[2] Haitian Vodou is an African diasporic religion, which blends traditional Vodun from the Kingdom of Dahomey with Roman Catholicism.

In similarity to their West African heritage, oungans are leaders within the community who run temples (ounfò) to respect and serve lwa (also written as loa) alongside the Grand Maître (grandmaster or creator).

Other notable oungans include artist Clotaire Bazile, professor Patrick Bellegarde-Smith, and Don Pedro venerator of the Petro lwa.

During the French Colonial Period, the economy of Saint-Domingue (modern-day Haiti) was based on slave labour working on sugar plantations.

Author Ian Thomson stated that a "voodoo priest is usually an astute businessman," proving that both the oungan and the Haitian Vodou religion are flexible and able to adapt to their changing environments to survive.

[2] In Gbe languages (spoken in Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Ghana), the term Vodun is synonymous with the prefix hun-, which lends itself to the root of the name oungan amongst other terminologies such as hounsi and hounfort.

This is often a lengthy and expensive process, as numerous items have to be purchased such as the presentation of Iwa's favourite food and drinks, and special handmade ceremonial clothes.

Some features of Catholicism make up part of Haitian Vodou such as Bible readings, prayer recitations, and candle usage.

[6] The oungan will first align their bowl of fleur ginen (a mixture of cornmeal and herbs dedicated to a particular vèvè)[6] with the cosmos in which they stand centred.

Then, the vire (a ritualised set of turns and dips to orient the body) is performed, whilst holding a candle and cup of water in the hands.

Lwa are asked to permanently leave the body and find peace in a sacred necklace worn by the deceased and now kept in a govi.

[9] This ceremony is called retirer d'en bas de l'eau ("to remove from underneath the water"):[4] the dead, having been deprived of material form and having gone to rest in the waters of the abyss, are ritually called up from “under the water.” This is the final binding of the family lwa to the govi, achieved by the oungan through songs, dances, and prayers to prominent lwa.

The possessed may gain the characteristics of the chosen lwa and be able to perform unusual feats such as touching a hot iron without it leaving scald marks.

On July 16, thousands gather at the waterfalls just outside the village to pay respects to the Virgin Mary and Ezili Freda Dahomey.

[9] Oungans make tiny temples in jungle clearings nearby the waterfall, where they dance with pilgrims holding blue and red ribbons, tying them around trees to rid themselves of ill health.

[13] Anti-slavery advocate, Dutty Boukman, was born in Senegambia (modern-day Senegal and The Gambia) and was brought to Jamaica during the slave trade.

As a diasporic religion, orality plays a large part in the history of Haitian Vodou, therefore there are many disagreements between historians as to the exact events which took place.

The largely accepted story is that Fatiman is believed to have contacted the West African deities involving animal sacrifice and an oath.

Boukman is thought to have delivered a passionate speech calling the enslaved Africans to venerate their own original Supreme Being and to oppose the "false" Christian God.

He started his creative career making vèvè (sacred images drawn on the floor by scattering powders), but, all oungans undertake this ritual, so Bazile was not officially considered an artist at this time.

In a 1993 interview in Brookline, Massachusetts, Bazile described the process of being chosen by lwa to undertake his artwork, “Since the Iwa chose me, I was obliged to do what they wanted.