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Stephanie Young

Writing Rhetoric II

Professor Ames- Hoffner, Coray

December 12, 2014

The Hidden Truth About Vodou ( aka Voodoo)

When people first hear the word Vodou or Voodoo they automatically think of evil spells, zombies, witch

doctors, animal sacrifices, and hexes. The African culture is known for their black magic. The word Voodoo brings

fear and scary thoughts of being cursed or possessed by demons. Many storywriters, filmmakers, and animators

used the stereotype Voodoo to put fear, suspense, and terror into their audiences. Movies like Interview with a

Vampire, The Skeleton Key, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Walking Dead, and Scooby Doo: Zombie Island are just a

few Hollywood movies that portrayed Voodoo as negative to millions of people around the world. In the Disney

film, The Princess and the Frog, there is a villain named Doctor Facilier, who plays the stereotype Voodoo doctor

tapping into dark magic that gives the wrong impression of Voodoo to young kids. Halloween uses Voodoo rituals

of animal sacrifices, zombies, and skeleton bones as part of its storyline and uses zombies and skeleton bones as

Halloween costumes. My family and friends think Voodoo is evil and that I should stay away from it. Most people

that are Christians believe Voodoo is devil worshiping. A classmate, who is an Atheist, took a dare from his friends

to have the Voodoo doctor curse him for a year. The Voodoo doctor did, and bad things started happening to him

and his family. He regretted putting his family in danger. He blames himself for not believing that Voodoo curses

are real. The entire world thinks Voodoo is evil. Voodoo is not evil. It is a good religion. But Voodoo changed when

the Europeans came to the Caribbean around the 1500. The Europeans forcibly made slaves out of natives from

West Africa and sent them to Haiti. The Europeans forbid them to worship Voodoo because it looked savagery and

disturbing. Even though they were forbidden to worship Voodoo, the Haitians secretly did it anyway. The Haitians

hated the Europeans for enslaving them, and they turned their belief from good Voodoo to dark Voodoo. Slavery

and the Haitian hatred toward the Europeans started the tarnishing, shifting, and the misconception of the Vodou

Religion.

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The Europeans caused severe misery toward the Haitians. To understand the many changes in Voodoo is to

understand the history, mystery, and commitment to the religion, why Europeans fear Voodoo, and what caused

the misconception of the name.

My feelings about Voodoo are different. I never had any fears or concerns about Voodoo. When I see Voodoo

on TV, it seemed cool. I like magic and fantasy. Seeing Voodoo on TV gave it an epic vibe and made me want to

see more of it. As I continue researching about Voodoo, I became more interested and curious about it. I always

felt and believed there is something out there in the Nothingness called the Spirit World. I am fascinated with

learning about the Unknown. I believed there is more knowledge that goes beyond what we can grasp and

understand. The more I learned about Voodoo, the more it reminds me of a story I was developing about creatures

known by false rumors and not recognized for who they truly are. Their true identity was not revealed to the

world, and they were seen as a threat. Voodoo is also misunderstood because of false rumors and false facts that

turned into the media’s truth of what Voodoo is. The truth of Voodoo is not revealed because the secrets of

Voodoo are only shared within the African race. The world fears what they do not know, understand, or control.

Unknowingly, I think my story is a symbolic truth about the African culture. I asked my family and friends what they

knew concerning Voodoo. My grandfather knows a little bit about Voodoo. He said, “When he was young; he

heard scary stories about people being hexed and some dying from it. The bad Voodoo is called Hoodoo and to

stay clear away from it.” After hearing different stories about Voodoo from family and friends, I was conflicted

about my feelings of Voodoo, and I needed to investigate it further.

As my primary research, I chose to go to an Apostolic Church on 6320 South Kenwood, on the Southside of

Chicago. On October 9, 2014, I went to church on a Sunday morning. The church is medium size with 500

members. The people in the neighborhood seemed friendly and kind. I assumed they go to the church. When I

walked into the church, I noticed how beautifully the church is decorated. There is a long hallway with beautiful

pictures on the wall. The front side of the church has white tiles, and the middle and back of the church have

velvet red carpet. There is a bookstore on the right side of the hallway of the church. The bookstore sells books,

bible teachings on CDs, flowers, cards, and movies to help raise money for the church. As I walked down the aisle,

the first door is the lunch room. The next door in the middle of the hallway is the main church. Inside the main

church, there are many rows of benches with blue soft cushion for the people to sit on. There are three sections of

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benches and an aisle that divides each section. At the front of the church is the stage where the pastor sits in the

middle, and three or more assistant pastors sit on each side of him. The choir is behind the pastor and the

assistant pastors. The band is on the right side of the assistant pastors in which they play beautiful inspirational

music. The pastor preached his sermon and the choir sings when he is done. A collection plate is passed through

each row. When the plate came to me, I put in a small donation and pass it to the lady next to me. The lady is

elderly dressed in black. She wears a small flowered hat. She smiles at me for no reason. I tend to get that a lot.

