What do you think?
Rate this book
The Faces of the Gods: Vodou and Roman Catholicism in Haiti
Vodou, the folk religion of Haiti, is a by-product of the contact between Roman Catholicism and African and Amerindian traditional religions. In this book, Leslie Desmangles analyzes the mythology and rituals of Vodou, focusing particularly on the inclusion of West African and European elements in Vodouisants' beliefs and practices.
Desmangles sees Vodou not simply as a grafting of European religious traditions onto African stock, but as a true creole phenomenon, born out of the oppressive conditions of slavery and the necessary adaptation of slaves to a New World environment.
Desmangles uses Haitian history to explain this phenomenon, paying particular attention to the role of the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century maroon communities in preserving African traditions and the attempts by the Catholic, educated elite to suppress African-based "superstitions." The result is a society in which one religion, Catholicism, is visible and official; the other, Vodou, is unofficial and largely secretive.
Desmangles sees Vodou not simply as a grafting of European religious traditions onto African stock, but as a true creole phenomenon, born out of the oppressive conditions of slavery and the necessary adaptation of slaves to a New World environment.
Desmangles uses Haitian history to explain this phenomenon, paying particular attention to the role of the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century maroon communities in preserving African traditions and the attempts by the Catholic, educated elite to suppress African-based "superstitions." The result is a society in which one religion, Catholicism, is visible and official; the other, Vodou, is unofficial and largely secretive.
240 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1992
9 people are currently reading
149 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 20, 2019
I would recommend this book as an entry level source of information about voodoo especially for those who are trying to connect with their Haitian roots more , this book will provide you with facts about the oppression of the Taìno and African religious practices , it will make you question everything negative you've heard about vodou. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, i have reserved a permanent place for it on my bookshelf, as I know I will frequently revise some of the chapters time and time again. As a research book I found it to be quite gripping and as my reading was nearing the end I was feeling saddened because I didn't want to let go, I wanted a prolonged experience. Nonetheless I recommend this to anybody who want to understand anything about my people and our history and to any Haitian who's ready to reconcile with their true culture.
September 25, 2011
Good book that is refreshingly respectful of Vodou. There are some biases in which Desmangles refuses to be critical of either the US or the Catholic Church, both of whom established clearly racist policies against Haiti in her early independence. There is also a base assumption that Catholicism is a true, universal, humanist religion and therefore Vodou is interpreted in ways that make it more compatible with Catholicism's metaphysics. Finally, Desmangles seems uncritical of Maya Deren as a source and relies on her too much. This unfortunate leap of faith results in Desmangles framing the Vodou self as two-part (which strikes me as over-simplified since all of my other sources describe at least five components), and the distinctions between these two parts is a bit muddled. Beyond that, this book is sensible, compassionate and clearly interested in furthering understanding rather than exoticism. Worth reading.
June 12, 2022
Among the countless books I've read on Haiti in general, and Vodou in particular, this is one of few that stands apart. The facts of the uniquely Haitian religious beliefs and traditions are examined honestly and without bias one way or another.
As a Christian who has lived in and out of Haiti, married to a Haitian man who's family members are practicing vodouisants, as well as Catholics, I respect the matter-of-fact, yet easily approachable evaluation of religion in Haiti.
Of course, as the subtitle would indicate, the book largely ignores the growing Protestant influence as well as other influences from secularism, Islam, and elsewhere. So the reader must keep that in mind for a well rounded view of religion in Haiti. Then again, the book is several decades old, and many of those influences only recently gained momentum.
I would say read this first for an understanding of Haitian theological thought. And from there, venture into the extensive bibliography at the end.
As a Christian who has lived in and out of Haiti, married to a Haitian man who's family members are practicing vodouisants, as well as Catholics, I respect the matter-of-fact, yet easily approachable evaluation of religion in Haiti.
Of course, as the subtitle would indicate, the book largely ignores the growing Protestant influence as well as other influences from secularism, Islam, and elsewhere. So the reader must keep that in mind for a well rounded view of religion in Haiti. Then again, the book is several decades old, and many of those influences only recently gained momentum.
I would say read this first for an understanding of Haitian theological thought. And from there, venture into the extensive bibliography at the end.
April 4, 2021
The essential introduction to Vodou and Haitian religious history. 4 instead of 5 stars only because of some slightly disingenuous characterization of Christian theology, but nevertheless it is an incredible introduction.
March 21, 2024
Synthesis and Separation
Haitian society in 2024 is being wracked by gang violence in a chaotic situation of no government control at all. After the 2010 earthquake that killed between 220,000 and 300,000 people, Haiti struggled to find stable government and economic success. Now it appears that things have plunged to a new low. We see Haiti as a disaster, but as the only country in history that grew from a successful slave revolt, the only country in the Western Hemisphere with a predominantly African religious tradition, it is far more than just a “disaster”. Desmangles tries to describe and explore this religious tradition in which Catholic elements combine with strong African elements from different parts of that continent to produce a synthesis found nowhere else. All religions are syntheses of older beliefs and practices. So if society in Brazil, Cuba, Mauritius, Mexico, or Goa contains religious syntheses, so Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam, not to mention the very eclectic Hindu circle of belief, are also combinations of what came before in each place.
