What is Vodun? Vodun is another way of saying voodoo. What do you think of when you hear the word voodoo? Do you think of needles or crazy ceremonies? That is what I thought when I first heard of voodoo, then I looked into it, and it is so interesting. First of all there is all of the exciting details such as that voodoo has been around for almost ten thousand years and the their lives of the people that practice in Africa for example have the Seven African Powers and the spirits and customs of the people that practice voodoo. There are three main types of voodoo there is Haitian Vodou, Louisiana Voodoo, and West African Vodun. Of course there are many other types of voodoo also, but these are the main three.
Vodun did not just appear out of the blue one day long ago, it is said that there are many similarities between Vodun and Roman Catholic beliefs, and that that is where voodoo originated. Both believe in a supreme being and one god, the Loa resemble Christian Saints, both believe in an afterlife, both have a ritual sacrifice and consumption of flesh and blood, and both believe in the existence of invisible spirits as well as evil spirits and demons.
Dahomean Vodoun is the oldest of the types of voodoo in West Africa. Today many Africans are beginning to bring back these beliefs and spread them around the world. In the West African Vodun there is only one god in voodoo contrary to the beliefs that they have numerous gods. They have on god and seven spirits which are listed by name as: Papa Legba, Obatala, Oya, Oshun, Chango, and Ogun. Each one of the spirits also has a day of the week for example Papa Legba’s day of the week is Monday. The spirits are also described as having colors contributed to them as well as num...
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...ater, over mountains, in grottoes, or anywhere else a voice may call out and echo for a span of one full year and one day. These are a few examples of the cultural traditions.
Many people think of voodoo as a frightening experience or they see it in some way that makes them afraid to learn more about the traditions and cultures of the people that practice voodoo. “Voodoo is a belief misunderstood “5 I think this statement is correct in saying that the religion and the culture of voodoo or vodun is greatly misunderstood and often stereotyped into a different subculture of the religion and is wrongly sneered at.
Works Cited
http://www.voodooshop.com/voodoo/FAQanswers/faqgeneral.htm
(http://www.religioustolerance.org/voodoo.htm)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Voodoo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_Vodou http://www.voodoospiritualtemple.org/voodoo.htm
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.
At the University of Chicago, Dunham decided to study anthropology with a focus on African and Caribbean ritual dances. Here, she studied under many of the best anthropologists of the time, and in 1935, she was awarded a grant from the Julius Rosenwald Fund to study dance in any way she wished. So, she decided to use this money to travel to the islands of the West Indies and document the ritual dances of the people. She visited such islands as Jamaica, Trinidad, Martinique and Haiti; however, she found a special connection with the people of Haiti and the dances they performed, particularly in their Vodoun rituals. In 1936, Dunham received a bachelor of philosophy from the University of Chicago, and after gathering her research and materials from her work in the Caribbean, she submitted her thesis, Dances of Haiti: Their Social Organization, Classification, Form, and Function,” to the University of Chicago in 1938.
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
Vodou is a religion that is often misrepresented because of mainstream Hollywood movies. It is a religion that remains an enigma to outsiders, and as a consequence, many incorrect assumptions are made about its practices. To outsiders, Vodou may seem to be based on cursing others with voodoo dolls, sacrificing animals or people, and even being possessed by the devil. However, that is not the case in Mama Lola where an outsider, Karen McCarthy Brown is given an inside view on this secretive religion. Vodou is not as simple as popular culture insinuates, it is a complex religion that involves integrating magic, marriage, possession, and the role of women.
Voodoo (also known as Vodun, Vodou, Umbanda, Quimbanda, and Candomble) originated as an amalgam of African religions during the slave trade. As slaves were shipped from Africa to the Caribbean
In Western culture magic has been traditionally viewed negatively. The word often conjures up images of witches, spells, cults, and dark rituals. As Malidoma displays, in Dagara culture, along with most traditional African culture, magic is viewed positively and is at the core of religion.
Haitian Vodou is the combination of supernatural and mystical components of African religions, along with the ritual basics of Roman Catholicism. They believe that there is one supreme God, but praise spirits, which are recognized as sacred ancestors, African gods, and even Catholic saints. Haitians call these spirits loa. Loas are “African deities who have been inherited through succeeding generations by the descendants of those who brought them to Haiti” (124). It is required to have ritual ceremonies for the loa, so that they can guide, protect, heal, and help those that practice Haitian Vodou. To begin calling down the loa, one must draw the vévé, which is the symbol for the loa on the prayer ground. During these ceremonies, there is a lot of dancing, singing, drumming, prayer, animal sacrifice, and food preparation. Just like Catholicism, a priestess or priest guides the worshipers in the ceremonies. Also in the course of a Vodou ceremony, which ever loa that is being called upon possesses participants to give advice or perform cures. To anyone that does not practice Haitian Vodou, the way these ceremonies are unorthodox, but to Haitians, it is their way of life and what they believe
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.
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
The Song of Solomon ignites a readers imagination by supplying a commonly known man vs man and man vs himself plot with many interesting twists and turns throughout the novel that make it, uniquely its own. Some of these twists and turns include the curious use of voodoo. Voodoo is a black religious cult practiced in the Caribbean and the southern US, combining elements of Roman Catholic ritual with traditional African magical and religious rites, and characterized by sorcery and spirit possession. This element, or magical taste, flavors the novel by adding a creepy yet mystical feeling. This element provides the reader with a heavy sign that The Song of Solomon is no ordinary book. The use of voodoo in The Song of Solomon plays a huge role in marking an ominous happening or characteristic, and it plays an even bigger role in giving hints on a characters personality.
Slaves brought voodoo practices to Haiti a many centuries ago, when they were brought over from a West African country, Dah...
As referred to in many parts of West Africa, the Dahomean religion of voodoo means “spirit” or “deity” in the Fon language and it is described as a highly structured religious and magical system. Many people during those times also referred to voodoo as hoodoo which is the negative term used for voodoo. With duties, symbols, rituals, and faithful adherents, this system of voodoo is both complex and functional. Most people have a response of fear which is based on exaggerated negative views of the supernatural world of voodoo. On the lighter side a laughter response is often motivated by an ignorance that associates voodoo with mere superstition. Then there is respect, this comes from one’s knowledge that voodoo is a functional religious system from West Africa.
A zombie is defined as a fictional undead demon or a person in a rapt state being controlled by a bokor, sorcerer, or a wizard. The origin of the zombie appears to of first emerge from Western African Vodun and Haitian Voodoo. Vodun is the traditional organized religion of coastal West Africa. In this religion a deceased person can be revived by a bokor, like a sorcerer or priest, and these “zombies” will remain under the control of the bokor since they have no will of their own, according to the tenets of West African Vodun. Another tradition of this religion is that of the zombi astral. Elizabeth McAlister, of Wesleyan University, reports that this is part of the human soul that is captured by a bokor and used to enhance the bokor’s power. The zombi astral is usually kept inside a bottle in which the bokor can sell to clients for things like luck, healing or business success. Vodun legend proclaims that feeding a zombie salt will make it return to the grave. The concept of zombies exists within the West African Vodun religion, as well as within Haitian Voodoo.