Original African Rite of the Voodoo Ritual
In the original African rite of Voodoo in Louisiana, the priestess lifted a snake from the box. The snake was a python according to tradition, and it had to lick her cheek. From the touch of the python, she would receive the vision and power to become an oracle. In Louisiana, the queen would sometimes stand on the box and pass the power to the king by beginning a chain of hand clasping. In other instances, the king lifted the box and shook it, resulting in a hypnotic state to the devotees from the tingling of the bells. The god or Zombi would be represented by a male dancer.
A cauldron would be boiling over a fire in the center of where the ceremony was being held. The offerings of the sect would be put into the cauldron, most often: chickens, frogs, cats, snails, and most significantly a snake. A negro then in scarlet loin cloth would go into the center of the circle with a small coffin in his hands. He danced and swirled in front of the queen until he collapsed. The others then came in and started to dance and drink from the cauldron and tafia, which is a strong and raw alcoholic drink. Sometimes live pigeons and chickens were thrown into the ceremony.
The pigeons and chickens would be torn to pieces by the fingers and teeth of the dancers. They all felt possessed and felt the power. This power was a transference of emotional electricity between each person. A neophyte would then have to go through a certain ritual at the ceremony. The neophyte had to stand within a circle that was drawn by the king with charcoal. The king would then strike the person in the head with a wooden paddle and chant in African dialect. If the neophyte left the circle, he wasn’t strong enough to get the power, but if he was strong enough, he would begin to dance. The dance would continually increase in speed and violence until he collapsed. He was then given the oath of the Voodoos.
(Source: Tallant, Robert. Voodoo in New Orleans. 1994)
