{"id":59873,"date":"2017-05-24T15:05:57","date_gmt":"2017-05-24T20:05:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/?p=59873"},"modified":"2017-09-22T23:56:36","modified_gmt":"2017-09-23T04:56:36","slug":"experience-voodoo-culture-new-orleans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/experience-voodoo-culture-new-orleans\/","title":{"rendered":"How to experience voodoo culture in New Orleans"},"content":{"rendered":"

Voodoo is as intrinsic to New Orleans<\/a> culture as Mardi Gras, jazz and the beignet. Yet many travelers choose to begin and<\/em> end their exploration of it on\u00a0Bourbon Street by bellying up to a bar serving Voodoo-themed cocktails or purchasing\u00a0Voodoo-inspired kitsch (made in China) at a souvenir shop.<\/p>\n

Visitors who\u00a0remain culturally curious, however, are in for a treat. Voodoo, as portrayed by the\u00a0movies and media (usually a \u201cblack magic\u201d cult fixated on curses), couldn\u2019t be further from the truth.<\/p>\n

RELATED<\/strong>: Best of New Orleans beyond Bourbon Street<\/a><\/p>\n

Voodoo is a religion\u2014yes, a religion\u2014connected to nature, spirits and ancestors, not unlike other religions around the world. A fusion of African, Haitian and Catholic spiritual beliefs and practices, it gained popularity among the slave population of New Orleans during the 18th century. It has its share of colorful mythologies and personalities, just as other religions do, but Voodoo got cloaked with a darker, more sinister mystique, the result of misinterpretation and misunderstanding over the years.<\/p>\n

This intrigue can be a great doorway to understanding, however, and New Orleans is the perfect place to become educated to the Voodoo legacy. While you\u2019ll be hard-pressed to find modern practitioners inviting tourists to Voodoo ceremonies (most are private, out of respect for the spirits), there are plenty of opportunities to learn more about this fascinating piece of New Orleans culture while having some fun.<\/p>\n

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Photo courtesy of Erica Bray<\/p><\/div>\n

New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum
\n<\/strong>Start here. Located in the\u00a0French Quarter, the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum<\/a>\u00a0is a tiny\u00a0museum that packs a lot of punch.\u00a0Its two rooms are jam-packed with artifacts from Africa, Haiti and New Orleans detailing Voodoo history and the symbolism behind its\u00a0rituals. (Among the coolest items nailed to the museum\u00a0walls: a zombie whip from Haiti.) The drumming music in the background only adds to the ambience as you meander, reading about the significance of Voodoo altars, Voodoo dolls,\u00a0Rougarou (alligator man) and New Orleans’ famed Voodoo Queen, Marie Laveau. You’ll even have the opportunity to leave a wish for her at the Voodoo Wishing Stump, so bring a few dollars in which to wrap a wish you can scribble on paper provided upon entry.<\/p>\n

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Photo courtesy of Erica Bray<\/p><\/div>\n

Voodoo walking tours
\n<\/strong>The New Orleans Voodoo Museum, along with Voodoo-specific shops, can hook you up with guides for a walking tour that focuses on Voodoo culture. (Otherwise, its history and legends often\u00a0get rolled into the city’s numerous\u00a0ghost-themed walking tours, which don’t\u00a0exactly illuminate Voodoo beyond\u00a0its darker stereotypes.) Some local\u00a0recommendations include Free Tours by Foot<\/a>, \u00a0Haunted History Tours<\/a> and\u00a0Island of Algiers Tours<\/a>\u2014guided by a local character named Nu’Awlons Natescott, who will escort you to Marie Laveau’s tomb and other prominent spots tied to Voodoo culture.<\/p>\n

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Photo courtesy of Erica Bray<\/p><\/div>\n

St. Louis Cemetery #1:\u00a0Marie Laveau\u2019s tomb
\n<\/strong>Also know as the “City of the Dead,” this cemetery just outside of the French Quarter is where Voodoo Queen\u00a0Marie Laveau is reportedly buried. She lived during the 19th century, and her spiritual presence (she practiced both Catholicism and Voodoo) and healing powers are so legendary that devotees\u00a0continue to make a pilgrimage to her resting place. Tourists come in droves, too. Today you need an official guide to visit the cemetery, which has a controlled entry. (Things apparently got out of hand in recent years, with visitors\u00a0leaving heaps of offerings in the form of\u00a0trinkets, food and money\u2014and the homeless stealing it.) You’ll still find small offerings in front of her tomb, even though it’s not allowed, and the “XXX” markings on it, which is a centuries-old practice\u00a0of “knocking” on the tomb\u00a0with a wish. Interesting\u00a0to note: A tiny plaque on her reported tomb reads, “the reported burial place of the notorious voodoo queen” of the “mystic cult” of Voodoo. Language like that certainly doesn’t help legitimize Voodoo\u00a0as a religion, nor Laveau as a respected spiritual leader.<\/p>\n

