--- Page 1 ---
V -
-
M I
(
-
L
VODOU
a
S
PRIESTESS
BROOKLYN
UPDATED EDITION AND
EXPANDED
KAREN
MCCARTHY
BROWN
a
"Beautifully written. A life
story that is full of feeling"
CONSTANCET CASEY, LOS ANGELESTIMES --- Page 2 ---
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2019 with funding from
Kahle/Austin Foundation
https://archive.org/details/isbn, 9790520224758 --- Page 3 ---
D. fmul,mpone paper
p.iwloc-dimrn --- Page 4 --- --- Page 5 ---
MAMA
LOLA --- Page 6 ---
Comparative Studies in Religion and Society
MARK JUERGENSMEYER, EDITOR
1. Redemptive Encounters: Three Modern Styles in the
Hindu Tradition, by Lawrence Babb
2. Saints and Virtues, edited by John Stratton Hawley
3. Utopias in Conflict: Religion and Nationalism in Modern
India, by Ainslie T. Embree
4. Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn, by
Karen McCarthy Brown
5. The New Cold War? Religious Nationalism Confronts the
Secular State, by Mark Juergensmeyer
6. Pious Passion: The Emergence of Modern Fundamentalism
in the United States and Iran, by Martin Riesebrodt,
translated by Don Reneau
7. Devi: Goddesses of India, edited by John Stratton
Hawley and Donna Marie Wulff
8. Absent Lord: Ascetics and Kings in a Jain Ritual Culture,
by Lawrence A. Babb
9. The Challenge of Fundamentalism: Political Islam and the
New World Disorder, by Bassam Tibi
10. Levelling Crowds: Ethno-nationalist Conflicts and
Collective Violence in South Asia, by Stanley J. Tambiah
11. The Bridge Betrayed: Religiou and Genocide in Bosnia,
by Michael A. Sells
12. China's Cathiolics: Tragedy and Hope in a11 Emerging Civil
Society, by Richard Madsen
13. Terror in the Mind ofGod: The Global Rise of Religious
Violence, by Mark Juergensmeyer
14. Imaging Karma: Ethical Transformation in Ameriudiau,
Buddlist, and Greek Rebirtli, by Gananath Obeyesekere --- Page 7 ---
MAMA
LOLA
A Vooou
Priestess 1M
Brooklyn
Updated and Expanded Edition
KAREN MCCARTHY BROWN
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
Berkeley Los Angeles London --- Page 8 ---
University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
London, England
@ 1991, 2001 by
The Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Brown, Karen McCarthy.
Mana Lola : a Vodou priestess in Brooklyn / Karen McCarthy Brown.-
Rev. and expanded ed.
p. cm. - (Comparative studies in religion and society : 4)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-520-22475-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Kowalski, Alourdes. 2. Mambos (Voodooism)--New York (State)-New York.
3. Voodooism--New York (State)-New York. 4- Brooklyn (New York, N. Y.)-
Religion. I. Title. II. Series.
BL2490.K68 B76 2001
299'.075'0g2-dcz1
(B]
Printed in the United States of America
08 07 06 05 04 03 02
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
The paper used in this publication is both acid-free and
totally chlorine-free (TCF). lt meets the minimum
requirements of ANSI/ NISO Z39.48-1992 (R 1997)
(Permanence of Paper). @
.)-
Religion. I. Title. II. Series.
BL2490.K68 B76 2001
299'.075'0g2-dcz1
(B]
Printed in the United States of America
08 07 06 05 04 03 02
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
The paper used in this publication is both acid-free and
totally chlorine-free (TCF). lt meets the minimum
requirements of ANSI/ NISO Z39.48-1992 (R 1997)
(Permanence of Paper). @ --- Page 9 ---
TO MY TEACHERS,
ABDUL EL ZEIN, FLORENCE MIALE, AND
ALOURDES MARGAUX --- Page 10 ---
The spirit is a wind. Everywhere I go, they going too : . to protect me.
Alourdes Margaux --- Page 11 ---
CONTENTS
PREFACE TO THE 2001 EDITION
ix
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
xvii
INTRODUCTION
1. Joseph Binbin Mauvant
2. Azaka
3. Raise That Woman's Petticoat
4. Ogou
5. The Baka Made from Jealousy
6. Kouzinn
7. Dreams and Promises
8. Ezili
9. Sojème, Sojème
10. Danbala
11. Plenty Confidence
12. Gede
AFTERWORD
GLOSSARY OF HAITIAN CREOLE TERMS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
vii --- Page 12 --- --- Page 13 ---
PREFACE TO THE 2001
EDITION
Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in
1991. The product of more than Brooklyn twelve was published in April
search and writing, Mama Lola
years of overlapping repecially in its
proved to be a difficult book, esvoice troubled conception./In the early stages, the
me more than any other. Who
problem of ke
book and from what
got to speak in this
with a single answer, the perspective? tension
Rather than resolving itself
when dozens of voices
behind this question eased only
emerged
thick black binders filled with field simultaneously from the two
My voices were
notes that tI kept on my desk.
several, as were Alourdes's
Hers included the voices of spirits that
(Lola's given name).
her. Her daughter
regularly speak through
Maggie's voice had a central
was a collection of ancestors, lovers,
role, and there
got to speak. Once I had the chorus friends, and clients who also
role
of voices, it became clear
my
was to be the conductor. It was
that
voice got heard.
my job to see that each
Within weeks ofits appearance Mama Lola was
an example of"new postmodern
being touted as
ethnography." As evidence, the book's ethnography" or "new feminist
"lack of a hegemonic
"chorus of voices" and its
point of view" were cited, as was "the demystifying presence of the author in the
described by one person as that of "a narrative," a presence
open to change and growth."
porous self, vulnerable,
(I am still not comfortable with the
"porous" metaphor.) Just two weeks after its official
date, I found myself in a Columbia
publication
being pushed to defend
University faculty seminar
task, since most of the
postmodern ethnography, a difficult
the end of
significant literature had emerged toward
my writing process and did not in fact
a role
shaping Mama Lola. In those
play
in
of
early days, the postmodern
ethnography made me anxious. Soon after it came
critique
a copy of James Clifford and
out, I bought
George Marcus's
Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics
catalytic volume,
time I only managed to read half of of Elhmography, but at the
it. I was struggling to write
ix
, since most of the
postmodern ethnography, a difficult
the end of
significant literature had emerged toward
my writing process and did not in fact
a role
shaping Mama Lola. In those
play
in
of
early days, the postmodern
ethnography made me anxious. Soon after it came
critique
a copy of James Clifford and
out, I bought
George Marcus's
Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics
catalytic volume,
time I only managed to read half of of Elhmography, but at the
it. I was struggling to write
ix --- Page 14 ---
X
in a way that did justice to Alourdes's Vodou world as I had experienced it. Because the postmodern critique of
was new
ethnography
to me and, even more to the point, because
its
Irecognized
significance, it threatened to overwhelm
Preface to
afraid Clifford and Marcus
my project. I was
the 2001
might convince me there was no
for me to write about Lola, the
way
Edition
Vodou Priestess, that was not exploitive, distorting, and destructive. I put away Writing Culture,
put my blinders on, and followed the course I had previously set
for myself. Only later did I recognize the confluence of my own
thinking with that of the postmodern critique of ethnography.
So, I have come to embrace the labels placed on Mama Lola
some
of its earliest readers and critics, even though I cannot by
claim to have self-consciously positioned my book in those
niches. What is significant for this discussion is that the postmodern label has become, after the fact, one way of understanding my own work and locating myself within the academy. For
the academy, it has become one way of appropriating
and categorizing it. If I were writing Mama Lola today, my it writing would
be a book in more deliberate conversation, not
with
modes of writing ethnographically, but also with only
new
studies and gender studies, centers of growth in the postcolonial
even
academy
more important to me. In this way books shape-shift before
their author's eyes; they turn on us and change the way we understand them. It makes us feel foolish when our readers learn
things from our books that we do not deny but did not deliberately put there. Also, the way a book moves after publicationthe people who read it and the uses they make of it-can occasion
important changes in the lives as well as the attitudes and understandings of author and subject alike. Much more will be said
about that in the afterword to this updated edition.
Is still understand Mama Lola, as I did in 1991, primarily as an
exercise in interpretation (14). Yet these days I appreciate the
complexity of this posture more than I did then. Each of us
moves through the world making meaning, individually and
collectively, as we can and/or need to. This is not to
that we
make meaning out of nothing. We tend to gather say
ences-what we have done, seen, heard, read, felt, learned, up experi- intuited, hoped for, reasoned, and believed-and we try to discern
patterns there, patterns that are partly discovered and
created by our particular perspectives.
partly
Anthropology, the academic discipline by which I steer much
I appreciate the
complexity of this posture more than I did then. Each of us
moves through the world making meaning, individually and
collectively, as we can and/or need to. This is not to
that we
make meaning out of nothing. We tend to gather say
ences-what we have done, seen, heard, read, felt, learned, up experi- intuited, hoped for, reasoned, and believed-and we try to discern
patterns there, patterns that are partly discovered and
created by our particular perspectives.
partly
Anthropology, the academic discipline by which I steer much --- Page 15 ---
of my meaning making, deals with double and
ties.Most anthropologists understand
triple complexilematic term for which there
different cultures (a probxi
minimum, different
is no good substitute) to be, at
ways of making
an ethnography is written
meaning in the world.)So,
processes of meaning
by making meaning out of others'
Preface to
and
making. The task I faced in
the
writing Mama Lola was, in practice,
researching
that. During my field research, I
more complicated than
Edition
Second Diaspora
was engaged in learning about
people) Haitians whose ancestors
removed from Africa by slave
were forcibly
were forced to leave Haiti
traders, and who more recently
if that were not
by poverty and political upheaval. As
enough, these culturally
also actively engaged in trying to make complex people were
at the same time and in the
sense of my own culture
sense of theirs. This last same places that I was trying to make
layer of more or less
namic, reciprocal
continuous, dyinterpretation gets us closer to what
pens these days when an
really hapmulticultural urban
ethnographer is doing research in
overly
centers, and it also reveals the static and
simple way field research in general is
In the classic ethnographic research
usually configured.
gist is the one who crosses the culture situation, the anthropololearns the local
borders (such as they are),
language, and manages to figure out
system works by interpreting local
how the
ing research for this book, Mama practices. Yet when I was dowas, only she called it
Lola was doing all the things I
"surviving in New York
There is a regrettable history in academic City."
erasing colonial presence and influence from anthropology of
so-called traditional peoples. The
ethnographies of
thought, in some back-handed
resulting "purity" was once
the
way, to add to the merit of the
studyIn
same vein, it is still the case that, when
characters emerge in ethnographic
individual
ways depicted as talented and/or writing, they are almost alown culture contexts, and
accomplished within their
formant" has at least
only there. By definition, every "inone intensely crosscultural
there is seldom much attention paid to the
experience, yet
in making sense of the
informant's talent
I were to
anthropologist and his or her culture. If
with
represent Alourdes in the context of her
me in such a passive way, it would be
relationship
veritable survival artist. She is
grossly unfair. She is a
that is, in
gifted in the art of cultural
making use of whatever cultural elements
bricolage,
port her and her family, regardless of whether
serve to supthey are Haitian or
one intensely crosscultural
there is seldom much attention paid to the
experience, yet
in making sense of the
informant's talent
I were to
anthropologist and his or her culture. If
with
represent Alourdes in the context of her
me in such a passive way, it would be
relationship
veritable survival artist. She is
grossly unfair. She is a
that is, in
gifted in the art of cultural
making use of whatever cultural elements
bricolage,
port her and her family, regardless of whether
serve to supthey are Haitian or --- Page 16 ---
xii
"American" Or come from any of the other peoples and cultures
she routinely encounters in New York City. Her current religious
commitments include Haitian Vodou and Puerto Rican Santeria,
as well as Vatican II Catholicism as interpreted by
Preface to
first-generation
Irish immigrant priests. Alourdes's
the 2001
people-sense functions, with
remarkably few translation
Edition
problems, across multiple cultural
divides,Her sensitivity and her skill at working with people are,
at minimum, transnational talents. They have had to be because
Lola, the Vodou Priestess, lives in the midst of religious and cultural pluralism, This is apparent in both her healing work and
her day-to-day life.
Al life as culturally dynamic, flexible, and responsive to change
as Alourdes's evades neat ethnographic description. This has
made me especially aware of the role my choices have played in
shaping her overall story. I do not pretend to have been merely a
midwife to this book, one who stepped aside and let others
speak. While many people's voices are heard at length there, I
take the responsibility for being the author of the book. Iam the
one who chose those voices and the one who orchestrated and
analyzed their particular articulations. Alourdes's is a complex
life and I acknowledge the many paths not followed in my text.
Thus, I take responsibility for the book's silences, as well as for
what it says.
It took Alourdes and me years to sort out these issues of authorship and responsibility. When she began to call Mama Lola
"my book, 11 I was happy to hear it. When she introduced me as
"her writer," I was amused. When she went further and said:
"This is Karen. She the one who take my stories and put them in
that book, 1 I began to worry. It appeared that her concept of the
book was that it was something like a cardboard box into which I
dumped her life stories, one-by-one, as she handed them over to
me. Lola does read, but not easily or at length, and she almost
certainly has not read much of Mama Lola (Maggie reviewed it
before publication). For a long time I said nothing to her about
my concern. Then, one day I realized that, if she knew what was
on my mind, she would probably be critical of me for not speaking up. This thought gave me the nudge I needed. So, one
evening, when I was driving her to a dinner engagement, I reminded her that I had spent twelve years working on Mama Lola
and therefore had a substantial investment in it. I suggested that
its success was probably due to both her stories and my way of
has not read much of Mama Lola (Maggie reviewed it
before publication). For a long time I said nothing to her about
my concern. Then, one day I realized that, if she knew what was
on my mind, she would probably be critical of me for not speaking up. This thought gave me the nudge I needed. So, one
evening, when I was driving her to a dinner engagement, I reminded her that I had spent twelve years working on Mama Lola
and therefore had a substantial investment in it. I suggested that
its success was probably due to both her stories and my way of --- Page 17 ---
telling them. "Since we both have a part in it," Isaid, "why don't
xiii
we both call it 'our book'?" Lola got my point instantly and has
not missed a beat since.
The ancestral oral histories included in our book are good illustrations of the role differences between storytellers and writers.
Preface to
Several people have asked me why I fictionalized the ancestral
the Edition 2001
the stories as Lola told them.
tales rather than simply quoting
Such queries often have a wistful quality about them. Behind
their implied challenge to the integrity of my presentation lurks
of an African griot-a wise old man who
a stereotypic image
amount of drapasses on narratives that have an appropriate
matic tension and also a clear beginning, middle, and end. This
image probably owes more to popular culture, to sources such as
the television production of Alex Haley's Roots, than it does to
most fieldwork situations. Mama Lola handed me no such well
shaped narratives. Not only are the accounts of her ancestral history quite frequently joint family 'performances/ 11 and therefore
as I describe them in the book noisy, contested, and repetitive
(18), the dialogue also changes from one telling to the next. Each
time Lola tells one of the ancestral tales, she supplies dialogue
that makes it come alive and this dialogue is never quite the
same from one telling to the next. Yet, even with this fluidity, the
stories have a remarkable consistency. In her community, there is
on
the old stories down word-forno premium placed
getting
word. There was, therefore, no official version I could have reproduced in the text of Mama Lola. It may well be that their labile
character is one of the reasons Alourdes's family stories have
managed to survive.
The way Lola performs her family history is only one dimension of the challenge of settling on a way to render her stories in
book.
her family's oral history is never rehearsed for ena
(Since
well known
tertainment alone, it is also the case that these stories,
within her extended family, rarely need to be told in their entirety.
with the evocation beMost of the time they are simply evoked,
ing aimed at a particular existential knot in the family's life.For
example, on a day when Lola was feeling beaten down by problems, she evoked for Maggie and me her great-grandfather, a
spiritual man born in Africa. "Remember when Mauvant ask
Mommie [Alourdes's mother] to swallow that stone. Mommie
'No.' That was his power! If he ask me today, you know I
say, do it!" In the immediate crisis, and I no longer remember
gonna
.
with the evocation beMost of the time they are simply evoked,
ing aimed at a particular existential knot in the family's life.For
example, on a day when Lola was feeling beaten down by problems, she evoked for Maggie and me her great-grandfather, a
spiritual man born in Africa. "Remember when Mauvant ask
Mommie [Alourdes's mother] to swallow that stone. Mommie
'No.' That was his power! If he ask me today, you know I
say, do it!" In the immediate crisis, and I no longer remember
gonna --- Page 18 ---
rule OT
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Tate Srallsleps rebins nSre 504 ST
Tobelc 4, Ble.
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80s A PaeNt revehs,
xiv
what it was, Alourdes apparently felt she needed more spiritual
power than she had at her fingertips. She articulated that feeling
by calling up a fragment ofl her family history.
I chose to lightly fictionalize the ancestral stories for several
Preface to
reasons already laid out in the
the 2001
original introduction. At that
Edition
time, however, I did not articulate yet another reason that was
probably more influential in determining the format of the book
than the others were. The specific type of book I had in mind
called for these short stories. I wanted to write a book with
strong narrative drive, one that could communicate a lot of information relatively painlessly. The timing of the book was the de- A
terminative issue for me. Most of_Mama_Lola was written in_the
two to three years after/ean-Claude Duvalier's departure from
Haiti. Haiti and Vodou were frequentlyin the news during that
period. This was a precarious and often violent time in Haiti and
the upheaval there had given life to an all too familiar maneuver.
U.S. news reporters and television commentators during that
time frequently referred, albeit obliquely, to Vodou as the dimension of Haitian culture that encapsulated, and perhaps even explained, the country's violence. This is an old racist argument
that has actually been around since the Haitian Revolution (17911804). From then up to the present, whenever Haiti emerged in
the news, the damning caricature of Vodou emerged as well.
Usually simply putting the two together was enough to condemn Haiti. I wanted Mama Lola to speak indirectly but forcefully to this racist rhetoric by showing how Vodou is actually
lived, rather than imagined. I wanted to write a book that would
plant images of quotidian Vodou practice in the minds of thinking people, images that would linger and soften the formulaic
association of Vodou with the superstitious and the satanic. I do
not know what it would mean to claim success for such a huge
project, yet I do think the book has planted a seed here and there.
If there is one thing I regret about the 1991 version of Mama
Lola, it is that I did not make a clearer statement about what the
book is and what it is not. Mama Lola is an ethnographic spiritual
biography. It is ethnographic because, although I focus on one
person, Mama Lola, I also provide considerable Haitian and U.S.
cultural context for her life. This does not mean that her life is
representative of the lives of all Haitian immigrants, or even of
all Vodou priestesses living in the United States. It is a spiritual
biography because it focuses on Lola's religious practices. It is
version of Mama
Lola, it is that I did not make a clearer statement about what the
book is and what it is not. Mama Lola is an ethnographic spiritual
biography. It is ethnographic because, although I focus on one
person, Mama Lola, I also provide considerable Haitian and U.S.
cultural context for her life. This does not mean that her life is
representative of the lives of all Haitian immigrants, or even of
all Vodou priestesses living in the United States. It is a spiritual
biography because it focuses on Lola's religious practices. It is --- Page 19 ---
not spiritual in the sense that its primary subject matter opposes
XV
itself to embodied, everyday experience in the material world.
The Vodou that Alourdes practices is firmly rooted in the here
and now. Her religious practice is a conversation with energies
"the
who
through her body, as
Preface to
she calls
spirits"
speak eloquently
existhe 2001
they address the problems and suffering of ordinary human
Edition
tence. Like Lola, her spirits are polyglots. They speak French,
Creole, English, and occasionally they use old African words.
Although I included in the text five chapters on Mama Lola's
ancestors, this is not a book about history, SO much as it is about
I believe to be an important
historical consciouenessemehing
dimension of daily life. The latter is especially true in Alourdes's
case. My goal was to describe as fully and accurately as I could
of Haitian Vodou. In doing SO I
Alourdes's day-to-day practice
could hardly avoid the oral history preserved in her family, because her ancestors are among her most important sources for
insight. Her mother appears in her dreams when she
spiritual assistance
a troubled client. Joseph Binbin Mauneeds
remembered helping
relative, remains a distant but funcvant, the oldest
tional model of what is fran Gine, truly African.
Inever intended to analyze the historical veracity of her ancestral stories. That is a reasonable scholarly task, but it was not
mine in this book. In a chapter titled "The Baka Made from Jealousy," I tell one of Lola's stories about her maternal grandmother. This story encompasses another about a very wealthy,
married couple named Fouchard. They set
but also very stingy,
in northern Haiti, sometime in the
up a business in Port-de-Paix,
driven
late nineteenth century. The Fouchards were eventually
out of town by an evil spirit, one said to be the creation of the town
jealousy. Late one windy night, this baka menaced them
people's
at their own door. The baka in the story is repreby appearing
horse that stands
straight like a man.
sented as a two-legged
up I would
to the
About that particular piece of oral history,
say
historian: just because I pass that story along uncritically, Ido not
two-legged horses to show up at your door or mine. They
expect
the historian would do
do not exist in our world. Nevertheless,
well to attend to the ancestral stories in Mama Lola. They reveal a
wealth of interesting information, when they are positioned in
the right way. "The Baka Made from Jealousy' for example, reconnections and tensions between the classes in Portflects both
In fact, without the class
de-Paix in the late nineteenth century.
of oral history,
say
historian: just because I pass that story along uncritically, Ido not
two-legged horses to show up at your door or mine. They
expect
the historian would do
do not exist in our world. Nevertheless,
well to attend to the ancestral stories in Mama Lola. They reveal a
wealth of interesting information, when they are positioned in
the right way. "The Baka Made from Jealousy' for example, reconnections and tensions between the classes in Portflects both
In fact, without the class
de-Paix in the late nineteenth century. --- Page 20 ---
xvi
dimension the story of the baka would make little sense. Class
tension does exist in the world of the historian and in mine. :
I want to thank Laura Cerutti and Naomi Schneider of the
University of California Press for giving me this
Preface to
add a new preface and an afterword to Mama opportunity to
the 2001
Lola. I am also
grateful for the chance to
the
a
Edition
give
book more substantial bibliography, and to be able this time around to introduce Lola and
her family to readers through photographs (see the new photo
section following page 192), something no one wanted to risk in
1991. Nothing in the original text of the book has been changed
and the original preface also remains in place. Lola and I dedicate this updated edition of Mama Lola to Theodore Buteau, the
person who first brought me to her door. Theodore, also my first
guide to Haiti's Vodou temples and later an immigrant living in
New York City, could never quite find a foothold in the American dream. He died early and alone. We miss him.
Karen McCarthy Brown
Tribeca
New York City
January 2001 --- Page 21 ---
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
of a Vodou priestess
Mama Lola is an intimate spiritual biography
misand her family.Haitian Vodou is not only one of the most
understood religions in the world; it is also one of the most maligned. In New York City, where Mama Lola lives, prejudice
is common.] Because of this reality, I
against Vodou practitioners
some names in the text
have acceded to her request to change
of her or her family. Given their unand to use no photographs
for the
derstandable fears, I am all the more grateful
courage
thatl Mama Lola and her daughter, Maggie, have shownin agreeto the publication of this book. They do not need to read
ing these lines to know that, in addition to my gratitude, they have
my love and my respect.
of research and writThis book is the result of a dozen years
have either read poring. Over such a long period many people
tions of the manuscript or heard me deliver lectures drawn from
to thank all those who have had a hand in
it. It is impossible
In fact, I do not even know the names
shaping the final product.
of the
who have been most helpful. For exof some
persons
at Amherst College, where I did the first public reading
ample,
a black student who thanked me for carfrom the manuscript,
to tell her
and for the "reing enough about this woman
story
spectful" way I told it helped me to let go of some lingering uneasiness about questions of tone and style. And there was the
who challenged me to look yet more
student at Mount Holyoke
carefully at Mama Lola's network of women friends.
I have taught courses on women in Caribbean religions at
Harvard, Barnard, and my own institution, Drew University,
andIhave also given a series of lectures from the book at Princeton. Students at these institutions have had more sustained
contact with the material. Their candor and their difficult questions as well as their enthusiasm have been more important to
me than they know.
AcaI also have colleagues to thank. Two women's groups,
xvii
tone and style. And there was the
who challenged me to look yet more
student at Mount Holyoke
carefully at Mama Lola's network of women friends.
I have taught courses on women in Caribbean religions at
Harvard, Barnard, and my own institution, Drew University,
andIhave also given a series of lectures from the book at Princeton. Students at these institutions have had more sustained
contact with the material. Their candor and their difficult questions as well as their enthusiasm have been more important to
me than they know.
AcaI also have colleagues to thank. Two women's groups,
xvii --- Page 22 ---
xviii
demic Women at Drew and the New York Area Feminist Scholars, provided the safe space in which I first spoke about Mama
Lola and in which the idea for the book took shape. In
I want to thank especially Carol
addition,
Preface to
Christ, Paolo Cucchi, William
the First
Doty, Christine Downing, Catherine Keller, Florence Miale, Gail
Edition
Pellett, Judith Plaskow, Arthur Pressley, and Delores
each of whom read and responded thoughtfully to Williams,
the manuscript. Mama Lola is also a better book because portions of the of
patient support of Naomi Schneider and Amy Klatzkin,
editors at the University of California Press, and the careful my and
respectful copyediting of Mary Renaud. Thanks are also due to
Jerry Gordon and Judith Gleason for permission to use their
photographs.
Early research for the book was funded in 1979 by a summer
stipend from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Support for writing came from two grants administered
the
Women's Studies Program at Harvard Divinity School. In by
84 I was visiting lecturer and research associate in women's 1983studies in religion at the Divinity School, and in the
of
1986 I was the Philips scholar in the same
spring
program. Constance
Buchanan, the director of the women's studies program and associate dean of the Divinity School, deserves special thanks for
her enthusiastic support of this project. Ialso want to thank the
Board of Trustees of Drew University. On three occasions I have
been given leave to work on the book. Thomas Ogletree, dean
of the Theological School at Drew, must be thanked for his unflagging support of faculty research and writing and for the
creative ways in which he makes those things possible.
I
want to thank Leary Murphy and Martha Dyson for their Finally, technical assistance in preparing the manuscript.
Haitian Creole is not a written language. The
the Creole used in this book follows the official orthography of
adopted by the Haitian government in 1979 and interpreted orthography and
applied by Albert Valdman in the Haitian Croke-Exgish-Frendhe
Dictionary (Bloomington: Indiana University, Creole Institute,
1981). --- Page 23 ---
INTRODUCTION
I met Mama Lola in the summer of 1978 while working for the
Brooklyn Museum on an ethnographic survey of the local Haitian immigrant community, a project that included photographing altars in the homes of Vodou priests and priestesses. Theodore B., a recent arrival to the United States who had befriended
first research
to Haiti in 1973, offered to inme during my
trip
The home
troduce me to Haitian spiritual leaders in Brooklyn. of Marie Thérèse Alourdes Macena Margaux Kowalski, also
known as Mama Lola, was to be our first stop. I had already made several research trips to Haiti, but the
brief drive to Mama Lola's house was my introduction to the
Brooklyn outpost of the Caribbean. As Theodore and I inched
through the traffic cogging Nostrand Avenue on an intensely
hot July afternoon, our nostrils filled with the smells of charcoal
and roasting meat and our ears with overlapping episodes of
salsa, reggae, and the bouncy monotony of what Haitians call
Animated conversations could be heard in Haitian French
jazz. Creole, Spanish, and more than one lyrical dialect of English. of
Chicka-Licka, the Ashanti
The street was a crazy quilt shops:
Bazaar, a storefront Christian church with an improbably long
and specific name, a Haitian restaurant, and Botanica Shangoone of the apothecaries of New World African religions offering
fast-luck and get-rich-quick powders, High John the Conqueror
and votive candles marked for the Seven African Powers.
ony of what Haitians call
Animated conversations could be heard in Haitian French
jazz. Creole, Spanish, and more than one lyrical dialect of English. of
Chicka-Licka, the Ashanti
The street was a crazy quilt shops:
Bazaar, a storefront Christian church with an improbably long
and specific name, a Haitian restaurant, and Botanica Shangoone of the apothecaries of New World African religions offering
fast-luck and get-rich-quick powders, High John the Conqueror
and votive candles marked for the Seven African Powers. I
root,
few miles from
home in lower Manhatwas no more than a
my
tan, but I felt as if I had taken a wrong turn, slipped through a
crack between worlds, and emerged on the main street of a
tropical city. section of
By the time we reached Fort Greene, a nondescript
Brooklyn near the naval yard, the illusion had receded. Mama
Lola owns a narrow, three-story row house there, in the shadow
of the elevated Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. As I parked my
that hot and
I noticed that it was the only
car on
muggy day,
--- Page 24 ---
the block with all the blinds down, the doors closed,
house on
the house is a Ca2
and no one sitting on the stoop. Closing up heat. Ishould have
ribbean technique for staving off the midday
living
that this was the home of the only Haitian family
guessed
Introduction in this North American black neighborhood. the name
Alourdes ("Ah-lood" is the Creole pronunciation),
came to address Mama Lola, took a long
by which I eventually
Theodore and I were about to leave
time coming to the door. a
when the door opened a crack and we were scrutinized by
thick-jowled face the color of coffee ice cream. heavy-lidded,
into a stream of nervous
"Humph, 11 she said as Theodore burst
how imporCreole telling her who I was, why we were there,
work was, and how she was the perfect person to help
tant our
sucked her teeth and shook her head in disgust at
us. Alourdes
for six monthTheodore. "You coming here afterldon'tseeyou
I don't see
you don't even say,
no, almost a year
Lola?' you-and Right away you telling me
'Hello, how are you, Mommie
the door and motioned
what I got to do for you!" She opened
eyes were
inside the musty, cool interior of her home. My
us
to the dim light when she turned abruptly and
still adjusting basement. As her head was about to disappear
headed for the
running along the stairbeneath the level of the banister posts
well, she said simply, "You coming?"
room outside
Moments later, standing in the makeshift living
the door of her altar room (a door which remained resolutely
that initial
I
my first good look at a person
closed on
visit), got life for years to come. Alourdes,
who was to be central in my
Lola, is a big
who also responds to the nickname Lola or Mama
a
tall, but round and solid. That day she wore
woman-not
cotton housecoat. Her hair was covered by a
loose, sleeveless
around her head. Floppy bedroom slippers
scarf knotted tightly and ankles. Even though Alourdes was
revealed swollen feet her skin looked as fresh and smooth as
then in her mid-forties,
but a child to me;in fact,
a child's. Yet she seemed like anything
light in the
uncomfortable.
my
Lola, is a big
who also responds to the nickname Lola or Mama
a
tall, but round and solid. That day she wore
woman-not
cotton housecoat. Her hair was covered by a
loose, sleeveless
around her head. Floppy bedroom slippers
scarf knotted tightly and ankles. Even though Alourdes was
revealed swollen feet her skin looked as fresh and smooth as
then in her mid-forties,
but a child to me;in fact,
a child's. Yet she seemed like anything
light in the
uncomfortable. The fluorescent
she made me quite
of her face and
basement accentuated the broad fleshy planes
either
the expression she wore, one Iinterpreted as
exaggerated
decided we were intruding. "Perhaps
anger or fatigue. I quickly another time, 11 I said, smiling politely at
we could come back
back toward the stairs. Alourdes while nudging Theodore --- Page 25 ---
Alourdes looked confused. "You don't want no
dore is my friend. Long time I don't
coffee? Theogoing make him
before
see him. Long time. You
Theodore
go
we even got a chance to talk?
like my child! Even I don't see him, I know he Ehhh? thinking about me. Right, Theodore?"
smile, she enfolded Theodore
Breaking into a dazzling Introduction
in her enormous
two of them did a little dance round and
arms, and the
their mutual laughter. The thick
round to the music of
graceful; the sullen face
body was suddenly light and
accept these mercurial warm, even beautiful. I have come to
changes in Alourdes, and sometimes
enjoy them. But I never know what I will find when
I
and I still feel vaguely guilty when she is
I visit her,
moods. The observation
in one of her dour
of an
"That look, 11 she remarked after anthropologist friend helped:
"is the psychic's
a joint visit some months later,
torpor.
I went back to see Alourdes several times before
for the Brooklyn Museum was
the project
photograph her
completed. She finally let me
amazing altars: crowded tabletops with
flickering flames; stones sitting in oil baths; a
tiny
bottles of roots and herbs steeped in alcohol; crucifix; murky
of rum, scotch, gin, perfume, and
shiny new bottles
side was an altar arranged in three almond-sugar syrup. On one
and black contact
steps and covered in gold
paper. On the top step an
terless Pall Malls lay next to a cracked and open pack of filshape of a skull. A walking stick with its head dusty candle in the
huge erect penis leaned against the wall
carved to depict a
posite side of the room was a small
beside it. On the opvials of
cabinet, its top littered with
powders and herbs. On the ceiling and
room were baskets, bunches of leaves
walls of the
darkened color
hung to dry, and smokelithographs of the saints.
The lithographs included several different images of the
gin Mary and one each of Saint Patrick with snakes
VirSaint Gerard
at his feet;
contemplating a skull; Saint James, the
on his rearing horse; and Saint Isidore, the
crusader
pray by a freshly plowed field. These I
pilgrim kneeling to
the Vodou spirits. Each of these
recognized as images of
an African
spirits has both a Catholic and
name: Mary is Ezili, the Vodou love
rick is the serpent spirit, Danbala; Saint
spirit; Saint Patof the cemetery; Saint
Gerard is Gede, master
James is the warrior
the peasant farmer Azaka.
Ogou; and Isidore is
Vodou, the new religion that emerged
and Saint Isidore, the
crusader
pray by a freshly plowed field. These I
pilgrim kneeling to
the Vodou spirits. Each of these
recognized as images of
an African
spirits has both a Catholic and
name: Mary is Ezili, the Vodou love
rick is the serpent spirit, Danbala; Saint
spirit; Saint Patof the cemetery; Saint
Gerard is Gede, master
James is the warrior
the peasant farmer Azaka.
Ogou; and Isidore is
Vodou, the new religion that emerged --- Page 26 ---
from the social chaos and agony of Haiti's cightoenth-century with
distinct African religions
slave plantations blended several
Vodoucolonial Catholicism. Dozens of the resulting
French
continue to thrive in the twentieth century,
Catholic spirits
troublesome area of huIntroduction where they reign over one or another
and
endeavor and act as mediators between God (Bondye)
man
"the living."
Alourdes
a healing craft that has
In this altar room,
practices
of her
been passed down through at least three generations tradition.
family. She is al priestess (manbo) in the Haitian Vodou
of
As such, she is not unique or even rare. Rather, she is one
who minister to the approxihundreds of similar professionals living in New York City:"
mately 450,000 Haitian immigrants
on a much
Many other Vodou leaders- mostly men-operate who rents
grander scale. For example, I know a priest (oungan)
house on one of the main arthe basement of a large apartment
and drumming
teries in Brooklyn, where he stages dancing
attended by two to three hundred people. In contrast,
events
of Haitian healers in New
Alourdes, like the great majority
is
consulting
York, works in her home. Much of her time spent
holds
with clients, one or two at a time, and the spirit feasts she She
several times a year rarely draw more than thirty people.
have drummers; they are expensive, and, more
does not usually
to attract the attention of her
to the point, she does not want
Vodou has in the United
neighbors. Given the negative image Vodou "families" operStates, many devotees prefer that their
ate on a small scale.
however. She has
Alourdes does have an enviable reputation,
trustof steady followers who appreciate her for being
a group
as effective. Itis also widely known
worthy and discreet as well
making large
that she adheres to a tradition that discourages
word of
from healing work. Her reputation, spread by
profits has led to invitations to perform "treatments" throughmouth,
United States and Canada and in several places
out the eastern
Central America. In these respects, there
in the Caribbean and
are not many like Mama Lola.
that African slaves be-
(Healing is at the heart of the religions
American Odyssey: Haitians in New York City (Ithaca, N.Y.:
'Michel S. Laguerre,
Cornell University Press, 1984), 31.
that she adheres to a tradition that discourages
word of
from healing work. Her reputation, spread by
profits has led to invitations to perform "treatments" throughmouth,
United States and Canada and in several places
out the eastern
Central America. In these respects, there
in the Caribbean and
are not many like Mama Lola.
that African slaves be-
(Healing is at the heart of the religions
American Odyssey: Haitians in New York City (Ithaca, N.Y.:
'Michel S. Laguerre,
Cornell University Press, 1984), 31. --- Page 27 ---
queathed to their descendants,) Jand Alourdes's
is no exception. She deals both with health
Vodou practice
full range of love, work, and
problems and with a
related traditions found
family difficulties. Like healers in
America, Alourdes
throughout the Caribbean and South
combines the skills of a medical doctor, a Introduction
psychotherapist, a social worker, and a priest.
It can be argued that Haitians are more
from many of the other former slave
religious than people
tian Vodou is closer to its African
colonies and also that HaiNew World African
roots than most other forms of
religion. Vodou's closer ties to its
origins are primarily a result of Haiti's virtual
African
rest of the world for
isolation from the
slave revolution
nearly a century following its successful
(1791-1804). The strength of
Haiti can be accounted for, in
religious belief in
oppression that have
part, by the poverty and political
characterized life for most Haitians from
independence to the present. Haiti is currently the
country in the Western
poorest
tants are beset by
Hemisphere, a country whose inhabidisease and malnutrition. The
Haiti is that its people seem to have
wonder of
throughout history by
responded to suffering
spiritual riches.
augmenting their stores of aesthetic and
A well-worn joke claims, with some truth, that of
million people 85 percent are Catholic,
Haiti's six
tant, and 100
15 percent are Protespercent serve the Vodou spirits.]
living in the United States, the few who have Among Haitians
themselves in the middle class have
made a place for
hind
in
tended to leave Vodou be-
-except times of crisis. But the vast majority of Haitian
immigrants are poor, and these people maintain the habit
turning to healers like Alourdes for help with
of
lives.
their stressful
Half a dozen times a year, on Or around the
the Catholic calendar, Alourdes holds
saints' days set by
favored
"birthday parties" for her
spirits, or lwa, as they are also called.
and relatives gather around a decorated
Clients, friends,
"niche,"
piece is a table laden with food. Here
whose centeruntil the crowd is sufficiently
they pray, clap, and sing
spirit to join the
"heated up" to entice a Vodou
which
party, to "ride" Alourdes. In a trance state
she will later emerge with little or no
from
has transpired, her body becomes the "horse" memory of what
voice the spirit's voice, her words and
of the spirit, her
spirit.
behavior those of the
are also called.
and relatives gather around a decorated
Clients, friends,
"niche,"
piece is a table laden with food. Here
whose centeruntil the crowd is sufficiently
they pray, clap, and sing
spirit to join the
"heated up" to entice a Vodou
which
party, to "ride" Alourdes. In a trance state
she will later emerge with little or no
from
has transpired, her body becomes the "horse" memory of what
voice the spirit's voice, her words and
of the spirit, her
spirit.
behavior those of the --- Page 28 ---
which blend pro forma acThese poswecsisnypentomance
to the immediate
tions and attitudes with those responsive
The spirits talk
situation, are the heart of a Vodou ceremony.?
chashug them, hold them, feed them,
with the faithful. They
inindividual
are aired through
Introduction tise them. Group and
problems
teraction with the spirits. Strife is healed and misunderstanding
ceremonies, crucial community bonds are rerectified. At these
of food and enterinforced through the process of giving gifts
tainment to the Vodou spirits.
from underHaitians, like their African forebears, operate
difof the divine and the virtuous that are markedly
standings
Catholicism. Bondye does not
ferent from those of mainstream
affairs of human beings.
getinvolved in the personal, day-to-day Instead, it is the spirits
"He is too busy," Alourdes told me.
neither
referred to as gods-who
and the ancestorsproperly and who, if necessary, mediate behandle day-to-day problems
tween the living and God.
Alourdes sare often called sen-yo
Although the lva who possess
Christian
(saints), they are not saintly types in the traditional
For
in stories about the soldierspirit Ogou/Saint
sense.
example, liberates his people but also betrays them.
James, he not only
cradles and cares for
Ezili Dantô/Mater Salvatoris, the mother,
in
The
her children but also sometimes lashes out at them rage.
are not models of the well-lived life; rather, they
Vodou spirits
inherent in the particular
mirror the full range of possibilities Failure to understand this
slice of life over which they preside.
as demonic or
has led observers to portray the Vodou spirits
to conclude that Vodou is a religion without morality-a
even
serious misconception. than life but not other than life. VirVodou spirits are larger
who serve them is less an inhertue for both the lwa and those
of being that demands
ent character trait than a dynamic state
maintaining
attention and care.) Virtue is achieved by
ongoing
relationships characterized by approresponsible relationships,
shelter, money) and intangibles
priate gifts of tangibles (food,
as they should,
deference, love). When things go
(respect,
interconnected circles among the
these gifts flow in continuous,
not to indicate that possession is playacting
21 use the term the posesion-peformance theatrical quality of visits from the Vodou spirits.
but to emphasize
an inhertue for both the lwa and those
of being that demands
ent character trait than a dynamic state
maintaining
attention and care.) Virtue is achieved by
ongoing
relationships characterized by approresponsible relationships,
shelter, money) and intangibles
priate gifts of tangibles (food,
as they should,
deference, love). When things go
(respect,
interconnected circles among the
these gifts flow in continuous,
not to indicate that possession is playacting
21 use the term the posesion-peformance theatrical quality of visits from the Vodou spirits.
but to emphasize --- Page 29 ---
living and between the living and the
ongoing cycle of prestation and
spirits or ancestors. In the
and receives in
counter-prestation, each gives
ways appropriate to his or her place in the social
hierarchy-an overarching, relentless hierarchy that
neither the young child nor the most aged and
exempts Introduction
Moral persons are thus those who give what
austere spirit.
fined by who theyare.
they should, as deThese days, the little room Alourdes calls her "altar"
bigger to me than it did when I first saw it. It has become feels
iar, its contents no longer confusing.
familDuring ceremonies
living room outside, I am sometimes sent into the
in the
fetch a particular bottle,
altar room to
in
image, Or implement.
on diagnostic card readings and ritual
Occasionally I sit
in the altar room itself.
treatments performed
the room have
Furthermore, some of the contents of
changed because I have entered Alourdes's
exchange network. The room still contains the rock that
giftto Marie Noelsine Joseph, Alourdes's
whistled
she walked near her home in the remote maternal grandmother, as
of Haiti; but now it also contains things I have mountainous interior
The dingy skull candle on top of Gede's altar has given Alourdes.
by one I bought in the New Orleans
been replaced
white one with bright red wax-blood airport gift shop, a clean
Next to Ogou's altar
dripping over the face.
while she
hangs a photograph I took of Alourdes
was possessed by this spirit.
It was neither an easy nor a direct path that
such familiarity. During the fall and winter
brought me to
visited Alourdes
after I first met her, I
every few weeks. I usually
some
gift, often her favorite bread from
brought
small
home. During this early
an Italian bakery near my
period, neither of us was
was there, and, although Alourdes
sure why I
seemed especially
was hospitable, she never
for hours while
happy to see me. More than once, I waited
she talked on the phone or worked with
only to be told that she did not feel like
clients,
For the first year or two, my visits to Alourdes's talking that day.
presence at her ritual events were met with
home and my
members ofher Vodou family.
suspicion by some
ally keep such
Fortunately for me, Haitians usujudgments to themselves, and the
drama that surrounded
tension and
known
my entry into the community
to me only later. Maggie, Alourdes's
became
one story. "You know, they had a bet on
11 daughter, told me
mie won a lot of money!" In
you, she said. "Momresponse to my confused expres-
Alourdes's talking that day.
presence at her ritual events were met with
home and my
members ofher Vodou family.
suspicion by some
ally keep such
Fortunately for me, Haitians usujudgments to themselves, and the
drama that surrounded
tension and
known
my entry into the community
to me only later. Maggie, Alourdes's
became
one story. "You know, they had a bet on
11 daughter, told me
mie won a lot of money!" In
you, she said. "Momresponse to my confused expres- --- Page 30 ---
"You remember that day I made a manje
sion, Maggie explained:
Marasa [a feast for the Vodou twin child spirits]? Everybody and eat
to take off their shoes and sit on the floor
was suppose
Some people tell Mommie, Karen never
with their hands, right?
White
don't do that.'
Introduction going to do that; she is too proud.
people tell her who can be
But you know my mother, nobody gonna too
to sit on the
her friend. So when they say, 'Karen
proud
on
1 she
say, 'You wanna bet?' She won a lot of money
floor,
just
don't
tell
11 Maggie laughed. "She
ever
you?"
you." Alourdes and her family are all either citizens or legal resiof the United States, but many of the people she works
dents
is tightly knit, protecting its
with are not. Such a community with outsiders. During the
own and sharing few intimacies
I felt their resisearly years of my contact with its members,
no furtance; at the birthday parties for the spirits, I ventured
ther than the edge of the crowd.
few still
But things are different these days. Although a
keep
I now have many friends among the people who
their distance,
under Alourdes's tutelage. Today, Alourdes
"serve the spirits"
of the ritual action at her ceremonies,
seats me near the center
change in
and I often assist in saluting the Vodou spirits. My
of
result of the initiation I underwent in the summer
status is a
of Alourdes, I entered the initia1981. Under the watchful eyes
south and west
ace
tion chamber in a small temple on the coast road
on
of Port-au-Prince. I am now one of the "little leaves" (ti-fey)
-
Vodou family tree, and she introduces me as her
Alourdes's
decision to accept
"daughter." 11 Her offer of initiation and my
marked the culmination of two inseparable processes. One was
with her. The other was a shift in
the growth of my friendship
the way I understood my professional work.
and not always
The friendship grew despite our early halting
successful efforts to trust each other and to share the contents
lives. Alourdes and I went through a great deal, singly
of our
the three
between the July day in 1978
and together, in
years
-
Theodore took me to her door and the July day in 1981
when
the taxing initiation rituals. We
when she guided me through
on
traveled to Haiti together once before the initiation, sleeping
talking late into the night, and discussing our
the same pallet,
We also faced serious problems during
dreams in the mornings.
divorce;
was
I went through a
Maggie
that three-year period:
trouble; and Alourdes's son William
hospitalized with stomach
the three
between the July day in 1978
and together, in
years
-
Theodore took me to her door and the July day in 1981
when
the taxing initiation rituals. We
when she guided me through
on
traveled to Haiti together once before the initiation, sleeping
talking late into the night, and discussing our
the same pallet,
We also faced serious problems during
dreams in the mornings.
divorce;
was
I went through a
Maggie
that three-year period:
trouble; and Alourdes's son William
hospitalized with stomach --- Page 31 ---
was arrested for purse snatching. Each of us
other when and how we could.
sought to help the
Like her altar room, Alourdes herself
exotic to me. As the shape of her character gradually became less
feel considerable admiration forl her.
emerged, I began to
who provides the main financial Alourdesis a strong woman Introduction
hard-pressed family. She is also and emotional support for a
had a hard life but
a fighter, a survivor who has
from her
nevertheless shows little trace of bitterness
suffering. She is a presence to be reckoned
one who commands the respect of others. And
with, someis palpable. But Alourdes is
her self-respect
person who takes
also a giver, a caring and empathic
has become
pleasure in helping others. By necessity, she
the
adept at balancing this desire to
need to care for herself.
help others with
Alourdes lives with her daughter,
her
who is mentally retarded and
Maggie;
son William,
is an adult; and three
requires monitoring, although he
young children: her own son
Maggie's two small ones, Michael and
Kumar and
others
Betty. Often there are
temporarily living in the house: new arrivals
tended family in Haiti, clients from her
from the exfamily members or friends down
healing practice, and
early, quiet hours when the
on their luck. Except for the
dren are at
adults are at work, the older chilschool, and Alourdes is
with
house hums with activity.
babysitting
Betty, the
and early
During my visits in the late afternoon
evening, children clamber over me.
pours from the radio, and the television
Haitian music
time. The doorbell
may be on at the same
ing the
level rings frequently, with each new arrival raisenergy
in the house. Holidays and
occasions fill the tables with food and the house other special
dozen times a year. I enjoy being part of this with people a
treats me like family.
group; Alourdes
As Alourdes and I became friends, I found it
difficult to maintain an uncluttered
increasingly
and researcher in her
image of myself as scholar
presence. This difficulty
change in the research I was doing. As
brought about a
got closer to Vodou. The Vodou
Igot closer to Alourdes, I
and intense, and I soon found that Alourdes I
practices is intimate
her Vodou family and remain
could not claim a place in
a detached observer.
Participating in the ceremonies in her Brooklyn home
cally brought me close to a form of Vodou older than
ironihad been studying in urban Haiti. It
the form I
brought me closer to the
as scholar
presence. This difficulty
change in the research I was doing. As
brought about a
got closer to Vodou. The Vodou
Igot closer to Alourdes, I
and intense, and I soon found that Alourdes I
practices is intimate
her Vodou family and remain
could not claim a place in
a detached observer.
Participating in the ceremonies in her Brooklyn home
cally brought me close to a form of Vodou older than
ironihad been studying in urban Haiti. It
the form I
brought me closer to the --- Page 32 ---
where the patriarch of
family-style Vodou of the countryside, and all those who serve
the extended family functions as priest
under his tutelage are either blood kin or honorary
the spirits
In rural Haiti and in Alourdes's Brooklyn
members of the family.
the content and drama of
Introduction living room, the group itself provides
than it does in
Vodou ceremonies in much more obvious ways
common in Port-au-Prince.
the large-scale ritualizing
Vodou world brought other inMy presence in Alourdes's
Vodou
and priestesses
sights. Il had long been aware that
priests
and
divination, administered herbal treatments,
performed
and amulets, but I had initially seen their
manufactured charms
functions, one distinct
healing work as one of several priestly
with
I
ritualizing. After some time
Alourdes,
from communal
was off the mark, thatlthere is no
realized that this perception
which is
Vodou ritual, small or large, individual or communal,
not a healing rite.
that Haitians believe that living
It is no exaggeration to say (Vodou is the system they have
and suffering are inseparable.
that is life, a system whose
devised)to deal with the suffering
cushion loss, and
is to minimize pain, avoid disaster,
purpose
The drama ofVodou
strengthen survivors and survivalinstincts. the rituals themselves as in
therefore occurs not SO much within
troubled lives of the
between the rituals and the
the junction
the burdens and pains of their lives to
devotees. People bring
of
healed. I realized that
this religious system in the hope being
with
less to this Vodou world, I would come away
ifI brought
Vodou objectively, the heart of
less.Tf I persisted in studying would remain closed to me. The
the system, its ability to heal,
of Vodou
hope to understand the psychodrama
only wayIcould
life to the ministrations of Alourdes)
was to open my own
Alourdes's invitations to salute
Ientered gradually. I accepted for them. On occasion I brought
the spirits and pour libations
Sometimes I requested
her dreams and asked forinterpretation.
she
At one difficult point in my life,
suggested
card readings.
to two of the Vodou spirits,
that I undergo a ritual "marriage" And in 1981 I went through the
Ogou and Danbala. I did that.
rituals of initiation.
ever asked me
No Haitian-and certainly not Alourdes-has
comin Vodou or if I have set aside the religious
if I "believe"
that come from my childhood
mitments and understandings
the spirits and pour libations
Sometimes I requested
her dreams and asked forinterpretation.
she
At one difficult point in my life,
suggested
card readings.
to two of the Vodou spirits,
that I undergo a ritual "marriage" And in 1981 I went through the
Ogou and Danbala. I did that.
rituals of initiation.
ever asked me
No Haitian-and certainly not Alourdes-has
comin Vodou or if I have set aside the religious
if I "believe"
that come from my childhood
mitments and understandings --- Page 33 ---
and culture. Alourdes's approach is, instead,
just got to try. See if it work for you. I1 The
pragmatic "You
ing my worldview or adopting
choice of relinquish11
fore never been at issue.
another in its entirety has thereNevertheless, I soon realized that my
Vodou represented both gains and risks pesonalinvolvementin in
Introduction
The potential gains were in depth of
relation to my work.
major risks involved losing the
understanding. One of the
Vodou interacting with the life of important a Haitian distinction between
ing with my own very different blend of and Vodou interactdream, and fantasy/My
experience, memory,
experiences with
are not like those of Haitians. The
Vodou both are and
riences have authority
stories I tell about these expeonly in the territory
have attempted to stay clear on this point and between cultures. I
stories quite
even to use these
self-consciously as
for
whom will be more like
bridges
my readers, most of
me than like Alourdes.
My increasing participation in Vodou also
changes in research
necessitated
with Alourdes. In the techniquesjinitilly I used a tape recorder
tended
beginning, she submitted
to answer my questions about her life reluctantly and
were somewhat idealized,
with portraits that
light, however, she
though fairly accurate. To my dewas far too spirited a
cautious for long. Soon she began to
storyteller to remain
her early days in New York, about the unfold rich stories about
had forced her to
difficult life in Haiti that
emigrate, and about her
who had preceded her.
ancestors, the healers
Ieventually had to stop relying on a
was unsuited to the casual
tape recorder, because it
Alourdes would
rhythms of our growing
often give me the best
friendship.
were working together to
information when we
were riding in
prepare a ritual meal or when we
my car. So Ibegan to work in another
speaking on the phone with
way. After
drinking coffee at her kitchen her, or spending an afternoon
at one of her birthday
table, or passing most of the night
desk
parties for the spirits, I would sit
my
to write. It seemed
down at
she said but also how she said important to capture not only what
monic
it. I found I could use her mnedevices, the repeated refrains of her stories, and
my own memory tools-such as especially
some of
ages. Beginning with these condensation poignant visual immyselfinto the rhythm of her speech, I could points and working
construct a record
coffee at her kitchen her, or spending an afternoon
at one of her birthday
table, or passing most of the night
desk
parties for the spirits, I would sit
my
to write. It seemed
down at
she said but also how she said important to capture not only what
monic
it. I found I could use her mnedevices, the repeated refrains of her stories, and
my own memory tools-such as especially
some of
ages. Beginning with these condensation poignant visual immyselfinto the rhythm of her speech, I could points and working
construct a record --- Page 34 ---
both backward and forward and in this way reproby moving
of conversations that had
duce accurate, if selective, accounts
taken place hours earlier.
I added contextual descripTo these records of conversations traditional contents of an ethIntroduction tions as well as some of the more
more of myself
nographic journal Unavoidably, as I brought
into my
with Vodou, I put more of myself
into conversation Sometime in the early 1980s, I stopped editing out
field journal.
affection and gratitude, guilt and
my reactions to Alourdes. My
in her story, at least
impatience began to appear as ingredients hospitality, infecresponsible for evoking her expansive
partly
sullen withdrawal. Paying attention to myself
tious humor, or
(had I not
in relation to her became both a learning-device I would never
brought some of my own dreams to Alourdes, in Vodou) and a
have learned as much about dream analysis
own
honest (when my field notes included my
way of staying
I was more likely to take account of my
moods and motivations,
to those notes in the
filters and interventions when I returned
and
putting myself on the line in my field journal
future).JYet, with Alourdes and with Vodou was, in the end,
in my relations
that ethnoeven more than that. It was an acknowledgment form of human relaresearch, whatever else it is, is a
graphic When the lines long drawn in anthropology between
tionship.
and informant break down, then the only
partiapant-observer in between; and anthropology. becomes sometruth is the one
to both aesthetic and
thing closer to a social art form, open
intelThis situation is riskier, but it does bring
moral judgment.
lectual labor and life into closer relation.
for
world has cultivated in me a healthy respect
The academic
of other people and other culthe limits of the intelligibility
in Haiti or visittures. Most of the time, whether I am working
of this stance
the wisdom
ing Alourdes in Brooklyn, Iappreciate because Ia assume that I
and try to operate from it. For example,
tolerance levels
do not always understand what is going on, my
with, for
when I am with Haitians than when I am
are higher
colleagues. Because reaction always
example, my university
I will sit and wait longer, put up
presupposes interpretation, and
bend more when I
with more delay and chaos,
generally
with my own
Alourdes and her family than I would
am with
times that academics
family. Nevertheless, I have thought many
appreciate because Ia assume that I
and try to operate from it. For example,
tolerance levels
do not always understand what is going on, my
with, for
when I am with Haitians than when I am
are higher
colleagues. Because reaction always
example, my university
I will sit and wait longer, put up
presupposes interpretation, and
bend more when I
with more delay and chaos,
generally
with my own
Alourdes and her family than I would
am with
times that academics
family. Nevertheless, I have thought many --- Page 35 ---
have overemphasized those things that
and cultures from one another.
separate individuals
For
Haitians, one of life's major challenges lies in
ing themselves as individuals in the context of an distinguishily. The extended family tends to take
extended famtrolling assets, and
over, defining status, con- Introduction
human
apportioning time. As a result, in Haiti,
connection is the assumption,it is
quires both effort and explanation. That
separation that requiz a beggar on the street in Port-au-Prince is why a Haitian may
What family is it that does not
before giving alms.
of its own?
provide food and shelter for one
To: a great extent, Alourdes is a product ofher culture. She
operates on the assumption of connection. Because
too
she is not afraid to
of this trait,
into her
incorporate elements from other
own worldview. When a woman from the cultures
speaking Caribbean came to her for helpin
Englishin which "Mister Bones, 11 a death
interpreting a dream
did not
spirit, had appeared, Alourdes
miss a beat: "Oh, Mister Bone- that's
Alourdes's universe
Papa Gede!"
expanded, and she now
to Gede as Mister Bone. A friend of mine
frequently refers
with me. In her
once visited Alourdes
handbag were
of the
deities Krishna and Kali, "Let chromolithographs
Hindu
me see!" cried
bing the images. "You going to
Alourdes, grabAlourdes did ask
get me some for my altar?"
knew
questions (why Krishna was blue), but she
instantly what category she was
with. In
her whole life is about movement
dealing
a sense,
between cultures and about
understanding and coping with cultural difference.
not waste much time wondering if and how such
She does
theoretically possible; she
connection is
gets on with it because she has to.
Irecognize that there is a difference between the
ing and skill required to live in a culture other than understandand the understanding and skill
one's own
culture. I therefore do
required to write about such a
not want to throw away the
insights of anthropologists into the limits of
hard-won
the reality of diversity. But I do want to balance intelligibility and
own experiences. I want to give full
them with my
with Alourdes. It is one
of respect to my friendship
example the kind of connection and
understanding that is possible across cultural lines. And I
to avoid substituting a theoretical picture of Haitian
want
with firm boundaries, for the
culture, one
experiences I have had both in
culture. I therefore do
required to write about such a
not want to throw away the
insights of anthropologists into the limits of
hard-won
the reality of diversity. But I do want to balance intelligibility and
own experiences. I want to give full
them with my
with Alourdes. It is one
of respect to my friendship
example the kind of connection and
understanding that is possible across cultural lines. And I
to avoid substituting a theoretical picture of Haitian
want
with firm boundaries, for the
culture, one
experiences I have had both in --- Page 36 ---
Haiti and in New York,
experiences thatattest to a constant overlapping of cultures and a good deal of routine culture
The methods used in researching and writing this book mixing. have
roots in the work of other scholars. I think
Introduction within
of myself as
a
working
tradition of interpretive anthropology.
to
Clifford Geertz, humans are "suspended in webs According of
cance" they themselves have created.3 3 We can speak of culture signifiin a general sense (that is, I can talk about Haitian culture) because/human beings in relation, over time, tend to evolve shared
styles of web-spinning. The individual life- -Alourdes's life, for
instance -while open to infinite variation, is nevertheless recognizable as a version of one or more of these traditional webspinning styles we call cultures. Even more to the point, such
view makes interpretation both the subject matter and the end a
product of ethnographic work. What the ethnographer studies
is how people create meaning or significance in their lives, how
they interpret objects and events. An ethnographic
as Mama Lola is thus an exercise in bridge
study such
building. Itis an interpretation within one web-spinning tradition (in this case,
own) of the interpretations of people who follow a
dif- my
ferent aesthetic in their spinning (in this case, Haitians). largely
A corollary of this position is that the people who are
studied should be allowed to speak for themselves whenever being
possible, for they are the only true experts on themselves. That
is why I quote Alourdes frequently and, often, at length. In
passing her stories along, I also reproduce her way of speaking-English, wedded to the structure, rhythm, and cadence of
Haitian Creole-to bring the reader a fuller sense of her and
the creative cultural mix in which she lives.
of
In Mama Lola, I am most interested in telling rich, textured
stories that bring Alourdes and her religion alive. Rather than
simply trying to refute the negative stereotypes often associated
with Vodou, I have chosen to enter the public discussion of
Vodou by another route: constructing a portrait of this
as it is lived by Alourdes and the people closest to her. religion
is to create an intimate portrait of three-dimensional My aim
who are not stand-ins for an abstraction such as "the Haitian people
PClifford Geertz, "Thick Description: Toward an
in his The Interpretation of Cultures (New York: Basic Interpretive Books,
Theory of Culture,"
1973), 5.
simply trying to refute the negative stereotypes often associated
with Vodou, I have chosen to enter the public discussion of
Vodou by another route: constructing a portrait of this
as it is lived by Alourdes and the people closest to her. religion
is to create an intimate portrait of three-dimensional My aim
who are not stand-ins for an abstraction such as "the Haitian people
PClifford Geertz, "Thick Description: Toward an
in his The Interpretation of Cultures (New York: Basic Interpretive Books,
Theory of Culture,"
1973), 5. --- Page 37 ---
people" but rather are deeply religious individuals
lar histories and rich interior lives, individuals
with particuout their religion in
who do not live
struggle with it, become unreflective, formulaic ways but instead
dict themselves. In other confused, and sometimes even contraVodou embedded
words, my aim is to create a portrait of Introduction
in the vicissitudes of particular lives.
aware
hue
Iam
that my material connects with
,
going on in the academic world, discussions larger discussions
motres
as immigrant
about such things CRa7m
economics. experience, Third World women, and even
I have chosen, however, not to make
microtions explicit. I am also aware that several of the these connec26E
describe have
Vodou
I
Praig
archetypal dimensions and
spirits
in other places. But, because I want Vodou appearin similar forms
terms, I have also avoided
to speak on its own
drawing these
Yet this book has in fact been motivated parallels.
concerns. I have deep interests in how Haitian by some theoretical
in relation to family, gender roles, and social Vodou functions
issues weave their way in and out of the entire change. These
the most part, I have left
book, but, for
do this, I
my theorizing embedded in stories. To
developed a style of narrative analysis in
flow of the text is determined by
which the
time evoke an
story lines that from time to
analytic voice. This voice most often
asides designed not to break the momentum of
speaks in
with Geertz that ethnographic
a story. Iagree
when it stays close to the small writing has its greatest integrity
slices of social interaction
provide its data: "Only short flights of ratiocination
that
effective in anthropology;
tend to be
cal dreams,
longer ones tend to drift off into
academic bemusements with formal
logi- 114
Another sort of theoretical argument is
symmetry.
ture of the book, a structure
implicit in the strucabout the creative role that designed to make its own point
tradictory, spirit voices
Alourdes's multiple, and often conplay in orchestrating her life. The
chapters, those with even numbers, are
longer
major Vodou spirits who
organized to reflect the
possess Alourdes. These
preside over particular life
spirits, who
order and definition to the different domains, serve admirably to give
of her life has unfolded.
levels on which the drama
Chapter 2 deals with the Vodou
Azaka, a peasant farmer who reminds Alourdes of her spirit
roots
*Ibid., 24.
tradictory, spirit voices
Alourdes's multiple, and often conplay in orchestrating her life. The
chapters, those with even numbers, are
longer
major Vodou spirits who
organized to reflect the
possess Alourdes. These
preside over particular life
spirits, who
order and definition to the different domains, serve admirably to give
of her life has unfolded.
levels on which the drama
Chapter 2 deals with the Vodou
Azaka, a peasant farmer who reminds Alourdes of her spirit
roots
*Ibid., 24. --- Page 38 ---
therefore of her connections to, and need for, family. With
and
the focus of Chapter 4, the themes of risk taking, asserOgou,
the stories of Alourdes's
tion, and anger are explored through there with various offimove to New York and her interactions
a rural
Introduction cials and bureaucracies. Chapter 6 deals with Kouzinn,
this section reviews the economic dimensions
market woman;
of Alourdes's life.
of
8, provides the
The Vodou spirit Ezili, the subject Chapter
relationcontext and language in which the stories of Alourdes's
with men and her role as a mother are told. Chapter 10 foships
the serpent spirit. As the most ancient and
cuses on Danbala,
he
the context
most conservative of the Vodou spirits,
provides
for stories about the efforts of Alourdes and Maggie to preserve
heritage. Papa Gede, the trickster spirit, the mastheir spiritual
of sexuality and protector of
ter of the cemetery, the guardian
which concerns healsmall children, presides over Chapter 12,
ing and other transformational arts.
When I began to diaIalso have debts to feminist scholarship.
workAlourdes's family tree, nearly a year after I started
gram
I realized that what she had traced for me with her
ing with her,
True, the most distant anfamily stories was a matrilineage.
cestor she acknowledges was a man, her great-grandfather,
Binbin Mauvant. After him, however, all of her stories
Joseph
from mother to daughter. After Mauvant, men apfollow a line
who enter the lineage as separate
pear as husbands and lovers
in Alourdes's memory
individuals. No stories seem to exist
or
of these men. Memories of sons
about the parents siblings
born to the central women have also faded.
result
Instead of dismissing this as an accident of memory or a
of a "broken" family (after all, such sudden
of the vicissitudes
family
disappearances routinely befall women on patrilinear
I chose to follow the/feminist maxim that when gender is
trees),
of analysis it reveals levels of meantaken as a primary category
the case of Alourdes's family
ing otherwise unsuspected.]In
a women's history
tree, this direction proved wise. I discovered beneath the official verand a parallel kinship structure buried
following
sions. It is "buried," because children in the family,
Haitian law and custom, were usually given their father's name,
the family tree that lives in Alourdes's mind quite differmaking from the one documented in such things as birth certificates.
ent
of Alourdes's family tree
As a result of aligning my picture
it reveals levels of meantaken as a primary category
the case of Alourdes's family
ing otherwise unsuspected.]In
a women's history
tree, this direction proved wise. I discovered beneath the official verand a parallel kinship structure buried
following
sions. It is "buried," because children in the family,
Haitian law and custom, were usually given their father's name,
the family tree that lives in Alourdes's mind quite differmaking from the one documented in such things as birth certificates.
ent
of Alourdes's family tree
As a result of aligning my picture --- Page 39 ---
with the stories she told, I also discovered remarkable
between her family and larger processes at work in Haitian parallels his17
tory. Her ancestral stories track a cycle of social
to the past century of Haiti's history.) Her
change central
Joseph Binbin Mauvant, was a rural patriarch who great-grandfather, Introduction
a large extended family of the sort Haitian slaves presided over
after they gained freedom. When Alourdes's
reconstituted
her family land, a sizable rural
grandmother left
pleted soil,
outmigration, caused by deoverpopulation, and corrupt politics, was just beginning. Alourdes's mother, Philomise, was sold into a
domestic servitude in Port-au-Prince
form of
displaced
at a time when the flow of
peasant farmers into Haiti's urban areas was
ing. In her late teens, Philomise
escalatpublic, only to return a decade escaped to the Dominican Relater to live in one of the
growing pockets of Haiti's urban poor. And in
rapidly
followed the first large wave of
1963 Alourdes
stage of this cycle has carried emigrants to New York. Each
with it shifts in
as well as changes in the way men and
gender roles
other and to their children. Attention
women relate to each
Alourdes's
to the gender dynamics in
family stories yields considerable insight.
Alourdes's matrilineal family tree provides a
tional scheme for the book. Short
second organizanumbers, tell the family stories
chapters, those with odd
through five
ning with Joseph Binbin Mauvant and
generations, begindaughter, Maggie. I debated for a
time ending with Alourdes's
ate form in which to tell these
long
about the appropriancestral tales.
Alourdes is a superb storyteller, but her stories, as she
them, do not lend themselves to
tells
Each story has a
reproduction in a written text.
theme-better, a refrain-with which
opens and to which she returns time and time
she
is woven, never in a
again as the story
Each time the refrain is simple logical or chronological fashion.
the story. Each
repeated, it signals a new attempt to tell
attempt seeks to capture that
none succeeds, because the
story whole. Yet
layers of possible
connections, the meanings, and the
single
interpretation are too dense to be caught in a
telling. Thus Alourdes moves in a spiral fashion
over the same ground when telling an
over and
Each pass overfamiliarturf, creates
important ancestral story.
out some additional
redundancy, but ita also brings
relax
nuance or detail. To listen, it is
with the rhythm and to trust that it will
necessary to
her around to fill in the
eventually bring
gaps. Questions about details or at-
Yet
layers of possible
connections, the meanings, and the
single
interpretation are too dense to be caught in a
telling. Thus Alourdes moves in a spiral fashion
over the same ground when telling an
over and
Each pass overfamiliarturf, creates
important ancestral story.
out some additional
redundancy, but ita also brings
relax
nuance or detail. To listen, it is
with the rhythm and to trust that it will
necessary to
her around to fill in the
eventually bring
gaps. Questions about details or at- --- Page 40 ---
locate the action
in time and space only detempts to
precisely
rail the process and produce long digressions. add their own
When other family members are present, they
around
ofthe stories, twisting their word spirals in and
versions
is there, and especially if we are
Introduction those of Alourdes. If Maggie
simultaneabout the recent past, the two of them speak
talking
and on
of each other like voices in a fugue.
ously, around
top
know
Family memories are held collectively; some persons
than
but no one knows it all. The full story,
much more
others,
cannot be written down. The full
or, Is should say, the real story,
with each
story can only be performed by a noisy family group,
versions.
real story exists only
member adding his or her
The
and
in which the family takes pleasure
for the transitory period
their past alive.
finds meaning together in bringing tend to be full and detailed,
Stories about the recent past
almost mythic
whereas stories from the distant past are sparse,
and
in feel. Yet in all the stories the material of dream, vision, and
with the drama of politics, jobs
faith holds equal ground
illness, death, love, birth,
housing, food and hunger, suffering,
In Alourdes's
and luck. Nor are these strands kept separate.
as
neglected spirits often bring on illness, just
family stories,
lottery numbers through dreams.
spirits send cures or winning to the lwa, and thus none can be
Virtually no story is unrelated
told without including the role they play.
of
If the full stories exist only in the transitory context family
how could I render them? One day in 1984 I sat
performance,
one of these stories in three or four
down to try to reproduce
from
word prowell-honed paragraphs. When I got up
my
short
hours later, I had written a twenty-page
cessor several
tale ofJoseph Binbin Mauvant's mysstory based on Alourdes's The story was true to Alourdes's telling,
terious disappearance.
characters, and
but I had also invented dialogue, supporting
details of location.
short stoTurning Alourdes's family history into fictionalized knowlries allows me to tap a reservoir of casual and imagistic but do
which all people who have done fieldwork have
edge,
to use. As Alourdes's people sit together connot ordinarily get
do SO in the
tributing shards of memory to a larger mosaic, they
context of a great deal of shared but unarticulated information.
when they talk about Joseph Binbin Mauvant,
For example, the sound and smell of an early morning in the
they remember
but I had also invented dialogue, supporting
details of location.
short stoTurning Alourdes's family history into fictionalized knowlries allows me to tap a reservoir of casual and imagistic but do
which all people who have done fieldwork have
edge,
to use. As Alourdes's people sit together connot ordinarily get
do SO in the
tributing shards of memory to a larger mosaic, they
context of a great deal of shared but unarticulated information.
when they talk about Joseph Binbin Mauvant,
For example, the sound and smell of an early morning in the
they remember --- Page 41 ---
mountains of Haiti, the way a cooking fire is
ful dance of bathing with
kindled, the graceonly a few cups of water.
some of this contextual information,
I too have
shareit.
and I want my readers to
Some of the fabrication in these short stories has
Introduction
than merely creating ambiance. For
larger goals
vented sour,
example, if I had not inknow
scrawny, ageless Jepete, how would the reader
that, as poor as Joseph Binbin Mauvant and his
were, there was surely someone with even fewer
family
served as their bôn (maid)?I have
resources who
in rural Haiti, and she seems
seen many versions of Jepete
ers will have to judge for
somehow deeply true to me. Readdeference to the
themselves what they think of her. In
problematic character of such
vention, I have kept these fictionalized
ethnographic inare discrete, short chapters that alternate stories separate. They
cused onindividual Vodou
with thelonger ones fospirits in which I do
adhere to more standard methods of
noinventing and
In Great Atlantic culture (that is, ethnographic white
reporting.
ture), we expect history to be written with Euro-American culpossible. We are very concerned with "what as much accuracy as
and we are anxious that stories of our ancestors really happened,"
and "verifiable." Yet, as current feminist
be both "true"
canons of historiography have
criticism shows, the
not prevented the omission or
misrepresentation of women in most accounts written about
virtually any period of Western
works for those who do the civilizationMemory. apparently
sional
remembering, even for the profesrememberers, in ways more self-serving than
admitted.
generally
Haitians acknowledge this quality of
Whereas we are anxious that our
memory more directly.
ety centers on the
history not be false, their anxipossibility that their history
lifeless or be forgotten. Whereas in
might become
paramount virtue of
our eyes truthfulness is the
ters most is relevance any historical account, in theirs what matand liveliness. We write
remember our ancestors, and the Haitians history books to
playful trickster who is the spirit of the dead. call on Gede, the
appears in many forms and speaks
Mercurial Gede
special talent lies in viewing the facts through of life many voices. His
new perspectives.
from refreshing
Iam part of a culture that seeks to capture
cal and otherwise, in books. So I write a book experience, about
historiMama Lola. --- Page 42 ---
But in doing SO, I try to remember that she is part of a culture
that serves Gede. Therefore I have tried to make up true stories,
ones that are faithful to both Gede and Alourdes. I have tried to
Introduction create her story through a chorus of voices, much as she creates
herself through a chorus of moods and spirit energies. One of
the voices that speaks in the book is hers, as carefully recorded
and respectfully edited as I could manage. Yet another is my
scholarly voice, distanced enough to discern patterns and relationships but not SO distant as to create the impression of overall logical coherence. No person's life or culture is, in the final
analysis, logical. A third voice is also my own, but this one risks
a more intimate and whole self-revelation. The fourth voice is
perhaps that of Gede-the one who tells the ancestral tales in
the form of fictionalized short stories and in SO doing plays with
truth, seeking to bring it alive for its immediate audience.
as carefully recorded
and respectfully edited as I could manage. Yet another is my
scholarly voice, distanced enough to discern patterns and relationships but not SO distant as to create the impression of overall logical coherence. No person's life or culture is, in the final
analysis, logical. A third voice is also my own, but this one risks
a more intimate and whole self-revelation. The fourth voice is
perhaps that of Gede-the one who tells the ancestral tales in
the form of fictionalized short stories and in SO doing plays with
truth, seeking to bring it alive for its immediate audience. --- Page 43 ---
LIN
CHAPTER ONE --- Page 44 ---
Josepb Binbin Mauvant
oseph Binbin Mauvant did not
die. Not him . . . no. He simply disappeared. They would still
be searching for him if he had not come to his wife in a dream. He said to her, "Don't try to look for me. You are never
to find me. I have gone back to Ginen, to Africa, where I going came
from."
It was early morning in Jean Rabel in the mountainous northwestern corner of Haiti. Deep shadows clung to the feet of the
mapou, mango, and sour orange trees, while it was still night on
the narrow footpath running through the dense canebrake behind the Mauvant family compound. The woman called Manman Marasa, mother of twins, had breakfast on her mind. There
was water to boil for coffee. "The cassava that's left is a little
piece, real little, 11 she thought. "What are we going to give those
boys? They're clearing land today. They need food. Oh, well,"
she sighed, answering her own question, "we have coffee. We
have sugar for that coffee. We have kleren [rum]. That will do. We are cooking later, God willing. 11 It was not unusual for men
who worked in the fields to start the day with nothing in their
stomachs but heavily sugared coffee or a shot of sugarcane rum
with salt added or perhaps some sowosi leaves, but Manman
Marasa still worried about them from habit. The last thing she
wanted to hear was the babbling of a crazy husband. Emerging from the door of the hut in which she had borne
and reared her "little people, 1 Manman Marasa threw
around her shoulders to ward off the morning chill. She did a rag
not
even break stride to respond to the old man reclining on the mat
inside. With a disdain common to women accustomed to hard
work and childish men, she dismissed Joseph Binbin Mauvant:
- Ar ritual beggar dressed as Azaka in blue denim and a straw hat,
of a peasant farmer. Saut d'Eau, Haiti, 1981. Photograph by Jerry Gordon. clothing typical
--- Page 45 ---
"You are going today? Well, good! I will see
back. "1 Hunkering down beside the
you when you are
she blew on splinters of
charcoal brazier in her yard,
"He
pine kindling and muttered to
says he is going today. Humph! Where
herself,
that going to go? That man has lost his
is an old man like
Inside, Joseph Binbin Mauvant
head, truly."
Joseph
Seventy-nine
rose slowly from his pallet. Binbin
did
years of living had put a stiffness in his
Mauvant
not leave him until the sun was
legs that
chickens' beaks
high-no, not until the
drooped all the way to the
the donkey ceased to twitch when black ground in sleep and
lids. When the heat of midday
flies grazed on its eyedescended like a
blanket to muffle the yelping and
heavy woolen
when this diverse
crowing of the early morning,
community of animals and
duced to a drowsy murmur
people was remangy dog
interrupted only by the squeal of a
caught pilfering or the cry of a child
Mauvant was at his best. But at dawn, the needing solace,
would warm his old bones
intense heat that
was a long way off. Joseph Binbin Mauvant slid the wooden bar from
window in the one-room hut where Manman
the only
hind his back, 11 displacing the
Marasa "slept bein the space beneath the
gunnysack that had been tucked
rotting shutters.
y murmur
people was remangy dog
interrupted only by the squeal of a
caught pilfering or the cry of a child
Mauvant was at his best. But at dawn, the needing solace,
would warm his old bones
intense heat that
was a long way off. Joseph Binbin Mauvant slid the wooden bar from
window in the one-room hut where Manman
the only
hind his back, 11 displacing the
Marasa "slept bein the space beneath the
gunnysack that had been tucked
rotting shutters. Because of
stance tilt of the wall, the shutters
the happencord, letting in the grey-pink dawn swung open of their own acIn the remote
and the sharp smell ofs smoke. mountain villages of Haiti, night is taken
ously. People treat it with respect. No one wants to
serichance that bad air or, worse, bad spirits
take the
knows, wander freely at night) could find (which, their as everyone
doors and windows are barred and, where
way inside. So
cracks are stuffed with
possible, chinks and
rags. Mauvant had slept in his clothes, as he did
nights could be cold in the mountains. Most habitually, for
rising sun found Mauvant sitting in the
mornings, the
legged chair with the woven sisal
courtyard on the shortsmelling of the day before,
seat, rumpled from sleep and
waiting to receive the
drinking his thick, sweet coffee, and
this morning he behaved respectful greetings of his family. But on
like a different man. This
he
ignored the polite queries directed toward the window morning
house: "And the night, Papa?" "You're
of his
Papa?" In short, instead of
not any worse today,
triarch to the
playing his accustomed role of paragtag crew, Joseph Binbin Mauvant
pare for a bath.
woven sisal
courtyard on the shortsmelling of the day before,
seat, rumpled from sleep and
waiting to receive the
drinking his thick, sweet coffee, and
this morning he behaved respectful greetings of his family. But on
like a different man. This
he
ignored the polite queries directed toward the window morning
house: "And the night, Papa?" "You're
of his
Papa?" In short, instead of
not any worse today,
triarch to the
playing his accustomed role of paragtag crew, Joseph Binbin Mauvant
pare for a bath. began to pre- --- Page 46 ---
[Eyeless Onel,/ 11 he called out the window toa scrawny,
"Jepete
Marasa, "fetch water for
ageless woman who stood by Manman
to bathe. II Jepete, who had an angry pink hole
me. I'm going
should have been, showed no sign of having
where her left eye
and continued to feed a sugarcane stalk
Joseph
heard the command
voice came from
Binbin
slowly into her mouth. Time passed. A sharp
the
Mauvant
vit [speed it up]!" With a shrug,
within the hut: "Jepete, fe
the
cane fibers
eyeless one bent to one side to spit
depleted
a
from her mouth and, in the same sideways motion, swept up
with a corncob plug that sat on the ground near
large gourd
Manman Marasa's fire.
foot-dragging
Itwas a ten-minute walk to the well, andJ Jepete's
cries from scavenging fowl all the way across
step raised angry formed
the circle of small thatch and wattlethe courtyard
by
the Mauvant family compound.
and-daub houses that made up
to the well, she had to
To get to the narrow, rutted path leading the far side of the yard.
behind Marie Claire's house, on
pass
ran for a short distance through the canebrake before
The path
almost treeless field, part of which served as
opening onto an
the cemetery.
the family cemetery. The well was just beyond
Jepete would never have let on, her foot dragging
Although from more than the lethargy that is the constant compancame
above the horizon, and
ion of the hungry. The sun was barely
in-between
she did not like to go near the cemetery at these
that
But that was not the worst ofit. The worst was
times of day.
she had to go by Marie Claire's house.
Marasa's favorite
Everyone said Marie Claire was Manman
child. Whether or not Manman Marasa actually loved her more
than she loved her other children, one thing was certain: that
she wanted. Jepete's marginal position in the
girl got everything
from the
of Manfamily-a foundling who ate meagerly
pots
Marasa in return for meager labor-made her suspicious.
man
did not have to be sour old Jepete to wonder if
But a person
not
afraid to say no to Marie
Manman Marasa was
simply Claire had "eaten" her twin sister
Claire. Everyone knew Marie
while they were still in their mother's belly. During more than
as Jepete slept on the porch of this or that perone long night,
sure she heard strange noises coming
son's house, she was Whatever that woman did at night, Jepete
from Marie Claire's.
Mauvant sent her
did not want to know about it. And, as Papa
that
she was not sure there was yet
for water
early morning,
afraid to say no to Marie
Manman Marasa was
simply Claire had "eaten" her twin sister
Claire. Everyone knew Marie
while they were still in their mother's belly. During more than
as Jepete slept on the porch of this or that perone long night,
sure she heard strange noises coming
son's house, she was Whatever that woman did at night, Jepete
from Marie Claire's.
Mauvant sent her
did not want to know about it. And, as Papa
that
she was not sure there was yet
for water
early morning, --- Page 47 ---
enough light for the awful events of the night to be over. Her
fears made Jepete appear sullen.
It was nearly half an hour before Jepete's skinny body with its
distended belly came around the corner of Marie Claire's house.
Joseph
Straight-backed and curiously graceful, she carried the heavy
Binbin
container of water balanced on her head. Drops of moisture
Mauvant
condensed on the outer surface of the gourd and, in spite of the
chill in the air, fine beads ofsweat showed on Jepete's upper lip.
Mauvant had spent the time staring absently out the window
at the dawn, humming to himself, and watching the earlymorning flurry of fowl and family as if from a great distance.
Jepete placed the tin basin, which was the family's prized possession, in an open area dappled by the morning sun, just behind the little house where Mauvant stood lost in thought. She
in two inches of cool well water. Then she shoved the
poured into the gourd and left it on the ground beside the
stopper
back tol Manman Marasa and the warm breakbasin. Onher way
fast fire, she passed the window where Mauvant stood and,
without raising her eyes, she said in a small voice, "The water
"I'm
Mauvant said. But he said it too
has come."
going today,"
softly and too late for Jepete to hear.
under water, Mauvant reached into a sack
Like a man moving
of
that stood in the corner of the hut and retrieved a pair pants
made from coarse blue cotton. He located a shirt of the same
fabric and pulled it out as well. Mauvant stood for a moment
with the shirt dangling from his fingertips. "M'ap prale jodi-a,
I'm
He had just
m'ap prale, wi (I'm going today,
going, yes)."
picked up a ball of dense yellow soap when Manman Marasa
came back inside.
he
"Im going today, Manman," Mauvant repeated. Though
her husband and the father of her children, he still called
was
her "Mother. 11 "Crazy man, I1 she said, not looking up as her
hands struggled with a knot in the piece of cloth where
busy
of cassava bread. "Fool,' 1! Jepete had
she had hidden a fragment
the bath
murmured when she returned to the fire after pouring
water, "he takes a bath when there is dew everywhere. That
fall sick.' 1 "He does what he wants," Manman
man is going to
Marasa had replied.
nevertheless
Shivering in the cool morning air, Mauvant
bathed slowly, rubbing the stiff soap into a rich lather before adhis life-scarred, work-scarred body. When he was
dressing
busy
of cassava bread. "Fool,' 1! Jepete had
she had hidden a fragment
the bath
murmured when she returned to the fire after pouring
water, "he takes a bath when there is dew everywhere. That
fall sick.' 1 "He does what he wants," Manman
man is going to
Marasa had replied.
nevertheless
Shivering in the cool morning air, Mauvant
bathed slowly, rubbing the stiff soap into a rich lather before adhis life-scarred, work-scarred body. When he was
dressing --- Page 48 ---
with
he called Manman Marasa. Using gestures
coated
soap,
hand and
water
centuries old, she cupped her right
poured
rivulets across his shoulders and down his back,
deftly in tiny
his
Each trickle of clear
then across his chest and down
thighs.
which took
Joseph
water was followed by a quick pass of her free hand,
Binbin
the last traces of soapsuds. Then with sudden gentleMauvant
away
mountain women could treat their children or their
ness-these
as
could dismiss them
men with such gentleness as easily they
amount of fresh
Marasa took a small
with disdain-Manman
circular motion wiped the
water in her hand and in a single,
soap from the old face she knew SO well.
his
As Mauvant's eyes blinked open, her hand still cupped
She
his face close to hers and asked softly: "How
chin.
pulled
Papa?" Her tendency to call him "Papa"
are you feeling today,
his
for addressing her as
was even more fitting than
preference father of her children, he
"Mother, 11 for even though he was the
In the
of
more than three decades older than she was.
way
was
Manman Marasa had always understood and acrural women,
somehow the child of her husband, as were
cepted that she was
"Im
today,"
all the people who lived in his compound.
going
said, "Im
11 Apparently still in the gentle mood
Mauvant
going. Marasa simply nodded her head and
of the moment, Manman
she did not hear him. Her
smiled. But if the truth be known,
had
turned back to the cooking and to the grandmind
already
children who were in her charge that day.
wife
Nicole's little one. Nicole was the
There was Georges,
was old
of her son Didi. According to local custom, Georges and his tenenough to work with the men. But his gimpy leg
refusal to let it slow him down made him accidentyear-old
the machetes and heavy
prone. When the men were wielding deemed better to leave him
hoes they used to clear land, it was
And there was
under the watchful eye of Manman Marasa.
had had
Clairice, Marie Claire's last born. The poor thing
baby
for three months out of the five she had passed on this
diarrhea
and
earth. And there were Keke's twin toddlers, Alphonse
Those boys were hard to tell apart, SO both were simply
Joseph.
there were Marie Noelsine's
called ma moun (my man). Finally,
little girls, Gloria and Philomise.
but everyMarie Claire may have been the favored daughter,
that Marie Noelsine, her sister, was the great beauty
one agreed
flat, long hair-and,
of the family. She had "good hair"-flat,
poor thing
baby
for three months out of the five she had passed on this
diarrhea
and
earth. And there were Keke's twin toddlers, Alphonse
Those boys were hard to tell apart, SO both were simply
Joseph.
there were Marie Noelsine's
called ma moun (my man). Finally,
little girls, Gloria and Philomise.
but everyMarie Claire may have been the favored daughter,
that Marie Noelsine, her sister, was the great beauty
one agreed
flat, long hair-and,
of the family. She had "good hair"-flat, --- Page 49 ---
most amazing, green eyes. Philomise, her
inherited traces of Marie Noelsine's
youngest child, had
external signs, there
beauty. Along with these
were also marks of
that set Philo apart from the other children. another, deeper legacy
worried about the
Manman Marasa
personality traits that made
ent, and she showed her
Philomise differJoseph
her "Madame
concern by teasing the child,
Binbin
Adult" and "Lady Serious." All
calling Mauvant
small lives, and probably several
these particular
could be
more as well, if the full
known, were in the hands of Manman Marasa story
early Wednesday morning in the last year of the nineteenth that
century.
Wednesday was market day in Port-de-Paix, down
tain from Jean Rabel. The mothers of these
the mounMarie Claire, who was still sound
children (all save
of the night,
asleep) had left in the middle
balancing oversized baskets of
on their heads. Manman
vegetables and fruit
Marasa had not made this
a
long time, although when she was
she
trip in
the most canny of market
younger
had been one of
the
women. How well she remembered
feeling of strength and energy with which the
down
mountain began, the fast pace and the quiet banter trip
the
women, which held at bay the time further down the among trail the
feet slowed, loads became heavier, and the
when
their backs. It would be late afternoon
sun rode hot on
ing legs carried the market
the next day before achwith loads of oil, salt,
women back up the mountain path
cloth, and whatever other
immediate families needed.
provisions their
In the crowded cacophony of the town
to have an eagle
market, a woman had
cheated
eye-and a sharp mind, tool-to avoid
by her customers. By the time the women
being
some would have spent every penny they had earned returned,
long, hot day's work. Others would
for a
grimy double-knotted
carry away a few coins in
small sacks
kerchiefs tucked into their bosoms or in
pinned to petticoats beneath their
Food, tools, and labor were shared
ragged skirts.
members, but
freely among the family
money was different. The woman
to earn a little beyond what she had to
who managed
silence and magic. "Never tell
spend protected it by
have!
a person how much money
Jealousy makes people do
you
kill.' 11 Even the husbands of these terrible things. Jealousy can
much money they had.
women rarely knew how
The women from his compound were only minutes
away
their bosoms or in
pinned to petticoats beneath their
Food, tools, and labor were shared
ragged skirts.
members, but
freely among the family
money was different. The woman
to earn a little beyond what she had to
who managed
silence and magic. "Never tell
spend protected it by
have!
a person how much money
Jealousy makes people do
you
kill.' 11 Even the husbands of these terrible things. Jealousy can
much money they had.
women rarely knew how
The women from his compound were only minutes
away --- Page 50 ---
market in Port-de-Paix when Joseph Binbin Mauvant
from the
He took a scarf-also
on his blue pants and his blue shirt.
put
the wall
the door. He had worn this
blue-from a peg on
by
let of
scarf around his neck for SO long that it could no longer go
had learned from his body. He had worn it every
Joseph
the creases it
a difficult birth
Binbin
time he healed a member of his family or eased
of
Mauvant
away the bad luck attached to a parcel
for a neighbor or took
broad-brimmed straw hat.
land. On his head Mauvant placed a
what
He always wore such a hat, as did every farmer who knew
from the hard earth when the sun was
it was like to pry cassava
high and hot.
his chair from its place just outside the
The old man picked up
old, Maudoor, where he left it at night. Since he had grown chair in the
vant spent the entire day, most days, sitting on that
of the
(cottonsilk) tree in the center
shade of the giant mapou
between two mascourtyard. Always choosing the same spot
his chair just a
sive roots of the tree, Mauvant would position
back to
from the trunk. That way, if he had to lean
few inches
the tree would
assert his authority or laugh at a timely joke,
over. One hand rested on a carved
keep him from toppling
with a cigarette.
walking stick; the other was usually occupied smoked handMost mountain men used snuff, but Mauvant
of the two
Like his exclusive claim to one
rolled cigarettes.
cigarette smoking was a sign of
chairs in the family compound,
with it. When he was
his prestige and of the leisure that came
men ofl his
Mauvant was drinking. Most mountain
not smoking,
earthenware
as their constant companstation in life had an
jug
Mauvant
a recipe he would share with no one,
ion. Following
mixture of leaves and hot
filled his jug with an extravagant
Male friends and clibefore topping it up with kleren.
peppers offered a
from the jug as a gesture of hospitality,
ents were
swig cousin had his manhood tested by the way
and many a country
brew.
he reacted to his first taste of Mauvant's
on endless hot afternoons began when someEndless laughs red in the face and started to choke after drinking
one turned
The joke continued long after
from Mauvant's legendary jug.
visitor was gone, for Mauvant was an excellent
the unfortunate
loved those evenings when he would
mimic. The whole family
the small dramas of the day or,
entertain them by recreating them tales of life in Africa. On very speeven better, by telling
African words.
cial occasions, he taught them powerful
country
brew.
he reacted to his first taste of Mauvant's
on endless hot afternoons began when someEndless laughs red in the face and started to choke after drinking
one turned
The joke continued long after
from Mauvant's legendary jug.
visitor was gone, for Mauvant was an excellent
the unfortunate
loved those evenings when he would
mimic. The whole family
the small dramas of the day or,
entertain them by recreating them tales of life in Africa. On very speeven better, by telling
African words.
cial occasions, he taught them powerful --- Page 51 ---
Most days passed the same way, with
holding court from his private office Joseph Binbin Mauvant
mapou tree. There he was
between the roots of the
plant and when to harvest. consulted about what and when to
taught the
Sitting on the short-legged chair, he
allocated younger men in his family how to
land for new projects to
repair tools. He
Joseph
law and settled disputes
enterprising sons and sons-inBinbin
same shady spot, he worked among family members. And, in the
Mauvant
as a healer.
Everyone knew that Joseph Binbin Mauvant
man. He was franginen, as they said,
was no ordinary
had healing work to do, he had
a true African. When he
others did,
no need to call the
using drums, candles, and other
spirits as
nalia. Joseph Binbin Mauvant
ritual parapherrican, and he had the
was franginen nêt, completely Afspirits. When he treated spirits "on him" all the time, all kinds of
out what was
He someone, he did not read cards to find
wrong.
could look ata a person and
significant, he did not work with
know. Most
priests use in the south of Haiti an ason, the beaded rattle
spirit realm. Papa Mauvant
to give them leverage in the
Nothing. He cured
needed nothing at all in his hand.
natural power. And people he
using only fèy (leaves) and his own
penny. He did things the never old took money for what he did, not a
way. Joseph Binbin Mauvant way. The old way was the simple
do it. Mauvant
said that in Africa everyone could
said, and everyone agreed, that a
many Haitians could doit too, but this
long time ago
had lost the
was no longer true.
knowledge. But there were stories
They
among the mountain folk who, like
about one or two
enough to heal the natural
Mauvant, were powerful
as living a long
way. They were always described
met them.
way off, and no one seemed to have actually
Not a single person gave the old man much
when he picked up his chair and carried
thought that day
tion from the ancient
iti in the opposite direcother
mapou tree. They were too
things to pay attention to an addled
busy with
"I'm going today. Hear! I'm
old man muttering:
generations of
going. Their blood was diluted
had
living an ocean away from Africa.
by
been born there. He was a real
But Mauvant
mountain people brought him
African, which to these
being could get. Even
as close to the spirits as a
so, the family sometimes
living
calling him blan (whitey). The truth
teased him by
Mauvant's father had been white,
was that Joseph Binbin
a Frenchman. His motherhad
busy with
"I'm going today. Hear! I'm
old man muttering:
generations of
going. Their blood was diluted
had
living an ocean away from Africa.
by
been born there. He was a real
But Mauvant
mountain people brought him
African, which to these
being could get. Even
as close to the spirits as a
so, the family sometimes
living
calling him blan (whitey). The truth
teased him by
Mauvant's father had been white,
was that Joseph Binbin
a Frenchman. His motherhad --- Page 52 ---
had "come out white," as the counbeen black, but little Joseph
Mauvant was held in high
try folk put it. Despite the teasing,
combination of being
regard for his light skin, and the unlikely wherever he went.
a blan from Africa ensured his authority is unclear. Some say she
Joseph
The identity of Mauvant's mother
Wherothers
she was Haitian.
Binbin
was a North American black;
say
in the early nineMauvant
she came from, she traveled to Africa
ever
where she met and married her Frenchman.
teenth century,
Binbin Mauvant was born. The family
There, in Africa, Joseph
whereJoseph grew to young
later moved to France, to Bordeaux, France after a narrow escape in
manhood. But the youth left
to the northern port
"the war" and eventually made his way
Rabels-Jean
of Jean Rabel in Haiti. There are two Jean
town
Rabel in the mountains. It was in the
Rabel on the sea and Jean
settled down and lived out
latter that Joseph Binbin Mauvant
his full life right up to its miraculous end. behind his house,
Settling his chair in the semi-private space earlier in the morning,
in the same spot where he had bathed
small fire. The fire
Binbin Mauvant set about kindling a
Joseph
the smoke was gone, and it burned
caught easily. Before long,
into the flames with his
clean and bright. Mauvant sat gazing
his knees. 11 Bon!"
back straight and his hands resting lightly on
no. 11 Then
he said, at noon we won't be seeing you anymore,
he began to sing:
O Manman Ginen, O Papa Ginen,
M'kri, ago!
O Manman Ginen, O Papa Ginen,
M'kri, ago!
M'ape rele Bondye nan syèl.
M'ape rele Jezi, Mari, Jozef.
O Manman Ginen, O Papa Ginen,
Mwen kri, ago!
O Manman Ginen, O Papa Ginen,
Mwen kri, ago!
M'ape rele Jezi, Mari, Jozef.
M'ape rele lasent Vyèj Mari.
O, mwen kri ago!
O Manman Ginen, O Papa Ginen,
M'kri, ago!
O Manman Ginen, O Papa Ginen,
M'kri, ago!
M'ape rele Bondye nan syèl.
M'ape rele Jezi, Mari, Jozef.
O Manman Ginen, O Papa Ginen,
Mwen kri, ago!
O Manman Ginen, O Papa Ginen,
Mwen kri, ago!
M'ape rele Jezi, Mari, Jozef.
M'ape rele lasent Vyèj Mari.
O, mwen kri ago! --- Page 53 ---
O Mother Africa, O Father Africa,
I cry ago!"
O Mother Africa, O Father Africa,
I cry ago!
I am calling God in heaven.
Joseph
I am calling Jesus, Mary, Joseph.
Mauvant Binbin
O Mother Africa, O Father Africa,
Icry ago!
O Mother Africa, O Father Africa,
I cry ago!
I am calling Jesus, Mary, Joseph.
I am calling the holy Virgin Mary.
O, Icry ago!
From eight o'clock in the morning until
Mauvant sang. He sat looking at the fire, and noon, he Joseph Binbin
and sang. For the most part, those in the
sang and sang
him. Manman Marasa and Jepete shelled
courtyard ignored
corn in a mortar that stood
beans. Jepete pounded
than her arm. In spite of herself, waist-high, with a pestle thicker
down to the rhythm of Mauvant's she moved the pestle up and
and hot
song. Salt, parsley,
peppers were thrown into a much
shallots,
man Marasa held between her
smaller mortar Manthem to a fragrant pulp, she
knees, and, as she pounded
the old man's song.
unconsciously hummed along with
The older children collected
shallow holes in the
pebbles and dug two rows of
packed earth of the
one of the twins settled down to
courtyard, Georges and
hung over his brother's
a game of kay. The other twin
every move. Mercifully, shoulder, telling him what to do on
had
baby Clairice slept. Manman
placed a mat beneath the breadfruit tree at
Marasa
yard, and the baby lay there,
one side of the
dreams, while little Philomise bobbing on waves of heat and
sat motionless
though the sun rose higher and
beside her. Alhigher and the heat became
'Agois a word from the Fon of
used
specific African origins of such words Dahomey, are not to mean Hey! or Hey, you! The
who serve the spirits.
common knowledge among those
, shoulder, telling him what to do on
had
baby Clairice slept. Manman
placed a mat beneath the breadfruit tree at
Marasa
yard, and the baby lay there,
one side of the
dreams, while little Philomise bobbing on waves of heat and
sat motionless
though the sun rose higher and
beside her. Alhigher and the heat became
'Agois a word from the Fon of
used
specific African origins of such words Dahomey, are not to mean Hey! or Hey, you! The
who serve the spirits.
common knowledge among those --- Page 54 ---
even
of sitting in the
more and more intense, no one
thought
deep, cool shade of the old mapou.
the
pot of beans
Distracted for a moment as she stirred
huge notice Phithe fire, Manman Marasa failed to
bubbling over
the corner of Didi's house
Joseph
lomise slip away. Philo went around back route to a place where
Binbin
and made her way quietly by the
and the fire. For a
Mauvant
she had a good view of Granpapa Mauvant mountain child of no
time she simply watched- l-a scruffy little
Without taking
than three or four, with dusty brown legs.
more
Philo raised her faded calico
her eyes from her grandfather, and began to chew thoughtdress, the only garment she wore, Mauvant sat straight in his chair,
fully on its hem. Joseph Binbin
His
was neither
with a hand on each knee, and he sang.
voice singing rose and fell
it simply was. His
casual nor energetic;
him,
no choice of his own. The song poured through
through
singing itself.
the old man looked up and beckReaching the end of a verse,
there all along? After
oned to Philo. Had he known she was
said nothing.
the child approached. Mauvant
some hesitation,
through his body, and then another
A slight convulsion passed hand to his mouth and vomited up
and another. He moved one
out his hand toward the
smooth stone. He stretched
a small,
little one. Eat this." Philo's dark eyes
child and said, "Here, black stone in the palm of the outtraveled from the moist
and back again.
stretched hand to the face of her grandfather
like the child she was, she cried, Yuk!" and, pressing
Then,
her mouth, she ran away. When Philo was one
both hands over
she would tell her daughter how much
of the ancients herself, swallowed the stone. "That was his
she regretted not having
his
But I was just a little
power. He wanted to give me
power.
girl. I didn't know anything. 11
and the mat under the
When the sun stood directly overhead
when the bean
breadfruit tree was filled with sleeping children,
to
needed a constant watchful eye, it occurred
pot no longer
quiet. She rose
Manman Marasa that it was quiet- completely brow with the same
wearily and wiped the moisture from her
she had used to cover her shoulders in the early morning
rag
the piece of cloth loosely around her hips
chill. Then, knotting
Marasa walked with the soft slapand under her belly, Manman
earth. She walked around
ping sound of bare feet on hard --- Page 55 ---
her house to the yard behind. The next sound was her cry:
"Woy! . : : Woy-zooy-woy!" There was no fire. No chair. No blue
kerchief. No Joseph Binbin Mauvant! People say that if he had
not come to Manman Marasa in a dream that very night and
told her he had gone back to Africa, the Mauvant family would
Joseph
Binbin
be looking for him to this day.
Mauvant --- Page 56 --- --- Page 57 ---
CHAPTER T W --- Page 58 ---
Azaka
ne of the Vodou spirits cenlife and religious work is a mountain man, a
tral to Alourdes's
Joseph Binbin
peasant farmer like her own great-grandfather, dresses in blue denim, wears
Mauvant.
People say that if he had
not come to Manman Marasa in a dream that very night and
told her he had gone back to Africa, the Mauvant family would
Joseph
Binbin
be looking for him to this day.
Mauvant --- Page 56 --- --- Page 57 ---
CHAPTER T W --- Page 58 ---
Azaka
ne of the Vodou spirits cenlife and religious work is a mountain man, a
tral to Alourdes's
Joseph Binbin
peasant farmer like her own great-grandfather, dresses in blue denim, wears
Mauvant. Like Mauvant, the spirit
of rum laced with
straw hat, and keeps a jug
a broad-brimmed
humble demeanor, that of an ilherbs at his elbow. This spirit's
he functions to
actually reveals his importance:
literate peasant, of their roots, of their need for family (a group
remind devotees
and the spirits), and of their connecthat includes the ancestors
him Azaka Mède or Papa Zaka. tion to the land. Haitians call
they refer to him as Kouzen (Cousin). More frequently,
former slave colonies in the New
In Haiti, in contrast to other
work, and they bury
World, many farmers own the land they
inheriting
their family dead on that land. In the countryside, with the spirits
land thus also means inheriting relationships
Vodou
the ancestors buried there. In a traditional
served by
and the spirits are, in a way, one and
view, the land, the family,
Haitians the three legs of
the same. But for many contemporary rests have been wrenched
this tripod on which their world
have
Poverty, drought, soil erosion, and overpopulation
apart. of
in a position similar to that of
placed large numbers people have been forced away from their
their slave forebears. They
families that sustain life and
land and away from the extended
swell the urban
identity. Refugees from the countryside
give
Haiti. Alourdes's story is typical of this recent chapter
centers of
for she is a member of the first urban-born
in Haitian history,
generation of her family. worked the giant plantations of
Like the African slaves who
the loss of
Haiti, Haitians today experience
cighteenth-century
crisis, and, like their African anland and family as a spiritual
4 A rural family. Gros Morne, Haiti, 1980. --- Page 59 ---
relic T
fUlUS NPC
UPes hudships (Aun)
cestors, they turn to religion to bind up the
this loss. Vodou temples in urban Haiti
wounds caused by
ally in touch with the earth. No
keep worshippers ritu37
temple, it has an earthen floor
matter how prosperous the
for the spirits. But
ready to receive libations
even this symbolic comfort
poured
many Haitians (Alourdes
is denied the
Azaka
ligion alive in the modern now among them) who keep their recities of North America."
Despite this attachment to the land, cities
tral role in the preservation and
have played a cenin the New World from the
enrichment of African religion
ent. Haiti, with
earliest days of slavery to the
an extensive peasant culture that
preslowing its early independence in
developed folcase; but, in the final analysis,
1804, is a somewhat special
the urban milieu is clear. even in Haiti the importance of
Vodou
Thus it would be a
as an agrarian religion that becomes mistake to see
transported to a city. Although the Vodou
precarious when
the importance of roots in the land, other spirit Azaka points to
ample) make the long urban
spirits (Ogou, for exent.
with
earliest days of slavery to the
an extensive peasant culture that
preslowing its early independence in
developed folcase; but, in the final analysis,
1804, is a somewhat special
the urban milieu is clear. even in Haiti the importance of
Vodou
Thus it would be a
as an agrarian religion that becomes mistake to see
transported to a city. Although the Vodou
precarious when
the importance of roots in the land, other spirit Azaka points to
ample) make the long urban
spirits (Ogou, for exent. Itis probably
history of the religion more
more accurate to view
apparan age-old and creative
Azaka's as one voice in
toward the elaboration dialogue> He places urban tendencies
erarchies in
of ritual and the creation of
tension with a viewpoint that most
religious hisimplicity and immediacy. And he also
strongly values
cial bonds in an urban context where reinforces enduring SOdency to break old
there is an inevitable tenprofitable
relationships and seek out new and
ones. more
- Urban Vodou may have retained
earth, but it has been both
only a symbolic tie to the
in providing families for more successful and more practical
manbo
rural migrants In urban
the
(priestess) is called manman and the
temples,
called papa. Those initiated in the
oungan (priest) is
or "children of the house. 11
temple are called "little leaves, 11
privileges and
Along with these titles go all the
responsibilities of family
tiates are obligated to contribute
membership. Urban initemples, and in turn
money, time, and energy to the
they can draw on
practical assistance as well as spiritual
temple resources for
are obligated to give children of the house comfort. Temple leaders
help with such probland 'The in particular--is importance of the land --both the earth in general and the Haitian homeexplored further in Chapters 6 and 12.
. 11
temple are called "little leaves, 11
privileges and
Along with these titles go all the
responsibilities of family
tiates are obligated to contribute
membership. Urban initemples, and in turn
money, time, and energy to the
they can draw on
practical assistance as well as spiritual
temple resources for
are obligated to give children of the house comfort. Temple leaders
help with such probland 'The in particular--is importance of the land --both the earth in general and the Haitian homeexplored further in Chapters 6 and 12. --- Page 60 ---
landlords, difficult employers, and errant
lems as unscrupulous
child care, food, and
spouses. In a pinch, they even provide
and maintenance
Similar processes of family creation
lodging.
Vodou temples in New York,
are now at work in makeshift
other North American
Azaka
Miami, Montreal, Boston, and a dozen
communities. This
cities with less populous Haitian immigrant
Zaka who, in
under the watchful eye of a Kouzen
work goes on fashion of the Vodou loa, has adjusted quite well
the adaptable
cousin of far-flung city folk.
to his role as the country
title kouzen is liberally applied. A
In Haiti, as elsewhere, the
of an aunt or uncle but
cousin is not only the son or daughter
connection.
with whom there is a familylike
also any person
contemporary Haitians such as
Kouzen Zaka thus reminds
of the
of holding the family togetherAlourdes
importance
For urban Haitians, the
even ifitis, by default, an ersatz family.
cousin to whom a
Vodou spirit Azaka is more than a country
like other
sentimental debt is owed. He is a lwa, a Vodou spirit
in the
a model for a particular way of being and acting
spirits,
character in the social drama, both rural and
world, a typical
urban.
AZAKA'S BIRTHDAY PARTY, 1984
the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, I
On May 26, 1984,
Volvo along the
found myself nursing my fourteen-year-old
Massachucogged interstate highways between Cambridge,
Binbin
The
of Joseph
setts, and Brooklyn.
great-granddaughter to celebrate MeMauvant had commanded my presence-not
for
that understandably has little meaning
morial Day, a holiday
in the "birthday
but to
party"of
Haitianimmigrants,
participate
netVodou
Azaka. As a member of the fictive kinship
the
spirit
onto Alourdes's family tree, it
work, a "little leaf" (ti-fèy) grafted
was important that I be there.
My loft in
I was exhausted by the time I reached Brooklyn. Fort Greene are
lower Manhattan and Alourdes's row house in
it took
minutes apart, and ordinarily I had only the time
twenty
across the Brooklyn Bridge to accomplish
to make the quick trip
movement
the considerable shift in worldview necessitated by
these two centers. In contrast, the trip in May 1984
between
to Alourdes's telephone
took six tedious hours. Responding
tree, it
work, a "little leaf" (ti-fèy) grafted
was important that I be there.
My loft in
I was exhausted by the time I reached Brooklyn. Fort Greene are
lower Manhattan and Alourdes's row house in
it took
minutes apart, and ordinarily I had only the time
twenty
across the Brooklyn Bridge to accomplish
to make the quick trip
movement
the considerable shift in worldview necessitated by
these two centers. In contrast, the trip in May 1984
between
to Alourdes's telephone
took six tedious hours. Responding --- Page 61 ---
summons ("We going to have a birthday
for
You coming? You got to come!") had party
Kouzen Zaka.
than usual. I was on sabbatical
taken a lot more energy
tion and had sublet
New leave from my teaching posiCambridge.
my
York apartment and moved to
"You know I'd love to come," I had said
Azaka
called, "but that's a holiday, and there will
when Alourdes
the highways. 11 "Yes," Alourdes
be a lot of traffic on
lot'a car . 11
had replied in a small voice, "a
Uncomfortable in the silence that followed and
please this momentous force in
ever eager to
breath and committed
my life, I had taken a deep
"Good!" she
myself: "But of course I'll come anyway.
responded. Then, forgetting which
cupying at the moment, Iasked,
worldI was OCshe cried. "How come
"CanIstay at your-""Karent"
what's the matter with you ask me that? Aw, come on! Karen,
Why
you? You always asking me can
you got to do that? This is your house. You
you stay.
you want. Karen, what's the matter with
stay any time
me! Okay?"
you? Don't do that to
"Well, Alourdes, 11 I replied, in the tone of a child
cused, "Ijust thought you
unjustly acmight have a lot of
ing there since . 11 "I don't care!" She
other people staythis time with warmth in her voice.
cut me off again, but
to sleep on the
"I don't care. Even you
floor, even I got to make a bed
got
closet. : . Ialways find a place for
on top of my
worry!"
you, sweetheart. Don't you
Kumar and Michael, Alourdes's and
were jumping around the car before I even Maggie's young sons,
gine. Betty, Maggie's
in
turned off the endifferent colored
baby, a pink sunsuit and with a dozen
bobbed
barrettes at the ends of as
in concert from her safe
many tiny braids,
his head into the
place on the curb. Kumar poked
open window on the
me on the cheek, a standard
driver's side and kissed
child, an instance of Old World polite greeting from a Haitian
to the first generation born
manners that have carried over
Karen?
in this country. "How you
Maggie said you was comin'. We been waitin' for doin',
Alourdes's daughter, Maggie, was
you."
open front door,
leaning on one arm in the
failed in its effort to wearing a sundress with an elastic top that
cover the
bra
neath. In spite of the makeshift full-support
she wore underbeautiful. "Hi, baby. I
attire, she looked sassy and
thought you was never going to come. I
a Haitian
to the first generation born
manners that have carried over
Karen?
in this country. "How you
Maggie said you was comin'. We been waitin' for doin',
Alourdes's daughter, Maggie, was
you."
open front door,
leaning on one arm in the
failed in its effort to wearing a sundress with an elastic top that
cover the
bra
neath. In spite of the makeshift full-support
she wore underbeautiful. "Hi, baby. I
attire, she looked sassy and
thought you was never going to come. I --- Page 62 ---
worried about you. Come on inside. Ijust got home
was getting
to make the altar yet. Come on. You
myself. We don't even start
Mommie's downstairs." 11 Baskcan help. Give me that suitcase.
from the
in the warmth of their greetings and still spinning
ing
the dark staircase to the basement level, the
Azaka
road, I went down
center of family operations.
like a string of
The rooms in Alourdes's home are arranged window looking out
railroad cars. Her kitchen, with one small
and her "almodest
is in the back of the basement,
on a
yard,
reads cards,
tar, I the tiny room in which she does consultations, A
herbal treatments, is in the front. combination
and prepares
fills the space between kitchen and altar.
living and dining room
table and chairs, a glass-front china
A new dining-room set-a
up every foot of space
cabinet, and a massive sideboard-takes Shelves holding shiny
in front of the door to the altar room.
beads sepatrinkets and floor-to-ceiling strings of multicolored
collecformal dining area from the random
rate this surprisingly
the social center of the
tion of chairs and tables that defines
turned off and
basement floor. A large color television, rarely
to human
adjusted to remove the green hue it imparts
rarely
this section of the room where the family
skin, presides over
and where clients wait their
gathers, where guests are received, This is also the room where
turn in Alourdes's inner sanctum.
birthday parties for the spirits are held.
slumped at a
Downstairs, I found Alourdes looking morose,
arrival
table, her chin cupped in her hand. She noted my
small
when I walked between her and the television
only by blinking
the cheek and offered a standard Creole
set. I kissed her on
Give me news of yourgreeting: "Long time I don't see you. shoulders and let them
self." Alourdes raised her great round
drop with a sigh.
in barely audible English.
