The Truth Behind Vodou

There is more than one way to spell Vodou. It is sometimes spelled Voodoo, or Vodun, but the proper spelling is Vodou. This religion is indeed a religion, not a cult, despite what many have come to believe. Vodou is not devil worship or evil in contrary to what fiction movies and books seemingly portray. Like most things in life, it is up to the individual whether they use the practices of Vodou for good or bad purposes. It is only through education and getting to know those with different beliefs that we can overcome our fear and realize that Voodooists are ordinary people (Haas). It is important to understand the history behind the religion, who and what they believe in, and how the religion is practiced. Vodou is one of the most misunderstood religions in the world today as a result of racism, movies, media, and fiction stories that falsely represent the religion and all that it stands for.

      Vodou evolved from the traditional West African practice of Vodun, meaning “spirit” (Editorial Content). Vodou was the norm in Africa. The slave trade dispersed the African people, thus the religion of Vodou began to spread. Vodou was brought by slaves to New Orleans in the early 1700s and is presently thriving there (Reckdahl). In the City’s French Quarter, a Vodou Museum is a popular tourist attraction as well as the tomb of ancient Vodou Queen Marie Laveau. Vodou is prominent in Haiti as well (Brown). Today, over one and a half million people practice Vodou and other African religions (Brown).

      Ancient Vodou Queen, Marie Laveau, lived her life as New Orleans most famous Vodou Queen before her death in 1881. Pieces of her life are still being put together today based on what little records we can retrieve from so long ago. Her first husband whom she married in 1819 was an African American man from Haiti. He mysteriously disappeared and died, and there is no documentation of his death. Most researchers say the two of them never had any children, but baptism records at a local Cathedral show entry of two daughters. Like the first husband, the two daughters also disappeared. Laveau became a hairdresser in her early career and her wealthy clientele began to seek her advice, intervention, and protection against evil energy (Brown). Marie Laveau’s permanent resting place resides in a tomb in the heart of New Orleans’s French Quarter. People leave several offerings outside her tomb in hopes that she will bring them luck beyond the grave.

      As slaves were brought to the New World they clung to their beliefs for comfort. It was at this time the religion of Vodou began to change. Slave owners inflicted their own beliefs of Catholicism upon the slaves in a process known as syncretism (Radford). In the New World Vodou has changed to “Voodoo” and has come to incorporate some Catholicism attributes. It was not long before the oppression of the slave’s religion began. Slave owners made rules banning the carving of figures into wood (known as Voodoo dolls) and they also banned drums (Editorial Content). Slave owners were overthrown in Haiti in 1791, this act became known around the world as the Haitian Revolution (Editorial Content). Slave owners in other parts of the world feared their slaves may have a similar attempt. Perhaps this is where the fear and suspicion of Vodou began. It was thought that Vodou helped the slaves in their rebellion.

      When it comes to understanding a religion, one of the key factors is understanding who their God is in which they believe. It is important we understand who it is that Voodooists worship. Vodou followers believe in a visible and invisible world and they believe in many Gods, or spirits, called loa. Spirits may also be referred to as “the invisibles” (Haas). How many spirits are there? The answer is still a mystery. There are more spirits out there than we could ever imagine. Perhaps there are infinite spirits. Each God stands for something different. A lonely Vodou follower may pray to Erzulie, the Vodou God of love. A farmer might pray to Zaca, the Vodou God of agriculture. Supreme God is Bondye, an all-knowing God. Other loa includes Legba, an intermediary God between man and the spirit world. Ogun, the spirit related with war and conflict and Oshun, the God connected to water (Wigington). It is believed that the Gods manifest themselves into our daily lives and manipulate our affairs (Radford). Ancestor worship and reincarnation are also big parts of Vodou beliefs, as well as spiritual healing. Voodooists are not concerned with Heaven or Hell, but believe souls migrate with family in the circle of life and death (Brown).

      How do Vodou followers’ worship? Not in a church like Christians and not in a temple like Hindus. Ceremonies and Vodou rituals can be held in cemeteries or in city streets (Editorial Content). In West Africa a Sacred Forrest is feared by some, but not by all. It was believed that one of the loa visited the Forrest and a few brave followers performed rituals in the woods to summon him (Brown). There is no scripture, no holy book for Vodou that may be comparable to the Bible or Quran. Instead, stories are relayed through music and dance (Brown). Potions, made of natural powders, charms, fortune telling, candles and incense are also common in rituals. Animal sacrifices were commonly performed in these rituals. In recent years, the argument that sacrificing animals is inhumane and torturous has emerged. The goal is not to torture these animals, but to make them sacred (Editorial Content). Animal sacrifice of lambs is a practice performed in the Bible as well. Animals are sacrificed everyday for our nutrients in much less inhumane ways, we just make other people do the dirty work for us.