Being in the main church, I feel good aura of spiritual energy. I always feel good spiritual energy in the church.

Voodoo probably feels the same way about good spiritual energy: connecting to the spirit side. The people in the

church are very friendly and welcoming. The warm feeling of kindness makes you want to come back to worship. I

noticed a lot of younger people as well as older people here. There are more women than men. The older people

would be my targeted audience. People fifty and over can tell me about Voodoo. The younger generation does

not want to know anything about their African culture. The theme of the Church is saving souls and connecting to

your creator. Christians are similar to Voodoo. They both want a closer relationship with God and to live a godly

life. The older people seem to get it. They grew up with Voodoo. They are not deceived by society perception of

the religion.

On October 19, 2014, I returned back to the Apostolic Church to interview anyone who may know something

about Voodoo. I got my notepad and started to talk to several older people that looked 50 years and older. I

believed that the older generation will know more about Voodoo than the younger generation. The older Black

generation values their African customs and heritage more than the younger Black generation. I found a 76 year

old man, named Mr. Parker, who knows a little about Voodoo. He said he was from Louisiana, the heart of Voodoo

and has now lived in Chicago for over 50 years. His friend, Mr. Grizzley, who is about 75 years old, also knew a little

about Voodoo, will also join in the conversation.

Stephanie: Hi, my name is Stephanie Young, and I’m doing a research paper about Voodoo. Do you know about

Voodoo?

Parker: Yes, we do. We both grew up in the Deep South in Louisiana where Voodoo was famous.

Stephanie: Why do people fear Voodoo?

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Parker: People don’t realize that Voodoo is a religion and not that craziness you see on TV that Voodoo puts a spell

on you. Hollywood purposely misrepresented Voodoo as a bad and evil thing. Voodoo has no association with

black magic, witchcraft, zombies, or Voodoo dolls.

Grizzley: Africans and Afro-Americans made Voodoo evil to make money. Tourists love that stuff so they kept it

going.

Stephanie: Then, what is Voodoo?

Parker: Voodoo is a religion, a mixture of Roman Catholic and African religion. Voodoo believes in the spirit world

where the spirits of your ancestors passed into the invisible world. Your deceased family members come back to

the visible world to help guide, watch and protect you. Voodoo is a cultural mix of French, Spanish, and Creole.

Stephanie: Sometimes I feel something talking to me and warning me not to do certain things. Is that my guardian

angel or my ancestors?

Grizzley: It is your family member that has passed on that is protecting you. You can do a ceremony dance and see

the spirit dance alongside you.

Stephanie: Cool. Is there a Voodoo bible?

Parker: No, Voodoo is passed down by word of mouth from generation to generation.

Grizzley: A few Africans several years ago started to write a book about Voodoo. Hopefully, the young generation

will want to learn about their heritage.

Stephanie: Why is Voodoo relevant today? Why are people drawn to it?

Parker: People are attracted to Voodoo because of the Voodoo magic portrayed by Hollywood. They want a spell

to fall in love, to get rich, or put a curse on an enemy.

Grizzley: We are living in dark times. People are not interested in good or God. They are drawn to darkness and

evil. The Bible says the future generation will not respect their elders and cling to darkness. You know the world

will soon come to an end.

Stephanie: Is Voodoo Fon, the mother tongue of Voodoo?

Parker: I see you did your homework. Yes, it is. In Fon, Voodoo originated in Africa and means spirit or god. The

natives of Africa speak Fon.

Stephanie: Is Voodoo similar to Christianity?

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Parker: In a way yes. Christians pray to God for help and in Voodoo they pray to a good God for help. Voodoo is

often used to cure depression, loneliness, and sickness.

Grizzley: The bad God is the one where black magic comes from. Voodoo is not about the bad god which

Christians call him Lucifer.

Stephanie: How did Voodoo become an evil black magic with zombies and Voodoo dolls?

Parker: Louisiana Voodoo is confused with Haitian Voodoo and Southern Hoodoo, Haitian Voodoo and Southern

Hoodoo deals with witchcraft, black magic, curses, and zombies.

Grizzley: Hollywood and a few Africans made the image of Voodoo evil to make Africa look bad to the rest of the

world.

Stephanie: Why are people afraid to talk to anyone who practices Voodoo?

Parker: They are afraid a curse will be put on them.

Grizzley: The high priest and priestess have the power to communicate with the spirits and keep them in balance

between their world and our world. If someone puts certain herbs in your food, your stomach will have knots.

You need a high priest or priestess to remove the curse. People, who practice Hoodoo and not Voodoo, are the

ones who use Voodoo dolls to curse their enemies.

Stephanie: Is Voodoo still practice today?

