Meanings
plural ti bon anges · alternative tibonanj · alternative ti bon anj
- In voodoo, one of the dualistic aspects of the soul, responsible for personality, character, and willpower.
Here we begin to see that there is a cooperative relationship between the tibonanj and the gwobonanj.
2013, Carol P. Marsh-Lockett, Elizabeth J. West, editors, Literary Expressions of African Spirituality, page 1033 more examples
Indeed it is characteristic of the almost anonymous, transcendent, spiritual nature of the ti-bon-ange that it is automatically liberated at the moment of death and hovers over the body for nine days before ascending to heaven.
1953, Maya Deren, Divine Horsemen, McPherson & Company, published 2004, page 44Throughout this period the ti bon ange is extremely vulnerable, and it is not until it is liberated from the flesh to descend below the dark abysmal waters that it is relatively safe.
1985, Wade Davis, The Serpent and the Rainbow, Simon & Schuster, page 182For them, the act of zombification is a matter of capturing the ti bon anj and thus exerting an absolute power over the individual.
1995, Laënnec Hurbon, in Cosentino (ed.), Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou, South Sea International Press 1998, p. 192
Origin
- Frenchpetit bon ange“little good angel”
- Englishti bon ange
From Haitian Creole, from French petit bon ange (“little good angel”).
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
ti bon ange. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ti%20bon%20ange
“ti bon ange.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ti%20bon%20ange. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ti bon ange,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ti%20bon%20ange.
Source: ti bon ange on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.