50 Fun Facts About Voodoo

Haitian Vodou developed on which island?

Hispaniola: Haitian Vodou formed in Saint-Domingue, the French colony on the island's western third, blending West and Central African religions with Catholicism.

What is the name of the single supreme creator god in Vodou?

Bondye, from the French Bon Dieu ('Good God'), is Vodou's distant supreme creator; he is also called Gran Mèt, a title borrowed from Freemasonry.

What are the spirits who serve under the creator god called?

The lwa (also spelled loa) are the spirits who serve Bondye and receive Vodou ritual; they are also called mystères, anges, saints and les invisibles.

From which West African language does the word Vodou itself come?

Fon: vodún, meaning a spirit or deity in the Fon language of the kingdom of Dahomey, gave Haitian Vodou its name.

What are the two most notable 'nations' (nanchon) into which the lwa are divided?

The Rada are 'cool' and sweet-tempered; the Petwo are 'hot' and associated with fire.

Which lwa is saluted first in Rada ceremonies, as the guardian of gates and crossroads?

Papa Legba, guardian of gates and crossroads, is saluted first in Rada rites; he is pictured as a feeble old man in rags with a crutch, and dogs are sacred to him.

Which Catholic saint is the crossroads lwa most often syncretized with in Haitian Vodou?

Saint Peter: Papa Legba, keeper of the crossroads, is usually syncretized with Saint Peter because both hold keys; some houses also link him to Saint Lazarus or Saint Anthony.

Who heads the Gede family of death spirits?

Baron Samedi heads the Gede, the family of death spirits; his consort Gran Brigit has authority over cemeteries.

How is the head of the Gede usually depicted?

Baron Samedi is shown in a top hat, tail coat and dark glasses; cotton plugs in the nostrils complete the look of a corpse dressed for a Haitian burial.

Which James Bond film features a henchman who takes the name of the Gede's chief?

Live and Let Die (1973) features Baron Samedi, a top-hatted henchman of the villain Kananga, played by Geoffrey Holder.

Which serpent lwa is depicted with his consort as two intertwined snakes?

Danbala, the serpent lwa, and his consort Ayida-Weddo are shown as two intertwined snakes; he is associated with rivers, springs and wisdom.

Which Catholic saint is the serpent lwa most often equated with in Haitian Vodou?

Saint Patrick: Danbala is equated with Saint Patrick, the saint said to have driven the snakes from Ireland; Moses, whose staff became a serpent, is the alternative match.

What is Èzili Freda the lwa of?

Èzili Freda is the lwa of love and luxury: she personifies feminine beauty, grace and refinement, and is matched with the Catholic Mater Dolorosa.

Which twin saints are the Marasa, the sacred twins, equated with?

Cosmas and Damian, the twin physician saints, are the Catholic match for the Marasa; every nanchon has its own Marasa, reflecting a belief that twins hold special powers.

What is a Vodou temple called?

Ounfò (also hounfour) is the Vodou temple; its main ceremonial room is the peristil, and it houses altars for the lwa.

What are the titles for a Vodou priest and priestess?

Oungan (priest) and manbo (priestess) lead Vodou congregations; a bòkò, by contrast, is a sorcerer associated with darker work such as zombification.

What are vèvè?

They are usually arranged around the central post and are central to calling the lwa.

What is the ason?

It is especially used in Rada rites.

What is a person possessed by a lwa during a ceremony called?

The possessed person is the chwal, or horse: the lwa is said to mount and 'ride' the dancer for the duration of the possession.

Where do Vodouists believe the spirit dwells for a year and a day after death?

The land of the Ginen, the spirits' mythical Africa, is variously placed under the sea, under the earth or above the sky; after a year and a day the dead are ritually recalled from the water.

According to Haitian legend, a Vodou ceremony at which site sparked the Revolution in 1791?

Bois Caïman ('Alligator Wood'), near Cap-Français, is where legend places the night ceremony of 14 August 1791 that launched the slave uprising of the Haitian Revolution.

Who presided over the Bois Caïman ceremony?

Dutty Boukman, a Jamaican-born oungan, presided over the Bois Caïman ceremony with a priestess often identified as Cécile Fatiman; the French killed him in November 1791.

Which Haitian president granted Vodou official recognition in 2003?

Jean-Bertrand Aristide recognised Vodou as an official religion by decree in April 2003, allowing its priests to conduct legally recognised baptisms and marriages.

What was Operation Nettoyage, launched by Haiti's government in 1941?

A Church-backed drive to destroy temples: the 1941 'anti-superstition campaign' under President Élie Lescot saw Catholic clergy and troops burn ounfò and ritual objects, soon after the US occupation of 1915-34.

Which Kongo word for 'god' is usually cited as the root of the word zombie?

Nzambi, the Kongo word for god, is the etymology most often given for zonbi/zombie; the Haitian zonbi is a body or soul captured by a bòkò, not the Hollywood walking corpse.

Which Harvard ethnobotanist argued in the 1980s that Haitian 'zombie powder' was a real drug?

Wade Davis, a Harvard ethnobotanist, made the case in The Serpent and the Rainbow (1985), which popularised the story of Clairvius Narcisse, a man said to have been zombified in 1962.

Which toxin did Davis say was the key ingredient of the coup de poudre?

Tetrodotoxin, the pufferfish poison, was named by Davis as the key ingredient of the coup de poudre; a second powder of deliriants such as datura supposedly followed to keep the victim docile.

