User:Allieoster17/Louisiana Voodoo

Voodoo

Origins

Voodoo (Vodou) is a folk religion that originated in Haiti and practiced by many native Haitians, around seventy percent, including many who classify as Christians. Some of these natives are considered to be Voodoo priest, and there are around sixty thousand across Haiti. The Voodoo practice is not used to inflict harm on others, contrary to modern belief.

Dahomey West Africa

The earliest origin of this Haitian religion has been traced to Dahomey in West Africa. "The Dahomean word "Vodu" designates the polytheistic deities worshipped by Dahomeans." Many experts believe that its' "magic, sorcery, and witchcraft" are only secondary factors to a deeper rooted religious faith. A main aspect of the religion "is its emphasis on the intercession of one’s ancestors: the souls of family members who have passed away, who Vodouisants—or Vodou initiates—believe when given with the proper reverence and care will help guide and benefit them in life."

Hierarchy

Within the Voodoo religion there a variety of different individuals who practice or specialize in different areas. The most powerful among them are referred to as Voodoo queens or priests. They are appointed the role of presiding over ceremonial meetings and rituals. Next in the hierarchy are the Voodoo doctors. Both Voodoo queens and doctors earn an income and reputation for selling charms, amulets, and remedies that are guaranteed to cure the purchaser's disease, eliminate harm, grant his or her desires, or destroy enemies.

Health and Voodoo

Haitian Health

For many Haitians, health is considered a personal responsibility, and they will self-treat before seeking assistance from a health care professional. Individuals will often seek the help from voodoo practitioners because it can be significantly cheaper than traditional healthcare services. Voodoo is heavily inflected by ethnomedical practices, offering alternatives to traditional medicine.Home remedies are the main source of treatment. For example, herbal remedies, massages, and baths. This is where correlations between Voodoo and health become apparent.

In the Voodoo religion, health is perceived as harmony with the spirits and the environment. Therefore, illness are thought to have correlations with the supernatural, i.e. if a spirit is angry at someone, the spirit can make them ill. Some believe illness to be a punishment. Possessions by evil spirts are often used as an explanation for illness. There are several practices and rituals, often including herbal remedies, that can be used to appease the spirts and heal the individual. Similar to a normal doctor visit, many Voodoo practitioners will require a sort of consultation to assess the supernatural illness in order to find out which remedy or ritual would work best.

Sexual and Reproductive Health

In addition to physical illnesses, Haitians look towards Voodoo as an outlet for reproduction and sexual health. They do not seek prenatal care, since pregnancy is not seen as an illness. There are many superstitions associated with the Voodoo religion in regards to pregnant women. For example, women are encouraged to eat mostly red foods during their pregnancy because it is believed to increase the baby's blood amount. On the other hand, spicy foods are discouraged because they are thought to upset the baby. Abortions are considered taboo, similar to the Christianity beliefs, because all babies are seen as a blessing. If an abortion is needed or wanted, Haitian women will request services from a Voodoo practitioner. There is an herbal tea called "boule ti mas" that can be used in the first trimester to induce an abortion.

Mental Illness

In Haitian culture, mental illness is also frowned upon. Haitians will not admit to having any form of mental illness. Just like physical illnesses, Haitians believe that mental illness also has supernatural causes, or it can be caused by an individual putting a hex or curse on a person. Many Voodoo practitioners believe that Gods, called "Loas" are the ones responsible for their health, especially mental health. Victims of a curse or hex will seek the help of a voodoo priest to intervene with the Gods on their behalf in hopes for a cure. In addition, it is believed that a stress inducing occurrence or frightful situation can disrupt normal bodily functions and make blood move to the head causing partial loss of vision, headache, increased blood pressure, or stroke.

In Haiti, it is common for those with mental illnesses to be locked up in psychiatric wards, or if they are believed to be posses, they will seek the help of Voodoo. Some will only accept treatment or hospitalization for severe cases. "Haitians describe depression as “discouragement” and think it is caused by a curse or due to excessive worry, "shock" or trauma. A depressed patient typically expresses non-specific complaints - generalized pain, insomnia, “an empty head”, low energy and poor appetite." Voodoo rituals preformed by Voodoo priests can be similar to traditionally psychotherapy: signing, dancing, massage, and touch.

