The Origins of Voodoo in New Orleans

To know how Voodoo effected people's lives we must first go to its origin. No one knows specifically when or where Voodoo was first started in Benin where African people were being taken from their homes and sold in to slavery. As these slaves were brought to the new world they brought along with them their cultural practice, religious beliefs, along with their knowledge of herbs, poisons, and the creation of amulet and charms which become a key part of Voodoo. In the New World the slaves were forced to take on the religion of their masters which was Christianity and Catholicism. Instead of converting the slaves simply adopted their master's religion into their own which is why Voodoo has the aspects of many different religions within its practices. It was around the beginning of the 1800s the Voodoo had its greatest change when the Haitian revolution pushed out French colonist forcing them to flee the country and come to New Orleans. The Haitian slave brought along with the newly exiled colonist brought along with them their own style of Voudo which combined with the Voodoo in New Orleans to bring back many of the traditions that had been lost to the practitioners of Voodoo.