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DOI 10.33234/ssr.13.2
Elvira K. Katić ,Ramapo College of New Jersey, ekatic@gmail.com
This study examined the nature of authenticity in a presentation of the Voodoo religion open to non-practitioners. Temple space and artifacts available to tourists for examination were analyzed to identify how/whether they contributed to a presentation of Voodoo faith deemed authentic, rather than inauthentic. Tourist voodoo in New Orleans is a designed product which is intentionally created to disseminate information or turn a profit. However, it seems to constitute a genuine representation of the religion as well because of the simulacra it perpetuates. Because this simulacrum is presented as authentic Voodoo, actual religious Voodoo may seem inauthentic because of its scarcity and suppression. 
Keywords
Authenticity, simulacra, Voodoo religion, visual semiotics, meaning-making