Ezili Freda (Erzili/Erzulie Freda DaomΓ©) is the most well-known and beloved female lwa in Haitian Vodou. She is the lwa of love, luxury, beauty, and femininity, of homosexuals, and of other matters of the heart and glamour.
Practitioners and scholars of Haitian Vodou often associate Ezili Freda with the ancient Kingdom of Dahomey (present-day Benin). According to this tradition, all lwa who bear the name Ezili descend from Azili, water spirits associated with beauty, the feminine, luxury, and jealousy β notably Azili Tobosi and Azili Kaia.
However, some people, such as researcher Joan Dayan in the classic essay “Erzulie: A Women’s History of Haiti,” argue that Ezili has no clear, single African antecedent and that she crystallized in Haiti, primarily under French influence.
I, personally, believe that the Ezili family came from the Azili, but that, like other lwa, they took on a more Haitian character and became something more unique in Haiti.
It is somewhat common to hear that Freda behaves like a French noblewoman, that she refuses to speak Creole or to receive things that are “too Haitian,” and many even reduce her to this, calling her spoiled, lazy, crybabyish, and jealous. But of course, this is a great folly.
Ezili Freda is a very loving and kind lwa. When she cries for “being spoiled,” she is actually crying for us. Ezili Freda, syncretized with Our Lady of Sorrows, is the lwa who weeps for humans upon seeing them suffer and be unable to be well and satisfied.
Story:
Ezili Freda was married to Ogou Feray, but he was very coarse and did not know how to treat her as she wished to be treated. He always gave her ugly, lusterless stones and was always in a bad mood, so she decided to run away. When she fled, she encountered Agwe (lwa of the waters) and La Sirène (mermaid lwa), who consoled her and gave her shelter. Some traditions say that she married Agwe, Damballah, and even Baron Samedi.
