The voodoo (or vodou, or vodoun) is a Culte animist originating in the old kingdom of the Dahomey (West Africa). It is always largely widespread with the Bénin and the Togo, as in famous the Marché of the féticheurs to Lome.

As from the 17th century, the slaves originating in this area of Africa spread voodoo cult in the Antilles and in America. One thus finds it in various forms with Cuba, in Haiti, with the Brésil or in the United States, in Louisiana especially. But well before America, the voodoo was spread in North Africa by the slaves brought by the old dynasties which crossed the history of this area. And one finds it until our days in various forms, of which most known remainder Gnawa or Gnaoua in Morocco and in Algeria, mixed with the religious folklore arabo-Moslem.

Origin

The voodoo was born from the Rencontre of the traditional worships of the gods Yoruba S and the divinities Fon and ewe, during creation then the expansion of the kingdom fon of Abomey with.

The Vaudou is the cultural base of the people which come by successive migrations from Tado to the Togo, Adja (of which fons them, Gouns, Ewe… and to a certain extent Yoruba…) people which constitute an important component of the populations in the south of the Gulf States of Benign (Bénin, Togo, Ghana, Nigeria…) Voodoo (which one pronounces vodoun ) is the adaptation by Fon of a word Yoruba meaning “god”. The voodoo thus indicates the whole of the gods or the invisible forces whose men try to reconcile the power or the benevolence. It is the assertion of a supernatural world, but also the whole of the procedures making it possible to enter in relation to this one. The voodoo corresponds to the worship yoruba of the Orishas.

The Pantheon Voodoo in Africa

The Pantheon voodoo above all is consisted of the forces of nature. The voodoo ( leasing , lwa ) and their relations return to the natural powers which are the lightning, sea, the disease, etc

But voodoo cult is also interested in other supernatural entities, such as the divinized ancestors and the monsters (and other animals).

Gods (or voodoos)

In the top of the Pantheon voodoo appears Mawu (to pronounce man-whou ), supreme God who reigns on the other gods. ( mawu lo lo for “God is large”; akpé Na mawu for “thank you with God”; mawuena (m) for “gift of God” and who corresponds to the Dieudonné first name). Also let us note that Mawu not having a form, it thus never is represented, neither in painting nor associated with objects, like are the other voodoos. Mawu (God) is incréé and creator of all the other Voodoos (gods). Mawu does not intervene in the life of the men. It would have created the other Voodoos so that they are in relation to the men and the world. “Mawu” does not form part of the Pantheon strictly speaking; it is a concept; literally Mawu must traduir by “ what no one cannot reach ” or “ inacessible the ” It is thus not a “person”. What explains why there is not no share in the surface of the vodou a worship for Mawu; one does nothing but thank It, the glorifier. One it known as benevolent towards all the creatures. Let us notice that the Christians Ewés and Fons call God Mawu . The first Christian missionaries are surely at the origin of the translation of the name of Christian God by Mawu, to facilitate conversions towards the Christian religion.

The Pantheon voodoo is made of a multitude of Lwa S , which is spirits, or gods lower, being able to enter in communication and to even collaborate with the human ones. The Lwas generally materialize in inanimate objects of nature, such of the stones and trees; from there the qualification of " ritual animiste" that several apply to the voodoo.

One of most important Lwas is Erzulie , or Erzulie Freda, which is the goddess of the love. One finds also Gu (Ogun of Yorubas), god of the war (and the blacksmiths), Sakpata , god of variola (and more generally of the disease, the cure and the Earth), Damballa , spirit of knowledge, as well as powerful the Hebieso , god of the storm and the lightning. This last is accompanied by a dwarf or a homoncule charged to forge its flashes. Dad Legba , as for him, with the difficult function of intermediary and messenger of the gods. It is assimilated, in the Haitian voodoo, at Saint Pierre, which holds the keys of the Paradise and the Hell.

In the vodou in Africa, there are not the concepts of paradise and hell. Lêgba (Eshu for the english-speaking) is indeed the most important god in that which he is the god of the crossings, the god of the reflection ; its role of intermediary comes then. It forms with the divinity Fa (or Ifa) a couple carrying the pedagogy of this culture.

Other divinities

Mami wata is not an adaptation of English. In the language which is spoken in the South about Togo and part of the south of the Benign one, “Amuiê mined” wants to say to tighten” ATA” wants to say la/les legs. After the ritual ones dedicated to the Goddess of water for the fruitfulness of the woman and whose principal residence is the Ocean, the Master (Hougan) or the mistress (Mambo) of ceremony requires of him to repeat: “ Mamui ATA ” what wants to say: " I tighten the jambes" in order to keep during one moment what the Goddess sowed. With time, one named the Goddess: Amuia ATA and with the successive phonetic deformations the name “ Mamui ATA ” became " Mami Wata" that one grows being an adaptation of English.

