Veve Mambo Ayizan

Year: 2026

Author: James Thegenus

Support: Acrylic on canvas

Dimensions: 41 cm x 41 cm

Description of the work:

Other names for Ayizan: Ayizan Belekou, Ayizan Keke, Ayizan Imamou, Ayizan Velekete, Manbo Ayizan. Attribute: patroness of hounfòs, houngans, and manbos. Main rites: Danwonmen, Kongo, Petro, Rada. Ayizan is a symbol of purity and eternity. She tolerates neither impurities nor harmful influences. Her sacred tree is the royal palm, to which she has conferred the power to cast out evil spirits. Because of the vulgarity of the Gedes, she does not accept them at her services. During ceremonies dedicated to her, hounfòs are decorated with palm fronds, and participants use them to cover their heads and clothes. Ayizan plays a primary role in initiation rites, mainly during the ceremony called Chire Ayizan. Chire Ayizan is the ritual shredding of palm fronds by the hounsis to represent the hair of the Lwa. Later, they will ceremoniously carry the shredded fronds inside the djevo and place them on top of Ayizan's Vève.