Voodoo
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Voodoo may refer to Louisiana Voodoo, Haition Voodoo or West African Vodun.
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Louisiana Voodoo
Louisiana Voodoo, also known as New Orleans Voodoo, and Delta Voodoo originated from the ancestral religions of the African diaspora. It is a cultural form of the Voodoo religions which historically developed within the French- and Creole-speaking African-American population of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is one of many incarnations of African-based religions rooted in the West African Dahomean Vodou tradition and the Central African traditions found in Haitian Vodou. They became syncretized with the Catholic religion as a result of the massive forced migrations and displacements of the slave trade. Louisiana Voodoo is often confused with – but is not completely separable from – Haitian Vodou and southeastern U.S. hoodoo. While it generally shares the same loa as Haitian Vodou, it lays a generally greater emphasis upon folk magic (as does hoodoo). This emphasis has become a spiritocultural marker for southern, Afro Diaspora, francophone Louisiana within the Western media. It was through Louisiana Voodoo that such terms as gris-gris (an Ewe term) and voodoo dolls were introduced into the American lexicon.
West African Vodun
West African Vodun or Vudun (pronounced [vodṹ] — that is, with a nasal u on a high tone) (so spelled in the Fon language of Benin and the Ewe language of Togo and Ghana; also spelled Vodon, Vodoun, Voudou, etc.) is a traditional monotheistic organized religion of coastal West Africa, from Nigeria to Ghana. It is distinct from the non-organized traditional animistic religions in the interiors of these same countries, as well as from various religions with often similar names of the African Diaspora in the New World, such as Haitian Vodou, the similar Vudu of the Dominican Republic, Candomblé in Brazil (which uses the term Vodum), Louisiana Voodoo, and Santería in Cuba, which are syncretized with Christianity and the traditional religions of the Kongo people of Congo and Angola.
The word vodún is the Gbe (Fon-Ewe) word for spirit. When the word is capitalized, Vodun, it denotes the religion. When it is not, vodun, it denotes the spirits that are central to the religion. "Voodoo" is the most common spelling in American popular culture.
Vodun is practiced by the Ewe, Kabye, Mina, Fon, and (under a different name) the Yoruba peoples of southeastern Ghana, southern and central Togo, southern and central Benin, and southwestern Nigeria.
Haitian Vodou
Haitian Vodou or Vaudou (pronounced [vodu], Anglicised as Voodoo) is a religion originating from the Caribbean island of Haiti. It is based upon a merging of the beliefs and practises of West African peoples, (mainly the Fon and Ewe), with Roman Catholic Christianity, which was brought about as African slaves were brought to Haiti in the 16th century and forced to convert to the religion of their owners, whilst they largely still followed their traditional African beliefs[1].
The principle belief in Haitian Vodou is that there are various deities, or Loa, who are subordinate to a greater God, known as Bondyè, who does not interfere with human affairs. Therefore it is to the loa that Vodou worship is directed[2]. Other characteristics of Vodou include ancestor worship and protection against evil witchcraft[3].
Haitian Vodou shares many similarities with other faiths of the African diaspora, such as Louisiana Voodoo of New Orleans, Santería and Arará of Cuba, and Candomblé and Umbanda of Brazil.
Source
Wikipedia
