Vodou: Mama Lola

Anthony F. C. Wallace Anthropologist Anthony F. C. Wallace has defined religion as "belief and ritual concerned with supernatural beings, powers, and forces" (1966, p. 5). Like ethnicity or language, religion may be associated with social divisions within and between societies and nations. Religious behavior and beliefs both unite and divide. Participation in common rites may affirm, and thus maintain, the social solidarity of a religion's adherents.

Haiti 1492 (Hispaniola)

Slave Rebellion Bois Caiman Hero: François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture 1804 Emperor Jacques I of Haiti (Dessalines)

Slave revolution

Haiti’s independence 1804 Vodou as a religious and political movement against colonial rulers. Religion of identity Religion of the Diaspora Transnational religious movement

Vodou of Haiti Syncretism Fon/Nago and Kongo Kingdoms Catholicism Creol (Indigenous practice in Haiti) Free Masonary ( Masonary lodges of the Colonists) Indigenous Taino People 4.html

A syncretic practice A syncretism is a cultural mix, religious blends, that emerge when two or more cultural traditions come into contact. – Examples include voodoo, santeria, and candomlé. – The cargo cults of Melanesia and Papua New Guinea are syncretisms of Christian doctrine with aboriginal beliefs. Syncretisms often emerge when traditional, non- Western societies have regular contact with industrialized societies. Syncretisms attempt to explain European domination and wealth and to achieve similar success magically by mimicking European behavior and symbols.

Divine beings Bondye: Supreme being Lwa Rada and Petwo

Vodou Spirits Azaka 'Papa Zaka' by Gérard Valcin

Ezili

Vodou Spirits s4.html#tools1

Mama Lola:The role of Vodou Sp

Mama Lola An ethnography: thick description of Mama Lola’s life in USA and Haiti Life History of a Vodou Priestess living in Brooklyn, New York, her religious practice and Leadership in the diasporic communiy

The Role of Vodou Spirits are mounted by Mama Lola They deal with everyday problems, stress and strain of life of the people in the community. Oral History told by Mama Loa about her ancestors A different history compared to the textual knowledge

Vodou: A living religion Enactment of Myth in rituals Possession Celebration of Dead and death Ancestor Worship Religion is deeply embedded in people’s daily lives. They seek it out, use it for survival. Religion, the very meaning of life.