One of the most interesting Afro-Caribbean religions is voodoo. Many of us associate this word with dark sorcerers who create zombies, pierce their enemies' dolls with needles, and send ominous curses. Such performances have a lot to do with the horror films that the American film industry supplies us with.
What can be seen in such films corresponds to the actual state of affairs by less than one percent. In fact, voodoo is primarily a religion whose followers honor divine spirits and their deceased ancestors, make small sacrifices to them, celebrate religious holidays and participate in ceremonies.
Of course, there is witchcraft within this religion. Priests are engaged in healing the sick, removing curses, etc. But there are also black, evil sorcerers who practice black magic. It is with them that all that terrible that is said and written about voodoo should be associated. Voodoo is both a religion and a witchcraft system.
Let's find out more about her history …
Vodun is a religion that originated in the Caribbean (Haiti), also known as Voodoo and Hoodoo. The roots of the religion go back to West Africa, from where slaves were brought to Haiti.
The word vodun comes from vodu, which means "spirit" or "deity" in translation from the Fon language, one of the dialects Dahomey (Dahomey) (region of West Africa), it is there that the habitat of the vodun deities is located. loa (loa).
The confusion of traditional beliefs of the Dahomey people and Catholic ceremonies led to the formation of this religion. Based on this, this religion can be attributed to the product of the slave trade. It was a kind of response from slaves to the humiliation they had to endure during the heyday of the slave trade. On pain of terrible torture and execution, the religion was banned by the local authorities, the slaves were forcibly baptized as Catholics, which was expressed in the customs and rituals of the religion, which the local population kept in great secret. Specifically, this was expressed in the fact that the deities are similar in form to Catholic saints; those who professed voodoo brought their rituals very close to the Catholic ones, they began to use statues, candles, relics, relics and the like.
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Subsequently, along with the settlers, the vodun religion migrated to other Caribbean islands, it gained the greatest distribution in Jamaica and Trinidad. In addition, in Cuba, in particular, it was transformed into the religion of Santeria, where instead of the Catholic principle introduced by the French, along with the African ones, Spanish Catholic tendencies arose. Although, in principle, all religions in the Caribbean are somehow similar to each other, having common roots and differing only in details.
The vodun religion occupies a special place in this series, standing out for a number of characteristics. As a religion more than flexible, it has been transformed in the transition from one generation to the next. Being a hybrid of religions imported from outside and taking root in Haiti, vodun, in turn, became an export item and began to slowly move to the continent. She gained particular popularity in New Orleans, in Miami and in the New York metropolis, everywhere generating new views and beliefs, thus gaining a total of more than fifty million followers around the world.
Voodoo is characterized primarily by the belief that the world is inhabited by good and evil loa, who form the whole essence of religion, and on them the health and well-being of all people depend. Voodoo adherents believe that objects serving the loa prolong and express it. Loa are very active in the world and often take possession of the faithful throughout the ritual. Only special people such as the white houngan and mambo sorceresses can communicate directly with the loa. During the ceremony, sacrifices and ritual dances are performed, then the Ungan fall into a trance and beg the loa for help and patronage in everyday affairs, for welfare. If the loa are satisfied with the generous gifts and the ceremony is performed correctly, there is no doubt about its successful result.
Unlike other similar religions, voodoo has its own highly ordered views on the "dark" side of the loai people. Sorcerers who use black magic are called bokor, they are united in secret societies. They can send damage to a person using a wax doll or revive the dead by completely subjugating him, send him to the enemy and thereby mortally intimidate him. Voodoo followers rarely turn to bokor, and if this happens, then the enemies are not sweet.
Many books, including nonfiction, as well as some movies misconceptions about this religion, focusing on false directions such as cannibalism and so on. So about voodoo in 1884 in Europe learned from the book of the missionary S. St. John Gaity, describing disgusting and very exaggerated details about the rituals of this religion, such as devil worship, infant sacrifice, cannibalism. Since then, several films have been shot and many books have been written that assert and exaggerate the black rites of this religion.
So, in 1860, the Vatican was forced to admit that vodun is a kind of Catholicism, but the Haitians themselves claim that their religion is older and deeper than Christianity, that it has absorbed the best of all religions of the past and present. Indeed, voodoo is very difficult to tie to any one system, because voodoo. these are festivities in honor of the goddess of love Erzulie (under whose mask you can see the features of the Egyptian Isis, and the Greek Aphrodite, and the Roman Venus, and the Christian Virgin Mary), and the simultaneous worship of the serpent Ouroboros, swallowing its own tail, - a symbol of the harmony of the Universe and Eternity in the ancient world.
Ouroboros, or, as the Haitians call it, Damballah Wedo, the main and indispensable element in all voodoo mysteries, because it is the beginning and end of all things; The Ocean of Eternity, surrounding the material world from all sides; the vast space from which everything came and to which sooner or later everything will return again.
