The Vodou

Paper Summary:

This paper presents an analysis of the Vodou religion and attempts to shed some light on how Vodou and Catholicism co-exists within the context of Haiti, and how many of the saints within Catholicism in Haiti have remnants of Vodou religion.

From the Paper:

"There are tangible differences between Vodou and Catholicism, which would suggest that they are unrelated. While the Catholic church receives funding from the Vatican, the vodou were forced to hold secret meetings and keep their rituals a closely guarded event. Vodou culture does not dictate the status of priesthood, nor require external communication mechanism to talk to the spirits. Rather, within Vodou culture, each and every believer can be a channel into the spirit world. The reason that Vodou and Catholicism has clashed so much since the 16th century was that religion was the primary method for cultural assimilation. The catholic church which was endorsed as the official religion of Haiti by the ruling political party, was supported financially by the upper ruling class at any given time in Haiti's history. The ruling classes had a majority of white colonialists which were closely associated with the Catholic church. Vodou on the other hand was followed mostly by the lower classes who lacked financial resources and political/social power and were suppressed in many different forms."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bascom, W. (1991). Ifa Divination: Communication between Gods and Men in West A frica. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
• Gonzalez-Wippler, M. (1981). Santeria (fifth edition). Bronx, New York: Original Products.
• H. Courlander and R. Bastien, Religion and Politics in Haiti (1966)

More papers on The Vodou:

• Research Paper # 93226 : "Vodou"
• Descriptive Essay # 106957 : "Vodou"
• Book Review # 138895 : "Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn"

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