Voodoo Voodoo is the magic practiced by the trolls . In lore , voodoo is a type of divine magic with dark , yet natural ties to Loa spirits . It has close ties to trolls . In World of Warcraft . In " World of Warcraft " mechanics , its power appears to be a combination of shadow and nature magics as well as alchemy . Overview . Voodoo , is a type of nature worship , where sacrifices and cannibalism intertwine . It is a type of dark magic that keeps high reverence for nature and it ' s wilds such as animals . While the practice can be dangerous , it is known to greatly benefit its practitioners . Trolls specifically , have always been followers of this ancient craft . Those trolls who practice the voodoo magics hold it to high regard and are a very important part of troll society . While it is a form of magic , it is only a extension of its masters , the Loa spirits . While the information is vague , Trolls worship the Loa gods which in turn grant them the use of voodoo . So it can be assumed that voodoo is more of a ceremonial practice for the trolls to honor their gods . However , Shadow hunters are voodoo warriors , so it can also be assumed that voodoo works as a tool to bless warriors and heal the sick . Whatever the case , Voodoo is used to honor Loa spirits which make this practice possible . To call Voodoo an evil magic , would be an overstatement . While its customs can be seen as evil , such as eating people , it is simply a tool to worship nature and its many spirits . History . The exact emergence of this Magic on the planet of Azeroth , isn ' t known . However what is known of its origins is that the trolls have always practiced it which indicates its age , but the Loa spirits have always been connected to it . With the Loa gods being thousands of years if not predating Azeroth itself , It is safe to say that Voodoo is pretty old . For centuries the trolls everywhere , Jungle to Ice , have been staunch worshipers of the Loa and use voodoo as a tool of worship . Such practices include human sacrifices and indulging in cannibalism . These practices haven ' t changed and are still used by every troll tribe even now . Darkspear Voodoo . While most trolls use voodoo to worship the Loa , lately the Darkspear Tribe have had some alterations to their practices . When Thrall and his Horde ran into the Darkspear Tribe in Stranglethorn Vale sailing to Kalimdor , The Orcs found broken people caused by the attacks of vicious Murlocs controlled by a Sea Witch . Their fate seemed sealed until the orcish Warchief Thrall and his band of newly freed orcs took shelter on their island home . Controlled by a Sea Witch , a group of rampaging murlocs captured the Darkspears ' leader Sen ' jin , along with Thrall and several other orcs and trolls . Thrall managed to free himself and others , but was ultimately unable to save the trolls ' leader . Although Sen ' jin was sacrificed to the Sea Witch , he was able to reveal a vision he had in which Thrall would lead the Darkspear Tribe from the island . After returning to the island , Thrall and his followers managed to fend off further attacks by the Sea Witch and her murloc minions , and set sail for Kalimdor once again . Under the new leadership of Vol ' jin , the Darkspear swore allegiance to Thrall ' s Horde and followed him to Kalimdor . The horde however looked down on the voodoo practices such as eating fallen enemies and sacrificing them to the gods . Thrall ordered Vol ' Jin to tell his people to stop these practices that were shocking the Orcs . However the voodoo magics have long since been apart of the darkspear culture , and they weren ' t simply going to give it up . So in turn , they altered their practices . They kept the same gods and still used voodoo , but their human sacrifices would be changed to animal sacrifices . As for cannibalism , they had no option but to give it up all together . It is important to remember however , that this change in practice , only applies for the Darkspear tribe , as they joined the Horde . Role in religions . Voodoo while used as a to benefit warriors or mages alike , is primarily a blessing from the gods used by trolls for worship . In troll society , a priest or shaman isn ' t so devoted to the Light or Element s as other races would be , instead , they tend to and worship the ancestors and spirits of their respected tribe or the land in general . They are known as witch doctors . Witch doctors hold an important position in troll society . Not only do Trolls respect their witch doctors as the wisest and most spiritual enlightened of the tribe , they are , as the name suggests , doctors and healers of the sick and wounded . They are shown courtesy and deference . Trolls are superstitious . They see bad omens everywhere and rely on witch doctors to interpret and exorcise these omens . Witch doctors govern success or failure