Dieu-Nalio Chery

Photographer + Photojournalist

dieunalio.visura.co

Vodou in Haiti

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Location: Detroit, Michigan, 48212 United States of America

Nationality: Haitian

Biography: Dieu-Nalio Chery is a freelance photojournalist now based in Michigan working for The New York Times, Reuters, The Washington Post, and The Associated Press. He was awarded the Robert Capa Gold Medal from the Overseas Press Club in 2019 for... MORE

Vodou believers readying at the...nts. ( Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Vodou believers readying at the Cite Soleil cemetery during ceremonies honoring the Haitian Voodoo spirit of Baron Samdi and Gede on the Day of the Dead, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2019. Followers of Voodoo with their faces covered in white powder, wearing hats and dressed in black, white and purple clothes join the Fete Gede celebration of the spirits equivalent to the Roman Catholic festivity of the Day of the Dead and Day of All Saints. ( Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this Nov. 1, 2018 photo, a h...hery) ( Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this Nov. 1, 2018 photo, a human skull sits on top of Baron Samedi's tomb during the annual Voodoo festival Fete Gede at Cite Soleil Cemetery in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The believers often accompanied their offerings with human bones, rum and live music in the cemetery. Every year, during the celebration, they paint their faces with white powder, wear the loas’ clothes, travel the narrowly pathways through the shanty town and go to cemeteries to pay tribute to the spirits.( AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) ( Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this Nov. 1, 2018 photo, voo...irits.( Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this Nov. 1, 2018 photo, voodoo believers who are supposed to be possessed with Gede spirit perform rituals in the middle of Baron Samedi's tomb during the annual Voodoo festival Fete Gede at Cite Soleil Cemetery in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Every year, during the celebration, they paint their faces with white powder, wear the loas’ clothes, travel the narrowly pathways through the shanty town and go to cemeteries to pay tribute to the spirits.( Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Voodoo pilgrims bathe in a wate... soap.( Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Voodoo pilgrims bathe in a waterfall believed to have purifying powers during the annual celebration in Saut d' Eau, Haiti, Saturday, July 16, 2016. Tens of thousands of Haitians make the pilgrimage to bathe in the sacred waterfalls. A mix of Voodoo and Christian faithful along with a cohort of young, hard-partying revelers gathered Saturday in the rushing waters of Saut d'Eau, where they scrubbed their bodies with aromatic leaves and soap.( Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Voodoo pilgrims heat aromatic l...soap. ( Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Voodoo pilgrims heat aromatic leaves before bathing in a waterfall believed to have purifying powers during the annual celebration in Saut d' Eau, Haiti, Saturday, July 16, 2016. Tens of thousands of Haitians makethe pilgrimage to bathe in the sacred waterfalls. A mix of Voodoo and Christian faithful along with a cohort of young, hard-partying revelers gathered Saturday in the rushing waters of Saut d'Eau, where they scrubbed their bodies with aromatic leaves and soap. ( Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this picture taken July 14, ...anto. ( Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this picture taken July 14, 2012. a Pilgrim bathes in a waterfall believed to have purifying powers in Saut d' Eau, Haiti. The annual pilgrimage is made in honor of Haiti's most celebrated patron saint, Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Legend has it that she appeared on a palm tree in 1847 in the Palms Grove in Saut d'Eau and was integrated into Haiti's voodoo culture as the goddess of love, Ezili Danto. ( Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Haitians attend a voodoo ceremo...2015. ( Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Haitians attend a voodoo ceremony marking the 5th anniversary of the January 2010 earthquake, at National Ethnology Bureau in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Jan. 12, 2015. ( Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this July 24, 2016 photo, pi...arket. (Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this July 24, 2016 photo, pilgrims take a bath in a sacred mud pool during the annual Voodoo celebration in Plaine-du-Nord, Haiti. Offerings are made and thrown into the mud while young men in need retrieve them to sell at the market. (Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

The king of Haitian voodoo, Aug...nts. ( Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

The king of Haitian voodoo, Augustin Saint-Clou arrives at the national cemetery during ceremonies honoring the Haitian Voodoo spirit of Baron Samdi and Gede on the Day of the Dead, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. Followers of Voodoo with their faces covered in white powder, wearing hats and dressed in black, white and purple clothes join the Fete Gede celebration of the spirits equivalent to the Roman Catholic festivity of the Day of the Dead and Day of All Saints. ( Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this Oct. 29, 2018 photo, Fr...irits.( Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this Oct. 29, 2018 photo, Frantz Lindor 36, a voodoo believer poses for a picture as he invokes a "Gede" spirit during Haiti's annual Voodoo festival Fete Gede, in Cite Soleil slum, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Every year, during the celebration, they paint their faces with white powder, wear the loas’ clothes, travel the narrowly pathways through the shanty town and go to cemeteries to pay tribute to the spirits.( Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

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Public Story

Vodou in Haiti

Copyright Dieu-Nalio Chery 2023

Date of Work Jan 2012 - Ongoing

Updated Mar 2022

Topics Culture, Documentary, Essays, Identity, Photography, Religion

Summary

Vodou in Haiti is a short visual essay on Vodou practitioners and believers in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

For centuries Haitians have practiced Vodou – a religion that is often misunderstood, misrepresented, and stigmatized. Voodoo evolved in the 17th century among African slaves and incorporates elements of the Roman Catholic faith that was forced upon them by French colonizers and transported to colonial Saint-Domingue (as Haiti was known then).
Vodou practitioners create devotional objects and participate in ceremonies with traditional drumming songs, dance, and spirit possession. Peristyles are a rendezvous for Vodou priests (oungans) and priestesses (mambos) to pay tribute to spirits, Lwas”, that they serve as well as a gathering point for strengthening cultural bonds.

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