Haitian voodoo

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Exhibition poster. Graphic by Virginie Fürst.

Boutèy Bosou ak de Kòn (Two-horned Bossou bottle). Coloured cloth and sequins.

Kat boutèy ak twa figi (Four bottles with three faces). Terracotta

Bizango room. Altar of King Bizango, altar of Queen Bizango, demijohns, drums and various cult items.

Mèt Minui (Master Midnight). Stuffed cloth

Zonbi Nago (Nago Zombie). Concrete, metal, rope.

Govi ak tètmo e kolye milkoulè (Govi with skull and multi-coloured necklace). Glass, cloth, bone, gemstones

Èzili Freda (Erzulie Freda). Doll in dress with sequins and gemstones

Renn Mari-Lwiz (Queen Marie-Louise). Stuffed cloth and sequins

Endyen tayino (Taino Indian). Terracotta

Kaptèn Bizango (Captain Bizango) and Jal Twa Letan (General Three Ponds). From left to right: stuffed cloth, bone, wood, mirrors and metal

Rada altar

Cross with chain and two bottles. Wood and glass

Bwat Wogatwa (prayer box). Wood, terracotta, plaster, glass.

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Voodoo is a religion and cultural system originating in West Africa but now mostly practised in the Caribbean and the southern United States.

“Le vodou, un art de vivre” runs at the Geneva Museum of Ethnography until August 31. The exhibition brings together more than 3,000 artefacts amassed by Marianne Lehmann over the past 50 years, one of the largest collections of Haitian sacred art in the world.

(Collection Marianne Lehmann, FPVPOCH. Photo Jonathan Watts, MEG)