in battle almost more than the warriors do ; trolls believe that a witch doctor who reads the portents correctly and conducts the proper rituals can guarantee success in any endeavor . Until Thrall ’ s involvement with the Darkspear trolls , only male trolls became witch doctors . Female trolls have since seen the equality other Horde women possess and crave their own emancipation . Despite their efforts , few female witch doctors exist , and those who attempt to take on the role of tribal witch doctor meet with much derision and resistance . Trolls call female witch doctors “ zufli , ” a corruption of the voodoo master prefix “ zul . ” “ Zufli ” is a derogatory term and literally means “ baby witch , ” but some females have taken on the title as a mark of pride . Some scholars view voodoo as a type of animism , and to an extent that theory is true . The trolls ’ religion takes a decidedly different dark bent than the shamanistic beliefs of the orcs and tauren , though . Trolls have a complex belief system involving malign spirits and their effect on the world , but no scholar has established what is truth and what is simply long - held belief . The Darkspear trolls come from a dark and bloodthirsty history of sacrifice , cannibalism and black magic . They consider spirits to be individuals much like living creatures . Spirits are greedy , hostile and dangerous . Trolls also believe their ancestors linger on as jealous spirits who miss the land of the living and require blood sacrifices to appease them . Trolls sacrifice and eat their enemies . They conduct these practices for two reasons . First , they believe the sacrifice of sentient creatures appeases malicious spirits . Second , they believe that after death , an enemy ’ s spirit can visit misfortune on its killer . By consuming the flesh of their enemies , trolls believe they can also consume their enemy ’ s spirit , or at least damage it enough to render it impotent . Troll death rituals used to involve ritual mutilation of the body . The trolls believed that simulating the sacrifice of a corpse distracted nearby malign spirits . The spirits , drawn to the pretend sacrifice , would fail to notice the new spirit entering their world . This allowed the deceased ’ s spirit to pass more easily into the next world and find a place for itself without harassment . Now trolls avoid these rituals because the Horde finds them disturbing and the rituals evoke unpleasant associations with the Scourge . Trolls frown on cremation , as they believe the body provides the spirit with a tie to the mortal world , and to destroy it sets a spirit adrift and confused for eternity . Recently the trolls have taken to cutting the eyes out of a corpse , thus opening a path into the skull where the spirit resides . Often a witch doctor sacrifices an animal nearby to distract any hungry spirits ; if the mourners have no time for such a ritual , they may instead cut their arms and let their blood spill to achieve the necessary distraction . To avoid the possibility of undeath , trolls either bury their comrades ’ bodies in hidden places or in sections ( usually the body in one place and the head in another ) . Loa . Each of the troll priests within Zul ' Gurub worships a particular loa , called a primal god , and has the ability to assume an avatar of that god . For example , High Priest Venoxis can become the avatar of Hethiss ( a snake ) . There are four primal gods worshiped in Zul ' Aman : the bear , lynx , dragonhawk , and eagle gods . In addition , any spirit of a dead ancestor — or even the Shadow ascendant s of the Forsaken — can be considered loa . Troll head - shrinking . Supposedly , upon his death , an enemy ’ s spirit lingers in his body for a short time . Then the spirit flees the corpse and is free to wreak havoc and revenge on its killer . Troll witch doctors believe that a fallen enemy ’ s spirit lairs in the corpse ’ s head before fleeing the body . Trolls who wish to trap enemy spirits often turn to head - shrinking . To shrink a head , a troll first decapitates his fallen enemy . Then he makes a slit up the back of the head and carefully removes the skull ( which he saves or discards ) . The troll then sews up the incision and boils the head for two hours to shrink . The troll uses scalding hot rocks and sand to fill the head cavity and shrink the head further . When the head is fist - sized and rubbery , the troll sews up the eyes , mouth , and neck with elaborate stitching . The enemy spirit now remains trapped inside the head forever . Most members of the Horde look askance at the practice of head - shrinking , but consider it a step up from human sacrifice and cannibalism . Some trolls have techniques to shrink skulls as well , which involve removing key pieces and reconstructing the skull as a smaller version using animal parts and resins to hold it together .