Dahomey Mythology - Offspring-deities of Mawu and Lisa

Offspring-deities of Mawu and Lisa

The other gods were formed from the divine feces of Lisa-Mawu (or both separately).

  • Gbadu is a daughter of the pair, and
  • Da and Gu are sons.
  • Dan is a snake who assisted in the creation of the universe and currently supports it, with 3500 coils of himself above, and 3500 below, the universe.

When the myths were transferred to the Haiti, due to the African Diaspora, Dan became Damballah. Lots of Dahomean and other Western African culture art have a vertical snake motif; this is thought to represent the power of "God" (Mawu-Lisa or some other) being transferred to humanity.

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