Oungan

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A male priest and healer who serves the spirits in Haitian Vodou, conducting ceremonies and treating the sick with herbs and rituals
2. The man who leads Vodou rites in Haiti, acting as a spiritual guide, herbalist and healer for his community
3. In Haitian Vodou, a male religious practitioner who performs ceremonies, communicates with spirits and provides traditional healing

Etymology: The word comes to English from Haitian Creole, where "oungan" names a male priest of Vodou, the religion that grew out of West African traditions brought to Haiti by enslaved people. Its two parts come from different African languages. The first is "houn", from Fon, a language of the Benin region, meaning "spirit". The second is "nganga", from Kongo, a Central African language, meaning "high priest" or healer. Fused together, the pair describes a religious specialist who mediates with spirits. The Kongo element is especially telling. "Nganga" in Kongo-speaking societies designated a ritual specialist, and the same root appears across Bantu languages, so the title traveled with the people who spoke them. Haitian Vodou drew on many African traditions at once, and this compound reflects that blending in a single word.