a1635: Kathy Grey on the spelling of the Haitian religion

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Racine125@aol.com

How do we spell that voooooodoooooo, that we dooooooo, so well? This must be the religion with the most spellings in the world! Let me talk a bit about derivations and spellings.

Most of us have been informed that the word 'vodou' is from the Fon language of Dahomey (now Benin); and indicates divine energy, Godhead, spiritual power. I think it is closer to what Americans understand in the phrase, "May the Force be with you", than it is to "God the Father".

I am convinced that there are at least three different spiritual systems operating under variants of this word:

 1) Haitian Vodou - pronounced "Vo" as in "toe", and "dou" as in "you", with the accent on the second syllable, so - Vo-DOU. A person in Haiti who is a member of this religion is called a "Vodouisant", but that is really a French-originated suffix. The average Haitian does not say, "I am a Vodouisant", but rather, "I serve the lwa" or "I serve Guinea." The correct spelling is as I have written it, and so it is spelled by those Haitians who live in this tradition.

Spellings like Vodoun, Voudun, Vodun, and so forth, confuse people - in French orthography, a final 'n' is frequently silent. Then they come to Haiti asking for something that sounds like -Voh-DONE, and we can't help laughing.

2) Dahomean (Beninois) Vodou - the traditional belief systems of the various ethnic groups of the region. Probably Beninois do not call their religion Vodou either, but say that they serve. I have heard them use the term "fetish", which was also French-imposed and sounds colonial.

3) American Voodoo - a belief system indigenous to African-Americans and centered, at least in popular imagination, in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, but differing from Haitian Vodou in that the initiatory tradition is for the most part lost, and there is greater emphasis on magic as opposed to religion. Participants in this tradition are sometimes called Vodounsis, and I think the si is the Dahomean si, meaning "bride", as in hounsi or trocosi. I have heard some people from this tradition call themselves "Voodooiennes".

"Hoodoo" is a regional variant in pronunciation of the above.

 I suppose I should add:

4) Hollywood Voodoo - a malevolent mishmash of magic conjured up by movie producers and bearing little or no resemblance to anything else on earth!

Peace and love,

Bon Mambo Racine Sans Bout Sa Te La Daginen

"Se bon ki ra" - Good is rare
     Haitian proverb

The VODOU Page - http://members.aol.com/racine125/index.html

(Posting from Jacmel, Haiti)