Haitian Voodoo Priestess, by Swamp Hill

Haitian Voodoo Priestess, by Swamp Hill. Butch Lacy, vocals and guitar; Mike Hill, lead guitar and bass; Tony Lacy, percussion. Words and Music by Swamp Hill. Produced by Butch Lacy, Buck Eggar Studios. Video production, Tony Lacy.Lyrics:When I look to the night skyI don't see the moon, it's blackAnd I know that you are goneAnd you won't be coming backGot me my mojoAnd I got me a big black catYou think you got your spell on meBut I left it in the back'Cause I know...Crystal ball told me soI heard love is magicBut it's never gonna happen tonightYou said love is magicNow it's never gonna happen againI've been watching you in the mirrorAnd I know just what you doCount down until you're a believerSet your clock it's coming soon'Cause I know...Spit and bones told me soWhen I come inside your headI'm scared of what I seeGrim reaper beside you thereAnd his face looks just like me'Cause I know...Spit and bones told me soWho needs a videoWe got a radioTune in the channel tonightI heard love is magicBut it's never gonna happen tonightYou said love is magicNow it's never gonna happen again"Voudou" is a name attributed to a "New World" family of religions with roots in Africa and in Christianity. It is found in African communities primarily in Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cuba and Brazil.In Voodoo all Creation is divine and therefore contains divine power, which can be accessed by practitioners. The core functions of Voodoo are to explain the forces of the universe, to influence those forces, and to influence human behavior. Voodoo oral traditions carry genealogy, history, and fables. Adherents honor deities and venerate ancestors, both ancient and recent.In Haitian Voodoo there are elements from many different people or nations of Africa in the liturgy of the Sèvis Lwa. Islam has also been noted in some services. Haitian Creole forms of Voodoo exist in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, parts of Cuba, the United States, and other places that Haitian immigrants dispersed to over the years. However, it is important to note that the Vodoun religion existed in the United States, having been brought over by West Africans enslaved in America. There is a re-emergence of these Vodoun traditions in America, which maintains the same linealritual and cosmological elements as is practiced in West Africa.The most historically important Voodoo ceremony in Haitian history was the Bwa Kayiman or Bois Caïman ceremony of August 1791 that began the Haitian Revolution, in which the spirit Ezili Dantor possessed a priestess and received a black pig as an offering, and all those present pledged themselves to the fight for freedom. This ceremony ultimately resulted in the liberation of the Haitian people from French colonial rule in 1804, and the establishment of the first black people's republic in the history of the world and the second independent nation in the Americas.Today Voodoo is practiced not only by Haitians, but by Americans and people of many nationalities that are exposed to the Haitian culture. However, because of the importance some believers place on voodoo, high priests and priestesses often exploit clients by extracting high fees for fruitless work, leading to voodoo becoming a dying religion. The majority of Haitian practitioners are initiated as Houngan or Mambo, considered a position of high power and status with economic rewards. It's a growing occupation in Haiti that attracts many impoverished citizens. Many shady voodoo practitioners go into the field to exploit foreigners and Haitians who are uneducated about voodoo.Although Voodoo is often associated with Satanism, Satan is primarily an Abrahamic figure and has not been incorporated in Voodoo tradition. When Mississippi Delta folksongs mix references to Voodoo and to Satan, what is being expressed is social pain such as from racism. Those who practice voodoo are not attempting to worship or invoke the blessings of a devil.

Channel: Music
Uploaded: November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am
Author: aelacy

Length: 03:29
Rating: 5.00
Views: 4160

Tags: blues  Butch  country  folk  Haitian  Hill  Lacy  Mike  original  pop  Priestess  rock  Swamp  Tony  Voodoo  

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