Desmangles sets out to describe how religious patterns from different parts of Africa were merged in the slave society of the 17th and 18th centuries and then how elements of Catholicism joined up with African beliefs. He calls the new religious tradition that emerged—a very local and unorganized one—Vodou. (the English word “voodoo” comes from it.) If the two original sources merged in some ways, what was created was something new, a religion that has only infrequently been studied. We read about it here as separate faith, not just a mere combination. There’s a nearly impenetrable book by Maya Deren (“Divine Horsemen”) and her film from the 1950s and just a few other serious works on Vodou.
In the second chapter, the author provides a historical setting. The slaves were “converted” to Catholicism, but kept their faith in African gods and practices. As politics changed in Haiti, so did the state’s view of Vodou. At times it was repressed, at other times grudgingly accepted, so that until very recent times, most Haitians did not admit any belief in Vodou. But, as Desmangles writes on p.52, “…it is clear that most Haitian Catholics still subscribe to Catholicism only nominally.” Most people still frequent Vodou shrines and take part in some ceremonies. In order to be more accepted by the government, to be conforming to national ideals, the people who believe in Vodou did include a number of Catholic elements.
The third chapter describes the details of Vodou belief and the fourth discusses its pantheon. I would say that these are not for the general reader.
Considerable comparison is made between the original West African gods, beliefs, and practices, and those found in Haiti. As people who are oppressed tend to create or lean towards millenarian beliefs and foresee apocalypses in which “the last shall be first”, so in Haiti such trends have been apparent, both in the days of slavery (before 1804) and up to the present. I think it would be impossible to understand Haitian history or society without some knowledge of Vodou. The author states on p.172 that “…Vodou could not be classified as an African religion, but as an African-derived religion whose theological development has allowed its adherents not only to rekindle many of their African ethnic traditions, but to transform these traditions according to their environmental, sociocultural and economic situations.”
Readers with an interest in Haiti should not miss this book.
Haitian society in 2024 is being wracked by gang violence in a chaotic situation of no government control at all. After the 2010 earthquake that killed between 220,000 and 300,000 people, Haiti struggled to find stable government and economic success. Now it appears that things have plunged to a new low. We see Haiti as a disaster, but as the only country in history that grew from a successful slave revolt, the only country in the Western Hemisphere with a predominantly African religious tradition, it is far more than just a “disaster”. Desmangles tries to describe and explore this religious tradition in which Catholic elements combine with strong African elements from different parts of that continent to produce a synthesis found nowhere else. All religions are syntheses of older beliefs and practices. So if society in Brazil, Cuba, Mauritius, Mexico, or Goa contains religious syntheses, so Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam, not to mention the very eclectic Hindu circle of belief, are also combinations of what came before in each place.
Desmangles sets out to describe how religious patterns from different parts of Africa were merged in the slave society of the 17th and 18th centuries and then how elements of Catholicism joined up with African beliefs. He calls the new religious tradition that emerged—a very local and unorganized one—Vodou. (the English word “voodoo” comes from it.) If the two original sources merged in some ways, what was created was something new, a religion that has only infrequently been studied. We read about it here as separate faith, not just a mere combination. There’s a nearly impenetrable book by Maya Deren (“Divine Horsemen”) and her film from the 1950s and just a few other serious works on Vodou.
In the second chapter, the author provides a historical setting. The slaves were “converted” to Catholicism, but kept their faith in African gods and practices. As politics changed in Haiti, so did the state’s view of Vodou. At times it was repressed, at other times grudgingly accepted, so that until very recent times, most Haitians did not admit any belief in Vodou. But, as Desmangles writes on p.52, “…it is clear that most Haitian Catholics still subscribe to Catholicism only nominally.” Most people still frequent Vodou shrines and take part in some ceremonies. In order to be more accepted by the government, to be conforming to national ideals, the people who believe in Vodou did include a number of Catholic elements.
The third chapter describes the details of Vodou belief and the fourth discusses its pantheon. I would say that these are not for the general reader.
Considerable comparison is made between the original West African gods, beliefs, and practices, and those found in Haiti. As people who are oppressed tend to create or lean towards millenarian beliefs and foresee apocalypses in which “the last shall be first”, so in Haiti such trends have been apparent, both in the days of slavery (before 1804) and up to the present. I think it would be impossible to understand Haitian history or society without some knowledge of Vodou. The author states on p.172 that “…Vodou could not be classified as an African religion, but as an African-derived religion whose theological development has allowed its adherents not only to rekindle many of their African ethnic traditions, but to transform these traditions according to their environmental, sociocultural and economic situations.”
Readers with an interest in Haiti should not miss this book.
December 27, 2025
3.5!
I used this for a research project and while it was a good book for entry level information, it didn’t exactly grab my attention. well written overall, an okay book and filled with interesting information for multiple needs.
I used this for a research project and while it was a good book for entry level information, it didn’t exactly grab my attention. well written overall, an okay book and filled with interesting information for multiple needs.
November 10, 2013
This was an interesting book, but not one that really catches the attention. It was heavy on the historical roots of Haiti and the evolution of Vodou and light on the human component of the Haitian religious traditions, which made it somewhat dry and difficult to get through. A good read, but not a great one.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews