The voodoo or vodou religion has been linked to evil, barbaric sacrifices, and dangerous worshipping. The history of such misconceptions and misperceptions began in the media, especially through Hollywood. The course materials studied in this class seek to demystify these misconceptions while building new knowledge and understanding of the vodou religion. As shown through Mama Lola, Haitian Voodoo, and Legacy of the Spirits, vodou is a religion that incorporates Catholicism with African traditional religion, contrary to media portrayals.
Ordinary citizens have encountered vodou religion through the mass media, especially on movies. During colonization, slaves from West African countries Ghana and Benin moved to Haiti, where they continued to practice their religious activities, leading to the Haitian Vodou (Haitian Voodoo 2015). As slaveholders prohibited traditional African worship in fear of black magic, the misperception spread across Haiti and America that linked every African religion to witchcraft and Satanism. Punishment by death forced worshippers to hide while conducting spiritual activities, further progressing the fear and misconceptions (Kamerling-Brown 2016). The tales of colonizers reached Hollywood, leading to creation of films that depicted Vodou as black magic practices involving zombies, pin pricked dolls, and blood rituals. The ceremonies and rituals were changed into sacrifices of babies and humans instead of animals to propagate fear of vodou religious activities. Therefore, vodou became synonymous with evil, Satanism, human sacrifices, blood rituals, zombies, and black magic.
Vodou religion is misperceived from the negative portrayals in the media. Mama Lola is an account of a middle class white woman’s encounter and experiences with the Haitian vodou. The author, Karen McCarthy Brown, details how Aloudres and her closest family members and friends worship nature spirits. In her introductory paragraph, Brown (2010) mentions feeling out of place as the vodou ceremony went on with clapping, singing, praying, and dancing. According to Brown (2010), slaves working in plantation in Haiti used vodou religion to reduce their pain, prevent disaster, recover from losses, and strengthen their survival instincts and survivors. Considering this significance of the vodou religion to slaves, colonizers and slave masters understood its unifying strength (Kamerling-Brown 2016). Therefore, they benefitted from destroying it and abolishing it to prevent revolt from the slaves. United States and Europe, being the slave owners, used the media and law to discredit, taint, and illegalize vodou. In the 18th century, vodou worshippers were punished by death to deter ceremonies and congregations in the name of the religion (Kamerling-Brown 2016). Slave masters portrayed vodou negatively as a weapon against slaves’ unity.
Although colonization ended and colonizers returned to their land, Caribbean people do not engage in public vodou worship. The media has created a negative image of the religion through American popular culture. The main reason for continued misperception now being movie and film sales. For example, the movie called Selection Key mentions the tools used in vodou black magic as blood, spells, hair, and bones (Kamerling-Brown 2016). It then proceeds to explain that the owners of the house where these items were found belonged to some house workers who were lynched for black magic practices (Kamerling-Brown 2016). The lynching of voodoo worshippers in this movie seeks to construe the religion as evil and unacceptable in society. When Haiti refugees camped in New Orleans in early 1800, vodou became popular and strong (Kamerling-Brown 2016). However, the popularity was shortlived as the tools used in worship were turned into tourists’ attraction items. As New Orleans received American tourists, vodou worshippers also neglected their true religion, using it for money (Kamerling-Brown 2016). These factors also led to the weakening of the Haitian voodoo in America.
Vodou closely resembles Catholicism, with the loa or lwa being smaller spirits than Bondye the good god similar to Catholic saints. Legacy of the Spirits and Mama Lola describe these spirits, their duties, and characteristics. Brown (2010) defines Haitian voodoo as a syncretic religion exercised around Haiti and the Afro Creole diaspora. Professor Desmangles in legacy of the Spirits (1985) shows how Dambala the snake is a depiction of Catholic’s St. Patrick, and emphasizes on heritage preservation. Some other loa mentioned by Brown include Ezili – the spirit defining women as mother and their relationships with men and Azaka – the peasant farmer spirit(Brown 2010). Others are Papa Gede – the guardian of children and sexuality or trickster spirit and Ougou – responsible for the management of anger and risk taking (Brown 2010). Hence, vodou or voodoo is a syncretic religion comprising of Catholicism, Caribbean, and African traditions.
In conclusion, voodoo or vodou religion has been misperceived and misrepresented for centuries by various groups with differing intentions. The misconception began with slave masters in America and Europe who perceived the religion as a unifying force among slaves, hence, a threat to their enslaved workforce. The colonizers spread these misconceptions to Hollywood, who exaggerated the misrepresentation to suit movie and film lovers. New Orleans created tourism out of vodou worship that turned many worshippers into traders of their religion. Mama Lola, Haitian Voodoo, and legacy of the Spirits are some of the course materials that enlighten readers and viewers on the true vodou religion.
Works Cited
Brown, Karen McCarthy. 2010. Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn. Vol. 4. University of California Press.
Haitian Voodoo. 2015. National Geographic Film & Television. Web.
Kamerling-Brown, Eliza M. 2016. “More Than a Misunderstood Religion: Rediscovering Vodou as a Tool of Survival and a Vehicle for Independence in Colonial Haiti.” Paper presented at the Young Historians Conference 2016. Web.
Legacy of the Spirits. Directed by Karen Kramer. 1985. Web.