Has voodoo been misjudged?

While many African traditions and cultures are under
threat from modern life, there is one which is holding
its own - voodoo.
It has suffered from a bad press internationally but is
an official religion in the West African country of Benin.
In the voodoo heartland of Ouidah, the sound of drums
fills the air, while men and women dressed mainly in
white take turns to dance around a bowl of millet, a
freshly slaughtered chicken and alcohol.
These are the day's offering at the Temple of Pythons.
They have an audience of about 60 people who have
gathered from nearby towns for an annual cleansing
ceremony.
Inside the temple, where more than 50 snakes are
slithering around a custom-made pit, local devotees
make amends for sins of the past year.
Blood, snakes and power
In voodoo, the python is a symbol of strength - the
devotees explain they are relying on Dagbe, the spirit
whose temple this is, to give them the power to
change.
And to make that change happen, blood must be
spilled.
The first offering is a chicken - some of the blood is
spread across the tiles of the temple and the rest is
mixed into a communal bowl of millet - which the
devotees eat as it is passed around.
Voodoo is rooted in the worship of nature and
ancestors - and the belief that the living and the dead
exist side by side - a dual world that can be accessed
through various deities.
Its followers believe in striving to live in peace and to
always do good - that bad intentions will not go
unpunished, a similar concept to Christians striving for
"righteousness" and not "sinning".
Modest estimates put voodoo followers here at at least
40% of Benin's population. Some 27% classify
themselves as Christians and 22% Muslims.
But expert on African religions and traditions Dodji
Amouzouvi, a professor of sociology and anthropology,
says many people practice "dual religion".
"There is a popular saying here: 'Christian during the
day and voodoo at night'. It simply means that even
those who follow other faiths always return to voodoo
in some way," he tells me.
To illustrate the closeness of the two faiths, there is a
Basilica opposite the Temple of Pythons in the town
square.
"At the moment many people here in Benin feel let
down by the establishment, there are no jobs," Mr
Amouzouvi.
"People are turning to voodoo to pray for better times."
But how did voodoo get exported to places such as
New Orleans and Haiti?
At the edge of the sea in Ouidah stands La Porte du
Non-Retour "The Door of No Return" - a stone arch
monument with carvings of men and women in chains
walking in a procession towards a ship.
It was from this point that many thousands of African
slaves were packed into ships and taken to the
Americas - the only thing they took with them was
voodoo, which they clung to as a reminder of home.
They continued to practise it, at times being beaten if
caught by the slave masters.
This made some even more determined to keep it alive,
according to reports.
Some practices in voodoo can appear threatening to
the outsider - the slaughtering of animals have in part
earned the faith its unflattering image, some say.
But Mr Amouzouvi says voodoo is not all that different
to other faiths.
"Many religions recognise blood as a source of power,
a sign of life. In Christianity it's taught that there is
power in the blood of Jesus," he says.
"Voodoo teaches that there is power in blood, it can
appease gods, give thanks. Animals are seen as an
important part of the voodoo practice."
Regine Romaine, an academic with a keen interest in
voodoo, agrees.
"The African experience is open for all to see - people
are invited to witness the ceremonies, the slaughtering
and that same openness has been judged whereas it
isn't in other systems like the Islamic and Jewish
faiths," she tells me.
"Slaughtering animals is not unique to voodoo. If you
go to the kosher deli or buy halaal meat, it's been killed
and allowed to bleed out before being shared.
"Ultimately, the gaze on voodoo over the years has not
been one of love - that's why it's been given a bad
image."
Ms Romaine is of Haitian and US heritage.
She first learned about voodoo from her aunt in Haiti -
she travelled on a pilgrimage to retrace the "slave
route" and her last stop was here in Benin where she
has been living for more than a year.
'Voodoo is not evil'
According to Ms Romaine, voodoo's bad image abroad
has a lot to do with what people have seen in
Hollywood films.
"The image of voodoo went wrong from the first
encounter - from the first visitors to the continent, the
anthropologists who didn't understand what they were
seeing and from that came a lot of xenophobic
writing," she says.
"It was also worsened by the US invasion of Haiti
much later, which gave rise to Hollywood's fascination
with the horror stories that all had voodoo."
Back at the ceremony, the processing of devotees has
now moved to the town square for the final stage of
the rituals.
There is more drumming, singing, dancing and after
four animals are killed and cooked inside three large
flaming pots of clay, the meat inside is shared by all
those who have attended the day's proceedings.
The Regional High Priest of Voodoo Daagbo Hounon is
presiding over the day's rituals.
He is dressed in ceremonial robes, with a striking top
hat, and holding a staff made from cowry shells.
He is a big man with a booming voice and speaks
passionately about their belief system - he tells me that
their faith is misunderstood.
"Voodoo is not evil. It's not the devil," he says.
"If you believe and someone thinks badly of you and
tries to harm to you, voodoo will protect you. Some say
it is the devil, we don't believe in the devil and even if
he exists, he's not here," he tells me.
He is keen to welcome international visitors.
The small town offers an "initiation" from people from
all over the world to come and learn about the practice
- from how to use herbal medication, how to pray and
meditate, how to perform rituals for the gods.
High Priest Hounon says the programme is popular
with tourists from the US, Cuba and parts of Europe.
For many West Africans in the diaspora, voodoo has
become a symbolic coming home.
Ms Romaine, who is also member of that diaspora,
believes voodoo is successful because it provides a
connection to a neglected identity.
She tells me that voodoo is gaining appeal in the US
amongst young people.
"There is a shift especially in the Americas. The
younger generation now want to proclaim their identity
in a way that the previous generation was perhaps
more intimidated to do and spiritual identity is a part of
that. For some voodoo meets that need."
The government here in Benin is committed to
upholding the practice.
In the mid 1990s it built a monument to voodoo in a
place known as the sacred forest - an ancient place of
worship on the edge of town.
Life-sized metal and wooden totems have pride of
place amongst the towering trees - this place is meant
to help teach young people here about their voodoo
heritage.
With the government supporting it at home and the
descendants of slaves embracing it abroad, the ancient
voodoo tradition has found a place in the modern world,
where other African belief systems are often struggling
for relevance.
Read more from Pumza on Africa's disappearing
cultures:
'I would prefer to die than see my traditions die out'
'Only three people speak my language'

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