What is Haitian Voodoo?

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Guilberly Louissaint, University of California, Irvine

(THE CONVERSATION) For many in the West, Voodoo invokes images of animal sacrifices, magical dolls and chanted spells.

But Voodoo – as practiced in Haiti and by the black diaspora in the United States, South America and Africa – is a religion based on ancestral spirits and patron saints.

Known as “Vodou” in Haiti, the religion has also served as a form of resistance against the French colonial empire.

And unlike many mainstream representations around magic and rituals, scholars have shown how Voodoo serves as a form of health care system by providing religious healing.

A religion born out of struggle

Haitian Vodou was born from the blending of Catholicism, Western and Central African spirituality.

In addition, scholars assert that the religion was influenced by escaped slaves who wanted to inspire rebellions under a common spiritual identity.

Historian C.L.R....