Haitian Vodou

Not to be confused with Hoodoo (folk magic) orLouisiana Voodoo.See also: West African VodunHaitian Vodou[1][2][3] (/ˈvoʊ.duː/, French: [vodu],

Vodou altar during a celebration for Papa Guédé in Boston. Thisaltar has offerings to three nations (nanchons) of loa: at top rightare offerings to Rada spirits; at top left are those for the Petwofamily; and those at bottom are for Guédé.

also written as Vaudou;[4][5] /ˈvoʊ.duː/ Vodun[6][7]or Vodoun[6][8] /ˈvoʊ.duːn/; and commonly Voodoo/ˈvuː.duː/) is a syncretic[9] religion practiced chiefly inHaiti and the Haitian diaspora. Practitioners are called“vodouists” (French: vodouisants [voduisɑ̃]) or “servantsof the spirits” (Haitian Creole: sèvitè).[10]

Vodouists believe in a distant and unknowable SupremeCreator, Bondye (derived from the French term BonDieu,meaning “good God"). According to Vodouists, Bondyedoes not intercede in human affairs, and thus they directtheir worship toward spirits subservient to Bondye, calledloa.[11] Every loa is responsible for a particular aspect oflife, with the dynamic and changing personalities of eachloa reflecting the many possibilities inherent to the as-pects of life over which they preside.[12] In order to nav-igate daily life, vodouists cultivate personal relationshipswith the loa through the presentation of offerings, the cre-ation of personal altars and devotional objects, and par-ticipation in elaborate ceremonies of music, dance, andspirit possession.[13]

Vodou originated in the Caribbean and developed in theFrench Empire in the 18th century among West Africanslaves when African religious practice was actively sup-pressed, and enslaved Africans were forced to convert toChristianity.[14][15] Religious practices of contemporaryVodou are descended from, and closely related to, WestAfrican Vodun as practiced by the Fon and Ewe. Vodou

also incorporates elements and symbolism from otherAfrican peoples including the Yoruba and Kongo; as wellas Taíno religious beliefs, Roman Catholicism, and Euro-pean spirituality including mysticism, Freemasonry, andother influences.[16]

In Haiti, whereas a very small number of RomanCatholics combine their faith with aspects of Vodou, thispractice is denounced as diabolical by virtually all HaitianProtestants.[17]

1 Names and etymology

Vodou is a Haitian Creole word that formerly referred toonly a small subset of Haitian rituals.[18] The word de-rives from an Ayizo word referring to “mysterious forcesor powers that govern the world and the lives of thosewho reside within it, but also a range of artistic formsthat function in conjunction with these vodun energies.[19]Two of the major speaking populations of Ayizo are theEwe and the Fon, both of which are calle the Arada byEuropean slavers, and composed a sizeable number ofthe early enslaved population in St Dominique. In Haiti,practitioners occasionally use “Vodou” to refer to Haitianreligion generically, but it is more common for practition-ers to refer to themselves as those who “serve the spir-its” (sèvitè) by participating in ritual ceremonies, usuallycalled a “service to the loa” (sèvis loa) or an “African ser-vice” (sèvis gineh).[18] These terms can also be used torefer to the religion as a whole.Outside of Haiti, the term Vodou refers to the entirety oftraditional Haitian religious practice.[18] Originally writ-ten as vodun, it is first recorded in Doctrina Christiana,a 1658 document written by the King of Allada's am-bassador to the court of Philip IV of Spain.[19] In thefollowing centuries, Vodou was eventually taken up bynon-Haitians as a generic descriptive term for traditionalHaitian religion.[18] There are many used orthographiesfor this word. Today, the spelling Vodou is the most com-monly accepted orthography in English.[8] Other poten-tial spellings include Vodoun, vaudou, and voodoo, withvau- or vou- prefix variants reflecting French orthogra-phy, and a final -n reflecting the nasal vowel in WestAfrican or older, non-urbanized, Haitian Creole pronun-ciations.The spelling voodoo, once very common, is now gener-ally avoided by Haitian practitioners and scholars whenreferring to the Haitian religion.[6][20][21][22] This is both

1

2 2 BELIEFS

to avoid confusion with Louisiana Voodoo,[23] a relatedbut distinct set of religious practices, as well as to sep-arate Haitian Vodou from the negative connotations andmisconceptions the term “voodoo” has acquired in pop-ular culture.[3][24] Over the years, practitioners and theirsupporters have called on various institutions includingthe Associated Press to redress this misrepresentation byadopting “Vodou” in reference to the Haitian religion. InOctober 2012, the Library of Congress decided to changetheir subject heading from “Voodooism” to Vodou in re-sponse to a petition by a group of scholars and practition-ers in collaboration with KOSANBA, the scholarly asso-ciation for the study of Haitian Vodou based at Universityof California Santa Barbara.[25]

2 Beliefs

Vodou paraphernalia, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Vodou is popularly described as not simply a religion, butrather an experience that ties body and soul together. Theconcept of tying that exists in Haitian religious culture isderived from the Congolese tradition of kanga, the prac-tice of tying one’s soul to something tangible. This “tyingof soul” is evident in many Haitian Vodou practices thatare still exercised today.[26]

2.1 Spirits

Vodouisants believe in a Supreme God called Bondye,from the French bon “good” + Dieu “God”.[27] When itcame in contact with Roman Catholicism, the SupremeCreator was associated with the Christian God, and theloa associated with the saints.

2.1.1 Loa

A large sequined Vodou “drapo” or flag by the artist George Val-ris, depicting the veve, or symbol, of the loa Loko Atison.

Since Bondye (God) is considered unreachable,Vodouisants aim their prayers to lesser entities, thespirits known as loa, or mistè. The most notable loainclude Papa Legba (guardian of the crossroads), ErzulieFreda (the spirit of love), Simbi (the spirit of rain andmagicians), Kouzin Zaka (the spirit of agriculture),and The Marasa, divine twins considered to be the firstchildren of Bondye.[28]

These loa can be divided into 21 nations, which includethe Petro, Rada, Congo, and Nago.[29] Each of the loa isassociated with a particular Roman Catholic saint. Forexample, Legba is associated with St. Anthony the Her-mit, and Damballa is associated with St. Patrick.[30]

The loa also fall into family groups who share a sur-name, such as Ogou, Ezili, Azaka or Ghede. For instance,“Ezili” is a family, Ezili Danto and Ezili Freda are two in-dividual spirits in that family. Each family is associatedwith a specific aspect, for instance the Ogou family aresoldiers, the Ezili govern the feminine spheres of life, theAzaka govern agriculture, the Ghede govern the sphereof death and fertility.

