Voodoo is generally known as an evil, scary religion. Voodoo would be dark, and it would be all about hurting other people through voodoo dolls. This is a distorted image of this religion. This article examines the image of voodoo, its similarities with Catholicism and the actual content of the religion. The voodoo from Haiti is often confused with the santéria from Cuba. There are people who think that voodoo represents all ‘black’ religions from Africa and is equivalent to black magic, sorcery and witchcraft. This is not true. Firstly, the voodoo community mainly speaks French mixed with Creole, and the Santéria followers speak Yoruban, a language from Nigeria. Santeria mainly speaks a West African language. Many basic principles from other faiths are also the same in voodoo as, for example, with Catholics.
Voodoo differs from most religions but there are also many similarities. For example, there are many similarities with the Roman Catholic religion. Many spirits have a counterpart in the Catholic faith, represented there by a saint. There are also differences, for example the voodoo pantheon differs from most other religions and the ceremonies also differ. So it is not the case that in voodoo people only work with black magic and do strange things during a ceremony.
Voodoo and evil forces
In every religion there are good and bad ‘forces’. Although there are slightly more of these in voodoo than in Christianity, for example, voodoo is seen far too much as a religion consisting only of demons, devils and dark forces. There is a black branch of voodoo (Petro Voodoo) mixed into ‘real’ voodoo. However, this department, in which evil and violent forces play a major role, forms only a very small part of the total. Voodoo itself is mainly a religion where good, positive forces play the main role. They may have a bad side and lead to devilish things by Western standards, but the spirits are not devilish in any way. In both voodoo and Christianity people try to avoid evil forces. In voodoo people try to appease and avoid these forces, they are not honored and they are not given any value. Outside Haiti, many people say that the poor situation in that country (it is lagging behind in terms of economics and politics) is mainly due to voodoo, because that religion is seen by many as superstitious and devilish.
Image about Voodoo in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands there are still many prejudices about voodoo. For example, many people think that it is dark magic, that people and animals are slaughtered and that voodoo followers only stick pins in dolls, so-called ‘voodoodolls’. An example: to obtain information I went to the library. I go to the counter to borrow books and the man behind the counter asks if I wasn’t going to do ‘those dark things like slaughtering people and sticking them in dolls.’ Of course this was a joke, but it does indicate what the general view on this subject is. When a voodoo priest or other voodoo figure is used in films, he or she is always depicted as someone from sorcery and witchcraft who harms people. This voodoo man often also represents evil in the film. In these kinds of ways, the bad image of voodoo is perpetuated.