History Of Voodoo In Africa

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The word voodoo can be drawn since the 13th century in the Ghana, Mali, and Mauritania. Voodoo stemmed from the Fon language and by the 16th century, many West Africans worshipped a shrine of gods. Africans devoted their time into ancestor worship and ritual practices in order to help communicate with the spirits. Voodoo is most commonly known for the spiritual practice of black magic in West Africa. In addition, “Hoodoo which refers to an African traditional folk magic and Obeah derived from Central and West African origins,”(Tucker). Voodoo is a mix between African beliefs along with Roman Catholic rituals/practices. In the 1600s Europeans came to Africa to look for slaves to work in the New World. Voodoo rituals are very intricate as people …show more content…

If one was touched by the dead, it is believed to be treacherous enough to kill the person while they are in an induced possessed state. During a voodoo ritual, important items are used that can vary from candles, money, food, jewelry, instruments, alcohol, and many other valuables. Voodoo can be performed by either a man or women and they primarily practice healing, dream translation, potion, spells (can vary from love, death, or in between), ceremonies, or fortune telling. There are also sorcerers, that have the ability to cast evil spells onto the Haiti tribe if there was no authoritative person to do so. In the early 1800s, the French conducted a war to exterminate rebels within the Voodoo civilization. What was left of the Voodoo belief took on a more savage name and through this came an impression of black magic and devil rituals. Through these events, this lead to an array of revolts to execute the French from Haiti that was stimulated due to the practice of Voodoo. The Voodoo doll became an important part of the belief and was used to exemplify the religion at hand. The dolls represent the spiritual power that is within a …show more content…

The Voodoo belief started within the African culture and was used to help keep faith as many were taken as slaves by the Europeans. As they traveled and worked at many sugar cane fields, many Africans were subjected under the French and there, the Voodoo religion seemed to grow into the New World. The poster has multiple photos that show the different rituals West Africans performed and explains the key components of their practice. Using visuals and providing a small explanation of the important factors that go with the Voodoo religion is a necessary aspect in order to engage the students. The photos display the acts of Voodoo from the start of the 1800s to people still practicing this religion in current day. Having visuals that captures the different behavior of the Voodoo and showing what a Haitian zombie was believed to look like presents how powerful the Voodoo religion was within the West African

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