Today, many of the objects have become part of Haitian artwork and crafts. Some Haitian artists, for example, focus on creating depictions of different loa, elaborate drapo or ornately decorated ritual objects. It was easy to meld the two faiths, because there are many similarities between Roman Catholicism and voodoo, Corbett said. Both venerate a supreme being and believe in the existence of invisible evil spirits or demons and in an afterlife. Bartholet, Jeffrey. "Tibet's National Spirit Advisor." Pulitzer Center. July 16, 2013 (April 29, 2022) https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/tibets-national-spirit-advisor Visit Haiti. "Haitian Vodou Revealed" (April 29, 2022) https://visithaiti.com/haiti-up-close/haitian-vodou-revealed/ The association of colors, foods, plants and other items with specific loa and the use of these items to pay tribute to the loa

Okanla, Karim. "Benin Marks Voodoo Day." BBC. 11/1/2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1756057.stm Some people associate Voodoo with evil, but many of its rituals, even those that include the sacrifice of live animals, focus on respect and peace. Its religious leaders become community leaders, providing guidance and settling disputes. Leaders also frequently provide medical care in the form of folk medicine. Priests, priestesses and other practitioners typically dedicate their work to helping and caring for others [source: Visit Haiti]. For readers who are mostly interested in herb and root magic of voodoo this is the ultimate guide. It contains 750 traditional spells, recipes and explains over 500 herbs, roots, minerals and other ingredients. You’ll also learn how to make and use your own mojo bags, spiritual baths and incenses. And if that weren’t enough, there are 50 illustrations that make learning all of these things much easier. Several other influences affected Voodoo as well, including the traditions of the local Taino tribes.In real Voodoo religious practice, dolls can be used to communicate with the departed spirits of loved ones. A doll might be placed on a grave or hung from a Kapok tree in the cemetery. Similar to how a loa might possess the body of a living person to communicate, Voodoo practitioners might use a doll as a medium to speak with the spirits, just as they would use drums and dancing [source: The Tempest]. These spells can be used for good or bad. For example, inflicting harm on your enemies or healing your friends, making people fall in love with you or bringing other people together. I had a great time reading this book and it cleared many misconceptions that I had about voodoo in the past. Many of the Loa resemble Christian saints, endowed with similar responsibilities or attributes. For example, Legba, an old man, is said to open the gates between Earth and the world of the Loa, much like St. Peter traditionally throws wide the gates to heaven. Although the exact origins of Voodoo are unknown, it is generally agreed that this religion has its roots in West Africa. Modern day Benin is regarded as the birthplace of this religion, and the name ‘Voodoo’ itself means ‘spirit’ in the local Fon language.

One common saying is that Haitians are 70 percent Catholic, 30 percent Protestant, and 100 percent voodoo," said Lynne Warberg, a photographer who has documented Haitian voodoo for over a decade. The sound of the pistol sent the mourners stampeding through the doors and diving out of windows, but the man who fired it, Robert Burns, stayed inside, and when two police officers showed up to arrest him, he promptly confessed. “I had to do it,” he said on the way to the police station, “and if I had to do it over, I’d do it again.” Burns was related to Ellington, and like a lot of people around that part of Alabama, he’d grown increasingly afraid of Maxwell.Wall, Kim and Clerici, Caterina. "Vodou is elusive and endangered, but it remains the soul of the Haitian people." The Guardian. Nov. 7, 2015 (April 29, 2022) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/07/vodou-haiti-endangered-faith-soul-of-haitian-people If you’re after specific voodoo spells for health, love, success, happiness and much more, than look no further. In Voodoo Hoodoo you will find over 300 recipes, spells and rituals from authentic sources. One by one, two wives, a brother, a nephew, a neighbour, and finally a stepdaughter of Maxwell had died under circumstances that nearly everyone agreed were suspicious and some deemed supernatural, yet the criminal justice system had proved powerless to stop him. Lucrative life insurance payouts on the dead, combined with rumours that Maxwell was practising voodoo on the victims and on the law enforcement officers who should have been arresting him, left people worrying about who might be his next target. So widespread was the fear that nobody who came to Burns’s trial a few months later wondered why he had shot the preacher. They only wondered why no one had done it sooner.

Schuler, Aliza. "Voodoo Dolls Aren't What You Think They Are." The Tempest. Jan. 24, 2021 (April 29, 2022) https://thetempest.co/2021/01/24/history/voodoo-dolls-arent-what-you-think-they-are/ Gandhi, Lakshmi. "Zoinks! Tracing the History of 'Zombie' from Haiti to the CDC." NPR. Dec. 15, 2013 (April 29, 2022) https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/12/13/250844800/zoinks-tracing-the-history-of-zombie-from-haiti-to-the-cdc

References

Guynup, Sharon. "Haiti: Possessed by Voodoo." National Geographic. July 6, 2004 (April 29, 2022) https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/haiti-ancient-traditions-voodoo

Historical Museum of South Florida. "Orishia Worship in Miami." http://www.hmsf.org/exhibits/orisha/english/orisha-e-4.htm

What are the Beliefs of Voodoo?

Voudon believers worship many spirits (called loa or Iwa), each one of whom is responsible for a specific domain or part of life. So, for example, if you are a farmer you might give praise and offerings to the spirit of agriculture; if you are suffering from unrequited love, you would praise or leave offerings for Erzulie Freda, the spirit of love, and so on. In addition to helping (or impeding) human affairs, loa can also manifest themselves by possessing the bodies of their worshipers. Followers of voudon also believe in a universal energy and a soul that can leave the body during dreams and spirit possession.”