented in the works of Wyatt MacGaffey and John Janzen.<\/p><p>They have shown that the Bakongo tradition of the Bisimbi has been preserved not only in Haiti, but also in other African American religions (in Cuba in the Reglas de Congo, in Brazil in some Candombl\u00e9 lineages).<\/p><p>In the Haitian diaspora, Simbi veneration is continued in urban contexts under changed conditions. In Brooklyn and Miami, Vodou practitioners often use aquariums, fountains or public drinking fountains to invoke the Simbi spirits.<\/p><p>These adaptations show the flexibility of the tradition, which preserves its <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The academic study of God and the doctrines of a religion.\" tabindex=\"0\">theological<\/span> substance even under changed geographical conditions. The Simbi thus remain a living tradition that unites African roots, Caribbean history and a transnational present.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-18c59c8 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"18c59c8\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0374738 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"0374738\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Bisimbi in the Bakongo Context<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0418b59 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0418b59\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The Bakongo tradition knows several classes of \u00abbakulu\u00bb (ancestors) and spirits, among which the Bisimbi form a category of their own.<\/p><p>Wyatt MacGaffey, in \u00ab<span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The academic discipline that studies religions comparatively and without confessional commitment.\" tabindex=\"0\">Religion<\/span> and Society in Central Africa: The BaKongo of Lower Zaire\u00bb (Chicago 1986) and in \u00abKongo Political Culture\u00bb (Bloomington 2000), showed that the Bisimbi are regarded as dwellers of the water and as first inhabitants of the land before the arrival of human ancestors.<\/p><p>They are not deceased ancestors, but spirit beings of an order of their own, connected with special places: springs, water holes, rapids and \u00abmakulu\u00bb sites, that is, certain rocks in the water. John Janzen, in \u00abLemba, 1650-1930: A Drum of Affliction in Africa and the New World\u00bb (New York 1982), documented the transatlantic <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The passing on of knowledge and narratives across generations.\" tabindex=\"0\">transmission<\/span>.<\/p><p>In the Kingdom of Kongo, above all in the Mbanza Kongo region and in the ports of Mpinda, Soyo and Loango, the Bisimbi were invoked in the rites of the Lemba brotherhood, a healing movement that between the 17th and the 19th centuries was widespread across the entire southern Kongo.<\/p><p>The Lemba brotherhood died out in Africa in the early 20th century, but its water-spirit traditions survived in the Caribbean.<\/p><p>Janzen interpreted the Haitian Simbi rites as a direct descendant of this Lemba tradition, a thesis that has been widely taken up in Vodou research and that confirms the Petwo family as a Kongolese substrate of Haitian Vodou.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4730496 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"4730496\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e34424f elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"e34424f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Simbi Makaya and the Sanpw\u00e8l Brotherhoods<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e2adb97 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e2adb97\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The Simbi Makaya manifestation has a special place in the \u00absanpw\u00e8l\u00bb brotherhoods (also \u00absanpo\u00e8l\u00bb, \u00absans poil\u00bb, roughly translated \u00abthe hairless\u00bb), the secret associations of the Haitian rural population that exercise rural functions of protection, justice and healing.<\/p><p>Wade Davis, in \u00abPassage of Darkness: The Ethnobiology of the Haitian Zombie\u00bb (Chapel Hill 1988), the ethnographically grounded follow-up to \u00abThe Serpent and the Rainbow\u00bb (1985), described the sanpw\u00e8l brotherhoods.<\/p><p>They are not \u00abblack <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Practices that seek to intervene in the course of events through special actions or formulas.\" tabindex=\"0\">magic<\/span>\u00bb circles of the Hollywood clich\u00e9s, but local self-help organizations that, in a context of weak statehood, offer traditional dispute resolution and healing work.<\/p><p>Simbi Makaya is invoked in the sanpw\u00e8l initiations and is regarded as the patron of those \u00abbokors\u00bb who act in the dual role of healer and of agent of popular legal justice. This dual role is theologically anchored in the Vodou tradition: healing and punishing are different sides of the same magical competence.<\/p><p>Karen Richman, in \u00abMigration and Vodou\u00bb (Gainesville 2005), documented the social function of the sanpw\u00e8l in the rural communities of Haiti and in transnational migration practice. She shows that Simbi Makaya veneration also lives on in the migrant communities in Florida and in the Dominican Republic, though in strongly transformed forms.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2d5e016 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"2d5e016\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-92fedf7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"92fedf7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Water Sites and Sacred Geography<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fc488c5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"fc488c5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The veneration of the Simbi is spatially bound to specific water sites.