You do n’t have to expect far to observe references to Voodoo in popular culture , especially in the westerly world . Zombiemovies , of course , have upstage roots in Haitian Voodoo . Novelty stores sell pin - meet dolls to direct anyone from miscreant amatory partner to unreasonable bosses . Even the Disney film " The Princess and the Frog " feature a Voodoo priest using black trick to work an eligible prince into an amphibian .
Representations like these are a big part of what many mass would note if enquire to describe Voodoo . Some people would also tattle about spiritual possession and animal sacrifice . Many might cite a specific place — Caribbean island like Haiti , or the southeasterly United States , especially New Orleans and the Mississippi Delta .
In maliciousness of their prevalence in most people ’s mind , many of these stereotypes have nothing to do with Voodoo . Others are refer only tangentially . However , some of the stereotype include a grain of truth , and one — disembodied spirit possession — is central to the Voodoo religion .
According to the Voodoo custom — also bonk as Vodou — there is one sovereign God , who is known by unlike epithet in different section of the world . In Haiti , for good example , he is called Bondye , which comes from the French phrasebon Dieu , meaning " skilful God . " Regardless of which name people use , the basal god is vastly powerful and beyond the scope of ordinary follower . For this reason , Voodoo practitioners must rely on one C or G of other spirits to intercommunicate with God .
These spirits are known asloaor lwa in Haiti ; anthropologist writing about African Voodoo often cite to them as spirits or graven image [ origin : Visit Haiti ] . The hard liquor survive in a power structure . There are major , powerful loa , many of whom have their own vacation , celebrations or other observance . There are also minor spirits , who play various roles in unlike regions . Communities and even families have their own loa , such as the spirits of dear or influential family or residential area phallus . The loa receive their power from God and transmit with God on behalf of followers .
During ceremonies and ceremonial , followers of Voodoo inquire the smell for advice , protection or aid . The process is mutual ; followers must take care after the loa by performing rituals , which sometimes get in the form of animal sacrifice . Other rituals allow followers to give thanks the spirits for aegis , blessings or good fortune . To maintain a good relationship with the loa , followers must also convey themselves properly according to the customs of both the community and the faith . In this manner , the practice of Voodoo can influence a someone ’s daytime - to - day decisions and activities .
Part of the Voodoo belief is that loa put across with followers through possession . The loa temporarily displaces the soul of its host , ormedium , and takes control of the medium ’s body . According to this opinion , the metier can not experience pain or become injured while possess . The loa speaks through the medium , often giving instructions , advice or prophecies of next event . Sometimes , a loa rebukes follower for fail to do their duty to the loa , their family or their community . In some Voodoo tradition , a few select hoi polloi have the privilege of becoming possess . In others , the loa may choose to possess anyone at any time .
This musical theme — that hefty or influential spirit can possess the great unwashed — unites two distinct forms of Voodoo . One subsist primarily in the northern and cardinal dowry of the westerly African seacoast . The other is practice in the main in Haiti , as well as in parts of North and South America . Books that research either cast often explain the organized religion through a serial of taradiddle or anecdotes instead of as a straightforward analysis . There are several intellect for this :
To get an idea of where Voodoo fall from and how it works , we ’ll explore the organized religion ’s history as well as the symbols , objects and custom that are common in its drill . We ’ll begin by taking a feel at African Voodoo .
African Voodoo (Vodou)
Voodoo originated in the African realm of Fon and Kongo as many as 6,000 year ago . The word " hoodooism " comes from the Fon terminology , in which it means " sacred , " " spirit " or " deity . " Other words used in Voodoo also come from the Fon and Kongo nomenclature . For example , a Voodoo priestess is often mention to as a mambo or manbo . This is a combination of the Fon word for " mother " or " magical charm " and the Kongo word for " healer . "
The Fon kingdom was located in what is now southern Benin , a region some anthropologist refer to as the " cradle of Voodoo . " Voodoo is an official faith in Benin , where as many as 40 percent of the people are followers [ source : BBC ] . An guess 60 million the great unwashed practice Voodoo worldwide [ root : Guynup ] .
