VOODOO !

VOODOO is the name given to the religious beliefs and the practice of magic of certain African tribes. The word is a West African word which means god or spirit. The beliefs and practices of voodoo have spread to many sections of the West Indies, especially Haiti, and to a few parts of the United States. Voodooism usually has a powerful influence on those who practice it. Some voodoo customs are extremely old.

According to voodooism, the spirits of the dead live in a world of ghosts, but can visit the world of the living to bless or curse them. The chief magicians, called medicine men or witch doctors, bring the living into touch with the dead. A medicine man may talk with a wooden image and say that a spirit answers him through the image. If a man makes a wax image which represents his enemy and sticks pins into it or melts it down, he is practicing voodooism to injure his foe.

• New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum
  THE place to start.

• Voodoo in New Orleans
  Some history of voodoo in New Orleans presented in text format.

• Voodoo in New Orleans
  Photographs of Voodoo sites in New Orleans.

• Voodoo/Cemetaries
  Voodoo, ghosts, and tours in New Orleans. Be sure to check out the Voodoo Overview. Marie Laveau would like you to visit...

• THE VODUN (VOODOO) RELIGION
  Text history of voodoo.

• Vodoun Information Pages
  Lots to explore here.

• The Electric Art Gallery: Haitian Voodoo Flags
  Not the kind of flags you think! Information on use of symbols in voodoo with beautiful images of voodoo flags.

• Voodoo as a Magic System

• Voodoo!
  New Orleans voodoo photographs

• Voodoo Culture in the U.S. Bibliography
  For some late night reading...

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Last revised 23 September 1998.

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