It’s time to talk about a controversial topic, surrounded by taboo, which has earned
people’s repudiation for being considered black magic
or a dangerous belief.
Despite this, it is worth mentioning that all religions have both positive
and negative aspects, as objective and close to morality they are, none of them escape
this reality.
There are many things we don’t know about these rituals, yet today you will know
the truth about voodoo magic, that, besides magic, it’s a series of beliefs and ancient
practices with Animist characteristics.
These practices began in America due to the slave trade from Africa, who created their
own ideology far from home.
To many, voodoo is a type of witchcraft, for others it’s a religious
practice.
What is it, actually?
It is not a religion per se, but a mix of different African beliefs
with Christian influences.
When we hear the word “voodoo” the first thing that comes to mind are rag dolls with
needles all over them, as some form of curse.
Thanks mainly to the film industry; these dolls are believed to be used only to harm
the people they represent.
There are two important points about this aspect, the first
is that, indeed, they are often used in dark ceremonies, but they aren’t used for this
purpose only.
This doll can be used for other less aggressive means, for instance, to wish prosperity
and good fortune to another person by sticking a coin to the doll.
Also, the needles aren’t used to cause pain, but to hold the
objects used in the ritual to the doll.
The second, and most important point, is that these
dolls aren’t originally from voodoo or Santeria.
While we can trace them back to the most ancient witchcraft, from Egypt or the Hellenic
Greece, the truth is that, nowadays, trade and
the market that is strongly linked to this beliefs has served as a mean of sustenance
for many people, making it possible to find all
kinds of dolls in the places where voodoo is
practiced.
Nevertheless, as stated before, they are not originally from this African belief.
It must be clarified that voodoo is an Animist religion.
A religion is considered Animist when their followers believe non-human entities
are divine beings or spirits, or at least participate or possess divine principles or
potentialities.
An animist believes there’s no gap between the material and the transcendent
world, so rocks, plants, animals, atmospheric phenomena and other material entities have
a soul or a spirit, or manifest themselves as
gods or spirits of different categories inside a transcendent hierarchy.
The voodoo, etymologically, are the spirits that rule
over nature.
Their gods are heavily hierarchical and dominate all forces of nature, rocks, trees,
water flows, places and crossings, as well as
clans, tribes, nations and each individual person.
Even the dead still live among the living, to which they seek for help in times of need.
In the voodoo pantheon, the main god is a mother-father, androgynous god, creator of
all, who has a great amount of minor, yet still
very powerful, gods below it called “loas” or
“orishas” for the yorubas and Santeria.
The god creator is Mawu or Nana Buluku, and his
children are in charge of different places and territories, as well as of various natural
expressions: animals, seas, rivers, forests, among others.
The androgynous god creator has two manifestations or expressions: Mawu is
the female aspect, the moon.
As a male, he’s linked to the sun and is called Lisa.
Sometimes, they are referred to as the twin children of
the god creator in some traditions.
Another god, children of the creator, is Papa Legba, who
acts as an intermediary among the other gods (his brothers) and the father-mother creator.
Papa Legba is often presented as a young man, but in Haiti he’s seen as an elder.
Another important god is Mami Wata, in charge of the
waters, or Gu, who regulates iron and weapons.
Sakpata, in charge of diseases, Baron Samedi who regulates the forces of life and
death, or Eshu, the messenger between gods and men, keeper of the relationships between
both worlds, hence, the god who regulates order and peace.
Heaven is called Guinee or Guinea, the place where the gods dwell, and
also where a person goes after dying and going through the last crossing, where the god Guede
shall grant or deny access to the deceased.
In their celebrations, where the “loas” gods intervene, the participants can even
be possessed by them, manifesting their presence,
which can be either calm or aggressive, which depends on the Loa’s character that
possesses them.
While this belief is all about the divine, the voodoo ritual if filled with natural
elements, plants, animals and even animal sacrifices as an offer to the gods.
That is how they live; in health, in sickness, in life and in
death.
Voodo charms are either statues or animal parts they use for protection and aid in
case of sickness, wounds or to stay healthy and strong.
Voodoo witches or “bokor” claim to be able to perform incantations against enemies
as vengeance, asking the spirits to bring disgrace, pain, harm or death upon a person
or a group of people.
When it comes to what voodoo represents in modern society, it must be said that the ease
with which the voodoo practitioner moves in the world takes him to a permanent state of
petition and intercession with the spirits, hence proving how easy it was to assimilate
these spirits along with catholic saints in the
creation of other similar religious currents.
Voodoo has been the cradle of many other religions
and beliefs that have emerged in the Caribbean islands in America, in southern regions of
North America and in South America; in places like Haiti, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic
and Louisiana.
There is also an exclusive voodoo for black magic, known as hoodoo, which
has become the most popular type and shaped the belief most people have about voodoo
due to its particular characteristics; as well as the red magic voodoo, which gets its
name due to the color a person’s eyes turn when they are possessed during a ceremony.
Conversely, the syncretistic mix of voodoo and Catholicism in America after the discovery,
or encounter of both lands, generated Santeria in Cuba, or Candomblé in Brazil,
blending catholic saints with the pantheon of
African gods, so the African slaves taken there would protect themselves against the
slaver settlers, who forbade them to perform any
of their ancient practices, and their beliefs would
go unnoticed.
Not to mention the influence these religions and traditional beliefs from
Africa have had, spreading to countries like Angola and Congo.
Voodoo is currently associated in Western culture with Satanism, zombies and voodoo
dolls.
As you have seen, all this is due to lack of knowledge and suppositions about what
this universe of beliefs represents, and it’s simply the result of a series of catalyzed
circumstances taken to the minds of western audiences through comics, novels and movies
in the last decades.
Objectively speaking, voodoo is not Satanism, is not only black magic nor a congregation
of worshipers of the devil.
Actually, Satan doesn’t have an original meaning in this religion.
It’s true that, in the mix of original voodoo, like Santeria, some satanic manifestations
have been added, especially in those closer to
magic and witchcraft like the aforementioned hoodoo.
It’s safe to say that the elements of death and vengeance are present and used
against enemies in every religion, be it Animist or not, be it voodoo or not.
We can see this in the pantheon of Greek and Roman gods, cultures
that have shaped, along with Judaism and Christianity, the religious and perhaps
even moral conception of modern western society.