BRUJO INCAICO

Las Gitanas 
Sanse Vodou Spirits

Haitian Vodou in all its forms and branches such as Dominican 21 Division, Puerto Rican Sanse or New Orleans Voodoo are traditions that empowers women.  In our rites, women are viewed as equally strong, as important and at times stronger then their male counterparts; this feminine power manifests itself with the Lua and Spirits we venerate. 

In Sanse we respect and acknowledge all spirits of light, all the saints "Santos as we call them" wether they are Catholic, African, or Native American, every Misterio we respect them all, both masculine and feminine energies.  It is not unheard in our traditions that the energies of Yemalla del Norte, are as powerful and when inprolerly harnessed are as dangerous as those energies manifested through the Ogou Nation. Within our traditions you cant be a spiritual person and ignore these facts. 

Papa Legba the gatekeeper, the great messenger and Fa the Lord of Infinite Wisdom, himself knows this to be true, and for this reason many of our Loases have both masculine and feminine sides, energies, vueltas or counterparts, they represent the spectrum of night and day, of good and evil,, of fatherhood and motherhood, brotherhood and sisterhood, of that which is known and that which is unknown, that which is evident and obvious with that which is mysterious.  As far as the Lua venerated in Vodou and all its branches, sometimes what may appear to have its branches in one Continent, has its roots in another, and no other spirits within  the Sanse and Espiritismo traditions holds this true as does the Court of the Gypsies. 

The Gypsies have always been associated with divination, may it be palmistry, tarot cards, crystal ball gazing or tea leaf reading and are also known for their love and mastery in music such as the violin, Spanish guitar, and castanets as they are known for their unique form of Gypsy magic.  For this reason in Puerto Rican Sanse, Brazilian Umbanda and Venezuela Marialionzero Tres Potencias they are viewed similar as the ancient Muses, Satyresses and Satyr of Greek mythology. 

While many associate cartomancy with the Commissions of the Madamas, many followers of Sanse, Espiritismo Cruzado, Santerismo, Umbanda, and Mesa Blanca have also rightfully so included the Gitanos with cartomancy.  

We all have Spirits that make up our Spiritual frame, and each has an important role within our spiritual growth and development.  Often times traits of the Spirits are manifested on the individual who has a certain court or commission of Spirit within their cuadro, which is similar to the traits of ones Astrological sign or Zodiac.  It is more than likely that if you live a bohemian / nomadic existence, move around allot and enjoy some form of divination be it Tarot, dice or palmistry, and enjoy acoustic music such as Flamenco or soulful Canto Jondo, than you might have a Gypsy spirit that makes up your Cuadro Espiritual.  

Now unlike some traditions who just pray or work magic with spirits such as La Madama or Indian Spirits, in the traditions I have previously mentioned, we don't just pray to them, we interact with them, they mount our mediums and fiscally interact with us which makes our relationship to these spirits very personal, and unique.  More personal than that of just praying or working conjuration in front of a resin or ceramic lifeless statue, wondering if they are present or for that matter, even listening to our supplications.  In fact many traditions outside of the various branches of folkloric Espiritismo have the misconception that we give daily prayer to the Spirits of our Cuadro Espiritual, when in fact we really don't.  These Spirits are guides and although we have popular prayers for them, we do not kneel in front of them and pray as we would, lets say a Saint, an Angel, Orisha or Loa; we recite prayers as a form of veneration or when we wish to ask something of them.  Traditionally the prayers for the Guides in our Cuadro, such as for los Indios, Madamas, Gitanas, Morenas, or Congos are used in Sesiones in order to invoke that particular Spirit to manifest itself.  So in this sense they are not really prayers, but in all actuality invocations, and evocations which in time have been white washed into the popular prayers found today in books sold in Botanicas.  On a general basis we speak to our spirits as we would any living incarnate spirit  Usually the traditional prayers, (Invocations) followers a traditional song, which helps us and the Mediums in concentrating deeper and as a form of enticing that particular spirit we are invoking or singing to, to manifest or mount itself within an experienced Mediums body.  For us the Spirits of the Commissions as are los Muertos, Loa and Oricha are alive and present and do interact with us on a daily basis and during Misas,Sesiones and Fiesta Espirituales.  The Gitanos are also the same, they often come dancing, or smoking pipes, the younger female spirits are flirtatious and coquettish, the males are pranksters and tricksters, while the older are more serious and sareen. 

Know yes Vodou Priests and Priestesses known as Houngan and Mambos as are the Papa Boko and Mama Mambos of 21 Division and Sancistas are viewed by many as magicians, or sorcerers, and as the popular European sorcerer who works with his traditional magical tools of harnessing energy such as the wand, cup, bell and athame, which help him / her manifest his corrientes and the fluidos of the spirits.  The Houngan "Vodou Priest" Papa Boco and Sancista also has his / her sacred tools to aid him/her manifest their will, and it is through the proper usage of these sacred tools, songs, dances and chants that the energies of these Spirits are enticed to manifest. 

