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Ritual flags (drapo) are paraded around the temple at the beginning of a Vodou ceremony to salute the spirits, and to marshal the energies of their devotees (or servitors, as the Haitians would say). Made of satin, velvet, or rayon, and adorned with sequins, beads, or applique, these flags have become the most celebrated genre of Vodou sacred art.
Each drapo is typically dedicated to a single lwa, incorporating the lwa's sacred colors and symbols, and based on the relevant vévé and/or chromolithograph. Flag designs reflect Vodou's intense process of cultural synthesis. African symbols confront, juxtapose, and eventually merge with sources as diverse as Catholic processional banners, French military ensigns, and Masonic flags and aprons. Ideas and images that seem incompatible at first glance are stitched together with breathtaking elegance and clarity of thought.
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