Lesson I "Origins of Voodoo"

ORIGINS OF VOODOOLESSON ITEACHER: WUNAMDATE 11/13/09The origins of Voodoo, some believe Voodoo began in Haiti. However Voodoo is among the world's oldest known spiritual practice which is found in West Africa. It is assumed that this religion is almost 10, 000 years old.Voodoo is a religion practiced in the present day mostly in Caribbean countries, especially Haiti. It is widely regarded as a mysterious and sinister practice that's taboo in many cultures. It has been typically characterized with bloody animal sacrifices, evil zombies, dolls stuck with pins, and dancers gyrating through the hot night to the rhythm of drums, It's not just a body of spiritual ideas, but a notion of how children should be raised, a notion of what education means, an awareness of politics." In fact, Voodoo can be described as a culture, heritage, philosophy, art, dance, language, medicine, music, justice, power, storytelling & ritual. The word "Voodoo" comes from the West African word "Vodun," which means "spirit. The nation of Benin, once known as Dahomey, is considered as the birth place of Voodoo. Voodoo has its roots in the trauma of many people. It is believed that Africans , who were bought across the ocean to the America as slaves, brought their African Spirituality with them. In slavery they were not allowed to practice their culture, spirituality and their language, it had to be practiced in secret, since in some places it was punishable by death. In order to survive, Voodoo adopted many elements of Christianity and this religion came with some different forms and beliefs. This process of acculturation helped Voodoo to grow under harsh cultural conditions in many areas of the Americas.The French, colonizer of Haiti, prohibited all African spiritual practices. They punished the practitioners of Voodoo with imprisonment, lashings and hangings, they found African religions especially Voodoo as a threat to their colonial system. But none of the punishments could extinguished the faith of the Africans. It was in the midst of this struggle that the revolution was conspired. The Voodoo priests consulted their oracle and learned how the political battle would have to be fought in order for them to be victorious. The revolution exploded in 1791 with a Petr- ritual and continued until 1804 when the Haitians finally won (Long, 2000).After the liberation of 1804, Haiti did not establish any relation with Vatican until 1860. After that till 1950 Voodoo practices has faced many campaigns by Catholics, but it was in 1950s the Catholic hierarchy halted this war and made their peace with Voodoo. Voodoo drums and melodies were incorporated into Catholic Church services. Relative peace has held between the Catholics and servitors ever since. Until the 1970s Haiti was nearly 100% Catholic but today most observers believe that at least 15% of the Christians in Haiti are Protestant evangelicals.Haitians not only blended different African beliefs, but also influenced by other religions, including Native American traditions and the Catholicism of their conquerors.