Spiritual Cleansing
Category: People
Photo and caption by Matt Levitch
A woman bathes in the sacred waters of Saut-d'Eau, Haiti, during a Vodou pilgrimage. Forged from the nation's brutal colonial past, the faith melds West African beliefs rooted in animism and ancestor worship with aspects of Catholicism. Vodouists worship powerful spirits that have the power to intercede in the affairs of man and to take control of the human body. Through spirit possession, the faithful transcend their earthly existence and enter the realm of the divine. As they say in Haiti: "The Catholic goes to church to talk about God; the Vodouist dances in the temple to become God."
Location: Saut-d'Eau, Haiti
