véve

Vévé (also veve) is a religious symbol used in Haitian Vodou to designate and invite the loa, or spirits, during rites. It is usually drawn on the ground or a ritual space with dry powders such as cornmeal, flour, salt, sugar, coffee, or ash, sometimes colored with pigments. Each vévé corresponds to a specific loa and signals their presence to participants and to the spirits.

Veves are stylized, often geometric designs combining motifs like circles, lines, cross-like shapes, and depictions such as keys, houses, birds, or weapons. Some common examples: the Legba vévé often includes a doorway and a key; Erzuli Freda's vévé tends to feature a heart and flowers; Ogoun's vévé may incorporate axes or weapons. The symbol's particular arrangement varies by tradition and ritual context.

In practice, véves are traced by trained practitioners, typically houngans (priests) or mambos (priestesses), as part of a larger ceremony that may include drumming, singing, dancing, and offerings. The vévé serves as an invisible or symbolic invitation, conduit, or focal point for the loa to manifest and receive offerings.

Outside Haiti, véves appear in diasporic Vodou communities and are sometimes used in art and museum settings. They are regarded as sacred symbols and should be represented with respect to their religious significance.