To Serve the Gods - PREVIEW

Purchase: http://www.der.org/films/to-serve-the-gods.html To Serve the Gods is about the beliefs, rituals and performances of a week-long ceremony given by a Haitian family in honor of its ancestral spirits. We are told at the outset of the film that this sevis loua only occurs every twenty to thirty years. This particular service takes place in a rural community in southern Haiti, on family land, where relatives have gathered to propitiate gods inherited by their ancestors. This celebration of one's birthright and obligations involves drumming, song, dance, possession, animal sacrifice and sharing of food with the gods and with friends, family and neighbors.

a film by Karen Kramer
distributed by Documentary Educational Resources

Category:

Education

Tags:

• ritual
• religion
• spirits
• Haiti
• vodou
• voodoo
• documentary
• anthropology
• film

[ceb2008love]

People confused the spirits and Gods.

Voodoo practitioner believe in one God which they call grand maitre like the Catholics.

The loa are just spirits not gods.

[adeart7]

why not?

[SindrumComedy]

@msayofemi1 Simbi is a family name for a group of spirits, many of them being connected with water. Simbi Makaya is the magician and is the only one (that I know of) connected with fire.

[msayofemi1]

@ceb2008love exscuse me do you worship vodou? cause i think your kindamistaken cause i know simbi is the goddess of fire

[thetoadsbool]

@seekingjustthefacts 

[msayofemi1]

no thye are gos you aare mistaken you forget simbi goddess of water and fire erzuile dantor the perfect mother la sirene goddess of the treasures of the oceans and shes a siren yes i d know cause this is my religionand the supreme deity wich you talk about or who we call bondye

[oo00o0o00o]

@ceb2008love Mais, en le Vodou Haitien, on s'appelle notre dieu, "Bondye ou Bondieu" Et oui, on adorer les Loa, et les orishas.

[seekingjustthefacts]

Why does the "Christian god" allow massive murder, exploitation and oppression of other people. The answer to your question is not n the "Voodoo gods" but in western colonial history. FOLLOW THE MONEY

[jackarf1]

For the same reason that your "God" allows suffering to happen in the world. Having a belief in a God or in many deities doesn't guarantee a thing, we're still all humans, and good and bad happens to humans.

[Freshhhhh1982]

Cause when your life is hard what else do you have.

[fnkdrmmr]

Why do Voodou practitioners all seemed to be peasants? Why would their gods allows them to be placed in slavery?

[SexyMorenoPaTi]

@ceb2008love

I think this is how the mainstream Christian society ensures that we are classified as Pagans...