Damballa is the source of Power and the seat of all loa. Adherents of religion believe that everything around is permeated by the invisible power of loa, which makes voodoo akin to purely shamanic views of both the Old and New World. The Loa are as innumerable as the sand on the seashore, and each has its own sign, name and purpose. For example, there is a loa - Legba or Papa Legba, who, like Mercury or the Greek Hermes, is an intermediary between other gods and connects the loa with the Ungan and Mambo priests, who, in turn, convey to him the will of the people through ritual dancing and chanting.
Within the framework of this religion, there is also witchcraft. Priests are engaged in healing the sick, removing curses, etc. Voodoo sorcerers practice black magic, with which the bulk of negative views about this religion are connected.
The word "voodoo" has African roots. Translated from the language of the African people, the background this word means "spirit" or "deity". There are several branches of this religion, with similar saints and rituals. What is called voodoo in Haiti is called santeria in Brazil, which literally means "faith in the saints." In other countries of Latin America, another cult, an analogue of voodoo, is practiced - macumba.
Voodoo is practiced by people in Haiti, Cuba and parts of the United States of America. There are about 50 million followers of voodoo (voodoo).
How the spiritual tradition of voodoo appeared in Haiti - the island of the West Indies - during the French colonial slavery. Africans of various ethnic origins were forcibly transported to Haiti as agricultural slaves.
When slaves were first brought to Haiti from Africa in 1503, their owners (first the Spaniards, then the French) forbade them from practicing folk religions, forcing them to practice Catholicism. But the slave owners did not want to initiate their slaves in all aspects of their faith, as they were afraid that the slaves would accept the Catholic teaching and, thanks to it, realize that they are as full-fledged people as their masters, and that slavery is vicious. Therefore, the slaves began to use the Catholic religion as a "cover" - having accepted Catholic saints and other attributes of this religion, they worshiped their folk deities.
The slaves incorporated various aspects of Christianity into their national traditions. They found a lot in common between Catholicism and their traditional faith. After all, both religions worship one Supreme God and believe in the existence of supernatural beings and life after death. The Catholic Mass was associated with the sacrifice of blood, and the general idea was of the help of spiritual beings (loa - for Africans, saints - for Catholics), who acted as intermediaries between the Supreme God and people.
In Haiti, voodoo is the official religion. Haitian voodoo followers believe in the existence of a Creator God (Bondieu - Good God), who does not participate in the life of His creatures, and spirits (loa), who are children of the Creator God and who are prayed and worshiped as senior members of the family. According to voodoo beliefs, several souls live in a person. Before birth and after death, he is a Guinean angel. In addition, the ambassador of God - conscience - lives in him.
The population of Haiti and, therefore, its voodoo religion comes mainly from two African regions: Dahomey (the northern coast of the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa, where the Yoruba, Ewe, Fon, etc. tribes lived, now the territory of Togo, Benin and Nigeria) and Congo (basin of the Congo River and the Atlantic coast in western Central Africa). Both regions underwent a long process of evolution of tribal religions, caused by the fact that none of the local traditions were considered orthodox, and they were thus all flexible. Both regions, especially the Congo, have also had long-term contact with Christianity. The population of the Congo considered themselves Christians, and some knowledge of Christianity was also present in Dahomey. After the people from these regions came to Haiti, they began to develop national communities,based on the mutual help and support of people from their native areas, and life on plantations forced people from different parts of Africa to live close to each other. The mixture of Christianity and voodoo has provided links between different communities.
Music and dance are a key part of voodoo rituals. Cleansing sacrifices and talismans save from evil. As a sanctuary, voodooists choose an ordinary dwelling (hunfor - a sanctuary).
The main attributes of the cult: mitan (pillar - "road of the gods") and black candles. Three drummers, tapping out a clear rhythm, each his own, announce the opening of the ceremony. Then a petition song is sung, addressed to the loa (distorted French "roi") Legbe: “Papa Legba, open the gate. Papa Legba, open the gate and let me pass. Open the gate so I can thank the loa."
Dancing around the pole-pole, the mambo (sorceress), together with her assistant unshi and assistant la place, create a magic circle around the pole with a trickle of water from a jug in honor of Pope Legby and the guardian of the house Ogun Ferrey (Ogou Fer), in order to drive away from himself and those present evil spirits. Ungan or mambo sprinkles flour on the floor and draws veve (loa symbols). Then an ecstatic dance (bilongo) is required to the sound of drums. Women participate in the ceremony in white dresses and men in suits. When the audience has warmed up enough, the bokor lets in a rooster, whose head is chopped off. After that, the participants in the santeria (ceremony) fall into a trance and the grace of the spirits (loa) descends on them. The victim is hung upside down by the legs and the stomach is ripped open with a ritual dagger.
