When one first hears the word Vodou, immediately images of curses and little model dolls come to mind. We tend to synonymize it with words like sinister, evil and revenge. However, Vodou is nothing like what mainstream North American media has brainwashed people into believing. As best put by Patrick Bellegarde-Smith, “Vodou is far more than [a religion] it's a spiritual system” (Tippet and Bellegarde-Smith 145). Haitian Vodou is a spiritual system that syncretizes the practices of Roman Catholicism with West African spirituality. This paper will contextualize Vodou and give a brief history on what it is, explain how I came to gain an interest in Vodou and close off with an introduction to Chouk Bwa Libète a traditional Haitian Mizik Rasin—roots …show more content…
music—band. The practice of Vodou came to Haiti along with the West African slaves that were brought over to the land by their European colonizers. Laurent Dubois makes the point that these slaves, “[were] bought from different ports of Africa, they came from an array of what slave traders and slave owners called "nations," speaking different languages” (Dubois 94). The slaves were not a universal people, but they all shared similar religious practices. Due to limitations in communication most Haitian slaves were initially only able to communicate with those who spoke their same language but with time communication arose through the growing Creole language. The Haitian slaves attempted to preserve their religion even in the face of their colonizers. They were united by their struggle and Vodou paved the path for their unification. Therefore, the synchronization of Haitian Vodou with Roman Catholicism came about in an effort to hide their spirituality and maintain the right to practice their religion. Deities where paired with the Catholic saint that most resembled what they stood for, and while the slaves were thought to worship a certain Catholic Saint in reality they were worshipping a Haitian deity. They avoided punishment for their practices by hiding the actual aspects of their Vodou in Catholicism. An important note to make while studying Haitian Vodou is that it not a universal practice.
Like any religion, different regions of Haiti have their own distinct quirks and traditions when practicing Vodou. Yet, as a whole Vodou still remains Vodou, there are just variations amongst regions. With that said Vodou as a spiritual system is rooted in the foundation of dance. According to Bellegarde-Smith there are 417 deities and each of these spirits can be invoked through dance and music. Every dance movement a dancer makes is characteristic of a certain deity. For example, in the case of “the spirit Danbala, whose songs and visual imagery refer to the serpent… A circular movement that entails contraction of the solar plexis, undulation through the spine, and release of the chest (Wilcken 195). In the case of Danbala, the dance is serpent like because this spirit most symbolizes an actual snake. It is said, “Danbala never speaks, he only hisses. Danbala also never stands up or walks around, for he shows himself in his form as a snake during his possessions” (International Vodou Society). Although Danbala is represented by a serpent and snakes are thought of as dangerous and violent creatures, Danbala is peaceful and is said to bring a sense of peace and calmness into ceremonies. Danbala is but one example of the hundreds of deities that exist in Vodou, each one stands for their own unique cause and are invoked depending on the purpose that they serve. However, as mentioned before invocation occurs through the use of dance and
music. When someone invokes a spirit they are not only guided by what a spirit stands for, but they are also guided by the beat of the drum music playing. The dancers gain energy from the drums and in turn the drums cue the lyrics of the songs. Possession in a ceremony is guided by the lead drummer because they will create a beat that opposes the main beat and it is that opposition that throws the dancer off and begins the process of spirit possession. A person is possessed by a spirit through dance, but it is not until the lead drummer opposes the main beat being played that the process of possession actual occurs. It is said, “The behavior of Vodou spirits identifies them to the congregation” (Wilcken 196). Every spirit has its own characteristics that define them and it is their manner of acting that lets people know which spirit is present. Depending on who the spirit is, they will dance, eat, talk, etc. in a manner that is familiar to the congregation and easily identifiable. No two spirits are alike and they all serve a different purpose. Contrary to popular belief these spirits are not malicious, they are part of the balance between good and bad that Haitians strongly believe exists. Some spirits bring good luck, others serve the purpose of fertility, and some help bring monetary wealth. My interest in Haitian Vodou, began with an introductory course to Haitian culture and language at the University of California, Los Angeles. The course satisfied a credit that I needed and the description sounded interesting. The course was very much focused on language and we did our best to learn some basic phrases in the short time that we had together, however it was not until we reached the culture component of the course that I really took an interest. We learned that Haitians are not overly excited people, they monitor their emotions and carry themselves with an air of calmness. Our professor explained to us that Haitians are known to not be very exaggerated and excited people. I at first was very fascinated by their calm demeanors and their particular outlook on life, however once we touched the subject of Haitian Vodou, I became very interested in the stigma that surrounds Vodou. I myself was very ignorant uneducated on the subject of Vodou. Like a lot of people, I let Hollywood dictate my views on something as unknown as Vodou. I thought it was form of witchcraft in which the followers of Vodou would pray to their ancestors and curse those they just did not like. I believed it was strictly vengeful and that it was only used as a tactic to ruin the lives of others. However, with further research on the subjective and