VOODOO
VOODOO IS AN ANCIENT RELIGION THAT WAS BROUGHT TO THE NEW WORLD FROM TROPICAL WEST AFRICA IN THE SLAVE TRADE. IN THE NEW WORLD, IT WAS RE-FORMED FROM MANY DIFFERENT AFRICAN RELIGIONS WHICH WERE ALTERED AND MELDED TOGETHER BY SLAVES CUT OFF FROM THE ORAL TRADITIONS OF THEIR HOMELANDS.
VOODOO IS OFTEN PRACTICED BY MAKING MAGIC AND CASTING SPELLS. MOST MAGIC HAS POSITIVE INTENTIONS, BUT SOMETIMES SPELLS ARE CAST FOR HARM. VOODOOISTS CONNECT WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF SPIRITS, KNOWN AS LOA, WHO HAVE DISTINCT PERSONALITIES.
VOODOO EASILY INCORPORATES OTHER IDEAS, PRIMARILY CATHOLICISM, WHERE SAINTS ARE IDENTIFIED WITH THE LOA. INDIAN AND EUROPEAN TRADITIONS HAVE ALSO BEEN MIXED IN. IT IS NEVER PRACTICED THE SAME WAY IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS. IT IS CHANGEABLE AND HAS NO WRITTEN TEXTS. MAJOR CENTERS TODAY ARE THE AFRICAN COUNTRY OF BENIN, HAITI, NEW ORLEANS, AND BROOKLYN.
VOODOO HAS BEEN UNFAIRLY MALIGNED BY THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY, WHICH HAS DISTORTED AND SENSATIONALIZED SOME OF ITS PRACTICES LIKE SPIRIT POSSESSION AND SACRIFICE. ZOMBIES ARE REAL BUT RARE AND A HOAX. IT IS BELIEVED THAT KNOWN ZOMBIES WERE FIELD HANDS WHO WERE BROUGHT OUT OF A FAKED DEATH, A TEMPORARY COMA-LIKE DRUGGED STATE. THEN, WHEN "RESURRECTED" THEY WERE KEPT SUBSERVIENT BY THE USE OF MORE DRUGS.
THE BOOK "VOODOO PAPER DOLLS" WAS PUBLISHED BY DOVER IN JANUARY 2011. IT IS SET IN THE COASTAL AMERICAN SOUTH. THE SET WAS CONJURED FROM MANY SOURCES OF RESEARCH. BECAUSE THE RELIGION HAS LONG BEEN SOMEWHAT UNDERGROUND IN THE UNITED STATES, THERE ARE FEW VISUAL REFERENCES.
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IN THE MIDDLE, DOCTOR JOE AND PRINCESS DELPHINE PREPARE FOR MAGIC AND SPELLS.
THEY ARE A HOUNGAN (PRIEST) AND MAMBO (PRIESTESS).
ON THE RIGHT, GRAN IBO, AN ANCIENT AND WISE SWAMP SPIRIT, HOLDS A CANARY.
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THE TREES ARE DECORATED WITH VEVE MOTIFS, SYMBOLS OF THE SPIRITS.
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FLAMBOYANT DRESS TO IMPRESS--DANCING WITH SNAKE (VOODOO SNAKES ARE NOT EVIL)
HAITIAN MAMBO WITH SEQUINED FLAG OF THE SPIRIT ERZULIE DANTOR--HAITIAN HOUNGAN WITH DRUMS--
BARON SAMEDI, HEAD OF THE GRAVEYARD--BARON SAMEDI'S LADY FRIEND
Warning--Do not work bad magic with the voodoo paper dolls. Malevolence will come back to you!
Purchase "Voodoo Paper Dolls" for $9.99 at doverpublications.com
KWEI-LIN LUM 2010,2011
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