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Now that you have been (or will be) newly initiated, the proverbial question ultimately arises,or is often automatically assumed, "
Are you my godparent(s)?"
In the West African & Diaspora Mami Wata Vodoun tradition, a godparent is regarded more importantly than the physical birth parent, for it is they who give birth to your eternal guardian spirit, that guides you through this life. However, not all whom we initiate are meant to be our god children, even if they may desire us to be. Their path, personalities, personal, emotional issues etc., destiny, etc., could be divined for them to mentor somewhere else, or they simply will not be compatible with the House in which the initiating priests resides. There are many reasons.
Though we might initiate hundreds of people during the course of our lives as priests, we may only end-up with little over one dozen god children who actually are a part of our house. And from this group, only a few may acutally be selected by us for further training and development into the mysteries of the tradition as they are known and practiced in our particular House. Why is this so?
This is such because the role of a "godparent" is taken very seriously in our tradition. It is a huge responsibility, and compatibility, destiny and the wishes of the Spirit are the most important factor. And, unless we are told directly by the Spirits during divination or after initiation that we are your god parents, in general the answer is NO, we are not automatically your godparents simply because we initiated you, or you desire for us to be. In the West African & Diaspora Mami Wata Vodoun tradition, godparents are EARNED.
What we are initially to you are your consultants regrading matters of the Vodou or Mami Wata (ONLY!), if you are having any difficulty either communicating or working with them. That is our first and most important responsibility to you. Afterwards, once a healthy and respectful relationship has been developed over time, it is up to the initiating priests if they want to consider you their "godchild," and include you in their ceremonial House. If this does not happen, it is up to the initiate to find a House that will accept him/her.
You are stongly encouraged to learn as much as you can about both the tradition and House that you are being accepted into before you make the important decision of allowing someone to tamper with your spirit!
Finally. . . .the best advice of all is to GO SLOW!
