8447: More on Vodou, Voodoo, and voodoo (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Lois E Wilcken <makandal-ny@juno.com>

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Voodoo, capped or not, a reference to
the religion that developed in New Orleans and other places in the North
American south?  Yes, the Haitian influence is there, but it evolved
differently.  Most Haitians living in the United States who practice the
Vodou with which we are familiar in Haiti today came to New York, Miami,
etc., since the 1960s.  I would vote for using Voodoo for the religious
traditions that have come down from such people as Marie Laveau, and
Vodou for those practiced in contemporary Haiti and its tenth department.

This, by the way, is a very big issue for companies like La Troupe
Makandal.  We find that when we use Vodou, we open up an opportunity to
re-educate the public.  Who wants to pass that up?

On a final note, isn't it a mark of progress that we're debating about
Vodou/Voodoo/voodoo, and not
Vodou/Voodoo/voodoo/vauxdoux/vaudou/voudon/vodun/vodoun/alatriye?

Lois Wilcken
La Troupe Makandal - New York City's #1 Haitian Roots Ensemble
621 Rutland Road, Brooklyn NY 11203
718-953-6638 / makandal-ny@juno.com
www.makandal.org