Voodoo

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Term Paper Title	Voodoo
# of Words	595
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	2.38

Voodoo

Voodoo

     Fon is spoken by over half the people of Benin and it is the mother tongue
of voodoo. In Fon the root word for voodoo is vodoun that means spirit or god.
Voodoo had its origins over 350 years ago in West Africa. In fact Allada, a
small town in Benin, is often called the 'cradle of voodoo'.   In 1996, January
10th became National Voodoo Day in honor of its followers that make up 65% of
Benin population.
     The religion Vodoun was a by-product of the slave trade.  This Yoruban
religion was carried to Haiti in a slave trade from Dahomey, which is currently
called Benin.  Once in Haiti, the slaves were forced to adopt Catholicism.
Desiring to keep their native practices, the slaves continued to perform their
rituals in private.  They transposed Catholic saints onto the tribal deities,
called loa, to please their owners.  Instead of hindering the faith of the
slaves, the incorporation of the saints added something new to their religion.
Because of this they included into their rituals statues of the saints, candles,
and other Christian relics.  It is combinations like this that form religions
such as Santeria, a blend of Voodoo and Spanish Catholicism, that proves what a
malleable religion it is.  Voodoo has spread throughout the world into major
communities on Rio de Janeiro, New Orleans, Miami, and New York city.  Vodoun
has as many as 50 million followers throughout the world now.
     Although varieties of this religion occur in different regions there are
some basic tenets common among them.  They all believe that the pulse of life
resides in nature's elements like fire or wind. This force is also in union with
the dead and thus fosters a belief that they should be respected through rituals.
  They believe that all things are the creation of the loa, and at the same time
part of the lao and are to be servants to the...

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