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RELIG 274 > African Witchcraft and Vodou > Flashcards

African Witchcraft and Vodou Flashcards

1
Q

Who is E.E. Evans-Pritchard? What was his influence on African witchcraft?

A
  • famous anthropologist
  • provided influential definitions and understanding of witchcraft
  • witchcraft was largely shaped by his work with the Azande
  • witchcraft was perfectly rational within its context, not superstitious or illogical - witchcraft is a way to explain unfortunate events
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2
Q

Why are various diseases employed as an example of witchcraft? give an example

A
  • ex. delayed display of symptoms like coughing, diarrhea, unexplained weight loss - traditionally interpreted as symptoms of witchcraft, understanding that one’s like is being eaten away by invisible forces
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3
Q

Describe the story of witchcraft of the Kuranko

A
  • 1970: outbreak on encephalitis - one infected man diagnosed by Gbangbe (witch hunters) as a victim of witchcraft (suwa’ye) deriving from a witch (suwage)
  • The accused “witch” (the victims sister) became sick
    While ill, she confessed she had killed her victim through witchcraft because he had refused her rice
  • Gbanbane ordered that she be buried alive because “a witch deserves no respect. A witch is not a person”
  • However the Gbangbane cannot fully destruct a witch only disarm them
    The witch’s Pulan then terrorized the village’s men
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4
Q

What kind of animals is the witch associated with? name some examples

A

predatory animals - leopard, hyena, vulture, snake bat (“witch bird”)

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5
Q

What was Michael Jackson’s theory?

A
  • his examination revolves around whether the Kuranko suwage corresponds to the western understanding of the witch
  • witchcraft is seen as “an inborn proclivity” , not inherited
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6
Q

Jackson’s take on confessing witches?

A
  • usually those who confess are on deathbed and/or killed - possible suffering of existential crisis (loss of social and/or personal autonomy)
  • a confession to witchcraft is “desperate stratagem for reclaiming autonomy in a hopeless situation” - meaning and agency to a woman’s illness, she can air greivances against her family members
  • “the last freedom” - what which remains to us when external circumstances rob is of the power to act
  • A self-confessed witch “ actively uses confession “to give voice to long-suppressed grievances and to cope with her suffering by declaring herself the author of it. Thus, she determines how she will play out the role which circumstances has thrust upon her, she dies deciding her own identity,sealing her own fate”
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7
Q

Why do Hunter-Gatherer societies very rarely have witch beliefs?

A

they identify witch beliefs as coming from another tribe, when witchcraft is identified they leave the area

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8
Q

According to Mobility theory, why are women usually assumed to be witches

A
  • property is inherited partilinearlly
    -women marry into families and produce heirs, but have no claim to property
  • underlying fear that women want this property and will use malevolent means to get it
  • the fact that they come from another family makes them somewhat mysterious and/or unknown
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9
Q

In Togo and the Fon-Dahomey language, what does Vodou mean?

A

vodou means many things: serving the spirits, sacred objects, a set of divinities and devotees of spirits
- also refer to the ritual dance styles

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10
Q

What is the goal of Vodou? How is it accomplished?

A

goal: in life, it is possible to enhance one’s chans (luck) and minimize the mize (suffering)
accomplished by:
- by respectful attention to sustaining human relationships
- through service to the spirits

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11
Q

Where is the birthplace of Vodou?

A

Haiti

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12
Q

What are the three lines of African influence to Vodou?

A
  1. Fon (now Benin)
  2. Yoruba (nigeria)
  3. Kongo (angola and zaire)
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13
Q

What language are most songs, sayings and religious terms in?

A

Creole - primarily french but with african, spanish and north american words

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14
Q

Hispaniola (where and what?)

A

was originally a Spanish colony: from the 16 century, the island received enslaved Africans to aid in colonization

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15
Q

“Bois caiman” - When did it occur? What happened?

A
  • occurred on Aug 11, 1791
  • is seen as the most important ceremony for Vodou as it launched the African slaves revolution on the plantation houses
  • french were driven out in 1803
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16
Q

Who is Faustin Soulouque

A
  • he crowned himself emperor in 1846
  • was a practitioner of Vodou and held rituals in the palace
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17
Q

Describe historical events that influence Vodou (hint: think 1915-1990)

A
  • during 19th and 20th century, Vodou was so subtly syncrenized with catholocism it was hard to distinguish the two
  • 1915: Haiti had a negative reputation in western world
  • 1920: National geographic comment on Vodou “unthinking animalism” and as a response US seized control stating they were protecting it from the Germans
  • 1941: again US marines took control to stamp out Vodou - justification was that Vodou people were pro-nazi (campaign was supported by the Catholic church and the rich elites of Haiti)
  • Papa Doc, a voduist, was elected and was a dictator
  • After Papa died, Baby Doc took over, and during this time political tensions eased and tourism peaked
  • in 1991 Pere Jean-Bertrand was elected and ruled the country according to its constitution which states religious freedom
18
Q

Describe vodou cosmology

A

derives from the Zimbabwean myth: Bondye created the universe, the Loa, humanity, etc. After creation Bondye vacated far into the sky and left the Loas to manage the earthly matters

19
Q

What is a Loa?

