Voodoo

From TinWiki.org

Artist's Rendition of a Voodoo Doll

Voodoo, also known as Louisiana Voodoo, New Orleans Voodoo, and Delta Voodoo, originated from the ancestral religions of the African Diaspora. It is a cultural form of the Voodoo religions which developed in the French and Creole speaking African-American population of Louisiana.

It is one of the many incarnations of African-based religions rooted in the West African Dahomean Vodou tradition and the Central African traditions found in Haitian Vodou. They became syncretized with the Catholic religion as a result of the massive forced migrations and displacements of the slave trade.

Voodoo is often confused with Haitian Vodou and southeastern US hoodoo. It generally shares the same loa (spirits of the religion) as Haitian Vodou, but it lays a generally greater emphasis upon folk magic (like hoodoo).

It was through Louisiana Voodoo that such terms as gris-gris and voodoo dolls were introduced into the American lexicon.

1 History
2 Beliefs
3 Modern Louisiana Voodoo
4 Rituals
5 Evil Sorcery
6 External Links
7 Relevant discussion threads on AboveTopSecret.com

[edit]

History

The Vodou religion was brought to the southeast US through the many ethnic African groups during the slave trade. Slave owners forbade the Africans from practicing Vodou under penalty of death and forced many to convert to Catholicism in areas that were controlled by Catholics. There was syncretization or creolization of the names and aspects of the Voodoo Iwa (spirits or gods) to those of the Christian saints who most closely resembled their areas of expertise or power.

In the US, Vodou is a syncretic religion that combines traditional African religions with Roman Catholicism. After the Haitian revolution in 1804, many French colonists and free people of color immigrated to Louisiana, bringing slaves who kept their traditions alive on American soil. Some free people of color also practiced Vodou.

[edit]

Beliefs

Voodoo, like Christianity, is a religion of many traditions. Each group follows a different spiritual path and worships a slightly different group of spirits, called loa. The word means "mystery" in the Yoruba language.

There are a number of beliefs common in both Voodoo and Roman Catholicism.

Both believe in a supreme being.
The Loa resemble Christian Saints, in that they were once people who led exceptional lives, and are usually given a single responsibility or special attribute.
Both believe in an afterlife.
Both have, as the centerpiece of some of their ceremonies, a ritual sacrifice and consumption of flesh and blood.
Both believe in the existence of invisible evil spirits or demons.
Followers of Vodun believe that each person has a met tet (master of the head) which corresponds to a Christian's patron saint.

The followers of Voodoo believe that each person has a soul that is composed of two parts:

Gros bon ange: big guardian angel
Ti bon ange: little guardian angel

The ti bon ange leaves the body during sleep and when a person is possessed by a loa during a ritual. There are concerns that the ti bon ange can be damaged or captured by evil sorcery while it is free of the body.

[edit]

Modern Louisiana Voodoo

Today about 15% of the population of New Orleans practices Voodoo. Modern Voodoo has taken several directions:

Spiritualist Reverends and Mothers who have their own churches
Hoodoos who integrate and work spells and superstitions
Elements of European witchcraft and the occult
Traditionalists for whom the practice of Voodoo is a most natural and important part of their daily lives, a positive search for ancient roots and wisdom

The practice of Voodoo involves the search for higher levels of consciousness in the belief that -as indeed all of the ancient scriptures teach - it is we who must open the way towards the Gods. for when we call out from our hearts, the Gods hear and indeed are compelled to respond. Voodoo is a powerful mystical practice between (Wo)Man and God thus saving him/her from further estrangement from the very universe that (s)he is born into.

[edit]

Rituals

The purpose of Voodoo rituals is to make contact with a spirit, to gain their favor by offering them sacrifices and gifts, and to obtain help. Human and loa depend on each other. Humans provide food and other materials for the loa, and the loa provide health, protection from evil spirits, and good fortune for the humans. 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, at marriage, and at death.

Voodoo priests can be male (houngan) or female (mambo). A Voodoo temple is called a hounfour, at its center, a poteau-mitan (a pole where the God and spirits communicate with the people. An altar will be elaborately decorated with candles, pictures of Christian saints, and symbolic items related to the loa.

Rituals consist of some of the following components:

A feast before the main ceremony
Creation of a veve, a pattern of flour or cornmeal on the floor which is unique to the Loa for whom the ritual is to be conducted
Shaking a rattle and beating drums which have been cleansed and purified
Chanting
Dancing by the houngan and/or mambo and the hounsis (students studying Vodun or Voodoo). The dancing will typically build in intensity until one of the dancers (usually a hounsis) becomes possessed by a Loa and falls. His or her ti bon ange has left their body and the spirit has taken control. The possessed dancer will behave as the Loa and is treated with respect and ceremony by the others present.
Animal sacrifice; this may be a goat, sheep, chicken, or dog. They are usually humanely killed by slitting their throat; blood is collected in a vessel. The possessed dancer may drink some of the blood. The hunger of the Loa is then believed to be satisfied. The animal is usually cooked and eaten. Animal sacrifice is a method of consecrating food for consumption by followers of Vodun, their gods and ancestors.

[edit]

Evil Sorcery

The houngan and mambos confine their activities to "white" magic, used to bring good fortune and healing. Caplatas (also known as bokors) perform acts of evil sorcery or black magic, sometimes called "left-handed Vodun or Voodoo". Rarely will a houngan engage in black magic.

One belief unique to Voodoo is that a dead person can be revived after having been buried. After resurrection, the zombie has no will of their own, remaining under the control of others. In reality, a zombie is a living person who has never died but is under the influence of powerful drugs administered by an evil sorcerer. There are few recorded instances of persons who have claimed to be zombies.

Sticking pins in dolls was once used as a method of cursing an individual by some followers of Voodoo in New Orleans. The practice became closely related to Voodoo in the public mind through images in horror movies.

[edit]