Voodoo Dolls

Contrary to the common belief Voodoo dolls don’t really exist in the Voodoo religion. It wasn’t even until the religion made its way to Louisiana that they even surfaced. Voodoo dolls mainly serve as a tourist attraction in New Orleans. Dolls are used but not as a way to inflict pain on and individual like most believe to today. The dolls that are used represent a certain Loa (spirit) and through this doll the spirit can be reached. Loas are spirits who can be called upon to help in a time of need and it is believed that they also will protect you from evils. The misconceptions involving Voodoo dolls is said to have stemmed from European Folk magic in which poppets are used. Another explanation is that people saw puppets nailed to trees in the Haitian culture and thought it to be evil magic. In fact this is done as a way to communicate to dead loved ones; the puppets serve as messengers to the spirits.

Ellis, Jessica. “What is a Voodoo Doll?” April 20^th, 2009. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-voodoo-doll.htm

Posted by Meghan Somerville