Troi Anderson

The images document rituals in Haiti. Often misunderstood and maligned, Haitian Vodu is ancestral worship that provides a living connection with the psychic heritage of a people and place torn apart during colonial slavery. The inheritance through trance ceremony of the ancestral spirits provide the foundation to these rites. In...
The images document rituals in Haiti. Often misunderstood and maligned, Haitian Vodu is ancestral worship that provides a living connection with the psychic heritage of a people and place torn apart during colonial slavery. The inheritance through trance ceremony of the ancestral spirits provide the foundation to these rites. In Haiti, Vodu translates as "vo" meaning "introspection" and "du" meaning "into the unknown". Rituals of birth, initiation, death and sacrifice are theatrically performed. The spiritual principles behind these rites are rekindled through this sacred performance. The connection to the ancestor reborn. In my own work, I was not documenting a particular religion, but instead the great depth of cathartic human emotion possible in its desire for transcendence. For the devotional ceremonies and rites are always in measure to the difficult existence found in this land. These rites are a repository of moral, philosophical and spiritual knowledge that has remained through the dark passage of history. It is this enduring trait I see as vital in the expression of human survival.
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The grotto of St. Francis. St. Michel de l'Attalaye, Haiti. 2012
offering. Saut d'Eau, Haiti. 2011
abyss. Saut d'Eau, Haiti. 2011
untitled. Saut d'Eau, Haiti. 2013
baptism. Saut d'Eau, Haiti. 2012
oratory. Soukri, Haiti. 2014
ancestral dance. Soukri, Haiti. 2014
cheval, trance. St. Michel de l'Attalaye, Haiti. 2012
Congo rite. Soukri, Haiti. 2014
prayer for Legba, St. Michel de l'Attalaye, Haiti. 2012