Hi my dear friends, today we are going to know a bit more about Voodoo. It may be a strange practice and some people will not like it but I think it is an interesting and curious religious practice. It can be dangerous, it is true, if it is used in a bad way or without any knowledge but on the contrary, it can be fascinating, as well.
Hola mis queridos amigos, hoy vamos a saber un poquito más sobre el Vudú. Puede ser una práctica extraña y a algunas personas no les gustará pero creo que es una práctica religiosa interesante y curiosa. Puede ser peligrosa, es verdad, si se usa de mala manera y sin conocimiento pero por el contrario, puede ser también fascinante.
Info: from Speak Up magazine.
Photos: en.wikipedia.org (2) / tripadvisor.es / shrm.org /
NEW ORLEANS / THE VOODOO MUSEUM
Voodoo fascinates and frightens people in equal measure. The fundamental principle of voodoo is that everything is spirit, but its imagery and rites cerainly make it appear as something dangerous.
A LONG JOURNEY
Voodoo arrived in New Orleans in the 18th century, brought by slaves from western Africa and the West Indies, and later by slaves and creoles from Saint-Domingue (Haiti).
Voodoo beliefs have survived in New Orleans to this day in synchorism with the Christian religion. They have influenced traditional celebrations, such as certain dances and costumes in Mardi Gras parades, as well as elements of funeral processions. If you see a dead chicken on a grave in a New Orleans cemetery, that's voodoo, too.
GENDER RULES
Souvenir shops in New Orleans sell all sorts of scary voodoo merchandise, such as t-shirts and jewellery decorated with skeletons and skulls. But if you really want to explore the world of Louisiana voodoo, head to the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum in the heart of the French Quarter. Here you can learn that there is an important difference between Haitian voodoo and Louisiana voodoo: that Haitian voodoo is ruled by men, while Louisiana voodoo is ruled by women.
VOODOO QUEEN
The Voodoo Museum has exhibits that date back two hundred years. They include paintings and photos of other voodoo queens, women who used potions, amulets called "gris-gris" and practised rituals to help people fulfil their deepest desires, or ward off misfortune.
One of the most powerful voodoo queens of New Orleans was the hairdresser Marie Laveau (1801-1881). Laveau was not a slave, but the mixed-race daughter of a wealthy creole politician, who was even mayor of New Orleans for a short time. Marie Laveau was loved and respected by many people. She led voodoo rituals and was a talented healer, using herbal medicines to treat all kinds of ailments.
SYMBOLS OF POWER
The museum shows how believers turned to specific voodoo artefacts for help. Voodoo dolls were mostly used to encourage good things, such as health, love or money. Voodoo sought contact with ancestors and loas (that is the "spirits"), who would help them communicate with a single, all-powerful spirit, known as Li Grand Zombi or Damballa.
Exhibits show women dancing while holding a snake over their heads as a symbol of him. In this ritual, the male spirit of the heavens unites with the female spirit of the Earth, bringing healthy balance of forces.
EVIL SPIRITS
Protection from bad spirits was a piority among Louisiana voodoo practitioners. This is understandable in a region known for its intense heat and swamps, where malaria, cholera and yellow fever raged for centuries.
SURVIVAL
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed countless homes and claimed almost two thousand lives, with the poorest inhabitants from low-lying areas of New Orleans, where voodoo has traditionally been practised, suffering the most.
Yet, the spirit of voodoo is still very much alive in New Orleans, and many still practise its ancient arts.
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VOCABULARY
-TO FRIGHTEN: espantar, horrorizar.
-IMAGERY: imágenes.
-SLAVES: esclavos.
-GRAVE: tumba.
-SCARY: horripilante.
-SKULL: calavera.
-TO HEAD: dirigirse.
-TO RULE: gobernar.
-TO DATE BACK: remontarse.
-TO FULFIL: cumplir.
-TO WARD OFF: ahuyentar.
-MIXED-RACED: mestizo.
-MAYOR: alcalde.
-TO LEAD: llevar.
-HEALER: curandera.
-AILMENTS: dolencias.
-TO SEEK: buscar.
-PRACTITIONERS: practicantes.
-SWAMPS: pantanos.
-TO RAGE: arrasar.
-TO CLAIM LIVES: costar vidas.
-LOW-LYING: de baja altitud.
-SER UN CABEZOTA: to have a thick skull.
SEE YOU MY FRIENDS!
