Haitians hold voodoo rituals to honor ancestors amid crisis

Valcin Antoine "Toutout", an Ougan or Voodoo priest, walks to a cemetery with Voodoo followers, called Pitit Fey, to attend the Day of the Dead celebrations in Kay Kota, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, November 1, 2021. REUTERS/Claudia Daut

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Haitians honored their ancestors to mark the Day of the Dead on Tuesday in colorful voodoo rituals that offered a respite from the tough day-to-day reality of fuel shortages, gang violence and rising malnutrition.

Voodoo followers in the Caribbean nation gathered in cemeteries, many dressed in white and some with their faces covered in white powder, to sing and dance as part of rituals that involve communing with ancestral spirits.