3

2.2 Morality

See also: Haitian Vodou and sexual orientation

Vodou’s moral code focuses on the vices of dishonor andgreed. There is also a notion of relative propriety—andwhat is appropriate to someone with Dambala Wedo astheir head may be different from someone with OgouFeray as their head. For example, one spirit is very cooland the other is very hot. Coolness overall is valued, andso is the ability and inclination to protect oneself and one’sown if necessary. Love and support within the family ofthe Vodou society seem to be the most important consid-erations. Generosity in giving to the community and tothe poor is also an important value. One’s blessings comethrough the community, and one should be willing to giveback. There are no “solitaries” in Vodou—only peopleseparated geographically from their elders and house. Aperson without a relationship of some kind with eldersdoes not practice Vodou as it is understood in Haiti andamong Haitians.There is a diversity of practice in Vodou across the coun-try of Haiti and the Haitian diaspora. For instance, in thenorth of Haiti, the lave tèt (“head washing”) or kanzwemay be the only initiation, as it is in the Dominican Re-public and Cuba, whereas in Port-au-Prince and the souththey practice the kanzo rites with three grades of initia-tion – kanzo senp, si pwen, and asogwe – and the lat-ter is the most familiar mode of practice outside Haiti.Some lineages combine both, as Mambo Katherine Dun-ham reports from her personal experience in her bookIsland Possessed.While the overall tendency in Vodou is conservative in ac-cord with its African roots, there is no singular, definitiveform, only what is right in a particular house or lineage.Small details of service and the spirits served vary fromhouse to house, and information in books or on the inter-net therefore may seem contradictory. There is no cen-tral authority or "pope" in Haitian Vodou, since “everymambo and houngan is the head of their own house”, asa popular saying in Haiti goes. Another consideration interms of Haitian diversity are the many sects besides theSèvi Gine in Haiti such as the Makaya, Rara, and othersecret societies, each of which has its own distinct pan-theon of spirits.

2.3 Soul

According to Vodou, the soul consists of two aspects, ina type of soul dualism: the gros bon ange (big good an-gel) and the ti bon ange (little good angel). The gros bonange is the part of the soul that is essentially responsi-ble for the basic biological functions, such as the flow ofblood through the body and breathing. On the other hand,the ti bon ange is the source of personality, character andwillpower. “As the gros bon ange provides each person

with the power to act, it is the ti bon ange that molds theindividual sentiment within each act”.[31] While the latteris an essential element for the survival of one’s individualidentity, it is not necessary to keep the body functioningproperly in biological terms, and therefore a person cancontinue to exist without it.

3 Practices

3.1 Liturgy and practice

Vodou ceremony, Jacmel, Haiti.

AHaitian Vodou temple is called an Hounfour.[32] After aday or two of preparation setting up altars at an Hounfour,ritually preparing and cooking fowl and other foods, etc.,a Haitian Vodou service begins with a series of prayersand songs in French, then a litany in Kreyòl and African“langaj” that goes through all the European and Africansaints and loa honored by the house, and then a seriesof verses for all the main spirits of the house. This iscalled the “Priyè Gine” or the African Prayer. After moreintroductory songs, beginning with saluting Hounto, thespirit of the drums, the songs for all the individual spiritsare sung, starting with the Legba family through all theRada spirits, then there is a break and the Petro part ofthe service begins, which ends with the songs for theGedefamily.As the songs are sung, participants believe that spiritscome to visit the ceremony, by taking possession of in-dividuals and speaking and acting through them. When aceremony is made, only the family of those possessed isbenefited. At this time it is believed that devious mamboor houngan can take away the luck of the worshippersthrough particular actions. For instance, if a priest asksfor a drink of champagne, a wise participant refuses.Sometimes these ceremonies may include dispute amongthe singers as to how a hymn is to be sung. In Haiti, theseVodou ceremonies, depending on the Priest or Priestess,may be more organized. But in the United States, manyvodouists and clergy take it as a sort of non-serious partyor “folly”. In a serious rite, each spirit is saluted andgreeted by the initiates present and gives readings, ad-

4 3 PRACTICES

vice, and cures to those who ask for help. Many hourslater, as morning dawns, the last song is sung, the guestsleave, and the exhausted hounsis, houngans, and mamboscan go to sleep.Vodou practitioners believe that if one follows all taboosimposed by their particular loa and is punctilious about allofferings and ceremonies, the loa will aid them. Vodoupractitioners also believe that if someone ignores their loait can result in sickness, the failure of crops, the death ofrelatives, and other misfortunes.[33] Animals are some-times sacrificed in Haitian Vodou. A variety of animalsare sacrificed, such as pigs, goats, chickens, and bulls.“The intent and emphasis of sacrifice is not upon thedeath of the animal, it is upon the transfusion of its life tothe loa; for the understanding is that flesh and blood areof the essence of life and vigor, and these will restore thedivine energy of the god.”[34]

On the individual’s household level, a Vodouisant or“sèvitè"/"serviteur” may have one or more tables set outfor their ancestors and the spirit or spirits that they servewith pictures or statues of the spirits, perfumes, foods,and other things favored by their spirits. The most basicset up is just a white candle and a clear glass of water andperhaps flowers. On a particular spirit’s day, one lightsa candle and says an Our Father and Hail Mary, salutesPapa Legba and asks him to open the gate, and then onesalutes and speaks to the particular spirit as an elder fam-ily member. Ancestors are approached directly, withoutthe mediating of Papa Legba, since they are said to be “inthe blood”.In a Vodou home, often, the only recognizable religiousitems are images of saints and candles with a rosary. Inother homes, where people may more openly show theirdevotion to the spirits, noticeable itemsmay include an al-tar with Catholic saints and iconographies, rosaries, bot-tles, jars, rattles, perfumes, oils, and dolls. Some Vodoudevotees have less paraphernalia in their homes becauseuntil recently Vodou practitioners had no option but tohide their beliefs. Haiti is a rural society and the cultof ancestors guard the traditional values of the peasantclass. The ancestors are linked to family life and theland. Haitian peasants serve the spirits daily and some-time gather with their extended family on special occa-sions for ceremonies, which may celebrate the birthdayof a spirit or a particular event. In very remote areas,people may walk for days to partake in ceremonies thattake place as often as several times a month. Vodou isclosely tied to the division and administration of land aswell as to the residential economy. The cemeteries andmany crossroads are meaningful places for worship: thecemetery acts as a repository of spirits and the crossroadsacts as points of access to the world of the invisible.[35]

3.2 Priests

Houngans (Male Vodou Priest) or Mambos (Female

Ceremonial suit for Haitian Vodou rites, Ethnological Museumof Berlin, Germany.

