vudu magija

Foot track magic is one of the hallmarks of hoodoo. It involves

Floor washes are used to remove negativity from the home or

business or to bring good fortune, increase the number of customers, or to

attract love. Florida Water is commonly used as a floor wash. A ritual floor

washing typically starts at the back of the premises and end at the front door

step. The top floor is washed from the ceiling to the floor, and this is

repeated on each floor until one reaches the front door, where extra time is

spent scrubbing the doorway. For the best results, wash your floors, corners

of the rooms, closets, doorsteps, and spray a little on the walls, fabrics and

furniture. To dispose of the left-over wash water, throw it out the front door

or into the front yard, toward the East, if possible. Hardcore hoodoos will use

their own urine or the urine of a child as an ingredient in a floor wash.

Baron Samedie, Baron La Croix i Boumba Groblje, poznati kao i Skeleti, su Loe mrtvih i groblja. Među njima najmoćniji je Baron Samedi, on se pojavljuje kao crni, mršavi čovjek sa šeširom i štapom u ruci.

Baron la Croix izgleda kao kostur, na sva pitanje odgovara sarkastično i svojim izgledom želi uplašiti svakog.

Baron groblja Boumba je sjena koja plaši glasom sve prisutne.

Boja Barona je je crna i ljubičasta. Svi obredi posvećeni njima odvijaju se noću na groblju. Žrtve koje im se prinose su ugljen, crne i ljubičaste svijeće, crno kamenje, crne kokoši i rum. Baroni se praznuju od 22.do 30. oktombra.

Ovaj talisman je obavezan dio rekvizita svakog vudu vrača, sa njim houngan uspijeva svaki ritual završiti uspješno jer mu vudu pentakl daje snagu i moć. Znak se ugravira na metalnu pločicu i stalno nosi oko vrata.

Vudu magijom aktivno se mogu baviti samo fizički i psihički zdrave osobe. Dobar dio vudu recepata krajnje je opasan za izvođenje te se nepripremljena ili bolje rečeno neinicirana osoba dovode u krajnje nezavidan položaj izlažući se riziku da bude napadnuta od strane nevidljivih sila. Rezultat takvih ataka može biti psihička rastrojenost, ludilo, epilepsija, ukočenost....

Za praktični rad u vudu magiji potrebni su sljedeći rekviziti:

-životinjska lubanja

-ostaci mrtvih životinja i biljaka

-glina za izradu vudu lutkica

-tamjan i razne smole

-igle od čelika

-odgovarajuće poludrago kamenje

-vudu ulje za zaštitu

- nekoliko komada bijele krede

-kadionica

Najbitniji rekvizit za rad je takozvani „vudu oltar“. Priprema oltara nije komplikovana i u tu svrhu može poslužiti i neki stari stol. Klasični vudu oltar prepun je različitih i na prvi pogled nepotrebnih predmeta koji pojedinačno ili zajedno igraju važnu ulogu.

Za potrebe crnomagijskih rituala na oltaru se obavezno mora naći minijaturni lijes kojim se pozivaju Gospodari groblja i mrtvih – Ghede. Osim toga, na njemu se uvijek može vidjeti na desetine staklenih boca u kojima vrač čuva čarobne napitke, afrodizijake i biljne lijekove.

Ono što je svojevrsni zaštitni znak svakog vudu oltara jeste križ prema kojem se vrlo lako može razaznati kojem je vudu kultu houngan naklonjen. Tako ako na njegovom oltaru vidimo crni ili ljubičasti križ onda je bez svake sumnje vrač odan Loama iz Petro kulta a ako je križ u prirodnoj boji drveta to je znak kako je vrač posvećen bijeloj magiji.

Prije nego što se krene sa praktičnim dijelom svaki budući houngan ili mambo (vrač-svećenik ili vračara-svećenica) moraju proći niz mentalnih vježbi kako bi ovladali koncentracijom te kroz nju uspješno kanalizirali svoje misli do određene točke. Vudu praktikant mora znati uskladiti svoj duh i tijelo djelujući tako na vanjski i duhovni svijet kao cjelina. Stoga ne treba da čudi upozorenje na početku teksta da vuduom mogu se aktivno baviti samo psihički i fizički zdravi ljudi.

