Anaisa Pye

Anaisa Pye: child Mary learning the Bible

 Anaisa Pye is a very popular Lwa of the 21 Divisions (Dominican Vodou). The image always seen with Anaisa is that of Saint Anne. Sheis a Metresa (Mistress – female Lwa) and is sometimes said to be the leader of the Metresas Division. She is the most popular of all the female Lwas. She is associated with the child Mary that is learning the Bible with St. Anne.

Anaisa is the spirit of Love, Money, Luck and Happiness. She represents all the good things in life, and loves to shower these gifts upon her children. She is very flirtatious and is known to have relationships with the majority of the male Lwa. She can be awful friendly, but don’t mistake her for a prostitute like many do. She loves dancing, partying, and having a good time. She is the joy of living!

Her feast is the feast of St. Anne, July 26th, and all of her servitors hold parties or serve her on her special day. On this day, the Palo drums are beat or Palo music is played in her honor. She is served all of her favorite offerings and is invited to come and join the festivities, and she does!

There is some controversy as to whether or not Anaisa is married to Belie (St. Michael). Some say they are, others say they are not.Still others don’t care! Nevertheless, you will always see Anaisa’s altar alongside of Belie’s. You will see them being served together.

When Anaisa arrives, she will often place a fula (mushwa or handkerchief) in her favorite color yellow on her head. In some houses, they also have a skirt and a blouse for Anaisa to wear and she will change into this. She will then look into her “mirror”, which is actually the palm of her hand. Gazing into her mystical mirror, she will put on her lipstick and her makeup (if the house has any for her) and then perfume herself from head to toe and again from toe to head! She will also be given jewelry to wear, if the horse has given her any. She will then light her cigarette, and a warm beer will be poured into a special glass for her. She will drink and smoke and greet individuals present. She is now finally ready to consult!

Anaisa always gets her way! She is very spoiled. Everyone adores her, and she soaks this up like a sponge. She is very helpful, in many areas of life. When people speak to her, they often speak as if they were talking to a lovely woman or a best friend. She is usually consulted when it comes to luck, money and love, although she has many talents.

There is a special wanga performed on Anaisa’s point, that is done for financial gain, using a watermelon. Many of her servants, after having fallen on hard times, blame their troubles on the fact that they have neglected to serve her. She is known to punish lax servitors by causing financial trouble and love problems. Very rarely does a child of Anaisa experience issues in these areas of life, usually only when Anaisa is mad at them.

She is known to need to be the center of attention. Thus she does not allow her children to place anyone else before her. She gets along with only one other Metresa that I know of and this is Lubana. But don’t get me wrong, they are not best friends or anything. Rather, they will tolerate each other and work together, if needed, to resolve some problem.

She is also known to love and work with perfume. Many a perfume have been created and administered under her point to resolve a problem. There are several mixes that are aimed at specifically obtaining her help, and there are others that she will mix together for a person as needed on an individual case basis. Perfumes can be for money, love, luck – usually she mixes perfumes to attract these things to the person whom she is giving it to.

Anaisa’s service is completed by giving her a beer, a cigarette, good perfume, feminine scented powder, jewelry, yellow roses, yellow candles, sweet foods, and an image of Saint Anne.

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