Vodou Priest) are usually people who were chosen bythe dead ancestors and received the divination from thedeities while he or she was possessed. His or her ten-dency is to do good by helping and protecting othersfrom spells, however they sometimes use their supernat-ural power to hurt or kill people. They also conduct cer-emonies that usually take place “Amba Peristil” (under aVodou Temple). However, non-Houngan or non-Mamboas Vodouisants are not initiated, and are referred to asbeing “bossale"; it is not a requirement to be an initiateto serve one’s spirits. There are clergy in Haitian Vodouwhose responsibility it is to preserve the rituals and songsand maintain the relationship between the spirits and thecommunity as a whole (though some of this is the re-sponsibility of the whole community as well). They areentrusted with leading the service of all of the spirits oftheir lineage. Sometimes they are “called” to serve in aprocess called “being reclaimed”, which theymay resist atfirst.[36] Below the houngans andmambos are the hounsis,who are initiates who act as assistants during ceremoniesand who are dedicated to their own personal mysteries.The asson (calabash rattle) is the symbol for one who hasacquired the status of houngan ormambo (priest or priest-ess) in Haitian Vodou. The calabash is taken from thecalabasse courante or calabasse ordinaire tree which isassociated with Danbhalah-Wédo. A houngan or mambotraditionally holds the asson in their hand along with a

4.2 1685-1791: Vodou in colonial Saint-Domingue 5

clochette (bell). Inside of the asson are stones and snakevertebrae which give the asson its sound. The asson iscovered with a web of porcelain beads.[37]

A “bokor” is a sorcerer or magician who casts spells uponrequest. They are not necessarily priests, and may bepractitioners of “darker” things and often not even ac-cepted by the mambo or the houngan. Or, a “Bokor”would be the Haitian term for a Vodou priest or other,working both the light and dark arts of magic. The“Bokor” deals in “baka” (malevolent spirits contained inthe form of various animals).[38]

3.3 Death and the afterlife

The practitioners of Vodou revere death, and believe itto be a great transition from one life to another, or tothe afterlife. In some Vodou families, it is believed thata person’s spirit leaves the body, but is trapped in wa-ter, over mountains, in grottoes, or anywhere else a voicemay call out and echo for a span of one full year and oneday. After this period, there is a ceremonial celebrationto commemorate the deceased for being released into theworld to “live again”. In the words of Edwidge Danticat,author of “A Year and a Day” – an article about deathin Haitian society published in the New Yorker – and apractitioner of Vodou, “The year-and-a-day commemo-ration is seen, in families that believe in it and practiceit, as a tremendous obligation, an honorable duty, in partbecause it assures a transcendental continuity of the kindthat has kept us Haitians, no matter where we live, linkedto our ancestors for generations.” After the soul of thedeceased leaves its resting place, it can occupy trees, andeven become a hushed voice on the wind.[39]

4 History

4.1 Before 1685: From Africa to theCaribbean

Area of West African Vodun practice, the religion with the great-est influence on Haitian Vodou.

The cultural area of the Fon, Ewe, and Yoruba peoplesshare common metaphysical conceptions around a dual

cosmological divine principle Nana Buluku, the God-Creator, and the voduns(s) or God-Actor(s), daughtersand sons of the Creator’s twin childrenMawu (goddess ofthe moon) and Lisa (god of the sun). The God-Creator isthe cosmogonical principle and does not trifle with themundane; the voduns(s) are the God-Actor(s) who ac-tually govern earthly issues. The pantheon of vodoun isquite large and complex.West African Vodun has its primary emphasis on ances-tors, with each family of spirits having its own specializedpriest and priestess, which are often hereditary. In manyAfrican clans, deities might include Mami Wata, who aregods and goddesses of the waters; Legba, who in someclans is virile and young in contrast to the oldman form hetakes in Haiti and in many parts of Togo; Gu (or Ogoun),ruling iron and smithcraft; Sakpata, who rules diseases;and many other spirits distinct in their own way to WestAfrica.A significant portion of Haitian Vodou often overlookedby scholars until recently is the input from the Kongo.The entire northern area of Haiti is heavily influencedby Kongo practices. In northern Haiti, it is often calledthe Kongo Rite or Lemba, from the Lemba rituals of theLoango area and Mayombe. In the south, Kongo influ-ence is called Petwo (Petro). Many loa (a Kikongo term)are of Kongo origin, such as Basimbi, Lemba, etc.In addition, the Vodun religion (distinct from HaitianVodou) already existed in the United States previouslyto Haitian immigration, having been brought by enslavedWest Africans, specifically from the Ewe, Fon, Mina,Kabaye, and Nago groups. Some of the more enduringforms survive in the Gullah Islands.European colonialism, followed by totalitarian regimes inWest Africa, suppressed Vodun as well as other formsof the religion. However, because the Vodun deities areborn to each African clan-group, and its clergy is centralto maintaining the moral, social, and political order andancestral foundation of its villagers, it proved to be im-possible to eradicate the religion.

4.2 1685-1791: Vodou in colonial Saint-Domingue

The majority of the Africans who were brought as slavesto Haiti were from Western and Central Africa. The sur-vival of the belief systems in the New World is remark-able, although the traditions have changed with time andhave even taken on some Catholic forms of worship.[40]Two important factors, however, characterize the unique-ness of Haitian Vodou as compared to African Vodun; thetransplanted Africans of Haiti, similar to those of Cubaand Brazil, were obliged to disguise their loa or spiritsas Roman Catholic saints, an element of a process calledsyncretism.Two keys provisions of the Code Noir by King Louis

6 4 HISTORY

XIV of France in 1685 severely limited the ability of en-slaved Africans in Saint-Domingue to practice Africanreligions. First, the Code Noir explicitly forbade the openpractice of all African religions.[15] Second, it forced allslaveholders to convert their slaves to Catholicism withineight days of their arrival in Saint-Domingue.[15] As aresult, over the course of the 18th century, African re-ligious practice in Saint-Domingue adapted to each ofthese provisions. First, African religious practice largelywent underground, outside of the control of colonial au-thorities. Second, the diverse pantheon of African spiritsthat had already been incorporated into religious practicein Saint-Domingue was overlaid with images, practices,and rituals borrowed fromCatholicism.[15]Médéric LouisÉlie Moreau de Saint-Méry, a French observer writingin 1797, noted this religious syncretism, commentingthat the Catholic-style altars and votive candles used byAfricans in Haiti were meant to conceal the Africannessof the religion.[41]

Vodou, as it is known in Haiti and the Haitian diaspora,is the result of the pressures of many different culturesand ethnicities of people who were uprooted from Africaand imported to Haiti in the African slave trade. Underslavery, African culture and religion was suppressed, lin-eages were fragmented, and people pooled their religiousknowledge and from this fragmentation became culturallyunified. In addition to combining the spirits of many dif-ferent African and Amerindian nations, Vodou has incor-porated pieces of Roman Catholic liturgy to replace lostprayers or elements. Images of Catholic saints are used torepresent various spirits or “mistè" (“mysteries”, actuallythe preferred term in Haiti), and many saints themselvesare honored in Vodou in their own right. This syncretismallows Vodou to encompass the African, the Indian, andthe European ancestors in a whole and complete way. Itis truly a Kreyòl religion.

