Vodou exists in different forms and variations. It is practiced throughout the Caribbean, Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Columbia, Mexico, and many other countries in Latin America. Whether it is referred to as Obeah, Santeria, Regla de Ocha, Umbada, Lukumi, Candomble, La Regla Lucum or Orisha, it is still Vodou.
Vodou spirits or gods (if you prefer) are represented by different symbols; Guede, the lord of the dead, is represented by the cross, Damballah ( God Of Wisdom ) is represented by the iconography of St Patrick; the loa associated with water and love, Erzulie, is represented by the iconography of the Virgin Mary; loa Legba, who holds the keys to the gate between the worlds is represented by the iconography of St Peter.
Western Civilizations do not regard Vodoo as a religion. While Vodou is no different than any other organized religion, its practitioners believe in GOD who manifests himself or herself in different spirits and form of energy. Indeed, imperialist ideologies, the church, Hollywood, and some scholars have purposely maligned Vodou.
Humans have come a long way in the course of evolution, however many of us still retain our beastlike like nature. A small percentage of Vodouists do practice medieval black magic, but the religion itself is not a system of harmful magic nor does it involve the worship of the devil as many uneducated westerners believe. All religions have a dark side, whether it is Judaism, Christianity, Buddhist, Muslum, or the free mason. This World has experienced two World Wars, many religious crusades, plague and widespread diseases, and other unspeakable terrors and today the World continues to darken around us, but it is certainly not because of Vodou.
Vodou is feared because it is not well understood and remains a mystery to scholars; so it therefore must be bad according to Western standards.
Vodou has always been associated with the Haitian Revolution. After Haiti became the first Independent Black nation in the Western Hemisphere in 1803, Vodou became an even more fearful entity. The French and other powerful colonial powers had a vital interest in suppressing the growth of Vodou. They did not want Haiti and its Vodou religion to become an instrumental tool of deliberation for slaves across the Atlantic. For more than 300 years, colonial institutions have devised a successful public campaign to satanize the religion. It was feared that Vodou could be used as a powerful tool to deter the slave trade. The top 20 percent of the World's richest countries could hardly afford to have those able bodies from Africa not work the plantation right before the industrial revolution.
Vodou has its roots in African traditions and culture. Just like many religions, Vodou is based on faith and its practitioners believe that GOD doest not work directly with humans. They believe GOD manifests himself or herself through spirits in a capacity similar to angels or saints in Christian beliefs. In Vodou the spirits are often referred to as loa, a popular word in the Haitian language, Creole.
Many of the Vodou loas' names and famous Haitian dances have their roots in African dialect, tribe, and or cities. For example � Ginen, a beloved loa in the Vodou religion, refers to the ancestral spirit in Africa from the country Guinea; Ibo is another common Vodou dance, the word itself refers to a tribe in Nigeria. In fact most of the Haitian Vodou spirits (Loa) are ancestrally in natural, e.g. Guede, and many others are referring to older beings from Africa (e.g. Rada) .
The Vodou religion involves many rituals and it is practiced in family plantations and at home with altars, candles and incense. Vodouists often make offerings, pray, and sing and dance in the honor of a specific spirit. Vodou spirits connect with its servants through possession or trance, usually induced by ritual singing and dancing and the complex rhythms of the accompanying drums.
Vodou has long been entrenched in Haiti with the arrival of African slaves in the Island of Hispaniola in the sixteen century. Despite centuries of oppression, today millions of Haitians continue to practice the religion in Haiti.
In the Voodou religion, its practitioners believe that the soul departed from the physical body, where upon judgment, the soul will either go to heaven or hell. Vodouists believe the departed soul crosses the flame of purgatory waiting for purification before entering the so-called heaven. Vodouists also believe the same soul can be re-incarnated at least seven times depending on the mission of that particular soul. At the final stage of re-incarnation, that soul upon purification, will become an eternal spirit and manifest its presence in human beings usually in the form of Guede.
Guede, meaning, "Guardian of the dead" is one of the major spirits in the Vodou religion. In the Haitian culture, Guede is celebrated throughout the month of November, the season of the dead and rebirth.
Today many of us still do not fully understand the fundamentals of Vodou as a religion or Guede as a spirit within Voodou and continue to ask many essential questions. What is "Loa"? What is Guede? What does Vodou represent to Haitians, West Indians, and other people of African descendants? These questions will be addressed through a series of research articles on Heritagekonpa Magazine. If you have a moment and can keep an open mind, we will attempt to bring some clarification and perhaps some enlightenment to the subject. We begin with the Guede spirits.
"The loa Ghede are often quite rowdy and raunchy, sprinkling their conversation with profanities and sexual innuendo. Haitian culture is generally very conservative and does not normally reward such behaviors, but the loa Ghede can commit such social transgressions without impunity - being dead, they are beyond punishment, and they seem to feel that shocking people is perfectly reasonable. They typically do not use profanity in an abusive manner, but prefer to make people laugh at their over-the-top behavior. Predominantly male, and praised with raucous songs and enthusiastic dances, the loa Ghede are the ancestors who bridge the gap between 'Guinea' (Africa) and the living of Haiti. The Ghede's names all end in La Croix in honor of Baron and Maman Brigitte who reclaim the souls of the ancestors and make them into loa; both Baron and Maman Brigitte's symbol is the cross. "Vodouisants possessed by the Ghede often dance suggestively (though without desire - it is a paradox that the Ghede represent both eroticism and death), drink strong spirits, and behave outrageously�" wrote an English Scholar. According to Vodou practitioners, "Baron Samedi", also known as "Papa Baron" and "Gran Brigitte", represent Guede's parental lineage. Guede's parents are considered the lord of death. Baron is the spirit who presides over the dead; the loa decides the faith of all human beings on earth after death. It is relevant to note that in the Vodou religion, there exists several Gods, in addition to the Creator of the universe; whom Vodouists refer to as THE GREAT and ULTIMATE FATHER, who are responsible for a different element of life such as the sun, wind, water, earth, air, dead, fire etc. All of these deities are believed (including Jesus the son of Jehovah) to be the holy sons and daughters of the Great and Ultimate Father.
Vodou is a very complex subject to understand if one is not part of the trusted circle of the religion. Religious Vodou priest known as "Hougan" (male priest) and Manbo (female priests) have their beliefs and secrets which cannot be revealed to the world. Don't think for a moment that Christian priests, Rabbis, Free masons, and other religious leaders do not have their own secrets which they do not reveal to their followers. To the Vodouists, Guede controls the crossroads at which every human must traverse some day to meet their faith in the afterlife. In the Haitian culture, Vodou Hougan and Mambo believe that no single individual can communicate with the dead without first obtaining permission from Papa Baron. In every major cemetery in Haiti, Papa Baron "lord of the dead" is represented by a black cross mounted on a small tomb. Guede, the keeper of the cemetery, is the primary contact with the dead. In the event that a person wishes to petition or contact the dead, he or she must first appeal to Guede/Baron Samedi to make the connection with ancestral spirits.
Guede is generally a good and generous spirit; both Papa Baron and Gran Brigitte have healing power. According to Vodou priests, Guede can decide the fate of a person near death by allowing him or her to recover or make the transition to the afterlife. They are particularly fond of young children and protect them from harm. Unless it is THE ULTIMATE CREATORS' will, Guede spirits do not allow children to die before they have completed the cycle of life.
It is our hope that with this insight into the spirits of Voodou and the truths about how it is practiced as a religion that we will be able to dispel some of the misconceptions that have heretofore been propagated.
http://heritagekonpa.com
No comments:
Post a Comment