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.
Vodun is a religion practiced by the Aja, Ewe, and Fon peoples of Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Nigeria.
Papa Legba is a lwa in Haitian Vodou, Dominican Vodou, Winti and Louisiana Voodoo, who serves as the intermediary between God and humanity. He stands at a spiritual crossroads and gives permission to speak with the spirits of Guineé, and is believed to speak all human languages. In Haiti, he is the great elocutioner. Legba facilitates communication, speech, and understanding. He is commonly associated with dogs. Papa Legba is invoked at the beginning of every ceremony. Papa Legba has his origins in the historic West African kingdom of Dahomey, located within present-day Benin.
Marie Catherine Laveau was a Louisiana Creole practitioner of Voodoo, herbalist and midwife who was renowned in New Orleans. Her daughter, Marie Laveau II, also practiced rootwork, conjure, Native American and African spiritualism as well as Louisiana Voodoo and traditional Roman Catholicism. An alternate spelling of her name, Laveaux, is considered by historians to be from the original French spelling.
A veve is a religious symbol commonly used in different branches of Vodun throughout the African diaspora, such as Haitian Vodou and Louisiana Voodoo. The veve acts as a "beacon" for the lwa, and will serve as a lwa's representation during rituals.
The term Voodoo doll commonly refers to an effigy that is typically used for the insertion of pins. Such practices are found in various forms in the magical traditions of many cultures around the world.
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.
Congo Square is an open space, now within Louis Armstrong Park, which is located in the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana, just across Rampart Street north of the French Quarter. The square is famous for its influence on the history of African American music, especially jazz.
A manbo is a priestess in the Haitian Vodou religion. Haitian Vodou's conceptions of priesthood stem from the religious traditions of enslaved people from Dahomey, in what is today Benin. For instance, the term manbo derives from the Fon word nanbo. Like their West African counterparts, Haitian manbos are female leaders in Vodou temples who perform healing work and guide others during complex rituals. This form of female leadership is prevalent in urban centers such as Port-au-Prince. Typically, there is no hierarchy among manbos and oungans. These priestesses and priests serve as the heads of autonomous religious groups and exert their authority over the devotees or spiritual servants in their hounfo (temples).
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.
Sallie Ann Glassman is an American practitioner of Vodou, a writer, and an artist. She was born in Kennebunkport, Maine and is a self-described "Ukrainian Jew from Maine", and a former member of Ordo Templi Orientis.
Gris-gris is a Voodoo amulet originating in West Africa which is believed to protect the wearer from evil or bring luck, and in some West African countries is used as a purported method of birth control. It consists of a small cloth bag, usually inscribed with verses from an ancestor and a ritual number of small objects, worn on the person.
Louisiana Voodoo, also known as New Orleans Voodoo, is an African diasporic religion that originated in Louisiana. It arose through a process of syncretism between the traditional religions of West Africa, the Roman Catholic form of Christianity, and Haitian Vodou. No central authority is in control of Louisiana Voodoo, which is organized through autonomous groups.
Christian-Vodou can be seen as a syncretism of different cultures and religions. Primarily focused on Haitian Vodou and Catholic Christianity, the two have been merging together in a way since around the 18th century, when a majority of Haiti was part of the Atlantic slave trade.
Marie Thérèse Alourdes Macena Champagne Lovinski (1933–2020), also known by the name Mama Lola, was a Haitian-born manbo (priestess) in the African diasporic religion of Haitian Vodou. She had lived in the United States since 1963.
Haitian Vodou art is art related to the Haitian Vodou religion. This religion has its roots in West African traditional religions brought to Haiti by slaves, but has assimilated elements from Europe and the Americas and continues to evolve. The most distinctive Vodou art form is the drapo Vodou, an embroidered flag often decorated with sequins or beads, but the term covers a wide range of visual art forms including paintings, embroidered clothing, clay or wooden figures, musical instruments and assemblages. Since the 1950s there has been growing demand for Vodou art by tourists and collectors.
Pierrot Barra (1942–1999) was a Haitian Vodou artist and priest, who was president of a Bizango society. He was well-known for his use of diverse materials to create “Vodou Things,” which functioned as charms or altars for the Vodou religion.
Myrlande Constant is a Haitian textile artist who specializes in Vodou themed flags, or drapo Vodou. Since she began making Vodou flags in the 1990s, she has transformed and surpassed this medium, preferring to make large-scale tableau, she describes her work as "painting with beads." Constant is married and the mother of four children.
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.