"I'm okay," she responded
"what's the mat-
"Alourdes,"1 said, also switching to English,
Then,
"Karen!" she snapped, "I don't feel good! Okay?"
ter?"
I eat too
silence, she added, "Maggie say
after an awkward taste it, but she tell me I put too much salt in
much salt. I don't
salt. That's what I got. Look!" She
my food. So I got too much
its usual girth.
displayed her right ankle, swollen beyond
of
Not until ten o'clock in the evening did the construction
for Kouzen Zaka begin. A low cabinet pushed against
the altar
and a smaller table placed next to ita ata a
one wall was cleared off,
! Okay?"
ter?"
I eat too
silence, she added, "Maggie say
after an awkward taste it, but she tell me I put too much salt in
much salt. I don't
salt. That's what I got. Look!" She
my food. So I got too much
its usual girth.
displayed her right ankle, swollen beyond
of
Not until ten o'clock in the evening did the construction
for Kouzen Zaka begin. A low cabinet pushed against
the altar
and a smaller table placed next to ita ata a
one wall was cleared off, --- Page 63 ---
right angle. These two "altars" were then
sheets. Wielding a heavy staple
covered in white
white sheets to the walls behind gun, Maggie attached more
above. Someone
the tables and the ceiling just
the backyard,
brought in an armful of leafy branches
and the branches were
from
to the sheets behind and above
stapled in small bunches
Azaka
feast for an agricultural
the altars. Because this was a
powers of leaves and spirit, one closely tied to the curative
roots, it was
were decorated with
appropriate that his tables
greenery.
Next, familiar battered suitcases were
SO Maggie and I could search
dragged out of storage
many colors,
among their contents- scarves of
paper streamers,
tons, bells, balls, and shamrocks-for candboardleprechauns, and skeleplease Kouzen Zaka. We selected
decorations that would
favorite colors, blue and white, and accordion streamersin Azaka's
crisscrossing arcs across the
draped them in graceful,
out a dozen
ceiling of the niche. Then we
scarves in the colors of Alourdes's
pulled
its, those who were also likely to make
other major spirning, and pinned the scarves to the front an appearance that eveFrom meager materials
of the altar cloths.
of dense
we had begun to create the
opulence, the mood of Vodou altars.
impression
Bottles of Haitian cola and liquor
were lined up across the back of the tables. (rum, gin, tequila, scotch)
candy were added, and a few
Plates of cookies and
strewn across the tables.
pieces of wrapped candy were
Bananas, grapes,
formed a mound around a
apples, and cherries
largest table. Three
plump pineapple in the corner of the
also
fancy cakes from a Brooklyn
placed on the altars. One was frosted
bakery were
the message "Happy
in blue and carried
sion of Papa Azaka's Birthday P. Azaka." The abbreviated vername did not
The action soon shifted to the kitchen. entirely please Alourdes.
and mixed with freshly shelled
Corn was dry popped
and a few hard candies. This peanuts, pieces of cassava bread,
flat basket, the kind Haitian mixture was gathered in a large
and placed on another white peasants use for winnowing grain,
table where Azaka's
cloth beneath the smaller altar
special food was kept. Several
puddings were prepared and given time to cool. It simple is
boiled
nothing hot can be placed on a spirit's altar.
a rule that
Vodou altars are texts, there for the
wealth of information about the
reading. They contain a
nature of a
spirits, as indicated in food
spirit or group of
preferences.JAt the simplest level,
,
flat basket, the kind Haitian mixture was gathered in a large
and placed on another white peasants use for winnowing grain,
table where Azaka's
cloth beneath the smaller altar
special food was kept. Several
puddings were prepared and given time to cool. It simple is
boiled
nothing hot can be placed on a spirit's altar.
a rule that
Vodou altars are texts, there for the
wealth of information about the
reading. They contain a
nature of a
spirits, as indicated in food
spirit or group of
preferences.JAt the simplest level, --- Page 64 ---
Azakn
home, Fort Greene, Brooklyn, 1979.
A meal for the spirits. Alourdes's
others consume only
like their food very spicy, whereas do not. The central theme
some
Some drink liquor, some the favorite foods of the
sweet things.
from
Azaka's table was composed
Azaka loves sugarfor
farmer: among other things,
Haitian peasant bread.
Haitians in
cane and cassava table of humble foods for Azaka, when the
fIn assembling a
the cuisine of a simpler time,
as
New York seek to evoke life and were readily accessiblej New York,
spirits pervaded everyday Binbin Mauvant. Ironically, in
dethey were to Joseph
bread used as mnemonic
stalks and cassava
immigrants'
the sugarcane difficult to find and expensiverihe of a simple
vices are both
in the concrete details food lanattempt to ground memory led to the creation of an arcane of the
economy has actually
Michael, was given a piece he was
guage] When Maggie's son, it out. At five years of age, sake,
prized kasau, he quickly spit
to the arcane for its own
of
to be attracted
of the magic
not old enough
bread contained nothing
for the poand the taste of cassava
a tasteless substitute
memory for him. It was simply earlier.
and
tato chips he had been munching one of rice and black beans on
Before long, two large pots, beans, were bubbling away
and black
dish
another of cornmeal of chaka-a thick, delicious peasant
top of the stove. A pot
son, it out. At five years of age, sake,
prized kasau, he quickly spit
to the arcane for its own
of
to be attracted
of the magic
not old enough
bread contained nothing
for the poand the taste of cassava
a tasteless substitute
memory for him. It was simply earlier.
and
tato chips he had been munching one of rice and black beans on
Before long, two large pots, beans, were bubbling away
and black
dish
another of cornmeal of chaka-a thick, delicious peasant
top of the stove. A pot --- Page 65 ---
made from large-kernel
and coconut-had been corn, kidney beans, pig's knuckles,
the pot lid to look at this made earlier in the day. When I lifted
Maggie cautioned
favorite dish of Kouzen's and
me: "The thing about
mine,
never say, Mmm, that look good, and chaka . . you don't
to eat some, Or the whole
look at it like you going
Azaka
Kouzen, he
pot turn sour. After
can give you some and then
you give it to
But if you taste it first or
you eat it. No problem!
that,' then the first time say, 'Oh, boy, Im going to eat some of
taste awful! The whole you put it in your mouth it going to
thing going to be spoiled. 1
Food, Feeding, and Family Service
Craving food that is not actually on
your mouth-is risky business. It
your plate e-or, better, in
happen. The first time Alourdes can cause all sorts of things to
she surmised that when
saw the birthmark on my back,
have thought about liver my mother was pregnant she must
as she scratched herself
spot. Alourdes went on to tell me that her
on that very
dessert called krèm kay during her
own craving for a
be born with a faint mark on the left pregnancy caused Maggie to
Jean-Pierre was born with his
shoulder and that her son
chicken because,
penis looking like the head of a
during that
she
crotch while smacking her pregnancy,
had scratched her
cooking next door.
lips over some chicken she smelled
Food there for the eating is another matter
the major marker of the success of
altogether. Food is
neys, the passage of time and of life. parties, the length of jourtant events in the near or distant
Few stories about imporwhat was eaten. I once watched past do not include catalogs of
Alourdes,
a television
an episode in which a couple,
soap opera with
table, discussed the imminent
seated at the dinner
ing?" Alourdes asked,
death of their child. "They eateating?"
leaning closer to the set. "What they
Eating is more than a practical,
the means of identifying the
life-sustaining activity. It is
Alourdes said, introducing in-group. "She eat in my house,"
means of
me to people in Haiti. And it is the
maintaining the same
"You eat
you always have food," Alourdes group.
with people,
you don't have
11 On
says. "You eat by yourself,
being poisoned nothing."
the other side of the coin, fear of
by taking food from the hand of
strangers or
ateating?"
leaning closer to the set. "What they
Eating is more than a practical,
the means of identifying the
life-sustaining activity. It is
Alourdes said, introducing in-group. "She eat in my house,"
means of
me to people in Haiti. And it is the
maintaining the same
"You eat
you always have food," Alourdes group.
with people,
you don't have
11 On
says. "You eat by yourself,
being poisoned nothing."
the other side of the coin, fear of
by taking food from the hand of
strangers or --- Page 66 ---
who harbor ill will is a pervasive theme, especially
persons
among rural Haitians.
without knowing
Few people in Haiti grow to adulthood
The
and Alourdes is not in that minority.
hunger intimately,
small influence in shaping Haitian
Azaka
fact of hunger has had no
Thus it is not surculture in general and her life in particular.
and
that food has become a metaphor for happiness anprising
to realize that when Alourdes
well-being. It took me years meant that she was upset or denounced, "I don't eat today,"it
the half-loaf of French
pressed and not that she had forgotten
When I
with
I had just seen her consume.
bread
margarine it is easier to see the connection between
travel with Alourdes,
but home, Alourdes
food and anxiety. When she is anywhere
hungry and
obsesses about food. She seems to be constantly When food is proworried that no one will feed her.
constantly
her meal and rarely admits that she enjoysit.
vided, she picks at
how Alourdes relates to her spirits.
Food is also an issue in
scale once a year at their indiShe feeds her spirits on a grand lesser scale, daily with libavidual birthday parties and, on a
this nourishment, the
tions and other small offerings. Without work for her. Providspirits would not, and perhaps could not, contexts in which that
food and creating the elaborate ritual
ing
the most important
food is presented to the spirits constitutes
work Alourdes does for them.
Spiritual Labor
[work, oh, work]" is the single, repeated line
"Travay, travay-o Alourdes's birthday parties for the spirits
of one Vodou song.
of time,
are hard work, requiring a considerable expenditure life of New
and effort. In the midst of the high-pressure
money,
of Alourdes and her family deYork City, where the survival
ritual duties
pends on a constant juggling of scarce resources, Kouzen Zaka in 1984
sometimes become onerous. The party for
York came
when the demands of life in New
was one occasion
of the Vodou spirits. In
into direct conflict with the demands of salt in the diet, was evenfact, this conflict, and not an excess
illness.
tually revealed as the source of Alourdes's had been called to diSunday afternoon, after Kouzen Zaka after the floor had been
rect the dismantling of his festive table,
where the survival
ritual duties
pends on a constant juggling of scarce resources, Kouzen Zaka in 1984
sometimes become onerous. The party for
York came
when the demands of life in New
was one occasion
of the Vodou spirits. In
into direct conflict with the demands of salt in the diet, was evenfact, this conflict, and not an excess
illness.
tually revealed as the source of Alourdes's had been called to diSunday afternoon, after Kouzen Zaka after the floor had been
rect the dismantling of his festive table, --- Page 67 ---
swept clean of the last trace of
from the
and every pot in the kitchen had ritualizing been
night before
Maggie and I relaxed with
washed and put away,
a cup of coffee. She told me:
Kouzen made Mommie sick because he think we not
give him no party.
going to
Azaka
Because now I'm
I
time to be running around
working, don't got no
the spirit.
buying thing for birthday party for
Before, when I wasn't working, we start
three days before. We buying,
two .
all kind'a thing for the
buying, buying: fruit, candy,
party. But now I work, we didn't
nothing 'til I get back this afternoon, and
buy
we not going to do nothing for him
Kouzen just think
Mommie sick.
this year. So he made
"What he think she gonna do?" Maggie continued,
anger in her voice.
with real
"Taking care of those kids all
can't even go outside!" Then, with
day long, she
shoulders,
a smile and a shrug of her
Maggie added, "When we build the altar
zen see what we do for him, then Mommie
and Kouright away. But it was him that made her sick!" start feeling okay
More than two years earlier, at another Vodou
had made an impromptu
feast, Alourdes
food-laden
speech. Standing in front of elaborate,
tables, she began by noting how tired she
how much work these parties
was and
nally decided
were. She said that she had
not to have a birthday party for
origiof honor that evening,
Ogou, the guest
thinking that it would be
range for a mass to be said for Saint
enough to aridentified with
James, the Catholic saint
Ogou. In fact, she had planned to
parties in New York altogether and to hold
stop having
the spirits
one large feast forall
every three, or maybe every seven,
That was what she had decided, but the
years in Haiti.
a table." And SO- -once
spirits said, "No! Make
too much!
again!-here she was. And it was just
Ceremonies for the spirits do require a
deal
it is also true that those who
great
of work. Yet
interestin
stage Vodou parties have a vested
broadcasting and sometimes
of effort and
exaggerating the amount
money involved, for the size of the
determines the value of the gift being offered the undertaking
aware of this tendency, and it was
lwa. I was
ognize the genuine frustration initially difficult for me to recfrom which Alourdes spoke.
! Make
too much!
again!-here she was. And it was just
Ceremonies for the spirits do require a
deal
it is also true that those who
great
of work. Yet
interestin
stage Vodou parties have a vested
broadcasting and sometimes
of effort and
exaggerating the amount
money involved, for the size of the
determines the value of the gift being offered the undertaking
aware of this tendency, and it was
lwa. I was
ognize the genuine frustration initially difficult for me to recfrom which Alourdes spoke. --- Page 68 ---
Her soliloquy that night moved into a somewhat romantic
version of how much easier things were in Haiti:
New York is not Haiti. When you have a
Azaka
party for the spirit in
Haiti, you have people to help. I just sit. Someone say to me,
"Mommie Lola, can I get you a Coca-Cola?" You send him
out to get ice. He keep the five santim left over, but that don't
make no difference. You got somebody who sweep up after
make everything nice. All you got to do is give that
son something to eat. You don't even got to pay. You can per- find
whatever you need, things not SO expensive, and you always
got people to help. Here, I got to make the table, make the
food, then clean it myself. Here, somebody say, "Can I have
some soda?" They take the glass and just put it under the
chair. And they say again, "Give me some soda." No, I don't
like that!
In addition to "sending the point" to thoughtless guests and
advertising her own efforts, Alourdes was speaking to a real
tension in her life. A crisis that same evening in 1982 underlined
the way she was caught between opposing forces.
Preparations for Ogou's party had gone on amid more chaos
than usual. Maggie was pregnant with Betty and was having
difficulty with the pregnancy. The summer day had been hot
and sticky. With no school, the children had been constantly
underfoot. In the hubbub, no one had remembered Legba, the
guardian of doorways and barriers.
A small statue of Saint Lazarus, representing Legba, stands
near the door at the end of the narrow hallway leading from the
foot of the basement stairs to the front of the house. In
tion for ceremonies, this door is opened to allow
prepara- for the
spirits. A candle is lighted, and small
for passage
at the threshold. But all this had been offerings
Legba are left
forgotten. When Alourdes
and her ritual assistants processed to the Legba shrine, singing,
"Papa Legba, ouvribaryè [Papa Legba, open the gate]," as
do
at the beginning of every such event, they found a dark they
and a closed and locked door.
hallway
Alourdes retreated into stony silence. Tension quickly spread
through the group and, before anyone knew what was
ing, Legba had possessed Alourdes. Her tremendous happen- frame
plunked itself down in the middle of the narrow hallway, and
ba are left
forgotten. When Alourdes
and her ritual assistants processed to the Legba shrine, singing,
"Papa Legba, ouvribaryè [Papa Legba, open the gate]," as
do
at the beginning of every such event, they found a dark they
and a closed and locked door.
hallway
Alourdes retreated into stony silence. Tension quickly spread
through the group and, before anyone knew what was
ing, Legba had possessed Alourdes. Her tremendous happen- frame
plunked itself down in the middle of the narrow hallway, and --- Page 69 ---
the venerable spirit riding her cried and whined about
treatment in the thin, cracked voice of
his missprang to Maggie's
one of the ancients. Tears
eyes, too, but she quickly covered
a brusque take-charge attitude. With
them with
pering Legba,
one arm around the whimMaggie sent people scurrying to fetch
needed.
the things
Azaka
In short order, the large votive candle beside
lighted; the door was opened; gin and molasses Lazarus was
the threshold; and an egg was broken there.
were poured at
to sniffling and
Legba was reduced
trembling as he watched these
to recover from an inauspicious
frantic attempts
before the small
beginning. It took some time
group of ritualizers returned to the
area around the tables and continued with the
crowded
mally greeting the spirits, one by one. It took business of forthe ominous feelings
even longer before
brative mood that generated there gave way to the more celein spite of her desire usually characterizes these events. After this,
to simplify, Alourdes
her efforts around the individual
actually redoubled
One of the
spirit feasts.
problems she confronts is
enough group to serve the spirits
assembling a large
amount of energy and anxiety is involved properly. An enormous
taining the core group that attends these in building and mainconstitutes Alourdes's Vodou
ceremonies and thus
that ritualizes
family./ În rural Haiti, the group
together generally also lives and
on the land. There, family is a given. In New works together
family ties must be earned and
York, however,
pressures, distance, the
carefully maintained. Work
York
problems of late-night travel in
City, even a different sense of time, now calibrated New
money in order to be spent wisely-all these
like
difficult to maintain the
elements make it
Vodou rituals
group necessary for effective rituals.
are events that cement
in New York bombards the Haitian community, but daily life
that counsel self-interest and
immigrant with messages
blood relatives
self-reliance. Alourdes has several
living in New York, but even the
these persons are not as durable as they would be in bonds Haiti. with
/To balance the centrifugal force North American
cise on the Haitian
values exertions at once.
community, Alourdes moves in two direcThrough her service to the spirits, she retraces the
pathways back home in order to shore up
blood and friendship. But at the
weakening bonds of
new people such as
same time she reaches out to
myself She uses her
spiritual skills to pull
-
-reliance. Alourdes has several
living in New York, but even the
these persons are not as durable as they would be in bonds Haiti. with
/To balance the centrifugal force North American
cise on the Haitian
values exertions at once.
community, Alourdes moves in two direcThrough her service to the spirits, she retraces the
pathways back home in order to shore up
blood and friendship. But at the
weakening bonds of
new people such as
same time she reaches out to
myself She uses her
spiritual skills to pull
- --- Page 70 ---
us into the family, into the network of gifts and obligations that
constitutes her survival strategy. "New York is not Haiti," as
she said. Events must be planned far ahead of time, and still no
Azaka
more than a handful of people may show up to
and
their hands for the spirits.
sing
clap
Having enough participants is not the only problem. Some of
the foods necessary for the Vodou feasts can be obtained
with considerable effort. For example, the Puerto Rican markets only
in the Bronx are among the few reliable sources for live
and a trip to the Bronx from Brooklyn can easily take four poultry,
hours. Alourdes is constantly
or five
juggling debts and favors
the members of her Vodou family in New York-those she among has
healed, those she has initiated, and those friends and
members who regularly enjoy her parties for the spirits. family Who
can bring flowers? Who can bring rum? Who has a car and can
drive to the Bronx? "You can't carry no live rooster on the
subway!"
Such difficulties had prompted Alourdes's decision to reduce
her ritual labor. But the spirits said, "No!" She knew
they were
saying no, because as soon as she made the decision to cut back,
everything she put her hand to went wrong. Bad luck is understood as an expression of the displeasure of the spirits. Bad
can
be anything from a serious illness to problems with
luck
love, or work. A string of bad luck means
money,
something serious is
wrong. Until the situation is clarified and steps are taken to
remedy it, everything feels threatening.
In the final analysis there is one major threat, one overwhelming fear-that of being alone, of being without family. For
Alourdes, family is a continuum running from the disparate
group who attends Vodou parties at her home to the most elemental family, that of the ancestors and the spirits.)When
nection to the latter groupis threatened, the
conaccelerates. Alourdes
accompanying fear
keeps altars for the Vodou
in her
home and expends considerable effort in feeding and spirits
them because she needs their love and
nurturing
daily.
protection around her
Relationships with spiritual families, however, are not
any easier or less complicated than those with human families.
As long as persons live and breathe, they stand in the
tion of children in relation to the spirits. In this, Alourdes, posithough a manbo, is no different from anyone else. In Haiti, small
children are extravagantly loved and indulged. But this indul-
fear
keeps altars for the Vodou
in her
home and expends considerable effort in feeding and spirits
them because she needs their love and
nurturing
daily.
protection around her
Relationships with spiritual families, however, are not
any easier or less complicated than those with human families.
As long as persons live and breathe, they stand in the
tion of children in relation to the spirits. In this, Alourdes, posithough a manbo, is no different from anyone else. In Haiti, small
children are extravagantly loved and indulged. But this indul- --- Page 71 ---
ends when the child is old enough to make a contribution
gence
life of the family. Children's work soon becomes
to the ongoing
to the family, and disobedient children are discinecessary plined. In many families, children are beaten, at times severely.
Azaka
Showing respect for the elders and complying with their will are
the only ways a Haitian child can remain in good standing
within the family. In an illustration of the negative side of food
symbolism, unruly children are threatened with destruction by
"The
to eat you!" Chilevil spirits:
lougawou [werewolf] going
dren are deemed more likely than adults to "catch" a malevolent spirit sent against a family; only the continued spiritual
vigilance of the elders protects them from such a fate.
Because the work Alourdes performs for the spirits is as essential to their well-being as the contribution of Haitian children is to the well-being of their families, the spirits also deal
with her through dire threat and severe punishment. The same
standards of respect and obedience that define the relation
of Haitian children to their elders dictate the terms on which
Alourdes must relate to the spirits. She never talks about "worshipping" the spirits; rarely does she speak of "believing" in
them. Existence and essence are the theological preoccupations
of Great Atlantic culture. Alourdes speaks about the spirits in the
Haitian
"I serve the spirit," 11 she says.
way common to
people:
Gathering to Call the Spirits
On that Memorial Day weekend in 1984, it was nearly midwhen the cooking was finally done and the food for Kounight Zaka
in several kwi (calabash shell bowls). The
zen
with arranged beans was
into one and left to congeal to
cornmeal
A mound poured of rice and beans filled another. A
a hard-crusted top.
third held large chunks of firm white yam and golden sweet potato topped with wedges of avocado. The chaka was poured into
a fourth, and into the last went another stew, this one made
from meat and several kinds of vegetables cooked to a fragrant
mush. Once these were cool, they were placed beneath
rosy Azaka's altar, where they stayed until early the next mornwhen most of the ritualizing was over. Only then were the
ing
people slumped in chairs in Alourdes's basementbleary-eyed
turned-temple fed from Azaka's ample stores.
At eleven-thirty, Maggie and I were still clattering around the
topped with wedges of avocado. The chaka was poured into
a fourth, and into the last went another stew, this one made
from meat and several kinds of vegetables cooked to a fragrant
mush. Once these were cool, they were placed beneath
rosy Azaka's altar, where they stayed until early the next mornwhen most of the ritualizing was over. Only then were the
ing
people slumped in chairs in Alourdes's basementbleary-eyed
turned-temple fed from Azaka's ample stores.
At eleven-thirty, Maggie and I were still clattering around the --- Page 72 ---
kitchen. The early arrivals for Kouzen's feast were quietly watching television with Alourdes. An outside observer of this
domestic scene might have thought it the end of an uneventful sleepy
Azaka
evening rather than the beginning of an all-night ritual drama.
But around midnight, things began to happen
and
ten minutes after the hour, every chair was full, quickly, the television by
was turned off, and events were under way. Maggie was checking and rechecking the tables, the altar room, the
to
sure
kitchen, be
nothing had been forgotten. Twenty-five
ing, laughing,
people were talkgreeting one another, and
on
news of their lives.
catching up
the
About two dozen people took part in this feast. The first
arrive were other manbo, Alourdes's older
to
whom she routinely
women friends with
exchanges support and assistance in ritual
activities. Madame François and Gladys are regulars at her
ties, and as usual they arrived laden with contributions:
parof basil leaves, a cake, flowers, a package of
a bunch
sava bread. Robert and his
candles, more casfamily are the other most
participants. Robert is a North American black man in frequent his midthirties, for whom Alourdes performed a
initiation
in the summer of 1981, at the same time preliminary and
through other stages of the initiation
Maggie
I went
continued to function
process. After this, Maggie
as Alourdes's main ritual
and
Robert became a regular second-level
assistant,
the entire day before a
helper, often spending
and
ceremony running errands for Alourdes
lending a hand wherever he was needed.
Other guests at. Azaka's 1984 birthday party included
and her boyfriend, Kevin. Kevin is a
counselor Marjorie
school. Marjorie, who has the
drug
at a high
is a native of Grenada in her late primary connection to Alourdes,
thirties who works for the
York City public school system as a teacher for
New
turbed children. An attractive
emotionally disthat suits her
woman with a hefty, solid body
forceful personality, Marj first came to know
Alourdes when she turned to her for help. Marj's husband
left her and had taken their two children back to his had
Ghana against her will. It took Alourdes two
of native
as well as spiritual labor to see that the children years
practical
to their mother.
were returned
Gertrude, or Mrs. LeGrand, as she is almostalways
arrived soon after Marj and Kevin. A woman in her addressed, late
she has a middle-management
forties,
position in one of the city social
forceful personality, Marj first came to know
Alourdes when she turned to her for help. Marj's husband
left her and had taken their two children back to his had
Ghana against her will. It took Alourdes two
of native
as well as spiritual labor to see that the children years
practical
to their mother.
were returned
Gertrude, or Mrs. LeGrand, as she is almostalways
arrived soon after Marj and Kevin. A woman in her addressed, late
she has a middle-management
forties,
position in one of the city social --- Page 73 ---
service agencies and is thus held in high
with the exaggerated diction of the
regard. She speaks
dresses
upwardly mobile, and she
conservatively and with great care; shoes and
always match, and she sometimes carries
handbag
color. Gertrude, who
gloves of the same
was born in the United
Mrs. LeGrand by
States, became
Azaka
who introduced marrying a Haitian, and it was her husband
her to Alourdes. Mrs. LeGrand,
friend of Alourdes's
is
still a cose
family, now divorced. I knew this
woman for quite a long time before she was
to talk proper
about her growing involvement in Vodou. willing
to me
Soeurette, a friend of Alourdes's from Haiti,
after Mrs. LeGrand. Soeurette is
came not long
shy.She isa also a Protestant.
chunky, good-humored, and 971
have
Theoretically, this affiliation should
prevented her from attending a Vodou
In
Chvic
tice, however, such rules, laid down by most ceremony. prac-
/
active in
Protestant
Teoy
Haiti, are not always observed!) Soeurette
groups
English, yet Iimagine that she
speaks little
less. She
copes wall in New York nonetheprobably handles landlords, clerks, and bus
well as her co-workers in the nursing home, with drivers, as
termined pleasantness that marks her
the same deSoeurette brought along her
presence in this group.
shyer than his mother, Michel ten-year-old son. Heavier and even
spent most of the
quietly in a chair by the refrigerator, his hands folded evening sitting
Jean-Pierre, Alourdes's oldest
in his lap.
their apartment in Lefrack
child, drove his family in from
Pierre
City, Queens. Just over
is a handsome man, more Americanized thirty, JeanAlourdes's other children. He wore
than any of
dark red, with
an Yves St. Laurent shirt in
lused from
tight-fitting jeans. His knuckles are heavily calyears of karate. Defying a pattern of
dead-end jobs that has been pervasive in the Haitian short-term,
nity, "Johnny" has worked at the same place for
commudry goods at a shop on Manhattan's Lower
years, selling
family guests included Frank, Alourdes's
East Side. Other
ing retirement from his maintenance
oldest brother, nearFrank's Haitian wife.
job at a high school, and
Two teenagers, American black women, also
were magnificently tall, dressed in blue
attended. Both
hair in a wealth of bead-encrusted jeans, and wearing their
Haitian woman with a flirtatious
braids. Poupette, a young
She had just arrived in the United personality, joined the group.
work. On this cool May
States and was looking for
evening, she wore two sweaters over a
des's
East Side. Other
ing retirement from his maintenance
oldest brother, nearFrank's Haitian wife.
job at a high school, and
Two teenagers, American black women, also
were magnificently tall, dressed in blue
attended. Both
hair in a wealth of bead-encrusted jeans, and wearing their
Haitian woman with a flirtatious
braids. Poupette, a young
She had just arrived in the United personality, joined the group.
work. On this cool May
States and was looking for
evening, she wore two sweaters over a --- Page 74 ---
light cotton dress and had heavy wool socks on her feet.
woman
Aileen,
a
to whom Alourdes rented a small
was
top-floorapartment,
present also. Scrawny and defiant, with a gift for sudden flashes of ironic wit, Aileen
Azaka
is an American and a welfare
mother. Alourdes wanted to help her, but there had been several arguments about unpaid rent and wine bottles that had disappeared from the basement refrigerator, and Alourdes's
tience was wearing thin.
paBig Daddy was a late arrival for Azaka's birthday
Fritz,
his proper name but one by which he is rarely addressed, party. is
big, balding bear of a man who loves women-or at least loves a
to talk about them. Big Daddy works in a warehouse in
Island City. Alourdes said about him, "I know him long, Long
time, since we little children. We grow
long
up together in Haiti. We
good, good friend. It like we come from the same place,
.
you
know. . : the same belly. We not have the same mother, no. But
sometime it feel like that."
Just after midnight, and without calling attention to herself,
Alourdes plunked down on the low stool by Kouzen's table and
abruptly launched into the series of Catholic prayers and
that opens these Vodou ceremonies. People took a while hymns to realize what was happening. Talk died out
it
by dribbles, some of
continuing after the ceremony had begun. Then, midway
through a hymn, Alourdes interrupted herself: "Maggie, don't
forget Kouzen's hat!" Maggie hollered the length of the basement: "Robert, get the hat out of the altar room!" And then
Alourdes quickly returned to the hymn.
The Catholic prologue to Vodou ceremonies is
the
same
virtually
no matter which spirit is the guest of honor. It begins with
standard songs and chants. One of the first calls on Saint Peter
(like Lazarus, a Catholic counterpart of Legba) to
the
door, the door to Paradise." Others beg Mary, Jesus, "open and various saints for grace and forgiveness.
New arrivals from Haiti, such as Poupette, often become the
vehicle for learning new songs and recalling old ones, Catholic
and Vodou. Alourdes's frequent trips to Haiti also
the same kind of liturgical checking and enriching. accomplish One of the
songs sung for the Virgin Mary at this party was an example of
this process. Alourdes had heard the song in a friend's
on her last visit home; she had sung it as a child but had temple since
forgotten it. When Alourdes returned from that trip, she imme-
saints for grace and forgiveness.
New arrivals from Haiti, such as Poupette, often become the
vehicle for learning new songs and recalling old ones, Catholic
and Vodou. Alourdes's frequent trips to Haiti also
the same kind of liturgical checking and enriching. accomplish One of the
songs sung for the Virgin Mary at this party was an example of
this process. Alourdes had heard the song in a friend's
on her last visit home; she had sung it as a child but had temple since
forgotten it. When Alourdes returned from that trip, she imme- --- Page 75 ---
diately introduced it into the Catholic prologue to her own cere53
monies.She especially liked its ritual details. At a certain point
in the hymn, everyone was supposed to drop to their knees,
facing the altar.
Azaka
The palm tree thumps, the palm tree knocks.
Virgin Mary, pray for us.
We are on our knees at your feet. .
That night, Alourdes noticed that I had missed the signal and
was not on my knees with the rest, and she abruptly stopped
the singing. "Come on, Karen, come on, come on, come on! On
your knees! Oh-oh, no excuse!" Then, without even taking a
breath, she finished the song:
On the ground, on the ground,
To pray to you.
As the last line died away, Alourdes continued to question
lax behavior: "How come you don't know that song?" "I
my know that song," I anwered defensively. I am never at ease
when Alourdes publicly exhibits her authority as my Vodou
mother, although I know that such displays are a routine part
of the discipline for any initiate in a Vodou family.
Perhaps catching my discomfort, Alourdes softened. "You
was singing?" she asked. "I was singing,"Ireplied. "You singing, but I don't heard you," she observed. I laughed selfconsciously and latched on to the first excuse that presented itself: "I don't have a good voice, sO I don't sing loud." n In a more
natural tone, I added: "Alourdes, you don't want me to sing
loud!"
Ag great guffaw exploded from her, and, with one hand planted
on each thigh, she threw her head back: "Karen, you too smart
for me!" There was laughter all around. Our little contretemps
(one of several that added informality to the otherwise staid prologue) made a natural transition between the Catholic segment
of the ceremony and the part with a distinct African flavor.
Picking up the ason (the beaded rattle that is the emblem of
the Vodou priesthood) lying at her feet, Alourdes began to
, you don't want me to sing
loud!"
Ag great guffaw exploded from her, and, with one hand planted
on each thigh, she threw her head back: "Karen, you too smart
for me!" There was laughter all around. Our little contretemps
(one of several that added informality to the otherwise staid prologue) made a natural transition between the Catholic segment
of the ceremony and the part with a distinct African flavor.
Picking up the ason (the beaded rattle that is the emblem of
the Vodou priesthood) lying at her feet, Alourdes began to --- Page 76 ---
shake it softly. The Creole songs that followed were also introductory. Taken collectively, these two standard
opening sequences- one European in flavor, the other African- -are called
the Priyè Dey, the Outside
Azaka
Prayers.The Priyè Deyô usually
last from forty-five minutes to an hour.
Whent these Outside Prayers were completed, the mood eased,
the social and ritual tempo picked up, and the main part of the
ceremony commenced, the part in which the most important
Vodou spirits are saluted, individually and in strict ritual order.
The first to be greeted is always Legba, guardian of crossroads
and doorways. Standing in front of the food-laden tables,
Alourdes held her ason in one hand; in the other she had a
white enamel cup of a sort common in Haiti. On either side large of
her were ritual assistants, one holding a candle and a bottle of
gin, the other a bottle of molasses. These elements were lifted
up to each of the cardinal directions in turn. Alourdes shook the
ason sharply each time the group dipped at the knees and
changed direction. Then, facing the larger of the altar tables, all
three stepped to the right, bent their knees in a
movement
quick
like a curtsey, stepped to the left, and turned all the
around, then repeated the same gestures in reverse, with an way initial step to the left. A third time, again starting with a step to the
right, the small band ofritualizers dipped and twirled. Then
headed out the door and down the narrow hallway to the they
shrine. Throughout the salutation, all the people present Legba
sang:
Papa Legba, ouvri bàryè-a.
Ouori bàryè Atibon,
Pou nou pase la.
Papa Legba, open the gate.
Open the gate Atibon,
To let us come in.
The next greeting was addressed to Ayizan, the ancient femalespirit who is theg guardianofritual purity within
was
thetemple.
Ayizan
saluted in much the same manner as Legba, al2The Priyè Deyô are discussed in detail in Chapter 10.
all the people present Legba
sang:
Papa Legba, ouvri bàryè-a.
Ouori bàryè Atibon,
Pou nou pase la.
Papa Legba, open the gate.
Open the gate Atibon,
To let us come in.
The next greeting was addressed to Ayizan, the ancient femalespirit who is theg guardianofritual purity within
was
thetemple.
Ayizan
saluted in much the same manner as Legba, al2The Priyè Deyô are discussed in detail in Chapter 10. --- Page 77 ---
though gin was not used (Ayizan drinks no
tire salutation took place in front of the altar alcohol) and the enoffered to
tables. Libations
in front of Ayizan were poured into an enamel basin on the
one of the tables, a North American
floor
to the fact that ceremonies can no longer take accommodation
with beaten earth floors
place in temples
Azaka
thirsty for the
its. After Alourdes and her
gifts offered to the spiraltar, kissed the
assistants had each knelt before the
ground, and poured water three times
dollops into the basin, the cup was
to two
in small
SO they too might honor
passed
or three guests
are usually chosen to
Ayizan. Other priests and priestesses
pour libations, but individuals who
personal bond with the spirit being saluted
have a
priate choices.
may also be approAt all ceremonies, each spirit called must be
three or seven songs, which must follow
offered either
tated by the type of drum
a definite order dicrhythm that would
pany them. The verses of each are
ordinarily accomjudges that the spirit has been
repeated until Alourdes
sphere is informal. For
properly honored. The atmosongs for the
example, at Alourdes's Vodou
spirits are sometimes aborted by a
parties,
guest's comment: "That's a Zepol (a rhythmic knowledgeable
introduce that one yet.' " Before
type]. You can't
often checks with the
"sending" a new song, Alourdes
That
second
gathered faithful: "How many we
song,
or third?" At times, she cannot
sing?
other song for the spirit being
think of angreeted and will turn
usually one of the older women, and
to a guest,
François, send a
say: "Come on, Madame
song for Kouzen for me. 1 Together, the
possess a memory more complete than that of
people
Consultative ritualizing, like the constant flow of any individual.
tion between New York and Haiti,
ritual informaagainst forgetting.
helps the community guard
After the third of Ayizan's songs ended with the
ason, the Marasa, the sacred
sound of the
was time to turn to Loko,
twins, were saluted, and then it
patron of the Vodou
however, came a short interlude devoted priesthood. First,
table, a moment in which Catholicism
to "baptizing" the
circumstances,
reasserted itself. In ideal
baptizing the table is the job of the
type of ritual functionary who
prètsavann, a
riod following the revolution appeared in Haiti during the pepriests to the new black
when the Vatican refused to send
Haitian
republic. A prètsavann, who is used in
temples as a stand-in for a Catholic priest in the
por-
ou
however, came a short interlude devoted priesthood. First,
table, a moment in which Catholicism
to "baptizing" the
circumstances,
reasserted itself. In ideal
baptizing the table is the job of the
type of ritual functionary who
prètsavann, a
riod following the revolution appeared in Haiti during the pepriests to the new black
when the Vatican refused to send
Haitian
republic. A prètsavann, who is used in
temples as a stand-in for a Catholic priest in the
por- --- Page 78 ---
tions of the ritualizing that reiterate Catholic rites, is only infrequently involved in Alourdes's New York ceremonies. But the
shadow of his presence persists in the rule that only men can
perform rituals such as
Azaka
baptisms. Usually a oungan in the crowd
is asked to fill this role, although any other man can be
into service when needed.
pressed
There was no priest at Azaka's 1984 birthday party, and the
responsibility fell to Robert, who is an enthusiastic and faithful
supporter during Alourdes's rituals. He speaks
but he is uninhibited about
only English,
imitating the sounds of French,
Latin, or Haitian Creole in the ritual context. Standing in front
of Azaka's niche, Alourdes coached him in the proper formula
for baptizing the table. Handing him a shot glass filled with
holy water taken from a local Catholic church and a leaf
from one of the bouquets on the altar, she instructed him plucked to
the leafin the water and sprinkle it over the tables while
dip
"Je te baptise au nom de Kouzen Zaka Mede. Credo, credo, abonoche saying,
baptize you in the name of Kouzen Zaka Mede. I believe, I be- [I
lieve, abonoche]. 113 Everyone mumbled several quick Hail
before moving on to sing three hymns for Mary. During the Marys last
one, actually addressed to Mary Magdalene, Robert was
rected to pass a collection plate. Moving from
dihe held out a plate, and each of us
in person to person,
dropped a few coins. This
money was placed beneath Azaka's table.
The group then launched into salutations for Papa Loko, chief
Vodou priest. At these ceremonies, it is rare that anyone other
than Alourdes is "ridden" by a lva. But this evening was an exception. Irma, Alourdes's half-sister (they have the same
is a regular participant. On this occasion, she had
father)
her mother, a strikingly beautiful,
come with
even regal,
woman, who was visiting from Haiti. Loko was the eighty-year-old first
arrive that night, and he possessed Irma's mother. As the spirit third to
and final song for Loko was sung, the spirit announced his
ence in the old woman's head through long
presAlourdes laughed out loud, obviously
trembling moans.
delighted that Loko, and
especially this particular woman's Loko, had chosen to come
her feast.
to
As Alourdes protectively circled her arm around the body of
Abonoche is apparently a transformation of a Latin
no
lic liturgical context. None of the scholars of Latin I have word, consulted doubt from a Cathorecognize the word, however.
has been able to
and final song for Loko was sung, the spirit announced his
ence in the old woman's head through long
presAlourdes laughed out loud, obviously
trembling moans.
delighted that Loko, and
especially this particular woman's Loko, had chosen to come
her feast.
to
As Alourdes protectively circled her arm around the body of
Abonoche is apparently a transformation of a Latin
no
lic liturgical context. None of the scholars of Latin I have word, consulted doubt from a Cathorecognize the word, however.
has been able to --- Page 79 ---
Irma's mother, she said with real conviction, "M'kontan anpil ou
vini. Gwo, gwo Loko (I'm very happy you come. Great, great
"The house
Loko]." 1 Opening her arms wide, Alourdes added,
is for
11 Then, dropping her voice to the tone of a child begyou.
she murmured: Papa Loko, my dear, pass
Azaka
ging from a parent,
The
hand over my body. Life is not good for me."
spirit
your responded to her in a breathy, cracked voice indicative ofLoko's
advanced age: "I don't give luck.' 11 "II know you don't give luck,
Papa. I know that not your way," 11 Alourdes said, sounding only
a little disappointed.
She recovered quickly and began to introduce the people
standing nearby. Pointing to Robert, she said, "This person a
child of the house. He never desert the house. Never." Indicating a woman who had gone through the Vodou "marriage" to
Loko, she proclaimed, "This woman your wife.' 11 Then, sweeping her arm across the room, Alourdes announced, "All the
here
wife!"
in his whispery old voice,
women
your
Speaking
not catch. Alourdes
Loko asked for someone whose name I did
responded, "She could not come. She got nobody to watch her
kids. I going tell her you ask about her. 11
11 Alourdes crooned,
stroking the
"You are family spirit,
gently
side of Loko's face. "Me, I'm going do everything you want me
to do. When you tell me work, I'm going work. When you tell
I'm
sit. When
tell me run, I'm going run.
me sit,
going
you stand.
house is for
When you tell me stand, I'm going
My
you!"
like most in Vodou, was a comThis posesion-perfomanes,
to one of the most
plex event. Alourdes was not only relating
venerable Vodou spirits; she was also relating to an elderly
woman who had once saved her life. Just after Alourdes's birth,
when her mother was suffering from "black fever" and unable
to breastfeed her, Irma's mother, who had just had a baby,
in as Alourdes's wet nurse. Alourdes feels she owes
stepped
debt. The social drama is never far from the
this woman a great
of Vodou. Furthermore, in a small
surface in the religious drama
Vodou family such as this one, people know one another well
even
enough to grasp,
without words, themultiple meaningsof
what is happening.
as
After Loko's short visit and the saluting of such key spirits
Danbala and Ezili, the main events of the evening began with
the calling of the guest of honor, Azaka. To entice him to come
after song was sung for the shy and
to his birthday party, song
Kouzen Zaka. There was a song
awkward country bumpkin
in a small
surface in the religious drama
Vodou family such as this one, people know one another well
even
enough to grasp,
without words, themultiple meaningsof
what is happening.
as
After Loko's short visit and the saluting of such key spirits
Danbala and Ezili, the main events of the evening began with
the calling of the guest of honor, Azaka. To entice him to come
after song was sung for the shy and
to his birthday party, song
Kouzen Zaka. There was a song
awkward country bumpkin --- Page 80 ---
based on his title, "Minister of Agriculture," and
character, "timid man." Another
one on his
song laid out the basic rules of
family functioning, on one level, while on another it
that poor country cousins would
suggested
Azaka
do better financially by not
marrying one of their own kind:
Kouzen pa pran kouzinn, 0,
Kouzinn, 0, Kouzinn, 0.
Senkann santim pa lajan;
De goud pa dola.
A male cousin doesn't take a female cousin, oh,
Cousin, oh, Cousin, oh.
Fifty cents is not money;
Two gourd not a dollar.
Another of Kouzen Zaka's songs was a sort of riddle, a form
of oral literature loved by country people.
tener would have realized
Only a careful listhat it was the ravaged earth who
spoke in this song:
M'malere, m'malere vre;
Se defom m'genyen.
M'konnen m'malere, ore;
Se defom m'genyen
M'malere, m'malere.
Se pa achte m'achte;
Se Bondye kreye-m malere.
Moun-yo bale sou do mwen.
I'm unfortunate, I'm truly unfortunate;
It's crippled I am.
'Two gourd are the equivalent of forty cents of U.S.
one of the few in the world kept at a fixed official rate currency. of
Haitian currencyi is
dollar. The exchange rate, five gourd to one dollar, is exchange with the U.S.
Black-market exchange rates, however, often devalue the printed on the gourd note.
dollar.
gourd in relation to the --- Page 81 ---
I know I'm unfortunate, truly;
It's crippled I am.
I'm unfortunate, I'm unfortunate.
It's not something I brought on myself;
Azaka
God created me unlucky.
People sweep on my back.
That song must have had a special poignancy for many in the
for a
number of them had been driven toward
room,
significant in New York
the devastation of the land in
their new life
by
and
Haiti. Today the border between the Dominican Republic
Haiti is actually visible from the air, because of the widespread
deforestation and soil erosion on the Haitian end of the island
of Hispaniola. Poverty, the ravaged earth, and the peasant life
wedded in the figure of Azaka, who also exare indissolubly
resignation to life's tragedies.
hibits the peasant's characteristic
As Alourdes pushed the energy in the room to new heights in
effort to
sufficiently to bring the spirit
an
echofe (heat things up)
into our midst, she introduced a new song:
Kouzen Zaka,
M'pral prepare mwen,
Pou regle zafè mwen.
Nèg-yo pa Bondye.
Zaka, li pa vle wè mwen.
Lie di ou etranje,
Li di ou etranje.
Fanmi pa vle wè mwen.
Cousin Zaka,
I'm going to prepare myself,
To set my affairs in order.
People aren't God.
Zaka, he does not want to see me.
He says you are a stranger,
He says you are a stranger.
The family does not want to see me. --- Page 82 ---
Azaka
M
Goats to be sacrificed to Azaka.
au-Prince, Haiti, 1989.
The temple behind Alourdes's
mother's home, PortThis song, whose
point to its somber uplifting, almost joyous sound
not want to see me," ambiguity 11
(is it Kouzen
plays counterfamily has
or am I seeking his himself who "does
louder.
rejected me?) was sung
help because a human
Alourdesjumped to her feet and over and over, louder and
began to dance, ason in
--- Page 82 ---
Azaka
M
Goats to be sacrificed to Azaka.
au-Prince, Haiti, 1989.
The temple behind Alourdes's
mother's home, PortThis song, whose
point to its somber uplifting, almost joyous sound
not want to see me," ambiguity 11
(is it Kouzen
plays counterfamily has
or am I seeking his himself who "does
louder.
rejected me?) was sung
help because a human
Alourdesjumped to her feet and over and over, louder and
began to dance, ason in --- Page 83 ---
hand. She was playing on our
cal instrument.
energies as if we were her musiSensing the moment was ripe for
rival, she was stirring the room into a
Azaka's arinstant just before our collective
spiraling intensity. In the
headed downward to
energy would have peaked and
salutations to
refuel, Alourdes began a second round of
Azaka
Azaka. She was only
and turns that preceded the moment halfway through the dips
herself before the altar when
when she would prostrate
Her body shuddered
Azaka arrived.
then jerked
and jerked, went lax for a moment, and
again rapidly. These movements mark the
between the lwa and Alourdes's
struggle
who ordinarily
8wo bônanj (big guardian
presides "in her head." 11 When the
angel),
contest (it almost always does), the
spirit wins the
body to wander, as it does
gwo bonanj is sent from the
routinely
becomes the chwal (horse) of the during sleep, and Alourdes
around Alourdes to
spirit. Several people moved
help her, but there was no
in
movements; no one thought she was in
urgency their
people in the room seemed to take
danger. "Indeed, many
the events were in no
no special note of her, as if Tone
Her shoes
way unusual or remarkable. 22
her
were removed, and, with one
under each arm, Azaka's blue scarf person supporting
neck. The first sign that Azaka
was tied around her
was his high-pitched nasal
was seated firmly on his horse
chirp: "Whooooo,
whooooo . . whoooop!" Maggie reached for the whooooo
blue denim shirt made especially for Azaka
voluminous
put it on him. Then she put his straw hat
and struggled to
his makout (straw
on his head and hung
satchel) over one shoulder.
Pants and shirt made from karabel, a
blue
in Haiti; a makout; and a broad-brimmed sturdy
denim woven
up the standard costume of
straw hat these make
garb of the
Azaka, as well as the traditional
peasant farmer in Haiti. It is partly because of
similarities in clothing that Azaka came to be identified
such
Catholic Saint Isidore. In a
with the
uted in Haiti,
chromolithograph widely distribIsidoreappears: in blue; pants and
over one shoulder. The two are also
cape, a sack slung
tural theme: in the lithograph,
connected by the agriculbehind
Isidore kneels in
him, an angel plows the land with a pair of prayer white while,
"Bonswa, Kompè. Bonswa, ti Kouzinn [Good
oxen.
Good evening, little Cousin], 11 Azaka said,
evening, Brother.
nasal voice characteristic of
speaking in thel highly
timidly about the room from peasant speech. Then he looked
beneath the brim of his straw
Maggie was the first to address him. She whined:
hat.
"Mezanmi!
agriculbehind
Isidore kneels in
him, an angel plows the land with a pair of prayer white while,
"Bonswa, Kompè. Bonswa, ti Kouzinn [Good
oxen.
Good evening, little Cousin], 11 Azaka said,
evening, Brother.
nasal voice characteristic of
speaking in thel highly
timidly about the room from peasant speech. Then he looked
beneath the brim of his straw
Maggie was the first to address him. She whined:
hat.
"Mezanmi! --- Page 84 ---
Woy! Ti Kouzen, m'pa bon .
malad [My friend! Oh! Little
Cousin, I'm not well. . sick Eh, Kouzinn, 11 Azaka replied,
cocking his head in a manner that communicated both sullenness and studied
"I
Azaka
timidity, think I'm going to go now."
"No! Oh, no, Kouzen," Maggie broke in, quickly
to
a
changing
placating tone. "I'm going to give you food.' 1 Other voices
joined Maggie's in pleading for the bounty of the table: Didn't
he want to stay? Didn't he want to have something to eat?
Kouzen replied truculently, "I didn't come all this
for a banana
way
: : . no!"
"Kouzen, don't go!" Maggie begged, with a touch of
her voice. Kouzen continued to pout: "Not
panic in
an avocado." "Because-let
fora yam . . - not for
me tell you," Maggie sputtered,
"you don't see all the work I do for you!" It had been an exhausting day for Maggie, and she was on edge. She had left for
work at seven that morning, and when she got home,
after
five that afternoon, she had begun preparations for Kouzen's just
feast immediately. Furthermore, she had been on her feet all
night, singing enthusiastically for each spirit. "I know you come
a long way, Kouzen dear,' 11 Maggie croaked. "You don't hear
voice? You don't come 'til I got no voice!"
my
Kouzen responded like a stereotypic peasant to
efforts to placate him. His body language communicated Maggie's stubborn
passivity. His objections came out as whining complaints, the
thin voice rising and falling, first a little screech, then a
whisper. "Manman o1 dwe'm [Your mother owes me, Kouzen pouty
said, crossing his arms and staring at his feet. To this picture of
wronged innocence, Kouzen added a definitive
and
turned his back on Maggie.
"Humph!"
Maggie walked around in front of him to continue pleading.
Anger rising in her voice along with desperation,
plained the financial difficulties of the moment:
Maggie exdon't understand. Mommie has not paid the
"Kouzen, you
month. She has telephone bill.
mortgage in two
They shut off her HBO. She
tried to turn on a movie for the kids, and it was gone!"
"All my business is written down," Kouzen said with a trace
of smugness, adding another "Humph!" for good
This statement was met by snickers from the crowd, and measure.
laughed out loud. Kouzen became defensive: "You
some
cheat me because you know I don't know how are trying to
know how to write, and
cheat
to write. You
you
me!"
month. She has telephone bill.
mortgage in two
They shut off her HBO. She
tried to turn on a movie for the kids, and it was gone!"
"All my business is written down," Kouzen said with a trace
of smugness, adding another "Humph!" for good
This statement was met by snickers from the crowd, and measure.
laughed out loud. Kouzen became defensive: "You
some
cheat me because you know I don't know how are trying to
know how to write, and
cheat
to write. You
you
me!" --- Page 85 ---
"How many tree leaves does your mother
demanded of Maggie, using his
owe me?" Kouzen
paper money. "Find my list!" he characteristic whined.
expression for
written down. I told you that! I
"All my business is
writes for me." 11
always find somebody who
Maggie sent Robert searching
Azaka
grubby little denim sack with
deep in Azaka's makout for a
Maggie pulled out a rumpled drawstrings. When it was located,
chair near Kouzen, she smoothed scrap of paper. Sitting down in a
to read: "Fanm
it out on her knee and
Alourdes .
five dollar,
began
Robert, five tree leaves. Ti Bobfifty cent. Gason
Azaka interrupted the reading:
that
tree leaves from my hand. A lot! A "Listen, lot!
man took a lot of
acre of land. How much does he
He was going to buy an
Maggie responded and then
owe me?" "Sixty dollars,"
added
looking for him, but she don't find him. quickly, "My mother is
number, but it was no good. I1 "Im
He give her a telephone
year, you hear?" Kouzen
going to get my money this
announced with
"Get my purse,' 11
said to
unusual force. Maggie
Robert. "Im
my mother." Money was
going to pay for
to Papa Zaka, most of them appearing all over the room as debts
accumulated at last
party, were paid. It was unusual for Azaka
year's birthday
own financial affairs. This role is
to be conducting his
country cousin who "walks
usually filled by the female
with him," Kouzinn
years earlier, Kouzinn had come to Alourdes's Zaka. Three
Azaka's debt collection, and
feast to handle
zinn is his secretary, his
Maggie had explained to me: "Koubusiness, deal in
banker, whatever. She the one who have
on the plantation. money. Azaka don'thave no business; he work
This version of Whatever the
money he make, he give it to her." 11
zinn reflects traditional relationship between Kouzen and Kouwhere,
gender arrangements in rural
following a West African pattern, market
Haiti,
only ones who handle money.
women are the
neurial class of men has been Recently, however, an entrepreside.Itis made up off farmers who steadily have growing in the countrypolitical
managed, often
machinations, to amass large tracts of
through
salers who buy such
land and wholesell them to
products as coffee from small farmers and
large exporting companies. Perhaps
change was sparked by this social shift,
Azaka's role
likely that his behavior that
although it seems more
Alourdes's fatigue
night in 1984 was a result of either
(one possession is easier than two) or the
neurial class of men has been Recently, however, an entrepreside.Itis made up off farmers who steadily have growing in the countrypolitical
managed, often
machinations, to amass large tracts of
through
salers who buy such
land and wholesell them to
products as coffee from small farmers and
large exporting companies. Perhaps
change was sparked by this social shift,
Azaka's role
likely that his behavior that
although it seems more
Alourdes's fatigue
night in 1984 was a result of either
(one possession is easier than two) or the --- Page 86 ---
financial needs of her family. What followed was even
pressing
for Alourdes's Azaka also took over
more surprising, however,
Kouzinn's market role.
loans, Azaka deContent that he had settled his outstanding
animated
Azaka
cided to sell the items on his altar tables. Suddenly he called
and sounding like a true machann (market woman), Cousin. Look at
out to people: "Come on, Brother. Come on, choose. Pick it up.
the big market! Come, come, come. You can
out. Hehhhhh! You don't have to be afraid!
Go on, pull it right
a real little
Gason Didi, you going to buy a little thing, just children? You
thing, yes? Fanm Linda, you going to buy for the
come!"
don't want to! Come on! Come, come,
can't tell me you
the table as KouThe young man called Didi approached
Cousin?
on: "What do you want in the market,
zen pattered
"How much for that cake?" Didi
What are you going to buy?" frosted in blue. "Two hundred tree
asked, pointing to the one
gasped, and then
leaves," Kouzen responded. First, people
That's too much, 11 Didi said, laughing himself.
they laughed.
and he pointed to an unfrosted sheet
"How about that one?"
for Kouzen's altar.
cake that Irma and her mother had brought
Kouzen said
"Myself with you, we are going to negotiate!"
about
with real relish in his voice, and he broke into a little song
he loved
to gather around him. He abruptly
how much
people and announced that the bargainended the song in mid-phrase
tree leaves!" Didi laughed
ing session was open: "How "Forty-seven much of it will you give me for five
again and came back,
Kouzen
then
dollars?" "Half for seven tree leaves,"
replied,
his answer: "The half of a half." Didi agreed,
quickly qualified balanced the sheet cake on his knees, cutting it
and Papa Zaka
Lifting the chunk of cake in his
in half and then in half again.
it,
it
and down as if weighing
hand and moving slowly up
eh?"
Kouzen looked to the crowd: "Bon mache [A good buy),
murmurs of agreement, and Azaka nodded
There were polite with himself. Then he lopped off about a
his head, well pleased and hid it in the corner of the cake plate bethird of the piece
his other hand toward a
hind his free hand, while he extended
than an ordichagrined Didi with a piece of cake in it no larger
with
The entire cake was sold in this fashion,
nary serving.
slicing off a corner of the piece just
Kouzen at the last moment
of chunks and crumbs
sold. Finally, he sold the resulting pile
Azaka said to the
for two dollars. "Put another tree leaf on it,"
amused buyer, "and you can take a piece of candy, too."
the corner of the cake plate bethird of the piece
his other hand toward a
hind his free hand, while he extended
than an ordichagrined Didi with a piece of cake in it no larger
with
The entire cake was sold in this fashion,
nary serving.
slicing off a corner of the piece just
Kouzen at the last moment
of chunks and crumbs
sold. Finally, he sold the resulting pile
Azaka said to the
for two dollars. "Put another tree leaf on it,"
amused buyer, "and you can take a piece of candy, too." --- Page 87 ---
With no more cake to sell, Azaka turned to
fruit and candy, bottles of cola, and small hawking pieces of
sava bread. He leaned hard
fragments of cas65
on the unfortunate
was pressured into buying for his three children Robert, who
himself. "You going to buy, Cousin?"
as well as
"Chwazi [Choose]!"
"Yes," replied Robert.
Azaka
urged Kouzen. "Wi," said
poule anpil, wi Kompè? Se pa pou
Robert. "Ou
a lot, yes, Brother? It's not to poule-chavazi bougay [You talk
talk-choose
sponded Azaka, using the distortions of Creole something]!" respeech of the spirits, distortions in which
common to the
comes poule, and bagay
pale (to speak) be-
(thing) becomes bougay.
banana, some cookies, and some hard
Robert chose a
the banana, but Kouzen
candy. He began to peel
Finish
stopped him short: "Don't eat
bargaining first!" Despite language barriers,
yet.
nally got the message and handed the
Robert fiEarlier, Kouzen had
spirit seven dollars.
appointed Robert
out the evening he handed over
treasurer, and throughfrom debts
money to him whether it came
repaid or from the sale of items from his
Every now and then, he ordered Robert to count
"market."
out loud. On the first count, Azaka had
the proceeds
collected
dollars; on the second, the total rose to
seventy-one
the third, it was one hundred ten. Not eighty dollars; and on
tired of these games. "Now I'm finished long after, even Azaka
nounced and directed Robert
with business!" he anand divide it into three
to count the money one last time
ent places, for
piles, being sure to hide them in differsafety.
"No matter what vivan (living
money, you may give to them. You person] don't comes who needs
Azaka declared. Then, in
have to call me, no, 11
he cut his
one last demonstration of
eyes at Robert: "What about the
character,
on some?" "Cousin, 11 Azaka
pennies? You sitting
me. What's he got in that hand?" whispered to Maggie, "check for
The market was closed at last, and
white cloth at Azaka's feet, in
Maggie spread a clean
tables. She
front of the now-depleted altar
pulled the brimming bowls of food
Azaka's altar and placed them before him. It
from beneath
the morning as
was nearly four in
large portions of chaka, rice and
meal, avocado, yam, and sweet
beans, cornhomely calabash bowls and
potato were scooped out of the
onto plates for each
was allowed to refuse, and we were all
guest. No one
hands-the child's
expected to eat with our
the
way of eating, the only
vivan, who are all children in relation appropriate way for
to the spirits. No
the brimming bowls of food
Azaka's altar and placed them before him. It
from beneath
the morning as
was nearly four in
large portions of chaka, rice and
meal, avocado, yam, and sweet
beans, cornhomely calabash bowls and
potato were scooped out of the
onto plates for each
was allowed to refuse, and we were all
guest. No one
hands-the child's
expected to eat with our
the
way of eating, the only
vivan, who are all children in relation appropriate way for
to the spirits. No --- Page 88 ---
in the dangerous territory of finances where
longer operating
are
but use66
competitiveness, guile, and suspicion
unappealing
ful character traits, Azaka became the generous host, urging do
all his
"You going to eat, Brother?" "What
food on
guests:
chaka; it's
Azaka
want, Cousin?" "Take some
good!"
you
is characteristic of Haitian peasants. An
Expansive hospitality who lived for several years in the Haitian counAmerican friend
in their house, they
tryside put it this way: "Ify you are a guest
Even if they
will break their backs to feed and entertain you.
of rice left, you will get half. Haitian peasants
have only a cup
They will give you anything, as long as
are incredibly generous. ask for. You can't even ask questions about
it's not money you
nature of this contrast between hospimoney!" The problematic
businessman showed itselfi in a
table family patriarch and canny
of Alourdes's birthday
surprising way during the remainder
party for Kouzen Zaka. Alourdes's major spirit, made his exWhen Azaka left, Ogou,
his
were inThe first words out of
mouth
pected appearance.
with Azaka: "Did he ask for
quiries about what had transpired
him? You, too?" Receivmoney? Did you buy? Do you owe
the
warrior
affirmative responses all around, Ogou,
loyal
ing
sighed with disgust and shook his head,
known for his integrity,
that.' 11 Then he consigned Azaka to
"No, no, no, no. I don'tlike
colorful epithet: "Kaka
his place with an uncharacteristically
bandit!"
Just
The conflict was not resolved with Ogou's appearance.
that
as the last of the guests were making
after seven
morning,
door, Alourdes collapsed in a
their way out Legba's still-open
of
First it
fatigued by the succession spirits.
chair, completely
and finally Gede, the trickster
had been Azaka, then Ogou,
his comic perspirit whose habit is to come last and stay long,
outside
formance serving as a buffer between Vodou and the
over, barely able to keep her eyes open,
world. Sitting slumped
She also thanked them proAlourdes bid her guests good-bye. the spirits. In the course of sevfusely for their help in serving
that she did not aperal parting conversations, she mentioned
prove of Azaka's behavior. Robert and his family, and I fell into our
Alourdes and Maggie,
the sofa bed in Alourdes's
respective beds. (I had been assigned
amid a menagerie of ceramic tigers,
rarely used upstairs parlor, We slept until noon, when the noise
dolls, and stuffed animals.)
Sitting slumped
She also thanked them proAlourdes bid her guests good-bye. the spirits. In the course of sevfusely for their help in serving
that she did not aperal parting conversations, she mentioned
prove of Azaka's behavior. Robert and his family, and I fell into our
Alourdes and Maggie,
the sofa bed in Alourdes's
respective beds. (I had been assigned
amid a menagerie of ceramic tigers,
rarely used upstairs parlor, We slept until noon, when the noise
dolls, and stuffed animals.) --- Page 89 ---
of a Brooklyn street in early summer made
sible. After cups of good strong Café
further rest imposherself to call Kouzen
Rebo, Alourdes settled
one last time, SO that he could
dismantling of his tables. For this
direct the
Deyo were shortened to two Hail truncated ritual, the Priyè
quick pass through the
Marys, and there was one
Azaka
After the third Vodou song calling on Legba to open the
song for Kouzen, the
gate.
rived. He was
mountain man arcomplaining as usual.
Where was his karabel shirt? Where
did not want to use them; he
was his bottle of gin? He
put away properly. Kouzen just wanted to be sure they were
the remaining
also told Maggie what to do with
food-some was to be shared
was "for the house." 11 His directions
with friends, some
by a commotion at the basement were suddenly interrupted
police!" shrieked Kouzen Zaka. door. "What's going on? The
One of the neighborhood children had
a police officer was about to ticket
come to warn me that
Azaka and went out to
my car. I made excuses to
really expired but that I had explain that my registration had not
sticker. After
simply neglected to attach the new
his
assuring himself that I sufficiently
authority, the officer proved to be
acknowledged
five minutes I was back inside,
reasonable, and within
don't like police! You
only to find Azaka cowering. "I
spent too much time see in police, you run! They beat people! I've
voices soothed:
jail; I'm going now." All around
"You don't need to go, little
him,
gone, he's gone."
Cousin." "He's
After making a small private loan to one of the
participants, Azaka now had
past night's
sizable handful of
ninety-eight dollars in bills and a
times he ordered change left in his three small sacks.
it counted in front of
Three
he said, was to be distributed
him. The loose change,
spirits' altars in Alourdes's
among the boxes on the various
in our small
altar room. Then he asked if
group wanted to borrow the "tree
11 anyone
first attempt, he found nol
leaves." On the
Maggie said she would borrowers; but the second time around
take it.
That was the signal to begin
Maggie repeatedly referred to the bargaining over interest rates.
borrow, and Azaka
ninety-eight dollars she would
After several
persisted in calling it one hundred dollars.
to pay back one exchanges, hundred Maggie suggested that she was willing
year. "One hundred
fifty dollars on the first of May next
fifty-seven!" Kouzen countered, and again
if
group wanted to borrow the "tree
11 anyone
first attempt, he found nol
leaves." On the
Maggie said she would borrowers; but the second time around
take it.
That was the signal to begin
Maggie repeatedly referred to the bargaining over interest rates.
borrow, and Azaka
ninety-eight dollars she would
After several
persisted in calling it one hundred dollars.
to pay back one exchanges, hundred Maggie suggested that she was willing
year. "One hundred
fifty dollars on the first of May next
fifty-seven!" Kouzen countered, and again --- Page 90 ---
"I don't
Maggie agreed. In an aside to me, Maggie explained: twelve
I can go to the bank, pay ten percent, maybe
care. Iknow
but why should I let some stranger come here
percent interest, borrow the money and just go out, never come back!
and then
Ti Bob? Humph! He owe Kouzen
Azaka
Remember that guy last year?
find him. Besides, this
sixty dollars. Now Mommie cannot even
this money
This is special. Anything you put
is not just money.
luck. I need some luck!"
in going to have good
it's
to climb to three hun-
"If you don't pay May first,
going
said Maggie, "one
dred dollars!" Kouzen warned. "Okay," from now until the
thing only I got to say-I better be working for me!" Kouzen refirst of May 1985. You take care of that
works.
nonchalantly, "You are going to find my money
sponded
Don't you worry." affairs finally laid to rest for another year,
With his financial
member of our small
Azaka gave a personal message to each continue to come to him in
He told Robert that he would
group.
He assured me that he was going to give my book
his dreams.
from an an-
"a little push. 1I Robert's wife was suffering
project skin rash, and she was given a bottle of medikaman (medinoying
Azaka's herb-laced gin and cornstarch. After
cine) made from
held the medicine bottle up to each of
mixing the brew, Kouzen
across its open mouth. He
the four directions and blew sharply
Robert's
then set it on the floor in front of him and instructed
it with both hands-but only after leaving seven
wife to pick up
to her: "Some
cents on the floor beside it. Maggie explained
that don't
can't just take. Even you just put a penny,
thing you
matter. You got to pay, or it don't work."
"YOU IN, YOU IN. YOU OUT, YOU STAY OUT."
Haitian Vodou spirits, in his or her own way, is a
Each of the
He fed his
character defined by conflict. Azaka is no exception.
after
from the feast laid beneath his altar table, but only
children
and coerced them into buying the items on top of
he had cajoled
and business. The
it.Kouzen Zaka straddles two worlds: family
different in these two worlds. Within the family,
currencies are
extension into all that feeds and-nurfood and its metaphorical
Relationships last a lifetime,
tures is the means of exchange.
strict acis expected, no one keeps
and although reciprocity
a
Each of the
He fed his
character defined by conflict. Azaka is no exception.
after
from the feast laid beneath his altar table, but only
children
and coerced them into buying the items on top of
he had cajoled
and business. The
it.Kouzen Zaka straddles two worlds: family
different in these two worlds. Within the family,
currencies are
extension into all that feeds and-nurfood and its metaphorical
Relationships last a lifetime,
tures is the means of exchange.
strict acis expected, no one keeps
and although reciprocity --- Page 91 ---
counts. In the business sphere) the means of
Money is for counting; it lends itself
exchange is money.
like ongoing family relations,
to precise reckoning. Un69
changes with,
business deals are abbreviated
more often than not, a loser and
exare worlds in tension, a tension
a winner. These
tian peasant who
endemic to the life of the HaiAzaka
and the city. Iti is also moves between farm and market, the
a tension easily translated
country
New York immigrant.
into the life of a
InVodou, the tension between these
the very different values and behaviors antithetical worlds, and
is commented on and transformed
that each engenders,
in
money on the bed!" Alourdes
many ways. "Don't put
dump out the contents of
yelled at me once as I started to
token. "Why?" I wondered my change purse to look for a subway
few hard and fast rules
and then remembered one of the
the ason on the bed.
to emerge from my initiation:
is
Never, never, never. 11 The
"Don'tput
an instrument of coercive
ason, like money,
spirits, who are
power. It exercises control over the
thought to be
and go, more or less at the will compelled of the
by its sound to come
money nor the ason can be
manbo or oungan. Neither
ing
placed on the bed, for such
power implements do not belong in the
distancdren are made and born, the
place where chilAzaka straddles these
place where family begins.
he also mediates
worlds in tension, and, to some
them, reconciling the
extent,
of money is ordinarily equal to its
irreconcilable. The value
is as good as another. But in
quantity. One five-gourd note
on
Papa Zaka's hands,
quality as well as quantity. Robert's wife had money takes
medicine, but the payment was
to pay for her
knew she could borrow
only symbolic. And Maggie
from a bank more
Kouzen, but she borrowed from him
cheaply than from
money. This is special. 11 Azaka's
anyway: "This is not just
Kouzen Zaka
money brings luck.
portrays the generosity and
within a family group, but he also
concern that prevail
paranoia, that characterizes the portrays the suspicion, even
group toward all those who fall attitude of such a tightly knit
Participants in the dense drama outside the protective circle.
of a Vodou
on both sides. Outsiders by definition
ceremony play roles
are cheated and suspected of
at Kouzen's market, they
family table, they are fed and pilfering his profits. Insiders at the
rehearsal lofand for life, and the given boons. Such role playing is a
the
lessons learned ricochet
community. The challenge lies in learning these roles through
well
anoia, that characterizes the portrays the suspicion, even
group toward all those who fall attitude of such a tightly knit
Participants in the dense drama outside the protective circle.
of a Vodou
on both sides. Outsiders by definition
ceremony play roles
are cheated and suspected of
at Kouzen's market, they
family table, they are fed and pilfering his profits. Insiders at the
rehearsal lofand for life, and the given boons. Such role playing is a
the
lessons learned ricochet
community. The challenge lies in learning these roles through
well --- Page 92 ---
the characters, values, and behaviors that
enough to recognize
clearly belong to each realm.
and those who
between those who are inside
Distinguishing
is far easier in the rural world of
are outside the family group
for Haitian immigrant living
Azaka
Kouzen Zaka than it will ever be
a
of one
of
in New York. This task highlights the significance
on part to his
of Joseph Binbin Mauvant. When he passed
the legacy
medicine he had, the medicine was
children the most effective
boundary beAfrican words that cast a clear and indisputable
salawu
these realms: "Sim salalam, sa salawu. Pa salam, pa
tween
[You in, you in. You out, you stay out)."S Alourdes cites her matrilinIn discussing her healing work,
and more frequently than her patrilineage.
eage more readily
in Alourdes's family have been
Over the generations, the men
and
are less
less constant and less caring than the women,
they Their
models in her day-to-day operations as a healer.
dlearly
however, will not be denied. When every other
genuine power, client, Alourdes turns to the legacy of Joseph
skill fails to heal a
left
and down and slapBinbin Mauvant. Pumping her
leg up
her mother
her thigh each timeit rises, Alourdes shouts, as
ping
did before her: "Tonnè [Thunder]! Sim salaand grandmother
lam, sa salawu. Pa salam, pa salawu."
have to.
"And that person get well, baby!" she tells me. "They that word.
who left
They have to! That was my great-grandfather and I
that word,
It from Africa. Sometime I'm in trouble,
repeat
Pa salam, pa salawu. 1 And everything okay!
'Sim salalam, sa salawu.
out.' 111
That word mean, You in, you in. You out, you stay
AZAKA'S CALL TO REMEMBER
Alourdes was in her twenties, she had three children and
When
the largest city in Haiti and
lived on her own in Port-au-Prince,
than she cares to
its capital. Life was hard, and on more days
So she
remember she and her children went to bed hungry.
when her brother suggested she join him
jumped at the chance
of Joseph Binbin
in New York. Philomise, the granddaughter
to track down a specific African origin or a more precise
51 have not attempted "word from Africa.' " Rather, I have chosen to let it stand here as
translation for this
it exists in Alourdes's memory.
When
the largest city in Haiti and
lived on her own in Port-au-Prince,
than she cares to
its capital. Life was hard, and on more days
So she
remember she and her children went to bed hungry.
when her brother suggested she join him
jumped at the chance
of Joseph Binbin
in New York. Philomise, the granddaughter
to track down a specific African origin or a more precise
51 have not attempted "word from Africa.' " Rather, I have chosen to let it stand here as
translation for this
it exists in Alourdes's memory. --- Page 93 ---
her daughter'sp plan. Philo hated
Mauvant, reluctantly supported but she was too well versed in the
to see her favorite child leave, Alourdes this chance. So Philo
sufferings of life in Haiti to deny
to send her daughter
did what a mother could do: she sought
Azaka
by the protection of the spirits.
on her way surrounded
for her own daughter, Maggie,
Alourdes frequently recounts
and the subsequent
the story of this momentous departure
problems in New York.
That day I go to New York, my
Let me tell you something. to the
We got a car, a
with me
airport.
whole family going
in that car. Then my mother
taxi, you know, and everybody in that car too, and she say,
come out, and she start to get
come inside." AndI
"Oh, boy!I forgot something. Alourdes,
in that car, and
"Why, Mommie?" 'cause everybody
say,
saying, "Come on, let's go, let's go!"
everybody
things was different. You going on an
You know, that time,
and
had to dress nice. Ihad
airplane, everybody nervous, red hat. you AndIv was nervous too,
a new dress, red dress, and a
want me to do inside?"
so I say, "Why, Mommie? What you
in front of the altar."
She say, "Come in, make some prayer "You don't want to do it?
And I say, "No." My mother say,
and she go inside
Let me do it for you. 11 I say, Thank you," into the car. I say,
the house, she pray for me, and she come for you.' 11
She say, "Yes, I pray good
"You pray good?"
'cause I tell my mother, "Im going to
Idon't want to do it,
I don't think I'm
star! Beautiful! Oh, boy!
that city-lot'a
in New York."
going to need no spirit
And I was wrong!
holds in her
Alourdes came to Brooklyn in 1962, a date she die." Her
that it was "before Kennedy
mind by remembering
difficulties
in the United States presented greater
serious
early years
The first sign of
than anyone could have expected. illness.
trouble was a sudden and frightening
before Christmas. I feel
That happen in 1963, December 1963, can't sit down. I can't
sick-my stomach, my chest. Oh, boy!I also. I feel I'm going
lay down. I can't stand up. Ican't breathe
what happen to
"God please save me! Oh, God,
to die. I say,
three children in Haiti - . . my
me?" Then I think about my
mother . . my family.
early years
The first sign of
than anyone could have expected. illness.
trouble was a sudden and frightening
before Christmas. I feel
That happen in 1963, December 1963, can't sit down. I can't
sick-my stomach, my chest. Oh, boy!I also. I feel I'm going
lay down. I can't stand up. Ican't breathe
what happen to
"God please save me! Oh, God,
to die. I say,
three children in Haiti - . . my
me?" Then I think about my
mother . . my family. --- Page 94 ---
They bring me in Jewish Hospital, in Prospect Avenue. I
got fever one hundred and six, and they put me in
room. You know what they do for me? They ice emergency me!
comein with bucket,
alcohol.
They
Azaka
ice,
They take off all my clothes,
and they rub me. They rub me with the sheet. It was SO cold!
Like they put me in the freezer. I yell! - cry! Icry! After I cool
down, I get hot. Just when I was quiet, sleepy, then they unwrap me, take another sheet, and wrap me again. I was SO
sick, and I don't get better.
January eight, I see priest coming. He ask me, "Are
Catholic?" I say, "Yes," and he give me last rite. Oh, you
One o'clock, I see three men coming in. They take me to yeah! the
operate room. Doctor say I got infection in my intestine. They
operate me, and when I wake up I was SO scared. I ask that
doctor, "Did you put a thing in me?"'cause somebody tell me
when they operate you : . . down there, you know . . . they
put a thing in you, and you don't do it natural no more. Then
I don't speak English too good, but I try, and I just say to him,
"Please, can you tell me, did you put that thing in me?" And
finally he understand, and he say, "No." I pass almost one
month in the hospital. Yeah! Then I feel all right, and
me out.
they put
You know, when you come from the hospital, you
to go back for treatment. But I don't go back, because suppose they ask
me, "Bring your passport and alien card." They ask me,
"Where your family live in Haiti?" They ask me that! Uh-huh,
they ask me that. And I give the address, but when I tell
friend Carmen, she say, "Oh, yeah, if you go with
alien my
card and your passport, they going write the government your in
Haiti, make them pay."' 'Cause when you operate is very expensive, and I don't have no money to pay. She say,
going send you back to Haiti. "1 I get scared. I never go "They back.
That time I don't know what is welfare. I don't know about
welfare at all, and nobody don't tell me. No, nobody don't tell
me, if you sick, you not working, you can go someplace,
can help you. Nobody tell me that. But everybody' friend they
help me. You see me, you give me two dollar, three dollar. IfI
come in your house, you give me plate of food, you know.
That's the way I survive!
The communities that surround newly arrived Haitian immigrants today are much larger and more experienced than they
They back.
That time I don't know what is welfare. I don't know about
welfare at all, and nobody don't tell me. No, nobody don't tell
me, if you sick, you not working, you can go someplace,
can help you. Nobody tell me that. But everybody' friend they
help me. You see me, you give me two dollar, three dollar. IfI
come in your house, you give me plate of food, you know.
That's the way I survive!
The communities that surround newly arrived Haitian immigrants today are much larger and more experienced than they --- Page 95 ---
were in the early 1960s when Alourdes
come effective clearinghouses
came. They have befor
as for more tangible forms of
practical information as well
and shelter. Now,
assistance such as food,
as before, however, the
clothing,
process rumor. Lacking both access to accurate communities also
a feeling of entitlement that would
information and
Azaka
thority, Haitian immigrants
allow them to question auabout what works and what rely instead on countless anecdotes
what is not, what will
does not work, what is legal and
thorities
arouse the attention of the
(a fear deep in the bones of those who dreaded auDuvalier family rule) and what will allow
lived under the
noticed. Many, unlike
a person to slip by unwhom living
Alourdes, are illegal immigrants, for
discreetly is an essential survival
strategy.
When I leave Jewish Hospital, I'm
strength back. That time, I back okay. I eat until I got my
after, I get sick again. I go
to work. But three months
time, they
get sick again! Same system! Second
bring me to WycoffHospital. They call
They give me last rite again. That's twice I
priest again.
This time they tell me I got bad
got last rite. Twice!
But that not true.
heart, I got all kind'a sickness.
When I come from Wycoff Hospital, I
because I don'thave no
got no place to live,
lady in the street. Yvonne money. I can't pay no rent. So I meet a
Haiti. She say, "How
Constant. She know my family in
Come into my house. 11 come That you SO skinny? Oh, poor girl!
when I reach her house.
lady give me a big plate of food
boiled plantain-I eat,
Woy! Rice and bean, a big fish, a
sweetheart! She
me place to live. I sleep in her
give me food, she give
Butidon'tknow what
house, and she give me food.
One day
happen. Ialways sleeping. Ican'twork.
Beatrice
somebody tell me, "Beatrice want to see
my sister-in-law. Sunday
I
you."
me, and I go there. When I first afternoon, got clothes on
her house. But we don't
come to New York, I live in
her for a long time.
get along too good, and I don't see
to people I know to ask Long time. You know me, I don't go
just say, "Aunt Bebe,
or beg for nothing! So I see her, I
What
people tell me you was
for
.
asking
happen . my mother? . . Something
me.
family?"
happen in my
She say, "No, nothing don't happen in
to see you because I got a dream about
your family. I want
It very serious?" She say, "I don't
you. "Is say, "Oh, yeah?
know if it serious or not."
people I know to ask Long time. You know me, I don't go
just say, "Aunt Bebe,
or beg for nothing! So I see her, I
What
people tell me you was
for
.
asking
happen . my mother? . . Something
me.
family?"
happen in my
She say, "No, nothing don't happen in
to see you because I got a dream about
your family. I want
It very serious?" She say, "I don't
you. "Is say, "Oh, yeah?
know if it serious or not." --- Page 96 ---
She say, "I dream I see a mountain man on
Street. I1 She say, in that dream, she have to cross Forty-second that street,
and everybody standing, just waiting for the light. She look at
that man. She say,
Azaka
"They got mountain man in New York,
too?" When they give the green light, she just walk. And one
lady walking behind her say, "Hey, Madame! Madame! Madame! That man call you. 11 Bebe say, "What man?" When she
turn her head, she see the mountain man.
She went to the mountain man, and she tell the mountain
man, "Hi," and he say, "Hi, Cousin." And Bebe
"You
want to speak to me?" And he say, "Yes, Cousin." And say, he tell
Bebe, "Did you know Philo?" Bebe say, "Philo? Yeah." "Did
you know Alourdes?" Bebe say, "Yes, I know Alourdes. She
my sister-in-law."
And that man say: "When she come into New York,
she don't dress like me, jean pants and jean shirt? Ifshe dress why
like me, she was well dressed, right?" And Bebe say, "Idon't
know." And the mountain man say, "Tell Alourdesi ifshe dress
like me, everything going to be beautiful!" Bebe say,
and that man walk maybe three or four step, and Bebe "Really?" don't
see him no more, and boom! the docd-immmmr-and
she say, "What time is it?"
It was six-thirty in the morning, and when she wake
Bebe say, "Ahhhh! I understand that dream. I understand. up, I
have to see Alourdes to explain her that.' 11 Because she know
my mother have spirit, you know, SO she say maybe Alourdes's
mother' spirit come and talk to me. Maybe that man
maybe that Kouzen Zaka.
:
When Alourdes heard her sister-in-law's dream, she understood what she had to do. She had to go back to Haiti for the
kind of treatment no hospital in the United States could
vide. But going back to Haiti, even for a short trip, required promoney, and Alourdes had none. For a time, she continued to
live with Yvonne Constant, her family friend, and gradually the
proud Alourdes took that woman into her confidence. Alourdes
told her she did not think she had the strength to work even
she found a job. She told of her conviction thati it was the
if
who were troubling her. She needed to go back to Haiti, spirits and
she worried day and night about how she would find the
to do that.
money
But going back to Haiti, even for a short trip, required promoney, and Alourdes had none. For a time, she continued to
live with Yvonne Constant, her family friend, and gradually the
proud Alourdes took that woman into her confidence. Alourdes
told her she did not think she had the strength to work even
she found a job. She told of her conviction thati it was the
if
who were troubling her. She needed to go back to Haiti, spirits and
she worried day and night about how she would find the
to do that.
money --- Page 97 ---
Yvonne listened, day by day, until the
then she promised to help. She told
full story was out, and
use a credit card to buy her
Alourdes that she would
also loan her the
a plane ticket and that she would
give Alourdes three necessary hundred pocket money. Yvonne promised to
came around in "Hands.' 11 dollars in cash as soon as her turn
Azaka
When Alourdes
story, she had to explain: "You don't
first told me this
Spanish call it 'Blood." I Say
know what is Hands? The
each person give
you got ten people. Then every week
thirty dollar. So
three hundred dollar! That is Hands!" every week somebody got
Alourdes returned to Haiti with no advance
mother. In fact, she had not written
notice to her
know, Igot nothing to put in that
home for months. "You
for myself! And I don't like
letter; I don'teven got money
account of me." When
my mother worry all the time on
Alourdes
little yard on Avenue Oswald
swung open the gate to the
fainted.
Durand in Port-au-Prince, Philo
Alourdes told her mother about Kouzen
Philo said that even though she had not Zaka's message, and
she had known
heard from Alourdes,
portant dream. In something Philo's was wrong. She also had had an imherarmi ina cast, asifit had dream, Alourdes came back home with
entered the house
been broken. In the dream, Alourdes
went
and, without saying a word to her
straight to the altar to pray. After
mother,
turned her back on her mother,
some time, she arose,
door. Philo had this dream
and, still silent, walked out the
turn to Haiti, and it bothered about a month before Alourdes's recussed it with the
her SO much that she even disneighbors.
On one of the first days Alourdes
spirit Ogou possessed her
was home, the warrior
ered was not one Alourdes mother, and the message he delivin
wanted to hear.
my mother' head, and he tell
"Papa Ogou come
card, you
me I'm
to see
know : . do spirit work
suppose
with
like!" Although Alourdes's
. - help people. That) I don't
a reputation as a manbo in mother was very poor, she had quite
Philo had even served
Port-au-Prince. For a short
as a counselor to
period,
fore he became president of Haiti and
François Duvalier, beacter revealed themselves.
the ugly parts of his charlittle ofher mother's
Nevertheless, Alourdes believed that
on her. "I say, 'Oh, boy! healing How knowledge or talent had rubbed off
help
I'm going to do that?' Because
people you got to know a lot'a thing. I say, 'How I
to
going to
as a manbo in mother was very poor, she had quite
Philo had even served
Port-au-Prince. For a short
as a counselor to
period,
fore he became president of Haiti and
François Duvalier, beacter revealed themselves.
the ugly parts of his charlittle ofher mother's
Nevertheless, Alourdes believed that
on her. "I say, 'Oh, boy! healing How knowledge or talent had rubbed off
help
I'm going to do that?' Because
people you got to know a lot'a thing. I say, 'How I
to
going to --- Page 98 ---
all that in my head?' My mother tell me, 'You'll manage;
put
don't you worry!"
involves an elaborate set
Initiation into the Vodou priesthood
of seclusion in
of rituals, the core of which is a long period
to
kouche
to lie down or go
Azaka
which a person is said to
(literally,
the
These rituals are commonly referred to as "taking
sleep).
rattle that is said to give
ason, I1 that is, taking up the beaded
in working
and priestesses a certain amount of leverage
priests
with the spirits.
in
mother' head say I have to take the ason.
Papa Ogou
my mother don't have no ason. But Papa Ogou say
You know, my
father' family serve with the ason, SO I
I have to, because my
I serve two kind of spirit,
have to take the ason for protection.
from my father' family and from my mother' family.
initiation rituals for Alourdes could not take place right
The Money had to be saved for drummers, sacrificial animals,
away.
for the
Several sets of ritual clothing had
food and drink
spirits.
ritual called a
to be sewn. Thus on this first visit only a simple
was performed. The headwashing was
lave tèt (a headwashing) Alourdes made to the spirits, indicating that
a pwomès (promise).
and intended to honor it. The ritual
she had heard their request
Alourdes's head and "fed"
also "cooled" the restive spirits in
she returned to New
and strengthened them. After two weeks,
that she
York. But before she left, she promised the spirits
hunwould return to Haiti to kouche as soon as she had seven
dred dollars.
and, although life in New
The spirits eased their discipline,
turn in
York continued to be demanding, there was a noticeable
"luck" after this first trip back to Haiti. Before she left New
her Alourdes had been unable to find employment. But on
York, after her return, she found a job in the laundry at the
the day
Home, a
she held for two years.
Brooklyn Hebrew
position
Alourdes also moved step by step
During this interim period,
into the role of healer.
know, little by little, start to do
I start to help people, you
know, anything
thing. You my friend, you got trouble-you a little bit. I try to
come to me, Ihelp
. : . love, sickness-you Ido for them is good. No complaint. People
help. Everything
. But on
York, after her return, she found a job in the laundry at the
the day
Home, a
she held for two years.
Brooklyn Hebrew
position
Alourdes also moved step by step
During this interim period,
into the role of healer.
know, little by little, start to do
I start to help people, you
know, anything
thing. You my friend, you got trouble-you a little bit. I try to
come to me, Ihelp
. : . love, sickness-you Ido for them is good. No complaint. People
help. Everything --- Page 99 ---
know, five dollar, ten dollar, be77
start to give me money, you
to
"I don't have
So one day I say myself,
cause they grateful.
work in
to that
11 SoI quit that job and I just
no time to go
job.
house. I read card. I help people.
Azaka
my
this time Alourdes drew on skills acquired during the
During
her mother, on her awakening memory, and on
short visit with
who began to speak to her more directly
the help of the spirits,
through her dreams.
She show me how to read
My mother teach me a lot'a thing. then, after that, I dream
card. My mother start to show me;
to read card
finish show me how
and the spirit finish . . they
know, herb.
in that dream. She teach me about semmp- whole you lot! Also, I begin
My mother know a lot about herb, a
and now I rememremember. Since I little girl, I watch her,
to
ber a lot'a thing.
to see the real person.
My mother tell me, "Now you going
know,
Somebody come in your house, they happy-you to see if
drinking -even they do that, you going
dancing,
bad inside them, you going to
they sad. If they got something
see that.' 11
Alourdes had saved seven hundred dollars, she
Finally, when
returned to Haiti to take the ason.
time I go back to Haiti, my life was not good. Not real
Second
but not good. Second time I go, I pass one
bad like before,
inside that little room where they
month in Haiti. . . nine day
back to New York,
kouche me. Then I a manbo. When I come
I make them
pouring all over me! People who lose job,
people
who sick, I treat them. Their husband or wife
find job. People
come back. After I come back
leave them, I make that person have to work outside again.
from Haiti second time, I did not
woman and a strong manbo,
Alourdes's reputation as a good
has grown
fair to her clients and effective in her treatments,
steadily since then.
to do
never do bad in your
My mother show me how
good,
that return to you,
life. Because when you do bad to people, --- Page 100 ---
that return right on your back. I remember every single thing
she tell me, because that's in my family!My great-grandmother
serve spirit, and my grandmother, then my mother, then me.
Azaka
"Some people got spirit in their family," Alourdes concluded,
"but when they grow up, they think they too big-shot to serve
thatspirit. They too ashame about that. ButI'm not ashameatall,
because I love spirit, because they help me. That's my belief!" --- Page 101 ---
CHAPTER THREE --- Page 102 ---
Raise That Womans Petticoat
about him
Macena had an air
Apiome
that made people painfully self-conscious. A grimo
(light-skinned man), tall and lean, with the grace of a cat-and
SO well dressed! Children became suddenly shy around
and women patted down their Mother Hubbards and
him,
their headrags when they saw him coming. When tugged at
Macena came to the northern town of Port-de-Paix and Alphonse took
room in the only pension there, people talked. Not to his
a
of course. face,
"What's this handsome man doing here? Surveyor,
You are not going to find a single person who saw him you say? doing
any surveying work around here.
inned man), tall and lean, with the grace of a cat-and
SO well dressed! Children became suddenly shy around
and women patted down their Mother Hubbards and
him,
their headrags when they saw him coming. When tugged at
Macena came to the northern town of Port-de-Paix and Alphonse took
room in the only pension there, people talked. Not to his
a
of course. face,
"What's this handsome man doing here? Surveyor,
You are not going to find a single person who saw him you say? doing
any surveying work around here. 11 Macena's
the only thing that kept tongues wagging in Port-de-Paix. inactivity was not
Some
people wondered what he was doing on his own, SO far
from family. The maid in the pension was heard to
that away
knew someone who knew someone who
say
she
was certain he had left
a wife and children down south. The mysterious stranger from Jacmel (a bustling neocolonial
coffee port on Haiti's southern peninsula) stayed
in Port-de-Paix for the
long enough
rumormongers to fall silent, but the
people in town never did learn much about him. The
who talked to Alphonse Macena
only ones
were his drinking
During the long evenings he spent on the balcony of the partners. ful-if shoddy- pension in the center of town, a small gracethe town's hard drinkers gathered around him. Even group of
styled
these selfgwo nèg (important men) were realistic
to know
that most of what passed as conversation
enough
among them was
swagger. Yet some stories were told more often than others. pure
There was the story Macena told of being forced off the
land in Jacmel by an unscrupulous older
family
brother, a story that
A A machann selling herbs. Saut d'Eau, Haiti, 1981. Photograph
by Jerry Gordon. --- Page 103 ---
changed only in the details of how Macena
even. Many years after the
would one day get
brother's
event, he still smarted from his
parting words: "If you ask me for that
going to kill you!" And there
land again, I am
Port-au-Prince
was the story of the
who took on an apprentice
surveyor in
ily. There were hints that
rejected by his famRaise
saved Macena's life,
even this relationship, which had
That
Macena did
went sour in the end. But, in this
Woman's
not speak of revenge; he just called the old case,
Petticoat
"donkey."
man a
Macena liked to be thought of as an educated
nings before the sun set, he could be
man. Many eveof Pension Hubert
seen sitting on the balcony
ostentatiously flipping the
paper, shaking his head, and
pages of a newspowerful. Hubert, the
bemoaning the stupidity of the
drinking
innkeeper and one of Macena's constant
companions, knew this to be a sham,
SO. The only time that old déclassé
but he never said
ment of his own was at the bottom mulatto ventured any judgMacena, and at such times
of a jug of rum shared with
wife than to ridicule
he was far more likely to ridicule his
Macena. Time passed. No one remembers how much
or 1889 when the dapper
time. It was 1888
sharp eyes-at times seductive young Alphonse Macena with the
Port-de-Paix. and at times
At least a year passed before
cruel-arrived in
surveyor in the mountain
Macena got a job as a
that he worked there
village of Jean Rabel, and it is
for a while before he met Marie
likely
Joseph. But mcet her he did. Noelsine
Marie Noclsine, daughter of
Manman Marasa,
Joseph Binbin Mauvant and
was fifteen years old when
saw each other for the first time. The
she and Macena
mutual. Years later, when Macena attraction was sudden and
rather than drunk and
grew drunk and sentimental
say that when he first mean (his more common state), he would
"She
saw her he thought she
was real little and real black, but she
was an Indian. long, too . . and green
had flat, flat hair .
did. Noelsine
Marie Noclsine, daughter of
Manman Marasa,
Joseph Binbin Mauvant and
was fifteen years old when
saw each other for the first time. The
she and Macena
mutual. Years later, when Macena attraction was sudden and
rather than drunk and
grew drunk and sentimental
say that when he first mean (his more common state), he would
"She
saw her he thought she
was real little and real black, but she
was an Indian. long, too . . and green
had flat, flat hair . most fainted. That is what eyes!" She was SO beautiful Macena alhe said. A small part of Macena was a
this part of himself he
hopeless romantic, and it was
only time in his life, when brought he
into full play, perhaps for the
man of the world who
was courting his "Sina.' " He was a
Prince. She
wore a panama hat purchased in
was a protected child who had
Port-auof shoes and who never
never owned a pair
thought that meant anything until she --- Page 104 ---
Macena. At one and the same time, Macena
met Alphonse
of the world in
robbed Marie Noelsine of a child's acceptance into the life of
which she lived and brought more excitement
to
mountain girl than she had ever thought hope
this pubescent
Macena's ambition coincided with her
Raise
for. The rising tides of
into a
of
That
tides, carrying the young girl
place proown biological
Woman's
and discontent. It seemed to happen overnight.
Petticoat
found agitation
Sina had been a dutiful daughter.
Before Macena's arrival,
dawn without
to
She had risen from her bed before
complaint, the
bestacks of crisp, round cassava bread, baked
day
carry the roadside market her family ran at their front gate.
fore, to
in the small talk of her peasant
She had taken simple pleasure from her each morning. It was
neighbors who stopped to buy
to
in bed
only after she met the stranger that she preferred stay On those
in the morning, dreaming wistful, indefinite dreams.
and
Manman Marasa had to call her more than once
mornings,
-
"malelve (badly
by more than one name: "lazy, "ungrateful,"
reared]." all
in the months after Sina met Alphonse
Life was
intrigue each task was evaluated solely in terms of
Macena. Each errand,
with him. More
whether or not it could produce a meeting
Sina
knew or would have thought possible,
times than anyone
of cool well water or a plump avocado
managed to bring a gourd
to the place where Macena was working.
On those hot afternoons, which never came frequently
for either of them, even the trees cooperated, casting a
enough
circle of shadow for the lovers. Macena would push
welcoming hat back on his head and begin to talk. At first, talk
his panama
in which the two were
was slow and punctuated by pauses than of what was being
more conscious of each other's presence
and his
But
Macena would warm to his subject,
said.
gradually to dance through the air, shaping dreams
hands would begin
to call "things I have seen with my
and fantasies he preferred
himself
things he
11 Sometimes he would hear
saying
own eyes.
and he would think to himself, That's
did not know he knew,
with Sina. She was like a
right! That's good!" Macena liked being
reflection.
mountain lake-a good place to gaze at his own
quiet
from these clandestine meetings full of reMacena came away
The
he directed at the
solve, and impatience as well.
impatience
level.
laborer who held the stick he eyed through his surveyor's
And thus it was that passion grew out of words. Both Alphonse
Sometimes he would hear
saying
own eyes.
and he would think to himself, That's
did not know he knew,
with Sina. She was like a
right! That's good!" Macena liked being
reflection.
mountain lake-a good place to gaze at his own
quiet
from these clandestine meetings full of reMacena came away
The
he directed at the
solve, and impatience as well.
impatience
level.
laborer who held the stick he eyed through his surveyor's
And thus it was that passion grew out of words. Both Alphonse --- Page 105 ---
Macena and Marie Noelsine Joseph
they did not possess and, furthermore, desperately wanted worlds
came to believe
knew little about. Each
the other.
escape was buried somewhere in the body of
Mountain girls do not dream of
dred has a legal marriage.
weddings; only one in a hunRaise
thest reach of her
Sina was no exception. At the furThat
dreams, she had an
of a
Woman's
someone who would protect the children image he
"good man," Petticoat
woman who bore them for him. A
fathered and the
a house for his family, cleared
good man built and repaired
vesting. Sina
the land, and even did the haraccepted that the rest was women's work:
planting, routine gardening. Women also
cooking,
and small. They sold the
ran the markets, big
along with goods made with excess produce from the family land
herb teas, cooked food. In the their own hands: bread, candy,
access was oneofthe most
economy of mountain life, sexual
Late one afternoon,
valuable commodities women traded.
Macena walked
during the early days of their
hand in hand with Sina
courtship,
through the canebrake behind the
along a tunnel-like path
As they walked, Macena talked Mauvant family compound.
tiful, fat guinea hen a
about a guinea hen-a beauing.
woman had offered to sell him that
They talked of other things while they
mornversation kept coming back to the hen. When walked, but the conearly evening forced them back to the
the failing light of
to the rickety old
open road and eventually
gate leading into Mauvant's
guinea hen was still being discussed. With
property, the
Noelsine traced lazy circles in the soft
her big toe, Marie
gate. Without raising her
brown dust beneath the
[You
eyes, she said quietly, "Ou met achte
may buy]." Macena knew what she meant. He
away from her that day toward a vermilion
walked
country road, with his
sky at the end of the
Before
panama hat pulled down over one
long, Sina was pregnant. For weeks
eye.
found out, the mere mention of Macena's
after her father
throw Joseph Binbin
name was sufficient to
alike-and
Mauvantinto: a fit. These men were
different enough-to thoroughly dislike enough
with integrity and with reason. Then
each other
daughter's swelling belly and
one day Mauvant saw his
her lower back as she
watched her absentmindedly rub
That
rose from squatting
the
was the moment when reality
by
cooking fire.
vant's stubborn pride and
came hard up against MauMacena had made love refused to surrender. It was not that
to his daughter that bothered Joseph
father
throw Joseph Binbin
name was sufficient to
alike-and
Mauvantinto: a fit. These men were
different enough-to thoroughly dislike enough
with integrity and with reason. Then
each other
daughter's swelling belly and
one day Mauvant saw his
her lower back as she
watched her absentmindedly rub
That
rose from squatting
the
was the moment when reality
by
cooking fire.
vant's stubborn pride and
came hard up against MauMacena had made love refused to surrender. It was not that
to his daughter that bothered Joseph --- Page 106 ---
Binbin Mauvant. What bothered him was that she had gotten
pregnant, forcing Mauvant into a lasting bond, a family bond,
with a man he did not trust. The old African feared that Macena
Raise
was an opportunist who would soon forget that he had to
That
give-and a lot more than guinea hens!-if he expected Marie
Woman's
Noelsine to tend to his needs. This fear proved well founded.
Petticoat
Not long after his grandson Mèdelice was born, Papa Mauvant sent word that he wanted to talk with Macena. The two sat
for most of the day in the shade of the giant mapou in the center
of the yard. Mauvant sat on his short-legged chair, tilted back
against the solid, ancient tree. At first, Alphonse Macena hunkered in front of him, his panama hat resting on one knee,
circles of perspiration forming under his arms.
dark
other chair had appeared, and the two
By noon, anfrom Mauvant's
men were trading drinks
jug of kleren. The next morning, word went out
to the neighbors that a kombit (a cooperative work
would
be called together one week hence to pound the earth group) floor and
thatch the roof of a new house on Mauvant's
Sina
never knew which of the men in her life had to property. convince the
other of the wisdom of this arrangement.
Romance died quickly between Marie Noelsine Joseph and
Alphonse Macena. Within months of the time they began to live
together, the daily routine included at least one
between them and, for her, hard work from before good sunrise fight
after dark. Macena stopped surveying, and,
he
until
to form any attachment to the land in Jean Rabel. worse, He refused
days drinking with his buddies,
spent his
and
betting on the fighting cocks,
bitterly complaining about the far superior land in
that rightfully belonged to him. Their third child,
Jacmel
was
born in 1896. By then Sina had
Philomise,
given up hope. The
pleasure in her life during that period came from the
only
of the market women in Port-de-Paix.
company
Each Wednesday, Sina and a handful of other women from
the family made the long walk down the mountain to sell in the
town market. They rose in the middle oft the night and gathered,
whispering, in the yard. When the first among them heaved a
sigh and moved toward her basket, the others quickly followed
her lead. Each woman placed a circle of braided leaves on her
head to cushion the weight of enormous baskets overloaded
with fruits and vegetables. The first steps were
the hardest. As the band of six or seven headed down always the dark
path to
ix.
company
Each Wednesday, Sina and a handful of other women from
the family made the long walk down the mountain to sell in the
town market. They rose in the middle oft the night and gathered,
whispering, in the yard. When the first among them heaved a
sigh and moved toward her basket, the others quickly followed
her lead. Each woman placed a circle of braided leaves on her
head to cushion the weight of enormous baskets overloaded
with fruits and vegetables. The first steps were
the hardest. As the band of six or seven headed down always the dark
path to --- Page 107 ---
the compound gate, a hand went out here and
cousin's load. Yet, by the time
there to steady a
each had become familiar
they were out on the main road,
enough with the
and
burden to find the compensating
pitch
roll of her
provided
rhythms in her own
that
balance on the long trek down the
body
Sina said she thought her luck
mountain.
Raise
far end of the Port-de-Paix
was best when she sold at the
That
and their odorous
market, near the crafty old herbalists
Woman's
wares. The other women from the
Petticoat
family feared these women and their
Mauvant
revenge. But they let Sina go where she awesome reputations for
Sina did not fear the old market
wanted.
by them and loved
women. She was fascinated
The time she liked nothing more than listening to their
best came after sunset when she
gossip.
spend the night with them under the wide
settled in to
the flickering light of a small fire, she could market portico. By
wrinkled, toothless faces
see only their
found this
floating in a sea of blackness. Sina
strange disembodied company conducive
listening and deep thought. She could attend
to careful
after story without
for hours to story
Noelsine
saying a word. The old women liked
from
Marie
of her. She never bontsehindewumam had to
and they took care
worry about
on market days. They gave her soft
having something to eat
mush with hot peppers. On those juicy mangoes and cornmeal
market closed down,
nights after the Port-de-Paix
dom with the
they shared their lives and hard-won wisA hand would young daughter of Joseph Binbin Mauvant.
under
emerge from the darkness to
an oil tin in which they brewed
poke the fire
with the tea helped to soothe
lettuce-leaf tea. (Gargling
the pipes they all smoked.) sore spots in the mouth caused by
This
was the signal that a new
slight movement or one like it
quick
with
story was about to be launched.
dip
a metal cup; a quick swish and a
A
liquid directed toward the
gargle; a jet of
gutter in front of the
Poverty and suffering were the threads of the portico-a story.
but these women never whined
tales they wove,
their stories came from
or complained. The spice in
children told to
reports of lovers told to move on and
shape up or expect no food.
owners, greedy market
Exploitative landmanagers, and the real human
(garbage), the soldiers who collected
fatra
ket women-all were threatened
spurious taxes from marthe women's
with the dire consequences of
magic. Sina let these stories brew in
time had to pass-years, in fact-and
her heart. But
many things had to hap-
story.
but these women never whined
tales they wove,
their stories came from
or complained. The spice in
children told to
reports of lovers told to move on and
shape up or expect no food.
owners, greedy market
Exploitative landmanagers, and the real human
(garbage), the soldiers who collected
fatra
ket women-all were threatened
spurious taxes from marthe women's
with the dire consequences of
magic. Sina let these stories brew in
time had to pass-years, in fact-and
her heart. But
many things had to hap- --- Page 108 ---
of Joseph Binbin
pen, including the mysterious disappearance the
of
Mauvant, before the morning Sina rose from
company firm in
hags and climbed the mountain to Jean Rabel,
sleeping
that, if Alphonse Macena could not be pried
her conviction
she would simply leave.
Raise
from the house on her family land,
to Gros Morne,
That
Sina moved herself and her daughter Gloria
the
Woman's
miles south and east of Jean Rabel. Mèdelice,
Petticoat
about fifty
she left behind under the watcholdest child and the only son,
Philomise,
ful
of Manman Marasa. She had already given
eyes
into the care of the child's godparents, the Fouher youngest,
Sina departed before dawn
chards, storekeepers in Port-de-Paix.
The end of the first
without waking Macena to say good-bye.
riverbeds of
day found her traveling on muleback along the dry
Gloria
the flat northwestern coastal plain with seven-year-old the mule's
behind her, perched on a lumpy bundle strapped to
shadebroad haunches. For long stretches, the trip was hot and
forced to
to beg drinks of water
less. Sina was
stop frequently
whose huts dotted
from a succession of peasants like herself,
komè
road. She
addressed them respectfully as
(sisthe
always More than once, these gentle folk inter) or kouzen (cousin).
about the nature of her trip,
quired in a polite and friendly way
who had no
and she left them shaking their heads over a man
respect for his family. three and a half days. On the last and longThe journey took
hand
the mule's rope and
est leg, Sina walked with one
holding shoulder. The road to Gros
the other resting lightly on Gloria's
the
Morne seemed to go straight up in places as it paralleled
cascade ofLes Trois Rivières. The mule stumbled along,
reckless
from ropes securing the sack that conexhausted and bleeding
and her modest bag of silver, actained Sina's iron cooking pot
marcumulated during years of Wednesdays in the Port-de-Paix
and died shortly after their arrival
ket. That old mule collapsed
in Gros Morne.
at the home of the cousin Sina sought
land across
Marie Noelsine purchased a few acres of marginal
the
stream from the town center. With her own hands and
the
of her cousin's family, Sina built a one-room
occasional help
chill, the rain, and the wind.
house, tight to the night's damp
and began to
And then she built a brick oven in her backyard
make French bread from refined flour. Gradually, lifeimproved,
and before long Sina and Gloria were making regular trips to
the big market on the bay of Gonaïves. They carried baskets
ina sought
land across
Marie Noelsine purchased a few acres of marginal
the
stream from the town center. With her own hands and
the
of her cousin's family, Sina built a one-room
occasional help
chill, the rain, and the wind.
house, tight to the night's damp
and began to
And then she built a brick oven in her backyard
make French bread from refined flour. Gradually, lifeimproved,
and before long Sina and Gloria were making regular trips to
the big market on the bay of Gonaïves. They carried baskets --- Page 109 ---
brimming with sweet-smelling bread and heavier loads of
oranges they had harvested from trees on their land.
sour
things began to go well, Alphonse Macena
Just when
end, it was simply a question of
showed up. In the
ther of her children; what else family loyalty. He was the faAlphonse Macena
could Sina do but let him stay?
Raise
area for
soon gained a reputation in the Gros Morne
That
being rude, stingy, and malevolent and for
Woman's
meanest and luckiest fighting cocks
having the
Petticoat
roosters he ever
on the mountain. Of all the
Fanm-nan
owned, his favorite was named Leve
(Raise That Woman's Petticoat).
Jipon
that rooster died was the only time in his life People say the day
He even gave it a real funeral, which
Macena ever cried.
loved the rooster more than
was fitting because he
Six days out of
any human being.
knew
seven, if anyone wanted to find
where to look: under the thatched
Macena, they
of town where the
pavilion on the far side
oblivious
cockfights took place. Down on his
to the circle of denim-clad,
haunches,
pressing in on him, Macena would
sweating male bodies
crooning voice of a lover. At the
speak to his rooster in the
bird's tense body
same time, he would hold the
firmly between his hands and thrust him
peatedly toward the opponent on the far side of the
retiful cock. .
ring. "Beaume.
Ayeee! . . Strong cock . : : Haaaaa! .
. . Yesssssss
. for me! For me!" Then,
. . Earn for
luck gesture, Macena would
in a final goodput the whole head of Leve
Fanm-nan into his mouth and draw it out
Jipon
ing the bird into the quick and violent
slowly before throwand feathers.
flurry of razor-sharp
People said that ifl Macena's bird ever
spurs
to lose, all he had to do was shout, "Leve
seemed about
within seconds the other cock
Jipon Fanm-nan!". and
was a bloody,
dying bird flesh. Some said Macena
twitching mass of
used magic.
always won because he
Although Leve Jipon Fanm-nan won
Macena never made money at
consistently, Alphonse
high stakes recklessly
cockfighting, for he wagered
on other men's battles. Some
clever farmers from Gros Morne understood
of the more
to challenge his courage to lure Macena
that they had only
But they had to be careful because
into a foolish side bet.
the kind of man who could
everyone knew Macena was
carry a grudge.
Shortly after his arrival in Gros Morne, Macena
house for the spirits some
built a little
his wife's
twenty yards from the back edge of
property, where the land fell away, fast and steep, to
high stakes recklessly
cockfighting, for he wagered
on other men's battles. Some
clever farmers from Gros Morne understood
of the more
to challenge his courage to lure Macena
that they had only
But they had to be careful because
into a foolish side bet.
the kind of man who could
everyone knew Macena was
carry a grudge.
Shortly after his arrival in Gros Morne, Macena
house for the spirits some
built a little
his wife's
twenty yards from the back edge of
property, where the land fell away, fast and steep, to --- Page 110 ---
the river below. He builtit under the labapen tree where the twoheaded serpent lived. The spirit house and the gildio (rum distillery) were the only tangible contributions Macena ever made
to the Gros Morne homestead. He
Raise
members
allowed no one, not even
That
of the family, to go in the spirit house. In fact, if the
Woman's 's
truth be told, he rarely went in himself. Macena went to see the
Petticoat
spirits only when he needed something.
One day the unexpected happened: Leve Jipon Fanm-nan died
in battle. Rumor held that somebody had "done
something"
against Macena. Alphonse Macena strode back from the cockfighting ring that day with the legs of the old fighter clenched
his fist, the bird's milky eyes fixed in a blank stare on the road in
churning inches beneath its lax beak. Macena drank in silence
until midnight and then took the dead rooster to his
house. For a long time he sat unmoving. The
in spirit
hut came from a candle stub
only light
the
burning on one arm of a
red
wooden cross planted in the earth floor. Thick
large
here and there extended from the ceiling and ropes knotted
corners of the
room, binding the cross like an animal caught in a snare. The
flickering candle flame multiplied the ropes through sevenfold
shadows until it would have appeared to an observer-had
there been one-that Macena was a spider lying in wait in the
center of his web.
That was July, the last week of the month. For five months,
Macena did nothing and said nothing against any of his
bors. He had never been a big eater, but, after the death of neigh- Leve
Jipon Fanm-nan, he consumed SO little food and SO much rum
that the skin on his face began to sag like an old shirt
a peg in the middle of his forehead. Only the
hung from
intensity of his
eyes betrayed the inner man. Some people said he looked as
he had the spirits on him all the time. During these
if
one of the neighbors saw Macena
months,
accidentally drop his tobacco
pouch down the well. The oath that exploded from his mouth
was still ringing in the air as Macena's body willed itselfinto the
shape of a crab, which then scuttled down the well to retrieve
the lost pouch.
Late at night, on the last day of December of the
Leve
Jipon Fanm-nan died, Macena walked a half mile down year the
road. Without knocking, he entered a little house where a family of ten sat laughing and spinning tales. A hush fell on the
group when they saw Macena's hard face. "This
year was yours.
the well. The oath that exploded from his mouth
was still ringing in the air as Macena's body willed itselfinto the
shape of a crab, which then scuttled down the well to retrieve
the lost pouch.
