vodoun
African diaspora faith
Vodoun is the traditional religion of the Fon people of West Africa, centered on spirit worship and ancestral connection.
It is the source of Haitian Vodou and related New World practices, though the African form predates and differs from its diaspora descendants.
The spelling vodoun typically signals the original West African tradition rather than its Caribbean adaptations.
Vodou divine spirit
- mamboFast Cuban ballroom dance
- peristyleColumned enclosure around courtyard
- syncretismFusion of different beliefs
- BondyeVodou's unreachable creator
Legba · Baron Samedi · Santeria · orisha · Yoruba · diaspora · pantheon · initiation
State of owning
- ceremonyFormal event marking occasions
- drummingPercussive rhythm-making
- chantingRhythmic repetitive vocalization
- offeringsThings presented or given
altar · sacrifice · libation · trance · invocation · cleansing · divination · fetish
Reanimated dead body
- curseInvoked harm through words
- hexMalevolent incantation
- malevolentHarboring ill will
- black magicEvil supernatural practice
sorcery · spell · conjuration · enchantment · dark arts · supernatural · left-hand · powder
Haiti's seat of government
- CreoleFused language, stabilized
- CaribbeanTropical Atlantic region
- revolutionViolent governmental overthrow
- maroonsStrands in isolation
Those from whom one descends
- spiritsLiquor or apparitions
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- eldersSenior community members
forebears · veneration · remembrance · bloodline · roots · inheritance · legacy · departed
loa
Vodou divine spirit
- mamboFast Cuban ballroom dance
- peristyleColumned enclosure around courtyard
- syncretismFusion of different beliefs
Bondye · Legba · Baron Samedi · Santeria · orisha · Yoruba · diaspora · pantheon · initiation
possession
State of owning
- ceremonyFormal event marking occasions
- drummingPercussive rhythm-making
- chantingRhythmic repetitive vocalization
offerings · altar · sacrifice · libation · trance · invocation · cleansing · divination · fetish · séance
zombie
Reanimated dead body
- curseInvoked harm through words
- hexMalevolent incantation
- malevolentHarboring ill will
black magic · sorcery · spell · conjuration · enchantment · dark arts · supernatural · left-hand · powder · poison
Port-au-Prince
Haiti's seat of government
- CreoleFused language, stabilized
- CaribbeanTropical Atlantic region
- revolutionViolent governmental overthrow
ancestors
Those from whom one descends
elders · forebears · veneration · remembrance · bloodline · roots · inheritance · legacy · departed · communion
vodounatheism
Rejection of deities
secular humanism · Christianity · Catholicism · Protestantism · rationalism
vodounscientific method
Structured process for investigation
empiricism · rationalism · materialism · positivism · skepticism