Vodoun

General

Vodoun (or more commonly, voodoo) is an animist religion native to the El Nido islands in the Gate Dimension. It is said to have originated on the island of Malcovia, though some of its trappings have filtered out into other corners of Gate where shadow magic is practiced (Marbule and Medina). Vodoun practicioners are adept at necromancy, curses and -- as comes as a shock to most -- healing. The practicioners of Vodoun who are the best at raising undead corpses are also invariably the ones who are most adept with the "Healing Hands" technique, or the mixing of herbal remedies that are so effective they have drawn the dismissively disguised envy of Guardian medical science for decades.

History

A precise history is hard to glean. Like much of what comes out of the El Nido islands, no formal recorded history is associated with it until after the rise of the Acacian Military Government in the port city of Termina. However, it is known that the island of Malcovia has been populated and then mysteriously de-populated several times over the ages; the current settlement on the Isle of the Damned has been continuously inhabited for only 300 years. The first inhabitants of Malcovia are called simply: the Old Vodoun. Malcovia has always been home to undead; vast boneyards litter all corners of the island, and from these heaps of dead come Those Without Rest, who prowl the night hunting down all that is warm and destroying it out of pure undead hatred. The first man to tame these forces, according to Vodoun legend, was the leader of the Old Vodoun settlers, a Houngan (see "Clergy" below) named Chicken Bone.

It was Chicken Bone who first devised and then handed down the practices, beliefs and methods of Vodoun; how to tap into the Shadow, to twist it and use it to bend the dead to the will of the living. As time passed in that first Malcovian settlement, Chicken Bone and his contemporaries discovered other applications for their art. They found they could protect themselves from outsiders by way of elaborate and sometimes deadly cursing rituals (the fables and stories of Chicken Bone speak of pirates raiding the island settlements, and of Vodoun being used to bring misfortune upon them), that they could employ their dead minions as laborers and servants to help expand the settlement, and that they could even use Shadow magic for curative purposes -- something that has not been acchieved in any other Gatian practice of Shadow Magic.

The first Malcovian settlement lasted ten centuries, the stories say. And Chicken Bone presided over the island for the fullness of that time. Scholars who have studied Voudon explain this in one of three ways: (1) the stories are lying, and Chicken Bone did not actually preside over Malcovia for ten centuries; (2) Chicken Bone`s heirs (biological or not) adopted his name, allowing for someone called "Chicken Bone" to preside over the island for however long the original settlement remained continuously inhabited; (3) Chicken Bone lived that long because he, himself had become undead -- or because he had died and his corpse was made into an effigy that the Old Vodoun continued to venerate as a sort of God-King. And then -- the Old Vodoun disappeared. No record, parable or explanation exists for where the people of that first settlement went; they simply vanished, every last one of them. And not long after, the second batch of settlers arrived. It didn`t take them long to pick up where their predecessors left off, and begin practicing Vodoun.

Beliefs and Practices

The primary practice of Vodoun is Shadow Magic. An animist faith, the Vodoun do not believe in a God or Gods who preside over the order of the universe. Instead, the Vodoun believe in Loa, or spirits, who exist all around us. Loa, the Vodoun believe, take many different forms. The lowest of the Loa, called Those Without Rest, are the spirits of the dead. In a Vodoun raising, what actually happens is a Loa is forcibly reconnected, by way of Shadow magic, to its fleshy mortal husk, thus animating the corpse and creating one of the famed undead minions of Malcovia. The Vodoun reconcile their own religion with other faiths by putting forward the suggestion that "Gods" are simply very powerful Loa whom the priesthoods of other religions are unable to control the way that the Vodoun manipulate the dead.

The art of Vodoun is practiced, in some way, shape or form, by every native of Malcovia. It is a survival tool; Malcovia would not be habitable at all without some degree of control exerted over the undead of the island (which would rise and walk unbidden without the Vodoun putting them to work). And this is the central belief of Vodoun: that people need the Shadow (Darkness; Evil) in order to live and be happy. Ignorance of the Shadow is folly; the man who would survive in the world must embrace Shadow, must know Evil, must conquer his fear of the Darkness -- in order to walk in the Light.

Clergy

There is no centralized clergy in Vodoun; everyone in Malcovia learns the tenets of the faith and the basics of Shadow from an early age. Male practicioners of Vodoun are called Houngans; females are called Mambos. Often, elder Mambos come to be the heads of households or small kin-group villages, and when this happens they are simply called Mamas. A senior Houngan will typically have less power than a Mama; he is called a King (perhaps intended to be ironic/satirical, as there are some who suggest contact between Guardians and the Malcovians may have lead to the adoption of this title). Vodoun plays a role in the selection of the political leader of the island of Malcovia. The Houngan or Mambo who is able to impress the most people into voting for him becomes "King" (or, as has happened once or twice, "Mama") of the whole Island.

It is not known whether these customs of community or island-wide leadership originated within the current settlement, or have been handed down from older traditions dating to earlier settlements.

Known Loa

While there are innumerable Loa who are invoked by Vodoun practicioners, there are a few prominent ones who have names, and some even have tales or mythologies built up around them. This is the closest to an established pantheon that the religion has come.

• Legba- Legba is the Loa associated with swiftness, running and the wind. Vodoun will frequently call upon this spirit when they need to run away from something (as sometimes happens on Malcovia). Vodoun who invoke Legba through sorcery conjure haste and speed-related effects.
• Lukou- This Loa is associated with healing, and is regarded as one of the most benevolent and sympathetic to humanity of all the Loa. She gives Vodoun their healing abilities, and allows them to create Nostrum healing elixirs.
• Ogoun- Ogoun is a spirit associated with war and militarism. His magic deals mainly with curses, hexes and other harmful effects.
• Dambala- This Loa is a snake spirit, whose aspects include poisons and treachery. Vodoun who allow Dambala's spirit to possess them have been known to be able to tame and safely handle poisonous snakes. Legend has it that possession by Dambala can also turn a practicioner into a snake.
• Samedi- This Loa is a guardian of cemeteries and resting places. Vodoun invoke his power to smite down disobedient undead servants, or to strike at the animated dead belonging to an enemy.
• Shango- Loa of storms, Shango is one of the few Vodoun spirits whose elemental aspect is not wholly shadow. Shango allows the Vodoun who call him to conjure weather effects, including lightning and rain (both of which can give the right amount of ambiance to a particularly dangerous Vodoun ritual).