Animal Sacrifice in Haitian Voodoo – Part 1 | Midwest Christian Outreach, Inc

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During the September 10^th, 2024 presidential debate, former President Donald Trump accused Haitian immigrants living in Springfield, Ohio, of eating cats and dogs, thereby stirring up political controversy once again.¹ While I live only thirty-five minutes from Springfield, in Dayton, OH, I cannot take a position on Trump’s statement one way or the other as I have seen conflicting reports on the issue.² However, what is going on in Springfield does raise some question as to how many of these immigrants are involved with Voodoo, which is practiced by an estimated 60 percent of the population of Haiti.³ Are Voodoo animal sacrificial practices a cause for concern for pet owners in Springfield?

Before I begin however, I always try to remind myself what Paul tells us in his letter to the Ephesians.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

The practitioners of Haitian Voodoo, or any other religion, are not our enemies are but rather the spiritual forces behind their delusion. We are all slaves to sin and are living in darkness before we are saved by Christ (Rom 6:20-23). We should never persecute the lost, but rather, we are called to love them (Matt 5:43-48) and always be prepared to give an answer to those who want to know the reason for the hope within us. And we are to do this with gentleness and respect (1 Pet 3:15).

This will be the first article in a two-part series on Voodoo. The next article will examine why #Black Lives Matter praises Voodoo and how the religions of the West African diaspora influence American politics today.

Introduction

Voodoo developed as a fusion of beliefs from various West African ethnic groups, particularly the Fon of the Kingdom of Dahomey (modern-day Benin) and the Yoruba (Nigeria), as well as European Catholicism and the religious traditions of the native Taino and Carib Indians of Hispaniola.⁴ Voodoo originates from the Ifá divination system of Yorubaland in West Africa. The same deities (orishas) worshiped in Ifá are also worshiped in Voodoo, including other African diaspora religions (Santeria in Cuba, Umbanda and Candomblé in Brazil)⁵

As the preeminent orisha, Ifa is the cornerstone of Yoruba religion, metaphysics, and spirituality. Therefore, other major divinities such as Ogun, Sango, Eshu, and Obatala appear to play supportive roles because ritual, sacrifice, oblation, and other forms of religious practice only follow Ifa’s dicta and prescriptions.⁶

There is a growing narrative today that Voodoo is a misunderstood religion demonized by French slave owners. According to Atlantic Magazine, the idea that its adherents practice black magic and demon worship is simply propaganda espoused by people like Médéric Louis Élie Moreau de Saint-Méry (1750 –1819), a French politician and slave owner who lived much of his life in Saint-Domingue (now the Republic of Haiti).⁷

While I acknowledge that nobody really worships Satan and his demons. Even members of the Church of Satan say that it’s a form of rebellion, not religion; I would argue that pagans and occultists are worshipping demons unknowingly.⁸ Since these individuals do not adhere to a Biblical worldview, they do not realize that Satan masquerades as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14). In the case of Voodoo and other Ifá based religions, their orishas and lwas (spirits) are really instruments of Satan.

Animal Sacrifice in Voodoo

According to Shannon R. Turlington, author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Voodoo,

The climax of most Vodou ceremonies is the animal sacrifice. Unlike the gods of other religions, the Iwa must eat. Just as we do, they lose energy and strength when they aren’t fed. If a community feeds the Iwa to keep them strong, then the Iwa will use that strength to support the community and bring them good fortune.

Most Haitian peasants don’t own refrigerators and must kill their food shortly before eating it to keep it fresh. . . . Food is in short supply in Haiti. Thus, the sacrifice serves two purposes. It shows the Iwa how much their followers honor them by giving them something of real value.⁹

After death, its blood is infused with the divine energy of the Iwa. The celebrants share this energy by tasting a few drops of the animal’s blood—mixed with salt, syrup, and rum and passed around in a calabash bowl—or by making crosses in blood on their foreheads. The animal’s blood is also used to anoint sacred objects.

