—Vodou: A Haitian Way of Life — ‘= What do you know about Vodou? ‘*What stereotypes about Vodou practices are typical in the United States? Discuss these questions. Review your answers ‘after youread these two articles which introduce us 1 the history and practrice of Vodou. Additional readings are suggested in the resource guide. Vodou in Haiti By Donald Cosentino cholars now call the Aftican-drived religion fof Haiti Vodou, which means “spirit” in the Fon language. Fon poople live in the West Alcan country of Benin. During the seventeenth fand eighteenth centuries, many Fon, along wi ‘Yoruba and Ibo people from neighboring Nig Kongo people from Zaire and Angola in centeal Arca, and other African ethnic groups, were forced into slavery and sent tothe French colony that would become Hai Although these people came from diferent cul- tures they shared many religious traditions. They ll revered a god who was the maker of all things. Because the distance between tis supreme god and humans was very great, Africans also honored spirits who were less powerful than this god but more powerful than humans. These spirits included ances- tors ofthe living, spirits of twins, and other spiritual beings who represented forces of natute (is. the ‘ocean, sky, sun, lightning, and forests) of human. ‘emotions (ie. love, anger, mercy, laughter and gre). In time, th slaves combined these common be~ liefsinto one religion. They called thesupreme being Bonde (from the Creole words for “good god”) and ‘denied Bondye with the Christin creator. Since Bondye was faraway, they ealled on ancestral and twin spirits who lived nearby for supernatural help. ‘Nonmortal spirits gathered together from many Afr- an religions are called Ia. They are thought to be ‘very concerned with human welfare and ate called upon to solve problems. There are hundkeds of wa, ‘bt the most famous include the kind and fatherly snake spirit Damballah; Ogun, a forceful military spirit; Eraul, the queen of love and beauty; and ‘Guede, a gross trickster who lives in graveyards but ls loves and cares for children, “Teaching About Wat Because the Ina ae close to humans, they enjoy human hospitality. Thetefore during a Vodou cer- ‘mony, the peoplemay sacrifice asmall farm animal, foften a chicken or goat, to them. Afterward, the ‘worshippers cook and eat the anim To atract more divine attention, servants of the twa draw special emblems, called veve, on the Moors af the hounfors (Vodou temples) and dance and sing thet Favorite songs. ‘The wacommunicate with heir servants through asprtual possesionof theirminds and bodies. pitt possession s common in many religions throughout the world, including the Pentecastal and Holiness ‘churches inthe United States. In Hat itis said that the wade their servant ike horses and sometimes are called divine horsemen. When a worshiper is being ridden, he orshe speaks and acs ike the fa. Afterward, the person who was possessed cannot remember the experience. ‘The Haitian Revolution began in 1791 during a seeret Vodou service whea the slaves vowed to free ore Drawing From: Fee, Goro Alanee (3963, Louise Hatin atian Vosoulsn. Piadlphi: St Joa Poss, Bilingual Eaton,Vodou Music and Vodou By Ronald Derenoncourt Haitian musician Ronald Derenoncourt (Aboudja) pla in a mascal group called Sana Yo, which draws inspiration from te singing and drumming of Vodou services. In the following interview, he explains why he believes that Vodou ‘sindeed “more than a religion”—itis.a founda tion of Hat's way o bie. or three years, Aboudja and fellow musicians ‘conducied research on Vodou, We learned to ‘gather about the people, the rhythms, ritu- als—not as tourists, but by spending months atatime with them. We came as students, and they were our teachers. Iwas arrested 27 times during my esearch, ‘This was daring the Duvaier regime, up uni 1986, Jn 1986, they formed the musical group Sanba Yo. Sanbs, an indigenous word used by the Indians who lived on this island, means musician, Every ‘member of Sanbs Yo is involved in Vodou. Jn vodou there is spirit called the wa. The bwas nota pitt inthe Catholic sense, itis the energy that we keep locked inside ourselves. With the help ofthe music and the singing, we liberate that energy. ‘The slaves came here from all over Africa. Al- ‘hough they were foreedtospeaka certain way, adopt European names, and submit to baptism, they never forgot their culture. At night, they Kept dreaming shout freedom. ‘Many slaves fled the plantations, and these“ma- rons” crested camps in the mountains. But they ‘came from different ethnic groups, diferent cultural and religious backgrounds. In the maroon camps, in ‘order to survive, they had o get together to work the Jang, practice their religion, and live. They needed a ‘consensus, and that way of life was Vodou. ‘Voriou gave us our independence. It's the only resistant force we have inthis country. I's the only force that really ean resist cultural atacks from out- siders. Vodou s more than just aeligion—it’s really away of life. Vodou isthe ful of this county. ‘There is a class of people in Haiti who have houses and cars; they are well off. But they are not patriotic about the history or culture of ther country. Sure, they listen our music and they like but they heart as exotic music, like an American would. “Teaching About Ha ‘Cosotino, Contin om previous page themselves. Eversince, Vodou hasbeena vital partof Haitian history. Pictures of Catholiesaints are painted “on hounfor wallsto represent he va. Ctholie prayers and symbols are used in Vodou ceremonies. Ceremo- nial costumes, rituals, and designs are copied from the Free and Accepted Masons, a secret fraternity. ‘Through these “recyelings,” Vodou ha helped Alri- can people to survive slavery and to make sense of titties inthe “New World.” Vodou sa teligion of tolerance. It has kept alive old African beliefs and borrowed freely from European traditions. Not everyone in Haiti practices Vodou. Some Haitians are opposed tothe religion, and followers of ‘Voriou have ofien been persecuted by the govers ‘ment. But the new Haitian Constitution recognizes ‘Vodou asthe inheritance of all Haitians, and there is 4 growing appreciation in the United States of the influence of Vodou on our own culture. Vodou music dhasinspred American jazz androck’ rol. Paintings by Vodou artists such s Hector Hyppoliteand Andre Pierre are now recognizedas teasures of world art. If ‘we put aside our negative stereotypes about “voo- oo," we willsce Vodous an important and exciting ‘expression of African culture inthe New World. Donald Cosentino is associate professor of African ‘and Caribbean folore and mythology at UCLA and co-editor of Alrican Arts Magazine. Repos wi pormzcion tem Faces: The Magazine About Ppl Febuary 102 use Ht Apuoton of cba ‘aanaPunieing, ne (See adress ndordengwraratn ‘he Resource Gute} The radio stations in Halt dont play our music ‘Thetearejusta few stations which begrodgingly give {wo hours a day for Vodou musi. The people who control the radio must be intrested in destroying theirown culture, orthey would play more traditional ‘musi. They are encouraging the city people to care ‘more about Michael Jackson than about their ow Ourmissionis to publicize our music; thats why ‘we sometimes have to go abroad, But we wouldn't mind staying here and playing our music for our own ‘people, because our music belongs to them. Without them, it woulda exist un wn anaes Wy Ki Rach 2