Parker: Yes, especially in New Orleans. It is slowly spreading worldwide but still not getting the recognition it

deserves.

Stephanie: Is there laws against Voodoo?

Grizzley: There is a witchcraft law that fines and imprisons a person in casting spells, telling fortunes and conjuring

spirits. They are punished as a con artist and not a witch.

Parker: They need to lock them up and throw away the key.

(Everyone laughs)

Stephanie: Can talking to spirits make you demon possess?

Grizzley: Hack yeah! You don’t mess with the other world or spirits. You don’t know what will jump inside of you.

Parker: Voodoo priest and priestess are known for talking to spirits. You have to be trained to know what spirits to

talk to and what spirits to stay away from. A beginner should not play with spirits.

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Stephanie: That sounds spooky. Can spirits affect other family members if one family member communicates to

the spirits?

Parker: Not sure. I think the spirits communicate to the person who conjures them up. Are you talking about bad

spirits?

Stephanie: Yes. Can they harm others in the family?

Grizzley: I don’t think so. They usually come in a person who knowingly or unknowingly invites them in. They need

a preacher, priest, or priestess to exercise the demon out.

Stephanie: Which gender uses Voodoo spells the most?

Grizzley: That’s easy, Women folks. Women use Voodoo as a love potion to get a husband. They also use Voodoo

to keep their husbands from leaving them. They put menstrual blood into the spaghetti sauce, and the husbands

will love them to death.

Parker: That is why I don’t eat spaghetti or anything with tomato sauce.

(Everyone laughs)

Stephanie: I want to thank you for this interview. You have given me good information as well as fun

entertainment.

Grizzley: You are welcome darling. Anytime you need more information just come on by and visit me.

Parker: That goes for me also. It was a joy talking to you.

Stephanie: Thank you so much.

As I left the church, I was amazed how friendly Mr. Grizzley and Mr. Parker were in sharing their knowledge of

Voodoo. Weeks later, I went to my second primary research. I wanted to visit an African Voodoo store. My mom

said it was not a good idea to talk to people who talk to spirits. Evil spirits can harm you or possess you. My

grandfather asked me did I want to speak to my great aunt who is a Voodoo practitioner. My mom said no. She

did not want a curse coming to me and our family. She is not sure what kind of Voodoo my great aunt practiced.

My mom thinks it is evil because her children told her disturbing things she did, and they were afraid of her. So my

granddad, mom, and I decided to go to the African store called Kilimanjaro International on 5300 South Kimbark

Avenue, which is a twenty minutes ride away from my home on the Southside of Chicago. We thought it would be

safer than a Voodoo store.

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When we walked into the African store, the place was small and had large African pictures and sculptures

hanging on the wall. In the back of the store, the store owner had books, soaps, jewelries, figurines, and clothes. I

saw two musical instruments made of wood that look like a xylophone near the cash register. I saw a ceramic

figurine that caught my eye, and I had to have it. The store owner saw me looking at the figurine and asked me did

I meditate. I told her no, but I like how the light shines around the figurine. She told me it was a meditation candle

holder. I asked about the African soaps and how it heals the skin. I later asked her what Voodoo is. She told me

that she only knows what she is taught, and that Voodoo is learning about you and your spirit side. Voodoo taps

into the energy forces or powers that govern the world. Voodoo is orally handed down from generation to

generation. It is similar to the Christian and Catholic ways. You live a healthy life by being honest, doing what is

right, understanding what you do to others will come back to you and helping one another go on a spiritual

journey. Your spiritual journey is your destiny in life that is predetermined by the Creator. You have to accept and

not alter your fate. You have to be contempt and appreciative of your life. Voodoo is not bad, but the people are

bad. If people are full of negative energy, they will cause bad things to happen. If people are full of good energy,

they will cause good things to happen. You give the Creator thanks in a ritual the same way Christians give thanks

to their Creator through singing and dancing. Your ancestors are always around you to guide you and protect you.

During a dance ceremony, you can see them around you. She also said that the Europeans made Voodoo negative.

They made anything to do with Africa bad. The Europeans hated Africa and wanted the rest of the world to hate

Africa too. She said don’t believe what you see on TV, magazines, or the internet. The information about Voodoo is

lies put out by the Europeans to destroy Africa. She told me to call her Mama Rose and to come back and visit her

anytime. (Mama Rose 1). After talking to Mama Rose, I realize I had a lot to think about. Can it be true that the

African religion, Vodou is not as evil as people perceive it to be?

