posted on Jun, 4 2007 @ 06:28 PM
Well now that some of the laughs have died down, let's talk about voodoo dolls and zombies. First Voodoo is originally from West Africa, known as
Vodoun and was brought to Haiti during the slave trade and is a shamanic religion that calls on spirits for guidence and support. It is a very real
religion and still practiced today in many parts of the world with local variations.
In New Orleans, practicioners will quickly correct you as they call it Hoodoo. Zombie, drugged living people, are used as house servants/slaves and
bodyguards and do light duties. Mostly practiced in Haiti. Some reports of zombies exist in the far past around New Orleans, but are usually regaurded
as stories. Zombies are created by a drug induced coma by a Houngan or Mambo (male and female priests--also the origin of mumbo jumbo). This is
usually done as an act of revenge or a show of power to a doubter.
Voodoo Dolls are not used in Haiti. It is mostly New Orleans practice. An honest answer is the magic of a voodoo doll comes from the power of
suggestion. In otherwords it is mostly "folk magic" like love potions from an old gypsy woman. Which is understandable as Hoodoo has more european
influences where Haitian Voodoo has more Central and South American Indian influences. Both variations claim strong influence from Catholic and
Protestant Christianity yet neither have worship of anything like the Devil, Satan or Lucifer.
So yes Voodoo is a real religion, it does have zombies and it is believed that the Salem Witchcraft Trials may have stemmed from teenage girls having
a facination with Voodoo practiced by a Haitian Mambo.