2008 Woodie Awards
Voodoo practitioners scatter after Katrina
Associated Press
Issue date: 11/2/05 Section: In The Spirit
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It wasn't supposed to be this way. The "go away" hurricane ritual was performed in July, just as it always is at the start of the hurricane season.
"It didn't quite work out so well," acknowledged Giselle Moller, manager of Marie Laveau House of Voodoo. But, she said, it may have helped a bit.
"Imagine if the hurricane would have hit us straight on. There would have been no French Quarter," she said.
Even before Katrina, some thought voodoo was fading in New Orleans because the younger generation was less interested in the complicated practice, which involves substantial memorization of rituals and songs, Glossop said.
But New Orleans is not giving up on voodoo, notwithstanding evangelist Franklin Graham's recent comments that the city's Mardi Gras revelry and ties to voodoo were adverse to Christian beliefs.
Defenders say voodoo is a legitimate African-based religion that has been unfairly maligned in movies and popular culture.
"Voodoo is not some kind of black magic cult," said Wade Davis, a Washington-based National Geographic explorer-in-residence who has studied the religion extensively in Haiti. "It's the distillation of very profound religious ideas that came over during the tragic era of slavery."
In New Orleans, much of what is practiced these days is a system of folk magic. Some also practice Haitian voodoo.
As the city revives, proponents hope voodoo will make a comeback, too, because it's part of the intrigue that draws visitors.
"I think it's going to be a very strong part of what will get people back here," said Jameson King, who works in one of the voodoo shops in the French Quarter. "We're here for more than drinking."
"It didn't quite work out so well," acknowledged Giselle Moller, manager of Marie Laveau House of Voodoo. But, she said, it may have helped a bit.
"Imagine if the hurricane would have hit us straight on. There would have been no French Quarter," she said.
Even before Katrina, some thought voodoo was fading in New Orleans because the younger generation was less interested in the complicated practice, which involves substantial memorization of rituals and songs, Glossop said.
But New Orleans is not giving up on voodoo, notwithstanding evangelist Franklin Graham's recent comments that the city's Mardi Gras revelry and ties to voodoo were adverse to Christian beliefs.
Defenders say voodoo is a legitimate African-based religion that has been unfairly maligned in movies and popular culture.
"Voodoo is not some kind of black magic cult," said Wade Davis, a Washington-based National Geographic explorer-in-residence who has studied the religion extensively in Haiti. "It's the distillation of very profound religious ideas that came over during the tragic era of slavery."
In New Orleans, much of what is practiced these days is a system of folk magic. Some also practice Haitian voodoo.
As the city revives, proponents hope voodoo will make a comeback, too, because it's part of the intrigue that draws visitors.
"I think it's going to be a very strong part of what will get people back here," said Jameson King, who works in one of the voodoo shops in the French Quarter. "We're here for more than drinking."
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