Jaka moć koncentracije ili uvježbana koncentracija od velike je važnosti da se praktikantu otvori mentalna dimenzija koja nudi početak duhovnog puta i komunikaciju sa Loama, bogovima. Za običnu osobu koja nije imala doticaja sa mentalnim treningom vježbe mogu biti naporne i duge dok onima sa iskustvom navedeno nije ni potrebno te mogu odmah preći na aktivni rad.

Vodou initiation ceremonies are never undertaken lightly or routinely. Almost always it is trouble with the spirits, manifesting in problems in the individual’s life, that lead a person to undergo initiation. In the temples of the Port-au-Prince area there are four levels of initiation possible. Each level involves a period of seclusion that may vary from three to twenty-one days, and most temples have a small interior room set aside for such purposes. Persons tend to be initiated in small groups. The men and women in these groups become “brothers” and “sisters” in a special way. Above all, they are committed to helping each other with ritual duties. This is the case even when the groups contain individuals who are seeking different grades of initiation.

All grades of initiation have public rituals that occur intermittently in the exterior temple dancing area as well as rituals reserved for the already-initiated members of the house that occur within the inner chamber. The first level of initiation is called the lave tet (head-washing) and involves cooling and soothing as well as feeding the spirits in a person’s head. The second level is kanzo, a word that refers to a rite in which initiates are briefly removed from the initiation chamber in order to undergo a ritual trial. In the semipublic part of the kanzo ritual, small, hard dumplings are snatched from boiling pots and pressed into the palm of the left hand and the sole of the left foot of the initiate. When this ceremony is completed, the initiates are told: “Now you are kwit [cooked]; no one can eat you,” that is to say, no one can do harm to you. They are also admonished: “Never say hot again, say strong!”.

The third level is called sou pwen, on the point. Pwen is a complex, multivocal concept in Haitian Vodou, as it is in Haitian culture in general. Within the general culture, “singing the point” or “sending the point” refers to a socially appropriatemeans of indirect communication that is especially useful for conveying difficult messages. For example, one young man in Haiti told me this story: he was courting a young woman who came from a family as impoverished as his own. The girl’s mother decided that the match offered neither one any chance of advancement, and yet she was loathe to insult her daughter’s suitor. So when he visited, she went about her household tasks singing a popular song, the refrain of which was “Dč mčg pa fri,” (Two lean [pieces of meat] do not fry). The young man got “the point” and broke off his relationship. In and out of the temples, it is often Vodou songs that are used for the purpose of singing the point. These songs have a sparse, even cryptic quality to them that lends itself to communicating several different, sometimes contradictory, meanings at once. The person who “sends a song” in the Vodou temple, that is, the one who suggests the next song to be sung by the group, is not only following a closely prescribed ritual order in which each important lwa is saluted in the proper order with his or her own songs and rhythms, but quite frequently is also sending the point, pwen, to a person or group of persons present at the ceremony. Such an observation both reveals the extent to which Vodou ritual intertwines with and comments on the life of the community and suggests a preliminary definition for the troublesome word pwen. At a level of abstraction uncharacteristic of the way people who serve the spirits speak, pwen may be said to mean the condensation or pith of something. At a concrete, ritual level pwen are charms or medicines composed of words, objects, gestures, or some combination of the three. They may be drawn on the earth, spoken, sung over a person, placed under the skin, or ingested; they may be buried at the crossroads, in a cemetery, or in the courtyard of a house. When one is initiated “on the point,” the reference is to the condensation of the power of a particular spiritwho has been diagnosed as the met tet.

The fourth and final level of initiation is the one that gives a person license to begin practicing as a healer. It is called assogwe, literally, “with the asson,” the beaded rattle that gives priests and priestesses some measure of leverage in the spirit realm.

