One of the most vibrant religions of Haiti is voodoo, about which there are many rumors and speculations. According to African beliefs, this magic is extremely powerful and allows you to curse people and even create zombies. But in fact, black witchcraft is only a small part of the interesting and, for the most part, good tradition of voodoo.

In the article:

How did the voodoo religion originate in Haiti?

The modern religion of voodoo is syncretic. This means that it combines many different spiritual traditions. It intertwines ancient African beliefs with modern attributes of life and a Christian worldview. As a result, now voodoo, unlike major world religions, is an extremely flexible and easily modified tradition.

There are no dogmas in voodoo sacred texts and sets of rules that are binding. This is a truly free and open religion for everyone, based on simple things to understand. Voodoo is based on the belief in spirits - Loa that exist in another world. This in some way makes voodoo similar to various peoples of the world.

However, Voodoo is not a chaotic and disunited religion. There are established centuries-old traditions, a strong worldview and a huge pantheon of famous Loa and Orishas. One of the main principles of voodoo is ancient religion Yoruba - one of the largest African peoples, from which most of the slaves were recruited. Under the influence of French and English Catholicism, they managed to preserve their faith, borrowing some elements from Christianity and adapting them to their culture.

The main principles of Voodoo and Yoruba religion

First of all, the main principle of voodoo is the belief in spirits who patronize different places, professions, occupations - any aspect of life. Such spirits are called Loa - it is believed that their number is huge, and the Loa themselves are more than grains of sand in the sea. Also, the voodoo tradition in some aspects implies a belief in Orisha- more powerful creatures that can be compared in strength to the gods of pagan polytheistic pantheons - ancient Greek, Scandinavian or Hindu.

In addition, in voodoo there is also a belief in a universal creator - Eshu. It is believed that he created the entire world and withdrew from governing it, transferring certain powers into the hands of other Orishas. In some way, this makes Eshu similar to the Slavic god Rod - although he is manifested in all things, he has no need for human offerings or worship. People are simply grateful to him for his creation.

Voodoo is a religion where true equality reigns. There are no restrictions here based on place of birth, nationality, or gender. San priest - houngan or mambo, anyone can get it. Houngan is the name for male priests, and mambo is the name for women. At the same time, the responsibilities and capabilities of houngans and mambo do not differ, unlike most world traditions. There is no serious hierarchy in voodoo - the priests have only two degrees of initiation. Houngan asogwe or mambo asogwe- These are the high priests and priestesses. A houngan sur pven or mambo sea pwen- younger ones.

The main type of ritual in voodoo is santeria. It is carried out in any specially prepared dwelling, where it is possible to accommodate a sufficient number of people, free space for dancing, and also mitan- a pillar located strictly in the middle of the room. Mitan personifies the connection between worlds and the road along which the loa descend to our world. During Santeria, an appeal is made to a specific loa, which can enter the body of the priest, causing a kind of possession. At the same time, initially they always turn to one specific loa, whose name is Papa Legbe. He is a conductor between worlds and provides communication between other loa and people.

Voodoo symbols

The most famous voodoo symbols now are, of course, dolls and zombies. However, in reality these elements are an extremely small and superficial part of this Haitian, Louisiana and African tradition. So, for any follower of voodoo, much more important symbols are Vevey- ritual signs. They are in some way related to European and Jewish pentagrams and seals. It is believed that with the help of veve, certain loa are summoned and protection is provided from their negative influence on people.

Each loa has its own preferences in offerings. This applies to both favorite numbers and favorite flowers, songs, food, smells and plants. The right offering can evoke the gratitude of the loa and provide an opportunity to take advantage of his gifts. An incorrect offering can anger the spirits and incur their wrath. A very large part of houngan and mambo training is finding various information about the different loa and making lists of their preferences in order to successfully conduct santeria. Also, each loa has its own separate type of veve.

Veve Papa Legba is an image of a cane and a cross. The Veve of Baron Saturday is a cross located on the coffin

Both the choice of day and the choice of music matter. Music occupies a special place in the traditions of voodoo, because for a long time For black slaves, dancing and music were the only available entertainment and means to express their feelings and emotions without incurring the wrath of their masters. And now music and dance have become an integral part of voodoo. They help you enter a trance, accept the loa and orishas and come into contact with them.

Bokors and zombies in voodoo - black magic and curses

Zombies and dark rituals are just a small part of the voodoo tradition practiced by sorcerers - bokors. Not all Houngans and Mambos recognize the power of the Bokors or their right to be considered priests. However, at many Santerias they are present and take part. Unlike priests, bokors not only provide communication between worlds, but control it and can use the powers of the other world directly. It is believed that the houngan or mambo always holds the people with one hand and the Loa with the other. Bokor plunges both his hands into the world of Loa, gaining much greater power, but also risking more.

Voodoo priest, bokora - can cast curses and spells on the living and the dead.

Like the Magi in the Slavic tradition, bokors can be either good or evil, or practice both the black and white aspects of magic. Of course, the most famous are the darker aspects of voodoo involving curses, possession, scary dolls and zombies. Indeed, it is believed that the art of raising the dead, or more precisely, poisoning people and subjugating their minds, is an attribute of many bokors. At the same time, sorcerers themselves extremely rarely resort to such actions.

The magic associated with voodoo dolls is also not exclusively black. Indeed, with the help of a voodoo doll, a bokor can send a terrible curse or even kill a person. But there is also good magic. For example, it involves taking care of the made doll and attracting all kinds of well-being to it - which will ultimately attract wealth and prosperity to the one whom this doll represents.

The Voodoo religion comes from West Africa, a country from which slaves were once brought to Haiti. As if in response to the humiliations of slavery and forced baptism, the first voodoo sects appeared in Haiti in the 18th century. This new spiritual "tradition" arose as a result of the fusion of the beliefs of black slaves originally from Dahomey - yes, don't be surprised - with Catholicism. Even one of the official documents of 1761 said that blacks mix objects of their cult with Christian ones, giving birth to explosive mixture. And although the clergy themselves wrote that it was unlikely that there was at least one black man left somewhere who had not been sprinkled with holy water, one researcher said something slightly different:

Even baptized blacks who attend church have absolutely no idea what religion is. Yes, they know the priests and the paintings to which they attribute a magical essence. But they still mix the pathos of idolatry into the new faith.

In fact, a significant role here was played by the fact that these children of Africa, whom fate had thrown to Haiti and other distant corners of the earth, were in dire need of a religion that would return them a sense of integrity as a people.

They were forbidden to honor their own deities under pain of terrible torture and death penalty. But, despite the prohibitions of the authorities, none of them was going to abandon their ancestors and gods. The new gods of the Catholics took their place next to the existing traditional idols. Over time, it occurred to the slaves to perform a kind of changeover: the original Dahomey deities of the Loa dressed in the “masks” of Catholic saints. Christian figurines and other religious objects actually appeared on the altars of blacks: candles, lamps. The rituals themselves were also close to Catholic ones. Thus, using the Catholic religion as a cover, the slaves remained faithful to their gods, worshiping them under the guise of Catholic saints.

So it turned out that voodoo is, to one degree or another, a modified original African religion that operated in Haiti. Its Christian elements are just part of the colonial heritage. The ruse of African slaves was so successful that in 1860 even the formidable but fair Vatican was forced to recognize voodoo as one of the varieties of Catholicism. (True, the Haitians themselves are more inclined to believe that their religion is just older and deeper than Christianity, that it has absorbed all the best from the past and present. However, all more or less self-respecting sectarians adhere to this point of view.)

So, in order to make a voodoo doll, the sorcerer must have many special ingredients: special wax made from human fat, bone dust, the bones of a living person’s hand, his own blood mixed with charcoal, crushed parts of three secret plants. Black stones taken from the crossroads served as the doll's eyes. It was necessary to take hair from the victim's head and her personal items. The doll may or may not resemble the victim, but a material connection with it was obligatory - the contents of something that belonged to the victim: hair, nails, etc. The sorcerer, forming a doll from the prepared components, had to sing continuously. In total, this process took about 4 hours.

In 2000, a Swiss periodical reported that a certain Jackson managed to find himself at a voodoo ritual performed in Switzerland. At the ritual, the sorcerer promised him that 25 people on the list of his main enemies, including Spielberg and the famous music tycoon of the time, David Geffen, would die as a result of his actions. Jackson bathed in a bathtub filled with blood, after which he ordered his former business consultant Myang-Ho Lee to transfer one hundred and fifty thousand dollars to a Malian bank into a specified account. According to the magazine, these funds were intended for the head of voodoo sorcerers Baba, who sacrificed 42 cows.

