Haitian Vodou essay
In the current essay I would like to describe the history, traditions, rituals, as well as provide some interesting information about the Haitian Vodou cult. To start with, it should be noted that Vodou is a cult of African slaves who were brought to Latin America to work on plantations. Thus, it can be said that so the word “Vodou” or “Voodoo” has African roots. In the language of the people of African Fon people, the word means “spirit” or “deity”. There are several branches of this religion and what is called Vodou in Haiti, in Brazil is called Santeria, which literally means “holy faith” and “delight”. In other countries of Latin America there is another cult analogue of Vodou, which is called Macumba. It is essential to note that Haitian Vodou is the most orthodox kind of that religion, which was formed in the environment of West African slaves in Haiti as a result of mixing elements of folk beliefs and Catholicism. The main basis for the formation of Vodou in religion had two African peoples – Fon and Ewe people (Vye Zo Komande la Menfo, 2011).
In Vodou, there are several types of professional religious activity, which are allocated on the basis of gender and specialization:
Houngan (priest) and mambo (female priest) –Vodou priests, whose activities are focused on obtaining predictions from the spirits during the trance.
Bokor (sorcerer) – a person professionally engaged in magical activities. Bokors are often understood, as the people who practice “black magic” and are not always recognized by houngans and mambos as followers of Vodou.
In turn, Vodou priests are divided into several categories depending on the level of priestly consecration:
Hounsi – an assistant, approximately comparable to the Catholic position of altar server.
Houngan Si pwen or Mambo Si pwen – Vodou priests.
Houngan Asogwe or Mambo Asogwe – the highest Vodou priests (Bellegarde-Smith, 2006).
There is no coincidence in the fact that Vodou religion is so popular in Latin American countries. Indeed, immediately after the discovery of America by Columbus, tens of thousands of people were required to work on coffee and cotton plantations. Turned into slaves, poor Africans people, who once had home and family, were forcibly taken out into uncharted territories, with no hope of ever returning to their homeland. The only two things that slaveholders were not able to take away from them were their culture and religion. These were the only things that supported them and with the help of which they could turn away from the hardships of the world. In particular, only by falling into a possession trance, people could feel themselves secure and free.
It can be said that the roots of Vodou religion lied in the West African state of Dahomey (Fon people), from which the first part of slaves were taken in 1518. The highest priests of this cult were shamans, who by means of trance communicated with spirits of nature, which, by the way, are in many ways similar to the pagan gods of the peoples of pre-Christian Europe. The growing prestige of Vodou rituals and horror, accompanied by chants, ritual dances and the beat of drums, as well as terrible bloody sacrifices, stroke fear into the planters. Consequently, as true Christians, slaveholders announced a bitter war to Vodou cult. In addition, Europeans clearly realized that any religion is a powerful force that can lift people and unite them to fight against the slave system. Slaves were forcibly baptized, and mass beatings, torture and executions were punishment for those, who in spite of prohibitions, conducted illegal rituals. It is essential to note that after that, Vodou followers began to adapt their religious tenets to the new conditions; resulting in the appearance of the altars of Vodou followers emerged with Christian saints. Slave owners only marveled how easily it was to persuade to change the faith of slaves. However, in fact Africans continued to pray with their gods, who from that moment wore the mask of Christian saints. Almost every African god had found a similarity among Catholic Christian saints (Haitian Voodoo History & Beliefs, 2010).
Thus, one of the most revered gods of Vodou – Legba, who according to this religion is the guardian of the gates of the world of living to the world of dead, turned into St. Peter. God Damballah – the master of the skies and rivers, whose symbol in African religion is a snake became a St. Patrick, mainly due to the fact that St. Patrick was keen on snakes. Even the Virgin Mary picked up an analogy – the goddess of love and fertility Erzulie. The only one who did not find a decent replacement in Vodou was Jesus Christ. Europeans were very surprised with the fact that black people of Haiti always avoided Jesus Christ in their prayers. In addition to the mentioned above, a great reverence among the Vodou followers had Agwu – the god of the sea, protector of fishermen and sailors, Ogoun – the god of war, and Baron Samedi – the god of the dead. It can be said that all these deities and what they patronized are very similar with the gods Ancient Greece and Rome. Thus, it should be noted that Catholicism did not replace, but rather complement the religion of Vodou. That is why nowadays, Vodou is mixture of the two religions. As a result, the faces and figurines of Catholic saints appeared on the Vodou altars, framed by the glow of burning candles. However, the Haitian churches had not adopted the traditional Christian view. There were no churches and cathedrals in Haiti, only small miserable huts in which they secretly prayed and performed Vodou rituals. The distinctive feature of these temples is the presence of high wooden pole near their entrance, which is called “poteau mitan” and is considered as the gateway from the world of living to the world of dead (Bellegarde-Smith, 2006).
