Hector Hyppolite
Hector Hyppolite was a Haitian painter. Born in Saint-Marc, Hyppolite was houngan, he made shoes and painted houses before taking up fine art painting, which he did untrained. Hyppolite spent five years outside of Haiti from 1915-1920, his travels abroad included trips to New Cuba. Although he claimed those years had been spent in Africa, such as Dahomey and Ethiopia, scholars regard that as more an instance of promotional myth-making than factual. Hyppolite's talent as an artist was noticed by Philippe Thoby-Marcelin, who brought him to Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince in 1946. There Hyppolite worked in the studio run by Dewitt Peters, a watercolorist and schoolteacher from the United States who had come to Haiti to teach the English language as part of the Good Neighbor Policy. In 1944 Peters opened an art center in the capital. Before arriving at the Centre d'Art Hyppolite had painted upon cardboard using chicken feathers and sold to visiting United States Marines because he owned no brushes. Peters had first noticed Hyppolite's work in 1943 on the exterior doors of a bar in Montrouis, which Hyppolite had painted with flower and bird designs.
Flowers could represent attributes of deities in Vodou symbolism, although the doors had not been explicitly religious Hyppolite recognized interest in Vodou among art buyers and incorporated Vodou themes into his work during his time at Peters's studio. André Breton, a leading surrealist, traveled to Haiti in 1945 with Cuban artist Wifredo Lam. Lam purchased two of Hyppolite's paintings. Although Breton included Hyppolite among surrealists, Hyppolite's work was more realistic and religious than an effort to reproduce dream imagery. Nonetheless, Breton's regard for Hyppolite's work brought Hyppolite and Haitian painting to a wider audience. In January 1947 Hyppolite exhibited at a UNESCO exhibition in Paris and received an enthusiastic reception; the United States writer Truman Capote praised Hyppolite's painting "because there's nothing in it, slyly transposed". Hyppolite, a prolific painter depicted Vodou scenes and created between 250 and 600 paintings during the last three years of his life.
Much of his work was influenced by his devotion to his work as a priest. However, after retiring from his work as a houngan, his work reflected the darker aspects of Haitian vodoo, he died at about age 54 in Port-au-Prince. Maitresse Erzulie Damballah La Flambeau Triple-eyed Magician La Mulâtresse Corbett, Bob. "Brief Biographies of Haitian Artists". Webster University. Archived from the original on 2006-12-31. Retrieved 2006-11-16. Hoffman, L G. Haitian Art: The Legend and Legacy of the Naïve Tradition. Davenport, Iowa: Published for the Davenport Art Gallery by Beaux Arts Fund Committee, 1985. 237. Mendez, Mendez S, Gail Cueto. "Hector Hyppolite." In Notable Caribbeans and Caribbean Americans: A Biographical Dictionary. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2003. 227-229. Schutt-Ainé, Patricia. Haiti: A Basic Reference Book. Miami, Florida: Librairie Au Service de la Culture. P. 113. ISBN 0-9638599-0-0
Religious syncretism
Religious syncretism exhibits blending of two or more religious belief systems into a new system, or the incorporation into a religious tradition of beliefs from unrelated traditions. It is contrasted by the idea of polytheism, respectively; this can occur for many reasons, the latter scenario happens quite in areas where multiple religious traditions exist in proximity and function in the culture, or when a culture is conquered, the conquerors bring their religious beliefs with them, but do not succeed in eradicating the old beliefs or practices. Religions may have syncretic elements to their beliefs or history, but adherents of so-labeled systems frown on applying the label adherents who belong to "revealed" religious systems, such as the Abrahamic religions, or any system that exhibits an exclusivist approach; such adherents sometimes see syncretism as a betrayal of their pure truth. By this reasoning, adding an incompatible belief corrupts the original religion, rendering it no longer true.
Indeed, critics of a specific syncretistic trend may sometimes use the word "syncretism" as a disparaging epithet, as a charge implying that those who seek to incorporate a new view, belief, or practice into a religious system distort the original faith. The consequence, according to Keith Ferdinando, is a fatal compromise of the dominant religion's integrity. Non-exclusivist systems of belief, on the other hand, may feel quite free to incorporate other traditions into their own. In modern secular society, religious innovators sometimes create new religions syncretically as a mechanism to reduce inter-religious tension and enmity with the effect of offending the original religions in question; such religions, however, do maintain some appeal to a less exclusivist audience. Discussions of some of these blended religions appear in the individual sections below. Classical Athens was exclusive in matters of religion; the Decree of Diopeithes made the introduction of and belief in foreign gods a criminal offence and only Greeks were allowed to worship in Athenian temples and festivals as foreigners were considered impure.
