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| Vodou altar. UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. Photo by Dennis Nervig.Image Source (www.lameca.org) |
Vodou (or commonly misidentified as voodoo) is a complex religion practiced by up to 80 million people worldwide. Despite its popularity it is a largely misunderstood religion due to inaccurate popular culture depictions based in false reports collected in the 1800s from tortured practitioners. Today's blog post is dedicated to rectifying some of these misunderstandings about Vodou by providing a short summary of what it is and is not. The history of the religion, its origins, and basics of its modern practice will be discussed in order to inform the reader of Vodou.
Vodou is a religion that comes from various other religions. It draws upon various African and Native American faiths, in addition to Catholicism. Vodou began in the mid-1700s among African slaves who were taken to Haiti. These individuals were prohibited from practicing their own religions, which they opted to continue to practice in secret. As they came in contact with Native Americans they began to incorporate their ideological beliefs into the African religions. Catholicism was forced upon the slaves by their masters as a means of social control as the masters believed that their slaves would be much more submissive by practicing Catholicism. In the beginning the slaves went through the motions of practicing Catholicism, but they eventually found several elements of the religion were similar to their own African faiths and they elected to incorporate these elements into their practices. From this the syncretic religion of Vodou was born.
As Haitian slaves were moved they took Vodou with them. It spread from Haiti to Louisiana, which is the second most populace place of practice today, and eventually throughout South America. Today, Vodou is practiced among various populations, particularly Haitian populations. You can find Vodou practiced wherever a large proportion of Haitian immigrants exist, as well as in Benin, an African country where the religion is the state religion.
Popular belief characterizes Vodou as a scary religion full of cannibalism, human sacrifice, and demonic possession. These views originated from false confessions collected from tortured Vodou practitioners in the 1800s and were widely published. They were eventually spread by Hollywood cinema as Vodou is used as a means of initiating various dangerous and scary movie story lines. These depictions are inaccurate and negative stereotypes that harm both the religion and its practitioners.
Vodou is a very complex religion that is quite peaceful and in many ways beautiful in its practice. Vodou practitioners believe in a paramount deity as well as several lesser deities who represent ancestors, natural elements, and gods & goddesses. These lesser deities are often referred to as the Lwa. Vodou practitioners worship the Lwa through offerings of food and goods left at temples and shrines dedicated to the Lwa, who are consulted in various matters related to one's life. The primary tenant of the religion is service to the community, which is one of the reasons why the Lwa are consulted. These consultations can be done by individual practitioners or through the guidance of Vodou priests or priestesses, who are trained for such purposes.
In summary, Vodou is a very complex religion that has roots in various African, Native American, and Catholic faiths. It has been practiced for centuries, and it is popular among various peoples globally today. The popular depictions of this religion are wrong and do not do the religion any justice because it underscores the beautiful complexity of the faith and its practitioners.
Bibliography
Alexandre, JA. 2015.
“Voodoo and Christianity: Compatibility or Irreconcilable Differences?” Christian Research Institute. http://www.equip.org/article/voodoo-christianity-compatibility-irreconcilable-differences/
Dr. E. 2016. “What is the Difference Between Voodoo,
Hoodoo, and Santeria?” Santeria Church
of Orishes. http://santeriachurch.org/what-is-the-difference-between-voodoo-hoodoo-and-santeria/
Haas, SA. 2011. “What is Voodoo? Understanding a Misunderstood Religion.” Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/saumya-arya-haas/what-is-vodou_b_827947.html
No Author. No
Date. “Chapter 1: The Origin of
Voodoo.” http://www.univie.ac.at/Anglistik/webprojects/LiveMiss/Voodoo/chap1.htm
No Author. 2002. “Voodoo Religion: The History.” Voodoo Religion. All About…
http://www.allabouttheoccult.org/voodoo-religion.htm
Robinson, B.A. 2010. “Religions
of the World: Vodun (aka Voodoo) and related religions.” Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. http://www.religioustolerance.org/voodoo.htm