The Almighty expelled Adam and Eve from paradise and sent them to live on earth as punishment. Once on earth, the man offered a prayer to the great God to send them something to eat.

In response, the Almighty said to him:

“Cut your wife’s nails and hair and bury it all deep in the ground.”

Adam did just that. Immediately a tree grew from the ground, stretching its branches high into the sky. The trunk of the tree was rough, its bark resembled trimmed nails strung on top of each other, and the leaves were tender and long, like Eve’s hair. Delicious fruits grew on the tree in abundance.

But the demon tempter, because of whom Adam and Eve were expelled from paradise, saw a palm tree and jumped in rage around it. He even began to cry with anger, and each of his tears, falling on the leaves, turned into a thorn.

In Morocco, people are very fond of the palm tree, surrounding each tree with great care. Its fruits are tender and sweet, like honey, they satisfy hunger even in the most difficult times.

Time passed, and gradually, together with immigrants from Haiti, the voodoo religion migrated to other islands. Thus, the first island to adopt the new trend was the Caribbean, then Jamaica and Trinidad, where voodoo was most widespread. The flourishing of this religion coincided with the rise to power in Haiti in 1957 of dictator François Duvalier. The ruler himself professed voodoo, which contributed to this. Being more than flexible, the voodoo religion was easily modified with changing generations. And its hybrid origin even contributed to its penetration into the continent. So it gradually turned out that voodoo has many fans in the United States.

A surge in popularity and recognition of Haitian voodoo occurred in New Orleans, Miami, and New York. This religion spawned new views and beliefs everywhere, eventually gaining between fifty and sixty million followers throughout the world.

Yes, yes, there really are a lot of voodooists in New York. True, these are either peaceful ministers of the cult and its adherents, or sectarians who use the surroundings and knowledge of human psychology to carry out criminal deeds.

Voodoo mythology

Voodoo rituals are based on invoking gods and spirits. This religion is very spectacular, and sometimes its colors reach vulgarity in our European understanding. Spirits inhabit shamans, and believers can receive protection, healing or prophecy from them. Voodoo rituals point people to the source of their troubles and provide a means of counteracting evil spells. These are, first of all, amulets - bags with herbs, oils, hair, bones and other objects.

Voodoo also includes teachings on how to use special candles, oils, decoctions and tinctures. It was believed that each plant has certain properties: beautiful plants bring harmony, prickly or foul-smelling plants bring aggression and discomfort. Some of them can complement and strengthen each other, others can be at odds with each other or sow hostility around them.

Voodoo spirits can be both protectors and punishers. You can use a lot of amulets for your protection and be calm, no matter what happens in life. On the contrary, if you insulted a priest or were accused of black deeds, punishment will not be long in coming.

Even the familiar concept of possession in voodoo has a special meaning. For voodooists, this is a practical goal that is achieved through various rituals. True rapprochement with the other world in voodoo is achieved precisely through possession, which is called the “hand of divine grace.” This state is caused by the loa - the divine spirit, which temporarily replaces the soul and becomes a life-giving force in the human body. So, possession is a completely common phenomenon in voodoo, it is the way in which the loa give their instructions or manifest own desires and strength. This condition occurs quite often and is considered normal by religious adherents. After all, the Pythia, and the oracles of antiquity, and shamans of any people, and even the prophets always predicted in a state of trance. But if in most cases they fell into such a state spontaneously, then voodooists use various means that have such an effect on the psyche. When a loa enters a person and controls his body for a certain period of time, the actions and expressions of emotions belong to the loa, and not to the person possessed by it. The cult priest can determine which loa a person possesses. Priests act as intermediaries to summon the loa or help them leave when their mission is completed. A loa who has possessed a voodoo devotee must also say goodbye to the priest before leaving. Thus, every voodoo practitioner not only has direct contact with the spirit world, but actually receives it into his body. And this also brings the divine closer to the earthly. Communication with higher powers is possible here without intermediaries.

There are many different sects in voodoo, because there are a great many African peoples. So everyone, coming into contact with a new religion, brought into it what they understood. Each sect follows its own spiritual path and worships its own pantheon of loa deities. Loa are very numerous and active in the human world. They live in trees, stones, and less often in the bodies of animals. Voodooists believe that any thing is a continuation or manifestation of one or another loa and serves it.

Only select people like witch mambo And white sorcerersungans, can communicate directly with loa. Unlike other religions, Voodoo is clearly expressed regarding dark side of the loa and people. Sorcerers who use black magic are called bokors. They are united in secret societies and can send damage to a person using a wax doll, or revive a dead person, completely subjugating him, and then send him to the enemy and thereby mortally intimidate him.

Voodoo rituals, like deities, are divided into two classes: glad And Petra. For both, it is typical to use drumming, dancing, chanting and entering an ecstatic trance. They differ only in the type of loa addressed and the purpose of the ritual. Bright colors, rhythmic music, archaic hymns - it is very difficult not to succumb to their charms. But the magic of words also exists and is used in any religion.

Rada rituals follow more traditional African patterns and usually focus on the positive aspects of the loa. Believers wear special white clothes. Animals (roosters, goats and bulls) are sacrificed - the god Danbala taught his followers to partake of the sacred blood.

Voodooists have a primordial supreme being called Grand Me or Olodumare. Having created our world a long time ago, he still remained very far from it. According to the myth, Olodumare completed the creation of the physical world and was no longer interested in its fate, leaving further developments to chance and feeling only fatigue and disgust. It is useless to appeal to him - he will remain indifferent, because it is unlikely that anything will be able to convince him of his contempt for the work of his hands. Therefore, it is hardly worth worshiping him or seeking help, voodooists believe.

According to another myth about the creation of the world, he opened all the waters on earth Great Serpent of Danbal. The movement of its seven thousand rings formed all the plains and peaks on earth and the stars and planets in the sky. The Great Serpent of Danbal is the eldest among the loa. (In Catholicism, his counterpart is God the Father.) Danbala represents the embodiment of the ancestral knowledge of voodoo, and even before the era of slavery, the African inhabitants of Dahomey revered the python Dangbwe as the embodiment of deities. The python was very beautiful and not poisonous; The Dahomeans believed that if his tail touched one of the kids, it was a sign that he had been chosen to be a priest (priestess).

As the Voodoo religion spread across the islands and America, the python gradually turned into a boa. Danbala doesn’t talk – why does he need this? – he just makes a hissing sound. If we think about it this way, it becomes clear that the sacred language of Vodou used in the liturgy most likely originates from this hissing of the great Danbala. Voodoo adherents possessed by Danbala lose the ability to walk - it’s as if they turn into snakes. Not only do their legs refuse to serve them, they begin to crawl like snakes, writhing with their whole body, and hissing.

The Great Serpent Danbala, according to myths, has a wife Ida(Rainbow). Its embodiment is a small snake that lives primarily in water and feeds on bananas. Voodooists often decorate the walls of their temples bright colors, repeating its color. However, with even greater diligence and love they paint the central column in the temples. It symbolizes the Axis Mundi, connecting Heaven, Earth and the Lower World. In general, Aida is one of the many incarnations of the goddess of beauty, love, wealth and prosperity Erzulie. She is the Moon, her husband is Legba the Sun. Erzulie is pure and immaculate, beautiful and mysterious, like the Moon herself. But according to legend, from the passionate touches of her fiery husband, Erzulie’s skin scorched and turned black - therefore, it is customary to depict her as a black woman. In addition to the power of love and benevolence, this goddess also personifies jealousy, strife and revenge.

Legba, having many different faces and names, is a very noticeable person, without him contact between man and God is impossible. He, like Mercury or the Greek Hermes, serves as a mediator between other gods and connects the loa with the priests. The priests, through magical dances and chants, bring to his attention human aspirations. Legba appears as a poorly dressed old man. He is also depicted as a man splashing water, or an old man with a staff or leaning on a crutch. Essentially, he is the guardian of roads, passages, intersections, entrances and exits. That is, Legba is a clear double of St. Peter, the key keeper of the doors of the Garden of Eden in Catholicism. Since he is the guardian of the gate, none of the deities will be able to take part in the voodoo ritual until Legba allows him to be allowed through the door. Legba keeps ritual water and patronizes voodoo mysteries - in this incarnation he correlates with Danbala-Vedo. However, along with the parallels with St. Peter, there was another parallel. Thus, some considered Legba’s prototype to be almost Christ. The reason for this was his origin - he is the son of the Sun and the Moon. It is also curious that in Brazil, in Christianity, a similar god, Eshu, is associated, on the contrary, with the devil.

