1. the
VOODOO
faith
Created By: Tiffany Emswiller

2. Origins of the Voodoo
Vodun's can be directly traced to the West African Yoruba people who lived in 18th & 19th century Dahomey. Its roots may go back 6,000 years in Africa.
That country occupied parts of today's
Togo, Benin & Nigeria.
approximately 30 million people in Togo, Ghana and Benin practice Voodoo today

3. Marie Laveau: Voodoo Queenof
New Orleans
Since the Voodoo faith dates back so far, there are no records of it’s original founder. However, Marie Laveau is one of the more notable leaders of the Voodoo cause in the United States.
Voodoo had its first part in the United States through slaves brought into Mississippi. Voodoo become a rather open thriving community headed up by two Voodoo queens both known as Marie Laveau.
One disappeared some time after her rise, and the other died in 1881.
After her dead Voodoo became less public, and turned to a more private manner of worship, yet the myths about the religion lived on created what is known as hoodoo.

4. Fetishes & Voodoo Dolls
In voodoo worship often times fetishes are used.
Fetishes are objects meant to contain the essence or power of particular spirits are used.
Fetishes are important in the Vodoun religion, originating in western Africa as small pouches or chests, or items worn as amulets, and evolving into doll fetishes
that were believed to possess the spirit of the person on whom the doll was modeled. That mystical practice of Vodoun practitioners was misrepresented and generally overdramatized as a horror element of voodoo in popular culture

5. Sacred Voodoo Rituals
Voodoo practitioners use dance to “channel" ancestral spirits. They often spin in a type of trance while adorned with various sacred voodoo symbols such as masks, and fetishes.
Men with sticks keep the dancer from getting close to others at the festival, because it's believed even the slightest touch from a dancer could kill.
During dance ceremonies a veve will be made. A veve is made of powder, drawn horizontally from the pinched fingers of a skilled practitioner standing spread legged, meant for a specific spirit invoked during a specific ceremony. Having served its purpose, it is erased without a thought by the succeeding dancers.

6. Voodoo Worship
Those who practice Voodoo worship their gods (the loas) because humans and loas depends upon one another. Loas depend on humans for food, and human in return hope for help, and protection. Most Voodoo worship ceremonies include:
a feast before the main ceremony
creation of a veve
shaking a rattle and beating drums
dancing and possession
animal sacrifice;

7. Denominations and Sects
HOW ARE THEY DIVIDED?
Each group follows a different spiritual path and worships a slightly different pantheon of spirits, called Loa.
ORGANIZATION WITHIN A VOODOO SECT:
Vodou worship is organized around ounfos
or temples. Believers may be tied to a temple through blood or simply neighbors drawn to them.
There is no formal representation of religious hierarchy beyond these temples.

8. Voodoo Ethics and Morality
“Be truthful do good; Be truthful do good: It is the truthful that the divinities support”
-Ewe Voodoo Proverb

9. Voodoo Ethics and Morality
CURSES
Voodoo is commonly associated with cursing ones enemies through dolls, or other practices. This is not true of Haitian Voodoo. They do not practice any form of sorcery. The assumption made about curses and Voodoo can most likely be traced back to media influences.
DRUGS
Voodoo does often use hallucinogens to allow themselves to be more open to possession by an Iwa (spirit). Yet they do not look upon man made drugs as being useful, and only condone natural drugs. .
Homosexuality
Vodou religion is an ecstatic rather than fertile based, and do not discriminate against gay people. Those who practice Voodoo do not recognize sexual orientation in a ritualistic setting. In fact, often times when one is possessed by a spirit they may also take on that spirit’s sexuality. It is believed that the spirits help each person to simply be the person that they are

10. The Afterlife
The Voodoo faith believes that a human’s soul is made up of two parts:
The Gros Bon Ange (the big good angel) In Voodoo/Vodoun, the Gros Bon Ange (French, "Great good Angel)" is the enduring or immortal soul. The Ti Bon Ange or "Little Good Angel" is the animating force or consciousness and ceases to exist at death. It is the ti bon ange that leaves the body when it is possessed by the Lwa.
Ti Bon Ange (the small good angel) The role of the Ti Bon Ange has been likened to the conscience. A person's individuality is in many respects defined by the roads or paths he or she chooses. The ability to make this choice emanates from the Ti Bon Ange. This is the core element of the individual, which is trapped and held back when a Zombi is created.

11. The Afterlife
When one dies, according to voodoo belief, the soul remains near the corpse for a week. During this seven-day period, the ti bon ange is vulnerable and may be captured and made into a "spiritual zombie" by a sorcerer. Assuming the soul has escaped this fate, the priest ritually severs it from the body so that the soul may live in the dark waters for a year and a day. At that point, relatives ritually raise the soul, and put it in the govi now referred to as espirit (spirit). These spirits are fed, clothed, and treated like divinities. Later they are set free and abide among the rocks and trees until rebirth. Sixteen embodiments later, spirits merge into the cosmic energy.

