Voodoo
Voodoo (or vodou, or voodoo) is a religion originating in the ancient kingdom of Dahomey ( West Africa ). There is still widespread in Benin and Togo , as in the famous fetish market in Lome.
From the seventeenth century , the slaves from this region of Africa to spread the cult voodoo Caribbean and America. We thus found in different forms to Cuba , in Haiti , in Brazil or the United States in Louisiana in particular. But well before America, voodoo spread to North Africa by the slaves brought by the ancient dynasties that have passed through the history of this region. And is found until today in various forms, remains the most famous Gnawa Gnawa or in Morocco and Algeria , mixed Arab-Muslim religious folklore.
Summary |
Origin
Voodoo was born from the encounter of traditional cults of the gods Yoruba deities and his and Ewe , while creating and expanding the Fon kingdom of Abomey in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Voodoo is the cultural foundation of people who are drawn by successive migrations of Tado in Togo , the Adja (of which the Fon, the Gun, Ewe ... and to some extent ... Yoruba) peoples which are a important populations in the southern Gulf states of Benin ( Benin , Togo , Ghana , Nigeria ...).
Voodoo (which is pronounced voodoo) is the adaptation of the Fon Yoruba word meaning "god." Voodoo thus means all gods or invisible forces which men try to reconcile the power or benevolence. It is the affirmation of a supernatural world, but also all the procedures for entering into relationship with it. Voodoo is the religion of the Yoruba Orishas. As voodoo is a religion with the spirit of the invisible world. At each opening, the voodoo priest sought help from the spirit of Papa Legba to open the doors of both worlds.
Voodoo can be described as a culture, a legacy, a philosophy, art, dance, language, art of medicine, a style of music, justice, power, oral traditions and rituals.
The word "voodoo" comes from the word native to West Africa "Vodun" which means "spirit."
Voodoo cult has about 50 million practitioners worldwide.
With the deportation of black people as slaves, voodoo culture has spread to America and the Caribbean islands, including Haiti. It is characterized by the rites of "incorporation" (voluntary and temporary possession by spirits), animal sacrifices, belief in the undead (zombies) and the possibility of artificial creation, and the practice of witchcraft dolls on pins ( voodoo doll ).
Practice of their religion and culture was prohibited by the settlers and punishable by death or imprisonment was practiced in secret. However, to continue to exist, Voodoo has integrated Catholic rituals and designs, making it acceptable. Thus was born the "Voodoo Christian".
In the 1950s, the Vatican has made peace with the Voodoo cult. Voodoo drums and melodies are even incorporated into ceremonies and Masses in Catholic churches.
The Voodoo pantheon in Africa
The voodoo pantheon is primarily composed of forces of nature, as in shamanism. The Voodoo (loa, lwa) and their relationships refer to natural forces such as the lightning , the Wed , the disease , etc..
But the Voodoo is also interested in other supernatural entities, such as deified ancestors and the monsters (and other animals).
The gods (or voodoo)
At the top of the voodoo pantheon figure Mawu (pronounced God reigns supreme over other gods. (Mawu lo lo "God is great"; Akp na Mawu for "thank you to God"; Mawuena (m) "gift of God" and which corresponds to Dieudonne name). Mawu having no form, it is never shown, neither painting nor associated with objects, as are the other voodoo.
Mawu (Who is God with a capital letter) is uncreated and creator of all the other voodoo (god is not capitalized). Mawu does not intervene in the lives of men. It would have created other voodoo that they are in relation to men and the world. "Mawu" is not strictly speaking part of the voodoo pantheon, is a concept literally Mawu should be translated as "that no one can reach" or "the inaccessible" This is not a "person "but an entity. This explains that there is nowhere in the area of a voodoo cult Mawu, we only support him, glorify him. They say he kind to all creatures.
Note that some Christians (Ewe and Fon) Mawu call God. The first Christian missionaries are certainly at the origin of the translation of the name of God by Christian Mawu, to facilitate the conversions to Christianity. This sample recovery is not unique in the history of religions.
The voodoo pantheon is made of a multitude of Lwasa , which are spirits, or if you will, of lesser gods, capable to communicate and even collaborate with humans. The Lwasa most often materialize in inanimate objects of nature, like rocks and trees, hence the qualification "animist ritual" that apply more to voodoo.