On the other hand, Athens imported many foreign cults, including those of Cybele and the Thracian goddess Bendis, in some cases this involved a merging of identities: for example, who had traditionally been regarded as a mortal hero, began here and elsewhere in the Aegean world to be identified as a divine figure under the influence of Eastern counterparts like the Tyrian Melqart. Syncretism functioned as a feature of Hellenistic Ancient Greek religion, although only outside of Greece. Overall, Hellenistic culture in the age that followed Alexander the Great itself showed syncretist features blending of Mesopotamian, Anatolian, Egyptian elements within an Hellenic formula; the Egyptian god Amun developed as the Hellenized Zeus Ammon after Alexander the Great went into the desert to seek out his oracle at Siwa. Such identifications derive from interpretatio graeca, the Hellenic habit of identifying gods of disparate mythologies with their own; when the proto-Greeks first arrived in the Aegean and on the mainland of modern-day Greece early in the 2nd millennium BCE, they found localized nymphs and divinities connected with every important feature of the landscape: mountain, cave and spring all had their own locally venerated deity.
The countless epithets of the Olympian gods reflect their syncretic identification with these various figures. One defines "Zeus Molossos" as "the god identical to Zeus as worshipped by the Molossians at Dodona". Much of the arbitrary and trivial mythic fabling results from mythographers' attempts to explain these obscure epithets; the Romans, identifying themselves as common heirs to a similar civilization, identified Greek deities with similar figures in the Etruscan-Roman tradition, though without copying cult practices. Syncretic gods of the Hellenistic period found wide favor in Rome: Serapis and Mithras, for example. Cybele as worshipped in Rome represented a syncretic East Mediterranean goddess; the Romans imported the Greek god Dionysus into Rome, where he merged with the Latin mead god Liber, converted the Anatolian Sabazios into the Roman Sabazius. The degree of correspondence varied: Jupiter makes a better match for Zeus than the rural huntress Diana does for the feared Artemis. Ares does not quite match Mars.
The Romans physically imported the Anatolian goddess Cybele into Rome from her Anatolian cult-center Pessinos in the form of her original aniconic archaic stone idol. When the Romans encountered Celts and Germanic peoples, they mingled these peoples' gods with their own, creating Sulis Minerva, Apollo Sucellos and Mars Thingsus, among many others. In the Germania, the Roman historian Tacitus speaks of Germanic worshippers of Mercury. Romans were familiar with the concept of syncretism because from their earliest times they had experienced it with, among others, the Greeks; the Romans incorporated the Greek Apollo and Hercules into their religion. They did not look at the religious aspects that they adopted from other cultures to be different or less meaningful from religious aspects that were Roman in origin; the early Roman acceptance of other cultures religions into
Louisiana Voodoo
Louisiana Voodoo known as New Orleans Voodoo, describes a set of spiritual folkways developed from the traditions of the African diaspora. It is a cultural form of the Afro-American religions developed by the West and Central African populations of the U. S. state of Louisiana, though its practitioners are not of African-American descent. Voodoo is one of many incarnations of African-based spiritual folkways, rooted in West African Dahomeyan Vodun, its liturgical language is the language of the Louisiana Creole people. Voodoo became syncretized with the Catholic and Francophone culture of New Orleans as a result of the African cultural oppression in the region as part of the Atlantic slave trade. Louisiana Voodoo is confused with—but is not separable from—Haitian Vodou and Deep Southern Hoodoo, it differs from Haitian Vodou in its emphasis upon gris-gris, Voodoo queens, use of Hoodoo paraphernalia, Li Grand Zombi. It was through Louisiana Voodoo that such terms as gris-gris and "Voodoo dolls"' were introduced into the American lexicon.
Voodoo was brought to French Louisiana during the colonial period by enslaved Africans from West Africa. From 1719 to 1731, the majority of African captives brought to, enslaved in, Louisiana were Fon people from what is now Benin. All of the groups contributed to the development of Louisiana Voodoo, their knowledge of herbs and the ritual creation of charms and amulets, intended to protect oneself or harm others, became key elements of Louisiana Voodoo. Many Fon were taken as slaves to the French colony of Saint-Domingue in the Caribbean Sea. Louisiana Voodoo has existed since the early 1700s; the enslaved community outnumbered white European colonists. The French colony was not a stable society when the enslaved Africans arrived, the newly arrived Africans dominated the slave community. According to a census of 1731–1732, the ratio of enslaved Africans to European settlers was more than two to one. A small number of colonists were planters and slaveholders, owners of sugar plantations with work that required large labor forces.