extensive reading I learned that Vodou is actually the opposite of what it is portrayed to be in the media. Vodou is a religion, and more specific a spiritual system because it based on ancestral devotion and the invocation of those ancestors through song and dance. One, particular aspect of Vodou that makes people feel uncomfortable but I find really interesting is the idea of spirit possession. At first it seems a bit strange and foolish to think that first of all spirits exist and then that said spirits go into the bodies of different people and possess them. One scholar interviewed a woman who had experienced spirit possession firsthand and she claimed, “When I asked Marie Rose how she feels after a spirit leaves, she responded that she feels nothing, she simply sees that she is not there, then she is there” (CITE 96). It is quite fascinating to think that someone can be possessed by a spirit and not even know it. However, that is a common occurrence amongst people who recall accounts of spirit possession. They are not aware of what is happening to their bodies because in that moment it is not them. The spirit completely takes over the host body. Marie Rose’s experience is quite common because she says that although most people would expect her to have recollection of what is going on to her actual body she does not know what the spirit is doing. She claims to need a debrief after the spirit leaves her body because whatever he body did doing the possession is the sprits doing and not her own. As mentioned before, the music involved in the act of spirit possession is as integral to the ceremony as the possession itself. In order for a spirit to be invoked they have to play that spirits particular drum beat and sing their specific song. However, everything about Haiti and everything about Haitian Vodou points to resistance. Resistance to colonization, resistance to conformity and resistance to slavery. Haitian slaves reclaimed their African ancestry by taking up the practice of Vodou and refusing to let their colonizers dictate what they should believe in and who they should pray to in their daily lives. However, in modern times Haitian resistance is still occurring through the sphere of music. Mizik Rasin is a new genre of music that serves to empower the poorer communities of Haiti. It is a mixture of musical elements from Vodou, Carnival, and Rara music. Both Carnival and Rara musical genres are forms of festival music, however Rara in particular is only played during the times of Easter season festivals. It is said, “Rasin musicians chose the rock-reggae foundation to distinguish themselves from older Latin-influenced dance bands, now associated with the ousted regime; to exploit their own experience of Euro-North American popular styles, often acquired in the diaspora; and to appeal to the growing market for “world music” (CITE WEBSITE). The musicians associated with Mizik Rasin are incorporating the fundamentals of their traditional cultural music while still incorporating the elements of rock and reggae. They are reclaiming the narratives of their musical story. One band in particular Chouk Bwa Libète is one of the pioneers in helping to bring Haitian spirituality into the global market. I first heard about them in my fiat lux course when one of the band members came to play to our class and explain his take on Haitian Vodou and its incorporation into their music. It is important to make the distinction that although there are elements of Vodou in their music they do not play traditional songs on tour or anything of that sort. They respect the sacredness of such songs but the use of drums and some beats are incorporated into their music. Two of the bandmates in Chouk Bwa Libète are master drummers, meaning that in a traditional Vodou ceremony they can invoke spirits and lead a possession. However, in the case of their music they claim, “…in comparison with our predecessors, we have chosen not to add any other instruments in order to stay closer to the original elements of Vodou culture and music. Our repertoire is one of songs full of Vodou spirituality, but whose form is also very distinct from ceremonial music” (CITE WEBSITE). There is a fine line between ceremonial Vodou and the music that they produce, so they incorporate as many of the traditional elements of Vodou that they can without overstepping boundaries and commercializing such sacred and ceremonial music. Chouk Bwa Libète got its start in 2012 and since then they have branched far out of Haiti, but their music is more prominent in Europe than it is in the United States. They have played in the Netherlands, France, Hungary and Denmark. Currently they are on a European and Malaysian tour that will span across ninety days. Due to the fact they have a really small presence in the United States and not much is known about them it is difficult to generate findings and research. Our society still paints Vodou as something negative and taboo that coming to understand more about Chouk Bwa Libète and other Mizik Rasin bands will only come with time. For future directions, I hope to create an extensive interview and analysis of Chouk Bwa Libète as a Mizik Rasin band that is very much in tune with their Haitian roots. I contacted the band through their Facebook page a couple of weeks ago and received a reply, but with their business on tour and as musicians in general I did not receive a reply in time. I plan to use their interview answers for my own use and potentially use it as a starting point for future research on the subject of Haitian Vodou. If one does not know anything about Vodou, at first mention it might sound very foreign and bizarre, and not to mention frightening. Hollywood and North American media in general has painted Vodou as scary and taboo. However, in this paper I attempted to deconstruct misconceptions of Vodou and portray it as the spiritual system that it actually is. I explained my personal journey towards gaining an interest in Vodou and ended with a brief introduction to Chouk Bwa Libète and their stake as a Mizik Rasin band. Chouk Bwa Libète and the followers of Haitian Vodou in general serve as prime examples that Vodou is far from frightening, but rather it is fascinating and beautiful and worth exploring further.
