Vodou, despite the Haitian promotion it receives, isn’t the real Vodou that is performed in the temples. I am glad that Vodou has gone from a hated art to a part of Haitian culture. However, the Vodou everyone sees isn’t the actual Vodou that is performed as part of the sacred rituals. It seems to be a complex development in which the growth of Vodou is also the suppression of Vodouists.

Although Vodou songs are performed as part of secret rituals, the author gives us an understanding of its basic structure. It has the popular call-and-response structure where there is one caller and the rest responds to the soloist. The beat of the drum is the fuel of the dance that highlights key words in the lyrics and guides the dancers in their movements. Vodou drumming is so powerful that as soon as the antirhythm hits, it is theorized to release the spirit inside the dancer’s psyche. Outsiders view the Vodou dance as a theatre performance. However, in its transfer from the temple to the stage, the authenticity of Vodou art is lost.

Unfortunately, despite there being actual Vodouists on stage, the performance is controlled by outside forces. In an attempt to make Vodou a part of Haitian culture, the Haitian elite also tried to redefine it into something they think is good. There is a huge dilemma where not only are foreigners are misrepresenting Vodou in Haitian culture, but so are Haitians themselves. This misunderstanding will not come to an end unless the Vodouists finally get a say in what they are performing. Because Vodou and Voudists are poor people, they attempt to both satisfy the requirements put upon them and perform their Vodou to move along.

Lois Wilcken makes a great point that the privileged, because they are the literate people of Haiti, monopolize the written accounts of Vodou in Haiti. Foreigners take their representation of Vodou as seen in cinemas. They are making stereotypes of what Vodou is. They have no authority to define something that they are not a part of. Fortunately, Vodouists can take their art to the theaters of educational institutions. These areas promote their students to view things like Vodou with different perspectives. Many other concepts, problems and ideals have the problem that they are misrepresented by people who are not part of it. Spreading their views to educational facilities can be the gateway for a better perspective on these matters.