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Voodoo
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Voodoo and Santeria are both African-based religions adapted and, to varying degrees, syncretized with Catholicism. Both religions used images Catholic saints to represent the African gods, loas, or santos. Sometimes more than just the images are used and a true meld or syncretism occurs. Depending on your viewpoint, you may see the combining of African tradition with Native Caribbean and Catholic religion as something new, invigorating, and well-adapted to Haiti or Cuba (and even the United States). You may ... see it as merely a corruption of the "pure" African Yoruba traditions.
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Voodoo is a religion that was brought to the Western coasts by slaves from Africa. It is believed to have started in Haiti in 1724 as a snake cult that worshipped many spirits pertaining to daily life experiences. The practices were intermingled with many Catholic rituals and saints. It was first brought to the Louisiana area in 1804 by Cuban plantation owners who were displaced by revolution and brought their slaves with them.
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Voodoo has over 50 million followers worldwide. Voodoo is a word of dahometer origin meaning spirit or god. Voodoo is a system of beliefs and rights of African origin. This popular religion, which miles pagan rites and beliefs with catholic practises, has sad to say long stood in bad repute. In Brazil and Cuba, where voodoo flourishes under the names of candomble - macymba - chango - santeria or naniguismo, has millions of followers. Types of voodoo ... flourish in Trinidad and Jamaica and even New Orleans, where black and wite magic is still called Hoodoo.
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Voodoo rites include special ceremonies in which the loa have the power to make their presence known. These are characterized by music and dancing that lead the participants into a trancelike state in which they are possessed by the loa. The spirit temporarily displaces the astral body of the possessed person and occupies his or her physical body. The individual ... possessed is said to be mounted by the loa and behaves and acts as the loa directs, usually in a man ner characteristic of the loa itself. Priests called houngans or priestesses known as mambos preside over these ceremonies.
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Once every three years, in a palm grove by the sea, on the border of Ghana and Togo, thousands of Voodoo followers gather for a spectacular seven-day celebration called Kokuzahn, honoring their deity, Flimani Koku, the ancient warrior god. In the past, Koku guaranteed protection in combat and invincibility in battle, but today he provides defense against witchcraft and evil. The festival begins with pulsating Voodoo drum rhythms that send dancers spinning into intense states of possession. In these altered states they exhibit strength and endurance beyond normal capacity, oblivious to what they are doing and who they are. Considered miracles, these superhuman feats defy credibility and demonstrate the extraordinary power of their deity.
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Voodoo is similar in many ways to other Afro-American cults, such as Santeria in Cuba and Macumba in Brazil. The term voodoo is thought to be derived from the word for 'spirit' in the Fon language of Dahomey, now part of Nigeria. The voodoo religion involves belief in a supreme god (bon dieu) and a host of spirits called loa. Most voodoo practices involve the loa, which are often identified with Catholic saints. These spirits are closely related to African gods and may represent natural phenomena — such as fire, water, or wind — or dead persons, including eminent ancestors. They consist of two main groups: the rada, often mild and helping, and the petro, which may be dangerous and harmful.
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Voodoo