I have been buried in dissertation and real life and neglected this blog. However, I have just posted an article on Haitian Vodou whose Adsense and Amazon revenue will go to Hope for Haiti, a good charity helping with Haiti relief efforts.  Here’s the introduction:

What Is Haitian Vodou?

Haitian Vodou (Anglicized as Voodoo) is a religion brought to the island of Haiti by African slaves. It is a fusion of African traditions (primarily West African) from several different tribes, including the Fon, Yoruba, Ewe, and Kongo. The slaves also found allies in the native Caribbean tribes enslaved alongside them, and adapted some of their spiritual traditions.

Haitian Vodou gave these exploited peoples solace, self-empowerment, and a sense of communal identity during their war of independence. Despite the efforts of Christian missionaries, Vodou continues to be practiced by a majority of Haitians to this day. Many identify as Christian, but retain their family traditions which identify Catholic saints with African loas.

Text by E. Brundige. © 2010. Photo Jeremy Burgin. Some Rights Reserved.

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“What Is Haitian Vodou?”

to help this article earn money for charity!

[UPDATE Feb 2011: Hope for Haiti is no longer accepting auto-donations directly from that page, so the money from that article now goes to me. However, I continue to donate manually to a few relief organizations each year.]