Head of Haiti's voodoo religion dies

[Sage Ninja]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/...d=iehp#image=1

Max Gesner Beauvoir, the supreme chief of the voodoo religion, died at the age of 79 in the Haitian capital, his relatives announced.

Beauvoir, a biochemist by training, was named in 2008 the "National Ati," or spiritual guide for voodoo practitioners. The title was created to defend Haiti's historic religion from increased attacks from some Protestant churches and Evangelical preachers.

In 2010, influential US televangelist Pat Robertson stirred controversy when he claimed that the earthquake that struck Haiti that year and killed more than 200,000 people had a demonic origin.

Robertson claimed that the quake was caused by "a pact to the devil" that Haitians swore in 1804 when they rose against the French colonizers to obtain independence.

Beauvoir worked hard to counter negative stereotypes of the religion and explain voodoo to foreigners, and even opened the religion's temple to the public during important religious ceremonies.

At the start of Haiti's 2010 cholera epidemic, scores of voodoo practitioners were lynched by people who accused them of creating a powder that spread the disease.

Voodoo was part of the culture of the African that were enslaved and taken to Haiti in the 1600s and 1700s.

Banned during the French colonization period, those who practice voodoo seek to engage with supernatural spirits who protect followers and bring them into contact with an invisible world.

The ceremonies include rituals copied from Christian rites, though the religion is routinely attacked by many Christian churches.

I have only really heard of the narrow views of what Voodoo is from the media and other religious sources. But I have read some unbiased texts of it being more than evil dolls to inflict harm or zombie slaves, and that it is really a very misunderstood legitimate religion. I wonder who will be taking over as the next head.

[Dr. Terminus]

Wow, this is interesting. Makes me want to look up more about it now.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Voodoo IS often misunderstood, especially in the US and other primarily Christian countries. Its practitioners revere many gods called loas, who can literally possess people during rituals. One of the most famous of these is Ghede, also known as Baron Cimetiere, Baron La Croix, Baron Piquant(Haitian). He is the voodoo god of the dead and of crossroads. Ghede is likely of African origin. He is also sometimes called (or associated with) Baron Samedi. Children are protected by him, and he has healing powers. He is shown as a black man wearing a black coat, top hat, and dark glasses. He carries a cane and is usually shown with a cigar or cigarette. His sign is a square cross on a low tomb. This image of him is one that many outsiders view with fear, and this is one reason why it is so misunderstood.