Mami Wata is also called Yemendja in the tradition of the Haitian voodoo, a special worship is even devoted to him. It is it (goddess) mother of water, feared goddess of the fishermen, it symbolizes as well the feeder sea as the destroying ocean. Mami Wata before a a whole divinity is éwé, whose worship is very present on the Atlantic coast of the Togo (but also with the Nigeria, with the Cameroun, the Congo-Brazzaville) where it symbolizes the supreme power, just as the goddess Durga of the Pantheon hindouist symbolizes the Shakti. Mami Wata is often represented in painting where it appears under the features of a Sirène or of a beautiful young woman holding up of the snakes.

daN : for Fon, daN indicates the snake, more particularly the python. DaN attended creation and supports the universe. Its worship is especially widespread with Ouidah and in its area, where one finds many houses with the snakes.

Worship and practical voodoo in Africa

African manent Voodoo in Africa but it is not the place where the voodoo is practiced the most.

Haitian voodoo

In Haiti, the Voodoo mixes Vaudou religious Africa of the West and folklore Christian. Religion of the slaves, the Voodoo had a great importance in their revolts (see Cérémonie of Wood-Caiman, in their emancipation), and preserves a considerable political importance today. We do not know any more about their beliefs about the origin of the universe, the ground and the human ones.

Each year in July, more than 70.000 people go to the place says the Saut of water. During 4 days, the Haitians faithful to the Pantheon voodoo devote themselves to ablutions, the baths of chance. According to the popular belief, spirits which make the good when they sufficiently are requested nest in the cascade, the throat and the trees. The foreign visitors are allowed there but must show an extreme reserve.

The inspiration voodoo

The Vaudou religion a long time was repressed and diabolisée. The stereotypes, commonplaces and phantasms conveyed in the past are still perceptible. Thus, when one says to take as a starting point the Voodoo, one often finds Satanisme, Cannibalisme, Sorcellerie and Envoûtement S, destruction… the object representing best this perception of the voodoo is the Poupée voodoo, instrument magic of torture. There are however certain people who tend to take as a starting point the reality of the Voodoo and not with these fantastic stereotypes and other plots.

The list below is with the popular image of the Voodoo: a mixture of prejudices and inspirations more realistic.

Cinema

The voodoo inspired a great number of films. For example:

See also : a list of films of zombis

Literature

  • Henry S. Whitehead, " Zombie" , " Lèvres" , of the news Fantastic S of possession vaudoue.
  • William B. Seabrook, the magic Island (1929), delivers which transmits the phantasms around the voodoo.
  • Maryse Condé, Me Staggered black witch of Salem , Gallimard, 1982, tells the history of a black slave of the Antilles initiated with the magic, resold and taken along to Salem at the time of the drives out with the witches.
  • Jean Métellus, whose majority of the collections of poems are strongly tinted of voodoo, such as for example: the Gods pilgrims , Janus, 2004, Men of full wind , News of the South, 1981, republication in 1992 and Clairvoyance , Hatier, 1984 and republication, Clairvoyance and other poems , Janus 2005
  • Rene Depestre, Hadriana in all my dreams , Gallimard, 1988.
  • Patricia Geary, Funny of toys , Denoël, coll Presences of the fantastic one.
  • Tim Powers, On more ignored seas , 1987.
  • William Gibson, author of science fiction/Cyberpunk, incorporates references to the lwas Vaudou - Ougou Feray, Legba- in its novel Count Zero .
  • Dean Koontz, the Curtain of darkness (police terror voodoo)
  • Laurell K. Hamilton, the merry corpse in which the " señora" is a great pretress voodoo.

Music

  • the guitarist Jimi Hendrix claimed to be a child voodoo in his song Voodoo Child , it was also made call Voodoo Child ;

  • the singer type-setter Moby being large fan of Jimi Hendrix took again Voodoo Child like pseudo.
  • the Beninese singer Angélique Kidjo pays homage to the spirits in its song " Yemanja" (album Ayé , included in Black Ivory Drunk ).
  • group RAM takes again images vaudoues.
  • the group Boukman Eksperyans is also very known in the field of the music voodoo.
  • Lys Gauty sang involving it " Hot Voodoo" , for the film Fair Venus (1933). The words are particularly whimsical…
  • the group of music named Godsmack interprets a song named: Voodoo.
  • the second album of the singer-type-setter of naked-drunk person Of angelo is called Voodoo , thus describing the strangeness and the mysticism of this album.
  • the group Prodigy created a named song Voodoo People , which thereafter was made remixer several times.
  • Rolling Stones left an album entitled Voodoo Loundge .

Video games

  • Gabriel Knight : The Sins off the Fathers is a Jeu of adventure being held with the New-Orleans whose main theme is the voodoo.
  • the series Monkey Island often contains topics voodoo.
  • Shadowman is a play or one incarnates the legendary warrior voodoo guard of the mask of the shades able to move worlds of alive in the world of died in search of the black hearts.
  • Voodoo Lunch is a little game of arcade kind, where a small young person voudou is incarnated, who consists in accumulating points by taking small objects.

See too

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