Our essay is about voodoo as a religion in Haiti. And also we are going to talk about zombies because they take a big part in the practice of voodoos. Voodoo has been going on for more than 250 years and it is the main religion in Haiti, maybe around 95% of the population in the country is voodooist and the other 5% is Christianity.
Although millions still practice voodoo now a state allowed other religions in Haiti, some are turning their backs on the religion brought from Northern Africa, testing their faiths as their Caribbean nation grows with unsteadiness and poverty.
Voodoo priests, priestesses, and witchdoctors collect together, on the lookout of patients, whose ills they claim they can cure with spells and herbal magic. Merchants sold everything from radios and clothes to straw hats and religious items like candles, perfumes, and images of their saints just to try to cure themselves from the sickness.
Voodoo is Haiti religion and it is taken seriously not only by no educated peasants, but also intelligent and educated members of the Haitian society. One of the most basic concepts of voodoo is that is that there is only one god, Bondye.
There are three important categories of spiritual beings in voodoo: Iwa, the wins, and the dead.
Iwa are various spirits of family members and major forces of the Universe- good, evil, reproduction, health, all aspects of a daily life. Iwa interact with people of earth and during religious ceremonies they ride people ‘’mount’’, give messages and even cause various good and bad things to happen to people.
The Twins is a mysterious set of forces of contradictories: good and evil, happy and sad, etc. and of somebody is honored in religious services, he will have a better life.
The dead, according to which souls must be ‘’reclaimed’’ by the family members, in order for the family dead to be helpful, otherwise ignored family dead is dangerous.
The main activity of voodoo is healing people from illness, using herbs and faith healing with help of Iwa and other spirits.
The priesthood of Voodoo consists of both Men (houngan) and women (Mambo) whose functions are healing performing religious ceremonies, telling the future and reading dreams, casting spells and creating protections.
Another important feature in voodoo is the ‘’service’’, the religious rites of the religion. These usually held outside, under rough roof and around the ‘’poto mitan’’ the centre pole. Music by drums and dancing are essential to the whole service, and everybody present in the service fully participates.
In most services, the Iwa ‘’mount’’ people, i.e., they come and take over a person’s body for a time. When Iwa come, the person is gone. The body is the body of the person, but it is actually Iwa.
Nearly every Voodoo service has animal sacrifice, as by killing the animal, one releases life.
There are 2 types of Voodoo: Rada, Which accounts for about 95% of Voodoo and is a family of spirit with peaceful and happy Iwa, Petro (or Congo), which is a black magic Voodoo, with mean and nasty Iwa and death curses.
Some of the central Iwa in the Voodoo pantheon are:
Legba: an old man who is the gate keeper between the world of earth and the world of the invisible (the spirits). The sun is one of the symbols.
Kalfu: is the Petro counterpoint of Legba, is a dangerous Iwa and the moon is a symbol.
Papa Ghede: Iwa of the death and resurrection, he is the lord of eroticism.
Dumballah: the father figure, he is the good snake, the sources of peace and tranquility.
Agwe: the sovereign of the seas.
Ogoun: the Warrior
Erzulie: the earth mother, the spirit of the goddess of love, she can read the future in dream, and it is a much loved Iwa.
Voodoo has a lot of fatalism, as Haitian people believe that Iwa determines out lives and that if you want to change anything in your life, you determines out lives and that if you want to change anything in your life’s, you cannot act on your own, but you must ask the Iwa.
Also, the Iwa are not very changeable. The things are the way they are because the Iwa has decided it. This fatalism contributes to the peasant’s unwillingness to struggle for liberation.
