See also: Dahomey mythology and Yoruba mythology

Vodun or Vudun (so spelled in the Fon language of Benin and Nigeria and the Ewe language of Togo and Ghana; also spelled Vodon, Vodoun, Voudou, etc. VodouThe Dahomey (or Fon) are a nation located in Benin, Africa. The Yoruba religion is the religious beliefs and practices of the Yoruba people both in Africa (chiefly in Nigeria and Benin Republic) Fon (native name Fɔn gbè fɔ̃̄ɡ͡bè is part of the Gbe language cluster and belongs to the Volta-Niger branch of the Niger-Congo languages Benin (bə'nɪn officially the Republic of Benin, and also known as Benin Republic, is a country in Western Africa. Nigeria, officially named the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal Constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal Ewe (native name Ɛ̀ʋɛ̀gbè ὲβὲg͡bè is a Niger-Congo language spoken in Ghana, Togo and Benin by approximately five TOGO was a Japanese roller coaster design company famous for inventing the Stand-up roller coaster. The Republic of Ghana is a country in West Africa. It borders Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast to the west Burkina Faso to the north Togo to the ) is a traditional monotheistic organized religion of coastal West Africa, from Nigeria to Ghana. See also Religion in Africa African traditional religions, also referred to as African indigenous religions or African For the Celtic Frost album see Monotheist (album In Theology, monotheism (from Greek grc [[wiktμόνος μόνος]] A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos West Africa or Western Africa is the Westernmost Region of the African Continent. Nigeria, officially named the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal Constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal The Republic of Ghana is a country in West Africa. It borders Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast to the west Burkina Faso to the north Togo to the It is distinct from the non-organized traditional animistic religions in the interiors of these same countries, as well as from various religions with often similar names of the African Diaspora in the New World, such as Haitian Vodou, the similar Vudu of the Dominican Republic, Candomblé in Brazil (which uses the term Vodum), Louisiana Voodoo, and Santería in Cuba, which are syncretized with Christianity and the traditional religions of the Kongo people of Congo and Angola. Animism (from Latin anima ( Soul, Life) commonly refers to a religious belief that Souls or Spirits exist in Animals The African diaspora was the movement of Africans and their descendants to places throughout the world - predominantly to the Americas, then later to Europe, the The New World is one of the names used for the non-Eurasian/non-African parts of the Earth specifically the Americas and Australia. Vodou ( Anglicized: Voodoo) or Vaudoo is a family of New World syncretistic religions primarily based on the faiths of the The Dominican Republic ( Spanish: República Dominicana;) is a nation located in the Caribbean region and shares the island of Hispaniola with Candomblé (pronounced /kɐ̃dõˈblɛ/is an African-originated or Afro-Brazilian religion practiced chiefly in Brazil. |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld Louisiana Voodoo, also known as New Orleans Voodoo, originated from the ancestral religions of the African diaspora. Santería, also known as La Regla de Lukumi (Lukumi's Rule and The Way of the Saints is an Afro-Cuban religious tradition derived from traditional beliefs The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la Syncretism consists of the attempt to reconcile disparate or contradictory beliefs often while melding practices of various schools of thought Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings See also Religion in Africa African traditional religions, also referred to as African indigenous religions or African The Bakongo or the Kongo people (meaning "hunter" also sometimes referred to as Congolese, live along the Atlantic coast of Africa The Congo River (for a time known as the Zaire River) is the largest River in Western Central Africa. Angola, officially the Republic of Angola (República de Angola Pronounced ʁɛˈpublikɐ dɨ ɐ̃ˈgɔlɐ Repubilika ya Ngola is a country in south-central

When the word is capitalized, Vodun, it denotes the religion. When it is not, vodun, it denotes the spirits that are central to the religion. The English word " spirit " comes from the Latin " spiritus " (breath "Voodoo" is the most common spelling in American popular culture.

Vodun is practiced by the Ewe, Kabye, Mina, Fon, and (under a different name) the Yoruba peoples of southeastern Ghana, southern and central Togo, southern and central Benin, and southwestern Nigeria. The Ewe are a people located on the southeast corner of Ghana, east of the Volta River, in an area now described as the Volta Region. Kabye is the name for both the Kaybe or Kabiyé language and peoples of the northern plains of Togo. Gen (also called Gɛ̃ or Gɛn gbe) is a Gbe language spoken in the southeast of Togo in the Maritime Region. This is an article about the Fon people for the article about the Fon chieftains of Cameroon see Fon (Cameroon. The Yoruba (Yo•row•ba ( Yorùbá in Yoruba Orthography) are one of the largest ethno-linguistic or Ethnic groups in West Africa The Republic of Ghana is a country in West Africa. It borders Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast to the west Burkina Faso to the north Togo to the TOGO was a Japanese roller coaster design company famous for inventing the Stand-up roller coaster. Benin (bə'nɪn officially the Republic of Benin, and also known as Benin Republic, is a country in Western Africa. Nigeria, officially named the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal Constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal The word vodún (pronounced [vodṹ] — that is, with a nasal u on a high tone) is the Gbe (Fon-Ewe) word for spirit. A nasal vowel is a Vowel that is produced with a lowering of the velum so that air escapes both through Nose as well as the Mouth. Tone is the use of pitch in Language to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning—that is to distinguish or inflect words The Gbe languages (ɡ͡bè form a cluster of about twenty related Languages stretching across the area between eastern Ghana and western Nigeria.

