Topic
Vodou
Vodou, a syncretic Haitian religion, merges African traditions with Catholicism, with research on loa spirits, rituals, and contemporary spiritual practice.
Film
Orisha on Screen: What a Film Adaptation Owes a Tradition
Row F, forty minutes into the show. A character says a name — Ọya, maybe, or Èṣù — and somewhere in the dark a phone lights up and somebody types it into a search box, half-spelled, no diacritics.
Film
Vodou Spirituality and Practice vs. the Hollywood Zombie
A sugar mill turns in the dark. Six men lean into the capstan bar, walking it in a circle, and their faces do not change. One of them slips and goes into the grinder. Nobody stops.
Diaspora
Vodou Spirituality and Practice vs. the Hollywood Zombie
In parts of rural Haiti, a family will sit with a fresh grave for a few nights before they leave it alone. The fear behind that vigil is not the one Hollywood sells.