4.3 1791–1804: The Haitian Revolution

The most historically important Vodou ceremony inHaitian history was the Bois Caïman ceremony of Au-gust 1791 that began the Haitian Revolution, in whichthe spirit Ezili Dantor possessed a priestess and receiveda black pig as an offering, and all those present pledgedthemselves to the fight for freedom.[42] This ceremony ul-timately resulted in the liberation of the Haitian peoplefrom French colonial rule in 1804, and the establishmentof the first black people’s republic in the history of theworld and the second independent nation in the Americas.Haitian nationalists have frequently drawn inspiration byimagining their ancestors’ gathering of unity and courage.Since the 1990s, some neo-evangelicals have interpretedthe politico-religious ceremony at Bois Caïman to havebeen a pact with demons. This extremist view is not con-sidered credible bymainstream Protestants, however con-servatives such as Pat Robertson repeat the idea.[43]

4.4 Vodou in 19th century Haiti

4.4.1 1804: Liberty, Isolation, Boycott

On 1 January 1804 the former slave Jean-JaqcuesDessalines (as Jacques I) declared the independence ofSt. Domingue as the First Black Empire; two years later,after his assassination, it became the Republic of Haiti.This was the second nation to gain independence fromEuropean rule (after the United States), and the only stateto have arisen from the liberation of slaves. No nationrecognised the new state, which was instead met with iso-lation and boycotts. This exclusion from the global mar-ket led to major economic difficulties for the new stateMany of the leaders of the revolt disassociated themselvesfrom Vodou. They strived to be accepted as Frenchmenand good Catholics rather than as free Haitians. Yet mostpractitioners of Vodou saw, and still see, no contradic-tion between Vodou and Catholicism, and also take partin Catholic masses.

4.4.2 1825: Compensation to France

In order to be allowed to resume trade with France, Haitiwas forced to pay 150 million francs to France as com-pensation for the loss of its slaves. This corresponded toten years’ total production in Haiti. Haiti was forced totake out expensive loans in order to pay these damages.

4.4.3 1835: Vodou made punishable, secret soci-eties

Vodou was not recognised as an official religion by theHaitian state. In 1835 the practising of Vodou was madepunishable. Secret Voodoo societies therefore continuedto be important. These societies also served to provide thepoor with protection and solidarity against the exercisingof power by the elite. They had their own symbols andcodes.

4.5 20th century to the present

Today, Vodou is practiced not only by Haitians but byAmericans and people of many other nations who havebeen exposed to Haitian culture. Haitian creole forms ofVodou exist in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba,[44]some of the outer islands of the Bahamas, the UnitedStates, and other places to which Haitians have immi-grated. There has been a re-emergence of the Voduntraditions in the United States, maintaining the same rit-ual and cosmological elements as in West Africa. Theseand other African-diasporic religions, such as Lukumi orRegla de Ocha (also known as Santería) in Cuba, andCandomblé and Umbanda in Brazil, have evolved amongdescendants of transplanted Africans in the Americas.

7

Former president of Haiti François Duvalier (also knownas Papa Doc) played a role in elevating the status ofVodou into a national doctrine. Duvalier was involvedin the noirisme movement and hoped to re-value culturalpractices that had their origins in Africa. Duvalier ma-nipulated Vodou to suit his purposes throughout his Reignof Terror. He organized the Vodou priests in the coun-tryside and had them advance his agenda, instilling fearthrough promoting the belief that he had supernaturalpowers playing into the religion’s mysticism.[45][46]

Many Haitians involved in the practice of Vodou havebeen initiated as Houngans or Mambos. In January 2010,after the Haiti earthquake there was an outburst of soli-darity prayers in Benin with the victims. Traditional cere-monies were organized to appease the spirits and seek theblessing of ancestors for the Haitians. Also a “purificationceremony” was planned for Haiti. During a 2010 choleraepidemic, many Vodou priests were lynched by mobs, asthey were believed to be spreading the disease.[47]

5 Demographics and geographicdistribution

Because of the religious syncretism between Catholi-cism and Vodou, it is difficult to estimate the number ofVodouists in Haiti. The CIA currently estimates that ap-proximately 50% of Haiti’s population practices Vodou,with nearly all Vodouists participating in one of Haiti’sChristian denominations.[48]

6 Gallery of Haitian Vodou objects• Ceremonial suit

• Statue of a djab, a quick-working wild spirit.

• Ceremonial drum

• Banner reading “Trop Pou Te” in the Haitian Creolelanguage

• Mirrors represent doorways to the world of the dead.

7 Myths and misconceptions

Vodou has often been associated in popular culture withSatanism, witchcraft, zombies and “voodoo dolls”. Zom-bie creation has been referenced within rural Haitianculture,[49] but is not a part of Vodou. Such manifes-tations fall under the auspices of the bokor or sorcerer,rather than the priest of the loa. The practice of stickingpins in voodoo dolls has history in folk magic. “Voodoodolls” are often associated with NewOrleans Voodoo andHoodoo as well the magical devices of the poppet and thenkisi or bocio of West and Central Africa.

The Affaire de Bizoton of 1864. The murder and alleged cani-balization of her body by eight voodoo devotees caused a scandalworldwide and was taken as proof of the evil nature of voodooeven though the confessions that condemned the accused wereobtained illegally by torture.

The general fear of Vodou in the US can be traced backto the end of the Haitian Revolution (1791). There isa legend that Haitians were able to beat the French dur-ing the Haitian Revolution because their Vodou deitiesmade them invincible. The US, seeing the tremendouspotential Vodou had for rallying its followers and incitingthem to action, feared the events at Bois Caïman couldspill over onto American soil. Fearing an uprising in op-position to the US occupation of Haiti, political and re-ligious elites, along with Hollywood and the film indus-try, sought to trivialize the practice of Vodou. After theHaitian Revolution many Haitians fled as refugees to NewOrleans. Free and enslaved Haitians who moved to NewOrleans brought their religious beliefs with them and rein-vigorated the Voodoo practices that were already presentin the city. Eventually, Voodoo in New Orleans becamehidden and the magical components were left present inthe public sphere. This created what is called hoodoo inthe southern part of the United States. Because hoodoois folk magic, Voodoo and Afro-diasporic religions in theU.S. became synonymous with fraud. This is one ori-gin of the stereotype that Haitian Vodou, New OrleansVoodoo, and hoodoo are all tricks used to make moneyoff of the gullible.[50]

The elites preferred to view it as folklore in an attemptto render it relatively harmless as a curiosity that mightcontinue to inspire music and dance.”[51]

Hollywood often depicts Vodou as evil and having tiesto Satanic practices in movies such as The Skeleton Key,The Devil’s Advocate, The Blair Witch Project, The Ser-pent and the Rainbow, Child’s Play, Live and Let Die, andin children’s movies like The Princess and the Frog.In 2010, following the 7.0 earthquake that devastatedHaiti, negative attention to Vodou also followed. Oneof the more notable examples would be of televange-list Pat Robertson’s televised discourse on the subject.Robertson stated that the country had cursed itself afterthe events at Bois Caïman because he claimed they hadengaged in Satanic practices in the ceremony precedingthe Haitian Revolution. “They were under the heel of the

8 11 FOOTNOTES

French, you know Napoleon the third and whatever. Andthey got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said'We will serve you if you will get us free from the prince.'True story. And so the devil said, 'Ok it’s a deal.' Andthey kicked the French out. The Haitians revolted andgot something themselves free. But ever since they havebeen cursed by one thing after another”.[52][53]

