STORY BY Delilah Jones Treme Photos By Harriet Cross

Hot Night ... Voodoo in The City
An urban area is an area with an increased density of human-created structures in comparison to the areas surrounding it. This term is at one end of the spectrum of suburban and rural areas. An urban area is more frequently called a city or town. And here today in America is where voodoo still is practiced openly or in secret. New Orleans was once the largest Populated area by Voodoo Followers. Most of them post hurricane Katrina have now been moved across the country. Many now live in Houston and Galveston and surrounding Texas areas. And of course new voodoo Queens are being crowned everyday there. Voodoo Rituals happen in New Orleans all the time. From the better known Hurricane Ritual to the annual Bayou St. John Marie Laveau Head washing ceremony.

Priestesses, Voodoo Queens or Mambos, often become "possessed" or "ridden" by the Loa's for the duration of the ritual who can then speak through them.

Also See: VOODOO STORY PAGES

Voodoo is a religion practiced by millions of people, in the Caribbean and in New York City, New Orleans And Miami and other lesser urban centers, and its traditions include percussive and vocal music, dance, and ritual-oriented visual arts such as the drawing of veves, the complex cosmological diagrams that are sketched in chalk on the floors of temples.

So if you want to see and experience real voodoo in The City of New Orleans here are an insiders guide to the real places to visit! From the touristy places to the real deal New Orleans has it all. In the dead of the night post Hurricane Katrina the Voodoo Drums still call out to the faitfull to come home.

 

VOODOO ARTS IN THE NEW COLONY

The area now known as Bywater was mostly plantation land in the Colonial era, with significant residential development beginning the first decade of the 19th century as part of what was known as "Faubourg Washington", part of the predominantly Francophone "Downtown" section of New Orleans. Many people from the French Caribbean settled here, especially refugees from the revolution in Haiti. During the century it grew with both white and free colored Creoles, joined by immigrants from Germany and Ireland. And so did the Voodoo they brought with them.

Voodoo is the original religion of Africa, predating the advent of Islam. The main gods are the Seven Powers, known as Loa's. But there are lesser Loa's as well, including the worshipper's ancestors. The religion has traveled over the world, largely as a result of the slave trade. It is practiced in different countries under different names where it was often necessary to take on the trappings of Catholicism to appease the dominant culture.

There was little division between this area and what became known as the Lower 9th Ward until the Industrial Canal was dredged through the area in the early 20th century. And local Voodoo Culture and color flourished on the banks of the Mississippi River.

A generation of New Orleansians knew the area as the "Upper 9th Ward", but as other areas of the 9th Ward above the Canal further from the River became developed, a more specific name was needed. Inspired by the local telephone exchange designation of BYwater which fit the neighborhood's proximity to the River and the Canal, the neighborhood was known as "Bywater" by the 1940s.

If you lived in New Orleans and were in search of real voodoo the Bywater was the first place to start. What existed in the french Quarter was always the tourist side of what Voodoo actually was. real spells and voodoo dolls could only be purchased in the Bywater at the time.

Development and speculation surrounding the 1984 World's Fair prompted many long term French Quarter residents to move down river, at first into Marigny; by the late 1990s the bohemian artistic type of communities of the type found in the Quarter mid-century had spread down to Bywater, and many long neglected 19th century houses were refurbished. And the magical side of Voodoo lived happily in this underground neighborhood.

The portion of Bywater on the river side of St. Claude Avenue was one of the few portions of the 9th Ward to escape flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and has made a more rapid recovery than many other parts of the city. And so has the Voodoo Community there.

Also See: Bywater Botanica The Island Of Salvation Official Web Site www.feyvodou.com Visit Here

Specialty New Orleans Voodoo items such as Zombie bottles and Spirit bottles once only held secret and holy by the vodousi are now popping up all over the world. Many are considered the real deal. Mojo's, Veve's Flags, Sacred Marie Laveau Monkey and Cock statues and real Voodoo dolls made in New Orleans are the most sought after items for any collector and the curious. But i'm not talking about the run of the mill touristy cheep dolls that you would find in the French Quarter or in commercial stores. These works of real voodoo Art can only be gotten from the actual Voodoo Kings and Queens that still live in the City and belong to a particular Voodoo Society.

Harriet Cross displays her just purchased real Zombie and Spirit bottles that she intends to add to her vast growing collection of real New Orleans Voodoo Art and Paraphernalia.

When visiting new Orleans you need to find the real Voodoo stores says cross. Not the ones in the french Quarter itself. Many of those do not sell real Voodoo Dolls that are ritually made by the Voodoo artisans. Most of what is available in the Quarter are made in Japan. You won't find rows of Zombie Bottles or Monkey's and cocks in any stores. If you do then they are actual reproductions from someone trying to cash in on their popularity. If you want the real deal you need to go to the actual source to purchase them. These real items can only be purchased from Secret Voodoo Societies, and they are often very picky to who they sell them too.