Since Voodoo is chiefly an oral tradition , the name of idol , as well as the specifics of different ritual , can change in different regions or from propagation to generation . However , African Voodoo has several coherent qualities no matter where people exercise it . Along with the belief in multiple gods and spiritual possession , these let in :
Many of these traits , specially ascendant worship , polytheism , and the importance of music and dance , are also important in other African religious belief . So , in practice , Voodoo looks a lot like other traditional African religions . Many observances look to be part celebration , part religious service incorporating rhythmic music , dancing and songs . Many rituals take advantage of the natural landscape , such as rivers , mountains or trees . Through ornament and consecration , average physical object , like pots , nursing bottle or role of butcher animals , become sacred objects for use in rite .
In part of Africa , masses who want to become spiritual leaders in the Voodoo biotic community can infix religious centers , which are much like convent or monasteries . In some communities , initiates symbolically die , spending three days and nights in staring seclusion before being returned to the outside human beings . beginner find out the rituals , colors , food for thought and object associated with different deities , as well as how to pass along with the loa . The spirits have unlike personalities and unlike requirements of their follower , much like the gods in Greek and romish myth .
Some people associate Voodoo with evil , but many of its rite , even those that include the forfeiture of live animals , focus on esteem and peace . Its religious leadership become community leaders , providing direction and patch up disputes . drawing card also frequently provide medical care in the physique of folk medicinal drug . Priests , priestesses and other practitioner typically consecrate their piece of work to help and handle for others [ source : bring down Haiti ] .
torment , witchcraft and spells designed to do harm come down or else into a freestanding religious exercise hump asboin Africa orMakayaandBizangoin Haiti . These are " secret club " outside of traditional Voodoo that blend ancient aboriginal dark magic with European necromancy and deal in curses , zombies and figure - shifting . In the U.S. , sometimes this black thaumaturgy is called " hoodoo " [ germ : Visit Haiti ] .
The region of Africa where Voodoo has thrived are also areas that were heavily traffic during the slave trade . Slavery bring Voodoo to the Americas . Next , we ’ll look at the changes to Voodoo that assume place on the other side of the Atlantic .
Haitian Voodoo (Vodou)
In the American colony , African Voodoo became what is known as Haitian Voodoo today . In 1492 , Christopher Columbus land on an island known to its indigenous Taino inhabitants as Ayiti , or " Land of the Mountains . " Columbus re - named this island Hispaniola , or " Little Spain " [ reference : dark History Month ] . colonist arrived , building woodlet that became rich sources of crops like sugar , burnt umber and Indigofera tinctoria . To make these plantations profitable , colonists trust heavily on hard worker labor . finally , Hispaniola became the body politic have it away as Haiti and the Dominican Republic .
Many of the enslaved the great unwashed get to Hispaniola from northern and central Africa in the 16th to 18th centuries practiced Voodoo . But the dependency ’s hard worker code ask all slaves to be baptized as Christians [ origin : The Pluralism Project ] . This thrust conversion had a big influence on Voodoo . Since enslaved mass could not do their religion openly , they borrowed many elements from Catholicism to protect their own ghostly recitation . This procedure , bonk assyncretization , strongly influenced Voodoo in Haiti :
Several other influences touch on Voodoo as well , including the traditions of the local Taino tribe .
The ensue shape of Voodoo is acreolizedreligion , made up of influence from many other religions [ source : Dialogue Institute ] . But in cattiness of these additions , Haitian Voodoo strongly resembles African Voodoo . Priestesses , known asmanbosand priest , known asoungans , conduct religious services and allow for traditional sept remedies [ source : gossip Haiti ] . People who wish to becomemanbosoroungansoften enter an apprenticeship as initiates with other leaders rather than join a with child - scale worship center . Many ceremonies take place in a structure called ahounfour , which serves as a temple or sanctuary .