8 KOSANBA

Only recently have scholars begun writing about Vodou,but to this day, there is not a vast amount of schol-arly material available. Much of what had been writtenappeared before the 1940s, and most of this was pre-sented negatively, painting dark and inaccurate imagesof Haitian Vodou. In April 1997, thirteen scholars gath-ered at the University of California Santa Barbara for acolloquium on Haitian Vodou. From that meeting theCongress of Santa Barbara was created, also known asKOSANBA.[54] These scholars felt there was a need foraccess to scholarly resources and course offerings study-ing Haitian Vodou, and pledged, “to create a space wherescholarship on Vodou can be augmented”.[55] As furtherdescribed in the Congress’ declaration:“The presence, role, and importance of Vodou in Haitianhistory, society, and culture are unarguable, and recog-nizably a part of the national ethos. The impact of thereligion qua spiritual and intellectual disciplines on pop-ular national institutions, human and gender relations,the family, that plastic arts, philosophy and ethics, oraland written literature, language, popular and sacred mu-sic, science and technology and the healing arts, is in-disputable. It is the belief of the Congress that Vodouplays, and shall continue to play, a major role in thegrand scheme of Haitian development and in the socio-economic, political, and cultural arenas. Development,when real and successful, always comes from the mod-ernization of ancestral traditions, anchored in the rich cul-tural expressions of a people.”[56]

In the fall of 2012, KOSANBA successfully petitionedthe Library of Congress to change the terms “voodoo”and “voodooism” to the correct spelling “Vodou”.[57]

9 Organizations

In the aftermath of the François Duvalier dictatorship, anumber of individuals, including many houngan, soughtto organize means of defense for Haitian Vodou fromdefamation by Christian missionaries and congregations.One of the first leading houngan to formally organizeother houngan in solidarity was Wesner Morency (1959–2007), who established the Vodou Church of Haiti in1998 (registered in 2001 by the Ministry of Justice)and the Commission Nationale pour la Structuration de

Vodou (CONAVO). Another individual who has pursuedthe organization of houngan is Max Beauvoir, who estab-lished and heads the National Confederation of HaitianVodou.

10 See also• Afro-American religion

• Haitian mythology

• Haitian Vodou art

• West African Vodun

• Louisiana Voodoo

• Hoodoo

• Juju

11 Footnotes[1] Cosentino 1995a, p. xiii-xiv.

[2] Brown 1991.

[3] Fandrich 2007, p. 775.

[4] Michel, Claudine (1996). “Comparative Education Re-view (Vol. 40, No. 3)". The University of Chicago Press.pp. 280–294. Retrieved 6 January 2015.

[5] Piquion, René (2002). “Journal of Haitian Studies Vol. 8,No. 2, A Special Issue on Politics & Grassroots Organiz-ing”. Center for Black Studies Research. pp. 167–176.Retrieved 6 January 2015.

[6] Courlander 1988, p. 88.

[7] Thompson 1983, p. 163–191.

[8] Cosentino 1995a, p. xiv.

[9] Stevens-Arroyo 2002, p. 37-58.

[10] Cosentino 1995b, p. 25.

[11] Gordon 2000, p. 48.

[12] Brown 1991, p. 6.

[13] Brown 1991, p. 4–7.

[14] Gordon 2000, p. 10.

[15] Desmangles 1990, p. 475.

[16] Cosentino 1995b, p. 25-55.

[17] Rey, Terry; Stepick, Alex (2013-08-19). Crossing theWater and Keeping the Faith: Haitian Religion in Miami.NYU Press. ISBN 9781479820771.

[18] Brown 1995, p. 205.

9

[19] Blier 1995, p. 61.

[20] Lane 1949, p. 1162.

[21] Thompson 1983, p. 163.

[22] Cosentino 1988, p. 77.

[23] Fandrich 2007, p. 780.

[24] Hurbon 1995, p. 181-197.

[25] For a fuller description of transitions in spelling, see:From Voodoo to Vodou

[26] Rey, Terry; Karen Richman (2010). “The Somatics ofSyncretism: Tying Body and Soul in Haitian Religion”(PDF). Studies in Religion-Sciences Religieuses. 3: 279–403. doi:10.1177/0008429810373321. Retrieved 2013-09-22.

[27] Haitian Vodouisants believe in Damballah. In herbook “Tell My Horse”, Zora Neale Hurston writes that“Damballah is the highest and most powerful of all thegods, but never is he referred to as the father of the godsas was Jupiter, Odin, and great Zeus...whenever any of thegodsmeet him they bow themselves and sing, “Ohe', Ohe'!Ce Papa nous qui pe' passe'!" (It is our papa who passes.)"(Hurston, pg. 118

[28] Gordon 2000, p. 54.

[29] Alvarado 2011.

[30] Simpson, George (1978). Black Religions in the NewWorld. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 66.

[31] Thomas, Kette. “Haitian Zombie, Myth, and ModernIdentity.” CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture12.2 (2010): n. pag. Web. 29 Oct. 2013.

[32] Kilson & Rotberg 1976, p. 345.

[33] Simpson, George (1978). Black Religions in the NewWorld. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 86.

[34] Deren, Maya (1953). Divine Horsemen: The Living Godsof Haiti. New York: Thames and Hudson. p. 216.

[35] Michel, Claudine (Aug 1996). “Of Worlds Seenand Unseen: The Educational Character of HaitianVodou”. Comparative Education Review (The Universityof Chicago Press on behalf of the Comparative and Inter-national Education) 40. Retrieved Dec 5, 2013.

[36] McAlister 1993, pp. 10–27.

[37] Rigaud, Milo (2001). Secrets of Voodoo. NewYork: CityLights Publishers. pp. 35–36.

[38] Deren, Maya (1953). Divine Horsemen: The Living Godsof Haiti. New York: Thames and Hudson. p. 75.

[39] Danticat, Edwidge. “A Year And A Day.” The NewYorker 17 Jan. 2011: 19. Popular Culture Collection.Web. 26 September. 2013.

[40] Stevens-Arroyo 2002.

[41] Moreau de Saint-Méry 1797.

[42] Markel 2009.

[43] McAlister, Elizabeth (June 2012). “From Slave Revolt toa Blood Pact with Satan: The Evangelical Rewriting ofHaitian History”. Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses.41 (2): 187–215. doi:10.1177/0008429812441310.

[44] Stevens-Arroyo 2002, pp. 37–58.

[45] Time Magazine (Jan 17, 2011). “The Death and Legacyof Papa Doc Duvalier” Retrieved May 13, 2015.

[46] Apter, Andrew (May 2002). “On African Origins: Cre-olization and Connaissance in Haitian Vodou”. AmericanEthnologist (Wiley on behalf of the American Anthropo-logical Association) 29. Retrieved Dec 8, 2013.

[47] Valme 2010.

[48] CIA World Factbook.

[49] Davis 1988.

[50] Long, Carolyn Morrow (Oct 2002). “Perceptions of NewOrleans Voodoo: Sin, Fraud, Entertainment and Reli-gion”. Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative andEmergent Religions (University of California Pres) 6. Re-trieved Dec 5, 2013.