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Photo courtesy of Erica Bray<\/p><\/div>\n

St. Louis Cemetery #1:\u00a0Nicolas Cage\u2019s tomb
\n<\/strong>The massive\u00a0white pyramid in the center of this historic\u00a0cemetery holds no body … yet. It’s the future final resting place of actor Nicolas Cage, someone with an affinity for New Orleans and its Voodoo culture. (He flew a prominent Voodoo priestess to Hawaii to officiate his marriage to Lisa Marie Presley in 2002.) A bizarre tradition has arisen where people are now leaving lipstick kisses, in all shades of red, on his\u00a0flamboyant tomb. What would inspire someone to press their lips against a tomb of an undead Hollywood celebrity is beyond us. Intense gratitude for the film “Moonstruck,” perhaps?<\/p>\n

ALSO:<\/p>\n

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Congo Square | Flickr CC: Jason Reidy<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Congo Square
\n<\/strong>This public\u00a0square in the Trem\u00e9 neighborhood is where enslaved Africans gathered to drum, dance, sing and trade on Sunday afternoons during\u00a0the 19th century. Congo Square<\/a> was a place reserved for the free expression of African culture and customs\u2014 including Voodoo\u2014with as many as 500 or 600 people\u00a0gathering at a time. Drum circles and spiritual ceremonies are still held here today.<\/p>\n

Voodoo shops and consultations
\n<\/strong>Alas, nearly every French Quarter souvenir shop sells Voodoo-inspired trinkets\u2014right next to the shot glasses, Mardi Gras beads and \u00a0profanity-laced T-shirts. For truly unique mementos handmade by the Voodoo community, head to shops that specifically honor the culture, and are often owned and operated by practitioners. One of these is the well-organized\u00a0Voodoo Authentica: Cultural Center & Collection<\/a>, where you can find walls lined\u00a0with locally-made voodoo dolls, potions, medicinal herbs\u00a0and gris-gris (mojo) bags designed to attract qualities such as love, healing and good fortune. There are also onsite\u00a0Tarot card readers\u00a0and psychics\u00a0who will provide spiritual consultations for a fee.\u00a0Island of Salvation Botanica<\/a>\u00a0also offers all of the above, as well as the opportunity to schedule 1:1 consultations\u00a0with its owner, Priestess\u00a0Sallie Ann Glassman, a renowned modern-day Voodoo leader who’s been featured in the New York Times<\/em>, the Wall Street Journal<\/em> and CNN.<\/p>\n

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Photo courtesy of Erica Bray<\/p><\/div>\n

Voodoo Spiritual Temple
\n<\/strong>A humble yellow house just north of the French Quarter, the Voodoo Spiritual Temple<\/a> is where the truly curious can come to receive private consultations and blessings from a\u00a0prominent member of New Orleans’ Voodoo community, Priestess Miriam Chamani. She is one of the few who works with the general public to educate and guide\u2014and was also the one to marry Nicolas Cage and Lisa Marie Presley. Contact her in advance to schedule\u00a0an appointment.<\/p>\n

\"inn<\/a>

Photo courtesy of the Inn on St. Ann<\/p><\/div>\n

Inn on St. Ann
\n<\/strong>At the Inn on St. Ann<\/a>, guests have the option to book the “Marie Laveau Annex,” a Creole cottage once owned by the legendary Voodoo practitioner. She\u00a0attracted rich and poor, black and white, with\u00a0her spiritual consultations and healing. Perhaps you’ll find special healing after a good night’s rest here?<\/p>\n

\"Orbitz,<\/a><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Find out how they do the voodoo that they do. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":180,"featured_media":61202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2703],"tags":[1856],"class_list":["post-59873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-orleans","tag-destinations-2"],"acf":{"api_active":null,"api_title":null,"api_excerpt":null,"api_featured_image":null,"api_lob":null},"posts_api_cpm_point":[{"name":"","description":"","thumbnail":"","address":"New Orleans, LA, USA","latitude":"29.9511267","longitude":"-90.0715965","icon":"\/images\/icons\/marker.png"}],"yoast_head":"\nHow to experience voodoo culture in New Orleans | Orbitz<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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