Late at night, on the last day of December of the
Leve
Jipon Fanm-nan died, Macena walked a half mile down year the
road. Without knocking, he entered a little house where a family of ten sat laughing and spinning tales. A hush fell on the
group when they saw Macena's hard face. "This
year was yours. --- Page 111 ---
The next one is mine. 11 That was all he
and walked home,
said. He turned his back
Back at his own house, Macena took
8g
and shook it up. Bam! It
a bottle of ginger beer
ing and spattering
exploded, shooting its cork at the ceilfollowed.
drops on all four walls. One second ofs
Raise
Then the soft chirping of the mountain
silence
That
open once more, this time by a long,
night was split
Woman's
down the road:
piercing cry from the house
that. The wail "Ayeccecceeeet Bad medicine is
Petticoat
was heard at midnight. By the
simple like
from that house were sawing wood for
next morning, men
After that, no one in Gros Morne a tiny coffin.
sharp-eyed surveyor from Jacmel. In tried the anything against the
who did himselfin. Macena had
end, it was Macena
he had been given the
access to the spirits. In Jacmel,
man with a lot of
ason and taught how to heal. He was a
dead. What
power; some said he could even raise the
Alphonse Macena lacked was good
neighbor came by when food was
manners. Ifa
saw to it that the lids stayed
cooking on the fire, Macena
did not like to feed the
on the pots until the visitor left. He
ward-he had
spirits, either. Macena had
come to believe that the
things backwere there to serve him.
spirits, like his wife,
One day, the family of a very sick man
last resort. Every other healer in the
came to Macena as a
man back to health and had failed. area had tried to bring the
Macena
nothing to do with other
usually would have
too much of a challenge to people's problems, but this case was
stuck in the earth floor of his refuse. He yanked up the machete
straw sack filled with dried spirit house, grabbed a dusty old
sick man's house, Macena herbs, and went straightaway to the
him to do nothing.
summoned the spirits, but they told
When Macena They said, "This one is supposed to die."
heard the
emerged from the deep waters of trance and
message the spirits had left for him,
rage and whacked his machete
he flew into a
that his patient screamed
SO hard against the door frame
face pale with
in fright and jumped from bed. His
anger, Macena
"I
its. What do I need those
proclaimed: don't need the spirAnd Alphonse
spirits for? I am going to do it
Macena did just that. He healed
myself."
cena was the one who died. The first
that man. Masickness that took
sharp pains of the awful
Alphonse Macena's life
belly that very day, before he
began deep in his
As for Sina, she continued was halfway home.
to work from before sunrise to long
with
in fright and jumped from bed. His
anger, Macena
"I
its. What do I need those
proclaimed: don't need the spirAnd Alphonse
spirits for? I am going to do it
Macena did just that. He healed
myself."
cena was the one who died. The first
that man. Masickness that took
sharp pains of the awful
Alphonse Macena's life
belly that very day, before he
began deep in his
As for Sina, she continued was halfway home.
to work from before sunrise to long --- Page 112 ---
With Macena no longer around, the neighbors beafter sunset.
and after a while some ofthe men
gan tostopby more frequently, offered to fix her leaking roof, another
started to court her. One
their labor for her
to clear a new field. Both meant to exchange But it soon became
Raise
company at night, and Sina was tempted.
That
that the spirits had another plan for her life.
Woman's apparent
Macena's death, the water in Sina's well took on
Petticoat
The day after
foul odor. More than a year passed before
a strange taste and a
that time Sina was forced
the water was drinkable again. During river and
water back up
to descend the steep bank to the
carry
afternoon
to her house. A strange thing happened one cloudy bucket balanced
returned from the river with a heavy
as she
the bank when she heard a
on her head. She was halfway up
II
whistle: "Wheeeeeee : . . ou. Wheeeeeee . 00000000001 from far away,
At first it seemed that the sound was coming
in the next moment, it was right next to her. The whistling
but,
and whipped round and round in her
pierced Sina's eardrums to cover her ears, and before she realbrain. Her hands flew up
and it tumbled down
ized it, she dropped the bucket of water,
Sina listened
the embankment. A profound silence followed.
and looked all around, but she could hear nothing,
carefully
one. After a minute or two, she simply shook
and she saw no
back to the river to refill her bucket. On
her head and trudged Sina reached the same spot, she heard
the second trip, when
the whistle again. This time she fainted.
for
became alarmed that her mother had been gone
Gloria
time, and she set out to look for her. She found Sina
such a long
the river embankment. Gloria panicked.
lying unconscious on
she cried as she shook
"Manman. : . . Manman : . . Manman!" Sina's
fluttered open.
her mother and slapped her cheeks.
eyes
She gestured weakly to one side.
Wha
"You see that rock, Gloria?" she asked. "What rock?.
about?" Gloria stuttered.
wha .
what are you talking
rock inches from her
Then she noticed a large, round, shiny Ezili Danto mounted
mother's head. And at that very moment
Her
Noelsine
Sina's body snapped upright.
eyes
Marie
Joseph.
in harsh
The spirit reached
bulged, and her breath came
Gloria. gasps. Then she gestured
out for the rock and shoved it toward
urgently toward the house.
the house and returned in minGloria understood. She ran to
candle. She lit the candle
utes with a plate of cornmeal and a
are you talking
rock inches from her
Then she noticed a large, round, shiny Ezili Danto mounted
mother's head. And at that very moment
Her
Noelsine
Sina's body snapped upright.
eyes
Marie
Joseph.
in harsh
The spirit reached
bulged, and her breath came
Gloria. gasps. Then she gestured
out for the rock and shoved it toward
urgently toward the house.
the house and returned in minGloria understood. She ran to
candle. She lit the candle
utes with a plate of cornmeal and a --- Page 113 ---
and set it on the ground. Then she took small pinches of corn91
meal between her thumb and finger and traced a delicate heart
around the rock. She put scallops around its edges and a cluster
its
Ezili Danto watched this
of arcane signs around
perimeter.
Raise
process carefully. When it was done, she opened her arms wide
That
as if she wished to gather up the beautiful drawing, and she
Woman's
smiled broadly. Then Sina's head fell forward onto her chest.
Petticoat
Danto was gone.
When Sina felt strong enough to walk, she and Gloria picked
up the rock and carried it back to the house. They placed it in
one corner, and that night they surrounded it with tiny oil lamps
flickering in twenty-one fragments of coconut shell. Throughout
the night, the lamps burned, their light dancing over the walls
of the hut. Sina and Gloria lay side by side on their mats. Neither one could sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night, Sina
spoke. "Iti is better this way," she said. "I know the spirits want
me. Before, I always said no. Now everything has changed.
Now I will serve the spirits. They will take care of me. I do not
need a man." --- Page 114 --- --- Page 115 ---
CHAPTER FOUR --- Page 116 ---
Ogou
n July 21, 1979, Alourdes
Margaux, the granddaughter of Alphonse Macena, held a feast
for Ogou, the proud and powerful warrior who is her chief
counselor from the spirit world. To protect herself from
proving neighbors, Alourdes ordinarily keeps her doors disap- and
windows closed during Vodou events, but this proved
sible on that muggy summer evening. Vodou
impossongs spread like
soothing syrup, covering over the noise of restless rats in the
ceiling and restive neighbors on their front stoops. Around two
o'clock in the morning, Papa Ogou was presented with
fat, red rooster. Before
a fine,
Ogou wrung the neck of the arrogant
beast, it was given a "point name," I as is the custom in Vodou
ceremonies. Ogou's rooster was solemnly baptized as "Leve
Jipon Fanm-nan :
Tonnè (Raise That Woman's
Thunder]."
Petticoat :
When Ogou came to ride Alourdes, he was outfitted in an impressive, red velvet military jacket with gold buttons and gold
epaulets. Ogou's poscsion-performancd began with a series
familiar gestures. Taking his ritual sword in hand and
of
the air in broad aggressive strokes, Ogou first attacked slicing
ible enemy. Then he took more controlled,
an invismenacing jabs at
'In the Vodou context, the word pwen (point) refers to a
A proen may consist of words, gestures, ritual
charm or talisman. cut in a person's skin. In all cases, the point objects, or herbs rubbed into a small
priation of spiritual powers. During Vodou represents the condensation and approanimals, as well as persons, are baptized. These baptisms, sacred objects and sacrificial
densations of powerful truths. Ogou's rooster is baptismal therefore endowed "point names" are conAlphonse Macena's considerable spiritual power but also with
not only with
against its misuse. a cautionary coda
A manbo offers a rooster to Ogou. Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn,
1979. --- Page 117 ---
those members of Alourdes's Vodou
him. Finally, in a gesture full of bravado family standing nearest
wounding,
that also hinted at self95
Ogou turned the sword on himself.
, sacred objects and sacrificial
densations of powerful truths. Ogou's rooster is baptismal therefore endowed "point names" are conAlphonse Macena's considerable spiritual power but also with
not only with
against its misuse. a cautionary coda
A manbo offers a rooster to Ogou. Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn,
1979. --- Page 117 ---
those members of Alourdes's Vodou
him. Finally, in a gesture full of bravado family standing nearest
wounding,
that also hinted at self95
Ogou turned the sword on himself. point in one hip, he bent the rapierlike blade
Lodging the
performs his dance with the sword
into an arc. Ogou
at nearly
sion on which he makes an
every public OccaOgou
to body language what
appearance. Its elegant gestures are
densation
proverbs are to spoken
a conpoint for complex truths:
language,
trays, power turns on those who wield power liberates, power beit. Ogou, the warrior, condenses and
Haitian history. Haiti's
re-presents the lessons of
than that of
military heritage is more convoluted
many nations. Although there is one
tarnished hero, Toussaint
grand and uncessful slave
L'Ouverture, the leader of the sucrevolution that began in 1791, Haitians are
customed to military liberators and
also acon them. In an
to
political advocates who turn
for
attempt restore economic and social
example, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the first Haitian stability,
state, forced people back into a life of servitude
head of
from the slavery they had just
little different
1806, after
escaped. He was assassinated in
only two years in office.This story of
betrayal has been acted out many times in Haitian promise and
occupation of the country by U.S. Marines
history, IThe
and the continuing influence of the
from 1915 to 1934
litical affairs provide
United States in Haitian pomaterial for many such stories. In some ways, the most poignant morality tale of
power gone awry is that of François Duvalier. popular
sented himself as a man of the
and
Duvalier prephilosophy of
people
a proponent of the
negritude. He was, among other
a
priest, and the grassroots political
things, Vodou
office was built partly
organization that put him in
through Vodou networks. After
became president, however, he used Vodou
Duvalier
and control them. 2 He also continued the tointimidate people
of utilizing the army as a domestic police force. longstanding To
practice
check the po2Stories are told about Vodou ceremonies in the National
Duvalier was possessed by his gwo Baron
Palace during which
the cemetery and the head of all the Gede, (big Baron). of (BaronSamdi is the keeper of
him, Duvalier made a great show of
spirits the dead.) With his Gede riding
those who worked closely with
knowing intimate details about the lives of
work of spies.
them. 2 He also continued the tointimidate people
of utilizing the army as a domestic police force. longstanding To
practice
check the po2Stories are told about Vodou ceremonies in the National
Duvalier was possessed by his gwo Baron
Palace during which
the cemetery and the head of all the Gede, (big Baron). of (BaronSamdi is the keeper of
him, Duvalier made a great show of
spirits the dead.) With his Gede riding
those who worked closely with
knowing intimate details about the lives of
work of spies. him--information that had in fact come from a net- --- Page 118 ---
ambitions of military leaders, he further compounded the
litical
by
community lead96
forces of tyranny and oppression form arming the civilian militia that
ofthem Vodou priests, to
ers, many the dreaded Tonton Makout.
became
that
Ogou
Through the countless Ogou posesion-periomanere communities each year,
occur in Haiti and in Haitian immigrant
Haitians remember
around Ogou's feast day in late July,
many
military and political history. They preserve
their paradoxical
and
them to the places in their
and analyze its lessons
apply
these issues as
lives where
is the issue. To explore
own
power has subdivided. As Sen Jak Majè (Saint
fully as possible, Ogou
"man of war" who fights for what is
James the Elder), Ogou is a
As
Panama, he is a pèsènaj (an important
right and just.
Ogou
with ceremony and deferperson) who demands to be treated
As
As
Feray, he is fierce and uncompromising.
ence.
Ogou
handsome, brave, and loyal. Yet, as
Ogou Badagri, he is shy,
drunkard who finds power in
Ogou Yamson, he is an unreliable
he is a liar and a
booze and swaggering talk; and, as Agéou,
Achade or
And when Ogou is called by the names
beggar.
conflated into one character), he
Shango (the two are sometimes
is said to be a sorcerer.
all of them
At times, Alourdes says there are seven Ogou,
In fact,
brothers. At other times, she says there are twenty-one.
of
encountered more than twenty-one in the temples
I have
tendency to subdivide indicates
Haiti and New York. Ogou's
traditional religion.
the pivotal position he occupies in Haitian
of
of history and the small events everyday
The grand episodes
to bear on Ogou that he has had
life have brought such pressure
Haitians have loaded
to multiply in order to carry the weight.
a small
him with SO much life experience that Ogou has cloned
and
to sort the lessons of that experience, package them,
army
them to the people. Only one other Vodou spirit,
re-present
and
arbiter of death, has
Gede, master of the cemetery
grand
of Chapsubdivided to such an extent. (Gede is the subject
ter12.)
3For a full discussion of the Vodou spirit Ogou, see Karen McCarthy in
Brown, Ogun:
Remembering, Systematic Forgetting: Ogou in Haiti," Africa's
"Systematic Old World and New, ed. Sandra T. Barnes (Bloomington: Indiana University Press,
1989), 65-89.
y
them to the people. Only one other Vodou spirit,
re-present
and
arbiter of death, has
Gede, master of the cemetery
grand
of Chapsubdivided to such an extent. (Gede is the subject
ter12.)
3For a full discussion of the Vodou spirit Ogou, see Karen McCarthy in
Brown, Ogun:
Remembering, Systematic Forgetting: Ogou in Haiti," Africa's
"Systematic Old World and New, ed. Sandra T. Barnes (Bloomington: Indiana University Press,
1989), 65-89. --- Page 119 ---
Of the various Ogou, Panama is a particularly
ample of how history is taken up in the Vodou interesting exshaped into lessons for the lives of the faithful. temple and
takes his name from the fashionable
Ogou Panama
trademark of President Florvil
panama hat that was the
out from Port-au-Prince
Hippolyte. In 1896 Hippolyte set
Ogou
on a punitive
to quell resistancemilitary mission designed
the
especially that of a certain
town of Jacmel. He vowed to burn the
Vodou Priest-in
inhabitants
town and kill all the
except one man and one woman,
to repopulate the region. As
who would be left
leave, his panama hat fell off. The Hippolyte mounted his horse to
a bad omen and pleaded with him president's family took this as
sisted. Before he
not to go, but Hippolyte
was out of Port-au-Prince, he fell
perhorse, unconscious, and never recovered. 4 In Vodou from his
day, people sing: "Papa Ogou se nèg panama
temples topanama man]." In songs of secular
ye (Papa Ogou is a
panama hat has also become
political satire, the falling
destroys the one who misuses a it. cryptic reference to power that
Through such "deep play" with character and
tian Vodou brings the lessons of
context, Haieveryday life. Ogou teaches
politics and war to bear on
that to live one must
endurance, self-assertion,
fight. Pride,
justice are
discipline, and a firm commitment to
qualities that bring success. But in one turn
screw, pride can become lying braggadocio,
of the
come stubbornness, self-assertion
endurance can befades into mere
discipline is transformed into
bullying, and
tyranny. An
sense of justice, one that is tempered neither overly developed.
graceful resignation,
by humor nor by
can lead to suicidal rage,
people whose life circumstances
especially for
tians. In the Ogou who
are as difficult as those of Haiare alcoholic and
see the fierce soldiers who
indigent, one can still
thought themselves
cause they knew their cause was just.
invulnerable beBecause the constructive and destructive
acter are SO close
parts of Ogou's chartogether, none of the various
or evil, right or wrong, in a simple,
Ogou is good
tains his own paradoxes of
unqualified way. Each conpersonality, which are teased out in
*See Harold Courlander, The Drum and the Hoe: and Lore
(Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Life
of the Haitian People
Press, 1960), 150-52.
, one can still
thought themselves
cause they knew their cause was just.
invulnerable beBecause the constructive and destructive
acter are SO close
parts of Ogou's chartogether, none of the various
or evil, right or wrong, in a simple,
Ogou is good
tains his own paradoxes of
unqualified way. Each conpersonality, which are teased out in
*See Harold Courlander, The Drum and the Hoe: and Lore
(Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Life
of the Haitian People
Press, 1960), 150-52. --- Page 120 ---
and in song. In July of 1979, for exposesionpetfomane
a lively song for all the
ample, Alourdes's community sang
Ogou:
Ogou
Ki-ki-li-ki, o-ewa!
Papa Ogou, tou pitikon sa.
Papa Ogou, anraje.
Cock-a-doodle doo!
Papa Ogou, all children are like that.
Papa Ogou, enraged.
replete with double and triple entendre, is
Such lean phrasing,
is
characteristic of Vodou songs. From one perspective, Ogou
counseled in this song to show forbearance toward his children,
followers. From another, Ogou himself is a strutting banty
his
childish tantrums when he cannot have
rooster who throws
his way.
unlike the Catholic saints whose names they
Vodou spirits,
contradiction. The Vodou
borrow, are characters defined by
human life. The
represent the powers at work in and on
spirits
ability to contain conflicting emowholeness ofthe spirits-their
of being in the world-gives
tions and to model opposing ways
Vodou its integrity as a religion.
and the
Haitian Vodou is not a religion of the empowered
Haitians have not had the choice of living with comprivileged.
about the forces that structure their lives and
forting fantasies
of finitude,
determine their fate. An open-eyed acceptance
which is central to the religion, is one reason the Vodou spirits
characters. The ophave emerged as whole, three-dimensional of human character and
pressed are the most practiced analysts
is the repository for
behavior, and Haitian traditional religion
slavwisdom accumulated by a people who have lived through
corruption, and violence-all
ery, hunger, disease, repression,
in excess.
their
with them, reliThe African slaves brought
religions
levels in
whose wisdom and insight operated on many
gions
and the natural worlds. Slaves were drawn from
both the social
therefore had selective
specific population subgroups, and they
odou spirits
characters. The ophave emerged as whole, three-dimensional of human character and
pressed are the most practiced analysts
is the repository for
behavior, and Haitian traditional religion
slavwisdom accumulated by a people who have lived through
corruption, and violence-all
ery, hunger, disease, repression,
in excess.
their
with them, reliThe African slaves brought
religions
levels in
whose wisdom and insight operated on many
gions
and the natural worlds. Slaves were drawn from
both the social
therefore had selective
specific population subgroups, and they --- Page 121 ---
of
Ogou's sword and the chromolithograph
Detail from an altar for Ogou showing Fort Greene, Brooklyn, 1980.
Alourdes's home,
Saint James. --- Page 122 ---
memory. But, once on the other side of the ocean, they also had
selective needs. Slaves in the New World reground the lens of
their religion to allow it to focus in exquisite detail on the social
Ogou
arena, the most problematic one in their lives.The spirits they
brought with them from Africa shifted and realigned in response to their needs. Some were forgotten; others were given a
centrality they never had in the homeland.
As a result of this shift, the cosmos became
< cialized. Ancient African spirits
thoroughly SOsubmerged their connections to
the natural world and elaborated their social
a good example. This Yoruba spirit's association messages. Ogou is
with ironsmithing and his roles as the protector of hunters and clearer of forest
paths are barely detectable in the Haitian Ogou. In Haiti, his
connection to soldiering has come to define his
because
character,
this is the role in which Haitian slaves and their descendants have needed him most. Few arenas of life are as
atic for Haitians as the military, and few Vodou
receive problemmuch emphasis in
spirits
as
contemporary urban Vodou as
In some parts of the Haitian countryside, distinct Ogou. "nations"of
Vodou spirits can still be found. These nations
names
generally have
indicating their African origins: Ibo, Nago (Ketu Yoruba), Mandang (Mandingo), Kongo, Wangol (Angola), and
Rada (probably for the Dahomean principality of Allada). In
Port-au-Prince, however, two pantheons have come to dominate, generally by absorbing the others. These two are Rada and
Petwo.5 Ogou is an exception to this binary scheme for
the Vodou spirits, and his altars and his rites are kept distinct ordering in
urban Vodou temples.
A look at the contrasting moods ofthe Rada and Petwo
helps to explain why Ogou cannot be easily classified as one spirits
the other. The Rada spirits are
or
sweet-tempered and dependable; their power resides in their wisdom. Ifa promised sacrifice
cannot be offered to them now, they can easily be convinced
wait until later. The Rada spirits are called lwa rasin
to
root
(root lva,
spirits). They are intimate, familial spirits who are given
SThe latter is a name of uncertain origin, but its
a discussion of the Kongo origins of Petwo ritual iconography is clearly Kongo. For
Thompson, Flash of the Spirit: African and
vocabulary, see Robert Farris
York: Random House, 1983), 179-84.
Afro-American Art and Philosophy (New
Ifa promised sacrifice
cannot be offered to them now, they can easily be convinced
wait until later. The Rada spirits are called lwa rasin
to
root
(root lva,
spirits). They are intimate, familial spirits who are given
SThe latter is a name of uncertain origin, but its
a discussion of the Kongo origins of Petwo ritual iconography is clearly Kongo. For
Thompson, Flash of the Spirit: African and
vocabulary, see Robert Farris
York: Random House, 1983), 179-84.
Afro-American Art and Philosophy (New --- Page 123 ---
family titles such as Papa and Kouzen.
tions of water, sweet liqueurs,
They are offered libaThe Petwo spirits, in
herb-laced rum, and perfume.
contrast, are
They must be handled with
hot-tempered and volatile.
paid and promises
care and precision. Debts must be
who
kept, or they will
serve them. The power of the
badger and harass those
Ogou
effectivity, their ability to make Petwo spirits resides in their
cially good at dealing with
things happen. They are esperum mixed with ingredients money matters. They are offered
and gunpowder.
such as coffee, hot
Small charges of
pepper, blood,
temples for the Petwo
gunpowder are set off in the
whips and
spirits, and they are served with
shrieking police whistles. Theirs
cracking
of slavery. Whereas Rada drum
is the iconography
and playful, those for the Petwo rhythms are sensual, elegant,
exciting.
spirits are harsh, rapid, and
A case can be made that the contrast
is that between two
between Rada and Petwo
and foreigners, insiders archetypal social groups: family members
and outsiders, the
oppressors.*( Ogou cannot be easilya
oppressed and their
assimilated
because, as a soldier, he must
into either group
fending the one from the other. necessarily be in between, dePetwo
He carries swords and
implements; but he does SO in the name of
guns,
Ogou can be both merciless and
Rada values.
tween family members and
righteous. His location beOgou the ideal champion of the foreigners, furthermore, makes
tian communities, he
immigrant. In New York's Haiseems to be served
more lavishly than any other Vodou
more frequently and
exception of Gede. It is therefore spirit, with the possible
Alourdes's main spirit.
no surprise that Ogou is
Ogou's rich and complex lessons about
abuses wove in and out of the
power and its uses and
Alourdes and the
many stories exchanged between
scholar Wande
internationally known Nigerian
Abimbola during a
(Yoruba)
years after the July evening when late-night visit nearly two
with a rooster named for
Ogou had been presented
Alphonse Macena's fighting cock. I
*For a full discussion of the Rada and Petwo
archetypal "The
social groupings of insiders and pantheons as representatives of the
Vévè of Haitian Vodou: A Structural outsiders, see Karen McCarthy Brown,
sertation, Temple University, 1976), 80-112. Analysis of Visual Imagery" (Ph.D. dis-
Abimbola during a
(Yoruba)
years after the July evening when late-night visit nearly two
with a rooster named for
Ogou had been presented
Alphonse Macena's fighting cock. I
*For a full discussion of the Rada and Petwo
archetypal "The
social groupings of insiders and pantheons as representatives of the
Vévè of Haitian Vodou: A Structural outsiders, see Karen McCarthy Brown,
sertation, Temple University, 1976), 80-112. Analysis of Visual Imagery" (Ph.D. dis- --- Page 124 ---
Abimbola at Amherst College in the fall of 1980,
had met Wande
attended a lecture I gave
when he was a visiting professor. He
an interest
on Vodou in Brooklyn, and he expressed
at Amherst
in the lecture.
Alourdes, whom I frequently quoted
in meeting
York
the following spring, I offered
Ogou
When he came to New
City
to take him to her home for a visit.
A VISIT FROM THE AFRICAN OGOU
in New York to give a talk at the staid and proper
Abimbola was
Park West in Manhattan. The event
Liederkranz Club on Central
when we arrived at
ended late, and it was almost midnight
guest,
Alourdes'sdoorin) Fort Greene. Anticipating an important
unlocked the seldom-used sitting room on the
Alourdes had
Plates of crackers and bottles of various
first floor of her house.
coffee table, amid the usual array
drinks had been set out on the
stiff
animals and plaster nymphs. At first, we were
of stuffed
the
of Alourdes's plastic slipand formal, perched on
edge
with the respect due a
covers. Yet Abimbola treated Alourdes
began to exof his own tradition. And when they
priestess
and
stories, Abimbola's tales were as honest, poignant,
change
those Alourdes told. Wande Abimbola seemed
self-revealing as
and she seemed to draw energy
to find relief in her presence,
from his.
tired when we arrived, but in
Alourdes was understandably
she was wide awake and in top story-telling
less than an hour
history, she jumped from
form. To enact events from her family
Sometimes she
her place on the couch next to the professor.
Abimbola
him lightly on the knee to emphasize a point.
slapped
for story. Both Alourdes and Maggie
matched Alourdes story
and trusted Wande Abimbola.
would later say that they liked business. He don't have to tell
As Alourdes put it: "That family
him: These
us that stuff. 1 Maggie had her own way ofaffirming
I've met them before. They are good men :
African priests,
tell from him that he was.' 11
not always. . : but I can
the fatal hubris of AlOne of Alourdes's first tales concerned
the
Macena, which led him to undertake a cure
spirits
phonse
Abimbola jumped in eagerly when her story
had forbidden.
to my father!" he
was finished. "The very same thing happened
of
and
cried. And he told a story about his father, a priest Ogou
Maggie had her own way ofaffirming
I've met them before. They are good men :
African priests,
tell from him that he was.' 11
not always. . : but I can
the fatal hubris of AlOne of Alourdes's first tales concerned
the
Macena, which led him to undertake a cure
spirits
phonse
Abimbola jumped in eagerly when her story
had forbidden.
to my father!" he
was finished. "The very same thing happened
of
and
cried. And he told a story about his father, a priest Ogou --- Page 125 ---
an excellent midwife. When the wife of a
difficulty giving birth, Abimbola's
family member had
wishes of the spirits. Her
father intervened, against the
baby was delivered
way home the old Ogou priest
safely, but on his
the onset of a long and
contracted a fever that marked
Alourdes murmured
painful illness. "I know, I know,"
Ogou
said,
several times. "Your father a
11 she
"my mother, too."
priest,
"I know you have
too
Ogou
Ogou,
: .
Abimbola
my husband!" Alourdes cried. "I love him began. "Papa
very, very special. He always help
very much. He
family, too. He help everybody!" me-and my family : my
"I am a priest of Ogou," Abimbola said,
was. Even the people who live in the
"because my father
to the university, their
cities, even those who go
That is still the
deep connections are to a rural
place we call our home. No
village.
can be made without going back to consult important decision
the way we are. Also, in
our elders. That is
has his own
my country it is a little different.
priests. And Ogou is not
Ogou
one who clears the
He
just a soldier. He is the
you know."
way.
opens a path through the forest,
Abimbola took a sip of his 7-Up and continued:
works with iron. So all the
"Ogou also
those
people who work with
young men who work in the big oil fields, iron, even
Ogou, too. Ogou is important to us because he
they follow
to handle the modern world
teaches us how
Without
-arms, machines, trucks, all that.
Ogou, we could forget that the
turn on him, even destroy him. In
things man creates can
is very important to the people. 11 Nigeria, in my country, Ogou
Wande Abimbola was warming to his
became more and more animated.
subject, and his voice
duced to almost nothing if
"Why, crime could be repeople were made to swear
They go to a court of law and have to
on iron!
they think, 'Well, what does it matter swear on the Bible, and
just another book.' But if
what I say? This is a book,
Ogou, that would be
they had to swear on the sword of
another thing!"
The mention of Ogou's role in
other story from Abimbola. "For ensuring justice triggered anhead of all the Ogou
a long time my father was
sibility of
priests. The Ogou priests had the
guarding the cities. One night,
responThe priests killed a cook. They had
there was an accident.
the city gates late at night and had seen him wandering outside
mistaken him for a robber.
book.' But if
what I say? This is a book,
Ogou, that would be
they had to swear on the sword of
another thing!"
The mention of Ogou's role in
other story from Abimbola. "For ensuring justice triggered anhead of all the Ogou
a long time my father was
sibility of
priests. The Ogou priests had the
guarding the cities. One night,
responThe priests killed a cook. They had
there was an accident.
the city gates late at night and had seen him wandering outside
mistaken him for a robber. --- Page 126 ---
They were charged with murder and set for trial. By accident,
my father had not been on guard that night and SO was not
charged. Butmy fathertold the court that he ought to be
instead of the others, because it was on
charged
Ogou
his order that they had
been sent to guard the town."
"Your father a good man," Alourdes quietly observed. Abimbola acknowledged her comment with a smile. "When the authorities would not listen, my father summoned all the
priests from a wide, wide area to come and surround the court. Ogou
He told them, 'Go ahead and convict these people, and
priests will destroy this town! The men who had been
my
were
charged
given light sentences and probation.'
Alourdes suddenly rose from the couch and spun around to
face Abimbola. She moved her feet in a light and lively
spread out her arms, and sang, full voice:
step,
Aye, Aye,
Lapolis a rete mwen,
Jij pa kondane mwen.
Aye, Aye,
The police will arrest me,
The judge will not condemn me.
Her burst of song passed like a summer shower. In another
ment, she was seated next to a smiling Abimbola.
mowe
"Sometime
sing that for Papa Ogou,' 11 she explained. "It mean even
even the police arrest me, the judge can't do nothing; the :
can't,
.
judge
you know, .
kondane me." "Condemn, 11 Maggie whispered, "the judge will not condemn me.' 11
"My family don't have nothing to do with the court. Not in
Haiti, not my family. Only one time my mother have to
fore that judge. But that not her fault. That not because of go bething she do." With that preface, Alourdes
somebegan her story.
"My mother have a friend, a good friend, name Carline.
line" mother very sick. My mother don't have no
Carher, but she say, Igoing to give you the deed to money to help
can borrow some money and take
my house. You
your mother to the clinic.' 111
A long time passed, Alourdes said, and when Philo asked for
family. Only one time my mother have to
fore that judge. But that not her fault. That not because of go bething she do." With that preface, Alourdes
somebegan her story.
"My mother have a friend, a good friend, name Carline.
line" mother very sick. My mother don't have no
Carher, but she say, Igoing to give you the deed to money to help
can borrow some money and take
my house. You
your mother to the clinic.' 111
A long time passed, Alourdes said, and when Philo asked for --- Page 127 ---
the deed, Carline at first claimed she had lost it.
while, she said she never had it in the first
Then, after a
Carline took Philo to court,
place. Eventually,
Bribes were made to the claiming the house belonged to her.
case-and her home. lawyer and to the judge. Philo lost the
Philo she would have Adding insult to injury, the judge told
Ogou
had
to pay for the court costs.
no money, they put her in jail.
Because she
Alourdes jumped to her feet again,
her mother's misfortune. "Before
acting out the drama of
just turn"--Alourdes
they put her in that jail, she
turned toward
that lawyer, she tell that judge:
Abimbola-"and she tell
jail, but I going to see
both 'Okay, go ahead and put me in
going to dead. Ifit
you
dead. In three day you both
in forty-eight
happen tomorrow, that not me! Ifit
hour, that not me! In three
that
happen
Philo spent the weekend in jail,
day,
me!"
Papa Ogou paid her a visit. "He
where, Alourdes told us,
Let's go! That lawyer, thatj
say to my mother, 'Come on!
to make a charm from two judge-they dead!" Ogou told Philo
veritab (truthful) tree. She bricks, parsley, and a leaf from the
the leaves
was to bind the bricks
between. On the top, she was to
together with
bit of twisted cotton soaked in oil.
fasten a wick from a
light the wick and
the
Then she was supposed to
drop
whole
into
as Philo was released from
thing
a latrine. As soon
what she did.
jail on Monday, that was exactly
That same day, she also went to the Church
the nearby town of Leogane, and there
of Saint Andre in
the divine court.
she laid her case before
"My mother don't
voice rising. "She tell those
beg, said Alourdes, her
yer got to dead now! That spirit what to do. She say, That lawjudge keeled over in his judge too!"" And that very day, the
lawyer, he had a kriz (an courtroom, vomiting blood. As for the
later the same afternoon. attack) while walking down the street
to die in his own bed.
After his collapse, he was taken home
After a few moments of silence, Abimbola
Philo was "righteous" and that
commented that
the powers of the
was why she could call down
spirits and command them the
"But," he added, "you have to be
way she did.
the truth
very honest and
-
even to yourself. That is what makes it always tell
ways telling the truth.' 11
hard, al-
"My mother teach me how to stop the rain,"
sponded, SO quickly she seemed to have missed Alourdes reAbimbola's
his collapse, he was taken home
After a few moments of silence, Abimbola
Philo was "righteous" and that
commented that
the powers of the
was why she could call down
spirits and command them the
"But," he added, "you have to be
way she did.
the truth
very honest and
-
even to yourself. That is what makes it always tell
ways telling the truth.' 11
hard, al-
"My mother teach me how to stop the rain,"
sponded, SO quickly she seemed to have missed Alourdes reAbimbola's --- Page 128 ---
I would have welthoughtful comment. I was disappointed.)
but Alourdes
comed a discussion of the philosophy of magic,
little confidence in such abstract talk. Her attitude is typiplaces
the
Vodou seldom halts its kincal of those who serve
spirits.
wisdom into concept or
Ogou
esthetic and sensory drama to force its
are the
anecdotes, ancestral tales, and songs
precept; proverbs,
to cradle the messages
only vehicles subtle and flexible enough
when the truths of Vodou are put into words.I
Abimbola
Alourdes had in fact caught the conversational ball
tossed to her, but, rather than playing at a philosophical game,
she chose to run with it through her own experiential terrain. do
mother teach me how to stop the rain. You can't just
"My all the time. But it very simple. If you only know, it SO easy.
that
reason. I
But
not suppose to just do that : . . for just any
only you do it once, when I just a little girl-for my birthday party.
going to come, and it raining, raining all day long.
Everybody and Ijust do that thing, and the rain stop. The cloud
Solgo out, and the rain stop. Later, I tell my mother what I do,
separate
do that thing for such a silly
and she mad! She say, 'Why you
if
do that
reason?' You can do it once, twice, but it no good you
all the time and not for good reason-just because you having a
who do that, you have
birthday party or something. Anybody Alourdes added that it is also
to die by water. You have to!"
possible to stop the wind; again, the magic is very simple. mediAbimbola responded to Alourdes by talking about good
cine and bad medicine. Good medicine is a complicated thing,
But "bad medicine is
he said. It must be carefully prepared.
Abimbola
simple. 11 "In my country, do you know-?"
very
Yoruba word and then thought better of it and
started to use a
made from maize or millet. You
started anew. "This is a thing
is
in
make it into a thick paste, and then that paste wrapped
eats that all the time, especially for breakfast.
leaves. Everyone
if
want to harm someone, is get the
All you have to do, you
has eaten. You put some things
wrapping from one that person
said, raisinside. You puti it under your foot like this," Abimbola
the toe of his left foot. "You step down a little bit, and they
ing
in their intestine." 11 The toe of Abimbola's fashionable
feel pain
halfway to the floor, and then his foot
ankle-high boot moved
down hard, and they will die
went all the way down. "You step
because their intestine will rupture."
harm someone, is get the
All you have to do, you
has eaten. You put some things
wrapping from one that person
said, raisinside. You puti it under your foot like this," Abimbola
the toe of his left foot. "You step down a little bit, and they
ing
in their intestine." 11 The toe of Abimbola's fashionable
feel pain
halfway to the floor, and then his foot
ankle-high boot moved
down hard, and they will die
went all the way down. "You step
because their intestine will rupture." --- Page 129 ---
The conversation between Alourdes and
lasted for more than two hours. From
Wande Abimbola
clear that Maggie and I were meant
the beginning, it was
dren, there to learn from the
to listen. We were the chilelders. As if
our names were occasionally
to underline this role,
know that, right?"
injected into a story: "Karen, you
Ogou
that. 11 Such stories "Maggie, you remember I always
are never told idly.
telling you
amount of verbal instruction that
Surprisingly, the small
ceremonies pales in
accompanies Vodou initiation
tions such
comparison to what is articulated
as this.
in situaIt was late, and I drifted away from the
ment. My eyes moved
conversation for a mosleepily over the walls of
ting room. Shelves
Alourdes's sitfrom her clients: covering one wall were filled with souvenirs
ashtrays, dolls, feather
dishes. On the opposite wall
flowers, miniature
and Alourdes's oldest
were color photographs of Maggie
movie stars and Catholic child, Johnny, along with pictures of
to protect the house
saints. Over the door a Vodou charm
Palm
hung next to a horseshoe entwined with
Sunday cross. Dominating the room was a
a
cut-out of the word love. Vodou and
colorful plastic
Haitian-the elements
Catholic, American and
unified. The homes
were disparate, but the aesthetic was
share
of Haitian immigrants in New
a common style. They are crowded but
York City
places, sending the message that there is
deeply hospitable
more: one more guest to spend the
always room for one
stay until things get
night; one more relative to
better; one more
the message it carries in another pretty object, regardless of
view on a complex world.
context-one more point of
When I turned back to the conversation,
Abimbola about the little black stone
Alourdes was telling
vomited up and offered to the child Philo. Joseph Binbin Mauvant
to this story made me think that
Abimbola's response
comfortable in a pluralistic world perhaps Alourdes was more
professor from the
than was the distinguished
University of Ife.
"I know," Abimbola said, "I know. Il have
with my very own eyes. It is sometimes
seen these things
things that I saw as a child.1 11 He told
difficult to believe the
he had seen several times
a story about an Egungun
Yoruba masking cult.) "This during his childhood. (Egungun is a
the others. He had a mask was a hunter's Egungun, not like
with just two horns sticking up from
ourdes was more
professor from the
than was the distinguished
University of Ife.
"I know," Abimbola said, "I know. Il have
with my very own eyes. It is sometimes
seen these things
things that I saw as a child.1 11 He told
difficult to believe the
he had seen several times
a story about an Egungun
Yoruba masking cult.) "This during his childhood. (Egungun is a
the others. He had a mask was a hunter's Egungun, not like
with just two horns sticking up from --- Page 130 ---
of the head. And the man who danced that mask came
the top
he would come and dance, and
from another town. Every year
three little iron pots, the
then he brought up from his stomach
the
I
kind with three legs, and they would dance on
ground.
Ogou
that! Before he brought them up, he would move this way
saw
could hear them clanking inside of him. And
and that, and you
and take one out, and r-uthen he would go r-u-uuuuuup until there were three, and he
uuuuuup and then another,
would dance by themwould put them on the ground, and they
about
Sometimes it is difficult to know how to think
selves. that. " For the first time Alourdes looked at Abimbola with genuine puzzlement.
Alourdes invited Abimbola to see her alAs we rose to leave,
stood aside to let Maggie
tars downstairs. The African professor
he asked her if
through the living-room door. As she passed,
go
all these things from her mother. It was the
she was learning
her
all evening. There was a
first time he addressed
directly
in his voice.
concern, and even sadness
Magtouching urgency,
that she was indeed learngie assured him with equal sincerity and that she had learned a lot
ing many things from her mother
from her grandmother as well.
an American
A year earlier, I had taken another professor, Alourdes. We
interest in Haiti, to meet
with a longstanding and then went to a Vodou ceremony at the
picked up Alourdes manbo. When the event was over and the two
home of another
the
fussed and
of us were driving back to Manhattan,
professor in the evening,
fumed about the "uselessness of it all." Early
the
before the rituals began, the group had briefly discussed
national elections. The year was 1980 and Ronald
upcoming
his first bid for the U.S. presidency. EveryReagan was making about the cuts in social services they knew
one was concerned
elected. "Lot'a
to sufwould come if Reagan were
people going
fer," Alourdes observed.
too uncomfortBut a substantive political discussion proved
with two blan (whites)
able for this group to sustain-especially
alin the room. So the group quickly moved to a ritualistic, head
argument about Haiti's first
though not entirely unrelated,
acknowledged that
of state, Jean-Jacques Dessalines. Everyone back into servitude in an athe had forced recently freed slaves
But he had also exacted
tempt to restore the country's economy.
one was concerned
elected. "Lot'a
to sufwould come if Reagan were
people going
fer," Alourdes observed.
too uncomfortBut a substantive political discussion proved
with two blan (whites)
able for this group to sustain-especially
alin the room. So the group quickly moved to a ritualistic, head
argument about Haiti's first
though not entirely unrelated,
acknowledged that
of state, Jean-Jacques Dessalines. Everyone back into servitude in an athe had forced recently freed slaves
But he had also exacted
tempt to restore the country's economy. --- Page 131 ---
swift and
demon or satisfying revenge on the whites left in
a savior? Some saw it one
Haiti. Was he a
men postured and yelled and acted way, some another. The
threw her arm over the back of the out. Before long, Alourdes
eyes on the ceiling with studied
chair next to her and set her
quickly followed her into
disdain. The rest of the women
Ogou
"Why do these
superior silence.
fessor friend asked, people spend their time doing this?" my
referring to both the
proparty we had just seen and the
homemade little Vodou
ceded it. "What would
pretend politics that had
he said,
you have them do?"Ishot back.
pre-
"they could get together and
"Well,"
lotov cocktails." 11
learn how to make MoVODOU AND POLITICS
People often ask if I think Vodou
and oppressed. I
keeps the people of Haiti
respond that although
poor
religion, has sometimes been
Vodou, like every other
drels alike, guns and
misused by tyrants and scounating the
money have far more to do with
suffering of Haitians than
perpetuments on and shapes life, but it
religion does. Vodou comHaitian army were not
hardly creates it ex nihilo. Ift the
not in the backyard of one thoroughly of the
corrupt, if little Haiti were
in New York were not
world superpowers, if Haitians
fears that they have AIDS regularly losing jobs because someone
haps a question could be Or practice "black magic, then
tive force in Haiti.
raised as to whether Vodou is a perBut if those
posiwould also be different.
things were different, Vodou
Vodou
possible and practical.
works.within.the. realm_of the
At times in the distant past, and
lutionary change seemed
once in the recent past, revoliberated the Haitian
possible. In the war that
slaves, traditional religion
eventually
ganizational role. It also
played a key orclear how
played a role,
it is
large a one, in the freedom although
not yet
Jean Claude Duvalier's ouster in
movements surrounding
of Haitians, their
1986. Yet, for the great
abroad have been experiences far
of repression at home and majority
too tangible,
racism
nurture revolutionary ideas. When persistent, and effective to
cidal, Vodou introduces
the use of force seems suiOgou Badagri to teach the lessons of
aves, traditional religion
eventually
ganizational role. It also
played a key orclear how
played a role,
it is
large a one, in the freedom although
not yet
Jean Claude Duvalier's ouster in
movements surrounding
of Haitians, their
1986. Yet, for the great
abroad have been experiences far
of repression at home and majority
too tangible,
racism
nurture revolutionary ideas. When persistent, and effective to
cidal, Vodou introduces
the use of force seems suiOgou Badagri to teach the lessons of --- Page 132 ---
And there is also Agéou, the liar, who
pride and endurance.
to bob and feint. These are
teaches people how to duck, how
of their lives.
survival skills Haitians use every day
the practical
naturally to adults who have lived
Bobbing and feinting come
of Duvalierist Haiti. For
Ogou
under the severe political repression in New York use a variety of
example, even legal immigrants
another for co-workers,
names for themselves- -one for family, Secretiveness is a lesyet another for the telephone company. that children learn early. Alexample and one
son taught by
in Alourdes's household were born
though the young children
firsthand
of Haiti's
in the United States and have no
experience
the
climate, they too have come to recognize
repressive political
No one has to remind
usefulness of Ogou's skillful deception.
within
them that the drama of Vodou that goes on regularly
their home is not to be discussed outside.
are convinced that their well-being,
Alourdes and Maggie
service to the spirits. The depth
even their survival, depends on fierce
with which they
of their commitment explains the
pride
Maggie once
their controversial religious practice.
hold on to
moved in the neighborhood, my
told this story: "When we just
mother does Vodou
brother William told his friends that my have in their mind
and stuff like that. And then all these people
Vodou lady, she is bad. Most of the neighborhood
that she is a
I don't care about
don't bother talking to us : : : which
people
ourself to ourself."
anyway! We just keep
Alourdes successfully treats reSometimes even the people
come alone and at night;
main ambivalent about Vodou. They have been to see her.
they ask her not to tell anyone they
and neighbors withthe attitudes of her clients
Alourdes accepts
to some extent, she adjusts her
out agreeing with them. And,
She does her healbehavior to take account of such prejudice. be locked
work in a small basement room that can
against
ing
When I first met her, the altars in
the prying eyes of strangers.
Over the years, the tables
that room were on tables, in the eopen. cabinets with doors that can
have gradually been exchanged for
Vodou ritube closed. Reactions to prejudice have also shaped
They
als in New York. "Here, you just invite couple people. "But in Haiti,
the hand,". Alourdes said.
come in, sit down, clap
lot'a
They beat the
they have big yard. You can invite a
people.
cannot do that because of the neighbor."
drum. Here, you
dwells on images of Vodou's maAmerican popular culture
years, the tables
that room were on tables, in the eopen. cabinets with doors that can
have gradually been exchanged for
Vodou ritube closed. Reactions to prejudice have also shaped
They
als in New York. "Here, you just invite couple people. "But in Haiti,
the hand,". Alourdes said.
come in, sit down, clap
lot'a
They beat the
they have big yard. You can invite a
people.
cannot do that because of the neighbor."
drum. Here, you
dwells on images of Vodou's maAmerican popular culture --- Page 133 ---
an attitude as nonsensical as equating Catholicism
levolence,
most North Americans have
with Satanism. The understanding
in novels, films,
of Vodou is derived mainly from its portrayal snakes, blood,
and television, where images of sorcerers, zonbi, word voodoo is
Ogou
and violence abound. In the United States, the
on a
used in a casual and derogatory way to indicate evil. anything If it were
from the deceptive to the downright
be
spectrum
racism underlies these distortions, it would
not SO clear that
this kind of stereotyping is tolerated
hard to understand why
when it would not be tolerated for
for an African-based religion
other religions.
of Vodou in the press, in novels, and
The negative portrayal
after the Haitian
in earnest
shortly
Part
in travelers' accounts began
in which slavery was still
slaves won their freedom, a period
colonies. RCG
in the United States and in many European
practiced
made that the barbarism of
The argument was often explicitly that Haitians were incapable
their religion clearly demonstrated
used by the United
of governing themselves-an argument to justify their refusal to
States and several countries in Europe Racism is more covert
recognize the fledgling black republic.
of Vodou
these days, but the same stereotypes
and convoluted
One of the central ways such propastill serve its purposes.
the
Vodou as in every way
opganda works is bylcharacterizing of
This descripposite of "true" religion, that is, Christianity)
consider
tion is ironic, for people who serve the Vodou spirits.
themselves good Christians.
Catholicism and
Haitians see no conflict between practicing deities. "They
the spirits, whom they never refer to as
serving
and I think everybody love
have only one God for everybody,
I
confidence in
God," Alourdes said. "I love God plenty. got IfGod don't
God. ButIlove my spirit, too, because they help me.
J
that
can do that for you.
give that help,
strength-spirit
in Haitian Vodou. He
Bondye (God) is singular and supreme as well as in the SOwith roots in the Christian god
is a deity
West Africa. Yet in the Haitian view of
called high gods of
models, rarely gets involved
things, Bondye, like his African
the
drama
human lives. Attention to
everyday
with individual
11 the Vodou spirits. Of course,
of life is the work of his "angels/
and calling the Vodou
equating Bondye and the Christian god
that have roots
spirits his angels are also political strategies
going back to the time of slavery.
) is singular and supreme as well as in the SOwith roots in the Christian god
is a deity
West Africa. Yet in the Haitian view of
called high gods of
models, rarely gets involved
things, Bondye, like his African
the
drama
human lives. Attention to
everyday
with individual
11 the Vodou spirits. Of course,
of life is the work of his "angels/
and calling the Vodou
equating Bondye and the Christian god
that have roots
spirits his angels are also political strategies
going back to the time of slavery. --- Page 134 ---
"OGOU BADAGRI, WHAT ARE YOU DOING THERE?"
with it,
Vodou is different for each person who deeply engages
concentrates on his or her own particular
because each person
honors all the major spirOgou
spirits. Although Alourdes routinely she focuses most of her ritual
its, she has half a dozen on whom Vodou that the spirits select
activity. IIt is understood within
The spirits Alourdes
their special devotees, not the reverse. "chosen" her, who "love"
concentrates on are those who have
from earlier genher, and whose "protection" she has inherited featured on her
erations within her familyThey are the ones
called on for assistance in her healing pracaltars and routinely
these spirits, who give their names
tice. Singly and in relation,
and guide her professional
to the chapters in this book, shape
and personal life.
decision without consulting one or
Alourdes makes no major
events are filtered through
more of these spirits. All significant and their character traits and
the sieve of their personalities, choices. But the spirits are not
patterns of behavior frame her
what she is to do,
moral exemplars. Nor do they dictate exactly
advice. More
although from time to time some of the spirits give
exthe spirits
commonly, through poscmdonperomaneys and destructive, in a
plore all the potentialities, constructive
the images that
given life situation. In this way they provide and to make her own
allow Alourdes to reflect on problems
of dealchoices about the most appropriate and effective ways
ing with them. D
one stands out. He
Within Alourdes's group of special spirits, Badagri. But the
is her mêt tèt (the master of her head), Ogou character does
dominance of Ogou Badagri in her life and in her
close
unchecked. The other spirits with whom she has a
not go
Ogou Badagri's weight. For exrelationship counterbalance has called out the aggression of the
ample, even if a situation
her and put the matter in
Ogou in Alourdes, Gede can possess
humor. Thus
different light through his iconoclastic
an entirely
world and the moral choices she makes within it
her view off the
her spirits.
from the chemistry of the interaction among
emerge
of the mêt têt and that of the devotee tend to
The personality
tie hinted at in the occasional identificoincide, an intimate
angel" (gwo bonanj), one dimension
cation of the "big guardian
soul, with the Vodou spirit
of what might be called a person's
Ogou in Alourdes, Gede can possess
humor. Thus
different light through his iconoclastic
an entirely
world and the moral choices she makes within it
her view off the
her spirits.
from the chemistry of the interaction among
emerge
of the mêt têt and that of the devotee tend to
The personality
tie hinted at in the occasional identificoincide, an intimate
angel" (gwo bonanj), one dimension
cation of the "big guardian
soul, with the Vodou spirit
of what might be called a person's --- Page 135 ---
her mêt tèt. Diagnosing which spirit is a person's
who is his or
inheritance alone,
mêt tèt, something that is not determined by
with
amounts to a kind of personality typing. Thus, someone and SO
Ogou as a mêt tèt is expected to be brave, assertive, loyal, of the head
Ogou
forth. The specific Ogou identified as the master
For example, all the Ogou
adds nuance to this general portrait.
stiff
to ofare quick to anger, and some mete out
punishment been known
fenders. Alourdes once said that Ogou Feray has
of his
his sword on his own head-that is, on the head
to bang
had made him mad. But Badagri,
horse-when that horse
in another way: he withAlourdes's Ogou, handles his anger
don't see him.
draws and withholds. "When he angry, you just 11 Alourdes said.
You feel it, but you call him : . . he don't come,"
"in
she herself deals with anger reflects the Badagri
The way
life, she is never frivolous with this poher head." Tempered by
and withdraw many times,
tent emotion. I have seen her sulk
but I have never seen her rant and rave.
than any
Ogou Badagri possesses Alourdes more frequently Gede. He is almost
other spirit, with the possible exception of her clients bring to
always involved in treating the problems Vodou
to
her. Because Alourdes has gone through the
marriage
she calls him her "husband. 117 She sets aside one
Ogou Badagri, week for him. On this night, she receives the handsome
night a
lover shares her bed. On
soldier in dreams, and no human
wears his color, red.
Wednesday, Ogou's day, Alourdes always could well be describing
In describing Ogou Badagri, Alourdes To illustrate this trait,
herself. Badagri will not tolerate injustice.
people e-you
Alourdes gives a homely example: "If you nagging
mad
when
don't do nothing, he can get
know, teasing -
they
"If
do someabout that.' 11 Disloyalty is equally intolerable:
you it for no
thing, like, you make money for him and you spend
reason-that make him very angry."
is also known for his good looks, his generosity ("he
Badagri
he
he give; he like to spoil people"),
love to give- - even
angry,
("he just father for
his expertise in treating people's problems and his penchant for
everybody; he love to make treatment"),
of
work ("he love hard work"). But the most striking part
hard
candidate for marriage. Alourdes, for ex7The mèt tèt is not the only appropriate Danbala.
ample, has also married Kouzen and
and you spend
reason-that make him very angry."
is also known for his good looks, his generosity ("he
Badagri
he
he give; he like to spoil people"),
love to give- - even
angry,
("he just father for
his expertise in treating people's problems and his penchant for
everybody; he love to make treatment"),
of
work ("he love hard work"). But the most striking part
hard
candidate for marriage. Alourdes, for ex7The mèt tèt is not the only appropriate Danbala.
ample, has also married Kouzen and --- Page 136 ---
character is his ability to endure in the face of
Ogou Badagri's
others. This quality is portrayed in
trials that would break many
befavorite song for him, depicting a conversation
Alourdes's
head of the army, and Badagri, the loyal soltween Ogou Feray,
Ogou
dier who stands guard:
Ogou Badagri, sa ou ap fè la?
Ou sèviye; m'ap reveye.
M'ta dômi, Feray; m'envi domi, 0.
M'ta dômi, Feray; m 'pase dômi, 0.
Se nan lagè mwen ye! Ou mêt m'reveye!
O Feray, 0.
Gason lagè mwen ye! Yo mêt m'reveye!
Ogou Badagri, what are you doing there?
You are on watch; I am going to wake you.
I would sleep, Feray; I need to sleep, oh.
I would sleep, Feray; I am beyond sleep, oh.
There is a war going on! You must wake me!
O Feray, oh.
I am a soldier! They must wake me!
Alourdes, like Badagri, chooses watchfulForsaking attack,
around her like a cloak, holding it
ness. She draws her power
dream of extending herself outclose to her body. She does not
she controls what exward and conquering the world. Rather,
As it
has taught her she is able to control-herself.
perience
Alourdes's fighting spirit comes to a
does in Ogou Badagri,
Her current life stratkeen focus in her pride and self-respect.
and
conis to follow the rules, conserve her energy,
practice
egy
This strategy has gotten her through both shortstant vigilance.
hardship. Like Badagri, Alourdes
term crises and long-term
endures.
"THE POLICE WILL ARREST ME"
Alourdes's strategy was challenged. Her son
In March of 1981,
Her first response
William was arrested for purse snatching.
erself.
perience
Alourdes's fighting spirit comes to a
does in Ogou Badagri,
Her current life stratkeen focus in her pride and self-respect.
and
conis to follow the rules, conserve her energy,
practice
egy
This strategy has gotten her through both shortstant vigilance.
hardship. Like Badagri, Alourdes
term crises and long-term
endures.
"THE POLICE WILL ARREST ME"
Alourdes's strategy was challenged. Her son
In March of 1981,
Her first response
William was arrested for purse snatching. --- Page 137 ---
disbelief that anyone in her family could do such a thing.
was
which
gave way to fear, as she was
Then came anger,
quickly and the courts, institutions she
forced to deal with the police
deeply distrusted.
three of whom were born in
Ogou
Alourdes has four children, these three. William suffered
Haiti; William is the youngest of
Years later,
brain damage from a bout of meningitis in infancy. indicated
testing by the New York City public school system of Haitian
that his IQ was between 55 and 57. In the tradition William in
families, there has never been any thought of putting
institution. His place in Alourdes's household is guaranteed;
an
of Alourdes's death, Maggie would assume the
and in the event
this stance is an unarticulated
same commitment. Underlying
endangers the care
belief that ignoring family responsibilities the considerable care
and protection of the spirits. In providing
consider themAlourdes and Maggie do not
William requires,
infantilize William. He can be
selves martyrs. Neither do they
him when they
difficult, and Maggie and Alourdes do not spare
are annoyed.
when he was arrested. He had the
William was twenty-one
his mind and heart were
tall, strong body of a man, although
cloying eagerness to
still those of a child. He vacillated between Entrusted with two
and stubborn resistance to rules.
please
for lunch, William made his own
subway tokens and money
he attended in Greenwich Vilway each day to the trade school
because he gave his
lage. If he got in trouble, it was usually
home. William
lunch money away or got sidetracked on his way
if it would
could not say no. He would do anything for anyone of friendor a moment to bask in the glow
earn him a thank-you
was not known at first, this need
ship. Although the full story
Anhad led to his involvement in the purse snatching.
to please
from the trade school had actually taken the
other young man
William to hold, and William had compurse. He had given it to
to face criminal
plied. Because the other boy was too young
ofjail
William went through the frightening experience
charges,
and court appearances alone. and Alourdes to be at the courtThe police advised Maggie
after William's arrest. I arhouse at ten o'clock on the morning
Snow was
ranged to pick them up in Brooklyn at nine-thirty.
down fast and thick that day. The roads were slippery
coming
answered the door, looking
and the driving difficult. Maggie and had done nothing with her
dreadful. She wore no makeup
compurse. He had given it to
to face criminal
plied. Because the other boy was too young
ofjail
William went through the frightening experience
charges,
and court appearances alone. and Alourdes to be at the courtThe police advised Maggie
after William's arrest. I arhouse at ten o'clock on the morning
Snow was
ranged to pick them up in Brooklyn at nine-thirty.
down fast and thick that day. The roads were slippery
coming
answered the door, looking
and the driving difficult. Maggie and had done nothing with her
dreadful. She wore no makeup --- Page 138 ---
stand-off. She paced the hallway in her
hair but comb it to a
not
"I am too nervous,
overcoat, shaking. Maggie had
slept. I
do it. We
she said. "You got to get those name for me. cannot
officer' name : . the judge' name . .
got to know the police
the
If we got those
Ogou
the name of that woman with
pocketbook.
name, my mother can fix it."
television. AlI found Alourdes sitting on her bed watching could not leave until
though we were running late, she said we
itself,
friend Socurette arrived. Insecurity had generalized
her
had been called to watch the empty house while
and Soeurette With her back to me, Alourdes kept a dispaswe were gone.
television. After a time, she began to talk in a
sionate eye on the
small, tired voice.
mother is here
"I hope, 11 she said (meaning "I wish"), "my
I just eat
and I just a little girl, and I don't have no responsibility. I
'Oh, boy,
When I was little girl, say,
. . I sleep . . . I play.
Now I am sorry. You give thém
when I am going to grow up?"
in, food to eat. If they need
they want, a bed to sleep
everything
they want. . .
them shoes, clothes, everything
shoes, you give
mother is here. When I little girl, she give
Oh, boy, I hope my
if I could not get shoes right
me everything : . . well, maybe
now, I get them next year! Same thing.
"Why
tone, Alourdes continued:
Then, in a more desperate William is dead? Just tell me come
they not call me and tell me
dead people and get him.
down to that place where they keep
Then it's finish.
Karen. You help me. We sad.
Then I call you,
at Alourdes's back, unWhy he not just dead?" I stood staring
sense of compaswhether these words had offended my
sure
sion or my sense of propriety.
after ten. Alourdes
Socurette bustled in the door shortly accusations. Like a
her with a sullen stare, followed by
greeted
Socurette responded, "It not my fault,
nervous, clucking hen,
and we had to drive slow." 11 Excuses
cheri. The car had no heat,
that
have any logic.
it is not mandatory
they
are mandatory;
flakes. The wind
The snow continued to fall in huge feathery
and sideBridge blew the snow up, down,
on the Brooklyn
tension inside the car mounted. Alourdes
ways all at once. The
in the front passenger seat, she
withdrew into herself. Sitting
at her finhunched her shoulders and hung her head, staring wool scarf.
she braided and unbraided the fringe on her
gers as
anxious than depressed, talking nonstop. She
Maggie was more
that
have any logic.
it is not mandatory
they
are mandatory;
flakes. The wind
The snow continued to fall in huge feathery
and sideBridge blew the snow up, down,
on the Brooklyn
tension inside the car mounted. Alourdes
ways all at once. The
in the front passenger seat, she
withdrew into herself. Sitting
at her finhunched her shoulders and hung her head, staring wool scarf.
she braided and unbraided the fringe on her
gers as
anxious than depressed, talking nonstop. She
Maggie was more --- Page 139 ---
brave attempts at light conversation, but more
made occasional
either William or herself for the crioften she fell into blaming
scrambled around the back
sis. Throughout the short trip, she
off the windows.
of my station wagon using her mittens to wipe of the criminal
Ogou
We soon confronted the imperial architecture
Street. The
courts building in lower Manhattan, at 100 Centre
ten
revolving door could have accommodated a person
heavy
the marble was cold and endless. Feet wet with
feet tall. Inside,
This was purgatory,
snow made us feel even more precarious. seemed wider than
the ultimate in liminal places. The hallways
hollow
the offices that clung along their edges, yet these huge
not waiting rooms. There were no chairs or benches,
spaces were
smoked furtively, getting away with someno ashtrays. People
on the floor. Purgatory
thing each time they put out a cigarette
directions, nerestrooms. We had to get
did not provide public
ask
to use a toilet that
gotiate a maze, and then
permission
overwhelmed
seemed to be there for someone else. The building
cranAlourdes. "Oh, boy, this building solid - . . yes!" she said,
marble
"Look at that staircaseing her neck at a massive
pillar.
brass
iron!" "Tel-e-phone, 11 she read, tracing her finger over
in there? Oh, boy, this buildletters set in marble. Telephone
I
. : beautiful : . . yes.
ing : . everywhere gold learned, helped us sort out the SOA few basic rules, quickly
of the building. The accial parade moving through the halls
Lawyers
cused were black or Hispanic and wore scruffy clothes.
suits.
dressed like the Marlboro
were white and wore
Anyone
offiin
a flannel shirt, and a down vest was a police
man jeans,
Although we had been told that in 90 percer waiting to testify.
members showed up, dozens of
cent of the cases no family
slender Puerto Rican woman
them were roaming the halls. A
her daughter's
with tight jeans and red, brimming eyes yanked
arm and screamed: "You better behave or-!" backed off when
Officer Reese flinched and instinctively "You the man who arAlourdes greeted him with the question:
and puffyrest
son?" Reese was short and kind, paunchy
my
on, the smell of alcohol came on his
eyed. As the day wore
only tired. He told us what
breath, yet he never seemed drunk,
outside the
to do to move things along, and he waited patiently bother me, 1 he said,
doors of the crime bureaucracy. "It doesn't
"I've
for it." Later, he offered an indirect apology:
"I get paid
I didn't know if Wilseen too many things. I'm suspicious.
Alourdes greeted him with the question:
and puffyrest
son?" Reese was short and kind, paunchy
my
on, the smell of alcohol came on his
eyed. As the day wore
only tired. He told us what
breath, yet he never seemed drunk,
outside the
to do to move things along, and he waited patiently bother me, 1 he said,
doors of the crime bureaucracy. "It doesn't
"I've
for it." Later, he offered an indirect apology:
"I get paid
I didn't know if Wilseen too many things. I'm suspicious. --- Page 140 ---
retarded or just putting me on. I
liam-that's his name?-is
fun of me. That happens, you
thought maybe he was making
Matthews,
black man named
know. 11 Reese's partner was a tall
and uncover his innowho took the time to talk with William "hurt a night in the
He described William as
by
Ogou
cence of spirit.
pens. 11
slammer" and a long day in the "holding
office checking on
Hours passed as we moved from office to
from the
of William's case. We made the rounds
the progress
where
are compiled, to the
room on the second floor
papers a number, to the little
docket room where each case is assigned
of the next cases
window with bars on the first floor where a list
and
be heard is available. My white face, my polite requests,
to
old rabbit
the right clothes (I was wearing my grandmother's could pass for somecoat, which, if not inspected too closely,
than
finer) got me quicker and more courteous responses
thing
The face behind the barred winothers seemed to be receiving.
dow asked: "Are you the attorney?" to do but wait, I looked at
When there was nothing more warm? Don't you want to untie
Alourdes and said, "Aren't you "Yes," she replied but made no
coat?"
your scarf. : : open your and unfastened the top button of her
her scarf
move, soluntied
attentions in an unprotesting, even gratecoat. She suffered my
Alourdes gave herself over to me
ful, way, as a child might.
trusting that she
much as she surrendered to the legal system,
would be told the right way to do things.
from the moment
Maggie, however, was filled with venom
"You
found ourselves dwarfed by the pillars of justice.
we first
to do? I am going to beat him with a reknow what I am going
In Haiti they
siyôl. Resiyôl is a thing like . . . a. . a : whip. too!" And mothat on animals. They use that on people,
use
know whatIam going to do? I'm going to kick
ments later: "You
her knee up sharply.
him in the knockers," she said, jerking
"You see how I am going to do it?"
she also blamed
When Alourdes talked, which was not often,
bring no
he got to do that? He know he can't
William. "Why
house." 11 But she also questioned: "Wilpocketbook back to my
Karen. All the time, I just leave
liam not like that. You know me,
full of dime and quarter.
Also I got two big jar
my pocketbook.
11 In her mind, William's major offense
He never take nothing.
like this, he not just do
"When he do something
was disloyalty.
behind him. We got to come down here.
it hisself. He got family
often,
bring no
he got to do that? He know he can't
William. "Why
house." 11 But she also questioned: "Wilpocketbook back to my
Karen. All the time, I just leave
liam not like that. You know me,
full of dime and quarter.
Also I got two big jar
my pocketbook.
11 In her mind, William's major offense
He never take nothing.
like this, he not just do
"When he do something
was disloyalty.
behind him. We got to come down here.
it hisself. He got family --- Page 141 ---
We got to talk to policeman. When I little
but not like this. I never do
girl, sometime I badmother
nothing serious. I
. .
my father to think about. 11
know I got my
It had already been a long day, and I was
think of anything to say to Alourdes.
finding it difficult to
I searched
encouraging word: "You know,
lamely for an
Ogou
of this. It will be funny."
someday we will laugh about all
day,
Alourdes, who had been
began to cry. Her crying was more
dry-eyed all
she bent over and covered her
movement than sound;
mountain about to
face, and her body quaked like a
erupt.
Eventually we learned that William would be
night court, which did not convene for several
arraigned in
would have stood in
hours. Alourdes
turn. Maggie, however, purgatory and waited patiently for her
children, do the
wanted to go back home,
the
laundry." " Given the chill inside and "pick up
outside, neither idea seemed
the weather
into going out to eat. Snow and practical to me, SO I talked them
as we walked toward Baxter
wind were driving in our faces
cuisine. Alourdes, like
Street and Forlini's northern Italian
peaked hood, bent into an oversized elf in her brown coat and
the wind and cried:
walk! Help me!"
"Woy! Woy! I can't
It was early, and Forlini's was virtually
were spread on all the tables
empty. White cloths
of the restaurant, closest
except one, the booth in the back
to the kitchen.
her
pulse to seat us there, the hostess directed Stifling
initial imfront of it. Alourdes tucked her
us to the booth in
don't get no food fall on
napkin /1
under her chin, "so I
her. We each had
my clothes," and told me to order for
a glass of red wine.
Alourdes and I split an order of stuffed Maggie had soup, and
salad.
shells with a green
Alourdes commented on her inability to drink:
glass of wine and my head begin to spin. 11
"One little
glass and swaying from side to side, she Picking up her wine
cohol affects her. (I had a brief but
demonstrated how almove Alourdes's unconscious
alarming fantasy of having to
which waiters carried
body the length of a restaurant in
"But what I don't folded linen napkins over their arms.)
understand," Alourdes
straight and looking chipper for the first time said, sitting up
the spirit can drink. Papa
all day, "is how
drink but
Ogou come, he drink a lot of rum.
. : when he gone, I don't feel
He
smell no alcohol on your breath,
nothing. "You don't
nothing!" Maggie added in an
strated how almove Alourdes's unconscious
alarming fantasy of having to
which waiters carried
body the length of a restaurant in
"But what I don't folded linen napkins over their arms.)
understand," Alourdes
straight and looking chipper for the first time said, sitting up
the spirit can drink. Papa
all day, "is how
drink but
Ogou come, he drink a lot of rum.
. : when he gone, I don't feel
He
smell no alcohol on your breath,
nothing. "You don't
nothing!" Maggie added in an --- Page 142 ---
accounts at the booth beanimated voice. The waiter checking
Switching from
hind us turned to look at us over the banquette.
the conversation in our private
English to Creole, we continued
language.
Alourdes seemed grateful for a moment in which
Ogou
Maggie and
around the corner. But beto act as if tragedy were not lurking
of conversation. So
fore long William was once again the topic with him, and no one
far, there had been no opportunity to talk about what had haphad been able to give us any answers
that we assumed
pened. (Later, we would all be surprised
William took the purse.)
fumed. "Dummy," Mag-
"Why he got to do that?" Alourdes the fray. "I don't want to
interjected. Hesitantly, I entered
gie
1I I
Simultaneous prointerfere in your family life : .
began. "Don't
that! You are
from
and Alourdes:
say
tests came
Maggie
fear that William would close
family." And SO I talked about my
that maybe that
down if they were too hard on him. I suggested
tomorrow
should simply tell him they loved him;
night they
him that what he had done was wrong. "He has
they could tell
lesson for
I concluded. The
already had enough of a
today,"
aware that the
wine had made us earnest, and I was vaguely mid-sentence
rhythms of our speech (often shifting into English
were
and then back to Creole before the thought was complete)
careening around the restaurant. self-reflective. "You know, you are
Maggie became painfully
I call William
right. Just now I am thinking about some things. and I am busy
'dummy/' and all the time he wanting to kiss me,
11 More
'Don't do that.'Is should not be like that.
andIs say to him,
does when talking
quietly and using English, as she usually
"You know I am
about her life in New York, Maggie continued: associate's degree in
sitting here with my college degree [an College), and I take
early childhood education from Brooklyn Maybe ifI could just
all these classes, and I don't know nothing.
If I could read, maybe, Piagetgo back and get my books. : :
remember that name- ifl
and there was another book, I cannot
set
a
I could understand. Icould
up program
could read, maybe
to help William. I am his sister!"
too. "I am always saying to William, 'Why
Alourdes reflected, and leave me alone?" And I mean that."
don't you just get out
between William and the
We finally settled on a comparison William was like a child who
children, Kumar and Michael.
and I don't know nothing.
If I could read, maybe, Piagetgo back and get my books. : :
remember that name- ifl
and there was another book, I cannot
set
a
I could understand. Icould
up program
could read, maybe
to help William. I am his sister!"
too. "I am always saying to William, 'Why
Alourdes reflected, and leave me alone?" And I mean that."
don't you just get out
between William and the
We finally settled on a comparison William was like a child who
children, Kumar and Michael. --- Page 143 ---
needed both punishment and love. The
important, and things seemed clearer.
conversation seemed
tain both impressions.
The wine helped to sus121
While we were in the restaurant, darkness
stopped. Alourdes was more relaxed
fell and the snow
courthouse, and, after two
on the walk back to the
Ogou
were even looser.
glasses of wine apiece, Maggie and I
trunk of a car, into Impulsively, I leaned over backward on
a virgin crust of snow with two
the
powder beneath. Flapping
inches of
I made a snow angel for my arms up and down several times,
Alourdes and
seen one.
Maggie. They had never
The arraignment happened quickly. The
had appointed an attorney who
Legal Aid Society
ested in
was soothing but not
giving or receiving information. He
very intercourtroom only minutes before William's
rushed into the
shaking hands all
case was called. After
hasty consultation. around, the attorney drew us outside for a
When Maggie launched into a
planations and questions, he hushed her
stream of exown: "Did any of you know the
with a question of his
stolen?"
woman whose purse was
"What was her name again?" I asked,
and winking. "Pointer," he said,
catching Maggie's eye
courtroom, I took out the
"Laura Pointer. 11 Back in the
ceived that morning. I wrote envelope from a telephone bill reof the judge and the
"Laura Pointer" beneath the names
handed it to
arresting officers, folded the envelope, and
Maggie. Accessory to magic!
William came through the door beside the
formed officer holding his left arm. The
judge's bench,a uniin largely inaudible tones at the front official of procedure passed
only comment from the lawyer that drifted the courtroom. The
the other boy taking the bag and
our way was about
date was set, March 26, and
handing it to William. A court
Outside the
William was released without bail.
courtroom, the attorney
been an offer of a misdemeanor
explained that there had
William not to plead
charge, but he had advised
guilty to anything.
said, handing me his card, and then he "Stay in touch," he
courtroom and another
ran off toward another
for
case. We stood in the
way
several minutes more: William,
now-familiar hallself, and the two arresting officers. The Alourdes, Maggie, myrelease was palpable.
relief we feltat William's
Everyone was thanking everyone else
fusely-everyone except William, who looked dazed.
pro-
an offer of a misdemeanor
explained that there had
William not to plead
charge, but he had advised
guilty to anything.
said, handing me his card, and then he "Stay in touch," he
courtroom and another
ran off toward another
for
case. We stood in the
way
several minutes more: William,
now-familiar hallself, and the two arresting officers. The Alourdes, Maggie, myrelease was palpable.
relief we feltat William's
Everyone was thanking everyone else
fusely-everyone except William, who looked dazed.
pro- --- Page 144 ---
midst of the hubbub, Maggie grabbed the lawyer's card
In the
"See! See, I will show
from my hand and said to Officer Reese:
Here, William.
if I was lying. I was not lying, you will see.
you
Read this line!" The line on the card read "Associate
Read this!
he said. OffiII William made a good guess.
"Lawyer,"
Ogou
Attorney.
aside the awkward moment with a comcer Matthews shoved
"I used to have trouble with
ment as unrealistic asit was caring: do it, William. Don't you
reading, too. I understand. You can have to work at it."
ever believe that you can't. You just until the moment it was
Maggie had not cried all day, not
bail. Then she had
clear that William would be released without out of here!" Her
turned to me with a hoarse whisper: "Get me courtroom. In the
muffled sobs had accompanied us out of the
The talk came
Maggie's emotional spin began again.
hallway,
were said too many times and too loudly.
faster and faster; things
intended to exercise with William
Whatever restraint Maggie cleared the door and felt the cold air in
was gone by the time we
our faces.
Maggie snapped. William
"Did you take that pocketbook?" Then Maggie linked her
started to protest, but no one listened.
William's and struck up another tune. "Anything you
arm with
come to me. I will give it to you. You know
ever want, you just sister. 1I William said nothing.
you always got your
"THE JUDGE WILL NOT CONDEMN ME"
after that first day in court. She kept track
Maggie took charge
making regular telephone calls
of the details of William's case,
returned. In
to the Legal Aid office. Her calls were not always it became
the
date of March 26 approached,
fact, as
hearing
there to speak with her.
more and more difficult to get anyone
in court, the lawyer
The evening before William was to appear
attorney incalled. He did not know how the district
finally
with the case; the prognosis was "anybody's
tended to proceed
to show
at ten o'clock
guess." 11 The family was nevertheless would not up be able to be
the next morning. And, oh, yes, he to the case would have a
there, but the new attorney assigned
complete set of his notes.
and Maggie this time, the
When I went to pick up Alourdes dressed
and looking
mood was different. They were both
up the door, all
both wearing new wigs. Alourdes met me at
good,
district
finally
with the case; the prognosis was "anybody's
tended to proceed
to show
at ten o'clock
guess." 11 The family was nevertheless would not up be able to be
the next morning. And, oh, yes, he to the case would have a
there, but the new attorney assigned
complete set of his notes.
and Maggie this time, the
When I went to pick up Alourdes dressed
and looking
mood was different. They were both
up the door, all
both wearing new wigs. Alourdes met me at
good, --- Page 145 ---
sugar: "Karen, ba'm nouvèl ou Igive me news of
you dream about me last night?" Her
yourself]. Did
guard: "Well . . er. . : uh.
question caught me off
lot last night, but tIcan'ti
Ireally don't know. I dreamed a
literally. In fact, her
remember." 1 Itend to take Alourdes too
question was
me about her own dream. She
simply the prelude to telling
Ogou
I was in the door.
launched into the account before
"I dream my mother last
In that dream, it like
night . . like Ijust forget she dead.
and hear me
my mother sleeping, and she just wake up
Isay I don't talking. My mother say to me, 'What that
say nothing. Ijust sitting here.' She
you say?'
you talking with? I don't believe
say, 'Who that
shine it all around, and she
you!' She take a flashlight and
say, I see
. . I see that!"
you talking to somebody
Alourdes's dream made me smile. If
in
succeeded in
only sleep, she had
ity. I had heard becoming a young girl again, with no responsibilmany stories about her
as a young woman, and I also knew
clandestine courtships
tricity in the poor sections of
that, with little or no elecwould be one sure way for anxious Port-au-Prince, using a flashlight
was going on in the yards that
mothers to ascertain what
areas. "Whenever I
serve as living rooms in these
dream my mother, 11
know everything going to be
She Alourdes concluded, "I
I know. 11 Although
okay.
come to me like that and
hedged her bets
good luck was clearly in the air, Alourdes
with
by stopping in her altar room to splash herself
specially prepared perfumes.
This time, we waited in the wide marble
Street for only two hours.
halls of 100 Centre
William's case had been
Just after noon, we learned that
judge had excused William postponed until April 20 and that the
yer told us that he hoped to from have appearing then. The new lawhearing date. He
the matter resolved before the
definite until the last explained that we might not know
minute.
anything
"Is anybody listening to me?" he hollered with
"You are going to get a letter. It will look
good humor.
'If you do not show
in court
very official. It will say:
issued for your arrest.' up You
on April 20, a warrant will be
judge has excused
can ignore that letter because the
send out the letter William. The computer will go ahead and
anyway. But you do not have
you understand?" Without a moment's
to come. Do
sponded, "I get a letter like that,
hesitation, Alourdes reme, put me in jail, I going to come!" say they going to come arrest
letter. It will look
good humor.
'If you do not show
in court
very official. It will say:
issued for your arrest.' up You
on April 20, a warrant will be
judge has excused
can ignore that letter because the
send out the letter William. The computer will go ahead and
anyway. But you do not have
you understand?" Without a moment's
to come. Do
sponded, "I get a letter like that,
hesitation, Alourdes reme, put me in jail, I going to come!" say they going to come arrest --- Page 146 ---
different. "Iam tired ofall this trouble!"
Maggie's attitude was
the revolving door of the
she shouted as we pushed through "This stuff going to be finish!
courthouse into a clear sunny day.
Danbala! He is
It better be, or I am going to kill them. Papa I am tired of
list. Then come Papa Ogou.
Ogou
number one on my
Karen, 11 she said, moving her
trouble. All the time, trouble! But, low, "I really think everyspeech rapidly from high notes to for the first time, I sleep. You
thing going to be okay. Last night,
want to sit down
know I don't sleep. I don't eat. And now Ijust angel is quiet,
So now I know my guardian
and relaaaaaaaax!
You know, before, when we
and everything going to be okay.
turned around), and
tèt mwen boulvèse (my head was
was here,
Then I don't sleep. No dream. I could
my angel got no peace.
IfI sleep enough, I will
not even think. Now I am coming along.
that. You know
the world! But I don't got to tell you
conquer
that, right?"
shouted: "You know too much, Karen!" SeeMaggie suddenly
and continued in an ordiing my startled response, she laughed friend and you around a lot,
conversational tone, "You my
hear
nary
I just tell you things. You see thing, you
and sometimes
'Karen know too much.' It is like
thing. I think those spirit say,
then
to Christian
know too much,
they got
the Mafia a-once you
to have to go to Haiti like me, get
[baptize] you. I think you going 11 She
mischievously.
know.'
grinned
your head washed . . . you
turned to WilIn another lightning change of mood, Maggie
we got
liam: "When we get home, I got to callthe police. They if say don't
them informed, what you are doing. 'Cause you
to keep
in
She gave me an exagbehave, they going to put you jail."
to scare him
wink and whispered: "I am just trying
gerated
lately."
the telephone call came. No one
Sometime in mid-April,
made much ofit. With the help
seemed surprised, and no one
by Maggie, the disof school records and test scores procured that William was retrict attorney had finally been convinced
tarded. All charges against him were dropped.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF OGOU POWER
have each carved out a place in the New
Alourdes and Maggie
differ, in part beWorld, in New York. Their roles and attitudes
scare him
wink and whispered: "I am just trying
gerated
lately."
the telephone call came. No one
Sometime in mid-April,
made much ofit. With the help
seemed surprised, and no one
by Maggie, the disof school records and test scores procured that William was retrict attorney had finally been convinced
tarded. All charges against him were dropped.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF OGOU POWER
have each carved out a place in the New
Alourdes and Maggie
differ, in part beWorld, in New York. Their roles and attitudes --- Page 147 ---
cause they have lived different lives. One
difference would be to say that Alourdes way to capture this
in the United States, whereas
is a Haitian who lives
spent the first twelve
her daughteris an American who
years of her life in Haiti.
One afternoon in 1983, Alourdes was
going back to Haiti.
dreaming aloud about
Ogou
money, Ibe
"Nobody don't like New York! If I
of
gone right back to my country. I take the front got
my mother' house, open a little boutique.
room
just a little place. I sell hat. .
Nothing big :
"You do that! Not
. : dress."
me," was
care what anybody
Maggie's quick retort. "I don't
say about New York. It is
am staying. You can have
better here. I
Tonton Makout.
your Baby Doc, your Duvalier,
Not me!" "Tonton Makout don't
your
Alourdes said simply. "I just mind
bother me,"
nothing to do with them."
my business. I don't have
Alourdes avoids all public authority structures in the
States, as she did in Haiti. When William
United
police, there was no question that
got in trouble with the
frontline
Maggie would be the family's
representative. Once
was clear
actual role in the incident, she Maggie took
about William's
spirit rooted in the
on this task in a fighting
and that,
assumption that a mistake had been made
about
furthermore, she was not powerless to do
it. It would not have occurred to Alourdes that something
call the police and the courts to account
she could
or law. In her mind, they
on a matter of principle
itself. She
represent a force as irrational as nature
challenged them instead through the
the spirits, just as Philo had when the courts intervention of
home. It was Alourdes who would
took away her
until she visited her altar
not leave for the courthouse
for the
room, and it was she who first
names of the people involved in the case.
asked
want to harm them, but she did want
She did not
not harm her.
to ensure that they could
Alourdes's attitude toward those who have
in experiences that go far back in her life. One authority is based
cerned her older brother Jean, who had
early lesson conwas nineteen. A colonel in the
to leave Haiti when he
Jean's girlfriend. Philo heard
Haitian army had his eye on
ents that soldiers
through her network of loyal clithe colonel's
were plotting to kill her son to get him out of
way. By calling in favors wherever
she could, Philo managed to short-circuit
and however
tion process, and she had
the lengthy emigraJean out of the country in days.
experiences that go far back in her life. One authority is based
cerned her older brother Jean, who had
early lesson conwas nineteen. A colonel in the
to leave Haiti when he
Jean's girlfriend. Philo heard
Haitian army had his eye on
ents that soldiers
through her network of loyal clithe colonel's
were plotting to kill her son to get him out of
way. By calling in favors wherever
she could, Philo managed to short-circuit
and however
tion process, and she had
the lengthy emigraJean out of the country in days. --- Page 148 ---
said to me on one of his rare visits to
"That's the way it is," Jean
official. Get a
Alourdes's home in Brooklyn. "Any government Whatever they
build her a house, give her a BMW.
mistress,
what
want, they do it."
have to do to get
they
has functioned
Ogou
Since the days of Dessalines, the Haitian army violence erupts
with few checks on its power. Around soldiers, often
their own
and shocking ways, sparked as
by
in arbitrary
crime or political dissent. Anyone
greed or fragile pride as by
the streets of Port-au-Prince
who has spent much time walking
Alourdes's world until
These streets were
has seen examples.
has led her to conclude
she was in her late twenties. Experience the cracks in the systhat survival depends on slipping through
around
it is necessary to cultivate invisibility
tem. Specifically,
Alourdes credits her Vodou
anyone who may be threatening.
"All my life, I'm walkspirits with granting her this invisibility:
and healthy and
: .
ing in the street : I'm walking very proud don't make no difprotected. Even : : I.. . . la woman-that those
they
ference! They cannot talk to me. I pass near
people,
Because I
protection, I got a gad (guard, a prodon't see me.
got that gad in me for protection. I got
tective charm]. Spirit put
[envious] people, vioprotection from awful people, ennviyon
lent people.' .
that this spiritual gift has limitaYet Alourdes acknowledges
protection don't mean you
tions. "Let me tell you something,
Protection
No, no, no, no, no. That not protection.
can go fight.
harm
for no reason, just because you
mean people can't
you
too. You got
don't do nothing. But you got to protect yourself, in front of
to look. If a car coming, Inot going stand up
two eye
No. IfI stand up in front
that car just SO I see ifl got protection.
of that car, that car going hit me."
to exhibit a conserAlourdes has begun
Now middle-aged, not have been possible for her as a young
vatism that would
to make a place for herwoman, when she was still struggling manbo enables her to confine
self in the world. Her work as a
where she is in control.
herself largely to her house, a place
does
out, careful
Alourdes seldom leaves home. When she
go
that the
ensures that her transit will be smooth and
planning
will be consonant with her wellreception at her destination
self-esteem. The sources of Alourdes's conservatism,
developed
to make a fortress of her home, could be
her current tendency
teaches. One of his songs
examined in terms of a lesson Ogou
bo enables her to confine
self in the world. Her work as a
where she is in control.
herself largely to her house, a place
does
out, careful
Alourdes seldom leaves home. When she
go
that the
ensures that her transit will be smooth and
planning
will be consonant with her wellreception at her destination
self-esteem. The sources of Alourdes's conservatism,
developed
to make a fortress of her home, could be
her current tendency
teaches. One of his songs
examined in terms of a lesson Ogou --- Page 149 ---
seems to describe the wounds to the heart and
can result from too much life
to the will that
struggle. This
experience, too much pain and
song, addressed to the
the Ogou, Sen Jak Majè, consists of the battle-seasoned chief of
one other line: "M'blese,
name of the spirit and
don't
m'pa wè san mwen (I'm
see my blood]."
wounded, but I
Ogou
The early part of Alourdes's life was a constant
is still bruised and has reason to be
struggle. She
a brief period when she
wary of the larger world. For
spirited,
was a teenager, beautiful and
Alourdes thought she had escaped forever from high- the
hungerand demeaning poverty ofher childhood. She
motherinto letting her audition fora
talked her
lorique, and, to the surprise of
placein Haiti'sTroupe Folkeveryone but the self-confident
fifteen-year-old, she was successful. In no time,
lead singer with this group, which
she became the
traditional religious music and
performed both popular and
dance.
But the excitement and glamour of her career
did the brief marriage that followed it.
soon ended, as
found herself on her own and
Before long, Alourdes
responsible for three children. It
wasimpossible to find steady work, and there was nevere
money. At times, she fed her children salt
enough
mother had done with
water, as her own
her, SO they would feel
had
thing in their bellies. "That time was awful for they
somehave to pay my rent. When
me. My mother
if she don't have
my mother don't have nothing . .
money, she don't
These hard times
cook-nobody eat that day."
Haiti. And
eventually made Alourdes decide to leave
yet, during her first years in New
not much easier. It was difficult to find
York, things were
failed, and it took a
time
a good job, her health
her children from long
to save enough money to
Haiti. Then, not long after the
bring
united, another crisis hit, in 1965.
family was reAlourdes was getting ready to make the trip home
initiation into the Vodou
to undergo
apartment she
priesthood. It was winter, and the
was renting had no central heat. Her
tiny
provided an electric space heater, butits defective
landlord
a fire in the middle of the night. The fire took wiring started
refrigerator, a new television, even the hundred everything- --her
a friend had given her to take to his
dollars in cash
family in
Halfasleep and scrambling to get his pants on, Port-au-Prince.
fifteen, sustained burns on his back and neck Jean-Pierre, then
curtain. He was sent to the
from a flaming
hospital, while Alourdes, Maggie,
was renting had no central heat. Her
tiny
provided an electric space heater, butits defective
landlord
a fire in the middle of the night. The fire took wiring started
refrigerator, a new television, even the hundred everything- --her
a friend had given her to take to his
dollars in cash
family in
Halfasleep and scrambling to get his pants on, Port-au-Prince.
fifteen, sustained burns on his back and neck Jean-Pierre, then
curtain. He was sent to the
from a flaming
hospital, while Alourdes, Maggie, --- Page 150 ---
William were taken in by friends. The Red Cross gave
and little
for food.
them new shoes, warm clothing, and coupons that she owns her own
These days, Alourdes can say proudly and clothe her famhome and requires no outside help to feed
a
Ogou
ily. In the row house in Fort Greene, she and Maggie support her chief
household. Alourdes credits
lively, three-generation with the security she now enjoys, and
protector, Ogou Badagri,
her early life as well.
she can detect his presence throughout Alourdes once offered.
"Let me give you a story about me,"
I
"Wednesday is Papa Ogou' day, right? I born on Wednesday.
Maggie born on Wednesday. Jeanmarried on Wednesday. I come to New York on Wednesday.
Pierre born on Wednesday.
I have to do any busiIfI got an appointment with somebody,
I
ness, I have to go out for any reason-I go on Wednesday.
don't have no luck on Monday."
and poverty as a
Maggie's story is different. She knew hunger
wont to do.
child, but she simply accepted them as children are
to the
the real struggles began when she came
For Maggie,
in New York that she learned to fight.
United States. It was
about her first few months in school
When Maggie tells stories
self more frightin New York City, she reveals a twelve-year-old wise and resilient
ened and more aggressive than the worldly
mother of two who is now my friend.
had
come to that school, and they look at me, they
"I
just
think I'm ugly. And I don't speak
think, That black girl!l" They
white, black,
We got all kind'a people in that school:
no English. Rican. Each one have some kind'a gang. These white
Puerto
and beat me
I did not even start it, and
girls jump on me
should up.
of seen me, Karen; I was
they expel me for that! But you
"I was
then." Maggie's solemn face broke into a huge grin.
big
and took
big. She planted her feet wide apart
big
S000000000
the room.
walk like this. My stomthumping steps across
"Ijust stick out like this."
ach stick out to here, and my rear end just
took
In a matter-of-fact tone, she completed the story. "They
to the
I cut her here and here," Maggie said,
that girl
hospital. toward her face and upper arm. "When I first
vaguely gesturing
here. 11
come, I always carry a little knife, like a penknife- right white
the waistband on her skirt. "When all them
She snapped
cut one. So they put me out for three
girls jump on me, I just
like me! I was the
weeks. But when I come back, everybody
Puerto Rican. I
leader, the leader of everybody-black, white,
was S000000 big!"
I cut her here and here," Maggie said,
that girl
hospital. toward her face and upper arm. "When I first
vaguely gesturing
here. 11
come, I always carry a little knife, like a penknife- right white
the waistband on her skirt. "When all them
She snapped
cut one. So they put me out for three
girls jump on me, I just
like me! I was the
weeks. But when I come back, everybody
Puerto Rican. I
leader, the leader of everybody-black, white,
was S000000 big!" --- Page 151 ---
One day, when Alourdes was singing Ogou
tape recorder, we came to one for Ogou Achade: songs for my
Baton pase nan men mwen, Achade,
Pou chyen raje mode mwen.
Ogou
The club passes into my hand, Achade,
For the mad dog bites me.
When she finished singing, Alourdes exclaimed:
That's my protection. Nobody can't touch me." "That's me!
have made the same point and meant it
Maggie could
the adult Maggie would
more literally, although
As
never wear a knife in her
an adult, Maggie, like Alourdes, has learned the waistband.
knowing how to slip by unnoticed. Like
value of
spirits as the source of this talent: "When Alourdes, she cites the
like people don't see me. Or if I'm
I'm on the street, it's
me. I'm like the wind
talking, they don't hear
. : : just passing by!" But
Alourdes, and she will still take on a good verbal Maggie is not
collectors and Vodou spirits alike.
fight with bill
Maggie's first
Fighting with the spirits was
response to the arrival of serious trouble
ary of 1981.
in JanuFor several months before this, Maggie had been
with financial problems. She and Alourdes
preoccupied
thousand dollars in debt, and
were nearly ten
much more than five thousand Maggie's annual salary was not
dollars. She was
scheming and juggling scarce resources.
constantly
in mid-January, she conceived
Lying awake one night
ing, she and Alourdes
a plan. Early the following mornmade a trip to the bank.
to borrow a thousand dollars on her Visa card to Maggie intended
due fuel bill, but the bank teller informed
pay their overnew credit rules. She could have
her that there were
lars. "Why is that?"
only three hundred fifty dolcredit line, and
Maggie demanded. "Igot a two-thousand
card."
once before I got seven hundred on that Visa
With indignation rising in her voice,
her reaction: "I got SO mad, cause I don't Maggie know later described
no new rules! When I hear
anything about
lars!-I
that-only three hundred
dolget SO upset. I'm SO mad. I just go.
fifty
walk and walk. We left the house, it
My mother and I
morning, and by the time
was nine o'clock in the
we get back, it was one-thirty. We just
Igot a two-thousand
card."
once before I got seven hundred on that Visa
With indignation rising in her voice,
her reaction: "I got SO mad, cause I don't Maggie know later described
no new rules! When I hear
anything about
lars!-I
that-only three hundred
dolget SO upset. I'm SO mad. I just go.
fifty
walk and walk. We left the house, it
My mother and I
morning, and by the time
was nine o'clock in the
we get back, it was one-thirty. We just --- Page 152 ---
freeze to death And then when I get
walk and walk. We nearly
and
hat, and go out
home, I come in, put another sweater
my
to do! I was
and walk. We don't know what we doing
again
head ache, my body ache. I take two Sinutab
gone all day. My
Ogou
and go to bed."
down late that afternoon, Alourdes
While Maggie was lying found the entire lower floor filled
went to the basement. She
and I hear that
with steam. Maggie said later, "Im upstairs, who have heart
was the kind'a person
scream. . . . If Mommie
The fuel tank for their furnace had
attack, she would be dead!"
had refused
that morning, and the suppliers
been nearly empty
to deliver more oil until the bill was paid- - prompting Maggie's
During the long, troubled walk, the fuel
rush to borrow money.
went off. The
froze and
tank had gone dry, and the heat
pipes with
and Maggie and Alourdes were now faced
expenburst,
sive furnace repairs.
recounted the story for me over
Late the same day, Maggie
silence. Then
the phone. When she finished, there was a long
"You know what I did, Karen? I talk to my
she said defiantly:
I tell him, Im going to give you
people. I talk to Papa Ogou.
two month from
one month! I need one thousand dollar. By
I'm tired
I'm
to need two thousand. I want it now!
now,
going
borrowing money from this one . : . Visa
of waiting! We always
else. I'm tired of that! I've
or something . : : to pay someone
I'm going
had enough!I want my own money!' I tell Papa Ogou
to
him one month, and then I'm going to go downstairs
to give
I tell him, 'You better shape it
the altar and break everything up.
'cause Iam
it! That's right! You better shape it or ship it,
or ship
tired of waiting. III
continued: "I
Sounding more depressed than angry, Maggie
Karen. Mommie say to me, 'Look, you know everydon'tknow,
to be all right. ! But I don't know, sometime I just
thing think going there is any God up there. I1 I had never heard Magdon't
like that, and I could think of nothing to sayin
gie say anything
the long silence on the telephone, I could
response. Through
and ironic humor.
feel her groping for her customary strength
At last, she laughed.
thing, buying thing.
"You know, all this time, I'm just buying
I1 She
and asked ifI
All the time buying.'
giggled conspiratorially before. "Some man come
knew what she had done just the day
for the kids. Just a
to the house, and I bought an encyclopedia
I had never heard Magdon't
like that, and I could think of nothing to sayin
gie say anything
the long silence on the telephone, I could
response. Through
and ironic humor.
feel her groping for her customary strength
At last, she laughed.
thing, buying thing.
"You know, all this time, I'm just buying
I1 She
and asked ifI
All the time buying.'
giggled conspiratorially before. "Some man come
knew what she had done just the day
for the kids. Just a
to the house, and I bought an encyclopedia --- Page 153 ---
little encyclopedia, but two hundred and fifty dollars! I give him
a check for fifty dollars, and now I'm going to have to call him
and tell him to hold that check until next Tuesday. I want my
own money, Karen. I'm tired of just having other people's
Ogou
money. Those spirit got to help me! But all the time they just
giving me trouble. Iam tired ofit, Karen. I am tired!"
The broken furnace was only the first in a long list of things
that went wrong in Maggie's life throughout the opening months
of 1981. She contracted chicken pox; she lost her job; William
was arrested; and, just a few days after that, Maggie's floor of
their home in Brooklyn was robbed. "Now that robber! All my
jewelry! My camera-I just buy that camera! I don't even make
one payment to Mastercard yet." 11
Maggie decided the spirits were harassing her, as they had
done before, because they wanted her to become a manbo like
her mother. By the time William's problem with the court was
resolved, the other crises had receded into the past, and Maggie
had become philosophical: "This bad luck, it begin with me
when I get chicken pox, and it end with me, with that robber.
That's it! Now those spirit know I know what they want.' 11 Ogou
provides the weapon to fight mad dogs. But at times the source
of trouble is Ogou himself.
Sen Jak pa la.
Se chyen ki la.
Saint James's not there.
It's a dog who's there.
When I first met her, in 1978, Maggie said, "Work with the
my mother. People
spirit run in my family-my grandmother,
coming in here to see my mother all hour of the day and night.
She never too tired to see people. She just like my grandmother, always helping people. Maggie hesitated before she
continued with this train of thought. "My mother, my grandmother-they don't ever have no money. They just giving .
always giving. I don't want to be like them!" But then, with resignation in her voice, Maggie added, "Seem to be each time I
say I don't want to be like them, something pulling me back . .
saying, 'You can't do that!"
family-my grandmother,
coming in here to see my mother all hour of the day and night.
She never too tired to see people. She just like my grandmother, always helping people. Maggie hesitated before she
continued with this train of thought. "My mother, my grandmother-they don't ever have no money. They just giving .
always giving. I don't want to be like them!" But then, with resignation in her voice, Maggie added, "Seem to be each time I
say I don't want to be like them, something pulling me back . .
saying, 'You can't do that!" --- Page 154 ---
finally gave in to the will of
In the summer of 1981, Maggie
of a
much as her mother had done a quarter
century
the spirits,
to take the ason. She did not do SO
earlier. She went to Haiti
went out of the convicwith dreams of wealth and success.She bonds with her family
Ogou
tion that initiation would reinforce her
her
that
with family, living and dead, represented
and
bonding
best hope for peace and security)
of
Vodou does reinforce family ties. In the presence
Ogou,
this statement must be qualified. Alourdes and Maghowever,
warmth and feeling; there is no
gie discuss family with great
to each other and to their
question of their deep commitment
of the extended family,
children. And they both speak lovingly
although they
of it still in Haiti. Nevertheless,
a good part
nurturing family roots, both acexpend considerable energy
sustain them the way they
knowledge that these links no longer
should.
in discussions of what they
Their fears are often apparent
serious illness or a death
would do in the case of a real crisis-a
Maggie once
in the household. With characteristic Even exaggeration, if
mother die. . . I
said to me, "I don'thave no friend.
my and after that the
could call Madame François. I could call her,
to ask. 11
next person I call would be you. I don'tgot nobody
very
is not very different: "I use to got SO many
Alourdes's complaint
to Haiti,
happy,
.
everybody
friendin Haiti. Now . : nobody!Igo
sister. Then what I
happy, happy. I see my daddy. I see my
along todo? You know, me and my father never get
going
tired with you. Where my friend?
gether. After one week, they
New York. AndIeven
They in Miami. They in Chicago. Theyin
don't see them."
and Alourdes seem more
When this mood sets in, Maggie
of hanwilling to lay their bets on new friends and new ways
the challenges of life than to count on family. Such judgdling
that
have rejected their family any
ments do not mean
they
their Vodou roots. But both
more than that they have rejected
Relative newcomers in
family and religion have been redefined.
titlestheir lives, people such as myself, carry fictive kinship her sister.
Alourdes calls me her daughter, and Maggie calls me
of
has been rearranged as well. Azaka,
And the family spirits
honored once a year, but
the rural country cousin, is faithfully
is the most frehe is seldom called at other times. Papa Ogou who clears a path
spirit guest in their home. Heis the one
quent
they
their Vodou roots. But both
more than that they have rejected
Relative newcomers in
family and religion have been redefined.
titlestheir lives, people such as myself, carry fictive kinship her sister.
Alourdes calls me her daughter, and Maggie calls me
of
has been rearranged as well. Azaka,
And the family spirits
honored once a year, but
the rural country cousin, is faithfully
is the most frehe is seldom called at other times. Papa Ogou who clears a path
spirit guest in their home. Heis the one
quent --- Page 155 ---
through the social forest and
challenges of the new.
generally assists in taking on the
"PAPA OGOU, DO YOU TAKE THIS
WOMAN?
Ogou
Earlyin the summer of 1980,
she does from time to time. Alourdes read the cards for me, as
whether or not I should
That day we were
Ogou. My first
undergo the Vodou
considering
trip to Haiti had been in
marriage to
Starting with that trip,
the summer of Papa
make a diagnosis told every priest or priestess
1973.
me that
who chose to
1977 a manbo I had never met Papa Ogou was my mêt tèt. In
crowded temple dance floor before made her way across a
Papa Ogou "around
just to tell me that she
A
my head."
could see
often person's mêt têt can be identified in
possession. through divination or consultation several ways, most
Manbo or oungan with the with the spirits during
intuitive powers called
house. A ceremony Crown for Ogou in a temple located in the
Heights, Brooklyn, 1979
basement of a large apartment
7 a manbo I had never met Papa Ogou was my mêt tèt. In
crowded temple dance floor before made her way across a
Papa Ogou "around
just to tell me that she
A
my head."
could see
often person's mêt têt can be identified in
possession. through divination or consultation several ways, most
Manbo or oungan with the with the spirits during
intuitive powers called
house. A ceremony Crown for Ogou in a temple located in the
Heights, Brooklyn, 1979
basement of a large apartment --- Page 156 ---
of
are said to see protective spirits directly. Diag-
"the gift eyes"
is more than a surface labeling of per134
nosing someone's mêt tèt
level, where it zeros in
sonality types. It often works at a deeper
the diagnosis
latent characteristics. Even though
on significant mêt tèt did not fit easily with my own self-image,
Ogou
of Ogou as my
I could see the wisdom ofit.
and been
Although I had witnessed many Vodou marriages of
them, I originally had no intention
going
fascinated by
Then, one day in 1980 when I was
through the ritual myself.
had some things to be
alone in my apartment and full of rage (I
muttering,
about in that period of my life), I found myself
angry
to make the anger go away. It only makes it worse.
"Stop trying
the phone and called Alourdes.
It's yours. Marry it!" I picked up
relation
decision marked a new stage in my
This spontaneous Vodou. It also brought new and deeper understandto Haitian
works in the lives ofindividuals. The
ings ofl how Vodou actually
healing consultations
contents of Vodou rituals-from private
- are composed
to public dances and posecsion-perdormane them.Whenl
from the lives of the particular people performing
to
own life to the system for healing, Ibegan
began to bring my of what it meant for Haitians to do that. But
understand more risks. In a
I was setting out to do fieldthere were also new
way, convinced that this was the
work on my own psychel1 remain
and
the
way for me to move my understandbest
perhaps
only
external description into the deep places
ing of Vodou beyond dreams and fears, hope and pain of an
where it takes up the
caution in not claiming more auactual life. I try to exercise
bear. What I have
for
than it can
gained
thority
my experience
that exists in
from participating in Vodou is a kind ofknowledge strands of
between two cultures, where the various
the seam
the fabric can never be disentangled.
we talked. She
As Alourdes laid out the cards for my reading,
thing
said to me, "Karen, you very intelligent person. Only where
don't push yourself. You just stay right
about you, you
her hands framed a small, tight
you are."In two quick gestures,
11 In Vodou, there is a perbox. "You could push faster : : : yes.
and blocked and havvasive contrast between being immobile
is
life of energy and flow. The goal of all Vodou ritualizing
ing a
that
and situations shift and
to echofe (heat things up) SO
people
Heating things
move, and healing transformations can occur.
in the
brings down the barriers, clears the impediments
up
yourself. You just stay right
about you, you
her hands framed a small, tight
you are."In two quick gestures,
11 In Vodou, there is a perbox. "You could push faster : : : yes.
and blocked and havvasive contrast between being immobile
is
life of energy and flow. The goal of all Vodou ritualizing
ing a
that
and situations shift and
to echofe (heat things up) SO
people
Heating things
move, and healing transformations can occur.
in the
brings down the barriers, clears the impediments
up --- Page 157 ---
path, and allows life to move as it should. When
cussed Maggie's initiation with her, he used
Ogou disfor energy and movement,
another metaphor
the
telling her that if she would
commitment to take the ason, then "dlo kle va koule make
[clear water will flow in front of you]."
devan ou
The opposite oft this openness, heat, and flow
Ogou
ing arrested or stopped
is the state of beCharms and amulets (rete) or, worse, of being bound
made by every Vodou healer,
(mare).
designed to control the behavior of others in
which are
mare, bound or tied, round and round with limited ways, are
rope. Slave chains are even kept in some
thread, wire, or
are part of the iconography of
temples, where they
Vodou ritualizing directed at much "left-hand work," a type of
trol. When Alourdes said, "You more extreme forms of conshe was not
that
just stay right where you are,"
suggesting
I was the victim of
instead, she was suggesting that
left-hand work;
After Alourdes delivered
my own behavior boxed me in.
this verdict, the
save for the tapping noise her middle
room was quiet
scended two or three times in
finger made as it deand there in the four neat
quick succession on a card here
"Karen,
rows of eight cards in front of
you got to fight. You got to be a
her.
silence and tapping followed.
fighter, she said. More
marry Papa Ogou,
"Look, if you decide you
you got to do it for
going
ing for me. Do it for yourself."
yourself. Don't do noth-
"Karen,
More silence. More
you think too much!" "What?" I asked.
tapping.
much?" Alourdes laughed. She told
"Drink too
Wednesday and she would call
me to come back the next
It was
Papa Ogou for me.
eight-thirty on a hot summer evening when I
Maggie was in the living room. All the lights
returned.
tiny one on the portable
were off except a
ing. The door between the sewing machine where she was workwas
living room and Alourdes's
open. Alourdes lay on her stomach on the bed. I bedroom
edge of the bed, and we talked. The
sat on the
and starts, focusing
conversation moved in fits
lems. Alourdes
mainly on a familiar topic, money probhours of labored yawned repeatedly. So did I. After almost two
talk and long silences, I
Alourdes had forgotten her
began to think that
she had concluded that it promise to call Ogou. Or perhaps
I decided
was too hot to work.
not to press the issue, to wait for
when she was more in the mood. But I was
another occasion
eled from Manhattan at the end of a
annoyed. I had travbusy day and in weather
conversation moved in fits
lems. Alourdes
mainly on a familiar topic, money probhours of labored yawned repeatedly. So did I. After almost two
talk and long silences, I
Alourdes had forgotten her
began to think that
she had concluded that it promise to call Ogou. Or perhaps
I decided
was too hot to work.
not to press the issue, to wait for
when she was more in the mood. But I was
another occasion
eled from Manhattan at the end of a
annoyed. I had travbusy day and in weather --- Page 158 ---
energy and fogged my mind. Ending an espethat sapped my
I stood up and said I thought it
cially long silence between us,
was time to be on my way.
look
Alourdes rolled over slowly onto her back, a questioning she
Ogou
her face. "You don't want to talk with Papa Ogou?"
on
This is often how it works: Alourdes pulls through just
asked.
frustrated and ready to give up. Our attiwhen Iam thoroughly
different. Ihoard it and spend it like
tudes toward time are very
of the day like a surfer. She lets
a miser; she rides the rhythms
for them to happen.
things happen when the time is right
her.
the right moment only when it tis upon
Alourdes recognizes
the basement. Alourdes knocked three
Together, we went to
and we went in. She struck
times on the door to the altar room,
stub into the flame.
match and
the wick of a candle
a
pushed small white candle on the edge of her work
She anchored the
low stool next to the table. I was
table and settled herself on a
of rum. She
asked to reach into Ogou's altar cabinet for a bottle
metal
or two of the amber liquid onto a red
poured a dollop
matches on the thin film of rum until it
plate and then dropped
into the fire while tipping the plate
ignited. Alourdes sat staring
across its surfrom side to side to keep the blue flames dancing
sunshade,
face. Her free hand was held to her forehead like a
the light in rather than shutting it out.
which paradoxically kept
the focused state of mind
Narrowing her eyes, Alourdes sought
consciousness
which ordinary
that creates a portal through
slips away.
the struggle that
For a manbo as accomplished as Alourdes,
commumarks the onset of trance is usually pro forma. During
and hand-clapping bring on
nity rituals, when energetic singing her
bonanj and the spirit
possession, the struggle between minutes. gwo First, her eyes narwho seeks to possess her is overin
on the
Then her head bends forward as if she had a weight
row.
are said to ride on the back of the
back of her neck (the spirits
slack. She often loses her balneck), and her facial features go
Assistants remove
ance and requires support from bystanders. Soon, the
her shoes and take the ason from her hand.
person- When
of the lwa is in full control of her body and voice.
ality
does not have the energy and support of a crowd to
Alourdes
this process can be slower, asit was on this night.
push heralong,
the
blue flame, a light tremor
As she concentrated on
slippery
and she
through her body from time to time,
squeezed
passed
loses her balneck), and her facial features go
Assistants remove
ance and requires support from bystanders. Soon, the
her shoes and take the ason from her hand.
person- When
of the lwa is in full control of her body and voice.
ality
does not have the energy and support of a crowd to
Alourdes
this process can be slower, asit was on this night.
push heralong,
the
blue flame, a light tremor
As she concentrated on
slippery
and she
through her body from time to time,
squeezed
passed --- Page 159 ---
her eyes shut. Once, she jerked her left hand
forehead and shook it
away from her
like
vigorously as if it had gone numb.
a restless sleeper, Alourdes seemed to wake
But,
each time she dipped below the surface of
with a start
sciousness. At one point, her body shook the waters of conthe spirit had come. But the crisis
SO much I was sure
Ogou
Alourdes sighed and reached for passed. the
small fire. Again, there
rum bottle to refuel her
was intense
it worked. Barely
concentration, and this time
and then
perceptible tremors became intense
the energy shot out her arms and
shaking,
do a stiff staccato dance in the air. When legs, making them
the
Alourdes's body was drawn
shaking stopped,
up straight, and keen
were staring at me with interest.
black eyes
Bonjou, bèl ti fi
Papa Ogou had arrived.
(Hello, pretty little
the nasal speech of the
girl), Papa Ogou said in
spirits. "Ba'm nouvèl ou. Sa ou
Kouman ou ye, pitit? [Give me news of yourself. What's genyen?
with you? How are you, little one?]" Ogou asked with going on
concern. Then, without waiting for answers, he
paternal
red scarf and his shouga, spirit talk for
requested his
scarf tightly around his head and
siga (cigar). He tied the
back and
lit the cigar. Then he leaned
eyed me from head to toe.
When I asked if he thought I should
tinued staring and did not
marry him, Ogou conother form, and
respond. I put the question in anOgou still said nothing. I
about the things that made
began to tell him
me angry-my marriage
up, packing, moving, too much work, tension
breaking
nodded
on the job. Ogou
sympathetically but without comment.
like this for a long time. I felt like a chicken
Things went on
its wings, unable to take off. The room was senselessly full of
flapping
He was as unmoveable and silent as a mountain. my clucking.
When I was close to the end of my patience,
asked quietly: "What can I do for you?" "Tell Ogou spoke. He
sputtered. "Should I do the
me what to do," I
marriage or not?" Ogou's
snapped forward, and a thick cloud of cigar smoke shot into body
face along with his forceful reply: "Pran tèt ou [Get ahold of my
head]! Do what you want! Do you want to
me?" I your
tried to get Ogou to tell me what to do, and he marry had
had
for me to say what I wanted. In the end, I said I wanted been waiting
the ceremony. I had made the
to have
decision, and I
it through.
intended to carry
"Bon!" Ogou said and sat back, puffing
contentedly on his
cloud of cigar smoke shot into body
face along with his forceful reply: "Pran tèt ou [Get ahold of my
head]! Do what you want! Do you want to
me?" I your
tried to get Ogou to tell me what to do, and he marry had
had
for me to say what I wanted. In the end, I said I wanted been waiting
the ceremony. I had made the
to have
decision, and I
it through.
intended to carry
"Bon!" Ogou said and sat back, puffing
contentedly on his --- Page 160 ---
the
all around you, 11 he observed. "Did
cigar. "You have
spirit
white
You don't
know the Ginen spirit can love a
person?
you know that? I think you have a rasin Ginen [an African root] in
too! You are a very intelliyou : : . an Indian root : . : Jewish,
Butno, you choose
Ogou
gent woman. You could be a doctor, a lawyer.
this. You don't have to come here. But you are searching . .
did
choose this? Because
searching. You are digging. Why
you understand whatIam
have an African root in you! Do you
you
saying to you?"
the next month at Ogou's regularly
The marriage took place
Around two o'clock in the mornscheduled July birthday party.
