Veve Ogou Feray

Year: 2026

Author: James Thegenus

Support: Acrylic on canvas

Dimensions: 41 cm x 41 cm

Description of the work:

Other Ogou terms: (See Ogou Balendjo for a list of terms). Attributes: Lwa of metallurgy and fire; patron of blacksmiths; the Vulcan of Haitian Vodou. Main rites: Danwonmen, Petro, Rada. Ogou Feray, the blacksmith, Lwa of iron and fire, symbolizes the strength of metals and the power of fire. Due to the obsolescence of his trade, he has taken on new responsibilities and acquired a second personality, that of Ogou Badagri, Lwa of war, the Mars of Vodou. In his capacity as Feray, he remains the same calm peasant, always armed with his pipe, dressed in blue, with a red scarf around his neck, and a machete at his waist, and not in the military uniform, cap, and saber of Badagri. He is a cousin of Zaka, Lwa of agriculture. During the theomorphosis, he is not violent like his alter ego, but he likes to demonstrate his strength by walking through the peristyle lifting people.