In Haitian Creole, the verb kouche (to lie down, to sleep, to make love, to give birth—less commonly, to die) is the general word used to describe initiation. Entering the initiation chamber is like dying. Friends and family members cry as they line up to kiss the initiates goodbye. Shortly after this genuinely emotional leavetaking, the initiates are blindfolded and led through a dizzying dance of spirals and turns before being taken into the small room where they will kouche. As in many other sorts of initiation around the world, to kouche is to be forced by ritual means to regress, to become a child again, to be fed and cared for as a child would be, only to be brought rapidly back to adulthood, a new kind of adulthood, again by ritual means. When the initiates leave the inner chamber after days of seclusion and ritualizing, they have their heads covered. Initiates must keep their heads covered for forty days. Like newborn babies with vulnerable soft spots, new initiates must protect the ops of their heads. The spirits within have been fed and are still changing and strengthening day by day. On an altar inside, the initiates have left their po tet (head pots), residues of the internal externalized, the self objectified, the spirits concretized.

These po tet generally remain on the altar of the priest or priestess who performed the initiation and who will be ever after the initiates’ spiritual mother or father. Thus, through initiation rites, bonds among the living—as well as between the living and the spirits—are reinforced.

 The spirits that comprise the Voodoo pantheon are the result of the forced mingling of various tribal groups during the institution of slavery. In an incredible feat of psychological and spiritual survival, the tribal groups were able to combine their very different religious practices into one Voodoo practice that is no longer “pure” according to African standards. However, in the throws of slavery, the stolen people created new rites that incorporated not only their own rites and deities, but the rites and deities of other cultural groups. The original African rites spread to Haiti, Cuba, Brazil, the West Indies, the Dominican Republic, and other parts of the United States, where they began to take on characteristics of the local cultures. There are literally hundreds of spirits, and the list is ever growing.

The spirit forces in New Orleans Voodoo and Haiti are referred to as Loa (lwa). The Loa are also referred to as the Mystères and the Invisibles. In Santería they are known as Orisha. They are somewhat akin to saints or angels in Western religions in that they are intermediaries between Bondye (Bon Dieu, or good god)—the Creator, who is distant from the world—and humanity. It is not uncommon to refer to spirits, saints, angels, and archangels as loas. In fact, it is not uncommon for New Orleans practitioners to acknowledge the loas found in Haiti, the orishas of the Yoruban tradition and Santeria, as well as Catholic saints, the spirits of ancestors, zombie spirits, Native American spirits, archangels, and spirits that are uniquely New Orleanian in origin.

Unlike saints or angels however, the loa are not simply prayed to; they are served. They are each distinct beings with their own personal likes and dislikes, distinct sacred rhythms, songs, dances, ritual symbols, and special modes of service. Contrary to popular belief, the loa are not deities in and of themselves; they are intermediaries for a distant Creator. In the Yoruban tradition, the Orishas are emissaries of God, ruling the forces of nature and the fortunes of mankind. Their aspects are generally determined by their elemental natures. Thus, the Orisha of lightning is also the Orisha of sudden inspiration, vengeance, and dance; the Orisha of the Ocean is the Orisha of motherhood, femininity, and creativity. In this way, the orishas represent ancient archetypal forces, a concept reflected in the phrase “Las Sietes Potencias,” or the Seven African Powers.

There are a number of Voodoo traditions, or nations, that are related according to a common origin or theme. Two of the major nations are the Rada and Petro. The Rada loa spirits like Damballa, Erzulie Freda and Papa Legba -- are said to come from Africa, from the former Dahomean empire. Some mistakenly refer to the Rada loa as "good" and the Petro loa as "evil." This is misleading; the Rada loa can be used to make malevolent magic, while the Petro loa can heal and do beneficial workings. They are more accurately referred to as "cool" and "hot," respectively. You will find that the hoodoo spells have little if anything to do with the Voodoo nations. It is for the sake of being thorough with regards to the religious aspects of Voodoo that I have provided this information.

