VOODOO

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VOODOO

• Melisa
• Vicki
• Amy
• Adrienne
• Anthony

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Vodun History

• Vodun (a.k.a. Voodoo, Voudou, Voodoo, Sevi Lwa)
  is commonly called Voodoo by the public
• It is traceable to be an African word meaning
  spirit
• The religion can be traced back to the West
  African Yoruba people who lived in the 18th and
  19th century in Dahomey (Togo, Benin, and Nigeria
  on a present day map)
• The roots may go back to as long as 6000 years in
  Africa
• The religion was carried by slaves when they were
  forcibly shipped to Haiti and other islands in
  the West Indies
• Vodun actively was suppressed during Colonial
  times and the Marxist regime
• Vodun was formally recognized as Benins official
  religion in February of 1996
• It is also followed by most of the adults in
  Haiti
• It can be found in many of the large cities in
  North America, particularly the American south

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History Continued

• Today over 60 million people practice Vodun
  worldwide
• Religions similar to Vodun can be found in South
  America
• They are known as Umbanda, Quimbanda or
  Candomble. 
• Today there are two unrelated forms of the
  religion
• the actual religion, Vodun practiced in Benin,
  Dominican Republic, Ghana, Haiti, Togo and
  various centers in the US - largely where Haitian
  refuges have settled.
• an evil, imaginary religion, which we will call
  Voodoo. It has been created for Hollywood movies,
  complete with "voodoo dolls", violence, bizarre
  rituals, etc. It does not exist in reality,
  except in the minds of most non-Voduns

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History Continued

• When the slaves were taken from Africa to Haiti
  they were baptized into the Roman Catholic Church
  but since there was little Christian
  infrastructure present the slaves followed their
  native faith
• They even continued to follow their faith while
  attending mass regularly
• An inaccurate and sensational book (S. St. John,
  "Haiti or the Black Republic") was written in
  1884. It described Vodun as a profoundly evil
  religion, and included lurid descriptions of
  human sacrifice, cannibalism, etc., some of which
  had been extracted from Vodun priests by torture.
  This book caught the imagination of people
  outside the West Indies, and was responsible for
  much of the misunderstanding and fear that is
  present today. Hollywood found this a rich source
  for Voodoo screen plays. Horror movies began in
  the 1930's and continue today to misrepresent
  Vodun. It is only since the late 1950's that
  accurate studies by anthropologists have been
  published. (Taken from www.templex.org)

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History Continued

• Each group follows a different spiritual path and
  worships a slightly different pantheon of
  spirits, called Loa. The word means "mystery" in
  the Yoruba language.
• Yoruba traditional belief included a chief God
  Olorun, who is remote and unknowable. He
  authorized a lesser God Obatala to create the
  earth and all life forms. A battle between the
  two Gods led to Obatala's temporary banishment.
• There are hundreds of minor spirits. Those which
  originated from Dahomey are called Rada those
  who were added later are often deceased leaders
  in the new world and are called Petro. Some of
  these are
• Agwe spirit of the sea
• Aida Wedo rainbow spirit
• Ayza protector
• Baka an evil spirit who takes the form of an
  animal
• Baron Samedi guardian of the grave
• Dambala (or Damballah-wedo) serpent spirit
• Erinle spirit of the forests
• Ezili (or Erzulie) female spirit of love
• Mawu Lisa spirit of creation
• Ogou Balanjo spirit of healing
• Ogun (or Ogu Bodagris) spirit of war
• Osun spirit of healing streams
• Sango (or Shango) spirit of storms
• Yemanja female spirit of waters
• Zaka (or Oko) spirit of agriculture

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History Continued

• The purpose of rituals is to make contact with a
  spirit, to gain their favor by offering them
  animal sacrifices and gifts, to obtain help in
  the form of more abundant food, higher standard
  of living, and improved health.
• Vodun priests can be male (houngan or hungan), or
  female (mambo). A Vodun temple is called a
  hounfour (or humfort). At its center is 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, symbolic items related to the
  Loa, etc.
• 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,
  marriage and death
• Vodun rituals
• 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). 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.

