Vodun

Vodun or Vodou, religion of Haiti, also practiced in Cuba, Trinidad, Brazil, and the southern United States, especially Louisiana. Vodun is commonly called voodoo, a term that carries derogatory and inaccurate associations, according to many scholars today. Vodun combines elements of Roman Catholicism and tribal religions of western Africa, particularly Benin. Vodun cults worship a high god, Bon Dieu; ancestors or, more generally, the dead; twins; and spirits called loa. The loa, which may vary from cult to cult, are African tribal gods that are usually identified with Roman Catholic saints. The snake god, for example, is identified with St. Patrick. Other elements of Roman Catholicism in Vodun include the use of candles, bells, crosses, and prayers and the practices of baptism and making the sign of the cross. Among the African elements are dancing, drumming, and the worship of ancestors and twins.

The rituals of Vodun are often led by a priest, called a houngan, or a priestess, called a mambo. During the ritual the worshipers invoke the loa by drumming, dancing, singing, and feasting, and the loa take possession of the dancers. Each dancer then behaves in a manner characteristic of the possessing spirit and while in an ecstatic trance performs cures and gives advice.