Ayida Wedo, the rainbow serpent derived from the Fon Aido Hwedo, is the wife and complement of Danbala Wedo. Where Danbala is the white snake coiled about the earth and its waters, Ayida is the arc of the rainbow spanning the sky; joined, the two serpents encompass the whole of creation and are emblematic of cosmic wholeness, fertility, and the continuity of life. She shares in Danbala's demand for whiteness and purity, is associated with springs and the fertilizing waters, and is often identified with the Virgin Mary in her aspect of the Immaculate Conception. Serpent and rainbow together form one of the central images of Vodou cosmology.