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. Learn more about this unique style of Voodoo found only in New Orleans!
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 underground and flourish. The Catholic Church eventually made peace (on a superficial level, mind you) with the Voodoo and it is now accepted as an established religion.
Beyond the era of ancient
dolls, Voodoo dolls as we know them
today are created for many purposes. In
New Orleans, which can be considered the
contemporary hub of Voodoo dolls in
America, they are created as gris gris
(pronounced gree gree), a form of
talismanic magick. The word
gris means grey, denoting
that which lies between black and white.
Gris gris is both a noun and a verb,
referring to a ritually prepared object
such as a doll or a small cloth bag
filled with magickal ingredients, as
well as the act of working the gris gris
(i.e. spell or charm). In New Orleans,
there are four main categories of gris
gris: love, power and domination, luck
and finance, and uncrossing. These four
categories are among the most commonly
requested gris gris associated with
Voodoo dolls.
Traditionally, Voodoo
dolls are created to represent a deity
or to house a spirit, not unlike the
nkisi, statues of power used throughout
the Congo Basin in Central Africa that
are thought to contain spiritual powers
or spirits. Although they are most
commonly depicted as objects of revenge,
most practitioners of Voodoo make a
concerted effort to disassociate from
the malevolent use of Voodoo dolls,
which is considered a form of Bokor
Voodoo or sorcery. Instead, Voodoo dolls
are created and used for positive
purposes. Approximately 90%percent of
the use of Voodoo dolls is centered on
healing, finding true love, and
spiritual guidance. They are also used
as focusing tools in ritual and
meditation.
In New Orleans, Voodoo
dolls are largely sold as souvenirs,
curios, and novelty items. There are
literally hundreds of kinds of voodoo
dolls available; most are mass produced
in Taiwan for the tourist trade, but
many are created by local practitioners.
These dolls can usually be identified by
their similarities to each other, and
often come with a packet of pins and
instructions. For the most part, people
who purchase a Voodoo doll will keep it
around as a warm and fuzzy reminder of
New Orleans, the Land of Voodoo.
Voodoo in New Orleans, excerpt from 1995 documentary
An all-purpose Voodoo doll perfect for any ritual endeavor!
In New Orleans, Voodoo moss dolls can be found all over the French Quarter in a variety of styles, sold as magickal curios infused with the power to heal or hex. These dolls are popular due to their affordability and flexibility. They come in all colors and sometimes carry a gris gris bag (a portable spell) of their own. A person can purchase one of these dolls and use it for whatever purpose is needed. Commonly used purposes are love; power and domination; good luck and prosperity; uncrossing, healing, fertility, protection, and connection with the Divine.
Voodoo moss dolls are typically constructed out of two sticks made into a cross shape and wrapped with Spanish moss. They may also be created out of fabric in the poppet style and stuffed with moss. In New Orleans, you can often find dolls that come with seven pins. The purpose for sticking the pins in the doll corresponds to the color and purpose of the pin. Sticking pins in a Voodoo doll is not meant to cause pain and anguish in another human being; rather, it serves to focus and activate your intention, or for pinning a photograph, personal effect, or name tag to the doll.
What
is New Orleans Voodoo
Hoodoo?
The term voodoo
hoodoo is commonly used by Louisiana locals to describe
our unique brand of New Orleans Creole Voodoo. It refers to
a blending of religious and magickal elements. There is the
tendency for many people to separate Voodoo the religion
from hoodoo the magick. However, this separation did not
occur in New Orleans as it did in other areas of the
country. The so-called magick is part of the religion; the
charms are medicine and spiritual tools that hold the
inherent healing mechanisms of the traditional religion and
culture. Voodoo in New Orleans is a way of life for those
who believe. A fellow New Orleans native and contemporary
gris gris man Dr. John explains it this way:
In New
Orleans, in religion, as in food or race or music, you can’t
separate nothing from nothing. Everything mingles each into
the other – Catholic saint worship with gris gris spirits,
evangelical tent meetings with spiritual church ceremonies –
until nothing is purely itself but becomes part of one fonky
gumbo. That is why it is important to understand that in New
Orleans the idea of voodoo – or as we call it gris gris – is
less a distinct religion than a way of life. (Rebennack &
Rummel, 1994, p. 159).
s 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.