The dark manifestation of Legba is the Lord of the Crossroads Legba Cafe, patron of witchcraft, he is cruel and unpredictable. A kind of joker, a lunar deity...

Remember the film “Crossroads”, where the young guitarist and his friend, an old black man who ran away from a nursing home, are visited by this same Master, who once gave the then young aspiring musician fame and devilish talent, but took his soul in return? It's him, Legba.

The dual nature of this deity, striking and baffling from the Christian point of view, has, however, a well-defined basis. Remember the parable of Prometheus - in his mythological figure the functions of the liberator of humanity, the Messiah and the tempter Satan intersect. Such ambivalence of the deity in Christianity would not be discussed in principle, however, as is customary in voodooism (and, by and large, not in it alone - also in shamanism, Western occultism and Indo-Tibetan tantrism), it is normal that the gods have both light and and the dark side of his essence. This is an undeniable truth.

One terrible story literally blew up the media, which could not talk about anything else. Here's what was reported about the young witch:

Thirteen-year-old Nigerian schoolgirl Jummai Hassan has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a two-year-old boy. Despite his young age, the killer faces life imprisonment or the death penalty. During the investigation, she confessed that she was a member of a secret sect that professed the religion of voodoo and practiced murder with the subsequent sale of the victims’ organs for witchcraft rituals.

The girl stated that over the past seven years since her initiation, she took part in the ritual murders of more than 50 people, including her own father.

She agreed to indicate the burial places of her victims, and in addition, she said that the priests of the local church were her regular “customers” - she sold them the victims’ organs, including eyes and hearts. The killer also pointed to her accomplice. After searching his home, police found numerous paraphernalia used in voodoo rituals.

Yes, yes, the gods are dual, they do not represent only one light force full of radiance. Remember the Greek pantheon, always torn apart by contradictions and quarrels.

Loa- worldly gods, closely associated with people and their daily activities. They contribute to human happiness, but do not create it; They can save you from lightning or rain, but they are not able to warn them. For their help, the loa demand sacrifices, gifts and respect from people. If you present them with the wrong dish or dance the wrong dance in their honor, they can get angry and cause damage. They are capricious, but kind.

There are many loa spirits, I will mention only a few here.

Loco- the spirit of vegetation, guarding the holy of holies. He is a loa of healing and is associated with trees. Patronizes healers - not a single healer will begin his healing session without him. Loko is a connoisseur of all herbs and flowers. The priests receive their knowledge from him.

Grand-Ba patronizes wildlife, prefers the darkness of forest crowns to bright light. By nature, she is quite unsociable - she lives in a dense green thicket, where there is only wild vegetation. In the wilderness of the forest, Grand-Ba constantly pampers herself with sweet fruits and roots, so she does not feel hungry when she is called to the ceremony. However, during the ritual it is necessary to leave small sacrifices for her, otherwise this loa may become angry at the lack of attention and, for example, deprive those gathered of her presence. Grand-Ba has an innate sense of justice and resolves disputes. It is this spirit that is invoked to pacify disputants and find the right solution.

Agwe is responsible for all the flora and fauna of the sea, for all ships moving through the water space. This is the loa of the sea, it is symbolized by images of bright boats and oars, and shells. Agve sends calm or waves, calms storms or hurricanes. His gaze is pleased by the military uniform and amused by gunfire. His worship must take place on board a ship or raft - this is a fundamental difference from all other loa. All of Agwe’s favorite dishes and drinks, even whiskey, are placed on a boat or raft to appease him, and then they are launched into the water, heading along a straight road to the sacred underwater world. If the raft sinks, it means that Agwe is pleased - he accepted the sacrifice and will protect his followers.

Loa stand apart Gede- spirits of death and graves, unbridled desires and debauchery. But in addition, the Gede advocate for the preservation and renewal of life and protect children. The most popular of them are Gede Nibbo, Gede Mazaka, Baron Samedi and Baron Semetier. They are depicted as white-bearded old men wearing long coats and tall hats. Their indispensable attributes are a skull, a coffin, a cross and a cane or crutch. If, for example, someone begins to greedily consume food, smokes immoderately, drinks great amount alcohol and makes dirty jokes - such a person is obsessed with Baron Samedi, an inhabitant of cemeteries.

The fearsome loa Gede wears all black, he controls access to the afterlife, the eternal path of man, which everyone will someday set foot on - the path from life to death. Gede's symbol is a grave cross. But at the same time, it also symbolizes eroticism, which is beyond good and bad, since it is inevitable. Guede simply performs his duties - he is neither ashamed of this eroticism nor admires it.

Loa Gede is a whole family of loa generated by the souls of dead people. Gede - spirits of the dead. They are all members of the same family along with Baron Samedi and Mother Brigitte and their spiritual children. They even have the same last name - La Croix, which means cross.

Voodoo worshipers usually create communities, religious communities. They have a developed sense of comradeship like no other; they prefer to be close to each other. The center of the community - as, indeed, in other religions - is the temple. Rituals are performed in it, and everything is run by the main priest - Ungan and the priestess - Mambo. The symbol of belonging to the priests is the ritual rattle asson, made from a hollow gourd stuffed with stones or bones. To accept asson means to accept priestly rights and responsibilities. Priestly right is inherited. A child in a family of priests must be taught all the wisdom from childhood, but his initiation occurs only at the age of 31 or older. He or she receives evidence of acceptance into the clan of priests - a ritual asson, without which no ritual takes place.

One of the journalists who saw the voodoo service describes the ritual in his publication:

Voodoo rituals always begin with an appeal to Legba and the most important loa - doors and crossroads. First you need to get permission from the door loa, otherwise none of the other spirits will be able to cross the border of the other world and enter our material world. Ungan calls on Legba, asks him to open the gate with a special spell.

After Legba is summoned, water is poured three times in front of the temple and the central pillar dedicated to Legba and allowing the loa to enter the temple. Water in the ritual generally has great importance. She represents the four directions of the world. The ritual participants then kiss twice the symbol of the Axis, which supports the earth, and pour water in front of each drum located in the temple. There are three of them in total - these are sacred objects of worship.

Then the high priest and two other members of the community offer greetings to the four cardinal directions, central column and drums - banners and a sacred sword are used for this. Inside the ritual circle, they light candles, and the Ungan draws symbols on the ground with special flour. They can be a sign of a certain loa, which will be served by the participants in this ritual and which calls the loa to the place of the ritual. Then the ungan distributes the remaining flour to the four cardinal directions.

Greetings, lighting candles and drawings may not follow in this order - it depends on the established traditions.

Then, wanting to summon the spirit to awaken the astral power of the loa, the ungan sharply strikes the drawing. These actions oblige the loa to descend to earth. Ungan can also simply lean over the altar and summon the loa into the clay pot through magical words. He can then ask questions to the loa inside the pot, learning about the present or future.

During the ritual, participants sing. They begin the chant with a classic Catholic prayer and then sing an ancient African liturgy where the spirits are invoked in order of their rank. However, this liturgy is so old and long forgotten that sometimes even the singers themselves do not understand it.

After everything, sacrifices are made to feed the loa. The ritual ends with rhythmic applause, the beating of the drum and the sound of the ungan rattles.

We talked about Africa, the islands, America. But the voodoo cult is widespread not only there. It is found even in Europe, so the press no, no, but produces something like this article:

In the UK, the trial of 37-year-old Somalian Neji Dyul is being heard, accused of false imprisonment of a minor, assault, theft and forcing a girl under 21 to have sexual relations with three men. Nineteen-year-old victim Dewle, referred to in the article as "Miss H", told the court yesterday that she was held captive in an East London flat for three months. According to her, she was a sex slave and carried out any orders of the Somali woman, as she was under the influence of witchcraft in the style of a voodoo cult. Miss X. said that Neji sold her to men and said that the girl had no choice, and if she refused sex, the Somali would simply beat her. The prosecution noted that the captive recognized Neji's ability to cast magic and that she did so to prevent Miss X from escaping. The girl felt as if she was tied or chained. Court hearings are ongoing.

Time passed, I listened to the professor’s lectures with enthusiasm and pleasure. Falk changed his anger to mercy; he was especially favorable to me after dinner. And then the flight attendant announced boarding. How will Africa meet me?

General name for a group of Afro-Christian sects. Voodoo sects appeared in Haiti in the 18th century as a result of the fusion of the beliefs of black slaves with Catholicism. The cult received particular development with the coming to power in 1957 of dictator Francois Duvalier. Voodoo is characterized by the practice of witchcraft and black magic.

“The remains of a human body have been found in the River Thames. As it later turned out, the remains belonged to a six-year-old boy of African descent. The reconstructed picture of the incident shocked even seasoned investigators. The murder turned out to be a ritual of the voodoo religion - the child’s throat was first cut, and then his body was dismembered into small parts.”

This message was disseminated by news agencies in 2001. “Today a corpse is in the Thames, and tomorrow in the Dnieper?” - picked up by the domestic media. There was cause for concern. Who knows how far passion for exotic cults and unconventional religions can take thrill-seekers? Especially when knowledge about them is gleaned from tabloid books, “sensational reports” and feature films. Voodoo is not only the religion of the population of a small island in the Caribbean, voodoo is also a horror story that followers of the sect in the USA, Europe, Russia and Ukraine want to believe.

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Voodoo is a religion that originated in the Caribbean islands (primarily Haiti) as a result of a mixture of traditional beliefs of African slaves and Catholicism. The name of the religion comes from the word “vodu”, which in the language of the Fon people (living in what is now Benin) means “spirit, deity”.

In 1518, the first black slaves from West Africa were brought to the New Spanish colonies in the Caribbean. There were only three of them. Trade in live goods turned out to be a profitable and therefore attractive business. More and more streams of “black ivory” stretched from Africa to North and South America, to the Caribbean islands, including Haiti. It is known that the coastal tribes themselves supplied slaves to traders in Africa.

Some modern researchers believe that the quiet transportation of two hundred to three hundred people in the hold of a ship was possible only with the preliminary zombification of living goods, which was carried out by local African sorcerers.

Slaves from the Fon tribe, captured in Dahomey (Benin) and brought to Haiti, were deprived of everything - property, rights, homeland... According to the slaves, only the old religion could help them survive. Drumming and ritual dancing, bringing Africans closer to the spirits, were now performed on Haitian soil. White masters - as a rule, zealous Catholics - forbade slaves to practice their native African religions. Blacks who were found to have fetishes faced, at best, beatings and severe punishment, and sometimes severe torture and even execution. Slaves were forcibly baptized. However, African cults survived. Gradually, “black religions” mixed with Catholicism to one degree or another. The spirits put on the masks of saints, archangels and madonnas. Christianity became a cover for voodoo. It was possible to attend mass while continuing to make blood sacrifices and perform ritual dances at night. Christian figurines, candles and relics appeared on black altars. Naturally, the current situation led to the formation of many secret sects, which later became voodoo sects.

A mixture of Catholic and African religious norms is still observed. Many voodoo practitioners believe that the Christian God and saints give their cult additional power. Voodooists celebrate Christmas and read the Bible. During Lent, the doors of Voodoo sanctuaries are closed. The Catholic struggle against voodoo continued throughout Haiti's history. It is interesting that in the Catholic services on the island in the middle of the last century it was allowed to include drum music. Until recently, the majority of voodooists considered themselves Catholics at the same time, which was reflected in numerous statistical reports.

Afro-Christian cults similar to Voodoo have spread to other Caribbean islands and some Latin American countries. A unique religion has formed in Cuba - Santeria; In Brazil, a mixed Negro-Portuguese-Indian religion is called Macumba. Voodoo gained popularity in New Orleans (Louisiana), Miami, and later in New York.

The formation of the specific religion of voodoo was greatly influenced by the fairly early independence of Haiti, which led it to isolation from European countries and closed its religiosity to itself. The island position of the state also contributed to the independent development of local cults.

Haiti's favorable location and fertile soils made the island the object of constant struggle between the leading colonial powers - Spain, Great Britain and France. In the middle of the 17th century, Haiti switched to the latter. (During the century after this, according to many experts, voodoo was finally formalized as a specific religion of blacks in the French American colonies.) By the end of the 18th century, Haiti became one of the richest colonial possessions in the world. Of course, the island's prosperity continued to be based on the brutal exploitation of slaves. In the context of growing dissatisfaction among blacks with their oppressed position, voodoo becomes a kind of symbol of the national dignity of black Haitians, an important factor in their self-awareness. Some sources indicate that the revolt against the French, raised by Haitian slaves under the leadership of Toussaint Louverture in 1791, began with the prophecy of the local oracle and the performance of the religious rite of Petro. The moment for the uprising was chosen extremely well. The French had no time for Haiti - the revolutionary French troops at that time were more concerned about the war with the armies of the anti-French counter-revolutionary coalition. Napoleon later failed to calm Haiti, and in 1804 the island gained independence, thereby becoming the first black independent state of modern times. General Dessalines proclaimed himself Emperor of Haiti.

Both Dessalines and the slightly later ruler Pétion tried to show themselves as enlightened rulers and eradicate voodoo. Religion again went underground, retaining the charm of the forbidden. After a century of internal strife and a constant struggle for power (during which, by the way, there were frequent clashes between Catholics and Voodooists), the island was occupied by the United States. The Americans failed to reconcile the warring parties, which continued a brutal war throughout the first half of the last century. A war that ended with the victory of the black, mostly voodoo, population. But this victory did not bring happiness to the blacks and mulattoes.

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The rise of the voodoo cult in the second half of the 20th century is associated with the name of Francois Duvalier. From 1957 to 1971 he reigned supreme over Haiti and the surrounding Caribbean islands. Papa Doc was what the whole world called him, but that was not his only nickname. Duvalier was called the Sun of Haiti, the King of Happiness, the Celestial Rainbow, and the Anointed of the African gods... And many Haitians believed that Duvalier’s power was preserved because he was a powerful voodoo sorcerer.

Francois Duvalier was born in 1907. In 1932 he graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Haiti, and in the 40s he studied the US health care system at the University of Michigan. In 1946, a black man, Dumarce Estime, became the President of Haiti. The black Dr. Duvalier was the Minister of Health in his government. However, Duvalier soon had to go underground, since Estime was overthrown by the military junta. She remained in power until 1956, after which Duvalier was able to come out of hiding and even enter the presidential race. Papa Doc lost the elections, but with the help of regular troops he was able to “replay” their results, hold new elections and become the President of Haiti. This happened in 1957.

Former democrat banned political parties, closed opposition publications, dissolved trade unions and student organizations. A military-police dictatorship was established in the country, based primarily on the physical elimination of disloyal citizens. In particular, many Catholic priests were persecuted (the Catholic Church supported Duvalier's political opponents in the 50s). In 1964, Papa Doc was named President for Life.

Duvalier was well versed in the intricacies of voodoo and sensed the mood of the masses. Like many dictators, he sought to look like a truly people's leader. On the other hand, voodoo, with its aura of mystery, reverence for “initiates” and frightening legends, was perfectly suited as a tool for keeping the illiterate population of Haiti in fear and obedience. Terror received a religious overtones. Papa Doc actively promoted himself as a voodoo priest. He changed the colors of the national flag from the traditional red and blue to red and black (colors associated with the influential voodoo sect Bizango). Duvalier wore a black suit with a narrow black tie - this is the outfit of one of the death spirits, Baron Saturday. The secret police and the presidential intelligence services (the legendary Tonton Macoutes, which Haitians still remember with shudder) periodically resorted to voodoo rituals and symbols. In fact, this folk cult became the official ideology of the Republic of Haiti and one of the foundations of the Duvalier dictatorship. The population of the island was greatly impressed by an episode that occurred in 1963. Duvalier, dissatisfied with the cooling towards him from the United States, publicly announced to the people that, with the help of voodoo rituals, he had summoned the devil himself from hell, who would send a curse on the American president. Six weeks later, John Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas.

Many Haitians believed that Duvalier was endowed with supernatural powers and that he turned the people he killed into zombies, making them his invisible spies. It was beneficial for influential “initiated” voodooists to support the increased authority of the religion during the reign of Papa Doc and after the death of the dictator, and after the exile of the younger Duvalier, Jean-Claude, in 1986. However, during the period of unrest that followed, voodoo was subjected to further persecution in Haiti as an ideology of dictatorship.

There is evidence that local entrepreneurs provided a warm welcome to the former Tonton Macoutes who fled to Brazil. In factories run by Haitians, people pointed at some workers, claiming that they had been turned into zombies for disobedience. Rumors about zombification strengthened the authority of the owners and scared away curious officials from the regulatory authorities.

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In 1990, as a result of the “first free elections in Haiti,” the former left-wing Catholic priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide became president. Dissatisfied with his reforms, the island's wealthy elite overthrew Aristide, but after several years of a trade embargo initiated by the United States, Aristide returned to power. His reign was an important milestone in the history of voodoo. From a secret cult it turned into an export item, became one of the income sources of a poor country, its brand. Famous artists and musicians (for example, Michael Jackson) became interested in voodoo.

Here is a description of a typical ritual rite “for spectators and tourists”: “The Italian ambassador talking with the first secretary of the US Embassy, ​​do they, perhaps, profess Woodism? In the presence of so many onlookers, curious, what kind of sacrament could they be talking about? A typical get-together of a foreign colony... They were beating on the tom-toms, howling and dancing, most likely the folklore ensemble artists hired for this occasion, their thick black faces seemed to be made up, and the bottles to which they were drinking, as required by ritual, apparently did not contain claret gurgled, and Coca-Cola. There was no ecstasy, no one fell into a trance, and there was no intention of biting off the heads of live roosters. Well, nothing sinister or enchanting - just a show that reeked of boredom,” this is how an eyewitness talks about the ritual.

Thousands of Voodooists from all over the world make a pilgrimage to the Plaine du Nord every year to perform a solemn Voodoo ritual. “We have our own temples,” says Voodoo priest Nene. “We believe in God and we baptize people, we hold religious ceremonies, so we really are a church.”

In April 2003, Aristide signed a law declaring voodoo one of the state religions of Haiti. The first of November has been declared a non-working day on the island. According to the Voodoo calendar, this is a holiday when the dead are honored. Not everyone likes the recognition of voodoo as an official religion. “The Bible says we are created in the image and likeness of God,” says Catholic priest Adones Jean-Juste. “But these people bathing in mud behave like pigs.” They are those animals that love to wallow in mud. Voodoo worshipers need to be cleansed through baptism in Christ.” In the fall of 2003, thousands of Haitian Christians took part in a day of prayer to protest the recognition of voodoo as the state religion. Moreover, Haitian Christians sent their “spies” to the voodoo healers. This was stated by the director of the Haiti Youth Mission, Terry Snow. The spies went to the place where, according to legend, an alliance was once concluded with the devil, who allegedly received the soul of Haiti in exchange for victory over the French.

According to Snow, the voodoo priests brought many sacrificial animals to this place - pigs, goats and chickens, but a dispute broke out between the followers of the cult and not a single sacrifice was made. A new sacrifice was planned for January 1, 2004. This day is the main national holiday of Haiti - Independence Day.

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Voodooism is not just the worship of spirits, gods and demons. For a voodooist there is no separation between the material world and the spiritual. His spirits and demons are not otherworldly creatures, they are constantly present in this world. A voodooist is a pragmatist and performs his rituals to get what he needs from this life, and immediately. Voodoo gods are of this world, and for a voodooist, the world is as good as the desires it generates.

The object of Voodoo worship is the Dahomean Loa deities, who have acquired pronounced Haitian features. Voodoo sects see the meaning of life in communicating with loa in order to gain their favor and receive valuable information. The Loa are very numerous and active, they operate in our world. Voodooists believe that every thing is a continuation or manifestation of one or another loa and serves it. Deities of African origin belong to the Rada class. There is another class - Petra. These are loa who entered the pantheon much later. Most often they are deified spirits of historical figures or local Haitian gods.

Voodooists recognize the existence of a primordial Supreme Deity called the Grand Me. He created the world, but is too far from it to be worth worshiping. The eldest among the loa is the Great Serpent Damballa. Even before the era of slavery, Africans revered the Dangbwe python. This snake is unsafe for humans, and the Dahomeans believed that a child touched by it was destined by God himself to become a priest or priestess. After moving to America, slaves replaced the python with a boa. Damballa is the beginning and end of all things, the ocean of eternity, surrounding the material world on all sides. Damballa is the source of Power and the location of all loa. Damballa created all the waters of the Earth. The movement of its seven thousand rings formed the mountains and valleys of the Earth, as well as the stars and planets. The serpent smelted metals and sent lightning arrows to the Earth, from the impacts of which stones and rocks appeared. When Damballa shed his skin under the sun, pouring water onto the Earth in the process, the sun shone in the water and created Aida-Vedo (Rainbow). Damballa fell in love with Rainbow and made her his wife. Aida-Vedo is embodied in a small snake that lives in water and eats bananas. Its bright colors reproduce the decor of Voodoo temples.

There is another most important loa, without which no communication between the gods and man is simply impossible. This is Legba (Papa Legba). Papa Legba represents the East and the Sun; controls doors, gates and windows, as well as the New Year (and in general any beginnings and undertakings). No deity can take part in the ritual unless Papa Legba is asked to open the door for him. (For Haitian Catholics, Legba is associated with the gatekeeper - St. Peter.) In Voodooism, Agwe is also revered - the god of the sea, Erinle - the god of forests, Ogu Balanjo - the god of healing, Ogun - the god of war and iron, Papa Zaka - the patron saint Agriculture, Erzulie - goddess of beauty, wealth and prosperity and many other loa. A special class of loa are the Gede, the spirits of death and graves, unbridled desires and debauchery. The most popular forms of Gede are Gede Nibbo, Gede Mazaka, Baron Saturday. They are depicted as white-bearded old men wearing long coats and tall hats. Indispensable attributes are a skull, a coffin, a cross and a cane. People obsessed with Baron Saturday (an inhabitant of cemeteries) make dirty jokes, greedily pounce on food, smoke cigars and drink huge amounts of alcohol.

Voodooists are divided into priests (sorcerers) and laymen. The initiation ceremony into voodoo lasts three days, after which the initiate washes his hair. cold water with petals of sacred flowers. Some voodoo sects use blood, usually rooster blood, to perform the ritual.

The role of sorcerers in voodoo is extremely important. Ordinary sectarians are initiated into sorcerers by the highest initiates - papa-list and mama-list. Male sorcerers are called ungans, and female sorcerers are called mambo. Their influence on ordinary voodoo adherents is not limited to the religious sphere, but extends to all aspects of life, including medical and legal practice.

Voodoo ceremonies take place in a special room - a hunfor, which is a small hut with a canopy attached to it. Inside the hut there is an altar on which both Voodoo and Catholic symbols are placed. Also in the hunfor there are peculiar “chapels” - special rooms for certain loa. In the center of the hunfor there is a mitan - a pillar called the road of the gods, along which the loa supposedly descend during the service. Even if the ceremony is not carried out in a specially equipped place, it still begins with sticking a long pole into the ground.

The ritual of establishing a connection between people and spirits is carried out with the help of a specially trained voodooist who has fallen into a trance. During the ritual, he is allegedly possessed by a loa. With his movements, a person shows which loa has taken possession of him, and the ungan can ask the deity questions or consult with him. Ritual drum music is used to induce trance. Three drummers, tapping a clear rhythm, each with their own, announce the opening of the ceremony. After this, they sing a song of petition addressed to Loa Legba: “Papa Legba, open the gate and let me pass. Open the gate so that I can thank the loa." While dancing around a pole, a mambo (or ungan) is drawn around the pole with a stream of water from a jug. magic circle in honor of Papa Legba and the guardian of the house of Ogun, in order to ward off evil spirits from himself and those present. Then the sorcerer creates a veve on the floor - a pattern made of white flour (the sign of the summoned loa). During cult ceremonies, the Ungans feed the Loa to propitiate them by sacrificing various animals (most notably a young rooster). The meat of the victims is partly eaten and partly scattered and buried.

A loa-possessed voodooist temporarily turns into a “horse of God.” Young girls possessed by old spirits even become physically transformed and become decrepit and weak. And vice versa, weak person, who is possessed by a young, strong loa, begins to dance and jump, completely forgetting about his illnesses. Loa can heal, prophesy, give everyday advice and spiritual guidance. Priest John Huth, who spent his entire life working in Haiti, says people possessed by loa often feel significant for the first time in their lives. They speak in an authoritative tone and people listen to them.

