Voodoo Trivia
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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
Hispaniola: Haitian Vodou formed in Saint-Domingue, the French colony on the island's western third, blending West and Central African religions with Catholicism.
Q 02What is the name of the single supreme creator god in Vodou?
Bondye
Bondye, from the French Bon Dieu ('Good God'), is Vodou's distant supreme creator; he is also called Gran Mèt, a title borrowed from Freemasonry.
Q 03What are the spirits who serve under the creator god called?
Lwa
The lwa (also spelled loa) are the spirits who serve Bondye and receive Vodou ritual; they are also called mystères, anges, saints and les invisibles.
Q 04From which West African language does the word Vodou itself come?
Fon
Fon: vodún, meaning a spirit or deity in the Fon language of the kingdom of Dahomey, gave Haitian Vodou its name.
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
Papa Legba, guardian of gates and crossroads, is saluted first in Rada rites; he is pictured as a feeble old man in rags with a crutch, and dogs are sacred to him.
Q 07Which Catholic saint is the crossroads lwa most often syncretized with in Haitian Vodou?
Saint Peter
Saint Peter: Papa Legba, keeper of the crossroads, is usually syncretized with Saint Peter because both hold keys; some houses also link him to Saint Lazarus or Saint Anthony.
Q 08Who heads the Gede family of death spirits?
Baron Samedi
Baron Samedi heads the Gede, the family of death spirits; 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
Baron Samedi is shown 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 henchman who takes the name of the Gede's chief?
Live and Let Die
Live and Let Die (1973) features Baron Samedi, a top-hatted henchman of the villain Kananga, played by Geoffrey Holder.
Q 11Which serpent lwa is depicted with his consort as two intertwined snakes?
Danbala
Danbala, the serpent lwa, and his consort Ayida-Weddo are shown as two intertwined snakes; he is associated with rivers, springs and wisdom.
Q 12Which Catholic saint is the serpent lwa most often equated with in Haitian Vodou?
Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick: Danbala is equated with Saint Patrick, the saint said to have driven the snakes from Ireland; Moses, whose staff became a serpent, is the alternative match.
Q 13What is Èzili Freda the lwa of?
Love and luxury
Èzili Freda is the lwa of love and luxury: she personifies feminine beauty, grace and refinement, and is matched with the Catholic Mater Dolorosa.
Q 21According to Haitian legend, a Vodou ceremony at which site sparked the Revolution in 1791?
Bois Caïman
Bois Caïman ('Alligator Wood'), near Cap-Français, is where legend places the night ceremony of 14 August 1791 that launched the slave uprising of the Haitian Revolution.
Q 22Who presided over the Bois Caïman ceremony?
Dutty Boukman
Dutty Boukman, a Jamaican-born oungan, presided over the Bois Caïman ceremony with a priestess often identified as Cécile Fatiman; the French killed him in November 1791.
Q 23Which Haitian president granted Vodou official recognition in 2003?
Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Q 14Which twin saints are the Marasa, the sacred twins, equated with?
Cosmas and Damian
Cosmas and Damian, the twin physician saints, are the Catholic match for the Marasa; every nanchon has its own Marasa, reflecting a belief that twins hold special powers.
Q 15What is a Vodou temple called?
Ounfò
Ounfò (also hounfour) is the Vodou temple; its main ceremonial room is the peristil, and it houses altars for the lwa.
Q 16What are the titles for a Vodou priest and priestess?
Oungan and manbo
Oungan (priest) and manbo (priestess) lead Vodou congregations; 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 possessed person is the chwal, or horse: the lwa is said to mount and 'ride' the dancer for the duration of the possession.
Q 20Where do Vodouists believe the spirit dwells for a year and a day after death?
The land of the Ginen
The land of the Ginen, the spirits' mythical Africa, is variously placed under the sea, under the earth or above the sky; after a year and a day the dead are ritually recalled from the water.
Jean-Bertrand Aristide recognised Vodou as an official religion by decree in April 2003, allowing its priests to conduct legally recognised baptisms and marriages.
Q 24What was Operation Nettoyage, launched by Haiti's government in 1941?
A Church-backed drive to destroy temples
A Church-backed drive to destroy temples: the 1941 'anti-superstition campaign' under President Élie Lescot saw Catholic clergy and troops burn ounfò and ritual objects, soon after the US occupation of 1915-34.
Q 25Which Kongo word for 'god' is usually cited as the root of the word zombie?
Nzambi
Nzambi, the Kongo word for god, is the etymology most often given for zonbi/zombie; the Haitian zonbi is a body or soul captured by a bòkò, not the Hollywood walking corpse.
Q 26Which Harvard ethnobotanist argued in the 1980s that Haitian 'zombie powder' was a real drug?
Wade Davis
Wade Davis, a Harvard ethnobotanist, made the case in The Serpent and the Rainbow (1985), which popularised the story of Clairvius Narcisse, a man said to have been zombified in 1962.
Q 27Which toxin did Davis say was the key ingredient of the coup de poudre?
Tetrodotoxin
Tetrodotoxin, the pufferfish poison, was named by Davis as the key ingredient of the coup de poudre; a second powder of deliriants such as datura supposedly followed to keep the victim docile.
Q 28Which author documented the supposed zombie Felicia Felix-Mentor in Haiti in 1937?
Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston photographed and wrote about Felicia Felix-Mentor in 1937 during her Haitian fieldwork; later X-rays showed the woman lacked a leg fracture the real Felix-Mentor had.
Q 29What was the first popular book on Haitian zombies, published in 1929?
The Magic Island
The Magic Island (1929) by William Seabrook introduced Haitian zombies to a wide readership; it 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
Hardly any in either: pin-stuck effigies belong to European and other folk magic, and the 'voodoo doll' label is a Western invention; neither Haitian Vodou nor Louisiana Voodoo centres on them.