I believe Vodou is misunderstood because it is an unknown religion and quite mysterious. To understand

Vodou is to understand its meaning. Because Vodou sounds like Voodoo, people confused the meaning of the

words. The word Vodou means good religion. Vodou is a religion that focuses on a good God and good spirit. The

word Voodoo means spirit or deity. The Voodoo spirit can be good or bad. The good Voodoo means religion and

the bad Voodoo means Hoodoo or witchcraft. The Voodoo word is not a religion, but sometimes it is used to

represent the good religion Vodou. Voodoo or Vodou are used interchangeably to describe the good Vodou

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religion. When the media talk about Voodoo, people need to pay attention to how it is used. If it is good Voodoo,

it means the Vodou religion. If it is bad Voodoo, it is Hoodoo or witchcraft.

According to Abolition Project on Slavery, Vodou, the religion began over 6,000 to 10,000 years ago. Voodoo or

Vodou is similar to Christianity and Catholicism. Africans praise the Creator of the Earth – the Rada God. Voodoo

channels good spirit. They praise the good Rada God the same way Jews worship Abraham’s God. Voodoo is not

evil. Voodoo primary purpose is to serve the spirits, offer prayers and perform devotional rites directed at God and

particular spirits in return for health, protection, and favor. (Abolition Projection 1).

According to McAlister, a researcher on Voodoo, claims that Voodoo ritual activity (e.g., prayer, song, dance,

and gesture) refine and restore balance and energy in relationships between people and between people and the

spirits of the unseen world. The rituals are done to keep the balance between the spirit world and our world.

(McAlister 1).

Voodoo sounds a lot like Christianity in some ways. Do the spirits in Voodooism confuse people about the

goodness of the religion? Why do Africans cling to Voodooism? To understand the spirits of Voodoo is to

understand the Voodoo history. The spirits of Voodooism encourage prosperity and fulfilling your destiny. Each

person born into the physical world is here for a reason. The unseen world is filled with angels, ancestors, people

that recently past, and mysteries. The Rada good God does not interfere or communicate with mankind. The

spirits help govern humanity and the natural world. The Rada Loas, the archangels or messengers to the Rada God,

communicates to man for him. The Rada Loas are similar to guardian angels that watch over humans and guide

humans toward their destiny. Voodoo believes each soul has a purpose to fulfill and that there are no accidents in

life. The Lwas are dead relatives that passed over who come to the physical world, Earth to watch and guide their

family members. The Rada Loas and Lwas are very friendly. They give healing and spiritual advices to the people.

The Voodooist summons the Rada Loas with an animal sacrifice. Rada Loas traveling from the spirit world to our

world drains their spirit. They need the live force of animals to rejuvenate them. A white magic ceremony is done

with herbs, and a Loa will enter a Voodooist’s body. The Voodooist is not aware of the Loa. His soul is temporarily

misplaced. When the Loa leaves, he says goodbye. The ceremony is done out in public, and all are welcomed to

attend. (McAlister 1)

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Good Voodoo is done out in the open. They have nothing to hide. Bad Voodoo is done in secret. This is a major

point that is not taken into account when comparing good Voodoo with bad Voodoo. Good Voodoo is judged and

mixed together with bad Voodoo by the people of the world. Good Voodoo should be separated from bad Voodoo.

Mixing Voodoo with Hoodoo is similar to mixing Christianity and Satanism. It is not the same, and it is wrong.

In Voodoo, the spirit can also be dark or bad and should not be confused with good Voodoo. When Voodooist

channels dark spirit, he is summoning the Petro God. The Petro God is similar to Satan. His archangels or

messengers are called Petro Loas. Dark magic is done to summon the Petro God, with a human or animal sacrifice,

and followed by a storm or tsunami. ( McGee 1). Dark magic is not done in the open because sometimes the Petro

God may request the sacrifice of a child or adult killed, cooked, and eaten by the Voodoo practitioners. The Petro

God demands are gruesome, but he immediately grants your wishes. Because the Petro God delivers wishes

immediately, the Haitians turned their backs from the Rada God to the Petro God. Is there no limit to the price of

greed in exchange for no morals in sacrificing humans?

The Africans are committed to Voodoo. What is it about Voodoo or Vodou that they connect to? McAlister

states that it is the magic and presence of supernatural spirits during rituals that keep Africans drawn to their

religion. They feel more connected to the spirits and their Creator. The drums are the way the Africans

communicate to God, deities, ancestors, and spirits. The rhythm of the drums and certain dance techniques is how

they summon the Loas and the Lwas. The African people become completely free while they are dancing, by

allowing the spirits to flow freely through their bodies. (McAlister 1). When Africans connect to the spirit world

they experienced joy, peace, and freedom which is similar to Buddha enlightenment, Christians with the Holy

Spirit, and Indians connecting to their forefathers. Voodoo is much more than a religion. It is their heritage,

culture, and a sense of belonging. There is also a power in tapping into the spirit world that no other religion can

do. It is a religion that needs to be investigated and not shun by society. In Christianity, they have something

similar to the Loas called the Holy Spirit or the Holy Ghost. Christians have their own type of ritual to obtain the

Holy Spirit. Believers of God in Christian faith read in Acts 2:38 in the Bible, which states to be a Christian, one has

to repent of his sins, get baptize, and ask for the Holy Spirit by praying. The Holy Spirit enters a Christian and

occupies the body with a soul. The Holy Spirit lives inside the body, guiding and protecting the Christian forever.

