TRUE THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT VOODOO

VOODOO'S ROOTS

Voodoo is a spiritual expression that blends together

indigenous African religions with animism and Spiritism.

Sometimes, shamanism and witchcraft are also thrown

into the fray.

THE TWO WORLDS

Voodooists hold central to their belief that there are two

interrelated worlds: the visible and the invisible. Death

separates us from the invisible world where our

ancestors still watch over us.

THE MOST FAMOUS VERSIONS OF VOODOO

Voodoo is most known in three places: West Africa, Haiti, and

Louisiana. Beyond there, it is sometimes practiced in places

which had many West African slaves such as Cuba, Brazil,

Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic.

ONE GOD

Most Voodooists believe in a supreme being, though the deity

is more distant and less accessible than lesser spirits.

This monotheistic religion refers to god as Bondye.

THE "LWA"

All voodoo practitioners are known for interacting with

lesser spirits, often called “lwa”. The spirits often differ

between branches and some have even been merged with

Catholic saints after the collision of European

Christianity and African Voodoo.

RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LWA

Voodooists develop relationships with the lwa to ask their

advice and learn from their experience and connect

with them on a spiritual level.

THE LWA AND NATURE

All of the lwa are connected to some sort of natural force,

such as Ogou, the male lwa of iron and metallic powers.

VOODOO'S STATUS IN HAITI

Voodoo is protected under the 1987 Haitian constitution,

but this wasn’t always the case. In an attempt to ostracize

the religion, the Catholic Church burned Voodoo shrines

and beat its clergy in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s.

VOODOO TEACHINGS

Voodoo does not have a leader nor definitive scriptures.