From Fon 'vodũ' (spirit, deity) through Louisiana French 'voudou,' the English word 'voodoo' names a profound West African religious tradition carried across the Atlantic by enslaved people, but the English form is so distorted by colonial sensationalism that scholars and practitioners now prefer the original spellings 'Vodou' or 'Vodun.'
A religion of West African origin practiced in Haiti and the African diaspora, involving spirit possession, ritual, and ancestor veneration; in popular English usage, often misused to mean witchcraft, black magic, or superstition.
From Louisiana French 'voudou,' derived from Fon 'vodũ' or Ewe 'vodu,' meaning 'spirit,' 'deity,' or 'divine power.' The Fon and Ewe peoples of present-day Benin, Togo, and Ghana were among the largest groups of enslaved Africans transported to the French colonies of Saint-Domingue (Haiti) and Louisiana. 'Vodou' in Fon theology refers to a class of divine spirits or intermediaries between the