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Lwa, also called loa, are spirits in the African diasporic religion of Haitian Vodou. They have also been incorporated into some revivalist forms of Louisiana Voodoo. Many of the lwa derive their identities in part from deities venerated in the traditional religions of West Africa, especially those of the Fon and Yoruba.
Ifá is a divination system originating among the Yoruba people of West Africa. It plays an important role in Yoruba religion and certain African diasporic religions deriving from it, such as Cuban Santería.
Obeah, also spelled Obiya or Obia, is a broad term for African diasporic religious, spell-casting, and healing traditions found primarily in the former British colonies of the Caribbean. These practices derive much from West African traditions but also incorporate elements of European and South Asian origin. Many of those who practice these traditions avoid the term Obeah due to the word's pejorative connotations in many Caribbean societies.
Palo, also known as Las Reglas de Congo, is an African diasporic religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th or early 20th century. It arose amid a process of syncretism between the traditional Kongo religion of Central Africa, the Roman Catholic branch of Christianity, and Spiritism. An initiatory religion practised by paleros (male) and paleras (female), Palo is organised through small autonomous groups called munanso congo, each led by a tata (father) or yayi (mother).
Kumina is an Afro-Jamaican religion. Kumina has practices that include secular ceremonies, dance and music that developed from the beliefs and traditions brought to the island by Kongo enslaved people and indentured labourers, from the Congo region of West Central Africa, during the post-emancipation era. It is mostly associated with the parish of St. Thomas in the east of the island. However, the practice spread to the parishes of Portland, St. Mary and St. Catherine, and the city of Kingston.
Homosexuality in Haitian Vodou is religiously acceptable and homosexuals are allowed to participate in all religious activities. However, in West African countries with major conservative Christian and Islamic views on LGBTQ people, the attitudes towards them may be less tolerant if not openly hostile and these influences are reflected in African diaspora religions following Atlantic slave trade which includes Haitian Vodou.
Tambor is a coastal Afro-Venezuelan music and dance. It is a cultural manifestation originating in the slaves from Africa. The drums are of Kongo origin, as are most musical genres of Afro-Venezuelan origin. The Tambores are done with the playing of a cumaco which is a long cylinder-shaped drum played on the ground while the player sits on it and plays. It also consists of drums known as campanas which are played by sitting down in a chair and playing them with the hands. These drums are often used for religious ceremonies. In the Afro-Catholic community, it is used to honour and invoke San Juan or some other Saint. In the Maria Lionza context, the drums are used to invoke the spirits to possess the materia or medium as well as to animate the spirit and give it force.
Haitian Vodou is an African diasporic religion that developed in Haiti between the 16th and 19th centuries. It arose through a process of syncretism between several traditional religions of West and Central Africa and Roman Catholicism. There is no central authority in control of the religion and much diversity exists among practitioners, who are known as Vodouists, Vodouisants, or Serviteurs.
Espiritismo is a term used in Latin America and the Caribbean to refer to the popular belief that evolved and less evolved spirits can affect health, luck and other aspects of human life.
Vodou drumming and associated ceremonies are folk ritual faith system of henotheistic religion of Haitian Vodou originated and inextricable part of Haitian culture.
Haiti is a majority Christian country. For much of its history and up to the present day, Haiti has been prevailingly a Christian country, primarily Roman Catholic, although in practice often profoundly modified and influenced through syncretism. A common syncretic religion is Vodou, which combined the Yoruba religion of enslaved Africans with Catholicism and some Native American strands; it shows similarities, and shares many deity-saints, with Cuban Santería and Brazilian Candomblé. The constitution of Haiti establishes the freedom of religion and does not establish a state religion, although the Catholic Church receives some preferential treatment.
Santería, also known as Regla de Ocha, Regla Lucumí, or Lucumí, is an African diasporic religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between the traditional Yoruba religion of West Africa, the Roman Catholic form of Christianity, and Spiritism. There is no central authority in control of Santería and much diversity exists among practitioners, who are known as creyentes ("believers").
Nyabinghi or Nyabingi is a legendary woman in the culture of Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania, where religions or 'possession cults' formed around her.
The religion of Haitian Vodou has been present in Cuba since at least the 18th century. It was transmitted to the island by Haitian migrants, the numbers of whom grew rapidly in the early 20th century, and is primarily practised by their descendants. It is distributed primarily in eastern parts of the island, especially in Oriente. In Cuba, some practitioners of Haitian Vodou have also become involved in the related Afro-Cuban religion of Santería.
Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert is a Puerto Rican academic who specializes in research of the Caribbean. She holds the Sarah Tod Fitz Randolph Distinguished Professor Chair at Vassar College.
In the Cuban religion of Santería, omiero, also known as purificacíon de santo, is a liquid used in various ritual acts.
In the Caribbean religion of Santería, individuals are required to go through an initiation process to become a full practitioner, known as a santero (male) or santera (female).
Santería is an Afro-Cuban religion that arose in the 19th century.
Bondye, also known Gran Maître, is the supreme creator god in the African diasporic religion of Haitian Vodou. Vodouists believe Bondye was responsible for creating the universe and everything in it, and that he maintains the universal order. They nevertheless deem him to be transcendent and thus inaccessible to humans, who must instead interact with spirits called lwas.
Voodoo in popular culture encompasses various representations of practices associated with different forms of voodoo, including Haitian Vodou and Louisiana Voodoo, and other elements attributed to African diaspora religions, with such representations often deviating substantially from any actual voodoo practices or beliefs. Tropes regarding voodoo appear most often in supernatural fantasy or horror films, with common themes including the activity of witch doctors, the summoning or control of dark spirits, use of voodoo dolls to inflict pain on people remotely, and the creation of zombies.
References
Citations
- 1 2 Fernández Olmos & Paravisini-Gebert 2011, p. 252.
- 1 2 Fernández Olmos & Paravisini-Gebert 2011, p. 152.
- ↑ McAlister 1995, p. 317.
- ↑ McAlister 2002, p. 88; Derby 2015, pp. 402–403.
Sources
- Derby, Lauren (2015). "Imperial Idols: French and United States Revenants in Haitian Vodou". History of Religions. 54 (4): 394–422. doi:10.1086/680175. JSTOR 10.1086/680175. S2CID 163428569.
- Desmangles, Leslie (1992). The Faces of the Gods: Vodou and Roman Catholicism in Haiti. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0807843932.
- Fernández Olmos, Margarite; Paravisini-Gebert, Lizabeth (2011). Creole Religions of the Caribbean: An Introduction from Vodou and Santería to Obeah and Espiritismo (second ed.). New York and London: New York University Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-6228-8.
- McAlister, Elizabeth (1995). "A Sorcerer's Bottle: The Visual Art of Magic in Haiti". In Donald J., Cosentino (ed.). Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou. Los Angeles: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. pp. 305–321. ISBN 0-930741-47-1. Archived from the original on 2015-05-05. Retrieved 2015-05-03.
- McAlister, Elizabeth (2002). Rara! Vodou, Power, and Performance in Haiti and its Diaspora. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520228221.
- Métraux, Alfred (1972) [1959]. Voodoo in Haiti. Translated by Hugo Charteris. New York: Schocken Books.