‘Voodoo Is Part of Us’

My one and only experience with Voodoo was as a Peace Corps Medical Officer in Benin, West Africa. When I first got to country I attended a presentation by a Voodoo priestess explaining the religion. I went to the Voodoo festival in Ouidah and that was fun. But it all came home to me when my medical colleague a doctor who had training in the USA sat me down to explain the mysterious odor in the office. Apparently, our janitor was upset with the doctor and to put it simply, had put on a spell on him. I listened to the story and asked quite sincerely and respectfully if he really believed in that stuff. His eyes almost fell out of his head when he told me he had known of people who had died from curses. So, from that point forward my healthy respect for Voodoo grew. By the way, he lived and the janitor was transferred to another section of the office.

In the mid 1970s while I was studying Haitian, Ghanian, ballet, and modern dance, in Seattle’s U District I came to know a remarkable Tarot & Palm reader from, and soon returning to, New Orleans. A unique, narrow triangular face, warm large eyes and lips added to her highly reputed powers. Sadness, fear, and loss leaked gently. Her husband and his family she had fled from. His family was a proud New Orleans family prominent in the dark side of Vodun. They had seized her son to raise in their ways and cast her out for being of the Christian Vodun. At first I was rather skeptical of her reputed powers. But as, without asking my permission, she flipped out her cards, drew one, looked at my hands, studied me, all in less than in a minute or two, in the middle of the sidewalk, in front of the post office, and told me of myself and a good bit of my future. (Accurately! :- /) She grinned her neat, amused, yet kind grin and explained her understanding. She said the cards triggered a line of observation & first impressions in a casual meeting & then my reactions; that if one is totally in the moment with a stranger, before they have time to put on ‘their face’, stance, walk, & odor, they are transparent to anyone who really looks and listens. (A Stanford orthopedic shoulder doctor has a convex mirror in his door to see you in the hall before you put on ‘your seeing the doctor gait and and face’.) Older doctors often too. Maybe all religions and philosophies have good/evil forms,

Most of the people posting here seemed to have learned everything they (think they) know about Voodoo from old B-grade black and white horror movies. Their attitude towards a faith that is very old and very deeply felt is disrespectful. Reminds me a bit of Europe in the Middle Ages when people insisted that the Jewish faith practiced blood sacrifice. If anyone wants to unlearn the lies of Hollywood, try the book "Tell My Horse" by Zora Neal Hurston.

Alas, Voodoo remains the last religion it is perfectly okay to openly mock and deride. Take the expression "Voodoo Economics". Do a simple web search with those words and limit it to "This Month" to see that the pejorative use of the term Voodoo is alive and well. Put any other religion in that kind of a slur and see what happens... Additionally, Voodoo is often conflated with Hoodoo, a Southern African-American system of ritual. https://emcphd.wordpress.com

A Wiccan person explain to me about her belief and I said it sounded like voodoo ...no no no no she said , Wicca is all about posit if and voodoo is the opposite ! Hun? I thought you said that because you are white person and voodoo is for black people ? Never mind !

A superficial glance reveals color and wonder, but what would be revealed if you had probed any deeper?

Interesting article although I suspect that this is more spectacle than actual ritual. It did re-spark my interest in West African spiritualism.

While talking to a very religious family member about getting her grandkid interested in reading by exposing him to the Harry Potter books, she said she didn't want to expose them to fantasy. I recall thinking that this is a person who believes absolutely, that a person once walked on water, turned water into wine (without a wand), was born to a virgin and actually believes she is literally drinking the blood and consuming the body of God (as you may have guessed, she's Catholic). I didn't argue at the time, just listened, but as I hung up the phone I realized just how arbitrary and varied people's belief are.

A glimpse into a cultural and religious engagement replete with iconography and tasty treats. Shakespeare and Lovecraft, a story awaits.

This comment section is very telling why Voudosaints stay underground for the most part. Ppl complaining about animals in parks in BROOKLYN when the Hasids sacrifice chickens right on Eastern Parkway. TUH If it wasn't for Haitians connecting to Vodou in order to gain the strength to fight for their independence Haiti would still be under colonial French rule. I support the practice, especially coming from Haitian parentage but understand why my Haitian Father outwardly is a Catholic. TBH this "party" is not an official anything. It's a Fet Gede THEMED party for a couple to make MONEY from. But go off, I guess.

