How did Vodun beliefs from Benin influence religious traditions in Haiti?

Vodun beliefs from the region of modern-day Benin (historically the kingdom of Dahomey) significantly shaped the development of Vodou in Haiti. During the transatlantic slave trade, enslaved people from West African groups—including the Fon, who provided the term vodou (meaning "spirit" or "deity")—brought their religious traditions to colonial Saint-Domingue.123

The influence of these traditions is evident in several core aspects of Haitian Vodou:

• Cosmology and Spirits: Vodou incorporates various spirit cults and deities of Ewe-speaking peoples. Practitioners believe in a mythic land called Ginen, or Vilokan, which serves as the abode of the lwa (spirits). This belief system maintains a strong connection to African roots, viewing the cosmos as a mirrored reflection of the profane world.2314
• Ritual Practices: The practice of spirit possession, where a devotee becomes a medium for a lwa, remains central to the religion, just as it was in West African traditions. Rituals often involve the use of vèvè (geometric tracings) to summon spirits and the use of a central pole (potomitan) to represent the axis between the spirit world and the living.14
• Syncretism: In Haiti, these African traditions underwent syncretism with Roman Catholicism, resulting in a calendar of feasts that aligns Vodou spirits with Catholic saints.1

This religious heritage remains a vital part of the cultural identity of the African diaspora, reflecting the resilience and survival of West African spiritual systems in the New World.235