To put it simply, foreigners have always regarded Vodou, and traditional African mysticism in general, with disdain.
Vodou was ridiculed, denigrated, and banned because it was deemed the lowest form of Paganism and primitive superstition.
Outsiders to the tradition in the United States popularized the spelling "voodoo."
Vodou was previously widely depicted in mainstream horror films, exploitation films and pulp novels as a vicious, racist form of the religion (see Zombi).
- As a result, many practitioners dislike this name and favor Vodoun or Vodou, the official Kreyol spelling.
- The pejorative term "voodoo" persists in modern culture, as shown by phrases like "voodoo economics."
- However, the term "voodoo" is also used to describe the spiritual traditions that arose in New Orleans as a result of the large exodus of Haitian refugees during the Haitian Revolution, which started in 1791.
- Outsiders often used the term "Voodoo" to refer to any magical practitioner or witch, especially one of African origin, as in Lafcadio Hearn's renowned eulogy for Dr. John Montanet, The Last of the Voodoos.
- This is deemed disrespectful and wrong as well. Voodooist or Vodouienne are terms used by several practitioners.
You may also want to read more about Paganism here.
Be sure to check out my writings on Religion here.
