‘Voodoo Healers of West Africa’
Jan 9th, 2009 by jonathan
This article by Graham Lloyd appeared today in The Australian newspaper
SIX hours after it began, the voodoo ceremony was moved indoors to avoid the monsoonal storm and fading light. Voodoo spirits had been dispatched to Australia from our hastily arranged gathering in Togo, West Africa. They would return in 40 minutes with news about the health of a loved one.
As thunder clapped overhead, torches were needed to illuminate a smorgasbord of sorcery on which a bound chicken would soon become the ultimate sacrifice to, hopefully, heal a sickness half a world away.
Seven people were crammed into the mud hut with two rooms, cracked walls, a tin roof and concrete floor. A photograph of the Virgin Mary hung on one wall. The passage between the two rooms was closed by a full-length drop of material decorated with three stripes: black, red, black. Above the doorway was nailed a crucifix and in the centre of the cloth there was an embroidered cross of cowry shells. Underneath a rickety table in one corner was a collection of shells, empty bottles, seeded corn cobs, a cowbell and gourds. Talcum powder had been used to draw a circle on the floor. Inside the circle sat a small ceramic pot containing some herbs, a paper pill-cup filled with water, powder and chalk, and a short length of string.
Go to this link to read the entire article.