Voodoo – The Biggest Hollywood Myth Or Reality?
Every second Hollywood movie has something to do with Voodoo exposing it as one of the creepiest kinds of black magic. Thanks to modern fiction, most of us feel awkward when hearing or reading anything about it.
But is it as terrifying as it might seem? Is Voodoo actually a cult that is responsible for numerous lives taken away? I can assure you it is only partially true. After a thorough deep research I can assure you, Voodoo differs much from what we see on TV or read in popular books.
Long time ago Voodoo was a religion with the set of rules used to keep the crowd. But today it is mostly used for dark rituals or ceremonies that bring no good to people.
Voodoo is an ancient African religion, based on rituals involving animal skulls, bones and other parts of their bodies. No one knows exactly when it appeared, but scientists are sure that it has strong parallels with Christianity. Voodoo practitioners see themselves as servants of the spirits. They don’t actually tell the spirits to do anything; they provide offerings and honor and then ask.
Unlike Hollywood’s fiction, it hardly gives anyone powers for controlling the nature, but adepts are ‘controlled’ by spirits they honor.
Today there exist 5 main Voodoo cults:
-Louisiana Voodoo or New Orleans Voodoo, a set of African-based spiritual folkways.
-Haitian Vodou, a syncretic religion practiced chiefly in Haiti.
-Brazilian Vodum, one of the major branches (nations) of Candomblé.
-West African Vodun, practiced by Gbe-speaking ethnic groups in West Africa.
-Cuban Vodú, a syncretic religion that developed in the Spanish Empire.
-Dominican Vudú, a syncretic religion that developed in the Spanish Empire.
The most dangerous and the one that is more likely to be connected with black magic is Haitian Vodou. Voodoo priests or shamans here are believed to be strong enough to raise people from the dead. If you heard about Haitian zombies – this is just what I mean. There are witnesses that these (mostly old) men managed to make people stand up after they were proclaimed dead and their bodies – examined by doctors.
Zombies are used as slaves after the resurrection. Unfortunately for their relatives, reanimated people have no chance of getting back to life – shamans wake their bodies up bat can’t (or don’t want) to switch their brains on.
As a result, they receive an ideal slave that can cope with simple orders, don’t say a word and never ask questions or tries to get free.
Voodoo dolls is another mystery that requires explanations. The term Voodoo doll is commonly employed to describe an effigy into which pins are inserted. These items are usually created to harm someone. But in truth, it is more complicated than just that.
To make Voodoo doll ‘work’, masters should use materials belonging to the person, portrayed by this doll – hair, teeth, skin, pieces of clothes, etc. But they can provide a positive impact on anyone too, it all depends on the rituals.
