The possessed--or to be more precise, the gods--prophecy, threaten sinners and gladly give advice. What is more they give advice to themselves, for often a loa will ask the spectators to tell his 'horse' to behave differently or follow his advice. These messages are faithfully transmitted to the person concerned as soon as he is in a fit state to receive them.

A description of one of the many possessions which I witnessed will give a clearer picture of this essential aspect of Voodoo than any amount of general observations. The following passage is from notes taken on the spot: 'The hunsi, with red cloths round their heads and coloured dresses, dance in honor of Ogu. At the very first dance mambo Lorgina is possessed by this god. In spite of her age, her infirmities and her weight, she dances nimbly in front of the drums, hands on hips, shaking her shoulders in time to the music. She then fetches a sabre and jams the hilt of it against the poteau-mitan and the point against her stomach. Now, by pushing with all her strength, she bends the blade. She repeats this dangerous practice, this time basing the hilt on the post's concrete plinth. A hungan sprays rum from his mouth on to her stomach and rubs her legs. Lorgina in a sudden frenzy fences with the la-place; he, too, being armed with a saber. The ceremonial duel degenerates into a real fight, so that spectators, fearing an accident, have to intervene. Lorgina is then seized by another wave of bellicose frenzy. She hacks the poteau-mitan with her saber and chases the hunsi who flee in terror. She is on the point of catching then when prevented by the shafts of the sacred flags which two women cross in her path. At once she becomes calm--and thus will it always be whenever Lorgina-Ogu gives way to an attack of rage. A priest comes to talk to her, keeping prudently in the safety-zone of the banners. The mambo winds up going back to the hunsi whom she beats violently with the flat of her saber; and this outlet has a soothing effect upon her. Suddenly all smiles, she salutes everyone present and overflows with politeness in every direction. She has a cigar brought to her which she smokes in a nonchalant way. Then she gives orders that the meat-safe hanging on the poteau-mitan should be placed before her. She eats heartily and distributes what is left among the hunsi. She calls up a trembling and excited little girl whom she has already spanked hard with the flat of her sword: she gives her a long lecture on her future behavior and foretells a terrible fate unless she takes the warning to heart. Having forced the little girl to prostrate herself before her, Lorgina--still in the tones of Ogu--lectures her hunsi, giving them detailed advice on dress. Then, speaking of herself in the third person, she boasts of her own labors, and tells how she managed to save up to build the sanctuary. The hunsi listen with respect. Shortly afterwards the god leaves the mambo, who then returns to herself.

A hunsi is possessed. She begins by tottering and then flounders doubled-up, strikes her forehead and twists her arms. Very gradually, almost insensibly, her movements fall into rhythm, become more supple, more harmonious until they can only be distinguished from those of the other dancers by a nervous quickness. She comes out of the trance by imperceptible stages.