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Liber XXXIV · Vodou & Hoodoo

Liber XXXIV · Vodou & Hoodoo · Chapter VIII: Vèvè & Sacred Symbols

Vodou Flags (Drapo Vodou): Haiti's Sequined Sacred Banners

Haitian Vodou flags (drapo): how sequined banners are used in ceremony, their military and African roots, the images they bear and the leading flag artists.

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Vodou flags (drapo Vodou in Haitian Creole) are ceremonial banners of satin or velvet covered with thousands of sequins and glass beads, each dedicated to a lwa, a spirit of Haitian Vodou. In the temple they are carried by flag bearers at the opening of ceremonies to salute the spirits and the sacred centre of the space; since the mid-twentieth century they have also become one of the most admired forms of Haitian art, collected by museums around the world.

What Drapo Vodou Are§

A Vodou temple (ounfò) keeps a set of flags among its most important ritual objects, alongside the sacred rattle (ason), the drums and the altars of the spirits. Most temples have at least two, representing the lwa who protect the house; larger temples have many. A traditional flag is typically less than a metre square, made of satin, velvet or another fine cloth, bordered with fringe or a contrasting band, and attached to a wooden staff. Its surface is densely covered with sequins (payèt) and glass beads, sewn one by one so that the whole banner shimmers under candlelight.

The central image identifies the spirit. Some flags show a lwa's vèvè, the geometric emblem otherwise traced in cornmeal on the temple floor (see Vèvè and Sacred Symbols): the heart of Ezili Freda, the snakes of Danbala, the boat of Agwe or the cross and tomb of the Gede. Others reproduce the image of a Catholic saint from popular chromolithographs, such as Saint James the Greater on horseback for Ogou or the Virgin of Sorrows for Ezili. Many combine both, framing a saint with vèvè, stars, hearts and geometric borders. Practitioners regard a consecrated temple flag not as decoration but as a sacred object through which the lwa is present and honoured.

Flags in Ceremony: The Laplas and the Flag Bearers§

The flags play a key part in the opening sequence of a Vodou ceremony. After the preliminary Catholic and African prayers, the drums and singing announce the entry of the laplas, the master of ceremonies who carries a sword or machete, and two flag bearers, usually women initiates of the house. They emerge from the inner sanctuary and move through the dancing space in a formal sequence of advances, turns and salutes.

Ethnographers such as Maya Deren and Alfred Métraux described this procession in detail. The laplas and the flag bearers salute the poto mitan, the central post through which the spirits enter; they salute the drums, the houngan or manbo presiding over the rite and the cardinal directions; and they present the flags and sword to senior members of the temple and honoured visitors, who kiss the staffs and hilt in greeting. The movements resemble a military colour guard: the flags are raised, crossed and lowered with precision, and the laplas brandishes his blade as an officer might. The salute "opens" the ceremony, honouring the lwa of the house and calling them to attend, before the songs for Legba and the other spirits begin.

Flags may appear again later in a rite, for example to welcome a lwa who has arrived in possession or to accompany an important offering, and they are carried in processions to sacred sites. Their sparkling surfaces, moving in the light of candles and lamps, contribute to the atmosphere that devotees describe as the presence of the spirits.

Origins: Military Banners, Catholic Standards and African Textiles§

No document records the first Vodou flag, and their origins are discussed by art historians rather than settled. The ceremonial use points clearly to European military and religious models. In colonial Saint-Domingue enslaved and free men served in militias, and the revolutionary armies of 1791–1804 fought under flags; the ritual of saluting colours with a sword-bearer and flag-bearers echoes French military protocol. Catholic confraternities and processions with embroidered banners, and the emblems of Freemasonry, which was influential in Haiti in the nineteenth century, offered further models (see Freemasonry).

African traditions contributed just as much. The royal court of Dahomey, home of the Fon vodun from which many Rada lwa descend, used appliqué cloths and banners displaying the emblems of kings and deities (see West African Vodun), and in many West and Central African societies flags and banners were used by associations, shrines and military companies. The art historian Robert Farris Thompson connected the glittering surfaces of Vodou flags with Kongo ideas of "flash", the belief that shining materials such as mirrors, mica and polished metal capture and display spiritual power, a principle also seen in Kongo minkisi (charged objects). These explanations are not exclusive: the drapo is best understood as one of the many Haitian forms that combine European forms with African religious meanings.

