Ron Bodin

I'd like to preface this by saying that I do not practice voodoo, nor would I consider myself knowledgeable about the subject. This was a Little Free Library find, and naturally I was intrigued. This is a relatively slim volume at about 100 pages, and less than half of it is an essay on the history of Voodoo in the USA - particularly around New Orleans in Louisiana by the author. The rest is made up of newspaper articles from the late 19th century through the 20th century, as well as a show more police case involving the murder of a Voodoo priest. There is also a glossary in the back for various terms.

Overall a quick and interesting read. show less

Bodin presents this concise account of Voodoo in Louisiana tracing its roots to traditional West African religions and then to Louisiana by way of Haiti and Cuba following Touissant L’Ouverture’s successful revolution, as French slave-owners and their enslaved Africans escaped to Louisiana. There the Africans continued to practice their religion at night and out of sight of their masters. It gradually incorporated the learning and wisdom of traditional root doctors from other parts of show more Africa and then with the traditions and spirituality of Catholic Christianity. Following the American Civil War in New Orleans because of prominent figures Doctor John Montenet and Marie Laveau developed into an organized structure with rituals and began to incorporate European occult practices using candles and dolls, and white practitioners, and a commercial side.

Following this background and supplementing is a collection of newspaper accounts from Louisiana papers from 1843 to 1990 covering Voodoo and other supernatural folk beliefs.

Ending the booklet, which is part of the Louisiana Life series from the University of Southwestern Louisiana Center for Louisiana Studies, are the author’s notes of his 1990 interview with Voodoo priestess Ava Kay Jones. show less