The Truth About Voodoo

Though the practicing of Voodoo mostly occurs in West Africa and Haiti, there is a type of Voodoo called “Louisiana Voodoo” that is practiced in Louisiana as well as in other parts of the southeastern United States. Louisiana Voodoo was brought to the United States from West Africa but has been influenced by the Creole as well as settlers from Spain and France. 

Many people, when they hear the word “Voodoo”, think of how it is portrayed on television and in movies. In the third season of American Horror Story, Coven, Voodoo is shown by having a bunch of people dancing around a fire, sacrificing a goat, rooms full of animal skulls and bones, rituals, summing's, and a book of drawings and spells. In the song “Voodoo Doll” by 5 seconds of Summer, they play into the stereotype of Voodoo practitioners using Voodoo dolls to hurt another person from far away. Madame Cinnamon, a Voodoo practitioner and New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum tour guide shows the ridiculousness of these stereotypes by explaining how if they were real she would have had to act a certain way, Madame Cinnamon then begins dancing and giving the audience intense looks.  

Madame Cinnamon then goes into telling the truth about practicing Voodoo. Voodoo has strong parallels to Christianity and was even accepted by the catholic church in 1993 when Pope John Paul II attended a Voodoo ceremony and called the practice “fundamental goodness”. Some of these parallels include sprits called Ioa, also known as Iwa, are representative of Catholic saints. The guardian gatekeeper of Voodoo, Legba, is equivalent to St. Peter. 

One question often associated with the Christianity aspect of Voodoo is the fact that snakes are widely used in Voodoo traditions and practices. In the Christian religion, a snake is representative of the Devil. In the book of Genisis in the Bible, Eve is tempted to eat the forbidden fruit by the Devil who appears to her as a snake. Madame Cinnamon explained that snakes in the Voodoo tradition have nothing to do with the Devil, they are used for healing and are a sacred animal. She uses American health care as an explanation to this. She explains that the “symbols of doctors” is the Rod of Asclepius. Which shows two snakes wrapped around a rod with a pair of wings off the top of the rod. We don’t think that doctors are evil or minions for the Devil, so why is would Voodoo be a demonic practice.  

Voodoo does have animal sacrifices and Voodoo dolls like the media shows, but they don’t show the reasons for these things and what they are actually used for. Animal sacrifice is an important aspect of Voodoo rituals. In these rituals the aforementioned Ioa, use energy when communicating with mortals and taking care of their day to day needs. In order to rejuvenate the Ioa, animal sacrifices are made. This practice is said to combine the life force of the animal and Ioa. After the sacrifice the animal is prepared and eaten by the participants in the ceremony.  

Voodoo dolls are also one of the most well-known things associated with Voodoo, yet they aren’t exactly what we see in the media. Voodoo dolls is only associated with a person, it doesn’t represent a person. The things done to the doll, like adding flower petals, garlic, money, etc. aren’t added as a direct action to the person but as an invitation to sprits to open themselves to the dolls and those associated with it.  Unlike we see on TV, Voodoo dolls are usually used for good reasons, meant to bring good things and wishes to this associated with the doll. The doll isn’t inherently evil, but it can be made dark if the person who controls it wants it to be dark.  

Voodoo is not an evil thing but just like in anything can be made to look evil depending on who is preforming it. Sadly, the worst parts of Voodoo are often over portrayed and played up in the media. Madame Cinnamon would be the first to tell you that what she does isn’t evil. Her and the rest of the Voodoo practitioners at the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum believe strongly in educating the public about the truth, validity, and importance of their religion.