[51] Bellegarde-Smith, P. (2006). Haitian Vodou: Spirit, Mythand Reality. (p. 25). Bloomington, IN: Indiana UniversityPress

[52] https://web.archive.org/web/20121106024225/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-12017-504083.html. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012.Missing or empty |title= (help)

[53] See also (or, instead) this CBS News ("© 2010 CBSInteractive Inc.”) web page: Smith, Ryan (January 13,2010). “Pat Robertson: Haiti “Cursed” After “Pact to theDevil"". Archived from the original on January 7, 2015.Retrieved January 7, 2015.

[54] KOSANBA.

[55] http://www.research.ucsb.edu/cbs/projects/haiti/kosanba/declaration.html

[56] http://www.research.ucsb.edu/cbs/projects/haiti/kosanba/declaration.html

[57] http://www.research.ucsb.edu/cbs/projects/haiti/kosanba/index.html

12 References

• Alvarado, Denise (2011). The Voodoo HoodooSpellbook. Weiser Books. ISBN 1-57863-513-6.

• Blier, Suzanne Preston (1995). “Vodun: WestAfrican Roots of Vodou”. In Donald J., Cosentino.Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou. Los Angeles: UCLAFowler Museum of Cultural History. pp. 61–87.ISBN 0-930741-47-1.

10 13 FURTHER READING

• Brown, Karen McCarthy (1991). Mama Lola: AVodou Priestess in Brooklyn. Berkeley: Universityof California Press. ISBN 0-520-22475-2.

• Brown, Karen McCarthy (1995). “Serving the Spir-its: The Ritual Economy of Haitian Vodou”. InDonald J., Cosentino. Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou.Los Angeles: UCLA Fowler Museum of CulturalHistory. pp. 205–223. ISBN 0-930741-47-1.

• CIA World Factbook. “Haiti”. Central IntelligenceAgency. Retrieved 28 March 2012.

• Cosentino, Donald J. (1988). “More On Voodoo”.African Arts. 21 (3 (May)): 77. JSTOR 3336454.

• Cosentino, Donald J. (1995b). “Introduction: Imag-ine Heaven”. In Donald J., Cosentino. Sacred Artsof Haitian Vodou. Los Angeles: UCLA Fowler Mu-seum of Cultural History. pp. 25–55. ISBN 0-930741-47-1.

• Cosentino, Henrietta B. (1995a). “The Sacred Artsof What? A Note on Orthography”. In Donald J.,Cosentino. Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou. Los An-geles: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History.pp. xiii–xiv. ISBN 0-930741-47-1.

• Courlander, Harold (1988). “The Word Voodoo”.African Arts. 21 (2 (February)): 88. JSTOR3336535.

• Davis, Wade (1985). The Serpent and the Rainbow.New York: Simon & Schuster Inc. ISBN 0-671-50247-6.

• Davis, Wade (1988). Passage of Darkness: The Eth-nobiology of the Haitian Zombie. Chapel Hill: TheUniversity of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-4210-9.

• Desmangles, Leslie G. (1990). “The Maroon Re-publics and Religious Diversity in Colonial Haiti”.Anthropos. 85 (4/6): 475–482. JSTOR 40463572.

• Fandrich, Ina J. (2007). “Yorùbá Influences onHaitian Vodou and New Orleans Voodoo”. Jour-nal of Black Studies. 37 (5 (May)): 775–791. doi:10.1177/0021934705280410. JSTOR40034365.

• Lane, Maria J. (ed.) (1949). Funk &Wagnalls Stan-dard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Leg-end.

• Gordon, Leah (2000). The Book of Vodou. Barron’sEducational Series. ISBN 0-7641-5249-1.

• Hurbon, Laënnec (1995). “American Fantasy andHaitian Vodou”. In Donald J., Cosentino. SacredArts of Haitian Vodou. Los Angeles: UCLA FowlerMuseum of Cultural History. pp. 181–197. ISBN0-930741-47-1.

• Kilson, Martin (ed.); Rotberg, Robert I. (ed.)(1976). The African Diaspora: Interpretive Essays.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN0-674-00779-4.

• KOSANBA. “KOSANBA: A Scholarly Associationfor the Study of Haitian Vodou”. University of Cal-ifornia, Santa Barbara. Retrieved 22 March 2012.

• LaMenfo, Mambo Vye Zo Komande (2011). Serv-ing the Spirits. Charleston, SC: Create Space. ISBN9781480086425.

• Markel, Thylefors (2009). "'Our Government is inBwa Kayiman:' a Vodou Ceremony in 1791 and itsContemporary Significations” (PDF). Stockholm Re-view of Latin American Studies (4 (March)): 73–84.Retrieved 2009-04-26.

• McAlister, Elizabeth (1993). “Sacred Stories fromthe Haitian Diaspora: A Collective Biography ofSeven Vodou Priestesses in New York City”. Jour-nal of Caribbean Studies. 9 (1 & 2 (Winter)): 10–27. Retrieved 2012-03-22.

• Moreau de Saint-Méry, Médéric Louis Élie (1797).Description topographique, physique, civile, politiqueet historique de la partie française de l'isle Saint-Domingue. Paris: Société des l'histoire des coloniesfrançaises.

• Stevens-Arroyo, Anthony M. (2002). “The Con-tribution of Catholic Orthodoxy to Caribbean Syn-cretism” (PDF). Archives de Sciences Sociales desReligions. 19 (117 (January–March)): 37–58.doi:10.4000/assr.2477. Retrieved 2009-04-26.

• Thompson, Robert Farris (1983). Flash of the Spirit:African & Afro-American Art & Philosophy. NewYork: Vintage. ISBN 0-394-72369-4.

• Valme, JeanM. (24 December 2010). “Officials: 45people lynched in Haiti amid cholera fears”. CNN.Retrieved 22 March 2012.

13 Further reading• Ajayi, Ade, J.F. & Espie, Ian, A Thousand Years ofWest African History, Great Britain, University ofIbadan, 1967.

• Alapini Julien, Le Petit Dahomeen, Grammaire.Vocabulaire, Lexique En Langue Du Dahomey,Avignon, Les Presses Universelles, 1955.

• Anderson, Jeffrey. 2005. Conjure In African Amer-ican Society. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State Univer-sity Press.

• Angels in the Mirror: VodouMusics of Haiti. Roslyn,New York: Ellipsis Arts. 1997. Compact Disc andsmall book.

11

• Argyle, W.J., The Fon of Dahomey: A History andEthnography of the Old Kingdom, Oxford, OxfordUniversity Press, 1966.

• Bellegarde-Smith and Claudine, Michel. HaitianVodou: Spirit, Myth & Reality. Indiana UniversityPress, 2006.

• Broussalis, Martín and Joseph Senatus TiWouj:"Voodoo percussion”, 2007. A CD withtext containing the ritual drumming.

• Chesi, Gert, Voodoo: Africa’s Secret Power, Aus-tria, Perliner, 1980.

• Chireau, Yvonne. 2003. Black Magic: Religion andthe African American Conjuring Tradition. Berke-ley: University of California Press.

