Who is Ezili from Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn and what is their importance?

There are several spirits within the group known as Ezili, including Lasyrenn, Ezili Danto and Ezili Freda. Lasyrenn is the beautiful woman in the water, beckoning to those above ground to come beneath the surface and drown with her. Those who do enter the water are gone from their regular lives for three days, and when the re-emerge are trained in the arts of diagnosis and healing. Ezili Danto is above all else the mother, the one who bears the children. She possesses the qualities of the perfect mother: hardworking, responsive, present in times of trouble and pretty but not vain. It is important not to anger Ezili Danto, as she has a violent temper. Ezili Freda is a white woman who loves fine clothing and perfume as well as copious jewelry. It is impossible to satisfy Ezili Freda. She is always in search of more: more love, more wealth, more honor. Freda's insatiable hunger parallels the irrational rage in Danto and the death-dealing siren of Lasyrenn. Taken together, these three female spirits present an accurate and detailed portrait of the forces that shape Haitian women's lives.