Aida-Wedo is the Yoruba (in west African) and Vodou Lwa (Spirit or Goddess) of water, snakes, and the rainbow, represented by the rainbow python, a snake whose scales are iridescent. The rainbow serpent is the symbol of integration in many parts of the world, including Africa, Australia and America, and represents that which links heaven and earth, and encircles the world to unite her disparate elements. In the Vodou tradition, Aida-Wedo (and Her husband Damballah) belong to the Rada Lwa, or spirits who come out of the rites of the old kingdom of Dahomey (present Nigeria, Benin and Togo), generally considered to be benevolent and sweet (dous).