Haiti Essay
Voodoo in Haiti
A typical ceremony begins with a Roman Catholic prayer. Then three drummers begin to play syncopated rhythms. The attendees begin to dance around a tree in the center of the yard, moving faster and harder with the rising pulse of the beat. The priest draws sacred symbols in the dust with cornmeal, and rum is poured on the ground to honor the spirits. One woman falls to the ground, convulsing for a moment before she is helped back to her feet. She resumes the dance, moving differently now, and continues dancing for hours. It is perhaps no longer she who is dancing: She is in a trance, apparently possessed by voodoo spirits.
Voodoo is the dominant religion of Haiti it is said that Haitians are seventy percent catholic, thirty percent protestant and one hundred percent voodoo. In April 2003 an executive decree by then president Jean-Bertrand Aristide sanctioned voodoo as an officially recognized religion. I personally think it should be recognized as a religion in the same way Judaism or Christianity is.
The tradition of Voodoo goes back 100’s of years. Voodoo means spirit during a voodoo ceremony the believers gather outdoors to make contact with the Loa, any of a pantheon of spirits who have various functions running the universe, much like Greek gods. There is also a responsibility to care for beloved and deified family spirits and to honor a chief god, Bondieu. At the ceremony, the houngan or mambo which are also priests sacrifices a sanctified chicken or other animal to the Loa. Participants then ask the spirits for advice or help with problems. More than half the requests are for health. The Loa talks to prophecies, to give advice, or warnings, while the believer is possessed. Other messages are sent through the priest and sometimes come later in dreams. Voodoo spirits are believed to become tired and worn down and humans have to feed these spirits during the ritual. Every spirits has a distinct identity. Some spirits are loving and good,
A typical ceremony begins with a Roman Catholic prayer. Then three drummers begin to play syncopated rhythms. The attendees begin to dance around a tree in the center of the yard, moving faster and harder with the rising pulse of the beat. The priest draws sacred symbols in the dust with cornmeal, and rum is poured on the ground to honor the spirits. One woman falls to the ground, convulsing for a moment before she is helped back to her feet. She resumes the dance, moving differently now, and continues dancing for hours. It is perhaps no longer she who is dancing: She is in a trance, apparently possessed by voodoo spirits.
Voodoo is the dominant religion of Haiti it is said that Haitians are seventy percent catholic, thirty percent protestant and one hundred percent voodoo. In April 2003 an executive decree by then president Jean-Bertrand Aristide sanctioned voodoo as an officially recognized religion. I personally think it should be recognized as a religion in the same way Judaism or Christianity is.
The tradition of Voodoo goes back 100’s of years. Voodoo means spirit during a voodoo ceremony the believers gather outdoors to make contact with the Loa, any of a pantheon of spirits who have various functions running the universe, much like Greek gods. There is also a responsibility to care for beloved and deified family spirits and to honor a chief god, Bondieu. At the ceremony, the houngan or mambo which are also priests sacrifices a sanctified chicken or other animal to the Loa. Participants then ask the spirits for advice or help with problems. More than half the requests are for health. The Loa talks to prophecies, to give advice, or warnings, while the believer is possessed. Other messages are sent through the priest and sometimes come later in dreams. Voodoo spirits are believed to become tired and worn down and humans have to feed these spirits during the ritual. Every spirits has a distinct identity. Some spirits are loving and good,