ShortHand: Haitian Vodou
5/1/202624 min
Zombies, incantations and dolls full of pins… the version of voodoo that most of us get has been suffused with decades of Hollywood magic, and a dusting of light xenophobia.
But the reality of Haitian vodou is much more complex – and way more fascinating. So, how did slaves reconcile their own folklore and religions, with the Catholicism that colonisers were forcing down their throats? Who are the main lwa – or spirits – of vodou? And how can an offering of black coffee, rum and cigars help you to commune with the dead?
Find out in this week’s ShortHand!
--
Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus Episodes
YouTube - Full-length Video Episodes
TikTok / Instagram
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSruti· Host0:00
[rock music] Hello.
Mabel· Host0:13
Hello.
Sruti· Host0:13
I'm Sruti. Do we say this?
Mabel· Host0:15
I don't know. And woof. [laughs] I'm Mabel. [laughs] We've got a very small dog in the studio with us.
Sruti· Host0:20
We do indeed.
Mabel· Host0:21
Um, but she's asleep, so w- She's very quiet, very well-behaved. Don't, I mean, don't jinx it.
Sruti· Host0:26
Eh.
Mabel· Host0:26
[laughs] But I'm enjoying it.
Sruti· Host0:28
If my words do that, I am going to feel as powerful as the people we talk about- [laughs] ... in this particular episode.
Mabel· Host0:34
Queen of, queen of the segue strikes again. Ka-pow.
Sruti· Host0:36
[laughs] Ka-chow.
Mabel· Host0:38
[laughs] [drumbeat] We do also have the soundboard in the studio today, so there you go. Right. Today we are going to do an episode of Shorthand that I am very, very excited about.
Sruti· Host0:50
So as the saying goes, Haiti is 70% Catholic, 30% Protestant, and 100% Vodou. I love that saying. [laughs] I forgot to put it in the Papa Doc episode, so I had to start it- That's okay ... here with that. But what is Haitian Vodou? Where did it originate? And what do practitioners of this hugely misunderstood religion really believe? Because, of course, you lovely people don't need me to tell you that Vodou is massively confusing in terms of how it's portrayed. Firstly, let's start with the word Vodou itself. How it's spelt depends on whether you're referring