Voodoo Religion The Voodoo religion is one of the most, if not the most misconceived religions of our time. Often when Voodoo is mentioned, it is related to evil, black magic, devious sorcery, cannibalism, and harm. Although the Voodoo religion appears to the outsider as an illusion or falsehood, it has been an instrumental political force because it has helped the Haitians resist domination and form an identity of their own. Since the end of the 17th century, Haitian Voodoo has overcome every challenge it has been faced with and has endured. The religion is based on a polytheistic belief system and represents a significant portion of Haiti’s 8.3 million people. The engaging religion plays an important role in both the family and the community. Voodoo ceremonies allow participants to seek spiritual guidance, or help with their problems, making the religion a source of comfort. The main activity in Voodoo is the boundary between visible and invisible realities. Practitioners believe that there are no accidents, everything affects something else, and the universe is all one. In Voodoo, reality and illusion are fused to make things happen. Voodoo cannot be explained. Voodoo is a very promising religion. It offers comfort and support to practitioners while Haiti remains unstable. There is a strong sense of tradition, but it is a very unique sense of tradition. Voodoo has no formal dogma, no specific organization, and no written text. There is no right or wrong way to practice Voodoo. Because there was no formal history of Voodoo practitioners believed it was easier to form a bond with the supernatural world. Each individual has his/her own relationship with his or her specified god, and each relationship is unique. The religion is in the hands of the practitioner. People can choose how deep they wish to get involved in this religion. A practitioner of Voodoo decides for him or herself how to establish their personal bond with the supernatural. In comparison religions like Catholicism, have guidelines to follow and consequences for all your actions. Voodoo allowed Haiti to form an identity of its own. Voodoo has been instrumental in the survival of Haiti because of its individualistic way of thinking. It is important to keep in mind that Haiti has been, and continues to be one of the most impoverished nations is the world. The fact that Ha... ... middle of paper ... ...on of the slaves of Haiti from who most black Haitians descended from. Philippe Casiera a Voodoo priest said, “ In spite of our contribution to Haitian culture, we are still misunderstood and despised” (Okara, Origins of Voodoo). Voodoo helps and guides people who suffer and it serves as a comfort for those in need. Historically in Haiti Voodoo has and continues to be a very successful religion. Sources Cited Anderson, Michelle. “Authentic Voodoo is Synthetic.” The Drama Review Summer, 1982: 89-110. “Common Misconceptions About Vodoun” 20 May. http://pub47.bravenet.com/faq/show.php?usernum=3951612168&catid=104 Guynup, Sharon. “Haiti: Possessed by Voodoo.” National Geographic July. 2004. 20 May. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/07/0707_040707_tvtaboovoodoo.html Hunte, Tracie. “UF professor: Haitian voodoo similar to western practices.” Alligator online 20 May. http://www.alligator.org/edit/issues/00-spring/000225/b08forum25.htm “Origins of Voodoo” 10 May. http://www.swagga.com/voodoo.htm Turlington, Shannon. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Voodoo. USA: Alpha, 2002. Webster’s Dictionary & thesaurus. “Voodoo.” New York: Shooting Star Press, 1995.
Although the thought of being involved in such rituals is scary, I developed a deeper understanding and appreciation for the practices that Haitian voodoo participants, if it is appropriate to refer to such people as, engage in. The most impressive bit of information that I will keep with me is to be less judgmental of others; “people who practice voodoo believe in the same God as Christianity, but they also believe in communicating with other spirits, who serve various roles in healing, casting spells, and more” (Boudreaux, 2015a, p. 110). As a golden rule, I know that I should not be judgmental of others anyway, but I am human and am prone to quickly create stereotypes in my mind. I don’t always share those thoughts, but thinking makes me just as guilty as doing or saying. I am thankful for the reminder that all people are children of God, and I should research and learn about different beliefs before I make a judgmental decision, if I make that judgment at
It is amazing how two religions, such as Voodoo and Christianity, can be filled with so many awesome differences with respect to time eras, status, publicity, and language, and yet still have an almost identical core ideal. This also demonstrates that this core ideal of the use of humans as a mouthpiece of the divine has been a long lived concept which people, such as Mama Lola and her family, still believe in and practice today. Perhaps this proves there is some truth in the idea, and most likely, we will never know for sure, whether this concept, in it’s many different forms continues to live on, or if it dies out.
Gervel, David. "Island Magazine Discover the Creole Culture around the World : Louisiana Creole Culture & Voodoo Tradition." Island Magazine Discover the Creole Culture around the World : Louisiana Creole Culture & Voodoo Tradition. N.p., 26 Aug. 2012. 30 Apr. 2014. Web.
