Misinformation Part 4

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Vodou...thats another one that is totally misunderstood and has a bad wrap....Generally I find that when ppl hear or see the word Vodou (or Voodoo) they automatically think terrible things, black magick, sacrificing babies and animals, zombies, the devil etc etc...which isnt right IMO...but I understand that its because ppl dont take the time to learn the truth OR just dont have access to it and/or have been once again misinformed.... Vodou however can be difficult to explain simply because much like Christianity and Paganism there are different types (denominations I suppose you could say) of Vodou....for example you have the old world Haitian and West Indies Vodou, you have Americanized New Orleans Vodou but then you also have SIMILAR paths such as Santeria and Macumba....BUT here are the basics to Vodou which btw actually (much like the modern Wicca) has many similarities to Christianity. - belief in a supreme being known as Bondye or Gran Met who isnt available to ppl but instead has a "right hand man" (lesser god) so to speak that is accessible - the Lwa are very similar to Christian Saints, they were, when alive, exceptional people, and as a Lwa they oversee various areas of the natural world and the lives of ppl - belief in an afterlife. - as the centerpiece of some of their ceremonies, a ritual sacrifice and consumption of flesh and blood which isnt much different to the Christian bread and wine thing - belief in the existence of 'baka' evil spirits or demons, avoided by most except a 'Boko/Bokor' (a Bokor is generally a loner type person who deals with the darker arts so to speak) - each person has a met tet (master of the head) which is the patron Lwa who is with one throughout life and the one that person is devoted to Followers of Vodun believe that each person has a soul which is composed of two parts: the gwo bon anj or "big guardian angel" - this aspect is that of ones personality and after death becomes an immortal ancestral spirit and the ti bon anj or "little guardian angel" whic is the half that is our conscience and the source of our morality etc..the ti bon anj is the bodies protector as well and the part that keeps us alive. This is also the part that leaves the body during sleep and when the person is possessed by a Lwa during a ritual. After death this part of our soul rejoins Bondye and has no connection to the living at all.. there is a very basic start to Vodou....I'll post more in Part 5...