The traditional religion of Vodun (Voodoo) in Haiti
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- Introduction to Voodoo in Haiti
- By Bob Corbett, March 1988. Basic concepts, key terms,
and issues discussed in outline form.
- Comment on Bob Corbett, Introduction to
Voodoo
- By Jeffrey Altepeter. 28 July 1995.
- Reflections on ways to regard Haitain
Voodoo
- By Bob Corbett, Spring 1988. Philosophical
perspectives. Three primary ways of regarding virtually
any phenomena we observe or hear about or hear claimed: a)
Naturally, b) Psycho-naturally, c) Transcendentally.
- Comment on Corbett, Reflections on Ways to
Regard Haitian Voodoo
- By Haines Brown (16 January 1996). A philosophical
comment on Corbett's Reflections that considers what
is meant by naturalistic explanation.
- Some brief notes on Voodoo's
historical development
- By Bob Corbett, December 1991. A brief chronology. A
suggested chronological structure for the history of
Voodoo, but no elaboration of that perspective.
- A Guide to Zombie Movies
- By Lisa Willey, 17 December 1991. A long list of movies
and their characterization, which is an important source
and expression of Western
orientalization
of
Haitian culture.
- An Overview of Haitian Voodoo
- By Jean Leonard, student at Webster University, 1994. A
student paper from Bob Corbett's course on Haitian
Voodoo. It take the form of two letters written home by a
fictitious character named Aimee.
- Voodoo culture in the U.S.:
Bibliography
- By Wole Mongo Ife, 14 May 1995. A rich student
bibliography of books and articles.
- Dialogue on Doc Reeser
- On Haiti-L, May 1995. White American Marine gets
absorbed into Haitian society and accepted as a Voodoo
horse
of Guede.
- Voodoo as a Magic System
- By Brian Angliss, 21 June 1995. A rather challenging
argument that Voodoo is a magical type that is both more
powerful than Shamanic/Hemetic magic and more powerful
than both.
- On Voodoo
- By Hugh B. Cave, 16 July 1995. There are
ceremonies
offered in or near Port-au-Prince for
tourists, which are little more than folklore
presentations staged for money. Real Voodoo is a religion,
concerned not with tourists but with the invocation and
worship of gods and spirits.
- A short list of major loa
- By Bob Corbett, 16 July 1995. A characterization of the
loa (gods) in the Voodoo religion.
- Yet more on the spelling of Voodoo
- A dialog on Bob Corbett's Haiti list, 16 July
1995. Various spellings based on its pronunciation by
Haitians, but they do not refer to the religion as Voodoo,
but as
following the loa,
or serving the
loa.
The term voodoo is a distortion of the Dahomean
(or Beninois) word vodu (meaning god
or
spirit.
)
- A Dictionary of Voodoo terms
- By Bob Corbett, 16 July 1995. A list of key terms and
their definitions.
- Voodoo seeks a role in a democratic Haiti
- By Kathie Klarreich, The Christian Science
Monitor, 25 July 1995. Today's Haitians who
practice the ancient religion of voodoo are hoping that
they will be given the recognition they deserve. Democracy
has presented them with a chance to overturn years of
misrepresentation and undo decades of manipulation at the
hands of dictators.
- First hand accounts of zombification
- A dialogue on Bob Corbett's Haiti List, December
1995. Sources for zombification. Wade Davis (brief).
- Voodoo brings peace amid turmoil in
Haiti
- Reuter, Sunday 1 September 1996. The rules of the
spirits provide respite from the lawlessness of the
streets. Twenty-one of the 101 spirits in the Voodoo
religion are celebrated at the Sucre ceremony. The rest
are spirits that are said to serve the devil.
- Nothing to lose but your chains, white
slaves
- Haiti Briefing extract, 27 August
1998. Review of press coverage of two Vodou Nation
performances of houngan Edgar Jean-Louis, and Boukman
Eksperyans in London and Liverpool in May. The enduring
fascination Vodou holds for westerners is based on old
stereotypes. Cultural imperialism is at its worst when
religious discourse strays into ethnic comparisons.
- New recognition of Vodou’s role in
Haitian culture
- By Kathie Klarreich, The Christian Science
Monitor, 6 April 2000. For many in the West and in
upper Haitian society, voodoo, or Vodou, evokes a
Hollywood stereotype, but for Vodou supporters, it is
finally being acknowledged as a bona fide religion and
recognized for its role in defining Haitian culture.
- Haiti’s Voodoo Faithful Pray
- By Paisley Dodds, AP, 17 July 2001. A voodoo pilgrimage
to Saut d'Eeau to pray for everything from good
crops to an end to Haiti's political impasse. More
confidence in the gods than in Aristide, but the spirits
with Aristide are more powerful than those with his
opposition.
- An unlikely crusader fights to save the
voodoo soul of Haiti
- By Martin Hodgson in Port-au-Prince, The
Guardian, Saturday 8 September 2001. Ex-Swiss
diplomat seeks funds for museum to house vast hoard of
religious artefacts she appropriated from the people of
Haiti.
- Haiti-Spirit Politics
- By Paisley Dodds, AP, 30 October 2002. At a time of
deepening poverty and despair, many people in this
Caribbean country see only one way out;
Voodoo is
Haiti's only hope.
We have nothing
else—unless you're willing to risk your life
to make it to the United States.
- Religious Rituals
- By Jeffrey B. Cohen, The New York Times,
Sunday 19 January 2003. Elizabeth McAlister, an assistant
professor in the Religion Department at Wesleyan
University, discusses vodou and the Rara festival.
- Vodou is fully recognised as a religion in
Haiti
- AHP, 5 April 2003. A presidential decree dated April 4,
2003 recognizing Vodou as a religion indicates that all
Vodou chiefs, temple officials, officials at a sacred
site, as well as all Vodou organisations or associations
are empowered to file a request for recognition by the
Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.
- Vodou's Veil
- By Jaqueline Charles, jcharles@herald.com, posted on
Saturday 03 May 2003. Vodou is practiced here in South
Florida: Shrouded in a veil of secrecy in hidden-away
temples that double as private homes, and storefront
religious stores known as botanicas. Impact of
recognition.
- What has followed in the path of the
official recognition of Vodou?
- Dialog from Haiti list, 23 May 2003.
- Haiti Voodoo
- By Michael Norton, AP, 26 July 2003. Although millions
still practice Voodoo—now a state-sanctioned
religion in Haiti—some are turning their backs on
the religion brought from Africa, testing other faiths as
their Caribbean nation grapples with growing instability
and poverty. A growing number, estimated at 30 percent,
identify themselves as Protestant, and adamantly oppose
Voodoo.