I've heard about VooDoo, but don't know much about it. Do you know the history of it?
user
Well, it’s called "Vodou" or "Vodoun" in Haiti and in the French West Indies, and that is the French word for "voodoo", which was the name of a superstitious practice in parts of Africa that colonizers came across in the New World.  In Haiti it’s sometimes referred to as "Palo", or "vodou" in other languages, and it refers to a superstition that focuses on spirit communication and intervention with what we might call "magic", although it's less a "science" and more a spiritual practice
assistant
I've heard about VooDoo, but don't know much about it. Do you know the history of it?
user
Yeah! The origins of Voodoo are a little tricky to track, but my best guess is that it began as a syncretic (meaning a combination of various religious beliefs) folk tradition in the region of Senegambia, which is now part of southern Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania. It spread from there to Cuba, Haiti, and into the African-American spiritual and religious tradition.
assistant
I've heard about VooDoo, but don't know much about it. Do you know the history of it?