Rada Loa

The Rada Loa are a major family of loa in Haitian vodou. They include older, beneficent spirits who can be directly traced to Dahomean Vodou. They are generally the older, more beneficent spirits. Rada loas are guardians of morals and principles and related to Africa, whereas Petro loas

are connected to the New World. Rada loas include Legba, Loko, Ayizan, Damballa Wedo and Ayida Wedo, Erzulie Freda, La Sirène, and Agwé. Some loas (such as Erzulie) have both Rada and Petro manifestations. Their traditional color is white (as opposed to the specific colors of individual Loa) and they are associated with the element air.

Petro Loa

The Petro Loa are generally the more fiery, occasionally aggressive, and warlike loa. The story is that they originated in Haiti, under the harsh conditions of slavery. Their rites feature whip cracking, whistles and ignited gunpowder. In addition, Petro drumbeats are swifter and more syncopated than the Rada rhythms. The Petro rites are an integral part of the initiation ceremony (Kanzo), the rite by which serviteurs are initiated as priests and priestesses (houngans and mambos) of Haitian Vodou. Erzulie Dantor is considered the "mother" of the Petro nation and is one of the most important Petro loa. Petro loas include Erzulie Dantor, Marinette, Ogun, and Kalfu (Carrefour). Their traditional color is red and they are associated with the

element fire.

Congo Loa

Originating from the Congo region of Africa, these spirits include the many Simbi loa, as well as the much dreaded Marinette, a fierce and much feared female loa. They are associated with the element water. The entire Northern area of Haiti is especially influenced by Congo practice. The Congo loa are thought to descend from the Lemba, an ethnic group in southern Africa who claim a common descent belonging to the Jewish people.

Nago Loa

Originating from Nigeria (specifically the Yoruba speaking tribes), this nation includes many of the Ogun spirits.

Guede Loa

The Ghede are the spirits of the dead. They are traditionally led by the Barons (La Croix, Samedi, Cimitière, Kriminel), and Manman Brigit. The Guede are loud, rude, crass, sexual, and a lot of fun. Their traditional colors are black and purple.

Papa Legba je posrednik između ljudi i svijeta loa, on stoji na duhovnom raskršću i određuje ko može a ko ne može komunicirati sa duhovima. Legba govori sve ljudske jezike te je stoga loa komunikacije, razumijevanja i govora.

Legba se uvijek poziva na početku i kraju ceremonije jer bez njegovog blagoslova ne mogu se pozvati drugi bogovi i boginje. Njegova moć je da ukloni zapreku između dva svijeta čemu govori u prilog i ovaj zaziv: "Papa Legba ukloni barijere da ja mogu proći. Kad se vratim pozdravit ću loe. Vudu Legba ukloni zapreke za mene, tako da se mogu vratiti. Kad se vratim zahvalit ću ti loa".

Legba čini jednu trećinu loa trojstva sa Danbalah-Wedo i Erzulie. Postoji nekoliko manifestacija ovog loe, zavisno od funkcije za koju se poziva; Legba kalfou, Legba gran chimen, Legba sangnan, Legba bout kod, Legba bwa kase, Legba fatra....

Zovu ga još Alegba ili Atibon Legba. Njegova žena je Ayizan a majka Aida Hwedo.

Na Haitiju Legba i Simbi smatraju se bogovima proricanja.

Kad se papa Ivan Pavao II prilikom svog posjeta Haitiju prije nekoliko godina susreo s Voodoo svecenicima, naisao je na nerazumijevanje brojnih vjernika na Zapadu. Naime, mnogi nisu mogli shvatiti zasto bi poglavar Rimokatolicke crkve trebao susresti ljude koji se bave crnom magijom i dugim iglama probadaju male lutke kako bi usmrtili svoje neprijatelje. Sveti je Otac, ipak pokazao u ovom primjeru veliku dalekovidnost. Ona je to znacajnija, jer je predodzba prosjecnog vjernika i obicnog covjeka o Voodoou prozeta nepoznavanjem problema i brojnim nesporazumima.