Because the Africans were held in large groups isolated from interaction with whites, their preservation of African indigenous practices and culture was enabled. In the Upper South and other parts of British Colonial America, slave families were divided. However, in southern Louisiana, families and languages were kept more intact than in the north; this allowed cultural traditions and religious practices of the slaves to continue there. Under the French code and the influence of Catholicism, officials nominally recognized family groups, prohibiting the sale of slave children away from their families if younger than age fourteen, they promoted the man-made legend of wake tuko of the enslaved population. The high mortality of the slave trade brought its survivors together with a sense of solidarity and initiation; the absence of fragmentation in the enslaved community, along with the kinship system produced by the bond created by the difficulties of slavery, resulted in a "coherent, well integrated and self-confident enslaved community."The practice of making and wearing charms and amulets for protection, healing, or the harm of others was a key aspect to early Louisiana Voodoo.
The Ouanga, a charm used to poison an enemy, contained the toxic roots of the figuier maudit tree, brought from Africa and preserved in Louisiana. The ground-up root was combined with other elements, such as bones, roots, holy water, holy candles, holy incense, holy bread, or crucifixes; the administrator of the ritual evoked protection from Jehovah and Jesus Christ. This openness of African belief allowed for the adoption of Catholic practices into Louisiana Voodoo. Another element brought from West Africa was the veneration of ancestors and the subsequent emphasis on respect for elders. For this reason, the rate of survival among elderly enslaved peoples was high, further "Africanizing Louisiana Creole culture." Following the beginning of the Haitian Revolution in 1791, the lives of Voodoo practitioners in the North American colonies became more difficult. Due to the revolution being started by slaves who were possessed by a deity during a Vodou ritual, the French colonists became aggressive in trying to suppress Voodoo rituals as a precaution against uprisings.
Unlike their Haitian counterparts, the slaves in Louisiania did not rebel in great number against their slavers. Instead, Voodoo followers used charms in their daily lives; the people used them for healing, guidance, to keep a connection with their loved ones. Some charms were used to hurt enemies, involved the deceptions of curses; the U. S. Embargo Act of 1808 ended all legal importation of African slaves to the United States. Voodoo queens were known to exercise great power in their communities, had the role of leading many of the ceremonial meetings and ritual dances; these drew crowds of thousands of people. They were considered practitioners who made a living through the selling and administering of amulets, or "gris-gris" charms, magical powders, as well as spells and charms that guaranteed to "cure ailments, grant desires, confound or destroy one's enemies", their power and influence were widespread and incontestable. It was recognized by journa
Loa
Loa are the spirits of Haitian Vodou and Louisiana Voodoo. They are referred to as "mystères" and "the invisibles" and are intermediaries between Bondye —the Supreme Creator, distant from the world—and humanity. Unlike saints or angels, they are not prayed to, they are served, they are each distinct beings with their own personal likes and dislikes, distinct sacred rhythms, dances, ritual symbols, special modes of service. Contrary to popular belief, the loa are not deities of themselves; the word loa comes from the French les lois. The enslaved Fon and Ewe in Haiti and Louisiana syncretized the loa with the Catholic saints—vodoun altars will display images of Catholic saints. For example, Papa Legba is syncretized with Saint Lazarus of Bethany. Syncretism works the other way in Haitian Vodou and many Catholic saints have become loa in their own right, most notably Philomena, the archangel Michael, Jude the Apostle, John the Baptist. In a ritual the loa are called down by the houngan, mambo, or the bokor and the caplata to take part in the service, receive offerings, grant requests.
The loa arrive in the peristyle by mounting a horse in Creole referred as "Chwal"—who is said to be "ridden". This can be quite a violent occurrence as the participant can flail about or convulse before falling to the ground, but some loa, such as Ayizan, will mount their "horses" quietly. Certain loa display distinctive behavior by which they can be recognized, specific phrases, specific actions; as soon as a loa is recognized, the symbols appropriate to them will be given to them. For example, Erzulie Freda will be given a glass of pink champagne, she is sprinkled with her perfumes, fine gifts of food will be presented to her or she puts on her jewelry. Once the loa have arrived, been served, given help or advice, they leave the peristyle. Certain loa can become obstinate, for example the Guédé are notorious for wanting just one more smoke, or one more drink, but it is the job of the houngan or mambo to keep the spirits in line while ensuring they are adequately provided for. There are many families or "nanchons" of loa: Rada, Nago and Ghede, among others.