The soul is not displaced by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can reside peacefully with the soul intact in the host

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body. In Vodou, the Loa occupies a host body for a short period of time to relay a message from the Rada God to

the congregation. The soul is displaced from the host body. Once the message is delivered from the Loa, then he

leaves the host body and goes out from this world and back into the Spirit world. The soul returns to the host

body. Christians read the Bible and obey the scriptures by living a holy life. Voodooists follow their customs and

traditions and also live a good spiritual life. Christians and Voodooists are similar in seeking to live an enlightened

life and to be closer to the Creator.

The Indians call the Holy Spirit a Great Spirit. Dkhw’Duw’Absh chief known as Chief Seattle stated “Our religion

is the traditions of our ancestors - the dreams of our old men, given them in solemn hours of the night by the Great

Spirit; and the visions of our sachems (chiefs) are written in the hearts of our people.” Native Americans and

Indians are known for their spiritual belief that everything around them is considered a spirit. Many people think

the Indians religious belief is rather silly than evil, but yet the African belief is evil. The world is biased when it

comes to African religion. The Indians believe each religion or culture is similar in worshipping one Supreme Being

or Creator. Chief Seattle states, “One thing we know: Our God is also your God. The Earth is precious to Him and to

harm the Earth is to heap contempt on its Creator.” The Earth is the Mother, the brother is the river, and the

father is murmured voice of the water. We as humans should respect the land. (Chief Seattle 1). Voodoo is also

in touch with nature and the universe. It balances the spirit world and the physical world.

Do sufferings make African and African American race more religious than other races? Why is religion so

important to them? What is their connection with the drums? According to Saligal and Smith of Religious Portraits

of African American, states Africans and African Americans are more religiously observant on a variety of other

measures, from frequency of prayer and worship service attendance to belief in God. (Sahgal, N., & Smith 1). I

found this source very interesting in why the African and African American races are the most spiritual. I believe

they are spiritual because they suffer the most out of all races and are a cursed race. They are shunned and hated

by society and white America during slavery. They are still shunned and discriminated by the world today. I believe

sufferings bring them closer to the Creator. Sufferers get closer to God because they need to believe that the

Creator cares and will answer their prayers.

Africans and African Americans are drawn to the supernatural beats of the drums. When they hear the rhythm

of the drum beats, they instinctively connect to their soul and to the spirit world. They are naturally in tune with

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the spirit side and can communicate with drum beats to God and other spirits. When they dance to the drum beat

they feel good spirits moving around them. In Vodou, different spirits respond to certain drum beats. Whenever a

spirit is summoned, the correct rhythm and beat of the drum must be used to call the spirit from the other side.

The Europeans feared the Vodou Religion. They were afraid that the Voodoo Religion would give the slaves the

confidence to revolt. According to Kale, of Voodooism and Christianity, life before the Europeans in Africa around

1400 was full of domestic wealth from bronze, gold, terracotta, and ivory. Merchants in Africa were selling

throughout Europe. Most of the African people had jobs, money, property, dignity and freedom. The Europeans

ripped their life away and separated them from their family, religion, and culture. The Europeans needed to strip

them away from their families, friends, culture, and religion to break and destroyed their self-esteem and spirit.

They needed the Africans to believe that they were less than human to accept their new life as a slave.

What gives Europeans the right to control another human being? We were taught in the history books that

Christopher Columbus discovered America. I never knew he had a hand in manipulating a person’s life. History

books deceived many about what kind of person Christopher Columbus was. Christopher Columbus introduced a

new type of slavery into the colonies. Certain races have no rights or freedom. The new slave is now a property

possession or pet. This new type of slavery was started in the 1500s, and many white slave masters were more

than happy to get on board to buy slaves. A man’s destiny is now decided by the color of his skin and not by his

fate.

According to Accilien, Revolutionary Freedoms: A History of Survival, Strength and Imagination in Haiti states in

December 1492, Christopher Columbus arrived in Haiti and met the native Taino Arawak people, who were

friendly, exchanged gifts with the Spaniards and volunteered their help. But Columbus was planning to enslave

them. He wrote in a letter to Queen Isabella of Spain that the natives were "tractable, and easily led; they could be

made to grow crops and build cities.” ( Accilien p 5).