Although the thought of being involved in such rituals is scary, I developed a deeper understanding and appreciation for the practices that Haitian voodoo participants, if it is appropriate to refer to such people as, engage in. The most impressive bit of information that I will keep with me is to be less judgmental of others; “people who practice voodoo believe in the same God as Christianity, but they also believe in communicating with other spirits, who serve various roles in healing, casting spells, and more” (Boudreaux, 2015a, p. 110). As a golden rule, I know that I should not be judgmental of others anyway, but I am human and am prone to quickly create stereotypes in my mind. I don’t always share those thoughts, but thinking makes me just as guilty as doing or saying. I am thankful for the reminder that all people are children of God, and I should research and learn about different beliefs before I make a judgmental decision, if I make that judgment at
Like Santeria, Voodoo is a syncretic religion that embodies the beliefs and practices of Christianity with those of traditional West African religions. Voodoo is also a monotheistic religion, with the God Bondye being the supreme creator. Bondye is similar to Olodumare in that he does not interfere with the lives of his believers, so Voodoo practitioners redirect their worship and rituals to spiritual deities known as lwa. Lwa are regularly contacted and worshipped through various forms of rituals; these rituals include altars, possession by spirits, and elaborate ceremonies. The purpose of the rituals is to appease the lwa to lend assistance to believers in times of need, or for general good faith measure, to prevent angering of the lwa and the possible dire consequences that may follow. As with Santeria, the syncretism of Catholic imagery and objects is inherent to the religion, and these objects are usually included in the rituals of Voodoo
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At the University of Chicago, Dunham decided to study anthropology with a focus on African and Caribbean ritual dances. Here, she studied under many of the best anthropologists of the time, and in 1935, she was awarded a grant from the Julius Rosenwald Fund to study dance in any way she wished. So, she decided to use this money to travel to the islands of the West Indies and document the ritual dances of the people. She visited such islands as Jamaica, Trinidad, Martinique and Haiti; however, she found a special connection with the people of Haiti and the dances they performed, particularly in their Vodoun rituals. In 1936, Dunham received a bachelor of philosophy from the University of Chicago, and after gathering her research and materials from her work in the Caribbean, she submitted her thesis, Dances of Haiti: Their Social Organization, Classification, Form, and Function,” to the University of Chicago in 1938.
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Voodoo is a sensationalized popular culture distortion of voudon, an Afro-Caribbean religion that started in Haiti, however, supporters can be found in Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, the United States and elsewhere. The making of Voodoo dolls, poppets, interests, and custom representations has occurred since old circumstances. In spite of the fact that the training is old, their present utilize stays comparative. With a specific end goal to see how to utilize your Voodoo doll or poppet, it is helpful to comprehend them in their recorded setting. Much can be gained from concentrate the old societies and spiritualists who held the baffling information that structures the very establishment of current enchantment, Voodoo, and
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The danza del venado, is a dance from the native Yaqui in northern Mexico. It originated in the state of Sonora, and all the way through the Sonora desert. The dance was created by the Yaqui people, to describe and celebrate the deer 's life and death. To the Yaqui people, the deer is a sacred animal. La danza del venado, represents a tribe member sacrificing
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III. Smithson, Jayne. “Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion.” Class lectures. Anthropology 120. Diablo Valley College, San Ramon 2004.
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