 

The same goes for real Mojo's Ve-Ve's and Dolls. Botanicas are the only place where the real items can be found. F&F or Island of Salvation are two of the many that are popular, and any person in search of real voodoo items should seek out.

 

 

Real Zombie Bottle the spirit protector of New Orleans Homes can only be gotten from one source in New Orleans. These Bound Zombies are said to do the bidding of their owner. Many have tried to purchase them but they are only available through the surviving members of Marie Laveaus' actual Secret Society.

Also see: HOODOO VOODOO REAL ZOMBIE BOTTLES, And : BOUND ZOMBIE BOTTLES exclusive to Haunted America Tours .com

Voodoo (Vodou, Vodoun, Vudu, or Vudun in Benin, Togo, southeastern Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Senegal; also Vodou in Haiti) is a name attributed to a traditionally West African spiritual system of faith and ritual practices. The core functions of Voodoo are to explain the forces of the universe, influence those forces, and influence human behavior. Voodoo's oral tradition of faith stories carries genealogy, history and fables to succeeding generations. Adherents honor deities and venerate ancient and recent ancestors. This faith system is widespread across groups in West Africa. Diaspora spread Voodoo to North and South America, the Caribbean and the Philippines.

REV. ZOMBIE'S AND MARIE LAVEUS' HOUSE OF VOODOO

Rev. Zombie's is a Tourist Voodoo Stop by, any local New Orleans Visitors. It has some very real Voodoo Items and objects of art. But they are also just for the tourist to get a taste of the religion sights and sounds. Whatever ever you might think , the voodoo here is real but the items may not be made by local voodoo artisans. many of the dolls, candles and strange items that you will find in the French Quarter and Gris- Gris actually comes from China. Not saying the voodoo is not real just saying the facts.

To find real actual Voodoo items you need to get off the beaten path and seek out the real Voodoo Kings and Queens.

If semi Real Tourist Voodoo appeals to you then visit Rev. Zombie's 725 St Peter St NOLA 70119 - MARIE LAVEAUS HOUSE OF VOODOO NEW ORLEANS Marie Laveau’s House of Voodoo714 Bourbon Street NOLA 70116. Don't let the Goths that work their by appearances make you think that some items are not real.

Marie Laveau's house of Voodoo: This truly and totally unique Voodoo shop and museum display is located in the heart of the New Orleans French quarter. This the original and only house on the reported actual site that legendary Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau once " REPORTEDLY " called home during her life, Marie II, briefly lived in what is now Marie Laveau's House of Voodoo, and adjacent to the St. Ann Street cottage where Marie I died.

MARIE LAVEAU

ALSO SEE: THE GREAT VOODOO QUEENS AND KINGS

Voodoo has been a matriarchy in New Orleans from the beginning. Very little is known with any certainty about the life of Marie Laveau. She is supposed to have been born in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana in 1801, the daughter of a white planter and a free Creole of Color (a multi-racial combination of African, Native American, and French (or Spanish)). She married Jacques Paris, also a free Creole of color, on August 4, 1819; her marriage certificate is preserved in Saint Louis Cathedral in New Orleans.

New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum

The Voodoo Museum or New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum 724 Dumaine Street
New Orleans, LA 70116 504.680.0128 www.voodoomuseum.com

ALSO SEE: THE HAUNTED PAINTING OF MARIE LAVEAU

AND ALSO : THE HAUNTED VOODOO OCCULT SHOP IN NEW ORLEANS THE ONE AND ONLY MARIE LAVEAU'S HOUSE OF VOODOO

F&F BOTANICA

If your looking for real Voodoo items and art then visit F&F. F&F carry a nice selection of religious articles from Cuba and Latin America. In the Santeria & Lucumi section you can locate products used in Santeria, Palo, Ifa and Espiritismo. The Hoodoo items frequently used for spells or spiritual workings based on Rootwork, African American folk and Southern Magic.

 

Commonly, F&F Botanica interior space is separated into what you might call “front” and “back” regions. The former “sales” area contains display shelves and glass cases filled with colored beads, cauldrons, tureens, perfumes, oils, candles, herbs and other ritual materials for sale. The “back” region is used for private religious consultations (using one of many divinatory techniques, including cowry shells, tarot cards, Spanish cards, and more, depending on the specific faith of the diviner).

Also See: F&F Botanica

Botanicas are stores that stock herbs, roots, beads, oils, scents, sprays, powders, potions, etc., used in Santería and other ritual practices such as Espiritismo. Exciting collection of books, herbs and candles, traditional unique New Orleans Voodoo Hoodoo items, Vodou, Santeria and much more.