On his second voyage, in December 1494, Columbus captured 1,500 Taino Indians on the island of Hispaniola

and herded them to Isabela, where 550 of ''the best males and females'' were forced aboard ships bound for the

slave markets of Seville. Under Columbus's leadership, the Spanish attacked the Taino Indians, sparing neither

men, women, nor children. Warfare, forced labor, starvation and disease reduced Hispaniola's Taino Indians

population (estimated at one million to two million in 1492) to extinction within 30 years. The Taino Indians were

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dying out. The slaves needed to be replaced. The African slaves were introduced in 1502, and they were important

to the Caribbean economy. (NewYorkTimes.com 1).

The European needed slaves, and there was a small slave trade between Africa and Europe. The Africans, who

were slaves in Africa, were either criminals or people paying off a debt. The family or children were not bound into

slavery, only the criminals or those in debt. The Europeans took slavery to a different level. They turned African

slaves into personal property or possession to do whatever a master pleases. The slaves were not looked upon as

humans anymore but like animals – to be mistreated and abused.

The Europeans kidnapped the Africans from their homes and sold them into slavery. The slaves were separated

from families and friends. They did not realize that their lives would forever change. The Haitian was resistant to

live as slaves. The Europeans tortured the Haitian slaves, raped the women, burned runaways alive, and cut off

their feet and hands. Life continued to be hard on the slaves. Some of the slaves worked on the farmland and the

others worked in the goldmine. The Europeans kept the Africans away from their friends and families to keep

them under control. The Africans were forbidden to practice Voodoo. The Europeans believe that the Vodou

Religion would create unity and courage among the Africans. The slaves were forbidden to use Vodou and forced

to accept Christianity. (Kale 1).

The white slave masters got rich off the sweat and labor of Africans. Did the whites believe that they could get

away with treating people of a different race like animals without repercussion?

According to Ott, The Haitian Revolution 1789-1804 states the French Empire; Saint-Domingue or Haiti was the

wealthiest and most prosperous, for the plantation owners and all of the colonies of any country in the Caribbean.

Slavery made the Caribbean countries rich. In 1789, whites numbered 32,000; mulattoes and free blacks, 28,000;

and black slaves, estimated 452,000. The lowest class of society was enslaved blacks, who outnumbered whites

and free people of color by ten to one. The slave population on the island totaled almost half of the one million

slaves in the Caribbean by 1789. Two thirds were African-born; they tended to be less submissive than those born

in the Americas. To keep the slaves under control, the Europeans punished the slaves severely even to the point of

death to frighten other slaves from rebelling against their slave masters. The death rate in the Caribbean exceeded

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the birth rate, so imports of enslaved Africans were necessary in order to maintain the numbers required to work

the plantations. The slave population declined at an annual rate of two to five percent, due to overwork;

inadequate food, shelter, clothing and medical care; and an imbalance between the sexes, with more men than

women. (Ott 1). Some slaves were of a creole elite class of urban slaves and domestics, who worked as cooks,

personal servants and artisans around the plantation house. This relatively privileged class was chiefly born in the

Americas while the under-class born in Africa who labored hard, more often than not, under abusive and brutal

conditions. (Meltzer p105).

A few slaves were brave enough to run away. Some made it to the distant islands outside of Haiti where they

lived as free men. Those that were captured were tortured, maimed, or killed. (Smithsonian 1).

The Haitians slaves were getting tired of being mistreated by their white slave masters and living in poor

conditions. They were fed up with slavery and wanted out. They turned to the Rada God for help. The Rada God

does not interfere with mankind. They wanted freedom from slavery and the French. The slaves became restless.

There were many rebellions. There were three groups of African descent: those who were free, those who were

slaves, and those who had run away. The runaway slaves were called the Maroons; they had retreated deep into

the mountains of Saint Dominique and lived off subsistence farming. The slave rebellions were increasing; the

slaves were never willing to submit to their status and with their strength in numbers (10 to 1) colonial officials and

planters did all that was possible to control them. (Ott 1)

The Europeans fear of a revolt was coming to past. In 1791, a Maroon leader, François Mackandal united the

Africans, runaways, slaves, and freed slaves to revolt against the French. They were called the black resistance.

They were inspired by the French Revolution of 1789. Mackandal, a Haitian Voodoo priest, motivated his people

by drawing on African traditions and Vodou Religion. He united the Maroon bands and also established a network

of secret organizations among plantation slaves. They all shared in the hatred of the French and the planning of a

revolt against them. The black resistance met in a secret place and called upon the Petro God, the aggressive God

to give them strength to defeat their enemies. A storm came during the meeting that was evidence of using black

magic or dark Voodoo. They fought the French from 1791 through November of 1803 with the French defeated at

the Battle of Vertières. Haiti became an independent country on January 1, 1804, with Jean-Jacques Dessalines

being chosen by a council of generals to assume the office of governor-general. He ordered the 1804 Haiti

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Massacre of the white Haitian minority, resulting in the deaths of 3,000 to 5,000 people. The uprising scared the

French out of Haiti. Haiti was the only successful country that got rid of their white masters and reclaimed their

country back. The French spoke evil about the Haitians and their Vodou Religion to different countries of the

world. The French blames the revolt on the Vodou religion and the African savagery. (Popkin 10). The French

called the Africans savage. Who is the real savage in this picture or are they getting Karma for the way they treated

the Africans?

