Voodoo dolls have a negative stigma due to Hollywood’s horror movies about dark magic regarding these dolls. Voodoo originated in the West Indies of Haiti during the 17th century.
Voodoo dolls started being utilized in the vodou religion in the 1800’s. Many feared and misunderstood this religion and claimed it as dark magic. Voodoo dolls were painted as evil by the masses.
The roots of the usage of voodoo dolls evolved from rival religions in West Africa. Vodou was brought to Haiti when slaves from the Dahomey Kingdom, present-day Nigeria, were brought over. The isolation of the area allowed the practice to rapidly evolve. The population had many different tribes and the enslaved Africans. These tribes shared many different beliefs, such as worshiping the spirits of ancestors and the use of singing, drumming, and dancing in rituals. Once in Haiti, slaves created a new religion that was based on their shared religious beliefs with the tribe’s. The ability to practice these traditions helped many slaves feel free and get through hardships.
As strange as it is to correlate voodoo dolls with medicine, these dolls were originally used as early patient care. For example, voodoo practitioners were healers. In these practices, there were voodoo dolls made that resembled the patient. Next, they would put pins in the body part that was feeling pain. This was done to help them remember the patient’s problems for the next visit. The more pins used would symbolize the range of pain.
There have also been many religions where the dolls were used for revenge or to cause harm to someone. Revenge dolls were used in Assyrian rituals, Greek-Roman curses, Mesopotamian cultures, and more. Despite this, the voodoo doll was not created for these purposes.
It is most likely that these dolls came from African slaves brought over to America, specifically in New Orleans, as a result of mixing in Christianity. The voodoo dolls used in this religion were not used in a negative way, as many believe. As well as medical charts, the dolls were also used to help people heal and as a way to communicate with the spirits of those who have passed on.