As a fact, Vodou religion was distributed not only in Haiti. Wherever slaves were transported from Africa – the countries of Latin America or the southern states of the United States, Vodou cult had struck its roots. Furthermore, white population of these territories was feeling threatened and tried to eradicate it. Immediately after the Civil War and the Declaration of Independence of Haiti in 1804, many black immigrants began to move to the mainland, especially a lot of Haitians had settled in Los Angeles. As a result of fear of Vodou gods, in 1817 it was forbidden for black people to appear in public in Los Angeles. After the Civil War in the U.S., Vodou religion, together with former slaves gradually migrated to the northern states of the country. In turn, in Latin America very close to Vodou religion – Santeria was widespread. This religion was secretly professed by many Cubans and Puerto Ricans (Beauvoir Dominique, 2010).
It should be emphasized that many people ask themselves is Vodou a white or a black magic? The Vodou cult followers answer that it is wrong to put a stamp of white or black magic on their religion. In particular, for someone Vodou can make many good things and make them happy, and others it can ruin, just like a medicine that can cure some people, and at the same time be fatal for the others. It can be said that the purpose of Vodou cult is to find a balance between the forces of good and evil. Moreover, if we take into account the fact that after many years full of attempts to eradicate this cult, it, on the contrary, only bloomed and continue to gatherer more and more followers. Probably, this means that there is something in Vodou cult and experience shows that it is quite effective and powerful (Haitian Voodoo History & Beliefs, 2010).
Of course, to uninitiated person all the rituals of Vodou look like a dark and ancient sorcery. Flame of the black candle always illuminates the space inside a Vodou temple. Moreover, “mad” songs and dances, as well as the beat of three drums, which are commonly used for ritual prayers, usually accompany all Vodou rituals. The interest has the rite of possession. According to Vodou legends, each of the gods dreams to spend at least some time in human body. And when during the service one of the favorites is introduced into a trance, a god infuses into his body. This man with the spirit of one of the gods inside him begins to repeat all the habits of the god – he changes his gestures, gait and even voice. This ritual is also called “a dance with a god”. However, the most interesting thing is that the person possessed by one of the gods, is beginning to predict the future. It can be said that precisely with the aim to find out the answers to questions about the future, believers arrange these rituals.
In order to communication with the gods gave positive results, Vodou followers bring the sacrifice in the form of blood of a small domestic animals, usually a rooster. As a rule, before the sacrifice, a bird is offered to peck some grain, and if a rooster does not peck, it is believed that this particular bird is not suitable for the sacrifice and would displease the gods. After a rooster is deprived of life, his body is thrown to the magical sign before the pillar, inscribed with white flour just before the service. After that, Vodou priests lay on top of the body a cross of flour, although this sign has nothing to do with Catholicism. In turn, Vodou cross symbolizes the four cardinal directions. After the sacrifice, the cult followers appeal to the most powerful of the gods – Legba, the keeper of the gates of the underworld, with the request to open the gates (Vye Zo Komande la Menfo, 2011).
It is important to note that you never know what kind of god would want to stay in the human body, so the believers are trying to prepare all necessary items for each of the gods with the aim to please them. However, once human body is infused with the god, everybody at once realize who is this. For example, Legba is considered to be lame and when he comes from the afterlife, a person loses the ability to move in a normal way. When comes Damballah, who is the patron of rivers, an obsessed person can jump into the river and even drown, so trying to prevent this, people in advance bring a big vat of water. In turn, if a person is embodied by the god of the dead – Baron Samedi, he is given a bottle of rum and a pipe with tobacco – it is believed that it may appease the god. Moreover, a person who is possessed with Damballah can drink without stopping a whole bottle of rom, which he would have never done in a normal state. The most interesting is the fact that none of the possessed remembers anything after the ceremony (Bellegarde-Smith, 2006).
As a fact, there are no concepts of heaven and hell in Vodou religion. In turn, the worst thing for Vodou follower is to get lost between the worlds of the living and the dead after death. It is believed that in this case, a person becomes a zombie. It is believed that a zombie is resurrected as a result of a special ritual. They lose their will and do not remember anything from their past life, and are able to perform only what they are told. Thus, only those who have died can seriously hope to be honored and respected by the memory of their loved ones. The main religious festival in Vodou religion is held in All Saints’ Day on the night of November 1. In Haiti, this day is a national holiday. On this day, all people flock to cemeteries, where with the sound of drums spend a few hours in chants and ritual dances (Beauvoir Dominique, 2010).
To sum it up I would like to say that Vodou is a cult of African slaves who were brought to Haiti to work on plantations. As a fact, Haitian Vodou is the most orthodox kind of that religion, which was formed result of mixing elements of folk beliefs of African slaves and Catholicism. It should be noted that Vodou is a religion with its own pantheon of gods, rituals and traditions. In recent decades, the Vodou cult became extremely popular due to its huge promotion in mass culture. In particular, there are many scientific and artistic films about Vodou and even in the fine art Vodou has left its mark. Thus, it can be said that the cult of Vodou became the commercial hallmark of Haiti. A long time ago witches and sorcerers were engaged in resurrection of the dead and guidance of damage, but with time slavery has disappeared on its own, and the need for active protection from the effects of the world left in the past. Today, witches and sorcerers are mainly specialized in the removal of damage, love spells and in solving everyday problems, as well as attracting of luck in money matters. Of course, modern Haitian sorcerers charge a fee for their services, and achieve positive results, especially if those, who ask for help honestly believe that they will receive some help.
