Bocor

A Bocor (seldom also written Bokor or Bòcò ) is a priest in Haitian Voodoo who also or exclusively invokes and worships the destructive and warlike Loa (spirit beings) from the Nachon Petro .

background

In voodoo there are three terms for clergy:

Mambos , priestesses wholimitthemselves partly to white magic , partly also or onlypractice black magic
Houngans who deal exclusively with white magic andlimitthemselves to the worship of the peaceful Rada loa and - as part of the ancestral cult - the neutral Ghede loa
Bocore , who also or only deal with black magic; Unlike houngans and white magic mambos, their work is often of a paid nature

The content orientation is only expressed in the designation of the male clergy.

details

Bocore are, among other things, associated with the transformation of people into zombies , actually a form of slavery .

If a priest in Haiti is supposed to work with both hands , this includes the accusation that the person concerned is a bocor and uses both good and bad powers (see also path to the right hand and path to the left hand ).

During the time of the dictatorship of François and Jean-Claude Duvalier (1957–1986), many Bocore were considered allies of the Tonton Macoute , the Duvalier regime's secret police, feared for their serious human rights violations (see also History of Haiti ).

The temple of a bocor is called a hounfour .