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Voodoo People

• Basics
• Voodoo is an African Based religion that started
  out in the kingdoms of Fon and Kongo about 6000
  years ago.
• There are people who lead the religion called
  Priests and Priestesses.
• Voodoo Priests
• The people who practiced this were known as
  Voodoo Priests.
• Voodoo Priestess are often called Mambo or Manbo
  which is a mix of the Fon word for Mother/Magical
  Charm and the Kongo word for Healer.
• People turn to the Priests and Priestesses not
  only for guidance, but for healing and advice.

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People Continued

• Becoming a Spiritual Leader
• If one wants to become a Priest, then they must
  go into a religious center (much like a convent
  of monastery) where they proceed to die or
  spend 3 days in complete seclusion before
  returning to the outside world.
• Dark Sorcerers
• There are some people that practice black magic
  that are called bokor.
• These people act like policemen of the religion
  because they curse bad people
• These are where the ideas of Zombies come from.
• It is said that when one becomes a Zombie, they
  lose their soul. This is the worst curse they can
  put on somebody.

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People Continued

• Marie LaVeau
• She was an American Voodoo priestess during the
  19th century.
• She was known for healing people.
• There was a Catholic church that would let her
  help people which would usually not be allowed.
• This convinced many people in Louisiana that
  Voodoo was real and powerful.
• Queen Bianca
• She was known throughout Louisiana for her
  skills, she was appointed a priestess by marriage
  through her aunt.
• Mambo Sallie Ann
• She was a High Priestess of Voodoo and one of the
  few white American women who got initiated
  through the traditional way. She was an American
  woman of Jewish-Ukrainian heritage which made it
  even more unusual.

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Places and Time
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• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vxRt6CTb6riY

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Places

• West Africa, Benin, Haiti, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria,
  the Dominican Republic, Candomble, Brazil,
  Santeria, Cuba, Congo, Angola, the Caribbean
  Islands, New Orleans, Louisiana

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• Ghanas number one sports voodoo priest, known as
  Okwonfor.

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Demographics

• Synchronized religion in Benin
• 60 practices Vodun
• 15 population are practicing Christians as well
• 2.5 million followers in Togo and Ghana
• 14 million followers in Nigeria
• International Vodun Conference held in Benin
  since 1991

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Saut dEau Festival

• 1847 legend behind pilgrimage
• Our Lady of Mont Carmel appeared, healed sick
• Catholics/Protestants felt threatened
• Religions merged

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Saut deau Festival Cont.

• Festival in July celebrated for the past 150
  years
• Pilgrimage
• Bathing in water or mud
• Worshipers appear possessed
• Sacrifices

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Spread the Voodoo

• Slave Trade The U.S., Cuba, and Brazil
• Slaves created cults to continue worship
• Contributed to fear and misunderstanding
• Adaptation
• New Orleans. French and Creole speaking quarters
  
• Spiritoculture market, Voodoo dolls,
  Americanized, glamorized

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The Voodoo Factor

• Christian and Muslim dominions forced start of
  underground worship
• Voodoo played a major role in revolution against
  the French in Haiti
• Suppressed by Marxism but Benins official
  religion by 1989
• The Slave Trade New Orleans, Brazil,
• Cuba
• Haiti or The Black Republic 1884
• 1950s

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Spells
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The Four Forms Of Reading

• Voodoo bone reading 
• Casting the bones and ask them to answer your
  questions or see into the future.
• Spirit reading
• The so called dead are around this moment. They
  know and can see things that you cant see or
  know.
• Crystal ball reading
• Insight as to the special pictures, images and
  events that you see in the Crystal Ball about
  your life and questions.
• Voodoo tarot cards readings
• Reading the cards for you and tell you what you
  need to know.

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Benefits

• Make your relationship stronger, closer, more
  secure. Enhance compatibility.
• Return a lost love. Awaken them to your
  irresistible charms that will make it impossible
  to stay away.
• Enrich your life with money, plentiful gifts,
  fabulous material possessions.
• Wreck vengeance on the person who has wronged
  you, allowing them little sleep, implanting fear
  of you in their mind, bringing peace and respect
  back into your life.
• Provide instant luck in love, companionship,
  career.
• Change other people's opinion of you.
• Knock out barriers, smoothing the path to your
  future.

