Louisiana Voodoo

During the years of slavery, voodoo was known to those in the United States as a religion that slaves practiced and brought from Africa. It is a religion that actually combines a number of religions derived from the African continent, with certain parts of Catholicism due in part because the slaves were forced to convert or be put to death. During this time period, the Virgin Mary, and many saints became a part of the Voodoo religion. Not to be confused with Hoodoo, which is a largely mystical or more magical practice, Voodoo relies heavily on spiritualism, and therefore Hoodoo should not be religiously referenced.
Today, Louisiana Voodoo takes on new dimensions with the addition of the spiritual movement that some of the churches in the Mississippi Delta area propagate. Both spiritualism and voodoo have similarities, like possession, and speaking with the dead. Viewed by a large part of both the black and white population as evil and full of overwhelming superstition, Voodoo still has a very visible presence in contemporary New Orleans. Every where one turns on the streets of New Orleans, there is a shop selling some voodoo idol, or even a Voodoo museum.
A woman named Marie Laveau is a famous voodoo queen celebrated in the area. Congo Square was the special meeting place for those religious rituals to take place. The Voodoo religion was a very real way for the slaves to have a small piece of freedom where there appeared that there may never be. It became a more lucrative money making business during the 1900’s when free blacks made a profit off the superstitious tendencies of white society, especially in instances of unrequited love, and money problems. Although roughly 15% of Louisiana population practices voodoo, the shops and the dolls, potions and spells that they sell are tourist geared and lack any true touch of the religion itself.