Petwo

Ama Mazama

There are more than 1,000 divinities, or Lwa , in Vodu, as practiced in Haiti. The Lwa are grouped in several pantheons, or nanchon. Petwo is one of those nanchon, along with 16 others. The most important nanchon include, in addition to the Petwo pantheon, the Rada, Nago, Kongo, Juba, and Ibo pantheons. Of these, the Petwo pantheon is arguably one of the two most important, in terms of both size and the role played by Petwo Lwa in Vodu. The other main pantheon is the Rada pantheon. In fact, the Rada and the Petwo pantheons have integrated other nanchon. Thus, the Nago and the Juba Lwa are often thought of today as Rada, whereas the Kongo and Ibo are commonly assumed to be part of the Petwo Lwa. Many scholars have not hesitated to suggest that Rada Lwa were “good,” whereas Petwo Lwa were “bad,” if not outright “evil.” ...

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