I'm fascinated by the rituals of voodoo ( or voudou), and lament the fact that I haven't been able (yet) to document this interesting religious tradition either in Haiti or the Dominican Republic. Readers that know my style of blogging will have noticed the added (yet) in the previous sentence, which means that something is being thought of or is under discussion.
According to Wikipedia, Haitian Vodou, also written as Voodoo, is a syncretic religion practiced chiefly in Haiti and the Haitian diaspora. Practitioners are called "vodouists" or "servants of the spirits".
Voodoo was created by African slaves brought to Haiti in the 16th century who, when forced by their enslavers to adopt the Christian religion, still followed their traditional beliefs by merging them with the beliefs and practices associated with Roman Catholic Christianity. It was declared the official religion of Haiti in 2003.
Troi Anderson's
Songs of the Spirits is a gallery of compelling color photographs of the Haitian religious tradition including some that were made in Saut d'Eau; waterfalls in Haiti that hold special significance to both Catholics and Voudou practitioners, as it is believed that the Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel appeared on a palm tree there in the nineteenth century.
Troi Anderson is a fine art, documentary and commercial photographer based in Portland, Oregon. His career started in film working for Magnolia Pictures, and later as a merchant marine sailing throughout Asia and the South Pacific. He is the author of two books, Shadows of Time and Decay (Mark Batty Publishers) along with numerous photographic essays. His work has been published in Geo France, The Oregonian, Communication Arts, Eyemazing, as well as being profiled and featured twice in Black and White Magazine. His commercial clients include Apple, Nike, HP, and T-Mobile. He worked for the humanitarian organization CARE in Haiti.