The Rada loa are older, as many of these spirits come from Africa and the kingdom of Dahomey. The Rada Loa are water spirits and many of the Rada loa are served with a water; the Rada are "Cool" in the sense. They include Legba, Ayizan, Damballa Wedo and Ayida-Weddo, Maîtresse Mambo Erzulie Fréda Dahomey, La Sirène, Agwé. Many of these spirits are served with white; the Petro loa are the more fiery aggressive and warlike loa, are associated with Haiti and the New World. They include Ezili Dantor and Met Kalfu, their traditional colour is red. Originating from the Congo region, these loa include the many Simbi loa, it includes Marinette, a fierce and much feared female loa. Originating from Yorubaland, this nation includes many of the Ogoun loa; the Guédé are the spirits of the dead. They are traditionally led by the Barons, Maman Brigitte; the Ghede as a family are loud, sexual, a lot of fun. As those who have lived they have nothing to fear, will display how far past consequence and feeling they are when they come through in a service—eating glass, raw chillis, anointing their sensitive areas with chilli rum, for example.
Their traditional colours are purple. Alusi Dahomean religion Haitian mythology Nkisi Orisha Paquet congo Winti Webster list of loa
Jesus
Jesus referred to as Jesus of Nazareth and Jesus Christ, was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the central figure of Christianity, is described as the most influential person in history. Most Christians believe he is the incarnation of God the Son and the awaited Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament. All modern scholars of antiquity agree that Jesus existed although the quest for the historical Jesus has produced little agreement on the historical reliability of the Gospels and on how the Jesus portrayed in the Bible reflects the historical Jesus. Jesus was a Galilean Jew, baptized by John the Baptist and began his own ministry, he preached orally and was referred to as "rabbi". Jesus debated with fellow Jews on how to best follow God, engaged in healings, taught in parables and gathered followers, he was arrested and tried by the Jewish authorities, turned over to the Roman government, crucified on the order of Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect. After his death, his followers believed he rose from the dead, the community they formed became the early Church.
The birth of Jesus is celebrated annually on December 25th as Christmas. His crucifixion is honored on his resurrection on Easter; the used calendar era "AD", from the Latin anno Domini, the equivalent alternative "CE", are based on the approximate birthdate of Jesus. Christian doctrines include the beliefs that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, was born of a virgin named Mary, performed miracles, founded the Christian Church, died by crucifixion as a sacrifice to achieve atonement for sin, rose from the dead, ascended into Heaven, from where he will return. Most Christians believe; the Nicene Creed asserts that Jesus will judge the living and the dead either before or after their bodily resurrection, an event tied to the Second Coming of Jesus in Christian eschatology. The great majority of Christians worship Jesus as the incarnation of God the Son, the second of three persons of the Trinity. A minority of Christian denominations reject Trinitarianism, wholly or as non-scriptural. Jesus figures in non-Christian religions and new religious movements.
In Islam, Jesus is considered one of the Messiah. Muslims believe Jesus was a bringer of scripture and was born of a virgin, but was not the son of God; the Quran states. Most Muslims do not believe that he was crucified, but that he was physically raised into Heaven by God. In contrast, Judaism rejects the belief that Jesus was the awaited Messiah, arguing that he did not fulfill Messianic prophecies, was neither divine nor resurrected. A typical Jew in Jesus' time had only one name, sometimes followed by the phrase "son of <father's name>", or the individual's hometown. Thus, in the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as "Jesus of Nazareth". Jesus' neighbors in Nazareth refer to him as "the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon", "the carpenter's son", or "Joseph's son". In John, the disciple Philip refers to him as "Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth"; the name Jesus is derived from the Latin Iesus, a transliteration of the Greek Ἰησοῦς. The Greek form is a rendering of the Hebrew ישוע, a variant of the earlier name יהושע, or in English, "Joshua", meaning "Yah saves".
This was the name of Moses' successor and of a Jewish high priest. The name Yeshua appears to have been in use in Judea at the time of the birth of Jesus; the 1st-century works of historian Flavius Josephus, who wrote in Koine Greek, the same language as that of the New Testament, refer to at least twenty different people with the name Jesus. The etymology of Jesus' name in the context of the New Testament is given as "Yahweh is salvation". Since early Christianity, Christians have referred to Jesus as "Jesus Christ"; the word Christ was a office, not a given name. It derives from the Greek Χριστός, a translation of the Hebrew mashiakh meaning "anointed", is transliterated into English as "Messiah". In biblical Judaism, sacred oil was used to anoint certain exceptionally holy people and objects as part of their religious investiture. Christians of the time designated Jesus as "the Christ" because they believed him to be the Messiah, whose arrival is prophesied in the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament.
