By Sandrine Exil
Port-au-Prince, (EFE).- As Haiti sinks deeper into political instability, widespread violence, and a collapsing healthcare system, many citizens are seeking refuge in Voodoo, a religion deeply rooted in the country’s identity.
“Politicians have failed us. So have the traditional religious leaders. Now, the loas are our last defense,” says Augustin St-Clou, known as Le Roi Vudu (The Voodoo King).
With over a million people displaced and more than 5,600 killed, according to the United Nations and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), priests and priestesses, houngans and mambos, have seen a surge in people asking for spiritual protection, healing rituals, and answers about missing relatives.
Voodoo ceremonies, often held in small temples called hounfòs, involve chants in Haitian Creole, sacred symbols (vèvès), and offerings to spirits such as Ogou, Ezili Dantò, and Damballah. “Ezili spoke to us through my mother,” says one participant. “We found my brother alive three days later.”
The religion, which blends West African spirituality, Catholicism, and indigenous elements, has long endured persecution. “They may burn our temples, but they can’t extinguish our faith,” says St-Clou.
Voodoo: A history of resistance and power
Voodoo has played both healing and political roles in Haiti. The 1791 Bois Caïman ceremony helped spark the revolution against slavery.
Later, the Duvalier regimes used Vodou to assert control and spread fear, employing houngans as informants and weaponizing spirits like Baron Samedi.
Still, practitioners emphasize that the religion itself was not to blame. “Man corrupted it, not Voodoo,” says St-Clou.
In modern times, Voodoo leaders were involved in political solutions like the 2021 Montana Accord. Although it was never implemented, it highlighted Vodou’s continued presence as a force in national dialogue.
Haiti’s traditional medicine in collapsed health system
With hospitals overwhelmed or closed, many turn to Voodoo not just for spiritual guidance but also for healthcare. “I couldn’t afford a doctor, but my houngan cured me with herbs and rituals,” says Macson, a merchant suffering from untreated prostate cancer.
In the absence of formal medical care, houngans and mambos provide herbal infusions, spiritual cleansings, and for mental health challenges. “It’s not magic, it’s ancestral knowledge,” says Renée Dumas, a mambo in Carrefour.
In a country where institutions are collapsing, Voodoo has reemerged as a pillar of spiritual strength and communal .
Rituals offer hope, identity, and a sense of belonging. “Voodoo has been our resistance since slavery,” says St-Clou. “Today, amid the chaos, we return to it for protection and hope.”
As Haitians face one of the most challenging moments in their history, Voodoo endures, not as superstition, but as a source of strength and survival. “Men anpil, chay pa lou”, “With many hands, the load is not heavy,” as a Haitian proverb says. EFE
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