22586: Maxwell: Re: 22581: Hess: vodou...voodoo... (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Stuart Maxwell <emailme@stumax.com>
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For what it's worth, I can verify that this is the spelling used
throughout the Smithsonian Folklife Festival's Haiti exhibits.  I was
at the festival on the 23rd & 24th and - I can't be positive about this
but I'm 90% sure this is what I heard - one of the commentators at the
Vodou temple mentioned that "vodou" was distinct from "voodoo," the
former being the "spiritually positive" religion practiced in Haiti,
the latter often associated in the US with the darker arts.

At any rate, if a reporter or photographer were at the festival, they
would not be able to miss the prominent displays of the spelling
"vodou."

Stuart Maxwell