African, Caribbean, Iberian, Cuban, Haitian and American Voodoo lore, you can find more than 6,000 products and religious articles. From waters and oils to candles and washes. with its vast selections of sacred roots, holy cards, religious statues, talismans, blessing sprays, Tarot card, incense, and voodoo curios F&F Botanica is a very interesting stop on your next visit to New Orleans.

Statues and art at F&F Botanica The Real Voodoo Of New Orleans

The word Vodún (Vodoun Vudu) is the Fon-Ewe word for spirit. The word Voodoo is primarily used to describe the Afro-creole tradition of New Orleans, Vodou is used to describe the Haitian Vodou Tradition, while Vudon and Vodun and Vodoun are used to describe the deities honored in the Brazilian Jeje (Ewe) nation of Candomble as well as West African Vodoun, and in the African diaspora. Voodoo or Hoodoo also refer to African-American folk spirituality of the southeastern USA, with roots in West African traditional or "folk" spirituality. When the word Vodou/Vodoun is capitalized, it denotes the Religion proper. When the word is used in small caps, it denotes folk spirituality, or the actual deities honored in each respective tradition.

Many leave offerings at the tomb of Marie Laveau

The name vodu comes from the West African language, Fon meaning 'spirit' or 'deity'. The Kongo rites, also known in the north of Haiti as Lemba (originally practiced among the Bakongo) and is as widespread as the West African elements. The Vodoun religion was suppressed during slavery and Reconstruction in the United States, but maintained most of its West African elements. The Fon tradition in Cuba is known La Regla Arará.

The versions of Voodoo which survived in the Southeastern United States were connected with Christian mysticism in the minds of rural African Americans. Segregation minimized the number of bi-lingual African Americans (those who spoke basilect and fluent acrolect), and at the same time minimized the number of whites who could translate basilect well enough to discover Voodoo in the spoken, sung, or written words of middle class, working class or working-poor African Americans. In isolated African American communities, such as the Georgia Sea Islands or in the Mississippi Delta, Voodoo lore could be freely referenced and practices, at least the more subtle ones, were more public.

ISLAND OF SALVATION

Island of Salvation Botanica 835 Piety Street, New Orleans, LA 70116
Tel: 504-948-9961 offers Voodoo supplies and artwork by local artist/priestess Voodoo Queen Sallie Ann Glassman.

The Bywater is a neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is along the Mississippi River, down river from the Faubourg Marigny and up from the Industrial Canal.

During New Orleans Mardi Gras, the Society of Saint Anne marching krewe starts their processions each Mardi Gras morning in the Bywater. After Hurricane Katrina, many survivors flocked to this area as it was less affected by the storm. Old and new residents as well as the new cruise-ship terminal on Poland Avenue Wharf have bolstered Bywater's economy.

Bywater is part of the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, but it is located along the natural levee of the Mississippi River; so while it did see some flooding, it did not see the tremendous devastation that the newer suburbs did- even though these neighborhoods are just a few blocks away.

Many often debate the variations of Voodoo, how they have survived, how much they have changed, and to what extent Christianity in general or Catholicism in particular were used as covers to enable the survival of Voodoo. A common saying is that Haiti is 80% Roman Catholic, 20% Protestant, and 100% Vodou. Thus the Catholic contribution to Haitian Vodou is quite noticeable.

Bianca's House of Voodoo

Bianca's House of Voodoo Botanica is a secret Society Botanica by invitation only. It is said to trace it's history all the way back to the original secret Society and line of Voodoo Queens of Marie Laveau. It 's location is only known to those in the group and the lucky few that are allowed a visit.

The New Orleans Voodoo Mask Of The Ghede Mama Brigitte. Mama Brigitte is the Queen of the Spirit World, the female counterpart to Baron Samedi, the Master of the Cemeteries. She is often compared to the African Orisha, Oya, Queen of the Winds & Hurricanes. In New Orleans, many call upon her to clear our path of negativity and evil, to help your memory and to bring the protection and wisdom of Ancestors/Spirit Guides. This actual ritual mask, is made in her honor, it may be used as altar pieces and/or focusing tools to invite Mama Brigitte's positive influences into your life.

 

Louisiana Voodoo, also known as New Orleans Voodoo is a term that is used for a form of the Voodoo spirituality which historically developed within the French- and Louisiana Creole French-speaking African-American population of the U.S. state of Louisiana.

An oft-mentioned historical figure in Louisiana Voodoo is Marie Laveau. Louisiana Voodoo is often confused with - but is not completely separable from - Haitian Vodou and southeastern U.S. hoodoo. While it generally shares the same loa as Haitian Vodou, it lays a generally greater emphasis upon folk magic (as does hoodoo). This emphasis has become a spirit cultural marker for southern, Francophone Louisiana within the Western media, as it was through Louisiana Voodoo that such terms as gris-gris and voodoo dolls were introduced into the American lexicon.

