Potomitan
The potomitan (also spelled poteau-mitan, poto mitan, poto-mitan: Haitian Creole: "central pole" - from the French: poteau, "post", and mitan, an archaism for "half") is an essential structural feature of the hounfour (temple) in Haitian vodou. Occupying the central position in the peristyle (sacred space at the centre of the hounfour / oufo), the potomitan takes the form of a decorated wooden post (occasionally a living tree) by means of which, it is believed, the loa descend to Earth to inhabit, for a time, the bodies of the faithful through spirit possession.