Hartridge's lecture on Voodoo
Voudoun is the tribal religion of Africa, but the name Voudoun is actually a banner heading under which resides an entire body of different belief systems. The word Voudoun may sound familiar to you. What is known in the States as 'Voodoo' is actually an amalgamation of African religious systems, Voudoun, and European religions, primarily Catholicism.
All the sub-cults of African Voudoun have certain things in common. The most important is the worship of a pantheon of spirits instead of the single deity that the Christian and Moslem systems have. Some of these spirits are elemental, some relate to specific tasks or places, some represent important tribal leaders who have died.
This spirit-worship is what makes Voudoun so easily adaptable. With all those spirits, it's no problem to add a few more. Say, for example, the Virgin Mary. At the height of tribal Africa warfare was common. One tribe would conquer another, and the Loa important in the conqueror's tribal system would be adopted readily into the conquered tribe's Loa pantheon. In this way, many of the Voudoun cults spread and mingled throughout tribal Africa, enriching the belief systems and causing innumerable offshots.
The basis for the Voudoun religion seems to be as old as man himself. It has much in common with many early pagan practices: animal totems, sypathetic magic, elemental spirits in the trees, the heavens, the bodies of the sick... Africa is believed by many to be the cradle of the human race. Some of the Voudoun Loa may be as old as the Garden of Eden itself. We still can't explain some of the real power of this primal religions--and note, I said primal, not primitive! There are African bokors who baffle our scientists with their supernatural power!
Now, let's discuss the elements of Voudoun...
In Voudoun, the spirits are called the Loa. During a Voudoun ceremony, celebrants are possessed by the Loa. This is called 'being ridden'. The human worshipper is seen as a horse, and the Loa, as the divine horsemen.
A person being ridden by the Loa takes on the characteristics of that spirit and becomes, in effect, merely a vessel for the more powerful entity.
Some of the older, original African Loa include Dambhallah, the great Serpent god; Erzulie, the 'mistress of love'...
Papa Nebo or Gede, the lord of death; Agwe, the spirit of the water; Legba, spirit of the crossroads; and the cruelest and the most dangerous--Ogoun Badagris--the lord of destruction. Tribe-specific Loa can have as much or more power as the more widely-worshipped Loa. For instance, a particular tribe could revere highly the Loa of an ancestor who was a legendary hunter or politician.
Voudoun temples are called hounfours, their priests houngan or bokors, their priestesses, Mamaloa. In a Voudoun hounfour, there's a ritual circle marked with a center pole called a poteau-mitan. The ritual circle is prepared with a vévé--a pattern of symbols. Each tribe's vévé is slightly different, consisting of complex symbols that identify their special Loa. During ritual conclaves, initiates dance under the supervision of a bokor and a mamaloa, or head priestess.
The use of totems, or animal masks and markings, was not uncommon in the original African ceremonies. Now, though, all but the oldest sects have abandoned this practice.
Ritual objects used during the conclaves are the ritual gourd, or asson... ... the ritual knife, or ku-bha-sah... ... the ritual whip, or fwet kash... ... and the ritual coffin, or sekey madoulé.
These items are often optional, called for by the mamaloa for specific magical rituals.
The Mamaloa is the most powerful figure in the Voudoun sect. Voudoun is a truly matriarchal system. Even the bokor knows his power is limited. The Mamaloa is the supreme woman. She (mutter) butterflies and (mumble) fireflies...
Last update: October 24, 2007
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