In A.D. 64, a great fire broke out in Rome for six days, and
devastated much of the city. According to the writer Tacitus, “Nero
fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class
hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace.”
The
“abominations” committed by the early Christians were said to be
cannibalism and incest, based on rumours circulating in Rome at that
time which stemmed from a misunderstanding of the Eucharist.
This episode in the history of the Early Church shows how easily a
religion, especially a relatively secretive one, can be misunderstood
and misrepresented.
A similar case can perhaps be seen in the religion
known as Voodoo (also known as Vodou or Voudon). For many, the word
‘Voodoo’ conjures up images of magical dolls with pins stuck in them to
inflict pain on one’s enemies and the resurrection of the dead as
zombies.
These images are the result of the misrepresentation of Voodoo
by popular culture, and do not accurately represent Voodoo as understood
by its practitioners.
Voudon refers to "a whole assortment of cultural elements: personal
creeds and practices, including an elaborate system of folk medical
practices; a system of ethics transmitted across generations [including]
proverbs, stories, songs, and folklore... voudon is more than belief;
it is a way of life," wrote Leslie Desmangles, a Haitian professor at
Hartford's Trinity College in "The Encyclopedia of the Paranormal"
(Prometheus Books, 1996).
“Voudon teaches belief in a supreme being called Bondye, an unknowable and uninvolved creator god,” reports Live Science .
“Voudon believers worship many spirits (called loa or Iwa), each one of
whom is responsible for a specific domain or part of life.
So, for
example, if you are a farmer you might give praise and offerings to the
spirit of agriculture; if you are suffering from unrequited love, you
would praise or leave offerings for Erzulie Freda, the spirit of love,
and so on. In addition to helping (or impeding) human affairs, loa can
also manifest themselves by possessing the bodies of their worshipers.
Followers of voudon also believe in a universal energy and a soul that
can leave the body during dreams and spirit possession.”
When African slaves were brought to the Americas to work on
plantations, they brought Voodoo with them. Their white masters,
however, had other plans regarding the religious practice of their
slaves.
A 1685 law, for instance, prohibited the practice of African
religions, and required all masters to Christianize their slaves within
eight days of their arrival in Haiti.
Although the slaves accepted Roman
Catholicism, they did not give up their traditional beliefs either.
Instead, the old and the new were syncretised, producing some unique
results.
Many of the Catholic saints were identified with traditional
Voodoo lwas (spirits) or held a double meaning for the practitioners of
Voodoo. For instance, in Haitian Voodoo, St. Peter is recognised as Papa
Legba, the gatekeeper of the spirit world, whilst St. Patrick is
associated with Dumballah, the snake lwa.
Although African slaves were brought to Haiti and New Orleans about
the same time, i.e. the 1720s, the development of Voodoo practice in
each area is quite different.
In Haiti, Voodoo became a force that gave
strength to and sustained the slaves through their hardships and
suffering.
Between 1791 and 1804, a series of slave revolts inspired by
Voodoo practice culminated in the expelling of the French from Haiti.
The colonists who survived fled to New Orleans, some accompanied by
their French-speaking slaves who were Voodoo practitioners.
It is from
these new arrivals that Voodoo began to grow in New Orleans. Although
Voodoo was practiced in that part of the United States prior to 1791, it
was not as strong a force as in Haiti, and was brutally suppressed each
time it emerged. It was only in the 19 th century that Voodoo practices in New Orleans were codified by the enigmatic Marie Laveau.
African voodoo http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo healer http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Voodoo spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za
Love spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/voodoo-lost-love-spells.html
Money spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/money-spells.html
Revenge spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/revenge-spells.html
Curses spells http://www.africanvoodoo.co.za/curses-spells.html
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