The Serpent and the Rainbow. by Wade Davis( A Harvard scientist uncovers the startling truth about the secret world of Haitian voodoo and zombies.1985.) In The Serpent and the Rainbow: Author Wade Davis travels through Haiti in search of the way haitians are able to create zombies on there own, and a way to understand their culture as well. When Wade begins to receive more knowledge towards their culture and the term zombification, he also begins to see how deep the actual Haitian social justice system is connected when dealing with the world of voodoo. When Wade realizes that voodoo is a major thing in some cases, and that it's used as a form of punishment just like the powder that's being used to turn people into zombies.…
In chapter 13 zombies was a popular myth in Haiti; and was believed to be people who die and are called back to life by witchcraft. This chapter talks about Zora’s personal experiences in Haiti and Jamaica where she participated as in initiate rather than just an observer of voodoo practices. During her visits she stayed with several types of voodoo priests. (Houngans and Bocors) She witnessed various ceremonies with her own eyes. The religion is a mishmash of Christian and African elements. Often after reciting a Catholic litany of saints, a litany of loas (voodoo gods) is chanted as well. The voodoo gods are separated into the Rada or Arada gods (the good ones) and the Petros gods (the evil one). Zora never says if raising the dead is done…
some have converted to Christianity, most stick to traditional spiritual practices of Shamanism. Shamanism is a practice of a practitioner reaching altered states of consciousness in order to interact with the social world of benevolent and malevolent spirits. Performing rituals for sick people by connecting with the spirit world (trance) to see why they are sick. The ancient time, it was believed that humans and spirits lived with each other. The conflict between the two brought a sub-deity (a member of a pantheon of a polytheistic religious system). Blinded the worlds from interacting. Treatments include herbal remedies or offering of Joss papers (ghost money.) when the soul returns back to the body through a string tying rituals (sting-tying). Red, white, black or blue strings are tied to shield the person from evil spirits. The strings symbolize binding up and holding intact of the life souls. Animal sacrifice is another Shaman ritual to attempt illness with offerings to the spirits with the sacrifice of chickens, cows, pigs, or other animals. The soul of the sacrificed soul of animals is connected to human souls. Shamans use the animal soul to protect the sick person. Then that animal is eaten. When a Hmong person dies the soul must travel to the every place the person lived until it reaches the burial place of its placental. To be dressed in the “placenta jacket” it can travel to be reunited with ancestors and be reincarnated…
An occult is a supernatural, mystical, or a magical belief; for example black magic and witchcraft. A person that’s in a occult usually believes in death and black magic. Something during the occult props are used like Ouija boards, voodoo dolls, and sacrificing living creatures. All these contact the devil or with the dead. Contacting the dead or the devil can reveal secrets and dangers of the future. The occult is a very dangerous thing to join and can cause possession and death. As the occult is man made, not like the paranormal its spiritual.…
My perspective has changed entirely from two important influences on colonial America religion and slavery due to many reasons. The 1st reason is the battle for America which consist of European colonization of America. What I found Stop correcting "interesting" about these events was the war. France, British, Spain, Portugal were all battling for territory which the countries did what ever was necessary to gain territory, however the sad part was to gain the territory the Indians had to suffer the wrath of imperialism to the max extent. From my perspective it reminded what the Romans did to gain many providences. The second reason was slavery. Slavery was the secret ingredients that the countries used to conquer America, without the transportation…
Important aspect of voodoo are singing and dancing. It is usually done to honor the “loas”. Another important aspect is the performance of animal sacrifices such as slaughtering a chicken or a goat. The blood of the sacrifice can be placed on a person, alter or even a space. Sacrifices may be done is a healing…
People make pilgrimages to a series of holy sites. Those sites became popular in association with manifestations of saints and are marked by unusual geographic features such as the waterfall at Saut d'Eau, the most famous of sacred sites. Waterfalls and certain species of large trees are especially sacred because they are believed to be the homes of spirits and the conduits through which spirits enter the world of living humans. For practitioners, or Vodouisans, Vodou rituals are part of a philosophy that ties individuals to society, their community, and the environment. Death and the Afterlife. Beliefs concerning the afterlife depend on the religion of the individual. Strict Catholics and Protestants believe in the reality of reward or punishment after death. Practitioners of voodoo assume that the souls of all the deceased go to an abode "beneath the waters," that is often associated with lafrik gine ("L'Afrique Guinée," or Africa). Concepts of reward and punishment in the afterlife are alien to…
Many factors affected the people who lived in Europe and America, as well as their lifestyle. Religion put certain people in power and created conflict. These conflicts caused economic problems, so new systems were developed. The search for the northwest passage helped the spread of culture and helped explorers discover new land. These factors changed the way Europeans lived and also affected their colonies in America.…
In the old time the African people use some spells to take the sympathy of the bad spirits, so that they did not harm them. Now these spells are using to control the bad spirit. The practitioners of the voodoo magic can control the bad spirits and the souls to achieve their goal. The folk magic spells are the words which were used by the people…