Some part of the sacrifice is buried for the lwa, usually the head, feet, and internal organs in other words, the inedible parts. . .. The food energizes the Iwa so that they are able to appear through possession.¹⁰

The most common kinds of animal sacrifices (in Haitian Vooodoo) are chickens, roosters, doves, and goats. Occasionally, larger animals (such as cows, bulls, rams, sheep, and oxen) may be sacrificed.¹¹

In part two of this study of Voodoo we will discuss the significance of pig sacrifice in Voodoo and how it was used during the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804).

Is There Dog Eating in Voodoo?

According to the Encyclopedia of African Religion, one of the Yoruba orishas that crossed the Atlantic Ocean along with the millions of Africans who were forcibly removed from their homeland during the days of the European slave trade was the god Ogun (Ogu in Haiti). He is considered the god of iron and war and one of his favorite foods is dog. He continues to play a major part in African religious life because his incredible power is both revered and feared.¹²

According to the British Broadcasting Company (BBC), within religions that originate from Ifá, followers of an Orisha will “offer them food and sacrifice animals to them in order to build and maintain a personal relationship with the spirit.”¹³

The process not only brings the worshipper closer to their Orisha, but makes them more aware of the presence of the Orisha within them. This is a mutual process; the food is essential for the Orishas, who will die without being fed, and in return the Orishas are able to help the worshippers. Orishas are also nourished by other forms of worship and praise.¹⁴

According to Afolabi Sotunde of Reuters, Blacksmiths, panel beaters, mechanics, and tradesmen in Nigeria who depend on metal, pay homage to the Orisha of Iron, Ogun, by choking a dog with a noose and pulling the animal apart from both ends. Then the head of the dog is cut off using a cutlass.¹⁵ Sotunde’s article does not specify whether the ceremony’s participants eat the dog; however, through these types of sacrifices, Ogun is fortified and fed, and as a result, the followers’ requests and desires could be met.

This high and widespread reverence for Ogun, god of iron, can only be understood within a context that defines iron and ironwork as the most sacred. The blacksmith surrenders to God while doing his work, and the latter, therefore, bears the mark of the divine. Most compelling, however, the blacksmith in his forge replicates, in a symbolic and metaphorical way, God’s act of creation of the world. Indeed, the melting of iron in a furnace, a pervasive symbol of the female womb, has been frequently associated, in many African societies, with fertility, vitality, and creative power. The reenactment of the creation of the world, and of life itself, through the melting and forging of iron largely explains the lasting prestige of blacksmiths and, above all, of Ogun, the divinity of iron. In addition, given the civilizing power of iron, Ogun is also considered the deity of civilization and technology. All those whose occupation is related to metal, from farmers to surgeons, from barbers, haircutters, mechanics, butchers, and taxi drivers to soldiers and hunters, pay tribute to Ogun as their patron.¹⁶

It is unclear whether the practice of dog sacrifice can be found in Haitian Voodoo but considering that the religion is an offshoot of Ifá, and also worships Ogun, it is certainly possible.¹⁷

Doesn’t the Bible Promote Animal Sacrifice?

. . . the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons. (2 Corinthians 10:20, NASB)

Many may argue that Christians are hypocritical for condemning animal sacrifice when the Old Testament is riddled with it and because many Christians believe animal sacrifice will begin again in the Millennial Kingdom. Some may say that dog sacrifice is appropriate within Haitian culture just as the sacrifice of lambs, goats, rams, etc., was appropriate in Old Testament Jewish culture. Who are we to judge? Why should we condemn such activities when there is animal sacrifice in the Bible?

