Voodoo Priests Essay

Haitians who have left their homeland will continue to practice their religious rituals and beliefs once they have settled elsewhere. This is true of Haitian-Americans living in Little Haiti. Among those who practice Voodoo, there is an attempt to cure mental health illnesses by rituals such as having a priest or priestess bathe the patient in special oils and lotions and clearing the environment of bad spirits with candles, incense and special rituals. It should be noted that rituals intended to please or appease supernatural forces that are seen as creating problems is not very consistent with Western thought and culture, but should be respected as a culturally appropriate source of comfort (Voodoo, 2013). Also, many Haitians may be reluctant to discuss mental health and addictions problems with helpers or therapists. “It is very important to be careful when pathologizing” (N. Rudes, personal communication, July 29,

When it came to differing views between western beliefs and the native point of view, one of the bigger problems was the conflict about contraception and stopping the spread of HIV and AIDS. Southern Africa, were the Dobe Ju’/hoansi subside, has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in the world. “[T] he world U/N. figures for June 2000 show a seropositive rate among adults of 19.54 percent in Namibia, 19.94 percent in South Africa, and a staggering 35.8 percent in Botswana (Lee 2003: 190).” Because of the epidemic the life expectancy in the area has also drastically dropped. Western medical professionals have made clear to most communities that condoms are the most effective protection from HIV/AIDs. Because of this many western clinics and organizations in Africa distribute condoms to the local people. Regardless of the

In addition, relying on a doctor who does not share the same beliefs as one does can become fearful. Trusting the doctor for full treatment is necessary but when from a different cultural background it can prevent them on trusting them. According to a research article, Cross- Cultural Medicine a Decade Later, clearly states “when the basic belief structure of biomedicine and another set of health beliefs differs radically, problems and frustrations almost inevitably arise” (Barker, 1992, p.249). The central purpose of the research was to show whether or not health beliefs between patient and doctor differs will they find it difficult to interpret the symptoms and treatment variations to accommodate their beliefs. However, the doctor having faith in one’s health beliefs can sometimes be beneficial for the patients because they’ll be fully understood and not misjudged as being crazy. As stated by the author, for the article Chinese Health Beliefs of Older Chinese in Canada, “the findings support the previous prescriptive knowledge about Chinese health beliefs and illustrate the intergroup socio-cultural diversity that health practitioners should acknowledge in their practice” (Lai, 2009, 38). Like the Chinese, Hmong’s too first go to their shaman for traditional treatment rather than going to the doctor; to them an illness and their healing is more of a spiritual thing that

Anne Fadiman’s novel, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, addresses key concerns regarding health and medicinal relationships with cultural beliefs. She challenges readers to consider what is known about western medicinal practices and beliefs, based on science, and recognize its effectiveness when paired with cultural understanding. This novel portrays some of the greatest medicinal and health challenges and cultural failures of western societies. There were several cultural competency themes integrated throughout the book, however, it surprised me at how distant western practices and the Hmong’s healing methods were at the beginning. It seemed as if it would be a stretch to form a connection between these two extremities,

During clinical time in the nursing program there are many opportunities for students to explore their new found nursing skills. While engaging in patient care responsibilities there are many languages, customs, values, lifestyles, beliefs, and behaviors that will differ from their own. Each patient may need healthcare providers to consider certain aspects in order to provide culturally competent care. There are many cultures that have migrated to the United States over the years including the people of Haiti. There are many aspects of their healthcare ideals that may need to be considered while providing healthcare in the hospital setting. This cultural assessment will consider the healthcare matters of an 81-year-old woman on the

Haitian Red Cross and other organizations work hard to help and educate people about AIDS/HIV, safe sexual practice and give access to condoms. All the efforts bring optimistic results. Over the past decade, new HIV infection rate decreased by 54%.

