Essay Sample about Haitian Voodoo

The popular religion of Haitian vodou has always been casted in a negative light, associating the religion with satanism, extreme sacrifices, and witchcraft. However, Vodou in Haiti is wholeheartedly misunderstood and has made a number of positive influences in the lives of those who practice it. The religion has brought a sense of ethnic belonging, empowered women by giving them the ability to have leadership roles and brought communities together. 

A sense of ethnic belonging can be stemmed from Haitian voodoo as the religious roots began with the African ancestors. In the late 16th century Haiti formerly known as St. Domingue held hundreds of thousands of African slaves. These slaves outnumbered their white owners by almost 3 to 1 as recorded in year of 1789 a grave population difference between persons of color and whites.  The slaves of St. Domingue suffered horribly from abuse, being overworked, infanticide. and abortions. Thus, their way of life was extremely cruel. 

In reaction to such unfavorable conditions, the slaves turned to religion as an escape from their reality and beacon of hope. Consequently, the religion of voodoo was birthed. Despite the unholy descriptions of voodoo, this religion is said to be derived from one of the most popular and “holiest” religion…Catholicism. . Moreover, the slaves that began developing the religion were converted slaves that saw similarities with Catholicism and voodoo. However, the slaves kept aspects of their religion unique for example the unique situation of mounting of an individual by the “Lwa” or god. Beautiful, hand crafted sculptures can be seen of the many lwas like Kango, Erzulie, and Kraze that the religion maintains.   As described in Haiti, History, and the Gods the Lwa dominates or is seizes the individual. This individual then goes through a personal struggle where they both do not and do desire to be taken over by the god which ultimately leads to the “transcendence of a new identity” . However, in the end both the god and man benefit thus making it a partnership rather than a dominant and submissive. Drawing a sharp juxtaposition between their current situation and their spirituality. In their current situation, slaves are oppressed and submissive but in spirituality there is mutual benefits and also feeling of empowerment which was influential in the eventual revolt. Voodoo also served as a reason for slaves to gather in groups which served as a means of planning plots to revolt against their cruel masters. Eventually, the Haitians were able to successfully revolt against their masters freeing themselves from the bondage and cruelty that had plagued them from such a long period of time.

The kin of these slaves can always reflect on voodoo being one of the key elements in empowering and gathering the slaves to their eventual freedom. Even in more modern times the origin of Haitian voodoo is still closely followed to maintain the traditional African value system. For example, a code of ethics is strictly used and followed by those in high positions. 

This code included practices that can be directly identified with the hardships the slaves faced an overcame. For example, one of the beliefs in Haitian voodoo is the lwa displaying their likening to a victimizer rather than the victim as the victimizer is powerful whilst the victim is weak. This is then grounds for the victim to appeal to the lwa in order to gain vengeance on the victimizer.  Likewise, the slaves felt powerless to the victimizer until they began to seek vengeance on their slave masters. Moreover, protection granted by the lwa is the most sought after as during their times of slavery they were not protected from their cruel reality. The slaves would embark on many different practices in order to please the lwa just to please the spirits and ensure they were in their good graces.  Now, in current times these beliefs and practices are still honored and remains to be the foundations of Haitian voodoo. One of the empowering aspects of Haitian voodoo that ties current practitioners of the religion is the significant song of ‘Sanble Lwa yo’ which was first sang at the initiation of the revolt in 1804 where plantations were deliberately burnt.  This song and its significance are still remember even decades later. Thus, by the generations practicing Haitian voodoo one can imply that many persons can use the religion as a way to simply connect back to their strong and brave ancestors.  

In religion, many women are viewed as second-class citizens, not being able to fit in the shoe of a man. Many religions uphold this bias thinking as woman are not allowed to hold leadership positions within many religions like Catholicism or Islamic religion. However, in Haitian voodoo people are not treated differently based on their gender. Women play a very active role within the voodoo religion. From the very inception woman played leading roles within the religion as evidence dating back to 1791 the Vodou ceremony at Bois Caïman was led by a Manbo also called female priestess names Cécile Fatiman.  Accounts in the 1950’s was also recorded that featured another female priestess by the name of Etienne Charlier was worthy enough to be possessed or mounted by the lwa of Ezili Dantò.   A popular female leader is Mama Lola recalls her days as a manbo which is a voodoo priestess who serves as a religious guide and a leader within the community. Mama Lola also speaks to her vast ability to heal persons as she channels the spirits of her the gods and her ancestors.  A recent display of female leadership within Haitian voodoo priestess Manbo Katy as she summons the healing spirits in aid to heal to heal her community after the devastating 2010 earthquake.

She not only summoned spirits but played a physical role in helping her community through feeding, clothing, and sheltering many persons which is one of her spiritual duties as a priestess.  This also allows her to be mounted by the lwa. She also describes her duties to be a guide to all that are lost within the community being a constant source of encouragement and strength to both men and women of all ages especially in such an egregious time within Haiti.  Thus, her burden is great as a leader, but she does it with grace. In summary, a woman holding such great power to heal another is almost unheard of in other religions. Consequently, this conveys that being a woman does not hinder a person unless they are wired to think so like in many of the other popular religions.

Moreover, the Voodoo religion has certain principles that encourages the togetherness of communities. From the very inception of the religion, it was pivotal that the slaves stayed together as numbers was their strength along with their ability to depend on each other. This unity has not wavered within the voodoo religion as several of the perspectives of those who serve spirits deal with persons within the community. It is a must that believers of this religion follow these perspectives . The communal emphasis speaks to the Haitians ability to depend on each other. Consequently, family is also an integral part of the communal emphasis. Within the voodoo community it is taboo to not take good care of your children . Moreover, it is vital to maintain relationships with the members within your community as it is pivotal to the acts of the spirit, as if the communal humanism is not felt the spirits can reject the priest or priestess. 

An example of this can be found within the duties of the priest or priestess which is to act as a community healer. Thus, persons can come to the priest with issues within their lives and the priest or priestess must do their best to assist. A recent example of this took place in 21st century where the priest Gary Mazzo had to tend to the issues of his cousin Berto, a family member of the community who started displaying signs of demonic possession. Because of his position, Mazzo must perform various ritualistic ceremonies to ask the lwa to restore Berto’s sanity.  In this manner, the support from the community can be shown, as many persons along with Mazzo took part within the ceremony in order to heal one person in their community rather than simply casting him aside. Hence, the voodoo religion sustains the morality and humanity within the Haitian communities through its strict guidelines which must be followed for the sake of the lwa. 

In conclusion, the evidence shows that voodoo being an evil and demonic religion is simply the misapprehension of outsiders who continue to remain ignorant to its rich origins and positive influences it has and continue to have on the lives of Haitians. The ideology of voodoo being dabbled in evil practices cannot totally be ruled out as there are some people that use this religion for negative purposes. However, the same can be said for other popular religions like Christianity which was used as an excuse to wipe out an entire population in the Columbus era and was used in efforts to brainwash the slaves into being more submissive to their cruel, white owners. However, this religion is not being demonized or deemed as wicked therefore, it can be further implied that many of these outsiders are ones that are still seeking to oppress the blacks by not allowing them to explore their spirituality with freedom and free from judgement. Its various positive impacts like influencing the revolt that led to many slaves being free to channeling that empowering energy many years later whether man or woman to bringing family and neighbors together. Thus, the voodoo religion should not be oppressed or judges by others but have the freedom to blossom just as much as any other religion.