voodoo

Voodoo is a term used to describe several related religious traditions with roots in West Africa that developed in the Americas and Caribbean through the transatlantic slave trade. The term is often used broadly in English, but practitioners typically distinguish Haitian Vodou, Louisiana Voodoo, and other lineages such as West African Vodun. In Haiti, the religion is known as Vodou; it is a complex system of belief and practice rather than a single creed.

Common features include belief in a distant creator god called Bondye, or a similar high deity, and a pantheon of spirits known as lwa (loa) who mediate between humans and the divine. Ancestor reverence and community rites are important. Worship involves music, dance, offerings, divination, healing, and ceremonies that may include possession by lwa.

Haitian Vodou is organized in local communities with ritual leaders, sacred spaces, and altars. Practitioners use veves (ritual symbols), ancestor shrines, altars to lwa, drums, and ceremonial utensils. Louisiana Voodoo blends African-derived beliefs with Catholic elements and local folk practices; rituals may incorporate saints, crosses, and relics.

In public discourse, Voodoo is often misrepresented as sensational magic or zombie lore. In reality, many adherents emphasize community support, healing, moral ethics, and continuity of tradition. The religion remains active in Haiti, the Caribbean, the southern United States, and among diaspora communities, with diverse practices and vocabularies.