Trinidadi Vodunu also known as Rada Feast or Rada refers to the practice of Vodun, a traditional West African religion, as it is observed in Trinidad and Tobago, particularly within the Rada community.
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Trinidadian Vodunu has its roots in the Kingdom of Dahomey (present-day Benin) in West Africa. The religion was brought to Trinidad and Tobago by African individuals who arrived on the islands after the formal end of slavery. [1] One notable figure in the establishment of the Rada community, where Trinidadian Vodunu thrived, was Abojevi Zahwenu, also known as Papa Nanee. He arrived unchained aboard a Portuguese slaver and established the Dangbwe Comme Compound in Belmont, Trinidad, in 1868, which became a spiritual base for the Rada people. The compound has remained a significant center for the practice of Trinidadian Vodunu to this day. [2]
Trinidadian Vodunu encompasses various rituals and ceremonies. Seasonal and non-seasonal sacrificial ceremonies, known as Vodunu or Saraka, are central to the practice. [2] These ceremonies involve the offering of sacrifices to deities and ancestors, with animals such as hens, pigeons, morrocoys (turtles), goats, or cows being prepared and offered. The preparation of these sacrifices takes place in the kitchen adjacent to the sacred shrines. [2] Animal sacrifice holds symbolic importance, and the blood is ritually consumed, following a distinctive method where the blood is fried and eaten. [2]
The Rada community places emphasis on sacred drumming during rituals, with skilled drummers playing consecrated drums as a means to connect with the spirit world. [2]
Syncretism is another significant aspect of Trinidadian Vodunu, where elements of Catholicism are integrated into the practice. Images of Christian saints and crucifixes can often be found alongside traditional African religious objects within the vodunkwe, the house of the gods. [2]
Within Trinidadian Vodunu, there is a spiritual hierarchy led by a hubono, the spiritual leader or priest. The hubono plays a crucial role in guiding the community and maintaining the religious customs and traditions. Notable hubonos of the Rada community include Papa Nanee, Achovi, Padonu, Sobo, Sedley Antoine, and the current hubono, Henry Antoine. The hubono is responsible for conducting rituals, leading ceremonies, preserving knowledge and traditions, and ensuring the continuity of the Trinidadian Vodunu tradition.
Vodun is a religion practiced by the Aja, Ewe, and Fon peoples of Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Nigeria.
Ogun or Ogoun is a spirit that appears in several African religions. He attempted to seize the throne after the demise of Obatala, who reigned twice, before and after Oduduwa, but was ousted by Obamakin and sent on an exile – an event that serves as the core of the Olojo Festival. Ogun is a warrior and a powerful spirit of metal work, as well as of rum and rum-making. He is also known as the "god of iron" and is present in Yoruba religion, Haitian Vodou, and West African Vodun.
Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing and offering of one or more animals, usually as part of a religious ritual or to appease or maintain favour with a deity. Animal sacrifices were common throughout Europe and the Ancient Near East until the spread of Christianity in Late Antiquity, and continue in some cultures or religions today. Human sacrifice, where it existed, was always much rarer.
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African diaspora religions, also described as Afro-American religions, are a number of related beliefs that developed in the Americas in various nations of the Caribbean, Latin America and the Southern United States. They derive from traditional African religions with some influence from other religious traditions, notably Christianity and Islam.
The Yoruba religion, or Isese, comprises the traditional religious and spiritual concepts and practice of the Yoruba people. Its homeland is in present-day Southwestern Nigeria, which comprises the majority of Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Kwara and Lagos States, as well as parts of Kogi state and the adjoining parts of Benin and Togo, commonly known as Yorubaland. It shares some parallels with the Vodun practiced by the neighboring Fon and Ewe peoples to the west and with the religion of the Edo people to the east. Yoruba religion is the basis for a number of religions in the New World, notably Santería, Umbanda, Trinidad Orisha, and Candomblé. Yoruba religious beliefs are part of Itàn (history), the total complex of songs, histories, stories, and other cultural concepts which make up the Yoruba society.
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Oungan is the term for a male priest in Haitian Vodou. The term is derived from Gbe languages. The word hounnongan means chief priest. ‘'Hounnongan or oungans are also known as makandals.
The Spiritual Baptist faith is a religion created by persons of African ancestry in the plantations they came to in the former British West Indies countries predominantly in the islands of a Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tobago and the Virgin Islands. It is syncretic Afro-Caribbean religion that combines elements of the many varied traditional African religions brought by the enslaved populations combined with Christianity. Spiritual Baptists consider themselves to be Christians.
Big Drum is a genre, a musical instrument, and traditional African religion from the Windward Islands. It is a kind of Caribbean music, associated mostly closely with the music of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Music of Guadeloupe, Carriacou in Grenada and in the music of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Religion in Trinidad and Tobago, which is a multi-religious country, is classifiable as follows:
Hinduism and Sikhism are Indian religions. Hinduism has pre-historic origins, while Sikhism was founded in the 15th century by Guru Nanak. Both religions share many philosophical concepts such as karma, dharma, mukti, and maya although both religions have different interpretation of some of these concepts.
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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.
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.
Trinidad Orisha, also known as Orisha religion and Shango, is a syncretic religion in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean, originally from West Africa. Trinidad Orisha incorporates elements of Spiritual Baptism, and the closeness between Orisha and Spiritual Baptism has led to use of the term "Shango Baptist" to refer to members of either or both religions. Anthropologist James Houk described Trinidad Orisha as an "Afro-American religious complex", incorporating elements mainly of traditional African religion and Yoruba and incorporates some elements of Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, Baháʼí, and Amerindian mythologies.
Caribbean Shaktism, also known as Kalimai or Madras Religion in Guyana, refers to the syncretic Shakti Kali/Mariamman worship that has evolved within the Indo-Caribbean Tamil community in countries such as Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Jamaica and Suriname. It can be found across the Caribbean and any South American country with an Indo-Caribbean community. It is a syncretic blend of Dravidian folk religion and Hinduism and has also been influenced by other cultural and religious traditions found in the Caribbean such as Catholicism and Obeah.