Odinani is not the same as Voodoo (or Vodou), but the two are related as distinct forms of traditional African religion.

• Odinani (or Odinala) is the traditional cultural belief and practice of the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria.
• Voodoo (or Vodou) is a syncretic religion that developed in Haiti and parts of the Americas, primarily based on the West African Vodun religion (from the Fon and Ewe people in what is now Benin and Ghana), combined with other African traditions and influences from Catholicism.

While they are separate religious and cultural systems, Odinani is considered one of the African religions from which vestiges or influences can be found in Haitian Voodoo and other religions of the African diaspora, such as Santeria and Candomblé. Both Odinani and Vodou share characteristics common to many Traditional African Religions, such as a pantheistic/polytheistic faith with a strong central deity, the worship of lesser deities/spirits (Árúsí in Odinani and Lwa in Vodou), and ancestor veneration.