Ogou began, I excused myself
ing, when the songs summoning
around Alourdes's
from the twenty-five or SO people gathered
into
wedsumptuous altar tables. I went upstairs to change
my for
ding clothes-a bright red sundress purchased especially
occasion and, on my head, a red satin scarf. When I came
the
oohed and aahed
down the stairs half an hour later, everyone
fine attire. Everyone, that is, except Papa Ogou.
over my
Alourdes in
absence, and I found him
He had mounted
my
with
decked out in his own finery, his red velvet military jacket
But Ogou ignored me. I stood by patiently
the gold epaulets.
after another without even acwhile he talked to one person
he alNo matter how I maneuvered,
knowledging my presence.
ways managed to keep his back to me.
nervous. One woman said, "Papa Ogou,
Everyone was getting
behind
Don't you want to talk
your beautiful bride is here,
you.
in
to her?" Ogou ignored the question. Then a man whispered The
"Go on!" and gave me a shove in front of Ogou.
my ear, looked me over with a cold eye. "What do you want?"he
spirit asked. I found my voice: "I am here to marry you. You promwould
me. You have made me wait a long
ised me you
marry
threw back his head and laughed.
time. Iam ready." Papa Ogou
he shouted,
It was a deep, rich laugh. "Begin the ceremony!" the
of the
and, taking my arm, he propelled me toward
largest warrior's
altar tables. Once again, Ogou had taught me the
lesson: know what you want and fight forit.
and I
Two chairs were placed in front of the table. Papa Ogou
and the four people who were "godparents" for the wedsat,
behind us. Willy, functioning as prètsavann, stood
ding gathered
he began, reading
in front of us. "Liberté, égalité, fraternité,"
of Haiti.
the official stamp of the Republic
from a paper bearing
taking my arm, he propelled me toward
largest warrior's
altar tables. Once again, Ogou had taught me the
lesson: know what you want and fight forit.
and I
Two chairs were placed in front of the table. Papa Ogou
and the four people who were "godparents" for the wedsat,
behind us. Willy, functioning as prètsavann, stood
ding gathered
he began, reading
in front of us. "Liberté, égalité, fraternité,"
of Haiti.
the official stamp of the Republic
from a paper bearing --- Page 161 ---
(Blank forms are available near the big Iron Market in Port-au139
Prince for four cents apiece; my Acte de Mariage had been written out in ballpoint pen on the first page of the folio sheet.) "In
the
one thousand nine hundred and eighty in the state of
year
Ogou
New York . 1I Willy continued in French.
"Make it fast!" Ogou snapped. Willy laughed, put the paper
down, and began to ad lib in Creole. "Do you, Ogou Badagri,
take this woman, Karine . - uh .
uh .
Brown, as your
wife? And do you promise to give her protection?" "Yes!" answered Ogou, thumping his sword on the floor for emphasis.
"Do you take Monsieur Ogou Badagri as husband?" Willy asked
me. "To be faithful. . . to give him one night each week?Yes!"
Isaid.
From the altar Ogou took a saucer holding the ring with a
small red stone that I had purchased earlier in the week. He
doused the ring in Florida Water and rum and set it on fire.
While the ring was still warm, he slid it over the middle finger of
left hand. He held my hand up to each of the four direcmy
tions. Four times he blew a fine mist of rum over my hand and
the ring. Then Papa Ogou plucked a red carnation from a bouquet on the table and doused it in the mixture of rum, perfume,
and cool blue fire. He handed me the flaming flower, as Willy
intoned the final words in French: "Maître Ogou Badagri and
Mademoiselle Karine are united by marriage!"
People cheered. A champagne cork popped. Ogou refused
champagne, preferring a long swig from his rum bottle. He also
refused to eat any of the wedding cake, but he did cut it. With
his sword, he removed a circular piece from the center of the
cake and instructed me to take it home to feed friends, family,
the marriage document,
and spirits. Everyone present signed
Ogou Badagri, who scratched a big "O.B." with a red
including
felt-tip pen. --- Page 162 --- --- Page 163 ---
-
A altuit LTNINDT UHRT
AR
VABANLDN a -M
CHAPTER FIVE --- Page 164 ---
The Baka Made from Jealousy
Around the turn of the century,
Binbin Mauvant sang his way back to Afnot long after Joseph
occurred in Port-de-Paix that dramatirica, a mysterious event
Philomise Macena. cally changed the life of his granddaughter
unlikely
in the middle of the night when a wild,
It happened
streets of the small port city. The
wind roamed the broad, dusty doors of the closed shops and
wind shook the massive wooden huddled beneath their wide,
rattled the bones of mongrel dogs
whistle. deserted porches. The wind gave off a high-pitched bared
to escape the hold of iron bars. Dogs
Doors struggled
their teeth and snarled. her husband in their comfortMadame Fouchard lay beside
of
Foubehind the well-stocked shelves Magasin
able quarters
she had been sleeping lightly and
chard. Because of the wind,
voice called out:
awake when a perfectly ordinary
was instantly
An old man has died.
shops and
wind shook the massive wooden huddled beneath their wide,
rattled the bones of mongrel dogs
whistle. deserted porches. The wind gave off a high-pitched bared
to escape the hold of iron bars. Dogs
Doors struggled
their teeth and snarled. her husband in their comfortMadame Fouchard lay beside
of
Foubehind the well-stocked shelves Magasin
able quarters
she had been sleeping lightly and
chard. Because of the wind,
voice called out:
awake when a perfectly ordinary
was instantly
An old man has died. I need sugar, cin-
"Wake up! Wake up! leaves.' 11 Even the urgent pounding
namon, black cloth, malfète
crisis, another
on the door seemed common enough-another
chance to turn a profit. without alarm or reElsa Fouchard answered the summons
to
her
sentment. It was not unusual for the shopkeeper open
Fouchard was the bigdoor in the middle of the night. Magasin
and townsstore in Port-de-Paix, and mountain people
gest alike came to her when there was an emergency. There
people
could have known what waited behind the
was no way she
who could no longer
door: a baka called into being by a neighbor
They were
bear the jealousy he felt toward the Fouchard family. Elsa
and, more to the point, too self-sufficient. too prosperous Fouchard asked for no charity, and they gave none. and Claude
It was unnatural. Machann in front of a gingerbread house. Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 1973. --- Page 165 ---
When the baka made from
Fouchard's door, she knew it jealousy turned up at Madame
leave town. Baka are evil
was time to close up shop and
incarnate. son (combinations),
Sometimes called
they bring things together that kombinaykept apart. The baka Madame Fouchard
ought to be
fore the first light of
confronted, hours beThe Baka
standing
dawn, was a two-legged horse-a horse Made from
straight up like a man! She
before she slammed and
caught just a glimpse of it
Jealousy
her kerosene lantern
barred the door. The wind had sent
to reveal
swinging. It took only one
bulging black eyes the size of
upward swing
snout resting on a hairless chest,
lemons, a heavy wet
dling a velvet ear. Only later did a gnarled human hand fonbreath that had
she remember the rotten-sweet
the odor
enveloped her. When Elsa Fouchard recalled
years later and many miles from
stomach churned. Port-de-Paix, her
The Fouchards had been in Port-de-Paix for
fore the baka appeared. Yet, behind
fifteen years becalled etranje (foreigners). their backs, they were still
opened the magasin
They moved into town in 1886 and
like a good idea. There shortly thereafter. At the time, it seemed
in this isolated
were fewer than two thousand residents
port on Haiti's dry and
ern coast, but Port-de-Paix had the
inhospitable northwestmiles around. only sizable market for
Every Wednesday, the mountain
many
in to sell vegetables, tobacco, and coffee
people flooded
as cloth, tools, and kerosene. and to buy supplies such
Before the
store, finding such
Fouchards opened their
they
supplies was a matter of chance. But
came, those who had money or goods to trade could after
anything they needed. While Claude
find
ness deals from his favorite table
pursued ephemeral busiminded wife did the real work. at the local bistro, his toughNo matter how hot it
She ran the store. woman, wore a corset beneath was, Elsa Fouchard, a substantial
It was
her neatly pressed cotton
impossible to enter the store without first
frock.
supplies such
Before the
store, finding such
Fouchards opened their
they
supplies was a matter of chance. But
came, those who had money or goods to trade could after
anything they needed. While Claude
find
ness deals from his favorite table
pursued ephemeral busiminded wife did the real work. at the local bistro, his toughNo matter how hot it
She ran the store. woman, wore a corset beneath was, Elsa Fouchard, a substantial
It was
her neatly pressed cotton
impossible to enter the store without first
frock. her, sitting ramrod straight at her desk beneath encountering
leather-bound ledger open before her. She
the portico, a
ence, but she was also capable of considerable was a daunting preskeen business sense told her charm could
charm when her
Not long after the shop
be profitable. hastul-tin-fheMlountane opened, Marie Noelsine Joseph from
Fouchard's attention. became the object of Madame
Paix market
The produce Sina carried to the Port-de-
(especially the tobacco
leaves-some as long as --- Page 166 ---
So Elsa Fouchard made it
your arm!) was of superior quality. "When you come to town, pass
her business to befriend Sina.
for you," 1 Elsa said
by here first. You will find coffee waiting
into
Sina welcomed the chance to rest before plunging
warmly.
she knew the value of a connecThe Baka
the chaos of the market. And
Made from tion with such an important, wealthy woman. Sina's hand along
Jealousy
One day, Elsa pressed a piece of bread into
of thick, sweet coffee. "You must eat, my
with the usual cup
in
dear," she crooned. "I can see you have a baby your belly."
herself, responded: "I'm going to give
Sina, a businesswoman You are going to be the godmother."
my baby to you to baptize.
over more than congo
Elsa Fouchard knew she was bartering
smiled. It would
and tobacco, but for the moment she only
peas
She simply watched while the
not do to appear overly eager.
with the long hair and
strikingly beautiful mountain woman
them in an enoreyes tied up her bundles and replaced
green
which she then hoisted and settled on her head.
mous basket,
the door when Elsa called after her: "Don't
Sina was already out
forget, I'm going to baptize that baby!"
when Madame
Five years later, on the night the baka came,
rostill
around like a panicked
Fouchard's heart was
jumping
her
dent, her first coherent thought concerned she goddaughter, said to herPhilomise. "I'll need a maid in Port-au-Prince,":
self. "It would be nice ifI did not have to pay her."
Magasin Fouchard was never again
After the baka appeared, decision to move was made in an inopen for business. The
was packed in
stant, and within days most of the merchandise
the
baskets and sent to the harbor to await
barrels and giant
On the following Wednesnext boat bound for Port-au-Prince.
she found the shop
day, when Sina made her customary stop,
charclosed. She was about to leave when a snaggle-toothed Fouchard
coal merchant seated near the door hissed: Madame
wait for
She needs you. Knock three times on
asked me to
you.
the back door."
the floor at one end of the nearly
Marie Noelsine squatted on
around her, talking
shop, and Madame Fouchard paced
empty
in a supple, sweet voice. Sina lisof things of little consequence did not look at this woman whose fatened carefully, but she
She knew her debts were
vors she had come to depend on.
what Madame
about to be called in, and she could not imagine
could ask of her that would fill her with such forebodFouchard
ing as she felt at that moment.
me to
you.
the back door."
the floor at one end of the nearly
Marie Noelsine squatted on
around her, talking
shop, and Madame Fouchard paced
empty
in a supple, sweet voice. Sina lisof things of little consequence did not look at this woman whose fatened carefully, but she
She knew her debts were
vors she had come to depend on.
what Madame
about to be called in, and she could not imagine
could ask of her that would fill her with such forebodFouchard
ing as she felt at that moment. --- Page 167 ---
Finally, Elsa Fouchard came to the point. She
Philomise to Port-au-Prince. Sina said
wanted to take
look up. Behind her stoic
nothing; she did not even
raging. Not long before, mountain woman's face a storm was
her ne'er-do-well
Sina had reached a decision to leave
Fouchard's
husband and move from Jean Rabel. Madame The Baka
plan would make this easier. But
Made
price! She knew that
.
oh, what a
from
dren would be
starting a new life with three small chilJealousy
more than she could handle, and she
ready decided that Mèdelice, her
had alin Jean Rabel. But Philo, her
son and firstborn, could be left
self to think they
baby! Sina had never allowed hermight be separated.
The next morning, on the long, hot trek
Sina consoled herself with
up the mountain,
images of Philomise as the
goddaughter of a wealthy family,
beloved
city, schoolbooks in her
walking the streets of a big
tion could take
arms, shoes on her feet. Sina's
her no further, but she felt
imaginaPhilo found there, it would be better
certain that whatever
vide. By the time Sina reached
than what she could proland, the sun
the gate of the Mauvant
was gone and with it the
family
tasy. She dragged her
meager comfort of fanthe rhythm of a muttered protesting feet the last quarter of a mile to
kinds of
apology: "Women have got to do
things . . . all kinds of
all
When Sina lay down
things . : . all kinds of
on her sleeping mat and curled things.
ing body around her tiny
her achdaughter, she was
good-bye.
already saying
Philomise Macena became a restavèk
the Fouchard family. The fortunes
(literally, a stay-with) in
of these borrowed
vary greatly, and Philo was among the least
children
came a servant who was treated like
fortunate. She beshe fetched water and
a slave. In the early
ran small errands for the
days,
time she was eleven, Philo was
cook. By the
and laundry in the
responsible for all the cleaning
owned in the Bois Verna rambling gingerbread house the Fouchards
section of
most of the marketing.
Port-au-Prince. She also did
Philo slept on a thin mat in the servants'
house. She shared a room, six feet
quarters behind the
people. Her clothes
by ten feet, with four other
were tattered
never given a pair of shoes.
hand-me-downs, and she was
Although the
own children to expensive
Fouchards sent their
Philo to school at
private schools, they did not send
held late
all, not even to the public school for
in the afternoon.
maids,
Perhaps the worst of the evils of Elsa and Claude
Fouchard
Port-au-Prince. She also did
Philo slept on a thin mat in the servants'
house. She shared a room, six feet
quarters behind the
people. Her clothes
by ten feet, with four other
were tattered
never given a pair of shoes.
hand-me-downs, and she was
Although the
own children to expensive
Fouchards sent their
Philo to school at
private schools, they did not send
held late
all, not even to the public school for
in the afternoon.
maids,
Perhaps the worst of the evils of Elsa and Claude
Fouchard --- Page 168 ---
refusal to talk to the little girlabout her own family. At
was their
became evasive. Then
first, whenever the topic came up, they
Madame Fouchard sought to end the annoying quesone day,
are dead. They are all dead," she
tions once and for all. "They
to have someone to give
The Baka
said. "Fresh little girl! You are lucky in!" Vast need and deep
Made from you food and a little corner to sleep
words. Philo hugged
Jealousy
knowing made the child doubt these cruel
mother
to herself a distant memory of a beautiful, green-eyed there was an indelwith gentle loving hands. In her mind's eye
down
of Sina heading off to market, her hair falling
ible image
balanced on her head. In
her back, a basket filled to overflowing
to her mother.
her memories, Philo was always saying good-bye different. Philo vowed
In her fantasies, the situation was quite and would find her
that one day she would have lots of money
and shower her with love and wonderful gifts.
mother
when Philo was seventeen, she told MaEarly one morning
soap. Baredame Fouchard she was going out to buy laundry of her faded cotfoot and with only twenty cents in the pocket
Once out of
Philo walked away and never returned.
ton dress,
Philo turned her back to the sea
sight of the Fouchard house,
and headed
and to the busy commercial center of Port-au-Prince four hours on a
She walked steadily for nearly
up the mountain.
thick forests before it broke
steep road that curved through
churches, and the
to the wide paved streets, the steepled
open
with their red tile roofs and deep
wealthy homes of Petion-Ville
breezes. Keeping her
porches designed to catch the mountain
Petionhead down and her step firm, she walked on through
Ville.
of
the road narrowed to a dirt track,
On the other side town,
to the edge of the road.
and thick stands of pine came right up
and the cool
Energized by her sudden freedom, the altitude, Kenscoff near the
air, Philo hurried to the big rural market at
she met a siztop of the mountain. Here, by prearrangement, like herself,
able group of friends, discontented young people
across
in escape. They planned to walk together
her companions
over three high mountain ranges,
Haiti's southern peninsula,
worn by the bare feet of marfollowing a narrow, slippery path Kenscoff to Marigot on the far
ket women, a path that ran from
follow the coast across
shore. Then they would turn east and
to the fabled
the border of the Dominican Republic and beyond
city of Santo Domingo.
market at
she met a siztop of the mountain. Here, by prearrangement, like herself,
able group of friends, discontented young people
across
in escape. They planned to walk together
her companions
over three high mountain ranges,
Haiti's southern peninsula,
worn by the bare feet of marfollowing a narrow, slippery path Kenscoff to Marigot on the far
ket women, a path that ran from
follow the coast across
shore. Then they would turn east and
to the fabled
the border of the Dominican Republic and beyond
city of Santo Domingo. --- Page 169 ---
And that is what they did. The
thirty long days. During the
journey took one monthformed small jobs for local daylight hours, they slept and per147
they
people in exchange for food.
walked, a short distance inland,
At night
ocean on their right and
keeping the sound of the
guides. The area around using the moon as light and the stars as The Baka
tiate. For two days
the border proved the hardest to
Made from
walked
they slept in the forest, and at
nego- jealousy
softly and spoke in whispers to avoid
night they
tention of patrolling soldiers.
attracting the atthe time they crossed the
Twenty had started out, but by
the group had shrunk to border, several had turned back, and
a dozen.
Eight women and four men made it to Santo
ragtag band of adventurers wandered
Domingo. The
streets for nearly a day before they
through busy urban
ing park in the center of the
discovered a cool and invithomely bundles, sat
city. Here they put down their
selves: "Where
on the grass, and talked
themare we?" "Look at that
among
"Cars! So many cars!" "Look at that
building! Beautiful!"
clothes like that? She must be
woman! Did you ever see
son]." "Im SO hungry!" "Where a pèsônaj [a very important perthink this is Santo
do you think we are? Do you
In time,
Domingo?" "I'm scared!" "Me too!"
lent and fatigue took its toll, and Philo and her friends
waited. An hour passed, and
fell sithe air was suddenly filled with
then, just before sunset,
black finches Haitians
the mad chattering of the small
hyperactive
call madansara. A dense cloud of these
creatures landed in the royal
gees. Philo craned her neck to look with palm above the refuthat made a small piece of this
gratitude on a scene
and safe.
strange new world seem familiar
Throughout the afternoon,
on the group of Haitians
passersby had cast a curious
politan
SO clearly out of place in the
eye
center, but no one said anything. Even
metrohappened by pretended not to understand
Haitians who
Haitians resided in Santo
their Creole. Many
tieth century, but
Domingo in the early part of the twenthey lived and moved
were happy to have Haitians around cautiously. Dominicans
they gave them little respect. In
to do menial labor, but
Haitian woman was assumed to Santo be Domingoin 1913, a young
tian man was a candidate for what a prostitute, and a poor Haithe vast sugar plantations
amounted to slave labor on
to time, the police in Santo along the Haitian border. From time
Domingo rounded up Haitians and
Santo
their Creole. Many
tieth century, but
Domingo in the early part of the twenthey lived and moved
were happy to have Haitians around cautiously. Dominicans
they gave them little respect. In
to do menial labor, but
Haitian woman was assumed to Santo be Domingoin 1913, a young
tian man was a candidate for what a prostitute, and a poor Haithe vast sugar plantations
amounted to slave labor on
to time, the police in Santo along the Haitian border. From time
Domingo rounded up Haitians and --- Page 170 ---
sending them back to Haiti or, if
imprisoned them, eventually work in the cane fields. Philo and
they were in good health, to
her friends were in a precarious position. to their rescue. Sylvia, a
Luckily, a good-hearted woman came
into the
Haitian woman came striding
The Baka
tall, thin, no-nonsense
she called out in
Made from park just after sundown. "My little friends," "don't
know you
Jealousy
Creole while she was still ten yards away, Come you with me. You
cannot sit here? The police will arrest you.
are going to my house."
Haitians from a friend who had
Sylvia had heard about the
their naïveté into an amusing
seen them and had sought to turn
She had removed her
story. Sylvia did not think it was funny.
and set off for the
hands from the wash tub, wiped them travelers dry,
to her modest
park. Soon, she was leading the weary
two friends to prohome, where she fed them and convinced three other women
vide extra places for them to sleep. Philo and
taken to the home of Madame Victoir Suffrant.
were
machamn (a market woman) who sold
Madame Victoir was a
in the big covered market
combs, mirrors, and costume jewelry
woman took an inin Santo Domingo. This practical, generous her a job. It soon
stant liking to Philomise Macena and offered Victoir to rise at two
became the pattern for Philo and Madame
chaotic
and make their way to the torch-lit,
in the morning
cloths on the ground
Santo Domingo market. Here they spread fashioned from COW
and artfully arranged their baubles, most
mirrors with scalhorn by Haitian artisans: delicate little combs, market
at
bracelets, and necklaces. The
opened
loped frames,
in the
It was both the wholethree and ran until ten
morning.
and the
sale market for the city's boutiques and restaurants be found in this
people's shopping center. Anything could
poor
knew where to look and how to
sprawling market, if a person
HaiEntire sections of the market were run by expatriate
barter.
but managed nevertheless to
tians who spoke little Spanish
customers.
strike hard bargains with their Dominican
with her eyes,
A successful market woman communicated actress. No matter
her hands, her body. She had to be a superb
too
or needy she was, she could never appear
how hungry She had to strike just the right posture between
eager to sell.
and outright disdain for her customreasonable self-confidence
buyers and flatter
ers. The trick was to intimidate prospective
them at the same time.
HaiEntire sections of the market were run by expatriate
barter.
but managed nevertheless to
tians who spoke little Spanish
customers.
strike hard bargains with their Dominican
with her eyes,
A successful market woman communicated actress. No matter
her hands, her body. She had to be a superb
too
or needy she was, she could never appear
how hungry She had to strike just the right posture between
eager to sell.
and outright disdain for her customreasonable self-confidence
buyers and flatter
ers. The trick was to intimidate prospective
them at the same time. --- Page 171 ---
Timing was crucial. A machann began
When the customer offered
by quoting a high price.
difference. But then she had half, she responded by splitting the
that
to hold her
even a small reduction in price felt like ground long enough
buyer. A talented machann knew
a triumph for the
mixture of Creole and
when to deliver an insult, in a
The Baka
away. When
Spanish, and when to let customers walk Made from
them.
they came back a half hour later, she
Jealousy
But a clever machann did not rub it
knew she had
cluded a sale by
in. She often concomplaining in a good-natured
every customer were as sharp as this
way that if
out of business.
one, she would soon be
Philo had these talents in her blood. She
a long line of rural market
was descended from
she had carefully
women, and for more than a decade
observed the Port-au-Prince
when she shopped for the Fouchard
market women
little business
family. Madame Victoir's
prospered under Philo's hand,
began to notice the
and, when men
tered with her
young girl with the intense eyes, she barsexuality in the same sure-footed
Thinty-two-year-old Luc Charles was a Haitian way.
in Santo Domingo since the
of
who had lived
Philo, when she
age twelve. The first time he saw
Like
was barely eighteen, he knew he
SO many poor Haitian women accustomed
wanted her.
labor, Philo's body was lean and
to hard physical
an unstudied
graceful, and she moved with
crowd because economy of gesture. She stood out from
she was a grimèl (a
the
because her hair was longer and
light-skinned woman) and
haps the most compelling
straighter than most. But perMacena
thing about the
was her pride.
young Philomise
Luc Charles was the head chefin a big restaurant
mingo, but he did not care for the bland
in Santo Doprepared on his job. When Luc was
upper-class cuisine he
would drop by the home of his friend hungry for Haitian food, he
such visit he discovered Philo.
Victoir Suffrant. On one
he asked. "She is beautiful!" "Where did you find that girl?"
"Luc Charles says he loves you, 11 Madame
Philo. "I don't know that man, 11 Philo
Victoir later told
hello to him." "But he doesn't have responded. "I only said
persisted, "and he's
a wife," Madame Victoir
healthy, and he has
problem," responded Philo. "I didn't
money.' "That's his
here for work."
come here for love. I came
Luc Charles staged a six-month
campaign to win Philomise
. "She is beautiful!" "Where did you find that girl?"
"Luc Charles says he loves you, 11 Madame
Philo. "I don't know that man, 11 Philo
Victoir later told
hello to him." "But he doesn't have responded. "I only said
persisted, "and he's
a wife," Madame Victoir
healthy, and he has
problem," responded Philo. "I didn't
money.' "That's his
here for work."
come here for love. I came
Luc Charles staged a six-month
campaign to win Philomise --- Page 172 ---
became his habit to show up late at night after the
Macena. It
the two women left for the market.
restaurant closed and before
cloth for
pastries from the restaurant,
He usually brought gifts:
bottle of real French perfume.
a new dress, and, one day, a
friends. Good friends.
The Baka
Philo warmed up slowly. They became he promised to rent a
Made from The day Philo told him she was pregnant,
Jealousy
place where they could live together. Philo's life. Luc Charles
This was a secure and happy period in
she wanted, and
treated her like a queen. She had everything Frank was born on
she no longer had to work SO hard. Their son
head and
the next year, a fat cherub with a big
large
January 19
and fat everyone referred to him as
wide feet. He was SO big
Sometimes they
Toto. The child's appetite was also legendary. Six Cakes. Philo and
called him Toto Six Eggs, sometimes Toto
the
their child. When he padded through
Luc cheerfully spoiled
reach his arms up and
streets behind Philo, he would suddenly Philomise would lift
"Toto bouke (Toto is tired)," and tiny
say,
child and carry him. "Your grandmother should see
her chunky
I1 Philo cooed and nuzzled him afhow you are big and strong, the Haitian community in Santo
fectionately. Older women in
Domingo shook their heads at such parental folly.
After
The good times were undercut only by Luc's jealousy. with
for two years, the trouble began
they had been together
lover, and it escalated to
playful accusations about an imagined
violent. The neigharguments, which at times grew
protracted the
at least once. The tension grew much
bors called
police back into the jewelry business. When
worse when Philo went
small
like MaFrank was two years old, she began a
operation natural business
dame Victoir's. With Luc's backing and her
Soon Philo was taking
acumen, the enterprise f quickly expanded.
and silver
the boat to Kingston once a month to purchase gold She began to
baubles, which she then sold in Santo Domingo.
dresses and shoes, and occasionally she gave
buy her own
money to friends.
threatened Luc. One day they had a
Philo's independence violent that Philo announced her intention
quarrel about it, SO
Luc Charles countered by
to leave him. A desperate, frightened
he knew would
offering his precious Philomise the one thing have not seen
win back her affection. "Even though you
surely
were five
old, you talk about her
your mother since you
years
he said. "Im
day. You dream about her every night,"
every
to go and find her." Luc put four hungoing to give you money
to friends.
threatened Luc. One day they had a
Philo's independence violent that Philo announced her intention
quarrel about it, SO
Luc Charles countered by
to leave him. A desperate, frightened
he knew would
offering his precious Philomise the one thing have not seen
win back her affection. "Even though you
surely
were five
old, you talk about her
your mother since you
years
he said. "Im
day. You dream about her every night,"
every
to go and find her." Luc put four hungoing to give you money --- Page 173 ---
dred dollars in Philo's hand and put her and little
cargo boat bound for the northern
Frank on a
Philo and Frank
ports of Haiti.
Port-de-Paix
disembarked in the hot and smelly
and headed
harbor of
mation hub of every Haitian immediately for the market, the inforof her family had left
town. Here Philo learned that most The Baka
membered
Jean Rabel long ago. Mountain
Made from
Marie Noelsine Joseph, and
people rehad moved somewhere
they were certain she
Jealousy
near Gonaïives, All
was that it must have been
they could tell Philo
daughter Gloria had been
a long time ago, because Sina's
Philo hired
only six or seven at the time.
a local guide, and, sitting astride
horse with Frank strapped behind
his scrawny
her mother had taken
her, she retraced the path
Philo arrived in
more than fifteen years earlier. When
then went
Gonaïves, she checked into a small
to the police station. The police
pension and
is a big seksyon [section]. We cannot be
were no help. "This
everybody," they told her. Philo
expected to keep track of
(ten
gave the police chief
dollars), an enormous sum of
at the
fifty gourd
no good. He said only that he would money
time, but it did
soon as he finished his "research."
get in touch with her as
The Gonaïves market was one of the
in
erated full-tilt six days of the week. All biggest Haiti, anditopand Thursday, Philo wandered
day' Tuesday, Wednesday,
tioning
through the market stalls,
everyone she met and peering
queseach passing stranger. No
intently into the face of
end of the third
one had news of her family. By the
day, Philo was ready to
at one end of the market, between
give up. She sat down
neat mountains of rice. Seated
piles of plum tomatoes and
in her lap, Frank
tentedly with a new wooden top. Philo
played conpressed. No longer able to attend
was tired and very dewithdrew into herself.
to the chaos around her, she
The business day was almost over. Those
sell were gathering up their wares and
who had come to
searching out a comfortable
either heading home or
bed down for the
place to prepare a little food and
machann
night. Dusty-footed burros and
streamed past the place where Philo
dusty-footed
even notice when one of the market
sat. She did not
up to steady her basket, and looked women pivoted, put a hand
uncommonly fat child. Then the
hard at the woman and her
back, and kept
machann shook herhead, turned
walking. But after four or five
she
again reversed direction, and
steps,
once
"Se pa sè-a mwen [Isn't that approached Philo.
my sister]?" she queried in the
night. Dusty-footed burros and
streamed past the place where Philo
dusty-footed
even notice when one of the market
sat. She did not
up to steady her basket, and looked women pivoted, put a hand
uncommonly fat child. Then the
hard at the woman and her
back, and kept
machann shook herhead, turned
walking. But after four or five
she
again reversed direction, and
steps,
once
"Se pa sè-a mwen [Isn't that approached Philo.
my sister]?" she queried in the --- Page 174 ---
nasal voice of a mountain woman. Philo looked up
high-pitched
name?" she asked. "My name is
in disbelief. "What is your
Philo asked in a
Gloria," the woman said. "Gloria Macena?"
"Take
voice. "That's me!" was the robust reply.
small, hopeful
Gloria, and the clean, soft foot of
The Baka
off your shoe," commanded
next to the dirty,
Made from the Santo Domingo jewelry trader was placed from Gros Morne.
Jealousy
callused foot of the sour-orange merchant
toe!" Gloria screeched. "It's the same! My grand-
"Look at that
foot like that, you know that
father always told me, if you see a
person is family!"
and Philomise packed two burros with
The next day, Gloria
and the chubby toddler and
market baskets, citified suitcases, Morne. Sina, now a nearly
headed up the mountain to Gros
coffee beans in the
toothless old woman of forty, was grilling
brazier, her
front yard. She sat on a small chair before a charcoal
a
her long grey hair tied up in a bit of rag. Using
knees akimbo,
the beans with
small wooden paddle, she was slowly coating
and then
black
in the center of her pan,
viscous
sugar, pooled
sides. Sina was SO
spreading them out along its broad, sloping
in her task that she glanced up only for a moment
absorbed
when the two women entered the yard.
mwen
said Philo quietly. "Bonswa, pitit
"Bonswa, Madan,"
Sina responded with a po-
(Good evening, my little onel,"
to address
lite greeting mountain folk commonly use
answered. younger "You
people. "But I am your little one, truly," Philo
don't remember me?"
time
11 Sina responded,
"I had a little girl who died a long
ago,
is
Phithat's not
11 "Oh, yes," came the answer, "it me,
"but
you.'
lomise. II Sina fainted.
She
her mother
Philo stayed in Gros Morne for a month.
gave Sina had
beautiful
bracelet and a wristwatch (the first one
a
gold
than three hundred dollars. When she left,
ever seen) and more
would be back before long to build her
Philo promised that she would
her safe and dry for many
mother a new house that
keep had been shed, tears of
years. During her short stay, many tears stories had been passed on
joyand of sadness, and many family father and his famous fightto Philomise. She learned about her
stubborn
cocks and about how he died because of his
pride.
ing
candle and
before the whistling rock
And Philo also lit a
prayed
that held the spirit of Ezili Dantô.
Philo woke in a
Not many years later, back in Santo Domingo,
her safe and dry for many
mother a new house that
keep had been shed, tears of
years. During her short stay, many tears stories had been passed on
joyand of sadness, and many family father and his famous fightto Philomise. She learned about her
stubborn
cocks and about how he died because of his
pride.
ing
candle and
before the whistling rock
And Philo also lit a
prayed
that held the spirit of Ezili Dantô.
Philo woke in a
Not many years later, back in Santo Domingo, --- Page 175 ---
cold sweat. She had had a nightmare. In her
mother's face. It did not look
dream, she saw her
a harsh grimace that showed right -the lips were pulled back in
way that chilled Philo's
all her teeth, and she laughed in a
Philo told Luc Charles. blood. "My mother is dead. I know it, 11
not hide his
Luc, who was only half-awake, could
The Baka
find
annoyance. "Go back to sleep! I give you
Made from
your mother, and now that you find
money to
leave the
Women
her, you still can't
Jealousy
worrying.
are all loco, 11
too agitated to sleep, he got up and left the Luc pronounced. Now
week, Philo was on a boat headed for
room. In less than a
reached Gros Morne was the
Gonaïves. The day she
the death of Marie Noelsine ninth, and final, day of prayers for
Two weeks earlier, Philo's Joseph. mother
stomach pains. On the day Sina
had taken to her bed with
and spit up blood-a
died, she foamed at the mouth
sign of
had done it. Alphonse Macena poisoning. Everyone knew who
other
had had twin
woman before he met Sina. Sina had daughters by anthese stepchildren until after she
not known about
Macena followed her there. But
moved to Gros Morne and
opened her heart and her home when she found out, Sina had
one was bad; one loved her
to the twins. One was good and
The bad twin, with the
very much, and the other hated her.
and carried
help of her own mother, had
out the plan to poison Sina. Both
conceived
daughter were jealous of Sina's beauty and of
mother and
held for Alphonse Macena until the
the attraction she
And SO it was that Philo twice
day he died.
jealousy. The visit of the baka lost her mother on account of
sioned their separation when made from jealousy had Occashe was
now jealousy, the most destructive
only five years old. And
mother away a second and final
of emotions, had taken her
ceased to feel safe in the world. time. This was too much! Philo
orphan. She knew she
For the first time, she felt like an
ordinary good luck to could no longer count on hard work and
sustain her.
This realization led Philomise to
out hesitation. Gloria told her that accept her inheritance withthat the whistling rock and
Sina had expressed the wish
the other
on
pass to Philo. Such a legacy
things
her spirit altar
sibilities. Philo had
brings with it heavy family
never served the
responnot sure how she would
spirits before, and she was
mother's death, she knew manage. But, in anguish over her
Before
she must try.
leaving Gros Morne, Philo gave the family
enough --- Page 176 ---
money to cover the funeral expenses, and she built her mother
a fine concrete tomb. On the last day, Philo struck a deal with
the spirits. Lacking the habit of prayer or easy access to its ancient ritual forms, Philo could say only what was in her heart:
The Baka
"Take care of my mother. Protect me and
I will serve
Made from
my family.
Jealousy
you well. I promise.' 1 It would be many years before Philo felt
the full weight of that bargain. Family spirits can be patient, but
they never forget a promise.
---
money to cover the funeral expenses, and she built her mother
a fine concrete tomb. On the last day, Philo struck a deal with
the spirits. Lacking the habit of prayer or easy access to its ancient ritual forms, Philo could say only what was in her heart:
The Baka
"Take care of my mother. Protect me and
I will serve
Made from
my family.
Jealousy
you well. I promise.' 1 It would be many years before Philo felt
the full weight of that bargain. Family spirits can be patient, but
they never forget a promise. --- Page 177 ---
CHAPTER SIX --- Page 178 ---
Kouzinn
Kowamn, the female counteris different from the other spirits described in the
part of Azaka,
book. Alourdes cites no Catholic counmain chapters of this
feast
and does not hold an annual
espeterpart for Kouzinn
Kouzinn usually makes an appearcially for this female spirit. but she does not possess
ance at Azaka's May birthday Unlike party, Ezili Dantô and Ezili Freda,
Alourdes on other occasions. Kouzinn is always paired
Alourdes's primary female spirits, context, she is clearly anwith her man, and, in the ceremonial
cillary to him.'
Alourdes's
work and her supportHer minimal place in
spirit
given
role on the ritual stage are all the more surprising
ing
of Ezili Danto, who focuses on childthat, with the exception
other
deals with issues as
bearing and child-rearing, no
spirit the lives of the women
close to the center of Alourdes's life or
Alourdes's
make
the majority ofher clients. Like
grandwho
up Noelsine Joseph, Kouzinn is a market woman, a
mother, Marie
business sense that is part of the popularimmachann. The keen
survival skill for poor Haitian women. age of the machann is a key
of the countryside, the
In the patriarchal extended families
is often the only
market woman on whom Kouzinn is modeled
who deals with money. A machann must buy family properson
but whatever is left over is hers. A
visions with her earnings,
she hasin othermarket woman's capital gives her whatleverage
imfamilies. This leverage is especially
wise male-dominated
have more than one commonportant because rural men can
Wedo, the wife of the rainbow serpent Danbala, is another spirit whose
Ayida tends to be subsumed in that of her mate. There are very few of these wifely
identity
types in the Vodou pantheons. machann selling chickens. The road to Saut d'Eau, Haiti, 1981. Photo4 A young
graph by Jerry Gordon. --- Page 179 ---
disaster, a market
law wife. In times of natural or personal that of her children. In
woman's savings ensure her survival and tension with and to
men's power is thus in
the countryside, modulated by that of women. Kouzinn
some degree
different in the city and in immigrant
The situation is very
families are either absent or in
communities, where extended In New York, as in Port-au-Prince,
some state oftransformation. mirrored in the
families are headed by women, a situation
many
Vodou "families" headed by manbo. In
large number of urban
labor available to the poor is
urban settings, much of the wage
women
service, and, on average,
either piecework or domestic market. The resulting indepenfare better than men in this job
But it also threatens
dence of women threatens Haitian men. situation more as an onerwomen, who tend to experience the
than as liberation. ous responsibility with the rise in women's power in the cities
Ironically, along
the
of romantic love, inhas come a new emphasis on
ideology should be in charge. cluding reassertion of the belief that men
and for
and women, each in their own way
Thus urban men
that male dominance is both tratheir own reasons, often argue
and Maggie have expressed
ditional and ideal.
men in this job
But it also threatens
dence of women threatens Haitian men. situation more as an onerwomen, who tend to experience the
than as liberation. ous responsibility with the rise in women's power in the cities
Ironically, along
the
of romantic love, inhas come a new emphasis on
ideology should be in charge. cluding reassertion of the belief that men
and for
and women, each in their own way
Thus urban men
that male dominance is both tratheir own reasons, often argue
and Maggie have expressed
ditional and ideal. Both Alourdes
with irony. although their statements are tinged
this view,
Kouzinn's deference to
In Alourdes's Brooklyn community,
In this
to take on the flavor of gender politics. Azaka appears
be the need to soothe male egos and
context, its raison d'être may
of women's roles. Repto blunt the threat posed by the centrality assertive market women,
resenting the notoriously strong and of their abitasyon (rural
who nevertheless defer to the men is well suited to convey
homestead), the Vodou spirit Kouzinn
In Chapter8, quessuch complex and contradictory messages. through
will be explored more directly
tions of sexual politics Freda. Here, in Kouzinn's chapter, the
the two Ezili, Danto and
lives. emphasis is on the economics of women's
HAITI'S MADAN SARA
called Madan Sara, after the raucous and
Market women are
Haiti. 2 The nickname
busy little black finches found throughout
used to refer more specifically to women who travel from
2The term is often fairly large-scale wholesale trade. place to place conducting --- Page 180 ---
caricature of market women's loud
is usually understood as a
Yet there is another,
voices and aggressive sales techniques. of the label. Some say the
even more revealing, interpretation madansara bird because the female of
machann is named after the
exhaustion hunting for food for
Kouzinn
the species will work herself to
her young.
men and women have difIn Brooklyn and in Port-au-Prinee,
labor, and these
ferent ideas about what constitutes dignified roles. Whereas
differences affect their economic and social
of earning a
draw on the Madan Sara model for a style
women
constant work, high energy, and the
living that depends on
and often erratic sources of inability to exploit several small
find it demeaning to emulate
men usually
come simultaneously,
have less flexibility in
the Madan Sara, and they consequently
do.
safety net than women
weaving an economic
forced to be Madan Sara in one
Virtually all poor women are
Marie
or another. For years, Alourdes's grandmother,
way
which she had also planted
Noelsine Joseph, carried produce,
Rabel to the market of
and harvested, from the fields of Jean
forced her to
Port-de-Paix. When her irresponsible husband
family, she
Rabel and the security of her extended
leave Jean
and
a small piece of land with
moved to Gros Morne
purchased
and
from her market money. She planted vegetables
the savings
and other fruits, all of
harvested them along with sour oranges Gonaïves. With the profits,
which she sold in the big market in
brick
the ingredients to bake bread in a backyard
Sina bought
she made from selling this bread was
oven. Some of the money
from which she made candy.
reinvested in sugar and peanuts, Noelsine did not make the trek
On those days when Marie
she sat by the
down the mountain to the Gonaïves market,
road, at the gate to her land, selling sweets to passersby. from
There is a line that stretches through three generations, of peathe board across Marie Noelsine's knees holding dollops she once laid
to Alourdes's bed in Brooklyn, where
nut candy
in various
out for my inspection a dozen pretty client nightgowns of her healing praccolors that had been given to her by a
line between these two makeshift markets runs through
tice. The
commerce that women in
the endless varieties of small-scale
survive.
Alourdes's family have pursued in order to
and in
markets, both in the countryside
The large open-air
exclusively the province of women;
Port-au-Prince, are almost
board across Marie Noelsine's knees holding dollops she once laid
to Alourdes's bed in Brooklyn, where
nut candy
in various
out for my inspection a dozen pretty client nightgowns of her healing praccolors that had been given to her by a
line between these two makeshift markets runs through
tice. The
commerce that women in
the endless varieties of small-scale
survive.
Alourdes's family have pursued in order to
and in
markets, both in the countryside
The large open-air
exclusively the province of women;
Port-au-Prince, are almost --- Page 181 ---
only butchering, woodcarving, and a handful
tions are under male control. Women
of other occupaselling from baskets carried
also walk the city streets
Chiclets and
on their heads: bread and
mints, cigarettes singly and by the
eggs,
carry yards of cloth folded on their heads
pack. Some
play across outstretched
and draped for disKouzinn
minum
arms. Others balance
pots and pans three feet above their Pyramids of aluIn the center of Port-au-Prince,
heads.
merchants, mostly
many corners are filled with
hot oil in which they women. Women crouch by pots of stew or
Beneath the
fry plantain, fritters, and chunks of meat.
porticos of downtown
entire blocks and taking
most buildings, stretching along
tables displaying shoes, up
of the sidewalk, are small
graphs of Catholic
powder, soap, underwear, chromolithonot all, of these saints, nail clippers, and mirrors. Many, but
the merchandise merchants are women. Whenever the value of
(and the size of the profits)
percentage of men doing the
rises, SO does the
Poor Haitian women who have selling. relatives
or Canada introduce rich
in the United States
merce. If ten yards of fabric variations into the themes of comcan be passed
or a dozen pairs of children's shoes
through customs without
come the seed for another business
paying duty, they bemerce) goes on everywhere, not
enterprise. Komès (comstreets. A casual visit to a friend's only in the markets or on the
a toaster, a lacy half-slip, and six home may include examining
sale. A woman friend
packages of Bisquick-all for
small plastic
stopping by to deliver a message carries a
bag containing red and black men's
pairs of scissors, and a few infant T-shirts.
socks, two
the T-shirts, perhaps you will
"If you don't need
them. She just had a baby."
remember to tell Carline about
ergy and an eye for a good Successful machann, those with ensmall shop.
price, may save enough to open a
Such was the case with Madame
with Alourdes's father when I met Alphonse, who was living
hard as a young
him, in 1980. She had worked
woman and had
boutik. But success can be
eventually opened her own
dangerous, spawning
venge. Madame Alphonse lost her business jealousy andreSomeone sprinkled powder at the threshold of her through magic.
when she stepped on it, she
house, and,
her feet. Her illness forced developed a debilitating swelling in
Alourdes's father, her
her to retire, which in turn forced
estranged husband, to provide a place for
Alourdes's father when I met Alphonse, who was living
hard as a young
him, in 1980. She had worked
woman and had
boutik. But success can be
eventually opened her own
dangerous, spawning
venge. Madame Alphonse lost her business jealousy andreSomeone sprinkled powder at the threshold of her through magic.
when she stepped on it, she
house, and,
her feet. Her illness forced developed a debilitating swelling in
Alourdes's father, her
her to retire, which in turn forced
estranged husband, to provide a place for --- Page 182 ---
she was in her
her to live. When I met Madame Alphonse, s-angina, dizzi160
eighties and had numerous physical problems- But she still carried on
in her feet, ankles, and legs.
ness, pains
a bit of kômès on the side.
which was the necesKouzinn
Alourdes's father owned a refrigerator, Madame Alphonse
saryand sufficient cause of the little business Haitian soda for
in his side yard. She sold
ran from a shady spot
cents, and corn muffins for
thirteen cents, Coca-Cola for twenty
who knew
For those in the neighborhood
two cents apiece.
down the narrow alley, she was the
enough to make their way
bottles filled with cold water.
source of tin cans of ice and rum
was kept
Money from each enterprise
She also sold cigarettes.
all of which had fallen apart and
in its own ancient cigar box,
needle, and precise stitches.
been repaired with string, a large
Madame Alphonse
From her chair beneath the grenadine tree,
walked off with
on customers to be sure no one
kept a sharp eye
not clear whether the profits belonged
a bottle or a can. It was
shared with Alourdes's
entirely to Madame Alphonse or were business sense. Whatfather, who was also known for his keen
have enthe case, like most Haitian men, he would never
ever
selling himself.
gaged in such small-scale
character in Haitian jokes,
The Madan Sara is a well-known she is known to drive hard
stories, and folktales. Like Kouzinn, Alourdes has inherited this
bargains and keep careful accounts.
In
Alourdes and
sensibility and uses it well when she can. 1980 New York,
to Haiti. On the plane from
I traveled together
she had to get in Haiti. On
Alourdes showed me a list of things
remains the
her list were items such as plants and herbs. (Haiti Most of the
medicine chest of healers operating in New York.)
and
however. Some were for herself
items had to be purchased,
used in Haiti, but most would
some for friends; some were to be
with
carried back to the United States. The list began
soap,
be
for a ritual feeding of the poor
coffee, and Klerer--ingredients toward the end of our stay in Port-authat would take place
needed for her
work in
Prince- and moved on to items
two spirit bottles of alNew York, including gourd rattles, a whip, the center of the marmond extract, three pinches of earth from from in front ofthe
ket, three more from the cemetery and three
altars,
baskets, small chairs for the dolls that sit on her
church,
supplement), tobacco leaves, and
glycerin-phosphate (a dietary
afiba (dried beef tripe).
Alourdes began to carefully inFrom the moment we arrived,
stay in Port-authat would take place
needed for her
work in
Prince- and moved on to items
two spirit bottles of alNew York, including gourd rattles, a whip, the center of the marmond extract, three pinches of earth from from in front ofthe
ket, three more from the cemetery and three
altars,
baskets, small chairs for the dolls that sit on her
church,
supplement), tobacco leaves, and
glycerin-phosphate (a dietary
afiba (dried beef tripe).
Alourdes began to carefully inFrom the moment we arrived, --- Page 183 ---
V
Kouzimn
a
A machann selling fruit juice on a main
street in Port-au-Prince, 1980.
quire about the going prices and the
needed. When she decided what best places to find what
wrote it on her list.
constituted a good
she
the item for her, she Then, when she asked
price, she
purchase
told that
someone to
and handed over person exactly where to make buy the
spend.
exactly the sum she had decided
to --- Page 184 ---
amount of financial control is possible in Port-au-Prince,
This
town where most prices are
which is, after all, a relatively small
matter
Financial dealings are a different
still open to bargaining.
small income and lack of moin New York, where Alourdes's
for substandard
Kouzinn
bility often force her to pay premium prices
street in
Myrtle Avenue, for example, a main shopping
goods.
is notorious for the high prices charged for poorFort Greene,
Or, to give another sort of exquality meats and vegetables.
a small freezer on
ample, Alourdes and Maggie once purchased
after three
the installment plan. The freezer stopped working take it back. Then
weeks, but the store owner refused to fix it or
intimidated
he harassed them with bill collectors and eventually
is rife
to make payments. Haiti's economy
them into continuing
but itis nevertheless easier for a poor
with graft and corruption,
Haiti,
caution
woman to be a good Madan Sara in
exercising York.
than it is in New
and control in spending money,
in New York, a lesson
Money falls through one's fingers
in the
Alourdes learned the hard way during her early years
woman in an art
United States. Her first job was as a cleaning
due to reShe was fired just before she was
school in Brooklyn.
the firing, her boss accused
ceive health care benefits. To justify
went to his office
Alourdes of sleeping on the job. Alourdes but her friend fell
co-worker to refute the charge,
with a Haitian
mute in the face of authority. Alourdes turned to an employAfter leaving the art school,
domestic workers
ment agency in Brighton Beach, which placed
for Alourdes,
basis. This work was quite an adventure
on a daily
three words of English: mop, pail, and
who at first knew only
but other problems
vacuum. Her English rapidly improved, occasion in 1963, she
plagued her career as a domestic. On one
the ten dolhad to ask the police to intervene in order to collect
hours
cents for carfare) she had earned for eight
lars (plus thirty
scrubbed, dusted,
Alourdes had vacuumed,
of housecleaning.
with its own bathroom) of a
and polished three floors (each
Side.
the conditownhouse on Manhattan's Upper East
Finding
of the
tion of one of the bathrooms less than perfect, the owner was
that Alourdes had to stay until the job
house announced leave without her money. "I got my children
done correctly or
11 Alourdes objected. The woman
at home. They waiting for me,
Haitians. She "knew all
then began to rant about Haiti and
in Haiti,
about them. I1 She had once taken a cruise that stopped
in the street-beggars everywhere!
and there were beggars
(each
Side.
the conditownhouse on Manhattan's Upper East
Finding
of the
tion of one of the bathrooms less than perfect, the owner was
that Alourdes had to stay until the job
house announced leave without her money. "I got my children
done correctly or
11 Alourdes objected. The woman
at home. They waiting for me,
Haitians. She "knew all
then began to rant about Haiti and
in Haiti,
about them. I1 She had once taken a cruise that stopped
in the street-beggars everywhere!
and there were beggars --- Page 185 ---
"Maybe you were one of them, 11 the woman
Alourdes responded, "I don't
concluded. "Lady,"
with you. I come here to
come here to discuss my country
me.
clean. Eight hours for ten
My children waiting. 11
dollars. Pay
For a short time, Alourdes also did
industry, first as a trimmer and later piecework in the garment
Kouzinn
pressing machine. She
as the operator of a
was not
large
she hated the
happy with this job. Most of all,
pressure of having her
speed with which she worked,
wages depend on the
large commercial
SO she soon found a position in a
laundry. This was a better fit. Her
perience enabled Alourdes, shortly after her
laundry exHaiti, to obtain steady work at the
first trip back to
stayed there two years, the
Brooklyn Hebrew Home. She
other than that of manbo.
longest she has held any position
a laundry for nearly
Although Alourdes has not worked in
twenty years, she still lists
occupation on travel documents. "I love
"laundry" as her
"Laundry is good work!"
laundry," she says.
Maggie's job history is somewhat different.
holds a two-year college
Even though she
mained closed to her. But degree she in education, that field has reginally more
has held jobs that are at least marthan those responsible, more long-term, and
Alourdes held in her early
better-paying
When I first met Maggie in
years in New York City.
counter in a fast-food
1978, she was working behind the
short
restaurant in Newark, New
period after that, she worked
Jersey. For a
lic rectory. Things
as a receptionist at a Cathoimproved when she moved
work, a field that employs
into health care
many Haitian
came an assistant in a gynecological
women. First she beEast Side. Now she works
clinic on Manhattan's
is
as a nurse's aide at a
Upper
taking a course in
city hospital and
ing. But there is little emergency of the
medicine to advance her standMadan Sara in
1987 Christmas season, the
Maggie. During the
vision enticed her to
shopping channel on cable telespend most of one month's salary.
BARTERING WITH SEX
In the spirit of the madansara,
ever they have to in order to poor Haitian women sell whattheir children. A machann
survive and to feed and care for
Haiti's southern
I encountered on a 1987 trek across
peninsula had her own irreverent
scribing her assets. "Where are
way of deyou going?"Iasked her. "To the
1987 Christmas season, the
Maggie. During the
vision enticed her to
shopping channel on cable telespend most of one month's salary.
BARTERING WITH SEX
In the spirit of the madansara,
ever they have to in order to poor Haitian women sell whattheir children. A machann
survive and to feed and care for
Haiti's southern
I encountered on a 1987 trek across
peninsula had her own irreverent
scribing her assets. "Where are
way of deyou going?"Iasked her. "To the --- Page 186 ---
she replied. "What do you have to sell?" I
market in Kenscoff,"
A few
she said, "and my
"Beautiful tomatoes.
beans,"
queried.
to sell
land in the market?"I Iasked,
land." "You are going
your
"Wil" she hooted and
uncertain I had heard her correctly.
ouzinn
grabbed her crotch. "I can sell my land anywhere!" February
Claude Duvalier was forced into exile in
After Jean
demonstration was a wom1986, the first well-organized public
in part proen's march through the streets of Port-au-Prince, forced to exthe widespread practice of women being
testing
a difficult period when Alourdes
change sex for jobs. During
for supporting
was still in Port-au-Prince and solely responsible
she sought and eventually obtained employment
two children,
tobacco industry. Many
as an inspector in the government-run
experience in this
later, she described her job-hunting
years
When you go to the office and
way: "Let me tell you something.
the one in the head ofask for job, that man-the inspector, that job,' you have to
fice-if he say, 'Yes, I'm going give you
make love first!"
no?" I responded naïvely.
"What happens when you say
don't have no
Alourdes quickly shot back: "You say no, you
then she added, "Sometime they make love to you,
job!" And
just want to make
and after, you still don't have no job. They
about being
love to you. For nothing!" "Don't you get avoid angry the harsh contreated that way?"Iasked, still wishing to
for those who
clusion that some types of self-respect are only
"Sometime
afford them. "Sometime," Alourdes sighed.
can
back, I
angry. But that's life! I can't help it.
when I think
get
That's life."
sixteen, was as a singer in Haiti's
Alourdes's first job, at age
for her and for that
Troupe Folklorique. She earned what was,
dollars a month. Her singing
time, an enormous sum: sixty-two From the time this brief marcareer ended when she married.
Alourdes's
riage broke up until she came to the United States, she lost her job
financial situation deteriorated steadily. When
she was driven to sell sexual favors more
as a tobacco inspector,
There was no other way to buy
directly and more frequently. her children's school fees.
food, pay her rent, and manage
1 a method of
Alourdes began to work as a "Marie-Jacques,
above the
one's "land" that is considered several steps
selling
At first, she dressed up
occupation of bouzen (street prostitute).
Port-au-Prince.
in her best clothes and visited offices throughout of the male workers
She flirted and made small talk until one
situation deteriorated steadily. When
she was driven to sell sexual favors more
as a tobacco inspector,
There was no other way to buy
directly and more frequently. her children's school fees.
food, pay her rent, and manage
1 a method of
Alourdes began to work as a "Marie-Jacques,
above the
one's "land" that is considered several steps
selling
At first, she dressed up
occupation of bouzen (street prostitute).
Port-au-Prince.
in her best clothes and visited offices throughout of the male workers
She flirted and made small talk until one --- Page 187 ---
asked her for a "date." It was understood
with him after going
that she would sleep
have been a major
dancing or to the movies, but it would
mentioned
breach of etiquette for either
to
a price. At the end of the
party have
cepted whatever the man
evening, Alourdes acwith them, and they
gave her. "I don't charge. I go bed
Kouzinn
give me whatever
no courage to charge. They
they want. I don't have
give ten
.
five dollar sometime. 11
dollar, fifteen . . . twelve
After several years of this, Alourdes
feur to refer tourists to her when
arranged with a chauf-
.
not a public lady who have they asked for "a good person
plained,
some kind'a disease. 11 She
"They was
exto
private tourist. . . .
Haiti - . they want a good lady. You Businessman have
who come
you going to a wedding. I meet them.
to dress up like
you know. 11 Alourdes
Igo to club with them .
laughed: "Lot'a
paused in her painful story and
time, he don'tspeak French.
suddenly
don't know what he talkin' about! I
When we go bed, I
more serious mood, she added: just say yes, yes, yes. 11 In a
man, and they see you
"Sometime you find a good
fifty dollar, one hundred poor, you got children, they give you
dollar. But you don't
every day."
find good man
When I asked if she had any bad
Marie-Jacques, Alourdes
experiences working as a
or psychological abuse responded not with stories of
but with tales of those
physical
no money was forthcoming at the end of
few times when
night, and I go bed with him, and the an evening. "I party all
money to feed my children!
next day I don't have no
body have
Sure, I have bad
bad experience. 11 When a man experience. Everyof their unspoken bargain,
failed to keep his end
say anything. She said
Alourdes's pride forbade her to
ing a friend" (the
good-night she
and went home from "visitdren) with
way
described her absences to her
nothing in her hand to
chilshe never stopped feeling.
compensate for the shame
Miraculously, Alourdes did not become
these men. "When I say, 'I don't want
pregnant by any of
tell me: 'Don't get
As
to get pregnant, a friend
and sit down in the lazy!
soon as you finish make love, get up,
aspirin,
bathroom, on the toilet seat. You
plus a glass of water, and you take that
drink one
finger] and you put it in your belly
finger [the index
while you drink that water with the button, and you press it
coming. Nothing don't
aspirin. And all the
stay inside!" When I go to
sperm
got aspirin with me. Always!"
work, Ialways
tell me: 'Don't get
As
to get pregnant, a friend
and sit down in the lazy!
soon as you finish make love, get up,
aspirin,
bathroom, on the toilet seat. You
plus a glass of water, and you take that
drink one
finger] and you put it in your belly
finger [the index
while you drink that water with the button, and you press it
coming. Nothing don't
aspirin. And all the
stay inside!" When I go to
sperm
got aspirin with me. Always!"
work, Ialways --- Page 188 ---
become
by a friend during this time,
Alourdes did
pregnant
René was
but their lovemaking was not a business arrangement. her when
she cared for, and he hurt her badly, deserting
a man
to have their child. This third child
he learned she was going
from meningitis that
Kouzinn
was William, who suffered brain damage
"When Wilbecause Alourdes had no money.
went untreated
sick. He get meningitis, and
liam five month old, he get very
that time. He
Both of them. I have no penny
then pneumonia.
burn
Middle of the night, I go to
get SO hot, like he going to
up.
and I can't even buythe hospital, they give me a prescription
that medicine.
goud! Ten dollar, forty cent. I can't buy
fifty-two
and I don't even have gas to put in the
They cut my electricity,
William in my arm. 11
lamp. I just sit in the dark,
Alourdes met and fell in love
A short time after this trauma,
this relationship provided
with Gabriel. The economic security
Gabriel was a taxi
allowed Alourdes to stop dating for money.
his income was not large, it was steady.
driver, and although
happily for nearly three years
They had been living together
letter written to her brother
when Alourdes arranged to have a
that would allow
in New York, asking for one hundred dollars Gabriel's income. Her
her to begin a little kômès to supplement He offered her a choice. He
brother's response was surprising.
letter stating he
would send either the money or a notarized to the United
would be her sponsor if she chose to emigrate
States.
"Poor
don't have no true love.
Alourdes once said:
people
Alourdes
have affiliation. I1 Ever the good Madan Sara,
They just
with Gabriel and decided to go to the
broke off her relationship time she
at the U.S. embassy
United States. But the first
applied her. The American
for her visa, her past came back to haunt
there to work as
consul said: "How dolknow you are not going brother, maybe
Maybe this fellow Jean is not your
a prostitute?
full
for Alourdes to convince
he is your pimp." It took a
year then was she allowed to
him that Jean was her brother; only
start the emigration process.
THE MARKETPLACE OF THE SPIRITS
the Madan Sara trade. For a few,
Service is one of the things
Serving the
include the Vodou spirits.
their trading partners
. The American
for her visa, her past came back to haunt
there to work as
consul said: "How dolknow you are not going brother, maybe
Maybe this fellow Jean is not your
a prostitute?
full
for Alourdes to convince
he is your pimp." It took a
year then was she allowed to
him that Jean was her brother; only
start the emigration process.
THE MARKETPLACE OF THE SPIRITS
the Madan Sara trade. For a few,
Service is one of the things
Serving the
include the Vodou spirits.
their trading partners --- Page 189 ---
spirits is a lifelong commitment and a heavy
decision to serve has never been made responsibility. The
the women in Alourdes's
quickly or easily by
understand
family. There are several
to
why a woman would make
ways
see it as an economic
such a move; one is to
particularly clear.
strategy. For Philo and Alourdes, this is
Kouzinn
Their decisions to work as
midst of financial crises, and both
healers came in the
come doing spirit work than
eventually found steadier injob market.
they were able to generate in the
It is a truism that for poor Haitian
and love cannot be separated.
women issues of money
the decision to work for the Thus another way to understand
spirits is to seeitas an
inadequate love relationships. Vodou
alternative to
protective, constant,
spirits are ideal loverslent. From this
powerful, and, if treated right, benevoperspective, a decision to
comes a decision to
serve the spirits behuman and divine, stop serving men. The fact that lovers,
tile mix of love and are pitted against one another in the volaAlourdes's
money is made plain by both Philo's and
stories.
Ageou, who eventually became Philo's main
surprising appearance in her life when she
spirit, made a
lemma created in equal
was caught in a dimeasure by love and
way back from Gros Morne after
by money.3 On her
her mother's
stopped in Port-au-Prince. She had
death, Philo
money, and she had to wire Luc spent or given away all her
Santo Domingo. Luc
Charles for funds to return to
Charles, angry with her for
SO long, sent nothing. Instead, it
staying away
Philo with a solution.
was Agèou who presented
Philo was staying with a friend in
son suddenly
Port-au-Prince. The friend's
hospital.
developed a high fever and was rushed to the
Agèou appeared in Philo's head (the first time he had
possessed her) and ordered the woman to retrieve
the hospital. "Lady," the
her son from
spirit ordered,
get him quickly! If you don't, that
"go get your child. Go
child is going to die tonight.
'Agéou, originally a Dominican spirit, should not be
spirit Agàou. Alourdes says that, in Haiti,
confused with the Vodou
Philo's relationship with Agèou was a
Agéou of is served only in her family.
She brought him to Haiti and
product her sojourn in Santo Domingo.
known as Ogou. My impression subsequently is that the merged him with the group of spirits
and Ogou is not made in the Spanish-speaking connection between Agèou (or Agaju)
Caribbean.
child. Go
child is going to die tonight.
'Agéou, originally a Dominican spirit, should not be
spirit Agàou. Alourdes says that, in Haiti,
confused with the Vodou
Philo's relationship with Agèou was a
Agéou of is served only in her family.
She brought him to Haiti and
product her sojourn in Santo Domingo.
known as Ogou. My impression subsequently is that the merged him with the group of spirits
and Ogou is not made in the Spanish-speaking connection between Agèou (or Agaju)
Caribbean. --- Page 190 ---
Go now! I am waiting for you!" The doctors did not want to release the boy, but Philo's friend was convinced that the
should be heeded. She brought the feverish
spirit
in the middle of the
and found
ten-year-old home
Kouzinn
night
Agèou still there.
The spirit directed the mother to go out in the yard and
one penny at the foot of the vèvenn tree, shake the tree drop
and collect three leaves. With the leaves, Agèou made
hard,
which he added a bit of salt and
After
a tea, to
the boy fell into a deep sleep.
sugar.
drinking the tea,
Ageou stayed in Philo's head and
sat with the child throughout the night. The next morning, the
boy opened his eyes, looked at his mother, and said,
I'm hungry. Can you make me some soup?" A grateful "Mama, mother
gave Philo the money for passage back to the Dominican Republic and back to Luc Charles. Philo's relationship with Luc
Charles, however, was over in less than a year.
Philo knew that performing healing work with Agéou as her
spirit guide could bring financial security, but she resisted the
loneliness, the heavy commitment of time and energy, and the
change in lifestyle such a decision would necessitate. She
young then, barely twenty, and she still dreamed of
was
good man to support her and her children. Instead of finding a
ing her relationship with Agéou, Philo found a new pursu- lovercompanion and had two more children. But this man
out to be more difficult than Luc Charles; he
turned
with another
even had a child
woman while he was living with Philo. His infidelity eventually drove Philo back to Port-au-Prince and, in
time, into the arms of the spirits.
Soon after Philo returned to Haiti, the spirits increased their
pressure on her, and they did SO through a series of well-timed
dreams. Philo was struggling to provide for three children
had just discovered she was pregnant with a fourth, Alourdes. and
In these crucial dreams, the spirits promised Philo
what the ideal husband should offer: "I will
precisely
give
support you. I will
you everything. I'II give you drink; I'll give you food."
Alourdes's story is similar. She decided to heed the call of the
spirits and return to Haiti to be initiated when she hit rock bottom in New York. She was separated from her children,
unable to find a job, and
sick,
dependent on the charity of a
friend. After she came to the United States, Alourdes family
longer willing to sell sexual favors. This time, she turned was no
spirits. Perhaps not surprisingly, the word love is
to the
frequently
. I will
you everything. I'II give you drink; I'll give you food."
Alourdes's story is similar. She decided to heed the call of the
spirits and return to Haiti to be initiated when she hit rock bottom in New York. She was separated from her children,
unable to find a job, and
sick,
dependent on the charity of a
friend. After she came to the United States, Alourdes family
longer willing to sell sexual favors. This time, she turned was no
spirits. Perhaps not surprisingly, the word love is
to the
frequently --- Page 191 ---
used in Alourdes's accounts of her
want me to kouche [to be initiated] spiritual call. "Papa Ogou
ically, it appears that the
because he love me." Iron169
something in
Marie-jacques and the manbo have
om 2
common: neither charges for her
nanbu
depend, in theory at least, on unsolicited
services; both
clients. Alourdes has found this
gifts from satisfied
Kouzinn
now that it is her spiritual
way of making money easier
rewarded.
expertise that is being judged and
Doing spirit work allows Alourdes to trade
and services with a wide
of
a variety of goods
tive, my friendship with range people. From one perspecShe
Alourdes is also a barter
accepted me into her world, in spite of
relationship.
tance from her community, because
some initial resispay offin the
she decided that it
long run. This book has
would
tor in our exchange
become an important facsmall
patterns. I visit her
gifts, and routinely assist at her
frequently, bring her
turn, Alourdes teaches me about
spirit birthday parties. In
pecially
many things. She has been
generous in discussing her life and
esstories as I have worked on this
sharing her family
any profits of our
project; in return, she will share
enterprise.
Soon after the idea of the book was born, I
need to visit Gros Morne and Jean
realized I would
steads. I wanted to
Rabel, her rural family homeI also wanted to develop a general sense of these places, and
meet the heirs of the Kouzen
Zaka types who appear in her ancestral
and Kouzinn
of 1979, I proposed a trip for the
stories. In the summer
that I would pay travel and certain following January, explaining
could visit her family in Port-au-Prince other expenses. Alourdes
ritual obligations, but the main
and take care of some
visit Gros Morne and Jean Rabel. purpose of our trip would be to
Alourdes readily agreed.
A TRIP TO THE PROVINCES
Alourdes and I arrived in Haiti on
was to leave for "the interior"
January 18, 1980. The plan
ary21. We would go to Gros Morne early on the morning of Janupush on north to the more remote and then, aftera short visit,
trip into "the provinces"
Jean Rabel. Preparing for a
raises anxieties for
spent most of one day laying in
city folk, SO we
discussing with
provisions and most of another
everyone we encountered the current condi-
ourdes readily agreed.
A TRIP TO THE PROVINCES
Alourdes and I arrived in Haiti on
was to leave for "the interior"
January 18, 1980. The plan
ary21. We would go to Gros Morne early on the morning of Janupush on north to the more remote and then, aftera short visit,
trip into "the provinces"
Jean Rabel. Preparing for a
raises anxieties for
spent most of one day laying in
city folk, SO we
discussing with
provisions and most of another
everyone we encountered the current condi- --- Page 192 ---
roads and the most desirable routes. We also rented
tion of the
the driver approxi170
a minibus for the difficult trip, promising usual taxi service. His
mately eighty dollars a day to forgo his
a name that
brightly painted bus was named "The Gamble," Rabel leg of
on the trying Jean
Kouzinn
would be the source of many jokes
our trip.
due to arrive at five in the morning at the
The Gamble was
sister, who lived in Bizoton, just
home of Chantal, Alourdes's
In my experience in
off the coast road south of Port-au-Prince. but this time the driver
Haiti, plan and reality rarely match, houses where Chantal
ascended the hill to the cluster of tiny
out:
before dawn, beeping his horn all the way and calling
lived
Albert! Look how I made the bus beautiful for
"Look, Madame
called Chantal "Madame Albert," Alyou today!" (Most people
husband. This is a combert being the first name of a long-gone
who has been
mode of address for any woman
mon, respectful
married, no matter how briefly.)
the next town south and
Madame Rigaud, a manbo from
friend of Alourdes's, was going with us, as was Justin,
an old
11 The driver, who also owned
Alourdes's current "boyfriend.' relief driver and another man to
the minibus, brought along a
that somehelp with flat tires and the more serious problems and fording
times occur while ascending rocky mountain roads
as we
rivers in Haiti's interior. Nervous excitement prevailed fast and
clambered onto the bus. For the first half hour, talk was
the
most of it about the adequacy of our supplies and
noisy, wisdom of the routes we had chosen.
with a
Port-au-Prince and heading north is a journey
Leaving
the
would hold on to you as
distinctive rhythm. It is as if
city
intense self
beand subject you to its most
just
long as possible
the wide north road with its long visfore spewing you out onto mountains on the other. The congestas- ocean on one side,
Iron Market at the far end of town.
tion was thickest around the
nicknamed and
Many taptap (colorful buses like The Gamble,
with
with sacred and secular scenes) vied for space
painted
and the enormous lorries that carry
people, burros, cars, jeeps, from the interior. In the chaotic traffic,
produce and passengers brazen vehicles bullied their way forthe biggest and the most
to shimmy
ward, while the rest waited for a chance opening
small,
through. Together, we made up a passel of fish, largeand channel
colored and drab, pushing through a narrow
brightly
out into the vast sea of the countryside.
taptap (colorful buses like The Gamble,
with
with sacred and secular scenes) vied for space
painted
and the enormous lorries that carry
people, burros, cars, jeeps, from the interior. In the chaotic traffic,
produce and passengers brazen vehicles bullied their way forthe biggest and the most
to shimmy
ward, while the rest waited for a chance opening
small,
through. Together, we made up a passel of fish, largeand channel
colored and drab, pushing through a narrow
brightly
out into the vast sea of the countryside. --- Page 193 ---
The road from
Port-au-Prince to
lated terrain, but much less
Croix-de-Mision was poputhe morning hours, the
intensely SO than the city itself. In
who had to walk because roadsides were sprinkled with those
they had no other choice,
heading toward the city market. As it is
They were
sell, it is mostly the heads of
mostly women who
Kouzinn
commerce. When
women that bear the weight of
men do the toting and
commandeer the backs of beasts and the hauling, they tend to
roads have begun to open the interior bellies of machines. As
to carry more of the loads. No
of Haiti, men have begun
man body or the back of a mule longer restricted by what the huas does the power of the
can bear, the payloads increase,
men who
The French, who
transport them.
this social
designed and built the new road, reinforced
hierarchy. A beautiful, modern
eventually run from the southern
highway that will
the north, it is the only road
tip of Haiti to Cap Haitian in
sible to go faster than
outside the city on which it is
a few miles an hour. It is also
possigned for machines, not people. There is
clearly delong stretches there is not
no sidewalk, and for
thousands who walk
even a berm to accommodate the
it every day. At some spots,
ing heavy loads must scramble
people carryonto the road. Truck drivers in up steep embankments to get
brid, an elite cadre of
Haiti have become a macho hyby barreling
men who display their newfound
along like angry bulls, terrorizing all
power
destrians and peasants
who walk. Pe-
(the two being
no rights on the highway.
virtually the same) have
After the bridge at
pitable, and the contest Croix-de-Mission, the road was more hoswho drove
between those who walked and
more episodic. The road followed the
those
Marc, winding past thatch-roof huts
coast to St.
ous-and, in this
as well as the
poor country,
incongruAs the road cut inland on a
obscene-Club Méditerranée.
sat higher in the sky and the straight route to Gonaïves, the sun
cool gold light of
gone. Shadows on the mountains had
morning was
from bright patches of
begun to sort themselves
appeared in the coastal sunlight. At mid-morning, soft crevices
and buttocks. The
mountains, like those between breasts
mountains in Haiti are not
only about twenty-five hundred feet, but
high, averaging
soft beauty I have found nowhere else
they have a special
Such
in the world.
easy reveries ended abruptly
we left the highway and started the just beyond Gonaïves as
The Gamble rattled and
long climb to Gros Morne.
jarred. During the most precipitous
morning was
from bright patches of
begun to sort themselves
appeared in the coastal sunlight. At mid-morning, soft crevices
and buttocks. The
mountains, like those between breasts
mountains in Haiti are not
only about twenty-five hundred feet, but
high, averaging
soft beauty I have found nowhere else
they have a special
Such
in the world.
easy reveries ended abruptly
we left the highway and started the just beyond Gonaïves as
The Gamble rattled and
long climb to Gros Morne.
jarred. During the most precipitous --- Page 194 ---
climb, 1 made the unpleasant discovery that ifl
part of the uphill
against the win172
relaxed even a little my head banged sharply hottest
of the day
dow. We scaled the mountain during the
part
cottonrocky road that ran through polka-dot
on a narrow,
the bushes and trees abutting the road
Kouzim
fields. Thick dust coated
from our field of vision.
and obliterated the last trace of green
mouths to
forced to tie handkerchiefs over our
We were finally
that
into the bus in a
keep from choking on the grit
poured the
rear tire.
through a hole in the floor over
right
steady geyser
companions, I had a quick fantasy of
Looking at my traveling
car with a group of bandits
being in a hopelessly slow getaway
gradually being turned into plaster statues.
handkerchiefs
Hours later, a cheer went up in the bus and
The town
removed as we entered the town of Gros Morne.
were
small market at one end of a street about two
consisted of a
houses leaned on one another
blocks long on which tiny pastel
picture-signs adat the edge of the road. Most had handpainted beer, tailoring, hair
vertising goods and services for sale: bread,
of Alourdes's
Here we stopped to check on the location
pressing.
directed
the bouk, as rural
cousin's home. We were
through filled with
centers are called, and across a stream
people
town
laundry. The driver of The
bathing or sudsing and pounding
backed up, and,
Gamble stopped ten yards from the stream,
charged through the water at high speed,
without warning, children and causing women to rush toward
dousing giggling
rocks.
colored patches of clothes drying on nearby
we found
A quarter of a mile on the other side of the stream,
of arid land purchased by Marie Noelsine Joseph,
the parcel
daughter of Gloria Macena and
now home to Marie Thérèse,
Gamble
a
of Marie Noelsine. The
stopped by
granddaughter and Marie Thérèse came to the side window.
low cactus hedge,
skinny, and wore a ragged black
She was barefoot, painfully her late thirties, but her face, stretched
dress. She was then in
could have been that of a woman
tight over the skull beneath,
There had been no
anywhere between twenty-five and sixty.
Thérèse showed
way to let her know we were coming, yet Marie
she
or even recognition as
spoke
no sign of surprise, pleasure,
to unload our ample cargo
with Alourdes. Only when we began
did she come to life.
Thérèse had for this day were set aside.
Whatever plans Marie her modest home were placed immeHer time, her energy, and
ies, but her face, stretched
dress. She was then in
could have been that of a woman
tight over the skull beneath,
There had been no
anywhere between twenty-five and sixty.
Thérèse showed
way to let her know we were coming, yet Marie
she
or even recognition as
spoke
no sign of surprise, pleasure,
to unload our ample cargo
with Alourdes. Only when we began
did she come to life.
Thérèse had for this day were set aside.
Whatever plans Marie her modest home were placed immeHer time, her energy, and --- Page 195 ---
diately and completely at our disposal. Her
was meager: one small room, whose walls ti-kay (little house)
from bits of wood, banana
had been jury-rigged
leaves,
tin. Gaps a foot or more wide
cardboard, and corrugated
places. But the house did
appeared in the walls in several
Marie Thérèse
have a brand-new door and frame.
Kouzinn
announced proudly that
mennaj
Alphonse, her new
(over-companion), had hung it for her. She
were sufficient reason to love
said it as ifit
Marie Thérèse
any man.
wore black because she was in
Ilium, her husband of
mourning for
many years, then seven
grave. Alourdes said that Ilium had been
months in his
good, good, good!" Dropping her voice,
"a good man :
she got now, he too young for her. I don't she added: "That man
to take the land. I don't like that!"
know, maybe he want
ideal for Marie Thérèse, but
Alphonse may not have been
was the sole survivor of her she may have had no choice. She
The only others in Gros Morne generation left on the family land.
five children, the oldest
with a claim to the land were her
beans, millet, and
barely a teenager. Marie Thérèse grew
could not have handled bananas; she kept a COW and some goats. She
the farm by herself.
Inside the ti-kay sat a double bed and two
to hold cooking utensils and food.
rickety tables used
were stored under the mattress.
Clothes, such as they were,
Thérèse, showed the
The oldest daughter, like Marie
effects of hunger: she had
seven- or eight-year-old,
the body of a
full of secrecy and
although she was twelve. This child,
big plans, had her own
mattress under which she stored
special corner of the
private treasures. Other
possessions were kept in the rafters above the bed
family
artfully fashioned from
in a suitcase
scavenged tin. In its colorful,
pattern could be seen the remnants of old
crazy-quilt
and powdered-milk cans.
motor-oil, margarine,
In front of the eight-by-ten-foot hut
nèl-a broad thatched
was the much larger tonroof, open to the air,
corners and the center by irregular
supported at four
Family members
poles of stripped sapling.
spent their time here when
were
working in the fields or off to the market in
they
not
the house and behind a second
Gonaïves. In back of
containing
cactus fence was the lakou (yard)
Alphonse Macena's broken-down
ratus and remnants of the brick oven in which rum-making appahad baked bread. There was also a well, used Marie Noelsine
Thérèse's family but also by several
not only by Marie
neighbors. Marie Thérèse
supported at four
Family members
poles of stripped sapling.
spent their time here when
were
working in the fields or off to the market in
they
not
the house and behind a second
Gonaïves. In back of
containing
cactus fence was the lakou (yard)
Alphonse Macena's broken-down
ratus and remnants of the brick oven in which rum-making appahad baked bread. There was also a well, used Marie Noelsine
Thérèse's family but also by several
not only by Marie
neighbors. Marie Thérèse --- Page 196 ---
Alourdes for the unkempt yard and for the condiapologized to
"You will
11 she concluded in an eager
tion of her house.
see,
to have a beautiful
voice. "When you come back, I am going
house, all closed!"
Thérèse had a cactus corral
Kouzimn
On one side of her ti-kay, Marie
wooden colfor goats. All but the kids wore ungainly triangular the other side of the
lars that kept them inside the corral. On
Marie
of
with the wooden paddle
hut was a pile pitimi (millet),
the
when we arrived.
Thérèse had been using to thresh
grain
of millet;
Strenuous labor is needed to extract the edible portion
consider it the last resort of the hungry. Marie Thérèse
many
when we arrived, and the millet pile
abandoned her threshing
that wandered
and chewed by the baby goats
was trampled
final
two days later,
about freely. When we said our
good-byes
most of it was gone. But on the day we arrived, we replaced verito be a
meal of millet gruel with a
what promised
scanty
table banquet.
unloaded and
under the tonnèl,
After our things were
order placed of business was coffee.
food preparation began. The first
half coffeeAs we sat drinking the tiny cups-half sugar, the scent of
people began to arrive, as if they had picked up
Thérèse
and money. Those who knew Marie
food, possessions, distant cousins, came in under the tonnèl.
well, including some the cactus fence and stared. Our presence
Others stood outside hour-the time when people returned
and the late afternoon
stream along the road
from the fields-soon produced a steady with straw hats and
in front of the house: men in blue denim
on
women smoking pipes and riding sidesaddle
straw satr'iels,
and without comment, examinburros. aviost moved by slowly
ing us closely as they passed. and Kouzinn Zakas were bands
In between the silent Kouzen
from school in the bouk, all
of noisy, curious children returning
with
blue pants
dressed in identical red-checkered shirts,
navy Thérèse's
for the boys and navy blue skirts for the girls. Marie
children did not attend school and appeared to want little contact with those who did. (Even in the local church-run school,
families had to purchase uniforms.) Her raggedy children hung
heads and scratched in the dirt at our feet as a swarm of
their
examined The Gamble inch by inch and eyed
checkered shirts
children nudged one another
our case of cola. These neighbor overheard voices about the
in the ribs and speculated in easily tonnèl. A brave one called out
blan sitting under Marie Thérèse's
boys and navy blue skirts for the girls. Marie
children did not attend school and appeared to want little contact with those who did. (Even in the local church-run school,
families had to purchase uniforms.) Her raggedy children hung
heads and scratched in the dirt at our feet as a swarm of
their
examined The Gamble inch by inch and eyed
checkered shirts
children nudged one another
our case of cola. These neighbor overheard voices about the
in the ribs and speculated in easily tonnèl. A brave one called out
blan sitting under Marie Thérèse's --- Page 197 ---
to me: "Eh, blan!" and Madame Albert
and without hesitation. "Ti-moun
reprimanded him sharply
she snapped. "Call her
malelve [Badly reared child]!"
Madame."
Alourdes had not visited Gros Morne in more
As cousins and neighbors
than a decade.
by rehearsing family
arrived, she reconnected with them
Kouzinn
early thirties whom history. Among them was a man in his
everyone called Tonton (Uncle). He
nephew of Marie Thérèse's dead husband.
was the
placed him, she launched into
Once Alourdes had
a song for the lwa that had
composed by his father. Tonton's face, otherwise
been
pressionless beneath his worn straw
flat and exthe familiar refrain, and he
hat, lit up when he heard
more charming than
soon joined in the singing. No oneis
mood, and she charmed Alourdes when she is in an expansive
Tonton ended the
this hardscrabble farmer. Alourdes and
forth
song locked in an embrace,
to the rhythm of the chorus.
rocking back and
dozen locals had come beneath
By that time, more than a
people. Most sat
the tonnèl to visit with the
on their haunches around Alourdes's city
legged wooden chair. She talked, laughed,
shortentertained the folk of Gros Morne.
sang, and generally
All afternoon, a portable radio blared
under
Radios are essential lin mountain
away
the tonnèl.
music, but occasionally the
communities. We heard mostly
in Creole: "Marie
announcer broke in with
Rose, who lives in Basin Bleu
messages
in touch with Olina right away. She has
by the river, get
your family." "Madame
a message for you from
hind
Roger, who lives in the mountains bePort-de-Paix, come home right away. Your child is
Dozens of times during the afternoon, the
ill."
the same song, one by a popular
disk jockey played
was a simple ditty with two
group called Tabou Combo. It
energizing beat: "New York repetitive lines sung to an insistent,
City"; then, "Haiti,
City, New York City, New York
Haiti, Haiti." During the days we spent in
Port-au-Prince, the song had been our constant
lying forth from the doorways of countless
companion, salthe city. It played
shops in the heart of
home in
repeatedly on the radio in Madame Albert's
Bizoton, and we rarely rode a
York City, New York City"
taptap without "New
packed bus. When
banging around the interior of the
we had set out, early that
had larded the anxious conversation
morning, Alourdes
Tabou Combo line: "New York
about provisions with the
City." But she
City, New York City, New York
never sang the second line.
Alourdes was caught between New York and Haiti. For her,
played
shops in the heart of
home in
repeatedly on the radio in Madame Albert's
Bizoton, and we rarely rode a
York City, New York City"
taptap without "New
packed bus. When
banging around the interior of the
we had set out, early that
had larded the anxious conversation
morning, Alourdes
Tabou Combo line: "New York
about provisions with the
City." But she
City, New York City, New York
never sang the second line.
Alourdes was caught between New York and Haiti. For her, --- Page 198 ---
a
to her country,
our trip was a sentimental journey, land. pilgrimage She made the journey to
her family, and her ancestral
York
and Haiti. But,
strengthen the bonds between New
City
the two.
she also needed to put distance between
paradoxically,
far
had come in the world and
Kouzim
She wanted to affirm how
she
existence
how different her current life was from the meager
in the
she had left behind. A desire to distance herself showed sister's
she made. Sitting around her
constant comparisons
for
she commented to no one in particular,
house,
example, little. Houses in Haiti real little. In New
"Everything in Haiti SO
for whatever you want.' 11
York, houses got plenty room, room
herself
I became another means for Alourdes to distinguish
When she introduced me to her father,
from the local people.
a book about her.
she mentioned right away that I was writing
three
demonstrated how thick the book would be (a good
She
"After she finish, they going to mount
inches!) and announced:
a film on that book!"
self-definition. In
Language was also an important area of
between HaiNew York, Alourdes and I switch back and forth
tian Creole and English as the topic demands. We routinely
and tend to fall into Creole when we discuss spirspeak English
(Creole is far better for
itual matters or human relationships.
is ordinarily
talking about people.) Although Alourdes's I noticed English that she was
quite good, after only a few days in Haiti
becoming less and less facile, stumbling over the most ordinary
That seemed understandable, and SO
words and expressions.
other almost exclusively in
during the trip we spoke to each
Creole. notable
to our use of Creole were public situaThe
exceptions have been overheard. Boarding a taptap
tions in which we might
to Alourdes's sister's
for the half-hour ride from Port-au-Prince
Climbing onto the
home in Bizoton signaled a switch to English.
the
Alourdes observed the Haitian custom of greeting
bus,
but she did SO in English. "How are you?"
other passengers,
smile. Then she started a conshe asked, with a big, lipsticked
references to New
versation with me in English, making many
sometimes
this game. Ihave
York. I was a willing collaboratorin
done the same thing on taptap rides, only in reverse; speaking
is a
to avoid being mistaken for a
Creole with a companion
ploy did not want to be mistaken for
tourist. Alourdes, in contrast, woman in the next seat wearan ordinary Haitian. The market
she did SO in English. "How are you?"
other passengers,
smile. Then she started a conshe asked, with a big, lipsticked
references to New
versation with me in English, making many
sometimes
this game. Ihave
York. I was a willing collaboratorin
done the same thing on taptap rides, only in reverse; speaking
is a
to avoid being mistaken for a
Creole with a companion
ploy did not want to be mistaken for
tourist. Alourdes, in contrast, woman in the next seat wearan ordinary Haitian. The market --- Page 199 ---
ing a headrag and dangling three live chickens
knees seemed to me far removed from
between her
herself could not be SO
Alourdes; but Alourdes
too. Yet at times
sanguine, and I could understand
on that trip with her, empathy failed
that,
judgment intruded.
me and
One such time came early in the
Kouzinn
rived in Gros Morne. The
evening of the day we arunder way. A
sun had not set, and dinner was
bouk had been good-sized chunk of goat mcat purchased in the
transformed into
and the smell was
sizzling, bite-sized morsels,
hungry and curious. attracting a growing crowd of Gros Morne's
At this moment, Alourdes
nounce that she could not eat until she had her chose to anit meant postponing the meal for
bath. Although
the status of a command in this everyone, Alourdes's wish had
from the well, and, when all
group. Water was hauled up
behind the house with
was ready, Alourdes took herself
several of Marie
tow, After some time, I got up and followed. Thérèse's children in
When I rounded the corner of the ti-kay, I
backdrop of a crimson and ocher
saw, against the
ing for all the world like the
sky, a naked Alourdes, lookher skin glistening with
Venus of Willendorf come to life,
apart, and her
moisture. Her legs were planted wide
child
arms were held straight out from her
was working on each limb,
sides. One
bottle of lotion, which
smoothing in the contents ofa
("Queen bee!" I
they passed from hand to hand.
she smiled
thought.) "Have a good bath?" Iasked. "Yes!"
lazily. "That feel good!"
The Dance of Reciprocity
In time, I would better understand the subtleties
in that scene, and I would come to see her
of exchange
judgmental eye. The lesson
behavior with a less
piece of the puzzle
came in stages, with an important
returned
falling into my hands two
to Gros Morne after
days later. We had
Rabel. It was
an abortive attempt to get to Jean
to Port-au-Prince. mid-afternoon, and we were preparing to go back
Ihad little to pack and
walk. By the time I sauntered back
decided to take a short
The
into Marie Thérèse's
Gamble was loaded, and the driver
yard,
horn, anxious to get back to Port-au-Prince was leaning on the
on the coast road after sunset is
before dark. Driving
animals appear in the headlights dangerous; pedestrians and
without warning, and truck
later. We had
Rabel. It was
an abortive attempt to get to Jean
to Port-au-Prince. mid-afternoon, and we were preparing to go back
Ihad little to pack and
walk. By the time I sauntered back
decided to take a short
The
into Marie Thérèse's
Gamble was loaded, and the driver
yard,
horn, anxious to get back to Port-au-Prince was leaning on the
on the coast road after sunset is
before dark. Driving
animals appear in the headlights dangerous; pedestrians and
without warning, and truck --- Page 200 ---
often turn off their lights when they stop along the road.
drivers
me on, I ran toward the ti-kay to
With The Gamble's horn urging
fetch my things.
Marie Thérèse froze. My duffle bag was
Aslopened the door,
bottle of Ammens Medicated
Kouzinn
open on her bed, and she had my
its contents into a
Powder in her hand. She had been shaking
small round box with a fluffy purple powder puff, an incongru- in
in this spare setting. Her matchstick arm stopped
ous object
dribbled from the half-open holes in the
mid-air, and powder communicated shame at being caught in
lid. Her whole body
this act of pilfering.
in awkward moDiscussing logistics is sometimes helpful
"You have to open it all the way, 11 I said in a matter-ofments. I took the bottle from her, twisted the cap open, and
fact tone.
into her powder box. (I held some back
poured half its contents is one of the few things I find essenbecause Ammens powder Haiti. It eases insect bites and, in a pinch,
tial when traveling in
Marie Thérèse responded
is a reasonable substitute fora bath.)
"Don't
half-gift with embarrassingly genuine gratitude.
to my
her
a
11 she whispered like a child. I gave
money,
tell Alourdes,
skirt, and a purple T-shirt. Then I ran.
discomfiting
The Gamble, 1 was awashin
Asltook my placein
cold night when we, the guests,
memories of the surprisingly
while Marie Thérèse
had been given the only bed in her ti-kay,
the floor. One of
curled up with her children on a pile of rags on
throughher girls had a hacking cough that erupted periodically
all her children had red and brittle hair, indicating
out the night;
Standing beside the bus as we pulled
advanced malnutrition. mouthed the words: "Manman, don't foraway, Marie Thérèse
me." "How could I ever forget?"1 thought.
get
to
enough in Haiti. Gifts of money are
Itis never possible give
needed, but what I have
like water in the desert. They are badly difference. I have been
to give is not enough to make a real
made an unto Haiti since 1973, and over the years I have
going
with the more orl less constant guilt and inadequacyl
easy peace
there. But this trip taught me how my own befeel when 1 am
the United States,
havior exacerbated the situation. 1 grew up in
and
founded
rebels against peerage and privilege,
a country
by
(the
Lam well schooled in what constitutes pretension
"queen
for example) and what is sappropriately humble,
bee" syndrome,
behavior. In Gros Morne, I cheerfully
Imjustoacofibe-fike
and amiably turned aside Marie
attended to my own luggage
orl less constant guilt and inadequacyl
easy peace
there. But this trip taught me how my own befeel when 1 am
the United States,
havior exacerbated the situation. 1 grew up in
and
founded
rebels against peerage and privilege,
a country
by
(the
Lam well schooled in what constitutes pretension
"queen
for example) and what is sappropriately humble,
bee" syndrome,
behavior. In Gros Morne, I cheerfully
Imjustoacofibe-fike
and amiably turned aside Marie
attended to my own luggage --- Page 201 ---
Thérèse's inquiries about favorite foods and the
cooked. By doing this, I also
way Ilike things
out of the realm of
unwittingly moved my gifts to her
forced her to take from reciprocity and into that of charity. I also
but craved
me what she could not justify
for
nonetheless. A dollop of the
asking
woman? A sprinkling of
mystique of a foreign
Kouzinn
femininity?
It was such a small thing, that bit of
old truth concrete.
powder, but it made an
Charity breeds
and
flawed human exchanges because thievery,
both are deeply
Thérèse pointed to such a lack of balance both lack reciprocity. Marie
woman of her own age, "manman. 11 As when she called me, a
along the mountain road, I
The Gamble clattered
bath in a new light. With four began to see Alourdes's predinner
lotion, Alourdes
limbs to be dried and rubbed with
Marie
had placed herself four times in the debt
Thérèse's family, balancing at least
of
a case of cola, sacks of vegetables,
partially the gift of
of a goat.
and the left hindquarter
Alourdes works hard to keep her relations
arena of reciprocity. It is not
with family in the
even the appearance of balance. always easy, however, to achieve
in Haiti, Marie Carmelle,
The morning after we arrived
visit. She sat on the pallet Madame where Albert's daughter, came to
rummaged eagerly
Alourdes and I had slept and
through Alourdes's suitcase,
present of this white dress!" she said. "No, 11
"Make me a
and then softened a little: "When
Alourdes replied,
you. 11 By scaling down her
I finish wearing it, I give it to
slip from me and another from demands, Marie Carmelle got a halfof deodorant
and
Alourdes. She then found a bar
soap
claimed it without
she tried again for the object she coveted: protest. Before long,
that dress!" "I give it to
"You got to give me
Marie Carmelle
you tomorrow," Alourdes said.
dug further in the suitcase and found
age of Rolaids. "I'm going to take these
a pack-
"That not mint," Alourdes
mints, she announced.
medicine!" cried Marie
retorted, "that medicine. 11 "Oh,
brusquely:
Carmelle, "I need that." Alourdes said
"Organize that suitcase for me.
mess!"
Everything inside a
Marie Carmelle would meet this demand later,
moment something else caught her attention.
but for the
Alourdes's other suitcase, she
Raising the lid of
Look at the little market! I'm whooped in delight: "Oh, look!
going to take this towel.
perfume for? Oh, what a beautiful blouse!"
Who's this
"I pay six dollar for that!" Alourdes said,
grabbing the blouse
11 "Oh,
brusquely:
Carmelle, "I need that." Alourdes said
"Organize that suitcase for me.
mess!"
Everything inside a
Marie Carmelle would meet this demand later,
moment something else caught her attention.
but for the
Alourdes's other suitcase, she
Raising the lid of
Look at the little market! I'm whooped in delight: "Oh, look!
going to take this towel.
perfume for? Oh, what a beautiful blouse!"
Who's this
"I pay six dollar for that!" Alourdes said,
grabbing the blouse --- Page 202 ---
her hand. "You hear me? Six dollar!" Then Alourdes infrom
even
a button.
the garment and added, "But it don't
got
spected What you say? Can you put a button for me?"
left Haiti, Marie Carmelle had the white dress, sevBefore we
and some cash, all of which
Kouzim
eral other articles of clothing,
Alourdes doled out in careful installments over our three-week
went on with half a dozen other relastay. A similar process
the suitcasesand sewed
tives. Marie Carmelle carefully repacked
the trips
a button on the blouse. Madame Albert organized ritual
Gros Morne and Jean Rabel and supervised the
feedto
Such services in return for gifts maintained the
ing of the poor.
but, in truth, the atmosphere
appearance of family exchange,
treated like children from
was strained. Family members were
and
time to time, and Alourdes sometimes became petulant
demanding.
of
and the complex pull toward its orbit
The deep love family
as well as being the
are natural to Alourdes's temperament, Given these stressful conproducts of her religion and culture. clearer about that love from a
ditions, however, she tends to feel
became
distance. On our Haitian sojourn, Alourdes periodically left behind in
depressed about missing Maggie and the children
call
New York. She called home four times, the last a lengthy
less than a day before our return. "There SO many people
placed
asking for
at my house! I had to talk to everybody. Everybody "I miss
miss me SO much!" Alourdes pouted:
me. bed. Everybody I miss my house. I miss my children. 11
my But the airplane was not thirty minutes out of Port-au-Prince
to talk about going back to Haiti to live. It was
when she began
she would need more money. Pernot possible now, of course; she would return to Haiti. Then
haps when she was sixty-five,
she would tear down
Alourdes got lost in a frequent fantasy:
and build a better
her mother's old house on Oswald Durand
skirts and
a little
in the front : : . sell beautiful
one. : . put
shop
blouses.
to the United States when she was an adolesMaggie came
cent, and her ties to Haiti, though deep, are largely spiritual of
But Alourdes's commitments to the family
and sentimental.
in commitments to a human family, most
spirits are still grounded live in Haiti. And SO her hunger for family perof whom
that escalate every time she
sists, in spite of the frustrations
from their poverty
deals with her family, frustrations arising
Oswald Durand
skirts and
a little
in the front : : . sell beautiful
one. : . put
shop
blouses.
to the United States when she was an adolesMaggie came
cent, and her ties to Haiti, though deep, are largely spiritual of
But Alourdes's commitments to the family
and sentimental.
in commitments to a human family, most
spirits are still grounded live in Haiti. And SO her hunger for family perof whom
that escalate every time she
sists, in spite of the frustrations
from their poverty
deals with her family, frustrations arising --- Page 203 ---
and the high expectations they have attached to her.
of Alourdes's life in New York
My picture
includes the
over my foot in her downstairs
afternoon the rat ran
of her family in Haiti
bathroom. But when members
picture her in New York,
wealth, ease. Neither of us is more correct than they see food,
simply start from different
the other; we
Kouzinn
With
places.
progress in life comes responsibility. When a
emigrates, the family back home is full ofe
Haitian
one of their number abroad is a
expectations. Sending
everyone who can contributes to cooperative the sizable fund family enterprise;
someone out of the country. Sometimes the
needed to get
borrow from freelance
family is forced to
(In 1980 their annual interest moneylenders who prey on poor people.
Alourdes
rates hovered around 30
came to the United States legally in the
percent.)
but in the 1970S and 198os large numbers of
early 1960s,
illegally, with considerably
Haitians have come
tourist visa, the most
higher expenses. A black-market
popular means of escape for
tians, cost two thousand dollars in 1980. Add to this urban Haia roundtripa airplane ticketand several
the price of
money, both of which may have to be hundred dollars in pocket
tion agents at the airport.
shown to U.S. immigrarightly
Family members who stay behind
expect to benefit from such a substantial
Many do-in fact, a significant
investment.
goods that circulate in Haiti each percentage of the money and
ing abroad.
year comes from Haitians livUnfortunately, people on both sides of this
a vested interest in preserving fanciful
arrangement have
ties available in New York. For those stories of the opportunithe good life in the United States who stay behind, stories of
who emigrate do not
justify their sacrifice. Those
parity between
challenge these stories, for fear the diseffort
dream and reality will be attributed to a lack
or caring on their part. Caught in a rhythm of
of
low-paying, short-term jobs alternating with
abusive,
ployment, many immigrants become
periods of unemstop communicating with their
SO depressed that they
did at first. During her
families in Haiti, as Alourdes
New York, she broke off long illness shortly after her arrival in
all contact with her mother.
was especially hurt when a letter from her mother And she
cusing her of being SO busy having a good time that she arrived had acgotten her family back home.
forAs a rule, Haitian immigrants do not push their families
away
Caught in a rhythm of
of
low-paying, short-term jobs alternating with
abusive,
ployment, many immigrants become
periods of unemstop communicating with their
SO depressed that they
did at first. During her
families in Haiti, as Alourdes
New York, she broke off long illness shortly after her arrival in
all contact with her mother.
was especially hurt when a letter from her mother And she
cusing her of being SO busy having a good time that she arrived had acgotten her family back home.
forAs a rule, Haitian immigrants do not push their families
away --- Page 204 ---
out of a simple desire to shed the responsibility of having relatives in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
do SO because they are ashamed. Their
They
emigration puts them in
Kouzinn
a place of privilege, one from which it is not acceptable to ask
for help or even understanding from those who have less. A letter home accurately describing the struggles of a Haitian immigrant in New York City threatens definitions of reality and
worth on both sides. In most cases, such truthful letters selfnever written. A web of lies, promises, and rationalizations are
is
required to explain a letter or telephone call that maintains the
fiction but is not accompanied by a money order through Hatrexco, the funds-transferring agency whose main business is
handling the flow of expatriate money to Haiti. Many
try this approach, but if they do not find steady and initially
work, the strain of such posturing quickly becomes too profitable
The slender threads on which communication and the great. of
hope
responsibility rest snap.
Alourdes managed to avoid a rupture with her family
because her early problems in New York were
largely
spiritual ones and remedied in spiritual terms. Once interpreted her illness as
was defined as spirit-caused and her ties to family and
were reframed (and thus reinforced) as spiritual
country
obligations, the
pressure was relieved and the door opened for a creative renegotiation of debts. The burden of reciprocity shifted from the
living family to a broader arena, one including the ancestors
and the spirits. A penniless and bedraggled Alourdes could
then present herself at the gate to her mother's house in Portau-Prince. Both she and her mother understood that she was in
this condition because the spirits were after her. If her mother
could help her meet their demands, in time they would both
benefit. And this, in fact, is what happened. "I got to go back to
Haiti," Alourdes said not too long ago. "Two year since I
Haiti. Two year! Who me? But you can't go back with
go to
in your hand. I need one thousand dollar, then I
to no Haiti money
January. I tell Papa Ogou, 'You give me that
go
in
back to Haiti 111
money, then I going
Storytelling
In 1980, I was the vehicle the spirits had apparently chosen to
finance a trip to Haiti. That was how Alourdes,
and
freshly bathed
creamed, came to be in Gros Morne under Marie Thérèse's
I
Haiti. Two year! Who me? But you can't go back with
go to
in your hand. I need one thousand dollar, then I
to no Haiti money
January. I tell Papa Ogou, 'You give me that
go
in
back to Haiti 111
money, then I going
Storytelling
In 1980, I was the vehicle the spirits had apparently chosen to
finance a trip to Haiti. That was how Alourdes,
and
freshly bathed
creamed, came to be in Gros Morne under Marie Thérèse's --- Page 205 ---
tonnèl that first day. She and I sat with her
and
around an oil lamp made from an ancient family
friends
ant
Right Guard deodor183
can, watching the last of the color disappear from the
ning sky. We were eating spicy goat, boiled
evewith a delicious, thick black bean
plantain, and rice
kered on the
sauce. Marie Thérèse hunKouzinn
ground, her long skinny legs folded like those of
grasshopper. She ate with her hands from a bowl
a
had mixed the
of
in which she
ingredients our meal.
Whether from the habit of her personality, the
of years of hunger and
dulling effects
the social distance
hardship, or the strains ofthe momentin this group being too great for her to
verse-Marie Thérèse withdrew into herself. Her
traand her eyes unfocused as she took small
face was blank
tossed them toward her mouth. A few handfuls of food and
into the dish with each
grains of rice fell back
Alourdes
motion. When the meal was
convinced Marie Thérèse to sit with me and
over,
recorder for an interview on family history.
my tape
In anticipating this trip, I had imagined an
of listening to story after story about Manman
evening
Mauvant, and Marie Noelsine
Marasa, Joseph Binbin
Joseph.
I
was bound to be at least one traditional Surely, thought, there
Alourdes's country relatives. That raconteur storyteller among
voices with characters, jump up to enact dramatic would change
weave the story together by circling back
episodes, and
single memorable line that would
again and again to the
motif. This night,
emerge as its lesson and leitIn Gros
however, was not to be such an occasion.
Morne, Marie Thérèse was my only source for
history. She told bare-bones stories with few details family
them alive, and she spoke in a small,
to bring
outi inflection. "A
time
quiet voice almost withthe road."
long
ago, it rained. The water came up to
("My god!" I thought. "That would
rose more than two hundred feet
mean the river
above its current
"People put chairs on top of tables. They put children level!")
chairs. One family watched the river take
on top of
children. 11
tables . : - chairs .
Ironically, it was Alourdes who told the best stories that
in the mountain. She told one about Gloria, Marie
night
est child and Marie Thérèse's mother. The theme Noelsine's oldstory ("Gloria-that woman
of Alourdes's
got a lot'a
a repeated tribute to a mountain
courage. Oh, boy!") was
woman whose heroism
surviving a life of continuous hardship
lay in
enal bad luck. Gloria's husband died punctuated by phenomand her house burned
children. 11
tables . : - chairs .
Ironically, it was Alourdes who told the best stories that
in the mountain. She told one about Gloria, Marie
night
est child and Marie Thérèse's mother. The theme Noelsine's oldstory ("Gloria-that woman
of Alourdes's
got a lot'a
a repeated tribute to a mountain
courage. Oh, boy!") was
woman whose heroism
surviving a life of continuous hardship
lay in
enal bad luck. Gloria's husband died punctuated by phenomand her house burned --- Page 206 ---
down, all on the same day. Shortly after these tragedies, Gloria
converted to Protestantism, in a fit of pique with the Vodou
spirits. She died in her forties after a long illness,
which
she repeatedly refused Philo's
during
Kouzinn
plea to come to Port-au-Prince for
help. Like most mountain people, Gloria was deeply
of hospitals, and by then she wanted nothing to do suspicious with the
Vodou healing arts.
Marie Thérèse had not followed her mother into the Protestant church, but neither did she serve the spirits. She said simply, "Ift they want me to serve them, they have to give me
to do it." Traditional religion nevertheless
money
pervades Marie Thérèse's life, as it does for everyone in the mountains. For example, she told me she had a gad on her house. She offered no
further information about this protective charm, but before the
sun went down, I thought I saw it: suspended from a roofbeam
in the tonnèl, only partially visible through the fringe of thatch,
was a banana soda bottle with a small muslin bag bound to its
neck. Marie Thérèse said she also had a gad in her
a
charm that would have been created by a healer rubbing body, herbal
medicines into a small cut in her skin.
such traditional
Although
Vodou elements are very much a part of Marie Thérèse's
life, she does not think of herself as serving the
The
issue is not whether Marie Thérèse believes in the spirits.
are
a fact of her life. The issue is that
spirits. They
they are not her exchange
partners. She cannot make demands on the spirits, because
cannot afford to feed them on the regular basis they
she
After an interview of less than an hour, Marie Thérèse require. fell
into a silence from which neither Alourdes nor I could extricate
her. The three of us sat around the flickering oil lamp, and the
long-ignored sounds of a night in the mountains of Haiti came
alive around us: the rustle of trees when a stray breeze
dered through, the clip-clop of a donkey going down the wanin front of the house, the thunking and
road
wooden collars as the goats settled in for the scritch-scratching night, the
of
ofa rooster a mile away, the loud whine of a
crowing
mosquito careening past my ear.
The Bôkô and the Tonton Makout
"Ki moun malad, Kouzimn [Who is sick, Cousin]?" Cesaire
asked, appearing suddenly in our small circle of light. "No-
dered through, the clip-clop of a donkey going down the wanin front of the house, the thunking and
road
wooden collars as the goats settled in for the scritch-scratching night, the
of
ofa rooster a mile away, the loud whine of a
crowing
mosquito careening past my ear.
The Bôkô and the Tonton Makout
"Ki moun malad, Kouzimn [Who is sick, Cousin]?" Cesaire
asked, appearing suddenly in our small circle of light. "No- --- Page 207 ---
body," Marie Thérèse said, rising to fetch a chair for
you sent for me! I ran all the way!"
him. "But
me, 11 Marie Thérèse
Cesaire snarled. "It was not replied in her soft voice. "Alourdes sent
you.
for
Earlier in the day, Alourdes had indeed asked
the word that she wanted to
Tonton to pass
Kouzinn
tive who
speak with Cesaire, a distant relafarmed a piece of land several miles
In his youth he had lived in Jean
from Gros Morne.
not been there since she
Rabel, and Alourdes, who had
was seven years old, wanted
our guide on the trip. Cesaire
him to be
the message that he
was a oungan, and when he got
was needed at Marie Thérèse's
assumed someone was sick or in trouble. He
home, he
little annoyed when he realized there
was more than a
Cesaire wore an airplane
was no emergency.
visor, a red scarf knotted pilot's cap with a patent-leather
trousers
around his neck, dark blue
with a wide belt, and a denim shirt. His
denim
were more carefully tailored than the
pants and shirt
usual denim peasant
ing-a signal that Cesaire was not
clothton Makout. His clothes
only a oungan but also a Tonwere the uniform of the
started by François Duvalier after he took
civilian militia
cause the history of politics in Haiti
power in 1957.3 Becoups, Duvalier armed the Tonton was replete with military
ofthe army and also to
Makout to check the power
Tonton
strengthen his control over the
Makout (Uncle Strawsack) is the name of provinces.
in Haitian children's stories. More to the
a bogeyman
the uniform, inevitably evokes
point, the name, like
farmer and therefore of the
the image of a simple peasant
Vodou spirit Kouzen Zaka.
creating his private army, Papa Doc, a
Thus, in
used Vodou to
oungan himself, subtly
play on the deepest loyalties of the Haitian
people-loyalties to land, family, and ancestors. The
corruption, intimidation, and violence that
stories of
make heavy irony of their
surround the Makout
identification with Kouzen
gentle spirit whose power resides mainly in herbal
Zaka, a
knowledge.
*In February 1986, after the fall of Jean Claude
François Duvalier, the Tonton Makout were
Duvalier, the son and successor of
among them were hunted down and killed supposedly disbanded. The most hated
taken into the army. More recent events,
by groups of vigilantes; others were
to some extent a cohesive and effective however, indicate that the Makout are still
Just as Duvalier dressed his
ingredient in Haitian politics.
appeared in the garb of another henchmen Vodou to look like Kouzen Zaka, SO he himself
glasses, mimicking Baron Samdi, chief of spirit: the he often wore a black suit and dark
spirits of the dead.
Duvalier, the son and successor of
among them were hunted down and killed supposedly disbanded. The most hated
taken into the army. More recent events,
by groups of vigilantes; others were
to some extent a cohesive and effective however, indicate that the Makout are still
Just as Duvalier dressed his
ingredient in Haitian politics.
appeared in the garb of another henchmen Vodou to look like Kouzen Zaka, SO he himself
glasses, mimicking Baron Samdi, chief of spirit: the he often wore a black suit and dark
spirits of the dead. --- Page 208 ---
In the countryside, those who became Makout were often established local leaders, heads of large families, Vodou
The Oungan-Makout thus
priests.
emerged as a distinct and familiar
type on Haiti's political
Kouzinn
stage." These priest-soldiers, rural and
urban, ran the gamut from assassins for hire to local leaders
who used the added power of the Makout network to promote
the interests of their people. Alourdes's distant cousin Cesaire,
who carried no gun while we were with him, probably fell
somewhere in the middle of this spectrum. In fact, Cesaire
peared to be little more than a con artist, a type not unknown ap- in
Haitian religious and political circles. It gradually became clear
that the presence of a white face in this group had piqued his
curiosity and stirred the scent of profit. It was also clear that he
was willing to make a show of his religion for the city folk,
whatever their color.
The card reading Cesaire prescribed was a good example of
his modus operandi. He announced that a reading was necessary to determine the will of the spirits concerning our trip to
Jean Rabel. Before beginning, Cesaire asked Alourdes if she
served the spirits. "No," she said, "I do not serve.1 11 Relieved of
the threat that she might see through him, Cesaire set out to
impress us with his power and arcane knowledge.
The first splash from a fresh bottle of rum was poured on the
ground as a libation for the spirits. (The rest was for Cesaire,
who punctuated his ritualizing with frequent gulps from the
bottle.) First, he requested that the oil lamp be extinguished.
Then, lighting a single white candle, he made a great show of
marking it with cabalistic signs. Slowly, he drew his thumbnail
three times around the candle and intersected those lines with
deep vertical grooves. Cesaire's opening prayers, standard Catholic ones, were accompanied by dramatic hand gestures and
more mumbo-jumbo with the candle.
