Voodoo

8 Pages 1998 Words

First and foremost Voodoo is a religion. It is the dominant religion of Haiti. Voodoo is a religion that originated in Africa and was brought to Haiti by slaves, where it is still widely practiced by most inhabitants. Many of the practices and descriptions of Voodoo belief may sound to us like superstition, but then, imagine the beliefs of Christianity to people who know nothing about it. Most aspects of this religion are positive and it affects all aspects of the people's lives, such as morality, economics, safety, relationships and health.
In Voodoo there is one God, Bondye. The three important categories of other spiritual beings are: Loa, The twins, and The dead. Loa are the various spirits of family members. The spirits of the major forces of the universe are: good, evil, reproduction, health, and all aspects of daily life. Loa interacts with the people of the earth. They mount people now and again during religious ceremonies and they give messages, and even cause various good and bad things to happen to people. The twins are a curious and rather mysterious set of forces of contradictions, good and evil. If honored now and again in religious services they will tend to help you have the better side of life. The dead is mainly the souls of one's own family members who have died but have not yet been reclaimed by the family. Ignored family dead are dangerous. Honored and cared for family dead are helpful. The central and key aspect of Voodoo is healing people from illness. Such healing activities probably constitute sixty percent of all Voodoo activity. Healers heal with herbs, faith healing with the help of Loa and other spirits and, today, even with western medicine.
The priesthood of Voodoo contains both men (houngan) and women (mambo). Their functions are: healing, performing religious ceremonies to call or pacify the spirits, holding initiations for new priests (tesses) (kanzo service and taking th...