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Well, What Do You Think?

From the lens What Is Haitian Vodou (Voodoo)?.

Disclaimer: I am a student of world mythologies and religion, NOT an expert on Vodou. If I have made any mistakes, I apologize! I created this page as my offering to Haiti, one small way to help raise money for relief efforts.

  • jithinseb Apr 19, 2012 @ 3:06 pm | delete
    its really good!
  • allenwebstarme Apr 13, 2012 @ 7:13 am | delete
    Never knew about this scary religion, very good information.
  • vodou Feb 29, 2012 @ 8:08 pm | delete
    You did a nice job. :) Mesi anpil, and for helping Haiti with your donations.
  • voodoomama Jan 28, 2012 @ 9:05 pm | delete
    Blessed!
  • Nightcat Sep 29, 2011 @ 7:53 pm | delete
    All religions have a scary dark side. Try growing up Roman Catholic. You are so right about the money thing. But I don't find the lwa being tough scary. We humans need our sorry assets kicked or we will never improve ourselves. Lovely work and will lensroll you honey! Thumbs up!
  • miaalien Aug 29, 2011 @ 6:05 pm | delete
    Happy to see a great description of our culture & religion. Its nice to know that there are some out there not spoiled by the media perception. Haiti is a place of beauty & angst, just like the rest of the world. The African Culture of Vodou that has passed on to us is a glorious empowerment tool, I can only pray that missionaries & extremist fundamentalists stop "culturally cleansing" our nation by luring the poor with food & amenities if they convert to a traditional Anglican religion. Haiti now & forever.
  • Greekgeek Aug 30, 2011 @ 2:11 am | delete
    Oh, good! I'm always afraid of screwing up when I talk about the religions I've studied. It's one thing to be a student; it's another to be a member of that religion!

    My heart goes out to Haiti: you just can't get a break. Tying aid to conversion stinks. Keep holding onto your beautiful heritage. Good luck and god(s) ;) bless.
  • awelldressedbullet Mar 17, 2011 @ 11:44 am | delete
    Kiss Me, I'm Irish! Lucky Leprechaun Blessings by a Squidoo Angel
  • rjm1969 Mar 31, 2010 @ 9:05 pm | delete
    Vodou has one God, the same God as we all do, but they have spirits (saints) that they speak to ,as our God is very busy. Just like Catholics pray to the Virgin Mary, or Jesus Christ, etc. I was raised Baptist and then raise my own children Catholic, but i've studies many religions and Vodou gets a bad rap from those that have never took the time to know what it really is. Also, African Voodoo, Haitian Vodou and New Orleans Voodoo may honor the same lwas (loas-saints) they are all three very differnt things.
  • poutine Mar 19, 2010 @ 5:24 pm | delete
    Thanks for the excellent description of this controversial subject.Z
  • KarateKatGraphics Jan 29, 2010 @ 9:46 am | delete
    "like Haiti, Vodou is full of joy and fear" -- great line. 5* and rolling to squidoo.com/haiti-best-charities
  • lasertek Jan 24, 2010 @ 10:20 pm | delete
    Interesting and informative. A lot of people are frightened with Voodoo because some believed it is evil. But I think it is just another religion or culture (whatever it may be) that most of us do not understand. Great lens! 5*

    Hope you could visit my lenses. Thanks
  • KathyMcGraw Jan 19, 2010 @ 1:10 pm | delete
    I followed a link on Twitter and am glad I did. I have never really understood Voodoo but you have laid it out very well. Diversity in our world is always a good thing to learn *Blessed* :)
  • kcbaker1 Jan 19, 2010 @ 8:53 am | delete
    Very good job covering the subject. Voodoo is not at all what people think it is.
  • Greekgeek Jan 20, 2010 @ 9:45 am | delete
    I'm very glad to have your own comment, since you're living there and know these peole. I am a book-learner and a student.

    Stay safe and good luck! We are praying for everyone down there.
  • talisman101 Oct 31, 2011 @ 3:47 pm | delete
    indeed good job
    chek this site about voodoo history
    http://www.bondye.com/
  • Brookelorren Jan 19, 2010 @ 1:35 am | delete
    The flavor of Christianity that I believe in is not compatible with Vodou, as I believe in only one God, and any possession by spirits is dangerous. However, I do care for the people in Haiti, and I pray that they will get the help that they need, and quickly.
  • Greekgeek Jan 20, 2010 @ 9:51 am | delete
    Yep, even if it's not Satanic, it still doesn't square with orthodox Christian belief.