Vodun cosmology

Vodun cosmology centers around the vodun, spirits and other elements of divine essence which govern the Earth. See Cosmology (disambiguation. Religious cosmologies are ways of explaining the history and evolution of the Universe based Vodun is essentially monotheistic: There is a single divine Creator, called variously Mawu or Nana Buluku, which embodies a dual cosmogenic principle, and of which Mawu, the moon, and Lisa, the sun, are female and male aspects, respectively. A creator deity is a Deity in a Creation myth responsible for the creation of the World (or Universe) In Dahomey mythology, Mawu (alternately Mahu) is a creator goddess, associated with the Sun and Moon. Nana Buluku is the Supreme Deity of the Fon from Dahomey. Nana Buluku is an androgynous deity This article discusses scientific theories of creation (cosmogony (Mawu and Lisa are often portrayed as the twin children of the Creator. ) There are a hierarchy of lesser creations, the vodun, which range in power from major deities governing the forces of nature and human society to the spirits of individual streams, trees, and rocks, the more impressive of which may be considered sacred. God does not trifle with the mundane, so the vodun are the center of religious life. (It is often believed that it is these aspects of the religion, similar in many ways to the Trinity and the intercession of saints and angels, which made Vodun so compatible with Christianity, especially Catholicism, in the New World, and produced such strongly syncretistic religions as Haitian Vodou. SSC RF "Troitsk Institute of Innovative and Termonuclear Research" or TRINITY for shprt Троицкий Институт инновационных и термоядерных Intercession of the saints is a Christian doctrine common to the vast majority of the world's Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Latin Rite An angel is a Spiritual Supernatural being found in many Religions Although the nature of angels and the tasks given to them vary from tradition to tradition As a Christian Ecclesiastical term Catholic —from the Greek adjective, meaning "general" or "universal"—is described )

The pantheon of the vodun is quite large and complex. A pantheon (from Greek Πάνθειον - pantheion, literally "a temple of all gods " neut In one tradition, there are seven daughters and sons of Mawu, which are inter-ethnic and related to natural phenomena or historical or mythical individuals, as well as dozens of ethnic vodun, defenders of a certain clan, tribe, or nation. There is a pantheistic quality to Vodun, since all of Divine Creation is considered divine, and therefore contains the power of the divine. Pantheism ( Greek: πάν ( 'pan') = all and θεός ( 'theos') = God it literally means " God is All This is a concept vital to medicine, such as herbal remedies, and explains the ubiquitous use of mundane objects in religious ritual.

West African Vodun, as with all indigenous African Religions, has its primary emphasis on ancestors, with each family of spirits having its own priestesshood, who is often hereditary. In many African clans, deities might include Mami Wata, who are god/desses of the waters; Legba, who in some clans is virile and young in contrast to the old man form he takes in Haiti; Gu, ruling iron and smithcraft; Sakpata, who rules diseases; and many other spirits distinct in their own way to West Africa. Mami Wata is a pantheon of water Spirits or deities, venerated in West, Central, and Southern Africa In Haitian Vodou, Papa Legba is the intermediary between the loa and humanity For the Togolese prefecture see Ogou Togo. In Haitian Vodou and Yoruba mythology, Ogun (or Ogoun In Dahomey mythology, Shakpana (or Sopono Sakpata) is the god of smallpox

European colonialism, followed by some of the totalitarian regimes in West Africa, have tried to suppress Vodun as well as other traditional religions. See Colony and Colonization for examples of colonialism which do not refer to Western colonialism However, because the vodun deities are born to each clan, tribe, and nation, and their clergy are central to maintaining the moral, social and political order and ancestral foundation of its village, it was near to impossible to eradicate the tradition. Today the religion is practiced by about 8 million people in Benin, Togo, and Ghana, and at least that many again in Nigeria, and recently there have been moves to restore the place of Vodun in national society, such as an annual International Vodun Conference held in the city of Ouidah in Benin that has been held since 1991. Ouidah (also Whydah in English is a city on the Atlantic coast of Benin.

Demographics

About 60% of the population of Benin, some 4½ million people, practice Vodun. (This does not count other traditional religions in Benin. ) In addition, many of the 15% of the population that refer to themselves as Christian practice a syncretized religion, not dissimilar from Haitian Vodou or Brazilian Cadomblé; indeed, many of them are descended from freed Brazilian slaves who settled on the coast near Ouidah. In Togo, about half the population practices indigenous religions, of which Vodun is by far the largest, with some 2½ million followers; there may be another million Vodunists among the Ewe of Ghana: 13% of the population of 20 million are Ewe and 38% of Ghanaians practice traditional religion. TOGO was a Japanese roller coaster design company famous for inventing the Stand-up roller coaster. The Republic of Ghana is a country in West Africa. It borders Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast to the west Burkina Faso to the north Togo to the According to census data, about 14 million people practice traditional religion in Nigeria, most of whom are Yoruba practicing Vodun, but no specific breakdown is available.

See also

• Dahomeyan religion
• Yoruba religion

References

External links

• Mami Wata West African Diaspora Vodoun
• The Ancient African-Diaspora Matriarchal Tradition of Calling-up the Dead
• Traditional Religion in Africa:The Vodun Phenomenon in Benin
• The Afrocentric Expereince The origins of Voodoo
• Black Religious Music African Roots
• Afa (Ifa) in West African Diaspora Vodoun
• Vodou-related Rara festivals in Haiti and New York
• Baba Alawoye.com Baba'Awo Awoyinfa Ifaloju, showcasing Ifa using web media 2. 0 (blogs, podcasting, video & photocasting)
• West African Vodoun: An Ancestral Religion Resurrected in America Interview with Mama Zogbe.