Religious Culture Vodou is a Haitian way of life that encompasses religion, philosophy, social relations, healing, psychology, justice, ethics and the arts. The word vodun is originally an African word meaning “spirit” or “deity.” Historically, Vodou arose out of the brutality of plantation slavery. African people from all walks of life—royalty, priests, artists, teachers, healers, farmers—were forcibly brought to the Americas by Europeans, and on arrival in Haiti were christianized by Catholic missionary priests. Haitian slaves saw and built correlations between Catholic saints and African deities. They looked at the images of St. Patrick casting serpents out of Ireland and read signs of Danbala, the serpentine spirit of life force. In the Virgin Mary they saw different faces of Ezili, the powerful female divinity. Adherents of Vodou do not see themselves as members of a separate religion; they consider themselves Roman Catholic. “Vodou provides, like all world religions, a profound spirituality. It is a very stong, cohesive social force within the community, and the community extends beyond the visual community to include the spiritual world.” Leslie Desmanges, Professor, Trinity College		by Errol Louis Artistic Traditions Religious Culture Vodou Gods Artibonite Artists Home