Popular images of voodoo have ignored the religion’s basis as a domestic cult of family spirits. Adherents of voodoo do not perceive themselves as members of a separate religion; they consider themselves Roman Catholics. In fact, the word for voodoo does not even exist in rural Haiti. The Creole word vodoun refers to a kind of dance and in some areas to a category of spirits. Roman Catholics who are active voodooists say that they serve the spirits, but they do not consider that practice as something outside of Roman Catholicism. Haitians also distinguish between the service of family spirits and the practice of magic and sorcery.
The belief system of voodoo revolves around family spirits (often called loua or miste) who are inherited through maternal and paternal lines. Loua protect their children from misfortune. In return, families# must feed the loua through periodic rituals in which food, drink, and other gifts are offered to the spirits Continue reading “Demon Buster : HAITI AND VOODOO – Voodoo. Misconceptions about voodoo have given Haiti a reputation for sorcery and zombies.”
