Vodou Human Skulls

by Nadalyn Larsen

Title

Vodou Human Skulls

Artist

Nadalyn Larsen

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Photo taken at the Vodou Museum in Strasbourg France. The museum contains a magnificent collection of vodou artifacts. The collection is fascinating and educational for anyone interested in world religions or primitive religious practices. Vodou, or voodoo or vodum, is a much-misunderstood religion. At the museum I learned that there are three distinct forms of vodou – West African, where it originated, Haitian, and New Orleans voodoo. Apparently, the only forms of vodou that are attached to any kind of evil practices are the Haitian and New Orleans. The original West African religion was centered around worship of the elements and animals in nature and the ancestors and combines philoso#phy, religion, and justice. It is believed that the world and life are precious and should be handled with care and appreciation. The goddess Awon Iya Wa or Mothers, which includes not only god-like mothers but also older living women who are no longer able to conceive, are worshiped as the god of fertility and the mother of everything are celebrated through Gèlèdè ceremonies. These are colorful practices with elaborate costumes worn by priests, singing, chanting, and dancing. Scary masks or amulets are used to fight off evil spirits which might try to disrupt people’s lives. Masks are held to protect against the Mothers’ wrath and gain their favor. The ceremonies are an attempt to regulate life in society, convey messages and solve problems such as epidemics, drought, and famine through sending messages to the orishas or ancestors. It is the men who wear the elaborate masks, headdresses, and breastplates made to look like pregnant women with swollen abdomen and engorged breasts. The practitioners of vodou use masks and small dolls, or other objects, called fetishes, to ask for health, safety, prosperity, protection, and to protect and enhance relationships. Fetishes are objects which are believed to contain spirits and are commonly carried for protection and to fulfill prayers.

Human skulls. Vodou priests often use human and animal bones in their ceremonies. Human skulls are the most powerful and the most dangerous. They give their possessors special powers, such as the ability to contact spirits that are the hardest to communicate with. If the skull was someone with special strengths, abilities or wisdom, the skull gives those abilities to its possessor. Therefore, a priest with a skull is a formidable person. The skulls are usually decorated to please the spirit of the skull’s original owner.

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January 18th, 2024

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