A Catholic Voodoo: The Uniqueness of Dominicans Religion - Research Paper Example

A Catholic Voodoo: The Uniqueness of Dominicans’ Religion Introduction Generally, a lot of Dominican traditions resemble and evocative of those in other countries in Latin America, Portugal, and Spain. What differentiate Dominican culture from the customs of other countries in Latin America is food preparation and the customs that originate wholly from the distinctiveness of its history and the enigma of its religious beliefs, specifically, Christianity merged with voodoo. The term voodoo provokes fierce disagreement among learned Dominicans. It is not clear what rouses the debate: a faith cloaked in enigma, marked by strange ceremonies and supernatural concepts, or that it is rooted in Haiti, which still represents, on a subconscious point, that which is forbidden or loathed. The Eccentric Faith The Dominicans, originally for the launching of religious supremacy, and afterward, in a harsh fight for independence, have began to relate all Haitian practices and customs to demonism. Historically, Haiti has been depicted as one and the same with everything that is savage and evil. Research on Haiti, its culture and religion, and its strong connections with the Dominican Republic has just quite recently been started, in a neutral way in the Dominican Republic (Potter 2009). According to the American Anthropological Association (1988), many artistic, sociological, and anthropological studies, as well as fine arts, literature, and music are being carried out in an attempt to emphasize the impact of what is Afro-Dominican and Haitian in the traditions and culture of Dominicans. The below picture shows the original African voodoo ceremony: *image taken from Google pictures (2011) Voodoo is defined as “a belief system that today includes aspects of various myths that originated with different tribes in Africa and that incorporates aspects of Christianity” (Brown 1999, 74). The myths mostly originated from the Fon and Yoruba countries in the African continent where a twofold divine being, embodied by the moon and the sun, is revered. In addition, there are many deities and spirits, called together as ‘loas’, which intercede between the spirits and human beings. Unique recognitions by name generally remind of the birth place of that specific ‘loa’ in Africa. Hence, for instance, there could be a ‘loa’ named ‘wangol’, ‘congas’, or ‘yoruba’ (Brown 1996, 74). There is a space for a fresh ‘loa’ all the time as a formerly unnamed ‘loa’ could possess a faithful advocate or a priest and hence progress into the shrine of ‘loas’ as a fresh ‘loa’. ‘Loas’ are further classified into the calm and benevolent set identified as the ‘rada’ and the fierce, tormented ‘petro’, who are summoned for supernatural uses believed by many to embody black magic or sorcery. ‘Mawu’, the ultimate being, who is compassionate and omnipotent, control this whole group (Brown 1996, 74-75). This specific idea made it simple for voodoo followers to embrace and take in the Catholic divinity. According to field work of Melvin Knight (1928) in Santo Domingo, ‘Gaga’ is the adaptation of the Dominicans of Haitian voodoo, which incorporated the remnants of the Taino Indians religious system besides the myths brought in from Africa. ‘Loas’ of the Dominicans are diversely called mysteries, beings, and ‘sane’, ‘sanse’, or ‘lua’. The ‘lua’ comprises mystical entities including the spirits of prominent figures. Similar to the Haitian practice, Dominicans categorize the ‘lua’ into subgroups, basically grouping them according to these types: water, fire, wind, and earth (Knight 1928). The original myth that gives details of the voodoo faith is represented as both a fable and historical context. It is believed that the ‘gaga’ myth of Dominicans is simpler than Haitian voodoo (Knigh 1928). The performance of ‘gaga’ on the whole has a tendency to put more emphasis on the rites and its enigmas than the veneration of deities, just like in Haiti. Several more popular ‘luases’ of Dominicans are Anaisa, the goddess of love. Coy and frivolous, symbolized by the shades of pink or yellow, she is consulted by women who have problems bearing children and whose spouses have drifted. The ‘Baron of the Cemetery’, symbolized by the shade of black, enviously protects burial grounds, working as an intermediary of the dead concerning the washing out of their sins (Walker 1947). The ‘Baron’, besides being the most famous Dominican ‘lua’, is the first one as well to be laid to rest in a new graveyard. Should the dead to be buried in a new graveyard be a female, she is called the ‘Baronesa Brigitte’, the consort of the Baron (Brown 1999). As revealed by advocates the deities can mediate to give answers to difficult issues and dilemmas and to harm a foe. As reported by the American Anthropological Association (1988), all Dominicans who perform ‘gaga’ or voodoo are formally Catholic. This obvious inconsistency is clarified by the fact that the Catholicism of an ordinary rustic Dominican is restricted by his/her veneration of Catholic saints. The grander assumptions of the Church, as well as the wisdom of Jesus Christ and the New Testament, evade many people. Moreover, the Catholic Church in Spain, as a fragment of Counterreformation, further highlighted their mysteries, saints, and other more vague components of the religion restored from the medieval period. This focus illustrates the colonists’ primary outlook and was Catholicism’s feature that they preferred (American