Before the earthquake and the cholera outbreak, when most people around the world thought of Haiti, there is a good chance that they thought about Vodou. Unfortunately, it was likely that the image they had of Vodou, was one filled with Hollywood misconceptions like zombies and dolls stuck with pins. In actuality, Vodou is none of those things. Vodou is a religion of tolerance that mixes West and Central African,  European, and American Indian traditions. It is a way of life that helped African people survive slavery in Haiti and empowered them to create the first free black republic in the history of the world.

This fall, GNG’s production crew had the opportunity to learn about this new world diasporic religion first-hand, when we conducted a survey about Vodou on the streets of Port-au-Prince, and also when we visited Le Péristyle de Mariani (one of Haiti’s biggest Vodou Temples).  Here,  we spoke with the Supreme Chief of Haitian Vodou, Max-G. Beauvoir, and witnessed him facilitate an initiation ceremony. Both experiences gave our production crew a diverse perspective about Vodou, directly from the people of Haiti. We hope that this is translated to viewers through our Haitian Vodou video and gives them a better insight into this important aspect of Haiti’s culture.

For more information about Haitian Vodou check out the article: Sacred Arts of Haitian Vodou, from the American Museum of Natural History.