The Organisation and Religion to Re-unite All Religions

 

VOODOO

 

Today I would like to discuss in my research about voodoo and where it really came from. Note that this article is from researching from different sources and different books. Which have not been plagiarized nor copy and pasted. Some of my sources are nearly from the Wichita library and some sources on the net and some of what I have gathered about voodoo using my own judgments and intuitions. About.com is a really good site and the wilkipedia for researching and studying these areas of related subjects. Today lets talk about the basics of voodoo and where it came from.

Voodoo as I have researched is a slang term referring to the VODOUN religion and to the other popular misconceptions relating to that faith, although, the term is most used in New Orleans and USA and other parts of the countries as we all know it to be. The religion was commonly depicted upon different books and different movies which are not representative in the VODOUN faith. Voodoo is occasionally used as a shield term for other African - origin religions such as Palo or Santeria. I will discuss Palo and Santeria a later date. For now I want to go over  VODOUN - the real voodoo. I also urge you that you do not practice voodoo if one is not adept or advanced in this area and have the proper protection tools for this area of either practicing or casting.

Vodoun- the real voodoo

Vodoun, ( Vodun, Vodou ) is the traditional religion of Haiti and the most misunderstood religions of all times. The whole idea of vodoun began when French slave owners who were highly afraid of this practice outlawed the religion in Haiti , which vodoun played a high role of slave rebellion. A lot of people today don’t really rectify the issue, making lurid tales of zombies and ritual killings and etc. Which does reinforce other western beliefs to black magic, curses, voodoo dolls and human sacrifice rituals. There have been made many attempts throughout the world to rid of this "demonic" religion. The use of this belief is very different and even intimidating to many people raised in the Christian beliefs and traditions. This tradition is seen as demonic rather then divine which I think its very misinterpreted. During the 1930's other religions intended to rid vodoun from the world was indeed unsuccessful, in 1996 vodoun was declared the official religion of Benin , Africa its lands of origins.

Voodoo in today was originated in African slaves in Haiti . Traditional regional practices were blended with other African traditions such as masonry, ritual magick, and Catholicism creating a different faith that has survived some of the hearsay. The term voodoo is a corruption of the word, 'vodun', a word that means GOD or spirit in the West African language. Vodoun has two traditions, obeah or folk magick also known as "hoodoo" and the ancient African worship of LOA. The main practice of vodoun is through "possessions" where the loas and ancestors are enticed to the bodies of worshipers. This practice is the true vodoun, the traditional root of the religion.

In vodoun, there are 3 levels of divinity:

Gran met - Grand master or known as the bondye. From the French, 'bon dieu', the good god. The true deity. An entity which presides over the spirit, but not worshipped.

The loas - The mysteries, the lesser divinities which are centered to worship. The loas are not gods, but ancestors and divine messengers.

The dead - Ancestral spirits and spirits of the saints. Very prior to initiation.

Lets discuss the different types of loas, which, however, there are thousands.

Damballah  -the serpent; a primordial deity, who with his companion Ayida, created the cosmos. Those possessed by Damballah do not walk or speak, but writhe on the ground as a serpent.

Ayida- the consort of Damballah; the rainbow.

Baron (Baron Samedi)- the Loa of the Dead; usually pictured as a grinning skeleton in a top hat- one of the most recognized of the loas outside of Vodoun

Ogoun -a warrior; martial masculinity; related to the Yoruban Orisha of the same name, and also to Shango.

Erzuli - The embodiment of femininity and love. Similar to the goddess Venus, and related to Santeria's Oshun. Erzulie also has a "dark" aspect, Dantor, who embodies righteous anger, is a protector of women and avenger of domestic violence

Agwe - The primordial sea, ruler of the depths of the ocean.

Legba, or Papa Legba- like the Yoruban Eleggua, Legba is the guardian of crossroads. As in Santeria, he must be honored before any other Loa, and it is he who opens the doors between the worlds.

Marassa (Mawu-Lisa)- the Marassa are the divine twins, the first man and woman, the first ancestors. They embody archetypal, polar forces akin to yin and yang.

Ayizan - the first Mambo (Priestess), who is honored at every ritual.

Now these are just the main loas in this tradition. Lets discuss the magick in vodou. The second most important tradition in vodou is magick. Magick is worked for both being good and ill. Orthodox religions really hate and prohibit harmful "black" magick, but I really think it is really unknown. The spells in vodoun take a variety of forms and rituals. The best known is the "wanga" or charm bags or charm. These are usually worked for protection, healing and love. The charms known as mojo bags are a form of wanga. Which is not restricted to the voodoo practice. The voodoo dolls that are recognized to western cultures did not originate in vodoun, but were blended into American vodou from European folk magick. Another descendant of the same tradition is the wiccan "poppet". In west Africa, where vodoun originated from , there isn’t anything to be found resembling "voodoo" dolls.

This article was just a little bite to where it originated from and get an understanding of it. My next article, which I’m working on now, will be on the seven African powers and HOODOO, the magickal powers of it. By then I will begin to discuss also, the certain spells and rituals performed in this tradition. I also would like to discuss and get an understanding of,  "mami wata", Africans ancient god/dess. We will go over topics later about the misconceptions of voodoo and begin to look into voodoo.

 

Sources and Credits:
Written by Lisa Tarrance