Making a Drapo: Sequins, Beads and the Vèvè§

Older flags described in the early twentieth century were more modest, using embroidery, appliqué and fewer sequins. The heavily sequined style that is now characteristic seems to have developed over the mid-twentieth century, as sequins and beads became cheaper and more widely available. Today a flag-maker first draws the design on the cloth, often based on a vèvè or a printed saint's image, and then fills it in by sewing on sequins one at a time, overlapping them like fish scales, with beads used to outline figures and details. A single flag may contain many thousands of sequins and require weeks of work, frequently by a workshop of family members or assistants.

Colour carries meaning. Flags for the cool Rada spirits favour white, blue and pastel tones, while those for the fiery Petwo spirits use red and darker colours; Gede flags use black and purple. A flag commissioned for a temple will follow the house's own traditions and the preferences of its lwa, and many flag-makers are themselves initiates or priests, working with a knowledge of the spirits that goes beyond technique. Flags intended for temple use are ritually consecrated, after which they are treated as part of the house's sacred equipment.

Master Flag-Makers and the Art Market§

From the 1940s, when foreign interest in Haitian painting grew, visitors also began to buy Vodou objects, and by the late twentieth century sequined flags had become a recognised art form. Several makers gained international reputations. Clotaire Bazile, a houngan who made flags in Port-au-Prince, was known for traditional compositions rooted in temple use. Antoine Oleyant, who died in 1992, created strikingly original designs and expanded the imagery of the form. Later artists such as Georges Valris and Yves Telemak continued to work within the tradition, while Myrlande Constant transformed the drapo into large beaded tapestries depicting entire ceremonies and spirit worlds, works now held by major museums.

Exhibitions brought the flags to wide audiences. The landmark exhibition Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou, organised by the Fowler Museum at UCLA and shown in the United States from 1995, placed flags alongside altars, paintings and ritual objects, and Patrick Arnold Polk's book Haitian Vodou Flags (1997) documented the makers and their methods. Collectors and galleries in the United States, Europe and the Caribbean have since built significant holdings.

Sacred Object or Work of Art?§

The commercial success of the flags raises questions that practitioners and scholars continue to discuss. Most flags sold today were made for sale and have never been consecrated or used in ceremony; flag-makers often distinguish clearly between temple flags and those made for the market, and between the spiritual value of the one and the artistic value of the other. Some critics worry that market demand pushes artists toward decorative designs detached from ritual meaning, while others point out that the market has supported skilled workshops and brought respect to a religion long caricatured abroad.

For Vodou practitioners, the essential point is that the flag belongs to the lwa. A drapo in a museum may be admired for its craft and its iconography, but in the ounfò it is part of a living relationship with the spirits: saluted, carried, honoured and renewed. Seen this way, the flags are both a visual summary of the Vodou pantheon (see The Lwa) and evidence of the creativity with which Haitians have turned imported materials into sacred art.

Frequently asked questions§

What are Vodou flags used for?§

In Haitian Vodou, flags are carried at the opening of ceremonies by flag bearers led by the laplas. They salute the central post, the drums, the priests and the directions, honouring the lwa of the temple and calling them to attend the rite.

What do the images on Vodou flags mean?§

Each flag is dedicated to a particular lwa. Its central image is usually the spirit's vèvè or the Catholic saint associated with it, framed with symbols, colours and borders that reflect the spirit's character and the temple's traditions.

Are Vodou flags sold as art still sacred?§

Most flags sold to collectors were made for the art market and have not been consecrated, so they are works of art inspired by Vodou rather than ritual objects. Temple flags are consecrated and treated as sacred, and are not normally sold.

Who are famous Haitian flag artists?§

Well-known makers include Clotaire Bazile, Antoine Oleyant, Georges Valris, Yves Telemak and Myrlande Constant, whose large beaded works have been exhibited by major museums.

Sources and further reading§