The voodoo pantheon is extremely vast and defies strict classification. It includes both African deities proper and deities borrowed from other religions: Catholic saints, spirits of the local Indian population, and so on. In addition, in each community, priests can organize the worship of their own deities of local importance, such deities are often the former leaders of the community.
Nevertheless, you can try to highlight a certain number of the most significant deities in the voodoo pantheon:
- Agwe - spirit of water, patron saint of sailors and travelers on water.
- Baron Saturday (Baron Samedi, Ghede) - the spirit of death and the afterlife. Depicted as a skeleton (skull) in a top hat with a cigarette and black glasses. The man possessed by him drinks rum.
- Baron Carrefour - the spirit of misfortune, failure and the patron of black magic.
- Dambala is a spirit associated with snakes (Saint Patrick).
- Legba (Legba) - the spirit of doors (Saint Peter, for according to tradition, Peter was depicted with the keys to Paradise).
- Erzuli Freda (Erzuli Freda- Virgin Mary) - the spirit of love in the form of a beautiful virgin in the attire of the bride. Her symbol is the heart. Its colors are red and blue.
- Symbi - the spirit of water sources (fresh).
- Ogun (Ogu) - the spirit of fire and lightning, the god of iron and war, the patron saint of blacksmiths and warriors.
- Mom Bridget is the wife of the Baron of Saturday.
- Marassa - twin spirits.
- Mademoiselle Charlotte is the patroness of young girls.
- Sobo - a spirit in the form of a French general.
- Sogbo - the spirit of lightning.
- Ti-Jean-Petro - an evil spirit in the form of a one-legged or lame dwarf, husband of Ezili Danto.
- Eshu Rei - the controller of the spirits of Loa. All living and dead obey him.
In 1791, an uprising broke out in Haiti led by voodooists. By that time, in the western part of the island, the Spanish authorities had been replaced by the French. Taking advantage of the fact that the spirit of the French was broken by the defeat of the monarchy during the French Revolution, the voodooists decided to start their struggle too. The uprising began on August 14 in the town of Bois Cayman. After the bloody sacrifice, the believers fell into a religious trance and went to destroy their masters. It was a terrible time, a real massacre, in which neither women nor children were spared. Blacks in demonic ecstasy captured entire cities, in which they were joined by all the former oppressed. The uprising continued until there was not a single white man left in the country. And in 1804, after a complete victory, Haiti became an independent republic, and the voodoo religion became the official religion of the state. Until now, more than eighty percent of the population adhere to the voodoo cult. It is clear that the independence achieved in such a bloody way could not be supported by the developed countries.
Therefore, Haiti was for a long time in an economic blockade by America and Europe. But when the Haitian authorities finally allowed Catholic priests to enter the country, the economic isolation was lifted.
The most prominent figure in American voodoo history was Mary Laveau, the legendary "Voodoo Queen". Thanks to the ancient rites of voodoo, she had a strong influence both among the common people and among the aristocratic nobility, which is almost unimaginable for a black woman in times of slavery. According to legend, a wealthy gentleman in New Orleans in 1830 was deeply disturbed by the future of his son, who was accused of murder. The gentleman reached out to a local woman known for her ability to provide supernatural help in desperate situations. He offered her his own home on St. Anne's Rue in Vieux Coeur if she could save his son from injustice. On the day of her trial, Mary, who had been a Catholic since childhood, visited the Cathedral of St. Louis. She spent the morning in prayer, holding three guinea peppers in her mouth.
She then entered the Cabildo, a courthouse adjacent to the Cathedral. Mary convinced the janitor to let her enter the empty courtroom. After that, the sorceress hid the Guinean peppers under the judge's chair and left. After a while, the trial took place. Some time after the beginning of the session, the gentleman left the court with his son; the young man was found not guilty and released. Mary Laveau immediately became famous within all classes of New Orleans society, including the elite - local aristocrats of French and Spanish descent.
In 1881, Mary Laveau died and was buried in Saint Louis Cemetery. Her grave is visited by voodoo devotees and the curious all year round. Many place small sacrifices on her grave, and some draw crosses on her stone grave with chalk. Many believe that on June 23, on the eve of St. John's Day, Mary's spirit rises from the grave. On this day, an exciting ritual of worship of the Voodoo Queen is held.
In Russia, the total number of voodoo adherents is small. They tend to be torn off from the mainstream tradition. In Russia, there is a voodoo community of the New Orleans tradition in Arkhangelsk, which maintains ties with the New Orleans Voodoo Spiritual Temple.
Legendary British single The Prodigy, one of the group's most successful records. The video, filmed for the composition "Voodoo People", contains video inserts of real voodoo ceremonies: