50 free Voodoo trivia questions with answers — history quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This voodoo trivia quiz treats the subject as the real set of religions it is, not the Hollywood version. It covers Haitian Vodou: the creator god Bondye, the lwa and their Catholic saint counterparts, Papa Legba at the crossroads, Baron Samedi in his top hat, the Rada and Petwo nations, vèvè drawings, possession, the 1791 Bois Caïman ceremony that Haitian tradition says launched the Revolution, and the 2003 decree that made Vodou official. It then crosses to New Orleans for Louisiana Voodoo: Marie Laveau, gris-gris, St. John's Eve on Lake Pontchartrain, the Grand Zombi, and the snake, and back to Benin, Togo and Ghana for the West African Vodun that started it all. There is a round on the myths too: where the pin-stuck doll actually comes from, and the ethnobotanist who thought zombie powder was pufferfish toxin. Questions run from easy (which country Vodou developed in) to expert (which saint stands in for the serpent lwa). Every answer was checked against encyclopaedia entries before publishing.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Haitian Vodou developed on which island?
Hispaniola
It blended West and Central African religions with the Catholicism of the French colony of Saint-Domingue.
Q 02What is the name of the single supreme creator god in Vodou?
Bondye
The name comes from the French Bon Dieu, 'Good God'; another name, Gran Mèt, is borrowed from Freemasonry.
Q 03What are the spirits who serve under the creator god called?
Lwa
They are also called the mystères, anges, saints and les invisibles.
Q 04From which West African language does the word Vodou itself come?
Fon
In the kingdom of Dahomey, vôdoun meant a spirit or deity, first recorded in 1658.
Q 05What are the two most notable 'nations' (nanchon) into which the lwa are divided?
Rada and Petwo
The Rada are 'cool' and sweet-tempered; the Petwo are 'hot' and associated with fire.
Q 06Which lwa is saluted first in Rada ceremonies, as the guardian of gates and crossroads?
Papa Legba
He is pictured as a feeble old man in rags with a crutch, and dogs are sacred to him.
Q 07Which Catholic figure is the crossroads lwa most often paired with, because both hold keys?
Saint Peter
He is also linked to Saint Lazarus and Saint Anthony in some traditions.
Q 08Who heads the Gede family of death spirits?
Baron Samedi
His consort Gran Brigit has authority over cemeteries.
Q 09How is the head of the Gede usually depicted?
In a top hat, tail coat and dark glasses
Cotton plugs in the nostrils complete the look of a corpse dressed for a Haitian burial.
Q 10Which James Bond film features a villain who takes the name of the Gede's top-hatted chief?
Live and Let Die
He was played by Geoffrey Holder.
Q 11Which serpent lwa is depicted with his consort as two intertwined snakes?
Danbala
His consort is Ayida-Weddo, and he is associated with rivers and springs.
Q 12Which Catholic figure, traditionally shown with snakes, is the serpent lwa often equated with?
Saint Patrick
Moses, whose staff became a serpent, is the alternative match.
Q 13What is Èzili Freda the lwa of?
Love and luxury
She personifies feminine beauty and grace and is matched with the Mater Dolorosa.
Q 14Which twin saints are the Marasa, the sacred twins, equated with?
Q 21According to Haitian legend, a Vodou ceremony at which site sparked the Revolution in 1791?
Bois Caïman
The name means 'Gator Wood'; the ceremony was led by Dutty Boukman on August 14, 1791.
Q 22Who presided over the Bois Caïman ceremony?
Dutty Boukman
A mysterious woman at the ceremony declared him 'Supreme Chief' of the rebellion.
Q 23Which Haitian president granted Vodou official recognition in 2003?
Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Duvalier had earlier called Vodou 'the supreme factor of Haitian unity' and used oungans as rural section chiefs.
Cosmas and Damian
Every nanchon has its own Marasa, reflecting a belief that twins have special powers.
Q 15What is a Vodou temple called?
Ounfò
Its main ceremonial room is the peristil, whose central post is the poto mitan.
Q 16What are the titles for a Vodou priest and priestess?
Oungan and manbo
A bòkò, by contrast, is a sorcerer associated with darker work such as zombification.
Q 17What are vèvè?
Symbolic floor drawings made in cornmeal or ash
They are usually arranged around the central post and are central to calling the lwa.
Q 18What is the ason?
A sacred rattle used to summon the lwa
It is especially used in Rada rites.
Q 19What is a person possessed by a lwa during a ceremony called?
A chwal, or horse
The lwa is said to 'ride' the possessed dancer.
Q 20Where do Vodouists believe the spirit dwells for a year and a day after death?
The land of the Ginen
It is variously placed under the sea, under the earth or above the sky.
Q 24What was Operation Nettoyage, launched by Haiti's government in 1941?
A Church-backed drive to destroy temples
It came just after the US occupation of 1915-34 had stirred international interest in Vodou.
Q 25Which Kongo word for 'god' is the origin of the word zombie?
Nzambi
In Louisiana, the Grand Zombi was a serpent deity, not the walking dead.
Q 26Which Harvard ethnobotanist argued in the 1980s that 'zombie powder' contained pufferfish toxin?
Wade Davis
His book The Serpent and the Rainbow popularised the case of Clairvius Narcisse.
Q 27Which toxin did Davis say was the key ingredient of the coup de poudre?
Tetrodotoxin
It comes from pufferfish; a second powder of deliriants like datura supposedly followed.
Q 28Which author documented the supposed zombie Felicia Felix-Mentor in Haiti in 1937?
Zora Neale Hurston
X-rays showed the woman lacked a leg fracture the real Felix-Mentor was known to have.
Q 29What was the first popular book on Haitian zombies, published in 1929?
The Magic Island
William Seabrook's account was later used to promote the 1932 film White Zombie.
Q 30What role does the pin-stuck 'voodoo doll' actually play in Haitian Vodou and Louisiana Voodoo?
Hardly any in either
Effigies pierced with pins appear in many cultures' magic; the 'voodoo' label is a Western invention.