Anthropological Association 1988). Catholic saints and the mystical abilities assigned to them are extremely different, theoretically at least, from the abilities of the ‘luas’. The usual reason cited for the survival of the belief systems of African tribes is that the Church was similarly feeble in Hispaniola throughout the colonial period. Owners of agricultural estates were accused of teaching Catholicism to their slaves, permitting the slaves to go to mass. As a matter of fact, the absence of churches and the spent time in attending masses or performing religious rituals were unreasonable for the landlords (Walker 1947). It was trouble-free for the Black slave to commit him/herself to the sect of faith from his/her own homeland. Hence, African faith flourished as it transformed, underwent trans-culturation process and reached the level of what currently is called ‘syncretism’. Syncretism followed two perspectives: (1) the urban, and (2) the rural (Brown 1996, 76). Syncretism started with the construction of chapels on sugar plantations. The goal was to strongly reintroduce the Church, especially the veneration of saints, to the slaves. The manner that services were performed was obviously unfair, as the bondservants were instructed to position themselves in the far side of the church, for instance. The slave hence resorted to asking for shelter and safety from the saints who mutually mixed with voodoo divinities (Brown 1999, 76): Just as Saint Peter guards the gates of heaven, so does the lua Legba open the doors to the spiritual world. Saint Rose watches over gardens and blooms just as Loco attends to herbalists. In the 16th century, in the bigger urban municipalities of Hispaniola the church formed guilds that are counterpart of present-day church congregation halls. The earliest guild formed in 1503 was the Limpia Concepcion de Nuestra Senora in Santo Domingo (shown in the below picture) (Knight 1928). *image taken from Google pictures (2011): http://www.google.com.ph/imgres?q=Limpia+Concepcion+de+Nuestra+Senora&um=1&hl=tl&rlz=1C1DVCC_enPH352PH352&biw=1280&bih=685&tbm=isch&tbnid=Lr70vpkKcagzoM:&imgrefurl=http://sanchiri.com The guilds divide based on racial affinities from the moment of their establishment; the White guild prohibited emancipated slaves or mulattos to become members. This principle encourage the formation of similar guilds whose constituents were mulatto and black, and where the observance of the festivals assumed their individual distinction, among other means, by delicately, even instinctively, putting emphasis on African religious traditions (Knight 1928). According to Brown (1999), observing that the guilds were devoted to a Christian saint, the Church decided to ignore the potential gaps concerning how the members were encouraged to worship. A lot of Christian holidays and commemorations are complemented by ‘gaga’ counterparts. All through Holy Week, ‘gaga’ believers wrap the crosses and saints’ figures that ornament their altars with black fabrics and shrouds. Moreover, ‘gaga’ has adopted matrimony’s and baptism’s sacraments from Christianity. The ‘gaga’ shrine displays figures of ‘luases’, including maracas, ceremonial drums, and therapeutic herbs blended with saints’ figures, rosaries, bibles, and crosses (Walker 1947). Outside syncretism are the aspects that sharply set apart Catholicism from ‘gaga’: the possessions, sorcery, and black magic. Gaga believers think that their bodies can be taken over, sometimes unexpectedly, by luases. A shaman or sorcerer works as a mediator to either set off these possessive conditions or to treat one of them. Moreover, the deceased possesses the living for different purposes, but normally to take vengeance (Walker 1947). When a person becomes strangely sick it is usually ascribed to being taken over by the deceased. There have been instances where a shaman has pointed out that the only way to free a possessed individual from an intruding spirit is to take his/her life. The ‘luas’ can be summoned through ceremonies using supernatural charms that only the shaman knows how to create (Brown 1999). Syncretism in present-day Dominican Republic is confined to the countryside. Individuals or families that relocate to cities carry these ideas with them, yet their custom is mocked and demeaned by the mainstream culture (Potter 2009). The urban area, with its numerous diversions, has a tendency to overlook the ‘gaga’s’ mystical abilities. Conclusions Dominicans’ religious traditions add to the distinctiveness of the Dominican Republic and to the basis of its national individuality. A lot of expressions of Dominican tradition and culture can be attributed to faith systems, especially those located in the written and visual arts and in the Carnival’s observance. The continuously growing influence of Protestantism on the country does not endanger the control of Catholicism due to the value of Catholicism to indigenous traditions and culture. Works Cited American Anthropological Association. “American Anthropologist” American Anthropological Association 90.3-4 (1988): 1009+ Brown, Isabel. Culture and Customs of the Dominican Republic. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999. Knight, Melvin. The Americans in Santo Domingo. New York: Vanguard Press, 1928. Potter, Amy. “Voodoo, Zombies, and Mermaids: U.S. Newspaper Coverage of Haiti” The Geographical Review 99.2 (2009): 208+ Walker, Stanley. Journey toward the Sunlight: A Story of the Dominican Republic and its People. New York: Caribbean Library, 1947. Read More