Which author documented the supposed zombie Felicia Felix-Mentor in Haiti in 1937?

Zora Neale Hurston photographed and wrote about Felicia Felix-Mentor in 1937 during her Haitian fieldwork; later X-rays showed the woman lacked a leg fracture the real Felix-Mentor had.

What was the first popular book on Haitian zombies, published in 1929?

The Magic Island (1929) by William Seabrook introduced Haitian zombies to a wide readership; it was later used to promote the 1932 film White Zombie.

What role does the pin-stuck 'voodoo doll' actually play in Haitian Vodou and Louisiana Voodoo?

Hardly any in either: pin-stuck effigies belong to European and other folk magic, and the 'voodoo doll' label is a Western invention; neither Haitian Vodou nor Louisiana Voodoo centres on them.

Which two African peoples made up most of the enslaved Africans brought to French Louisiana?

Bambara and Bakongo: Senegambian Bambara and Central African Kongo captives formed the largest groups in French Louisiana; their religions blended with each other, with French Catholicism and later with Haitian Vodou.

Which event brought Vodou from Saint-Domingue to Louisiana in the early 19th century?

Louisiana Voodoo formed from that mix and spread up the Mississippi as far as Missouri.

Who was known as 'the Voodoo Queen' of 19th-century New Orleans?

Marie Laveau (1801-1881), a free woman of colour, was the most powerful of some fifteen 'voodoo queens' in 19th-century New Orleans.

What was the Voodoo Queen's day job?

Marie Laveau worked as a hairdresser for wealthy New Orleans women, a trade that fed her network of clients and gossip; she was also an herbalist and midwife.

Roughly how many people reportedly watched the Voodoo Queen's 1874 rite on Lake Pontchartrain?

Some 12,000 spectators, black and white, reportedly crowded the shore of Lake Pontchartrain in 1874 to watch Marie Laveau's rite.

Where in New Orleans is the Voodoo Queen generally believed to be buried?

Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1 holds the Glapion family crypt where Marie Laveau is generally believed to lie; a vandal painted the tomb pink in 2013.

What are the charms made in Louisiana Voodoo for healing or cursing called?

Gris-gris are the small charm bags and objects of Louisiana Voodoo, made to heal, protect or curse; the word came from West Africa, probably through the Mande languages.

On which night were the biggest Louisiana Voodoo gatherings held?

Saint John's Eve, 23-24 June, drew the largest Louisiana Voodoo gatherings, famously on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain; All Saints' Day on 1 November was the other key date.

Which animal was described as 'the trademark of New Orleanian Voodoo' in ceremonies?

A live snake, probably representing the serpent deity Grand Zombi, was handled in New Orleans ceremonies; Laveau was said to commune with her own serpent.

Which practice carried on elements of Louisiana Voodoo after the religion faded?

Hoodoo, the folk-magic practice of charms, roots and candles, carried on elements of Louisiana Voodoo after the organised religion faded in the early 20th century.

What is the main divination system of West African Vodun?

Fá, the Fon form of the Yoruba Ifá oracle, is Vodun's main divination system; its diviners, the bokonon, read patterns cast with palm nuts or a divining chain.

Which West African country celebrates a National Vodun Day every 10 January?

Benin made 10 January a national Vodun holiday in the 1990s under President Nicéphore Soglo, who lifted Marxist-era restrictions on the religion; Ouidah hosts the main festival.

Which Vodun water spirit, a seductress bringing wealth, is famous across coastal Benin and Togo?

Mami Wata, the mermaid-like water spirit of coastal West Africa, brings wealth to her devotees; her popular image derives from a 19th-century chromolithograph of a snake charmer.

Which Cuban and Brazilian religions did late-20th-century Vodouists build links with?

Santería (Cuba) and Candomblé (Brazil): from the late 20th century some Vodouists built ties with these sister religions, while Négritude-influenced practitioners tried to strip out Catholic elements.

What is the central post of a Vodou temple, through which the lwa are said to enter?

The poto mitan, the central post of the peristil, is the channel through which the lwa are said to enter; offerings, vèvè and sacrifices are made around it.

Which lwa of crops and agriculture is usually addressed as 'Papa' or 'Cousin'?

Azaka (Kouzen Zaka), the peasant lwa of crops and agriculture, is addressed as Papa or Cousin and paired with Saint Isidore the farmer; Ogou is the warrior lwa and Loco the lwa of vegetation and healing.

What is the first Vodou initiation rite called, a term also used for the initiate?

Kanzo is the first grade of Vodou initiation and the name for its initiates; the costly rite requires candidates to memorise many songs and learn the traits of the various lwa.

How many types of drum does a Rada ritual battery require?

Three drums, the manman, segon and boula, make up the Rada battery, against two for Petwo rites; worshippers bow before the drums on entering the peristil and 'feed' them with offerings.

Which street processions, each under a lwa's patronage, fill Haiti before Easter?

Rara bands parade through Haiti's streets during Lent up to Easter week, each under a lwa's patronage; their contracts with a lwa typically last seven years and an oungan travels with the band.

At which Haitian pilgrimage site did the Virgin, seen as Èzili, allegedly appear in the 1840s?

Saut d'Eau: after a reported apparition of the Virgin in 1849, the waterfall near Ville-Bonheur became a major pilgrimage site; pilgrims bathe beneath the falls each July, honouring Èzili and water spirits such as Danbala.