Damballah

Damballah (also spelled Damballa, Dambala, Dambalah or in Haitian Creole Danbala), is one of the most important of all Loa Haitian Vodou and Louisiana Voodoo traditions. He is portrayed as a great white serpent, originating in the city of Wedo (Whydah or Ouidah) in modern-day Benin.

He is one of the two main Loa worshipped by the Gedde Voodoo Cartel; the other being Ogoun Badagris.

Function
Damballah is said to be the Sky Father and the primordial creator of all life. In those Vodou societies that view Damballah as the primordial creator, he created the cosmos by using his 7,000 coils to form the stars and the planets in the heavens and to shape the hills and valleys on earth. In others, being the first thing created by God, creation was undertaken through him. By shedding the serpent skin, Damballah created all the waters on the earth. As a serpent, he moves between land and water, generating life, and through the earth, uniting the land with the waters below.

Character
Unlike in the Gabriel Knight series, Damballah is actually seen as benevolent and patient, wise and kind, yet detached and removed from the trials and tribulations of daily, human life. The Gedde Family and the Voodoo Cartel worship a dark and gruesome version of him; calling him "the great serpent who crushes all in his coils", and was said to have been a terribly violent entity who influenced his worshipers to be as cruel and violent to gain his favor.

Trivia

 * It is highly suggested, that both Crash and Hartridge died because of a Voodoo spell calling upon Damballah. Crash's last words were "The eyes of the snake! Damballah!" and he and Hartridge both show signs of death by strangulation.
 * The wavy pattern at the bottom of the Gedde Vévé represents Damballah.
 * Many of the Agris/Gedde symbols are connected to snakes. The Hounfour and the snake mound are decorated with snakesymbols, Doors and walls are numbered with Plates with snakes on them. The Voodoo Cartel has at least one snake of their rituals (The Voodoo Museum' s snake) and one big "mascot" snake in the Hounfour that is too big for regular rituals or to be danced with.

Appearances

 * Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers
 * Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers - 20th Anniversary Edition