houngenikon

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English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Haitian Creole. Compare houngan.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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houngenikon (plural houngenikons)

  1. (voodoo) The leader of singing in a voodoo ceremony.
    • 1953, Maya Deren, Divine Horsemen, McPherson & Company, published 2004, page 51:
      The houngenikon thereupon starts off the song, the drums and the chorus join in and when it is ended the houngan inquires: “Are you satisfied?”
    • 1954, Ian Fleming, Live and Let Die:
      The drums changed and the Houngenikon came dancing on to the floor, holding a vessel filled with some burning liquid from which sprang blue and yellow flames.
    • 1989, Amy Wilentz, The Rainy Season:
      Sometimes Bienaimé nods in the direction of a particularly noisy racket, and the houngenikon flicks at those kids with his whip.
    • 1995, Karen McCarthy Brown, in Cosentino (ed.), Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou, South Sea International Press 1998, p. 211:
      I was told that the Vodou priest Cesar had had a serious fight with Nicole, the ounjenikon, mistress of song, of his temple.