• Cosentino, Donald. 1995. “Imagine Heaven” in Sa-cred Arts of Haitian Vodou. Edited by Cosentino,Donald et al. Berkeley: University of CaliforniaPress.

• Decalo, Samuel, Historical Dictionary of Dahomey,(People’s Republic of Benin), N.J., The ScarecrowPress, Inc., 1976.

• Deren, Maya, Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods ofHaiti (film). 1985 (Black and white documentary,52 minutes).

• Deren, Maya, The Voodoo Gods. Thames & Hud-son, 1953.

• Ellis, A.B., The Ewe Speaking Peoples of the SlaveCoast of West Africa, Chicago, Benin Press Ldt,1965.

• Fandrich, Ina J. 2005. The Mysterious VoodooQueen, Marie Laveaux: A Study of Powerful Fe-male Leadership in Nineteenth-Century New Or-leans. New York: Routledge.

• Filan, Kinaz. The Haitian Vodou Handbook. Des-tiny Books (of Inner Traditions International), 2007.

• Herskovits, Melville J. (1971). Life in a Haitian Val-ley: GardenCITY,NEWYORK:DOUBLEDAY&COMPANY, INC.

• Le Herisee, A. & Rivet, P., The Royanume d'Ardraet son evangelisation au XVIIIe siecle, Travaux etMemories de Institut d'Enthnologie, no. 7, Paris,1929.

• Long, Carolyn. 2001. Spiritual Merchants: Magic,Religion and Commerce. Knoxville: University ofTennessee Press.

• McAlister, Elizabeth. 2002. Rara! Vodou, Power,and Performance in Haiti and its Diaspora. Berke-ley: University of California Press.

• McAlister, Elizabeth. 1995. "A Sorcerer’s Bot-tle: The Visual Art of Magic in Haiti". In Don-ald J. Cosentino, ed., Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou.UCLA Fowler Museum, 1995.

• McAlister, Elizabeth. 2000 "Love, Sex, and Gen-der Embodied: The Spirits of Haitian Vodou." In J.Runzo and N. Martin, eds, Love, Sex, and Genderin the World Religions. Oxford: Oneworld Press.

• Malefijt, Annemarie de Waal (1989). Religion andCulture: An introduction to Anthropology of Reli-gion. Long Groove, Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc.

• McAlister, Elizabeth. 1998. "The Madonna of115th St. Revisited: Vodou and Haitian Catholi-cism in the Age of Transnationalism." In S. Warner,ed., Gatherings in Diaspora. Philadelphia: TempleUniv. Press.

• Rhythms of Rapture: Sacred Musics of HaitianVodou. Smithsonian Folkways, 1005. CompactDisc and Liner Notes

• Saint-Lot, Marie-José Alcide. 2003. Vodou: A Sa-cred Theatre. Coconut Grove: Educa Vision, Inc.

• Tallant, Robert. “Reference materials on voodoo,folklore, spirituals, etc. 6–1 to 6–5 -Published refer-ences on folklore and spiritualism.” The Robert Tal-lant Papers. New Orleans Public Library. fiche 7and 8, grids 1–22. Accessed 5 May 2005.

• Thornton, John K. 1988. “On the trail of Voodoo:African Christianity in Africa and the Americas”The Americas Vol: 44.3 Pp 261–278.

• Vanhee, Hein. 2002. “Central African PopularChristianity and the Making of Haitian Vodou Re-ligion.” in Central Africans and Cultural Transfor-mations in the American Diaspora Edited by: L.M. Heywood. Cambridge: Cambridge UniversityPress, 243–64.

• Verger, Pierre Fátúmbí, Dieux d'Afrique: Culte desOrishas et Vodouns à l'ancienne Côte des Esclavesen Afrique et à Bahia, la Baie de Tous Les Saints auBrésil. 1954.

• Ward, Martha. 2004. Voodoo Queen: The SpiritedLives of Marie Laveau Jackson: University of Mis-sissippi Press.

• Warren, Dennis, D., The Akan of Ghana, Accra,Pointer Limited, 1973. 9.

14 External links

• Haiti in Cuba: Vodou, Racism & Domination byDimitri Prieto, Havana Times, June 8, 2009.

12 14 EXTERNAL LINKS

• Rara: Vodou, Power and Performance in Haiti andIts Diaspora.

• Voodoo Brings Solace To Grieving Haitians—AllThings Considered from NPR. Audio and transcript.January 20, 2010.

• Living Vodou. Speaking of Faith from AmericanPublic Media. Audio and transcript. February 4,2010

• Voodoo Alive and Well in Haiti—slideshow by TheFirst Post

• Inside Haitian Vodou—slideshow by Life

13

15 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

15.1 Text• Haitian Vodou Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_Vodou?oldid=738295807 Contributors: D, Evanherk, Skysmith,

