Voodoo is in fact Vodou, or Vodun, an official religion in West Africa, principally in Togo and Benin, as well as parts of Ghana and Nigeria. It was carried across the Atlantic along with the slaves, and variations of it exist in Haiti and even in Louisiana in the US, too.
Ghana—and Africa as a whole—is heavily associated with Christianity in various forms. From the traditional movements such as Methodist or Episcopalian to the more popular evangelical megachurches led by pastors without affiliations to or roots in traditional theology or divinity.
All of these are products of colonial expansion and it is sometimes difficult to find and know what is still present that connects Ghanaians to their roots. Voodoo spirituality, known in Ghana as Vodun, is one of them.
Vodou traces the journey of people of African descent throughout the world: in Ghana, the Ewe people call it Vodun; in Brazil, it is Vodum; in Haiti, Vodou; Cuba, Vodú; and in Louisiana, it goes by its most popular name: Voodoo.
Like many ancient religions around the world that are rooted in nature and that existed before the Judeo-Christian tradition rose, Vodun is a female-centric religion. It contains both a female priesthood and a Queen Mother who all play central roles and can be seen as protectors of the religion.
The Queen Mother is usually the first daughter of a matriarchal lineage who leads rituals and ceremonies including baptisms, weddings, and funerals.
She is a prominent and important member of the community and she oversees the running of the markets, leads prayer ceremonies and in the past, organised the other women of the tribe in their duties when the men would go off to war.
The other role of the female priestess—Mawu/Mahu—is one chosen by the oracle and this calling can come at any time. After it does, the chosen one receives spiritual instruction concerning her role from the clan convent.
It is a role that was previously limited to those of blood relation to the clan but in recent years, it has been opened up to the wider community.
There are an estimated one million people in Ghana who practice this particular traditional religion and about 13 per cent of the population as a whole practice other traditional religions also rooted in ancestor cults.
Though Christianity (as well as Islam) have a stronghold on the continent, these practices still prevail and link practitioners through time and geography to a common ancestry great diaspora around the world.
