Voodoo Religion In Haiti

The Voodoo religion has a rich history. It has survived oppressive times and now flourish in both Haiti and the United State. (the place) In the 1600’s, every slave was baptized upon arrival to the new land and was educated in the Catholic faith. They were forced to practice their religion in secret. The African priest, known as “doctor feuilles”, or medicine men and makers of charms, were now slaves and practiced in secret. Some of the slaves wore talismans as protection. Some nights the slaves would gather and preform ritualistic dances called Calenda or Vaudoux. The dances had both a social and spiritual nature that the colonist were not aware of until later. One of the most important practices in the Voodoo religion is dance, because it …show more content…
They believe that there is one god who created everything. The Haitians call their god, Bondye, which is Creole for “good god”. Haitians feel that since the distance between them and god is so great they need to honor sprits that are less influential then thier god but more influential than humans. The spirits include ancestors, twins, and other spiritual presences represented by nature. Some of the most well-known loas are Damballah, a fatherly snake spirit; Ogun, a forceful military spirit; Erzuli, the queen of love and beauty; and Guede, a gross trickster who lives in cemeteries but cares for children. During Voodoo ceremonies, people sacrifice either a chicken or goa to the loas. After the ceremony they cook and eat the sacrificed animals. Haitians also draw special symbols, or veve, in the Voodoo temples, or hounfors, where they dance and worship the spirits and god. Spiritual possession also occurs so that the spirits communicate with the followers. It will only happen in very sacred religious initiation. This type of possession also happens in the Pentecostal and Holiness churches in …show more content…
The religion was formed around the belief of family unity. This is also a common belief in Christianity, Judaism, and Hinduism. Family unity is something that is important for oral traditions to be passed down to the generations. Also it is important for the family to worship together because it is a good influence on the young children. The children must be educated, so that they can continue the traditions and the faith.
Voodoo has faced a lot of oppression, and so have Christianity, Judaism, and Hinduism. It takes a very courageous group to fight against their oppressors and continue the faith and keep it alive. If a faith can do that it shows the willpower of the group. After conquering such cruelty, the group can conquer everything. It is very important to be knowledgeable about the history of the people who fought for religious freedom, so that one day the world will be welcoming to every religious