The Development of Haitian Vodou

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The Taino People
The country of Haiti makes up one third of the island of Hispaniola, which is located in the western hemisphere. The first inhabitants of the island of Hispaniola were the Arawarks, or Tainos. They named the island Ayiti, which means mountainous land. The native West Indians were nomadic in nature and settled in Haiti around 250 C.E. Initially described as primitive by early European colonists, the Tainos had well established societies and religious systems. Their patriarchical society was arranged into a hierarchy. There were multiple kings called caciques over their individual kingdoms. Similarity with other indigenous groups, men did the hard labor. They would work the lands, cultivating fields and hunting for food. Men would also do woodwork including, but not limited to basket weaving. Women on the other hand would contribute to the house work by prepping and cooking food as well as assisting in basket weaving. Tainos were polygamist; the average man would have three wives, the king was able to have ten times more than that.
Tainos had an established religious system with belief in gods and goddesses (Zemis), myths, worship and devotion to lesser deities, and various rituals. The polytheistic religion of the Tanios was headed by Yocaju, the creator god. Yocaju shared powers of creation with his mother, Atabex. She is the goddess of fertility, fresh waters, and the moon where as he is the god of the sea and cassava, a staple crop on the island. Lesser deities are associated with other natural occurrences such as Guabancex who is the goddess over storms. Of the numerous myths the Tanios had, one in particular is about the creation of the ocean. Tanios believed that a god killed his son and stored his bo...

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...actitioners hold dual membership in the original religious groups. It has been a common thing to recite Catholic prayers and Hail Mary before ceremonies that are supposed to be dedicated to Vodou spirits.

Bibliography

African Holocaust. "Vodoo: African Spiritual Religious Systems." African Holocaust. 2014. http://www.africanholocaust.net/news_ah/vodoo.htm (accessed April 2014).
Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti. Performed by Maya Deren. 1985.
Edmonds, Ennis B., and Michelle A. Gonzalez. Caribbean Religious History. New York and London: New York University Press, 2010.
Graves, Kerry A. Haiti (Countries & Culture). Mankato: Capstone Press, 2002.
Mitchell, Mozella G. Crucial Issues in Caribbean Religions. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., 2009.
Rouse, Irving. Tainos: Rise and Decline of the People Who Greeted Colombus. Yale Univeristy, 1992.

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