One of the most important is Lwasa Erzulie , Erzulie Freda or who is the goddess of love. There are also Gu (the Ogun the Yoruba), god of war (and blacksmiths), Sakpata, god of smallpox (and more generally of the disease, healing and Earth), Damballa , spirit of knowledge and the powerful Hebieso, god of thunder and lightning. The latter is accompanied by a dwarf or a homunculus in charge of forging his thunderbolts. Papa Legba , meanwhile, has the difficult role as intermediary and messenger of the gods. He shall, in the syncretistic Haitian voodoo, St. Peter, who holds the keys of Heaven and Hell.
Voodoo in Africa, there are no concepts of heaven and hell. Eshu ( Eshu for English speakers) is indeed the most important god in that he is the god of crossroads, the god of reflection: his role as an intermediary comes next. It forms with the divinity Fa (Ifa or) a bearer of the pedagogy of this culture Other deities Mami Wata is also called in the tradition of Haitian Voodoo, a special worship him even devoted. This is the (goddess) mother of waters, the goddess of fishermen fear it symbolizes both the nourishing sea as the ocean destructive. Mami Wata is primarily a deity Ewe , whose worship is now on the Atlantic coast of Togo (but also in Nigeria , in Cameroon , the Congo - Brazzaville ) where it symbolizes the supreme power, as the goddess Durga in the pantheon Hindu symbol of shakti. Mami Wata is often represented in painting as it appears under the guise of a mermaid or a beautiful young woman brandishing snakes. Mami wata is not an adaptation of English as is sometimes believed. Mina in the language that is spoken in southern Togo and parts of southern Benin, "Amui" means tightening "Ata" means the / legs. After the rituals dedicated to the Goddess of water for the fertility of the woman, whose main home is the ocean, the master (Hougan) or mistress (Mambo) Formal asks him to repeat: "Ata Mamui" which means say: "I squeeze the legs" to keep for a while what the Goddess has sown. Over time, they named the Goddess Amuia Ata and deformations with successive phonetic name "Ata Mamui" became "Mami Wata". Dan: For the Fon, Dan means the snake , especially the python , a sacred animal that should not kill. Dan has seen the creation and supports the universe. Her cult is most prevalent in Ouidah and its region, where there are many houses with snakes. Voodoo comes from West Africa but also practice voodoo wherever enslaved Africans were deported, as in some Caribbean islands or in some American countries like Brazil, USA, Mexico etc. ... The voodoo practiced outside the African continent are often variants and remnants of the original religion. Indeed, the slaves who were under the ban on practicing their language but also their various cults and religions on pain of cruel repression have managed to retain a small part of their ancestral knowledge over the centuries of suffering (in religions, languages, history etc ...) In the images of Creole languages spoken by the descendants of slaves across the world of voodoo "new worlds" are mixtures of different religions of African origin (voodoo or not) and those countries with which they were contact in spite of themselves. The brutality suffered by slaves to create a constant climate of "shock" among the captives is probably the origin of this often use "terror" of voodoo and revenge found among practitioners descendants slaves, who used the religion in response to acts of inconceivable cruelty, committed by their European masters. A strategy of "voodoo terror" used against the oppressors and then transmitted from generation to generation, especially among white settlers, fears that are ultimately found in the screenplays for Hollywood studios for example, have widely circulated widely this negative image of voodoo warrior. Voodoo religion has long been suppressed and demonized. Clichs, platitudes and fantasies conveyed in the past are still visible. So when people say inspiration from Voodoo, there are often Satanism , cannibalism , sorcery and spells , destruction ... The object representing the best of this collection is the voodoo doll voodoo , magical instrument of torture. The list below is the popular image of Voodoo: a mixture of prejudice and inspirations more realistic. Voodoo has inspired many movies. For example: See also: List of zombie movies Worship and practices voodoo in Africa
Inspiration voodoo
Cinema
Literature
Music
Video Games
References
Notes
Bibliography
Related articles
External Links
On religion in Africa
On religion in America
Religion Oufo Houngan Mambo Hounsa Bokor Asson Vv Bain chance Zombi 
Spirits Agwe Ayida Wedo Azaka Ayizan Baron Samedi Damballa Erzulie Grand Bois Guede LWA Maman Brigitte Marinette Marassa Twins Ogun Papa Legba Simbi History Dahomey Yoruba Bois-Caiman Ceremony Clairvius Narcissus Ouidah Other Afro-American Candombl Voodoo Kumina Macumba Palo Mayombe Quimbois Santera (Lukumi)
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