In his book Occult Invasion: The Subtle Seduction of the World and Church, Dave Hunt points out:

In all pagan/nature religions there is a presumed cause-and-effect relationship between the ritual or ceremony performed and the obtaining of the power or healing or other blessing sought. The whole idea of pagan ceremonies—the rites of shaman or witch, the burning of candles, the making of potions, the use of fetishes, etc.—is that they will (if done correctly) elicit a response from the gods or spirits. Just as the laws of science require an automatic response in the natural order, it is imagined that the gods can be made to respond as well.¹⁸

In the Old Testament, there were many sacrifices and ceremonies commanded by God, but it was never suggested that any ceremony or sacrifice had an efficacious effect by itself. There was no thought that God was impressed by the act, much less that it brought about an automatic response from God that followed certain spiritual laws. On the contrary, because the hearts of priests and people were not right, God rejected the sacrifices of Israel, even though they followed the ceremonial procedures according to the letter of the law:

To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the lord. I am full of the burnt-offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts, and I delight not in the blood of bullocks or of lambs or of he goats. … Bring no more vain oblations: incense is an abomination unto me. … When ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear; your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well: seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow (Isaiah 1:11-17).¹⁹

The entire Bible testifies that God is neither bound by nor does He respond according to any alleged “spiritual laws.” There is no automatic response that can be gotten from Him through certain rituals.²⁰

Furthermore, animal sacrifice in paganism is reductionist of the divine by suggesting that man and God are equally dependent upon one another. It’s also interesting that in Voodoo rituals the lwa is given the inedible parts of the animal sacrifice.²¹ In the Bible, however, only the best parts of animal sacrifices were offered to God, typically the fat and certain organs like the kidneys and liver (Lev 3:14-16; 4:9,19; 7:3-4, 22-25). These parts represent the most valuable portion of the sacrifice, signifying complete devotion and submission to Yahweh. Also, the Israelites had to give the priests and/or Levites the first fruits (Num18:12) of their produce and the firstborn (Num18:15) of their flocks and herds, thus representing the mediating work of Christ as our high priest.

Paganism is also reductionistic of man as it often views Mother Earth as the only worthy living being and humans as parasites. Animistic religions like Voodoo teach that humans have a synergistic relationship with nature, and if the balance of nature is lost, we will be facing a catastrophe of apocalyptic proportions. In order to maintain this balance, sacrifices must be given back to nature before man can take of the land, and plans need to be made to ensure that resources are not depleted. ²²

Spirit Possession

American anthropologist Karen McCarthy Brown (1942 – 2015) of Drew University –– who became a Voodoo priestess as a result of her research into the Voodoo religion, writes:

For the higher levels of initiation, one of the central surrender lessons has to do with possession. Through ritual means, an attempt is made to pull the initiate over the edge and into the deep waters of trance. Those who serve the Vodou spirits believe that, in possession, the givo bonanj (the immortal aspect of a human spirit, or the human life force) leaves the body and floats loose in the world.

When Alourdes (Brown’s religious mentor and the focus of her book) was only thirteen, an ancient female spirit called Marienette “passed” through her head, a type of spirit contact that falls short of possession. Alourdes’s first full possession came at the age of nineteen.²³

Marienette is a very important spirit in the Haitian Revolution‘s history. We will learn about in part two of this article. But according to Judika Illes, author of Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses:

She is a controversial spirit. Many insist that she should never be invoked, as she is dangerous and hostile. She is certainly not a spirit for beginners.²⁴Ω

We appreciate former Umbanda Priestess Ivani Greppi’s assistance with this article.

Stephanie Potts and her husband, Jim live in Dayton, Ohio, and have been married for 23 years. She worked with the federal government for 15 years as an intelligence analyst and then entered full-time Christian service in 2015. She first joined Haven Ministries in Denver, Colorado, in 2015 and then transferred to Midwest Christian Outreach, Inc in 2021. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Florida State University in Political Science and International Relations and received her Master’s degree in Geographic Information Systems from Penn State University. She is currently working towards her master’s degree in Christian Apologetics through Southern Evangelical Seminary. She specializes in evangelizing to people involved in the New Age, to Muslims, and Native Americans. Stephanie’s personal website: rainbowapologetics.com

Animal Sacrifice in Haitian Voodoo – Part 1

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