Case file · Sacred site
Agwé, lwa of the sea
In Haitian Vodou Agwé is the lwa of the sea, fish and winds, patron of sailors and fishermen, who lives in a palace on an underwater island with his wives Erzulie Freda and La Sirène.
1791 CE · 18.55, -72.35 · status: legend
The account
He guides lost sailors and, as Agwé Tawoyo, captains the ship Immamou that carries the dead to Ginen, the ancestral land under the waters. Devotees remember him as one who wept salt tears for those lost in the slave trade. Ceremonies for him are held at the shore or on boats, with offerings set adrift on decorated rafts. The pin is in the bay of Port-au-Prince.
The sceptical view
A living religious tradition; the atlas records belief and practice.