Exhibition Catalog - Zombies. Is Death Not the End?

Description

This book, edited by Philippe Charlier, explores the fascinating and unsettling figure of the zombie in Haitian tradition and Voodoo.

It traces the history of zombification, a phenomenon described since the 17th century, born from the convergence of African magical-religious beliefs, legacies of the transatlantic slave trade, and local knowledge of poisons. According to these traditions, a condemned individual, drugged and then buried alive, can be brought back to a life of servitude under the control of a bokor, a master of Voodoo practices.

From cultural reality to the construction of myth, the book shows how this figure has evolved from the status of victim to that of a global legend, fueling fantasy literature and cinema, until becoming a contemporary metaphor for the fear of contamination and the loss of control.

Blending scientific inquiry, history, and the imagination, this work sheds light on a phenomenon at the intersection of reality and mystery.