Also See: † THE MANY TRUE FACES OF THE VOODOO QUEEN MARIE LAVEAU †

In modern times, it has faced substantial derision from the Protestant Christian contingent of southern Louisiana's African-American population, as voodoo and folk magic have been portrayed as both evil and Satanic.

Vodou Visions By the New Orleans Voodoo Queen Sallie Ann Glassman is the absolute best of any recent work published about the fascinating subject of Vodou (yes, also spelled Voodoo). In this, her first published work, Ms. Glassman, or "Manbo Sallie Ann" as her devotees and fans call her, takes the reader by the hand through an exploration of the origins, meanings, uses and modern applications of this ancient "slave religion" that has over 50 million followers worldwide.

ROSALIE ALLEY ACHADE PERISTYLE

Also see: ROSALIE ALLEY NEW ORLEANS REAL WALL OF VOODOO

Unlike the more staid or folkloric works of other writers, Voodoo Queen Manbo Sallie Ann willingly instructs the reader in the path of Vodou and does not hesitate to throw light on many parts of the subject that other authors deliberately omit or obscure. Manbo Sallie Ann's style is one of welcome and enthusiasm and easily conveys her passion for this life path to all who are curious or intent upon following her.

 

Sallie Ann Glassman is also the creator and illustrator of the New Orleans Voodoo Tarot deck and is widely recognized for her magical artwork in other media. Visit her at www.feyvodou.com.

Hurricane Katrina
With the destruction wrought on New Orleans and other parts of the Gulf Coast, hundreds of thousands of individuals, including many Louisiana Voodoo practitioners, were driven to many different parts of the United States. Many Voudon believe it is a scattering of the tribes.

New Orleans Since the late 1960s, visitors to the French Quarter in New Orleans have thrilled to its evocative little voodoo shops. Some of those shops well off the tourist paths, however, cater not just to tourists but to those for whom voodoo is a spiritual tradition and a community.

Voodoo Spiritual Temple

The Voodoo Spiritual Temple is a place where you can find peace and comfort. It is a place for not only educating people about the Voudon Religion but also yourself and activities that occur in everyday life. Voudon is traditionally the fon word for "spirit mystery". It has taken a french sound of "on". "Don" is the gift root of "donation" which is freely given and received. In Voudon you obtain a better self balance not only about the religious structure but also your life.

The Voodoo Spiritual Temple was established in 1990 by Priestess Miriam and Priest Oswan Chamani. It is the only "formally" established Spiritual Temple with a focus on traditional West African spiritual and herbal healing practices currently existing in New Orleans. On March 6, 1995, Priest Oswan transcended into the arms of the ancestors but Priestess Miriam continues to carry on the tradition of the Temple along with the Spirit of Oswan. The Voodoo Spiritual Temple has extended its spirituality across the world and is opening a Temple in Russia.

www.voodoospiritualtemple.org Voodoo Spiritual Temple 828 N. Rampart Street New Orleans, LA 70116

The Voodoo Spiritual Temple helps embrace the reality and truth of Voudon from both past and past presence of time. The vibrations of Voudon have helped both men and women find themselves obtaining better achievements in life.

Priestess Miriam Chamani, Servant of Ayizan gives Consultations and African Bone Readings both in person and via the telephone. She specializes in Voodoo Weddings, Damballah for Healing, and Erzulie for Love. Priestess Miriam designs Voodoo Dolls and Kits tailored to each person's needs and desires. These are not commercial made but instead hand made by your Priestess Miriam Ayizan!

The Voodoo Spiritual Temple is not based on white nor black magic. Our focus is "TRUTH", True Spiritual Power. True Spiritual Power is for friendly people, as well as those that are sensitive to all vibrations of the Universe. Oswan Chamani once had said, "When we put our hands in water, we expect them to get wet, and when we heal with spiritual power, we expect a miracle." This means that miracles do happen outside of our reasoning, intellect, and physical understanding. We all work with miracles daily but only too often they are to curse us or someone instead of for blessing. We must get our understanding aligned. Just as we align the front end of our vehicles, we must understand our own spiritual power within us. This is especially true if we are to grow and understand how to make sense of magic and miracles.

So when your in New Orleans and looking for the strange and real side of New Orleans Voodoo visit these hot spots and meet the real Kings and Queens of New Orleans Voodoo!

AND DON'T FORGET TO TELL THEM HAUNTED AMERICA TOURS SENT YOU !

Delilah Jones Treme

As a local New Orleanian with an interest in real voodoo as compared to what the outsider see's Treme has set out to bring forth the world that is hidden to those that they dare not tread. From investigating Voodoo rituals and grand ceremonies she has become enlightened to the facts and fictions that surrounds what the public see's and will in upcoming articles try to show all what real New Orleans Voodoo Hoodoo really is.

Treme's hope someday is to become a reigning Voodoo Queen herself.