Ezulie Freda Dahomey

Ezili Freda Daomé (eh-zee-LEE fray-DA da-OH-may)

“Often abbreviated simply to Freda, she is perhaps the first and best known of the Ezili family of spirits, all women of power and substance. Freda in particular is associated with womanhood in the sense of raw sexuality, desire, and feminine wiles. She has three official suitors (sometimes husbands)—Danbala-Wedo, Mèt Agwe Tawoyo, and Ogou Feray—and many unofficial ones, including both male Lwa and human men. She can be generous to her servants, lavishing them with material and spiritual gifts and lots of love; yet she can also be fickle, difficult, and even cruel. Freda, who is rarely called by her name in ceremony, but instead by titles such as Metrès (“Mistress”) and Bèl Fanm (“Beautiful Woman”), is a very powerful Lwa, as befits her station as a woman of means. She is represented as a beautiful light-skinned woman, is alternately attracted to and jealous of other beautiful women, and will not associate with any Lwa who are peasants (such as Azaka) or members of the Gede nation. Freda is commonly served by men seeking sexual prowess or riches, and she is often assisted (or perhaps countermanded?) in this by her “sister,” the Petro spirit Ezili Danto, who is a dark-skinned single mother.”

Excerpt from the book: "Haitian Vodou: An Introduction to Haiti's Indigenous Spiritual Tradition" by Mambo Chita Tann