While voodoo was certainly not the only religion of slaves, it influenced many beliefs and melded with other religions to form unique cultural traditions. It underwent subtle transformations as it crossed the Atlantic with the slaves from Africa and encountered Christianity. Just as slavery was influenced by voodoo, the belief system was also altered by slavery itself as followers adapted its ideas into essential tools which they used in their daily struggles. Although the true measure of its importance is difficult to fully quantify, it dutifully served its purpose as a method for slaves to exercise some level of control over their volatile world. Much of the voodoo practices performed by slaves were shrouded from the outside world which
While voodoo was certainly not the only religion of slaves, it influenced many beliefs and melded with other religions to form unique cultural traditions. It underwent subtle transformations as it crossed the Atlantic with the slaves from Africa and encountered Christianity. Just as slavery was influenced by voodoo, the belief system was also altered by slavery itself as followers adapted its ideas into essential tools which they used in their daily struggles. Although the true measure of its importance is difficult to fully quantify, it dutifully served its purpose as a method for slaves to exercise some level of control over their volatile world. Much of the voodoo practices performed by slaves were shrouded from the outside world which