Loko is a loa, patron of healers and

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

s, especially

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s in the Vodou religion. He is a racine (root) and a rada loa. Among several other loa, he is linked with the ''poteau mitan'' or center post in a Vodou peristyle.Torres, Rafael Agustí. "Loas y Vèvès del Vudú", p. 25 (in Spanish) He is the husband of the loa Ayizan and just as she is the archetypal mambo (priestess), Loko is considered the first houngan (priest). As the spiritual parents of the priesthood, he and his wife are two of the loa involved in the kanzo initiation rites, in which the priest/ess to be is given the asson (sacred rattle and tool of the priesthood), at least in the asson/asogwe lineage. Although Loko & Ayizan are recognized as the first priest and priestess, different lineages in Vodou and different ways of practicing Vodou in Haiti could vary in their approach to these loa. Both are powerful guardians of "regleman" or the correct and appropriate form of Vodoun service. He is similar to the

Arawak The Arawak are a group of Indigenous peoples of northern South America and of the Caribbean. The term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to different Indigenous groups, from the Lokono of South America to the Taíno (Island Arawaks), w ...

deity Louquo, a founding ancestor of the Arawak people. He is related to the Iroko and the ''

Ceiba pentandra ''Ceiba pentandra'' is a tropical tree of the order (biology), order Malvales and the family (biology), family Malvaceae (previously emplaced in the family Bombacaceae), native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, northern South America, ...

'', two sacred trees, one in Africa and one in

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...

References

Voodoo gods Nature gods Tutelary deities {{Deity-stub