A GLIMPSE INTO VODOO
What is Vodoo?
Vodoo is the religion of the ex-colonized and ex-enslaved African Americans. It is rampant everywhere in America, mostly in the Carribeans, Brazil, Guyana and, probably, in Louisiana (USA). It is not seen in the black American population that was under the English protectorate, probably because the slaves in this colony were not allowed to assemble freely during their off hours.
Is Vodoo an evil religion?
Vodoo is no less a religion than the other religions. It has its gods and its evils. In vodoo, the period of communication with the god is not the meditation but the trance, characterized by an hypnotic, cataleptic, or ecstatic state during which the worshiper is somewhat detached from his physical surroundings. In one sense, vodoo is not different from the other religions. In another sense, vodoo is different, because it is a mixture of christian beliefs which are called modern by the European scientists and of ancient African beliefs, the latter incorporating pseudoanimist beliefs.
What pushes me to speak of vodoo today is a circumstance of events. Yesterday, I had the oportunity to see, for the first time, the film Orpheus Negro, that have heard about, long time ago. Second, those days, I have the firm impression of being harassed by a mob, here, that would have liked that I believe in their god, be in their clan and be using their women, all things that may never happen. (Nobody is going to take me in this trap).
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Two months ago, I found a screw in a yogurt I was eaten and, this month, I was almost killed by a toxic dose of vitamine A found in a quart of milk; all those incidents have been preceded by verbal threats from different people in this country, most of them having been of Hispanic or white origin and may have been prostitutes. They have probably lost a protector, maybe Father Aristide, if he was a drug dealer. In any case, all my contention with the Hispanic community, here, came after a refusal (and I did well). The Latin American Hispanics, like the Carribean and Latin American blacks, believe in Vodoo or have some kind of primitive beliefs that are close to those found in vodoo. Most are lightly colored people, mulattoes coming from the mixture of races, black and white, black and Amerindian, white and amerindian and a mixture of those categories thereafter.
It is like if I was under a vodoo spell, but those people who may want to hurt me may not be only vodoo worshippers. Whenever, some people cannot use you or cannot have you on their side, they try to hurt you. Proxenetism is ugly and encourage those things. Peace to the soul of those who have fallen nto this trap.
(Posted this August 15, 2004)