Folklore and mythology

Haiti is well-known for its folklore traditions. Many magical stories are told in Haiti as part of the Haitian Vodou tradition. Papa Doc, the Haitian dictator, was a firm believer in folklore and used portions of it to govern his violent authority over the country. This is considered as one of the Unique Cultural Characteristics In Haiti.

Haitian Vodou is a syncretic blend of Roman Catholic rituals developed during the French colonial period and ancient African beliefs, with roots in Dahomey, Kongo, and Yoruba traditions, as well as folkloric influence from Haiti's indigenous Taino peoples. The Loa, or spirits, with whom Vodouisants interact are not gods, but rather servants of the Supreme Creator Bondye.

In keeping with the faith's French-Catholic background, vodousaints are mostly monotheists, believing that the Loa are immense and powerful forces in the world with whom humans interact and vice versa, resulting in a symbiotic interaction aimed to return both humanity and the Loa to Bondye. "Vodou is a religious practice, a faith that gestures toward an intimate knowledge of God and provides its practitioners with a means to commune with the Divine through a constantly growing paradigm of dance, song, and prayers."