12. Zombies
Zombies are more than what we see in George Romero films. In fact they have been around a lot longer than that. Zombies date back to the beginning of Voodoo.
Most people consider zombies only to be the stuff of horror books and movies, but they do exist in Haiti in the present day. Thousands of people in Haiti are considered to be zombies, some of which lead normal everyday lives with families, jobs and are respected citizens.
It¹s even considered to be a crime to make a zombie in Haiti.
One belief unique to Vodun is that a dead person can be revived after having been buried. After resurrection, the zombie has no will of their own, but remains under the control of others.
In reality, a zombie is a living person who has never died, but is under the influence of powerful drugs administered by an evil sorcerer. Although most Haitians believe in zombies, few have ever seen one.
There are a few recorded instances of persons who have claimed to be zombies

13. Evil and Suffering VOODOO’S EXPLANATION FOR EVIL AND SUFFERING?
Vodou is not a dualistic tradition; therefore there are no absolutes. We have no figure of absolute evil, no “antithetical god”, as in the Catholic, Protestant, or Islamic faiths. The notions of good and evil are highly subjective and circumstantial. They are defined by individual action and responsibility, among other things. Evil, as a concept, is a creation of man not of God and thus it is not assigned any absolute value. Vodou, a deeply pluralistic religion, existentially and theologically, accepts conflict as an inevitable, intact essential, ingredient of life. . Moral discernment is focused on the health and liveliness of fluid relationships, not on the essence of persons or their acts. it is fair to say that all Vodou is about healing and that all healing work is aimed at the relations between people as well as those between the "living" and the spirits.
Often times those who practice voodoo heal the sick through herbal and natural remedies. They believe that the gods work through nature, and that sickness is either punishment, or trial.

14. WHAT ABOUT RIGHT AND WRONG?
The Human Problem
WHAT BRINGS MEANING?
For the African and non-African, the goal of Vodoun is to reestablish, and to maintain harmonious Ancestral connections, and to care for ones personal and familial deities (Vodou). For the non-African the goal is to serve ones personal deity, or to garner the protection of a Vodou deity, as one strives to achieve their individual destiny, whatever that might be. For some, it may be a goal as simple as learning not to lie, kill etc.
WHAT ABOUT RIGHT AND WRONG?
Since Voodoo has no defined right and wrongs, good and bad is more based upon cultural values that Vodou embraces, These values center around ideas of honor and respect - to God, to the spirits, to the family, and to oneself.

15. Voodoo Art
Voodoo art is mostly used and created for ceremonial practices. Many voodoo rituals are carefully adorned with intricate babbles, jars, tapestries, and masks. Voodoo dolls in themselves are a piece of art.
Their paintings speak mostly of their gods, and ancestors.

16. Works Cited
"Voodoo and West Africa's Spiritual Life." NPR NPR. 2 Dec 2007 < 2004/feb/voodoo/>.
Emick, Jennifer. "Altnerate Religions." About.com New York Times Company. 2 Dec 2007 < library/weekly/blvodoun.htm>.
"Voodoo." Howstuffworks.com howstuffwork Inc.. 2 Dec 2007 <
"Vodoun Culture." Vèvès, Ritual Symbols. Vodoun Culture TM. 2 Dec 2007 <
Encyclopedia of Death and Dying, Davis, Wade. The Serpent and the Rainbow. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1985., Derem, Maya. Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti Reprint, New Paltz, NY: McPherson, 1983., Métraux, Alfred. Voodoo in Haiti. New York: Schrocken, 1972.,
Introduction to Voodoo in Haiti, Bob Corbett, March 1988,
"wikipedia." wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia wikipedia. 2 Dec 2007 <

17. Works Cited Vodou FAQ." Vodou Spirit. 06/05/07. Queen Mother Bishop's
Spiritual Products. 4 Nov 2007 <
Lewis , James. "Afterlife and Belief Phenomenonas." Near Death Experiences and Afterlife. 10/07/ Nov 2007 <
Rock, Mike. " About Haitian Vodou - Haitian Voodoo History & Beliefs. " Erzulie's Authentic Voudon Erzulie's Inc Nov 2007 <
BROWN, KAREN McCARTHY. "Weaving the Visions." Genesis of Eden. 4 Nov
Kedar, Daniel. "Opus Focus." Opus Focus Daniel Kedar seblin. 2 Dec 2007 <

18. Annotation
“Mami Wata African & Diaspora Vodoun” <ttp:// This site is an insiders source, written by Mama Zogbé and powered by Bravenet.com. The author of this site wishes to both present untouched facts about the religion, and to share her own truth about the faith, and to disprove the negative associations the media has given Voodoo. Some of the other topics that this site had information on were: History, Myths, Culture, Initiation FAQ, & Interviews. As far as the layout of the cite, I thought it was neatly laid out, and fairly pleasing to the eye. It was a little jumpy due to the vast options you had upon entering the site. There was a lot of information, which in my case, was a good thing.
Ontario's Consultant for Religious Tolerance <religioustolerance.org> This was an outsiders source, and its purpose was too promote religious freedom, and diversity as positive cultural values. It covered a large variety of topics some of which included: Information about other religious such as Christianity, Hinduism, Voodoo, Monotheistic…and other articles and topics about religion and the outside world. I love this site if not for its easily navigated web pages, but for its ample information.
The Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained. This was an outsider source, and it was sponsored by Advameg Inc. . It had information about things such as Religious phenomena, secret societies, Afterlife Mysteries, Sorcery, Objects of Mystery and Power. The content was very informed, and the site was laid out professionally, and came with an easy to access search bar.

19. As I researched this religion I became fascinated with how rich it was in history, and how in tune with nature, and the human spirit its followers seem to be. Its strong reference to the natural answers about life were what drew me to it at first, a feeling which has only grown throughout my time dedicated to this particular faith. It seems to me that a reverence of our ancestors, and a constant reminder of our history could only help any society, and that those ideas should in deed be sent to bring comfort to the world. For in our history lies our future.
Student’s Reflection