Voodoo medicine practices. Louisiana Voodoo 2019-01-29

The Basic Beliefs of the Vodou (Voodoo) Religion

It was at school, me and my friend didn't want to do an exam, so we decided to stay home, being sick. All slaves, regardless of age, suffered from pica the result of eating clay, out of starvation , parasites and worms. Healing now came from herbs and supernatural divination. That is, they come and take over a person's body for a time. Reid 1993 states reflection is a process of reviewing an experience of practice in order to describe, analyse, evaluate and so inform learning about practice. In addition to helping or impeding human affairs, loa can also manifest themselves by possessing the bodies of their worshipers.

The 'Voodoo' Eastern Medicine Vs. The Tested (And FDA Approved) Western Medicine

They did blood tests every day. Cases where symptoms without an identifiable cause spread through groups of people have been around for centuries, a phenomenon known as mass psychogenic illness. The specific name for the items is gris-gris. I wasn't, so I thought, I hadn't any other choice except get really sick. Upon arrival to the New World, slaves had the enormous burden of being viewed as laboring property. Vonarx explains that by giving a meaning to their illness, voodoo gives Haitians the feeling they have some control over their lives — in a country and a situation where very few people feel empowered.

The Science of Voodoo: When Mind Attacks Body

Many slaves were Voodooists, and some of their military leaders were priests who inspired and organized their communities to fight for freedom. Some spirits have animals that are typically associated with them in sacrifice; chickens, for example, are often offered to Damballa. To understand what they believe, you have to first understand how a Voodooist sees the world. Now, since Saint-Domingue was a completely new land for slaves, there was a need to collaborate with the local native tribes, who faced their own immense health challenges, given the arrival of the Spanish and French. Rather they considered them to be savages, incapable of abstract concepts or spirituality. The protector of the helpless and young children as well as the handicapped and the deformed, he is said to transport the souls of the dead to the afterlife. New York: Macmillan Company, 1946.

Haitian Traditional Medicine and Voodoo: Intersection as Means for Healing and Liberation

In my New Orleans community, many Voodooists feel that part of religion is service to their community, so there is an emphasis on healing and social activism. So, for example, if you are a farmer you might give praise and offerings to the spirit of agriculture; if you are suffering from unrequited love, you would praise or leave offerings for Erzulie Freda, the spirit of love, and so on. Voodoo priests and priestesses undergo a long period of training before performing any ritual that opens themselves up to spiritual possession. Its is , the language of the. Voudon teaches belief in a supreme being called Bondye, an unknowable and uninvolved creator god.

The Basic Beliefs of the Vodou (Voodoo) Religion

Learn Voodoo's use of occult materials and see their strange powers revealed. Many of the Catholic saints were identified with traditional Voodoo lwas spirits or held a double meaning for the practitioners of Voodoo. It has a pleasant sweet scent with a hint of coconut. They also performed their rituals using the items and imagery of the Catholic Church. Take Sam Shoeman, who was diagnosed with end-stage liver cancer in the 1970s and given just months to live.

Louisiana Voodoo

Voodoo has ordained clergy, Hougan priests and Manbo priestesses that make a commitment to a spiritual path and can offer guidance when needed, but it is believed that each person is responsible for their own actions and capable of self-actualization. Thus the spectacular tales of black magic, while very real, are extremely limited. Their power and influence were widespread and largely incontestable, recognized by journalists, judges, criminals, and citizens alike. They burned peristyle, Voodoo shrines, beat some say even killed houngans and mambo, demanded their ostracism from society and shot things up. It is imperative that medical staff be culturally competent and understanding that these different cultures come with their own set of spiritual beliefs that differ from their own.

Essay on Voodoo Health Practices

Examples include: Five Finger Grass, Dragon Blood Sticks, Dixie Love Perfume and Brimstone. It is the dominant religion of Haiti. It is important, that this healing ritual takes place in the appropriate context, which means, one should do it in proper place and atmosphere. . She was said to be born the illegitimate daughter of a Creole plantation owner and his half black, half Native American mistress. Due to the revolution being started by slaves who were supposedly possessed by a deity during a Vodou ritual, the French colonists became aggressive towards Voodoo rituals as a precaution. If your mind is negative, the disease will consume you.

What is Voodoo? Understanding a Misunderstood Religion

We can help cure you of such health problems without the use of medication. Voodoo rituals are elaborate, steeped in secret languages, spirit possessed dancing, and special diets eaten by the voodoo priests and priestesses. Among the Yorubas, the Loa Lwa or Spirits are known as Orisha. Saint Expedite represents the spirit standing between life and death. Magical attack or black magic spell can be the cause of a disharmony in human body and thus cause a disease. My biggest piece of advice for anyone looking closely at Eastern medical practices is to do research, keep an open mind and consult with your physician. Brimstone is used to keep away evil spirits and counteract spells cast on households, and was burned in rooms needing to be deodorized.

Haiti: Introduction to Voodoo

The source of Asian healthcare beliefs is found deep in their ancient practices which is vastly different from my modernized biomedical healthcare practices. Her influence contributed to the adoption of Catholic practices into the Voodoo belief system. Some reports went as far to state that he had the ability able to resuscitate patients on the verge of death through his rituals. His performance included dancing, magic, and biting the head off a live chicken and drinking its blood. The University of Tennessee Press. Herbalists, now familiar with the landscape of Saint-Domingue, were able to use a vast materia medica of herbs.