<\/p><p>The most important place of <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A religiously motivated journey to a sacred site.\" tabindex=\"0\">pilgrimage<\/span> is \u00abSodo\u00bb (Saut-d&#8217;Eau) in the Mirebalais department, a waterfall where every year in mid-July the feast of the Virgin of Mount Carmel (\u00abVierge du Mont-Carmel\u00bb) takes place, with simultaneous <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The petitioning or summoning address of a deity or power.\" tabindex=\"0\">invocation<\/span> of the loa Erzulie Freda and of the Simbi water spirits.<\/p><p>Thousands of <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A person who undertakes a religiously motivated journey to a holy place.\" tabindex=\"0\">pilgrims<\/span> travel from all over Haiti and from the diaspora, bathe in the waterfall and perform healing rites. Karen Richman and Elizabeth McAlister have described the Saut-d&#8217;Eau feast in detail. It illustrates the fusion of Catholic Marian <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A brief, personal or communal religious contemplation.\" tabindex=\"0\">devotion<\/span> with the Vodou water-spirit tradition into an independent religious practice.<\/p><p>Besides Saut-d&#8217;Eau there are local Simbi sites at countless springs, stream crossings and water holes on the Haitian peninsula. These \u00abpwen\u00bb (\u00abpoints\u00bb) are identified by local houngans and mambos and integrated into the hounfor practice.<\/p><p>Donald Cosentino, in \u00ab<span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Belonging to the divine and thereby withdrawn from everyday use.\" tabindex=\"0\">Sacred<\/span> Arts of Haitian Vodou\u00bb (Los Angeles 1995), presented an overview of the most important local water sites and their iconographic conventions. The sacred geography of Simbi veneration thus represents a map of Haitian water geography from a religious perspective, one that coincides only partly with the civil geography of the country.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-36fd476 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"36fd476\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-de547de elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"de547de\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Sources and Literature<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4dce646 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4dce646\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div data-nosnippet=\"true\"><p>Secondary literature: Alfred M\u00e9traux, \u00abLe vaudou ha\u00eftien\u00bb (Paris 1958); Maya Deren, \u00abDivine Horsemen\u00bb (New York 1953); Karen McCarthy Brown, \u00abMama Lola\u00bb (Berkeley 1991); Leslie G. Desmangles, \u00abThe Faces of the Gods\u00bb (Chapel Hill 1992); Joan Dayan, \u00abHaiti, History, and the Gods\u00bb (Berkeley 1995); Donald Cosentino (ed.), \u00abSacred Arts of Haitian Vodou\u00bb (Los Angeles 1995); Karen Richman, \u00abMigration and Vodou\u00bb (Gainesville 2005); Elizabeth McAlister, \u00abRara!\u00bb (Berkeley 2002); Patrick Bellegarde-Smith and Claudine Michel (eds.), \u00abHaitian Vodou: Spirit, <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A transmitted narrative about gods, origins and the order of the world.\" tabindex=\"0\">Myth<\/span>, and Reality\u00bb (Bloomington 2006). On the Bakongo background: Robert Farris Thompson, \u00abFlash of the Spirit\u00bb (New York 1983); Wyatt MacGaffey, \u00abReligion and Society in Central Africa\u00bb (Chicago 1986) and \u00abKongo Political Culture\u00bb (Bloomington 2000); John M. Janzen, \u00abLemba, 1650-1930: A Drum of Affliction in Africa and the New World\u00bb (New York 1982); Anne Hilton, \u00abThe Kingdom of Kongo\u00bb (Oxford 1985). On sanpw\u00e8l and popular justice: Wade Davis, \u00abPassage of Darkness: The Ethnobiology of the Haitian Zombie\u00bb (Chapel Hill 1988); La\u00ebnnec Hurbon, \u00abLe barbare imaginaire\u00bb (Paris 1988).<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Simbi, Loa of Springs and Magic in Vodou The Simbi are water spirits and serpent loa of Vodou who act at springs, rivers and swamps and guard the knowledge of magic. Simbi (also Sim&#8217;bi, Simbi Dlo, Simbi Andezo) denotes, in Haitian Vodou, a family of serpent and water spirits connected with freshwater, rivers, lakes and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6078,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"Simbi","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Simbi: Serpent Loa of Vodou | iWell Guard","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Simbi are the water spirits and serpent loa of Vodou. Guardians of freshwater springs, healing and magic, with Kongolese roots and a Haitian cult.","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_angie_page":false,"gefaehrdungsstufe":"","wesen_kultur":"","wesen_klasse":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[86,27,64,115],"class_list":["post-6077","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gods","category-goetter","category-vodou"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v27.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Simbi: Serpent Loa of Vodou | iWell Guard<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Simbi are the water spirits and serpent loa of Vodou. 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