Sljedbenici voodooa drze se vjere svojih predaka

Da bi sve bilo jasnije, potrebno je malo zaviriti u proslost. Tijekom 18.stoljeca, Francuzi su dovukli na Karibe brojne Afrikance, koji su radili kao robovi i jeftina radna snaga na ogromnim plantazama. Zivot tih ljudi bio je ispunjen ogromnom patnjom i neopisivim naporima: Zivot im nije ostavio nista osim – njihove vjere. Zvali su je „vodu“.

Pojam „vodu“ potjece iz africko-frankofonskog rijecnika, a pokriva znacenja koja se pripisuju bozanstvu, odnosno duhu zastitniku. U stvari, radi se o vjeri u vlast i snagu prirodnih sila, obiljezenoj brojnim ritualima. Tijekom vremena, sljedbenici vodua su spoznali odredjene slicnosti izmedju vlastitih legendi sto govore o Bogu i krscanske vjere, koju su im prenosili misionari. Prirodno je i razumljivo sto su pripadnici vodua prispodobili krscanske svete licnosti vlastitim, africkim bozanstvima. Na taj su nacin ublazili strah francuskih vlastodrzaca pred nepoznatom vjerom, pa i brutalne represalije, sto su prema njima uslijedile iz tog straha. Iz tog dvojstva, u znatnoj mjeri slicnih vjerovanja, nastalo je ono sto danas nazivamo haicanski Voodoo.

Bez obzira sto je krscanstvo sluzbena, drzavna religija republike Haiti, vecina stanovnistva je zadrzala svoje staro vjerovanje. Sljedbenici „Servi Loa“ („Sluzenja Bogu“), kako svoju vjeru nazivaju pripadnici Voodooa, drze se predaje svojih predaka. Naravno, Voodoo sadrzi i tamnu stranu. Upravo nju pretjerano naglasavaju zapadni autori, tako da o toj fascinantnoj vjeri ne postoji objektivna slika.

Nasuprot rasirenom misljenju, Voodoo je monoteisticka vjera. Postoji tek jedan, jedini Bog koji je tvorac svega postojeceg. Ljudi ga slave u najrazlicitijim pojavnim oblicima („loa“). To, pojednostavljeno receno, znaci da se svaka kvaliteta Boga javlja na vlastit nacin, u nekom od oblika prisutnih u svijetu i slaveci takvu pojavnost, pripadnici Voodooa slave – Njega.

Baron Samedi – simbolizira pojavnost smrti

Na Haitiju je najpoznatiji pojavni oblik Boga – Baron Samedi. On simbolizira pojavnost smrti. On je bio u sredistu vjerskih ceremonija predaka danasnjih pripadnika Voodooa. Hounfour (hram) – sljedbenici Voodoa osjecaju da je Bog prevelik a da bi ga oni mogli slaviti kao cjelinu. Treba reci da ovdje neki autori nalaze slicnost Voodoo predodzbe slozenosti bozje licnosti s krscanskim Svetim Trojstvom, dok drugi govore da je to pretjerivanje.

Ono sto su u krscanstvu demoni i andjeli, u Voodoou su duhovi. Uz njihovu pomoc, putem i preko njih, sljedbenici te vjere dosizu pojedine aspekte bozanske licnosti, ali nikada njegovu cjelokupnost. Pri tome treba razlikovati brojne grupe bozanske pojavnosti kao sto su pojedinacna, mocna bica sto nose vlastita imena, zatim kolektivni duh predaka i takozvani „Nkisi“.

„Nkisi“ je oznaka za predmete opsjednute duhovima, kao sto su razni fetisi, stabla, izvori ili amuleti. Oni pruzaju onom koji ih nosi, odnosno koji ih slavi, pomoc i zastitu. Osim toga, prema vjerovanju onih koji „sluze Bogu“, duh umrlih boravi neko vrijeme na mjestu ukopa tijela prije nego sto prijedje u drugu sferu. Tijekom tog razdoblja mogu rodbina i prijatelji uspostaviti kontakt s duhom pokojnika da bi doznali kako ce im biti. Inace, odavanje postovanja precima igralo je u Africi oduvijek znacajnu ulogu, pa se ta tradicija zadrzala i na Karibima.