“Religion is a set of rituals, rationalized by myth, which mobilizes supernatural powers for the purpose of achieving or preventing transformations of state in man and nature” (107). When the Europeans colonized Haiti, they brought over African slaves with them. These slaves had already established African religious practices, prior to being brought to Haiti. As the French got acquainted with Haiti, they were also forcing Roman Catholic traditions upon the slaves. As a result, there was the birth of the religion Haitian Vodou. These enslaved Africans were not allowed to practice Haitian Vodou openly because it offended those that practiced Catholicism, the French wanted full control over the slaves in every aspect, and anyone outside of
When one first hears the word Vodou, immediately images of curses and little model dolls come to mind. We tend to synonymize it with words like sinister, evil and revenge. However, Vodou is nothing like what mainstream North American media has brainwashed people into believing. As best put by Patrick Bellegarde-Smith, “Vodou is far more than [a religion] it's a spiritual system” (Tippet and Bellegarde-Smith 145). Haitian Vodou is a spiritual system that syncretizes the practices of Roman Catholicism with West African spirituality. This paper will contextualize Vodou and give a brief history on what it is, explain how I came to gain an interest in Vodou and close off with an introduction to Chouk Bwa Libète a traditional Haitian Mizik Rasin—roots
Socioeconomic status plays a huge part in how Haitians identify themselves, and influences their actions greatly. Many Haitians wil...
...white people were the change-makers and shapers of Vodun, when actually black people adapted their religion to suite oppressive conditions. As time went on “Voodoo had become less of a religion than a political association [which was] and inherent characteristic of black religion from the slave period” (46). This happened not only in America, but in Haiti as well. This not only highlights the evolution of Vodun from religion, to a political force, but also the adaptability of Vodun as well.
Haiti means “mountains country” Haitian culture represents a specific mix of physical characters especially skin color, hair texture. hair color and facial features the African culture is an ethics mix of African and European elements due to the French, African and indigenous dialects. Major customs of Haitian culture are Catholicism and voodoo a mixture of African animism which means belief in spirits and nature, some Haitians even practice both at one time. There are significant holidays in the Haitian culture as well voodoo is considered a holiday(is a belief system based on practices and traditions that originates from west African traditional regions)
Haiti is drenched in poverty, corruption, and lack of education. Due to these aspects Haiti is “the least developed country in the western hemisphere”. With only one-third of suitable land...
Like Santeria, Voodoo is a syncretic religion that embodies the beliefs and practices of Christianity with those of traditional West African religions. Voodoo is also a monotheistic religion, with the God Bondye being the supreme creator. Bondye is similar to Olodumare in that he does not interfere with the lives of his believers, so Voodoo practitioners redirect their worship and rituals to spiritual deities known as lwa. Lwa are regularly contacted and worshipped through various forms of rituals; these rituals include altars, possession by spirits, and elaborate ceremonies. The purpose of the rituals is to appease the lwa to lend assistance to believers in times of need, or for general good faith measure, to prevent angering of the lwa and the possible dire consequences that may follow. As with Santeria, the syncretism of Catholic imagery and objects is inherent to the religion, and these objects are usually included in the rituals of Voodoo
African-Inspired religions have also prevailed when they were forced to come to the Americas. Voodoo and Santería are some of the main religions practiced in Latin America.Voodoo is commonly practiced in Haiti and Santería is practiced throughout Cuba and Puerto Rico. Santería times their rituals to those of the Catholic church, such as Easter and Christmas.
The word community is defined as a group of individuals residing in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. We all, whether we know this or not, belong to particular communities and even sub communities (self contained community within an unusually large area). One particular community that I've been a part of during my entire life is the Haitian community. An Haitian Community is usually a place where a group of Haitian nationals reside, we share many cultural beliefs and practices together. In this paper I will be investigating some of the beliefs and practices of the Haitian Community.
They eat a lot of beans and rice, usually mixed with some sort of meat. Such as pork, goat, lamb, and other meats. On the French side, they eat a lot of spaghetti, they eat spaghetti for breakfast, and make shakes out of it. One of the drinks they make is Haitian hot chocolate. It has Haitian cocoa, star anise, (which is a spice) cinnamon, and vanilla. They eat a lot of mushrooms, and other fresh foods. Haiti also has some customs and traditions. Greetings are very important, men usually shake hands, and women throw kisses. Everyone else kiss on the cheek. They also have a lot of other traditions, such as participating in Carnival, it is very close to New Orlean’s Mardi Gra celebration. Sadly many people also participate in voodoo ceremonies, they have voodoo priests, and priestesses. Other occasions they celebrate are baptisms, first communions, and other catholic traditions. The best thing is that they all believe that children are a gift from
Values, morals, traditions, and life styles differ from one culture to another and this can result in communication difficulties for people of varying backgrounds. From the text, one can conclude that the author’s mother grew up in Haiti and still has relatives living there (pgs. 2-3); therefore, she is very firm in her native customs. Countries such as Haiti tend to live by traditional ideologies and old school ways of living. Compared
The Enlightenment and the emerging of modern rationalism have paved the way to a worldview where the suspicion of witchcraft is not needed to explain the mysterious phenomena of this world. This is not the case in Africa. The belief in the existence of witches, evil persons who are able to harm others by using mystical powers, is part of the common cultural knowledge. Samuel Waje Kunhiyop states, “Almost all African societies believe in witchcraft in one form or another. Belief in witchcraft is the traditional way of explaining the ultimate cause of evil, misfortune or death.” The African worldview is holistic. In this perception, things do not just happen. What happens, either good or bad, is traced back to human action, including “ancestors who can intervene by blessing or cursing the living.” Witches, on the other hand, harm because they want to destroy life. Every misfortune or problem can be related to witchcraft, especially when natural explanation is not satisfactory.