JWSchmidt, Andrewman327, Secretlondon, Chuunen Baka, Moink, Xanzzibar, DocWatson42, Chemica, Gtrmp, Everyking, Gnossie,BigHaz, Bluejay Young, Jurema Oliveira, Infinitysnake, Andycjp, Alexf, Antandrus, Lizalbin, Eregli bob, Tristan Schmelcher, Silence,TimBray, JoeSmack, MBisanz, El C, Kwamikagami, RoyBoy, Tjic, Bobo192, Mike Schwartz, Smalljim, Phlake, Pharos, Storm Rider,Alansohn, Ctande, Riana, XLR8TION, Wtmitchell, W7KyzmJt, Nightstallion, Angr, Woohookitty, Before My Ken, Tckma, Fett0001,Alchemistoxford, Wtfunkymonkey, John Hill, DocRuby, Toussaint, Ashmoo, Ilya, Rjwilmsi, Koavf, Funnyhat, AndyKali, FayssalF, Au-thalic, Gringo300, Djrobgordon, Last1in, Str1977, EronMain, Vidkun, Bgwhite, Wavelength, 999~enwiki, Muchness, Pigman, Stephenb,CambridgeBayWeather, Wimt, Badagnani, AKeen, ONEder Boy, Sylvain1972, Moe Epsilon, CorbieVreccan, PyroGamer, Dv82matt,Jkelly, Thnidu, Dspradau, BorgQueen, Caco de vidro, Katieh5584, Mabisa, Airconswitch, Luk, Sardanaphalus, SmackBot, Elonka,McGeddon, Timeshifter, JFHJr, Gilliam, Portillo, Rst20xx, The monkeyhate, SSJ 5, Blindogenius, Master of Puppets, Sadads, ColoniesChris, Toughpigs, Darth Panda, Zsinj, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, Jwillbur, Onorem, Seduisant, Abrahami, Flyguy649, EVula, TS1,Andrew c, Fuzzypeg, DMacks, Metamagician3000, Vina-iwbot~enwiki, TullFan2000, Esrever, Hotspur23, Chiwara, Stelio, Beetstra,NBMATT, Midnightblueowl, Qyd, Citicat, WGee, Aum, Rnb, Wwallacee, Taram, Cashie, The Haunted Angel, Xod, Eggman64, Rog-dor, Kineticman, ShelfSkewed, Jjbul, MrFish, Cydebot, Clayoquot, Gogo Dodo, Franklinx, Wildnox, Daniel32357, Jeandjinni, Ayzmo,Thijs!bot, Barticus88, Mercury~enwiki, Paragon12321, Mojo Hand, Headbomb, Simeon H, Ackees, I do not exist, DoomsDay349, Scot-tandrewhutchins, Escarbot, Mentifisto, Mwhs, AntiVandalBot, Majorly, Seaphoto, Bogolov, Flibjib8, DarkAudit, A.M.962, Chris Fal-lis, Deflective, Patxi lurra, Mcorazao, Fetchcomms, Acroterion, Yahel Guhan, Lzer, Dp76764, VoABot II, Dekimasu, Trnj2000, Adamkeller, JNW, SHCarter, Ryangibsonstewart, Ling.Nut, Jim Douglas, Nyttend, X-factor, BrianGV, Nmcnamara, Dglossop, DerHexer, Si-mon Peter Hughes, Crnugent, Patstuart, Robotam, Doc Akagi, MartinBot, Zeus, TheEgyptian, CygnetSaIad, R'n'B, Tgeairn, J.delanoy,Ian.thomson, Milkyface, AntiSpamBot, Jonay81687, Warut, Belovedfreak, Dallin Tanjo22, DadaNeem, Student7, Vixsin, MetsFan76,Walfalah89, Hounsi~enwiki, NalmpChupone, Medicineman84, Timppis, Sub6, Lights, VolkovBot, Thomas.W, Literate16, DOHC Holi-day, Pettigb, Firstorm, AlnoktaBOT, TXiKiBoT, Xaedra, Andres rojas22, Bluewolfah, Charlesdrakew, Aymatth2, Lvivske, Transitive Sam,Jon1111, BwDraco, Cremepuff222, Jeeny, Billybobmoose, Magpiecat, Weetjesman, Streetsanto, Orestek, Cnilep, Thankyoufornottouch-ing, Logan, Munci, Toyalla, Austriacus, Ryratt, Hijab Saeed, SieBot, Coffee, MuzikJunky, Scarian, ToePeu.bot, Lemonflash, Jplonski,Phe-bot, Karonaway, Bentogoa, Flyer22 Reborn, Umrguy42, Luciengav, Spyder00Boi, Phil Bridger, Tombomp, Cosmo0, Dynomoose,Escape Orbit, Into The Fray, QuarterSpanishRevolutionist, ClueBot, Ethridgela, Thouc, FeygeleGoy, Ukabia, Leviel, Drmies, TheOld-Jacobite, CounterVandalismBot, Ottawahitech, Bigsam8984, Slavetrade1234, Solar-Wind, Puchiko, Ernstblumberg, Excirial, Jusdafax,Irritator, PixelBot, ProfGrim, Starrrchi, Redthoreau, MauriceRoman, BOTarate, Taranet, Aitias, Subash.chandran007, Quimbaraquimba,Berean Hunter, Editor2020, Lucyintheskywithdada, Qing Yi G, XLinkBot, Tarheel95, Pichpich, SilvonenBot, Badgernet, Thatguyflint, Ad-dbot, AkhtaBot, XqRG, Tide rolls, Lightbot, LuK3, Angrysockhop, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Rohieb, Fraggle81, Marguerite de Navarre, Oya-yansa, Lcyarrington, AnomieBOT, DemocraticLuntz, GB fan, Mr Penn n Pencil, Gibboro, Xqbot, Mediocre Soul516, Wcrecordingstudio,Sionus, Jermanyw, Renaissancee, Millahnna, DSisyphBot, Kathsrealm, GrouchoBot, JanDeFietser, OhioSarah, ArkinAardvark, Annalise,RibotBOT, Philip72, Surewhatever, Gtcipher1080, Brook777, 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15.2 Images• File:Affaire_de_Bizoton_1864.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Affaire_de_Bizoton_1864.pngLicense: Public domain Contributors: http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/2013/05/the-trial-that-gave-vodou-a-bad-name/Original artist: Unknown<a href='//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4233718' title='wikidata:Q4233718'><img alt='wikidata:Q4233718'src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/20px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png' width='20'height='11' srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/30px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 1.5x,https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/40px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 2x' data-file-width='1050'data-file-height='590' /></a>

• File:Antique_ceremonial_suit_for_Haitian_Vodou_Voudun_rites.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Antique_ceremonial_suit_for_Haitian_Vodou_Voudun_rites.jpg License: CC BY-SA 2.0 Contributors: http://www.flickr.com/photos/quinet/5005880904/ Original artist: Thom Quine

• File:Brooklyn_Museum_1989.51.39_Nommo_Figure_with_Raised_Arms.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Brooklyn_Museum_1989.51.39_Nommo_Figure_with_Raised_Arms.jpg License: CC BY 3.0 Con-tributors: Online Collection of Brooklyn Museum; Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1989.51.39_PS6.jpg Original artist: Un-known<a href='//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4233718' title='wikidata:Q4233718'><img alt='wikidata:Q4233718' src='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/20px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png' width='20' height='11'srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/30px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 1.5x,https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/40px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 2x' data-file-width='1050'data-file-height='590' /></a>

14 15 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

• File:Chiwara_male_drawing.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Chiwara_male_drawing.png License:CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: T L Miles

• File:Commons-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contribu-tors: ? Original artist: ?

• File:Gbe_languages.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Gbe_languages.png License: CC BY 2.5 Con-tributors:

• Capo, Hounkpati B.C. (1988) Renaissance du Gbe: Réflexions critiques et constructives sur L'EVE, le FON, le GEN, l'AJA, le GUN,etc. Hamburg: eldonejo Helmut Buske Verlag.

• Capo, Hounkpati B.C. (1991) A Comparative Phonology of Gbe, Publications in African Languages and Linguistics, 14. Berlin/NewYork: Foris Publications & Garome, Bénin: eldonejo Labo Gbe (Int).

Original artist: Mark Dingemanse• File:Haitian_vodou_altar_to_Petwo,_Rada,_and_Gede_spirits;_November_5,_2010..jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/

wikipedia/commons/d/df/Haitian_vodou_altar_to_Petwo%2C_Rada%2C_and_Gede_spirits%3B_November_5%2C_2010..jpg License:CC BY 3.0 Contributors: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wbur/5161741914/in/set-72157625348192766 Original artist: Calvin Hennick,for WBUR Boston

• File:JacmelVodou.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/JacmelVodou.jpg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Con-tributors: Own work Original artist: User:Doron

• File:PortAuPrinceMarche.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/PortAuPrinceMarche.jpg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: User:Doron

• File:Question_book-new.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/99/Question_book-new.svg License: Cc-by-sa-3.0Contributors:Created from scratch in Adobe Illustrator. Based on Image:Question book.png created by User:Equazcion Original artist:Tkgd2007

• File:VoodooValris.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/VoodooValris.jpg License: CC BY-SA 2.0 Con-tributors: Own work Original artist: Sam Fentress

15.3 Content license• Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0