Voodoo

**Voodoo** is the name of an animist, spiritual worldview that began in West Africa. It has many different names and spellings (including _vodun, vodou, voudou, vudu, vodoun, vowdown, vooodooo,_ and _vundun_).

## Beliefs

Voodoo is animist and spiritist. Its followers believe that all things have spirits, and these spirits survive the death of the body.

People who practice Voodoo pray to many gods, and they call upon the spirits of their ancestors for inspiration, protection, or help. Voodoo often has rituals that include music and dancing.  Drums are used to make most of this music.

In Voodoo, people often believe that a spirit is inside their body, controlling them. This is a wanted and important experience. The spirit can speak for the gods or dead loved ones, and can also help to heal or do magic.

### Is it a religion?

Some people argue that Voodoo is a way of living or viewing the world - not just a religion. For example, Encyclopedia Britannica calls Voodoo "a worldview encompassing philosophy, medicine, justice, and religion."

People with this view say that Voodoo is a supernatural ancestral connection, passed from generation to generation by word of mouth (oral tradition), rituals, and spiritual practices.

Voodoo has variations from tribe to tribe. Religion, on the other hand, is based on formal organization, myths and dogma in texts, buildings constructed for worship, and a hierarchy of ordained leaders.

## Vodou in Haiti

In Haiti, where the Haitian Creole language is based on French, voodoo is called _vodu._

Voodoo is an important religion in the country. Haiti won its independence from the French colonial empire through a country-wide slave rebellion. When they defeated the French, many Haitian people believed that Voodoo had helped them win.

Haitian Voodoo is not identical to African Vodun. In African Vodun, animal sacrifice (killing an animal to honor the spirits) is common. It is much less common in Haiti.

In Haitian Voodoo, there are both good priests and "dark" sorcerers (called _bokor_).  The _bokor_ acts like a kind of religious policeman, and may curse bad people.

### **Christianization**

_See the main article: Christianization_

In addition, Haitian and American Voodoo have come to adopt some some Catholic ideas. These ideas were not known in African Voodoo. The use of Catholic saints and iconography may have developed as a means of adaptation and survival, but also as a safety precaution.

Encyclopedia Britannica explains:> [Haitian] Vodou represents a syncretism [a blend] of the West African Vodun religion and Roman Catholicism by the descendants of the Dahomean, Kongo, Yoruba, and other ethnic groups who had been enslaved and transported to colonial Saint-Domingue (as Haiti was known then) and partly Christianized by Roman Catholic missionaries in the 16th and 17th centuries.

## Voodoo in the United States

The roots of Voodoo in the Americas come from the Fon, Ewe, and Yoruba people of Africa. The word _vodún_ is the Fon-Ewe word for _spirit_.

Voodoo originally entered the United States via immigrants from Africa and Haiti such as Marie LaVeau, "the voodoo queen of New Orleans". Marie was a pacifist known for healing people.

Though unprecedented, the local Catholic priest let Marie practice Voodoo in the Catholic Church. This made Marie famous. Along with many others, Marie helped lead many people in Louisiana to believe in Voodoo.

### Movies

Like many other religions and practices, people learn about Voodoo through movies and TV shows, where it has gained the popularity it has today as a form of entertainment.

Zombies are a large part of popular horror culture. They originated in Voodoo folklore. The word "zombie" comes from the original word, _nbzambi_, which refers to the primary spirit and/or soul.  The 2009 release of Zombieland and the 2004 movie Shaun of the Dead are both horror-comedies.

### Music

Just as there is Christian music, there is music that comes from Voodoo rituals. This music influenced jazz. Rumors say that many original jazz players had some connection to Voodoo (including Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong).

At nighttime in Storyville, a district in New Orleans, musicians played jazz. Jazz thrived there, featuring performances from Jelly Roll, Sweet Emma Barrett, and many others.

There are many songs and albums that reference voodoo. Examples include _Voodoo_ by Gobsmack (1997), _Voodoo Chile_ by the Jimi Hendrix Experience (1968), and _Voodoo Daddy_ (1979). Another example is Rob Zombie, who started the band White Zombie.

### Literature

Loa (spirits of Voodoo) are depicted in Zadie Smith's 2005 novel _On Beauty_. Loa also appear in Terry Pratchett's book _Witches Abroad_ (1991). One of the novel's characters is a powerful Voodoo woman named named Erzulie Gogol.

Baron Samedi (the head of the Ghede family of Loa) is mentioned in the second novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series of stories _Live and Let Die._

Loa Ogun is a title character in the short story _Kum Ogun_ by Jorge Amado, and in the second part of the novel _Shepherds of the Night_ (1964).

The character Galeb from _Tales of Monkey Island_ was based on Loa Papa Legba. Papa Legba, Erzulie, Ogun, Ghede and other popular Loa (together with the adepts of Voodoo) are depicted in Andrei Gusev's 2020 novel _Our Wild Sex in Malindi_.

## Related pages

- West African Vodun