A Creolized form of Vodou is one of the primary religions of the more than 8 million people of Haiti. Vodou, also spelled Voodoo, Voudou, Vodun, or French Vaudou, is one of the world's oldest ancestral, nature-honoring traditions. Called Sèvis Gine or "African Service", Vodou was brought to Haiti (colonial Saint-Domingue) by enslaved descendents of Dahomean, Kongo, Yoruba, and other African groups. The word Vodou means “spirit” or “deity” in the Fon language of the African kingdom of Dahomey (now Benin).
History
The survival of this belief system in today's world is remarkable, although the traditions has evolved with time. Ensalved Africans of Haiti were forced to disguise their lwa or spirits as Roman Catholic saints, a process called syncretism. This was done to hide their "pagan" religion from their masters who had forbidden them to practice it. Eventhough Vodouisantt disguised there deities with Catholic saints, to say Vodou is a mixure of African Vodou and Roman Catholic religion would be a mistake. Vodou as we know it in Haiti today is the result of many African cultures and religions being suppressed, lineages were fragmented, and people pooled their religious knowledge and out of this fragmentation became a cultural melting pot. Combining the spirits of many different African and even Indian nations, pieces of Roman Catholic worship have been incorporated to replace lost prayers or elements. Images of Catholic saints are used to represent various spirits and many saints themselves are honored in Vodou in their own right. This syncretism allows Vodou to encompass the African, the Indian, and the European ancestors in a complete way.
The most historically important Vodou ceremony in Haitian history was the Bwa Kayiman or Bois Caïman ceremony of August 1791 that began the Haitian Revolution. The Bois Caïman ceremony, which particular details have varied through time, is said to have taken place in a thickly wooded area where the slaves solidified their pact in a vodou ritual. This ceremony ultimately resulted in the liberation of the Haitian people from their French masters in 1804, and the establishment of the first black people's republic in the world.
Painting by Ulrick Jean-Pierre
Belief
Vodou fundamental principle is that everything is spirit. Humans are spirits who inhabit the visible world. The invisible world is populated by Lwa/Loa (spirits), Mystè (mysteries), Anvizib (the invisibles), Zanj (angels), and the spirits of ancestors and the recently deceased. These spirits are believed to live in a mythic land called Ginen, a cosmic “Africa.” The same God or "Bondyè" of the Christian Bible and Catholic church is believed to be the creator of both the universe and the spirits. The spirits were made by God to help him govern humanity and the natural world, because Bondye is believed to be distant from his/her/its creation.
The Lwa come in "families" that all share a surname, like Ogou, Ezili, Azaka or Ghede.
For example, "Ezili" is a family, Ezili Dantor and Ezili Freda are two individual spirits in that family. Ogou family are soldiers, the Ezili govern the feminine spheres of life, the Azaka govern agriculture, the Ghede govern the sphere of death and fertility. A well known important individual Lwa is Papa Legba. Papa Legba role is "opening the gates to the spirit world". Legba is a Rada spirit.
The spirits can be divide roughly into two catergories, hot or cool. Cool spirits are considered Rada spirits; and hot spirits are Petro or Petwo. Neither is "good" or "evil" in relation to the other. Rada lwa mostly come from Africa. Petro spirits are mainly native to Haiti and are more demanding. They require more attention to detail than the Rada, but both can be dangerous if angry or upset.
The primary goal and activity of Vodou is to sevi lwa (serve the spirits)—to offer prayers and perform various devotional rites directed at God and particular Lwa in return for health, protection, and/or favour. Spirit possession or mounting or riding, has an important role in Vodou religion, as it does in many other world religions. During services, a Vodouisant enters a trancelike state. The worshipper may eat, drink, perform dances, give advice, or perform medical cures.
To began a ceremony the Priye Djo or outside prayers are sung. these prayer normaly consit of Our Father, The Hail Mary, the Creed, and various songs commonly found in the Catholic church to various saints. There are long litanies to God, the Saints, the Dead, and all the Lwa. The Priye Djo can be led by a Pret Savan, which is a person who knows the Catholic Liturgy in detail or sometimes a former Catholic Priest. Next, to "open ceremony" the Priyè Gine or the African Prayer is sung in a call and response arrangement. It is lead by a Mambo or Houngan (priestesses or priests) and Hountògi (ritual drummers). The Sosyete (congregation) will respond. During the Priye Gine the Lwa are being called to attend the ceremony from Ginen. In addition to the prayer veve, which are graphic prayers rendered in flour or other substances on an floor that represent a given lwa, a group of lwa, or other intersection of power) are also used in the ceremony to call lwa to the services.
Near the end of the prayer the sosyete began to dance and be mounted by the Lwa. The ceremony will go on for many hours until all the Myste are sung for and until the sosyete are finish celebrating.
A vodou worshipper in a trance, in the role of Ghede take a body form the grave at Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (photograph by Hector Retamal/AP/Getty Images)
The is an image of a very decorative VeVe. This is the veve of Erzulie Dantor. Erulie Dantor is considered to be the lwa of motherhood.
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References
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http://faculty.webster.edu/corbetre/haiti/voodoo/overview.htm
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Official Haitian Bicentennial Website http://www.ci.miami.fl.us/haiti2004/history.html
http://www.haitianheritagemuseum.org/
Misconceptions
Devil Worship
The negative view of Vodou is largely the product of Hollywood paired with misunderstandings of the faith. The Vodou ceremony at Bois Caiman, which lead to a brutal and violent slave uprising, contributed to white settlers and people of today associating the religion with violence, and embracing many unfounded rumors about vodou. to generalize the whole religion as devil worshi is a major mistake. As with everry religion there are those who practice for mencing reasons, but Vodou
Vodou Dolls
Vodou dolls are alot more complex then the common perception. Many believe by sticking a vodou doll with pins it inflicts pain on the person the doll is symbolizing. In fact, the doll has many function in the authentic practice of Vodou. The practice of sticking pins in "voodoo dolls" has been used as a method of cursing an individual by some followers of the "New Orleans Voodoo", which has its roots in hoodoo.
Zombies
Haitian zombies, orginally, were not charactorized as villains but victims. Haitian zombies were believed to be people brought back from the dead and sometimes controlled by priests called Bokors. Bokors are Vodou sorcerer for hire who are said to serve the loa "with both hands", practicing for both good and evil. Sometimes, the zombification was done as punishment, but often the zombies were said to have been used as slave labor on the island's farms and sugarcane plantations. No evidence of the zombie-filled farms were ever found.