The Serpent Rainbow Ayida-Weddo (Fon/Dahomey)
Ayida-Weddo is the rainbow serpent, the androgynous cosmic serpent who supports the world. According to Fon cosmology, the universe is held up by Ayida-Weddo, who coils beneath the earth and stretches into the sky as the rainbow. When the serpent moves beneath the ocean, it causes earthquakes and tidal waves. Ayida-Weddo is also known as Damballa in Haitian Vodou, where it is revered as the ancestral spirit of wisdom and the connection between heaven and earth. The serpent sheds its skin as a symbol of rebirth and eternal renewal. In Dahomean art, Ayida-Weddo is often depicted as a double rain