Jawnomicon

Damballa

Also called Damballah, Damballa Wedo, Danbala.

The great serpent of Haitian Vodou who forms the arch of the sky, cuts the valleys as he passes, and is joined to Ayida across the world as the rainbow.

At a glance

Tradition
Haitian Vodou
Region
Caribbean (place of origin)
Trait family
The Land-Shapers

Near this figure

Traits

Read from the figure's description, which a model wrote. Open "why" for the sentence a trait came from.

Behaviour

  • Rain bringing serpent
    why

    As the rainbow he is coupled across the universe with Ayida Wedo, herself a rainbow serpent, and the arc between them is understood as a bond rather than an ornament — the sources call it an arc of alliance, which is the vocabulary of covenant rather than of weather.

Utility powers

  • Terrain shaping
    why

    He forms the arch of the heavens; when he comes down to the earth the ground splits into gorges behind him; he lies out sunning the whole length of his coils, or crosses the sea and throws up a swell as he goes.

Roles

Judged from the works' own entries, not from the description. Carries: the figure holds the role. Meets: the role is in its stories, held by something it meets.