Many have been participants in a Vodou congregation, or society, and have attended ceremonies open to non-initiates. Other initiates are not Haitian, and may never have seen or participated in a Vodou service prior to the beginning of their own initiation. Ceremonies are performed in the same way for all initiates, Haitian or international, male or female, heterosexual or homosexual , black, mulatto, or white . Houngans and Mambos do not perform initiations free of charge. A fee is involved , usually paid in cash.
Some individuals receive their initiation in exchange for a promise of service.
Drummers, who are professional musicians and need not be affiliated with a peristyle, have been made kanzo in exchange for their promise to always play at the ceremonies held in that peristyle. But most initiates pay in cash prior to the beginning of their ceremonies. Houngans and Mambos compete for desirable candidates, those who have strong lwa in their heads, those who are materially well-off, those who have other gifts or skills which they can contribute to their congregation, or society. And Houngans or Mambos may reject candidates whom they feel are quarrelsome, disrespectful, or in some other way likely to cause problems and disharmony in the society. Foreign initiates are subject to the same scrutiny as Haitians, and are also required to pay in cash.