When you
are in a state of nonacceptance, it's difficult to learn. A clenched fist
cannot receive a gift, and a clenched psyche -- grasped tightly against the
reality of what must not be accepted -- cannot easily receive a lesson. --
Roger John
The making of Voodoo dolls, poppets, fetishes, and
ritual effigies has taken place since antiquity. Though the practice is
ancient, their present use remains similar. In order to understand how to use
your Voodoo doll or poppet, it is useful to understand them in their historic
context. Much can be learned from studying the ancient cultures and mystics who
held the esoteric knowledge that forms the very foundation of modern day
magick, Voodoo, and witchcraft.
Vodun is sometimes called Voodoo,
Vodoun, or Vodou. Religions related to Vodun are: Candomble, Lucumi, Macumba,
and Yoruba). New Orleans Voodoo is a conglomeration of cultural and spiritual belief systems
strongly influenced by the ancient Voodoo religion of Africa, the Vodou religion
of Haiti, the healing arts of Native American people, the folk magic of Europe,
and Catholicism. Voodoo is culture, heritage, philosophy, art, dance, language,
medicine, music, justice, power, storytelling & ritual. Voodoo is a way of
looking at and dealing with life. It heals and destroys, is both good and bad,
and is simple in concept and complex in practice. Voodoo reflects the duality of
the nature of the rattlesnake; its poison is toxic but its poison is needed to
heal the same toxin. Voodoo is open to all yet holds many secrets & mysteries to
those who are uninitiated.
The word voodoo means “spirit of God.” Voodoo believers accept the existence of one
god, below which are the powerful spirits often referred to as Loa. These
powerful spirits are responsible for the daily matters in life in the areas of
family, love, money, happiness, wealth, and revenge.
Voodoo has its roots in the trauma of many people. It originated from the
African ancestors who were brought to the Caribbean in bondage. Christopher
Columbus set the stage in 1492 for the development of Voodoo when countless
Tainos were murdered in an attempt to enslave them during the colonization of
Hispaniola. With a lack of indigenous people to function as slaves, and the cost
of European servants prohibitive, the slave trade between West and Central
Africa began (Long, 2000).
In 1697 the French acquired one third of Hispaniola and worked the slaves literally
to death. The average survival rate of slaves at that time was only about 10
years. This made the slave population ripe for continual replenishment, and the
slave population grew from several thousand to half a million. The slave
population was extremely diverse with many different tribes representing many
religions, languages, and belief systems. It is during this time of the French
occupation that the basic structure of Voodoo as we know it today developed.
The colonizers believed that by separating families and individual nations, the
slave population would not unite as one people. On the contrary, the Africans
found commonalities in their belief systems and religions and began invoking
their own spirits and practicing each other’s religious rites. In addition, the
surviving Taino Indians exerted some influence over the practice of Voodoo,
especially in the area of the healing arts. As well, the indentured servants of
Europe brought their folk magic, which was incorporated into the Voodoo
religion. The Roman Catholic Church, ever finding ways to convert people to the
church, and the entity to which the French answered, insisted on treating the
slaves better and had them baptized and instructed in the practice of
Catholicism (Hanger, 1997). The slave population soon began to mask their
rituals and beliefs in Catholicism. It is the conglomeration and syncretism of
these diverse cultural belief systems that comprised the first Creole religion
and makes Voodoo what it is today.
To make a very long story short, the slaves eventually rebelled and drove out the
French and the Catholic Church. Years of oppression and persecution followed,
with the Voodoo considered Satanism by the Catholic church and evangelical
Protestants. This caused Voodoo to go undergraound and flourish. The Catholic
church eventually made peace with the Voodoo and it is now accepted as an
established religion.
The practice of sticking pins in dolls has history in European folk magic, but its exact origins are unclear. How it became known as a method of cursing an individual by some followers of what has come to be
called New Orleans Voodoo, which is a local variant of hoodoo, is a mystery. Some speculate that it was used as a means of self defense to intimidate superstitious slave owners. This practice is not unique to New Orleans voodoo, however, and has as much basis in European-based magical devices such as the poppet and the nkisi or bocio of West and Central Africa.
Today, Voodoo dolls can be found almost anywhere and for almost any purpose. From the novelty typoes, like the George Bush Voodoo dolls, to the magickal types found at any number of mystical sites and shops, to the Voodoo dolls of the artsitic variety such as the type I make and sell at The Mystic Voodoo and Planet Voodoo.
To learn how to make your own Voodoo dolls, check out my other blog Voodoo Art Dolls.
More later. Blessings,
Voodoo Mama
http://www.mysticvoodoo.com
http://www.planetvoodoo.com
http://www.marketingalchemy.net
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