Editing Ezili Dantor (section)

== Haitian mythology ==
In Haitian mythology, there are multiple spiritual entities, or [[lwa]], that work between the mortal world and the divine world. Ezili are feminine spirits that personify different aspects of womanhood. Ezili Freda is a Rada Loa who represents romantic love and erotic sexuality, while Ezili Dantor is Petro and represents the hardworking and sometimes angry mother,<ref name=":03"/> although she is also known to take on lovers of her own.<ref name= Brown2001 /> Ezili Dantor is believed to have children of her own in some stories, such as Ti-Jean Petwo, and is a fervid protector of the youth and the marginalized.<ref name=Braziel2016 />

Ezilí Freda is Dantor's rival and is said to be responsible for leaving scars on Dantor's cheek  – known as ''twa màk''<ref name=Brown2001 />– during a fight over the love of [[Ogun|Ogou]], according to some legends.<ref>Llerena Cano, Guillermo. The Petro and the Rada. January 2011.</ref> Another distinction between them is that Freda is traditionally light-skinned (though this has begun to shift in devotional art)<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Tinsley |first=Omise'eke Natasha |title=Ezili's Mirrors: Imagining Black Queer Genders}}</ref> and relatively wealthy, indicative of her status as an upper-class woman.<ref name= Brown2001 /> Thus, Ezili Dantor strongly resonates with lower class women in Haitian society.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Szeles |first=Ursula |date=2011 |title=Sea Secret Rising: The Lwa Lasirenn in Haitian Vodou |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/41711916 |journal=Journal of Haitian Studies |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=193–210 |jstor=41711916 }}</ref> People may often petition her to help them get work. Ezili Dantor is also associated with the ''masisi'', transgender women and effeminate men.<ref name=":0" />

Other stories in the religion note that Èzili Dantò is nonspeaking as a result of her tongue being cut out by other Haitian Revolutionaries who feared she would betray them.<ref name=Braziel2016>{{cite journal |last1= Braziel|first1=Jana Evans|date=2016 |title=Atis Rezistans  (Resistance Artists): Vodou Street Sculpture at the Grand Rue, Port-Au-Prince |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/24738496
 |journal=Callaloo |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=419–437 |doi=10.1353/cal.2016.0056 |jstor=24738496 |access-date=21 May 2023|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Èzili Dantò only utters syllables during possession because of this, and is capable of becoming extremely angry and vengeful, to the point that she is considered evil, though she is not inherently so. <ref name= "Brown2001">
{{cite book
	| last = Brown 
	| first = Karen McCarthy
	| date = 2001
	| title = Mama Lola, a Vodou Priestess in New York
	| location = Berkeley
	| publisher = University of California Press
	| page = 225–248
	| isbn = 9780520224759
}}</ref> Other adherents believe she does not speak because she is too angry and exhausted to do so from having to work hard and gaining so little. Her daughter, Anais, often interprets for her, and may be contacted to pass on messages.<ref name=":0" />

Dantor's anger has the power to destroy, and her vehement displeasure has earned her the reputation of being the red eyed, "Èzili Je Wouj". Her destructive powers often come in the form of natural disasters and the forces of nature. Her rage is even said to be able to afflict those who anger her with extremely painful illnesses.<ref>Desmangles, Leslie Gerald. ''The Faces of the Gods: Vodou and Roman Catholicism in Haiti.'' Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina p. 133, 1992.''</ref> Ezili Je Wouj is also sometimes considered a separate figure.<ref name=":0" /> In Zora Neale Hurston’s ''Haiti'' and ''Their Eyes Were Watching God,'' Ezili's Danto's rage is described as "violent reminder to the folk that their passive faith in Euro-Americans, or Christianity, to determine their fate is misguided."<ref name=":03"/>

Ultimately, Ezili Dantor "rages and destroys, but she also suffers", known to be associated with fertility problems women experience, including aphasia. However, at heart, Ezili Dantor is a devoted and selfless mother, willing to do all that is possible to protect those she loves and cares for, even "turn the world upside down". Those who venerate Dantor are expected to serve her with the same undying loyalty in return, as well as caution.<ref name=Braziel2016 />