The Origins of the Zombie

Zombies originate from the Haitian religion which itself is influenced by African religions. It has deep links with the slave trade which in turn is part of the idea of a 'zonbi', slave. I found a paper written by someone who had experienced the Haitan culture and vodou directly. It was quite detailed and abit complicated. A zonbi is not allways a person that has become re-animated. Apparently this is very rare in Haiti and it causes a national sensation if it does happen. More common is to bottle a part of someone's soul and put it to use as a slave. This links back to the slave trade and African religions being intertwined with that of Haiti. The bottles have lots of meaning and significance in the way they are decorated but do contain bits of human skull. They are actually used for good luck as well as for heeling and in ceremonies. Im not sure if the practice is frowned upon by other Haitians. I did think that the bottles looked really interesting, they are usually glass rum bottles wrapped in string with pins, mirrors sissors and coloured cloth all with different significance. They also contain inside perfume and other ritual items.

 

Paper written in 1995 about Haitian Zonbi's

http://wesscholar.wesleyan.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1016&context=div2facpubs


University website, images of Vodou object including Wanga
http://www.radford.edu/rbarris/art427%20African%20Diaspora/EIU%20African%20Art%20folder/hvimages.html