Understanding the Basic Concepts of Voodoo

Many people have misconceptions about the voodoo religion. They believe that it’s all superstition and nothing of substance. However voodoo is the central religion in Haiti and is practiced by some of the most intellectual and respected members of society in the country. Because the media has portrayed voodoo in an unflattering light, many people believe that it only involves a cushion figure and some pins. The truth is, there are many concepts specific to the voodoo religion that are important to understand if you truly want to understand the religion of voodoo.

There is one God in voodoo and that God is called Bondye. People who practice voodoo look to this God just as Christians look to their God. Although there is only one God, there are other spiritual beings that can be categorized three ways. First there is Loa. This category is filled with spirits of family members as well as the spirits of the basic human elements on earth. They oversee good, evil, reproduction and health, along with the other aspects of daily life. The Loa communicate with earth and they will sometimes mount someone during a ceremony to convey messages and they can also bring good or bad luck to different people.

The twins are another category of spiritual beings. They are opposite forces, always contradicting each other. One is seen as happy and the other as sad. The twins should be honored occasionally during ceremonies as it will help those honoring them to have better luck in life. And lastly the dead is another category of spiritual beings. These are mainly family members that have died but the family has not reclaimed them yet. If the family ignores the dead, they will become quite dangerous however, if they are tended to and paid lots of attention, they will be very kind and giving spirits.

One of the main concepts of voodoo is that it is centered mainly on healing. Over half of the activities within the voodoo practice focus on healing and healers that use herbal remedies, the spirits, and nowadays, even conventional medicine to work their healing powers. Voodoo priests can either be male and called “houngan” or they can be female and called “mambo.” They perform many different services including: healing, coordinating religious ceremonies to speak with the spirits or to honor them, presiding over initiations of new priests, fortune telling and dream interpretation, casting spells and offering protection, and creating potions. A voodoo priest may or may not require a fee for their services. This differs from one priest to another.

There are many different practices performed within voodoo ceremonies. The services usually take place outside under a roof with a central pole in the middle. A houngan or mambo will usually preside over these ceremonies. Drums are used and dancing is very important to the service. Although the houngan or mambo will preside, the ceremonies require full participation from everyone who attends. In nearly all services, the loa will mount someone. The person they have mounted will be present in bodily form but their soul leaves as the loa enters the body. The body is then referred to by the sex that of the loa within, even if a male loa has entered a female. Animal sacrifice is a large part of the voodoo ceremony as well. This is to rejuvenate the spirits as running the world can be quite tiresome.

There are two main types of voodoo. The first is Rada and that is the family spirit which is generally quite peaceful and loving. There is also Petro, which is the dark magic and evil side of voodoo. Very dangerous things can happen while one is practicing Petro. Human analysis is another part of voodoo. In the voodoo religion, it’s believed that every one body has two souls. The first soul is called ti-bon-ange and means “little good angel.” This is very much like the conscious in Western society. The other is called gros-bon-ange, meaning “big good angel.” This is the soul of the person although the concept of soul is much different than in Western society. The soul is much more separate from the conscious and it is the soul that will be accountable to God.