Claude Planson, husband of the famous mambo Mathilda Beauvoir and himself a Kanzo initiate, offers in this book a simple, honest, and deeply respectful look at Haitian Vodou. For him, this tradition is not a relic of the past nor an exotic curiosity, but a living religion that has its rightful place in the modern world. Through his personal experience and observations, he presents an accessible Vodou, stripped of prejudice, and rooted in the reality of those who practice it daily.
The book explores the fundamental aspects of this tradition: rituals, prayers, altars, offerings, chants, as well as the specific objects and gestures that give strength to the ceremonies. A large section is devoted to the vévés, those sacred drawings traced on the ground, which act as points of contact with the spirits. Claude Planson describes them as essential supports, both symbolic and operative, capable of channeling energies and provoking a spiritual response in the visible world. These signs play an important role in preparing rituals, protecting places, and opening paths in the practitioner's life.
The book also addresses possession, not as a strange or frightening phenomenon, but as a central experience of Vodou. It explains how spirits manifest, what they seek to communicate, and how these moments of "overlap" can have real therapeutic value: emotional relief, guidance, inner healing. Far from caricatures, Claude Planson puts things in their proper place and shows that these practices have meaning, function, and very concrete usefulness.
First published in 1999, the work was praised for its clarity and seriousness. The 2021 reissue does not change the content: only the layout and format have been revised. The text remains identical, faithful to the author's vision. It is a fieldwork book, written by someone who knows firsthand what he describes and simply wishes to share this knowledge with those who want to understand Vodou beyond the clichés.
