Vodu of the Sea and Shore
Ewe · deity · primordial · Recorded classification
A vodu of the sea and lagoon-shore of the water-pantheon. The descriptive title leads name.primary; the Gbe name Avlekete (Avrekete) stands in alt/etymology. Sex recorded female (the original West African spirit; some Diaspora traditions make Avrekete male). Parentage variously reported (junior of Agbe/Naete or of Sogbo), neither parent authored here — see SOLITARY flag. Typed deity. Authored as firmly attested per the task option; documented for the Gbe complex by Herskovits (1938) with the coastal sea-cult noted by Ellis (1890).
Domains
- the sea and ocean
- lagoon and shore
- abundance and protection of seafarers
- fishing and fishers
Powers
- Rule the lagoon-shore and the near sea, guarding seafarers and fishers
- Give the abundance of the sea — fish, salt and the gifts of the water
Sources
- Avlekete (Avrekete) is a Gbe vodu of the sea and the lagoon-shore, of the water-pantheon, guardian of seafarers and giver of the sea's abundance, whose name is borne by a town on the Whydah lagoon.: M. J. Herskovits, Dahomey: An Ancient West African Kingdom (1938), vol. 2, the sea-pantheon. (secondary); "Fon and Ewe Religion," Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd ed. (2005), Avlekete. (tertiary)