Zmija – pomoc u kontaktu s precima i bozanstvom

U Voodoou i zmija (mistican simbol, glasnik neba) igra znacajnu ulogu u izvodjenju tradicionalnih voodoo rituala. Sljedbenici Voodooa je drze duhom ili nekom od zivotinja opsjednutim duhovima. Zbog toga se preko zmija mogu osobito uspjesno uspostaviti kontakti sa precima i bozanstvima. Nasuprot krscanskom vjerovanju, u kojem je zmija simbol zla, sljedbenici Voodooa pridaju joj izrazito pozitivne znacajke, pa zbog toga ona uziva osobite pocasti. To se narocito vidi u plesu bamboula. Tijekom tog plesa, svecenik pada u trans i plese da bi uz pomoc zmije uspostavio kontakt s bozanstvom. Bozji duh ulazi u svecenika koji u tim trenucima ima ulogu medija, proroka i iscjelitelja.

Voodoo bogosluzja su izuzetno fascinantna. Najcesce se odvijaju na slobodnom prostoru. Njeni sudionici su okiceni s ve-ve’s amuletima, raznobojnim perjem i cvijecem. Misa pocinje udarcima u veliki bubanj, a svecenik pocinje ples sto ga odvodi u trans. Svaki houngan (svecenik) u transu ima predmet sto simbolizira pojavnost Boga koju on slavi, a koja ce se manifestirati kroz njegovo tijelo. Svecenici se pri tome ne ustrucavaju koristiti i predmete za koje bi se reklo da ne bi spadali u takav ritual. Jedan takav primjer jest i telefonski aparat. No, u odabiru predmeta postoji odredjena simbolika i logika. Tako telefon simbolizira komunikaciju s bozanstvom.

Kad svecenik padne u trans pocinje zazivati duhove. Kad zazivani duh udje u tijelo svecenika, sljedbenici Voodooa ga pocmu obasipati raznim pitanjima i molbama za pomoc. Zahvaljujuci opjednutosti, houngan postaje vidovit. Vecina takvih bogosluzja zna potrajati satima, pa su svecenici izvrgnuti velikim naporima sto, ponekad, dovode do njihovog fizickog i psihickog sloma.

Glavna je zadaca houngana da prenese vjernicima bozje poruke. On je i dusobriznik, poznaje obranu od raznih bolesti i nacine izljecenja, poznaje otrove i ljekovite plodove. On istjeruje zle duhove, blagoslivlja kuce, automobile, djecu i bolesne, zakljucuje i razvrgava brakove, a odrzava i pogrebne ceremonije.

Dok je houngan nadlezan za sluzbu bozju i za propovjedanje Vjere, bokor je carobnjak. On u Voodoou preuzima ulogu samana i iscjelitelja. Raspolaze znanjima pripreme brojnih otrova, poznaje sve magicne zastitne znakove (ve-ve) i amulete (gardes). U njegovoj je nadleznosti bacanje ili skidanje cini uz pomoc Voodoo lutaka. I ovdje, kao uostalom i u brojnim drugim vjerama, „Vjera pomice brijegove“. S obzirom da je vezanost vjernika uz Voodoo vrlo jaka, bokor svojim prijetnjama i magicnim radnjama, najcesce postize zeljeni ucinak. Ako bi on, kojim slucajem izostao, bokor posize vrlo ucinkovitim sredstvima. Naime, lutka u koju je zabodena otrovana igla, moze proizvesti doista katastrofalne posljedice za onog kojem je namijenjena. Obicno se takva lutka stavlja na ulazna vrata onog kome se zeli nauditi. Kad je ovaj – ili netko drugi – neoprezno podigne, velika je vjerojatnost da ce se nabosti na iglu. A tada slijede groznica, bolovi u zglobovima, cirevi, a u najnepovoljnijem slucaju i – smrt. S druge strane, opet, price kako ubod iglom u lutku koja ima nesto kose od zrtve ili pak ostatke njenih noktiju, donosi smrt – ipak nisu samo – price.