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Fair Trade Latin American Folk Art & Haitian Metal Wall Sculptures
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Voodoo - Vodou
What a Veve Is A veve is the signature of a lwa - a spirit served in Haitian Vodou. Before a ceremony, an oungan or manbo traces it on the earthen floor of the peristyle, near the potomitan at the center, using cornmeal and wood ash. It is not decoration. It is an invocation: a precise mark naming one spirit and inviting that spirit to descend, generally through the cross at its center. The drawing takes real expertise. Offerings of food and drink are placed on it, and it is consecrated with a libation poured three times and a white candle lit. Every lwa has its own veve, and the imagery tells you who is being called. The tradition traces back to Dahomey, in present-day Benin, where geometric figures were drawn on the ground in palm oil, and to ground-drawn ritual emblems in Central Africa.The Symbols and the Spirits Erzulie Freda - the heart, whole and unbroken. Lwa of love, beauty and luxury.Erzulie Dantor - the heart pierced by a sword. The fierce Petro lwa who protects women and children, often shown as a Black woman holding a child, with two scars on her face. Ogou - swords. The warrior lwa of iron and protection. Crossed swords for Ogou Feray, intertwined for Ogou Badagri. Baron Samedi - the cross and the skull. Lwa of the dead, head of the Gede, master of the cemetery. Damballa - the serpent. The sky father, the oldest and gentlestof the lwa, paired with Ayida Wedo as two intertwining snakes. Papa Legba - the cross of the crossroads and his walking cane. The gatekeeper, invoked first at every ceremony, without whose permission no other lwa can arrive.From Temple Floor to Steel Veve have never stayed on the ground. They are worked into banners, sequined drapo, paintings and cut metal. The pieces here are made in Croix des Bouquets, Haiti, where artists have been hammering recycled steel oil drums into art since the 1950s. Each design is cut by hand with hammer and chisel, so notwo pieces are identical. Every piece is fair trade. The artists are paid directly.