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The Doll

• The use of voodoo dolls is unheard of where the
  religion is practiced. (Haiti)
• The only recorded serious use of the dolls, among
  voodoo worshippers, was in the New Orleans area
  in the early 1900's.
• Hexes were cast to bring either good or bad luck
  to another person.
• The doll was used to symbolize that person.
• The sticking of pins into the doll was to
  reinforce and direct the spells that were cast.

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Types Of Spells

• Lusting for one another
• Prevent people blocking your way
• Controlling demons
• Dream appearances
• Intimacy
• (All need a symbol. money, candle, anything at
  your expense.)
• http//www.voodoodeprince.com/FamousVoodooPecockLo
  versSpell.htm

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Voodoo
religious beliefs and practices
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Three Types.

• Louisiana Voodoo
• Haitian Voodoo
• West African Vodun

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General Overview of Beliefs

• Polytheistic
• Belief in one supreme god, Bondyé as well as
  other lesser gods, known as the Loa
• Because Bondyé is considered unreachable, prayers
  are focused on the loa
• Moral code concentrates on the vices of greed and
  dishonor
• While voodoo draws its roots from African
  religions, there is no right or wrong
  distinguished, only what is right for a
  household or church.

Assortment of Voodoo paraphanalia
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Morality
A tapestry of the symbol of a Loa

• Spirits are hot and cold.
• It is better be cool!
• General goodwill is promonted
• Take what you need from the community, but be
  willing to give back as well
• Good voduns will always have a mentor
  relationship with a religious elder

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Everyday Voodoo

• Much time is needed to set up the altars and
  cooking food such as fowl for a Voodoo service,
  which begins in the evening and ends when the sun
  rises
• The services begin with an African prayer
  followed by songs, generally in Creole
• During the singing, it is believed that ancestors
  come, visit, and sometimes inhabit the people in
  the service and speak and act through them
• Such spirits will give advice, warnings, and
  cures to the congregation
• Some people fake spirits, some people are drunk!

Voodoo ceremony in Haiti
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LouisianaVoodoo
A Mystical Blend!

• The African-American Spiritualist Churches
  prominent in Louisiana and the deep south
  incorporate a mix of African Vodun as well as
  Catholic undertones and symbols, such as the
  Virgin Mary.
• The distinction between Louisiana Voodoo and the
  other types is the reverence and importance
  stressed on Black Hawk, a Native American spirit.
• Furthermore, the African-American Spiritualist
  Church is a blend of Spiritualism, Voodoo,
  Catholicism, and Pentecostalism.

Priestess Miriam of the VST in Mississippi
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West African Vodun

• Vodun is Gbe for spirit
• Vodun Divine Spirit
• Includes the sun and the moon

Vodun lesser spirits Streams, trees,
rocks Heavy emphasis on ancestral spirits
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Voodoo Dolls?
Voodoo dolls was never a central focus on either
the Haitian Voodoo or West African Vodun.
Sources state that a theory of how they came
about was half myth, half slaves trying to
scare/intimidate their owners in the South. The
sects of the Voodoo religion which do incorporate
dolls continually fight the bad press though!
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Uses for Voodoo Dolls

• Voodoo dolls are commonly used to enrich ones
  life with good health, love, and prosperity.
• They are mainly used as focusing tools
• Often are placed in a home for this very purpose,
  usually not used directly to harm people.

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Sources

• http//www.calastrology.com/voodoospells.html
• http//www.vudutuu.com/spells.html
• http//www.voodoodeprince.com/FamousVoodooPecockLo
  versSpell.htm
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vxRt6CTb6riY
• www.templex.org
• http//www.voodooshop.com/index.html
• www.calastrology.com/voodoo.html

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sources

• http//www.voodooshop.com/index.html
• www.calastrology.com/voodoo.html