In postbiblical usage, Christ became viewed as a name—one part of "Jesus Christ". The term "Christian" has been in use since the 1st century; the four canonical gospels are the foremost sources for the message of Jesus. However, other parts of the New Testament include references to key episodes in his life, such as the Last Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:23. Acts of the Apostles refers to the early ministry of its anticipation by John the Baptist. Acts 1:1 -- 11 says more about the Ascension of Jesus. In the undisputed Pauline letters, which were written earlier than the gospels, the words or instructions of Jesus are cited several times; some early Christian groups had separate descriptions of the life and teachings of Jesus that are not included in the New Testament. These include the Gospel of Thomas, Gospel
Umbanda
Umbanda is a syncretic Afro-Brazilian religion that blends African traditions with Roman Catholicism and Indigenous American beliefs. Although some of its beliefs and most of its practices existed in the late 19th century in all Brazil, it is assumed that Umbanda originated in Niterói and surrounding areas in the early 20th century due to the work of a psychic, Zélio Fernandino de Moraes, who practiced Umbanda among the poor Afro-Brazilians slave descendants. Since Umbanda has spread across southern Brazil and neighboring countries like Argentina and Uruguay. Umbanda has each one with a different set of beliefs and practices; some common beliefs are the existence of a Supreme Creator known as Olodumare. Other common beliefs are the existence of deities called Orixás, most of them syncretized with Catholic saints that act as divine energy and forces of nature. Umbanda practitioners believe in a supreme creator god; the opposite side of the Umbanda, i.e. black magic – the practices that intended to cause evil doings, became known as Quimbanda.
Umbanda is juxtaposed with Quimbanda which now reclaims its identity as a separate religion and distinct from Umbanda. One hundred years after its establishment, Umbanda divided itself into several branches with different beliefs and practices; some of these branches are Umbanda d'Angola, Umbanda Jejê, Umbanda Ketu, Umbanda Esotérica. The three major beliefs claimed by Umbandists are: The Pantheon, the Spirits' World, the Reincarnation. Umbanda has one supreme god known as Olorum and many divine intermediary deities called Orixás. Orixàs and spirits are organized in a complex hierarchy of legions, sub-phalanges and protectors; the exact order of the hierarchy varies by region and practitioner, but a agreed upon structure are the Seven Lines, or Sete Linhas da Umbanda. The first line is the top associated with Oxalà, the bottom is always the Linha das Almas, or Line of Dead Souls; the other patrons associated with the lines are listed in 2-6 below. The lines are divided up further into a multitude of spiritual beings.
Main Orixás Oxalá Iemanjá Xangô Oxúm Ogúm Oxóssi Ibeji Omulu/Obaluayê Iansã Nanã Oxumaré Exu Most followers of Umbanda believe that there are three distinct levels of spirits. 1. Pure Spirits This level includes the spirits known as the angels, archangels and seraphim, spirits that reached spiritual perfection. 2. Good Spirits This level includes the spirits that possess mediums or initiates during the Umbanda ceremonies and act as Guias advising and helping the believers; these are the following spirits: Caboclos Those are spirits of deceased Indigenous Brazilians or Mestizos. They are knowledgeable about medical herbs prescribing inexpensive remedies to ill people, their speech is always based in truth and courage, are sought after in cases you need strength, counsel. When a caboclo speaks, you listen; when the medium incorporates a Caboclo, he/she, begins to walk around and the feature becomes more severe. They smoke cigars and drink a mix of herbs the mediums make. Preto Velho Those are spirits of old slaves who died enslaved.
They are wise and kind spirits that know all about suffering, compassion and hope. Some of them are considered to be from Angola and Congo, others are considered to be the old Yoruba priests that were first brought to Brazil, they often prescribe herbal remedies. The female counterpart of this spirit is the Preta Velha who demonstrates maternal compassion and concern. In the beginning of Umbanda, Preto Velho introduced himself as an old slave who died after being flogged for some unjust accusation, they are the most loved entities in Umbanda and is common to see a person consulting with the same preto velho year after year, develop a love for them. When the medium incorporates a Preto Velho, he can not stand straight, has difficulty walking, has to make consultations sitting down, they drink coffee and smoke pipes. Crianças/Erês Those are spirits of great evolution, appearing as children, to reveal the pure side of life, they are not children. They speak of hope; when they talk, they always intend to make you look at the bright side of things.
They are characterized as being pure and joyful. Most people make the mistake that, since the medium speaks funny, uses candies and ribbons in his head, that he is