    But whatever our religion, any good-hearted person must feel compassion for the Haitian people and horror at what is happening down there.
  • ShirlW Jan 16, 2010 @ 5:59 pm | delete
    I really enjoyed reading this, Vodou has always been a mystery to me. I would have never guessed you weren't an expert by reading this. Thank you so much for the link to my Hope for Haiti lens. I included you on my lens.
  • Tipi Jan 14, 2010 @ 11:11 pm | delete
    Wonderful informative page. I hope that this will be a great help for Haiti.
    It is such a tragedy and people need so much help right now.
    Bless your big heart for doing what you can. May God Bless Haiti!
    Susie
  • JoyfulPamela Jan 14, 2010 @ 8:00 pm | delete
    I wanted to thank you for you efforts uniting squidoo members to work together to help the earthquake victims in Haiti. I am working on my tiny part. ~ I didn't know anything about voodoo before and learned much from reading your page.
  • happynutritionist Jan 14, 2010 @ 8:38 am | delete
    Interesting history you have shared. I will share what I think...as a Christian who has talked to Missionaries that work in countries that practice voodoo, etc., I know the people live in much more fear than peace, some because of the reasons mentioned in the last module...never knowing when fearful spirits will do them harm. I have listened as Missionaries who share the Gospel of Christ speak of the positive transformation that comes to these people when they let the Spirit of God invade their hearts and minds, because they no longer need to fear, they are free, it is a beautiful thing!

    Thank you for this lens to support the people in Haiti, and for submitting it to "RocketMoms Help for Haiti", I woke up praying for them today...can't get them off my mind. ~claudia
  • Aimee Jan 15, 2010 @ 4:02 pm | delete
    In general, one cannot practice vodou without being Christian as well. Vodou exists side-by-side with Christianity. Like most of the African diaspora religions (such as santeria), vodou is a syncretic religion that people practice simultaneously. In this country, white people who are Christian are often also believers in New Age practices, or might belong to the Spiritualist church (Christian + spiritualist practices) or might practice speaking in tongues. It is a particular slant to the practice of the religion.

    Vodou empowers participants to speak with and sometimes channel the "smaller" gods who are closer to them and more concerned about their woes than the giant impersonal Christian god. The idea that this causes people more fear than peace is likely propaganda that is at best ethnocentric and at worst racist.
  • Greekgeek Jan 16, 2010 @ 3:01 am | delete
    In some cases it may be ethnocentric and racist, and I know full well my own ignorance of the subject is probably showing. However, I was trying to summarize a section of "Vodou, or the Voice of the Gods" by Joan Dayan introducion Vodou in the book Sacred Possessions (1997) in which the people being interviewed are Haitians who are in families with Vodou traditions. The author's friend describes her grandmother abandoning the family tradition and becoming a Seven-Day-Adventist. The friend has returned to family traditions, but speaks of the feeling of being out of control, of having one foot in both worlds -- she is attached to her family loas, but obviously feels turmoil. There is also a section in which several different Vodouisants speak of how they feel some loas have become restive because many have turned away from the traditions and neglected them. It is hard for me to judge how representative these accounts are. Obviously they are not speaking for everybody -- different people have different experiences.
  • EverydayMiracles Jan 14, 2010 @ 8:36 am | delete
    When I was a pagan, the pagans that I knew also very much feared Vodou. Everything that I knew about it was as you described above, but I felt as though I was being disrespectful to my mentors in disagreeing with their obvious points of view on the subject.

    So what is HOODOO then? I've often wondered if the two are somehow confused, because I keep getting told that I'm wrong about the Catholic fusion and the fact that Vodouists believe that they are Christian. Clearly my own understanding is as you have stated above, which leaves me feeling *more* confused than when I started.

    Not your fault of course. Great lens!
  • Greekgeek Jan 14, 2010 @ 12:48 pm | delete
    I'm afraid to answer that question too precisely because I have only an outsider's perspective... a semester of study in a mythology and religions program is no substitute for real knowledge and experience.

    I think Hoodoo is folk medicine: spells, charms, hexes (used by only some), herbal remedies. My reading in Sacred Possessions suggests it's less common in Haiti than in America, where it's mixed with various other folk traditions and evolved slightly differently. (Often, personal folk magic endures after the religious beliefs and sacred traditions of a community are lost). Whereas Vodou is a word for a loose set of religious practices and beliefs -- practices which may involve some Hoodoo elements.

    The problem is that many people use "Voodoo" or "Vodoun" (not usually Vodou) as a catch-all term for folk magic as well as the religious tradition. It varies by individual, priest/preistess, and group. You know how much customs, terms and beliefs can vary in non-organized religions!
  • JM Jan 14, 2010 @ 1:14 pm | delete
    Hoodoo is American Folk Magic. A good site for more information on Hoodoo is http://www.luckymojo.com
  • Greekgeek Jan 14, 2010 @ 4:41 pm | delete
    Thanks, J! I should really know that, eh, considering we know someone who's well-versed in it!
  • Marelisa Jan 14, 2010 @ 8:01 am | delete
    Very nice lens GreekGeek. Vodoo does get a bad rap; I guess people are quick to criticize what they don't understand. I've added "Hope for Haiti" to my "Haiti Devastated by Earthquake: How You Can Help" lens.

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Greekgeek

Storyteller, former Latin teacher, student of mythology and the ancient world: I've worn many hats, but always I've dabbled in computers and the web.

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