In 1984 out of respect as an Anglo European American I took a graduate course at New York University on African Performing Arts of the Diaspora. it was a phenomenal experience with many guest presenters who had lived or were living the historical and Global realities of the beauty Brilliance depth and wisdom of traditional West African cultures expressed on other continents. I still have a copy of my term paper which was about vodun as a healthy and sophisticated cultural framework of experiencing Altered States Of Consciousness and connecting with Spirit(s). Also I studied afro-haitian vodun dance at the Steps Studio in NYC with Lavinia Williams for several years and those classes were incredible spiritual experiences. I'm so happy to see this article and the communication of deep respect and embodiment of this very powerful spiritual tradition. I bow to the Lwa in honoring them!

It would be interesting to see the ritual differences between New Orlean's voodoo and Haitian voodoo. Very interesting.

Vodou did not originate in Haiti but arrived from Benin—really interesting discussion in Maya Deren’s amazing book, Divine Horsemen: the Living Gods of Haiti, about the developments in vodou in the context of the brutality of slavery. Deep discussion of the lwas, and the development of the lwas; and the profound spirituality and intense beauty of the religion—nothing like the cartoonish and sensationalized view we so often see.

I've literally stumbled into Voodoo traditions in various places in the South. Mostly coastal. I admire the practitioners devotion to their heritage.

I am Canadian born to two Haitian parents and I was raised in a strictly orthodox Christian setting. As someone who has recently connected with my history and learned the ethos behind being Haitian, I disagree that identifying as Haitian means identifying with voodoo. Being Haitian means I have a spirit that does not bend in the face of persecution. Being Haitian means I have resilience and grit etched into my DNA. Being Haitian does not mean that I am mandatorily subscribed to a specific belief system, voodoo or otherwise. I choose what I believe, and I believe my inherent sense of leadership stems from a part of my being that is birthed of warriors. Nothing else. Saying any religion is a birthright takes away people’s ability to connect with their roots without feeling pressured to conform to something that they aren’t. Proudly Haitian, against all things voodoo.

I was in Benin recently. That and other West African countries is where voodoo originated and still exists, Yes, most of the people sold into slavery came from that area and brought it with them.

Well, it certainly sounds more interesting than a Connecticut Unitarian Church service.

Great piece. Some may be interested in my study from the late '80s, "American Voudou: Journey into a Hidden World," mostly set in the South, but based on the true nature of the religion as it survived here.

I object to the use of the words "god" and "goddess" as English translations of "lwa." A lwa is a spirit or a saint that acts as an intermediary between a human being and the Supreme Being or God. Vodou is not a polytheistic religion. Vodouist believe in one God and communicate with this entity through the various lwa.

Japan has Shintoism and other cultures have respected traditions where they remember and celebrate their ancestors. I don't see why African diaspora folks can't do the same without it being disparaged.

My only experience with Haitian culture is through Afro-Haitian dance many years ago. It was powerfu

A voodoo party has as much in common with the religion as a confirmation dinner has with Christianity. The essence, central ingredient, of voodoo is possession by spiritual entities (the loa) which ride the humans like horses. The possessed lose all self-awareness and consciousness. No possession = no voodoo.

An interesting and lively piece on a much-maligned religious/spiritual practice. However, I think it should be made quite clear that this appears to be a Vodou-themed celebration and not a Vodou ritual event. And while I can certainly celebrate the desire to reclaim an important part of one's cultural heritage in a playful way that is not how the real thing works. A mambo is a vehicle for spiritual possession (trance). Years of hard work and discipline go into acquiring the skills and stamina required to fulfill this powerful community function.

Very interesting...although I saw the photo of the dance and noticed everyone had their smart phones out. Have we lost our ability to simply experience and be in the moment? While Voodoo isn't about spells and pins in dolls, we have certainly come under the spell of technology.

Interesting to read and to learn something of another tradition. The article says Voodoo includes various rituals, like most religions. One performed to celebrate the Festival of the Dead is a special ancestral dance in their honor called Banda. And they also include making offerings to spirits, such as Baron Samedi, known as the god of death, as well as Maman Brigitte, the goddess of death. And that together, both spirits — the Baron and Maman — revel in eroticisms, obscenities and drinking. They like to party. Very enlightening. May lead to new converts.

I am interested in whether the posters with caustic comments on belief in imaginary things who commented on Bianca Vivion Brooks' essay, "To Take on the Religious Right, We Need a Religious Left," will migrate over here. Myself, I think there is a spiritual dimension to humans that is not at all imaginary--it comes out somewhere. When I was in college in the 70's, social sciences were sure religion was fading. Not so, as we look around us.

Great story and so well-written. Thank you for shedding light on the topic of spiritual practices and religions that are misunderstood by mainstream culture...voodoo and others written off as dark magic or 'uncultured'... Amazing how taking Communion (the Body and Blood of Christ) is broadly accepted and not written off as spooky--I say this as someone raised Catholic!