langaj

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Haitian Creole langaj, from French langage (“language”). Doublet of language.

Noun

langaj (uncountable)

  1. (voodoo) A sacred or incantatory language used in Haitian voodoo rituals.
    • 2003, Marie-Jose Alcide Saint-Lot, Vodou, A Sacred Theater, p. 172:
      Though used only by initiates, some passages in langaj emphasize sounds in a fashion that appeals to the ears of the profane as well, even when no translation is accessible as in most of the following examples.
    • 2007, Kevin Filan, The Haitian Vodou Handbook, Destiny Books 2007, p. 41:
      The langaj used for activation and the specific combinations required for a ceremony are initiatory secrets.
    • 2013, Amy Wilentz, Farewell, Fred Voodoo, Simon & Schuster, p. 196:
      He and his assistant, a bigger, stronger, younger man, are both singing, bent over the bowl, in langage, which is a mix of slavery-era African dialects combined with Creole; it's used only in voodoo ritual and is one of the world's few remaining wholly sacred languages.
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