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Voodoo
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Source: www.theinnergodministry.com
Voodoo
The Vodou religion was brought to America via the many ethnic African groups during the slave trade.
Slave owners forbade the African devotees from practicing Vodou under penalty of death and forced many of them to convert to Catholicism.
Thus came the advent of syncretization of the names and aspects of the Voodoo Iwa to those of the Christian Saints who most closely
resembled their particular areas of expertise.
In the USA the Vodoun religion is derived from largely the Ewe and other West and central African groups
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Voodoo has faced substantial derision from some segments of the Protestant Christian contingent of southern Louisiana's
African-American and White populations, as voodoo and folk magic have been portrayed as both evil and Satanic.
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Survivals of Haitian and West African-influenced Vodou religion in the southern US are claimed by some to be found within the
African-American Spiritual Churches of New Orleans, a city with a large Catholic population.
There are several variations of Voodoo, that have survived. Was Christianity in general or Catholicism in particular used as
covers to enable the survival of Voodoo? Many popular songs of the Delta Blues tradition (circa 1900 to 1941) referenced voodoo
or its derivative Hoodoo explicitly. Robert Johnson sang of "Hot Foot Powder Sprinkled All Round My Door" and Muddy Water(s)
referenced "The Gypsy Woman", "Seventh Son", and the "Mojo Hand".
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STONES IN MY PASSWAY
by Robert Johnson
I got stones in my passway and my road seems dark at night
I got stones in my passway and my road seems dark at night
I have pains in my heart, they have taken my appetite
I have a bird to whistle and i have a bird to sing
Have a bird to whistle and i have a bird to sing
I got a woman that i'm loving, oh, but she don't mean a thing
My enemies have betrayed me, have overtaken poor Bob at last
My enemies have betrayed me, have overtaken poor Bob at last
And there's one thing certain, they have stones all in my pass
Now you're trying to take my life and all my lovin' too
You have laid a passway for me, now what are you trying to do?
I'm crying, "Please, please, let us be friends"
Now when hear me howling in my passway, rider,
please open your door and let me in
I got three legs to truck on, whoa, please don't block my road
I got three legs to truck on, whoa, please don't block my road
I been feelin' strange 'bout my rider, babe, i'm booked and i got to go
The Catholic syncretic contribution to Haitian Vodou is quite noticeable.
However, in the United States the story may be a little different, depending upon which scholarship you read.
Some scholars believe confusion about Voodoo in the USA arises because there is a widespread system of African American folk
belief and practice known as Hudu or more popularly as Hoodoo. The similarity of the words hoodoo and Voodoo notwithstanding,
hoodoo may have tenuous connections to Vodou, but may be an integral part of the Vodoun religion in West Africa.
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The difference between Voodoo and Hoodoo is very similar to the difference between Wiccan and Witchcraft,
one is an art or craft and the other is a religion.
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