Voodoo is perhaps one of the
world’s most misunderstood religions. Most depictions of voodoo show a
dark, mysterious religion that revolves around animal sacrifices,
casting harmful spells, and using dolls to hurt others.
That’s about as
far from the truth as you can get, and the real stories behind voodoo
are proof that you can’t believe everything you see on television.
There are three main types of voodoo, each drawing their sphere of
influence from a different place. West African voodoo is still practiced
by around 30 million people, particularly in nations like Ghana and Benin.
Rituals and beliefs are extensive, and largely untouched by the outside influences that have shaped other types of voodoo.
Louisiana voodoo is a unique brand of voodoo practiced, as its name
suggests, mainly in Louisiana and the southeastern United States.
Though
brought over from West African voodoo, this form as been heavily
influenced by the practices of Spanish and French settlers, as well as
the Creole population.
Haitian voodoo, practiced in Haiti, has been largely shaped by its French influence as well as Christianity.
At first glance, it seems that a religion that revolves around
spiritual possession, potions, and the worship of ancestors would have
little to do with Christianity.
However, there are strong parallels; in
the case of Louisiana and Haitian voodoo, many Christian traditions,
beliefs, and figures have been incorporated
into this flexible religion.
The spirits are central to the practice of
voodoo, and many of the central figures have Christian counterparts.
Aida Wedo is a virginal figure of Mary, while Legba, the guardian
gatekeeper, is a mirror image of St. Peter.
In voodoo, important spirits
that believers connect with are called the loa (or lwa); in some
locations, these loa and their families can be called by the names of
the Catholic saints they represent. In West African voodoo, there is a
very Christian belief that there is one supreme god ruling all.
The parallels between voodoo and Christianity are so strong that
there is no animosity between the two parties, and in many areas they
peacefully coexist.
While at one time practitioners who had also been
baptized could expect repercussions from the church for partaking in
voodoo ceremonies, now priests from both sides are working hand-in-hand
to help bring peace and prosperity to Africa, the birthplace of voodoo.
In fact, Pope John Paul II has spoken at length about the esteem with
which he holds practitioners of voodoo, acknowledging the “fundamental
goodness” inherent in their practices, teachings, and beliefs. He even
attended a voodoo ceremony in 1993, helping to cement the amiable coexistence of these two seemingly opposite religions.
Voodoo dolls are more complicated than they’re usually portrayed. A
voodoo doll doesn’t actually symbolize a person in the respect that what
happens to it, happens to the person.
Instead, a doll is only
associated with the person in question—usually by attaching a picture
of the person, or something that was in intimate contact with them,
such as a lock of hair (attaching this personification is actually the
purpose of the voodoo straight pin usually seen in a voodoo doll, which
is commonly believed to be an instrument of pain).
Other things are usually added to the doll, and these vary based on
the intended purpose. Garlic, flower petals, perfumes, or even money can
be added—not as a direct message to the person, but as an appeal to the
spirits to open themselves to the doll and the wishes of those
involved.
The voodoo doll can be used for a huge variety of purposes,
and most are benevolent. The voodoo doll in itself is not an evil or
dark thing, but, like many religious and secular symbols, it can be made
dark by the person who wields it.
Marie Laveau is one of the names most commonly associated with
voodoo, and consequently she has become something of a surreal,
larger-than-life figure.
Even what’s known for sure seems debatable. She
was said to be born the illegitimate daughter of a Creole plantation
owner and his half black, half Native American mistress.
Her first
marriage ended when her husband disappeared under mysterious
circumstances; her second, common-law marriage, however, lasted years
and gave her 15 children.
One of these children, Marie Laveau II,
followed in her mother’s footsteps as a voodoo priestess and is thought
to be the source of rumors that the elder Laveau lived decades longer
than any mortal person should.
In addition to counseling those in need and selling gris-gris to
everyone in all walks of life, she was also a hairdresser.
This allowed
her intimate access to some of the most powerful people in New Orleans,
who she would counsel while at the same time use to gather secrets and
inside information on others in the city, helping to cement her position
of relative power.
Just how much power Lavaeu had has long been
debated, but what can’t be debated is that her public performances and rituals elevated voodoo into the public eye.