Louisiana Voodoo and Health

History

New Orleans, Louisiana 18th Century

The earliest traces of Voodoo, including rites and charms, in Louisiana date back to the first shipment of slaves from Africa to New Orleans in 1718. It wasn't until the late 18th century and early19th century that Haitians began to migrate, bringing their Voodoo beliefs with them, to New Orleans due to the French eviction from Santo Domingo "by slave upbringing that led to the establishment of the Haitian Republic". Throughout this time, Africans continued to practice their beliefs, some professing to have supernatural powers which granted them fear and respect from others. This fear was not only instilled in those who believed in the faith, but also others throughout Louisiana. In 1940, Voodoo was mentioned for the first time in a paper for connection with a New Orleans murder. It appeared once again in 1950, where a Puerto Rican mother cut herself and her four children with razor blades and attempted to burn her house down. She claimed she was being hypnotized by an individual who put a spell on her.

Overview

"New Orleans’ Voodoo blends Native American practices, Catholicism, and West African religions, creating a fusion of beliefs. Various African spirits are syncretized with Catholic saints and seen as intermediaries between the physical and spiritual realm." The Voodoo religion has been a method for handling the fears of many, especially those in southern Louisiana for centuries. Today, "Voodoo superstitions continue to be an important part of people's attitudes toward their illnesses, and these attitudes have to be taken into consideration by public health nurses and other health work." Similar to the Haitian view of Voodoo, many Louisianans also use charms, amulets, and talismans, as well as the belief of herbal remedies.

Treatments

Voodoo Cleansing Ceremony

There are a variety of sicknesses that Louisianans believe can be cured by the power of Voodoo. Some of these include chest pain, asthma,syphilis, and chills or fever. According to a Voodoo priestess in New Orleans, the most unseal cure for asthma is to catch a fish and breathe into its' mouth, then just before it takes its' last breathe, throw it back in the water. Another believes the treatment for syphilis: "Burn corn, put it in water, let it settle, and drink the water." These are just some examples. The most common way to avoid any illness would be the wearing of charms, amulets, or talismans. In addition, another common ceremony are cleansings, conducted to purify the soul and further prevent any harm.

Reputation and Misconceptions

Voodoo is often inaccurately portrayed in movies, television, and even some local Louisiana "Voodoo" shops. Movies and television depict Voodoo as an evil-natured religion that focuses strongly on black magic when in reality, many Voodoo practitioners describe Voodoo as a simple religion, worshiping go and honoring the spirts in ceremony. A high priest of Voodoo describes it as a family tradition to worship god and their ancestors.Many Voodoo rituals overlap with Catholicism, and several in the Voodoo faith attend Christian church services.

Many common items correlated with Voodoo, specifically Voodoo dolls and gris-girs, are almost always taken out of context. Modern day media portrays the religion and it's practices as evil, black magic. Voodoo dolls are trinkets that originated as "poppets" in early European witchcraft and were used as a representation of a person to cast spells, harm, or hex them. In reality Voodoo dolls have very little to do with the religion outside of popular media.

Voodoo Doll

"Gris-gris may derive from the word gregeries ( a mende language of the peoples enslaved in colonial Louisianan that has almost the same meaning. In 1735 a British naval surgeon wrote that in Sierra Leone the local religion included the “veneration of gregeries,” in which everyone had “a bundle of peculiar little sticks or bones” meant to magically protect the bearer." A gris-girs is often an amulet or charm that is believed to protect the wearer from evil or bad luck and sometimes bring good luck and health. Although gris-gris are commonly used throughout the Voodoo religion, they have been believed to be used to harm others, similarly to Voodoo dolls. One of the earliest court cases in 1773 address this when several slaves were convicted of using a gris-gris to kill their master.

References

Sources

Haitian Health Care Beliefs and Voodoo (Voudou). HOM Resources, Mar. 2020, https://www.haitiom.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Health-care-beliefs-and-Voodoo-rev-2020.pdf.

Kennon, Alexandra. “A Conversation with a High Priest of Vodou.” Country Roads Magazine, 20 Sept. 2021, https://countryroadsmagazine.com/art-and-culture/people-places/the-truth-about-louisiana-voodoo-vodou/.

Middleton, Billy. “Two-Headed Medicine: Hoodoo Workers, Conjure Doctors, and Zora Neale Hurston.” The Southern Quarterly.

Moloney, Anastasia. “Voodoo Priests, Doctors on Frontline of Haiti's Mental Healthcare.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 9 Jan. 2015, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-haiti-earthquake-anniversary-mentalhe/voodoo-priests-doctors-on-frontline-of-haitis-mental-healthcare-idUSKBN0KI1NC2015010.

Rothstein, Edward. “Voodoo and New Orleans: Two Cultures of Permeable Boundaries .” New York Times, 11 Aug. 2008.

The University of Southern Mississippi the Aquila Digital Community, https://aquila.usm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1630&context=honors_theses.

Webb, Julie Yvonne. “Louisiana Voodoo and Superstitions Related to Health.” HSMHA Health Reports, vol. 86, no. 4, 1971, p. 291., https://doi.org/10.2307/4594154.