Vodun is sometimes called Voodoo,
Vodoun, or Vodou. Religions related to Vodun are: Candomble, Lucumi, Macumba,
and Yoruba). New
Orleans Voodoo is a conglomeration of cultural and spiritual belief systems
strongly influenced by the ancient Voodoo religion of Africa, the Vodou religion
of Haiti, the healing arts of Native American people, the folk magic of Europe,
and Catholicism. Voodoo is culture, heritage, philosophy, art, dance, language,
medicine, music, justice, power, storytelling & ritual. Voodoo is a way of
looking at and dealing with life. It heals and destroys, is both good and bad,
and is simple in concept and complex in practice. Voodoo reflects the duality of
the nature of the rattlesnake; its poison is toxic but its poison is needed to
heal the same toxin. Voodoo is open to all yet holds many secrets & mysteries to
those who are uninitiated.
Voodoo has its roots in the trauma of many people. It originated from the
African ancestors who were brought to the Caribbean in bondage. Christopher
Columbus set the stage in 1492 for the development of Voodoo when countless
Tainos were murdered in an attempt to enslave them during the colonization of
Hispaniola. With a lack of indigenous people to function as slaves, and the cost
of European servants prohibitive, the slave trade between West and Central
Africa began (Long, 2000).
In
1697 the French acquired one third of Hispaniola and worked the slaves literally
to death. The average survival rate of slaves at that time was only about 10
years. This made the slave population ripe for continual replenishment, and the
slave population grew from several thousand to half a million. The slave
population was extremely diverse with many different tribes representing many
religions, languages, and belief systems. It is during this time of the French
occupation that the basic structure of Voodoo as we know it today developed.
The
colonizers believed that by separating families and individual nations, the
slave population would not unite as one people. On the contrary, the Africans
found commonalities in their belief systems and religions and began invoking
their own spirits and practicing each other’s religious rites. In addition, the
surviving Taino Indians exerted some influence over the practice of Voodoo,
especially in the area of the healing arts. As well, the indentured servants of
Europe brought their folk magic, which was incorporated into the Voodoo
religion. The Roman Catholic Church, ever finding ways to convert people to the
church, and the entity to which the French answered, insisted on treating the
slaves better and had them baptized and instructed in the practice of
Catholicism (Hanger, 1997). The slave population soon began to mask their
rituals and beliefs in Catholicism. It is the conglomeration and syncretism of
these diverse cultural belief systems that comprised the first Creole religion
and makes Voodoo what it is today.
To
make a very long story short, the slaves eventually rebelled and drove out the
French and the Catholic Church. Years of oppression and persecution followed,
with the Voodoo considered Satanism by the Catholic church and evangelical
Protestants. This caused Voodoo to go underground and flourish. The Catholic
church eventually made peace with the Voodoo and it is now accepted as an
established religion.
This
gesture accompanies the Birkat Kohanim, or Priestly Blessing, an
ancient Jewish custom. The Blessing is administered by members of the
Kohanim, or priestly class, usually on holidays. The hands are
spread into two “V” shapes, in the form of the Hebrew letter Shin ()
and symbolizes the light of the Shekhina, or Presence of God. 