The Haitian Revolt hurt Haitian economy. No countries wanted to trade or work to help rebuild Haiti because

they did not want their slaves to get any ideas to revolt. Most of the plantation was burned and unable to grow

crops. Most skilled workers and managers were either dead or fled Haiti for their lives. There was no one qualified

to run the Haitian government. Haiti was doomed to become a deserted and underdeveloped country. Haiti was

ordered to pay 150 million gold Francs to the French slaveholders. Haiti was unable to finish paying off its debt

until 1947, and the payments left the country's government broke and unstable. (Popkin 10).

I believe it was a great conquest that the Haitians revolted, fought for their land and obtained freedom for their

people. I think their downfall came when they ignored the Rada God the Creator of Earth and man, to praise and

worshiped the Petro God, who is Satan. The Haitians celebrated their victory by tapping into the Petro God. The

Haitians shifted their allegiance away from the Rada God and toward the Petro God. This marks the beginning of

the shifting away from good Voodoo and turning to dark Voodoo. The Haitians turned away from good Voodoo

and ignored the consequences of tapping into dark voodoo. According to the Vodou Religion, there is danger and

consequences of using dark Voodoo. Their life was full of sorrow and despair from slavery, and they wanted a

quick fix to have a better life. They were willing to give up their souls to the Petro God. Greed took over their

minds and clouded their judgments. They wanted wealth overnight. According to Vodou Religion, you get riches

and success by working hard and earning it. The Haitians did not want to work hard to become successful. They

wanted to be rich overnight. The Haitians had worked hard on the plantation all their lives with nothing to show.

They did not wish to do any more hard work. The Haitians wanted the Petro God to grant them their wishes of

being wealthy without the care or worries about consequences.

Pete, a laborer, wanted to be rich. He did not like being poor. In 1863, Pete’s sister a Voodooist agreed to help

her brother tapped into the dark Voodoo. The sister tricked her 12 year old niece to come out and visit with her for

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a few days. The group of four women and four men captured the girl and took her to a secret place. The sister

offers her niece as a sacrifice to the Congo snake. A Voodoo ceremony was held, and the girl was strangled, flayed

(skin peeled off), decapitated and dismembered. Her body was cooked, and her blood caught and kept in a jar. The

eight Voodooists ate her flesh. On Feb 13, 1864 four men and four women were found guilty of the murder and

cannibalism of a 12-year-old child. The girl was bound, gagged, and hidden under the altar. The eight Voodooists

were beaten into a public confession. There were other reports that over 40 humans were killed and eaten as part

of the Vodou Religion in the past. Haiti was considered an uncivilized and unstable country. The eight Voodooists

were publicly executed by being tied up in a firing line and shot dead by five soldiers. This public execution was a

warning as to what will happen to those who continue to practice Vodou. The British traveler Hesketh-Pritchard

wrote that the Vodou Religion is nothing more than serpent worshipping. He claimed these Black Republic were

not civilized. Kate Ramsey notes, “Vodou held Haiti back. It was alien and frightening.” (Dash 1). Because the

Haitians tapped into the dark Voodoo for revenge and later greed, the world felt no pity for the Haitian slaves.

They were seen as monsters with no morals or regard for humanity.

According to Celucien, the misconception of Voodoo started with the trial of the eight Voodooists. The

terrifying event of human sacrifices in Voodoo traveled worldwide. This trial started the downward fall of the

Vodou Religion. The frightening images of the Voodoo practices would never be forgotten out of the minds of

people in different countries of the world. No one felt warm hearted toward Vodou. Dantès Bellegarde disclosed in

his closed writings that, “Africa is an "uncivilized zone," therefore could not serve as a model for Haiti's

development and cultural nationalism and identity; in the same vein, he believes that the Vodou Religion and

African cultural traditions and practices in Haiti had hindered Haiti's progress and passage to (Western)

modernity.”(Celucien 1).

The Voodoo or (Vodou) name is impaired, and no one wants to hear about the true nature or religion of Vodou.

But you can’t put all the blame on the Europeans for tarnishing the Vodou name. The Haitians greed and

human/animal sacrifices damaged and destroyed the Vodou Religion. An increased in animal and human dead

bodies being dug up and used as sacrifices in Haiti are still being reported in the news around the globe today. The

world is horrified by the events coming from Haiti. The Haitian shifted from good voodoo to dark voodoo. The dark

voodoo increased because of the slaves’ frustration with slavery and the poor living conditions in Haiti. The

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Haitians have suffered for many years, and the world ignored their pain. The Haitians wanted their life back and

wanted to get rid of their white masters. They used dark magic out of desperation and as a quick fix which ended

up backfiring on them. According to the Vodou religion, “if you cause harm to someone you will get harm back.”