Also beyond debate is her selfless concern for those she shared her
city with; her work giving assistance to the homeless, the hungry, and
the sick is well documented. Even today, visitors to New Orleans leave
offerings at the place where she is supposedly buried and ask for her
assistance.
Someone who practices voodoo is often accused—especially by
Hollywood—of being a powerful person who orders the spirits to do their
bidding.
That’s not the case at all; in fact, the opposite is true.
Voodoo practitioners see themselves as servants of the spirits. They
don’t actually tell the spirits to do anything; they provide offerings and honor, and then ask.
Voodoo priests and priestesses undergo a long period of training
before performing any ritual that opens themselves up to spiritual
possession.
During these rituals, one of the two spirits that inhabit
the body—the ti bon ange—leaves
the body so the spirit of a loa can possess it.
The ti bon ange is the
portion of the spirit that contains the individual, and must be
protected when the individual is hosting a loa. The other part, the gros
bon ange, is a spirit that is shared among all the living.
Again harkening back to the voodoo doll and the stereotypes around
it, many think of voodoo as a dark religion led by people wielding power
to damage the spirit and body.
On the contrary, much of voodoo centers
around healing and herbalism. One of the most important reasons for
summoning a spirit in a voodoo ritual is to ask for aid in healing the sick and the injured.
Healing is a spiritual idea as well as a physical one, and
practitioners can focus on healing a broken heart or changing a person’s
luck for the better, as well as healing the body.
Voodoo priests and
priestesses do acknowledge that they are not all-powerful when it comes
to diagnosing and healing, however, and will recommend modern medicine
and treatment if they deem the situation beyond their control.
Many cultures recognize white magic as the good, healing sort of
magic, while black magic is the darker sort.
In voodoo, there is no
distinction between white and black. Instead, when an evil spirit is
conjured or bribed by an evil person to do something bad, it’s called
red magic.
The color of the spirit is red, and when a practitioner
allows an evil loa to take possession of them, their eyes turn red, showing that evil is present.
Sometimes a benevolent spirit can turn evil by the wishes that are
imposed on it. This is in complete contradiction to the actual teachings
of voodoo, which center around the good and the charitable. Part of the
role of a female practitioner (a Queen) and a male practitioner (a
Doctor) is to stop red magic before it happens.
In another striking similarity to Christianity, the voodoo pantheon
has three main tiers. At the top is a single God, who is a present yet
distant figure.
The loa make up another tier—spirits that interact with mortals
on a regular basis. The individual’s deceased relatives play an
important role in their spiritual life as well, as honoring one’s
ancestors is an important part of voodoo. The third tier is the mortals
themselves.
One of the fundamental concepts of voodoo is the relationship between
these tiers; Papa Legba is one of the most important of the loa, as he
is the gatekeeper between the mortal realm and the divine.
All mortal
contact with the loa goes through Legba, and it is said that he opens
the gates between worlds. A reflection of St. Peter, he is also the
guardian of the home, the crossroads, and travel.
The images of you commonly see of voodoo practitioners dancing with
snakes aren’t done for the shock value.
The snake is hugely important in
the mythos of voodoo. Damballa, or Danballa, is the serpent god
and the oldest of the voodoo pantheon.
He is said to have been the one
to create the world. Damballa created the water from his shed skin and
the stars in the sky from his coils.
He is married to Ayida Wedo, the
rainbow, in an eternal love that represents the balance between the male
and the female.
He represents wisdom and the mind, and is associated with symbols
like the color white, eggs, bones, and ivory.
The protector of the
helpless and young children as well as the handicapped and the deformed,
he is said to transport the souls of the dead to the afterlife.
Priests
and priestesses can be possessed by the spirit of Damballa, but they do
not speak; instead, they hiss.
Animal sacrifice has always played an important part in voodoo
rituals, but the reason is not because of a morbid fascination with
death or blood.
The loa use energy in their communication with mortals,
along with the general running of their day-to-day affairs.
By
sacrificing animals and offering them to the loa, practitioners believe
they are combining the life force of the animal with the life force of the loa, rejuvenating the spirit.
The meat and blood of the animal is often cooked and consumed as part
of the ceremony. Some spirits have animals that are typically
associated with them in sacrifice; chickens, for example, are often
offered to Damballa.
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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