Vodou Initiation - The December 2008 Kanzo of the Roots Without End Society

Vodou Initiation:
The December 2008 Kanzo
of the
Roots Without End Society

Greetings in the name of God, the ancestors, and the lwa! Whether you have arrived at this page through Spirit or through intellectual curiosity or both, you are here because you would like to know more about the process of becoming an initiate of the Vodou tradition.

Congratulations on considering initiation! That shows good self-esteem. Initiation in Vodou is the single most self-empowering, consecrating, healthful, life-giving thing you can do! But don't take my word alone - for a look at a kanzo, view last year's kanzo ceremonies!

The July 2007 Kanzo of the Roots Without End Society
I am now organizing the December 2008 Kanzo. There has been a lot of interest from a lot of intriguing people, including yourself.

The Roots Without End Society is an international Vodou society based in Jacmel, Haiti. Jacmel is a lovely seacoast town on the southern penninsula of Haiti, very quiet and tranquil. Even when there is unrest in other parts of Haiti, we have never had any problem in Jacmel. Our house has many members from all around the world already, and about thirty Haitian members. It’s a lively house, and one in which we place great emphasis on authenticity and correct ceremonies. We don’t ask you to give up any other religious affiliation, but we do give you correct ceremonies and we do expect you to keep the vows you will take - vows of secrecy and of respect for your house.

A lot of people have been asking about the dates of the December 2008 Kanzo, so here they are. Participants should plan to arrive in Port-au-Prince on Tuesday, December 23, 2008, and depart on January 6th, 2009, the Day of Kings - a stay of two weeks. If you arrive early or leave late it will increase your cost, because the reason I can offer a two-week stay in Haiti and your ceremonies at such a reasonable price is because I negotiate group rates on everything from taxis to ceremonial clothes.

You should arrive in Port-au-Prince on December 23 no later than American Airlines flight 1291, which gets in between noon and 1 pm. Of course I meet you at the airport! I am especially happy to have arranged housing for initiates at the very pleasant Rendez-Vous Guest House. Run by a French woman retired from a career in diplomatic service with the French government, the Rendez-Vous offers clean, quaintly charming, safe rooms and clean, delicious, safe food, a scant fifty yards away from the Roots Without End Society peristyle. It’s really an ideal situation.

Your training begins on arrival (in fact it begins before your arrival) and ceremonies begin on Thursday, December 23. Your period of seclusion begins on the 30th, and ends on January 4th with the triumphal "leve kanzo". Ceremonies conclude on the 5th of January, and we return you to the airport on the 6th.

Your training of course continues after you leave the djevo, we don't just initiate you and then forget you! When you join our house, I am your "maman kanzo" and I have the responsibilities of a mother to you - to teach you, feed you, protect you, and help you grow into independence. All the initiates of our house become your sisters and brothers. It's great! Our household is already international, and we will welcome you too.

You will have certain dietary or other restrictions to observe for forty-one days following the kanzo, then you are free to do as you like. You will have become a part of our family, and will be invited to participate in all ceremonies. Yes, many of our international initiates are all in different places, but we all do the same activities at the same time, and we experience a remarkable "energy bond" as we work together for common objectives in the service of God and the lwa. Sometimes we work for spiritual growth, sometimes for financial abundance, sometimes for other things.

I know you probably have a lot of questions! Most people want to know about the cost, and I am going to explain to you in detail, because you deserve to know what your money is going to buy for you.

The fees for the different grades of initiation are as follows:

Kanzo senp (simple kanzo) - $1800
Sur point (intermediate, junior Houngan or Mambo) - $2,800
Asogwe (senior Houngan or Mambo) - $3,800

This does not mean that anyone who comes with X dollars automatically gets X grade! We will have plenty of time to talk together, do a divination, and decide together which grade is appropriate to you. Unlike some rip-off houses, we do not make you go through the grades sequentially - that is not done in Haiti. In fact, you have some discretion in choosing the grade at which you initiate, and in Haiti most people who become asogwe and take the asson do so the first time out. But it is essential to determine your lwa met tet, the lwa who is the ruler of your head. This is done either by divination or by waiting to see by which lwa you beome possesed during your ceremonies.

This fee covers your housing for two weeks; your food - three big, nutritious meals a day from the Rendez-Vous restaurant; most of your sacred objects for use during ceremonies; and your transporation between the Port-au-Prince airport and Jacmel, about two and a half hours drive each way. Our cost has increased slightly since the last kanzo, mainly because the cost of gasoline is astronomically high and so the price of airport taxis is likewise astronomical! If the small plane service is in operation we use it, and it's a pleasant twenty-minute hop to the southern coast.

We ask you to bring a few items - beads for your kolye, which is a big, gorgeous necklace about eight feet long used in your ceremonies. I will tell you where to order them, the cost will probably be about $80. You need three sets of white clothes (one set must be brand new), new white pajamas, and a set of "penitent clothes", a patchwork calico sort of affair. We have these clothes and your whites tailor made for you on very short order in Haiti, or you can bring them.

We also ask you to bring an assortment of small pieces of satin cloth, sequins, beads, and feathers to make your pakets (I will discuss this in more detail later), two flat white sheets, and two bottles of champagne. You will need a covered tea mug of the sort sold in Asian import stores for your pot tet. That's it!

Whew! :-) I believe that covers the nuts-and-bolts aspects of a kanzo. Some people have asked for a way to pay in installments, each month, and I am going to make that possible. You can begin by registering for your kanzo online, if you desire. Once you have completed registration, you will arrive at another page requesting your postal address, so that you can begin to receive instructional materials. In fact you can simply use the button below to register:

Or you can email me, Mambo Racine, for instructions on paying by mail or Western Union.

Please do let me hear your questions, comments, concerns, ideas, and inspirations! The only silly question is the one you don't ask.

Peace and love,

Bon Mambo Racine Sans Bout Sa Te La Daginen