As in Africa , ownership is an important part of Voodoo in Haiti [ source : Visit Haiti ] . The person being possessed is often phone ahorsewho isriddenby the possessing loa . The obsessed person may move unnaturally , speak in unknown speech or make clear , direct instruction to the other followers . Sacrifice is also important , and many ceremonial occasion involve sacrifice goats , chickens or other animals . In many cases , the combination of possession , animal sacrifice and the ritual dancing and euphony that accompany them can seem dramatic or even horrendous to outside observers .
Haitian Voodoo also incorporates clothing , objective and laurel wreath to invoke or show respect for the loa . Kongo mail boat , or medicinal drug packets , curb healing or medicative herbs and items . Worshippers carry flags calleddrapothrough areas used for adoration to show respect for the spirits . To call to and put forward theloa , masses playact a potpourri of drums , bells and rattling . communion table hold numerous ritual object , such as decorated bottles , doll andkwi , or calabashes full of food offerings . Worshippers use the dame as mediums to contact specific loa or the intent world in world-wide , not to inflict pain or stick out on others [ source : Visit Haiti ] .
Today , many of the aim have become part of Haitian graphics and guile . Some Haitian artists , for example , focus on make depictions of differentloa , elaboratedrapoor ornately beautify ritual objects .
As in African Voodoo , manbosandoungansin Haitian Voodoo do not typically curse or harm other people . However , some followers trust thatbokors , or sorcerers , have the power to use legerdemain to stimulate misfortune or injury . Bokorsare also part ofzombielore — some believe that abokorcan apply poisonous substance and enamour a person ’s soul to make a zombie [ source : NPR ] .
Voodoo is an important part in the day - to - solar day lives of many Haitians . Estimates vary , but in general anthropologists think that 50 to 80 pecent of Haitians exercise some course of Voodoo , often in concert with other religions [ source : U.S. Dept . of State ] . Voodoo has also encounter an important role in Haitian history .
The French Revolution in 1789 touch off revolutions elsewhere in the earth , let in in several colonies in the Americas . In 1797 , a Voodoo non-Christian priest execute a ceremonial occasion at Bois Caiman in the Haitian passel , which give the slaves otherworldly strength . This ceremonial introduce a slave rebellion that lasted until 1804 , and the the great unwashed of Haiti fought armies from Spain , France and Britain [ source : The Guardian ] . Eventually , Haiti became the first loose , Black colony in the Americas . This ceremony and its importance are passably controversial , but they have become part of Haitian lore .
Voodoo is wide and openly practiced in Haiti . It also exists in various forms in New Orleans and the southeast United States . In some cases , the Voodoo practiced in other share of the Western cerebral hemisphere is mixed with other , like traditions , pagan exercise or other customs . However , in some regions , folk magical pattern known as hoodoo have overtaken Voodoo in the public middle . dear spell , curses and methods of revenge broadly speaking lessen under the umbrella of hoodoo and are not Voodoo practices at all .
Voodoo Controversies
Since its growth in Haiti , Haitian Voodoo has spread to other region of the human race . striver channel from Haiti to the Mississippi Delta carried their tradition with them , and Voodoo expanded from there . Today , masses exercise various forms of Haitian voodoo openly in Haiti . In other part of the world , multitude often practice more covertly .
In many part of the westerly world , people see Voodoo with suspicion . Some masses believe it is outright evil or that it encourages worship of the devil . In some countries , missionary make a deliberate effort to change over people from Voodoo practice to Christianity . There are a number of reasons for these views .
As we mention , from 1915 to 1935 , the United States Marine Corps ( USMC ) occupied Haiti . During and after this period , Haiti became the setting for books and moving picture , which often depicted Voodoo as minatory , cruel and bloody . Movies like " White Zombie , " released in 1932 , portrayed Voodoo priests as evildoer who made innocent people intozombies[source : Visit Haiti ] .