The decision making is coming from the top, from the elite, from those people who do not really understand what is happening at the bottom, where most of the people are. Furthermore, Haiti seems to be plagued by corruption where the top take president. This structural inequality is even seen in the local health initiatives such as that of the Centre pour Development et la Santé (CDS), or family planning center. Maternowska sheds writes about the hierarchy that is in place, which have profound effects on the health experiences shared by the community. Instead of having a center that is helpful to women, the staff, especially those at the top which include Doctors. They ignore those who speak the Creole dialect and not French. The staff tends to have no respect and there is no quality of care. What was very shocking, is the fact that Haitian women are being used as test subjects for clinical trials of birth control methods. Even worse, the clients have to pay for these

     Religion is very important in the life of a Haitian, especially during illness, death, or other crises. The majority of Haitians (80%) are Catholic, but many of these also believe in Voodou (Kemp, 2001). Similar to Catholicism, Voodou revolves around belief in one central God, called Bon Dieu or Bondye. Religion is often seen as a magical process, and Voodou beliefs include the existence of a spirit world made up of saints, mysteres, or loas. These spirits are mostly the sould of family members and are incorporated into the lives of Haitians. If neglected, malicious ancestors, and the living dead or zombies may appear to the living to bring about illness, death, or other misfortune. Rituals are practices to ensure the relationships with these spirits are protective, or at least not damaging. Loas are thought to be controlled through the magic of Voodou practitioners such as Diviners or Fortune Readers, Shaman, including Rriestess (mambo), and Priest (houngan), Leaf Doctors or herbalists (docte fe), Bonesetters (docte zo), Midwives (matron or fam saj), and Injectionists (pikirist). Practitioners

In Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure The World by Tracy Kidder, Kidder denounces both the current global distribution of wealth and how the international community views medical aid in needy countries; he does this by including a scene in which Haitians believe that their illness exists because they’ve been cursed, and that Dr. Paul Farmer is the only person who can release the curse. This frustration is expressed when Farmer states that “Haitians believe in sorcery because their culture has evolved in the absence of effective medicine. So of course they believe in sorcery, in sicknesses that someone has sent to them” (Kidder). The fact that such a large group of people are so far behind in medical

This credible source could be useful in my research by showing how sub-Saharan Africa’s health centers are in dire condition. It would also be useful because it shows how spirituality and medicine go hand-in-hand, especially in developing countries.

Families around the world all have different beliefs and religions that they follow. Some move to America just so they can give their families a better life, but that doesn’t mean that they leave behind the traditions that they followed. It just makes it difficult sometimes for them adjusting to the American ways compared to how they were used too back in their country. Especially when it comes down to how people get sick and how they are treated so that they can get better. Here we discuss about the Hmong culture and how there’s a difference with how they heal people compared to how it’s done in America. Healing someone can be through medicine or any type of treatment from some kind of doctor or as the Hmong heal, they use a shaman. A shaman is a person with a

INTRODUCTION To me, when the word “Voodoo” is spoken it resonates images in my head of black magic, potions, and voodoo dolls. Similarly, many of you can relate to having these same, similar thoughts. Thus, in this paper, I will delve into what Voodoo truly is and discuss some of the important nursing implications of this particular type of religion. As such, in the following paragraphs, I plan to discuss the origin of Haitian Voodoo and their views on the teaching and values related to illness, prolongation of life through extraordinary means, euthanasia, donation of body parts, autopsy, burial and disposal of the body, funeral rites, and hospice.

The reason why supernatural illnesses befall an individual is because there is break in bond with one’s protector. Haitians take healthcare into their own hands prior to seeking help. They self diagnose,

Haitian Voodooist, just like the African Shaman, practice speaking in tongues, trembling, convulsions and sensuality – and so do Pentecostals!

The author Cecilia Van Hollen introduces few detail examples of medical practitioners who are trying with traditional medicine to treat HIV/AIDS. The first example she brings in the Government Hospital for Thoracic Medicine near Chennai, this hospital treated with a combination of Siddha drugs for PLWAH. However, Dr. Nehru who is also a Siddha expert critiqued that this form of Siddha treatment is not "traditional" form at all because they excluded spiritual or psychological component of "real" Siddha from. The author when to meet Dr. Nehru in January 2003, he was trying to get the recognition for his Siddha treatment, he also claimed that HIV virus was not new at all, and, therefore, there must be a Siddha treatment to fight with HIV. He