Spiritual possession is also a huge part of Vodou practice, also known as “body swapping” (Editorial Content). In the Bible, spiritual possession is an act of the Devil and is considered evil. But in Vodou, spiritual possession is desired, not feared. What is possession? The loa enters the body and soul and it is believed all consciousness is lost, the body like a shell. The follower loses control of his or her body, they also lose their memory and eyesight (Brown). Other people attending the ritual also benefit from this experience. Participants talk to the possessed individual and it is believed that the God talks back to them. After the spirit leaves the person, they are left feeling tired and drained.

      So many people falsely believe that Vodou is a cult, black magic, or devil worship. It is sad how many people revoke their ancestors’ beliefs. So how did Vodou get such a sinister reputation? Racism clouds the Vodou religion (Haas), being that the majority of Vodun followers are African. Hollywood has also created a mythology that we have mistaken for truth (Editorial Content). In the 2009 film, Princess and the Frog, the movie takes place in New Orleans. The goal of the Doctor, who turned the Prince to a frog, is that Vodou will control the city. Movies such as The Princess and the Frog, fiction books, and media created a frenzy over zombies and Voodoo dolls that have become associated with the Vodou religion, but really have very little significance within the religion. A book released in 1889, Hayti or the Black Republic, depicted the Vodou religion and spread fear (Radford). Vodou is a folk religion, despite what Hollywood portrays (Editorial Content). Voodoo dolls are handmade, normally with cloth, and can be stuck with pins to bring harm upon others.

      Zombies relate to the reincarnation aspect of Vodou. Do Zombies exist? Some may be skeptical but in the prominent Vodou country of Haiti, a real-life zombie returned from the dead. This man was pronounced dead two years before returning to speak to his sister. The Haitian man’s fingerprints matched the fingerprints of his corpse. There is video and photos of this man sitting next to his gravestone in the cemetery where he was buried 2 years prior (Radford). A bokor is a male Vodou whom serves the loa with “both hands,” meaning good and evil. A bokor (male) and a caplata (female) may attempt to bring past family members back from the dead (Radford). But the religion itself has very little to do with Zombies or Voodoo dolls! One of the few Vodou movies that is factual includes the 1943 film I Walked with A Zombie.

      Imagine how warped the world would be if we believed in everything we heard. The same is true with Vodou. We must learn to think for ourselves and form our own opinions. We do this through education and by forming relationships with those who are different than us. This is the only way we will reduce fear and inaccurate stereotypes that fog the Vodou religion. Hollywood films, fiction books, media, and racism are to blame for the false stigma representing the Vodou religion. Vodou is not evil, it is not Satan worship. Whether the powers of Vodou is used for good or for bad purposes is entirely up to the individual. “What goes around, comes around” is a common saying possibly relative to the practice of Vodou. We must not be so naïve.

Works Cited

Brown, McCarthy Karey (10 02 2020). “The Mystery of Voodoo (1996).” YouTube Movie. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/x2RHWw0Ie_Y

Editorial Content (July 08 2019). “Voodoo on Film: Fact and Fiction.” Entertainment.directtv. AT&T Publications. Retrieved from https://entertainment.directv.com/voodoo-on-film-fact-and-fiction/

Hass, Saumya Arya (May 25 2011). “What is Voodoo? Understanding a Misunderstood

Religion. Huffington Post. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/whatis-vodou_b_827947

Radford, Benjamin (10 30 2013). “Voodoo: Facts About Misunderstood Religion.” LiveScience.

Purch Publisher. Retrieved from https://www.livescience.com/40803-voodoo-facts.html

Reckdahl, Katy (2019). “The True History and Faith Behind Voodoo.” Explore New Orleans

Voodoo. Retrieved from https://voodoomuseum.com/#about

Wigington, Patti (Feb 11, 2020) "The 8 Most Important Voodoo Gods." Learn Religions, Feb. 11, 2020, Retrieved from https://www.learnreligions.com/voodoo-gods-4771674