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Vodoun (also Voodoo; Vodun) 273
theology” that lay behind his philosophy. These
ideas had an important influence on the medieval
conception of hell, purgatory, and heaven.
See also Dante Alighieri
For Further Reading:
Academic American Encyclopedia. Danbury, CT:
Grolier Incorporated, 1993.
Bailey, Cyril. Religion in Virgil. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1935.
Encyclopedia Britannica. Cambridge: Encyclopedia
Britannica, 1911.
Quinn, Kenneth. Virgil’s Aeneid. A Critical
Description. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan
Press, 1968.
Vodoun (also Voodoo; Vodun)
Vodoun is a Caribbean religion formed out of a
syncretistic blend of traditional African religions
and Catholic Christianity. Originally a slave religion,
it is especially associated with the island of
Haiti, although identifiably Vodoun forms of spiritual
expression are also present in Jamaica and
Santo Domingo. “Vodoun” is a derivative of the
Nigerian word vodu, which means divinity or
spirit or deity in the Fon language of Dahomey.
The term has been variously spelled/pronounced
as voudou, voudoun, vodoun, voodoo, and hoodoo.
Partially because of sensationalistic portrayals in
the entertainment media, voodoo and hoodoo
have come to be regarded as pejorative words.
Because of its connection with certain black magic
practices—practices emphasized and characterized
by Hollywood and novelistic treatments—it
is commonly associated with Satanism.
Vodoun postulates a complex and extensive
pantheon of divinities, referred to as loas or
mystères. A supreme being who created the world,
termed Gran Met, is acknowledged, although he is
too distant from the world to be worshipped.
Vodoun focuses instead on the more immediate
divinities, serving the loa in return for favors for
their devotees. In line with African tradition,
ancestors are revered.
Within Vodoun, the human being is pictured
as being composed of five ingredients: n’âme,
z’étoile, corps cadavre, gros bon ange, and ti bon
ange. Corps cadavre refers to the physical flesh.
N’âme is the vital energy that allows the body to
function during life. Z’étoile refers to the star of
destiny of the particular human being. Gros bon
ange (literally, “big good angel”) and ti bon ange
(literally, “little good angel”) constitute one’s soul.
The gros bon ange enters humans during conception,
and is a portion of the universal life energy, a
A vodoun ceremony in Haiti, 1969: dancing, leading to ecstasies and possession (Fortean Picture Library)