Bokor

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Bokor

Bokors in the religion of vodou are sorcerers or houngan

Houngan

Houngan is the term for a male Priest in the Haitian Vodou religion in Haiti. The term is derived from the Bantu word "nganga". There are two ranks of houngan, Huongan Asogwe and Houngan Sur Pwen ....
(priests) for hire who are said to 'serve the loa

Loa

The Loa are the spirits of the Haitian Vodou religion practiced in Haiti, and other parts of the world. They are also referred to as Myst?res and the Invisibles....
with both hands', meaning that they can practice both dark magic and benevolent magic. Their black magic

Black magic

Black magic or dark magic is a form of Magic that draws on assumed malevolent powers. It may be used for dark purposes or malevolent acts that deliberately cause harm in some way....
includes the creation of zombie

Zombie

A zombie is a reanimated human corpse. Stories of zombies originated in the Afro-Caribbean spiritual belief system of Haitian Vodou, which told of the people being controlled as laborers by a powerful sorcerer....
s and the creation of 'ouanga

Ouanga

Ouanga is a village in the Bagassi Department of Bal? Province in southern Burkina Faso. The village has a population of 493.References...
s', talismans that house spirits.

The name Bokor can also refer to the leader of the Makaya division of Vodou (which originated in the Congo

Congo

Congo, Kongo, or Kongo may refer to:...
) and Bokor also refers to the highest initiation rank in Dominican Vodou.

rs are featured in many Haitian tales and are often associated with the creation of zombis by the use of a deadening brew or potion

Potion

A potion is a consumable medicine or poison, usually possessing Magic properties.In mythology, a potion is a concoction used to heal, bewitch or poison people, made by a Magician , magic or witch....
usually containing poison

Poison

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Description

Bokors are featured in many Haitian tales and are often associated with the creation of zombis by the use of a deadening brew or potion

Potion

Poison

In the context of biology, poisons are Chemical substance that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
extracted from puffer fish. This potion makes the drinker appear to be dead and thus he is often buried; later, the bokor will return for the "corpse" and force it to do his bidding, such as manual labor. The "corpse" is often given dissociative drugs, mainly datura

Datura

Datura is a genus of nine species of Vespertine flowering plants belonging to the family Solanaceae. Their exact natural distribution is uncertain, due to extensive cultivation and naturalisation throughout the temperate and tropical regions of the globe, but is most likely restricted to the Americas, from the United States south throug...
, which puts them in a detached, somewhat dreamlike state. Its state is likened to being mind control

Mind control

Mind control is a broad range of psychology tactics able to subvert an individual's control of his own thought, behavior, emotions, or decisions....
led. The person is fully alive but in a state where they cannot control what they say or do; at this point, when the person has been "reanimated" from the grave, or at least is moving about working for the bokor, they can be termed "zombis." However, some zombi legends dispense with this more rational explanation, and have the bokor raise zombies from dead bodies whose souls have departed.

Also, bokors are said to work with zombi/zombie astrals - souls or spirits which are captured in a fetish

Fetishism

A fetish is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a man-made object that has power over others. Essentially, fetishism is the attribution of inherent value or powers to an object....
and made to enhance the Bokor's power. Bokors normally work with Loas Baron Samedi

Baron Samedi

In Vodou or Haitian_Vodou, Baron Samedi is one of the aspects of Baron, one of the loa. He is a loa of the dead, along with Baron's numerous other incarnations Baron Cimeti?re, Baron La Croix, and Baron Kriminel....
, Kalfou, Legba and Simbi

Simbi

In Haitian Haitian Vodou, Simbi is a large and diverse family of serpent Loa from the West Central Africa / Kongo region. Some prominent Simbi Loa include Simbi Dlo , Simbi Makaya, Simbi Andezo , and Gran Simba....
(snake loa) plus in some cases they are said to work with Grand Bois

Grand Bois

In Haitian Haitian Vodou, Grand Bois is an elemental, nature-oriented loa closely associated with trees, plants and herbs. Offerings to him include leaves and herbs, honey, and spiced rum....
, the loa of the forest.

Bokors are similar to the "root workers" of voodoo and New Orleans voodoo. Some may be priests of a vodou house. Bokor are usually chosen from birth, those whom are believed to bear a great ashe (power). A Bokor can be, by Judeo-Christian terms, good or evil, though some sources consider him an evil version of a houngan.

Bokor

Description

See also