Most of the Haitian population was originally from Africa, which supports the transformation from the Kongo culture to Haitian Vodou. The Encyclopedia of Global Religion reads, “What is distinctive about Haitian Vodou additionally is that it incorporated the powerful systems of the Bakongo [Kongo] peoples in Central Africa.”21 In addition, Paul Gardullo writes in his review of Donald Consentino’s Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou, “The roles of various spirit repositories and containers or Paket Kongo are described, as well as their ties to Nkisi, their Kongo counter-parts.”22 The most distinct similarity between these two objects are their relations with the spirits they ‘hold.’ Both minkisi and paket kongos can help someone communicate between the spiritual and living world in each of their respective cultures. They both have a master ritualist that uses that communication with the spirits to assist their clients. And finally, many paket kongos are tied with a crucifix atop the container, shown in figure 2. Not only is this another example of the Haitian Vodou…
Voodoo is an African derived religion that was a product of the slave trade. Voodoo is a monotheistic religion that has a central belief in one god, Bondye. Bondye is unreachable and the only way to communicate with him is through Ioa. The Ioa or lwa are divinity spirits in Voodoo. They are very similar to the Orishas in the Santeria religion. There are twelve principal Ioas, and the most important or the one with the most power is “Papa Legba.” Papa Legba must be saluted at all ceremonies. It is a large sin to offend him and permission from him must be granted before approaching other Ioa.…
During the colonial period North America was filled with individuals who did not agree with the religious and political ways of life in England. Before the 1700s the British North American colonies consisted mostly of Europeans in search of a place where they could find religious freedom. The first colony formed in Massachusetts in 1608 is an example of this idea of religious freedom. Plymouth, Massachusetts was a colony formed by English Separatists, who were also known as Puritans, in an attempt to live without religious discrimination…
Hooded Americanism: The First Century of the Ku Klux Klan: 1865 to the Present by David Chalmers records the history of the Ku Klux Klan quite bluntly, all the way from its creation following the civil war, to the early 1960’s. The author starts the book quite strongly by discussing in detail many acts of violence and displays of hatred throughout the United States. He makes a point to show that the Klan rode robustly throughout all of the country, not just in the southern states. The first several chapters of the book focus on the Klan’s creation in 1865. He goes on to discuss the attitude of many Americans following the United State’s Civil War and how the war shaped a new nation. The bulk of the book is used to go through many of the states, and express the Klan’s political influence on both the local and state governments. The author starts with Texas and Oklahoma, and goes through the history of the Klan geographically, finishing with New Jersey and Washington. The author stresses that the KKK did not just commit acts of violence towards minorities, but also carried political power. He continues to discuss the impact of the Klan on Civil Rights movements in the 1960’s, and various other important political controversies between the 1920’s and 1970’s. Towards the middle of the book, David M. Chalmers focuses on portraying the feelings of governments and state legislatures, as well as normal citizens towards the Klan. To do this more effectively, the author uses excerpts and quotes from editorials and newspapers, along with several dozen pictures. The conclusion of the book was used mainly as an overview of all of the major incidents and deaths involving the Klan, and how their persistence has allowed them to still exist today despite a lack of resources and support.…
Since the ancient times, religion has influenced the principles of society, and still continues to do so. The foundation of society and all the moral values were totally based on the religious values. During the age of colonial America, the Puritans were known for their peculiar religious ideologies on which the moral values of the society were shaped. With scientific and technological advancement in the future, the ideologies of the American people started to change. Philosophically, America underwent through a lot of changes in beliefs and ideas in religious and political terms, for which literature is more or less responsible. This change helped the nation to deal with political issues avoiding religious controversies. While each colony…
A great many people would portray themselves as extremely religious, and religion influences each part of Haitian culture. While 90 percent of the nation is Catholic and 10 % is Protestant, Haiti is most popular (or notorious) for voodoo. Voodoo exists one next to the other with Christian religions. Numerous Haitians see no disagreement in calling themselves Christians while taking part in voodoo rehearses. This is all the more regularly the case with Catholics. Catholicism in Haiti is extremely formal and has adjusted to nearby custom. It is more improbable that Protestants would portray themselves as professors in voodoo. There have been some Protestant–lead endeavors to reduce the part that voodoo plays in Haitian culture. National occasions in Haiti are a blend of religious and recorded festivals. Similar to the case in numerous other Caribbean or South American nations, Haiti praises jamboree. Jubilee, as Mardi Gras, paves the way to Ash Wednesday. In Port–au–Prince, the avenues load with moveable gatherings of music and drinking all over town. Numerous groups make coasts that travel through the city playing music. Social strains are casual, and commonly risky political feelings are communicated through singing. A comparative occasion, called rara, happens just before Easter in the wide open. Rara incorporates individuals making music and moving as they travel through the avenues.…