A
  • basically the Vodou spirits or gods
  • Loas are numerous and most exhibit various personalities and characteristics
  • they are an archetype of moral principles that he or she represents
  • like people, they have strengths and weaknesses
20
Q

Who is Baron Samedi?

A
  • was considered Loa of the dead
  • head of the Gada family
  • often depicted as tall, handsome man, often wearing tuxedo and tophat, skeletal face
  • has a lot of cigars and alcohol on him
  • when an individual dies, baron digs his grave, greets them in death and guides them to the afterlife, also has healing capabilities
  • is notorious for outrageous behaviour, but still able to fulfill his responsibilities (very human-like quality)
21
Q

What are the two branches of Loas in Vodou?

A

Rada and Petro
- each offer different rewards

22
Q

Define Rada Loas

A
  • are african in origin
  • represents the emotional stability and warmth of africa, the hearth of the nation
  • seen as benevolent: spirits are not overly strict in their dealings with the living - more compassionate and familial dealings
23
Q

Define Petro loas

A
  • originated in Haiti as a response to inhospitable conditions
  • legends trace its origins to dom pedro, a spanish houngan of early Colonial times
  • the are NOT malevolent, but they are more aggressive and their sacrificial rites (often sacrificed pigs) can become frenzies and occassionally violent
  • have access to realms that Rada Loas do not - including money and commerce
  • also seen as more individualistic
24
Q

What is the Gros-bon-ange?

A

the large “spirit” that animates the body

25
Q

What is the Ti Bonanj?

A

“little guardian angel” - part of the soul directly associated with the individual - molds individual sentiments and is the source personality

26
Q

What is the N’ame?

A

the spirit of the flesh that allows each cell to function

27
Q

What is the priest and priestess called? do they have any organizational authority?

A
  • priest = houngan
  • priestess = mambo
  • no organizational authority
28
Q

What are the primary responsibilities of the priest/priestess?

A

preservation and performance of complex religious traditions and rituals, looking after their Hounfor, herbalist for treatments of disease, they were forced to become “doctors” due to lack of medical resources in an impoverished nation

29
Q

What is Houmfor?

A
  • temple is called the Houmfor
  • may include all the peristyle (the public area where ceremonies take place)
  • or it may refer only to the small room containing the altar, drums and other ceremonial objects
  • also includes a pole in middle of room - seen as the staircase which the spirits enter and leave
30
Q

What kinds of ceremonies/rituals take place?

A
  • include initiation, death, birth, baptism
  • are passed down from generation to generation with creative compressions and additions along the way
  • rituals that alter the status of the person undergoing the ritual and in the eyes of the entire community where the ritual has meaning
31
Q

What are some components of the ceremonie/rituals?

A

drums, alcohol, candles, dancing, possession, and sacrifice are all components

32
Q

What is the significance of Sacrifice at the rituals?

A
  • sacrifice is for the Loa(s) present at the ceremonie
  • blood is then utilized to anoint sacred objects or make crosses on the forehead of each participant
  • dead animal is then laid upon the Vever (symbolic designs drawn with flour on ground to summon Loa) and the entrails are offered to the Loa in exchange for guidance
33
Q

What is the significance of Possession?

A
  • most likely to occur during the moment of sacrifice
  • can occur to anyone present
  • a Loa spirit is the possessor - makes known its desires through the mouth of the person possessed
    Loa displaces the Ti Bonanj
  • Loa provides advice to individuals for specific situations
  • mutual need: spirits need food and people need protection, guidance and luck
34
Q

What is Bocor?

A

a witch doctor who practices black magic, always practice in private, or one-on-one with a client

35
Q

What are Zobops?

A

grotesque monsters conjured by sorcerers (or sorcerers become monsters themselves) and banded together in “red sects”
- tales employed to frighten children or naive journalists

36
Q

Are Priests and Priestess familiar with black magic?

A

yes, because they have to be able to counter it effectively

37
Q

What is a zombie?

A
  • arguably the most popular concept of Vodou’s darker side
  • derived from the Kongo word Nzambi - “spirit of a dead person”
  • often describes in relation to forced servitude
  • born out of evil magic from a Bocor
38
Q

How does the Bocor birth a zombie?

A
  • they can reanimate a recent corpse and turn them into a mindless slave by removing a crucial spiritual component
  • upon death,the Ti Bonanj must be captured and prevented from reentering the victim (usually through beatings) - then the Gros-bon-ange must be prevented from returning to its source (God and the great reservoir of energy that supports all life) and the N’ame must be retained to keep the flesh from decaying
  • The zombie cadavre with its gros-bon-ange and n’ame can function; however, separated from the ti bonanj, the body is but an empty vessel, subject to direction and control to whomever possess the ti bonanj
39
Q

What did Anthropologist Wade Davis discover?

A
  • a numbing poison that can induce a death-like state
  • Davis claims that in order for someone to be subject to zombification, they must first be found to have broken some specific social norm, like stealing someone’s spouse, and thus it exerts a positive social control
40
Q

How are zombies viewed in Haiti?

A

they are not feared, but rather objects of pity

RELIG 274 (7 decks)

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