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The name VooDoo is traceable to an
African word for "spirit". VooDoo can be directly traced to the West
African Yoruba people who lived in 18th and 19th century Dahomey.
Its roots may go back 6,000 years in Africa. That country occupied
parts of today's Togo, Benin and Nigeria. Slaves brought their
religion with them when they were forcibly shipped to Haiti and
other islands in the West Indies.
During the colonial times VooDoo was actively
practiced. "Many Priests
were either killed or imprisoned, and their shrines destroyed,
because of the threat they posed to Euro-Christian/Muslim dominion.
This forced some of the Dahomeans to form VooDoo Orders and to
create underground societies, in order to continue the veneration of
their ancestors, and the worship of their powerful gods." It is also
followed by most of the adults in Haiti. It can be found in many of
the large cities in North America, particularly in New Orleans.
An inaccurate and sensational book (S. St. John, "Haiti or the Black
Republic") was written in 1884. This
book described VooDoo as a profoundly
evil religion. It included cannibalism,
lurid descriptions of human sacrifice and
so on. Some
believed Voodoo priests were tortured with great force for the
information.
The people outside of the West Indies
caught on to this book and
they were responsible for much of the
misunderstanding of voodoo as well as the fear that is present today
with voodoo. Hollywood found
this a rich source for Voodoo screen plays. Horror movies began in
the 1930's and continue today to misrepresent VooDoo. It is only
since the late 1950's that accurate studies by anthropologists have
been published.
VooDoo, like Christianity, is a religion of many traditions. Each
group follows a different spiritual path and worships a slightly
different pantheon of spirits, called Loa. The word means "mystery"
in the Yoruba language. Yoruba traditional beliefs included a
remote and unknowable chief
God Olorun. This chief authorized God Obatala,
a lesser god, to create all the life forms
on earth. A battle between the
two Gods led to Obatala's temporary banishment. There are hundreds
of minor spirits. Those which originated from Dahomey are called
Rada; those who were added later are often deceased leaders in the
new world and are called Petro. Some of these
Voodoo followers believed that each person has a soul which is
made 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 the person is possessed by a Loa during a ritual. There is a
concern that the ti bon ange can be damaged or captured by evil
sorcery while it is free of the body.
The purpose of rituals is to make contact with a 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 of celebration associated with a Loa, for
healing, at birth, marriage and death. VooDoo priests can be male (houngan
or hungan), or female (mambo). A VooDoo 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.
One belief unique to VooDoo 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 VooDoo in New Orleans; this
practice continues occasionally in South America. The practice
became closely associated with Voodoo in the public mind through the
vehicle of horror movies. |
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