This is known as Karma. The dark Voodoo got rid of the French people from Haiti, but it backfired and cursed the

Haitian race and land. The Haitian did not prosper but stayed behind in technology and economic growth. Their

land was cursed to not grow crops. No countries wanted to do business with the Haitians. The world wanted

nothing to do with Haiti. The people of Haiti became ignorant and a joke around the world.

According to the Vodou Religion, the Haitians brought disaster to their people and their country when they

called upon the Petro God. They should have had faith in the Rada God their Creator to deliver them. They

brought destruction and suffering upon themselves; they knew better. To heal themselves and their land, they

need to ask forgiveness from the Rada God and return to the original ways of the Vodou Religion so that the Rada

God can bless their land and people.

Voodoo Practitioners can create positive or negative images of Vodou. Most of the powerful Practitioners in

Vodou are women who are highly influential. Vodou Practitioner Marie Laveau was a great leader in her

community. She was born in 1801 in New Orleans, La. She helped give Vodou a positive image that was

negatively portrayed in Haiti. Marie Laveau revived the Vodou Religion after the Haitian Revolution. She

persuaded the people to accept and practice Vodou. She had a huge following. She was one of the most powerful

and famous Vodou Priestess in Louisiana. She was psychic and had great magical powers. She was feared and

admired by whites and blacks. She was a business woman skilled in medicine, healing, hairdressing, and love

potion. She was very charitable and helped many people who were sick. People today visit her tomb in hopes that

she will grant them their wishes. (Brandstötter 1).

Julia Brown, another powerful Vodou Priestess, gave Vodou a negative image. She sang a song that when she

dies; she will take the whole town with her. The town people feared Julia Brown because she was very deep into

dark magic. She had magical powers to cure or kill. She lived in the swamp. The swamp area was livable and

prosperous. She died in 1915 at her home of natural causes. The town’s people didn’t believe she was dead and

went to her home in the swamp to see for themselves. A tsunami storm started, and a 30 foot tidal wave wiped

out most of the town’s people. It seemed Julia Brown was even more powerful dead than alive. The place, where

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everyone died, became known as the ghost swamp. Some say you can still hear screams in the area where the

people were buried. The ghost swamp is continually plagued with floods and tsunamis today. People believed Julia

Brown put a curse in the swamp area to become unlivable and unprosperous after she dies. The Legend of Julia

Brown still brings fear to people’s heart today. This story shows how powerful and scary dark Voodoo can be. It

creates a bad image of Voodoo in the world. The Legend of Julia Brown continues to damage the image of the

Vodou religion. (PsychicMyst 1).

As I was researching how Vodou was changing its image, I read some disturbing news from the internet that

dark voodoo is on the increase along with Satanism and witchcraft. There is a rise in dark magic, and people are

slowly turning away from Christianity and Catholicism. According to Sarah Corriher, The Occult, Witchcraft, And the

Darkness Growing in America, states that Witchcraft and Wicca are very popular in England and the United States.

She blames the increase in witchcraft and dark magic on the new generation because they have no morals. Time is

changing, and people are becoming more corruptible and rebellious against God in each new generation.

(Corriher 1).

Even though the world is becoming darker, Vodou is presently attempting to change its negative images

portrayed by the world for many years. Vodou is trying to instill positive images by writing a book to educate

people around the world on the facts and misconceptions about Voodoo. Because of the rise in dark magic today,

the media will continue to report and misrepresent the Vodou Religion as satanic worshipping. I don’t see the

image of the Vodou Religion changing anytime soon. If people continue to tap into dark Voodoo magic, the image

of the Vodou Religion will forever be tainted. The Vodou name is ruined, and the members of the Vodou Religion

need to accept that. They will need to change their Religious name to something else if they want their religion to

survive. I believe more people will be more receptive to understanding and participating in the Vodou Religion if

the Religion goes under a different name that doesn’t provoke terror and fear in people’s heart.

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Outline

The Hidden Truth About Vodou ( aka Voodoo)

Slavery and the Haitian hatred toward the Europeans started the tarnishing, shifting, and the misconception of the

Voodoo Religion.

I Introduction

ll My feelings

lll Interview – research

A Apostolic church

B Mama Rose

IV Mystery of Voodoo

A Definition of Voodoo

B History of Voodoo

C Rada god and loas

D Petro god and loas

V Commitment to Voodoo

A Supernatural Connection

B Spirits

C Suffering

D Drum Beats

V Europeans Invasion

A Fear Voodoo

B Slavery

C Haitian Revolt

Vl Misconception of Voodoo

A Good Voodoo turns Bad Voodoo

B Voodoo Trial

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C Dark Magic

Vll Conclusion

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