Vodou at the Field Museum

I recently saw the Vodou exhibit at the Field Museum with a friend. My friend is a grad student specializing in Haitian history, so she was the perfect companion to an exhibit on Haiti. We were both underwhelmed (assuming I can be so presumptuous as to speak for her). Certainly designed for people with absolutely no knowledge of Haitian Vodou, the exhibit was overall a useful introduction to many of the key concepts, values, spirits, and history of the religion. There were several different examples of Vodou art, music, ceremonies, and altars for visitors to observe. While we could not speak for all the guests, it seems like some came out of the exhibit actually learning to see Vodou as a religion. My friend, however, was probably right about several visitors retaining their perception of the faith as "exotic."