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| Vodoun
is first and foremost a lifestyle and religious belief system
that developed on the island of Hispaniola, that now consists
of the countries Haiti |
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the Dominican Republic. The original name of Hispaniola
was Quisqueya (given by the native population),
and this is the island that |
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Christopher
Columbus first encountered on his voyage to discover a new
world in 1492.Today,
almost seven million people live on Haiti, where about 80% of the population
believe in Vodoun. Haiti is located in the Caribbean Sea, just south
of Cuba. Larger Vodoun communities can also be found in the Dominican
Republic, Cuba and in the United States (especially New Orleans). Religions
that closely relate to Vodoun can be found in Benin (in Africa) and
in South America. Vodoun is spelled in many ways, including Vaudou,
Vodun, Voodoo (the most commonly known name) and Vodou.
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HISTORY
The
history of Vodoun starts perhaps with the history of Christopher
Columbus. After the first trip by Columbus and his men to "discover"
the new world, more and more Spanish settlers followed. The native
Arawak inhabitants slowly disappeared due to European diseases,
murder, suicide and slavery. The growing importance of sugar brought
African slaves, especially from West Africa, to Haiti at the beginning
of the 16th century.
Due to its perfect location, climate and soil, Haiti became a place
that the Spanish, French and British fought over for years. Eventually,
the island became a French colony in the middle of the 17th century.
The vast resources of the island soon found their way to Europe.
It was during this time that Vodoun started to develop. By 1780
Haiti was one of the wealthiest places on earth, though few Haitians
shared in this wealth.
Inspired by the French revolution, the African slaves on Hispaniola
revolted in 1791. They killed the French landowners and proclaimed
the first black republic in 1804. In 1844 Hispaniola split into
two countries, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Throughout the 19th century Haiti experienced a series of internal
bloody wars. A ruling class of Haitians with mixed heritage regarded
their French language and culture and their Catholic religion, to
be superior to the black Creole language and the Yoruba religious
beliefs that many slaves had brought with them. There was a large
gap between the rich and poor at this time. This led to much conflict
and there was a great deal of chaos and anarchy.
In 1915 US marines landed to intervene in a country that was in
crisis. Roads, houses, hospitals, etc. were built, but once again
the result was the same: rich white people who ruled over a majority
of blacks. Many peasants were driven from their lands and had to
make way for very large US fruit companies.
The US left in 1934 but the crisis continued. In 1957 Francis Duvalier,
also called "Papa Doc", started a reign of terror on Haiti. His
son "Baby Doc" followed him but was also corrupt and violent. Instability
continues until today and Haiti is now the poorest nation in the
Americas.
Vodoun has had to survive a lengthy organized attack by one of the
major religions of the world: Catholicism. For centuries the Catholic
Church has tried to completely wipe out Vodoun. At first, Vodoun
priests were killed or imprisoned. But after the successful slave
revolt of 1804 it was the Catholic priests who were kicked off of
the island (of Hispaniola) or killed. Since then the Catholic Church
organized many campaigns against the Vodoun. But these have been
unsuccessful. In the 1950's the Catholic Church decided to give
up its fight to destroy Vodoun and since then the two exist together
peacefully. Since the 1970's, however, it has been the Protestant
Church (a newer presence in Haiti) that has declared war against
Vodoun.
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RELIGION
After black slaves were brought from Africa by the British to
work in the fields, they were forbidden to worship their native
Yoruba gods. Missionaries tried to force the slaves to accept Catholicism.
This was only partially successful. Eventually, a blend of Yoruba
and Catholicism occurred (a blend that led to strong disapproval
from the Catholic Church).
There is only one god in Vodoun, called Bondye or Damballa. Members
of the Vodoun faith, however, worship many spiritual beings, called
Loa, that have contact with people on earth. The main aspect of
Vodoun is healing people from illness. Those who practice Vodoun
give sacrifices to the Loa and ask these spirits to help them in
their lives to solve many problems. Vodoun priests can be both men
(called houngan) and women (called mambo).
Vodoun priests can tell the future and read dreams, as well as cast
spells that harm and protect. They also create potions for various
purposes. It is such activities as these and misunderstandings about
them that have given Vodoun a bad name in the western world. Popular
movies and books focus on these aspects of Vodoun, as well as the
belief in zombies (the walking dead), black magic, the "possession"
of people by Loa during ceremonies and the sacrificing of animals.
Many horror movies use stories about Vodoun. In reality, the practice
of black magic does happen but is very rare.
Vodoun ceremonies are usually held outside. Drumming, song, chanting
and dance are a very important part of any ceremony, as was traditionally
the case among the Yoruba in Africa. At the center of the Vodoun
temple one will find a pole where people communicate with the spirits.
One will also find an altar that will have all kinds of items that
relate to the Loa. During these ceremonies animals like goats or
chickens are sacrificed to feed and please the spirits.
The sense of free will is almost completely absent in Vodoun religion.
The Loa are seen as responsible for everything that happens in life.
Whatever happens to us is decided by the Loa and one must always
ask the Loa to change something in one's life or in society. |
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CULTURE,
SOCIETY, ECONOMY AND POLITICS
Haitian society is heavily influenced by the African origins of
the population and the influence of the French. This shows clearly
in the language, religion and customs of the country.
The middle class and elite Haitians still tend to speak French,
while the majority speak Creole, which is a mixture of African languages,
heavily influenced by French.
Haitian art, music and handicrafts are very popular and rich in
design. One can find much of this art on, and in, Vodoun temples
and on ceremonial drums. Favorite themes in art relate to the spirit
world, as well as of weddings, market scenes, cock-fights and imaginary
jungle scenes. Paintings are very bright and colorful. Haiti is
also famous for its wood carvings.
Haitian society has been influenced by long periods of violence
and dictatorships. In the last few years, however, Haiti has been
trying to set up a democracy. Nevertheless, Haiti is an extremely
poor country. There continues to be a huge gap between the rich
and poor. At the moment 1% of the population owns about 60% of the
land.
Many of today's writers from Haiti are very critical about the problems
in Haiti, and most of these problems have not gone away. Many Haitians
cannot read or write, and are peasants who work in the fields. Despite
the relevant increase in stability, many peasants are becoming even
poorer than before. Because they have had a hard time competing
with farmers abroad, the rural farmers of Haiti see little choice
but to leave their land and seek employment in the country's capital,
Port Au Prince. In the 1950's there were 150,000 people in Port
Au Prince. Today there are more than 2,000,000. However, almost
70% percent of the workforce still works in agriculture. The main
crops are coffee, mangoes, sugarcane, wood, rice, and corn.
Population growth is a major problem in Haiti, not only in the Capital.
In this century alone the population of the country has increased
by 400%.
Men have much more power in Haitian society than women. Many women's
organisations, such as Kay Fanm, have recently been created to protest
the way that women are treated by men in their country. Women's
complaints are still rarely taken seriously by the police and the
government.
The United States has a much stronger influence on Haiti today than
France. American marines have landed on Haitian shores several times
since its independence and more than 80% of all trade is now with
the United States. |
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| "The
Big Myth" © Distant Train 2009 |
