| Artikkelin indeksi |
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| Voodoo in Paris |
| Reaching across invisible border |
| String and pegs to help or harm |
| Kaikki sivut |
Sivu 1 / 3
As a Swede living in Brazil in my early twenties - until then raised and steeped in north-European rationalism – I acquired lifelong respect for the inexplicable and occult. Thus it was with deference and a certain apprehension that I slowly wound my way between the rows and rows of Benin Voodoo statuettes, or "bocios", presently shown at Fondation Cartier in Paris.
Whatever my own state of mind might have been among these sculptures and even if I still wonder how such sacred objects have come into the possession of strangers, the exhibition is a unique occasion to learn more about the complexities of an ancient mysterious cult which has spread far beyond its original birthplace and continues to be practiced on several continents.
Primitive Art Champion
“VODUN: AFRICAN VOODOO” is a brain-child of the late French primitive art connoisseur Jacques Kerchache (1942-2001). It claims to be the first major exhibition devoted to the West African "Vodun" sculptural tradition. Most of the exposed objects belong to Kerchache’s widow but works borrowed from other private collectors are also included in the show.
On the ground floor visitors may consult Kerchache's personal archives, notes, letters and photographs related to his visits in Africa and research on Vodun. A documentary on Vodun practices and several interviews with Kerchache are also shown.
A cult traveling west
Voodoo (also spelled Vodun, Vaudou, Vaudoun, Vodou or even Voju) is an ancient African religious and philosophical cult still practiced in coastal regions of Togo, Benin and Western Nigeria - the area known as “The Slave Coast".
In the 17th and 18th centuries, Voodoo beliefs and ceremonies accompanied the slave ships across the Atlantic to newly discovered lands where they blended with local religions and Catholicism. The Macumba rites in Brazil are only one of many examples of such mixtures of indigenous and imported religious beliefs.
The translation of the word "Voodoo" is in dispute. Based on the Ewe language, experts long translated it as "messenger of the invisible" but recent linguists believe the word is made up of two verbs from the Fon language, "vo" (to rest) and "dun" (to drawwater). According to the latter theory, “vodun” would mean that one must remain calm when facing difficulties. (Interpreting that theory, I presume that drawing water was a difficult task demanding patience).
