AN INTRODUCTION TO VOODOO
by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance and the Editors of PorchNus
Vodoun, also commonly (and often, pejoratively) called Voodoo or, more derisively, Hoodoo, originated among the Dahomean people of West Africa. The word Vodoun derives from vodu, meaning spirit or deity in the Fon language.
After centuries of church and governmental opposition, it has only recently received official sanction by the government of present day Benin (formerly Dahomey). The religion was exported with slaves to the Western Hemisphere and has flourished in the Caribbean country of Haiti.
From there, Vodoun has migrated with Haitians to many other parts of the world, with particularly strong communities in New Orleans, Miami and New York City. Vodoun is thought to have fifty million followers worldwide.
Vodoun shares numerous beliefs with the Ifa religion of the Yoruba people of southern Nigeria who, also as slaves, brought their religion to the New World where it is known today as Ifa, Yoruba Faith, Santeria and under other names.
To a much greater extent than was the case with Ifa, Vodoun evolved in Haiti to accomodate rituals and terminology found in the French Catholicism of the slave owners.
Most of the slaves were actually baptized in the Catholic Church. They applied the names of Catholic saints to some of their ancestral deities and incorporated Catholic statues, candles and holy relics into their rituals. African-derived religions evolved somewhat differently in Jamaica, Trinidad, Cuba and Brazil.
While, throughout the Caribbean region, one finds today many similarities of belief structure and pantheons among these religions, Vodoun has many characteristics that make it stand apart from the others.
A highly malleable religion, Vodoun beliefs and practices can vary hugely from community to community in Haiti itself, where the religion is still widely practiced.
Today, there are two virtually unrelated forms of the religion:
The actual religion, Vodoun practiced in Benin, Haiti, Dominican Republic and various centers in the US where Haitian refuges have settled.
An evil, imaginary religion, which we will call Voodoo here. It has been created for Hollywood movies. It does not exist, except in the minds of most non-Vodouns.
An inaccurate and sensational book (S. St. John's Haiti or the Black Republic) was written in 1884. It described Vodoun as a profoundly evil religion, and included lurid descriptions of human sacrifice, cannibalism, etc., some of which had been extracted from Vodoun priests by torture.
This book caught the imagination of people outside the West Indies, and was responsible for much of the misunderstanding and fear that is present today. Hollywood found this a rich source for Voodoo screen plays. Horror movies began in the 1930's and continue today to misrepresent Vodoun. It is only since the late 1950's that accurate studies by anthropologists have been published.
VODOUN BELIEFS
Vodoun, like Christianity, is a religion of many sects. Each group follows a different spiritual path and worships a slightly different pantheon of spirits, called Loa (or Ioa). The word means mystery in the Yoruba language.
There are hundreds of minor spirits. Those originating in Dahomey are called Rada; those who were added later are often deceased leaders in the New World and are called Petro.
Some of these are:
Veve for Loa Papa Legba
Agwe: spirit of the sea
Aida Wedo: rainbow spirit
Ayza: protector
Baka: an evil spirit who takes the form of an animal
Baron Samedi: guardian of the grave
Dambala (or Damballah-Wedo): serpent spirit
Erinle: spirit of the forests
Ezili (or Erzulie): female spirit of love
Mawu Lisa: spirit of creation
Ogou Balanjo: spirit of healing
Ogun (or Ogu Bodagris): spirit of war
Osun: spirit of healing streams
Sango (or Shango): spirit of storms
Yemanja: female spirit of waters
Zaka (or Oko): spirit of agriculture
There are a number of points of similarity between Roman Catholicism and Vodoun:
Both believe in a supreme being.
The Loa resemble Christian Saints, in that they were once people who led exceptional lives, and are usually given a single responsibility or special attribute.
Both believe in an afterlife.
Both have as the center point of their ceremony a ritual sacrifice and consumption of flesh and blood. Both believe in the existence of invisible evil spirits or demons.
Followers of Vodoun believe that each person has a met tet (master of the head) which corresponds to a Christian's patron saint.
Followers of Vodoun believe that each person has a soul which is composed of two parts: a gros bon ange or big guardian angel, and a ti bon ange or little guardian angel.
The latter leaves the body during sleep and when a person is possessed by a Loa during ritual. There is concern that the ti bon ange can be damaged or captured by evil sorcery while it is free of the body.
VODOUN RITUALS
The purpose of rituals is to make contact with the spirit, to gain their favor by offering them animal sacrifices and gifts, to obtain help in the form of more abundant food, higher standard of living, and improved health.
Human and Loa depend upon each other; humans provide food and other materials; the Loa provide health, protection from evil spirits and good fortune. Rituals are held to celebrate lucky events, to attempt to escape a run of bad fortune, to celebrate a seasonal day associated with a Loa, for healing, at birth, marriage and death.
Vodoun priests can be male (houngan or hungan), or female (mambo). A Vodoun temple is called a hounfour (or humfort).
At its center is a poteau-mitan a pole where the God and spirits communicate with the people. An altar will be elaborately decorated with candles, pictures of Christian saints, symbolic items related to the Loa, etc.
Rituals consist of some of the following components:
A feast before the main ceremony.
Creation of a veve, a pattern of flour or cornmeal on the floor which is unique to the Loa for whom the ritual is to be conducted.
Shaking a rattle and beating drums which have been Veve for Loa Papa Ogou cleansed and purified.
Chanting.
Dancing by the houngan and/or mambo and the hounsis (students studying Vodoun). The dancing will typically build in intensity until one of the dancers (usually a hounsis) becomes possessed by a Loa and falls. His or her ti bon ange has left their body and the spirit has taken control. The possessed dancer will behave as the Loa and is treated with respect and ceremony by the others present.
Animal sacrifice; this may be a goat, sheep, chicken, or dog. They are usually killed by slitting their throat; blood is collected in a vessel. The possessed dancer may drink some of the blood. The hunger of the Loa is then believed to be satisfied. The animal is usually cooked and eaten.
EVIL SORCERY
The houngan and mambos confine their activities to white magic which is used to bring good fortune and healing. However caplatas (also known as bokors) perform acts of evil sorcery or black magic, sometimes called left-handed Vodoun. Rarely, a houngan will engage in such sorcery; a few alternate between white and dark magic.
One belief unique to Vodoun is that a dead person can be revived after having been buried. After resurrection, the zombie has no will of their own, but remains under the control of others.
In reality, a zombie is a living person who has never died, but is under the influence of powerful drugs administered by an evil sorcerer. Although most Haitians believe in zombies, few have ever seen one. There are a few recorded instances of persons who have claimed to be zombies.
Sticking pins in voodoo dolls was once used as a method of cursing an individual by some followers of Vodoun in New Orleans; this practice continues occasionally in South America. The practice became closely associated with Voodoo in the public mind because of horror movies.
For Additional Reading: Numerous websites with information about Vodoun and other African-derived religions are listed in African Religions at
http://members.aol.com/porchfour/religion/african.htm .
Art Credits: Artwork and descriptions about Veves (including those depicted in this article) may be found at Vodoun Veves:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/5319/veves.htm .
A website with a glossary of Vodoun terms, descriptions of songs and dances, and a list of Vodoun Loa with corresponding duties, colors and symbols is available at Vodoun Culture
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/5319 .
used by permission:porchnus-the e-zine of the front porch-
http://members.aol.com/porchfour/beliefs/vodoun.html
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