Voodoo doll
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The term Voodoo doll is commonly employed to describe an effigy into which pins are inserted.[1] Although it comes in various different forms, such practices are found in the magical traditions of many cultures across the world.[1] Although the use of the term "Voodoo" implies that the practice has links to either the religion of Haitian Vodou or Louisiana Voodoo, in reality it does not have a prominent place in either.[1]
History
In European history
The form of the voodoo doll as it is most commonly understood is based on a magical practice that historically derived from Europe rather than Africa or the Americas.[2] Textual records attest to the fact that certain cunning folk in Britain made dolls of a witch out of rags and other materials and then pierced them with pins with the intention of inflicting physical harm on the witch and breaking their bewitchment.[3]
20th-century link with Voodoo
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The link between this magical practice and Voodoo was established through the presentation of the latter in Western popular culture during the first half of the 20th century.[1] In this, the myth of this magical practice being closely linked to Voodoo and Vodou was promoted as part of the wider negative depictions of blacks and Afro-Caribbean religious practices in the United States.[4] In John Houston Craige's Back Baghdad: The Arabian Nights Adventures of a Marine Captain in Haiti, he described a Haitian prisoner sticking pins into an effigy to induce illness.[1] Its use also appeared in film representations of Haitian Vodou such as Victor Halperin's 1932 White Zombie and Jacques Tourneurs 1943 I Walked with a Zombie.[1]
In the 1984 film, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, a voodoo doll is used, resembling Indiana Jones.
By the early 21st century, the image of the voodoo doll had become particularly pervasive.[1] It had become a novelty item available for purchase, with examples being provided in vending machines in British shopping centres,[1] and an article on "How to Make a Voodoo Doll" being included on WikiHow.[1] A voodoo doll had also been included in the 2009 animated Disney movie, The Princess and the Frog.[1]
See also
References
Footnotes
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Armitage 2015, p. 85.
- ↑ Armitage 2015, pp. 85–86.
- ↑ Hutton 1999, p. 96.
- ↑ Armitage 2015, p. 86.
Sources
- Armitage, Natalie (2015). "European and African Figural Ritual Magic: The Beginnings of the Voodoo Doll Myth". In Ceri Houlbrook and Natalie Armitage. The Materiality of Magic: An Artifactual Investigation into Ritual Practices and Popular Beliefs. Oxford: Oxbow. pp. 85–101.
- Faraone, Christopher A. "Binding and Burying the Forces of Evil: The Defensive Use of "Voodoo Dolls" in Ancient Greece". Classical Antiquity. 10 (2): 165–202.
- Hutton, Ronald (1999). The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-820744-1.