vodou
African diaspora religion
Vodou is the preferred scholarly spelling for the Haitian religion blending West African traditions with Catholic elements, featuring spirit possession, ancestor veneration, and ritual practices.
This spelling reflects Haitian Creole orthography and is used by practitioners and academics who wish to distinguish the living religion from sensationalized Hollywood depictions.
Vodou ceremonies honor the lwa, spirits who serve as intermediaries between humans and the divine. (Capitalized Vodou is also used, especially when emphasizing the religion's formal status.)
Vodou intermediary deities
Formal event marking occasions
- possessionState of owning
- drummingPercussive rhythm-making
- altarSacred ritual table
- offeringsThings presented or given
invocation · trance · libation · sacrifice · initiation · chanting · cleansing · salutation
Vodou intermediary deities
- spiritsLiquor or apparitions
- possessionState of owning
- divinitySacred nature or nougat-like sweet
- sacredWorthy of reverence
afterlife · soul · healing · protection · guidance · blessing · curse · dreams
Papal Christian denomination
- saintsCanonized religious figures
- African diasporaGlobal spread from one continent
- DahomeyBenin's former name
- YorubaNigerian people and language
Kongo · slavery · creolization · syncretism · colonialism · resistance · survival · adaptation
Religious devotion to lineage
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- spiritsLiquor or apparitions
- eldersSenior community members
legacy · traditions · roots · generations · family · descendants · forebears · remembrance
lwa
Vodou intermediary deities
- mamboFast Cuban ballroom dance
- LegbaVodou spirit of crossroads
- peristyleColumned enclosure around courtyard
Baron Samedi · Bondye · Port-au-Prince · Creole · Caribbean
ceremony
Formal event marking occasions
- possessionState of owning
- drummingPercussive rhythm-making
- altarSacred ritual table
offerings · invocation · trance · libation · sacrifice · initiation · chanting · cleansing · salutation · congregation
lwa
Vodou intermediary deities
- spiritsLiquor or apparitions
- possessionState of owning
- divinitySacred nature or nougat-like sweet
sacred · afterlife · soul · healing · protection · guidance · blessing · curse · dreams · visions
Catholicism
Papal Christian denomination
- saintsCanonized religious figures
- African diasporaGlobal spread from one continent
- DahomeyBenin's former name
Yoruba · Kongo · slavery · creolization · syncretism · colonialism · resistance · survival · adaptation · blending
ancestor veneration
Religious devotion to lineage
elders · legacy · traditions · roots · generations · family · descendants · forebears · remembrance · guidance
- Black DiasporaAfrican American, African Americans, African diaspora, African heritage, African roots
- HaitiHaiti, Port-au-Prince, Hispaniola, Haitian Revolution, Duvalier
- Caribbean SpiritualityRastafari, Rastafarianism, Santeria, syncretism, folk religion
- spirit possessiondemonic possession, divine possession, spirit medium, exorcism, exorcist
- Vodoulwa, loa, mambo, Baron Samedi, Legba
- peoplesAmericans, British, Chinese, French, Germans
vodouRoman Catholicism
Papal Christian tradition
Protestantism · Calvinism · Puritanism · secular humanism · Orthodox Christianity
vodouscientific method
Structured process for investigation
empiricism · positivism · materialism · rationalism · evidence-based practice
vodouatheism
Rejection of deities
materialism · physicalism · disenchantment · skepticism · agnosticism