If the loa are satisfied with the generous gifts, and the ceremony is carried out correctly, there is no doubt about its successful outcome.

Voodoo has caused and continues to cause fear among many respectable Europeans and Americans. At the end of the 19th century, a book by the missionary Gaiti gained popularity, in which the author described disgusting and highly exaggerated details of the rituals of this religion, such as devil worship, infant sacrifice, and cannibalism. Hayti's followers - writers, journalists, directors - supported the dubious reputation of the mysterious religion; it must be said that voodoo ceremonies can really shock an unprepared person.

“The beating of drums and chants sound hour after hour without stopping. On the ground lies a goat and a small black pig - both with their throats cut, and all the people around are splattered with blood. Animals are thrown into small pond full of bubbling brown mud. People in blue and red clothes jump into the pond after the victims.” This is the culmination of a traditional Voodoo ceremony on the Plaine du Nord. And here is a description of a ritual carried out “at home” in one of the poor neighborhoods of the capital of Haiti - Port-au-Prince: “From the crowd gathered in a circle, swaying from side to side to the ever-accelerating rhythm of the tom-tom, a woman broke out, spun in place, she pulled the scarf from her head, swayed, fell, throwing her arms to the sides, frozen in prostration. Threatening to trample her, four more broke into the circle, spinning like a top, tearing their faces with their nails. Blood gushed out, which no one noticed. Mass psychosis, trance, demonization. First one, then the other, touched bottles that clearly did not contain Coca-Cola. The child began to cry, his crying was swallowed up by the fury of the tom-toms, the growing howl in front of the distraught people, losing the remnants of their sanity, close to something terrible, disgusting, transcendental.”

In addition to such shocking rituals and paraphernalia of death, great value“Black magic voodoo” was used to create a frightening image of the Haitian religion. Sorcerers who use black magic are called bokors. They are united in secret societies. It is believed that bokors can cast spells on a person using a wax doll, or revive a dead person, completely subjugating him.

Stories about zombies, the living dead, meek creatures devoid of memory and will, can compete with stories about vampires in popularity. Zombies appear in the highest-grossing films, such as “Pirates of the Caribbean”, “Night of the Living Dead”, etc. From a purely voodoo term, the word “zombie” has turned into a social and political term. Zombification is often referred to as “brainwashing” the population, introducing them into a state of easy suggestibility using, for example, electronic means mass media, noisy events, etc.

In Haiti, zombification is considered a very real and dangerous phenomenon. For residents of the country, this is not just a myth. Article 249 of the Criminal Code of the Republic states: “Any action against a person that did not cause actual death, but only a state of coma of more or less duration, should also be regarded as attempted murder. If after completion of such actions the person was buried, then the action is regarded as murder, regardless of the final result.”

The word “zombie” comes from the Congolese “nzambi”, i.e. “living dead”. The ability of voodoo sorcerers to put a person into a state of clinical death with the subsequent return to him of physical capabilities, but loss of memory and will, allegedly also came from Africa.

Bokors, according to the Haitians, can zombify a person in order to turn him into their slave. Islanders love to talk about how country people with horror they recognize in the dumb plantation workers their relatives who were buried many years ago. There are external signs that allow you to “unmistakably” identify a zombie: swaying when walking, mechanical, thoughtless movements, unfocused gaze, nasal voice. A person can remain in a zombie state indefinitely, but he should not be given salt, which is believed to restore the zombie's memory and ability to speak normally.

At one time, newspapers spread sensational news about a certain Clarvius Narcissus, who announced that he had been a zombie for 33 years and that only an inexplicable accident allowed him to remember the past and return to his family. Officially, Clarvius was buried in 1962, as evidenced by the relevant documents and the grave. But, as he now claims, in fact he was poisoned with some kind of powder, but he did not die, but fell “into a frozen state.” Clarvius spoke in detail about how his own funeral took place. A day after his burial, he was dug up by voodooists and forced to work on the plantation. Narcissus' grave indeed turned out to be empty, and a photograph of the former zombie next to his tombstone spread throughout the world.

This is what voodooists say about how they zombify people. To begin with, the sorcerer prepares a certain powder, pours it into a jug and buries it in the ground for three days. The classic way to poison a person with this potion is to quietly pour a little powder on the back or legs of the future zombie. The person convulses for a short time, and then stops showing signs of life... The grave is dug up in two or three days. While rhythmically beating the drum, you need to open the lid of the coffin and call the name of the “deceased” several times. The newly “born” are taken away from their native places, given a new name and used at their own discretion. Many voodooists believe that a sorcerer can turn a truly dead person into a zombie if he catches his flying “good angel” ( component human soul).

One way or another, bokor sorcerers actually know how to prepare a certain narcotic drug that allows one to be put into a comatose state. Apparently, a long stay in such a state can lead to serious mental and physiological disorders, because the drug is poisonous. American scientist Davis specifically studied this issue: he interviewed voodoo priests and those who were called zombies, took toxicological samples and found out the approximate composition of the ominous powder. The most important component of the potion turns out to be tetrodoxin, obtained from dogfish, to which a hallucinogenic drug from a certain species of toad is added. Other substances are also added (this is more likely for the “spectators”) - drops of liquid from the nose of a dead man, crushed bones of a dead mambo witch. The resulting poison blocks transmission nerve impulses, which leads to lack of will, loss of speech, death or the appearance of death. It was found that the poison contained in the Haitian drug is related to the poison produced by the famous puffer fish.

Voodoo adherents are trying their best to protect their dead from the unenviable fate of zombies. A heavier stone is piled on the grave, the dead are laid face down, their mouths are stuffed with earth, and their lips are sewn up. Some families spend nights near the burial site until the body, in their opinion, begins to decompose. In Haiti, a special “anti-theft device” has been invented that is installed on local graves. In remote villages, the custom of shooting or dismembering the deceased during a funeral has been preserved.

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The cult of voodoo in Haiti at the end of the 20th century numbered about 5 million adherents, although officially 98% of Haitians profess Christianity. The number of “initiated” voodooists is no more than a million people. According to some estimates, there are more than 40 million cult followers in the world. The number of voodoo sects exceeds 100.

In Russia, there are small groups of voodoo followers in Moscow and St. Petersburg, mainly in universities. According to the All-Ukrainian Center “Dialogue”, there are at least fifty groups practicing the voodoo cult in Ukraine. The teaching of magic is set forth in a mass of books that can be found on many bookstores. It seems that it is from these books, which primarily focus on the most shocking and sinister aspects of religion, that the local “bokors” draw their knowledge. This is probably what worries researchers. Who knows what impact a colorfully described human sacrifice, presented as an undoubted fact, might have on the minds of home-grown black magicians?

Here is what the authors of the book “Voodoo in the Metropolis” Black and Hiatt write: “Living in a virtual computer reality can be interesting, but such a life cannot replace the feeling of real possession of power. Voodoo practice is very active: commanding spirits, strange and wild names, sounds, smells, dancing, animal sacrifices. All this gives rise to a real sense of power, and sometimes real horror. That's the whole point. Most of us no longer know what real adventure is. We spend our lives in a chair. Modern man is cut off from his roots, he has ceased to be a hunter - an explorer of the unknown." One can only wish that the exploration of the unknown does not result in a loss of human appearance, a break with loved ones, or a loss of a sense of reality. No exotic is worth turning into a zombie.

Vladislav Karnatsevich

One of the most interesting Afro-Caribbean religions is voodoo. Many of us associate this word with dark sorcerers who create zombies, pierce dolls of their enemies with needles, and send ominous curses. Such ideas are largely associated with the horror films that the American film industry supplies us with.

What can be seen in such films corresponds to the actual state of affairs by less than one percent. In reality, Voodoo is primarily a religion whose followers revere divine spirits and their deceased ancestors, making small sacrifices to them, celebrating religious holidays and participating in ceremonies.

Of course, within this religion there is witchcraft. Priests are engaged in healing the sick, removing curses, etc. But there are also black, evil sorcerers who practice black magic. It is with them that all the terrible things that are said and written about voodoo should be associated. Voodoo is both a religion and a witchcraft system.

Let's find out more about her story...

Vodun is a religion that originated in the Caribbean Islands (Haiti), also known as Voodoo and Hoodoo. The roots of the religion go back to West Africa, from where slaves were brought to Haiti.

