I enjoyed the article, or transcribed interview. It took more of a stance on defending the culture of Haiti as an independent state than actually defining what Voodoo is, or its affects on the people. According to the article, the pairing of Haiti and Voodoo happened soon after the Slave Revolution in Haiti in order to remove responsibility for a successful revolution from the slave and place in the hands of someone else. Either Voodoo and Haitian culture will go hand in hand, or Haitian culture will be seen as independent from the occult. I enjoyed the commentary.
Vodou is usually seen as negative, and many people believe that it is a form of satanic worship. I’d always associated it with curses, and when I think about it, the image of the voodoo dolls come to mind. It surprised me to see that people who practice it still see God as the Supreme Being. I’ve attended Pentecostal services before, and I thought it was interesting that Ulysse compared Vodou rituals to speaking in tongues, which is something else that I’ve never understood. AS she pointed out, a lot of those negative stereotypes seem to stem from historically racist stereotypes. This article was an eye-opener for me, and I can look at their traditions with a new perspective.
This was extremely interesting to me because I never really knew that Vodou was connected to the slave revolution in Haiti. The whole earthquake idea happening because of a pact with the devil sounds like someone simply trying to put their own religion on a pedestal and/or get some attention. But I thought that this article did a good job at kind of telling the truth about Vodou, and it really kind of reinforced my own belief that people should be able to practice their beliefs how they see fit. And honestly, I really liked how the Vodou scared the white people and slave owners. I like that the Hatians had something in their favor, to give them leverage and put fear into the minds of slave owners.
I enjoyed the article as well. It seems that Vodu has become a scapegoat for social and political unrest caused largely by colonization and subsequent shifts in government for the past 200 years in Haiti. I agree with Andrew, the actual nature of Vodu or its implications for its followers were not described but rather descriptions of what Vodu is NOT were included in the article. The most effective way to dispel myths about Vodu perpetuated by popular 20th century culture is to be as clear as possible about what Vodu means to Haitians and how they themselves feel it is connected to their culture and daily lives.
I enjoyed the article, or transcribed interview. It took more of a stance on defending the culture of Haiti as an independent state than actually defining what Voodoo is, or its affects on the people. According to the article, the pairing of Haiti and Voodoo happened soon after the Slave Revolution in Haiti in order to remove responsibility for a successful revolution from the slave and place in the hands of someone else. Either Voodoo and Haitian culture will go hand in hand, or Haitian culture will be seen as independent from the occult. I enjoyed the commentary.
ReplyDeleteVodou is usually seen as negative, and many people believe that it is a form of satanic worship. I’d always associated it with curses, and when I think about it, the image of the voodoo dolls come to mind. It surprised me to see that people who practice it still see God as the Supreme Being. I’ve attended Pentecostal services before, and I thought it was interesting that Ulysse compared Vodou rituals to speaking in tongues, which is something else that I’ve never understood. AS she pointed out, a lot of those negative stereotypes seem to stem from historically racist stereotypes. This article was an eye-opener for me, and I can look at their traditions with a new perspective.
ReplyDeleteThis was extremely interesting to me because I never really knew that Vodou was connected to the slave revolution in Haiti. The whole earthquake idea happening because of a pact with the devil sounds like someone simply trying to put their own religion on a pedestal and/or get some attention. But I thought that this article did a good job at kind of telling the truth about Vodou, and it really kind of reinforced my own belief that people should be able to practice their beliefs how they see fit. And honestly, I really liked how the Vodou scared the white people and slave owners. I like that the Hatians had something in their favor, to give them leverage and put fear into the minds of slave owners.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the article as well. It seems that Vodu has become a scapegoat for social and political unrest caused largely by colonization and subsequent shifts in government for the past 200 years in Haiti. I agree with Andrew, the actual nature of Vodu or its implications for its followers were not described but rather descriptions of what Vodu is NOT were included in the article. The most effective way to dispel myths about Vodu perpetuated by popular 20th century culture is to be as clear as possible about what Vodu means to Haitians and how they themselves feel it is connected to their culture and daily lives.
ReplyDelete