Vodou

Vodou
Family	African diaspora
Origin region	Haiti, from West and Central African, Catholic, and Caribbean contexts
Founding period	Developed during the colonial and enslaved African experience in the Caribbean
Estimated adherents	Practiced by Haitian and diaspora communities; exact numbers vary by definition and region.

Vodou is vodou is an African diaspora religion associated especially with Haiti, centered on Bondye, the lwa, ancestor reverence, ritual service, healing, music, dance, and community obligation.

Overview

Vodou formed in the context of slavery, colonialism, African religious memory, Catholic imagery, and Caribbean community life. It is often misunderstood in popular media. Practitioners commonly distinguish the distant supreme God, Bondye, from the lwa, spiritual beings who interact with human communities through ritual service.

Key beliefs

Bondye as the supreme God
Lwa as powerful spirits connected with families, nations, powers, and histories
Ancestors and the dead as part of religious and communal life
Reciprocity through service, offerings, song, and ritual obligation
Healing, protection, moral order, and community continuity

Practices

Ceremonies with drumming, song, dance, and spirit possession
Offerings to lwa and ancestors
Healing and protective rites
Feasts for spirits
Initiation in some lineages

Places of worship

Peristyle or Vodou temple space
Home altar
Cemetery and ancestral spaces
Sacred trees, crossroads, and ritual sites

Sacred texts

Primarily oral tradition
Songs, prayers, ritual knowledge, and lineage teachings

Holidays and observances

Fet Gede
Feasts for specific lwa
Catholic calendar days adapted in some Vodou communities

Branches and related traditions

African diaspora religions - A broad family of traditions formed through African, Indigenous, European, and American histories.
Santería - A related but distinct African diaspora religion with Yoruba roots.
Candomblé - A related but distinct Afro-Brazilian religious tradition.