The word vodun comes from vodu, which means “spirit” or “deity” translated from the Fon language, one of the dialects of Dahomey (Dahomey) (a region of West Africa), which is where the habitat of the deities vodun is said to be located. loa.

The mixture of traditional beliefs of the Dahomey people and Catholic ceremonies led to the formation of this religion. Based on this, this religion can be attributed to a product of the slave trade. This was a kind of response of slaves to the humiliations that they had to endure during the heyday of the slave trade. Under fear of terrible torture and execution, religion was banned by local authorities, slaves were forcibly baptized as Catholics, which was expressed in the customs and rituals of the religion, which the local population kept in great secret. Specifically, this was expressed in the fact that the deities are similar in form to Catholic saints; Those who professed voodoo brought their rituals very close to Catholic ones; they began to use statues, candles, relics, relics and the like.

Subsequently, along with settlers, the Vodun religion migrated to other Caribbean islands; it became most widespread in Jamaica and Trinidad. In addition, in Cuba, in particular, it was transformed into the Santeria religion, where instead of the Catholic principles introduced by the French, along with African ones, Spanish Catholic tendencies arose. Although, in principle, all religions of the Caribbean are one way or another similar to each other, having common roots and differing only in details.

The Vodun religion occupies a special place in this series, standing out for a number of characteristics. Being a religion more than flexible, it transformed during the transition from one generation to another. Being a hybrid of imported religions and taking root in Haiti, vodun, in turn, became an export item and began to slowly move to the continent. She gained particular popularity in New Orleans, Miami and the New York metropolis, everywhere giving rise to new views and beliefs, thus gaining a total of more than fifty million followers around the world.

Voodoo is characterized primarily by the belief that the world is inhabited by good and evil loa, who form the entire essence of the religion, and on them depend the health and well-being of all people. Voodoo adherents believe that objects that serve the loa extend and express it. The Loa are very active in the world and often take possession of believers throughout the ritual. Only special people such as the white houngan sorcerers and mambo sorcerers can communicate directly with the loa. During the ritual, sacrifices and ritual dances are performed, then the Ungans fall into a trance and beg the Loa for help and protection in everyday affairs, for well-being. If the loa are satisfied with the generous gifts and the ceremony is carried out correctly, there is no doubt about its successful outcome.

Unlike other similar religions, Voodoo has its own highly ordered views regarding the “dark” side of the loai people. Sorcerers who use black magic are called bokor, they are united in secret societies. They can send damage to a person using a wax doll or revive a dead person by completely subjugating him, send it to the enemy and thereby mortally intimidate him. Followers of voodoo rarely turn to bokors, and if this happens, then the enemies have a hard time.

Many books, including non-fiction, as well as some films, have misconceptions about this religion, focusing on false directions such as cannibalism and so on. Thus, in 1884, Europe learned about voodoo from the book of the missionary S. St. John Hayti, who described disgusting and highly exaggerated details about the rituals of this religion, such as devil worship, infant sacrifice, and cannibalism. Since then, several films have been made and many books have been written affirming and exaggerating the black rituals of this religion.

So, in 1860, the Vatican was forced to admit that vodun is a type of Catholicism, but the Haitians themselves claim that their religion is older and deeper than Christianity, that it has absorbed the best of all religions of the past and present. Indeed, voodoo is very difficult to tie to any one system, because voodoo. these are festivals in honor of the goddess of love Erzulie (under whose mask you can see the features of the Egyptian Isis, and Greek Aphrodite, and Roman Venus, and the Christian Virgin Mary), and the simultaneous worship of the serpent Ouroboros, swallowing his own tail, a symbol of the harmony of the Universe and Eternity in the ancient world.

Ouroboros, or, as the Haitians call it, Damballah Wedo, is the main and essential element in all voodoo mysteries, because it is the beginning and the end of all things; The Ocean of Eternity, surrounding the material world on all sides; the boundless space from which everything came and to which everything will sooner or later return again.

Damballa is the source of Power and the location of all loa. Adherents of the religion believe that everything around is permeated with the invisible power of the loa, which makes voodoo similar to the purely shamanic views of both the Old and New Worlds. The Loa are innumerable, like the sand on the seashore, and each has its own sign, name and purpose. For example, there is a loa - Legba or Papa Legba, who, like Mercury or the Greek Hermes, is an intermediary between other gods and connects the loa with the Ungan and Mambo priests, who, in turn, convey to him the will of the people through ritual dancing and singing.

There is also witchcraft within this religion. Priests are engaged in healing the sick, removing curses, etc. Voodoo sorcerers practice black magic, which is what most of the negative ideas about this religion are associated with.

The word "voodoo" has African roots. Translated from the language of the African Fon people, this word means “spirit” or “deity.” There are several branches of this religion, with similar saints and rituals. What is called voodoo in Haiti is called santeria in Brazil, which literally means “faith in saints.” In other countries of Latin America, another cult is practiced, an analogue of voodoo - macumba.
Voodoo is practiced by people in Haiti, Cuba and parts of the United States. In total, there are about 50 million followers of voodoo (voodooists).
As a spiritual tradition, voodoo originated in Haiti, a West Indian island, during French colonial slavery. Africans of varying ethnic origins were forcibly transported to Haiti as agricultural slaves.

When slaves were first brought to Haiti from Africa in 1503, their owners (first Spanish, then French) forbade them from practicing folk religions, forcing them to practice Catholicism. But slave owners did not want to initiate their slaves into all aspects of their faith, because they were afraid that the slaves would accept Catholic teachings and through it they would realize that they were as full human beings as their masters and that slavery was evil. Therefore, slaves began to use the Catholic religion as a “cover” - by accepting Catholic saints and other attributes of this religion, they worshiped their folk deities.

Slaves incorporated various aspects of Christianity into their national traditions. They found much in common in Catholicism and their traditional faith. After all, both religions worship the same Supreme God and believe in the existence of supernatural beings and life after death. The Catholic mass was associated with blood sacrifice, and the idea of ​​the help of spiritual beings (loa - among Africans, saints - among Catholics) who acted as intermediaries between the Supreme God and people was also common.

In Haiti, voodoo is the official religion. Followers of Haitian Vodou believe in the existence of a Creator God (Bondieu - Good God), who does not participate in the lives of His creatures, and spirits (loa), who are children of the Creator God and are prayed to and worshiped as elder members of the family. According to the beliefs of voodooists, several souls live in a person. Before birth and after death, he is a Guinean angel. In addition, the ambassador of God lives in him - conscience.

The population of Haiti and, therefore, its religion of voodoo comes mainly from two African regions: Dahomey (the northern coast of the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa, where the Yoruba, Ewe, Fon, etc. tribes lived, now the territory of Togo, Benin and Nigeria) and Congo (Congo River basin and coast Atlantic Ocean in western central Africa). In both regions there was a long process of evolution of tribal religions, caused by the fact that none of the local traditions was considered orthodox, and they were all, therefore, capable of flexible adaptation. Both regions, especially the Congo, also had long-term contact with Christianity. The population of the Congo considered themselves Christians, and in Dahomey there was also some knowledge of Christianity. Once people from these regions came to Haiti, they developed national communities based on the mutual aid and support of people from their home areas, and plantation life forced people from different areas of Africa to live close to each other. The mixture of Christianity and Voodoo provided links between different communities.

A key part of voodoo rituals is music and dancing. Cleansing sacrifices and talismans save from evil. Voodooists choose an ordinary dwelling (hunfor - sanctuary) as a sanctuary.

The main attributes of the cult: mitan (pillar - “road of the gods”) and black candles. Three drummers, tapping a clear rhythm, each with their own, announce the opening of the ceremony. After which a petition song is sung addressed to the loa (distorted French “roi”) Legbe: “Papa Legba, open the gate. Papa Legba, open the gate and let me pass. Open the gate so that I can thank the loa."

Dancing around the pole-pole, the mambo (witch), together with her assistant unsi and assistant la place, creates a magic circle around the pole with a stream of water from a jug in honor of Papa Legby and the guardian of the house, Ogou Fer, in order to drive away those present. evil spirits. The ungan or mambo sprinkles flour on the floor and draws veves (symbols of the loa). Then ecstatic dancing (bilongo) to the sound of drums is required. Women participate in the ceremony in white dresses, and men in suits. When the audience has warmed up enough, the bokor lets loose a rooster, whose head is cut off. After this, the participants in the santeria (ceremony) fall into a trance and the grace of the spirits (loa) descends on them. The victim is hung upside down by the legs and the stomach is cut open with a ritual dagger.

