A Different Faith

Updated on: Monday, October 31, 2011

“Voodoo is a religion like any other religion,” said professor Léon-François Hoffmann of Princeton University at a conference on ‘Voodoo: magic or religion?’ presented by Alliance Française du Bengale, recently. Chief guest Sanat Kumar Mitra, editor of Lokesanskriti Gabeshana, could not attend the conference due to ill health. The lively and entertaining discussion was followed by an interactive session between the professor and his audience.

Professor Léon-François Hoffmann is a writer and an emeritus professor at the department of French and Italian, Princeton University. His travels have taken him all over the world, especially to the French Institute of Haiti where he had the opportunity of acquainting himself with Haitian culture at first hand. Professor Hoffmann’s interest lies in French and Haitian literature which has led him to author several scholarly articles and books of international acclaim.

On his sixth visit to India, professor Hoffmann’s task was to dispel the myths that voodoo worship is enshrouded in, at the conference held by the Alliance. Voodoo, the folk religion of the Republic of Haiti, is an amalgamation of African cults and Catholic practices. Professor Hoffmann traced the history of the spirit religion and expanded upon the theology. He elucidated upon Haitian voodoo worship in a sociological context with references to its influence on Haitian culture, economy and political situation.

“Music, dance and religion were the only things left to the African slaves who had been forcefully displaced from their native places to foreign countries. They belonged to different cultures even though they belonged to the same continent and spoke different languages. So to find a common ground, they blended African religions with Christian elements to arrive at a form of worship that has evolved as voodoo in Haiti,” said professor Hoffmann while tracing the history of the mysterious religion.

“Voodoo has been badly studied and misconstrued as being synonymous with black magic. When you talk about a religion, it has its “good parts” and “bad parts”, same with voodoo worship. There are no official books of dogma which has led to such misconceptions. Voodoo has also been persecuted by the Haitian government,” added the professor.

A Different Faith

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