Around the same clock time , hoodoo became more commonplace in parts of the United States , including New Orleans . Previously , New Orleans had had a thriving Voodoo community led by Voodoo queens , including the inimitable Marie Laveau [ source : Women ’s History Blog ] . Under their heir , the Voodoo community eventually splintered and became less publicly visible . At the same sentence , marketer begin selling hoodoo charms and trinkets throughout New Orleans . Eventually , hoodoo , along with its nemesis and spells , became synonymous with Voodoo in New Orleans and other theatrical role of the South .
But fictional portrayals and public perceptions are only part of the sense that Voodoo is dark or perturbing . In addition , the practice of Voodoo includes activities that are taboo in other religious belief and culture . Many observance involve the sacrifice of live animals and the use of animal blood . Some also include the manipulation of dried animal carcasses and animal parts [ author : Guynup ] . While beast sacrifice has been a part of major religions , including Judaism , it is not unremarkably practiced today .
Snakes , which many hoi polloi find frightening , also play a part in some Voodoo ceremonies and Voodoo symbolization . For example , in Haiti , serpent are associated with one of the most herculean loa , make love as Damballah . For this reasonableness , followers often use mental image of the Catholic St. Patrick that incorporate Snake River to represent Damballah [ source : Dorsey ] .
The idea of spiritual possession is troublesome to many people , but it also has a place in other religions . For example , in Tibetan Buddhism , gods can temporarily inhabit the bodies of oracles . harmonise to Tibetan traditional knowledge , the Nechung Oracle , or the protector deity Dorje Drak - lair in the body of a Buddhist Thelonious Monk , successfully instructed the Dalai Lama on how to escape Taiwanese force in Tibet 1959 [ source : Pulitzer Center ] .
Finally , death is a real part of the Voodoo religion . The spirit of numb ancestors , leaders and other crucial people are central to the Voodoo praxis . Critics argue that the emphasis on appease dead ancestors creates a culture of fear . Supporters counter that many other religions have placed the same emphasis on appeasing idol . In add-on , since death is a topic that makes many people inherently uncomfortable , it is lucid that a spiritual custom that embraces death may make citizenry uncomfortable , too .
While Voodoo has little to do with many of the nefarious aspects multitude link with it , some of the stereotype that surround it have some basis in real Voodoo practice . So what about voodoo dolls ?
Voodoo Dolls
If you jaw the Gallic Quarter in New Orleans or a tourer marketplace in Port - au - Prince , Haiti , you ’ll find uncounted souvenir vendors hawking " authentic " voodoo dolls . accord to caption , voodoo dolls are conduits for blackened magic , allowing the owner to visit hurting on an unwitting victim by sticking the crude trivial effigies with pin .
The true statement is that there is nothing bona fide about voodoo dolls . While dolls can play a role in Voodoo rituals , they are not used to take retaliation or for any other malicious purpose . It ’s a shame that the voodoo doll , a false aim dreamed up for discredit Voodoo as witchcraft , is one of the thing most nearly associated with Voodoo in our collective imagination [ source : call Haiti ] .
In real Voodoo religious drill , chick can be used to communicate with the sidetrack strong drink of have it away ones . A doll might be placed on a grave or hung from a Kapok tree in the cemetery . like to how a loa might possess the consistency of a living person to communicate , Voodoo practitioner might use a doll as a medium to speak with the spirits , just as they would use drum and dance [ origin : The Tempest ] .
An token called apwenis fulfil with object to draw in a loa and make some form of influence over a person . A pwen can come in many forms , one of which happen to be a wench [ source : Learn Religions ] .
But how did voodoo skirt with tholepin become so prevalent in the West ? According to the website Learn Religions , it may have originated in the 1950s " when thousand of ' cashew tree dolls ' were import to the United States from Haiti . These were made of cashew nut shells , and had eyes made of the jequirity bean , a chassis of caster bean which when swallowed by unseasoned child can get serious injury or death . The U.S. government issued a public wellness monition in 1958 , which said that the wench were ' lethal . ' "
From there it ’s a short trip-up to trap - cushion puppets and tinny souvenirs .
