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Two days until Halloween: Our next stop is Haiti where we unveil the Voodoo culture
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The spirit of Voodoo is alive and well in Haitian culture. It is not just a religion they believe it is a way of life. Voodoo doesn’t have a past or future it is in everything whether you’re washing clothes or brushing your hair it is the balance of all creation. They believe if you alter your spiritual living then Voodoo will walk with you. The followers make pilgrimages to many natural sites of their country in order to free themselves from life’s horrors and misfortunes. The elaborate rituals help the believers to harness the energy of the gods.
Voodoo is the call of the spirit. In rural Haiti the religion is practiced in hopes of prosperity once again. The ill treatment of the slaves did not end at just labor they were forced to accept the Catholic religion with no regard of their religious faiths that were brought with them from Africa. The French tried to stamp out their Voodoo beliefs and destroyed precious relics of their faith. But to no avail. Voodoo survived. Temples were erected once again and rituals and practices are as vibrant today as they were in their founding countries of Africa back then. The followers of Voodoo were hated and chastised due to the lack of understanding of the faith. They were thought to be devil worshipers that would not give their hearts to Jesus, thus they were looked at as the enemy. This simply is not true and the misconceptions over the years have created a stir through out the Haitian communities. The followers do believe in the son of God. They believe Jesus to be the first Spirit that was sent to them and taught them how to live in accordance to his teachings. Now Haiti is slowly becoming a battle ground between religions only adding more desperation to their already difficult lives. Voodoo practitioners simply want the freedom to believe as they wish. But this freedom as well as many other freedoms that we often take for granted is not a part of the Haitian life.
Hollywood today has played a huge role in the sinister beliefs of Voodoo and depicting the dolls with pins as mechanisms of blood and destruction. Walking corpses known as Zombies with scarred pale faces survive off the blood of the living. In reality the dolls are a physical manifestation for the user to help them provide the spiritual change of their own embodiment to purify themselves in order to walk with the spirits. This guidance is to help the individual cope through hardships they face on a daily basis. These hardships would be unimaginable for the average person. But for a Haitian it is the only life they know. The folklore of the Haitian Zombies depicted on Halloween and in horror films are monsters that haunt our dreams. The true Zombies of Haiti are the emotionless people that have been exposed to poverty for centuries. They have become numb in order to handle the travesties they face to simply survive. They are victims of a world that has forgotten them who struggle every day. But through their Voodoo faith they find hope and strength for a better life.
For more info: Please visit for travel guides and advisories. For questions or comments you can contact Rebecca Hosking. Enjoy other articles involved with the count down to Halloween. All photos were taken by Rebecca Hosking copyright 2001.
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