The voodoo pantheon is extremely vast and defies strict classification. It includes both actual African deities and deities borrowed from other religions: Catholic saints, spirits of the local Indian population, etc. In addition, in each community, priests can organize the worship of their own local deities; such deities are often the former leaders of the community.

However, you can try to identify a certain number of the most significant deities in the voodoo pantheon:
- Agwe - the spirit of water, the patron saint of sailors and those traveling on water.
- Baron Saturday (Baron Samedi, Ghede) - the spirit of death and the underworld. Depicted as a skeleton (skull) in a top hat with a cigarette and black glasses. Possessed by him drinks rum.
- Baron Carrefour is the spirit of misfortune, failure and the patron of black magic.
- Dambala is a spirit associated with snakes (St. Patrick).
- Legba (Legba) - the spirit of doors (Saint Peter, for according to tradition Peter was depicted with the keys to Paradise).
- Erzuli Freda (Virgin Mary) - the spirit of love in the form of a beautiful immaculate maiden in a bride's outfit. Her symbol is the heart. Her colors are red and blue.
- Simbi is the spirit of water sources (fresh).
- Ogun (Ogu) - the spirit of fire and lightning, the god of iron and war, the patron of blacksmiths and warriors.
- Bridget's mother is the wife of Baron Saturday.
- Marassa - twin spirits.
- Mademoiselle Charlotte is the patroness of young girls.
- Sobo - a spirit in the form of a French general.
- Sogbo - spirit of lightning.
- Ti-Jean-Petro - an evil spirit in the form of a one-legged or lame dwarf, husband of Ezili Danto.
- Exu Rei - manager of the spirits of Loa. All living and dead obey him.

In 1791, a revolt led by voodooists broke out in Haiti. By that time, in the western part of the island, Spanish authorities had been replaced by French ones. Taking advantage of the fact that the spirit of the French was broken by the defeat of the monarchy during French Revolution, the voodooists also decided to start their own struggle. The uprising began on August 14 in the town of Bois Cayman. After the bloody sacrifice, the believers fell into a religious trance and went to destroy their masters. It was a terrible time, a real massacre in which neither women nor children were spared. Blacks in demonic ecstasy captured entire cities, in which all the formerly oppressed joined them. The uprising continued until there was not a single white man left in the country. And in 1804, after complete victory, Haiti became an independent republic, and the voodoo religion became the official religion of the state. More than eighty percent of the population still adhere to the cult of voodoo. It is clear that the independence achieved in such a bloody way could not be supported by developed countries.

Therefore, Haiti was under an economic blockade by America and Europe for a long time. But when Haitian authorities finally allowed Catholic priests to enter the country, the economic isolation was lifted.

The most prominent figure in the history of American voodoo was Marie Laveau, the legendary "Queen of Voodoo." Thanks to ancient voodoo rites, she had a strong influence among both the common people and the aristocratic nobility, something almost unimaginable for a black woman during slavery. According to legend, a wealthy gentleman in New Orleans in 1830 was very worried about the future of his son, who was accused of murder. The gentleman contacted a local woman known for her ability to provide supernatural help in hopeless situations. He offered her his own house on Rue Sainte-Anne in Vieux Coeur if she can save his son from injustice. On the day of the trial, Mary, who had been a Catholic since childhood, visited St. Louis Cathedral. She spent the morning in prayer, holding three Guinea peppers in her mouth.

She then entered the Cabildo, the courthouse adjacent to the Cathedral. Mary convinced the janitor to let her into the empty courtroom. After this, the sorceress hid the Guinea peppers under the judge's chair and left. After some time, a trial took place. Some time after the hearing began, the gentleman left the court with his son; the young man was found not guilty and released. Mary Laveau immediately became famous within all classes of New Orleans society, including the elite - local aristocrats of French and Spanish origin.

In 1881, Mary Laveau died and was buried in St. Louis Cemetery. Her grave is visited by voodoo devotees and the curious all year round. Many place small offerings on her grave, and some draw crosses on her stone grave with chalk. Many believe that on June 23, St. John's Eve, Mary's spirit rises from the grave. On this day, a fascinating ritual of worshiping the Voodoo Queen is performed.

In Russia, the total number of voodoo adherents is small. They, as a rule, find themselves cut off from the main tradition. In Russia there is a voodoo community of the New Orleans tradition in Arkhangelsk, which maintains contact with the New Orleans Voodoo Spiritual Temple.

The legendary single by the British The Prodigy, which is one of the group's most successful records. The video shot for the song “Voodoo People” contains video inserts of real voodoo ceremonies:

Magic is very interesting topic and very extensive. She is different different nations, but it always comes down to one thing - communication with spirits and gods. In this article you will learn about one of the areas of magic - Voodoo Magic. It is a religion and a way of life. For some it seems bloody and cruel, and for others they can no longer live without Voodoo magic. Read the article and learn more about this wonderful tradition. Additionally, you will receive a couple of simple rituals.

The religion of Voodoo magic sanctifies the cult of the gods and is a system religious beliefs and rituals used mainly to strengthen social system and family relationships. At the same time, Voodoo is a religion of spirits, deities and forces of nature.

Voodoo originated in Africa approximately two and a half thousand years ago in the territory of modern Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria among the people known as the Yoruba. More than just a religion or a death cult, Voodoo has played and continues to play important role V Everyday life through the symbolization of African traditions.

This tradition developed through various African beliefs, as well as Christianity. The word Voodoo means “a kind of power, mysterious and, at the same time, terrible.” Voodoo can be found everywhere in Haiti. It has a huge impact on the life of every person in this country.

Voodoo came to the New World with the African slave trade, which began in Haiti in the 1700s. Slaves brought African belief traditions to America. In addition, some variations of the cult exist in the Antigua Islands and Brazil. Voodoo consists of a combination of several ethnic beliefs and is a significant element of the unity of the cultures of all slaves, despite their existing differences.

Understanding the world through the Voodoo religion includes belief in reincarnation, in the change of life from death and vice versa. In Voodoo, death is considered to be the regeneration of the entire society if appropriate post-mortem rituals are performed. In addition, burial care also plays an important role. Thus, the Voodoo cult achieves reconciliation between the world of the dead and the world of the living.

The Voodoo religion is similar to Christianity. In both religions there are supernatural forces and beings. All Catholics believe in heaven and hell after death, as do Voodoo practitioners. Both religions believe in one God who rules the Universe and is somewhat distant from the people. The ideas of Catholic saints and Voodoo deities are very similar.

According to the Voodoo tradition, people resort to communicating with the gods in a ritual manner. The gods are capricious, and they will help if a person contacts them through appropriate rituals. Voodoo ceremonies consist of several elements, including music, dance, food and animal sacrifices.

Voodoo has its own priests and priestesses who undergo intensive training to become priests. They play an important role in rituals, summon spirits and are responsible for sacrifices.

Voodoo rituals are performed quite regularly and are dedicated to various deities in different time of the year. The main purpose of the rituals is to “appease” the gods so that they send abundant rain, a good harvest, and the like. For example, rituals in honor of Aguna and Dambala are held only twice a year. The ritual in honor of Met Tet is performed to improve life, love and health. To help achieve justice for the wronged, the rituals of Rada and Petro are used to summon spirits and ancestors to communicate.

Voodoo ritual

Our most famous Voodoo rituals are the ritual to attract money and love. To attract money, you need to put one silver or any other white coin in a small clay pot every day, thinking about something good. After a week, when there are seven coins in the pot, place the pot on the table next to a lit candle. Place coins one at a time from the pot on the table around the candle and say: “Come to me, money, like a river, grow in my pocket, make me rich.”

In case of unrequited love, imagine the twins Ibeji-Taebo and Quinte, believe in them, honestly tell them about your misfortune, bring them treats. Repeat for several days in a row, believe, and everything will come true.

Voodoo dolls are well known throughout the modern world. These associations are mainly associated with black magic. The doll is made to resemble the intended victim using a photograph, clothing, or hair of the victim. With the help of the ritual, damage is caused to the doll, which the intended victim feels in reality. It is surprising that in the homeland of Voodoo, none of the followers had even heard of such a ritual. The true origin of these dolls is associated with European witchcraft.

We will definitely write more about Voodoo magic in the future. Subscribe to site updates so as not to miss the most interesting information from us.