Within Sanse and Santerismo the Gitanos fall under the leadership of a certain Division or Loa, for example although the Madamas fall under la Sirena they can also work closely with other Misterios or Loases.  The Congo spirits often fall under the Ogun or Candelo Division, the Marinero and Piratas fall under Ague, and so forth, the same is true of the Gitanos.   Although this group of Spirits can work with any Loa such as las Metresas and in life many of the  Romany people venerated Santa Sara la Kali as their patron Saint " who has become a Loa in her own right", the Gitanos fall under the Legba Nation, they are not Legba Loa or Misterios themselves but Spirits who work under them, as Emisarios, Sance or Mensajeros.  Similar to the Legba Nacion, the Gitanos are travelers, bohemians, often outcasts, quick to learn a language, quick to adapt into any and all cultures although, they hide within the outskirts of the aceptables societies normal way of living, are always greatly misunderstood and often viewed as wanderers of the earth. 

The Gitano or Roma as they are also known are surrounded by so much mythology and folklore, as I have stated in earlier articles on these people and spirits.  Many mythical tales associate the Gypsies with being the black smiths "Ogou" who where tricked into making the nails used to crucified the Savior, while others clam that the Gypsies are the descendants of Cain and the Canaanite people.  Still others claim that prior to Eve, Adam had a wife named Lilith who was said to have given birth to the first Romany "Gypsy", while others claim that the mythical Wandering Jew was in fact the first Gypsy.  Still others claim the Gypsies as being the descendants of Judas Iscariot. Although much of this is in fact based on mythology, it is sad to note that most of the Gitano folklore is based on fear, prejudice and misunderstanding of this people. 

The Gitanos are similar to the Pomba Giras of Brazilian Umbanda and Quimbanda, although in Puerto Rico the Pomba Giras are "until recently" virtually unheard of; one thing the Gitanas and the Pomba Gira share in common is the way we invoke them and the way they manifest their fluids and energies within Sesiones and Fiesta Eapirituales.  The word Gira means to tour or in the Spanish and Portuguese language, means to tern around, or spin, while the word girar means rotate, revolve, or to go around in circles.   But to go deeper, the Pomba Gira and the Gitanas as viewed by Brazilian Umbanda and Puerto Rican Sanse are a Comision or Court of Spirits that seams to have its origin not only in the stereotypical Spanish Gypsies of Spain but also in two Congolese and Bantu deities, which are collectively known as Nikisi.  This particular Spirit was known as Pambu Nzila masculine or Bombozira feminine which is a Legba Spirit honored in Palo Monte, Palo Mayombe, Umbanda and Quimbanda and is known as an Elegba path known as Lucero Mundo in Cuba.  These spirits and their names did not survive the Spanish inquisition of Puerto Rico, but their Spanish Gypsi  disguise and counter part did, at least within Espiritismo, Sanse and Santerismo. 

The Gypsies in spirit as they where in life are true bohemians and travelers, they are as free discarnate as they were incarnate.  They can be stern and obnoxious, but often happy, and content.  One misconception that people who follow Sanse or Espiritismo have is that all the Gypsies are from Spain.  Again this is far from the truth, yes many in our Gitanos ancestors do come from Spain and enjoy the traditional Flamenco dance and stereotypical castanets, but others are from Portugal, Hungeria, Egypt, Morocco, Arabia, Russia, Germany, Romania, Yugoslavia and of course the ancient mother land of the Gypsies, India.  

This commission of Spirits is as large as all the others and like the blatino Slave Spirits that use the term Negro such as Negro Jose, Negra Francisca or Negro Manuel, the Gypsies come down always proudly saying they are Gitanos, and they ofren use the term for Gipsy from their country of origin such as Cigano, Sigany, Zingaro, Gitan, Zigenare, Gipsy or the Spanish Gitano.  In the Spanish language Gitano is masculine while Gitana is feminine, and some of the most popular Gitanos in Cuadros are, Renzo, Hugo, Dracos, Yani, Neftali, Pablo, Vlademir, Juan, Pedrovick, Arsenio, Aldovan and Vitor.  The Gitanas are usually Salomè, Sarafina, Waleska, Esmeralda, Tatiana, Yethenia,  Amaiya, Zaira, Lucerito, Jovanka, Rita, Sashenka, Milenka, Sunakana, Sulamita, Wlavira and Vinka.  In Sanse most of these Spirits come down using the name Maria, Juan and Jose, such as Maria Salomè, Jose Renzo or Juan Vladimir, or will use the name of the Loa they represent as a surname.