In the century-old African American culture, we have often called people who practice magical traditions transported to the New World by their ancestors residing in areas of West Africa such as Voodoo, Vodou, Vudu or Vodun. The people who practice this religious tradition are mostly found, or descend from, Ghana, central Togo, Lagos and Ogun, which is located in south-west Nigeria. In reality they worship the divine elements present on Earth, and their cosmological aura revolves around the Vodun spirits. They have a doctrine similar to that of Christianity, because it also believes in saints and angels.
Come to America
It has been seen that Voodoo is one of the oldest religions to still exist in the New World, and began with the creation of European civilization and the ensuing slavery in it. It has spread to many American countries, especially those in the Caribbean, from where it originated for the first time. Notable voodoo traditions are long established in the island nation of Haiti and the Louisiana city of New Orleans in the United States. It was believed that these Vodun slaves had been brought from West African countries to these settlements and that their beliefs had mixed with those of Christian planters. However, these people still have not given up their old religious beliefs. Even in American countries, they continued their communications with the dead and the spirits of the natural world.
Influence of Christianity
It is said that the Voodoo religion is polytheist (believing in more deities), and has various names like Vodun, Vodou and Vudu, but their religious beliefs are all based on the old African culture and have never changed. These include the cult of free spirits in the form of male gods and female goddesses, and they also practice animal sacrifice and ancestor worship. But it has been seen that the Voodoo in the cities of Haiti and Louisiana has mostly African convictions mixed with those of Roman Catholicism, and they have begun to worship ” loa“, Who were spirits associated with canonized Catholic saints. These people do so by worshiping the spirits of Christian saints in a way that is actually forbidden in Christianity. It is also said that their God is a remote God, not the biblical God, as from rigid interpretations of Western Christian beliefs.
Voodoo facts and myths
We see above all that the Voodoo is similar to those that invoke spirits and are in occult practices that are condemned throughout the world by many different religions. Many people have their own perceptions and think that these Voodoo believers are practicing things like sorcery, making crude dolls in which the pins are stuck and tackling zombies firsthand. But more than that, this religion is actually one of the oldest and most important in the Americas and one of which is deeply imbued with the traditional culture of West Africa. They believe that their ancestors inspire them in the form of spirits and that their actions possess valuable qualities for community development.
Voodoo in the modern world
As seen in the modern world, many people have accepted Voodoo as a legal religion that has its values and works for the betterment of the community. Many voodoo practitioners are seen as actually honoring the Judeo-Christian God, even if they do so with their “pagan” African dances, just as it is said that people of other religions worship God in their unique ways. They also believe in their ancestors, so they are revered for their core values and wisdom. In the modern world, this religion has spread to most American countries that have learned a lot from its historical presence.
