Asson
The asson is the sacred rattle of Haitian Vodou, a gourd fitted with a handle and wrapped in a beaded net threaded with snake vertebrae, held only by the houngan or the mambo, the priest and priestess who lead the congregation. Its sound opens the ceremony: as the rattle is shaken before the peristyle, the lwa, the spirits, are called into the space, and its rhythm marks the moment they descend to possess the faithful. The beads are strung in the colors of the spirits, white for Damballah, the great serpent, black and red for Legba, yellow for Kouzen Zaka, and the gourd is kept consecrated, ru