| Vodun
(a.k.a. Vodoun, Voudou, Voodoo, Sevi Lwa) is commonly called Voodoo by the public. The name is
traceable to an African word for "spirit". Vodun's roots go back to the West
African Yoruba people who lived in 18th and 19th century Dahomey. That country occupied
parts of today's Togo, Benin and Nigeria. Slaves brought their religion with them when
they were forcibly shipped to Haiti and other islands in the West Indies. Voodoo
,
national religion of Haiti, is also practiced in Cuba,
Trinidad, Brazil, and the southern United States, especially Louisiana. Voodoo combines
elements of Roman Catholicism and tribal religions of western Africa, particularly Benin.
Voodoo cults worship a high god, Bon Dieu; ancestors or, more generally, the dead; twins;
and spirits called Ioa. The Ioa, which may vary from cult to cult, are African
tribal gods that are usually identified with Roman Catholic saints. The snake god, for
example, is identified with St. Patrick. Other elements of Roman Catholicism in voodoo
include the use of candles, bells, crosses, and prayers and the practices of baptism and
making the sign of the cross. Among the African elements are dancing, drumming, and the
worship of ancestors and twins.
The
rituals of voodoo are often led by a priest, called a houngan, or a priestess,
called a mambo. During the ritual the worshipers invoke the Ioa by drumming,
dancing, singing, and feasting, and the Ioa take possession of the dancers. Each dancer
then behaves in a manner characteristic of the possessing spirit and while in an ecstatic
trance performs cures and gives advice.
|
Spirit Calling Sticks |
 The
Voodoo Doll is a product of the belief in the power
of symbols. These dolls are generally crudely fashioned from wax and incorporate hair or
nail clippings from the person the doll is supposed to represent. Obviously, the doll
represents that person, and the hair or nails just ties the doll and the person closer
together. The idea is that if you inflict harm upon the doll, the person will experience
similar harm. And if the person is hurt, it's probably because he believes so strongly in
the power of the symbolic doll that he manifests psychosomatic symptoms rather than from
any real magical effects.
Despite the fact that voodoo dolls are almost universally
associated with voodoo, actual practitioners in Haiti rarely use them, and they are
not at all important to the fundamental practices of the religion. Indeed, they
primarily seem to serve as souvenirs sold to tourists in voodoo shops in New Orleans.
|
Pagan Spirituality