Then he took two packs of cards, limp and dog-eared, from
his back pockets. He shuffled the cards by taking a few from the
bottom of the stack and slapping them onto the top. Slap, slap,
slap pause- slap, slap, slap. The shuffling took a long time,
and his severe manner quickly let us know that he would allow
The term Oungan-Makout is also used to refer to a priest who has no
altar, and no following. He operates out of his makout, his straw
temple, no
tents are his only ritual paraphernalia.
satchel, whose.con-
and dog-eared, from
his back pockets. He shuffled the cards by taking a few from the
bottom of the stack and slapping them onto the top. Slap, slap,
slap pause- slap, slap, slap. The shuffling took a long time,
and his severe manner quickly let us know that he would allow
The term Oungan-Makout is also used to refer to a priest who has no
altar, and no following. He operates out of his makout, his straw
temple, no
tents are his only ritual paraphernalia.
satchel, whose.con- --- Page 209 ---
no casual conversation while it was
Alourdes to cut the cards. He
going on. Finally, he asked
with great care,
examined the six bottom ones
staring at them, folding and
grunting meaningfully, and nodding his head. unfolding them,
lent tangible drama to the scene. Each of
The candlelight
a miniature candle flame
Cesaire's eyes reflected
Kouzimn
as he locked them on
began to question her.
Alourdes and
The question-and-answer part of a
be a delicate diagnostic tool.
Vodou card reading can
changed before
Little specific information is exfrom the
readings begin. Taking his or her
cards, the reader asks various
inspiration
a description of the situation under
questions that lead to
saire might have asked: "Did
review. (For example, Ceyou have an
night? Someone told you not to
important dream last
The one for whom the
go on this trip. Is that right?")
scriptions and
reading is being done accepts some derejects others. The card reader then
path indicated by the responses and,
follows the
deeper and deeper levels,
working on the issue at
Working in this
poses new diagnoses, and SO on.
manner, both parties can
truths.
discover surprising
Given Cesaire's elaborate
pointment when his
scene-setting, it was a great disaptrian. "What did
questions turned out to be quite pedeslive?" "Who is that you white say your name was?" "Where do you
exchange, Alourdes
person with you?" In the midst of this
assumed the
was outwardly respectful with Cesaire. She
position of the junior member of the
she was; but she also lied, telling Cesaire
family, which
not serve the spirits but also that
not only that she did
Whenhe had
my name was Carmen.
gathered all theinformation he
took a big slug of rum and announced
wanted, Cesaire
mony that the spirits saw no
without further cereAlourdes turned to
problem with our proposed
me and whispered in English that trip.
thought Cesaire was "full of shit." This
she
language for Alourdes.
was uncharacteristic
Although I tended to agree with
suspected we had reached our conclusions for
her, I
sons. After wheedling two dollars out of her for the different card reaing, Cesaire had then asked for an additional ten
readus to Jean Rabel. The attempt to charge for
to accompany
stood to be family business
something she underAs soon as we could
angered Alourdes.
circle, Alourdes and I headed gracefully excuse ourselves from the
for bed. As I walked away, Ce-
full of shit." This
she
language for Alourdes.
was uncharacteristic
Although I tended to agree with
suspected we had reached our conclusions for
her, I
sons. After wheedling two dollars out of her for the different card reaing, Cesaire had then asked for an additional ten
readus to Jean Rabel. The attempt to charge for
to accompany
stood to be family business
something she underAs soon as we could
angered Alourdes.
circle, Alourdes and I headed gracefully excuse ourselves from the
for bed. As I walked away, Ce- --- Page 210 ---
"Before
leave, I am going to do a treatsaire called after me:
you
At the urging of
ment for you-a thing! You know, magic!"
kon sèvi avèk bagay konn sa [I
Marie Thérèse, I responded: "M'pa
I1 The offer was probadon't getinvolved with that sort oft thingl.
titillate
a calculated attempt to
Kouzinn
bly more of Cesaire's bravado,
I held. Yet such
of Vodou he assumed
me with every stereotype
not have been a sham.
an offer, in another context, might
and
and
work with fèy (leaves),
Vodou priests
priestesses of Kouzen and Kouzinn Zaka,
herbal knowledge, the domain
Each
has a choice as
can be used to harm as well as heal.?
person
of the
this
and therein lies the morality
to how to use
power,
she has been told how to
matter. Alourdes, for example, says
from the comseveral simple and deadly poisons, one
prepare
leaf. "They told me how to make that
mon kowosôl (soursop)
attention. I
hear about it, and I
poison, but I don't pay no
just
"When
forget it.' 1 Her position is grounded in self-preservation: back!"
do bad to people, that return-right on your
you
is quite flexible. It is often used, for exThe term maji (magic) characterize the practices of an outample, by an in-group to
about the
ofthe ArPeople in Port-au-Prince talk
religion
group.
and
in one rural extended-family
tibonite Valley as maji,
people
of those
compound in the south describe the religious practices
people with whom they have a
in a neighboring compound,
the word is even
history of land disputes, as maji. Sometimes, the Petwo rites ala slang term for
used self-descriptively-as
between Christmas and
The period
most everyone practices.
Haiti.
New Year's is known as the season of maji throughout
Vodou ceremonies are rife with Petwo imagDuring this time,
of
and from the eighteenthery drawn from the days
slavery
French culture that dominated then. Most acknowledge
century
with these "magical" powers is somewhat dangerthat working
which persist in contemporary
ous, but ignoring such powers,
reinforces a point about con7The history of the word dechoukaj In the (uprooting) the term used to be common only in
structive and destructive medicine. referred to a means city, of collecting fey with roots still atVodou contexts, where it
control of the full power of the plant, but
tached. This method gave the be practitioner Coins had to be left at the spot from which the
it also required that a price paid. Claude Duvalier's departure, dechoukaj was the term
plant was removed. After Jean brutal
also costly) kind of "social weedHaitians adopted to describe a tracked (and down perhaps and murdered the worst of the Tonton
ing" in which bands of people Duvalier regime who had abused their power.
Makout and others in the
still atVodou contexts, where it
control of the full power of the plant, but
tached. This method gave the be practitioner Coins had to be left at the spot from which the
it also required that a price paid. Claude Duvalier's departure, dechoukaj was the term
plant was removed. After Jean brutal
also costly) kind of "social weedHaitians adopted to describe a tracked (and down perhaps and murdered the worst of the Tonton
ing" in which bands of people Duvalier regime who had abused their power.
Makout and others in the --- Page 211 ---
Haiti in new and subtler forms, would
of a risk.
appear to be even more
There is an important difference
monial maji and the kind of
between such public, cereThe latter takes place in the maji Cesaire seemed to offer me.
practitioner who "works with interaction between a client and a
Kouzinn
know how much of this
both hands." It is impossible to
ticed in Haiti, but it is much so-called black magic is actually pracmon understandings about it discussed, and some of the comWomen involved
are instructive.
cerned with love in magic are believed to be primarily conwhich
magic, an especially ambiguous moral realm
helping one person inevitably
in
will of another. Bokô
involves controlling the 71
usually understood to (professional be
magicians), however, are Io
that
men. One must have
provided by ancestral
Power
ndel
traditions in
beyond
kind of maji. By default,
order to practice this
Cey
vidual effort. The
building such power is largely an indi- Semi
SO are the risks; and potential rewards are thought to be great, but
with their spiritual groups are not prone to gamble in this way
well-being. Reaching for
means, to some extent, leaving the
magical power thus
spirits.
protective web of family and
Furthermore, the actual powers used in
not inherited family spirits but
this kind of maji are
points). One common
of pwen achte (purchased power
which a
type
pwven achte is a rock or bottle in
died
wandering soul is captured, the soul of
without family or proper burial.
someone who
rect the energy of souls back
Rites for the dead ditoward the surviving
free-floating souls are up for grabs. They become family, but
troublesome, demanding, and in
minor spirits,
relationship with an inherited many ways powerful. Unlike a
has with his
spirit, the relationship a
power point is inflexible and
magician
fails to provide faithful and
unforgiving. When he
copious service, the
immediately and severely punitive, often
spirit becomes
est or most vulnerable member of the
targeting the youngusually intensely enmeshed in
bokô's family. Women are
take these risks.
family and thus less likely to
The power of the Tonton Makout is like that
and, for similar reasons, there
of the magician,
dame Max, head of the Makout are few female Makout. (Main
ous exception to this rule.) Makout Port-au-Prince, was a notorities but in political networks
poweris not rooted in blood
that override and often conflict
immediately and severely punitive, often
spirit becomes
est or most vulnerable member of the
targeting the youngusually intensely enmeshed in
bokô's family. Women are
take these risks.
family and thus less likely to
The power of the Tonton Makout is like that
and, for similar reasons, there
of the magician,
dame Max, head of the Makout are few female Makout. (Main
ous exception to this rule.) Makout Port-au-Prince, was a notorities but in political networks
poweris not rooted in blood
that override and often conflict --- Page 212 ---
Makout borrow the image
with family loyalties and obligations. filter out and exaggerate the
of a familial Vodou spirit, but they
The Makout
forms of Kouzen Zaka's potency.
most alienating
exercising power over their
patriarchs
are extended-family
within it for the good
Kouzimn
group, rather than seeking empowerment the boko, the average Tonton
of the whole community. Like
stuck in the
Makout, with a swaggering walk and a gun casually the
trousers, has purchased his prestige on
open
front of denim
bidder.
market and sells his talents to the highest
Fecding the Family Spirits
that took place the following mornThe gentle little ceremony
values that
the family land in Gros Morne represented
ing on
of those of the bôko and the Tonton Makout.
were the opposite
in full swing in Gros Morne. Cocks
By six o'clock, the day was
and farmers on the way to their
were crowing, donkeys braying,
where neither the sun's
fields. Inside Marie Thérèse's ti-kay,
on
Alourdes was squatting
heat nori its light had yet penetrated, crude cotton wicks in as many
the floor arranging twenty-one each she
a little of the
fragments of coconut shell. Into
poured
the wick.
oil called maskriti and then lighted
thick, dark yellow
mixed
of grilled corn, popcorn,
Next she put together a
plate
candies, and one-inch
fragments of cookies and cassava bread, of the
she placed a
of a white candle. On the top
pile
segments
this manje-sek (a dry meal, one
raw egg. Alourdes was preparing been
for the spirits who
for which no animal blood had
shed)
who had been
reside on her family land. She turned to Cesaire, little
before dawn, and asked him to "say a
prayer
there since
for us."
bowl of
water, dipped in a few basil
Cesaire picked up a
holy
know this little
and
the offerings. "God, you
leaves,
baptized
know what mother she
11 he began awkwardly. "You
one :
of Philomise . . the
has. This is Alourdes . . . the daughter has come to visit." 11
granddaughter of Marie Noelsine :
who
of the
before had become the family priest,
The magician
night
that, except for the setting,
uttering a halting but sincere prayer
sounded quite Protestant.
crumbs from the manje-sèk were
In a large white metal cup,
Alourdes, and Mamixed with molasses-water, and Cesaire, four directions of the
dame Albert took turns orienting it to the
"You
one :
of Philomise . . the
has. This is Alourdes . . . the daughter has come to visit." 11
granddaughter of Marie Noelsine :
who
of the
before had become the family priest,
The magician
night
that, except for the setting,
uttering a halting but sincere prayer
sounded quite Protestant.
crumbs from the manje-sèk were
In a large white metal cup,
Alourdes, and Mamixed with molasses-water, and Cesaire, four directions of the
dame Albert took turns orienting it to the --- Page 213 ---
sacred crossroads. Then the
tree by the front gate. This plate was carried out to a
which the Vodou
was Legba's repozwva, the tree calabash
Libations
guardian of
within
were poured at the doorways and entrances
was broken
foot of the
lodged.
coconut-shell among its tangled roots, calabash, and the egg
For
lamp was already
near the spot where a
Kouzinn
the first time in a
burning.
awakened La and called to the decade, Alourdes's family
gan to pray at the
table, She and her sister spirits were
words barely
same time, their lips
Chantal betheir faces. audible, Before long, tears moving rapidly, their
Alourdes rarely
were
me
a quick stab of
cries, and her tears on coursing this down
insight into the depth of
day gave
Eventually, we turned from
her family
with offerings, made
Legba's calabash tree
feeling.
pausing just inside our way to the lakou
and, laden
that
the cactus fence
behind the house,
was also a Legba
at a small bnondôm, a tree
honor a spirit called repozwa. Next we stopped at the well
candle stub were
Danzweyzo. A coconut-shell
to
and a bottle of placed in crevices in the inner wall lamp and a
little one!" Cesaire banana soda emptied into its
of the well
in this ritual. Alourdes urged, obviously enjoying depths. his
"Speak,
perched on the edge of the paternal role
well and in
Ancestral offerings at the well on Alourdes's
family's land. Gros Morne, Haiti, 1980.
, a tree
honor a spirit called repozwa. Next we stopped at the well
candle stub were
Danzweyzo. A coconut-shell
to
and a bottle of placed in crevices in the inner wall lamp and a
little one!" Cesaire banana soda emptied into its
of the well
in this ritual. Alourdes urged, obviously enjoying depths. his
"Speak,
perched on the edge of the paternal role
well and in
Ancestral offerings at the well on Alourdes's
family's land. Gros Morne, Haiti, 1980. --- Page 214 ---
with the ancestors for the
simple and direct language pleaded immediate family. Nearby, at
well-being of each member of her
the foot of a small sitwon (a type of citrus tree), we left offerings
associated with Simbi, the mercurial
for Sen Jan Batist, a spirit
Macena's
Kouzinn
water-dwelling crab who once took over Alphonse tobacco
down the well to retrieve a lost
body and went scuttling
pouch.
then moved to the back of the property,
The whole group
of about two hundred feet to
where there was a sudden drop
to the precipice
the rushing Grande Rivière du Nord. Clinging
trees bursting with dark red, umbrella-shaped
were two sabliye
dedicated to Metrès Manbo,
medicinal fruits. These trees were
whale) and
said to "serve with" Labalenn (the
a priestess spirit
Moving back toward the house, we
Lasyrenn (the mermaid). each of three trees standing in a row. The
performed rituals at
Labalenn. The middle one was
first was a banana, dedicated to
Although no one had
a tall labapen (breadfruit), Ezili's repozwa.
serpent
seen it for a very long time, I was told that a two-headed for Lalived in the top of this tree. The last was a small mango and KouWe moved on to a syrol tree, home for Kouzen
syrenn.
mango that dominated the lakou.
zinn Zaka, and to an enormous
As we made a
In this simple ritual, space and time coincided.
around Alourdes's family land, we were rehearsing
wide loop
The rites at each repozwa quickened the
her ancestral history.
the lva who shaped their
spirits of the ancestors by nourishing
of SO many
characters and guided their lives. The presence
female spirits among those we fed was no accident, given
strong
at the center of Alourdes's family stories. The
the strong women
was the home of a
queen of all the repozwa, the giant mango,
of ChilVodou spirit aptly named Manman Zenfan (Mother
over all the other trees in the lakou, she seemed
dren). Towering
arms all the strong
about to gather up in her wide-reaching
and humans, all
women in Alourdes's extended family, spirits
careof them good Madan Sara and, as a result, all indefatigable
takers and consummate survival artists.
at a
Before we left the yard, brief rites were also performed Sen
thick-skinned mango), the repozwa for both
mango gwo po (a
sacred twins). Our last stops were
Jak Majè and the Marasa (the
dedicated to
at an almond tree for Lenglessou and an orange
Agàou. --- Page 215 ---
Alourdes at fourteen, in
For-au-Prince, Haiti, 1946.
Photographer unknown.
Alphonse
On the back afeper.Champagne is written
"To Alourdes
in French:
Champagne
my daughter, this 20 Sept.
a photoat 32 years, A. Cham- 1970,
pagne. " Most likely shot in a
photographic studio. --- Page 216 ---
mother, Alourdes on the day she left for the
who were Philomise, and her two sons, United States, with her
August to stay in Haiti until their Jean-Pierre and William,
1963. Photographer unknown. mother got settled,
Alourdes with her two older
first brothers and her children. The
photo taken after the
was reunited in the United family
States. Brooklyn, 1967.
hired a professional They
pher, whose
photograto come to their name is unknown,
this picture. home to make
shot in a
photographic studio. --- Page 216 ---
mother, Alourdes on the day she left for the
who were Philomise, and her two sons, United States, with her
August to stay in Haiti until their Jean-Pierre and William,
1963. Photographer unknown. mother got settled,
Alourdes with her two older
first brothers and her children. The
photo taken after the
was reunited in the United family
States. Brooklyn, 1967.
hired a professional They
pher, whose
photograto come to their name is unknown,
this picture. home to make --- Page 217 ---
A classic First Communion
of Mimose, shot in a
photograph
studio. On the back, photographic in ragged
Mimose writes of her
French,
for her Aunt Alourdes. "deepaffection"
Haiti, 12 July 1966. Port-au-Prince,
Maggie, Alourdes's
daughter, at age three.
Fort-au-Prince, Haiti, C. 1955.
Photographer unknown. --- Page 218 --- Alourdes Fort Greene, possessed by Ogou Badagri, July
McCarthy Brown. Brooklyn. Photograph by Karen 1978.
Alourdes possessed by.
temple, August 1989. Azaka, in her mother's
Photograph by Karen Port-au-Prince McCarthy Haiti,
Brown. --- Page 219 ---
by Danbala, in her mother's
Alourdes possessed Haiti, August 1989.
possessed by Ezili Dantô, in her August
temple. Port-au-Prince Karen McCarthy Brown.
Alourdes
Port-au-Prince, Haiti,
Photograph by
mother'st temple, by Karen McCarthy Brown.
1989. Photograph --- Page 220 ---
%
ro
Karen McCarthy
Brown greets the Gede
who fill the streets and
cemeteries on All Soul's
Day. November 1981.
Photographer
unknown.
Alourdes points
out Papa Gede's altar
toMaggie's son
Michael. Fort Greene,
Brooklyn, August, 1979.
Photograph by Karen
McCarthy Brown.
Alourdes and her
Rada Altars. Flatbush,
Brooklyn. April 1994
Photograph by
Martha Cooper. --- Page 221 ---
in their living room Flatbush, Brooklyn,
Alourdes and Maggie by Donald Cosentino.
January 2000. Photograph
Alourdes reads cards for a
client of her healing practice.
Fort Greene, Brooklyn, Photograph' by
August 1979. Brown.
Karen McCarthy --- Page 222 ---
Lola, and Maggie meet with Daagbo
known primarily as Mama Vodun in Benin. " Ouidah, People's
Alourdes, by now whom some call "The Pope of
Brown.
Hounnon, a priest
Photograph by Karen McCarthy
Republic of Benin, February 1993.
Statue of a bound female slave, part end
of the slave monument at the
of Route del'Esclace. Ouidah,
People's Republic of Benin,
February 1993- Photograph by
Karen McCarthy Brown.
. Brown.
Karen McCarthy --- Page 222 ---
Lola, and Maggie meet with Daagbo
known primarily as Mama Vodun in Benin. " Ouidah, People's
Alourdes, by now whom some call "The Pope of
Brown.
Hounnon, a priest
Photograph by Karen McCarthy
Republic of Benin, February 1993.
Statue of a bound female slave, part end
of the slave monument at the
of Route del'Esclace. Ouidah,
People's Republic of Benin,
February 1993- Photograph by
Karen McCarthy Brown. --- Page 223 ---
-
-
altar, Flatbush, Brooklyn, April 1994
Alourdes's Petwo Martha Cooper.
Photograph by
-
Portrait of Alourdes, Photograph
September 1979. Brown.
by Karen McCarthy --- Page 224 ---
Portrait of Mama Lola,
at her home in Flatbush,
Brooklyn, September 1998.
Photograph by Karen
McCarthy Brown
Cosentino at New Year's. Flatbush,
Family portrait with Donald Photograph by Karen McCarthy Brown
Brooklyn, January 2000. --- Page 225 ---
Going to Jean Rabel
By mid-morning of the same
Marie Thérèse and the
day, we were off to Jean Rabel.
door, Cesaire and his young man who had hung her new
Tonton
wife, and the distant cousin nicknamed
Kouzinn
joined our traveling party,
our
teen. On the way to Port-de-Paix, bringing
number to thirtrip, the river cut deep into the
a relatively easy four-hour
one spectacular vista afteranother. mountain on our left, providing
Wel bounced
ern side of the mountain
down the northtowns-Basin
through tobacco fields and small
Bleu, Champagne,
little wooden houses
Chansolm-with picturesque
small cinema in
painted in primary colors. There was a
one town and an army
in
none of the towns was either sizable
post
another, but
Our arrival in Port-de-Paix
or prosperous.
journey. Starting there,
marked the turning point of our
could not find
everything began to go wrong. First, we
gasoline. Repeated consultations with
brought us no closer to locating fuel. Our crew sat passersby
parked van for two hours, during the hottest
inside the
noisily arguing about whether the
part of the day,
same as the gazoyl The Gamble gaz sold in the shops was the
used. This inconclusive debate
quickly got mixed up with another, pointless one:
the wrong route? Should we have backtracked Had we taken
taken the coast road, where
to Gonaïves and
We
gas is always available?
were all hot and tired. Alourdes, who had talked
taking the shorter route through
us into
turn around and go back to Gros Morne. Port-de-Paix, She now wanted to
ject with me: "Jean Rabel is far, far
broached the subThe chauffeur can't
away. Too many problem!
get no gas. So what you say, Karen?"
Because I very much wanted to get to Jean Rabel and
certain how real the impediments were, I decided
was unself. "Malheureusement, 11 I said to the driver,
to assert myHaitians tend to throw a little French into their remembering that
they want to appear authoritative, "I can't
Creole when
here all day in the sun. I hired you to take pay you for sitting
I can't pay you for what you did not do. 11 I us had to Jean Rabel, and
my power. In five minutes, gas appeared, and underestimated we were
way to Jean Rabel. From that point on, the driver
on our
a reckless determination that
persisted with
It was four o'clock in the afternoon frightened us all.
when we left Port-de-Paix
tend to throw a little French into their remembering that
they want to appear authoritative, "I can't
Creole when
here all day in the sun. I hired you to take pay you for sitting
I can't pay you for what you did not do. 11 I us had to Jean Rabel, and
my power. In five minutes, gas appeared, and underestimated we were
way to Jean Rabel. From that point on, the driver
on our
a reckless determination that
persisted with
It was four o'clock in the afternoon frightened us all.
when we left Port-de-Paix --- Page 226 ---
and headed west. A half hour later, a farmer on the road said
we could reach Jean Rabel by six o'clock. But another
thirty minutes further down the road, said it would be person,
adding comfortingly that we could
seven,
Kouzinn
doit "fasil, fasil [easy,
We probably could have if we had been on
easy]."
muleback, as he was.
Traveling in The Gamble was another matter.
The mountains flattened out as lush, green tobacco fields
mixed with stands of bwapen, the slender, resinous pine trees
grown for kindling. Banana plantations began to appear, sending out thick umbrella leaves to brush along the sides and
of
The Gamble. For two hours, we jounced
top
along a rutted track
through tunnels of green and patches of
without
ing another vehicle or even a peasant farmer. sunlight
seelight of late
When, in the long
afternoon, we broke through the last of the banana
groves onto a wide, dry plain, anxiety had reached fever
The driver stopped the bus. From a flurry of talk, pitch.
somehow emerged. Most of us
a plan
thought we stood a
better chance of eating and sleeping that
if
slightly
The driver threw
night we pushed on.
the van into gear. The road stretched in front
of us, little more than a ribbon of jagged rocks headed toward
the horizon. Because the plain was both flat and
we decided to "baptize" our own road and took a wide dry, loop to the
left, raising a great cloud of dust.
A consensus was growing that this rapidly
calamwas
ity
all my fault. People were "sending the developing
me thick and fast. One favored method
point" around
was to rehearse endlessly my conversation with the driver in Port-de-Paix, how I
had insisted on continuing and threatened to cut off his
Alourdes had her own way of making me feel
money. I
know when I was in New York this
responsible: "If
trip going to be like
never come. No, not me! Not for all the
this, I
me. My life worth more than that! I have four money anybody give
children.
love me. What they going to do without me? When They all
Jean Rabel, what we going to do? After
we get to
walk long,
we get there, we got to
long way up the mountain. We not even know if we
going to find nobody. It going to be dark. They
assassins
the road. Oh! Oh! Ohhhhh! I'm
got
on
hungry, and there is
to eat."
nothing
In the meantime, Alourdes was shoving bread with
preserves into her mouth, her manbo friend Madame grapefruit
had her hand deep in the candy bag, and Marie Thérèse Rigaud
and
we going to do? After
we get to
walk long,
we get there, we got to
long way up the mountain. We not even know if we
going to find nobody. It going to be dark. They
assassins
the road. Oh! Oh! Ohhhhh! I'm
got
on
hungry, and there is
to eat."
nothing
In the meantime, Alourdes was shoving bread with
preserves into her mouth, her manbo friend Madame grapefruit
had her hand deep in the candy bag, and Marie Thérèse Rigaud
and --- Page 227 ---
Alphonse were chewing sugarcane. No one offered
"God save us!" I thought, unsure whether
me a thing.
simply a statement of
this was a prayer or
of the packs I always exasperation. I took a cigarette from one
in years.
carry in Haiti and lit up for the first time
We came over the top of a mountain
Kouzinn
exterior peace and serenity-the
just as the sun set. Amid
the warm gold of the
soft green of the mountains,
already visiblesetting sun, the moon and the
-our garishly painted bus
evening star
interior
bobbled
lights on, its radio blaring, and all
along with its
at once, except the one
its passengers
hunched in a corner
talking
quickly, and the feeble lights of The Gamble smoking. Night fell
anxiety as we hurtled forward
did little to dispel
tangible.
into a darkness SO thick it seemed
Shortly after ten o'clock, we entered a
ret. A young girl, the only
tiny town called Cabatold us that Jean Rabel
person on its deserted main street,
sulted later showed
was the very next town. (A map conde-Paix
Cabaret only about
and Jean Rabel;
halfway between Port-
"Pa lwen, pa lwen
mercifully, we did not know that
[Not far, not far], 11 the
then.)
mile out of Cabaret, we came to
girl told us. About a
With the
a river some twenty yards wide.
engineracing and The Gamble
tail of water behind
throwing a great roosterstreams that
us, we had forded a dozen such rivers
day, half of them larger than
and
we stuck fast in the mud.
this. But in this one,
The driver could do nothing.
the bus sent us further into the Gunning the engine and rocking
yards in front of us, and
muck. The shore was only a few
get out of the bus.
SO it was decided that everyone should
Following the faint
we jumped from rock to rock
path of the headlights,
slogged
where we could and otherwise
crisis. through water and viscous mud. The. air was thick
People gathered on the shore in
with
what we could do. I stood alone,
tight knots, discussing
and rationalizing it by
smoking my third cigarette
effective mosquito
concluding that cigarette smoke was an
repellant.
After a long time, a local farmer
He had a quick conversation
emerged from the darkness.
with the driver and
returning in less than an hour with half a dozen disappeared,
machetes. Small trees were felled and
men carrying
banana leaves, and large rocks
stray bits of wood, dry
table, and expendable
collected. Everything solid,
was placed under the bus's rear tires. por- Fi-
. I stood alone,
tight knots, discussing
and rationalizing it by
smoking my third cigarette
effective mosquito
concluding that cigarette smoke was an
repellant.
After a long time, a local farmer
He had a quick conversation
emerged from the darkness.
with the driver and
returning in less than an hour with half a dozen disappeared,
machetes. Small trees were felled and
men carrying
banana leaves, and large rocks
stray bits of wood, dry
table, and expendable
collected. Everything solid,
was placed under the bus's rear tires. por- Fi- --- Page 228 ---
The Gamble lurched free
nally, with a great slurp and a gurgle, back to the far bank. It
of the mud hole and, in reverse, shot
over to the
too dark and the water too deep for us to cross
was
and
the driver
bus. So, amid cries of concern
encouragement, put The
into the stream-and
Kouzinn
gunned the engine, charged mud hole. No one said a word as the
Gamble back into the same
of wood and rocks. This
local farmers looked for new supplies
board.
time, the bus was retrieved with all of us safely on
sardine
After two hours of fitful sleep wedged like a muddy
of the seats of the bus, which the driver had parked on
into one
Cabaret, I awoke with the taste of cigarettes in
the main street of
face, and the vision of a
my mouth, the feel of sun on my
the window.
toothless farmer staring at me through
grizzled,
and the trip back to Gros Morne was a
We were all exhausted,
Alourdes said nothing, but I could
somber, mostly silent affair.
I am content to treat
tell she was still angry with me. Usually
wishes, and let
Vodou "mother," defer to her
Alourdes as my
we have trouble keeping our
her be in charge. But sometimes
had shown. I had
roles straight, as the scene in Port-de-Paix
by reconstructed roles into confusion
thrown our carefully driver that I was the one paying his salary. After
minding the Alourdes nor I knew how to act.
that, neither
Alourdes alternated between ignoring
Back in Port-au-Prince, situations to assert her authority over me.
me and looking for
for me to fetch
She became especially inventive at finding things
whenever people were around to bear witness. Things
and carry
the third
back at her sister's home in
came to a head on
day
in Madame Albert's
Bizoton. About a dozen of us were sitting brazier used to cook
yard around the dying embers of a charcoal been
as if I T
dinner. Alourdes, who had
acting
that evening's
and without even looking at me:
were not present, said abruptly
"Karen, I need my purse. Go get it for me."
that
I was SO instantly beside myself
my
Something snapped.
and
down. "Sa se pa bourik ou
Creole came out backward
upside
and then strode
m'ye (That is not your donkey I am]!"Isnarled field to pace, stare
away from the circle of light out into a nearby
of
life. In
at the star-filled sky, and contemplate the muddle my now
I could hear animated conversation. Every
the distance,
se pa bourik ou m'yel"-
and then, a clear phrase emerged-"Sa When I returned to the
and everyone laughed uproariously.
sore and vulnerable,
group a half hour later, I was still feeling
ou
Creole came out backward
upside
and then strode
m'ye (That is not your donkey I am]!"Isnarled field to pace, stare
away from the circle of light out into a nearby
of
life. In
at the star-filled sky, and contemplate the muddle my now
I could hear animated conversation. Every
the distance,
se pa bourik ou m'yel"-
and then, a clear phrase emerged-"Sa When I returned to the
and everyone laughed uproariously.
sore and vulnerable,
group a half hour later, I was still feeling --- Page 229 ---
but Madame Albert was merciless. She wanted to demonstrate
her imitation of me, complete with garbled Creole, flat American accent, and dramatic exit. I had to admit she was good. Although it took some time, she eventually had me laughing too.
Kouzinn
That night Alourdes and I exchanged apologies. "You my
daughter," she said, settling all questions about roles. And then
she added, "You know I love you. 11 "I love you, too, 11 I replied,
Life in
Haiti is a
and we both began to laugh.
poverty-stricken
tinderbox of emotion. Each day is stressful, and the stakes are
high. Haitians, accustomed to living on the edge, know that husurvival skill.
loves a
and a
mor
is an important
Everyone
joke,
good one spreads like a brush fire. Two days later, as I walked
through the main market in Port-au-Prince, a dozen miles from
the town of Bizoton, I heard one of the machann whisper: 11 Sa se
pa bourik ou m'ye. 11
FEEDING THE POOR
Just before we left Haiti, on a Friday, the day of the week dedicated to the spirits of the dead, Alourdes staged a manje pôo
(a ritual feeding of the poor). Alourdes believed that this ceremony, intended to bring blessing to her entire extended family,
overdue. Like the rites in Gros Morne, this ritual obliwas long
virtue of her
and ecogation had fallen to Alourdes by
spiritual
nomic ascendancy in the family.
Early in the morning, at the main gate to the big cemetery in
the center of Port-au-Prince, Alourdes, her boyfriend Justin,
and I met the two women who had been hired to help with the
ritual. We converged under a wide archway bearing a legend in
eloquent French (which could be read by 10 percent of the population at most) stating that we were all dust and would return to
dust. One assistant carried a large bucket of coffee and another
of white bread, cassava bread, and small hunks of the
a basket
and bathing.
strong yellow soap Haitians use for both laundry
Before entering the cemetery, we stopped to consult with the
prètsavann who congregate around the main entrance to the cemetery, along with the limbless, eyeless beggars and the tattered
machann selling flowers. Prètsavann specialize in saying Catholic
in French and Latin. One of them, instantly reading the
prayers
Alourdes. "A beautiful little
idiom of the group, approached
large bucket of coffee and another
of white bread, cassava bread, and small hunks of the
a basket
and bathing.
strong yellow soap Haitians use for both laundry
Before entering the cemetery, we stopped to consult with the
prètsavann who congregate around the main entrance to the cemetery, along with the limbless, eyeless beggars and the tattered
machann selling flowers. Prètsavann specialize in saying Catholic
in French and Latin. One of them, instantly reading the
prayers
Alourdes. "A beautiful little
idiom of the group, approached --- Page 230 ---
prayer for the poor?" he queried in overarticulated French.
Alourdes hired him on the spot for three dollars. Dressed in her
best New York City clothes, with her hair coiffed and
freshly applied, Alourdes led the
makeup
Kouzinn
way into the vast city of the
dead, with the rest of us following like baby ducks in a row.
Like the city itself, the cemetery of Port-au-Prince is an urban
sprawl ordered by a logic of class and privilege. Toward the
edges of the cemetery, where we were heading, were densely
packed neighborhoods of simple above-ground tombs made of
concrete and painted in pastel colors, many bearing wreaths of
garish metal flowers. Our first stop, in a 'middle-class"
borhood in the northwestern corner of the
neighkavo (grave) of Alourdes's
cemetery, was at the
mother, Philomise Macena. Alourdes
is very proud of this family tomb, which can accommodate
coffins. She had it built shortly after her mother's death in four
The day after we arrived in Haiti, Alourdes and I had visited 1973. the
cemetery to tend Philo's tomb and perform more elaborate rites
there, SO this stop was perfunctory. The prètsavann
French and Latin and sprinkled the tomb with
prayed in
our simple ritual ended with a Catholic
holy water, and
Vodou
hymn often heard in
temples. Its concluding line pleads with the saints
"bless the suffering poor.'
to
Then we moved to the kwa Baron, the large white CroSs in
center of the cemetery dedicated to Baron Samdi, the
the
the cemetery and the head of all the Gede (spirits of the keeper of
Libations of coffee and rum were poured at the base dead). of the
cross, and small bits of bread and cassava were scattered
While Alourdes's boyfriend performed these rituals, she there. stood
in the shadow cast by the large, white, tile-covered Duvalier
family tomb and handed out bread, coffee, soap, and small
change to the beggars who were gradually
her. Along with these small
collecting around
later that afternoon
gifts came an invitation to a feast
at her sister's home. Alourdes told the
gars how they could find the taptap she had hired to
begto Bizoton. After arranging with the
bring them
tional two
prètsavann, for an addidollars, to come on the same bus to bless the
pov, our group headed back toward the main cemetery manje
Several hours later when we arrived in Bizoton, gate.
tions for the manje poo, which had been
preparaunder Madame Albert's
going on all morning
dame Albert's
direction, were almost complete. Mahome was one of eight small cinderblock houses
gars how they could find the taptap she had hired to
begto Bizoton. After arranging with the
bring them
tional two
prètsavann, for an addidollars, to come on the same bus to bless the
pov, our group headed back toward the main cemetery manje
Several hours later when we arrived in Bizoton, gate.
tions for the manje poo, which had been
preparaunder Madame Albert's
going on all morning
dame Albert's
direction, were almost complete. Mahome was one of eight small cinderblock houses --- Page 231 ---
gathered around a yard, about half of which was
thatched roof open on all sides. The
covered by a
was covered with
ground under this tonnèl
rice with black huge containers of food: rice with red beans,
beans, cornmeal with beans,
mush, white rice, red bean sauce, militon
plain cornmeal
squash) mixed with
(a sweet, small green
Kouzinn
made from
vegetables and bits of beef, a white
bread and herring, a plate of boiled
soup
plantains, a mixture of chicken with okra and
potatoes and
and chaka, the favored dish of
black mushrooms,
Kouzen and
center was a huge pot of
Kouzinn Zaka. In the
leaves from the sweet
pumpkin soup with noodles. Seven
front of the food. Each orange tree in the yard lay in a row in
There
held a cotton wick and a
was also a bottle of holy water and a bunch ofi dollop of oil.
A few of the destitute, drawn by the
basil leaves.
ready arrived.
rumor of food, had aland sat
They were careful to stay out of the ritual arena
quietly on the dusty knoll just behind the
man was stretched out on his back,
lakou. One
child of two or three, bloated
asleep in the hot sun. A
by hunger, also
resting on the man's knee. A
slept, his head
posed, hunkered down
woman in rags, her left breast exlittle
and smoked. A terribly
boy sat beside her on the
thin, frantic
lect his food. He teased her
paint can he had brought to coland poking her. Then his constantly, face
grabbing at her cigarette
laughter, and he threw
suddenly contorted in silent
his face. "Look
up arms thin as broomstraws to cover
at the good little poor people," Alourdes
warmly. "They stay outside, on the hill."
said
The prètsavann began by sprinkling holy water
Then he prayed. "Voici ce
on the food.
moun, a Creole term inserted grand moun .
he began. (Gran
into his French
this context, both to an adult and
prayer, referred, in
this important
an important person.) "See
another
person, Alourdes, who came here today from
country to make this generous feast, SO she and
ily might be blessed. 11 Alourdes
her famchanged into
was in her element. She had
a flowing orange caftan and bound
a colorful print scarf. She stood in the
her hair in
of her bounty,
midst of the evidence
singing, in her strong and
same hymn we had sung at the
beautiful voice, the
cemetery: "Bless the
poor.
suffering
The bus arrived, bringing the number of the
forty. Alourdes, Madame
poor close to
Albert, and Madame
among them, collecting their food containers. Rigaud moved
Plastic bowls,
her famchanged into
was in her element. She had
a flowing orange caftan and bound
a colorful print scarf. She stood in the
her hair in
of her bounty,
midst of the evidence
singing, in her strong and
same hymn we had sung at the
beautiful voice, the
cemetery: "Bless the
poor.
suffering
The bus arrived, bringing the number of the
forty. Alourdes, Madame
poor close to
Albert, and Madame
among them, collecting their food containers. Rigaud moved
Plastic bowls, --- Page 232 ---
Kouzinn
Bizoton, Children of the poor eating during
outside Forb-au-fvrince, Haiti, the opening rituals of Alourdes's
1980.
manje pon.
motor-oil cans, and calabash
nèl. Then the children of
shells were placed
vulnerability
the poor, a
beneath the tonto sit under put them at the center group whose double social
the tonnèl
of this ritual,
tions of water,
while songs were
were invited
trance to
rum, and
sung for Legba and
the lakou. A pumpkin soup were
libawas laid in front of
large banana leaf,
poured at the enpot in which
the children. A
wiped clean of
the various dishes dollop of food, taken dust,
placed before each child.
had been mixed
from a
comfortable with their The beggars' children together, was
dly limbs, and fearful role, They were all swollen were cearly unious to find some
eyes that darted
bellies, spinchildren
clue as to how
around the crowd,
were finally
they should act.
anxmade the food
given the signal to eat,
When the
formal part of disappear into
quick, dirty
the ritual was hungry mouths in
fingers
Amid confusion
over.
seconds. The
food were then
and good humor,
each container, passed out to all the poor. generous amounts of
and a bit of
Soup was poured into
everything else was piled
on top.
, They were all swollen were cearly unious to find some
eyes that darted
bellies, spinchildren
clue as to how
around the crowd,
were finally
they should act.
anxmade the food
given the signal to eat,
When the
formal part of disappear into
quick, dirty
the ritual was hungry mouths in
fingers
Amid confusion
over.
seconds. The
food were then
and good humor,
each container, passed out to all the poor. generous amounts of
and a bit of
Soup was poured into
everything else was piled
on top. --- Page 233 ---
Alourdes's assistants carried the food to the
continued to keep their distance. After
poor people, who
tobacco and rum were
everyone had eaten,
distributed, along with small
Everyone was feeling good when the taptap driver
change.
plaining that after this job he would have to wash arrived, comrid of the smell. Alourdes
his bus to get
Kouzinn
ners: "You
reprimanded him for his bad mansay thing like that, you
people.' 11 And then she
going to hurt those poor
the job.
bargained him down to eight dollars for
Just before the poor people left, all of them came
tonnèl for the first and only time.
under the
hands in a basin of water to which They dipped their greasy
as basil, twoapawôl, and
rum had been added, as well
kapab leaves. Then they clustered
Alourdes and eagerly wiped their hands
around
arms, and clothing. As they climbed
on her face, head,
ing broadly and
onto the bus, she was smilwaving good-bye, her face
wet and wrinkled. Thus was the
dripping, her gown
blessing only the
can
passed on to Alourdes and her family. When the poor
give
corded this special power to the poor, they
spirits aca ticket to the dance of social
placed in their hands
logic of Vodou, only beggars reciprocity. By the inversionary
if they had family to cushion (those who would not be beggars
stave off misfortune for
their suffering and bad luck) can
intact families.
When the crowd was gone, a small plate of leftover food
prepared, covered, and set aside. Later it would be taken to was
cemetery and placed at the foot of the Baron Cross.
the
was mellow and
Alourdes
expansive as she sat
the
the manje pôv and passed out
among
remnants of
helped her and to
gourd notes to those who had
family members who had
problems. To Mimose, Marie Carmelle's
special money
youngest of Madame Albert's
sister and the second
lars for a
children, went nearly twenty dolprescription for her sick child, Manouchka.
dered, as Alourdes handed Mimose the
I wonof the time she sat in a dark house with her money, if she thought
arms, unable to afford the medicine
feverish child in her
that child SO badly needed. --- Page 234 --- --- Page 235 ---
-
MCHED ELLL
a :E 2 - a
AUNRENSEREL
CHAPTER SEVEN --- Page 236 ---
Dreams ano Promises
-
Rapelle's
hand
Vement
fumbled at the top button of his starched white shirt, right while his
left reached for the door of Pharmacie Bouc. He had thought the
work day would never end, the time would never come for the
pharmacy to close. Now he could barely keep from running. Rapelle, a handsome man in his mid-thirties, quickly settled
into a long, loping stride through the crowded streets of Portau-Prince. Moving with the intensity and agility of a soccer
player, he dodged black-suited businessmen and crisp khaki
soldiers. He gave wide berth to elegant light-skinned women as
well as to dark men, all sweat and sinew, straining
against rumbling two-wheeled carts heavy with charcoal and sugarcane. Once free of the crowd, Rapelle moved in a straight line
through the park beside the massive National Palace, fiercely
white in the late afternoon sun. In a few minutes, he reached
the maze ofnarrow, shadowed streets and closely packed houses
behind the Old Cathedral.
the intensity and agility of a soccer
player, he dodged black-suited businessmen and crisp khaki
soldiers. He gave wide berth to elegant light-skinned women as
well as to dark men, all sweat and sinew, straining
against rumbling two-wheeled carts heavy with charcoal and sugarcane. Once free of the crowd, Rapelle moved in a straight line
through the park beside the massive National Palace, fiercely
white in the late afternoon sun. In a few minutes, he reached
the maze ofnarrow, shadowed streets and closely packed houses
behind the Old Cathedral. But not until he got to the center of
the Sans Fil district, a small open plaza with an incongruous
little fountain, did he slow his pace. In fact, he stopped-F
did not know where to go. Three times he turned around Rapelle
slowly,
inspecting the spiderweb of streets and alleyways
from the fountain. He was trying to match reality with radiating directions he had been given in a dream, and at the moment the
dream was receding. Fearing that he looked foolish, Rapelle abruptly sat down on
the edge of the fountain and took out a cigarette. Before
name floated to the surface, and Rapelle held on toit. "Madame, long, a
good evening. Excuse me, please!" he called to a passerby. "Can you give me directions to the lakou people call Seven Stabs
Temple wall painting of Ezili Dantô (Mater Salvatoris). 1980. Port-au-Prince, Haiti,
--- Page 237 ---
of the Knife?" "Good evening, monsieur, 11 she replied. "Yes, I
can explain that for you. But you are almost there. Do you know
Rue Tiremasse?"
As instructed, Rapelle walked down Tiremasse for a distance Dreams and
and then turned left into an alley SO narrow he could touch the
Promises
buildings on either side without fully extending his arms. He
made his way with care, for a moment surrounded by barebottomed toddlers, here forced to straddle a gutter running
with raw sewage, there to duck beneath a clothesline hung with
long curls of drying orange and grapefruit peel. In front of each
doorway along the alley, Rapelle offered a polite "Good
open
evening. 11 At the end of the passageway, he found himself in a
lakou. Many of these homesteads, typical of the countryside, are
hidden amid Port-au-Prince's urban sprawl; and many of them,
like this one, have degenerated from well-kept extended-family
compounds to hodgepodge rental housing for the urban poor. Seven Stabs of the Knife consisted ofa about a dozen small wattleand-daub houses gathered around a broad, dusty yard with a
few stunted trees. "This is the place!" Rapelle realized with a
shock of recognition, and good manners temporarily left him. He seized the arm of a young boy and cried: "Do you know a
Philo? Does she live here? I need to talk to her!"
woman Philo lived called in a small room in the back of one of the houses in
Seven Stabs of the Knife. These were hard times, but of course
Philo did not speak of such things with Rapelle. Instead, she
offered her guest a glass of water and invited him to sit with her
in a corner of the yard. "Are you from the north?" Rapelle
asked her. "Yes," she replied, "I come from Jean Rabel, almost
the last point in the north, near Môle Saint Nicolas." "I want
to treat
son, 11 Rapelle said abruptly. He rushed on: "He
you
my
firstin his class. But now-oh! Now he has
was a good student,
have to
lost his head. He cannot even remember his name.
she
offered her guest a glass of water and invited him to sit with her
in a corner of the yard. "Are you from the north?" Rapelle
asked her. "Yes," she replied, "I come from Jean Rabel, almost
the last point in the north, near Môle Saint Nicolas." "I want
to treat
son, 11 Rapelle said abruptly. He rushed on: "He
you
my
firstin his class. But now-oh! Now he has
was a good student,
have to
lost his head. He cannot even remember his name. You
help me!"
"But I do not know how to treat him," Philo responded. "Why do you ask me to do this?" "I had a dream last night, an
important dream. The spirits told me to come to this place. They told me to ask for a woman named Philo, a woman from
the north."
11 Philo
"Then read the cards
"But I do not know : 1
began. for him-just read the cards," Rapelle urged. "How do you --- Page 238 ---
know I read cards?" asked Philo. "They told me in my dream,"
Rapelle replied. "You read cards, is that not true?"
to time, 11 Philo answered in a small voice and then "From stood time
signal their conversation was
up to
Dreams and
at an end. "I am
she said.
"I cannot
sorry,"
Promises
help you. "I will come back," declared a stubborn
Rapelle. "I know I have found the person to treat my son."
Clement Rapelle did come back. In fact, he visited often, and
in time the two became friends. Yet whenever he
his
son's illness, Philo's
brought up
response was the same: "It would make me
happy, Monsieur Rapelle, ifI could treat your child, but
do not know how. 11 One day, Rapelle would not let the truly I
drop: "But you treat other people. I have seen them when matter I
come to visit you. They sit in the courtyard, and
wait for
you." "That is true, 11 admitted Philo, "but I treat they them
when the spirits come in my dreams and tell me exactly what only to
do. They have told me nothing about your son's situation. 11
"They will!" Rapelle insisted. "I have confidence in you. I have
confidence in the spirits. 11
Graduaily Philo opened up to her new friend. "My life is
hard," Philo said to him one day. "Iam not at ease working with
the spirits. Itis difficult. Do you understand whatIam saying to
you?" "Yes," Rapelle replied, "I can understand that. Give me
the story, little Philo. Tell me how you started to treat
"It was a long time I lived in Santo Domingo," 11 Philo people."
"My three babies were made there. In Santo
there began.
a woman, a manbo. Madame Gilbert was her name, Domingo, and she hada was
very strong spirit named Ageou. He worked, worked, worked.
People came from all over the Dominicain to see Madame
and her Agèou. Any problem-any problem!
Gilbert
treat it.
Agèou could
"But Agèou became angry with Madame Gilbert. She was
you know . . a lesbian," Philo said, dropping her voice, :
she was always buying things for women. She
"and
bought them
clothes : . . perfume : : jewelry. All her money she
on
those women. She did not give Agèou even one candle! spent She
pected him to work, but she gave him nothing! There
exwas one
day Ageou came in Madame Gilbert's head, and he
SO
he made her cut off her finger. He did that!" Philo got mad,
for the first time since she began talking, she looked sighed, and,
the eye. "That woman-so stupid!"
Rapelle in
Philo's voice quickly fell back to its somber cadence, and her
clothes : . . perfume : : jewelry. All her money she
on
those women. She did not give Agèou even one candle! spent She
pected him to work, but she gave him nothing! There
exwas one
day Ageou came in Madame Gilbert's head, and he
SO
he made her cut off her finger. He did that!" Philo got mad,
for the first time since she began talking, she looked sighed, and,
the eye. "That woman-so stupid!"
Rapelle in
Philo's voice quickly fell back to its somber cadence, and her --- Page 239 ---
eyes locked on the cup of herbal tea she held in her
"Madame Gilbert changed
hand.
buying, buying for all those nothing. She went right on buying,
thing to Ageou. So he made women. She did not offer one little
her sick. She got
consumption. She started to vomit blood.
tuberculosis .
hospital. Finally she died-and
They took her to the Dreams and
Rapelle did not
do you know what happened?"
Promises
attempt to answer, "Not one
came to see her in the
of those women
Not one. 11
hospital. Not one came to her funeral.
Philo stretched in her chair like a cat
then swirled her finger
waking from a nap and
of leaves at the bottom absentmindedly of her tin
through the thick mass
she continued her
cup. After a lengthy silence,
story.
"One night after Madame Gilbert died, Ihad
I lighted the lamp. I went out to the
to make pee-pee.
inside, there it was! A rock-black yard. When I came back
my house! On the floor,
. . shiny . . . round . . . in
not put it there; I did not by know my bed. That made me afraid! I did
someone,
how it got there. So I took it
someone who works with that kind of
to
asked her, 'What is it?' She said that rock
thing, and I
I had to pay her seven hundred
was a devil spirit and
naïve! I paid her.
dollars to get rid of it. I was SO
"Then a handsome man came in my
and a panama hat, and he had a beautiful dream. He wore khaki
am Msye Agèou Hantor
mustache. He said, T
was him. And he
Dahomey," and he told me that rock
said it didn't
was angry at me for giving him away, but he
matter, because he loved me
going to come to me now."
anyway and he was
"Agèou comes in your dreams and he tells
how
treatments?"
you
to make
Rapelle asked. "He can,' 11 said
he comes in your head, too?" her friend Philo quietly. "And
Philo replied. "But that's fantastic!"
persisted. "He can,' 11
"That's hard!" retorted
cried Rapelle.
Philo. "Too much
children go to bed hungry. I don't have the responsibility. My
to school. Now these
money to send them
to treat them. But the people come to me, and they tell me I have
what I see in
only thing I know about treatments is
my dreams. How can I live like
make money like that? How? And let
that? How can I
back from the Dominicain,
me tell you, when I came
jobs anywhere. I had
four years ago, 1930, there were no
SO much trouble, SO much
day, I had a little problem with
suffering. One
my eyes; then after three days I
school. Now these
money to send them
to treat them. But the people come to me, and they tell me I have
what I see in
only thing I know about treatments is
my dreams. How can I live like
make money like that? How? And let
that? How can I
back from the Dominicain,
me tell you, when I came
jobs anywhere. I had
four years ago, 1930, there were no
SO much trouble, SO much
day, I had a little problem with
suffering. One
my eyes; then after three days I --- Page 240 ---
I was blind! Yes. They made me blind. The spirits
could not see.
did that.
I asked him to read the cards for me.
"I went to a oungan.
he told me what I had to do.
When the spirit came in his head,
spirits]. He
Dreams and He said I had to ranmase espri mwen [gather up my where
Rabel,
your
Promises
told me like this: 'You must go back to Jean
famnavel cord is buried. You must go back there and give your him.
a big feast.' I 'How am I going to do that?'Iasked
ily spirits
The spirit said, 'Put on a karabel (blue denim]
'I have no money!"
shoulder, and go out in the street
dress, put a makout over your
will find the money."
and beg for charity. Beg! That is how you
ever asked
"Not me!' I said. 'Not me! Nobody in my family I
the
and I am not going to be the first.' Then
spirit
for charity,
and he smiled. 'Sa va [so be it)/ he said. Sa
just looked at me,
then you will die-or one of your
va. But if you do not do this,
I will do it."
children will die." I was afraid, SO I said, Okay,
wicks
"That night I went home, and I twisted seven cotton
white
I
a little oil. I lighted them.
and put them on a
plate. put God. And I
to the
and I prayed to
prayed
I got on my knees,
'I am blind. You know that! You
spirits, to Msye Agèou. I said,
I
to walk in the
are the one who made me blind. How am going see?'
and ask
for money when I cannot
Agèou
street
people and he told my son: Tell Philo to go to sleep.
came in my head,
And that is what happened. The next
She will wake up seeing.
see. Then I began to trust
morning when I woke up, I could
him . : . to trust a little.
I took a makout, and I went out.
"So I put on a karabel dress,
and down. I went to
I walked in the streets. Up and down, up
Hah! Me!
the
the market, too. All day long, I begged. Me?
By
went to sleep, I had three hundred and eighty
time the sun
to
to Jean Rabel and
gourd in my hand. It was not enough go the
a big
the animals for the feast, too, but I gave
spirits
buy
and I said to them, Okay, now I
party here in Port-au-Prince
to do. You have to
will serve you, but you have to tell me what
dreams and tell me what to do. You have tol""
come in my
that?"
asked, his voice full of
"Things got better after
Rapelle
"Some
not
Philo sighed.
concern. "Better? Yes . . . but
good,"
come I know
I dream, and when they
people come. Sometimes
Sometimes. Not always. When I
already what to do for them.
and
have the dream first, the treatment is always successful, three.
give me money-two dollars,
then they are happy. They
serve you, but you have to tell me what
dreams and tell me what to do. You have tol""
come in my
that?"
asked, his voice full of
"Things got better after
Rapelle
"Some
not
Philo sighed.
concern. "Better? Yes . . . but
good,"
come I know
I dream, and when they
people come. Sometimes
Sometimes. Not always. When I
already what to do for them.
and
have the dream first, the treatment is always successful, three.
give me money-two dollars,
then they are happy. They --- Page 241 ---
Ten dollars if they are really happy. But let me
seven dollars a month for this room and I have tell you, I pay
in three months. 11 That
not paid the rent
run by expatriate
evening, Rapelle, a clerk in a pharmacy
had with
Germans, left in Philo's hand all the
he
him, a little more than six dollars.
money
Philo hid five dollars in a secret place. The
Dreams Promises and
took one dollar and twenty cents into
next morning, she
near the bay. She had in mind
town, to the Iron Market
beans to feed her
buying rice, oil, spices, and a few
family, but she could have done
ket closer to home. Her real
that at a marmiddle of town was to visit the reason for making the trip to the
in the city. She
herbalists at the biggest market
sought advice, If they had
her, she could at least
nothing new to tell
leaves called
buy more of the broad, prickly
chapo kare. Several friends had told
green
kare tea would "put that baby down
her that chapo
ate. She had consumed
. : . fast!" Philo was desperthree weeks, but its
quantities of the bitter tea in the past
her stomach
only effects had been to increase the
and the ache in her head,
gas in
been her constant
discomforts that had
companions since the
after
phonse Margaux had lain in her bed.
morning
Al-
"Take a little beer," 11 one herbalist said. "Put in
salt the size of an egg and boil it. Let it sit
a handful of
in the morning, before you eat
overnight. First thing
even a glass of water-drink that." anything or drink anything T
bon (No good]." In fact, Philo
"I tried it," said Philo. "Pa
had tried
to her. She had also jumped off
every recipe suggested
prayed until she had
chairs, pummeled her stomach,
calluses on her knees, and
candles to light the homes in her entire lakou for burned enough
of it had worked, and this day's
a month. None
ful. Philo left the market
outing proved no more successkare. Then
with a bit of food and a bunch of
she trudged back up the hill to Seven Stabs of chapo
Knife, feeling sicker than usual.
the
That night, Philo slept badly. Her three children heard
groaning in her sleep. "And the
her
night?" a neighbor
cheerily, as Philo headed for the outhouse
called out
"Not good," Philo
the next morning.
dream?"
responded, "but I had a dream." "What
queried the neighbor.
"I dreamed an old woman, a white
very, very old. The old lady called out: woman, Philo! very old-very,
talk to me.' ' She asked me: 'You
Vin pale ou [Come
head
are pregnant? And
-
down : . because I was ashamed
I put my
.
and I said to her,
night?" a neighbor
cheerily, as Philo headed for the outhouse
called out
"Not good," Philo
the next morning.
dream?"
responded, "but I had a dream." "What
queried the neighbor.
"I dreamed an old woman, a white
very, very old. The old lady called out: woman, Philo! very old-very,
talk to me.' ' She asked me: 'You
Vin pale ou [Come
head
are pregnant? And
-
down : . because I was ashamed
I put my
.
and I said to her, --- Page 242 ---
'Yes, Ia am pregnant. 1 The old lady asked me: 'Why do you drink
things to put that baby down? Why do you do that? That baby is
going to be born, and that baby is going to be a girl. 'How do
you know?' Iasked. She
Dreams and
said, Iknow." Then the old lady said to
Promises
me: 'Stop what you are doing. Don't take anything more. I will
support you. I will give you everything. M'ap ba Ou brwvè;
ba
ou manje (I'II give you drink; I'll give you food].' And m'ap I
'How are you going to do that?' And the old lady just turned said,
and walked away."
"Ehhhhh!" said the neighbor, stretching her neck like a cock
about to crow. "You were sleeping hungry. That's
you had
that dream." Then she began to laugh: "Cawk! Cawk! why Cawk!"
Philo grew hot with shame. The awful sound of her neighbor's
laughter followed Philo into the outhouse. While she hunkered
over the latrine, she muttered to herself: "That old
in
dream had on rags. All her clothes full of holes! She lady can't my
port herself. How is she going to support me?" "She's a liar!" supPhilo said out loud as she slammed the outhouse door and
marched off to prepare a batch of chapo kare tea.
Weeks passed and little changed. Friends offered new
and Philo tried them. No luck. Each time she relieved recipes, herself
she searched for traces of blood, but none appeared, and the
headaches got worse. Philo was often forced to stop what she
was doing and lie down with a wet cloth over her eyes.
When she was two, almost three months pregnant, Philo had
another dream. In this dream she was standing on the corner
of Rue Macajoux, near the Iron Market. The street was
crowded, and she was hurrying to get home. In front of very her
were two men, each holding one end of a rope
around
coffin suspended between them. Philo realized looped she would
a
to walk beneath the coffin to get across the street. "Excuse have
please," she said to the men. "May I pass under
me,
get home. 11 One of the men curled his lip and snarled: there?Ihave to
not going home. You are too evil. You are going in this "You coffin." are
Philo said, "No!" Both men said, "Yes! Get in the coffin!" Philo
said, "No!" They said, "Yes! Get in the coffin." Philo
"No!" and she looked around
for
said,
No
desperately
a way to
place to run! Her legs felt like lead.
escape.
Then Philo raised her eyes to the sky and saw the old woman
from her first dream. This time, she was wearing beautiful
clothes-a wide-brimmed hat and a long white dress with a
You are going in this "You coffin." are
Philo said, "No!" Both men said, "Yes! Get in the coffin!" Philo
said, "No!" They said, "Yes! Get in the coffin." Philo
"No!" and she looked around
for
said,
No
desperately
a way to
place to run! Her legs felt like lead.
escape.
Then Philo raised her eyes to the sky and saw the old woman
from her first dream. This time, she was wearing beautiful
clothes-a wide-brimmed hat and a long white dress with a --- Page 243 ---
beautiful blue belt. "Say Anmwe nèg,' 111 the old
instructed Philo, and Philo
11 woman urgently
old woman
the
quickly repeated, Anmave nèg. 11 The
gave
order again: "Say 'Anmwe
111 and
shouted, "Anmave nèg!" Before the sound of the nèg,'
Philo
died away, Philo felt herself lifted
password had
the two men carrying the coffin. up, up, up, over the heads of Dreams and
Philo wafted
Promises
were a piece of paper
upward as if she
slowly she settled onto drifting on currents of air, and then
two of them flew
the shoulders of the old woman. The
Knife.
through the sky back to Seven Stabs of the
Philo spoke to no one about that dream. But she
ing to abort her child. She decided to take
did stop tryNeighbors occasionally shared their
one day at a time.
sometimes
food, ando Iclientsand
put a few dollars in her hand. When
friends
was in its fifth month, the
the pregnancy
again in a dream. As soon mysterious old woman appeared
"You
as she saw her, Philo got very
again!" she yelled. "I don't want to see you!"
upset.
woman put up her hand and said, "Hush,
But the old
mouth. Listen. I have an
child. Close your
important
sage?" Philo asked. "I have come to tell message." Do "What meshouse to have that baby. If
you:
not come to my
going to die," the old
you come to my house, you are
asked. "Il live
woman said. "Where do you live?" Philo
in the hospital, 11 the old woman
"Philo! Philo!" the old woman said. "It is all responded.
going to have a baby. That baby is
right. You are
Alourdes." 11 In her
going to be a girl. Call her
dream, Philo sputtered and beat
on the air in impotent fury: "You
her hands
me! Where is the
to
promised to take care of
soothed
money eat? Where is it?"
the old
"Philo, Philo,
woman, "the money is coming." - "You
money is coming! You say! Do you think I believe
say the
was just about to utter an oath when the old
you?" Philo
walked away.
woman turned and
When she woke up, Philo was still upset. But she
more ridicule, and SO she shared the dream
needed no
her one good friend in the lakou,
only with Ma'Nini,
front of the house where
a woman who lived in the
Philo had her room.
"Ahh! I understand. That was Our
Ma'Nini said,
to you. There is a chapel for Our Lady of Lourdes who came
tal. That is why she said she lived Lady of Lourdes in the hospiIfI were you, I would not
there. This is a serious dream.
"But I do not have
go to the hospital to have that baby."
money for a fanm-saj (midwife], and
you
in the lakou,
only with Ma'Nini,
front of the house where
a woman who lived in the
Philo had her room.
"Ahh! I understand. That was Our
Ma'Nini said,
to you. There is a chapel for Our Lady of Lourdes who came
tal. That is why she said she lived Lady of Lourdes in the hospiIfI were you, I would not
there. This is a serious dream.
"But I do not have
go to the hospital to have that baby."
money for a fanm-saj (midwife], and
you --- Page 244 ---
do not have to pay in the hospital, '! Philo moaned.
know you
a license,
11 said Ma'Nini. "She does not have
"I know a fanm-saj,
her later. I will call her as soon
but she is very good. You can pay
to
first
11 After that, Ma'Nini gave food
as you have your
pain.'
Dreams and Philo every day and checked on her frequently.
Philo was getting
Promises
Early one morning in her ninth month,
the six
to
to mass. It had become her habit to go to
ready go
Philo was all dressed and on her way
o'clock mass every day.
need to urinate. She
across the yard when she felt an urgent
and went to the
turned back to her house, unlocked the door,
Philo felt
basin she kept beside herbed. As she squatted over it,
There was a sudden pressure in her stomach,
odd . : . dizzy.
a single
and before she knew what was happening-without into the shallow
pain-the baby slid out of her and plopped
Philo was a woman from the countryside, a person
metal pan.
She believed that a woman who has just given
of the old school.
come inside her. So she
birth should not speak. The wind might
the umback
the wall, the afterbirth still in place,
fell
against
her to her child, and she pounded
bilical cord still connecting
with both fists.
time. She snatched up a sheet and
Ma'Nini was there in no
she
in the chamber
wrapped the infant in it, right where
lay Ma'Nini crooned
pot. "How beautiful you are, little Alourdes," Then, in a flash,
as she tucked the cover around the newborn.
cut the umshe was gone to fetch the midwife. The fanm-saj afterbirth came
bilical cord and massaged Philo's belly until the
cleaned Philo and the baby and put them both to bed.
out. She
buried Alourdes's umbilical
Together, Ma'Nini and the fanm-saj
washed
cord in the blaiye, the pile of smooth rocks where freshly
clothes were left to whiten in the tropical sun.
Little Alourdes was fine. But Philo was not. The morning
she began to feel feverish and nauseated.
after she gave birth,
in Port-au-Prince;
A black fever epidemic had spread rapidly
week.
people had died in the city hospital that very
twenty-five Philo had it. She lay on herl bed day and night, soaked
And now
unable to eat or feed her infant. Luckily,
in sweat, hallucinating,
woman whose baby
a wet nurse was found in the lakou, a crazy
disheveled
had died three weeks after it was born. This dirty,
never sat still. She roamed the lakou talking endlessly,
woman
advice on how to make baby food, how to
giving unsolicited
cassava without water. Ma'Nini
discipline children, how to grow
in the city hospital that very
twenty-five Philo had it. She lay on herl bed day and night, soaked
And now
unable to eat or feed her infant. Luckily,
in sweat, hallucinating,
woman whose baby
a wet nurse was found in the lakou, a crazy
disheveled
had died three weeks after it was born. This dirty,
never sat still. She roamed the lakou talking endlessly,
woman
advice on how to make baby food, how to
giving unsolicited
cassava without water. Ma'Nini
discipline children, how to grow --- Page 245 ---
put the deranged woman in her own
clothes and food, and washed her
house, gave her clean
yellow soap. Then she laid
swollen breasts with strong
would survive. But what Philo'sinfant on herbosom. Alourdes
to do for Philo? What to do?
Help camein the person of Clement Rapelle. His
Dreams
German pharmacist, refused
boss, the old
and
simply waited until the
Rapelle's polite request, SO Rapelle
Promises
self in with his key and pharmacy was closed. Then he let himscribed diseases and "borrowed" the big black book that deneeded and
their cures. Rapelle figured out what Philo
bought the medicine for her.
back to health. In less than a month she Ma'Nini nursed her
she could not breastfeed her
was out of danger. But
was beginning to
child, and by then the crazy woman
who had
push the infant away. So Philo asked a friend
just had a baby if she would feed
eral months, Alourdes lived in the home Alourdes. For sevand sucked
of Madame Frederic
contentedly at a breast that did not smell of
soap. Alourdes was, for this short time at least,
laundry
how precarious the world was and how
quite unaware of
Philo slowly regained her
fragile was her placeinit.
to dream again. One
strength, and eventually she began
night, a tall and
came riding into her dream. "I have handsome military man
treat the son of Clement
come to tell you how to
Rapelle, Agèou announced.
morning was the first day in a long, long time that That next
ened feeling happy to be alive.
Philo awak-
"I do not want you to become
Rapelle. "Your son's
discouraged," she later told
problem is serious. The
a long time. II "I don't care how
treatment will take
sponded. "If you heal
long it takes," Rapelle remy son, Ia am going to give
money. When my father died, he left me
you a lot of
is my inheritance, but if
a small piece of land. It
you treat him
to sell that land and
successfully, I am going
give you the
need from you is one hundred money.' Philo replied, "All I
treatment. 11 The next
dollars to buy the things for the
to Seven Stabs of the day Knife Rapelle brought his ten-year-old son
for the first of
Over the course of the
many, many visits.
Rapelle family that, treatment, Philo became SO close to the
when Alourdes was
Rapelle and his teenage daughter
baptized, Clement
The work for
were named as godparents.
When Philo Rapelle's son took more than a year to
concluded it with a good-luck bath made complete.
flowers, fruits, perfumes, and champagne,
from
word, gave her one thousand dollars.
Rapelle, true to his
This was more money
elle brought his ten-year-old son
for the first of
Over the course of the
many, many visits.
Rapelle family that, treatment, Philo became SO close to the
when Alourdes was
Rapelle and his teenage daughter
baptized, Clement
The work for
were named as godparents.
When Philo Rapelle's son took more than a year to
concluded it with a good-luck bath made complete.
flowers, fruits, perfumes, and champagne,
from
word, gave her one thousand dollars.
Rapelle, true to his
This was more money --- Page 246 ---
Philo had ever held in her hand, and it marked a turning
than
she did was
a home in
point in her life. The first thing
purchase Seven Stabs of
the Belair section of Port-au-Prince, not far from
blue
Knife. Philo and her children soon settled into her little
Dreams and the house with three rooms and its own latrine.
to
Promises
The
that followed were good ones. Philo had money
years
her children to school. Clients were combuy food and to send
And she now had enough
ing to her in ever greater numbers.
without specific
self-confidence and experience to treat people
from the
Life was SO secure that an imporinstructions
spirits.
was forgotten -1 until the day something happened
tant promise
to make Philo remember.
Alourdes was seven
That day started in an ordinary way.
adolescence.
old, and her sister Chantal was just entering
years had borrowed a hot comb from a neighbor. When she
Chantal
her hair, she gave the comb to her younger
finished pressing
Alourdes stopped
sister and told her to return it to Marguerite.
of Mardead in her tracks when she reached the front gate
little
home. There was a dog lying inside. "Come here,
guerite's
from her chair on the porch. "I'm afraid
girl," called Marguerite
come. I am sitting
of the dog,' 11 said Alourdes. "Come, dear,
bite
here. Do you think I am going to let that dog
you?"
right
and SO she reached through the
Alourdes was not convinced,
and
it a hefty
grabbed a handful of the dog's hair,
gave
gate,
Alourdes pulled its hair again, and
tug. The dog did nothing.
child
the
jumped
again the dog did nothing. So the
opened
gate, her hand out
She still had
over the dog, and ran to Marguerite.
teeth sink into
with the hot comb in it when she felt the dog's
the back of her leg.
"Manman, Manman,
Alourdes dropped the comb and ran. Philo met her at the
Manman!" she screamed all the way home.
to
"The
bit me!" Alourdes sniffled, and she pointed
door.
dog down her left leg. Philo cleaned and wrapped
blood running
the child to bed. Exhausted from the trauma,
her wound and put when she awoke two hours later, someAlourdes slept. But
Her mother had told her to stay in
thing was dreadfully wrong. her mother, but an awful anxiety was
bed. She wanted to obey
toward panic. She began to
rushing through her body, building
that she had to
shake, and her head was spinning. Aware only
walk. She
Alourdes got up, left the house, and began to
move,
walked and walked. A frantic need to escape was
walked and
of this incident.
the last thing Alourdes would ever remember
when she awoke two hours later, someAlourdes slept. But
Her mother had told her to stay in
thing was dreadfully wrong. her mother, but an awful anxiety was
bed. She wanted to obey
toward panic. She began to
rushing through her body, building
that she had to
shake, and her head was spinning. Aware only
walk. She
Alourdes got up, left the house, and began to
move,
walked and walked. A frantic need to escape was
walked and
of this incident.
the last thing Alourdes would ever remember --- Page 247 ---
Alourdes was lost for three days and three
beside herself with worry the entire time. nights. Philo was
day checking in every place she
She spent the first
the end of that day, she went to thought the
Alourdes might go. At
her daughter missing. On the second police station and reported
sought help from friends.
and the third days, Philo Dreams and
his
Rapelle took two
Promises
job at the pharmacy to search the
afternoons off from
and Sans Fil, which seemed to be
northern areas of Belair
luck. Madame Jacques read
likely places, but he had no
her fear that Alourdes
the cards for Philo and expressed
was dead. The
his head spirit, who announced
oungan Cesaire consulted
with an older woman who
that Alourdes had gone off
her house. Philo's
was now keeping the child hidden in
friend Laline
the
sis and attempted to make
misjudged
extent of the crihave
a joke of it all:
the
taken Alourdes below the water. "Perhaps
spirits
make her a manbo. 1
Maybe they want to
Another friend, Madame Victoir, also read the
was she who told Philo that Alourdes
cards, and it
police they will find
was all right. "Tell the
nothing if they look in the
are going to find her only if they look in the
north. They
Victoir said. And then she
Philo
south," Madame
"Was there
gave
a long, searching look:
Did
something you were supposed to do for the
you promise something and then not do it?"
spirits?
jerked to attention. "Yes! There
Philo's body
long time ago. I told Ezili Dantô I was would something," she said, "a
have not done that. 11 "Go
kill a pig for her, and I
don't have to do
home, Madame Victoir said. "You
anything more to find
the police and tell them to look in the south. Alourdes. Just stop by
candle, call Ezili, and tell
But tonight light a
her-promise
make the feast right away."
herl-you are going to
As darkness fell that third night, Philo went to
lit a candle, and she prayed hard. Then
her altar. She
wide open, and let the candle
she lay in her bed, eyes
that the moment the
burn itself out. It seemed to her
rise. Or perhaps she had candle sputtered out, the sun began to
still trying to
fallen asleep in between. Philo was
figure out if she had slept when she
at her door. It was a policeman with
heard a knock
been found. "Where did
the news Alourdes had
the south,
you find her?" Philo demanded.
as you said we would," the
"In
"near the reservoir in Carrefour Feuilles. policeman responded,
some children. She had been there
She was playing with
knew her name or where she
three days. None of them
came from. No one could say
, the sun began to
still trying to
fallen asleep in between. Philo was
figure out if she had slept when she
at her door. It was a policeman with
heard a knock
been found. "Where did
the news Alourdes had
the south,
you find her?" Philo demanded.
as you said we would," the
"In
"near the reservoir in Carrefour Feuilles. policeman responded,
some children. She had been there
She was playing with
knew her name or where she
three days. None of them
came from. No one could say --- Page 248 ---
what she ate. Come, your child is waiting for
where she slept or
the
We are not
We think you should take her to
hospital.
you. what
have happened to her."
sure
might
her mother come through the door of the
When Alourdes saw
and
her waist SO hard
Dreams and police station, she ran to her
grabbed
Not until
Promises
her breath, but the child said nothing.
Philo caught
finished their intimate poking and prodding
the doctors had
her leg did Alourdes
and had given her a shot and rebandaged where she was, what had
begin to speak. She wanted to know
of the last three
happened to her. She remembered nothing
is
"You don't have to remember," said Philo. "Everything
days.
okay now."
coffee with
That evening, Philo sat in her backyard drinking
friend Clement Rapelle. "Thank you for your help,
her good
she said. "I know you don't get paid when
Rapelle, my dear,"
off from work. 11 "It is not a problem, said Rapelle
you take
he added with real feeling: "I was SO happy when
simply. Then
Alourdes in the house." "I know you
I came by today and saw
and
him a warm embrace.
were. I know," smiled Philo
gave
tie
this
me
I need a strong man to up
"Now you can help
again. Tomorrow Alourdes and I are
bundle. It is for the journey.
family
to Jean Rabel. It is time for me to gather up my
going It is time for me to kill a pig for Ezili Danto."
spirits. it was that in the summer of 1942, on the land where
And SO
had
tobacco leaves as long as his
Joseph Binbin Mauvant
grown of rocks in which Philo's umarm, just a few yards from the pile
feast for her family
bilical cord had been buried, she held a
consider- spirits that lasted seven days and seven nights. For this
still
all the members of her extended family
able undertaking,
into service as well as many of
living in Jean Rabel were pressed Dantô's
one COW, two
the neighbors. In addition to Ezili
pig,
famand six chickens were also offered to Philo's hungry
goats,
throughout the week, and people
ily spirits. Drummers played dust cloud that could be seen a
danced SO energetically that a
mile away rose over the Mauvant land. of the days when the
During the early morning hours of one
Danto
beaten from sunset until sunrise, Ezili
posdrums were Philo's cousin, a woman known for her spiritual powers.
sessed
have made
11 Dantô said. "Look at the table we
"Dey-dey-dey-dey, Philo
"There is griyo (grilled
for you, a proud
responded.
There is selebride [liqueur]. There is rapadou [brown-sugar
pork].
ically that a
mile away rose over the Mauvant land. of the days when the
During the early morning hours of one
Danto
beaten from sunset until sunrise, Ezili
posdrums were Philo's cousin, a woman known for her spiritual powers.
sessed
have made
11 Dantô said. "Look at the table we
"Dey-dey-dey-dey, Philo
"There is griyo (grilled
for you, a proud
responded.
There is selebride [liqueur]. There is rapadou [brown-sugar
pork]. --- Page 249 ---
candy]. All kinds of fruit." "Dey-dey-dey/ 11 the spirit responded
with satisfaction. In gratitude, Ezili Dantô tipped the bottle of
selebride
to Philo's mouth, and she also took some of the liin up her hand and wiped it over Alourdes's face. Then she Dreams and
queur hugged the seven-year-old to her with a fierce and passionate
Promises
"dey-dey-dey-dey-dey. " "I know, mother, I know," said Philo, obviously moved by the spirit's show of affection for her child.
Forgetting that she was exposing very private information,
Philo continued: "You gave me this child. You kept me from
getting rid of my baby. Thank you. Thank you.' 11 The Vodou
spirit Ezili Dantô, who is also known as Our Lady of Lourdes,
looked at Philo, and her eyes communicated an acceptance that
was absolute and without illusions.
Then, with a sudden urgency in her manner, Dantô pointed
at Philoand then at Alourdes . . at Philo and at Alourdes. Back
and forth, back and forth she went, appealing to the gath- 11
ered family for an interpretation of her earnest "dey-dey-dey.
a wise old uncle said. "Phi-
"Alourdes is going to replace you,"
lomise, Dantô is telling you that Alourdes is the one to take
place, to serve the family spirits after you. I1 "That is okay,"
your said Philo. "That is good. 11
Then the wrinkled old farmer took his pipe out of his mouth
and stared intently into Alourdes's face. "You are SO young,
little girl. Already the spirits are choosing you. That is a big responsibility. You must never forget what Dantô has said to you
understand?" The wide-eyed little girl with a
this night. Do you left
and a solemn look on her face simply
bandage on her
leg
nodded. --- Page 250 --- --- Page 251 ---
-
CHAPTER EIGHT --- Page 252 ---
Ezili
Several female spirits belong
called the Ezili. The three most important are
to the group
African senses of
Lasyrenn, the mermaid who links ancient
and water power; Ezili Danto, the hardworking,
woman power
mother; and Ezili Freda, the sensual
solitary, sometimes raging frustrated one. This chapter focuses
and elegant, flirtatious and
in turn; all three are
on each of these powerful women spirits,
because each is more understandable
discussed in one chapter
they give a remarkably
in relation to the others. Taken together,
women's
and detailed portrait of the forces that shape
accurate
Haiti and in Haitian immigrant comlives both in contemporary
Alourdes lives.' 1
munities such as the one in which
of male
Haitian culture is a misogynist culture. The ideology
is fierce. Haitian humor is rife with anti-woman
supremacy
violence is a frequent occurrence. Vodou
jokes, and domestic influence of this attitude. Certain oungan,
has not escaped the
in various ways, the
for example, are notorious for mistreating,
their temples.
and detailed portrait of the forces that shape
accurate
Haiti and in Haitian immigrant comlives both in contemporary
Alourdes lives.' 1
munities such as the one in which
of male
Haitian culture is a misogynist culture. The ideology
is fierce. Haitian humor is rife with anti-woman
supremacy
violence is a frequent occurrence. Vodou
jokes, and domestic influence of this attitude. Certain oungan,
has not escaped the
in various ways, the
for example, are notorious for mistreating,
their temples. women who become ounsi (ritual assistants) in
extent
in spite of this, Vodou empowers women to a larger
Yet,
traditions. As
than the great majority of the world's religious
and after
to survive and adapt both during
Haitians struggled
social and economic power, gains that
slavery, women gained
within Vodou. are mirrored in the influence of women
there has been
The role of women in Vodou is greatest where
herbalists
Rural women can gain respect as
the greatest change. central ideas presented in this chapter first appeared in Karen Mc1Some of the
Lola and the Ezilis: Themes of Mothering and Loving in HaiCarthy Brown, "Mama Worlds: Women's Religious Lives, ed. Nancy Auer Falk and
tian Vodou," in Unspoken Calif.: Wadsworth, 1989), 235-45. Rita M. Gross (Belmont,
Mother combing her daughter's hair. Gros Morne, Haiti, 1980. --- Page 253 ---
and fanm-saj (midwives), and in certain places in the country221
side they can even be initiated as priestesses; but nowhere
the
hegemony of the rural male. In
do they challenge
religious
the cities, however, the picture is quite different. There are no
Ezili
statistics, but my strong impression is that at least half of the
urban Vodou leaders are women. Furthermore, the mood of the
women's temples is markedly different from the atmosphere in
temples headed by men. Generally speaking, the issue is flexibility. The ethos within a woman's temple is like that inside the
home, where the mother moves in and out of her role as an authority figure as the situation demands; whereas a man's temple
usually reflects the more rigid role definitions of the public
arena. The question of women and Vodou is broader than the queshowever. Consideration of the three Ezili
tion of leadership,
this larger dimension./The adaptability of Vodou over
opens up
to other cultures and religions; the
time, and its responsiveness
of its
fact that it has no canon, creed, or pope; the multiplicity
spirits; and the intimate detail in which those spirits reflect the
lives of the faithful-all these characteristics make women's
lives visible within Vodou in ways they are notin other religious
those of the African homeland. |This visitraditions, including
and creability can give women a way of working realistically
tively with the forces that define and confine them. Lasyrenn, Ezili Dantô, and Ezili Freda are each conflated with
manifestations of the Virgin Mary: Nuestra Senora de
la particular Caridad del Cobre, Mater Salvatoris, and Maria Dolorosa. But
unlike the Mary of mainstream Catholicism, who offers an impossible ideal of perfectly submissive (and virginal) motherhood for emulation, the Ezili are much closer to the human
drama. In addition to providing examples of love, care, and
hard work, they model anger-righteous and raging--power
sensuality,
fear, frustration, need,
and effectivity,
sexuality,
mirrors that
oband loneliness. In SO doing, they become
give
reality to what would otherwise remain, as it does in SO
jective cultures, women's silent pain and unhonored power. many These female spirits are both mirrors and maps, making the
comprehensible and offering direction for the future. In
present
the caricaturelike clarity of Vodou posessionpertiomanees
the Ezili sort out, by acting out, the conflicting feelings and vallife situation.
raging--power
sensuality,
fear, frustration, need,
and effectivity,
sexuality,
mirrors that
oband loneliness. In SO doing, they become
give
reality to what would otherwise remain, as it does in SO
jective cultures, women's silent pain and unhonored power. many These female spirits are both mirrors and maps, making the
comprehensible and offering direction for the future. In
present
the caricaturelike clarity of Vodou posessionpertiomanees
the Ezili sort out, by acting out, the conflicting feelings and vallife situation. interacting with the faithful as
ues in a given
By --- Page 254 ---
and
all the Vodou spirits clarify the options
individuals
groups,
well for women.
in people's lives; and the Ezili do this especially
she
When Alourdes says that Ezili Danto is her "mother,"
circumstances of her life and identifies some
both describes key
in her house, Lasyrenn is
Ezili
of her most important values. Yet, Ezili Freda is even more
also saluted from time to time, and
the attention
honored, although neither is given
frequently
Danto receives. Thus although Ezili Danto is
and service that female spirit, her life as a woman is actually
Alourdes's major
of the three.
choreographed through a dynamic balancing
that indiThe individual and the spirits who love and protect
relationship. The three Ezili,
vidual are in a mutually responsive
a template
individually and in relation to one another, provide
life. But the circumstances of her life also cause
for Alourdes's
Danto, and Freda to emerge in
the personalities of Lasyrenn,
create one another, a
particular ways. Alourdes and her spirits
recognized within her Vodou family, where somerelationship
about "Alourdes's Dantô" as about Ezili
one is as likely to speak
Dantô in general. heterosexual woman, in mid-life, who grew up
Alourdes is a and has lived in the United States for twentyin Port-au-Prince
to the three Ezili is
five years. Her situation as a woman relating
mother and
different from that of a man relating to
naturally
the acknowledged
lover figures. Her heterosexuality suppresses of the hwa's characlesbian dimension of Ezili Danto, a part
be
for other women. Her age
ter that could
very important
but cercrystalizes an Ezili Freda who may act like an ingenue immitainly is not one. And her life in the New York Haitian
in
community and earlier in Por-au-Prince-both places
grant
if not most, families are headed by womenwhich many,
serpent
mutes Dantô's identity as the mysterious tree-dwelling These urban
and brings her status as single mother to the fore.
also
dimensions of Alourdes's life are most likely
and immigrant
retreat even further into the
responsible for making Lasyrenn
depths than she usually does.
LASYRENN
Lasyrenn, Labalenn,
Chapo'm tonbe nan lanmè.
M'ap fe karès ak Lasyrenn,
Por-au-Prince-both places
grant
if not most, families are headed by womenwhich many,
serpent
mutes Dantô's identity as the mysterious tree-dwelling These urban
and brings her status as single mother to the fore.
also
dimensions of Alourdes's life are most likely
and immigrant
retreat even further into the
responsible for making Lasyrenn
depths than she usually does.
LASYRENN
Lasyrenn, Labalenn,
Chapo'm tonbe nan lanmè.
M'ap fe karès ak Lasyrenn, --- Page 255 ---
Chapo'm tonbe nan lanmè.
M'ap fè dodo ak Lasyrenn,
Chapo'm tonbe nan lanmè.
Ezili
The mermaid, the whale,
My hat falls into the sea.
Ic caress the mermaid,
My hat falls into the sea.
I lie down with the mermaid,
My hat falls into the sea.
Thus goes one of Alourdes's favorite songs for this watery
Ezili sister. As both mermaid and whale (the two sometimes apshe is an elusive creature of the deep
pear as separate spirits),
at
sea. She is a fleeting presence, never fully seen, hinting
monumental--huge deep, sudden, and powerful.
something
of
beneath the water,
When people catch a glimpse
Lasyrenn
feel her beckoning them to come with her back to Ginen, to
they
the ancestral home and the dwelling place of the lwa,
Africa,
the water). She hovers large and dark and sianba dlo (beneath
Haitians call
lent just below the surface of the water, a place
"the back of the mirror. 11 Gazing at her is like gazing at your
reflection. It is seductive because she gives a deeper and
own
of self than is likely to be found in the mirrors of
truer picture
to
to
too close or
everyday life. But it is also dangerous try get
too
to the vision. A
who reaches out to
hold on
tightly
person
side
stroke her or tries to lie close by her broad and comforting
simply, drown. First the hat falls into the sea, and
may, quite
the person follows quickly after.
deLasyrenn's elusive character is captured in Alourdes's
"She's black, not white. Black, black. Her hair go
scription:
shiny, shiny, long hair! Somedown to her feet. Shiny, shiny,
hair. If you see
time you see her a blonde .
long, long, long
her with your eyes in the sea, she's white; when you dream her,
she's black, because they say she got one side white, one side
black. A big fish with two color. Lasyrenn, Labalenn. . always
got a comb, to comb her hair. 11
Lasyrenn is connected to Mammy Water, whose shrines are
found throughout West Africa. Some suggest that the mermaid
also common for Mammy Water, was derived from the
persona,
,
hair. If you see
time you see her a blonde .
long, long, long
her with your eyes in the sea, she's white; when you dream her,
she's black, because they say she got one side white, one side
black. A big fish with two color. Lasyrenn, Labalenn. . always
got a comb, to comb her hair. 11
Lasyrenn is connected to Mammy Water, whose shrines are
found throughout West Africa. Some suggest that the mermaid
also common for Mammy Water, was derived from the
persona, --- Page 256 ---
on the bows of the ships of European traders and
carved figures
have roots that con224
slavers. Thus the Vodou lwa Lasyrenn may
of the
like nerves, to the deepest and most painful parts
nect, homeland and the trauma of slavery. It is therefore fitloss of
to Africa and its wisdom.
Ezili
ting that she also reconnects people
and pulled
are captured by Lasyrenn
In many stories, people
Sometimes these stories are
under the water, down to Ginen.
suicides. But as often as
descriptions of tragic drownings or of
disnot such tales are strategies used by the poor and otherwise
enfranchised to gain access to the prestigious role of healer.
A
usually a
The stories have a common pattern.
person,
three
disappears for a time-three days, three months,
woman,
Her skin has
When she returns, she is a changed person.
years. become fairer, her hair longer and straighter. Most important,
Immediately after her return,
she has gained sacred knowledge. and does not remember what
she is disoriented, does not talk,
a story of
to her. But gradually a story emerges,
happened
"below the water, 11 where the spirits instructed
living for a time
A person who can
her in the arts of diagnosis and healing.?
in the priestly
make a convincing claim to receiving instruction
initiation
arts "below the water" need not go through expensive
met
I once
ceremonies or a time-consuming apprenticeship. nickname
rural
She was called Sansami, a
such a
priestess. friends. When I asked who had initiated her,
meaning without
she said simply,
she responded that no one had. Herinstruction,
had come anba dlo.
Because her
AlAlourdes makes no such claim.
grandfather,
Macena, came from the south of Haiti where people go
phonse
initiation ceremonies to attain the
through formal and expensive
obligations to Macena's
role of healer, and because sheinherited the rituals to take the ason.
spirits, Alourdes also went through
demanded it, and she was the first woman in her family
Ogou
This initiation gives her an official and widely recogto do SO.
Alourdes says, hownized right to claim the role of priestess.
her
that she serves both her grandfather's and
grandever, mother'sspirits. Her fidelity to theline ofXlarieNoeduneloerph,
daughter of the old African Joseph Binbin Mauvant, brings
des eaux," " Bulletin du Bureau d'ethnologie (Port-au2See Max Benoit, "Symbi-loi
1959): 12-22.
Prince) 3, nos. 20-22 (june-December
official and widely recogto do SO.
Alourdes says, hownized right to claim the role of priestess.
her
that she serves both her grandfather's and
grandever, mother'sspirits. Her fidelity to theline ofXlarieNoeduneloerph,
daughter of the old African Joseph Binbin Mauvant, brings
des eaux," " Bulletin du Bureau d'ethnologie (Port-au2See Max Benoit, "Symbi-loi
1959): 12-22.
Prince) 3, nos. 20-22 (june-December --- Page 257 ---
claims to other sources of wisdom- -Mauvant had
"on him" all the time, and he healed the natural
the spirits
way, without ason or elaborate
way, the simple
Quite unconsciously, Alourdes ritualizing. describes
anba dlo when she connects her call to the a time ofinstruction
time she was lost at
priesthood with the
Ezili
age seven. The object that occasioned
adventure was a borrowed comb, and the comb is
her
most common accoutrement. It was Ezili Danto,
Lasyrenn's
sister, who caused the
Lasyrenn's dark
when Alourdes
disappearance. And it was Danto who,
was found, made an appearance to
message that Alourdes was to inherit her mother's convey the
tice. Alourdes was gone for three days (the ritual healing pracfound next to the city reservoir (an urban
number), was
sea), and, when found, was disoriented transformation of the
nothing of what had
and could remember
transpired. Alourdes's
the pattern only in that she still claims
story deviates from
curred during those three
amnesia about what OCdays.
The events of Alourdes's life gravitated like barnacles
back of the whale-Labalenn,
to the
Lasyrenn. Myth
template for life. Yet when Alourdes tells that
provided the
says that she received religious
story, she never
elusive whale, the
instruction anba dlo. Like the
interpretive framework of her childhood
perience hovers seductively just below thesurface
exof consciousness.
of the waters
EZILI DANTO
In 1965 Alourdes was finally able to bring her three childrenJean-Pierre, Maggie, and William-to New York. They arrived
during midsummer's heat, two months before school
this time, Alourdes thought of herself
began. By
and her
primarily as a healer,
practice was growing rapidly.
taken an outside job to cover the
Nevertheless, she had
ily, working from four in the expense of reuniting her famafternoon until
laundry at the Hotel National on Seventh
midnight doing
second Street in Manhattan. While
Avenue and Fortydren fended for themselves
she was at work, the chilin Brooklyn.
Maggie was twelve years old, about to turn thirteen. Some
ternoons when Alourdes had gone to work,
afon the front stoop watching the
Maggie would sit
neighborhood children. She
a healer,
practice was growing rapidly.
taken an outside job to cover the
Nevertheless, she had
ily, working from four in the expense of reuniting her famafternoon until
laundry at the Hotel National on Seventh
midnight doing
second Street in Manhattan. While
Avenue and Fortydren fended for themselves
she was at work, the chilin Brooklyn.
Maggie was twelve years old, about to turn thirteen. Some
ternoons when Alourdes had gone to work,
afon the front stoop watching the
Maggie would sit
neighborhood children. She --- Page 258 ---
sometimes ventured, in her halting English, to join games of
or skip-rope, but, in the beginning, she was not often success- tag
ful. Her first weeks in New York were hard and lonely. On most
days, like a dutiful Haitian
Ezili
girl-child, she did housework.
One day when Mommie went to work, you know,
in
the house, the only girl, I work a lot, right? So what being I did, I
wash all those clothes, Jean' clothes, William' clothes,
clothes, sheets-everything in the house, I wash by hand. my
And then when I finish (I don't know . : . I must'a
I
was
thought
in Haiti. . : .), I put my iron board and my iron. I start
ironing, and I iron everything. Then I took a bath and from
there-I got sick! I had trembling, fever, and the next morning Mommie took me to the doctor, and the doctor say that I
was real sick!
The emergency-room physician suspected Maggie had tuberculosis, a disease common among Haitians, or perhaps
monia; but he could not be sure and wanted to
pneu- her
for further testing. Maggie was afraid to be separated hospitalize from her
family and begged to go home. The doctor said that would be all
right if she promised to come back the next day for more tests,
and Maggie went home to bed. When Alourdes returned from
work that night, Maggie got up, and the family ate, talked, and
watched television together. It was after two in the
when they turned off the lights. Maggie's bed was in the morning living
room, and, when she lay down, the light from the
at
the corner of Utica Avenue and Jane Street fell streetlamp
her pillow.
directly across
We just went to bed, and then I saw, like a shadow, coming to
the light. . . . Next minute, I actually saw a lady
in
front of me. ButIcould not see her face real clear. I standing saw a lady
standing in front of me with a blue dress, and she have a veil
covering her head and her face. I wasn't scared of that
and I was saying, "Who are you? Who are you?" And lady, then
she said, "You don't know who I am?" I said, "I don't know
who you are."
And then she pull up the veil, and I could see it was her
with the two mark. Ezili Danto with the two mark on her
in
front of me. ButIcould not see her face real clear. I standing saw a lady
standing in front of me with a blue dress, and she have a veil
covering her head and her face. I wasn't scared of that
and I was saying, "Who are you? Who are you?" And lady, then
she said, "You don't know who I am?" I said, "I don't know
who you are."
And then she pull up the veil, and I could see it was her
with the two mark. Ezili Danto with the two mark on her --- Page 259 ---
then I start to get scared. She
Whooooo! Yeah! And
mother." à
cheek. "Don't get scared, I'm your
she was going to
told me, she told me to turn my back around, more. She turned me
Ezili
Then
wasn't going to be sick no
and everyheal me; I
back. She rubbed my lungs what to
around. She rubbed my she said, "Now you know
thing; she rub it, and then
and thank me.' 11 Isay, "Okay,"
light up: a candle
1! and I say, "Let
do for me. Just "I'm going now, I'm going," 11 It's strange : .
and then she say, tell my mother you here."
to visit. I
me call my mother, like a visitor : : . somebody come Let me call-"
know, just
Wait!
you "Let me call my mother-Don't have to come."
said,
mother don't
She said, "No, no, your
times. When
family story many When that
I have heard this important emerges antiphonally.
did
Alourdes is present, the story breaks in at this point, as she call,
Alourdes invariably
When Maggie
happens,
recorder was running:
once when my tape
à
Alourdes's home, Fort Greene,
for Ezili Dantè's birthday party.
Altar constructed
Brooklyn, 1980.
Wait!
you "Let me call my mother-Don't have to come."
said,
mother don't
She said, "No, no, your
times. When
family story many When that
I have heard this important emerges antiphonally.
did
Alourdes is present, the story breaks in at this point, as she call,
Alourdes invariably
When Maggie
happens,
recorder was running:
once when my tape
à
Alourdes's home, Fort Greene,
for Ezili Dantè's birthday party.
Altar constructed
Brooklyn, 1980. --- Page 260 ---
come, come! Did you see?' And I see
she say, Mommie, come,
over the
of voice came in
top
the veil going. . .
Maggie's
house.Ispoke to her
Alourdes's: "I saw her! She come into my
black,
just like I'm talking to you now. She was pretty-and "I see the
Ezili
black, black. I1 Alourdes's voice folded into Maggie's:
Alourbut I don't saw the lady." And then Maggie's into
veil,
back to the doctor, and the doctor say, What's
des's: "I went
Alourdes
with you? I thought you was sick!"" Maggieand
wrong
after the visit from Ezili Danto Maggie was no longer
agreed that
without incident, and in the
ill. The rest of the summer passed
to school.
fall Maggie and the other children started
to
Haitians most often use represent
The chromolithograph manifestation of Mater Salvatoris: a
Ezili Danto is a particular
of Czestochowa. On her
Polish black Virgin known as Our Lady
Haitians, perright cheek are two parallel vertical scars. (Many
refer to
projecting from an African ancestral memory,
haps
Her head is draped with a goldDantô's twa màk (three scars].) holds the Christ child. In this
edged blue veil. In her arms she
The child is the most
Haitians identify her child as a girl.
image,
detail, for Ezili Danto is above all else
important iconographic
This
why certhe mother, the one who bears children.
explains Our Lady
with children, especially
tain white Virgins depicted of Mount Carmel, are also said to be
of Lourdes and Our Lady
Ezili Dantô.
known to be Dantô's lovers and
Several of the male spirits are
children. Ogou is the
the fathers of one or more of her seven lover. But when people
most frequently as her
one mentioned
way, they point to Ti-Jan
are talking in an intimate, gossipy lover. It is well known that
Petwo (her own son) as her favorite
who are her sexual
Ezili Dantô has not married any of the spirits children on her own
partners. Being a single mother who raises
however, a freof her identity. Danto is,
is an important part
with vivan-yo (the living). In
quent participant in marriages
service, and even sexthese rituals, individuals pledge loyalty,
with no human on
ual fidelity for one night each week (sleeping in their dreams) in
that night and waiting to receive the spirit
And again,
return for the spirit's increased care and protection. community adwhen gossip is the mode, people in Alourdes's Thus the pormit that some of these marriages are with women.
with an
childbearing woman
trait emerges of an independent,
, a freof her identity. Danto is,
is an important part
with vivan-yo (the living). In
quent participant in marriages
service, and even sexthese rituals, individuals pledge loyalty,
with no human on
ual fidelity for one night each week (sleeping in their dreams) in
that night and waiting to receive the spirit
And again,
return for the spirit's increased care and protection. community adwhen gossip is the mode, people in Alourdes's Thus the pormit that some of these marriages are with women.
with an
childbearing woman
trait emerges of an independent, --- Page 261 ---
unconventional sexuality that, on several counts, flouts
thority of the patriarchal family.
the auAlourdes describes Ezili Danto
heavy." She has dark black skin as substantial, "not fat, but
hair. Her
and, like Lasyrenn,
eyes are "big, white, and shiny," the long, shiny
Ezili
eyes of the mother. Maggie claims that when ever-watchful
Danto in Alourdes's altar
she talks with
the
room she can see the beautiful eyes in
elegant," chromolithograph Alourdes
moving. "Dantô is elegant, but not too
told me once,
not too proud to work-in
explaining that Ezili Danto is
hard, and she
fact, "she love to work. 11 She
works fast. If someone is in trouble
works
emergency, Alourdes said, Dantô is the kind Or there is an
will forget about herself and her
of woman who
clothes, and rush to the side of the appearance, throw on her
also connects her to crisis situations: person in trouble. Maggie
gonna be sick, ifit's
"It seem like each time I'm
the
something bad going to
one coming to tell me." Both
happen, she always
quently refer to Ezili Danto
Maggie and Alourdes freas "my mother."
sponsive, present in times of trouble,
Hardworking, rethese are the qualities of the ideal
pretty but not vainEzili Danto fought
mother.
fiercely beside her
tian slave revolution. In
"children" in the HaiMaggie's words: "That
rica, and during the time we had slave
lady is from Afing the
back home in Haiti, durshe
eighteen-hundred . . . or the
was the one that help my country seventeen-hundred to fight with
.
people. She helped them to win that war. 11 She
the white
Haitians say, and they point to the scars
was wounded,
stochowa's right cheek
on Our Lady of Czeas evidence. But those
scars Danto bears. Again, in
are not the only
was going to talk, to tell
Maggie's words: "In that war, she
cut out her
something, and then they go over and
tongue because they don't want her
seems that Danto was rendered
to talk." It
people
speechless by her own
fighting on the same side, people who could people,
her to guard their secrets. When Ezili Danto
not trust
these days, she cannot speak. The
possesses someone
utter is a uniform "dey-dey-dey."
only sound the spirit can
Alourdes and Maggie claim that the Ezili who
dey" comes from Jean Rabel and that she
says "dey-deyOther Ezili Dantô make a sound that belongs to their family.
repeated "kuh" or a sound produced, Alourdes describes as a
ironically, by sucking the
fighting on the same side, people who could people,
her to guard their secrets. When Ezili Danto
not trust
these days, she cannot speak. The
possesses someone
utter is a uniform "dey-dey-dey."
only sound the spirit can
Alourdes and Maggie claim that the Ezili who
dey" comes from Jean Rabel and that she
says "dey-deyOther Ezili Dantô make a sound that belongs to their family.
repeated "kuh" or a sound produced, Alourdes describes as a
ironically, by sucking the --- Page 262 ---
the roof of the mouth, a kind of "thwap." 11
tongue up against
inarticulate sounds gain meaning in
Whatever the form, Dantô's
language and the ina Vodou ceremony only through her body
Her appearance
terpretive efforts of the gathered community. toinherit her mother's
Ezili
in Jean Rabel toindicate that Alourdes was
of charades
practice was typical of the somber games
healing
that surround her visits.
something that is true
Dantô's inability to speak emphasizes
Terse,
of all the Vodou spirits: their messag ages are enigmatic. other
language works in similar ways with
spirmultireferential
uses articulate speech or not, the
its. Whether a given spirit
interpret and apply
individually and collectively,
participants, Vodou
do not often make authoritative prowhat is said.
spirits
in the thick social weave of a ritnouncements. Their presence wisdom and group resources.
ual is a catalyst activating group described as group healing
Vodou ceremonies are accurately
collective
sursessions in which both individual and
problems both the
The community is therefore
face and are addressed.
subject and the product of Vodou ritualizing.
and specific
hot
in 1987, I saw how practical
On a
July night
earlier, Alourdes had taken
this process can be. Some months Haiti, and they had been
in a family of recent immigrants from
about the
She was concerned
living in her basement apartment.
were listless and
three children in this family because they
Alourdes from challenging
scrawny. Good manners prohibited the children were receiving - but
the quality of parental care
restricted. "Dey-deywhen Ezili Danto arrived, she was not SO
was
said Danto over and over. Eventually, the family
dey-dey,"
ritual, and Danto put the children in the center
called to join the
wrists with thumb and finger
of the group. She circled skinny Then she called in healthy chiland tugged at baggy clothes.
and had them stand todren of approximately the same ages
gether for comparison.
action. Older women in the group
The community went into
health of her children and
queried the mother about the general for dinner that evening.
then asked what she had fed them
clucked
"Hot
several older women
When she replied,
dogs,"
"She
them American
their tongues and sucked their teeth.
gives
turned
to one another, and they
food, 1! they repeated knowingly
for a watercress
back to the mother with a step-by-step recipe
lectured the
that is both cheap and nutritious. The women
soup
same ages
gether for comparison.
action. Older women in the group
The community went into
health of her children and
queried the mother about the general for dinner that evening.
then asked what she had fed them
clucked
"Hot
several older women
When she replied,
dogs,"
"She
them American
their tongues and sucked their teeth.
gives
turned
to one another, and they
food, 1! they repeated knowingly
for a watercress
back to the mother with a step-by-step recipe
lectured the
that is both cheap and nutritious. The women
soup --- Page 263 ---
children's mother on the importance of
and effort to make "real food."
putting in the extra time
Ezili Dantô
see that her children are well
spares no effort to
But anger and even
cared-for.
mother's self-sacrifice, rage are often found on the flip side of a
Petwo
and these emotions also
Ezili
spirit Ezili Dantô. The maternal
appear in the
play when a mother must defend
anger that is called into
into a woman warrior
her children turned Dantô
of
during the slave revolution.
anger turns against the children
Another sort
Alourdes, who serve Dantô, become themselves. Those such as
Dantô is my mother, but she
her "children." "Ezili
"Oh, boy, she's
very tough lady," Alourdes said.
know
tough! You have to treat her
what you suppose to do. You know what very nice. You
pose to do. Ezili Dantô-when
you don't supDantô's
you got her, she strict with
anger can exceed what is
for
you.'
At times, it explodes from her with required
strict discipline.
Ezili Dantô, like
an irrational, violent force.
rainfall
Lasyrenn, has connections with water. A
during the festivities at Saut d'Eau, a
gentle
age site for Ezili Dantô (Our Lady of Mount mountain pilgriminterpreted as a sign of her presence; but Carmel), is readily
resulting in mudslides, traffic
SO is a sudden deluge
of Alourdes's favorite
accidents, and even deaths. One
Danto
songs for Danto has the line:
pase, ou di se loray-o [When
"Lè ou wè
it is a thunderstorm)." Thus
you see Dantô pass by, you say
elemental force ofa a torrential Dantô's rage can emerge with the
rain, which
unjust alike. This aspect of Ezili Dantô sweeps away just and
infant's-eye view of the
might be described as an
Some
omnipotent mother.
people call Danto a baka (evil spirit). But
plains that some people have a good Dantô and Alourdes exevil one. The evil ones are never inherited
others have an
they are powers "purchased" by the
in families; rather,
Yet even a good Danto, such
envious and the greedy.
her mother, has the
as the one Alourdes inherited from
least to behave like potential if not to become a baka then at
one. "Some people have
said, "they have good Danto, but if
kill Dantô, Alourdes
of
you
her. . . she see blood . : she might turn.' any 11 animal in front
killing an animal for a feast,
Among Haitians,
meal as
Vodou or otherwise, marks the
prestigious. When the spirits are
usually do the killing. But not Dantô! She being honored, they
do that. At the sight of blood, Dantô
cannot be allowed to
goes wild.
"Dantô can be evil, too," Maggie said. "She
kills a lot. If you
if
kill Dantô, Alourdes
of
you
her. . . she see blood . : she might turn.' any 11 animal in front
killing an animal for a feast,
Among Haitians,
meal as
Vodou or otherwise, marks the
prestigious. When the spirits are
usually do the killing. But not Dantô! She being honored, they
do that. At the sight of blood, Dantô
cannot be allowed to
goes wild.
"Dantô can be evil, too," Maggie said. "She
kills a lot. If you --- Page 264 ---
down, you tell her to go and get somebody, she
put her upside
don'twant to come, she
willgoand; get that person. Ifthat person
to
II "Lot'a
break that person neck and bring that person you. Alourdes
scared of her!"
people scared of her-most people "But I love her, even she tough.
Ezili
said and then quickly added,
nothing can attack you.
When she's behind you, sweetheart,
Nothing!"
in working with Ezili Danto is to treat
Alourdes's philosophy
to Ezili Dantôher well and with caution. Any gift presented
right on
clothing, dolls (which the spirit loves) stays
money,
used
any member of the family. With
her altar and is never
by
of Dantô's anger and
care and respect, the constructive parts
parts kept in
can be put to good use and the destructive
energy
believes that if she were to take the large tawny
check. Alourdes
Dantô on her altar and turn it upside down
doll that represents
on an enemy, the energy unin an attempt to take vengeance
her. She leaves
leashed would eventually come back to destroy
and lets the part of Danto that is sometimes
the doll upright
the shadows where it serves a function.
called a baka slumber rin
mother who must
It fuels the engine of the hardworking single
and provide
sometimes turn the world upside down to protect
for her children.
Alourdes sings for Danto every time
The following song, one
disobedient children are not
she calls the spirit, indicates that
Relationships with men
the only source of Dantô's problems. takes blood, the trigger for
can be equally disturbing. This song
of the
violence in Danto, and transforms it into an image
spirit's
own fierce suffering.
Di ye!
Set kou'd kouto, set kou'd ponya.
Prete'm terinn-nan, m'al vomi san ye.
Set kou'd kouto, set kou'd ponya.
Prete'm terinn-nan, m'al vomi san ye. [repeat]
Men san màke pou li.
Set kou'd kouto, set kou'd ponya.
Prete'n terinn-nan, m'al vomi san ye.
Mwen di ye, m'pral vomi san, se vre.
Set kou'd kouto, set kou'd ponya.
outo, set kou'd ponya.
Prete'm terinn-nan, m'al vomi san ye.
Set kou'd kouto, set kou'd ponya.
Prete'm terinn-nan, m'al vomi san ye. [repeat]
Men san màke pou li.
Set kou'd kouto, set kou'd ponya.
Prete'n terinn-nan, m'al vomi san ye.
Mwen di ye, m'pral vomi san, se vre.
Set kou'd kouto, set kou'd ponya. --- Page 265 ---
Prete'm terinn-nan, m'al vomi san ye. [repeat]
San m'ape koule, Dantô, m'pral vomi san
San
ye.
m'ape koule, Ezili, m'pral vomi san ye.
San mwen ape koule, Je Wouj, ou pral vomi san
ye.
Ezili
Say hey!
Seven stabs of the knife, seven stabs of the sword.
Hand me that basin, I'm going to vomit blood.
Seven stabs of the knife, seven stabs of the sword.
Hand me that basin, I'm going to vomit blood.
But the blood is marked for him.
[repeat]
Seven stabs of the knife, seven stabs of the sword.
Hand me that basin, I'm going to vomit blood.
I say hey! I'm going to vomit blood, it's true.
Seven stabs of the knife, seven stabs of the sword.
Hand me that basin, I'm going to vomit blood.
My blood is flowing, Danto, I'm
(repeat]
going to vomit blood.
My blood is flowing, Ezili, I'm going to vomit blood.
My blood is flowing, Red-Eyes, you're
going to vomit blood.
Haitians have a talent for capturing
Seven Stabs of the Knife was the
history in terse images.
au-Prince where Philomise
name of the compound in PortIt was named after
lived at the time Alourdes was born.
an infamous event that occurred
long before Philo moved in. A fight
there not
with words between
began in the
a man and his female
compound
escalated, and the man rushed into the partner. Their anger
front of their neighbors, he killed
house for a knife. In
the
seven times. People
woman by stabbing her
too hard to realize that probably did not have to think too long or
Ezili Je Wouj (Ezili of the this Red event belonged in the domain of
Ezili Danto is a woman
Eyes), another name for Dantô.
dent. But the brutalh
on her own. She is fiercely indepenwho follows in Dantô's honesty ofVodou does notallowany woman
entirely
path to claim that she does SO
by choice. Danto is
easily or
connections with
independent, but she also craves
men for the new life
need lies her greatest
they produce. In this
vulnerability. Danto rages and destroys,
ili of the this Red event belonged in the domain of
Ezili Danto is a woman
Eyes), another name for Dantô.
dent. But the brutalh
on her own. She is fiercely indepenwho follows in Dantô's honesty ofVodou does notallowany woman
entirely
path to claim that she does SO
by choice. Danto is
easily or
connections with
independent, but she also craves
men for the new life
need lies her greatest
they produce. In this
vulnerability. Danto rages and destroys, --- Page 266 ---
suffers. She vomits blood. In 1985, when Dantô apbut she also
birthday party for her, she
peared at Alourdes's annual July blood. I did not attend the party,
asked for a basin and vomited
called the next day
but Maggie, who was moved by the event, and I still do not know
Ezili
to tell me about it. I did not know then
Dantô's horse-that
(how would I phrase the question?) how
more to
to vomit blood. Or, perhaps
is, Alourdes-managed what was
on in Alourdes's life or
the point, I do not know
going this extreme gesture
the life of her community that provoked
from Ezili Dantô.
and women in urban Haiti
Relationships between poor men After the slave revolution
are often troubled and transitory.
multigenera-
(and in many rural areas today), the patriarchal, Men who had suffitional extended family held sway in Haiti.
than one
could form relationships with more
cient resources
households in which they bore
woman. Women had their own
moving among
and raised their children. Men followed a circuit,
of wives and girlfriends, while often continuing
the households
well as their women to feed and
to rely on their mothers as
families began to break up
lodge them. When the big extended
of depleted soil, overpopulation,
under the combined pressures numbers of rural people moved to
and corrupt politics, large
the cities.
fared better than men in the shift from
Haitian women have
the family has shrunk to the size
rural to urban life. În the cities,
in which women have traof the individual household, an arena women's skill at smallditionally been in charge. Furthermore,
of
on through generations
scale commerce, an aptitude allowed passed them to adapt to life in urban
rural market women, has
usually must be patched
Haiti, where the income ofa a household cities have often been
together. In contrast, men living in the
of income, even
to
small and erratic sources
too proud exploit
are slim.
when their chances of finding a full-time job
males hovers
unemployment among young urban
Currently,
men in the city follow the old
around 80 percent. Many young households of their girlfriends
pattern, circulating among the
intimacy, and get their launand families to be fed, enjoy some
With the land
dry done. But life is hard and resources scarce.
men are to
it is no longer clear how essential particular
gone,
women and children. As a result, relathe survival of particular
have become brittle
tionships between urban men and women
and, too often, violent.
of finding a full-time job
males hovers
unemployment among young urban
Currently,
men in the city follow the old
around 80 percent. Many young households of their girlfriends
pattern, circulating among the
intimacy, and get their launand families to be fed, enjoy some
With the land
dry done. But life is hard and resources scarce.
men are to
it is no longer clear how essential particular
gone,
women and children. As a result, relathe survival of particular
have become brittle
tionships between urban men and women
and, too often, violent. --- Page 267 ---
Men are caught in a double bind.
pect to exercise power and
They are still reared to exresources with which to do authority, although they have few
SO. When their
against a wall of social
expectations run up
productive directions. impossibility, men often veer off in unThe least harmful is
tional preoccupation with
manifested in a naEzili
the
soccer. The most
military, the domestic police force of
damaging involve
plicated, many-headed male
Haiti, and a vast, comthe one road to upward
patronage system that provides
socialmobility for
men. Drinking and gambling fall
desperate, poor young
this spectrum. Alcoholism
somewhere in the middle of
and
is a big problem
an even bigger problem in Port-au-Prince, throughout Haiti
Johnny Walker is thought to be
where a bottle of
indispensable to the
young man who likes to flannen (hang
image of a
Gambling is also
out) with his buddies.
teries, large and small, pervasive among poor men. The many lotPrince
that can be played
offer one outlet for the fever. Rue du every day in Port-auartery that skirts the city
Dr. Dehoux, a main
bling concessions,
cemetery, is clogged with rickety
roulette wheels, and dice
gampear only after dark, garishly lighted
games, which apMany of the players are men
by Coleman lanterns.
clothes ragged.
SO poor their feet are bare and their
Ezili Dantô's lover Ogou is a warrior
a breathtakingly handsome and
spirit pictured as a hero,
often, Ogou is
dedicated soldier. But, just as
portrayed as vain and swaggering,
thy, wantonly violent, and self-destructive. In
untrustworfestations, Ogou is a drunk. Ezili Dantô
one of his maniher bed, but she knows she
will take this man into
would never dream of
cannot depend on him, and she
Ezili Dantô and
marrying him. The relationship between
the actual life Ogou thus takes up and comments on much of
experience of Haitian women.
Ezili Dantô also mirrors many of the
own life and the lives of other
specifics of Alourdes's
Noelsine
women in her family. Marie
Joseph and Alphonse Macena, Alourdes's maternal
grandparents, fought constantly. Alourdes's
knew her own father only when she
mother, Philo,
remembered most
was a child, and what Philo
Philo's life
clearly about Macena was her fear of
was also full of problems with lovers.
him.
she was involved with, Luc Charles,
The first man
and violent. The second, like Charles was jealous, possessive,
Domingo, fathered
a Haitian residing in Santo
a child with another woman
with Philo. Philo left each of them in turn and
while living
moved on, but a
fought constantly. Alourdes's
knew her own father only when she
mother, Philo,
remembered most
was a child, and what Philo
Philo's life
clearly about Macena was her fear of
was also full of problems with lovers.
him.
she was involved with, Luc Charles,
The first man
and violent. The second, like Charles was jealous, possessive,
Domingo, fathered
a Haitian residing in Santo
a child with another woman
with Philo. Philo left each of them in turn and
while living
moved on, but a --- Page 268 ---
did not change her luck. Alourdes's fareturn to Port-au-Prince
from Philo's life be236
ther was a brief presence who disappeared coming by as soon as Philo
fore Alourdes was born. He stopped contribution to the family. And
asked him fora minimal financial
said, "That's enough!"
Ezili
then, according to Alourdes, the spirits
forty, and
stopped before she turned
Philo's menstrual periods
had a sexual relationship with
after Alourdes's father, she never
They want no
"The spirit make my mother stop.
a man again.
interference.' 11
Maggie, Alourdes,
In one intimate, late-night like conversation, to be women on our own, an
and I discussed what it was
with real energy: "My
experience we shared. Maggie spoke
You don't need
taught us to be strong as woman.
grandmother father of this, the father of that. Like . . . we
man, to be the
Like Wonderwoman!" (Like
woman . . we could do everything! Alourdes, as sheso often does,
Ezili Danto, she might have said.)
Maggie's
with a more nuanced view that qualified
responded
to
me clothes-I don't need man
fantasy: "To give me food, give
can't
for that. I can work!" But, Alourdes said, "Some thing love you to
You need a man to love. : . to make
you.
do for yourself.
Alourdes is certain she is not cut out for a
Now in mid-life,
and strongtraditional marriage. She is far too independent clean and take
willed. "I can't do that for nobody- -cook and casual relationof him. Not me!" But neither is she open to
care
"I don't like boyfriend. When you deeply in
ships with men.
come! Ilike
one man." The problem
trouble, it not his day to
my
Alourdes
is finding that one man. "You want company, right?" to make love? If
"You want somebody to talk,
asked one day.
man. If you not SO lucky, you find a
you lucky, you find a good
You play it, you win or you
bad man. Man is a lottery, right?
lose. If you don't lose, you win. 11
I know, Alourdes
Like SO many of the older Haitian women
the sting from
irreverent humor about men that steals
has an
situations. For more than a year, there was a
otherwise painful
household about a mythical man
running joke in Alourdes's
food in the refrigerator, it was
named Joe. When there was no
for breakfast and ate
because Joe got there first. He came by
of butter, and
three dozen eggs, two loaves of bread, a pound
forth. As the list got longer and longer, the laughter got
SO
louder. When a child misbehaved, he or she was
louder and
by Joe, who would ask no
threatened with being punished
. For more than a year, there was a
otherwise painful
household about a mythical man
running joke in Alourdes's
food in the refrigerator, it was
named Joe. When there was no
for breakfast and ate
because Joe got there first. He came by
of butter, and
three dozen eggs, two loaves of bread, a pound
forth. As the list got longer and longer, the laughter got
SO
louder. When a child misbehaved, he or she was
louder and
by Joe, who would ask no
threatened with being punished --- Page 269 ---
questions before throwing the child out on the street.
characterized him this way: "Joe say, I
Maggie
kill them.' 111 When Alourdes
could beat a child until I
around in several
was miffed because I had not come
her
weeks, she told all her friends that
and gone off with me and now I
Joe had left
and visit.
was "too busy" to come
Ezili
Alourdes did not always have a sense of humor about
good part of her life was spent searching for
men. A
rescue her if not from who she
a man who would
was then at
was. But Alourdes was not able to form least from where she
man. At fourteen, she fell in love with a lasting union with a
struggling but not
Abner, the only son of a
desperately poor
was sixteen and beginning his studies Port-au-Prince family. He
met the vibrant
at the university when he
young Alourdes. When Abner's
Alourdes was pregnant, they acted
family learned
one day to find a large suitcase
swiftly. He arrived home
on the front
case is that?" he asked. "Never
porch. "Whose suitgoing for a ride." And with that mind, said his father. "We are
and sent to Chicago. He did Abner was taken to the airport
bye. Some months later,
not even have time to say goodborn. For a while, letters Jean-Pierre, Alourdes's first child, was
arrived from Chicago, some
ing a little money. But soon the mail
containheartbroken and quite
stopped. Alourdes was
depressed for
sized emotions of adolescence
many months. The outnomic constraints that
magnified the real social and ecoher first child,
began to shape her life with the birth of
at age fourteen.
When Alourdes was fifteen, she got her job with the
Folklorique, and things began to improve. She
Troupe
naturally sensual, and I suspect that
was beautiful,
and compelling
even then she had a strong
personality. When the
was
Cuba, she got to know Charles
group
on tour in
worked for the Haitian
Desinor, a photographer who
Troupe
tourist bureau and traveled with the
ried, he Folklorique. courted
Although he was forty years old and marAlourdes with
and
At first, Philo was reluctant to energy allow
great perseverance.
him to their home, but in the end Charles Alourdes even to invite
may have had something to do with his won out. His success
day when Alourdes and Philo
considerable style. One
arrived at the house
were sitting at home, a big truck
on Oswald Durand, bringing
complete sets for a living room, dining room, and furniturelo's three-room wooden house could
bedroom. Phinot have accommodated
ed
Although he was forty years old and marAlourdes with
and
At first, Philo was reluctant to energy allow
great perseverance.
him to their home, but in the end Charles Alourdes even to invite
may have had something to do with his won out. His success
day when Alourdes and Philo
considerable style. One
arrived at the house
were sitting at home, a big truck
on Oswald Durand, bringing
complete sets for a living room, dining room, and furniturelo's three-room wooden house could
bedroom. Phinot have accommodated --- Page 270 ---
furniture even if she had intended to do nothing
this much
Charles soon arrived to announce that he was
more than store it.
where she could put the
going to rent a big house for Alourdes,
at least they
furniture. In no time, they were living together-or life allowed.
otherwise full
Ezili
were together as often as Charles's
who turned out to be
This man was Maggie's father, a man
Alourdes's life. To
than many of the men in
more responsible
his old telephone number, 2002, at
this day, she can remember
because that number in my
the Office National du Tourisme,
if
somemind all the time. I have to call that number Maggie got
-de mil de [two thousand two). IfI need something, if she sickmil de. I got problem-de mil de."
Antoine
thing-de time Alourdes was with Charles, she met
During the
of Mount Carmel in PortKowalski in the Church of Our Lady
and Kowalski was thirty-four.
au-Prince. She was eighteen,
of the Virgin, and when
Alourdes went to pray before the statue
her. As
to her pew, Antoine came and sat beside
she returned
Alourdes that he was the one who
an opening line, he told
from Our Lady of Mount
could give her what she had requested
how he knew what
Carmel (Ezili Dantô). When Alourdes asked
of
Kowalski countered with a proposal
her prayer had been,
said a dozen words to Antoine
marriage. Alourdes had not yet
Kowalski.
connected with a father who had
Alourdes had only recently
denied her existence, and
previously ignored her and had even
this newfound
anxious to win the approval of
she was quite
fastidious man who was
"daddy." Alphonse Margaux, a small,
of
in Haiti's tax office, did not hide his disapproval
a lawyer
with Charles. Here was his daughter,
Alourdes's arrangement with a man who was not her husband.
with two children, living
decided to marry Kowalski,
It made him ashamed. So Alourdes
Alourdes
and she sent her suitor to her fathertoask forherhand.
to
knew she was not in love, but she nevertheless felt compelled
to her father's upper-class premarry by a teenage sensitivity
in Haiti. They can be traced to the sizable PolPolish names are not uncommon
sent in 1802 to quell the slave
ish legion included in the force Napoleon Polish soldiers, Bonaparte some of whom had been freedom
revolt in Saint Domingue. These been
into military service against their
fighters in their own country, had Poles pressed sided with the rebels and eventually rewill. Once in Saint Domingue, leaders. many See Laurore St. Juste and Frère Enel Clérismé,
ceived protection from rebel
n.p., 1983).
Présence polonaise en Haiti (Port-au-Prince:
sizable PolPolish names are not uncommon
sent in 1802 to quell the slave
ish legion included in the force Napoleon Polish soldiers, Bonaparte some of whom had been freedom
revolt in Saint Domingue. These been
into military service against their
fighters in their own country, had Poles pressed sided with the rebels and eventually rewill. Once in Saint Domingue, leaders. many See Laurore St. Juste and Frère Enel Clérismé,
ceived protection from rebel
n.p., 1983).
Présence polonaise en Haiti (Port-au-Prince: --- Page 271 ---
tensions. Describing her feelings at the
did that to save my
time, Alourdes said, "I
family name.
Kowalski, a bachelor who hads
ing for the one woman he could spent more than a decade waitonly one), set out to win Alourdes's love (knowing he could love
He tried hard,
heart as well as her hand.
Ezili
perhaps too hard. At one point
gagement, Kowalski won the
during their enworth twenty thousand
lottery. With a ticket in his hand
door. He gave her the dollars, he showed up at Alourdes's
"Rip it up! Do
winning ticket and told her dramatically,
ticket. I1 Alourdes anything with it. I love you. I don't love that
and he did.
asked him to buy her a house with the money,
Alourdes Margaux (she had recently taken
and Antoine Kowalski
her father's name)
were married at ten
ing on December 30, 1954, in the Church o'clock in the morndowntown Port-au-Prince.
of the Sacred Heart in
wore a traditional
Alourdes was nineteen, and she
wedding dress. Her children,
Maggie, sat in their stiff new clothes in the front Jean-Pierre and
ernous church. Pèpe, as Alourdes's
pew of the cavfriends, sat contentedly beside
father was known to his
them.
came to visit his newly married
Afterthewedding, he even
Alourdes's husband had
daughter from time to time.
her up in their new house a shoemaking business, and he set
not as luxurious
with two servants. This situation is
as it sounds; there are thousands of
ately poor people in Port-au-Prince who
desperlucky to get a job as a maid or
consider themselves
house guardian," -
wages are little more than food and
even if their
Alourdes, who had often been
a place to sleep. But for
its accoutrements
hungry as a child, this union and
were, for a while, the
The fantasy did not last long. Kowalski realization ofa fantasy.
a husband than he had been
was more obsessive as
quit singing with the
as a suitor. He demanded that she
she spoke to another Troupe Folklorique. He threw a jealous fitif
He was SO
man, even someone passing on the street.
ited her possessive he sent spies to follow her when she
mother in the little house on Oswald
visbegan to chafe under his control. "He
Durand. Alourdes
wife, he need
too selfish. He
slave . . . not wife," I1 she told her
don'tneed
soned with herself: "He's not tied the
friends. She reaTensions between them escalated.
way I'm tied. Right?"
retorted, "Shut up, old man. You talk Kowalskil lectured. Alourdes
One day, he came home from work too much."
early. Alourdes, five
mother in the little house on Oswald
visbegan to chafe under his control. "He
Durand. Alourdes
wife, he need
too selfish. He
slave . . . not wife," I1 she told her
don'tneed
soned with herself: "He's not tied the
friends. She reaTensions between them escalated.
way I'm tied. Right?"
retorted, "Shut up, old man. You talk Kowalskil lectured. Alourdes
One day, he came home from work too much."
early. Alourdes, five --- Page 272 ---
for raw meat, and, like a selfmonths pregnant, had a craving
her arm on the shoul240
conscious, naughty child, she had placed dinner, and begged
der of the maid, who was busy preparing the two women touchfor a bite of raw steak. Kowalski saw only
the
Alourdes
fired the maid on
spot.
Ezili
ing. He flewi into a rage and
madder. Alourdes's volatile
objected loudly, and Kowalski got
him. He kicked
emotions erupted like a volcano. She slapped
from
the
Not long after, she moved away
her, and she lost
baby.
with his lottery winnings, tellthe house Kowalski had bought
but her freedom.
ing him to keep it. She wanted nothing indeed. Soon she could no
Freedom proved to be very hard month it cost to keep her
longer afford even the few dollars a
her own. Then
faithful maid. For some months, she lived on
furious
forced to move back with her mother. Philo was
she was
the security that the relationwith Alourdes for throwing away
and the two were barely
ship with Kowalski had represented, Alourdes found a job that paid
on speaking terms. Eventually, and established her own home once
almost enough to survive
during this
There were men and there were relationships
again.
but none of them sustained Alourdes
long and difficult period,
economically or emotionally. she became pregnant a third time.
With a man named René,
the relationship quickly
Butwhen René learned a baby was due,
herself and
Alourdes feared that she could not support
ended.
this pregnancy, and she reluctantly conher children during have to abort the child. She did just what
cluded that she would
hermother had done-ran up and down stairs, punched
her
from a table to the floor,
selfin the stomach, jumped repeatedly she had ever heard menand drank teas, potions, and anything And, just as the spirits had
tioned as a possible abortifacient.
to warn her. In
intervened to stop her mother, SO they appeared
in
efforts, Alourdes had a dream
the midst of these desperate
in front of her house.
taptap stopped
which a brightly painted
(Ezili Dantô) emerged and handed
Notre Dame du Mont Carmel
that this dream was serious
her a baby. Friends counseled her harm the baby. Alourdes perand that she should do nothing to
did the fetus. Alourdes
sisted nevertheless, but somehow SO
second
from the
with William, her third child and
son,
had pain
conceived until a year after his birth.
time he was
Alourdes was living with Gabriel (a
Four years later, when
she had a surgical abortion
man who remains her close friend),
painted
(Ezili Dantô) emerged and handed
Notre Dame du Mont Carmel
that this dream was serious
her a baby. Friends counseled her harm the baby. Alourdes perand that she should do nothing to
did the fetus. Alourdes
sisted nevertheless, but somehow SO
second
from the
with William, her third child and
son,
had pain
conceived until a year after his birth.
time he was
Alourdes was living with Gabriel (a
Four years later, when
she had a surgical abortion
man who remains her close friend), --- Page 273 ---
in a Port-au-Prince clinic. This time, Alourdes
but felt compelled to have the abortion.
wanted the child
the United States had been
Her visa to immigrate to
Alourdes she would not be granted at last, and someone told
ties knew she
allowed to leave Haiti if the authoriwas going to have a baby.
Haiti is a Catholic country.
Ezili
cluding those like Alourdes People who serve the spirits, insider themselves
who. are priestesses and priests, congie's kitchen
good Catholics. In 1984, I was seated at
table, reading her copy of the New York Post Maglamenting the rhetoric of John Cardinal
and
"He doesn't have to use the word murder O'Connor all
on abortion.
is murder!" shouted Alourdes
the time, n I said. "It
In spite of this
and Maggie with one voice.
opinion, Alourdes knew about
some extent, sympathized with Philo's
and, at least to
Alourdes herself had tried to
attempt to abort her.
succeeded in
terminate one pregnancy and had
discussion, doing SO with another. At the time we had this
only be described Maggie was employed as a nurse's aide in what
as an abortion mill on
can
East Side. Furthermore, the Vodou
Manhattan's Upper
stood to oppose abortion,
spirit Ezili Danto is underdicated. "It
as Alourdes's and Philo's dreams inreally make her mad!" Alourdes
don't like abortion because she
once said. "She
know, human being do
really love children. But, you
everything. That's life! Right?
something human created. Right?"
Abortion
Vodou morality is not a morality of rule or
textual one. It is tailored not
law but a conspecific
only to the situation but also to
person or group involved. A moral
the
one who lives in tune with his
person, in Vodou, is
fined by the
or her character, a character despirits said to love that
vided in the midst of moral dilemmas person. Flexibility is provorite spirits offer to different
by the support these favalues. When Alourdes
and sometimes contradictory
was pregnant with
urged her not to abort the child. In this William, Ezili Dantô
lowing the will of the spirits has been case, the price for folbe able to support himself and will
high: William will never
until she dies. Yet, in
be Alourdes's responsibility
with Gabriel's
contrast, when Alourdes was pregnant
taker,
baby, Ogou, the great survival artist
won the day, and Dantô went silent.
and risk
abortion. In Ogou's honor, Alourdes
Alourdes had the
she boarded the plane for New
donned a red dress when
it is also the only choice to make York. Abortion "is murder," but
in some situations.
the price for folbe able to support himself and will
high: William will never
until she dies. Yet, in
be Alourdes's responsibility
with Gabriel's
contrast, when Alourdes was pregnant
taker,
baby, Ogou, the great survival artist
won the day, and Dantô went silent.
and risk
abortion. In Ogou's honor, Alourdes
Alourdes had the
she boarded the plane for New
donned a red dress when
it is also the only choice to make York. Abortion "is murder," but
in some situations. --- Page 274 ---
has a moral pull, but no one spirit prevails in every
Each spirit
is no Golden
in the past and no
situation. In Vodou, there
Age value is higher than
heaven in the future. Consequently, no
but also, and more often, group
survival-not only personal
highly contextual. FurEzili
survival. A survival ethic is necessarily
a deus ex mathermore, Vodou is not a religion that promises
is
whatever persons want to happen,
china. Whatever wrong, fix it or do it for them as much as emthe Vodou spirits do not
Alourdes once said about
them to do it for themselves.
power
What she do, she give you
Ezili Dantô: "She don't give money.
Yes."
to help
.
yourself.
opportunity . opportunity and for Alourdes, as for SO many poor Haitian
For Ezili Dantô
center of life, the main reason for being.
women, children are the
that Vodou does not
Yet Dantô's anger and her suffering prove
and
unmixed, sentimental portrait of childbearing
present an
of Haiti, infant mortality is as high
motherhood. In some parts
available. Although a
and birth control is rarely
as 50 percent,
contributes substantially and willingly
responsible father who child is the ideal, this ideal is rarely
to the upbringing of his
both in Haiti and in the United
achieved. Poor Haitian women, born to them belong to them
States, assume that the children
shoulder this responsibilAnd they
and are their responsibility.
ity in precarious circumstances. and economic risks of having
Perhaps the physical, social,
called pa-pale
the occurrence of a condition
children explain
Although it can befall others who have
(not-speaking disease).
is said to be found most often
reasons for depression, pa-pale
birth. Such women take to
women who have just given
among
do not speak, sometimes for months at a
their beds and literally
have had their voices
time. Like the mute Ezili Danto, they
Philo was known
taken from them by the people closest to them. mental illness,
Port-au-Prince for her ability to treat
thoughout
condition. This talent has passed to
especially this intractable
Haitian woman found wanAlourdes, who reported treating a
Alourdes
the streets of Brooklyn suffering from pa-pale.
dering
into her home and fed and clothed her. At the
took the woman
the souls of the dead continue to exist and to participate in human
*Although
notorious for complaining about the cold, hunger, and dampaffairs, they are also
world. No living person would consider the "life" of an
ness that characterize their
ancestor superior to his or her own.
out
condition. This talent has passed to
especially this intractable
Haitian woman found wanAlourdes, who reported treating a
Alourdes
the streets of Brooklyn suffering from pa-pale.
dering
into her home and fed and clothed her. At the
took the woman
the souls of the dead continue to exist and to participate in human
*Although
notorious for complaining about the cold, hunger, and dampaffairs, they are also
world. No living person would consider the "life" of an
ness that characterize their
ancestor superior to his or her own. --- Page 275 ---
beginning, she even took the woman into her
held her at night as if she were a child.
bed, where she
cured, her
After the woman was
story emerged. She had not
when she stopped
recently given birth
to New York
speaking, but she had just lost her children
City's child welfare system. Through the
Ezili
illness, poor Haitian women wordlessly
politics of
and anger: dey-dey-dey-dey-dey
articulate their pain
Another condition common
ing age is called pèdisyon
among poor women of childbearperdition,' "' the child in her (perdition). When a woman "falls into
womb is said to have been
"tied" to prevent it from growing.
"held" or
Ifa woman misses
(Sorcery is often implicated.)
one or more periods and then
to
struate again, she assumes she is
begins menperdition. In this state, the
pregnant but has fallen into
lieve is
menstrual blood, which Haitians beordinarily retained in the womb to nourish the
passes the fetus. But the baby does not die.
baby, bya state of suspended
Instead, it is held in
"untie"
growth. When a healer does
the child, the blood flow stops, and the child something to
"work" again and grow. Pregnancies
begins to
can go on for years.
interrupted by perdition
One advantage of this condition is that a woman
anyone she has had relations with
can claim
over the course of
years as the father of her child. The
several
an important
of
naming of a father is often
part a mother's survival
never fallen into perdition, but she did strategy. Alourdes has
into
he
once try to trick a man
believing
was the father of the child she
Her ruse failed, yet she shows
was carrying.
compassion
ness of the difficult circumstances
forherselfand. awarestory. "Women
of her life when she tells the
got to do all kind'a thing. I know, cause
got William, I tell somebody, I pregnant for
I but whenI
true. What I going to do?I got to
you,'
that not
Through the
eat, or that baby going to die!"
politics of illness, women increase the
survival for themselves and for their children,
chances of
dies, pa-pale and
These two malapèdisyon, can be treated only by Vodou
They are diseases of that world. Their
healers.
with what they reveal about the stress of presence there, along
for children in a
bearing and providing
poverty-stricken country, is part of the backSSee Gerald F. Murray, "Women in Perdition: Ritual
in Culture, Natality, and Family Planning, ed. John F. Marshall Fertility Control in Haiti,"
(Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press,
and Steven Polgar
1976), 59-78.
pa-pale and
These two malapèdisyon, can be treated only by Vodou
They are diseases of that world. Their
healers.
with what they reveal about the stress of presence there, along
for children in a
bearing and providing
poverty-stricken country, is part of the backSSee Gerald F. Murray, "Women in Perdition: Ritual
in Culture, Natality, and Family Planning, ed. John F. Marshall Fertility Control in Haiti,"
(Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press,
and Steven Polgar
1976), 59-78. --- Page 276 ---
Danto stands with her infant in her
ground against which Ezili
of childbearing
arms. In a real sense, the risks and the suffering mother sees
and child-rearing are part of what every Haitian
when she gazes at the image of Mater Salvatoris.
howEzili
Even greater risks are involved in not having children,
friends shake their heads rueever, which makes my Haitian For Haitian women, even for
fully when they hear I have none.
the main
those now living in New York, children represent
viable household and the closest thing
hope for a financially
in old
The mother-child relathere is to a guarantee of care
and age. essential. In a not unretionship among Haitians is strong
chillated way, it is also potentially volatile. In the countryside, Children
dren's labor is necessary for the survival of the family.
and physical
is often
an
begin to work at early age,
punishment
Alswift and severe if they are irresponsible or disrespectful. contribute to
though children stay in school longer and begin to
childlater in the cities, similar attitudes toward
the family
rearing prevail in the urban environment.
has its
Dantô's strict discipline with those who serve her
parallel in Alourdes's strong hand in her own household. Alourdes, will
like Ezili Danto, is a proud and hardworking woman who
or indolence in her children. Although
not tolerate disrespect
directed at
who is now an
her anger is almost never
Maggie, the household, it can
adult and Alourdes's partner in running off their feet. I have
sometimes sweep the smaller children
her disnever seen Alourdes strike a child, but she can express
pleasure sharply and mete out severe punishments. bond between
In woman-headed Haitian households, the
endurmother and daughter is the most charged and the most
form three- and sometimes
ing. Women and their daughters
circulate
networks in which gifts and services
four-generation needs and abilities. These tight female relational
according to
where
is comsystems create a safety net in a society
hunger
on
that she would eventually be dependent
mon. Knowing
fueled Philo's anger when her daughter
Alourdes probably
from her marriage to Kowalski.
walked away empty-handed took her in. When Alourdes lay in a clinic,
Nevertheless, Philo
in the last weeks of her pregand in constant pain
penniless
Philo borrowed what she could- - twenty
nancy with William,
brought these things to her daughcents and some bread-and
of life, Alourdes sent
ter. In return, during Philo's last few years
unger
on
that she would eventually be dependent
mon. Knowing
fueled Philo's anger when her daughter
Alourdes probably
from her marriage to Kowalski.
walked away empty-handed took her in. When Alourdes lay in a clinic,
Nevertheless, Philo
in the last weeks of her pregand in constant pain
penniless
Philo borrowed what she could- - twenty
nancy with William,
brought these things to her daughcents and some bread-and
of life, Alourdes sent
ter. In return, during Philo's last few years --- Page 277 ---
her mother the money that sustained her. The
mother-daughter bond is one
strength of the
tify the child in Ezili Dantô's explanation of why Haitians iden245
portance and
arms as a daughter. And the imprecariousness of that bond add
tô's fiery temper.
meaning to DanAlourdes and her daughter
Ezili
ally, spiritually,
depend on each other emotionsocially, and economically. Without
care Alourdes provides,
could
the child
Maggie
not work. Without
money Maggie brings in every week, Alourdes would
the
the erratic income she draws from her
have only
Maggie's supporting role, Alourdes
healing work. Without
birthday parties for the
could not stage elaborate
to hold Maggie
spirits. Alourdes does not use religion
against her will, however. The
tween them is genuine and
affection befriend and most trusted
strong; they are each other's best
fortable when the
ally. Each reports she feels most comother is present. When one is
afraid, the other can alleviate the
depressed or
"When she not near me," Alourdes depression or calm the fear.
side me disconnected
said, "I feel something inWhen
: . something missing in me." 11
either travels, they both become anxious, and at
they appear to communicate telepathically.
times
about each other
They dream for and
constantly. When Maggie traveled
1988 for her father's funeral, she dreamed
to Haiti in
sick. When she called
that her mother was
home, she found that Alourdes was
fering from a bad head cold. When
sufin 1979, Alourdes dreamed
Maggie was in the hospital
about what her
to heal herself. "It's more than a mother and daughter had to do
child
Maggie said. "We are like twin sister- Siamese twin!" relationship,
admits that she sometimes forgets she is
Alourdes
agrees that it is more like
Maggie's mother and
having a sister.
Maggie's greatest fear is that Alourdes will die.
that the reverse is also true. Alourdes and
And I suspect
in an extended fantasy,
Maggie once engaged
complete with sound
dying side by side in a big earthquake. Alourdes effects, about
suddenly serious when she remembered
then became
the same dread about Philo's
how she used to feel
for a while Alourdes felt
death. When Philo died in
as if everything had
1973,
she said, "I don't cry all the time. But I dream ended. "Now,"
mother come in my dream, a lot!" Philo
her :
my
when Alourdes has serious
comes in her dreams
problems or when she is
especially difficult case and cannot figure out what to treating do. And an
in a big earthquake. Alourdes effects, about
suddenly serious when she remembered
then became
the same dread about Philo's
how she used to feel
for a while Alourdes felt
death. When Philo died in
as if everything had
1973,
she said, "I don't cry all the time. But I dream ended. "Now,"
mother come in my dream, a lot!" Philo
her :
my
when Alourdes has serious
comes in her dreams
problems or when she is
especially difficult case and cannot figure out what to treating do. And an --- Page 278 ---
Alourdes's other mother, Ezili
when Philo does not appear,
Danto, does.
in the house
Although Maggie maintains her own apartment
children.
share, she rarely eats alone or only with her own
they
mix and
and the eveEzili
The children of the two women
mingle,
from
kitchen one day to Alourdes's
ning meal moves
Maggie's social center to which they draw a
the next. Their home is a
friends. There is some divimultigenerational group of shared
in
sion of labor, however. Maggie is the family's representative where
Alourdes is in charge inside the home,
the outside world;
themselves around her.
persons and events tend to organize
but they do have
Maggie and Alourdes are not mirrori images,
relationship, one not unlike the relationship
a deeply symbiotic
with her mother, Philo. In Ezili Dantô's
Alourdes reports having
Haitians call Anaïse. Every time a
arms is the girl-child whom
she sees there the poHaitian woman looks at Dantô's image,
who will extend
tential for a daughter who will stick by her, one
her life and expand her world.
EZILI FREDA
of Maria Dolorosa del Monte Calvario
The chromolithograph
sword
depicts the Virgin Mary with a jewel-encrusted
plunged
into her heart. Her arms, crossed over her breasts, are dripping
with gold chains. Her fingers- even the thumbs-are covered
On her head is a jeweled tiara, and she wears heavy
in rings.
necklaces. The wall begold earrings and half a dozen weighty
obscured
hind her and the table in front of her are almost
by
of
and jeweled hearts. Haitians recognize
scores
gold, pearl,
this image as Ezili Freda.
Her skin color and herlove of
Ezili Freda is a white woman.
characterisfine clothes and jewelry are Freda's most distinctive
Whereas Ezili Danto is a fierce Petwo spirit, Freda is a spirit
tics.
characterized by sweetness
from the Rada pantheon, a group Danto is known for what she can
and even tempers. Whereas
alluring, desirdo, Freda is known for what she is-beautiful,
from time
able. Whereas Danto occasionally rages, Freda pouts
and withdraws into herself. Whereas Dantô lives out
to time
mode, Freda concerns herwomen's sexuality in its childbearing
self with love and romance. --- Page 279 ---
Ezili
Ezili Freda. Fort
with a statue of the Virgin representing
Maggie's bedroom altar,
Greene, Brooklyn, 1978.
like her light skin and
connection to romance,
Haitian women. As
Ezili Freda's
her with upper-class
true love. They
her jewelry, identifies "Poor people don't have no
its wardAlourdes observed,
its style,
11 Romance--itsl language,
of the Haijust have affliation."
to the top 10 percent Haiti's wealth.
robe, and its dance-belongs the lion's share of
that controls
of the elite are the contempotian population
the women
of the slave era, the
From one perspective, of the mulatto mistresses charm to the outsider's
rary incarnations beauties who lent erotic
famed Creole
Freda's
her with upper-class
true love. They
her jewelry, identifies "Poor people don't have no
its wardAlourdes observed,
its style,
11 Romance--itsl language,
of the Haijust have affliation."
to the top 10 percent Haiti's wealth.
robe, and its dance-belongs the lion's share of
that controls
of the elite are the contempotian population
the women
of the slave era, the
From one perspective, of the mulatto mistresses charm to the outsider's
rary incarnations beauties who lent erotic
famed Creole --- Page 280 ---
image of colonial Haiti. Ezili Freda rides the current of this
ticular ideology of female beauty and worth.
parEzili Freda, Alourdes said, is "fancy, and she
ous." Pink is Freda's favorite
very glamorEzili
color. Saturday is the
that
male devotees who have married her sleep alone and night wait for
Freda to come in their dreams. In her pysassionpefiormances
Freda is decked out in satin and lace. She is given powder,
fume, sweet-smelling soaps, and rich creams. The one persessed by her moves through the gathered community, embrac- posing one and then another and another. In time, this
sexuality begins to look driven, manic, like an unquenchable generous
thirst. Something in her searches and is never satisfied. There is
never enough love, never enough wealth, never enough honor.
Her visits sometimes end in tears and frustration. Freda's
turns inward, and her arms wrap protectively around gaze her
own body."
Ezili Freda takes her identity and her worth from her relationships with men. She is both married (to Ogou and to
and eternally ripe for marriage. Although she is in fact Danbala) most
often addressed with the respectful title of a married woman of
means, Maitresse, Alourdes says that "you always
to call
her Mademoiselle. Freda like people to think she a got
teenager.
Conflicting stories are told about Freda and children. Some
say she is barren; some say she had a child who died. Others
say Ezili Freda has a child but wishes to hide that factin order to
appear fresher, younger, and more desirable to men. Those
who hold this view often point out that in the chromolithograph used to represent Freda a portrait of a young boy
pears, nearly obscured by the left elbow of Maria Dolorosa. This apbiographical detail picks up a fragment from Alourdes's life that
hints at her larger connections with Freda. When Alourdes
ried Kowalski, she already had two children by two different marmen. She wanted a church wedding and, for her father's sake
much as her own, a respectable life. So she hid the children as
from her prospective in-laws. Not until the wedding, when
toine Kowalski's parents asked about the little boy and Angirl
Maya Deren has drawn a powerful portrait of this
of Ezili
Horsemen: The Voodoo Gods of Haiti (New York: Dell, aspect
Freda in Divine
Documentext, McPherson, 1983),
1970; reprint, New Paltz, N.Y.:
137-45.
She wanted a church wedding and, for her father's sake
much as her own, a respectable life. So she hid the children as
from her prospective in-laws. Not until the wedding, when
toine Kowalski's parents asked about the little boy and Angirl
Maya Deren has drawn a powerful portrait of this
of Ezili
Horsemen: The Voodoo Gods of Haiti (New York: Dell, aspect
Freda in Divine
Documentext, McPherson, 1983),
1970; reprint, New Paltz, N.Y.:
137-45. --- Page 281 ---
seated in the front pew, did they find out their son's bride
already a mother.
was
When Alourdes married
away from an
Kowalski, she was only one step
impoverished childhood and was still
city where only a small fraction of the
living in a
poor. Women of the small elite class people are not alarmingly
Ezili
to structure her dreams. These
nevertheless had the power
women are
are actually blonde and blue-eyed d-and light-skinned- -some
dresses in big Catholic churches
they marry in white
bedroom sets and
and return to homes that have
dining-room furniture and servants.
women never have to work. They spend their
These
visiting with friends; at night,
days resting and
men, dressed like
they emerge on the arms of their
haughty boredom. elegant peacocks and affecting an air of
member of the
Although Alourdes's husband was not a
elite, he provided her with a facsimile
dream. It stifled and confined
of this
let
of the
her, but she still has not
go
fantasy.
entirely
As a model, Ezili Freda is hard to follow, and
cially SO for a Haitian living in the United States. perhaps espenoon of disjointed conversation
In one afterthat she had been her
in July 1979, Alourdes told me
mother's favorite child because she was
light-skinned and fat. (Chantal, Philo's only other
and scrawny.) Alourdes also claimed
girl, was dark
tracted to her because she
that Kowalski had been atwas "light and heavy."
memories of the prestige of a well-rounded
Drawing on
country, she told me
body in a starving
proudly that she weighed two hundred
forty pounds when she first came to New York.
hour later, however, she announced
Only about an
that she was
we watched television that
on a diet. As
day, she
with the ad that
sang along, full voice,
proclaimed, "She's drinking Diet
it shows." When I went into her
Pepsi, and
bathroom, I discovered
someone had cut out magazine pictures of
that
in leotards and
skinny white women
pasted them around the mirror.
It is not only hard for a woman of Alourdes's
to look like Freda (or Freda's New
color and girth
Pepsi ad); it is also very difficult to World incarnation in the
"When
please this fastidious
you have Freda," Alourdes said,
spirit.
be
"you always got to
clean-twenty-four hours a day! Perfume : :
fancy!" She told me that once, when she called
jewelry :
refused to stay because Alourdes had
Freda, the spirit
day. This close connection
not yet taken a bath that
between hygiene and beauty speaks
Alourdes's
to look like Freda (or Freda's New
color and girth
Pepsi ad); it is also very difficult to World incarnation in the
"When
please this fastidious
you have Freda," Alourdes said,
spirit.
be
"you always got to
clean-twenty-four hours a day! Perfume : :
fancy!" She told me that once, when she called
jewelry :
refused to stay because Alourdes had
Freda, the spirit
day. This close connection
not yet taken a bath that
between hygiene and beauty speaks --- Page 282 ---
more eloquently in a country where most people do hard
cal labor and bathwater must be hauled from its
physihouse with an earth floor. Even with modern
source to a
plumbing, Freda's
Ezili
concern with appearances is more than the life of a hardworking woman like Alourdes can support. There are too
crises when Alourdes, like Dantô, has to throw on her clothes many
and get right to work. Yet there are times when Freda's is
cisely the image Alourdes wants to project. There is no sight pre- like
Alourdes dressed for a party-vermilion lipstick, hair curled,
and a flower behind one ear.
Ezili Banda, Ezili Banda,
Ezili Banda pase sa'l 00.
Ezili Banda, Ezili Banda,
Ezili Banda pase ko-li.
This Freda song says worlds in a few words and a rapid
pated beat. Its sparse, suggestive language makes it
syncodifficult to translate, but a rather loose rendering would especially like
this:
go
Pretentious Ezili, sexy Ezili,
Sexy Ezili outdoes herself.
Strutting Ezili, preening Ezili,
Preening Ezili thinks she's something.
Ezili Freda drapes herself in romance, wealth, and social status and at the same time reminds Haitians how
precarious and
superficial such things are. Another song for her
the point: "Yo pran Ezili Freda, yo met'l anndan complicates
tonbe, latè-a glise [They take Ezili Freda,
kay. .
Lapli
they put her in the
house. .
The rain falls, the ground is slippery]." This
reminds the listener that Freda is an Ezili, a
song
spirit from Africa, who would not content herself watery with woman
ing the mere surface of things. Here is the paradox. The describcan be heard as saying that when Ezili Freda is inside the song
when sensuality and love are in place in the family (or house,
when money and status are secure), the people inside perhaps
from the rain and slippery mud that surround
are safe
them. But it can
apli
they put her in the
house. .
The rain falls, the ground is slippery]." This
reminds the listener that Freda is an Ezili, a
song
spirit from Africa, who would not content herself watery with woman
ing the mere surface of things. Here is the paradox. The describcan be heard as saying that when Ezili Freda is inside the song
when sensuality and love are in place in the family (or house,
when money and status are secure), the people inside perhaps
from the rain and slippery mud that surround
are safe
them. But it can --- Page 283 ---
also be heard as a warning about the
insinuate itself through and under
ability of rainwater to
the
a Haitian house. When that
wattle-and-daub walls of
earth floor becomes
happens, the glossy hard-packed
dangerous. Hunger for
romance can undermine the foundations
wealth, status, or
satiable hunger, the need
of a family. Freda's inEzili
to the irrational,
that can never be met, is the parallel
raging baka in Danto and the
siren in Lasyrenn. But Freda cannot be
death-dealing
altara any more than Danto and
expelled from Alourdes's
of their deep shadows.
Lasyrenn can be rejected because
Alourdes does not have all of life's
its tensions resolved. The tension questions answered or all
Freda within her is one that is not between the Dantô and the
Alourdes accepts her life and the resolved. For the most part,
her to where she is
choices she made that brought
now. But there are also times
longs for male
when she
Freda's
companionship. She is therefore not immune to
glamour or, for that matter, to the pull of the
domesticity and nuclear families she
images of
sion. "Sometime I really,
sees every day on televiin the late
really, really get lonely, 11 said Alourdes
spring of 1985. "Sometime I want to make
I'm by myself. : and, let me tell you, I'm
love, and
four children. I can't take
fifty years old. I have
love. That's a shame. Yeah!" anybody to come :
just to make
Alourdes also gets tired of living at the
of being in charge of such a big and
edge of poverty, tired
times, she thinks about her
ungainly household. At
Kowalski
past with regret. "If I was
now, we stay until.. death do we
marry
want to go back with him. He tell
part. One time, I
Let me tell you, when I
me 'No, too much happen!
understand.
marry Antoine, I was too
: .
And he got
I1
young, Idon't
from Alourdes's voice is the money. . . Not entirely missing
her "land, " her love, to
sound of the poor woman selling
of her children. But here guarantee her survival and the survival
with
the finances of love are wound round
longing and dreams.
A little more than two years after this
fell in love. Her current man is
conversation, Alourdes
friend, and ally. Alourdes is
a delightful and loyal lover,
part of her comes out
a deeply sensual woman, and this
dresses
strongly in the presence of Edner. She
up, becomes coquettish, and caters to her man.
describing his lovable traits, she always
in
When
ond breath: "He
says the first or sechelp me SO much. Every month, he pay the
wound round
longing and dreams.
A little more than two years after this
fell in love. Her current man is
conversation, Alourdes
friend, and ally. Alourdes is
a delightful and loyal lover,
part of her comes out
a deeply sensual woman, and this
dresses
strongly in the presence of Edner. She
up, becomes coquettish, and caters to her man.
describing his lovable traits, she always
in
When
ond breath: "He
says the first or sechelp me SO much. Every month, he pay the --- Page 284 ---
in Alourdes's home.
electric bill.' 11 Edner is now a regular visitor
Vodou birthday
and on many
He is present for all the
parties of their marrying
other occasions as well. There is no question
with
Alourdes and Edner are mature people
or living together;
those
they have made
Ezili
their life patterns set. Yet within
patterns
room for one another.
an Ezili Freda in her
And Alourdes has made more room for
who does a bit
heart-not a frustrated and driven one, but one
loves
and preening from time to time. Alourdes
of strutting
wears four or five gold rings and as
jewelry. She almost always
chains around her neck. She loves nice clothes-colorful
many dresses that swish and sparkle. Ezili Freda, you outdo
fabrics,
yourself.
THE THREE EZILI
when large numbers of Haitian refugees
Several years ago,
the U.S. Immigra-
(dubbed "boat people.") were imprisoned by
the
Service, I was invited to visit
facility
tion and Naturalization
detained. The visit conwhere unaccompanied minors were
children had not been
firmed my suspicion that many of these
adults,
alone but in fact had been accompanied by
traveling
even have raised them but were not necessarily
adults who may
aunts" or
blood kin. Many children in Haiti are raised by
but the INS did not recognize such ad hoc parentgodparents,
had
the children from
ing, and agency bureaucrats
separated them in a minimumand confined
their traveling companions
security camp in upstate New York.
Several of them had reThese children were alone and afraid.
chilto their fear by going into possession. In Haiti,
sponded
it tis considered too dangerous. When
dren are rarely possessed;
child during a ceremony, the
a spirit threatens to possess a
takes steps to send it
priest or priestess in charge immediately there were no priests
away. In the immigration detention center, and none to send them
to call the spirits for the young people,
Neverfrom those who could not bear the spirit's weight.
away
teenagers had tried to call on the spirtheless, some frightened
with a different kind of
its for help. The staff had responded
them. I did two
fear, and that was why I was called in to advise
Amerithat the dormitory counselor, a North
things:Tsuggested
a spirit threatens to possess a
takes steps to send it
priest or priestess in charge immediately there were no priests
away. In the immigration detention center, and none to send them
to call the spirits for the young people,
Neverfrom those who could not bear the spirit's weight.
away
teenagers had tried to call on the spirtheless, some frightened
with a different kind of
its for help. The staff had responded
them. I did two
fear, and that was why I was called in to advise
Amerithat the dormitory counselor, a North
things:Tsuggested --- Page 285 ---
can black man, immediately stop his efforts
rites in the mode of his own Protestant to perform exorcism
ranged to take Alourdes to the
Christianity. And I ar253
facility to counsel
people, a visit that was quite successful.
the young
Months later, I realized that there
be
what I had seen among the
might a parallel between
Ezili
behavior of slaves
children of the boat people and the
stinct,
newly arrived in Haiti. It is a universal inIsuppose, to turn to religion in times of crisis.
elders, the priests, the
When the
the
institutions, the musical
images, the altars, and the sacred
instruments,
do you turn for spiritual aid? In
objects are absent, where
session
an African-based
seems an obvious answer. In
religion, postwo of the areas of origin for Haiti's Yorubaland and Dahomey,
slave population, most
Posesion-performanoes less
were formulaic affairs with more
predictable words and gestures. In the New
or
ever, in that early time when the
World, howslaves' principal mnemonic
body and the voice were the
received much
devices, possession could well have
greater emphasis, and
could have quickly become much
Powecsion-performances
pressive. In other words, cut loose more from extemporaneous and exinstitutional
their African base and
moorings, the spirits
flower. 7 Times of crisis are often
may well have burst into
Whether it
times of high creativity.
happened this way or not, the African
change their style when
spirits did
hunkered
they came to the New World.
down, got close to the ground.
They
the faces of those who served them
They came right upin
they saw and heard there. The
and began to imitate what
spirits took on more of the specifics Posecsion-perfomances of time
of the
of the intimate detail of life.
and place and more
tional theater. This
High liturgy became
was a happy occurrence, I think, improvisa- for it
large part of what has enabled the Vodou
is a
Haitian people
spirits to work for the
through a great deal of hardship and
change.
rapid social
Such flexibility and such responsiveness have
enabled the lwa
7Further research is needed to confirm this
The
guignon, who has done an extensive study of hypothesis.
work of Erika Bourworld, appears to support the point. In
possession phenomena around the
that of traditional West African cults, she comparing Haitian Vodou possession with
less fixed and more innovative (Erika characterizes Vodou spirit possession as
Chandler and Sharp, 1976], 18).
Bourguignon, Possession (San Francisco:
through a great deal of hardship and
change.
rapid social
Such flexibility and such responsiveness have
enabled the lwa
7Further research is needed to confirm this
The
guignon, who has done an extensive study of hypothesis.
work of Erika Bourworld, appears to support the point. In
possession phenomena around the
that of traditional West African cults, she comparing Haitian Vodou possession with
less fixed and more innovative (Erika characterizes Vodou spirit possession as
Chandler and Sharp, 1976], 18).
Bourguignon, Possession (San Francisco: --- Page 286 ---
that chart the future and mirrors that reflect the
to provide maps
Ezili Dantô's mute "dey-dey254
past and the present. For example,
and fearful
dey" honors the mother of a new child, SO depressed her visDantô honors her by making
that she stops talking.
the woman murdered
Ezili
ible. Dantô also vomits blood alongside
be called Seven
by her partner in the compound that came to
of the time
Stabs of the Knife. Lasyrenn subtly shapes the story old. And
Alourdes got lost when she was only seven years checks the
time Alourdes prepares to meet Edner, she
every
last time to see if Freda would
is, to
one
approve-that
mirror
matches the dominant norms of fesee how much her image
the social world to those
male beauty. Vodou spirits present through all its represenwho serve them. They present it fully
tative types, male and female, empowered and disempowered. dimenboth the constructive and destructive
And they explore
sions of each type.
to the social
Because the Vodou spirits hover SO close
ground,
have also been useful in sorting out the moral dilemmas
they
first enslaved by the French, then oppressed
faced by a people
and finally shoved to the marand starved by their own leaders,
the United States.
gins in immigrant communities absolutes throughout is for those who have
Talk of ethical norms or moral
of
and a wide range of choices, unlike the great majority
power
now or in the past. Haitians view life as a sea
the Haitian people crosscurrents. You do well in Vodou if you
turbulent with moral
direcchoose to ride the currents that flow in the constructive
basic character. The Vodou spirits help people
tions set by your
of their character and then
to name the most important aspects
Vodou is a
to hold on to this vision when the ride gets rough.
and it counsels what it must to ensure surreligion of survival,
Alourdes to keep one baby, and Ogou
vival. Danto counseled
her sufficient reason to abort another.
gave
the
do not fall on their knees and imThose who serve
spirits
A Vodou
is
to solve their problems for them.
spirit
plore a god
who mobilizes the will and
not a deus ex machina but a catalyst
often deliver
of human beings. Vodou spirits do not
proenergy
that call forth
clamations. They speak in lean, enigmatic ways
Ezili
the voice of the community. "Dey-deyrdey-deyr-dey" says 11
Dantô, and the people say, "Yes, we will do it for you.
Slavery broke the African family. Drought, corruption, and
broke the patriarchal extended family that reconstipoverty
plore a god
who mobilizes the will and
not a deus ex machina but a catalyst
often deliver
of human beings. Vodou spirits do not
proenergy
that call forth
clamations. They speak in lean, enigmatic ways
Ezili
the voice of the community. "Dey-deyrdey-deyr-dey" says 11
Dantô, and the people say, "Yes, we will do it for you.
Slavery broke the African family. Drought, corruption, and
broke the patriarchal extended family that reconstipoverty --- Page 287 ---
tuted itself after Haiti's slave revolution. From the
women's previously muted voices
wreckage,
began to emerge. Women's
"dey-dey-dey" is now becoming articulate in Haiti. Few
places in the world rival Haiti in
other
recognizing women's
leadership. In part, this is an inheritance of the
religious
Ezili
land where women could be cult
African homegious institutions with social
leaders, even though the relithe public ceremonies.
status were led by men, as were
en's
But the more significant source of womreligious power in Haiti is, Il believe, the recent shift in
ily structure brought on by the movement of large numbers fampeople from the countryside to the cities.
of
When women's religious leadership is unfettered
male
trol, that religion begins to take account of the
by
conwomen's lives. Women become visible. In circumstances of
spirits have begun to tell the stories of
Vodou, the female
point of view, in
women's lives from their
striking contrast to religious systems in which
goddess figures function largely as the carriers of
tions about women.
male projecYet Haiti is a place in transition. Women's voices
but they do not dominate. Perhaps
are strong,
they never will, and
they never should. For example, when men
perhaps
Vodou spirits, the vision can still be
serve the female
a
one. Alourdes's childhood friend
thoroughly androcentric
dream: "I saw this lady, this white Big Daddy once reported this
come down to here. I1 He
lady; and she have hair that
traced a line below his
she was tall, maybe six foot three.
buttocks. "And
and she was walking like this
Inever 11
seen no lady like that,
ing step combined with
:
Big Daddy imitated a minc-
"And I'm
a very sexy over-*the-shoulder
thinking to myself,
know
glance.
going to get that lady? You know you
. . Oh, boy! How I'm
was Ezili Freda! She
: : . take her to bed. And that
my wife, and I didn't even know.
is real, let me tell you!" Ezili Freda imitates ideas
The spirit
have social power and
of beauty that
the target for dreams of prestige. For men, she can function as
minds all people that these conquest. Speaking for women, she redangerous.
values can be superficial and even
Danto, in contrast, does not imitate the
woman. She tells poor women's stories,
socially empowered
does it from their
and, what is more, she
perspective. Whatever her
role hinted at by multiple, currently
previous role-a
her as a tree-dwelling
unelaborated references to
serpent-in contemporary urban Haiti
The spirit
have social power and
of beauty that
the target for dreams of prestige. For men, she can function as
minds all people that these conquest. Speaking for women, she redangerous.
values can be superficial and even
Danto, in contrast, does not imitate the
woman. She tells poor women's stories,
socially empowered
does it from their
and, what is more, she
perspective. Whatever her
role hinted at by multiple, currently
previous role-a
her as a tree-dwelling
unelaborated references to
serpent-in contemporary urban Haiti --- Page 288 ---
she is a prism focusing light on the single mother and head of
household. Ezili Dantô functions these days to
hidden
lives and hidden truths to the surface.
bring
There is a story about conflict
Ezili
between Ezili Danto and
Freda. Most people, most of the time, say that the scars Ezili
Dantô's cheek come from wounds sustained in the slave revolt. on
But there is an alternative explanation.
Sometimesitis said
because Danto was sleeping with her man, Maria Dolorosa that,
(Ezili Freda) took the jeweled sword from her heart and slashed
the face of her rival.
In the tension between Freda and Dantô, Haitians
questions of race as well as those of class and gender. Freda explore is a
white woman and, as a result, a privileged woman who has the
power to draw to herself both men and wealth. She
and her status as wife and partner is legal and public. It marries, has financial and social solidity. Dantô is black, "black, black, black, 11
and, as a result, she is poor and must work hard. Danto does
not marry. The men in her life are as poor as she is, and
cannot be counted on. But Danto is fertile. Her best hope they for
security and care in her old age lies with her children,
her girl children.
especially
In Vodou, blackness and whiteness carry within them
plete life scenarios, as they do on a wider social scale in comand in New York. In Port-au-Prince and in
Haiti
has wavered between these scenarios.
Brooklyn, Alourdes
She is
which contributed to making her Philo's favorite child light-skinned,
the object of desire for both Charles Desinor
as well as
walski. With these two
and Antoine Komen, Alourdes played out
parts of the Ezili Freda fantasy. She had a house, furniture, important
servants. The circumstances of her life, however,
and
with her indomitable personality to push her much combined
direction of Ezili Danto. There is another
more in the
urban Haiti and,
way to say this. Life in
probably to an even greater extent, life in
York have pushed Alourdes to embrace who she is-a black New
woman, born in poverty. Alourdes's strength lies in this rootedness and honesty. In a sense, Danto has won. She is the
Alourdes calls "mother."
one
From another perspective, neither Danto nor Freda can entirely vanquish the other, because the tension between them
speaks to a tension in women's lives. Women,
especially
women, are still being forced to make choices between
poor
essential
,
way to say this. Life in
probably to an even greater extent, life in
York have pushed Alourdes to embrace who she is-a black New
woman, born in poverty. Alourdes's strength lies in this rootedness and honesty. In a sense, Danto has won. She is the
Alourdes calls "mother."
one
From another perspective, neither Danto nor Freda can entirely vanquish the other, because the tension between them
speaks to a tension in women's lives. Women,
especially
women, are still being forced to make choices between
poor
essential --- Page 289 ---
of themselves. Freda's image of womanhood is powerful
parts
partly because it promises Haitian women who can meet its
standards the social support that makes a stable union with a
Until Danto finds her match and mate, Freda will
man possible.
Ezili
continue to appear in the dreams of women like Alourdes. Only
when reality is spiced with dreams, when survival skills are
larded with sensuality and play does life move forward. Dreams
alone lead to endless and fruitless searching. Freda acts that
out. Yet a life geared entirely toward survival also has problems.
It can become brittle and threatened by inner rage. Danto occasionally lets this rage escape into the open.
Alourdes lives at the nexus of several spirit energies; Ezili
Freda and Ezili Danto are only two. Lasyrenn, half black and
half white, is a submerged third who hints at an elemental
womanness in which what society now declares opposites can
somehow come together. But Vodou allows no such easy syntheses, no neat or abstract resolution of the race, class, and gender politics of the Ezili sisters. It must be remembered that Lasyrenn is also the spirit who turns poor, ordinary women into
community leaders and healers. She pulls them beneath the
waters and gives them boons and spiritual instruction to which
they would otherwise have no access. And, irony of ironies, lest
the community miss the effectiveness of the transformation carried out below the water, Lasyrenn sends them back with longer,
straighter hair and fairer skin. --- Page 290 --- --- Page 291 ---
CHAPTER NINE --- Page 292 ---
Sojème, Sojème
A. nine o'clock in the morning
Alourdes Margaux lay unmoving, eyes wide
on July 16, 1979, headboard of her bed was draped with an
open. The ornate
of Santa Clara and an impasenormous plastic rosary. Images from the wall above. The noises of
sive, pretty Jesus gazed out drifted into her darkened room. children playing in the hallway
into the chamber pot
She cleared her throat, rolled over, spat those children
to
beside the bed, and mumbled, "How come
the got burst
much noise?""Oh, Lawd!" she sighed, using
make SO
of breath to carry her body to a sitting position. of her bedIn a few minutes, she came padding out the door Alourdes
and floppy slippers. room wearing a long nightgown
children. "What
turned a haggard face toward the offending 11
Mommie Lola, nine-year-old
happen?" she asked. "Nothing,
Batman!"
Kumar chirped. "Michael and me was playing Alourdes de-
"How come you still got pi'jama on you?"
"Eleven o'clock, we
to the hospital to see Maggie. manded. going when Karen come, you not
You know that! If you not ready
"I wanna see
Michael, just a toddler, began to cry:
going."
Maggieeeeeel"
Kumar,
Mikey. You un-
"So, go get clothes on you. you help as he took the
derstand?" "Yes, Mommie Lola," Kumar replied
child's hand and pulled him up the stairs. Alourdes watched landher son and grandson until they reached the second-floor
and then she went down the staircase to the basement. ing,
windows in the rear admitted only faint light to the
Small
with care, Alourdes made her way tobasement floor. Moving
end of the house. In the dim
ward her altar room at the opposite
locating the right
light, she fumbled with a ring of keys, finally
drawing) for Danbala.
he took the
derstand?" "Yes, Mommie Lola," Kumar replied
child's hand and pulled him up the stairs. Alourdes watched landher son and grandson until they reached the second-floor
and then she went down the staircase to the basement. ing,
windows in the rear admitted only faint light to the
Small
with care, Alourdes made her way tobasement floor. Moving
end of the house. In the dim
ward her altar room at the opposite
locating the right
light, she fumbled with a ring of keys, finally
drawing) for Danbala. Port-au-Prince,
A A manbo kisses a veve (cornmeal ground
Haiti, 1989. --- Page 293 ---
one and unlocking the door. Three times she
she opened the door to the tiny
knocked, and then
to breathe in its
room, pausing on the threshold
comforting, familiar odors. Alourdes lighted a large votive candle on the
ter of the room and then eased her
table in the censtool between Gede's altar
ample body down onto a low
Sojème,
the accoutrements
and the tall metal cabinet that held
Sojème
of her Rada spirits. She lit
and secured it in the coin slot of
a stick of incense
small, bright flame
Papa Gede's money box. The
quickly disappeared, and a
began to climb the three steps of Gede's
tendril of smoke
grotesque wax skulls, a metal
altar, curling around
a huge
crucifix, an old black top hat, and
phallic cane. As the smoke diffused, Alourdes
up, opened the Rada altar, and fanned clouds
reached
densely packed shelves. Her
ofincense into its
shadow. The light from
family of Rada spirits rested in
sional object: a white
the candle picked out only an occacolored beads,
porcelain cup with a lid and a
of
an image of Saint Patrick, a tiny bottle girdle
perfume called Rêve d'Or. ofa French
She offered libations to her ancestral
bancourt rum activated the
spirits. A splash of Baspirit of Papa Ogou; a
ary ojat called to the slumbering
dollop of sugfume enticed Ezili Freda
serpent Danbala. A mist of perA
to grace the company with her
pungent bath of pepper-laced gin returned the
presence. black rocks in a dish at the foot of
shine to smooth
Alourdes
Papa Gede's altar. rose from her seat and
into the closet on the opposite side of sprayed the
perfume liberally
Petwo spirits. The dark-skinned
room, the home of her
doll
wore a faint smile, and Alourdes
representing Ezili Danto
odors of the room
smiled back at her. As the
them
awoke, SO did its spirits, and Alourdes
around her. She would need their
drew
day than on others. protection more on this
settled back onto her Breathing deeply and slowly, Alourdes
of the cross. stool, closed her eyes, and made the
Putting her hands together as if she were
sign
delicate flower, she kissed her fingertips and bowed holding a
prayer. her head in
Maggie Sanchez had been awake since six o'clock
nurses had come to take her
when the
and check the bottle into which temperature, her
give her medication,
The tube in her nose made her
stomach tube was draining.
need their
drew
day than on others. protection more on this
settled back onto her Breathing deeply and slowly, Alourdes
of the cross. stool, closed her eyes, and made the
Putting her hands together as if she were
sign
delicate flower, she kissed her fingertips and bowed holding a
prayer. her head in
Maggie Sanchez had been awake since six o'clock
nurses had come to take her
when the
and check the bottle into which temperature, her
give her medication,
The tube in her nose made her
stomach tube was draining. but she was otherwise
sound as if she had a bad cold,
her usual exuberant self. plaining to her roommate, Mrs. Gonzales,
Maggie was exthat she had to be out --- Page 294 ---
Saturday because her new boyfriend had tickof the hospital by
ets for the Bob Marley concert.
dollar for those ticket, but
"Somebody offer him two hundred
You think Im
want to hear Bob Marley.
he say no. Everybody and let him take somebody else to that
Sojème,
going to stay in this bed
Valente jeans,
Sojème
concert? No way José! I got me some new Sergio Besides, I think it
just a little bit tight, but they look goooooood! know, I got hernia,
is good to wear tight jean now, because, you
tight,
strangulated hernia, whatever. : : . IfI wear something
move. Me and Barnett-he's Jamaican : : he
that mean it don't
to be like twin! We
got some Sergio Valente, too-we going
and
to hear Marley and dance all night!" Maggie giggled
going
seductively beneath the hospital sheets.
moved her hips
across the sky and a surprisingly
High clouds were scudding
morning as Karen
cool breeze was blowing on that Monday
She
Alourdes's door shortly after ten-thirty.
Brown approached
two ripe avocados in a paper bag. She
carried a small offering,
and then knocked more
knocked, waited several minutes, she went down to the baseloudly. There was no response, SO
she returned to the front
ment door and kocked again. Finally,
Alourdes apdoor to knock one last time, just as a puffy-eyed dressed in a twopeared, blinking in the sun. Alourdes was
blue and white polka-dot outfit. The top had a flared
piece,
sleeves, and a Peter Pan collar. When she moved,
waist, puffed
between top and skirt.
a glimpse of bare stomach appeared
to Karen's solicitous
Muttering only "Im all right" in response
bedroom.
Alourdes led the way down the hall to the
query,
television, and, without saying anyShe had been watching
the two women sat side by
thing, she returned to it. In silence, the last few minutes of a
side on the end of the bed watching
lurid documentary on plastic surgery. answered in a small, tired
The phone rang. "Hello,". Alourdes
"Why you
voice. She listened for a long time before sputtering: do that?
don't tell them? Why you don't tell me? How come he
That not fair! Yes, we coming. Karen
Nobody don't say nothing?
the
here. She going to drive us. Yes, we going to bring
just get
children. Okay. Okay."
dress, sat in her
This large woman, stuffed into a frilly girlish
Her
shadow-filled bedroom and curled into a ball of depression.
her shoulders rounded over until her head
features sagged,
between them. She sat staring at
looked like a boulder lodged
a long time before sputtering: do that?
don't tell them? Why you don't tell me? How come he
That not fair! Yes, we coming. Karen
Nobody don't say nothing?
the
here. She going to drive us. Yes, we going to bring
just get
children. Okay. Okay."
dress, sat in her
This large woman, stuffed into a frilly girlish
Her
shadow-filled bedroom and curled into a ball of depression.
her shoulders rounded over until her head
features sagged,
between them. She sat staring at
looked like a boulder lodged --- Page 295 ---
the pink princess phone in her hand, idly
buttons, sending it meaningless
punching its lighted
numbers. The phone
messages, a random series of
rup. The sound was began to protest: birrup. . . birrup. : . birAnd then from hypnotic, and it seemed to go on and on.
beneath it another sound emerged:
giggling and squealing. The television
women
Sojème,
was the daytime version of "The
program had changed. It
Sojème
the announcer
Price Is Right." The voice of
rose and fell in well-practiced, dulcet
"Now, Sally, if you can guess the price of this showcase tones:
going over, the whole thing is yours. The trip to the without
islands, the waterbed, the home recreation
Caribbean
thing! Sally, how much do
center, the whole
worth?"
you say this beautiful showcase is
Birrup : . . birrup . . . birrup; the
to signal distress.
telephone continued
Alourdes turned to Karen, her face
fear
fatigue. "How come
showing
as well as
somebody do that? Doctor
care of people. That not right!
suppose to take
tube in her and he
Maggie say her doctor put that
go on vacation. He
to
tell nobody what to do. So
forget tell. . . he don't
that tube inside her
nobody don't do nothing. She have
she
one week- -more than one
got some kind'a infection. They don't know week-and now
to make that tube come out. Oh,
how they going
Maybe I love
boy! Karen, I don't know.
Maggie too much. I don't
last
know what happen. I don't
sleep
night. I don't
sleep at all. I
think about Maggie." 1
think too much .
After a few minutes, Alourdes rallied. She
ened her clothes, and began to
stood up, straightnot ordinary sickness. Those apply lipstick. "You know, this
gie got, not really. The
doctor never figure out what Magspirit make Maggie sick. You know
right? When they want you, there is no way
that,
"I imagine it's hard for
you say no!"
manbo, 11 Karen
Maggie to think about becoming a
She's
suggested. "She has other things on her mind.
young, she's in love, she wants to
house of her
get married, have a
own. .
Alourdes was quick to respond: "If she
make me glad! That what I want for her-a get marry again, that
husband who understand her.
good life. She need
That be good!"
"Are you afraid of losing her?" Karen
no, 11 Alourdes replied, "Ijust
asked. "Mmmm .
Karen asked
worry about the sickness."
one more question: "Is it important to
Maggie serve the
you that
spirits :
that she carry on for you?" "No,
of her
get married, have a
own. .
Alourdes was quick to respond: "If she
make me glad! That what I want for her-a get marry again, that
husband who understand her.
good life. She need
That be good!"
"Are you afraid of losing her?" Karen
no, 11 Alourdes replied, "Ijust
asked. "Mmmm .
Karen asked
worry about the sickness."
one more question: "Is it important to
Maggie serve the
you that
spirits :
that she carry on for you?" "No, --- Page 296 ---
" Alourdes said. And then, almost as an afthat not important,
after her."
terthought, she added, "But I know they go
back from visiting Maggie in the hospital,
That evening,
fed the children, and put them to bed.
Alourdes cooked dinner,
man who had
Sojème,
Then she worked with two clients, one a young
Sojème
lost his job, the other a woman trying to get a visa to bring
just
the
States. When the clients had gone
her grown son to
United
returned to her sanctuary.
and the house was quiet, Alourdes
the votive candle still
The doors of the spirits' altars were open; and
up her
burned. Alourdes sat down on the low stool
picked
beads and snake vertebrae slithered across the surason. China
Then they rustled. Fiface of the gourd. First they whispered. of the small room echoed
nally they pounded until the walls
a
sound. With her free hand, Alourdes picked up
with urgent
and sprayed itin a fine mist over
bottle of rum, took a mouthful,
the Gede and Rada altars.
pou mwen.
Gede!" she called. "Ale! Ale nan pitit-mwen
"Papa
trètmen pou li
Papa Gede! Ale jwen Maggie nan lopital-la. M'pral fe Gede! Go find
Gede! Go! Go to my little one for me. Papa
[Papa
Iam
to make a treatment for her].
Maggie in that hospital.
going
of
While
. ou tout [all youl!"
Papa Danbala : : . Papa Ogou .
Alourdes began to rap on
shaking the ason with her right hand,
the altars with her left. She was calling her spirits to action.
"M'jete ti dlo pou Maggie [I am pouring a libation for Maggie)," into
she said. "Kite baton pase nan men mwen [Let the club pass
nan lopital [Go find my little one
my hand]. Ale jwen pitit-mwen
to knock harder on the altar
in the hospital Alourdes began and faster. She badgered the
walls and to shake the ason faster
of Creole and Enspirits and pleaded with them in a jumble
mistè-a
Come on! Help pitit-mwen
glish. "Come on,
[spirits]! to that hospital). Come on,
(my little one]. Ale nan lopital-la [Go
Bring
Danbala! Maggie se ti-moun ou [Maggie is your child].
Papa
11 In
the ason fell silent and dangled from her
li[her] to me."
time,
no more pleading. For
limp hand. There was no more knocking,
trying to discern
while Alourdes sat, quiet and attentive,
a long of the
in the rushing of her own blood.
the will
spirits
tethered by her stomMaggie lay restless in her hospital bed,
intraach tube and a board strapped to her right arm holding an first
needle in place. Her back ached. Her body itched,
venous
and then another. Her mind raced with images,
in one place
memories, plans.
her
li[her] to me."
time,
no more pleading. For
limp hand. There was no more knocking,
trying to discern
while Alourdes sat, quiet and attentive,
a long of the
in the rushing of her own blood.
the will
spirits
tethered by her stomMaggie lay restless in her hospital bed,
intraach tube and a board strapped to her right arm holding an first
needle in place. Her back ached. Her body itched,
venous
and then another. Her mind raced with images,
in one place
memories, plans. --- Page 297 ---
"It all start when I lose that po-tèt. That is when
start. I just finish kouche.
all the trouble
port-Puerto
.
Those stupid people in the air265
Rican! Hah! Take my suitcase. 'We
call you when we find it.' I Hah!
are going to
know, maybe they think
They don't even look! I don't
shoes. It's
they going to find jewelry,
my fault. I should not put
money,
Sojème,
my suitcase. I think sometimes
something SO important in
Sojème
the reason
I'm going crazy, and I think
:
because they took my po-tèt. Next
that
going to keep it right in my hand. Even if
time, I am
take that on the airplane
they tell me I cannot
even if they think that some kind'a
bomb-nobody going to take that out of my hand.
nobody. : . Il know it run in the family. In
Nobody : .
that. Not my family. In
some family, men do
Iknow
my family, only women. That mean me!
they want me, those spirit. It's a strain.
push myself, saying no. Idon't want
: . : I'm trying to
to be like them
mother - . : like my grandmother. Life is
. : . like my
different.
SO hard. New
: . .
People here they don't
York is
damn! I can do it for special
care, they don't give a
people, people that I
my children get sick, I
know. . . If
all hour of the
can. . . butI don't want. : . They come
day and night: 'Mommie
I
mie Lola, I got that;
Lola, got this; Momlife. I could
you got to help me.' Not me! I
do it, kouche. I know
got my own
who kouche, they don't
they want it. . . . Lot'a
work as manbo. I won't be
people
manbo full-time. : . - I just go and do
working as
will leave me alone!"
it. : . : Maybe then they
Maggie's eyes snapped open. The room was eerie
familiar. Stripes of light
and unpulsated on the walls-street
shining through venetian blinds. Her roommate
lamps
sleep. Maggie raised her
groaned in her
back
legs, one after the other, and let
drop
onto the bed with a dull thud. She
each
rolled her head from side to side.
heaved a sigh and
Slowly, her eyes closed.
'A po-tèt (head pot) is the most important product of
Usually a white porcelain cup with a lid, it
Vodou initiation rituals.
who would otherwise dwell in the heads of provides the initiates. an external home for the spirits,
plete, the po-tèt becomes a focal point for personal
After the initiation is comagitated or troubled, for example, he or she can bathe ritualizing. When an initiate feels
spray it with perfume. Maggie went through the first the po-tèt in cool water and
1977, completing all of the rituals
the final stages of initiation in Haiti in
manbo with an ason. For her return except to New
one that would have made her a
suitcase and checked the bag at the Port-au-Prince York, Maggie packed her head pot in her
Maggie arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where
airport. When Alourdes and
was nowhere to be found.
they were to change planes, the bag
bathe ritualizing. When an initiate feels
spray it with perfume. Maggie went through the first the po-tèt in cool water and
1977, completing all of the rituals
the final stages of initiation in Haiti in
manbo with an ason. For her return except to New
one that would have made her a
suitcase and checked the bag at the Port-au-Prince York, Maggie packed her head pot in her
Maggie arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where
airport. When Alourdes and
was nowhere to be found.
they were to change planes, the bag --- Page 298 ---
alone. The plumb-
"It's just that I am tired of doing everything kitchen. Anything
break, I fix it. I'm the one who paint my
ing
The children! I am tired. .
happen, I'm the one responsible! Itis hard being alone. .
It's just thatIam tired. I got to sleep.
to happen,
Sojème,
The first time I see Barnett, I know something Nedick's. going He look at me
Sojème
when he interview me for that job at
work?' You just
hard, and then he say, 'How do I know you can
the table.
andI grab that rag and start to clean
watch mel'I say,
tell which part he watchAll the time he watching me-andIcan
like this. .
Heh, heh, heh. So I move like this : . . and
ing!
Barnett
this big smile on his face. He
When I turn around,
got to
out by Friday. Every-
'Okay, you got the job." I got get
say,
hear Bob Marley. I got to put a hem in those Serbody want to
gio Valente. : 11 At last Maggie slept.
that she stood by the
In the middle of the night, she dreamed Morne, a place she
labapen tree on her family property in Gros 11 the spirits called,
had never visited. "Come, come, little one,
beneath
followed the sound of their voices to a spot
and Maggie
snakes, began to fall from its
the tree. Then snakes, little green her! One fell down the front of
branches. They were all around
She began to scream
her shirt and got caught in her brassiere.
and jump and tear at her clothes. No, no, no!
making its
Alourdes lay on her back and stared at a cockroach
and
the
It was three o'clock in the morning,
way across
ceiling.
A small votive candle burned on
she had yet to close her eyes.
of Lourdes. She was
her dresser before an image of Our Lady
birth. Alourdes
remembering her
thinking about Maggie again, when her water broke. She stood up
had been at a soccer match
that the back of her
to cheer for the home team and discovered father, left the stadress was soaked. She and Charles, Maggie's
and they went
dium right away. Her bag was already packed, in that clinic waitright to the clinic. For three long days, she lay
to happen. There was no real pain, just presing for something
ache in her back. The
sure, awful pressure, and a throbbing
doctor could not figure out what to do.
third
Philo
Around six o'clock in the evening on the
day, but of
her
Papa Ogou was riding Philo,
came to see
daughter.
who knew that, and even she
course Alourdes was the only one
Papa Ogou
dimly aware of what was happening.
was only
Alourdes-a bottle. He put it bebrought something to help
the bottle explodedhind her bed before he left. At midnight,
ing for something
ache in her back. The
sure, awful pressure, and a throbbing
doctor could not figure out what to do.
third
Philo
Around six o'clock in the evening on the
day, but of
her
Papa Ogou was riding Philo,
came to see
daughter.
who knew that, and even she
course Alourdes was the only one
Papa Ogou
dimly aware of what was happening.
was only
Alourdes-a bottle. He put it bebrought something to help
the bottle explodedhind her bed before he left. At midnight, --- Page 299 ---
bwaaaaam! The night nurse jumped and
urine she was
dropped a beaker of
carrying, and, at the same
the first stab of pain. Labor
moment, Alourdes felt
day, the baby's head had
began in earnest. By noon the next
moved
crowned. But hours later, the
no further down the birth canal.
baby had
Her doctor was
Sojème,
out with
becoming nervous. He tried to pull the
Sojème
forceps. He tried eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve baby
Alourdes began to hemorrhage. The front of the
times.
was soaked in blood; Alourdes saw hands and
doctor's coat
blood. She was going in and out of
clothing red with
put her in the back of his car and took consciousness. her
The doctor
At ten o'clock that night,
to the city hospital.
Maggie was born by cesarean
weighing an astonishing seventeen
section,
he cleaned out Alourdes's
pounds and ten ounces. As
womb, the doctor also removed
partially formed fetus of a dead twin brother.
the
The pain was hard to recall in detail; Alourdes
only that there had been a lot of it when
remembered
could accept this suffering. When
Maggie was born. She
it, she simply referred to the
she made any effort to explain
supposed to suffer in childbirth. biblical mandate that women are
"That what God
they got to have pain. Men work and
say, "Women,
got to have pain when
sweat, 111 but women, they
could
they get a baby. The pain
bring later in their lives was harder for Alourdes children
plain and much harder for her to bear-what
to excame with loving them, needing them,
vulnerability
This was what she could not make
depending on them!
sleepless night. "What if she die! peace with on that lonely,
Barnett and leave? What
What if? What if she marry
tions.
if . . .?" These were unaskable
Alourdes blinked hard and decided to think of
quesunrelated to pain.
something
She remembered staying in the hospital for
weeks after Maggie was born. On
more than two
day in Haiti, the president of the September 14, a national holithe city hospital. When he
country, Paul Magloire, visited
twice as
saw Maggie in the
large as any other baby there),
nursery (easily
lungs and waving her little clenched yelling at the top of her
thought to himself, "there is
fists, he smiled, "Ah," " he
some life left in the
country. I will give the mother of
youth of this
Magloire
this one a reward." President
dollars. presented Alourdes with a check for three hundred
More than a quarter of a century later, Alourdes lay in her rbed
Paul Magloire, visited
twice as
saw Maggie in the
large as any other baby there),
nursery (easily
lungs and waving her little clenched yelling at the top of her
thought to himself, "there is
fists, he smiled, "Ah," " he
some life left in the
country. I will give the mother of
youth of this
Magloire
this one a reward." President
dollars. presented Alourdes with a check for three hundred
More than a quarter of a century later, Alourdes lay in her rbed --- Page 300 ---
thinking about how good things sometimes can
in Fort Greene,
when she drifted briefly into
come out of bad. She smiled. Yet
to a new house, a
Alourdes dreamed she had to move
sleep,
She had no money to hire professional movers,
smaller one.
too
for her to carry by herself. She
Sojème,
and the furniture was
big
Sojème
could find no one to help her carry it.
the next
The nurses arrived at Maggie's beside very early
her a shot to make her drowsy and relaxed.
morning. They gave
her bed. They were
Six men in white coats soon surrounded had become imbedded
here to remove the tube that they feared
remembered was
in her stomach wall. The last thing Maggie
to have your
one of them whisper: "The chief is going
hearing
for this one!" Then she was deep in a dream.
ass in a sling
When she came in the front
She had been away. Traveling.
her. She sether suitdoor of her house, no one was there to greet
'Mommie,
beside the door and went down to theb basement.
case
she called. Several women she did
Mommie! Where are you?"
what looked like
not know were busy in the kitchen preparing
white.
The basement living room was all
food for a banquet.
from the ceiling. White sheets COVSheet canopies were draped
had been arered the walls and the floor. A large sleeping pallet
in the center of the floor, with space for several people.
ranged
dressed all in white, was shaking out a billowing
Alourdes, white sheet and spreading it over the bed.
why did you make a big bed like that?" Maggie
"Mommie,
Alourdes said nonchalantly, because
asked. "I made it large,".
to kouche. There is going
it is not only one person who is going
said, "Oh,
to be more than one who is going to kouche. Maggie break for the
And then she turned and tried to make a
yeah?"
doorway.
she went in the wrong direction and ended up in
Somehow,
huge plates of food. Things
the kitchen dodging women carrying around, skidded on the
Maggie spun
Hpped-spiled-woke back toward the door. She stumbled,
linoleum floor, and ran
then, she was SO panicked she
her feet entangled in sheets. By
"Excuse
failed to notice the creature occupying the doorway. as if to
I1 she said breathlessly and made a movement
me, please,
"Where do you think you are going?" the creashove it aside.
ture said in a deep, resonating voice.
to kouche. I do not
"I am trying to save myself. I am not going
skidded on the
Maggie spun
Hpped-spiled-woke back toward the door. She stumbled,
linoleum floor, and ran
then, she was SO panicked she
her feet entangled in sheets. By
"Excuse
failed to notice the creature occupying the doorway. as if to
I1 she said breathlessly and made a movement
me, please,
"Where do you think you are going?" the creashove it aside.
ture said in a deep, resonating voice.
to kouche. I do not
"I am trying to save myself. I am not going --- Page 301 ---
want to kouche, 1 Maggie panted. The creature
the entire doorway, and
expanded to fill
was a giant cobra. Its head Maggie realized for the first time that it
upper body swelled to
reared up, its hood flared, and its
away. The cobra began to gigantic proportions. Maggie backed
fore she heard it. The floor speak again. Maggie felt its voice beSojème,
traveling
her
was vibrating, and the vibration was
Sojème
up
legs. It took a while before she
words.
could
Everything was in slow motion
decipher
her ears, in her body.
:
the voice a roar in
"Get on your knees! Right now! Swear three
don't do it, I am going to swallow
times! If you
opened its mouth wider and
you!" And then the cobra
wider, until
nothing but a huge cavern of moist,
Maggie could see
dropped to her knees and raised her pale white meat. Maggie
she raised her hand, and three
right hand. Three times
times she said:
sojème.2 I will do it. I will take the ason. 11
"Sojème, sojème,
"Sojème, sojème, sojème . . 11 Maggie mumbled
worked the tube loose and
as the doctors
"Miss Sanchez,
pulled it up through her
Miss Sanchez!" One of the doctors esophagus.
gently. "It's all over now. You can sit
shook her
swear I will do it," Maggie
up." "Sojème, sojème . : . I
whispered. "You don't have to do
anything more, Miss Sanchez. It's over.' 11
At approximately the same time, the pink
by Alourdes's bed rang, waking her from the princess first telephone
she had had in two days. Her voice
sound sleep
picked it up and collapsed back
was thick and foggy as she
cradled next to her
onto the pillow with the
ear.
phone
"No, that's all right, sweetheart. I got to
Oh, Maggie going to be okay. No, I don't talk get up. Huh : - . ?
got a dream about her. Just when
to her today. ButI
Gabriel. You don't remember
you call, I was dream about
Haiti,
him? He my old
you know. He my boyfriend
boyfriend. In
Gabriel come to see me. I
'Come long time . . . long time.
can't. My girlfriend in the say,
in, sit down.' He say, 'I
'Oh,
hospital. I have to go see her.' I
Gabby, you going to that girlfriend to
say,
say, 'You too old to let woman
give me trouble?'
mad. He say, Im not
run you like that!' And then he
going to pay you no mind. And he left.
Sojème is an African word that has been preserved in
employed for swearing serious oaths.
Vodou langay, where it is --- Page 302 ---
Everytime I dream Gabriel, I know that Papa Gede. 3 Papa Gede
going to the hospital to see Maggie. When I dream that, I know
everything going to be okay."
Sojème,
Sojème
3Saint Gabriel is one of the Catholic saints conflated with Gede, the spirit of humor, sex, and death and the protector of small children. This Vodou spirit is also the
master of the healing arts. --- Page 303 ---
:
La
TE N
CHAPTER --- Page 304 ---
Danbala
In 1931, Melville Herskovits
that the Fon of Dahomey (the modern West African renoted
still mourned the loss ofl kin to the trans-Atlantic
public of Benin)
recorded this remarkable prayer, which
slave trade.
Sojème
3Saint Gabriel is one of the Catholic saints conflated with Gede, the spirit of humor, sex, and death and the protector of small children. This Vodou spirit is also the
master of the healing arts. --- Page 303 ---
:
La
TE N
CHAPTER --- Page 304 ---
Danbala
In 1931, Melville Herskovits
that the Fon of Dahomey (the modern West African renoted
still mourned the loss ofl kin to the trans-Atlantic
public of Benin)
recorded this remarkable prayer, which
slave trade. Herskovits
over an altar to the unknown
was chanted as blood was poured
that princes and
dead: "Oh, ancestors, do all in your power
slaves to
nobles who today rule never be sent away from here as
the
to do all in your power to punish
Ame'ika, . . . We pray you
whom we shall never see
people who bought our kinsmen,
again."
sentiment is more than a historical grudge. Such long-held
cult with deities recogAlthough there is in Dahomey a public
life is ancestor
nized by all, the heart of Dahomean religious
lineveneration. These rites necessarily occur within specific their
depend on the day-to-day protection of
agesDahomeans and they fear the anger of any of their family
lineage ancestors,
also believe in a form of
dead who might be neglected. They
the loss of kin
reincarnation. For all these reasons,
intralineage
slave trade diminished every family repreto the European
This loss did not dissipate with time,
sented on the slave ships. of the living on both
and it continues to threaten the well-being
of Haiti, a
sides of the Atlantic. In the popular naïve painting
off is a
leafless tree whose branches have been lopped
blighted, motif. Like the Dahomean prayer, it testifies to the
recurrent
slavery. persistent sense of loss occasioned by
Herskovits, Dahomey: An Ancient West African Kingdom (Evanston, Ill.:
Northwestern 'Melville J. University Press, 1967), 2:64. wall
of Saint Patrick (Danbala) and Saint Peter (Legba). Port-au4 Prince, Temple Haiti, 1980. painting Photograph by Judith Gleason. --- Page 305 ---
from which many Haitian slaves were
In Dahomey, an area
the most ancient of the ancestral
taken, Dambada Hwedo is
dead who lived
for the powerful
spirits. He stands collectively
those in the deep past, the
Danbala
too long ago to be remembered, who lived before the ancesmembers of any particular lineage before the mythic time of
even
tral cult was in place, perhaps
each group. Thus Dambada
ancestors claimed by
the founding
role in the elaborate and expensive ceremoHwedo has a key
dead in their role as accessible, pronies to establish the lineage
between these
for the living." Decades may pass
tective spirits
but the name of each one of the
enormous ritual undertakings, ceremonies must be performed to redead must be called, and
firstinits own "house"
trieve each soul and to enshrine each one Dambada Hwedo also
and then in the family altar. In this ritual, lineage dead, those
represents the more recent anonymous who were never known to
such as the descendants of slaves,
their African kin. the Dahomeans say-that repreDa is a spirit-or vody as
force
more accube called life
or, perhaps
sents what might
movement that is life's movement. rately, the coiling, sinuous
teachers:
In the words of one of Herskovits's
called Da, but all snakes are not respected. The
All snakes are
It is a living quality expressed
vody Da is more than a snake. and moist; all things that
in all things that are flexible, sinuous do not move on feet, though
fold and refold and coil, and
through the air. The
sometimes those things that are Da go
have the umthese
and smoke, and SO
rainbow has
qualities,
too. bilical cord, and some say the nerves,
of other spirits who have similar
Around Da is gathered a group
Hwedo and Aido Hwedo. qualities. Among them are Dambada
2Ibid., 1:194-208. source of the name currently given to Haitian Vodou.
that
in all things that are flexible, sinuous do not move on feet, though
fold and refold and coil, and
through the air. The
sometimes those things that are Da go
have the umthese
and smoke, and SO
rainbow has
qualities,
too. bilical cord, and some say the nerves,
of other spirits who have similar
Around Da is gathered a group
Hwedo and Aido Hwedo. qualities. Among them are Dambada
2Ibid., 1:194-208. source of the name currently given to Haitian Vodou. The Fon word vody is the outsiders to the whole of Haitian traditional religion. The name Vodou is applied by vodou more commonly refers to a particular drum
In Haiti, however, the term referred to with a verb rather than a noun; Haitians
rhythm. The religion is usually I1
talk of "serving the spirits. *Herskovits, Dahomey, 2: 248. --- Page 306 ---
is sometimes depicted as a creature, both
Aido Hwedo, a male,
swallows its own tail.
snake and rainbow, that
rites and the public cultus
In urban Haiti, where ancestral
become Danbala Wèdo,
Dambada Hwedo has
have merged,
the
rank of the spirit hierarchy. He has
Danbala
and he has moved to
top
of all the Vodou lwa.
become the oldest and the most respected
the wife of
Aido Hwedo has become Ayida Wèdo,
In Haiti,
are
and rainbows)
Danbala. Together, the two (both
serpents
and its rethe rainbow
arch over the broad ocean. Alternately,
into a circle. Some
flection in the water below turn the serpent
has one foot-that is, one end of the rainbow-on
say Danbala
moisture, which he then deposits
the ocean where he draws up
the other foot planted
in the form of life-giving water through thus moves between
firmly in the mountains of Haiti. Danbala
them in
of land and water, as snakes do, uniting
the opposites
generating life. Danbala also
his coiling, uroboric movements,
the land
the earth, as snakes do, connecting
tunnels through
above with the waters below.
on which
The sacred center pole in Vodou temples, a pathway home,
the lwa travel between Ginen, their watery subterranean the middle
and the land of the living is called the poto-mitan,
survive
the
Like a snake, which can
doorway, or
poto-Danbala.
Danbala also modin even the hottest and most arid landscape,
to an inhoswill to live that will not surrender
els the persistent
merciless and unrelenting sun is a
pitable environment. The
endured
and recurring metaphor for all the sufferings
powerful
and their descendants in the New World.
by African slaves
do
Danbala, m'pa ka sipôte solèy SOIL mrven"-this popular
"Papa
for
Danbala's help because "I cannot
Vodou song cries out
Papa
abide the sun on my back."
Danbala receives all
In the Vodou temple, the serpent spirit
in Haiti,
routinely accorded the elderly
the care and respect
his extreme
and his status as
magnified in his case to suit
age
lva. Papa Danbala is SO old that, in posesiowpestomancer "ke-ke-ke" sound.
His horse hisses or makes a
he cannot speak.
and white. He is given ojat (a
Danbala's food is natural, raw,
uncracked and unblemthick almond and sugar syrup) and an
of
that has been balanced in a mound farin frans
ished raw egg
that he instinctively avoids
(refined flour). Danbala is SO pure
does
direct
anything dirty, and thus he never
any
touching
va. Papa Danbala is SO old that, in posesiowpestomancer "ke-ke-ke" sound.
His horse hisses or makes a
he cannot speak.
and white. He is given ojat (a
Danbala's food is natural, raw,
uncracked and unblemthick almond and sugar syrup) and an
of
that has been balanced in a mound farin frans
ished raw egg
that he instinctively avoids
(refined flour). Danbala is SO pure
does
direct
anything dirty, and thus he never
any
touching --- Page 307 ---
healing work. He does not involve himself in the
tred, and fear that lard the human drama
jealousy, haSO much suffering.
and are at the root of
Instead, he stands above the
war, shedding luck on all who come into his
human tug-ofpropriate love and respect.
presence with apTo let Danbala slither between
Danbala
walk his length straddling his
your legs or, alternatively, to
be reborn at the same time. writhing body is to give birth and
a coiling, sinuous
Danbala plays tricks with time. As
force that
serpent, he is a persistent,
unites past and present and turns unquenchable life
that is and is not different from the
both into a future
up its skin in order to recreate itself past. The serpent, who gives
connects Haitians to their lost
and thus remain what it is,
African
same time, shows them how to be flexible ancestors and, at the
whatever the future brings. The
enough to adapt to
tity carries, in the most condensed serpent part of Danbala's identhis lwa's character, and it also form, the many messages of
with Saint Patrick. In the
accounts for his identification
ferred by Haitians, he is chromolithograph shown
of Saint Patrick premeets water, in a tangle of
standing at a point where land
writhing snakes.
Alourdes's New York birthday parties for the
like those celebrated in Haiti, have
Vodou spirits,
Priyè Deyô (Outside
a prologue known as the
named in this
Prayers). Although Danbala is not directly
in lists of the prologue la, he except where his name naturally occurs
nevertheless insinuates
text throughout this opening
himself into the
Priyè Deyo, whose form is segment the
of Vodou ritualizing. The
is the guest of honor,
same no matter which spirit
and
begin with standard Catholic
hymns. By their end, however, a
prayers
has gradually shed its skin and
thoroughly Catholic ethos
can one.
emerged as a thoroughly AfriPRIYÈ DEYO
There is no single, dramatic moment at which
mony in Alourdes's home
a Vodou cereing attention to
begins. At some point, without callwooden
herself, Alourdes sinks down onto
stool in front of her elaborate altar
the low
sign of the cross, and begins. It
tables, makes the
usually takes a little time for all
ymns. By their end, however, a
prayers
has gradually shed its skin and
thoroughly Catholic ethos
can one.
emerged as a thoroughly AfriPRIYÈ DEYO
There is no single, dramatic moment at which
mony in Alourdes's home
a Vodou cereing attention to
begins. At some point, without callwooden
herself, Alourdes sinks down onto
stool in front of her elaborate altar
the low
sign of the cross, and begins. It
tables, makes the
usually takes a little time for all --- Page 308 ---
to notice she has started. The Catholithe people in the room
her home in Brooklyn is the Cathol276
cism Alourdes celebrates in
more than that of
and intonation
icism of gesture, rhythm, in the Our Father, the Hail Mary,
creed. She leads her people
in a rapid, low murmur
Danbala
and the Apostles' Creed, all in French,
mood. Yet the cona Catholic
that quite accurately reproduces
their emphatent of these prayers and songs-and, specifically, in the end be
and incamation-cannot
sis on sin, salvation,
worldview.
easily assimilated into a Vodou
and most responsible of
First, the older women, the steadiest
Then the other
Alourdes's ritual helpers, take up the singing.
join in. "Come, my God, come; come, my
guests gradually
and the people join in:
sweet Savior, 1 Alourdes sings in French,
Come, my God, come;
Come, my sweet Savior.
Come reign within me,
In the center of my heart.
Come, my God, come.
through a second song rapidly, sotto voce,
Alourdes sings
and the people pick it up:
The angel of the Lord said to Mary
That she would conceive Jesus Christ,
The Trinity having chosen.
And she conceived, by the Holy Spirit.
the
have been baptized and
Many Haitians who serve
spirits in the Catholic church. It
have received their First Communion
their
nevertheless, that they have ever understood
is doubtful,
beliefs or concepts such as those conCatholicism to be about
tained in these songs.
into the Vodou attitude toward
I gained an important insight
in a
VodouCatholicism in 1975, when I participated
popular town northin Saut d'Eau, a small mountain
Catholic pilgrimage Vodou ceremonies for Ezili Danto, which
east of Port-au-Prince.
baptized and
Many Haitians who serve
spirits in the Catholic church. It
have received their First Communion
their
nevertheless, that they have ever understood
is doubtful,
beliefs or concepts such as those conCatholicism to be about
tained in these songs.
into the Vodou attitude toward
I gained an important insight
in a
VodouCatholicism in 1975, when I participated
popular town northin Saut d'Eau, a small mountain
Catholic pilgrimage Vodou ceremonies for Ezili Danto, which
east of Port-au-Prince. --- Page 309 ---
drew large crowds, were held every
a short
the Church of Our Lady of Mount day
distance from
hosted the event. Each
Carmel, which supposedly
morning for a week
day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel,
preceding the feast
ceremonies, I attended
before going to the Vodou
mass at this church with
Danbala
companion, a woman who was both a manbo and my traveling
Catholic. Toward the end of the week, when
a baptized
no longer contain itself, I asked her how my curiosity could
Catholic priest's
she felt about the
repeated insistence that those
Vodou spirits would go to hell. She
who serve the
"Oh, didn't you know, Karen? That's laughed at my question:
I did not hear this as a sign of
the way priests talk!"
but rather, on one level,
my friend'signorance or naïveté
as a wonderful
with which Haitians turn the
example of the skill
them. On a
power of oppressors back against
deeper level, I heard it as a
cially
claimlthativords,
ideological ones, can appear frivolous and
espeable when compared to the complex comment
even expendgoes on in a full ritual context,
on the world that
other words, the
including that of the mass. In
less of what
mass continued to be effective for her,
was said during it -
regardOnce Alourdes is well into the Priyè Deyo, her voice
pick up momentum. The opening
begins to
mony tunnels slowly
segment of a Vodou ceretian history. The first through the archaeological strata of HaiCatholic
part comes from the most recent
one derived largely from
layer, the
plantation society. But the
eighteenth-century French
increments of sound,
ceremony quickly moves by gradual
semble the
energy, and rhythm toward songs that asgroup and summon the lwa in Creole
the sacred language of Vodou
and in langay,
bered African words and
composed of partially rememdisguised Creole.
Things start to heat up before the Catholic
pleted. Alourdes begins the first line of a
segment is comlast line of the
new song before the
previous one has died away. When her
rises, SO does that of the entire room.
the
energy
duces songs for Saint
By
time she introPeter, a Catholic counterpart
Lazarus) ofLegba, guardian of
(along with
is attentive and has found its full doorways and barriers, the group
voice.
Saint Peter, open the door.
Saint Peter, open the door to grace.
guised Creole.
Things start to heat up before the Catholic
pleted. Alourdes begins the first line of a
segment is comlast line of the
new song before the
previous one has died away. When her
rises, SO does that of the entire room.
the
energy
duces songs for Saint
By
time she introPeter, a Catholic counterpart
Lazarus) ofLegba, guardian of
(along with
is attentive and has found its full doorways and barriers, the group
voice.
Saint Peter, open the door.
Saint Peter, open the door to grace. --- Page 310 ---
Saint Peter, open the door,
The door to Paradise.
rise and fall, rise and fall as we move through one
Danbala
The rhythms
hymn or chant after another.
Grace, Mary, grace.
Grace, Mary, grace.
Grace, Mary, grace.
Jesus, forgive us.
At the end of the sequence of Catholic prayers and songs,
usually signals a break in the Priyè Deyo. She may
Alourdes
heave a sigh, and reach for a drink of
simply stop singing,
small conversations begin to
water. In response to her signal,
Alourdes
break out around the room. Someone makes a joke. minutes the
The conversation picks up, and for a few
guffaws.
room is abuzz.
as Alourdes picks
Then suddenly the ritualizing begins again
and shakes it
which has been lying at her feet,
up the ason,
she begins to take the comsoftly. Once the ason is introduced,
of the ceremony with a
munity rapidly down into the firstlayers
rustles over the
distinct African flavor. The bead mesh gently
for
rattle. Yet the dominant sound,
surface of the small gourd
bell attached to the handle of
the moment, is made by the small
with a line in
Alourdes begins a litany of the saints
the ason.
li mache, li malangay: "Zo li mache, li mache, li mache. . . Kouran
che, li mache. .
be translated by common folk.
Theoretically, langay cannot
and manbo do not know
Alourdes says that even many oungan
at least
I can sometimes decipher
what it means. Nevertheless, distortions of Creole. These disthose parts of it that are simple
in which, for example,
tortions follow some general patterns
lines of the litany
kouman (how) becomes kouran. The opening
it walks. How
for the saints appear to say: "The bone, it walks, be heard as
it walks, it walks. 11 This translation, if accurate, can in the bones
an arcane comment on the life energy that persists mesh of
ancestors. Alourdes's ason is covered in a
many
of the
means. Nevertheless, distortions of Creole. These disthose parts of it that are simple
in which, for example,
tortions follow some general patterns
lines of the litany
kouman (how) becomes kouran. The opening
it walks. How
for the saints appear to say: "The bone, it walks, be heard as
it walks, it walks. 11 This translation, if accurate, can in the bones
an arcane comment on the life energy that persists mesh of
ancestors. Alourdes's ason is covered in a
many
of the --- Page 311 ---
multicolored glass beads and a few snake
common type these days. But some older vertebrae, the most
Haiti have mesh covers made
ones I have seen in
brae. In these vertebrae
entirely of delicate snake vertesleep the sparks of Danbala's life
ergy, sparks that ignite when the bones dance
enof the gourd rattle.
over the surface
Danbala
The litany of the saints continues. "Zo li mache, li
bone, it walks, it walks]," Alourdes
mache [The
people follow,
from
sings. And the voices of the
for
rising
these first two lines in
a moment on one in Creolelangay to rest
[My life in the hands of God and "Lavi'm nan men Bondye e sen-yo
the
on to name, in French, each of the
saints]"-before moving
of the saints is sung midway
important saints. The litany
tinuous soft
through the Priyè Deyo. The conshaking of the ason as well as the mixture
guages hint at what is to come, for this is the
of lanfrom the solemn Catholic
first clear shift
energizing
beginnings of the Priyè Deyo to the
cross-rhythms of Vodou with which
The litany begins by
each
they end.
male saints,
invoking
of the most
starting with the great Eternal Father. In important
Alourdes sings, "II y a le grand Père Éternel, -1 and the French,
spond in langay, "Sen djo-e. 11 Alourdes
people repeople respond again in
repeats the line, and
langay, "Sen djo,
peats it a third and final time, and the dogou agwe. She re-
"My life in the hands of God and
people reply in Creole,
Christ, Saint Anthony, Saint
the saints." After calling
others in similar
Joseph, Saint Isidore, and a dozen
fashion, Alourdes ends the first half
litany: "There are all the sainted men in heaven and
of the
those I do not know and do not remember. 11
on earth, all
repeated, and the people give the
Three times this is
in langay, once in Creole, Then the traditional responses, twice
for the female saints,
same process is carried out
starting with the
with "All those I do not know and
Virgin Mary and ending
tian
do not remember. 11 Thus Haiimmigrants in Brooklyn begin their
sacred lineage in a manner not unrelated ritualizing by reciting a
priest must do at a
to what the Dahomean
that priest,
ceremony to establish his lineage dead. Like
Alourdes includes an extra
not remembered or never known.
invocation for all those
At the conclusion of the litany ofthe female
of the ason picks up to a feverish
saints, the sound
into line after line
intensity as Alourdes breaks
ofrapid langay, an urgent jumble of sounds in
. 11 Thus Haiimmigrants in Brooklyn begin their
sacred lineage in a manner not unrelated ritualizing by reciting a
priest must do at a
to what the Dahomean
that priest,
ceremony to establish his lineage dead. Like
Alourdes includes an extra
not remembered or never known.
invocation for all those
At the conclusion of the litany ofthe female
of the ason picks up to a feverish
saints, the sound
into line after line
intensity as Alourdes breaks
ofrapid langay, an urgent jumble of sounds in --- Page 312 ---
words and fragments of Creole tumble over each
which African
the
of the ason.
other as if drawn toward a climax by
energy
and
"Lisa dole Zo, 115 she chants, and the people, clapping softly of
zo." 11 Alourdes continues over the top
rapidly, say, "Zo, ZO,
ongansi, ila lele, 0 zoli
Danbala
their response: "Lisa dole ZO, kouran agwaysa
mache, li mache, li mache." I1
the cereIn Haiti, where drums almost always accompany of the saints is
the langay crescendo ending the litany
monies,
to begin. When the complex polythe signal for drumming
in over the end of this rapid
rhythms of the drums come rolling
The drumming
chanting, the effect is stunning and paradoxical.
level dramatically and, at the same time, gives
raises the energy
and langay, each of
order to the frenzy of ason, handclapping, chaos. Afterthe drums
which had seemed about to dissolvei into
action and never
enter, the ason, which is used to direct ritual
beat and
instrument, slows to a steady
simply as a musical
finds its
then, after a time, is silent. The handclapping gradually
to enter into conversation with the cross-rhythms
own rhythm
transmutes into the familiar Creole
of the drums, and the langay
York, Alourdes has no
of the first of the Vodou songs. In New
raised
the
drums at her ceremonies. Here, the excess energy
by
slowly through social excrescendo of the litany dissipates
and
with
lean back in their chairs, talk
laugh
change: people
their friends.
Alourdes begins the Creole
After a short period of socializing,
called
and
of the Priyè Deyô, in which the group is
together
reminded part
of who they are and where they come from.
Lafanmi sanble,
Sanble nan.
Se Kreyol nou ye,
Pa genyen Ginen ankô.
androgynous spirit called Mawu-
*Dahomean religion contains an important spoken of as two separate entities, Mawu (a
Lisa. This figure, who is sometimes
of the world, the so-called high god. In
female) and Lisa (a male), is the creator
and Mawu-Lisa has been largely
Haiti, Bondye has taken over the role of high in this god, line of langay ("Lisa gives bones")
forgotten. The enigmatic reference to Lisa
community retains even a shard
seems to be the only instance in which Alourdes's
of memory of the Dahomean creator spirit.
omean religion contains an important spoken of as two separate entities, Mawu (a
Lisa. This figure, who is sometimes
of the world, the so-called high god. In
female) and Lisa (a male), is the creator
and Mawu-Lisa has been largely
Haiti, Bondye has taken over the role of high in this god, line of langay ("Lisa gives bones")
forgotten. The enigmatic reference to Lisa
community retains even a shard
seems to be the only instance in which Alourdes's
of memory of the Dahomean creator spirit. --- Page 313 ---
The family is assembled,
Gathered in.
We are Creoles,
Who have Africa no longer.
Danbala
Haitians who serve the spirits seem to have
they "have Africa no longer. 11 For those who
accepted that
New York, having Haiti-in the
serve the spirits in
ries of life in Haiti-is the
sense of having actual memomore poignant issue. Haitians
coming to the United States in large numbers after
started
valier came to power rin 1957, but most of the
François Duwho live in the New York
nearly half million
fifteen
area arrived within the past ten to
years. Thus, among the group gathered in
home, virtually every adult Haitian has active,
Alourdes's
of Haiti. And many have earlier rural
living memories
later urban ones.
memories overlaid with
As they participate in these New York rituals,
back in their minds to touch memories of
they can reach
uals and dancing beneath
candle-lit cemetery ritCreole, they
an open-air tonnèl. When they
in
sing in their first language. With the
sing
memory, they can add the sound of drums to the
power of
that goes on in Alourdes's basement. When
handclapping
Vodou songs in New York,
they gather to sing
some with car keys in their wearing their new double-knits,
still resonates with
pockets, the imagery of these
their deepest sense of who
are. songs
sugarcane and cassava bread on Azaka's
they
The
bala's, the
altar, the ojat on Danhot-pepper sauce on Ogou's are foods
to the primal memories of childhood.
with tastes tied
This is not SO for the first generation born in this
children such as Alourdes's son Kumar and her country, for
chael, who prefer potato chips to cassava bread. grandson Mifor those of us with other cultural
And it is not SO
drawn into Alourdes's circle.
backgrounds who have been
life in her native Grenada
Marj probably brings memories of
with her
to match, where and when they can,
experience of the ceremonies in Alourdes's
Robert brings even scantier memories of a
home.
rural Georgia. When taking his first ritual poor childhood in
"This is just how we use'ta do it! I remember bath, he commented:
baths out'a these little metal
I
we always takin'
pans. know how to do it.
you worry!" A small but steady stream of North American Don't
blacks
des's circle.
backgrounds who have been
life in her native Grenada
Marj probably brings memories of
with her
to match, where and when they can,
experience of the ceremonies in Alourdes's
Robert brings even scantier memories of a
home.
rural Georgia. When taking his first ritual poor childhood in
"This is just how we use'ta do it! I remember bath, he commented:
baths out'a these little metal
I
we always takin'
pans. know how to do it.
you worry!" A small but steady stream of North American Don't
blacks --- Page 314 ---
moves in and out of Alourdes's world, most of them searching for
roots that are even more idea and less memory than those
Robert seeks to affirm through his connection to Haitian Vodou.
And I am here, the anomalous
Danbala
white person, almost always the
only white to attend Alourdes's Vodou parties.Lacking links of
blood or memory, I challenge myself to take the risks of intellect, empathy, and imagination that enable me to weave, with
Alourdes, a slender bridge over the chasm that separates
childhood memories and hers, my current world and
my
The separation between those who have active memories hers, of
Haiti and those who do not at times feels like a fault line running deep and dangerous beneath the united surface of New
York Vodou families, threatening to divide them. The majority
of participants have lived in Haiti, and they come to ceremonies
to activate former parts of themselves. And yet, I remind
self, they are also activating memories carried only in the mynetic" structure of their culture, memories of Africa
"gepassed on
through many generations of people who had no lived
ence
of that place. I remind myself of this when I start to experi- think
that Vodou in New York might disappear when the
ties of leadership pass to the generations born in this responsibiliThe group sings:
country.
Janmè, janmè,
M'pa bliye Ginen ray-0.
Janmè, janmè,
M'pa bliye zenfan-la yo.
Never, never,
I'll not forget the ranks of Africa.
Never, never,
I'll not forget their children.
The movement from French to Creole, from Catholicism to
Vodou, from the soft sing-song of European Christian
to
the energetic contrapuntal clapping that
liturgy
accompanies African
rhythms also marks a change in imagery. Images of transcendence are replaced by images of family. The
distance between a Catholic heaven and earth transmutes awe-inspiring to an im- --- Page 315 ---
age of a bloodline continuous throughout time, one running
along the spine of Danbala and extending further back in time
than memory can reach. The image of a single savior figure, at
once human and divine, gives way to one of a family continuDanbala
ally present in the form of the ancestors and the spirits inherited through them, spirits who, theoretically at least, can possess any human body they choose and make of that person the
bridge between this world and Ginen, Africa, the home of the
spirits.
With steady rhythmic clapping, the New World family assembled in Alourdes's Brooklyn row house sings:
Depi anwo, jouk anba,
Nan Ginen, tande la.
Mezanmi, tout sa m'ape fe-a
Nan Ginen tande.
Bo manman mwen,
Bo papa mwen,
Nan Ginen tande.
Mezanmi, tout sa m'ape fe-a
Nan Ginen tande.
Bo marenn mwen,
Bo parenn mwen,
Nan Ginen tande.
From on high, right down below,
Africa listens.
My friends, everything I am doing
Is heard in Africa.
The family of my mother,
The family of my father,
In Africa, they hear.
My friends, everything I am doing
Is heard in Ginen.
The family of my godmother,
The family of my godfather,
In Ginen, they hear.
Bo papa mwen,
Nan Ginen tande.
Mezanmi, tout sa m'ape fe-a
Nan Ginen tande.
Bo marenn mwen,
Bo parenn mwen,
Nan Ginen tande.
From on high, right down below,
Africa listens.
My friends, everything I am doing
Is heard in Africa.
The family of my mother,
The family of my father,
In Africa, they hear.
My friends, everything I am doing
Is heard in Ginen.
The family of my godmother,
The family of my godfather,
In Ginen, they hear. --- Page 316 ---
of these introductory Creole songs are comAfter several
that she will eventually trans284
pleted, Alourdes begins a song
saints. This time, however,
form into yet another litany of the
she will call the "saints" by their African names.
Danbala
Anonse 0 zanj nan dlo,
Bak odsu miwa.
O, la wè, l'a wè.
Nou pral nan Vil-o-Kan ye.
Kreyôl mande chanjmen, vre.
Alert the angels down in the water,
Beneath the mirror.
Oh, he will see, he will see.
We're going to Ville-aux-Camps.
Creoles ask for change, truly.
The first lines of this song speak of the zanj (angels), or spirbelow the water, and call on the particiits, down in Ginen,
them that the ceremonies are
pants to sing Joudly to notify
back side of the mirror
about to begin. The spirits live on the
used for divinasurface of the water. In Dahomey, mirrors are the wisdom of
tion, and mirror gazing is thus one way to tap
accoutrethe ancestors. In Vodou, the mirror is the principal
ofit
of
the male sea spirit, although I am not aware
ment Agwe,
Vodou water-mirrors, however, can
being used for divination.
direct than divination to the wisbe seen as a route even more
dom of those who have gone before.
the home of the
The connection of mirrors, water, and Ginen, into the water,
spirits, makes a complex, uroboric point. Gazing
simultanesees her own reflection, and through it,
a woman
on the faces of the lwa,
ously, she sees the lwa. Superimposed
returns
she sees the faces of her ancestors, because an ancestor
in the form of the lwa he or she revered most durto the living
into the mirror surface of the
ing life. Thus, Haitians gazing
rethem from Africa see in intermingled
ocean that separates
and themselves.
flections the la, the ancestors,
to Ville-auxThe last two lines of the song talk about going
point. Gazing
simultanesees her own reflection, and through it,
a woman
on the faces of the lwa,
ously, she sees the lwa. Superimposed
returns
she sees the faces of her ancestors, because an ancestor
in the form of the lwa he or she revered most durto the living
into the mirror surface of the
ing life. Thus, Haitians gazing
rethem from Africa see in intermingled
ocean that separates
and themselves.
flections the la, the ancestors,
to Ville-auxThe last two lines of the song talk about going --- Page 317 ---
Camps. This town, located in the remote
ment of Haiti, is an actual town with
Northwest Departthought of as a sort of
a mythic function. It is
embassy for Ginen in the New
place for the lwa to stop on their long
World, a
from Africa. Members of the
journeys back and forth
Vodou
there to ask for changes in the
community sing of going
Danbala
a remarkably clear and direct circumstances of their livesVodou
statement of the intention of all
ritualizing. It is a practical matter:
call
cestors and the lwa, give them
people
the anthem in order to better their
gifts, and sing and dance for
lives.
After this song has been sung two or three times in a standard
call-and-response format, Alourdes begins to
anonse Papa Danbala Wèdo,
improvise. "M'ape
Danbala
m'ape anonse [I am
Wèdo, I am announcing], Alourdes announcing Papa
people respond, "He will see, he will see."
sings. And the
sing: "We're going to
Then, 11
together, all
her
Ville-aux-Camps.
Alourdes
statements in over the end of the
moves
faster and faster, at times naming two community responses
or three lwa before
people a chance to reply.
giving
Running rapidly through the list of the most
male and then female, she continues
important lva,
ancestors:
without a pause to her own
"M'ape anonse moun Jean Rabel, m'ape anonse [I am
nouncing Jean Rabel people, I am
anmoun Gonaives, m'ape anonse. 11
announcing). M'ape anonse
father,
(Alourdes's maternal
Joseph Binbin Mauvant, settled in Jean
great-grandmaternal grandmother lived in Gros
Rabel, and her
litany of spirits thus moves seamlessly Morne-Gonaives.) The
an extension that would not be
into a litany of ancestors,
of
possiblein the two-story universe
Catholicism, where the human and the divine do not
When this litany is finished, the Outside
mix.
plete, and the group moves
Prayers are comto open the door for all the immediately into the call to Legba
control that
spirits. The mood of solemnity and
characterizes the Priyè
is
not allowed to smoke or drink
Deyo dispelled. People are
during the
once they are completed, the
opening prayers, but
sive, tolerant, and
atmosphere becomes more expanplayful. From this point on, the
are frequently on their feet, turning, kissing the
ritualizers
offerings, lighting candles,
ground, raising
each of the lwa in turn.
pouring libations, and dancing for
cial exchange flow
Conversation, in
joking, and ordinary SOfreely and out of the ritualizing.
the Priyè
is
not allowed to smoke or drink
Deyo dispelled. People are
during the
once they are completed, the
opening prayers, but
sive, tolerant, and
atmosphere becomes more expanplayful. From this point on, the
are frequently on their feet, turning, kissing the
ritualizers
offerings, lighting candles,
ground, raising
each of the lwa in turn.
pouring libations, and dancing for
cial exchange flow
Conversation, in
joking, and ordinary SOfreely and out of the ritualizing. --- Page 318 ---
BLOOD AND MEMORY: ALOURDES
timeless body run the narrow veins
Through Danbala's sinuous,
of Azaka (Chapof blood and memory. In the earlier discussion slaves in the New
Danbala
ter 2), it became evident that just as African
they called
World were forced to redefine the group of people Haiti and
"family," SO their descendants in contemporary urban
crecommunities in New York employ a similar,
in immigrant
Discussing Danbala again raises the quesative survival strategy.
not weaving a social safety net
tion of family, but here theissueis
Danbala operates
from a collection of friends and neighbors. the
are
and memory, where
questions
from the territory ofblood sort: Who am I? Who are we?)
of a deeper, more existential
by naming
The answer demanded by these questions begins
whose
dead. No one knows the stories of people
the lineage
And these stories are needed to
names have been forgotten.
of identity and meaning.
provide answers to the root questions
like the
Round and round is the movement of time,
serpentine and the
coils of Danbala. It can be said that history repeats tend itself to be reancestors return, because their life experiences
The wisdom of the ancestors
peated in subsequent generations.
lives easier.
can make contemporary how Sina resisted the call of the spirits unAlourdes was told
rock, and Alourdes
til the day she encountered Ezili's whistling
blinded her
knew Philo's story of how the spirits temporarily made the illwhen at first she refused their call. These stories
in New
Alourdes shortly after she arrived
ness that plagued
And, coil upon coil, the spiritual
York more comprehensible. Philo, and Alourdes provided the
crises experienced by Sina,
struggle. The lineage is a
interpretive framework for Maggie's leaders in each generachain, each generation a link. Spiritual
that chain.
tion shoulder the heavy responsibility of maintaining
to be broken, all future
would be impoverIfit were
stories generations and therefore their deepest
ished, losing their ancestral
connections to who they are.
has had to work at mainFor her entire adult life, Alourdes
the
and
ties with her blood kin. In the midst of
poverty
taining
and Brooklyn, this has
social fragmentation of Port-au-Prince
for example, denot been easy. Her father, Alphonse Margaux,
until Alourdes was in her late teens.
nied paternity
Spiritual
that chain.
tion shoulder the heavy responsibility of maintaining
to be broken, all future
would be impoverIfit were
stories generations and therefore their deepest
ished, losing their ancestral
connections to who they are.
has had to work at mainFor her entire adult life, Alourdes
the
and
ties with her blood kin. In the midst of
poverty
taining
and Brooklyn, this has
social fragmentation of Port-au-Prince
for example, denot been easy. Her father, Alphonse Margaux,
until Alourdes was in her late teens.
nied paternity --- Page 319 ---
Alphonse Margaux
The last time I saw Alphonse
Margaux was in January
Port-au-Prince, where he lived.
1984 in
had been ill with liver
Pèpe, as his friends called him,
day before I was to leave problems and was confined to bed. The
Danbala
center of town to
Haiti, I stopped by his house in the
see how he was. I had also
I would
promised Alourdes
pick up some papers and small gifts he had for
arrived, damp and wrinkled, during the hottest
her. I
only to find Pèpe looking
part of the day,
his bed in freshly
dry as a lizard, perched on the edge of
pressed yellow pajamas. He was
telephone, one of his prized possessions,
holding the
the mouthpiece,
with one hand over
listening in on a party-line call. With his
eyes, which were always on alert, he beckoned
active
beside the bed. (Ifhe had not been ill,
me to a chair
never have entertained me in his
Alphonse Margaux would
The house Pèpe rented in Haiti bedroom.) was not
several rooms and even a
grand. True, he had
shower and a flush toilet
privilege in Haiti), but not one of his rooms
(marks of
The airy parlor that took up the whole
was fully furnished.
seemed the most finished, but
street level of the house
than reality. Three
even that was more impression
large, tinted photographs of
hung on the wall, somber frontal shots.
family members
were two dinette
Beneath the portraits
chairs, a small sofa, and a
covered in a dark plastic that
boxy armchair, each
spiration. In the middle of this stubbornly formal refused to absorb peron which sat a single object-a
circle was a coffee table,
of two cherubs in a creative "Gemini" ashtray with a picture
Pèpe's powerful
sexual embrace. It was a sign of
presence that even in such a home
nervously on the edge of their chairs for fear of
visitors sat
the unspoken rules of the house.
breaking one of
Alphonse Margaux had been retired from his
with
Haitian tax bureau for some time.
job
the
he put on a business suit and starched Nevertheless, on most days
these clothes had once fit him, but
white shirt. Perhaps
were much too large for his
by the time I met him they
tiny, frail, and wrinkled
usually spent the cooler morning hours
body. Pèpe
with the air of someone who had
bustling around the city
act. What he actually did was
important business to transanyone's guess.
Although Pèpe was by then on the threshold of his tenth dec-
with
Haitian tax bureau for some time.
job
the
he put on a business suit and starched Nevertheless, on most days
these clothes had once fit him, but
white shirt. Perhaps
were much too large for his
by the time I met him they
tiny, frail, and wrinkled
usually spent the cooler morning hours
body. Pèpe
with the air of someone who had
bustling around the city
act. What he actually did was
important business to transanyone's guess.
Although Pèpe was by then on the threshold of his tenth dec- --- Page 320 ---
of the womanizer who had fathered twenty-five
ade, something
women
When I
children by almost as many different
persisted. arms
him for a while, he would put his skinny
hadn't seen and
to kiss me on the mouth.
around me
try
for
time before she said much
Danbala
I had known Alourdes
a long
first
her father. She talked about him at length on our
trip
about
We were staying at Pèpe's
together to Haiti in January 1980.
the floor of a room norhouse. He had made a pallet for us on
clean white sheets and fluffy pilmally used for storage, placing blankets. We had just arrived
lows on top of layers of mats and
Haiti and were tired from traveling. The bed was comfortin
burning a white
able, and we slept well. The sun was already in the room,
rectangle around the closed wooden shutters
"You sleeping?" "No," I said,
when I heard Alourdes whisper,
"Im awake."
Alourdes said. "We
"We going to my sister' house today,"
there. I1 I was confused: "Why, Alourdes? We just
going to sleep
she replied. "I don't like to stay
got here last night." "I know,"
asked
Instead of
at my father' house too long." Again I
why.
me with her usual "You ask too many question!"
rebuking
Alourdes began to talk.
to love that family. I
"You know, you got family : : : you got
father because he my father, but . . - when I was grow
love my
when I just a little girl, I don't even know who
up, you know,
don't tell me. Sometime I ask my
is my father. : . Nobody
II After a short silence,
mother, but she don't say nothing.
in the street with
Alourdes continued: "One day, I was walking
mother' friend, and she say, 'Oh, here come your
a lady, my
'Who? I don't know that man.' I don't redaddy.' And I say,
member I ever see that man before."
"Yeah, I talk
"Did you talk to him?" Iasked, still whispering. what he do? He
to him," I1 she whispered back. "And you know
and he
don't
nothing. He just put the hand in the pocket,
say
know, ten cent-and he buy little thing.
take fifty santim-you Yeah. He
buy a little box of powder from a
He give it to me.
just
machann on the street. That what he give me!"
I
"But did he admit he was your father?"I asked as gently as
she sighed, "not that time. That time, he don'tsay
could. "No,"
time I don't talk to my mother about that.
nothing. :
Long know what she tell me? She say, when I was
But when I do, you
the hand in the pocket,
say
know, ten cent-and he buy little thing.
take fifty santim-you Yeah. He
buy a little box of powder from a
He give it to me.
just
machann on the street. That what he give me!"
I
"But did he admit he was your father?"I asked as gently as
she sighed, "not that time. That time, he don'tsay
could. "No,"
time I don't talk to my mother about that.
nothing. :
Long know what she tell me? She say, when I was
But when I do, you --- Page 321 ---
grow up, he don't give her one
Not
don't even see him. 11
penny.
one penny! She
Another silence followed, and then Alourdes
again: "He use to come by her house, talk
began to talk
But she don't do nothing; she
talk
nice . . . you know.
to the house and she
just
to him. One day, he come
Danbala
say to him, 'Can
me
to buy uniform for my children? you give
some money
Frank and Jean in school, and when 'Cause, you know, she got
you got to wear uniform. If
you go to school in Haiti,
don't let
you don't have no uniform,
you come. Pèpe say, "Yes,' he going help her. So they she
you know . . . they .
they make love. One
that's it! She pregnant for him. She
time, and
"But after that, he don't come back. got He me.
just don't come
And. . . you know . . : same time my mother
back.
another lady pregnant for him, too. And she pregnant live
for him,
mother' house. Not too far, no. That how
close to my
ing around that katye
come he always walk-
[quarter]. That how come he
ing to my mother
always talkbefore . . . you know. : I1
Alourdes seemed about to sink into her own
and I was afraid of losing
private thoughts,
"Well,
her, SO I risked one more
when did it happen, Alourdes? When did
question.
to be, to have-I mean, when did
you two start
other?"
you really get to know each
"Long time that don't happen. Long time," Alourdes
softly. "When Ireally, really, really get to know
said
already grow up. That time I was singer in my father, I was
que-you know that, right?-and before I was Troupe Folkloriwe got lottery ticket. He
marry Kowalski,
know my father."
got-he won that lottery. Then I get to
Impulsively, I exclaimed, "Alourdes! You don't
mitted he was your father just because
mean he addon't say that, Karen. I don't
you won I1 the lottery!" "I
dark, one light,
back
say that. .
Two heads, one
battle
lay
on the pillows in a room fast
to keep out the light and heat of a tropical
losing its
spiratorial
day. Our conwhispering was silenced, and for a
time
was nothing the old man outside might overhear. long
there
The relationship between Alourdes and her father was
plex. Alourdes tried to love him in her way, and
comto make up for his earlier
he, in his, tried
neglect. But the
not acknowledged her as his
years when he had
daughter had left bitterness and
.
Two heads, one
battle
lay
on the pillows in a room fast
to keep out the light and heat of a tropical
losing its
spiratorial
day. Our conwhispering was silenced, and for a
time
was nothing the old man outside might overhear. long
there
The relationship between Alourdes and her father was
plex. Alourdes tried to love him in her way, and
comto make up for his earlier
he, in his, tried
neglect. But the
not acknowledged her as his
years when he had
daughter had left bitterness and --- Page 322 ---
Alourdes tended to hold him at arm's length. When
hurt, and
showed
Pèpe died in the fall of1985, however, Alourdes'sactions went to Haiti for the
none of this ambivalence. She immediately
of the
funeral and the wake and also paid a substantial portion is less
Margaux
Danbala
funeral expenses. As an ancestor, Alphonse
problematic than when he was among the living.
Philomise Macena
about her mother with ambivalence:
Alourdes never speaks
mother SO much! Up til now, my mother the one alIl love my
Sometime somebody come . : . they
ways coming to help me. know how I
to help that pergot a problem, and I don't
going and she tell me
son. Then I sleep and I dream my mother,
she the one that help me. She tell me do this,
what to do. Yes,
do that, and plop! The person just
do that. Next day, I do this,
comand gone. No more problem! She the one always
get up
to happen in my life, some
ing to help me. Something going come. I dream my mother,
kind'a problem, my mother always know, when I come to New
and she tell me about that. You
three children I left in
York, I think about my children, my who the real headache. I
Haiti, but my motherl-she the one
That what make it
think about her every day-every I'm day! afraid of ghost, but if I
hard. Let me tell you something.
open
mother right now, standing up over there, just
see my
my arm!
outside Alourdes's altar room, in the area where birthday
Just
are held,
a blurry enlargement of a
parties for the spirits
hangs Philomise Macena. It shows up
black-and-white photograph of
of many photos I have taken of Alourdes's
in the background
the
Whether the party is for
Vodou ceremonies over
years.
over
Azaka, Ezili, Ogou, or Danbala, there is Philo, watching
the drama.
I worked with Alourdes on her biograDuring the early years childhood with Philo emerged, a portrait
phy, a portrait of her
child who
and
manbo with a headstrong
of a poor
hardworking
indulged. Alourdes claimed
was perhaps spoiled and surely
almost
Yet
that she could sweettalk her mother into
anything. --- Page 323 ---
Danbala
created by Maggie and Alourdes on
kitchen-cabinet altar for Philo
Impromptu Day. Fort Greene, Brooklyn, 1978.
Mother's
ability to meet her
to have set limits on Philo's times when she was
poverty seemed Alourdes remembered many came home to find
child's needs.
breakfast and then
considersent to school without But Philo must have instilled that when
there was still no food.
Alourdes also claimed
"Oh,
in her, because
eaten, she would reply:
able pride
asked what she had
school friends
in
.
ham."
chocolate :
reputation
bread - .
healer earned her a substantial much money
Philo's work as a though she did not make
up,
even
that when she was growing
Port-au-Prince, Alourdes said
clients who came
from this work.
often overflowing with
were being
Philo's house was
them lived there while they
some
help. Many of
room indoors,
seeking
when there was not enough
was legendcured; and
yard. Philo's charitable spirit Once, when
camped out in Philo's
of stories.
her
by a multitude
who was on
ary and is illustrated she found a poor woman find the money
Philo went to church,
the saints to help her was about to
knees, crying and begging overdue rent. Her landlord
seven months of
to pay
from this work.
often overflowing with
were being
Philo's house was
them lived there while they
some
help. Many of
room indoors,
seeking
when there was not enough
was legendcured; and
yard. Philo's charitable spirit Once, when
camped out in Philo's
of stories.
her
by a multitude
who was on
ary and is illustrated she found a poor woman find the money
Philo went to church,
the saints to help her was about to
knees, crying and begging overdue rent. Her landlord
seven months of
to pay --- Page 324 ---
evict her and her children. Philo befriended the
her the rent money, and even added a little extra to woman, buy food gave for
the children.
How much Alourdes must
Danbala
have learned by having Philo as
her role model, I often thought, and how much
she
must
knowledge
have gained by growing up in what amounted to a Vodou
healing center. Alourdes resisted these images of mine, but she
did soindirectly, claiming that as a young child she
most of the ceremonies and that as a teenager she slept through
ular dances to those for the spirits. When Philo called Preferred the secdrummers into her small backyard, Alourdes said, she would leave
for an evening with her friends. She said that when she was
adult living on her own, she sometimes asked her mother an to
pray for her if she had problems, but she never engaged the
spirits herself. "Sometime I say, Mommie, light a candle for
me,but I don'tdo nothing for myself.' Something in the notion
of Alourdes willfully holding herself apart from the center of
her mother's life seemed unlikely to me, but by the time these
doubts became clear, I knew better than to push with direct
questions.
In March of 1984, six years after we met, Alourdes
the missing piece of the puzzle, the piece that caused gave all the me
others to realign themselves. I had spent the night at her
where I slept in the children's room, adjacent to hers. Alourdes home,
called to me when she heard the first sounds of
went and sat beside her on her big double bed. my I stirring. I
blankets
pulled the
over my legs and leaned up against the headboard
with the king-size rosary draped over one post. We had a
intimate discussion, focusing at first on the dreams we had sleepy,
had the night before. Then, in a very small voice preceded each
big sigh, Alourdes said, "I don't ever tell
by a
raise me. I1
you my mommie don't
The story that followed made me ache, as much for the shame
its telling caused Alourdes as for the actual experience. I tell this
story now because of an attitude I have come to know and admire in Alourdes. Earlier, when she first told me about the
period when she worked as a Marie-Jacques, she had
in the same small voice. But then she had added in spoken
a much
stronger tone: "You got to put that in the book. Because
the truth. Right? Women got to do all kind'a thing.
that's
that to feed my children. I'm not ashame.
Right? I do
Right?" The story
telling caused Alourdes as for the actual experience. I tell this
story now because of an attitude I have come to know and admire in Alourdes. Earlier, when she first told me about the
period when she worked as a Marie-Jacques, she had
in the same small voice. But then she had added in spoken
a much
stronger tone: "You got to put that in the book. Because
the truth. Right? Women got to do all kind'a thing.
that's
that to feed my children. I'm not ashame.
Right? I do
Right?" The story --- Page 325 ---
she told it to me
about her mother was longer in coming, yet
just as purposefully.
her
It seems that the same manbo who would deplete
savings
overdue rent and feed children did not
to help a stranger pay
fourth child on her own.
Danbala
think she had the resources to raise a
Alourdes had not participated in her mother's spirit work befor most of her childhood, she had observed it from a
cause, distance. As a toddler, Alourdes was given into the care of a
of
childless woman friend who was an occasional recipient
Philo's charity. Leah Clemence was delighted to have a child to
Philo
raise. When Alourdes was seven years old, however,
Madame Cleheard rumors that she was being mistreated by
and the mother reclaimed her daughter. I do not know
mence,
the Clemence household when Alourdes lived
what went on in
there, but I do know that Alourdes made a point of not inviting
Leah to her wedding years later.
in the
Alourdes and her mother lived together for a year
house in Belair, the one Philo eventually lost to a treacherous
friend and the fraudulent legal system. It was during this time
that Alourdes wandered off for three long days. After she was
found, she and Philo traveled to Jean Rabel to kill a pig for Ezili
Danto, and Danto announced that Alourdes would serve the
family spirits after Philo. All this happened in one short year.
Alourdes's eighth birthday, she was living with her older
By brother Frank and his wife, Rita. There she stayed until she bewith her first child at the age of fourteen.
came pregnant
the
Alourdes too much to
Rita then declared
precocious
handle and sent her back home. For a second time, Alourdes
for
a brief
Less
were
and Philo
reunited-but again
only
period.
Alourdes began to live with Charles, the
than two years later,
the
man who eventually became Maggie's father. Furthermore,
relationship between Alourdes and her mother was apparently
smooth, whether or not Alourdes was living atl home.
notalways
have led me to conclude that Philo had a fearSmall comments
it
of Alourdes's status as a favored child,
some temper; in spite
in her direction.
seems that this temper sometimes erupted
Nevertheless, when Alourdes talks about her mother with
love, it does not sound false. I can detect no underlying
great
"Women
to do all kind'a thing, I1 Alourdes says,
bitterness.
got
that
this same attireferring to herself, and it seems
applying
tude to her mother has enabled her both to understand and to
always
have led me to conclude that Philo had a fearSmall comments
it
of Alourdes's status as a favored child,
some temper; in spite
in her direction.
seems that this temper sometimes erupted
Nevertheless, when Alourdes talks about her mother with
love, it does not sound false. I can detect no underlying
great
"Women
to do all kind'a thing, I1 Alourdes says,
bitterness.
got
that
this same attireferring to herself, and it seems
applying
tude to her mother has enabled her both to understand and to --- Page 326 ---
forgive. Even if, in a manner of speaking, Philo gave Alourdes
away, the bond between them seems to have been forged
and strong. When Alourdes had difficulty giving birth to deep
gie, Philo rushed to her side
MagDanbala
with spiritual help and
comfort. And later, when Alourdes suffered
motherly
her
SO much during
pregnancy with William, Philo came to the clinic and
her what little food and money she could
gave
often fed Alourdes's children
scrape together. Philo
during the difficult period
she left Kowalski, and, when Alourdes went to the United after
States, Philo kept the children for nearly two years.
the time
Alourdes was an adult, she and her mother were By
connected that when communication
SO psychically
broke down between
them, Philo's dreams informed her of her daughter's illness and
hospitalization in New York. Alourdes's decision to serve the
spirits after that illness was inseparable from her decision
main tied to her mother. So it is fitting that her mother to reis the
one who now appears in Alourdes's dreams to help her in her
healing work.
BLOOD AND MEMORY: MAGGIE
Margaret Georgette Margaux Sanchez has different kinds of
problems to face in maintaining the lines of blood and
Maggie came to the United States before she had her first memory.
strual period. In New York, she became an adult and learned menmost of what she knows about the world. Maggie has
lot of her time outside the home,
spent a
going to school and working.
Consequently, she has constructed a larger world than
Alourdes and has developed more public skills.
has
This independence, which was more or less forced on
gie, can create conflicts when she thinks about the future. Mag- In
1979, responding to a question about her hopes for the future,
Maggie said, "Well, my future dream is- since I have that degree in dental technician-if I have enough
I think I
would open my own lab where I could be
own money,
my
boss . : : you
*Maggie was briefly married to a Puerto Rican man named
Michael's father. In certain circumstances, Maggie still uses the Sanchez, who is
name Sanchez.
.
has
This independence, which was more or less forced on
gie, can create conflicts when she thinks about the future. Mag- In
1979, responding to a question about her hopes for the future,
Maggie said, "Well, my future dream is- since I have that degree in dental technician-if I have enough
I think I
would open my own lab where I could be
own money,
my
boss . : : you
*Maggie was briefly married to a Puerto Rican man named
Michael's father. In certain circumstances, Maggie still uses the Sanchez, who is
name Sanchez. --- Page 327 ---
know, working whenever I feel like it. 117 But then she
minute and added, "Or, ifI could
thought a
get a husband to
enough . . : I could stay home, do a little
support me
him take care of me.' 11
housework, and let
When Maggie was thinking of settling down
can man named Barnett, that
with the JamaiDanbala
dreams. Since she has
was how she spoke about her
become a manbo, however, her mood
changed. The Haitian man who is now her
has
and the father of her daughter
frequent companion
Maggie off to their
Betty does not dream of
own home or expect her to
the carrying
traditional wife. Maggie and Alourdes
play
role of a
have the
they are the heads of the house, and he knows primary bond;
to exert his authority there.
better than to try
The Vodou spirits are an important
of
even after her initiation they have
part Maggie's life. But
large and complex world.
remained only one part ofl her
often be hidden.
Furthermore, this is a part that must
Maggie tells an amusing story about
important lab exam at the technical school where
taking an
certificate in dental mechanics.
she received a
her some help with the
Papa Gede showed up to give
test, signaling his presence
strong odor of cigar smoke. Maggie said to him,
with the
You going to get me in trouble!" "Who
"Don't do that!
asked her lab partner. "And what's
are you talking to?"
that awful
one of the more benign stories
smell?" This is
often
Maggie tells about the clash she
experiences between her different worlds. A patient in the
gynecologist's office where she once worked refused to
gie touch her when she found out
let Magthe hysterical
she was Haitian. The reasons
woman offered were "Vodou and AIDS. 11
rarely lets anyone outside her immediate
Maggie
important the Vodou spirits
community know how
actually are in her life.
Maggie has been marked from early childhood
inherit her mother's altar and,
as the one to
of
along with it, the
serving the family spirits. Prescient
responsibility
she was quite young, indicated that the dreams, starting when
Alourdes also had such dreams,
spirits favored her.
beginning when she was little
about "Maggie the vocational took vocational training to become a dental technician. She
school through an
found out
was long and expensive, and when she advertisement on the subway. The program
on its commitment to find her a job.
completed the course, the school reneged
from early childhood
inherit her mother's altar and,
as the one to
of
along with it, the
serving the family spirits. Prescient
responsibility
she was quite young, indicated that the dreams, starting when
Alourdes also had such dreams,
spirits favored her.
beginning when she was little
about "Maggie the vocational took vocational training to become a dental technician. She
school through an
found out
was long and expensive, and when she advertisement on the subway. The program
on its commitment to find her a job.
completed the course, the school reneged --- Page 328 ---
toddler. For both of them, dreams continue to be
more than a
current situations
significant life events, sometimes diagnosing
and sometimes foretelling important future events.
Danbala
Dreams
The story of the last stage of Maggie's struggle in taking on
and
of a manbo can be told through
the identity
responsibilities
both interpretive and
of such dreams. The dreams,
a sequence
the first six months of 1981, a time
predictive, occurred during
of
when the family was beset by a serious and extended period
bad luck. Bad luck, 8 the broadest diagnostic category in the lexiof the Vodou healing system, can be a one-time thing such
con
a lost job, or an illness; or it can be a shift in
as a car accident,
g-which was how
the quality of life that affects everythingin
1981.
their situation
early
Alourdes and Maggie diagnosed
jammed
Everything went wrong, small things (lost keys,
mail that did not arrive) and big ones. The trouble started
doors,
froze and burst in January. Less than
when the heating pipes
her
and contracted chicken
two weeks later, Maggie lost
job
it known to do, to
The bad luck then began to spread, as is
pox.
not
who were
vulnerable others (those
spiritually protected)
who
connected to them. Gabriel, Alourdes's former boyfriend,
with them at the time, was mugged. Alourdes's son
was living
William was arrested for purse snatching.
attention to
When bad luck is pervasive, "you got to pay
Alourdes
it. But in order to pay attention, a person
that," as
put
to
well, dream frehas to be centered and calm enough sleep March, the anxiquently, and remember those dreams. By early
level in the house had risen SO high that when the spirits
ety
dream warning her about the next link in the
sent Maggie a
she did not remember it right away, and,
chain of bad luck,
element:
when she did remember, she misinterpreted a key
tell me about that. Ijust have too many
They warn me. They
been
around
thing in my head. 1 forget about it. Ijust
running that I
trying to do too many thing. But I dream. : : I dream
speaking, Haitians refer to an absence of luck: "M'pa genyen chans [I
*Strictly
don't have any luck]."
her about the next link in the
sent Maggie a
she did not remember it right away, and,
chain of bad luck,
element:
when she did remember, she misinterpreted a key
tell me about that. Ijust have too many
They warn me. They
been
around
thing in my head. 1 forget about it. Ijust
running that I
trying to do too many thing. But I dream. : : I dream
speaking, Haitians refer to an absence of luck: "M'pa genyen chans [I
*Strictly
don't have any luck]." --- Page 329 ---
come home one night and find my door open, and
there and look, and there are four horses
I go in
from the fire
looking at me right
escape. They just standing there
and then I hear something in the front of
looking at me,
know, in the bedroom, and I in
my apartment, you
You know Joe?
go there . : . and there is Joe.
Danbala
Aileen's son. And I say to him, 'What
doing in here? What you doing in my apartment?'
you
me he just come in looking for
And he tell
and just sock him, beat him something. And I get real mad
up! And throw him out!
In mid-March, a few days after this dream, the
Fort Greene was robbed, the first
row house in
enced in nearly twenty
burglary they had experithe second-floor
years of living there. Maggie occupies
and her
apartment, below the one rented out to Aileen
son, Joe. The burglar got onto the fire
in back
andcamein through Maggie's kitchen
escape
were standing in her dream.
window, where the horses
that Raphael
Maggie lost the engagement
Sanchez, Michael's father, had
ring
of quarters; a collection of
given her; a jar full
which she had yet to make foreign her money; and a new camera for
After the robbery,
first payment.
to tell
Maggie was hard on herself:
me somebody going to break into
"They trying
no attention." 11 Iasked what difference
my house. I don't pay
had remembered the
it would have made if she
dream, and Maggie replied that the
might have been telling her to confront the robber
spirits
with him. When the robbery
and fight
on the first floor in her mother's happened, Maggie had been
She heard the thief leave her bedroom, tending a sick child.
basement.
apartment and descend to the
"Ishould have just open that door and
in his eye," Maggie said,
spray something right
cleanser. 11 She also criticized "perfume . . Lysol .
Comet
herself for
the dream, for reading the
initially misinterpreting
a signal that the thief
presence of Joe, a mulatto, merely as
was a light-skinned man. (Skin color
significant part of the message in any dream from the
is a
She soon learned through neighborhood
spirits.)
tually committed the
gossip that Joe had acrobbery. Maggie had not realized
rectly the spirits were speaking to her.
how diThe robbery clinched Maggie's diagnosis about
the period of bad luck. She decided it
the cause of
was definitely a result of
herself for
the dream, for reading the
initially misinterpreting
a signal that the thief
presence of Joe, a mulatto, merely as
was a light-skinned man. (Skin color
significant part of the message in any dream from the
is a
She soon learned through neighborhood
spirits.)
tually committed the
gossip that Joe had acrobbery. Maggie had not realized
rectly the spirits were speaking to her.
how diThe robbery clinched Maggie's diagnosis about
the period of bad luck. She decided it
the cause of
was definitely a result of --- Page 330 ---
the
who were demanding that she stop
harassment by initiation. spirits, It had been almost two years since
postponing her dream in which she had sworn to Danbala that
the important would return to Haiti to take the ason. Work and financial
she
from fulfilling her promDanbala
troubles, she said, had prevented her
their
Now, she felt the spirits were increasing
ise right away.
what those spirit do. That's how they are!
pressure. "That's just
I'm just thankful they don't make me sick again."
the
It seems fair to speculate that Maggie's delay in making
trip to Haiti was not entirely a result of external circumstances. of
spirits do not often molest people who are the victims
Family
cannot control. In fact, during the two years since
things they
had been struggling
her promise to Papa Danbala, Maggie
with the consequences of taking on the responsibilities
mightily
of a manbo.
her
to board the plane that would
In 1963 Alourdes, on
way had said to Philo, "I don't think
take her to the United States,
York.' 11 Sixteen years later, in
I'm going to need no spirit in New
when I asked Maggie if she planned to become a manbo
1979,
had said something similar: "I don't
like her mother, Maggie
because my mother is living.
think I'll be working as a manbo,
I don't think Ill need to
Plus, I'm right here in the U.S., and so
not live
manbo. I1
had concluded that she could
work as a
Maggie
here in New York. "New York
the life of her manbo grandmother
ever live.
is much different than any place that my grandmother damn!
Like here, people don't care. They just don't give a
Because I came here when I was young, and I seen New York
it's New York teach me a lot'a thing-New
City. . . . I think
that Ihave in New York
York SO tough! That's the big experience
" When I
that make me realize I can't be like my grandmother.' in New
pointed out to Maggie that Alourdes was also living
York and working full-time as a manbo, Maggie said simply,
"She grow up in different ways than me. 11
did
reluctance about becoming a
Yet at no point
Maggie's Vodou itself. She has always
manbo signal ambivalence about
work and has
been a staunch defender of her mother's
appreci- if I
ated what the spirits bring into her life. "You know, maybe
Vodou, I would not know SO much about people.
wasn't part of
in it, I would be just, you know, just
Maybe if I did not grow up
else walklike ordinary people : : walking : : . like everybody
than me. 11
did
reluctance about becoming a
Yet at no point
Maggie's Vodou itself. She has always
manbo signal ambivalence about
work and has
been a staunch defender of her mother's
appreci- if I
ated what the spirits bring into her life. "You know, maybe
Vodou, I would not know SO much about people.
wasn't part of
in it, I would be just, you know, just
Maybe if I did not grow up
else walklike ordinary people : : walking : : . like everybody --- Page 331 ---
ing on the streets, up and down : . . and
wrong. 11
don't know right from
In 1981, when the spirits increased their
conflict Maggie felt about
pressure on her, the
sified. On the third
becoming a professional healer intento hold her annual Saturday in March, Alourdes was scheduled
Danbala
birthday party for
main spirit. On the Friday night before Papa Danbala, Maggie's
had a terrifying dream, which woke
the ceremony, Maggie
the rest of the night. "I dream all her up and kept her up for
these snakes
everywhere, big ones, little ones-all
coming from
and chasing me. And I turn and
green, coming after me
I'm going to kill you. I'm
say to them, Leave me alone.
to
'If
going to kill all of you!" And
me, only you could.
If you could just find they say
This dream occurred when the streak of bad luck us."
under way. Maggie had recovered from chicken
was well
did not yet have another job. The house
pox, but she
week before, and William had
had been robbed the
been
in
ous Wednesday. At the
arraigned court the previceremony that Saturday
Papa Danbala came to ride Alourdes, the usual night, when
were observed. Danbala inched
ritual forms
a snake. When he arrived
across the floor on his belly like
at the foot of the altar
sheet canopy held at the corners by four
table, a white
ered over him SO he could consume his participants was lowWilliam, whose
raw egg in privacy.
plight was by then known to many in the
community, was the first one called up to greet the lwa
under the canopy. William was directed to offer
as he lay
to Danbala in the discreet and
his little fingers
spirit prefers. Then he
proper handshake this ancient
bala's
was told to bend over and straddle Danbody, under the protective cover of the
walk its length. He emerged from the other sheet, and slowly
nel looking dazed and
end of the cloth tunaroused at the same time,
This selection from my field notes picks
the
the ceremony after several other
up
description of
and Danbala had
people had greeted the spirit
finally released his horse. Alourdes was
helped to her feet when
being
all of a sudden, Maggie is down. Danbala has
Her
mounted her!
body, prone on the floor, curls like the
of
lytic. Her hands knot up. She looks like
body a paralying,
an old, old person
self-protectively, in a fetal position. She screams as if
oused at the same time,
This selection from my field notes picks
the
the ceremony after several other
up
description of
and Danbala had
people had greeted the spirit
finally released his horse. Alourdes was
helped to her feet when
being
all of a sudden, Maggie is down. Danbala has
Her
mounted her!
body, prone on the floor, curls like the
of
lytic. Her hands knot up. She looks like
body a paralying,
an old, old person
self-protectively, in a fetal position. She screams as if --- Page 332 ---
Danbala
A manbo possessed by Danbala.
Fort-au-Prince, Haiti, 1989.
in real pain, several
people in the room times-unvilling move
unable to let
possession passes
protectively around her. go. The
ness. Before long, quickly, never emerging into Maggie's
"Shit! That's just shit! Maggie jumps up,
articulateKaka!" There is uttering obscenities.
something both moving --- Page 333 ---
and painful in this, and also something quite expressive of
Maggie's ambivalence about the world of the spirits. She can't
move away from it, but she can't quite get into it either.
Danbala
A few days later, when Maggie and I were talking on the
I laughed and said, "Well! That was the first time I have
phone,
seen you get a lwa."
"I don't want it
"That was scary, Karen!" she replied quickly.
I
I
to happen. I don't like that. I was flying. It's the fly I don't like!
can't take that sensation. I have to be able to stand on my foot,
to feel my legs. I don't like that flying. That's why I'm scared of
heights. Like, Im up there, and my foot cannot touch the
Like, I'm scared I'm going to fall." But then, without a
ground.
to
about her initiation: "I know this is
pause, she began speak
will
better. I'm
what I have to do, and when I do it, things
get
not going to say no 'if' . . . not no more!"
Maggie went on to say that there were still problems with the
trip to Haiti, tentatively set for July, four months hence. Ogou
had told her she had to go out and beg to raise money for the
things she would need for her initiation. Ritual begging is a lesin
often
by the spirits. (They had forced
son humility
prescribed
Haiti
that the person begPhilo to beg.) In
everyone recognizes
ging in the market, the one who wears blue denim or clothing
together from fabrics of different patterns, is such a ritpieced ual beggar. But, in New York, Maggie wailed, 'nobody gonna
know why I do that thing!"
Madame FranTwo weeks later, at a Danbala feast given by
and counseled Maggie that
çois, the serpent spirit appeared
begging can mean different things in different contexts. Maggie
had already approached friends for loans to meet the expenses
of her initiation, and Danbala judged this sufficient to meet her
spiritual obligations. Maggie was tremendously relieved. She
also acknowledged that asking friends for loans had been quite
a blow to her pride.
dream that
an end to
In early April, Maggie had a
signaled
her bad luck and indicated that Danbala was content with the
intentions of his devotee. In the dream, she was in some
good
"There were two men comein, one black and one
sort of factory.
cake with a lot of
and I think
white. And I was sharing
people, Danbala," she
one of them-at least one of them-was Papa
laughed. "Because I say to him"-she laughed once more-I
been quite
a blow to her pride.
dream that
an end to
In early April, Maggie had a
signaled
her bad luck and indicated that Danbala was content with the
intentions of his devotee. In the dream, she was in some
good
"There were two men comein, one black and one
sort of factory.
cake with a lot of
and I think
white. And I was sharing
people, Danbala," she
one of them-at least one of them-was Papa
laughed. "Because I say to him"-she laughed once more-I --- Page 334 ---
tell Papa Danbala if he come to me looking like a snake
I'm going to reject him!" Then Maggie added: - Any time again,
dream you eating cake, that mean you going to have
you
throughout the
success
Danbala
year.
Fear and Protection
A desire for personal safety -or "protection," as
more often puts it-is perhaps the main reason she was Maggie finally
willing to serve the spirits despite the toll in time and
and despite the prejudice against Vodou she encounters outside energy
her Haitian community. She once put it this way:
I know New York City is hard. But, thank God,
nothing ever
happen to me. I don't have the fear. The reason why is that
I know my spirit are around me, all the time, and if there
should be danger, you know, somewhere I'm going, I
have a feeling of something pulling me back not to go. I'm just not
afraid to go to the store, say, at eleven o'clock at
afraid to go to school, or afraid to go to work real early night, in the or
morning. I don't have no fears, I just get
and
know that nothing will
up
go . . . and I
happen to me.
Maggie fears concrete situations, violence at the hands of
people she does not know, whereas Alourdes fears less
evils such as the ambition, jealousy, or general malevolence tangible of
people she does know. Alourdes's fears almost always have
a spiritual dimension. Maggie's are more rooted in the realities
of everyday life in a tough Brooklyn neighborhood. The two
women also handle their fears differently. After the
both felt insecure, but each handled that
robbery,
insecurity in her own
way. After the break-in, Maggie bought some rough lumber and
built narrow, haphazard shelves over the window where
had entered and the one in the basement where he had exited. Joe
Alourdes constructed a gad. She submerged a doll, with
ror bound to its breast, in a bottle filled with water.
a mir-
("Alert the
angels down in the water, Beneath the
this
mirror. . ") She placed
protective charm on one of the shelves in the basement
window, where it gazed out over the rear yard.
In keeping with her tendency to fear the duplicity of
known to her, Alourdes made her own diagnosis ofthe persons
period of
shelves over the window where
had entered and the one in the basement where he had exited. Joe
Alourdes constructed a gad. She submerged a doll, with
ror bound to its breast, in a bottle filled with water.
a mir-
("Alert the
angels down in the water, Beneath the
this
mirror. . ") She placed
protective charm on one of the shelves in the basement
window, where it gazed out over the rear yard.
In keeping with her tendency to fear the duplicity of
known to her, Alourdes made her own diagnosis ofthe persons
period of --- Page 335 ---
bad luck in 1981, claiming that it was the work of a
tive, one descended from her
distant relaOn her last trip to Haiti, this grandfather, Alphonse Macena.
and asked her to take
man had approached Alourdes
over his recently deceased father's
and, along with it, the service of the
altar
Alourdes did not want to do this, because spirits housed there.
Danbala
ticed with both hands. 11 Some of the
the oungan had "pracfamily spirits at all but
spirits he served were not
of those who had died "purchased spirits," free-floating souls
that had
without family or proper burial, souls
subsequently been captured and "tied"
stone. Alourdes wanted
in a bottle or
nothing to do with this sort
work, and she avoided further contact with
of spirit
tended family. During the
this part of her exlieve that these
period of bad luck, she came to berelatives had been offended
her
had done "work" against her.
by
behavior and
Somewhat surprisingly, Maggie did not disagree with
reading. In fact, she talked about it as much as
this
the same time, however,
Alourdes did. At
nation
Maggie held to her own
about the spirits
parallel explaAlourdes
wanting her to become a manbo.
did not disagree with Maggie's
And
seemed to be accurate
theory, either. Both
bad luck.
explanations of their protracted
of
They knew both
spell
diagnoses were accurate
spirits spoke to both scenarios in their dreams.
because the
bad luck had run its
And when the
course, more dreams signaled the
good times.
return of
Just a few days after Maggie's dream about
Danbala, Alourdes had a dream in which sharing cake with
telling her that she had
Ogou spoke to her,
nothing to fear from the
of Alphonse Macena. "The trouble over,' 11 the
family
"Everybody back to work!" And a
spirit announced.
had
day or two after that
Maggie
one that also indicated that her mother's dream,
with Macena's descendants were at an end. In Maggie's problems
uncharacteristically, God himself intervened.
dream,
I don't think nothing more going to
dream. Those people been
happen, because I have a
fix them. I dream like I was bothering Mommie, God going to
big mountain, and
walking up this mountain, like a
something coming out of the
fog : . . or cloud : . . like white smoke
sky, like
me. They tell me He going to lock them .
and they talk to
house-but it was not
up. I was in this
my house-like a Haitian house, and
's problems
uncharacteristically, God himself intervened.
dream,
I don't think nothing more going to
dream. Those people been
happen, because I have a
fix them. I dream like I was bothering Mommie, God going to
big mountain, and
walking up this mountain, like a
something coming out of the
fog : . . or cloud : . . like white smoke
sky, like
me. They tell me He going to lock them .
and they talk to
house-but it was not
up. I was in this
my house-like a Haitian house, and --- Page 336 ---
clean it, to
it ready, because God going to
they tell me to
get
them
had given
bring them people there and lock
up. They and I tell
front room of that house to open up a store,
me the
There was a lot ofl leaf, a lot of dirt in that
them I don't want it.
'Clean it. Get ready. We are going to
Danbala
house, and they just say,
them
Mommie tell me that was a good dream.
lock
up.
and Alourdes breathed a mutual
After these dreams, Maggie
and they had emerged
sigh of relief. Itl had been a time of testing,
her
and
Maggie had strengthened her ties to
kin,
stronger.
on her family tree.
Alourdes had done some necessary pruning for a trip to Haiti
After that, the two began serious planning
from which
would return a full-fledged
in July, a trip
Maggie of Danbala could continue to be
manbo, with ason. The bones
would flow
shaken alive, and the veins of the serpent spirit
stories
with the bright red blood of another generation. The
would not be forgotten.
BEYOND BLOOD AND MEMORY
made the events of the first half of 1981 SO poignant was
What
and Alourdes were confronted with the most
that both Maggie
discovered that
basic of questions: who are my people? Maggie
she could not slough off her family identity and responsibilities. the
in doubt, her sense of security in
With those connections
Alourdes discovered that
world had been placed in jeopardy.
Family is
blood ties are sometimes binding in the wrong ways.
the
would make it, espenever as clear-cut as
ethnographers
after cycle of
cially for Haitians, who have been through cycle
the ties of
Although Alourdes seeks to honor
social upheaval.
Her argublood and memory, she insists on doing SO selectively.
over the altar of Macena's descendant-that
ment against taking
understandhe served spirits who were not family spirits-was
Techniable, but she does not apply this rule systematically. mother
cally, Philo did not meet this standard, either. Alourdes's
but her head spirit, Agéou,
did not traffic in purchased spirits,
rather, he was a Dominwas not inherited from her forebears;
while she was living in Santo Domingo.
ican spirit acquired
official definitions of family when she
Alourdes also flouts
To some expresents the stories of her people as a matrilineage.
ena's descendant-that
ment against taking
understandhe served spirits who were not family spirits-was
Techniable, but she does not apply this rule systematically. mother
cally, Philo did not meet this standard, either. Alourdes's
but her head spirit, Agéou,
did not traffic in purchased spirits,
rather, he was a Dominwas not inherited from her forebears;
while she was living in Santo Domingo.
ican spirit acquired
official definitions of family when she
Alourdes also flouts
To some expresents the stories of her people as a matrilineage. --- Page 337 ---
tent, she rewrites history when she says, "In
don'tserve no spirit; only women serve spirit. 11 my family, men
this claim in spite of Joseph Binbin
Alourdes makes
Mauvant and
cena, both of whom had
Alphonse Malent, religious
considerable, if not always benevobranches
power. Alourdes chooses the women as the main
Danbala
on herfamily tree, and the
the chain of generations for her. mother-daughterl link forges
In refusing to assume the spiritual obligations of the
Macena family, Alourdes in part revealed the
extended
which she defines family and makes the
consistency with
duty to family and religious duty.
connections between
spiritual power, but it was Marie Alphonse Macena had greater
tained the family as best she could. Noelsine Thus
Joseph who susrests on Alourdes's
Sina's whistling rock
Brooklyn altar, not Macena's sword.
Alourdes's people, time and again, the women have
Among
the responsibility of the generations,
shouldered
old, and the ancestors.
caring for the young, the
the
They have fed the spirits of the dead and
hungry babies as well. Alourdes's religious
devolve from this lineage of mothers who survived responsibilities
tured as best they could. These are her
and nurspirits she keeps alive with her ritual
people, and it is their
Alourdes's
feeding.
loyalty to family spirits is clear. But
a pull toward working with a wider clientele.
equally clear is
if most of the
who
When I asked her
people
came to her for
she responded, "All of them not Haitian. help were Haitians,
Barbadian, Italian,
Noooooo! Canadian,
Jamaican-you know. I work for lot'a
people. Chinese, too.' 11 Although it remains
white
most of her clients are Haitian, Alourdes my impression that
work at a cultural crossroads.
does do her healing
between a non-Haitian
But describing the relationship
If the mutual
client and the Vodou spirits is complex.
obligations between the spirits and the
inherited within families, how can a person who
living are
Vodou spirits in Alourdes's altar
encounters the
time, expect them to
room, perhaps for the first
respond to a request for help?
Although I did not originally come to Alourdes as a
attitude toward me is instructive
client, her
different
on this issue. Alourdes takes
approaches with me. One day, she looked
me and asked, "What color
closely at
and she responded: "You
your eyes?" "Blue," I answered,
a real honky, aren't
real honky." Yet, when
you? Oh, boy! A
talk about the black
reading the cards for me, she began to
ancestor somewhere in my past. "Even you
request for help?
Although I did not originally come to Alourdes as a
attitude toward me is instructive
client, her
different
on this issue. Alourdes takes
approaches with me. One day, she looked
me and asked, "What color
closely at
and she responded: "You
your eyes?" "Blue," I answered,
a real honky, aren't
real honky." Yet, when
you? Oh, boy! A
talk about the black
reading the cards for me, she began to
ancestor somewhere in my past. "Even you --- Page 338 ---
look like you, sometime they got that
don't see that : : . people
the same
I
in their family, 11 she explained. And, during
period,
also noticed thatshe used another, more comprehensive explanscheme. This theory, articulated by Alourdes several times
atory
that there is only one religion, one
Danbala
and in different ways, holds
call God and the
God, and one group of spirits. People simply attitude toward
spirits by different names. Overall, Alourdes's
it and see if
involvement in Vodou has been pragmatic: "Try
myi
the summer of 1980, I decided to do just
it work for you.Jin
in Chapter 4).
that, with my marriage to Ogou (described
she
When I told Alourdes that I was ready to marry Ogou,
to
Danbala, too.
responded, "Okay, but . . . you got
marry
You
to balance."' 11 I was familiar with the
Ogou too hot.
got
balance, SO the new requirement
Vodou principle of dynamic
occasion much thought. I
did not surprise me. It did not even
to
certain that the main event would be my marriage Ogou.
was
I thought about
In the weeks before the two spirit weddings,
mental
the Danbala part of the rituals only when going over my
two spirits meant I had to buy two complete
checklist. Marrying Danbala, I needed a white dress with sleeves)
sets of clothes (for
had to be in the shape of
and two wedding rings (Danbala's
a snake).
the marriage to Danbala turned out to
Much to my surprise,
behavior disappointed
be the more powerful of the two. Ogou's
his arms and
and frustrated me. I had wanted Ogou to open
teach
welcome me as one of his own. Instead, he kept trying to
lessons about self-assertion, and I ended up feeling rejected.
me
Danbala who fed the deeper hunger, the one beneath the
It was
wanted to "marry," to own up to, by marrying Ogou.
angerIhad
came on fast that July night. The
The Danbala possession
but rather on Andre, a
spirit did not descend first on Alourdes,
whom I knew
pleasant young man and a relative of Alourdes's the floor like a
only superficially. Andre fell and wiggled across
sound he
snake, his eyes wide, his tongue darting the only
hiss. I was
directed to lie beside Danbala,
made was a
quickly
held in
and the two of us were covered with a sheet canopy
by several of the devotees. Someone put Danbala's egg
place
the canopy, along with a small
the traditional offering--under
white dish containing the wedding ring I had purchased.
Florida Water was sprayed over the sheet, and
Sweet-smelling lifted
to allow each of us a drink of almondits edge was
briefly
iggled across
sound he
snake, his eyes wide, his tongue darting the only
hiss. I was
directed to lie beside Danbala,
made was a
quickly
held in
and the two of us were covered with a sheet canopy
by several of the devotees. Someone put Danbala's egg
place
the canopy, along with a small
the traditional offering--under
white dish containing the wedding ring I had purchased.
Florida Water was sprayed over the sheet, and
Sweet-smelling lifted
to allow each of us a drink of almondits edge was
briefly --- Page 339 ---
sugar syrup. Our translucent, private bower bloomed
gent odors, and Danbala gently hissed his
with punsurrounded us. Then, with his lips, Danbala gratitude. Singing
a tiny coiled silver serpent.
picked up the ring,
the
Holding it in his
raw egg. Somehow, he maneuvered
mouth, he bit into
ring onto the first finger of
the slippery, egg-coated
Danbala
with his darting
my right hand. Next, Danbala traced,
tongue, a trail of albumen
the shoulder bone, and then he hissed
up my right arm to
A curiously asexual
gently in my ear.
Danbala
sensuality overtook me. I was
stopped time for me. He stopped the voice floating.
mander in my head, the one who
of the comlists, get things done-s set
wanted to take charge, make
was
things right in
life.
MeN
pure sensation-timeless,
my
His presence
FoL
of the ritual accomplished
purposeless pleasure. This part
but never quite managed something Alourdes had often tried
even with her
you think too much!"
oft-repeated: "Karen,
Then the singing intensified, and I heard
ing a few feet from where Danbala
scuffling and thumpsheet was whipped
and I lay side by side. The
being limp) and carried away, and hands picked me up (I remember
me to lie beside Alourdes,
by a second Danbala. Hers emitted
now mounted
When the marriage license
an urgent "ke-ke-ke-ke-ke."
with a big X and then
was brought, this Danbala signed it
crumpled the
"Ke-ke-ke-ke, 11 he crooned.
document against his heart:
of
Then he pressed the crumpled sheet
paper against my heart: "Ke-ke-ke-ke." Back and
paper went between us. Finally, Danbala
forth the
hugged me tightly to his breast.
threw it aside and
I had never seen two Danbala
at
and Alourdes later described it appear once. Both Maggie
as unusual.
you, the white one and the black
"They both come for
been the white Danbala,
one. The first, they said, had
black
Saint Patrick. The second was
one, Moses. Alourdes reminded
the
stick that could turn into
me that Moses carried a
a snake. During the last
possession, Alourdes's Danbala leaned
stage of the
snake wound around its
on a stick with a carved
entire length.
With hindsight, I understand the Danbala
marked my acceptance: ein Alourdes's Vodou marriage to have
in her community had been uncertain
family. Some people
ing a white person,
and tense about includand a camera. After particularly the
one who used a tape recorder
July marriages in 1980,
question was closed. It seems significant that it however, the
was Danbala
carried a
a snake. During the last
possession, Alourdes's Danbala leaned
stage of the
snake wound around its
on a stick with a carved
entire length.
With hindsight, I understand the Danbala
marked my acceptance: ein Alourdes's Vodou marriage to have
in her community had been uncertain
family. Some people
ing a white person,
and tense about includand a camera. After particularly the
one who used a tape recorder
July marriages in 1980,
question was closed. It seems significant that it however, the
was Danbala --- Page 340 ---
Binbin Mauwho opened the family to me. I remembered Joseph
out. 11
African
"You in, you in. You out, you stay
vant's
legacy:
of rural Haitians has
Much of the social and religious energy
other families.
into defining their family over and against
gone
African words were probably
Danbala
In Mauvant's time, his powerful
Haitians who were forced
understood on that level. The many
definitions of family.
to migrate to the cities had to expand their shifted, but MauThe sense of the in-group and the out-group Alourdes's family
vant's words persisted. In Port-au-Prince, who could be trusted
used them to cast the line between those who could not. Imand called on in times of trouble and those
but the
to the United States caused further shifts,
migrating
that stands together against
drive to define an inner core group
a larger outside group remains. became involved in the plight of the
In the early 1980s, whenIt who arrived on U.S. shores in
Haitian boat people, refugees
by the Immileaky vessels and were immediately imprisoned
to my
Service, Alourdes responded
gration and Naturalization
"Karen, you always talking
talk about this effort by observing:
I don't underabout the Haitian people, the Haitian people.
to get
stand. You don't know those boat people. Why you got She
involve?" Abstractions do not provoke loyalty in Alourdes.
of
Binbin Mauvant, to locate
continues, in the spirit
Joseph
because she
those individuals who can be called her people
knows them and because they have earned the title.
she casts her net more widely, and the group
But these days
diverse. Alourdes has always shown
she includes in it is more
the new and the foreign.
courage and creativity in taking on
Danbala moved her
Through her, at my marriage ceremony,
Who
to a broader response to the question,
whole community This
be the way of the future for Vodou in
are my people?
may
But such a path leads to both gains
the immigrant communities. share its wisdom and its healing techand losses. Vodou can
varied
but as the group of
niques with a larger and more
group; will also become more
potential devotees expands, the spirits
to those
universalizable, the faces of the spirits less transparent of the
and the stories that carry the wisdom
of the ancestors,
religion more abstract. Vodou alive dances along Danbala's
The spark that keeps
to
to its new enbackbone. As the religion changes
respond
in March
Danbala must change. On a trip to Haiti
vironments,
its wisdom and its healing techand losses. Vodou can
varied
but as the group of
niques with a larger and more
group; will also become more
potential devotees expands, the spirits
to those
universalizable, the faces of the spirits less transparent of the
and the stories that carry the wisdom
of the ancestors,
religion more abstract. Vodou alive dances along Danbala's
The spark that keeps
to
to its new enbackbone. As the religion changes
respond
in March
Danbala must change. On a trip to Haiti
vironments, --- Page 341 ---
1988, I found a whole nation
hated dictator Jean Claude
suffering from depression. The
1986. Hope and
Duvalier had departed in
energy had risen among Haitians, February
smashed when voters, lined up for the first
only to be
in several
democratic election
in Haitiless decades, than were machine-gunned on the spot. I arrived
Danbala
four months after this
me was that several Vodou leaders tragedy. What intrigued
suffering in terms of the
of
spoke about their current
anger Danbala.
Danbala used to stand with one foot on the
the land, they said. But not now. Now
water and one on
he has withdrawn his foot from
Danbala is SO angry that
abuses of Duvalier and
the land. He is angry about the
about the Duvalierists,
control. These are people who turn
who remain in
lies" for whom
on their own, on the "famithey are father figures. As
has withdrawn his foot from the
punishment, Danbala
and dying. Even members
land, and Haiti is withering
of the Haitian elite talked this
though they would neveru use the name of Danbala. One
way,
light enough to be my sister, told me that when
woman,
usual morning walkin the woods near her
she took her
felt that all the spirits of the trees had
mountain home, she
Haiti was "losing its life force. 11
departed. In her words,
Vodou has never included a notion of a Golden
the past or the future. There is no heaven
Age in either
lypse is anticipated. At least, there
or hell, and no apocasion-until
had been no apocalyptic virecently. When such a vision forces itself
people of Haiti, it is significant that
feel
upon the
retreat of Danbala. What
they
it in terms of the
he is doing in New York Danbala is doing in Haiti and what
the future direction
are good indices of the well-being and
ofthe families who serve him in both places. --- Page 342 --- --- Page 343 ---
CHAPTER ELEVEN --- Page 344 ---
plenty Confibence
April 24, 1981-3:00 P.M. Mimose sat in her home in Bizoton, a home that was really only had
The concrete floor had been swept. The dishes
a room. carefully on top of the bureau: two
been washed and arranged
The
bowl, three
glasses, and a cooking pot. plates, one
had jelly been smoothed out, stretched tight,
pretty flowered sheets around the edges of the bed. Mimose,
and tucked in neatly
lavender, sat on the edge of
freshly bathed and dressed in pale
mirror she held in
her bed staring at an expressionless face in a
Manouchka
her right hand. On a mat beside the open door, little
in her mouth. Mimose thought
slept on her stomach, herthumb
a small indecipherable noise . . maybe
she heard something
from the thatch. a baby's cough -
maybe a spider dropping turned her head toward
She glanced away from her reflection, back in the mirror. her child, and, seeing nothing, looked she told herself. But it was
Mimose was bored; that was what
withthan boredom she felt. This was a complex feeling
more
Earlier
out a name. Call it dread. Deep hunger. Hopelessness.
mat beside the open door, little
in her mouth. Mimose thought
slept on her stomach, herthumb
a small indecipherable noise . . maybe
she heard something
from the thatch. a baby's cough -
maybe a spider dropping turned her head toward
She glanced away from her reflection, back in the mirror. her child, and, seeing nothing, looked she told herself. But it was
Mimose was bored; that was what
withthan boredom she felt. This was a complex feeling
more
Earlier
out a name. Call it dread. Deep hunger. Hopelessness. to stir in
in the day, when the all-too-familiar feeling had begun
Then
her, Mimose had written Jacques a passionate love note. and
to the Carrefour road and waited on pins
she ran down
on one leg of its regular circuit. needles for his bus to appear
Vie Belle"
When she saw the brightly painted van with "La
she
written across the front in fat red letters and blinking lights,
the note at Jacques through the driver's winraced to it, pushed
forestall his
and
dow, put a hand on her lips to
questions,
pranced away, giggling. felt much worse. All day, the dread had
After that, Mimose
The author emerging from the initiation chamber. Outside of Port-au-Prince,
1981. Photograph by Jerry Gordon. --- Page 345 ---
been growing steadily, like a boil. Her mind searched for some313
thing that could make her feel less precarious. "If we could get
married L. ifIcould find a job and pay someone to take care of
Mama doesn't even have a home
now. - . . Manouchka. right
Plenty
She can't do it. If I could take the ason : . . start to work as a
Confidence
manbo . I1 Each attempt to find an escape route led herinto the
same cul-de-sac, the one marked money. Well, if the problems
could not be solved, it was at least time to make the fear go
away. Her hand moved automatically toward Jacques's rum
bottle. "Sa pa bon pou ou, ti cheri [That isn't good for you, dearie],"
said Chantal as she walked through the door. Sitting down
on the bed next to her daughter, Chantal withdrew a greasestained packet of fried pork from the pocket of her housedress
and offered it to Mimose. Mimose shook her head; she preferred to let the fire burn in her belly pure and unadulterated. Methodically and in silence, Chantal ate the four nuggets of
meat. Then, while picking her teeth with the nail on her little
finger, she asked her daughter for a glass of water. Mimose
pointed to a plastic jug on the edge of the bureau; but, catching
her mother's disapproving look, she quickly rose to fetch the
water herself. Chantal watched her beautiful young daughter
and shook her head ruefully. In another minute, Mimose was
standing before her, holding out a tray with a brimming glass of
water balanced in the middle. Chantal took the glass, raised it to
her lips, and emptied it down her throat. "Alourdes called last night," said Chantal. "She called at
Madame Jesnair's, and by chance I was there. Italked with her. Maggie is going to kouche in July. Alourdes said you can go in,
too. She is going to pay for everything. 1 Mimose's face lit up. She jumped from the bed and danced around the room. "Tant
Alourdes! Tant Alourdes!Ilove you!"
May 3, 1981-11:00 A.M.
her lips, and emptied it down her throat. "Alourdes called last night," said Chantal. "She called at
Madame Jesnair's, and by chance I was there. Italked with her. Maggie is going to kouche in July. Alourdes said you can go in,
too. She is going to pay for everything. 1 Mimose's face lit up. She jumped from the bed and danced around the room. "Tant
Alourdes! Tant Alourdes!Ilove you!"
May 3, 1981-11:00 A.M. Karen Brown stood at the front door of her loft in lower Manhattan, giving it an appreciative look. It was a bright Sunday
morning, and this was the day Alourdes would bless her new
home. "Mine, all mine!" she thought to herself as she breathed
in the odors of sawdust, fresh paint, and polyurethane. "Brace --- Page 346 ---
she whispered to her brick walls and shiny
yourself, friends,"
about to
11 Then
wood floor, "our peace and quiet are
disappear.
battered Volvo and pointed it toward Brooklyn.
she got into her
household were dressed
All five members of the Brooklyn
friend Big
Plenty
and ready to go. And when Alourdes's gregarious leave, he was perConfidence Daddy arrived just as they were about to
the
to
as well. Spirits were high on
trip
suaded to come along
the laughter, and the teasing
Manhattan. Karen let the stories,
shouts
swirl around her, paying no attention to the antiphonal "You
of the two young boys in the back of her station wagon:
cow!" "You horse!" "You truck!" "You airplane!" "You-youHaitian!" Karen was trying to plot the best route, through
you
construction, back to the area New Yorkers
street fairs and road
Below Canal Street.
call TriBeCa, an acronym for the Triangle
she thought and took a sudden
"Ill cut through Chinatown,"
left on Mott Street.
this had been a mistake.
In less than two blocks, it was clear
filled with
the streets of Chinatown were
Even on Sunday,
Small-scale commerce-shoes
people, and traffic inched along.
ice in the back of a truckspread out on the sidewalk, fish on
the congestion. As the Volvo came to a stop alongintensified
Chinese woman in the passenger seat,
side a car with a young
the woman with a
Alourdes leaned across Karen and greeted
smile: "O wang gi nichi pi.' 11 Then she and the
nod and a bright
while Karen was left to
other passengers burst into laughter,
look and respond with a helpless
face the woman's disgusted
shrug of her shoulders.
"Beauteeefull" cried Alourdes as the crowd finally pushed
Karen's front door. Standing at the top of the staircase
through to the lower level of the loft, Alourdes exclaimed: "Woy!
leading
fall." She picked her way carefully
That stair too high. I going from side to side in a pair of blue jeans
down the stairs, swaying be
in and out of the car. Reaching
SO tight she had had to helped
wicker rocking chair
Alourdes
herselfi into a
the bottom,
plunked
"IfIgot a place like this. : . SO
and heaved a sigh of contentment.
don't bother me. If
quiet! I don't need nothing. I sleep. Nobody
don't know
I got party for spirit, nobody don't hear. Nobody smile. "You
business.' I1 Then she turned to Karen with a sly
my
"No way!" Karen cried. "But
going give me this apartment?"
want."
you can come and visit me whenever you
asked Karen.
"Where you born :
Florida?" Big Daddy
i into a
the bottom,
plunked
"IfIgot a place like this. : . SO
and heaved a sigh of contentment.
don't bother me. If
quiet! I don't need nothing. I sleep. Nobody
don't know
I got party for spirit, nobody don't hear. Nobody smile. "You
business.' I1 Then she turned to Karen with a sly
my
"No way!" Karen cried. "But
going give me this apartment?"
want."
you can come and visit me whenever you
asked Karen.
"Where you born :
Florida?" Big Daddy --- Page 347 ---
"No," she said, "I was born in
-
Jewish?" Big Daddy asked.
Pennsylvania. "Your parents
"No," 11 she laughed.
"No," Karen replied. "Italian?"
"Well,
Big Daddy persisted: "What are
my father's family is Irish, / said Karen. "Oh!"
they?"
exclaimed. "That explain why
Big Daddy
Saint Patrick is Irish. 11
Papa Danbala love you SO much.
Plenty
Alourdes, who had been
Confidence
would need for the house rummaging in herl bag for things she
voice became suddenly
blessing, continued to dig, but her
earnest. "Some
Karen got to marry spirit? She can't
people say to me, 'Why
Isay to them, 'What
think
have no spirit. She white!"
you know.' 111
you
Papa Ogou is? He a white man,
She stopped searching through her purse, looked
Big Daddy, and declared, "Those
straight at
people
spend SO much time with Karen? I
say, 'Why you have to
I just do what I want.
don't pay them no mind.
Nobody don't tell me
they mean? White people can't have
my business! What
body!" Having said her
no spirit? Spirit for everyto the
piece, Alourdes returned her attention
handbag open on her lap. In a few
trieved two white
minutes, she had recandles, a small bottle of
plastic sack containing bits of charcoal
holy water, and a
After Maggie
and frankincense.
kitchen
managed to improvise an incense burner
utensils, the group gathered
from
door of the loft. Karen was directed upstairs near the front
side her door and
to put a glass of water bethe bottle of
light a candle next to it. Maggie was handed
holy water and Big Daddy the
pot. After Alourdes lighted the second
smoking incense
prayers were quickly recited. Then
candle, a few Catholic
handed her the candle, and told her Alourdes turned to Karen,
Karen looked uncertain.
to "talk."
gie asked sharply.
"What's the matter with you?"
Alourdes stepped in to
Magyou say you don't want no evil
help: "Talk . . . like,
Come on, Karen!"
people coming in the door.
"Okay, okay. I'm going to doit,' 11
clearing her throat.
said Karen,
"Let no unfriendly people come through this
gan. "Good!" cried Alourdes. "But
door," she beKaren continued
let lots of friends come!"
firmly. "And let me always feel
coming through this door. And
good about
Everyone chimed in: "Make
keep my home safe
"No evil
Karen' house safe!"
shouted: "That's people - Alourdes started to say, and Maggie
right! No burglar, no rapist, no murderer,
, okay. I'm going to doit,' 11
clearing her throat.
said Karen,
"Let no unfriendly people come through this
gan. "Good!" cried Alourdes. "But
door," she beKaren continued
let lots of friends come!"
firmly. "And let me always feel
coming through this door. And
good about
Everyone chimed in: "Make
keep my home safe
"No evil
Karen' house safe!"
shouted: "That's people - Alourdes started to say, and Maggie
right! No burglar, no rapist, no murderer, --- Page 348 ---
with
no- " "That's enough!" broke in
no thief, no man
gun,
holy water around
Alourdes. She instructed Maggie to sprinkle all over the area.
the door and told Big Daddy to pass incense
want no
that little corner, I1 Maggie urged. "I don't
"Don'tf forget
Plenty
bad spirit hanging around." moved through the loft, stopping
Confidence
In this manner, the group
the kitchen. As
at the bathrooms, the bedroom, the windows, Standing in the
Karen's tongue loosened.
the rite continued,
about
food, about the imporkitchen, she waxed eloquent
good about how she wanted
tance of food in creating community,
staunched
people to gather around her table. . : : Maggie
many
wish: "And don't let that
the flow of rhetoric with a practical
stove explode!"
Alourdes
that Karen buy
At the end of the ritual,
suggested of doorways and
a small statue of Lazarus (Legba, guardian a little one,' 11 she
barriers) to put next to her front door. "Just
three inches
her thumb and middle finger about
said, spreading
they don't think nothing about it."
apart. "Somebody see that,
suggested an image of Ezili Dantô as well.
Big Daddy
after drinks and snacks, everyone but Karen
An hour later,
downstairs to watch television. The
and Alourdes disappeared
iced tea, which,
two women sat at the round oak table, sipping
Alourdes's case, was nearly half sugar. "I love your apartin
thing I don'tlike
ment, 11 Alourdes said. "Very, very pretty! Only
somebody,
here alone. It not good to be alone. You need
is you
to have a good time." "I know," replied
and I don't mean just
Karen.
older. Right?" "Right, 1I Karen an-
"Beside, Karen, you getting
observed Alourdes
swered glumly. "Nobody don'tget younger,
do-something
without a trace of humor. "What you going
into that
to you, you sick, you can't work? You going go
happen
Karen
give me some food?" They don't
store and say, T'm
Brown,
I1 "Well. . 1
carei if you Karen Brown!That don't mean nothing.
11 She
said Karen, "it's not that bad. I've got some protection. insurance
about the retirement fund and disability
was thinking
but Alourdes heard something else.
her university provided,
because those spirit love you. But
"I know you got protection,
to fight for that. Let
you need somebody and : . you got
from the time you
me tell you, life is a war. You got to fight
need!"
belly. You got to fight for what you
leave your mother'
the conversation would end.
"I know," Karen sighed, wishing
!That don't mean nothing.
11 She
said Karen, "it's not that bad. I've got some protection. insurance
about the retirement fund and disability
was thinking
but Alourdes heard something else.
her university provided,
because those spirit love you. But
"I know you got protection,
to fight for that. Let
you need somebody and : . you got
from the time you
me tell you, life is a war. You got to fight
need!"
belly. You got to fight for what you
leave your mother'
the conversation would end.
"I know," Karen sighed, wishing --- Page 349 ---
But Alourdes was not ready to drop the
You can leave everything to God?
topic: "What you think?
out for you? God
You think God going watch
got too many problem for
to take care of you. You
hisself. He too busy
hard to
got to help yourself. 11 "Sometimes
figure out how to do that, 11 Karen observed.
it's
Alourdes started to say something, hesitated, and
Plenty
a long, searching look. "If you find
gave Karen Confidence
and you love him-I mean
somebody, he not married
do
really love
don't want
.
him--you
to
something . . you know . . . fix him?" Karen
vously. "No," she said, "I don't like to
laughed nerbody, not like that. I want a man to choose use my will against anyhis own free will-not because
to be with me, out of
"Look, 11 said
I did some 'work' against him.' 11
Alourdes, in a tone she might use
"you too naïve. Nobody don't get hurt. 11
with a child,
conspirator's whisper, she added,
Lowering her voice to a
somebody- -ifI I really love
"Let me tell you, if I find
bottom! I'm
him, I'm going bind him from
to
going tie him right to the floor! That's
top
heart. You got to help yourself; not
for
right, sweetfor everything. 11
just
man-for your job,
"Maggie going kouche in July," Alourdes said,
changing the subject. "In two month, we
apparently
coming?" Karen raised her
going to Haiti. You
ing. Alourdes
eyebrows in surprise but said nothcontinued, "You could come inside.
with Maggie - . . at the same time. That not
kouche . .
I going charge you just what that cost
going cost you a lot.
So, what you say, Karen? It's time
me . . only a little more.
yourself"
you do something to protect
"I don't know, Alourdes, 11 Karen
not a
responded
Haitian : . and I'm not sure what it would cautiously. "Im
be initiated. Do you really think I should
mean for me to
you," Alourdes said, with
do it?" "That up to
back in her chair and
a impatient shrug. Then she leaned
"Look
opened her ample arms.
at me, Karen," she said. "I got
myself. You want some, too?" Karen nodded plenty confidence in
a bemused smile.
her head and gave
"Yes. / she said slowly, "yes, I do."
May 15, 1981-9:30. A.M.
Robert Gerard had been at his workbench for
SONY Walkman was on its fourth
an hour. His
trip through his favorite
said, with
do it?" "That up to
back in her chair and
a impatient shrug. Then she leaned
"Look
opened her ample arms.
at me, Karen," she said. "I got
myself. You want some, too?" Karen nodded plenty confidence in
a bemused smile.
her head and gave
"Yes. / she said slowly, "yes, I do."
May 15, 1981-9:30. A.M.
Robert Gerard had been at his workbench for
SONY Walkman was on its fourth
an hour. His
trip through his favorite --- Page 350 ---
His left leg jiggled up and down, but he
Aretha Franklin tape. time to the music. His body was following
was not keeping
shifted from the piece
some other urgent rhythm. Robert's eyes brown Carmelita seated
of equipment in front of him to sweet,
blouse, and he
Plenty
two stations away. She had on a bright purple
Confidence could see just the top of her cleavage.
times seventy-
"Plug in the calculator. Turn it on. Twenty-four
the
little green numbers flashed on
display
eight." Encouraging
and more of her cleavage
panel. Carmelita shifted position,
three hunloomed into view. "Five hundred and eighty-six plus the caldred and five." Aretha picked up the beat. "Unplug 11 Putit over. Check the screws on the back panel."
culator. Flip
Carmelita's job. Robert's leg moved
ting on the back panel was
faster.
Robert removed it with a clean white
"Oops! A smudge."
its
sleeve, tucked in
cloth. He slipped the calculator into plastic and
it in
of
("Inspected by No. 26"),
replaced
a small slip paper
each in its own styrofoam
a box with twenty other calculators,
himself around
slot. Then Robert removed his headset, spun men's room. Passonce on his swivel chair, and headed for the
"Lookin'
Carmelita, he bent and whispered in her ear:
ing
gooood!" She giggled. his
thirties, has a short, muscled
Robert, a black man in
early
in rural Georgia in a
body with a firm pot belly. He grew up
out on his own
large family, and he was encouraged to strike
older sister
Robert followed an
when he was barely a teenager.
he married and began
to New York City, where, at seventeen,
all with names that
his own family. He now has three children,
are variations of his first name.
look in the mirAlone in the bathroom, Robert risked a long
His face went slack for a moment but quickly recomposed
ror.
be okay," he said out loud, giving himitself. "Everythin' gonna nod. "This is the right decision. No quesself an authoritative
he wants, he got'a
tion about that. When a man see somethin'
nothin' gained.
for it. Better believe it! Nothin' ventured,
go
nothin'. No, sir!"
Bein' afraid never got nobody
months earlier when he had
But he had clearly felt fear two dreamed about a woman, a
awakened from that dream. He had
river. She beckbeautiful woman with long hair, standing by a
"You have to come in the water. You have
oned to him, saying,
Even though he was trying to
to!" Then came the strange part.
wants, he got'a
tion about that. When a man see somethin'
nothin' gained.
for it. Better believe it! Nothin' ventured,
go
nothin'. No, sir!"
Bein' afraid never got nobody
months earlier when he had
But he had clearly felt fear two dreamed about a woman, a
awakened from that dream. He had
river. She beckbeautiful woman with long hair, standing by a
"You have to come in the water. You have
oned to him, saying,
Even though he was trying to
to!" Then came the strange part. --- Page 351 ---
run away, he felt himself moving
discussed the dream with Mama steadily toward her. Robert
"Robert,
Lola, and Alourdes said
you not going to have no peace until
simply,
head. You know that, right? I going take
you wash your
Don't you worry. When
care of that for you.
you coming, too.' 11
Maggie go to Haiti, when she kouche,
Plenty
At first, Robert had worried about the
Confidence
ured out a way to handle the
cost. But he soon figjob for the month ofJune.
money problem, taking on a night
Ordinarily, he could not have
nights, because of school, but there was no
worked
The extra job would pay for his
school this summer.
had to buy for the initiation. airplane ticket and the things he
What he owed
come up with later.
Alourdes, he could
As for his other fears, Robert held them at
practiced techniques of positive
bay with wellcourse taken several
thinking he had learned in a
of
years ago. In fact, he had taken a number
cided self-improvement courses- -yoga, est, karate -before
to get serious about earning his
he dethree years earning his high school
degrees. He had spent
he was almost finished with
equivalency certificate, and
a two-year
ness administration.
college degree in busi-
"This is the real thing! That lady know what
Lola don't fool around!" Robert assured
she doin'.
through the men's room door. Back
himself as he pushed
the Aretha Franklin
at his bench, he replaced
had made
tape with one that had a blank label.
this tape from the radio, and no one else Robert
allowed to listen to it. It began with the 1812
was ever
long, Robert was lost in a clash of
Overture. Before
calculators.
cymbals and another box of
Only once did a fleeting memory of
intrude. The night before, she had called to
Maggie's "We
voice
July seven. I already make that reservation say,
are going
better get yourself ready. You hear
for you. So you
me, Mister Gerard?"
June 12, 1981-6:30 P.M.
Karen and Maggie sat in the little altar room in the
the Fort Greene house, waiting for Robert
basement of
for their initiation was to
to arrive. Instruction
begin that night. Robert
nearly an hour late, and, despite
ambled in
feel guilty, he refused to
Maggie's efforts to make him
apologize. "I was sleepin'. Everybody
seven. I already make that reservation say,
are going
better get yourself ready. You hear
for you. So you
me, Mister Gerard?"
June 12, 1981-6:30 P.M.
Karen and Maggie sat in the little altar room in the
the Fort Greene house, waiting for Robert
basement of
for their initiation was to
to arrive. Instruction
begin that night. Robert
nearly an hour late, and, despite
ambled in
feel guilty, he refused to
Maggie's efforts to make him
apologize. "I was sleepin'. Everybody --- Page 352 ---
Robert added, "Lola
have to sleep some time, rightr-Besikdes,"E holdin' things
is talkin' on the phone. I'm not the one
"Mommie up."
announced.
"You are holding me up," Maggie time. Since I kouche once before,
going to be on the phone a long
before Mommie come."
Plenty
Ican just start and tell you some thing
Gede's
Confidence
said Robert, settling onto the stool by Papa
"All right,"
attention. 11 "We going July seven, 11 Maggie
altar, "you got my
We
to be at the airport at six in
began. "American Airline.
got
Robert
Nobody better be late!" "Calm down,"
the morning.
said, "nobody gonna be late."
"We
to write things
Maggie passed out paper and pencils.
got this is what
down, SO nobody don't make no mistake! Karen,
sleeve;
to bring: three white scarf; two white dress, long
you got
one thimble 11 "Wait a minone white nightgown; one rosary;
ute!" Karen cried, "I can't write that fast.
ahead: "Robert got to bring the same thing
Maggie plunged
She
"And, Robert, don't foras Karen-but no dress."
giggled.
"To
"What for?" he asked.
put your
get a little plastic bag,."
and then added with a
koudok [penis] in!" Maggie shouted,
to
one. 11
snicker, "Maybe after you go in there you going
get
I1
"this
Robert cautioned,
is serious business."
"Take it easy,
"I don't want nobody to
Maggie ignored him and continued:
They
a
out of line, 'cause then they got to spank you.
got
get
keep inside that room.' 11 "Don't you worry about
switch they
to be your mother,
me, 11 Robert said truculently. "Mommie going added. "When you in
SO you got to do what she say," Maggie There is the inside mother
that little room, you got two mother.
but
and the outside mother. Mommie is going to stay outside,
someone in there with us. When you go pee-pee, she is
we got
the bucket and bring it back. She give you
the one who empty the
too. Kouche is like a : : . like a
food. She the one got
whip,
to be like baby smell
rebirth 1. - . like you get reborn. We going
like baby, too! heh, heh-so we got to behave.'
at the
"That's right!" said Alourdes, who had just appeared
door of the altar room. I'm not going to spoil nobody!" She
settled herself in the big, overstuffed armchair, and the instrucin earnest. "Thisis a very big step,
tion of the candidates began don't think, when you do it, you not
very big decision. But
I can't do
need nobody. Even me . . I need people.
going
myself. No! And don't think, when you finish,
everything by
sit down, wait for
then everything going to be okay . . you just
!" said Alourdes, who had just appeared
door of the altar room. I'm not going to spoil nobody!" She
settled herself in the big, overstuffed armchair, and the instrucin earnest. "Thisis a very big step,
tion of the candidates began don't think, when you do it, you not
very big decision. But
I can't do
need nobody. Even me . . I need people.
going
myself. No! And don't think, when you finish,
everything by
sit down, wait for
then everything going to be okay . . you just --- Page 353 ---
luck to come. I don'tgot no luck to give you. You still
yourself. This one big, big, big, long step; but
got to help
that you still
to
every day after
made
got shuwa .
shuwa : . . shuwa."
a shuffling sound and moved her hands like feet Alourdes
along a path. "Even me, I'm not finish. I got to walk stepping
just like you . . . shuwa. .
shuwa
every day
Plenty
that going make
: . . shuwa. And don't think Confidence
you a wealthy person. Oh, no! Do I
money?"
got a lot'a
"Everybody who go in together, they brother and
Alourdes said. "I am your mother-not
sister,
you don't come from the stomach-but
your real mother,
I your
.
spirit . . by God. So after we finish, when I have mother : . . by
spirit, I call you.
a party for
need
Everybody come and help me. When Robert
something, he call Karen. It like one hand
hand. And when we finish,
wash the other
you say thank
everybody got to make a mèsi-like
you . : : like you a slave and those
freedom."
spirit give you
"After you finish kouche, you keep the head
day from the day you go inside," 11 she instructed. covered, forty
nobody put the hands on your head! And
"And don'tlet
hear me? No chou-chou! I mean that. 11 "What's no chou-chou! You
asked. Maggie jumped up from her chair. "You chou-chou?" Karen
are together with your
know . . you
chou,' 11 she said,
boyfriend, you two go chou-chou-chougiggling and pumping her
Alourdes leaned forward in her chair and hips. looked
Karen. "And don't tell nobody what
directly at
That your secret. Even
go on when you in there.
"Im not
they give you money, don'tsay
going to tell the secrets,' II Karen said defensively. nothing!"
right!" said Alourdes, sitting back in her chair. "You do "That's
you going die."
thatJuly 7, 1981-7:45 P.M.
In the long light of early evening, the mountains
Port-au-Prince on three sides had flattened out surrounding
In the cemetery,
like stage sets.
above-ground tombs cast
OWS. The dead seemed to be
long lavender shadas crowded as
taptap. In the center of the cemetery, countless passengers on a
individuals and families
monuments to
crete-the individual
pushed up out of a single mass of conand the group, the one and the many,
pe-
do "That's
you going die."
thatJuly 7, 1981-7:45 P.M.
In the long light of early evening, the mountains
Port-au-Prince on three sides had flattened out surrounding
In the cemetery,
like stage sets.
above-ground tombs cast
OWS. The dead seemed to be
long lavender shadas crowded as
taptap. In the center of the cemetery, countless passengers on a
individuals and families
monuments to
crete-the individual
pushed up out of a single mass of conand the group, the one and the many,
pe- --- Page 354 ---
human dilemmas as unresolved in cemetery architec322
rennial
were in the minds of four struggling initiates.
ture as they
were leading the way through the
Alourdes and two helpers
Trailing behind were Robert and Karen, Maggie
vast necropolis.
culottes, an off-the-shoulder
Plenty
and Mimose. Maggie was wearing
the
had
Confidence blouse, and stiletto heels. From the moment
group
that morning, she had been resisting
boarded the plane early
inside the cemetery, the sharp
her mother's authority. But once
cleaner
and chaotic energy had given way to a
exprestongue
whined and sniffled as she moved awksion of fear. Maggie
between the tombs. Once
wardly on the narrow, uneven paths she was at the tag end of the
she stumbled and fell. Before long,
parade, and she was crying.
shrugged her shoulders in
Alourdes glanced back at Maggie,
After
and pushed on with a rapid, determined step.
disgust,
blind
and doubling back, Alourdes fitwice heading down
alleys tomb. Libations of kleren were poured
nally located her mother's
lit in the niches at its base.
by Philo's grave, and candles were the first of three baths for
On the ground in front of the tomb,
shell bowls were filled
the initiates was prepared. Four calabash
bundles of leaves,
with kleren and water. Alourdes carried two
other
marigold leaves and the
powone a bunch of glossy green
helpers, Mimose's brother
dery grey wormwood. Alourdes's
into service mixing the
Sonny and his friend Yves, were pressed
mashed the
baths. Plunging their hands into the bowls, they
dark
and
them together until the liquid turned
leaves
rubbed
reduced to a sodden pulp. Alourdes
green and the herbs were
behind Philo's tomb.
then led one initiate after another
Take off your clothes,' 11 she said to Karen. "We don't
"Quick! Karen winced at the thought of her glaringly white
got all day!"
of the dead. Nevertheless, she
body SO exposed in this busy city
breath and began to peel off her dress."Oh, well,"
took a deep
write about this
It will be worth
she said to herself, "I can
part.
function
serve the same
(
it." Karen's field journal had begun to
she
to
clothing. In clinging to it,
dung
as Maggie's flamboyant
would arrest a perilous slide
an adult identity that she hoped
his masculinity
had been using
toward helpless infancyRobert All day, he had been under Alourdes's
in much the same way.
unsolicited advice about that.
feet, helping with this, giving
the role of obedient child more gracefully
Mimose was handling
than any of them.
she said to herself, "I can
part.
function
serve the same
(
it." Karen's field journal had begun to
she
to
clothing. In clinging to it,
dung
as Maggie's flamboyant
would arrest a perilous slide
an adult identity that she hoped
his masculinity
had been using
toward helpless infancyRobert All day, he had been under Alourdes's
in much the same way.
unsolicited advice about that.
feet, helping with this, giving
the role of obedient child more gracefully
Mimose was handling
than any of them. --- Page 355 ---
"Take this," Alourdes said, shoving a lighted candle toward
Karen, "and pray. Ask Philo to help you. Hurry up! Somebody
coming. 11 Painfully aware of a man lingering in the shadow ofa
tomb less than twenty yards away, and shivering despite the
Plenty
Karen
to concentrate her mind on Philo for
warm air,
managed
Confidence
all of one minute.
throw
"Haven't you got nothing raggedy, something you can
away?" demanded Alourdes. Karen picked up her red underpants, tugged at them until they ripped in two places, and
handed them to Alourdes. Alourdes put them in the gourd containing the remnants of the herbal bath, and then she sent the
whole thing sailing far from Philo's overgrown tomb, up in the
air and away, into an intense mauve sky. In flight, the gourd
turned slowly round and round like a saucer. It disappeared behind a glowing alabaster tomb without spilling any of its liquid
contents. But the underpants, once free of the gourd, continued
to fly away, a small red bird headed straight for the setting sun.
It was almost dark by the time the four initiates left the cemetery. Damp clothing clung to their bodies. Maggie was walking
barefoot, her high heels dangling from one hand. Bits of leaves
and tiny twigs were visible on their cheeks and collarbones.
Heady aromas filled their nostrils, making them light-headed
and a little giddy.
July 8, 1981-5:00 P.M.
Karen was in her room at the Toussaint L'Ouverture Guest
House, sleeping soundly for the first time in two days. Alourdes
suddenly burst through the door. "The drums already start.
Hurry up!" Alourdes threw a box of cotton balls and
Hurry nail up!
remover onto the bed. "Get that nail polish
some
polish
nail
inside." So sudoff-toes, too! You can't wear no
polish
heat, Karen felt
denly awakened from a sleep padded by tropical
refused to cooperate as she
her heart pounding. Clumsy fingers
Her blouse
tried to remove the polish from her fingers and toes.
was only half tucked into her skirt and perspiration trickled
down her face as she climbed into the taxi that would carry
them the short distance to Madame Rigaud's temple, where the
ceremonies were to take place.
the
As the taxi edged into the dusty swarm of vehicles on
ail
inside." So sudoff-toes, too! You can't wear no
polish
heat, Karen felt
denly awakened from a sleep padded by tropical
refused to cooperate as she
her heart pounding. Clumsy fingers
Her blouse
tried to remove the polish from her fingers and toes.
was only half tucked into her skirt and perspiration trickled
down her face as she climbed into the taxi that would carry
them the short distance to Madame Rigaud's temple, where the
ceremonies were to take place.
the
As the taxi edged into the dusty swarm of vehicles on --- Page 356 ---
Carrefour road, Alourdes was still discussing price with the
driver. He said four dollars; she said three. Thei initiates,
into the back seat, talked in stage whispers. Alourdes, wedged
that the group might appear to be
fearing
Plenty
tourists, who would be
Confidence charged more as a matter of course, tried a covert
"Tada, de-da, la, la, la,' I1 she sang in her rich, full warning. voice, "don't
speak Engleeesh!" Karen, sensing the possibility of a problem
larger than the language they spoke, responded with a
made up on the spot:
song
O, manman' 'm se mva, papa'm se nwa.
Kouman yo sezi, lè'm sôti blan.
Oh, my mother was black, my father was black.
How surprised they were, when I came out white.
Mimose and Maggie quickly picked up the song. Robert, who
could not understand the words, nevertheless joined
in, even
adding a little syncopated thigh-slapping. Soon the taxi was
rolling into the narrow rutted lane leading to Madame Rigaud's
temple. Alourdes was still laughing as she handed the driver
four dollars and waved him off.
The mood in the temple was in stark contrast to their
As they cleared the door, Madame Rigaud's assistant cracked frivolity.
writhing bull whip within inches of their toes. The
cracked a
three times. The ritual called bat gè (fighting the whip
war) was in full
swing. From the drums at the far end of the peristil
came urgent Petwo rhythms.
(temple)
A dozen people were clustered around the entrance to the
Petwo altar room. Inside, four of Madame Rigaud's ounsi (ritual
assistants) were seated on a white sheet. Each held a knife and
a fork, and they kept time to the music by beating the utensils
on metal plates. In their midst sat a curious animated bottle
wrapped in red sequined cloth. A cork had been
spindle emerging from the bottle. The tines of two impaled forks on had a
been stuck into the cork; their handles sloped downward.
of the ounsi kept the forks constantly
like
One
spinning,
a miniature
airplane ride ata carnival. Two men with red scarves tied
around their biceps stood in the center of the Petwo chamber, tightly
. Each held a knife and
a fork, and they kept time to the music by beating the utensils
on metal plates. In their midst sat a curious animated bottle
wrapped in red sequined cloth. A cork had been
spindle emerging from the bottle. The tines of two impaled forks on had a
been stuck into the cork; their handles sloped downward.
of the ounsi kept the forks constantly
like
One
spinning,
a miniature
airplane ride ata carnival. Two men with red scarves tied
around their biceps stood in the center of the Petwo chamber, tightly --- Page 357 ---
each wielding a sword. Their swords clanged together on every
third beat of the knives and forks.
Madame Rigaud leaned into the Petwo chamber and blew a
fine mist of hot-pepper rum over the ritualizers. The ounsi
Plenty
squinted and ducked, trying to protect their eyes from its pun- Confidence
fire. With lightning speed, the whip, a good ten feet long,
gent
the
of the
and delivered a loud
slithered across
floor
peristil
crack just in front of the drums. The hands of the lead drummer
exploded in a burst of energy and sound. The war had begun,
for
and Mimose, Karen and
and it was being fought
Maggie
Robert.
July 9, 1981-11:00 P.M.
The initiates, dressed in white, were sequestered in a back room
of Madame Rigaud's temple. They were unable to participate in,
or even see, the elaborate ritual called chire ayizan (shredding
the ayizan), which was being performed in the peristil. But they
could hear the drums and, beneath their sound, the soft slapof dancers' bare feet on a beaten earth floor. Outside, six
ping ounsi, all in white, swirled around the sacred center pole, shredleaf as they danced. The final prodding a single, gigantic palm
fringe
uct of their ritual labors was the ayizan, a protective palm
hung over the door to the initiation chamber.
and Mimose, Karen and Robert
Just before midnight, Maggie
end of the
before a
were brought out and lined up at one
temple
Many of them approached the
crowd of fifty or sixty people.
four were about to
initiates to say good-bye. It was as if these
die. Family and friends hugged and kissed them. Tears were
down the cheeks of many. Then the initiates were dirolling
the words of a song, to swear allegiance seven
rected, through mother. Alourdes stood before them, surveytimes before their
Four
hands were
ing her children with a somber eye.
right
raised palm outward, seven times, and then darkness suddenly
descended. From behind them, blindfolds were whipped out
and bound tightly over their eyes.
Karen was grabbed from behind by a woman whose bosom
felt as wide and soft as a river delta. Mimose was grasped about
the waist by someone with sinewy arms that felt like steel.
the initiates were dirolling
the words of a song, to swear allegiance seven
rected, through mother. Alourdes stood before them, surveytimes before their
Four
hands were
ing her children with a somber eye.
right
raised palm outward, seven times, and then darkness suddenly
descended. From behind them, blindfolds were whipped out
and bound tightly over their eyes.
Karen was grabbed from behind by a woman whose bosom
felt as wide and soft as a river delta. Mimose was grasped about
the waist by someone with sinewy arms that felt like steel. --- Page 358 ---
Maggie and Robert each had their doubles pressed hard
against their backs. The drums quickened. Intricate, intoxicat- up
ing Petwo rhythms were pounding in the ears of the initiates as
Plenty
each began to dance with his or her shadow. Mimose did not
Confidence
need to see in order to dance. Her slender body moved instinctively into the complex polyrhythms. Her feet, not touching but
in perfect union with the feet of her shadow, moved
ward and backward to a staccato beat, while her rapidly shoulders forpulsed to another beat, folding inward and stretching back as if
they were attached to giant butterfly wings and she were
to fly away.
trying
Karen was in a cold sweat. She knew she could not do this
dance. She had tried many times, but she had always ended
feeling like an elephant in its death throes. In the excitement up
the moment, however, she forgot these failures, and
of
she was
suddenly
dancing . . : though not through her own efforts. Her
body was like a rag doll bound to the body of her
The woman's legs moved, hers moved. The woman's shoulders partner.
moved, hers moved.
"Not bad!" Karen thought. "But I had better pay attention."
As soon as the thought entered her head, the two of them
veered to one side, and Karen banged her shin
chair. Karen understood the situation
painfully on a
perfectly. She knew exactly what she must do. "Let go! Let go! Let go!" the inner voice
shouted, as she and her dancing partner hobbled and lurched
around and around and around the center pole. After a
long time, someone shouted in her ear: "Leve pye ou [Lift very
feet]!" and she and the others were whisked into the
your
rock-hard, leaf-soft bower where they would kouche- lie aromatic
sleep, make love, die-and be reborn.
down,
Sometime later that night .
or perhaps it was
the
next
early
morning. . . It was hard to keep track of time when the
drums kept pounding and candles provided the
and night
mixed
only light. Day
got
up : . . and SO did dream and
this occurrence seems likely
reality. Still,
enough. Karen
her
and saw a hairy black spider the width of a opened
eyes
way down the wall.
teacup making its
Suppressing a shudder, she tried to make
a joke. "Look there," she whispered,
poking
in the
arm.
Maggie
"Papa Gede has come for a visit!" "That is just a spider!"
Maggie hissed. "You know Papa Gede cannot come in here! He
is not allowed."
got
up : . . and SO did dream and
this occurrence seems likely
reality. Still,
enough. Karen
her
and saw a hairy black spider the width of a opened
eyes
way down the wall.
teacup making its
Suppressing a shudder, she tried to make
a joke. "Look there," she whispered,
poking
in the
arm.
Maggie
"Papa Gede has come for a visit!" "That is just a spider!"
Maggie hissed. "You know Papa Gede cannot come in here! He
is not allowed." --- Page 359 ---
July 12, 1981-8:00 A.M.
The initiates, carrying red roses and dressed in white, with
strings of multicolored beads crisscrossed on their chests like
Plenty
bandoliers, stepped backward out of the initiation chamber and
Confidence
then turned in confusing spirals as they made their way into the
peristil. They were at once newborn babies and gangly adoto adulthood. Their heads were
lescents on a too-rapid path
vuldoubly covered in scarves and straw hats, as if to protect
nerable soft spots on the top of the skull. Their faces, not yet
ready for the full light of day, were obscured with palm fringe.
Cheers and applause greeted them. They had survived their
trials. They had faced the fire and learned that one could choose
rather than hot.
had drunk from the mouth
to call it strong
They
had been
of death. They had tasted the sword of justice. They
changed. They were changing. The final forms that would
were not yet clear. In other words, they had been reemerge born into the human family, this time better equipped to pit will
and strength against fate. That was the most that could have
been done. Life would go on, and, as always, fate remained the
joker in the deck of cards.
November 2, 1987-3:00 A.M.
Fifteen people were gathered in Alourdes's basement in Brooklyn to honor Papa Gede. The walls were peppered with dancing
skeletons, all Hallmark Halloween decorations. Orange and
black crepe paper defined the niche. The altar table was draped
Gede colors,
and black. It looked like
in more traditional
purple
funeral bunting. Alourdes's ritual assistants, Maggie, Karen,
and Robert, were dipping and turning before the altars, pouring
libations for Papa Gede. The group offered song after song in an
attempt to draw Gede into their company. Then they launched
for a Gede called Nan Mitan Kay (In the Midst of the
a new song
"Nan Mitan
Home). It was a simple song with a haunting lyric:
Kay, how are you? How are you? Nan Mitan Kay, I know you
are there.'" 11
Robert and Karen instincSuddenly Maggie began to cry.
tively moved toward her. "Im okay,' 11 she said, sniffing back her
tears and giving her head a definitive shake. "I was just now
song after song in an
attempt to draw Gede into their company. Then they launched
for a Gede called Nan Mitan Kay (In the Midst of the
a new song
"Nan Mitan
Home). It was a simple song with a haunting lyric:
Kay, how are you? How are you? Nan Mitan Kay, I know you
are there.'" 11
Robert and Karen instincSuddenly Maggie began to cry.
tively moved toward her. "Im okay,' 11 she said, sniffing back her
tears and giving her head a definitive shake. "I was just now --- Page 360 ---
thinking about Mimose. When we was little kids, playing together, me and Mimose, we used to make food for Nan Mitan
Kay. Put some cookie on a plate, leave it for him. You know
just kids playing. We thought we made
.
Plenty
him up. Later,
Confidence mother tell me someone way back in our family, they got a Gede my
called Nan Mitan Kay."
"I miss Mimose : . 11 said Maggie, tears again
in
her eyes. "Me too," said Karen. "Me too," said appearing Robert. The
three stood, their arms around one another,
"Nan
Mitan Kay, I know you are there."
singing,
Gede, trickster and spirit of death, had no place in the initiation chamber in 1981, but four years later he dropped
into the midst of Mimose's humble home and sent the stealthily
reeling. In the fall of 1985, in the turbulent months
place
the downfall of Jean Claude Duvalier, Jacques, the preceding father of
Mimose's child, had been arrested on a charge of
anti-Duvalier
distributing
leaflets. It had taken six agonizing months for
Mimose to learn that he had been killed within hours of his arrest. In the spring of 1987, when most Haitians were
busy nourishing a flickering flame of hope for their country, a drunken
Mimose stumbled onto the Carrefour road, directly into the
path of an oncoming vehicle. Several days later, she died in her
mother's arms. The family is still not certain whether it was
internal injuries from the accident or the ravages of alcohol
that killed this gentle,
hungry priestess . - the best dancer of
them all. --- Page 361 ---
a
CHAPTER TW EL VE --- Page 362 ---
Gede
asked to describe
We
Vodou spirit of death, Alourdes said, "Papa Gede is a
Gede,
man. He live in the cemetery, but that not mean he's cemetery bad. He
very good man. He love children a lot. He love woman a lot. He a very sexy man. Sometime he say a bad word, but
love everybody. He love to help people. When
. . he
kind'a
people sick-all
sickness-that's his job to help.' 1
Gede is Alourdes's main helper in the healing work she
forms. All the Vodou spirits get involved in
in perhealing
one
way oranother, but only Gede claims it as his main
tion. And even when
Gede
job descripPapa
does not make an appearance
(through dream or trance) in the course of a particular treatment, his spirit pervades the situation. Two different
chromolithographs are commonly used to
resent Gede, one of Saint Gabriel and the other of Saint Gerard. repIn both, handsome young men in black clerical dress contemplate a human skull juxtaposed to a sprig of fresh flowers. But
in Gabriel's image, the more popular of the two, the saint's
actually falls just beside the skull, onto the framed picture of gaze
an
appealing young woman. Papa Gede, as Alourdes usually calls him, is a trickster spirit. Through his randy, playful, childish, and childlike
Gede raises life energy and redefines the most personality
tion-even death itself-as
painful situaone worth a good laugh. Gede is a
transformation artist, and this is the reason he is also the
cipal healer among the Vodou lwa. prinThe Gede (there are many of them) are different from other
Vodou spirits. They are neither Rada nor Petwo. In
not even form a nanchon
fact, they do
(nation), as the other spirits do.
ster spirit. Through his randy, playful, childish, and childlike
Gede raises life energy and redefines the most personality
tion-even death itself-as
painful situaone worth a good laugh. Gede is a
transformation artist, and this is the reason he is also the
cipal healer among the Vodou lwa. prinThe Gede (there are many of them) are different from other
Vodou spirits. They are neither Rada nor Petwo. In
not even form a nanchon
fact, they do
(nation), as the other spirits do. Their
aggregate is described by the more intimate term fanmi (family). Temple wall painting of Saint Gerard (Gede). Port-au-Prince, 1980. --- Page 363 ---
No other group of spirits is described this way. Papa Gede sits
at the center of the thick weave of relationships that make up a
family- -an ideal place for a healer to be, because all Vodou
healing is the healing of relationships."
Gede
This concluding chapter first discusses healing as Alourdes
practices it within the Vodou system. In this section, Papa
Gede's presence will be more implicit than explicit. In a paradoxical way, which Gede himself would relish, the appropriateness of his presiding over the healing arts emerges clearly
in the second half of the chapter, where attention is actually
focused on his other areas ofe fexpertise: sex, satire, children, and
cemeteries. The discussion of healing begins, in Papa Gede's
mode, with a story. JAMAICA
the
of
12, 1980, Alourdes and I met
Early on
morning January
inside the international building at Kennedy Airport. We were
together, first to Jamaica and then Haiti. We had been
traveling the trip to Haiti-our visit to Alourdes's ancestral
planning
but
had been added to ouritinhomes-for some time,
Jamaica
at the last moment. When the possibility first arose, a
erary
Alourdes seemed to assume that I
week before our departure,
would
to Jamaica with her. She had been hired to do some
healing go work for a woman who owned a dairy farm near Kingston. The farm was big, Alourdes said, and there was plenty of
room for both of us to stay. The work would not take long, and
after that we would fly directly to Port-au-Prince. Forty-eight
Alourdes
to hedge. She sughours before our departure,
began
gested it might be better if I met her in Haiti. I persisted, telling
her I really wanted to see the "treatment" she was going to do. Alourdes finally agreed to my going, but with something short
'For further discussion of healing within the Haitian Vodou system, see two Case articles by Karen McCarthy Brown: "Afro-Caribbean Spirituality: A Haitian
Study," in Healing and Restoring: Medicine and Health in the World's Religious Traditions, Power to
ed.
Alourdes
to hedge. She sughours before our departure,
began
gested it might be better if I met her in Haiti. I persisted, telling
her I really wanted to see the "treatment" she was going to do. Alourdes finally agreed to my going, but with something short
'For further discussion of healing within the Haitian Vodou system, see two Case articles by Karen McCarthy Brown: "Afro-Caribbean Spirituality: A Haitian
Study," in Healing and Restoring: Medicine and Health in the World's Religious Traditions, Power to
ed. Lawrence Sullivan (New York: Macmillan, 1989), 255-85; and "The New Vision:
Heal: Reflections on Women, Religion, and Medicine,' in Shaping
H. Gender and Values in American Culture, ed. Clarissa W. Atkinson, Constance Series
Buchanan, and Margaret R. Miles, Harvard Women's Studies in Religion
(Ann Arbor, Mich. : UMI Research Press, 1987), 123-41. --- Page 364 ---
of full enthusiasm. We were in line at the check-in counter
when the reason for her reluctance appeared on the scene.
Mabel Wycliff, breathless and complaining, bustled
the automatic doors under the
through
Gede
sign marked Pan American Airways. She had enough distance on her husband, who was
ging two overstuffed suitcases, for the doors to close and dragagain before he made it into the terminal. Mabel plunked down open
two bulging handbags at our feet. Her greeting was a continuation of a rant apparently begun long before she arrived at the
airport. "No cross, no crown, 11 Mabel announced in her Jamaican lilt. Ever SO quickly, her eye flicked over me, and she raised
a quizzical brow but said nothing. Her verbal train was
on a well-oiled track.
running
"Always doin' for me family. Up since four o'clock makin'
chicken wings and rice, SO there be food in the refrigerator. That
man just lay in bed, too lazy to get himself up and
And
him forget me little blue bag. It got all me things for help. the Haiti
business in it, and that man forget! Lola, the white dress you tell
me to buy, the sheet-all in that bag. That man is full'a dust!
Full'a donkey dust." Her husband, Oswald, had joined the
group by then, and from a jumble of opinions a decision somehow emerged that Oswald would race home for the
grip. He might make it back before our plane left; if missing not, he
would put the bag on the next Kingston flight, and we could
collect it at the airport.
Mabel is a toffee-colored woman in her early fifties. She has a
short, squat body and a no-nonsense,
Mabel
high-energy personality.
fancies herself the only pole in a one-pole tent. In
tion to her family, at least, there is some truth to this. rela- Her
husband always seems a little dazed; and, if Mabel is to be believed, her children generate one crisis after another to which
she must apply her heroic and self-sacrificing energy. Her work
life may be more rewarding, but it is not less demanding. Five
days a week, she commutes from New Jersey to
where she works in a hospital geriatric ward. Mabel Long Island,
lively presence for the old people she talks about
must be a
with
affection.
genuine
As we headed down the ramp to the plane, I whispered a
torical question to Alourdes: "Mabel is going with us?" rhecourse Mabel going!" Alourdes responded, full voice. "Mabel "Of
going to get her head wash' in Haiti. She got a lot of problem.
rewarding, but it is not less demanding. Five
days a week, she commutes from New Jersey to
where she works in a hospital geriatric ward. Mabel Long Island,
lively presence for the old people she talks about
must be a
with
affection.
genuine
As we headed down the ramp to the plane, I whispered a
torical question to Alourdes: "Mabel is going with us?" rhecourse Mabel going!" Alourdes responded, full voice. "Mabel "Of
going to get her head wash' in Haiti. She got a lot of problem. --- Page 365 ---
She got to do that SO she can help herself. But first
Kingston, because I got a little thing to do for
we going to
about the woman with the
her son." "What
dairy farm?" I
reason we going, but I just tell Mabel I do asked. "That the real
her, too," Alourdes
this little thing for
responded.
"Where are we going to stay?" I
Gede
stay with Mabel family.
whispered. "We going. to
"But did you tell Mabel I Okay, Karen?" She sounded annoyed.
Alourdes answered
was coming?"Ip persisted. "No .
slowly, as if she had to think
question. "I forget. But that don't matter.
about the
like that. You come to stay in their house, Caribbean people not
glad to see you coming. Don't
they always gonna be
We sat three abreast in the you worry, sweetheart."
Mabel kept their hats on
smoking section. Alourdes and
throughout the flight. Mabel
through a copy of American Woman, and both
leafed
Tia Marias. Each
ordered double
into her
slipped one small bottle of the sweet
purse, along with packages of crackers
liqueur
the snack tray. "That Tia Maria for
and cheese from
ring to her nephew, who lives in Philo's Sonny,". Alourdes said, referPort-au-Prince.
old house in downtown
Inside the Kingston airport, Alourdes turned to
Jamaicans not like us. They don't talk like
me and said,
nice like us. They the
us. They don't dress
biggest thief." "Un, de, twa, 11 she
dropping into the privacy of Creole,
vôlè
added,
three, they rob you]." Then,
"yo
ou [One, two,
across the way, Alourdes
seeing a man with dreadlocks
"Rastas" do not take
turned up her nose and observed that
baths.
Alourdes's anxiety at being away from home
she had never visited before took
and in a place
chauvinism. On the
the form of strong Haitian
to various
wayinto town from the airport, she
trees. "Mango. We got mango in
pointed
mango. .
Breadfruit. We got big breadfruit in Haiti, plenty
only tree Alourdes had never seen
Haiti." The
was the ackee. The taxi
stopped SO we could get out and inspect
and
driver
ised that we would soon taste Jamaica's one,
Mabel promcod fish. Alourdes looked
national dish, ackee with
at the hard red fruit
Among the local plants, most were familiar suspiciously.
though not by their Jamaican
to Alourdes,
names. An
creeper that slowly kills the shrubs it
orange spaghettilike
in Jamaica. "In
covers is called love bush
Haiti, we call that lamitye
/
announced with a self-satisfied
(friendship), Alourdes
smile. I identified some plants
driver
ised that we would soon taste Jamaica's one,
Mabel promcod fish. Alourdes looked
national dish, ackee with
at the hard red fruit
Among the local plants, most were familiar suspiciously.
though not by their Jamaican
to Alourdes,
names. An
creeper that slowly kills the shrubs it
orange spaghettilike
in Jamaica. "In
covers is called love bush
Haiti, we call that lamitye
/
announced with a self-satisfied
(friendship), Alourdes
smile. I identified some plants --- Page 366 ---
as African violets, but the Jamaican driver told me they were
Russian violets; Alourdes responded that neither name was
right, but she had forgotten the "real name."
Gede
Then the competition turned from nature to commerce.
Alourdes asked: "In Jamaica, you have Bank of Nova
You have Bank of Canada? You have Citibank?" The driver Scotia?
sponded affirmatively to the first two but was uncertain about reCitibank. "In Haiti, we got big, big Citibank. New
beautiful, 11 Alourdes said as she leaned back, contented building for
while to let the striking scenery of the Kingston Bay mountain a
range roll past. Not far from the airport, white sand beaches
backed by soft lavender mountains began to
oil
eries: Esso, Texaco, Shell. I noticed that Esso sprout sold refingas
for the
equivalent of more than two dollars a gallon at a service
within sight of the pier where the huge Esso tankers loaded station and
unloaded.
When we were finally settled in with Mabel's aunt in her tiny,
neat-as-a-pin house in the Ligaunae section of Saint Andrew's
parish outside Kingston, I mentioned my shock at the
gasoline prices. That comment opened a conversational flood- high
gate. Jamaicans-unlike Haitians, who are well schooled in the
value of silence on any matter relating to the government--are
habitually, persistently political. No conversation of
duration is without its political dimension.
any
That evening, when we gathered in the parlor around a kerosene lamp (a blackout was in effect), Mabel's extended
held forth on a wide variety of topics ranging from the family
the World Bank in Jamaica's
role of
economy to the
elections. Aunt Emma was unhappy with the socialist upcoming tendencies
the current government led by Michael Manley; by
of of
test, she spoke warmly and often of the United States: way procans
"Ameriare good people. Good Christian people. Them
helpin' the poor. 1 In this crowd, most of whom lived with always
won if precarious dignity, only Mabel's
hardson, Edmund, sounded a different note: "Them hwenty-three-ycar-old the
ists sabotagin' the economic reforms
say
capitallater said to
Manley been tryin'. . Mabel
me in confidence and, I suspect, as an
to
explain her son: "Edmund not a Rasta, but him Rasta-minded." attempt
Aunt Emma, who had lived in Cuba for thirteen
where
she had cooked and cleaned for the American years,
Guantânamo
commander at
Bay, was a vigorous eighty-three years old when
's
hardson, Edmund, sounded a different note: "Them hwenty-three-ycar-old the
ists sabotagin' the economic reforms
say
capitallater said to
Manley been tryin'. . Mabel
me in confidence and, I suspect, as an
to
explain her son: "Edmund not a Rasta, but him Rasta-minded." attempt
Aunt Emma, who had lived in Cuba for thirteen
where
she had cooked and cleaned for the American years,
Guantânamo
commander at
Bay, was a vigorous eighty-three years old when --- Page 367 ---
Alourdes and IImetherin: 1980. She
"a small man. 11 "Me can
remembered Marcus Garvey,
Road.
just see the little man walkin' up
Everybody was jumpin' and pushin',
King
Aunt Emma had even owned
just to see Garvey."
which
shares in the Black Star
Garvey started in the 1940S to take
Line,
In her old age, however, she had
blacks back to Africa.
Gede
radical politics and did not
apparently lost her taste for
the
care to analyze the larger causes of
backbreaking inflation Jamaica was
it had started with
experiencing. She knew
would
Manley, and she wanted
end.
Manley out SO it
If the truth be told, the core of Emma
politics but religion, and
George's life was not
Aunt Emma (in deference perhaps this had always been the case.
and I also called her
to her age and experience, Alourdes
Margaret's
Aunt Emma) had sung in the choir of Saint
Episcopal Church for decades. She
white collar and her red cap fresh and
kept her starched
ings, she put them on before she left the ready; on Sunday mornthe first members of Saint
house. She was one of
met in a lean-to and sat Margaret's and remembers when
on the floor while
they
an Englishman, led the service. She
Reverend Gilmartin,
niversary publication of the church proudly showed us an an1924 wedding. She wore a wonderful containing a picture of her
dress (purchased in Havana, "in the French flapper-style wedding
young husband wore a solemn
store"), and her
collar.
face, a dark suit, and a high
Aunt Emma lived in a turquoise and white
hill end of a community that
house at the downas it climbed the mountain became more and more slumlike
crocheted doilies,
behind. Her home was filled with
starched to stand-up firmness, and lots of
tures-pictures cut from greeting cards,
picfamily portraits, pictures of Queen Elizabeth, wedding pictures,
and Bustamante (Jamaica's first
Robert Kennedy,
gained its independence
prime minister after the island
filled with shiny
from Britain). Her china cabinet was
treasures that looked like silver or
might as easily have been
crystal but
Emma's bed
plastic or aluminum. Beneath
was a rack of shoes. Three
were
Aunt
with shoewhite, ready to
pairs
freshly coated
At the time Imet her, church complete her Sunday-morning outfit.
Aunt Emma
was about the only thing that took
away from Barbicon Road. And when she
home, she listened to radio evangelists. She
was at
Graham: "If you do not send
did not like Billy
fifty dollars, forget it!" But she
silver or
might as easily have been
crystal but
Emma's bed
plastic or aluminum. Beneath
was a rack of shoes. Three
were
Aunt
with shoewhite, ready to
pairs
freshly coated
At the time Imet her, church complete her Sunday-morning outfit.
Aunt Emma
was about the only thing that took
away from Barbicon Road. And when she
home, she listened to radio evangelists. She
was at
Graham: "If you do not send
did not like Billy
fifty dollars, forget it!" But she --- Page 368 ---
Oral Roberts was better: "Him good. Him always send
thought
you right to the Bible."
