Voodoo, In Pop Culture

The word Voodoo is heavily associated with a dark mysticism, magic, spirits and above all zombies. The picture painted of Voodoo in popular culture has always been heavily focused on the darker side of the religion. Who amongst us has not heard of poking a Voodoo doll with needles to cause pain in an unsuspecting victim? Other images that come to mind are skulls, snakes, zombies and animal sacrifices made by painted witch doctors in dark rituals. Let’s delve deeper into the image of voodoo portrayed in film, books and other media.

Voodoo and Zombies

One fascinating aspect of Voodoo is the transformation of the belief in possession by evil spirits of the dead into the modern brain-eating zombie. Originally the zombies were usually created by magic usually Voodoo related. In later days however the zombies are usually explained by more scientific means, like for instance virus. The real Voodoo zombie is possessed by a malevolent spirit sometimes controlled by dark magic. This fits well with the view of voodoo as witchcraft and dark magic that has been around since the birth of the religion. In reality, this is a tiny part of the religion that has been twisted far out of shape. While the popular view of zombies has very little to do with actual Voodoo the two are still very much entwined in pop culture. Why? Most likely it seems like one of the most forbidden and exciting parts of the religion to outsiders.

Origins of the Zombie

The word ”zombie” first appeared in England ca 1810. At that time it’s meaning was completely different from the hungering undead things we expect today. Instead, it meant the person had been in contact with a Loa, a West African spirit from an area where the term zombie was used. It stems from the belief that the human spirit can leave the body making room for a creature that is human in shape but lacks intelligence and soul. In Voodoo, it can take a person's soul up to nine days to fully enter the spirit world upon death. In the meanwhile, the soul hovers close to the body. To ensure a safe transition of the soul certain rites should be observed. This is why death rites have always been very important in Voodoo. What inspired the modern zombie is most likely Haitian Voodoo observed by outsiders which gave the word its current meaning. In Haitian Voodoo a zombie is viewed more as a victim than a monster. They were men reanimated through necromancy performed by special priests. Such a priest known as a “bokor” could even in certain cases control the reanimated zombies. The purpose of this was to use them as slaves but most importantly it was the ultimate punishment. In Voodoo, death was not necessarily the end to pain and torment. This heavily influenced the film industry. Movies such as the bond movie Live and Let Die from 1979 and The Serpent and the Rainbow from 1988 are heavily influenced by Haitian Voodoo.

Common Characters in Voodoo

The two most commonly seen Voodoo related characters are Papa Legba and Baron Samedi. These are powerful loas in the religion and in pop culture, they are usually portrayed as dark or even demonic spirits.

Baron Samedi

His name means Baron Saturday if you transform it word for word from its original French origin. Haiti was a French colony at the time of Voodoos inception and remains the primary language on the island today. Baron Samedi is lord of the burial grounds. He is usually portrayed wearing a top hat, smoking, cane and wearing white skull-like face paint. The character has been used in countless TV shows and movies. For example, the Swedish “Gladiatorerna” on TV4 has a gladiator called Baron Samedi who uses catch phrases such as: “He terrifies his opponents with his ghostlike visage and Voodoo talismans.” This is a very typical misappropriation of a real Voodoo character for entertainment purposes. It works well due to the unique look and dark aura of mysticism surrounding Baron Samedi and Voodoo in general.

Papa Legba

He is a loa that serves as the gatekeeper to the spirit world. He is said to speak all languages in the world and has dominion over areas relating to communication and understanding. Papa Legba is very similar to St: Peter, they both guard the entrance to heaven and pass judgment on the souls of the departed. In Haitian Voodoo, he is commonly portrayed as an old man wearing a straw hat accompanied by a dog. In Benin, Nigeria, and Togo he is usually a younger man.

Voodoo Dolls

Voodoo dolls are perhaps the most widely recognized symbols for Voodoo in pop culture. Most people will have seen plenty of examples of simple rag dolls made from scraps being poked by needles. The power of the Voodoo dolls requires it to be fashioned from the targets belongings in order for the magic to work. For instance, the doll can be made from scraps from the target's clothes, eyes made from buttons taken from their clothing. In pop culture, the Voodoo doll has been mixed with other evil dolls in general. Its focus is exclusively on black magic. A Voodoo doll symbolizing a person is created only to be stuck through by needles and pins to cause pain in the targeted body parts.

These days Voodoo dolls have been heavily commercialised. Due to the fact that it quickly became evident that there is a lot of money to be made by selling them. This is the most obvious reason why they are so easy to find and in such great variety. Voodoo dolls are common souvenirs from trips to New Orleans and Louisiana. They are also available online as alternative interior decorations. The magic part of the dolls has mostly fallen away leaving very little real concoction to the practice of Voodoo or any other kind magic.

Voodoo and Witchcraft

A common theme found in the pop culture image of Voodoo is the close relationship between it and witchcraft. Meaning the classic witchcraft, the use of spells, curses and the creation of potions. Voodoo is generally believed to be rooted in animism and ancestor worship. Animism is the belief that all things have a soul. This means not only men but trees, animals even inanimate things like rocks. When the first Christian Europeans first encountered Africans performing rites including snakes, bone fragments and the skulls of their forefathers clash between them was inevitable. The Africans practices immediately became synonymous with witchcraft and black magic. A Voodoo priest can easily be mistaken for a witch doctor. Things were made worse by the belief that spirits could possess the practitioners during their rites.

A typical example of Voodoo in modern pop culture is season three of the TV show American Horror Story. It follows a group of witches in New Orleans. One of the main characters is the Voodoo priestess Marie Laveau. She is loosely based on a real person with the same name living the city during the nineteenth century. Laveau became a sort of Voodoo-Queen in the city.In the TV-show she is more of a witch with a vast knowledge of the black arts, using both curses and the summoning of spirits. Just like witches have always been a source of fascination for people, in general, it becomes very obvious when you look at how Voodoo is depicted. It is almost universally associated with black magic, necromancy and witchcraft.

What separates Voodoo in pop culture from the real thing?

The greatest difference is the massive focus that pop culture puts on the darker sides of Voodoo. It is usually all about evil spirits, Voodoo dolls, zombies and death. If you were to ask a real practitioner, from let’s say Benin in western Africa none of these things would be mentioned. More likely they’d emphasise other things. Such as the guidance they receive when faced with hard life decisions and the sense of community coming not only from other practitioners but also their ancestors. When it comes to “magic” and rites they would emphasise that most rites are all about attracting good spirits to provide happiness, health and good fortune. The belief in karma is central to Voodoo. This is one of the main differences between real Voodoo and what we see on TV, a practitioner of black magic would attract ill fortune not only to himself but also his loved ones according to his faith. Not only that but inviting dark spirits and to losing control can leave a person possessed by the spirit. In Voodoo the respect for spirits is usually very great. To act in the way portrayed in pop culture would be seen as a terrible lack of respect. At the same time there has always been unscrupulous people willing to use Voodoo to frighten or for monetary gains. Much like in other religions.