Voodoo is the most dominant religion in Haiti. Its name is directly traceable to an African word meaning “spirits.” Voodoo’s roots in Africa have been traced back more than 6,000 years. They can be directly traced to the West-African Yoruba people, who lived in Dahomey during the 18th and 19th Centuries. Dahomey was located where parts of Togo, Benin and Nigeria are today. When these Africans were captured and sold into slavery in the western territories and islands, they brought their religion with them.
Slave masters imposed Christianity on slaves. Slaves were taught that their African religions were evil and satanic. In some places, practicing Voodoo was against the law.
Most slaves in Haiti were baptized in the Roman Catholic Church, but while attending Mass on Sunday, they were secretly practicing Voodoo, their native religion. Many scholars, however, believe that Voodoo in Haiti has been influenced by some of the principles and concepts of the Roman Catholic Church.
After the Haitian Revolution in 1804, all white people were either kicked out of Haiti or killed. This included Roman Catholic priests. Therefore, the Vatican also disassociated itself with Haiti. Because of this, Voodoo priests began practicing Voodoo more openly.
The release of S. St. John’s "Haiti or the Black Republic” in 1884 made it harder for Haitians to practice Voodoo openly. The book depicted Voodoo as a very evil religion, and contained very explicit details of human sacrifice. The details for the book were rumored to have been taken from tortured Voodoo priests.
In the 1930s, Hollywood then used the details of St. John’s book for horror movies. Images of zombies and Voodoo dolls quickly became associated with the religion. Anthropologists began publishing more realistic studies of Voodoo in the 1950s.
From 1860 to 1940, the Catholic Church protested Voodoo in Haiti, but these protests never amounted to anything.
In 1949, the Catholic Church came back with a vengeance. They launched an all out holy war against Voodoo. They beat and even killed Voodoo priests (houngans) and priestesses (mambo), and burned Voodoo shrines.
Some scholars believe the Catholic Church’s efforts were in vain. Though Voodoo worshippers were again forced to practice in secret, the religion grew in popularity, due to the oppression.
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