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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Is voodoo a force for good or bad? |
| 2006-01-09 |
| As millions of Beninois and others prepare for the annual voodoo festival of offering prayers and animal sacrifices, do we really understand what voodoo is? .... or care? Once banned, voodoo is now an official religion in Benin, where the practice was born. About 60% of the country's 7 million people practise the religion. Forms of voodoo also exist in Togo, Ghana, Haiti and Brazil, and New Orleans. Followers believe in a generally pissed off supreme God, dolls and pins, and spirits who link the human with the divine. Spirits are thought to exist in many things - from the earth, wind, thunder, giant baobab trees and pythons, and pints of Guinness. But for centuries the religion has been associated with black magic used for evil purposes and based on animal and human sacrifices. Is voodoo a force for good or evil? Is there a place for voodoo in modern Africa? Does voodoo play an important part in your family? Do you have any UNCLAS voodoo stories to tell us? "good" .... as in human sacrifices? BBC please explain. Send us your comments and experiences using the form on the right, or text us to +44 77 86 20 20 08. If you would like to take part in the Africa Have Your Say radio programme on 10 January at 1600 GMT, please include a telephone number. It will not be published, or dialed too often. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #3 Heh! I like Dr John's music! New Orleans - voodoo and its high priest Dr John! |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-01-09 22:46 |
| #2 Is voodoo a force for good or evil? Is there a place for voodoo in modern Africa? Does voodoo play an important part in your family? Sounds like part of a syllabus for African Studies 220 or some such class. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2006-01-09 16:48 |
| #1 The last claim to fame Voodoo had was the zombie, but voodoo zombies were dull compared to virus/toxic/nuclear waste created undead. Voodoo has nothing left to offer. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2006-01-09 15:14 |