VOODOO. 223 VOROSMARTY. Waldensians, as lieri'tifa, being suspected of sorcery). A term referring to certain belief-s and [jractiecs currently considcreil to >c prevalent among the negroes of the West Indies and the Southern United .States. Caieful research has made it certain, however, that there is no rec- ognized set of beliefs and ceremonials which could properly be regarded as constituting a Voodoo religion. According to the view formerly generally accepted, the Voodoo cult was an im- portation from West Africa, the term itself be- ing the name of an all-powerful being, incarnate in the form of a snake, who communicates with his worshipers only through a priest and priest- ess, also known as 'king' and 'queen,' or 'papa' and 'mannna,' who are held in the greatest ven- eration by the devotees. The alleged ceremonies of the worship are always held at night, are secret, and are characterized by prayer to the snake, who is e.xhibited during the rite, by hys- terical manifestations by the priest and priestess, by a dance for the initiation of novices which is said to be marked by the wildest de- bauchery and indecenc}', and especially by the saerifice and eating of a human child. Careful examination of apparently circumstantial ac- counts of the Voodoo rites and orgies has elimi- nated the more shocking phases in practically every instance. If cannibalism has occurred, it has probably been merely sporadic. The other reported features are nothing more than those connnon to shamanistlc and magic practices the world over. VOOR'HEES, Daniel Wolsey (182707). An American politician, born in Butler County, Oliio. He graduated at Indiana Asbury (now De Pauw) University in 1840, studied law, and in 1851 began the practice of his profession in Covington, Ind. He became at once interested in polities, and gained a wide reputation as a Democratic campaign speaker. He was United States District Attorney for Indiana from 1858 to 1861, and was a member of Congress from 1861 to 1867 and again from 1860 to" 1875. In 1877 he was appointed United States Senator to fill the rmexpired term of Oliver P. Morton, and was regularly elected in 1879, 1885, and 1801. In both Houses of Congress he was active in the debates and was for many years one of the ac- knowledged leaders of the Democratic Party. VOPADEVA, vo'pa-da'va. A noted Sanskrit grammarian of India, who lived between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries a.d. He was the .author of a grammar entitled Mu'idhahi'idha, or Enlightenment of the Ignorant, which is espe- cially esteemed among the natives of Bengal and has an independent value. It is drawn up on different lines from the great work of Panini (q.v. ) and departs from it in terminology as well as in arrangement. A special commentary on it was composed b-^' Durgadasa. Besides several Calcutta editions (e.g. 1820, 1861), there is a European edition bv Biihtlingk (Saint Peters- burg, 1847). VORA'GINE (or VARAIGNE). .Jacobus DE. See CouiEN Legend. VORARLBERG, for'-irlberK. The smallest and most westein crownland of Austria, bor- dered on the north by Bavaria, on the east by Tyrol, on the south by Switzerland, on the west by Liechtenstein, Switzerland (the lihiiie Kiver forming this boundary), and J>ake Constance (Map: Austria, A .'5). Area, 1000 square miles. The Arlberg chain lies on the east of this mountainous terriicny. in the soutli, on the boundary, tcjwcr the Kluctian Alps, crowned by the Silvretta mass, the hif^diest point in the crownland (about ll.:j(l(( feet). The 111 valley crosses the southwestern portion. In the north part are the Bregenzerwald and Lechtlial Alps, with the Bregenzer Aeh Valley in the extreme north. The Rhine Valley from the ill to Lake Constance is the feature on the west. A small section of Lake Constance belongs to Vorarlberg. -bout one-third of the area is in Al])ine meadow and over one-fourth in productive forests, the tilled land being small. The cattle of Vorarlberg are sujierior. Some coal is mined and the manufacturing industries are con- spicuous. There arc shijjbuilding plants, paper industries, cotton and weaving mills, and dye works. End)roideries are largely produced as the house industry. Vorarlberg has its own Con- stitution (since 1861) and Landtag, but is ad- ministratively and judicially combined with the Tyrol. The Landtag consists of the General Vicar (Prince Bishop) at Feldkirch and 10 Deputies. The erow-nland sends three mendiers to the Reiehsrat. The capital is Bregenz. The popu- lation in 1901 was 129,816, nearly all Germans and Cntrtolies. "VORONEZH, va-ro'nyezh. A government in the southern part of Central Russia. Area. 25,- 450 square miles. Its surface is mostly undulat- ing and hilly in the west and the north (Map: Russia, E 4). It is watered principally by the Don and its tributaries. The climate is conti- nental and comparatively mild, but the rainfall is seanty. Voronezh has a very fertile soil. The ordinary cereals, flax, hemp, and sugar beets, are produced. The cultivation of fruit is widespread. Stock-raising is extensively carried on. Horses of high breed are exported. The manufactures have an annual value of over .$10,000,000 and consist principally of sugar, spirits, flour, tobacco, and various animal products. Popu- lation, in 1807. 2,546,255. VORONEZH. The capital of the Government of Voronezh, in Russia, on the river Voronezh, five miles above its confluence with the Don, 332 miles south-southeast of Moscow (ilap: Russia, E 4). It is a well-built town. The industrial establishments include flour mills, oil presses, machine works, and railway shops. Population (inrhnling suburbs), in 1897. 84.146. VOROSMARTY, ve'rOsh-mart-y', Mlli.iLY (1800-55). An Hungarian poet. He was born at Xy^k. County of Stuhlweissenburg. and studied law in Pesth, but devoted himself to letters, and became one of the most important- of the authors who regenerated Hungarian literature. Of his epic poems, Zalan Futdsn ("The Flight of Zalfln," 1825) and Eoer (1827). and of his dramas. King fiolomon (1821) and Kn„t (1825) are the best. His national anthem. S:6:at (1845). was im- mensely popular in the Revolution of 1848. At the time of his death he was translating Shake- speare into Hungarian. Consult the second edi- tion of his works in 12 volumes (ib., 1884), bv Gvulai, who also wrote an excellent account of his life (4th ed., Budapest, 1896).
