Voodoo, also known as Haitian Vodou, is a syncretic religion, as it has ties relating back to both Caribbean and African cultures, with a strong influence from Christianity. Those that practice are given the name “voodooists” or “servants of the spirits.” Voodooist’s believe that there is a greater and Supreme Creator named Bondye, however, they believe Bondye is a distant and unreachable god because this god does not interfere with the daily lives and affairs of humans. Because of this, the voodooist’s direct their worship toward spirits beneath Bondye, called loa, and every loa is responsible for a specific aspect of life, reflecting that through their dynamic and changing personalities. The loa are often compared to the saints in Catholicism.…show more content… They are often associated with a form of African folk magic called “hoodoo”. Hoodoo is mixture of animism, Spiritism and a combination of various other religious beliefs and practices that originated in Africa. These dolls usually represent an individual that the priest/priestess is trying to curse or cast a spell upon during a religious ceremony (Haas 2011). Followers of voodoo believe in a universal energy and a soul that can leave the body during dreams and spirit possession. Voodooist’s don’t consider death to be the end of life, instead, they believe that when one dies, the soul hovers near the corpse for seven to nine days. During this time, the soul of the deceased is vulnerable, which makes it easier to be captured and made into what’s called a “spiritual zombie.” If the soul isn’t captured though, the practitioner can perform a ritual known as “Nine Night” to sever the soul from the body. By doing this, the soul can then live in the dark waters for a year and one day. Despite this lengthy tradition, if the soul is still not captured, it may wonder the earth, bringing misfortune to…show more content… This ritual is known to raise the deceased person’s soul and put it in a clay jar known as a govi. The belief that each person’s life experiences can be passed onto the family or community compels them to implore the spirit of the deceased. In doing this, they summon the spirit of the deceased and either a family member, priest or priestess, become temporarily possessed by the spirit. The main point of this ritual is to pass on any final words the deceased may have to those on earth. The govi can be left in either the priest or priestess’s temple so that the family can come and feed the spirit (Perry 2009). If this is not done, then the priest or priestesses will burn the govi in a ritual called “boule zen”. This ritual in turn lets the soul return to the land of the dead where it can exist appropriately. Another way to release the soul is to completely break the jar and spread the pieces at a crossroad. Ultimately, the purpose of death rituals in Voodoo culture is to send the soul to an alternative reality so that it can become a loa and be worshipped by the family (Perry
