Magic/Culture: A Brief Analysis of Hoodoo and Voodoo —by Míchealín Ní Dhochartaigh In 1791, under the
leadership of Pierre Dominique Toussaindt-Bréda,
Haitian slaves rebelled against France until 1793 when the French
abolished slavery in Haiti for the first time. French colonists in Louisiana
were in an uproar over this news, fearing that the slaves in the Louisiana
colony would rebel as well. It was not just this rebellion that struck fear
into the hearts of the Louisiana lawmakers, however, but the practice of the
Vodoun (aka Voodoo, Voudou) religion. The origins of the word
"Vodou" can be traced back to the term "vodu", meaning
"spirit" or "deity" in the Fon language of the West
African kingdom of Dahomey, which is is now part of Nigeria. Vodoun is the indigenous religion of the Haitian people. It gave them the courage to rebel and fight for their freedom; in the minds of the Haitian slaves, the French slave owners might own their bodies, but could not own their souls. Further encouraged by their own priests and priestesses that the Loa (aka loi, lwa) spirits would not abandon their people, but aid them in acquiring their independence, these priests performed many ceremonies propitiating the African deities for victory against the French slave owners. Haiti finally gained independence in 1804, becoming the "first Black, free nation" in the "New World." France ceded the Louisiana territory to Spain in 1763, and from that time the French colonists lived under Spanish rule until 1800, when France forced Spain to return the Louisiana territory to them. In 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte signed the Louisiana Purchase, transferring ownership of the territory to the United States. The Louisiana Purchase lifted the ban on importing slaves from Haiti and Santo Domingo, and thousands of Vodoun-practitioners entered Louisiana — this was the first time the Vodoun religion came to the shores of the United States. The U.S. government attempted to maintain the already established laws in Louisiana forbidding the practice of Voodoo. However, each time an arrest was attempted, it was thwarted because the people would say in court that they were practicing Hoodoo, not Voodoo; and no such word as Hoodoo was on record as a forbidden practice. This is how the word Hoodoo came to be used. However, Hoodoo would eventually grow into its own distinctly different, but related to Voodoo, practice. Voodoo is a religion; Hoodoo can be defined as a system of African-American folk magic common to Louisiana and other Southern states. Hoodoo practitioners are mainly Roman Catholic; some embrace Spiritism as well. While Vodouns invoke the Loas (African spirits) Hoodoo uses the Catholic saints to represent the Loas. This adaptation was most likely made because from the 1600s until 1812, Roman Catholicism was the only religion permitted to be practiced freely in public within the state of Louisiana. Although the words Voodoo and Hoodoo are still often used interchangeably, by the late 1800s, more practices had been introduced in Hoodoo making it even more different than Voodoo. These include the use of psalms from the bible, seals and talismans from the books of Moses, and incense and candle-burning magic adapted from European paganism. Further, some uses of herbs in healing practices were gleaned from Native Americans. Also there is the influence of the Cajun traiteurs and "root-doctors." The practitioners of Hoodoo work with both "hands" — that is, for both good and evil. In Haiti, the bokor primarily works with evil, or the left hand, and the Vodoun priest/ess works with the right hand, i.e., for good. The practice of drawing vèvès to represent spirits of Loas on the ground and buildings as is done in Haiti, is not used at all on the Hoodoo practice. Vèvès are originally from a diverse cultural origin. They are primarily from the animistic practices found in Dahomey, influenced with French filigree ironwork designs, as well as symbols from the indigenous Tainos and Arawaks native to Haiti and the southern part of Florida, and with traces for Freemasonry in the symbols depicting stars, picks, shovels and coffins. Hoodoo also abandoned the use of the peristyle or tonelle. The peristyle is a sort of tabernacle consisting of a large, covered area supported by a central post, called the poteau-mitan. Rituals take place around the poteau-mitan, which is believed to represent the World Tree. The pedestal serves as an alter, called the pé, and at one end of the peristyle is a rectangular building where the houn'gan (priest) or mam'bo (priestess) performs secret rituals and spells that the public is forbidden to observe. Fetish dolls used in Voodoo are of Congolese origin. The dolls are usually carved from wood with the stomach area hollowed out so that magically charged ingredients, such as herbs or roots, can be placed inside the doll. These fetish dolls are then placed in strategic places (e.g., a doorway, the corner of a room, a crossroad) where their energy will influence and affect the person who passes by them. The dolls host spirits, and are sometimes used for good, but most often they are used to send negative energy, e.g., to cause sickness or death, to those who pass within their range. Hoodoo adapted this practice, but most often substitutes the use of plaster Catholic saints in place of the fetish dolls. Pictures of Catholic saints, usually with a red, flannel bag containing Guinea pepper seeds attached to them (called "feeding the saint"), are used in this way too. Hoodoo homes and businesses often contain a picture of Saint Michael over the front door, and picture of Saint Peter over the back door. Hoodoos usually have a three-tiered altar, with statues of Catholic saints, coloured candles, and a small wooden dish containing a mound of white cornmeal with an egg placed on top of it, representing Danbhalah. Danbhalah is the Loa for the Great Father, otherwise known as the Great Serpent, from which all life sprang. Some Hoodoo practitioners subscribe to Spiritism, such as the Black Hawk Cult. Black Hawk (1767-1838), a Sauck (Native American tribe), was introduced into Hoodoo by a spiritualist woman from Chicago in the 1920s. Black Hawk statues, usually displayed in a box of sand, with offerings and candles around them, are often found on Hoodoo alters along with the Catholic saints. Black Hawk is very powerful because he can be invoked for good or evil — whereas, usually most Loas represent one or the other. Both Voodoo and Hoodoo are "community religions," and creating dissonance within the interconnected group or not honouring ancestors is a serious offence. Much emphasis is placed on honouring ancestors, as well as invoking them for aid with ceremonies and magic. Cemeteries are known as "The Cities of the Dead." One of the most frequently visited gravesites is that of the infamous Vodouienne Marie Laveau, in St. Louis Cemetery #1. Some Hoodoos focus much of their practice on Moses, who is called by some "The Great Voodoo Man of the Bible." However, many Vodouns strongly reject this theory. According to the story told by some Hoodoos, Moses was taught the secrets of Voodoo by his father-in-law, Jethro, who is called Ra-Gu-El Pethro. Jethro's daughter, Moses' wife, was Zipporah. This was an interracial marriage, and strongly objected to by Aaron and Miriam, Moses' brother and sister. It is said that Miriam's nagging of Moses to end the marriage, which he did, angered the Loas and Miriam was struck with leprosy.* Lastly, it should be kept in mind that this article is only a very brief summary based on various sources; much of the Voodoo and Hoodoo practices are based on oral traditions, so there is considerable variations in beliefs. Should you feel that anything written here is grossly wrong, or should you wish to enhance this article with your own knowledge of Voodoo or Hoodoo practices, please feel free to contact me. Copyright © 2004 Ireland's OWN May be reprinted with permission. See Also: Voodoo and Zombies For Vodou lessons or to see more details and photographs of some of the items described in this article, visit Bon Mambo Racine Sans Bout's website: The Vodou Page. Sources:
Page last updated 14 Apr 2006 Website Design and Myths & Magic logo by Míchealín Ní Dhochartaigh Copyright © 2006 Ireland's OWN All Rights Reserved.
|
