Voodoo Religion

Introduction Voodoo is a religion that is different from most traditional religions such as Christianity. The origination of the Voodoo religion came from Africa, however it is said to be a collective combination of Catholic and Native American practices as well. This paper will discuss varies topics of Voodoo such as what it is not, the beliefs and practices that surround death and afterlife, the myth of the Voodoo creation and compare the religion of Voodoo to that of Christianity.

Precursor Information Over the years Voodoo, as a religion, was not uniform with spelling, Meaning there are many ways to write the word Voodoo such as; Vodun, Vodou, Vodoun, Vaudou and Vaudoux. Therefore Voodoo will encompass all words listed. According

Places such as Haiti, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Brazil and America were all impacted by this new found religion among the slaves. Being a slave meant that these individuals were stripped of all individuality including depriving the slaves of their language, culture, heritage, and religion therefore this religion had to take different forms (AfricanHolocaust.net). Those that practiced Voodoo had to be practiced in secret, since in some places it was punishable by death. Countries such as Brazil, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Cuba had to change the name of Voodoo to “Candomble” and “Obeah” in order to hide the Voodoo traditions. Haiti was the only country that sustained strong beliefs to the original rituals and beliefs through the Haitian

Death is a transition to the invisible world. Voodooist must connect with the “loa”, Author B. A Robinson states “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”. Voodooist believe that

Afterlife rituals vary depending on the country it is being practiced in. According to the Haitian tradition were Voodooist runs deep within the county once death happens it is said that the deceased soul’s stays with the body for the time of one week. After a years’ time a Voodooist priest will perform a ritual that releases the soul from the body and allow it to enter what is called “dark water.” If this ritual is not done then the souls will be lost within earth as a bad omen. Along with the “dark water” ritual another ritual is performed after a years’ time. This release ritual takes the soul to a clay jar called “govi” where the souls of the deceased can be used by family members as a tool for guidance in life (MacFarland,