Vodou

Scope note: Term used to designate the syncretic Afro-Creole religion of Haiti, which melds elements of Roman Catholic ritual with traditional West African magical and religious rites. Adherents commonly embrace spirit possession, animal sacrifice, altar worship, and ceremonial participation to serve the Vodou spirits (or Iwa). While rooted in the Vodún religious practices indigenous to Dahomey, Vodou signifies a specific New World transformation of Vodń as realized by West Africans enslaved on the plantations of Saint-Domingue (modern-day Haiti) during the Atlantic slave trade. Vodou provided a means for enslaved peoples’ liberation and identity-making. The religion played a significant role in facilitating the Haitian Revolution and continues to thrive as a popular folk religion both in Haiti and the diaspora. For the traditional religion of the Fon and Ewe people in Dahomey (modern-day Benin), use “Vodún.” For the African diasporic religion of the Mississippi River Valley, use “Voodoo.”

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