Aunt Emma
In deference to her religious beliefs, no one told
that Alourdes was there to perform Vodou healing ceremonies
Edmund, a member of her own
Gede
or that one of them was for
Aunt
When Alourdes asked her for milk one evening,
family. assumed she wanted to drink it before retiring. Instead,
Emma
tin basin, added some cinAlourdes dumped it into a shallow
When it
and put the concoction on the stove to boil.
namon,
in most of a bottle of Florida Water. Aunt
was hot, she poured
Emma turned her back and went to bed.
The milk bath was the second of three good-luck baths preAlourdes to help Edmund get a visa to travel to the
scribed by
mixed the baths in either the kitchen or
United States. Alourdes
them in a small wooden structhe bathroom and administered
stall. On three
ture in the side yard, which served as a shower
Alourdes and Edmund went outdoors late at night
occasions,
and a large towel. A half hour later,
carrying a candle, a basin,
only the towel, his body
Edmund came back inside wearing
Nothing
small bits of leaves still visible on his skin.
glistening, hidden from Aunt Emma, but the treatments were
was really
that she did not have to acknowlcarried out discreetly enough The tension in the house grew neveredge what was going on.
Alourdes realized she had
theless. By our last night in Jamaica,
some repair work to do.
in
There was another blackout, and we gathered candlelight
the kitchen table. Alourdes looked wonderful that evearound
a lavender caftan and large gold hoop
ning. She was wearing
scarf. Alourdes had
earrings, with her hair tied in a colorful
and turned on the charm. At first, the talk was
dressed up
she deftly turned the conversation to
casual, but before long
about
religion. Soon Aunt Emma was talking enthusiastically
of
11 She said that she had an instant sense
her "strong spirit.
the minute she set foot in a house if she
people, that she knew
there and if they were going to like
was going to like the people
and
her. She claimed she could sleep alone, walk anywhere,
never be afraid.
told how her religion had always
Her niece Mabel, a Catholic,
to do with the African reliprevented her from having anything
did admit
to the
gions still practiced in Jamaica. But she
going
Sundial once when she was a child. The Sundial, she explained,
that went on for twenty-one days. The participants
was a dance
she set foot in a house if she
people, that she knew
there and if they were going to like
was going to like the people
and
her. She claimed she could sleep alone, walk anywhere,
never be afraid.
told how her religion had always
Her niece Mabel, a Catholic,
to do with the African reliprevented her from having anything
did admit
to the
gions still practiced in Jamaica. But she
going
Sundial once when she was a child. The Sundial, she explained,
that went on for twenty-one days. The participants
was a dance --- Page 369 ---
did not eat for the entire time.
til "them fall down. 11 Mabel They just danced and danced unsaid
her attitude toward these
nothing about having changed
religions.
Alourdes chose this moment to tell a tale of
gic one that gave her the
her own, a stratecredentials before Aunt Emma. opportunity to establish her Christian
Gede
had once been a
She told of a potential client who
ten," Alourdes dues-paying member of a satanic group. "Lisreported saying to the troubled
"you going to pay 'til you die. Even
young woman,
you going pay. Satan more
you don't send them money,
I don't have
powerful than me. I am a
nothing to do with him." Alourdes
Christian;
story with a vehement: "I sent her home!"
concluded her
afterthought, she mentioned that the Book Then, almost as an
tells how to identify the children
of Daniel in the Bible
Aunt Emma's
of Satan.
Bible. She
ears perked up at the mention of her
described her favorite little
beloved
"printed in America, 11 that she
paperback of the psalms,
went. It told her what the lines kept with her wherever she
problems each addressed,
of each psalm meant, what life
and what time of
reading each one. "You have to believe
day was best for
Aunt Emma said with real
what you read, mon,"
keep on believin', You have feeling. "You have to believe and
self," Alourdes
to believe in God." "And in
added. "And in yourself."
yourAfter this conversation, the differences between
spirituality and that of Alourdes
Aunt Emma's
parent. More than
I
were both less and more
scribe
once, have heard Alourdes and
apthe protection afforded by the Vodou
Maggie dethe same words Aunt Emma had used
spirits in practically
and Aunt Emma's use ofthe little book about her "strong spirit";
might be loosely called a
of psalms suggested what
But in other
magical attitude toward the
ways the gap between Aunt Emma's
scriptures.
and Alourdes's commitment to Vodou
Anglican piety
than ever. Aunt Emma lived
yawned wider and deeper
night humbly
a scrupulously moral life and each
surrendered herself into God's
whatever
hands,
happened as "God's will."
accepting
been too polite to say SO that
Although Alourdes had
too busy to set the terms of each evening, she thought God was far
tual labor was
individual life. For her,
only one kind of labor that all
spirinot either foolish or lazy
people who were
families. Furthermore,
performed for themselves and their
Alourdes surrendered to
no problem using her will in the
no one and had
Three days before this
spiritual arena or in any other.
conversation, when two of Edmund's
whatever
hands,
happened as "God's will."
accepting
been too polite to say SO that
Although Alourdes had
too busy to set the terms of each evening, she thought God was far
tual labor was
individual life. For her,
only one kind of labor that all
spirinot either foolish or lazy
people who were
families. Furthermore,
performed for themselves and their
Alourdes surrendered to
no problem using her will in the
no one and had
Three days before this
spiritual arena or in any other.
conversation, when two of Edmund's --- Page 370 ---
Alourdes had turned to the
three good-luck baths were finished,
for our
to Ja338
treatment that had been the original reason
trip Cecile
16, we hired a taxi and headed out to
maica. On January
and
mulatto
Shepherd's dairy farm. Cecile, a shy
appealing
her
Gede
in her mid-thirties with a light scatter of freckles on
woman
was in the middle ofa crisis the day we
nose and soft curly hair,
Park, which she had inarrived. She ran a large farm in Bushy
had been out in the
herited from her parents. The electricity and Cecile had two hunarea for more than twenty-four hours,
that somehow she
dred COWS who needed milking. It appeared
them hand-and even then she probably
would have to milk
by
because she had no refrigwould have to throw the milk away,
eration. In the midst of all this Alourdes arrived, clearly signalCecile to drop everything and extend her
ing that she expected
the hospitality due someone of her stature.
ofl land
Alourdes had been hired to "treat" a thirty-acre parcel
which Cecile could find no buyer. Alourdes had been called
for
one ofl her own apprentices, a woman she had
in on this case by
the
but had not been able to cominitiated, who had begun
job
had indicated that
plete it. A card reading by the apprentice
inhad done "work" against Cecile. That person's
someone
to be removed to clear the way for the sale.
fluence needed
the
had deferred to her
For such serious business,
apprentice the land problem was
"mother," Alourdes. As it turned out,
of the deep trouble that beset
only the most superficial layer
Cecile Shepherd.
Alourdes spent most of her time talking
At their first meeting,
card
with Cecile. She did not perform the customary diagnostic done
reading, I suspect, because her apprentice had already effort.
and she did not want to appear to undercut that
one,
card reading to get people to
Alourdes often uses a preliminary
have to tell
and begin to tell their life stories. ("They
open up
them.") With Cecile, she acme all those story if I going help
of
complished the same purpose with a few hours
questions
listening. When the time came to deal more diand empathic
Alourdes offered Cecile strong assurances:
rectly with business,
sell that property-
"When I do that work for you, you going
bam! Just like that."
instructed Cecile about the
Before leaving, Alourdes carefully treatment of the land, includmaterials she would need for the
several kinds of plants. Alourdes also used this opportunity
ing
open up
them.") With Cecile, she acme all those story if I going help
of
complished the same purpose with a few hours
questions
listening. When the time came to deal more diand empathic
Alourdes offered Cecile strong assurances:
rectly with business,
sell that property-
"When I do that work for you, you going
bam! Just like that."
instructed Cecile about the
Before leaving, Alourdes carefully treatment of the land, includmaterials she would need for the
several kinds of plants. Alourdes also used this opportunity
ing --- Page 371 ---
to get "leaves" marigold (sowvosi) and
for Edmund's last good-luck bath.
congo bean-sheneeded
plant for Cecile's
But she wanted a particular
treatment and could not
Creole or the English name. Cecile
remember either the
who clearly lived on more familiar and Alourdes, two people
than I could begin to
terms with the plant world
Gede
comprehend, put their heads
"Itjust a little thing. You don'teat it." Alourdes together.
way to describe what she knew
searched for a
SO well. "Don't
No, no tea. It grow on the
make tea with it.
ground. You walk
even going see it. It little, real little, but
right by it. You not
leaf like that, 11 she said,
you look, you see it got
large mimosa
pointing upward to the leaves of the
we were sitting under. Cecile's face
cried out eagerly: "And when
lit up, and she
beamed,
you touchit, it curls up!" Alourdes
"That the one!" "We call that
with satisfaction,
shimalady, Cecile said
explaining that the name derived
phrase "Shame, my lady." 'I saw some
the
from the
the stream that cut across the back'a
just
other day by
"Good!" said Alourdes.
me land," Cecile added.
As
"You get that one, too."
we stood by the taxi with its motor
dropped her voice to a whisper and said to running, Alourdes
help you with your man, too. I need that Cecile, "I going to
way your husband going to be with
plant 'cause that the
head in front of
you. He going to bow the
you, just like that plant. 11 Then she
cial instructions: "When
added speAnd
you pick it, you take it with the
you got to leave something when you do that.
root.
to be a lot, but you got to leave
It don't got
penny." As we got into the taxi, something. Alourdes One penny . . two
dow and said: "The
leaned out the winThe
plant-call it by his name. Don't
next day, Alourdes, Mabel, and I arrived
forget"
provided a large pail of water, to which, after
early. Cecile
and prayers offered, seven
candles were lit
Water, and molasses
limes, a handful of ashes, Florida
ritually
were added.2 After the pail of water
treated, the remaining half-bottle of Florida
was
infused with indigo powder, which turned it
Water was
a deep blue.
PLimes are valued for their prophylactic
ample, to "clean" meat before marinating and properties; Haitians use them, for exlimes were included in the treatment to deal with cooking the it. Alourdes explained that
siders. The ashes were those of a
of
malevolent influence of outintent concerning the land sale, had piece been paper written. on which a "prayer, " a statement of
business deals and individuals, and Florida Water is Molasses is a sweetener of both
the spirits.
a libation frequently offered to
turned it
Water was
a deep blue.
PLimes are valued for their prophylactic
ample, to "clean" meat before marinating and properties; Haitians use them, for exlimes were included in the treatment to deal with cooking the it. Alourdes explained that
siders. The ashes were those of a
of
malevolent influence of outintent concerning the land sale, had piece been paper written. on which a "prayer, " a statement of
business deals and individuals, and Florida Water is Molasses is a sweetener of both
the spirits.
a libation frequently offered to --- Page 372 ---
the four of us loaded Cecile's truck with the maAfter lunch,
and headed for the parcel of
terials for the trètmen (treatment)
buyers entered the
land. We began at a spot where prospective and raised an
Alourdes made the sign of the cross
egg
property.
directions. She
this with a cup of
Gede
to each of the four
repeated
into the field,
molasses. Next, she broke the egg and, walking
of the
dribbled its contents in a line pointing toward the center
A trail of thick molasses was laid on top of the egg.
property.
of the treated water was added on top
And finally a dipper
of that.
walked to the furthest corner of the property.
Then Alourdes
to treat all four corners, but this proved
The original plan was
field. Vodou rituals, like all other
too difficult in the overgrown
of the moelements of Haitian life, easily bend to the exigencies center of
ment. After treating one corner, we pushed on to the
tangled up in plenty of devil's horsewhip on
the field, getting
Alourdes
the way. As we waded through the undergrowth, the
in a
after dipper of the brew from
pail
tossed out dipper
a path from the far corneat, straight line in front of her, tracing
was waistner to the middle of the plot, where the vegetation water there,
She scattered most of the rest of the treated
high. with about half of the indigo Florida Water. "Let's go
along
the cap to the Florida Water. Alback," Alourdes said, dropping
the teacher when in the company of budding apprentices,
ways added: "See, I don't pick up nothing I drop." The dipper
she
in the middle of the field.
was also discarded
back to the road and were about to get
We fought our way
remembered that one more thing
into the truck when Alourdes instructed to throw seven bright
must be done. Cecile was
"I
this land and I pay
pennies into the field, saying, buy
copper Now I'm
to sell it." With this action, Cecile defined
for it.
going
transaction and therethe sale of the field as a purely monetary free and clear. When
fore one from which she could walk away
of all Vodou
exercising the will, an action that lies at the heart
and
it is important that certain exchanges be clean
treatments,
that could pull a
well defined, with no troubling entanglements Alourdes left beback to a prior state. This is also why
person
and
used in her ritualizing and
hind the containers
implements Cecile to leave a few pennies
why she had earlier instructed
when she picked the shimalady. and drove down a narrow dirt
We got back into the truck
When
fore one from which she could walk away
of all Vodou
exercising the will, an action that lies at the heart
and
it is important that certain exchanges be clean
treatments,
that could pull a
well defined, with no troubling entanglements Alourdes left beback to a prior state. This is also why
person
and
used in her ritualizing and
hind the containers
implements Cecile to leave a few pennies
why she had earlier instructed
when she picked the shimalady. and drove down a narrow dirt
We got back into the truck --- Page 373 ---
track to the property's water source, another
spective buyers were taken. Here,
place where propail and also dumped the last of we completely emptied the
clear, shallow pool formed
the blue Florida Water into a
from rock.
at the point where water
Alourdes turned, threw the
emerged
bottle over her shoulder, and walked
empty Florida Water
Gede
ing back.
to the truck without lookAs Cecile talked about her problem that
she had already begun to turn
afternoon, I noticed
matter of being unable to sell away from seeing it as a simple
hand
some land.
I
to, it just go wrong, she
"Everything put my
good," Alourdes said, "but don't complained. "Your luck no
the source of that problem."
you worry, we going to find
Cecile mused aloud: "The business about
don'tknow. : - . All of a sudden,
me husband : . I
ily. Now he like to spend all his hejust get bored with his famHe want to see
time in Florida. He call, he
us. When we get there, he doesn't
call.
thing to do with us." She volunteered that
want anyswered the telephone several times
a woman had anband in Miami. In
when she called her husfact, she said, there were several
women, but one in particular-a
different
source of her trouble. Somehow Cecile stewardess-was the likely
ardess had gone to Haiti and hired
had heard that the stewagainst her.
someone to "do something"
Alourdes smiled but said nothing when she
cial bit of information. Other Caribbean
received this crudown on impoverished and illiterate
peoples tend to look
widespread belief that
Haitians, but there is alsoa
ful medicines.
you must go to Haiti for the most
This attitude may explain not
powerthe stewardess but also why Cecile
only the action of
healer.
turned for help to a Haitian
On the drive back to the main house, Iasked
felt about other women
Cecile how she
staying at her husband's
ment. She replied with remarkable
Miami apartmove out when I come.' 11 Whenlasked equanimity, if
"They always
lovers, she
she had ever had other
husband admitted, "Yes, once.' 11 She also said she had told her
about it afterward and then endured weeks
anger. She said simply, "Ia am always honest,
of his
seemed to accept her husband's
you know." Cecile
standard that condemned
infidelity and even the double
hers. But she could not
sence: "I want me family back
accept his abtogether. With this conversa-
out when I come.' 11 Whenlasked equanimity, if
"They always
lovers, she
she had ever had other
husband admitted, "Yes, once.' 11 She also said she had told her
about it afterward and then endured weeks
anger. She said simply, "Ia am always honest,
of his
seemed to accept her husband's
you know." Cecile
standard that condemned
infidelity and even the double
hers. But she could not
sence: "I want me family back
accept his abtogether. With this conversa- --- Page 374 ---
with the plot of land was at last seen in its
tion, the problem
of a much deeper distur342
proper context. It was a by-product
bance in Cecile Shepherd's family.
the long shadows of
When we returned to Cecile's house,
into a cool haven. Alourdes,
Gede
afternoon had turned her yard
the welts raised
Mabel, and I rested under the trees. We treated
with handfuls of Chivas Regal
on our legs by devil's horsewhip
while Cecile went to
(the only alcohol Cecile had in the house),
the things needed for the second, and by now clearly
gather
of the treatment. As we waited, Cecile's
more important, stage
around the
shouting nursery
two youngest children ran
yard, and pie, kissed
rhymes at each other: "Georgie Porgie, puddin'
them
11 Their noise did not deter us
the girls and made
cry.
from analyzing the situation.
"Too naive, yes, mon!"
"She too naive," Alourdes said softly.
echoed loudly. "Cecile, she too trusting : . . too nice,"
Mabel
her teeth. "That girl trust too much!"
Alourdes said, sucking
observed Alourdes. "She
Mabel fairly shouted. "Look at her,"
house. She
She
no gad on the
got
got no gad on herself.
got
them! She too naïve."
those little children. They got nothing on
I1 announced Mabel as soon as
"Look, girl, you too naive,
said, "Never mind. We
Cecile returned. But Alourdes simply
to
back
thing to do. The sun almost gone. Soon, we got get
got
to Aunt Emma' house. I'm hungry."
Cecile had produced a clay pot with earthinit, two shimalady would
we tested to be sure they
plants in wet paper (which
and two candles. At
curl up when touched), some pennies, of lined white paper
Alourdes's direction, Cecile took a piece
her
school notebook and carefully wrote
from her daughter's
times, ten times on one side of the
husband's name twenty-one
was
as she wroce in
and eleven on the other. She
shaking
paper block letters that covered the sheet: Joseph Shepherd,
large
with the
Joseph Shepherd, Joseph Shepherd. . : . Then,
ingredients in hand, we all went inside to Cecile's bedroom.
From a hubbub of activity, our small group slipped suddenly
of calm. The low angle of the sun caused splotches
into a pocket
shadows of leaves to dance across the walls
of light and fluttery
bedroom. The voices of the children
of the spacious and airy
Alourdes plunged us into
seemed far away and insignificant. of the croSS and lit a candle.
the ritual action. She made the sign
: Joseph Shepherd,
large
with the
Joseph Shepherd, Joseph Shepherd. . : . Then,
ingredients in hand, we all went inside to Cecile's bedroom.
From a hubbub of activity, our small group slipped suddenly
of calm. The low angle of the sun caused splotches
into a pocket
shadows of leaves to dance across the walls
of light and fluttery
bedroom. The voices of the children
of the spacious and airy
Alourdes plunged us into
seemed far away and insignificant. of the croSS and lit a candle.
the ritual action. She made the sign --- Page 375 ---
With the candle in one hand and the pot and the
other, she slowly and deliberately
paper in the
tions, ritually
saluted each of the four direc343
tracing the shape that is both
roads and thus a point of historic
croSS and crosstianity and the religions of West confluence between Chrisserious. She held the
Africa. Her face was very
Gede
at a level
instruments of her cure out in front ofH her,
considerably higher than her head. At each of the
directions, her lips moved in inaudible,
four
well-being of Cecile Shepherd.
sincere prayer for the
When she finished, Alourdes folded the
Shepherd's name on it and tore it slowly in half. paper with Joseph
each of the halves in half
Then she tore
again. A third time, she
pieces and tore them in half. Then she handed
stacked the
and directed hert to tear them three
them to Cecile
it, you talk. Say what
11 more times. "When you tear
you want, Alourdes directed.
girl!" Mabel coached from the sidelines.
"Talk,
rassed. Three times she mumbled
Cecile was embarhim come back to me. Make him something like, "For make
Alourdes
come on home. 11
mixed the tiny pieces of paper into the
ied a penny in the bottom of the
soil and burto Cecile with
pot. Then she handed the
instructions to plant the
pot
was done, a candle was lit and
shimalady. When that
Cecile was told to take the
pushed down into the soil.
orient it,
pot of shimalady in both hands and
just as Alourdes had done earlier with the
rials. "You hold it up to each side like this
other matethis. And you talk!" Alourdes told
. this : . . this.
Cecile, an
herin a firm but gentle voice,
Anglican from birth, dug deep in herself
duced a small voice that said, "Lord,
and proto me." "Don't beg, 11 said
please let him come back
Alourdes. "Say what
got to say, 'I want him come back. I Come
you want. You
it." "That girl too weak, 11 Mabel mumbled on now, you can do
loud
us to hear.
enough for all of
Cecile reverted to her earlier,
make him come back to me.' 11 Her ambiguous lower
formulation: "For
and she was trying to hold the
lip was trembling now,
tively close to her
pot up and hug her arms protecbody at the same time. With the
pull of her elbows toward her waist, it looked
downward
potted plant weighed a hundred
as if the little
of the crossroads,
pounds. On the third direction
Cecile broke down and sobbed.
Mabel exploded. She danced around the room as if fire ants
for all of
Cecile reverted to her earlier,
make him come back to me.' 11 Her ambiguous lower
formulation: "For
and she was trying to hold the
lip was trembling now,
tively close to her
pot up and hug her arms protecbody at the same time. With the
pull of her elbows toward her waist, it looked
downward
potted plant weighed a hundred
as if the little
of the crossroads,
pounds. On the third direction
Cecile broke down and sobbed.
Mabel exploded. She danced around the room as if fire ants --- Page 376 ---
were climbing up her legs. "Her weak! Me knew it! That
not only naive, her weak. Shiliiiiit, mon!" Alourdes had a differ- lady
ent response. She moved in quickly, put an arm around Cecile,
and said, "That's okay, sweetheart. 1
Gede
Then she gently guided
Cecile through the end of the ritual.
When it was done, Alourdes took the plant and put it in a
puddle of sun on Cecile's dresser. "You going leave it there. Nobody going know nothing. Even your husband come, he don't
know. So you got a plant? So what? That nobody' business but
you. But every day you got to 'work that point. I Light a candle.
Talk. Okay, sweetheart? Don't you worry. Everything
be
all right. Ido that work for you. Iknow. Now
going
you can go and be
peaceful."
When Alourdes left the room, Mabel moved in for the kill.
She was still jumping and sputtering: "Shit, girl, you weak! Listen, me speak straight. That crying don't do you no good. You
got to be strong. Listen to me, girl! Some
and .
her in the
ward
lady
her :
geriatric
. her say her goin' to leave me
thousand dollars, and that woman's sister stand there, take fifty that
money away from me. You think me cry? Not me, mon! That
don't do no good, and look here : . . me tellin' you about it!"
this time, there were tears in Mabel's
By
eyes.
On the way home, Mabel slowly transformed tears into
All the way back from Bushy Park to Barbicon Road and anger. Aunt
Emma's prim little pastel house, Mabel muttered and mumbled.
Every once in a while, she would turn full around in the front
seat, look at Alourdes and me, and say something like:
never did nobody no good! Shiitit!" Out the windows "Crying of the
car, the sunset turned the parasitic creeper the Jamaicans call
love bush and the Haitians call friendship to a glowing, pulsating orange.
HEALING, THE VODOU WAY
The healing work Alourdes performed in Jamaica is more
understood when set within the context of the Vodou view easily of
person and the Vodou philosophy of life. In the Vodou understanding of personhood, the individual is given identity, solidity, and safety in a precarious world by a thick weave of relationships with other human beings as well as with spirits and
Out the windows "Crying of the
car, the sunset turned the parasitic creeper the Jamaicans call
love bush and the Haitians call friendship to a glowing, pulsating orange.
HEALING, THE VODOU WAY
The healing work Alourdes performed in Jamaica is more
understood when set within the context of the Vodou view easily of
person and the Vodou philosophy of life. In the Vodou understanding of personhood, the individual is given identity, solidity, and safety in a precarious world by a thick weave of relationships with other human beings as well as with spirits and --- Page 377 ---
ancestors. That the world is precarious is the core of the
philosophy of life.
Vodou
"Moun fêt pou mouri
fond of
[People are born to die]," Haitians are
saying, usually with a casual
of
This proverb gives voice to both the shrug
the shoulders.
stricken Haiti and the stoic
pain of life in povertyGede
least, characterizes the Haitian acceptance that, on one level at
(suffering, and, more
attitude toward this life. Mizè
precisely, the suffering of
expected and recurrent condition. Haitians
poverty) is an
accept it. Neither experience
face this, and they
The notion of
is nor religion gives them a way out.
progress of no help in making sense of
history, and they have seen little upward social
their
in their own lives Or in those of their children. mobility, either
Haitians do not believe that the human condition Furthermore,
ated from an ideal state any more than that it leads has degenerVodou, there is neither an Eden nor a heaven.
to one; in
great majority of Haitians, it is a given that life Because, is
for the
struggle and suffering, it is not inaccurate to
filled with
free periods are pervaded with
say that problemjust around the
an anxiety that anticipates crises
characterized corner. Life, in the Vodou view of things, is thus
relief from by alternating cycles of suffering and the transient
suffering that is called "having luck. 11
Luck (chans) is, however, not entirely a matter
Vodou philosophy.
of chance in
Maintaining and
when
enhancing good luck and,
necessary, fending off and removing bad luck
labor as necessary to life as the labor of the
are forms of
fields or the urban
peasant farmerin his
pieceworker at her
who expects that life will run
factory bench. A person
is "naïve," the word Alourdes smoothly without spiritual effort
healers such
used to describe Cecile.
as Alourdes are for-hire specialists in
Vodou
labor required to orchestrate luck.
the spiritual
Raising luck is the general rubric under which all
Vodou healing can be grouped, and
kinds of
of all types of Vodou
healing is the main purpose
clients
ritualizing. Whether Alourdes is
one-on-one in her altar room, an activity that treating
nearly every day in her Brooklyn
goes on
birthday parties for the Vodou
home, or staging elaborate
eight times a year, what she is spirits, which happens six to
viduals and healing
doing is healing-healing indigroups. Both in public rituals and in
sessions, Alourdes heals by exercising,
private
mending relationships
strengthening, and
among the living, the dead, and the
odou
healing is the main purpose
clients
ritualizing. Whether Alourdes is
one-on-one in her altar room, an activity that treating
nearly every day in her Brooklyn
goes on
birthday parties for the Vodou
home, or staging elaborate
eight times a year, what she is spirits, which happens six to
viduals and healing
doing is healing-healing indigroups. Both in public rituals and in
sessions, Alourdes heals by exercising,
private
mending relationships
strengthening, and
among the living, the dead, and the --- Page 378 ---
In the final analysis, the only effective means of controlspirits.
and
of family, in the largest sense
ling luck is the care
feeding
of that term.
of
are amenable to treatment
Many different kinds problems
work, and money probGede
within the Vodou system-love, family,
that
maladies. The immediate problem
lems as well as physical
door, however, gives little indicabrings a "client" to Alourdes's
for
tion ofits true origin. A problem with a neighbor's jealousy, with
be
in boils, a lost job, or difficulty
instance, can manifested does
attention to the presenting
one's children. Alourdes
pay
ailment
For example, she may treat a minor physical
problem.
serious
she may recommend that
herbally. For a more
problem, But the main focus of her healing
the client see a medical doctor.
uncovered in the course
energy is directed to the deeper issues Alourdes treated the parof treatment. Cecile's case was typical.
relacel of land, but she quickly moved to the more significant or
tional issues in Cecile's life. The diagnosis of the underlying
root problem often comes as a surprise to the client.
the origins of her clients' probAlourdes invariably diagnoses
of one sort or another. Belems as disturbances in relationships
the living to include
cause relational networks extend beyond
a vast,
the dead and the lwa, the Vodou healer must explore
web of relations to find the troubled strand putting
tangled
whole fabric. And because the dead and, to some
stress on the
to destructive emotions as
extent, the lwa are as susceptible Alourdes treats can be traced
living persons are, the problems ancestors as well as to jealous,
to neglected spirits or hungry
angry, or malicious human beings.
is ascerThe first thing Alourdes must do with new clients
whether the problems they have are natural" or "supertain
She usually does a card reading to determine
natural" in origin.
indicates that the malthis. The diagnosis of a natural problem
Alourdes nor
ady is "from God," and this means that neither
Alourdes
other Vodou healer can do anything about it.
any
to take those people' money
sends such clients away. "WhyIgot
them?" she asks. Virtually all natural problems
if I can't help
maladies. The reverse is not true, however;
seem to be physical
in oriafflictions are diagnosed as supernatural
many physical
and cure by scientific medicine is
gin. Resistance to diagnosis
Most
that a
is supernatural.
probtaken as a sure sign
problem and, because they fall into
lems are diagnosed as supernatural, be done about them.
the realm of the spirits, something can
anything about it.
any
to take those people' money
sends such clients away. "WhyIgot
them?" she asks. Virtually all natural problems
if I can't help
maladies. The reverse is not true, however;
seem to be physical
in oriafflictions are diagnosed as supernatural
many physical
and cure by scientific medicine is
gin. Resistance to diagnosis
Most
that a
is supernatural.
probtaken as a sure sign
problem and, because they fall into
lems are diagnosed as supernatural, be done about them.
the realm of the spirits, something can --- Page 379 ---
In spite of using
such
Vodou does not terminology
as natural and supernatural,
Both God and the assume the existence of a two-story universe.
spirits operate in dimensions that
ordinary human life, but the two operate in different permeate
tween God and the spirit is two different
ways. "Be-
"You don't see God to talk to God. No. thing, Alourdes said.
Gede
the sky. You see the earth. You don't
You are born. You see
that's God.
know who
it
. -
God
put there. But
to church,
you don'tsee. God you talk about. You
they talk about God. You read the
go
about God. But spirit you don't read about. Bible, you read
in people' head, and
The spirit come
help you.' 11 Alourdes you see them, you talk to them.
can treat supernatural
They
within the spirits' purview, because the
illnesses, which are
able to her. The spirits have
spirits are directly availcome to depend on
just as she depends on theirs. She has
Alourdes's care,
is different. A problem that
leverage with them. God
rock, it simply is. You
comes from God is natural; like a
coerce it into another cannot plead with a rock to change or
state of being.
Relationships, the focus of Vodou
and often fragile. The
of
healing rites, are complex
reflects the range of difficulties range diagnostic categories in Vodou
ships. On the mild end of the
that can develop in relationspectrum lies the
person is suffering from "eyes"-too
diagnosis that a
and talking about the client, and all the many others are thinking
that person spiritually off balance. With attention has pushed
the situation, Alourdes
no prior knowledge of
diagnosed me as
during the time I was being considered for suffering from "eyes"
sity. A slightly more serious version of
tenure at my univerthis
djôk, or "bad eyes, 11 in which the
condition is called a
has a negative tone,
attention focused on the client
involving, for example,
nosis, however, does not indicate a conscious jealousy. This diagclient.
intent to harm the
Cecile's case, in which someone had "done work"
her, falls toward the far end of the spectrum. Such
against
assumes that the damage is willful, and it
a diagnosis
another spiritual expert has been involved usually means that
recting that ill will. The most extreme
in focusing and diharm that is more than the
cases involve deliberate
own way; such malice
mere by-product of getting one's
crosses over into the territory of
venge. Alourdes never initiates activity at this end of the pure retrum, which is the domain of the bôkô, a
specthe left hand."
specialist in "work of
toward the far end of the spectrum. Such
against
assumes that the damage is willful, and it
a diagnosis
another spiritual expert has been involved usually means that
recting that ill will. The most extreme
in focusing and diharm that is more than the
cases involve deliberate
own way; such malice
mere by-product of getting one's
crosses over into the territory of
venge. Alourdes never initiates activity at this end of the pure retrum, which is the domain of the bôkô, a
specthe left hand."
specialist in "work of --- Page 380 ---
for "the science of the conVodou healing shows a penchant
human rela348
crete."3 In her cures, Alourdes puts problematic
can be
external form, where they
tionships into a tangible, transformed. When a love relationworked on and ultimately
face-to-face. When the disGede
ship is desired, she binds two dolls
binds them back-tosolution of a relationship is sought, she
a meal of
back. For restive, "hungry" spirits, she prescribes
makes
their favorite foods. To treat a violent marriage, Alourdes
charm for the wife by filling a jar with ice ("to cool him down")
a
make him sweet"). Then she wraps the charm
and molasses ("to
clothing and turns the whole
in some article of the husband's within the Vodou science of
thing upside down, a clear signal
is desired. For Cecile,
the concrete that a revolutionary change
some conflict
Jamaican woman experiencing
an upper-class
with Vodou, Alourdes fashioned the
about her involvement
These charms are called pwen
unobtrusive potted shimalady.
of complex social, psychologi-
(points). They are condensations
cal, and spiritual conditions.
are also pwen
Baths, a staple in Alourdes's healing repertoire, milk, alcohol,
of a sort. These mixtures of herbs, perfumes,
concretize
fruits, and, in some situations, less agreeable things
Smell
troublesome as well as desired states in a variety of ways.
instruments. After taking a ritual
is among the most powerful
for three days, leaving
bath, the client is instructed not to wash
the skin for
the heady odors of Alourdes's medicine chest on
waking and sleeping. Our sense of smell conthree long days,
nonverbal self, and it
nects with the limbic mind, a primordial,
Alourdes's cures.
is often this deeper self that is addressed by
must
Vodou healers do not believe they
Unlike psychiatrists, the level of consciousness to work with them.
bring problems to
and bad-luck. In both
There are two types of baths: good-luck
Bad-luck baths
cases, about two cups of viscous liquid are used.
from the top of the body down, whereas good-luck
are applied
are treated
baths proceed from the bottom up. Many problems when the
series of three good-luck baths. But
with a simple
cleansing with a bath
negativity is more palpable, a preliminary
If a healer predesigned to remove the bad luck is required.
is taken from Claude Lévi-Strauss, The Science of the Concrete,"
This phrase Mind (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1966), 1-33.
in his The Savage
about two cups of viscous liquid are used.
from the top of the body down, whereas good-luck
are applied
are treated
baths proceed from the bottom up. Many problems when the
series of three good-luck baths. But
with a simple
cleansing with a bath
negativity is more palpable, a preliminary
If a healer predesigned to remove the bad luck is required.
is taken from Claude Lévi-Strauss, The Science of the Concrete,"
This phrase Mind (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1966), 1-33.
in his The Savage --- Page 381 ---
scribes a bad-luck bath, it does not
client has been the object of
necessarily mean that the
problem has been around malice. It may simply mean that the
areas of the
for a long time and has infected
person's life.
many
Vodou healing operates according to traditional wisdom.
Gede
example, a great deal of solid herbal
For
healers such as Alourdes.
knowledge is available to
riety of noncritical
They use it to treat successfully a varitual forms for
physical ailments. There are also standard
for
treatments such as baths and standard
concocting them. But there is room for
recipes
too. Alourdes told me that on several
inspired innovation,
unsure how to treat a client, she had occasions when she was
the
a dream in which one of
spirits-or, more often, her mother- - -told her
and such a leaf, mix it with this fruit and
to "take such
forth. At other times, she
this perfume, 11 and SO
simply has an impulse to
thing new. Part of what a healer must learn to
try sometrust what might be labeled
doisi identify and
most serious
intuition, if this term is taken in its
sense. Strengthening konesans
edge) is one of the goals of Vodou initiation (intuitive knowlAlourdes never refers to the persons she ceremonies. works
tients, and for good reason. In Vodou, the
for as pamains active
one being healed rethroughout the healing process-from the
reading, in which the client is free to
card
diagnosis Alourdes
agree or disagree with any
which the
suggests, to the manufacture of the
client has a direct hand. It was Cecile who pwen, in
planted the shimalady. With the point in hand, the picked and
ticipation becomes crucial, for a point must be client's parmust be prayed over daily, candles must be lit before "worked": it
ing water poured overit, sweet-smelling
it, refreshIn the months
perfume sprayed on it.
several times if she following our trip to Jamaica, I asked Alourdes
had heard from Cecile, but she
to tell me until nearly a year later. "Yeah, I hear had nothing
Alourdes said, in a matter-of-fact tone.
from her,"
then she added with a touch of
"Everything okay." And
thing okay. I do that work for her, impatience: don't "Of course everysold?" I queried. "I forget to ask, 11 Alourdes I?" "The land was
In the beginning of my association with responded.
view her treatments as
Alourdes, I tended to
their
suspense stories, and I eagerly awaited
denouements. For Alourdes, however, the outcome of
healing work is rarely cause for suspense, and,
her
value does not appear to
furthermore, its
depend on particular concrete results.
okay." And
thing okay. I do that work for her, impatience: don't "Of course everysold?" I queried. "I forget to ask, 11 Alourdes I?" "The land was
In the beginning of my association with responded.
view her treatments as
Alourdes, I tended to
their
suspense stories, and I eagerly awaited
denouements. For Alourdes, however, the outcome of
healing work is rarely cause for suspense, and,
her
value does not appear to
furthermore, its
depend on particular concrete results. --- Page 382 ---
some time to realize what motivated this attitude.
It took me
of her work, and
Alourdes is confident in the effectiveness successful. In a nonshe knows intuitively when it has been
is
she also knows that the most she can do
contradictory way,
then
the
tools to
Gede
identify the root problems and
place
proper Itis
with them in the hands of those who are in trouble.
up
deal
these tools. Cecile had to learn to "talk."
to the clients to use
what she wanted. She alone
She had to stop begging and say
daily befor working the point, that is, talking
was responsible
until she understood that she posfore the potted shimalady
errant will. From what
sessed the power to bend her husband's
Alourdes had to say, Cecile learned this lesson. Edmund's visa
Mabel's problems were not SO easily resolved.
suitcase
but not for several years. The missing
did come through
and other things Mabel needed to
containing the ritual clothing
showed
It was just as well,
undergo initiation in Haiti never
up.
she
sidebecause Mabel never made it to Haiti. Instead,
got
family problems. For the entire time we
tracked into multiple
motion, doing everyMabel was in constant
were in Jamaica,
and troubleshooting in
one's laundry, running their errands,
On the day Alourdes and I left for Port-au-Prince,
their lives.
as she bustled off to
she hardly took time to wave good-bye
town on yet one more mission.
I asked
"What do these people do when Mabel isn't around?"]
she responded peevishly. "I think
Alourdes. "How dolknow?" avoid her own, 11 I observed. "I supshe uses their problems to
pose so," said Alourdes.
makes
I1 I mused. "She
people depen-
"She's a tough one,
mad at them for it." "Humph," said
dent on her and then gets
She simply reAlourdes, who has little taste for psychologizing.
"Mabel
iterated the opinion she had expressed in the airport:
She
to wash her head .
SO she can
got a lot'a problem.
got
help herself."
INITIATION AND THE SPIRITS IN THE HEAD
levels of initiation into Vodou as it is practiced in
There are four
ritual headwashing aimed at the
Port-au-Prince. The first is a
these are the
spirits lodged in the head. From one perspective,
from anVodou spirits said to love that person. But,
particular
simply reAlourdes, who has little taste for psychologizing.
"Mabel
iterated the opinion she had expressed in the airport:
She
to wash her head .
SO she can
got a lot'a problem.
got
help herself."
INITIATION AND THE SPIRITS IN THE HEAD
levels of initiation into Vodou as it is practiced in
There are four
ritual headwashing aimed at the
Port-au-Prince. The first is a
these are the
spirits lodged in the head. From one perspective,
from anVodou spirits said to love that person. But,
particular --- Page 383 ---
other, the spirits in the head are the constituent
self, principally the gwo bônanj (big guardian
parts of the
roughly equivalent to the
angel), which is
individual. When
personality or consciousness of the
someone is troubled, the
becomes agitated,
big guardian angel
and, as a result, that person loses
Gede
dreams as well as the waking powers of
access to
and understanding. Like a boat without discrimination, insight,
such a person bobs perilously
a navigational system,
currents. The
through life at the mercy of the
headwashing ceremony "refreshes"
restive head spirits. Once placated,
and "feeds"
duits for the wisdom, ancestral
they will function as conneeds to negotiate daily life.
and spiritual, that every person
Alourdes had
ment for Mabel, and itis a
prescribed this treatgo on to higher levels of required first step even for those who
ceremonies.
initiation during the same cycle of
The second level of initiation is called kanzo, a term
to a rite of fire designed to transform
referring
public, and therefore
suffering into power. The
boule
discussable, part of kanzo is a
zen (the burning of the pots), in which the ritual called
briefly removed from the inner chamber of the initiates are
they have been sequestered in order to
temple where
fire. Small clay
undergo a sort of trial
pots are placed in the center of
by
pared fires. Hard, hot
specially prepots and
dumplings are snatched from the
pressed into the palm of the initiate's left
boiling
sole of the left foot. When this ritual is
hand and the
may be told, "Never say hot again;
complete, the initiates
To kouche-to lie down, sleep, make say strong!"
love, give birth, and,
frequently, to die-is the verbal form used for all levels
less
tion. To kouche sou pwen (to lie down on the point) is the ofinitialevel of induction into the arts of Vodou. In this
third
word point (pwen) refers to a ritualized
phrase, the
power of the Vodou spirit said to be the master concentration of the of the
head, the mêt tèt. Through the kouche sou
initiate's
their relationship with their mêt têt and at the pwen, novices solidify
recognize that spirit's
same time come to
ter. The
power as a dimension of their own characgiving of the sacred rattle, the ason, is the final
initiation. Possession of the ason
level of
do healing work.
qualifies a person to begin to
No one undertakes these various levels of
out of pure curiosity. They are
initiation idly or
who take the ason do SO because expensive and taxing. Persons
they have serious problems,
's
their relationship with their mêt têt and at the pwen, novices solidify
recognize that spirit's
same time come to
ter. The
power as a dimension of their own characgiving of the sacred rattle, the ason, is the final
initiation. Possession of the ason
level of
do healing work.
qualifies a person to begin to
No one undertakes these various levels of
out of pure curiosity. They are
initiation idly or
who take the ason do SO because expensive and taxing. Persons
they have serious problems, --- Page 384 ---
that, by a sort of circular reasoning, are interpreted as
problems
who desire that
to kouche. Ini352
the harassment of spirits
person
All those
intense form of healing.
tiation is thus an especially
have received their trainwho are empowered to heal in Vodou
who has
Almost everyone
Gede
ing by first being healed themselves.
and instinctive
taken the ason has a story to tell about suffering
the experiresistance to the call of the spirits. In this respect,
ences of Alourdes and Maggie were not extreme.
such
People resist the call to be a healer because, although selfit also requires considerable
a life may provide prestige, Alourdes's mother finally said yes
sacrifice. For example, when
with men.
it
the end of her relationships
to the spirits, signaled with those in need of healing, and she no
Philo's house filled up
to raise her daughter
longer had space, time, energy, or money who take on the most seAlourdes. Manbo and oungan, those
for these
rious obligations in relation to the spirits, are prepared
to
the initiation process itself. In a pattern common
sacrifices by
Vodou initiation rituals demand nothsuch rites the world over,
less than a surrender of self. These rites force a rapid regresing
of the initiate. They hammer a person back to a
sion on the part
and dependence. In this vulnerstate of childlike uncertainty revisited, Vodou teaches its potent
able state of infancy, ritually
lessons.
levels ofi initiation, one of the central surrender
For the higher
Through ritual means, an atlessons has to do with possession.
the
and into the
tempt is made to pull the initiate over
edge
bewaters of trance. Those who serve the Vodou spirits
deep
the
bonanj leaves the body and
lieve that, in possession,
gwo
consciousness
floats loose in the world. No one easily gives up
horse of
and the control associated with it; even as practiced a she is
as Alourdes still shows signs of struggle as
the spirits
fears the
as
mounted by a spirit. But she no longer
experience her as
most
did when the spirits first sought to use
she
likely
an ancient fetheir vehicle. When Alourdes was only thirteen,
called Marienette 'passed" through her head, a type
male spirit
short of
Alourdes's first
of spirit contact that falls
possession.
full possession came at the age of nineteen.
"When
In 1980 Alourdes described possession in this way:
to come in you head, you feel very light, light
the spirit going
in
head. You feel dizzy
like a piece of paper : . very light your the
and
in
head. Then after, you pass out. But
spirit come,
your
fetheir vehicle. When Alourdes was only thirteen,
called Marienette 'passed" through her head, a type
male spirit
short of
Alourdes's first
of spirit contact that falls
possession.
full possession came at the age of nineteen.
"When
In 1980 Alourdes described possession in this way:
to come in you head, you feel very light, light
the spirit going
in
head. You feel dizzy
like a piece of paper : . very light your the
and
in
head. Then after, you pass out. But
spirit come,
your --- Page 385 ---
he talk to people, and he look at the table
make
you know. Then he leaves and
you
for him : .
very, very far. But when the
:
and you come from very,
you don't know
spirit in your body, in your head,
say, what
nothing. They have to tell you what the spirit
message he leave for you." In the
most clinical way Alourdes describes
matter-of-fact, alGede
sion, the unconsciousness
the descent into posseslows
during it, and the amnesia
can be heard the voice of a manbo
that folwith the Vodou spirits and
secure in her relationship
self back together after their trusting her own ability to pull herMaggie, who has absorbed temporarily fragmenting visits.
lessons about the
a heavier dose of New York's hard
need for constant control, still
the surrender demanded by trance states. And fights against
ingly different language in
she uses revealtold me about her first
describing possession. When she
in Haiti at age ten,
possession experience, which occurred
Maggie began with characteristic
started to be Miss Invisible the Invisible
bravado: "I
switched to a different tone: "I'm
Woman!" But she soon
my arm : . losing
and losing my foot. . : I'm losing
much
my body,
it's just going. And I was
younger then, and I start calling, 'Mommie,
Mommie! and then my mother-she doesn't
Mommie,
know if she come or don't come.
come. . . I don't
that's it! It's black, and then I don't :
Once it hits your head,
While
know nothing. Nothing!"
describing a more recent brush with
lwa, Maggie reiterated the
possession by the
count of that first
language of loss that filled her acexperience, but she combined it with other
threatening and paradoxical imagery: "It's the
ing : . - like losing your toes. Your toes is
funniest feelupa and someone is
gone, like you stand
head.
pulling your blood out of you. You don't
your
. : . like something running through
feel
know . . like you taking a shower and the your body, you
ning down all over you. You feel like
thing just runthe ground. Your head is
your feet is not touching
are
heavy. - . . Not heavy. It's like
floating up, like high blood
you
Whether
pressure .
running down."
Maggie can eventually trust
to
even to seek out-the unconsciousness enough
welcomedetermined, but it is an
of trance has yet to be
Alourdes's
important issue if she is to take over
healing practice. In her role as healer, Alourdes must
frequently, and more or less at will, go through the
ego-exchange with the lwa that is at the center of
perilous
All persons who take the ason do not become
possession.
practicing heal-
, like high blood
you
Whether
pressure .
running down."
Maggie can eventually trust
to
even to seek out-the unconsciousness enough
welcomedetermined, but it is an
of trance has yet to be
Alourdes's
important issue if she is to take over
healing practice. In her role as healer, Alourdes must
frequently, and more or less at will, go through the
ego-exchange with the lwa that is at the center of
perilous
All persons who take the ason do not become
possession.
practicing heal- --- Page 386 ---
Some choose not to, and others never gain the needed asers.
In urban contexts, those who function
sent of the community.
Vodou families can do SO because
as priests or priestesses for
of
a
horse for the
their skills (including the skill
being good
Some of
Gede
spirits) have been recognized and repeatedly proven. but others are
these skills are taught in the initiation chamber,
inherited.
healer in
Alourdes's mother, Philomise, was a well-known
with a substantial following. Everyone knows
Port-au-Prince,
her mother, that is, inherited her role.
that Alourdes "replaced"
from Philo is her altar, the agAlourdes's tangible inheritance with the Vodou spirits, made
gregate of Philo's relationships
ritual
The
tangible in stones and pots and other
implements. and
inheritance involves extraordinary diagnostic
intangible
known for her
abilities, but
curative skills. Philo was
psychic
"I'm
Alourdes resists the claim that she has these same gifts.
not psychic like my mother . . no," 11 she says.
When
She does, however, admit to having the 'gift of eyes."
feel
in-even three person come- I got the
somebody come
of
need me.' 1! Whenla asked if calling this the gift eyes
which one
such as light or color, she remeant that she saw something the feel in my body. The blood
sponded: "I don't see light. I got
there that
and my hair start to stand up if there a spirit
goes up
I feel something inside that mean danbothering somebody. she claims to know when a treatment has
ger." 1 In a related way,
of how she feels. "After you treat
been successful, because
feel happy. Then I feel in my
people, you feel relieved, you
Also, the
face
body that the people going to be all right.
people'
change. It not the same face any more.'
Alourdes routinely attributes greater psychic powers
Just as
herself and
ones still to her most
to her mother than to
greater
Binbin
ancestor, the old African Joseph
distant remembered declares that she does not have her mother's
Mauvant, soMaggie
of
abilities. But she does admit to some extraordinary ways I
things. "Me and my ESP!" Maggie said. "Usually
knowing
I
a funny feeling, like a pressure. When
dream something. get when I know what I dream going to
I feel that pressure, that
happen. II
Vodou healer focus on the social drama, on
The skills of the
the cracks between
relational problems that often fall through
techwho do the healing in Western,
the various specialists
remembered declares that she does not have her mother's
Mauvant, soMaggie
of
abilities. But she does admit to some extraordinary ways I
things. "Me and my ESP!" Maggie said. "Usually
knowing
I
a funny feeling, like a pressure. When
dream something. get when I know what I dream going to
I feel that pressure, that
happen. II
Vodou healer focus on the social drama, on
The skills of the
the cracks between
relational problems that often fall through
techwho do the healing in Western,
the various specialists --- Page 387 ---
nological society. This focus may be not
but also the most helpful for the
only the most realistic
any realistic expectation of
majority of Haitians, who lack
tually control the world-that gaining access to the powers that acstanding people,
is, to guns and money. Undermaneuvering and even manipulating human
Gede
relationships--these are the
of
the survival skills of the
weapons
the disenfranchised,
oppressed.
Innumerable times I have heard Alourdes
confidence in myself!" Emphasis
say: "I got plenty
tional and survival skill is
on self-confidence as a relatraits. This confidence
one of Alourdes's most distinctive
of problems,
enables her to take on the
even those that involve
thorniest
that of another healer. And,
pitting her will against
Alourdes
on many occasions, the treatment
prescribes for a client includes
son's need for more self-confidence.
attention to that perfused Self-confidence, with the
as Alourdes uses the term, is not to be conheroic "I can do
I want
ued in the United
anything
to" attitude valsaid Alourdes.
States, or even with simple pride.
"Pride never did
"Pride?"
confidence Alourdes fosters in
nobody no good." The selfis not SO much a sense of herself and encourages in others
respect. When Aunt Emma self-importance as it is basic selftalked about the
lieving in God and in the Bible, Alourdes importance of be-
"And in yourself.
added emphatically,
sults
Self-respect is the antidote to the
poor, urban Haitians experience when
daily inbers of the elite live.
they see how memthing to have with
Self-respect is also the most important
welfare office
you when standing in line in a New
or asking a white bureaucrat for a job.
York
Alourdes's challenge to imitate her in
dence"i is probably most resonant for
having "plenty confiing that women healers (I doubt
women. It is not surprisquite sophisticated about the
Alourdes is the only one) are
to self-Mabel's frantic
problems women face. Inattention
for
self-sacrifice in the service ofher
example-is one of the greatest female
family,
and mothers, the self-caring Alourdes
problems. For wives
counterbalance to the push and pull of counsels is the necessary
like mothers, define their life's
family claims. Healers,
Thus when
work as the service of others.
Alourdes, both a mother and a
confidence in the women she treats, she
healer, urges selfAlourdes works at
speaks with authority.
maintaining a large and diverse
family around her, and as a result she sits at the
Vodou
confluence of
example-is one of the greatest female
family,
and mothers, the self-caring Alourdes
problems. For wives
counterbalance to the push and pull of counsels is the necessary
like mothers, define their life's
family claims. Healers,
Thus when
work as the service of others.
Alourdes, both a mother and a
confidence in the women she treats, she
healer, urges selfAlourdes works at
speaks with authority.
maintaining a large and diverse
family around her, and as a result she sits at the
Vodou
confluence of --- Page 388 ---
streams of human neediness. Her instinct
dense and powerful
make treatment. I love to help
is to want to help. "I love to
feel
" But she
feel
that make me
good."
people. When they
good,
maintain her balance in the
has to be constantly vigilant to and she does SO by insisting
Gede
midst of her big needy "family,"
of her clients. When
that her own needs be met as well as those 1!
she does
Alourdes acting like a "queen bee,' something
is
I see
to remember what a difficult role it
from time to time, I try
that she occupies.
reside in konesans. This knowledge
Priestly power is said to
of eyes, empathy, or incould be called psychic power, the gift Above all, it is knowltuition. It is any and all of these things. and complex symbol
about people. Vodou provides a vast
edge
Konesans is the ability to read
system for thinking about people.
and name their sufpeople, with or without cards; to diagnose not from God and
suffering that Haitians know comes
fering,
chance but from others-the living, the dead,
usually not from
konesans is the ability to heal.
and the spirits. Finally,
oven in which sufferThe initiation chamber is the alchemical
rooted
into knowledge, into experientially
ing is transformed
the
ritual arena I know of that
priestly power. It is also
only Ifan initiate has Gede as his or
Papa Gede is forbidden to enter.
the
of Ogou,
that person will kouche on
point
her head spirit,
and Gede's temporary stand-in durthe patron of self-assertion the small room where initiates spend
ing initiations. In the djèvo,
for Gede and no
several days in seclusion, no songs are sung in the initiation
are offered to him. Gede's presence
the
prayers
fearful
that might snap
chamber would be a
redundancy rebirth which these rituals
delicate balance between death and
because he is SO
orchestrate. Papa Gede must be excluded
present.
A BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR PAPA GEDE
at Alourdes's home in
About twenty-five of us were gathered October 1981. Gede was
the predawn hours of a Sunday in late
Gede,"
forth in the center of the crowd. "Papa
with us, holding
his attention. Gede drew himsomeone called out, trying to get down his black top hat with
self up, erect and proud, pulled
and stuck out his lower lip in an exaggerated pout.
both hands,
because he is SO
orchestrate. Papa Gede must be excluded
present.
A BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR PAPA GEDE
at Alourdes's home in
About twenty-five of us were gathered October 1981. Gede was
the predawn hours of a Sunday in late
Gede,"
forth in the center of the crowd. "Papa
with us, holding
his attention. Gede drew himsomeone called out, trying to get down his black top hat with
self up, erect and proud, pulled
and stuck out his lower lip in an exaggerated pout.
both hands, --- Page 389 ---
Gede
made for Gede's birthday party. BedfordDevotees gathered before a table
Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, 1978.
Rekonèt Mwen,
Kache Bo Lakwa, Papa'm Te
"Msye Gede, Ti Malis
Gede, Little Mischief Hidden
sil ou ple [Mister
Cock . . . if
Gwo Zozo :
Father Acknowledged Me, Big
I1
Near the Cross, My
don't tremember my name,
please]" he retorted. "If people And with that, he grabbed
you
"Im not going to stay!" look like a huge erect
Gedewhined, stick-the one carved to
Papa Gede, stay!"
his walking headed for the door. "No, no,
rush of words:
penis-and
and said in a
cried. Then she giggled
Maggie
"I mean,
. . - stay!"
his
RCHRRRREET
wheeled around and planted
out the door, Gede
his
to make the
MEEEER
Halfway
on the floor. Spreading roll legs his hips in the
walking stick firmly
Gede began to
other two points of a tripod, call the gouyad. "Little hole, little
lascivious dance step Haitians hole, big hole, big hole." The
little hole," he sang, "Big
smiled. Soon everyhole,
and the women
roomwhistled and hooted,
With the
men
into the simple, energetic song. three little wideone was swept
full voice, Gede took
ful of people singing until the wooden phallus protruded
jumps forward
jumped to a new level,
legged from his crotch, and the song hole, little hole : . . II Just as
directly
beat: "Little hole, little
with a faster
dance step Haitians hole, big hole, big hole." The
little hole," he sang, "Big
smiled. Soon everyhole,
and the women
roomwhistled and hooted,
With the
men
into the simple, energetic song. three little wideone was swept
full voice, Gede took
ful of people singing until the wooden phallus protruded
jumps forward
jumped to a new level,
legged from his crotch, and the song hole, little hole : . . II Just as
directly
beat: "Little hole, little
with a faster --- Page 390 ---
Gede stopped singing. He marched
abruptly as he had started,
his cane smartly
back into the center of the group, snapping at a woman and
under his arm. Then he poked it mischievously
a common
asked her to hold his ZOZO (literally, bone-bone),
Gede
slang term for penis.
lesson, Papa
to begin an important
Like a teacher poised the air. "When a
is little, little,
Gede held his finger up in
hand within girl two feet of the
little, like this"-Gede moved a flat
does she have?" "Ti twou [A little hole]!" people
floor-"what
circle with the thumb and finger of
shouted. Gede made a tight
the first finger of his right in
his left hand and began to push
11 Gede kept the rollickand out ofit. "Titzoou, ti twou, titwou, hands moved together and
ing beat with his plunging finger. His
his hips went
together and apart, and in counterpoint
of his
apart, and round. After seemingly endless repetitions
round
the group by lifting his hand once
childish ditty, Gede stopped
adjusted his hat, and
more. He assumed a serious expression, like this, and like this"-
asked: "When she grows up, like this,
from close to the floor to shoulder heighthe moved his palm
twou!" a dozen voices shouted, and
"what has she got?" "Gwo
off
"Gwo twou, gwo twou, gwo twou, :
we were
again: been late in arriving. Even though the party
Papa Gede had
until the early
was for him, he had delayed his appearance situations that happen
hours. It had been one of those
morning
Alourdes. She seemed tired and disfrom time to time with
songs to "send"
tracted, and she had a hard time remembering friends who often
for the spirits. Her coterie of older women
Madame
the slack for her was not out in force that night.
not
pick up
like Alourdes, she did
François was the only one there, and, of the ceremony had a
seem in the mood. Thus the early part
but nothing
desultory quality. We sang and sang,
struggling,
three times, Alourdes's body shudmuch happened. Two or
libations for
dered, and when she was on her feet pouring
came of
lost her balance, but nothing
Gede, she temporarily
these passes of the lwa.
Gwo Woch-o" (Underneath
Then we started to sing "Anba
Gede, Ti Malis.
the favorite song of her personal
the Big Rock),
evokes a group of Gede conThis lively song with a simple lyric
and crawling
nected with small pesky insects, little creeping
Some
that bite and sting and live in dark, hidden places.
things
and crevices of furniture and woven leaf matinhabit the cracks
when she was on her feet pouring
came of
lost her balance, but nothing
Gede, she temporarily
these passes of the lwa.
Gwo Woch-o" (Underneath
Then we started to sing "Anba
Gede, Ti Malis.
the favorite song of her personal
the Big Rock),
evokes a group of Gede conThis lively song with a simple lyric
and crawling
nected with small pesky insects, little creeping
Some
that bite and sting and live in dark, hidden places.
things
and crevices of furniture and woven leaf matinhabit the cracks --- Page 391 ---
tresses. These tiny living things secreted
vide small but persistent reminders
in lifeless objects proflesh. Defying human efforts
of the vulnerability of the
insinuate themselves
to control our environment,
Others
into our homes, our
they
churn away in the earth just beneath beds, our persons.
changing rock, a layer of life that
the deceptively unGede
wiggling animation when the
can be suddenly revealed in
surface of things, these
"big rock" is moved. Beneath the
communal,
on constructive work
hardworking creatures carry
called destructive
(aerating the soil) as well as what
work (devouring the
might be
dition to Ti Malis, Ti Pis, a
flesh of corpses). In adseats, and Gede
biting insect found in woven chair
"Underneath Nibo, the spider, also fall into this
the Big Rock" always works category.
Alourdes's Ti Malis. But that October
to bring on
and sang and sang, and Gede did
night in 1981, we sang
scended on the small
not come. Depression depossible and I
group. But then, just when it felt most
thought I was about to
imat Alourdes's home when the
witness my first ceremony
arrived. His animation
spirits failed to respond, TiMalis
Alourdes's mood, and his and energy were in stark contrast to
a subtle
spark ignited the crowd. Alourdes is
choreographer of her own moods
as those of a group. Rather than
and energies as well
habit is to sink into them,
resisting negative feelings, her
bound through the other side. plumb their depths, and then retional art form from
She has learned this transformapoint of his
Gede. It is the essence of his
humor, the reason for
message, the
middle of the cemetery and in locating this trickster in the
healing.
the center of the practice of
Toward the end of his visit, Gede asked who in
kominyone
the room had
Communion (communioned), that is, gone
their
in the Catholic church.
through
First
"I communioned," Gede
Almost all hands went
said earnestly.
up.
did that! I did that! I did that!" he
Everyone laughed. "I
"I, Mister Gede Little Mischief
asserted, looking wounded.
did that! And I took the
Hidden Near the Cross, myself, I I
"Oh, did
examination, too!"
you, Papa Gede?" Andre,
"Tell us the story." Gede
Alourdes's nephew, asked.
tioner, and
pulled up a stool in front of the
everyone else gathered around
quesdid the examination," Gede
them. "The priest
elbows on his knees and his face said, leaning forward with his
kindofexamination?"
close to Andre's face. "What
Andreasked. And then Madame Arnold,
, looking wounded.
did that! And I took the
Hidden Near the Cross, myself, I I
"Oh, did
examination, too!"
you, Papa Gede?" Andre,
"Tell us the story." Gede
Alourdes's nephew, asked.
tioner, and
pulled up a stool in front of the
everyone else gathered around
quesdid the examination," Gede
them. "The priest
elbows on his knees and his face said, leaning forward with his
kindofexamination?"
close to Andre's face. "What
Andreasked. And then Madame Arnold, --- Page 392 ---
this routine many times before, interwho had been through
Gede, dear?"
vened: "What questions did he ask you, Papa
M'te
se
M'te reponn se pa bagèt! Li di ZOZO.
reponn
"Li di langèt.
statements and responses,
kouto!" In this series of rhyming
pa
the one with the foul mouth. The priest
Gede
Gede casts the priest as
Gede
"It's not a
and
responded,
said langèt (female genitalia),
and Gede answered,
loaf of bread.' 1! The priest said ZOZO (penis),
than it
knife.' 11 This exchange is more subtle
appears.
"It's not a
of edible things, and, alVaginas are identified with a variety knife, the most common
though the penis is rarely called a
cut).
term for sexual intercourse is to koupe (to
slang
catechetical examination went on
Gede's report of this strange
and snorts from the
only by giggles
for some time, punctuated
Then Gede paused and, with a
group gathered around him. asked: "When we finished, do you
pensive look on his face,
Gede, what did he do?"
know what that priest did?" "No, Papa did a little fart. Not a
"He turned his back and . : : and : : . he
a little
understand what I am saying to you?-just
big one-you
in eagerly, "I know, I know, Papa Gede,
one.". Andre jumped
the sound of a
11 and he bubbled his lips, making
like this .
no!" cried Papa Gede. Then
motor boat starting. "No, no, no,
audible stream of
his lips and let a barely
he delicately pursed "Like that! Just a little one."
air hiss through them.
SEX, DEATH, AND HUMOR
who presides over the realms of sex,
Gede is the Vodou spirit
vary along a
death, and humor. His posesiomperiormanore human life. He eats with his
spectrum that tracks the path of a
infant. Like a twohands and sometimes throws his food like an
and
words. He is horny
year old, he delights in saying naughty
with
horwith women, like a young man
raging faithful
predatory
favorite uncle, he hunkers down with the
mones. Like a
to the most homely of their comand listens with genuine care
child, a car
abscess on the buttocks, a disrespectful
plaints-an
heater. As Baron Samdi (Baron Saturwith a malfunctioning
he arrives as a corpse; his body falls
day), head of all the Gede,
and sadness, the
to the ground, stiff. In a mood of solemnity white cloth, stuff his
surround him, bind his jaw with a
people
with cotton, and powder his face to reproduce
nostrils and ears
Baron Samdi possesses Alourdes,
the pallor of a cadaver. When
with genuine care
child, a car
abscess on the buttocks, a disrespectful
plaints-an
heater. As Baron Samdi (Baron Saturwith a malfunctioning
he arrives as a corpse; his body falls
day), head of all the Gede,
and sadness, the
to the ground, stiff. In a mood of solemnity white cloth, stuff his
surround him, bind his jaw with a
people
with cotton, and powder his face to reproduce
nostrils and ears
Baron Samdi possesses Alourdes,
the pallor of a cadaver. When --- Page 393 ---
which he does
ends
infrequently, the tense
only when time doubles back
psychodrama of death
places Baron and a childish
on itself, when Ti Malis dis361
the corpse. Then, and
giggle escapes from the mouth of
fun begin.
only then, does the tension snap and the
Gede has license to break all the
Gede
that comes out of Gede's
social rules. The
mouth is
language
never use when not possessed
language Alourdes would
a discreet and
by him. Haitians are, in general,
strongly
proper people. Lacking physical
emphasize good manners. Itis, for
privacy, they
sulting to call a person malelve
example, highly inspirit, he would be a prime candidate (badly reared); were Gede not a
all the things that are forbidden
for this insult. He can say
impulses others must
in polite company, act out the
mediately
suppress. When Ti Malis
greets the women with big
arrives, he imfavorites (as well as with the occasional puckering kisses. With his
proper), he presses his pelvis
woman who is a bit too
hips. Gede steals food and
up against them and rolls his
other people's things with money, stuffing his pockets full of
sure to catch the attention exaggerated of
gestures of secretiveness
satirize the powerful and the anyone half-awake. He alone can
away with making fun of Catholic privileged; only Gede could get
Sex, death, and humor: the
priests.
ence of Papa Gede (at birth,
great social levelers. In the presare all stripped down to
making love, and in our coffins), we
our basic
Alourdes to a Gede feast at the humanity. Once, I went with
manbo in training.
home of one of her protégés, a
and he
Alourdes's Ti Malis arrived to
was still there when it was time for
entertain us,
saying good-bye, Papa Gede
me to leave. AsIwas
him two weeks hence. He
reminded me of another party for
swered and then added wanted me to come. "Ill come,"Iancould
a polite question: "Is there
bring?" All the way across a room full
something
met Gede shouted,
of people I had just
Gede
"Bring a clean cunt!"
shows up at virtually
its. He comes late, and he every birthday party for the spirarrive, and his
stays long. He is always the last to
his
gossipy informality, his sexual
penchant for telling satire work
high jinks, and
mood of a Vodou family.
alchemical changes on the
his
After a long night of deep
presence entertains, eases tension, and
spirit work,
arrival in the predawn hours
soothes pain. Gede's
the deep drama of Vodou and facilitates the transition between
New York City. Gede takes
the everyday struggle of life in
people on a journey through their
arrive, and his
stays long. He is always the last to
his
gossipy informality, his sexual
penchant for telling satire work
high jinks, and
mood of a Vodou family.
alchemical changes on the
his
After a long night of deep
presence entertains, eases tension, and
spirit work,
arrival in the predawn hours
soothes pain. Gede's
the deep drama of Vodou and facilitates the transition between
New York City. Gede takes
the everyday struggle of life in
people on a journey through their --- Page 394 ---
them to
selves and, in SO doing, prepares
most out-of-control
world where reserve and control
move back into the ordinary
should not be
must reign. Yet Gede's poricasionpertontances
mistaken for mere entertainment. connection between sexuality
Gede
Gede brings to the surface a
All Vodou rituin Vodou spirituality.
and life energy pervasive
To raise heat, to raise luck, to
als aim to echofe (heat things up).
in the broadest senseraise life energy, to intensify sexuality
The arrival of Gede
these are all more or less the same process.
intense dose
at the end of a Vodou ceremony provides an extra, it and
it,
needed to conquer life, to use
enjoy
of the power
rather than be conquered by it.
the streets of PortDuring late October and early November, of Gede. Gede possesau-Prince are filled with roving bands
and during
than those of the other spirits,
sions are lighter
several days caught up in
Gede season many devotees spend of Gede mill around in groups in
the trickster spirit. The horses
would never do. The
something the other spirits
public arenas,
outfits sare purpleand black,
dominant colors of their outrageous
hats, bowler
have
faces. They wear top
and they
powdered
wear two or three hats at a time,
hats, airplane pilots' hats. They
with one lens missing. (The
and they often put on dark glasses observed. But another perpenis has only one eye, one oungan
because he sees beson said Gede wears these strange glasses
and that is also
tween the worlds of the dead and the living,
Around their necks the Gede hang
why he jokes SO much.)
their hands they carry wooden
pacifiers and baby rattles; in
bands of
phalluses. With a coffin hoisted on their shoulders, the heart of the
Gede stage mock funeral processions through by musicians, accity. Flocks of Gede, sometimes accompanied
and not reWomen are surrounded
cost innocent bystanders. the toll-a kiss on the lips for every
leased until they have paid
talked into
five cents
Gede. Awkward young boys are
spending Barbie doll with
to have a look at the secret in the cigar box-a
real pubic hair.
in a
shed-like templein La SaDuring Gede season in 1980,
big
slums), five hundred
line (arguably the worst of Port-au-Prince's
The
"Zozo, ZOZO, ZOZO, 11 until they were hoarse.
people chanted,
teetered on the edge of riot. Most of
atmosphere of the crowd
than half doing the gouyad
the people were on their feet, more
Gede's rhythm. In a
Banda drumbeat,
to the sexy, energetic
road southwest of Port-au-Prince,
temple in Waney, on the coast
During Gede season in 1980,
big
slums), five hundred
line (arguably the worst of Port-au-Prince's
The
"Zozo, ZOZO, ZOZO, 11 until they were hoarse.
people chanted,
teetered on the edge of riot. Most of
atmosphere of the crowd
than half doing the gouyad
the people were on their feet, more
Gede's rhythm. In a
Banda drumbeat,
to the sexy, energetic
road southwest of Port-au-Prince,
temple in Waney, on the coast --- Page 395 ---
- (e
Gede
()
because he sees into the lands of
glasses with one lens missing devotee. Fort-au-Prince, Haiti,
Gede, who wears and the dead, possesses a female
both the living by Jerry Gordon.
1981. Photograph
called The Inspecmanbo possessed by a Gede
officious and
a slender young
of fifty or so, acting
moved through a crowd
purses, and
tor
the contents of pockets, the coast road, a
insisting on examining a little further down
wallets. In a larger temple
the pretenses of the military.
bunch of Gede mimicked
and organized a dozen
ragtag
himself commander
canes became fireOne appointed
Penis-headed
others into a dress parade. himself is rarely present during
And, although Gede
commenarms.
Carnival season, Gede-style political and almost
Haiti's popular
that has known severe
prevails. In a country Gede's ambiguous, many-layered
tary constant political repression, avenue of protest.
humor is often the only safe
deal of charity from the
has been the recipient of a great humor can provide
Haiti world, but little respect. Gede's In
in a peristil just
outside commentary on this as well. 1980 Gede called Rubber
trenchant Port-au-Prince, a man possessed bya
He donned a
outside
took on the Protestant missionaries. his neck, and
on the Cross
of beads around
In
prim little dress, put a string
in the crook of his elbow.
pocketbook
in the other, a
hung a short-handled
soft-backed Bible;
one hand, he held an open,
a great humor can provide
Haiti world, but little respect. Gede's In
in a peristil just
outside commentary on this as well. 1980 Gede called Rubber
trenchant Port-au-Prince, a man possessed bya
He donned a
outside
took on the Protestant missionaries. his neck, and
on the Cross
of beads around
In
prim little dress, put a string
in the crook of his elbow.
pocketbook
in the other, a
hung a short-handled
soft-backed Bible;
one hand, he held an open, --- Page 396 ---
drone and with great earpornographic picture. In a singsong
nestness, Gede led the group in a hymn:
O Lord, if you free me,
Gede
If it is you who sets me on my feet,
Ordain the angels in the sky,
To hold my hand,
So my feet do not stumble,
In the middle of the big rock. .
the Cross winked at the crowd, switched to a syncoRubber on
to transform the last line: "In the
pated rhythm, and began In the middle of all the coconuts
middle of the big rock. .
I1 The
of all the whores. .
perfor-
[vaginas). : . In the middle
with one
dissolved into chaos as young men competed
mance another to shout out new endings for the hymn.
THE DEAD RETURN
of the dead are a far cry from the spirits of
These raucous spirits
to
of hunger and neancestors who return
complain
specific
their
in the countryside. In many
glect and to advise
progeny few large, intact urban families,
areasin ruralHaiti, and evenina
individual ancestors return through Posscsion-perfomance family,
she was not safely lodged in such a large
Although
mother, used to be possessed by her anPhilo, Alourdes's
Marie Noelsine Joseph, appeared frecestors. Her own mother,
rarely. Alourdes, howquently; her father, Alphonse Macena,
does not consult the ancestors in this way.
ever,
other means. There
Alourdes's family dead are accessible by
regularly in Alourdes's
are dreams; Philo, for example, appears
through
dreams. And the dead can also be ritually approached tomb is
Alourdes says that visiting her mother's
their graves.
she does on her visits to Haiti. Petithe most important thing
are believed to be especially
tionary prayers said in the cemetery in Haiti in 1980, Alourdes
effective. On the first day we were
in Portto her mother's tombin the main cemetery
went directly
she hired had completed their
au-Prince. When the prètsavann
had swept
French and Latin prayers and the cemetery guardian bottle of clear
Alourdes took a
around the tomb as instructed,
also be ritually approached tomb is
Alourdes says that visiting her mother's
their graves.
she does on her visits to Haiti. Petithe most important thing
are believed to be especially
tionary prayers said in the cemetery in Haiti in 1980, Alourdes
effective. On the first day we were
in Portto her mother's tombin the main cemetery
went directly
she hired had completed their
au-Prince. When the prètsavann
had swept
French and Latin prayers and the cemetery guardian bottle of clear
Alourdes took a
around the tomb as instructed, --- Page 397 ---
water and poured it around the perimeter of the
knocked four times on her mother's
tomb. Then she
Alourdes. Mama. Philo! Mama!"
grave: "Mama, it is me,
spectful distance as Alourdes The others withdrew to a renews and mumbled her
told her mother all the family
earnest
The dead also return in other requests.
Gede
the spirits in life can come back in ways. the An ancestor who served
Understanding this makes it
form of his or her mêt tèt.
an unusual event that occurred easier to grasp the significance of
parties.
at one of Alourdes's New Year's
Maggie and Alourdes
ner. By the time I arrived stage that an annual New Year's Day dining. Alourdes and
day in 1981, the house was
of
Maggie are happiest in the midst
jumpguests, for this is noisy proof of their
of a hubbub
munity around them. Gregarious
power to pull the comhospitality peak in the midst of good humor and expansive
entered without
chaos, when no room can be
dislodging two Or three
way and when each trip in or out ofthe persons from the doorone mock-angry exchange. This
kitchen requires at least
"Come on, Big
one was initiated by
Daddy, what you doin'
Maggie:
like some kind'a bum? What kind'a standin' there drinkin'
Move your butt out'a
place you think this is?
a brimming
my way, this plate is heavy." She lifted
through,
platter of spicy, roasted turkey bits and walked
to
swinging her hips in such a wide arc that she
bump into people on both sides. Alourdes
managed
something like that, but there is
would never do
Maggie!
always a little Gede at work in
When the copious meal was at last on the
without calling attention to herself,
tables, Maggie,
functory ritual. She fixed a plate of began a small and perand a bowl of
left
turkey with rice and beans
Then she
soup
over from their New Year's Eve
gestured with her head for me to follow.
dinner.
placed the food before the Legba shrine
Together, we
door. Even at non-Vodou
near the basement
Then the
events, the spirits are not
party began in earnest. Glasses
forgotten.
and Asti Spumanti
of pink
were offered to the
champagne
members and friends gathered that
twenty or SO family
by talk, laughter, kids
day. We were surrounded
Maggie, in high glow, screaming and haggling at our knees.
yelled, "Okay,
Shut up!" Shyly, her brother
everybody, quiet! Shut up!
lifted his glass and
Jean-Pierre, the family spokesman,
"Yes!"
began a toast: "This is an annual
Alourdes broke in before he finished
eventone sentence.
forgotten.
and Asti Spumanti
of pink
were offered to the
champagne
members and friends gathered that
twenty or SO family
by talk, laughter, kids
day. We were surrounded
Maggie, in high glow, screaming and haggling at our knees.
yelled, "Okay,
Shut up!" Shyly, her brother
everybody, quiet! Shut up!
lifted his glass and
Jean-Pierre, the family spokesman,
"Yes!"
began a toast: "This is an annual
Alourdes broke in before he finished
eventone sentence. --- Page 398 ---
mother ask me to do that.
"Every year we do that 'cause my want that. Every year we
come, and he say my mother
Agèou
first, invite everybody. . .
make a big party, January "This is a very important party : . . the
Jean-Pierre continued:
we have every year on January
Gede
family all together : . . which
lots of
and
first. And we hope everybody, er : : .
met happiness with cheers.
in the coming year!" His words were
prosperity
to
She singled out several people
It was Maggie's turn speak. Gertrude LeGrand, their longincluding
for special recognition, other mother! Everybody here know
time family friend. "My
here!" Next, Maggie raised
other mother? Here she is, right
boistermy
and to a friend I had introduced to this
her glass to me
who have become such good
ous family: "To my two sister,
stopped, and,
friends!" Then Maggie started to say something,
it.
went on: "Oh, well, I can say Everyafter a dramatic pause,
body here is family."
the altar room door. "To all those
She raised her glass toward
and Metrès Ezili,
spirit in there: Kouzen Zaka, and Papa Ogou, I1
much
luck this year. . . Everyone began
who bring us SO
good Alourdes cried, "And Papa Gede!
to chime in their favorites.
"And Papa Danbala."
Gede!" And I added,
Don't forgot Papa
recently arrived from Haiti,
Poupette, a playful young woman
Danbalal" Poupette,
both echoed: "And Papa
and Big Daddy
of the moment, executed a mock ritcarried away by the mood
were possessed, she
ual salutation. Acting as if Big Daddy
in front of
twirled, fell on her knees, and kissed the ground "Don't do
half-seriously, Big Daddy said,
him. Half-playfully,
moment Agéou arrived.
that!" And at that very
shoulder, beneath the clatter of
From somewhere over my left
Frank, Alourdes's
voices, I heard a strange, haunting sound.
that day,
and the oldest member of the family present
brother
strained and urgent voice. The song was well
was singing in a
of
the head spirit of
known in this house- the song
Ageou,
Grandmother
deceased mother, Ti Gran Philo (Little
Alourdes's
which has a wonderful
Philo). Many took up the Creole song,
lilting melody.
Agéou, ou o!
Agèou, ou hantor!
Agéou, ou nèg Dahomey.
des's
voices, I heard a strange, haunting sound.
that day,
and the oldest member of the family present
brother
strained and urgent voice. The song was well
was singing in a
of
the head spirit of
known in this house- the song
Ageou,
Grandmother
deceased mother, Ti Gran Philo (Little
Alourdes's
which has a wonderful
Philo). Many took up the Creole song,
lilting melody.
Agéou, ou o!
Agèou, ou hantor!
Agéou, ou nèg Dahomey. --- Page 399 ---
Ou mande charite.
Ou fè di-set an,
Tape manje youn sèl zepi de mayi.
Agèou, you, oh!
Gede
Agèou, you liar!
Agèou, you Dahomey man.
You beg for alms.
You spent seventeen years,
Eating only one ear of corn,
The mood of the crowd shifted with the
Frank's wrinkled old head. The
arrival of Agéou in
the
noise level was just as
people just as excited, but we were
high, and
gether by the song. We were welded suddenly brought tothat sang its way up through the three into one powerful voice
small Brooklyn row house and
stories of Alourdes's
After the song died
beyond into the dark winter sky.
first to Alourdes, then away, Agèou offered the ritual handshake
bers: his
to Maggie, then to the other
right hand to their right, his left
family memwith the weight of the lwa
to their left. Then,
Alourdes, Ageou
making his body lean heavily on
embrace cheek wrapped his arms around her and
to cheek, first on one side and
offered an
When Agéou had greeted all the
then the other.
family in this manner, he turned members of the immediate
tended his hand.
to the others present and exA bottle of rum appeared from the altar
took a long drink, Big Daddy moved
room. While Agèou
turning steps Poupette had mimicked through the dipping and
mal salutation used to honor
a short time before, a forthe priestly hierarchies.
the spirits as well as superiors in
Not until Big Daddy executed
moves, prostrating to kiss the ground in
the final
notice how moved he
front oft the spirit, did I
murmured:
was. There were tears in his
"You see, Philo has come.' 11
eyes. People
that's her Agèou. 11 Frank, with
"Alourdes's mama,
to the altar room, and
Agéou still in his head, was led
Alourdes's
we all moved hungrily toward the
brother soon emerged, back to his old
food.
down to an enormous plate of food.
self, and sat
Agéou's appearance at this family event was SO welcome be-
moved he
front oft the spirit, did I
murmured:
was. There were tears in his
"You see, Philo has come.' 11
eyes. People
that's her Agèou. 11 Frank, with
"Alourdes's mama,
to the altar room, and
Agéou still in his head, was led
Alourdes's
we all moved hungrily toward the
brother soon emerged, back to his old
food.
down to an enormous plate of food.
self, and sat
Agéou's appearance at this family event was SO welcome be- --- Page 400 ---
In one sense, it was an appearance
cause it was SO appropriate.
being visited by Agéou is
of Philo herself. Yet, for Alourdes,
Philo. When Agéou
not the same thing as being visited by
the
like the other lwva, he can be summoned by
is needed,
ason. But Philo has slipped further away.
Gede
sound of the manbo's
Philo once summoned her
Alourdes cannot summon her as
the most direct conMarie Noelsine. Dreams are
own mother,
but they cannot be commanded.
tact left to Alourdes,
Alourdes said.
"Once, long time I don't dream my mother," that!" Alourdes said
"Long time I don't see her. And I don't like
and then one
and prayed for her mother to come,
she prayed
"What's the matter with you?" Philo
night Philo appeared.
I'm
Your sister sick. I got to
scolded. "Don't you know
busy?
and allow Philo to
take care of her first. II So Alourdes must wait needed. The loss of
when, where, and how she is
determine
contact with the ancestors
direct, and to some extent controlled,
in which urban
is a major way
through porecoiomperdiemane
communities differ from
Vodou and Vodou in the immigrant
that of the rural extended-family compounds. of
Alourdes combines different senses
family-one
Just as
blood ties, another gathered in by a wider
family defined by
strategies in relation to her annet-so she combines different
heavily on her mother's
cestors. On the one hand, she depends
work, and she
advice in her personal life and in her healing Philo. On the
anxious when she does not dream about
has come
grows
spirit of all the dead,
other hand, Gede, a generalized
that, in former
to take over much of the day-to-day would caretaking be the domain of the
times and still in many rural areas, One New Year's Eve, for exspirits of influential ancestors. but the immediate family, it
ample, with no one in the house
up the
Gede, riding Alourdes, who came tripping
was Papa
at five minutes to twelve to give her
stairs to Maggie's apartment
a good-luck bath.
CEMETERIES
where the land of the living intersects
Gede stands at the point
which is also the crossroads,
the land of the dead. The cross,
And the cemetery,
is the central symbol in his iconography. Vodou because it is the
Gede's home, is a major ritual center in
and direct incarnation of this same crossroads.
most charged
, with no one in the house
up the
Gede, riding Alourdes, who came tripping
was Papa
at five minutes to twelve to give her
stairs to Maggie's apartment
a good-luck bath.
CEMETERIES
where the land of the living intersects
Gede stands at the point
which is also the crossroads,
the land of the dead. The cross,
And the cemetery,
is the central symbol in his iconography. Vodou because it is the
Gede's home, is a major ritual center in
and direct incarnation of this same crossroads.
most charged --- Page 401 ---
In the countryside, cemeteries
family land and contain
are family affairs. They are on
small cult houses maintained family graves. Cemeteries, along with
as the eritay
on a part of the land referred to
(inheritance), are the main places
people serve the Vodou spirits. În the
where country
two paths intersect, the kaa
cemetery, at a point where
Gede
cated. The kwa Baron and the Baron (Baron Samdi's cross) is lomale buried in the
Baron grave (the grave of the first
als. The
cemetery) are focal points for
ground around them is littered
cemetery rituVodou ceremonies: dolls bound
with the remnants of
paper with magical imitations of together, crumpled pieces of
mounds of peanuts sand cassava writing, clumps of candle wax,
Prayers and offerings before bread, chicken feathers, flowers.
in many healing rites in Haiti. the kwa Baron are incorporated
visit to the
For certain serious problems,
cemetery is absolutely
a
when a family is threatened
the ill mandatory. For example,
ily member
by
will of
can go before the kwa Baron and outsiders, any fam-
(a spirit of one of the dead) be sent
request that a mè
nition, this powerful
against their enemy. By defione family member spiritual resource can never be used by
only in the name of against the
another. Baron Samdi takes
family united.
revenge
Urban cemeteries are quite different
still a center for
from rural ones.
ritualizing, the main
Though
is a huge government-owned
cemetery in Port-au-Prince
partments for several
city of the dead. Tombs, with combut the land
coffins, are built and owned
on which these tombs stand
by families,
the rent must be paid
is often rented, and
will be thrown into the regularly or the bones of the ancestors
charnel house.
The kwa Baron in the Port-au-Prince
differently. It is not a point of
cemetery also functions
one's own family dead;
access to the most powerful of
representative
instead, it is the main shrine for
ofall the dead. When I first
Gede,
in the early 1970S, a large cement
started going to Haiti
the Catholic church to mark
cross that had been erected by
served for the burial of
the section of the cemetery rekava Baron. Needless priests and nuns was being used as the
to say, the church was not
poor people gathered at this cross
pleased to see
to Baron Samdi and leaving behind whispering urgent messages
several occasions, church
small offerings for him. On
but the
officials put fences around this
people scaled each new barrier and
cross,
them all down.
eventually broke
ished the
Finally, just a few years ago, the church
putative kwa Baron. These days, another
demollarge cross, --- Page 402 ---
Gede
The kaa Baron in the Fort-au-Princed
cemetery, 1980. Photograph by Judith
Gleason.
at some distance from
over the function of
the church's burial
In the
the kava Baron.
ground, has taken
Port-au-Prince
and the modern world cemetery, a tug of war between
with the Catholic
goes on on several
Vodou
fication
church
levels, the
of this
representing only one. The
dispute
cemetery, for
class stratiexample, is a condensed
form of
Gede
The kaa Baron in the Fort-au-Princed
cemetery, 1980. Photograph by Judith
Gleason.
at some distance from
over the function of
the church's burial
In the
the kava Baron.
ground, has taken
Port-au-Prince
and the modern world cemetery, a tug of war between
with the Catholic
goes on on several
Vodou
fication
church
levels, the
of this
representing only one. The
dispute
cemetery, for
class stratiexample, is a condensed
form of --- Page 403 ---
a much more pervasive conflict for urban
streets, paved only in
Haitians. Narrow
upon row of aboveground prosperous sections, run between row
houses. The kavo of elite tombs designed to look like small
families have
and arched windows. Some
porches, interior altars,
by elaborate
are covered in tile and surrounded
Gede
wrought-iron fences. Most of the
are densely packed cinderblock
graves, however,
colors. These have the look
constructions, painted in pastel
ban cemetery reiterates the oflow-income housing. Thus the urthrown together within
city itself; all kinds of people are
is
its boundaries. Baron Samdi's
help no longer available. If we take the
partisan
tery as a measure, then the answer to the Port-au-Prince cemetion, Who are my people? has become elusive all-important quesIn this regard, the most serious issue
indeed.
of cemetery land. The urban
concerns the ownership
Their
poor are, by definition,
inability to purchase a cemetery
in the
landless.
dant of their general condition. The plot
city is redunis a great number, cannot
poorest of them, and that
dead end up in the charnel even rent one. Many of their family
the cemetery. On
house, which sits off to one side in
around this
any given day, crowds of the poor gather
who lie
structure, trying to make contact with
buried in a great anonymous heap of bones. ancestors
Loss of land splits the tripartite root of Vodou:
the land, and the spirits. Even in Alourdes's
the ancestors,
the system are endangered, because
case, the roots of
rest, at the
the bones of her ancestors
pleasure of the landlord, on rented land. To
degree, maintaining her generational line
some
payment of rent on an eight-by-ten-foot depends on timely
au-Prince, a hallowed spot she
cemetery plot in Portor two. In spite of this, Alourdes manages to visit only every year
wants to be returned to Haiti
says that when she dies she
to rest next to her mother. Not
surprisingly, Maggie has different ideas. She
wants to be cremated and have her ashes recently said she
ocean.
scattered over the
Gede, a portable spirit of the collective dead, is
Haitians in New York. He eases the
important to
and feelings of guilt, emotions that often immigrant's sense of loss
the family land, and
attach themselves to
particularly to the ancestral
hind on that land. Although
graves left befocusing on him does
meaning of relating to the dead, Gede nevertheless change the
the sense that the dead are involved in
preserves
Gede not only is helpful in
ongoing human life.
dealing with ancestral links; he
she
ocean.
scattered over the
Gede, a portable spirit of the collective dead, is
Haitians in New York. He eases the
important to
and feelings of guilt, emotions that often immigrant's sense of loss
the family land, and
attach themselves to
particularly to the ancestral
hind on that land. Although
graves left befocusing on him does
meaning of relating to the dead, Gede nevertheless change the
the sense that the dead are involved in
preserves
Gede not only is helpful in
ongoing human life.
dealing with ancestral links; he --- Page 404 ---
families
in other ways. In addition to
also keeps the
together death, and humor, Papa Gede
presiding over the realms of sex,
of small
series of obvious connections, also the protector
is, by a
children.
Gede
"YOU CANT DO NOTHING WITHOUT THE CHILDREN"
to
birth to her daughter, Betty,
When Maggie was about
give
suddenly beAlourdes, who was with herin the delivery room,
the cotton
to talk in Gede's nasal twang, a twang caused by I1
gan
of
"Bonswa, Moo-garet, he said.
stuffed in the nostrils corpses.
"Those docabout it afterward:
Maggie and Alourdes laughed
there." Gede had anxiously
tor never even know Papa Gede child from the beginning.
watched the development of this
he called
Each time the spirit appeared during the pregnancy, back, stroked
for Maggie. He lifted her shirt, rubbed her aching
taut
and blew a fine mist of rum over its
her expanding belly,
Maggie turned to me and
skin. After one such ministration, Mommie
to those natural
whispered: "You see? That's why
go
not
childbirth classes with me. I want her to be my partner,
father]. I want her SO Papa Gede can come.
Henri [the baby's
I want him to be my partner, SO he can help me."
children/ 11
once said, "you can't do nothing
"The
Maggie Children are the center of home life,
without the children."
is also crucial in certain
Gede's domain, and their presence
in her dream, swore a
Vodou rituals. For example, after would Maggie, take the ason, she held a
solemn oath to Danbala that she
that, when time
small pwomès (a promise) to assure the spirits
she would fulfill this commitment.
and resources permitted,
ritual known as a manje Marasa (a
The form of the pwvomès was a
In this ritual, the
meal for the Marasa, the twin spirit children).
others from
children of Maggie and Alourdes, as well as some twins. All the
the extended family, were stand-ins for the sacred
the floor
children sat together on a cloth Maggie had spread on
chilof the altar room. She laid before them all the foods Haitian the
were instructed to eat with their hands,
dren love. They
At the end of the meal, Maggie
child's mode of consumption.
fingers on
stood in the center, and all the children wiped greasy
of the
the
did at Alourdes's ritual feeding
her, just as
beggars
the special blessing that,
poor in Haiti. With this act, they gave
the extended family, were stand-ins for the sacred
the floor
children sat together on a cloth Maggie had spread on
chilof the altar room. She laid before them all the foods Haitian the
were instructed to eat with their hands,
dren love. They
At the end of the meal, Maggie
child's mode of consumption.
fingers on
stood in the center, and all the children wiped greasy
of the
the
did at Alourdes's ritual feeding
her, just as
beggars
the special blessing that,
poor in Haiti. With this act, they gave --- Page 405 ---
in Vodou, can be given only by the
and the poor. At the same time, socially vulnerable children
acceptance of Maggie's
they acknowledged the spirits'
promise.
Children are also a part of Vodou in less
matter how late the hour or how
formal ways. No
are included in the
long the event, children
Gede
ritualizing. No matter how
guage of the spirits or how
risqué the lanperformance, children
potentially volatile the
are witnesses. By
possessionto know the difference between
age two, Betty seemed
to Papa Gede.
talking to Alourdes and
Through interaction with the
talking
sorb the social world and learn
spirits, children abact with its various
to distinguish among and intertypes, an education they
at
young age. In Haiti, sleeping infants ride
begin a very
dancing mothers. In New York,
on the hips of their
in the room where rituals
drowsy children are put to bed
children
are going on. As the
are roused to greet them and be blessed spirits arrive,
member seeing Ti Malis handle
by them. Ireof a mother!) when she
Betty (with the practiced hands
Haitian
was no more than two months old.
women have a rough, loving,
dealing with infants.
good-humored way of
first, that
They seem to work from two
children are not fragile; and,
assumptions:
not get out of hand. A crying child is second, that things will
the same time, firmly held. Mothers roughly jounced and, at
tention, and a lack of tolerance for communicate security, atto work.
crying all at once. It seems
As children become less
With older
dependent, the strategy
children, a great deal of affection is
changes.
there is also an occasional bit of emotional expressed, but
watched this process most closely in
jouncing. I have
her two children.
Maggie's relationship with
Betty once came prancing into the
ing adorable: white knee socks,
room lookhair ribbons. "Get
from organdy dress, multicolored
away
me!"
You too ugly. I don't want to see Maggie 11
cried. "You ugly!
me wince until the day when
you. These moments made
her hips and said
Betty, age five, put her hands on
made
calmly but firmly: "Iam not.
not
me remember the time,
Iam
ugly."It
done something similar
years earlier, when Maggie had
with Michael and then grinned at
saying, "Lifeis hard. You got to make them tough!"
me,
Maggie's child-rearing strategy is the belief that Intrinsic to
child off-balance
if you push a
occasionally, that child will learn
inner balance Alourdes calls "confidence
to locate the
in yourself.' "
and said
Betty, age five, put her hands on
made
calmly but firmly: "Iam not.
not
me remember the time,
Iam
ugly."It
done something similar
years earlier, when Maggie had
with Michael and then grinned at
saying, "Lifeis hard. You got to make them tough!"
me,
Maggie's child-rearing strategy is the belief that Intrinsic to
child off-balance
if you push a
occasionally, that child will learn
inner balance Alourdes calls "confidence
to locate the
in yourself.' " --- Page 406 ---
is at work in Vodou ritualizing. Vodou
A similar dynamic
The resulting
drumming is both polyrhythmic and polymetric. drums used in most
clash of rhythms and meters from the three
maintain yet
ceremonies in Haiti demands that the dancer
large
her
a beat that integrates those of
Gede
another beat with his or
feet,
initiation, Vodou rituthe drums." As I learned from my own
them to find in themselves
alizing also pushes at people, forcing of conflict. In child-rearing
of staying steady in the midst
a way
seems to be at work: both
and in ritualizing, the same principle
balance.
aimed at creating a flexible centeredness, a dynamic
are
BALANCE: GEDE'S ART FORM
Creole, to balanse (balance) means to weigh choices.
In ordinary
her
for her day off, Maggie might reWhen asked about
plans
to the movies and
spond that she is "balancing between" going
In Vodou, the term has a more specific
doing her laundry.
ritual objects from side to
meaning: to balanse means to swing
and around.
side or to hold them as you turn yourself around
"heats up, I1 or enlivens, the object.
Such balancing both these senses is an active, not a static, state
Balancing in both it refers to a situation of conflict. (The sideofl being; and in
kinesthetic rendition of conto-side swinging motion is Vodou's
between the two
flict.) But there is one significant difference refers to being
usages. In ordinary speech, balancing merely
of Vodou,
caught in a dilemma not yet resolved. In the language other to
involves using forces that contradict each
balancing
raise life energy.
Haitian artist and Vodou priest,
Andre Pierre, a well-known
We were discussonce used the word balanse in a revealing way. known. Andre
the recent death of someone we both had
ing
excellent discussion of the dynamic relation between drummers and
'For an African context, see John Miller Chernoff, African Rhythm and African
dancers in the
and Social Action in African Musical Idioms (Chicago: University of
Sensibility: Aesthetics
For further discussion of the relation between musiChicago Press, 1979), 48-49. within Haitian Vodou, see Karen McCarthy Brown,
cal structure and morality Moral
in Haitian Vodou," in Saints and Vir-
"Alourdes: A Case Study of
Leadership and Los Angeles: University of California
tues, ed.) John Stratton Hawley (Berkeley
Press, 1987), 144-67.
Rhythm and African
dancers in the
and Social Action in African Musical Idioms (Chicago: University of
Sensibility: Aesthetics
For further discussion of the relation between musiChicago Press, 1979), 48-49. within Haitian Vodou, see Karen McCarthy Brown,
cal structure and morality Moral
in Haitian Vodou," in Saints and Vir-
"Alourdes: A Case Study of
Leadership and Los Angeles: University of California
tues, ed.) John Stratton Hawley (Berkeley
Press, 1987), 144-67. --- Page 407 ---
Pierre commented, "Baron Samdi te rive la
there].' 11 And then he paused and
(Baron Samdi came
sa [He balanced that
grinned, "Ah! Li te balanse kay
his
house]!" Andre Pierre loves to teach
religion, and he does SO in typical Vodou
about
images. His macabre humor that day
style, in compact
into the face of death (Is there
suggested that a close look
Gede
can actually raise our life
any larger affront to the living?)
plain why the spirit of death energy. is This point of view helps to exthe one who lives with
such a randy character and why
Most Haitians
corpses also dotes on small children.
do not have the luxury of choosing to avoid
confronting death. That Vodou deals SO
with death is no doubt related to this fact. directly and frequently
diseases that were
Haiti is ravaged by
cieties. The
conquered long ago in industrialized SOaverage life expectancy is
infant mortality rate
alarmingly low, and the
half the
alarmingly high; in some parts of
children die before their first
Haiti,
most people live in the countryside, where birthday. Furthermore,
parlors. The people themselves
there are no funeral
family members and
handle the bodies of deceased
mouri
prepare them for burial. "Moun
(People are born to die], 11 Haitians
fêt pou
proverb, they
say. With this familiar
they
acknowledge the inevitability of death, much as
acknowledge the unpredictability of their lives
refuse to make any plans without
when they
Dye vle [If God wills]." Yet those who adding the disclaimer, "Si
without defenses in the face of death. serve the spirits are not
whole, a
Haitians are not, on the
depressed or morose people. Gede's
is
antidote.
humor their
Ionce learned an important lesson about Papa Gede's comic
sensibility. Early on, when I was still
Alourdes's Vodou parties, I risked
feeling my way at
your hat," I said. "Do
like
joking with Ti Malis. "I like
you
my zozo?" he asked,
one laughed. "I don't know
and everylaughed
your 20zO," I responded. People
again. "Oh, yes, you know it," said Gede.
know any man's ZOzO, you know my zozo!" More
"If you
Papa Gede,' " I said, feigning great
laughter. "Oh,
not know. I am a virgin. 11 This time earnestness, maybe you did
simply looked confused.
no one laughed, and Gede
pered in
Then someone leaned over and whismy ear, "You know, Papa Gede does not lie."
humor denies no reality; he is funny
Gede's
tells the truth. He is powerful because he precisely because he
works an alchemical
.
know any man's ZOzO, you know my zozo!" More
"If you
Papa Gede,' " I said, feigning great
laughter. "Oh,
not know. I am a virgin. 11 This time earnestness, maybe you did
simply looked confused.
no one laughed, and Gede
pered in
Then someone leaned over and whismy ear, "You know, Papa Gede does not lie."
humor denies no reality; he is funny
Gede's
tells the truth. He is powerful because he precisely because he
works an alchemical --- Page 408 ---
change, not on the facts of life, but on our attitude toward
them. Thus the mischievous laugh of Ti Malis emerges
from the mouth of the Baron Samdi corpse. 5
directly
Gede's humor is an
Gede
important survival strategy both in Haiti
and in New York, because his powerful truth-telling relativizes
the suffering and the vexation of daily life by balancing them
against issues of greater weight. I have seen the quick transition
between moods that marks Gede's comic sensibility hundreds
of timesin the marketplace, on thes streets, and in homes. A tense
situation is flipped on its back by a sudden laugh, a
a
or bit of clowning. This kind of humor is
quick joke,
never gratuitous,
cruel, or untruthful, and it tends to work best when the stakes
are high. "Some people got Ogou, 11 said Alourdes. "Some
Papa Danbala
not everybody. But everybody
Gede. got
Everybody!" Everyone has Gede because death is a part got of
human life.
every
GEDE TAKES ON NEW YORK
Gede's importance in immigrant communities such as New
York's is based on several character traits. Chief
are
his flexibility and his fearlessness. Gede
among them
can guide people in
adapting to almost anything, and he does not cower or
back from the constant change of modern life. On the
pull
Gede, like a sponge, absorbs whatever is new on the contrary, social
horizon.
Like all the lwa, Gede is both one and many; but his ranks are
more populous than those of other spirits, and
and
they grow more
rapidly
more casually. New Gede persona appear
year around All Souls' Day. These new Gede are born at every the
forefront of social change, spawned by new
occupations, new
technologies, new social groups. There is a Gede who is a dentist, and one who is an auto mechanic; and now there
Protestant
is even a
missionary.
SThe frequency and honesty with which Vodou deals with death and
probably one reason people in the United States tend to caricature Vodou sex is
gion preoccupied with sex, evil, magic, and malice. In American
as a relihard to suppress ourl knowledge of our own mortality, as we do culture, we work
ality, and we are deeply threatened by anything that challenges to these control our sexuapproaches.
groups. There is a Gede who is a dentist, and one who is an auto mechanic; and now there
Protestant
is even a
missionary.
SThe frequency and honesty with which Vodou deals with death and
probably one reason people in the United States tend to caricature Vodou sex is
gion preoccupied with sex, evil, magic, and malice. In American
as a relihard to suppress ourl knowledge of our own mortality, as we do culture, we work
ality, and we are deeply threatened by anything that challenges to these control our sexuapproaches. --- Page 409 ---
Whereas spirits such as Danbala work as
vative forces in Vodou, pulling individuals powerful conseralties and traditional forms of
back to ancient loy377
these forces by
acting them out, Gede balances
modeling flexibility in the face of
giving permission to be creative, even
change. By
the world, he eases situations
playful, in adapting to
Gede
might otherwise lead to
in immigrant communities that
spiritual crisis. One such
cerns Vodou's deep ties to the earth, ties that situation conmaintained in New York.
cannot be easily
Some of the slaves who were brought to
from Africa, although able to
Saint Domingue
small sacks of earth. By
carry away nothing else, brought
holding onto a bit of the
hoped to keep some contact, however
homeland, they
cestors and spirits who sustained
tenuous, with the anYork, where many of the descendants their lives. In greater New
immigrants have lost contact
of these slaves now live,
the Haitian
not only with both the African and
homelands but also with the earth itself.
on concrete streets and sidewalks
They walk
labyrinth of subways,
covering an underground
high-rise
sewers, and water pipes. They live in
apartment buildings and row houses with
wooden floors covered in
concrete Or
New York
carpet or linoleum. When Haitians in
pour libations for the spirits, their
on hard, unreceptive surfaces. This
offerings spill out
has cosmological
problem of ritual logistics
implications. In New York, itis
tinue believing that "from
difficult to conhear," when
up here to down there, in Ginen
Ginen has become SO palpably inaccessible. they
spirit of Papa Gede, Haitian
In the
ing this shift in the cosmos. immigrants are currently negotiatOne manbo in
seventh floor Bedford-Stuyvesant who lives on the
of a low-income housing
thirtypail filled to the top with earth
to her project, carts a garbage
tions are poured there. Alourdes up
apartment, and all libaWhen I asked her about the
handles this in another way.
differences between
spirits in Haiti and in New York, the
serving the
the first thing that came to her mind: "In problem of libations was
yard, and you pour the rum on the earth for Haiti, the you got this big
you pour it on the floor, and you have to be careful spirit. But here,
pour too much." In everyday ritualizing,
to don't
nomical libations
Alourdes pours ecodirectly on her linoleum floor, where
eventually evaporate.Forl large ceremonies involving
they
tions, she places a basin in front of her altars to collect many the libarum,
the
serving the
the first thing that came to her mind: "In problem of libations was
yard, and you pour the rum on the earth for Haiti, the you got this big
you pour it on the floor, and you have to be careful spirit. But here,
pour too much." In everyday ritualizing,
to don't
nomical libations
Alourdes pours ecodirectly on her linoleum floor, where
eventually evaporate.Forl large ceremonies involving
they
tions, she places a basin in front of her altars to collect many the libarum, --- Page 410 ---
offered to the lwa. At the end of the cerewater, and perfume
into a ritual bath. Per378
mony, this mixture is often transformed that human skin can
haps it is because all persons have Gede libations that once
now absorb libations for ancestral spirits,
the bones of
earth holding
Gede
had to be poured out on the thirsty
those ancestors.
much in process.
Such cosmological shifts are still very
York
Alourdes continues to refuse to initiate peoplein New
prebecause she feels these important ceremonies demand
cisely with the Haitian soil. And yet she does perform certain
contact
in touch with the earth.
rituals in New York that require getting
to Gran Bwa
it is necessary to make a trip
For some rituals,
and also of the forest
(Great Woods), the name of a Vodou spirit
in Haiti has its own wooded patch
itself. Each neighborhood Bwa for the
of that area. In
that serves as the Gran
people
Alourdes's Brooklyn, Gran Bwa is Prospect Park.
For
Other rituals require trips to cemeteries and crossroads. in the
Alourdes, who has no family members buried
the former,
cemetery in Brooklyn, beUnited States, prefers a small Jewish
And if the
cause it has walls around it to provide some privacy.
be
is that the remnants of a healing ceremony
only requirement it is relatively easy to toss a plastic bag over
left in the cemetery,
risk entering the grounds themthe wall without having to
even
selves. Almost any crossroads will do for ritual purposes, and
one. But no crossroadsin Brooklyn is truly private,
a paved
clients have therefore become adept at unobAlourdes and her
at the corner of Nostrand and
trusively scattering seven pennies dropping a bag with the leftChurch avenues or surreptitiously bath (an extreme form of a badovers from an expeditionary of the
intersections on Emluck bath) in the gutter at one
busy
pire Boulevard.
is also
to Haitians in New
Gede's talent for hiding
important is "Hidden Near the
York. (Recall that Alourdes's Ti Malis
lives. GeneraCross.") By habit, Haitians live inconspicuous them the need
tions of political oppression in Haiti have taught
of Vodou.
for this. Secrecy has alsol long been part of the practice
deal of discretion was surely required during the days
A great
since then both the Haitian government and the
of slavery, and
Vodou. During
Catholic church have intermittently opposed
several periods of religious repression in Haitian history, some- 1I
by violent "anti-superstition campaigns,
times accompanied
Vodou was forced underground.
GeneraCross.") By habit, Haitians live inconspicuous them the need
tions of political oppression in Haiti have taught
of Vodou.
for this. Secrecy has alsol long been part of the practice
deal of discretion was surely required during the days
A great
since then both the Haitian government and the
of slavery, and
Vodou. During
Catholic church have intermittently opposed
several periods of religious repression in Haitian history, some- 1I
by violent "anti-superstition campaigns,
times accompanied
Vodou was forced underground. --- Page 411 ---
In New York, where prejudice against Haitians
rampant, these habits of
and Vodou is
secrecy about religion are
Maintaining two discrete worlds side by side is
reinforced.
dren must learn. When Kumar,
a skill even chilten years old, he asked ifI
Alourdes's youngest, was about
Papa Gede had said with thought he could discuss something
Gede
"Oh
the priest at the local Catholic church.
Ireplied, "I don't think so. 11
down with glee. "I knew I shouldn't!" Kumarj jumped up and
out already!"
he cried. "I figured that
Alourdes and Maggie, like most others
in New York, keep their
who serve the spirits
larger world.
connections to Vodou hidden from the
the barrier Nevertheless, on stressful or significant
between the worlds is sometimes
occasions,
situations, it is likely to be Papa Gede,
breached. In such
makes an appearance in
traveling incognito, who
tal just as
enemy territory-arriving in the
Maggie gave birth or
hospian
appearing when she was
important exam at school. Papa Gede has
taking
line between the worlds for
even crossed the
would have risked
me. Gede is the only spirit who
making an entrance at
party. I was talking with Alourdes in the midst my housewarming
friends drawn from quite disparate
of a group of
ticed her eyelids begin to flicker and social worlds when I noone hand. Before I knew what
a slight tremor appear in
was
room never did know), Papa Gede happening (the others in the
new home and
was giving his blessing to my
suggesting rituals I could
secure. Gede, whose nature it is to hide perform to make it
making fun of life's
and who delights in
into foreign
contradictions, is the perfect one to venture
territory when his children need him.
Among all the spirits, Gede stands out as the
artist. His adaptability, his skill at
great survival
unfriendly territory, his
hiding and maneuvering in
fun) of the forces that penchant for making sense (by making
a healer, and his role impinge on people's lives, his expertise as
as a mobile, collective
the dead-these characteristics
representative of all
tant spirit for Haitian
make Gedean especially imporAlourdes's mêt
immigrants. No spirit, not even
têt, rides her more frequently than
Ogou,
Papa Gede.
MALE AND FEMALE, SPIRITS AND THE SOCIAL WORLD
Gede and Ogou are the quintessential males of the
world. Ogou's heroism and
Vodou spirit
aggression make him very much
a healer, and his role impinge on people's lives, his expertise as
as a mobile, collective
the dead-these characteristics
representative of all
tant spirit for Haitian
make Gedean especially imporAlourdes's mêt
immigrants. No spirit, not even
têt, rides her more frequently than
Ogou,
Papa Gede.
MALE AND FEMALE, SPIRITS AND THE SOCIAL WORLD
Gede and Ogou are the quintessential males of the
world. Ogou's heroism and
Vodou spirit
aggression make him very much --- Page 412 ---
do his versions of social irresponsibility and selfthe man, as
drunkenness, and lying. But Papa
destructiveness; infidelity,
sexuality, is even more unGede, in his exploration of rapacious and the cemetery rituals
relievedly male. Both the Gede persona
but
Gede
that fall within his domain reflect a somewhat anachronistic like Kouzen
ideology. Papa Gede,
still powerful patriarchal
who is in many respects
Zaka, has a wife. But unlike Kouzinn,
his inferior. Haitians
Azaka's peer, Gede's wife, Brijit, is clearly
female buried in
special attention to the grave of the first
pay
But ritual attention to
every cemetery, calling it the Brijit grave.
of rites intended
Brijit is only a small and perfunctory part
mainly for Baron.
outside the cemetery,
Brijit is not Gede's female counterpart I have never seen her
either. Possessions by her are infrequent;
In other contexts, she comes as an ancient,
ride Alourdes.
talk or walk. Gran Brijit (Grandhobbled woman who can barely
old woman who no
mother Brijit), as she is usually called, is an
has sexual power. Papa Gede's enlivening sexual energy,
longer
humor and telling satire, his childlike disregard
his infectious
in Gran Brijit. Gede's domifor social control have no parallels
when male annation of the realm of the dead reflects a time
in Haitian
as
males, held all the power
cestors, as well
living
families.
the case. Alourdes heads her own
Clearly, this is no longer
the
family and traces her lineage through
multigenerational
From among her many ancestors, she
women in her family.
deceased mother.
chooses to rely mostheavily on thespiritofher in urban Haiti
Many Haitian families, perhaps the majority
communities, no longer fit a patriarchal
and in the immigrant Gede, who is SO flexible in other aspects
model. Why, then, has
of male domiof his character, held on SO firmly to an ideology
roles are SO fundamental that changes
nance? Perhaps gender
than other kinds of social
within them are more threatening
change.
a
to provide a model for
Gran Brijit is too ancillary figure
But an inand independent women such as Alourdes.
strong
recently
in Gede's masculine artriguing chink has
appeared in November 1982, after a
mor. At Papa Gede's birthday party Gede made a brief but tanlong evening with Ti Malis, another
was Gedelia!
in Alourdes's head. Her name
talizing appearance
burst of energy, sexiness, and huShe came in like a powerful --- Page 413 ---
mor. Unfortunately, she did not stay long enough for me to get
to know her well, and I have not seen her since. Not long ago,
however, I saw Gedelia's name written across the front ofa bus
in Haiti. Thus I suspect that Alourdes is not alone in recognizGede
ing the need for her.
Surely a full-blown Gedelia will be more than a Gede who
happens to be female. Women's energy, their sexuality, and
their humor have sources different from men's and are manifested in different ways. What will emerge when the energy of
the indefatigable madansara bird that infuses Kouzinn is wed to
the complex sexuality of Ezili Danto and Ezili Freda, and then
enlivened with the irreverent humor Haitian women use SO well
against men and other power figures in their lives? I anxiously
await Gedelia's emergence from the cocoon of Haitian history
and religion.
a Gede who
happens to be female. Women's energy, their sexuality, and
their humor have sources different from men's and are manifested in different ways. What will emerge when the energy of
the indefatigable madansara bird that infuses Kouzinn is wed to
the complex sexuality of Ezili Danto and Ezili Freda, and then
enlivened with the irreverent humor Haitian women use SO well
against men and other power figures in their lives? I anxiously
await Gedelia's emergence from the cocoon of Haitian history
and religion. --- Page 414 --- --- Page 415 ---
AFTERWORD
"That book - it come in like a bomb. BOOM!"
Recently, Alourdes and I were talking about things that had
changed since we first met in the late 1970S. "Let me tell you,"
she said, "people recognize Vodou a different way now, a better
way. Because Vodou is out there now.
You know, people don't
do Vodou under the table any more.
No." Although I do not
entirely agree with this optimistic assessment of Vodou's public
image, I was flattered when she told me she thought our book
had contributed to these shifts in attitude. "I know the book has
brought changes in your life, too, 11 I observed. "How would you
describe those changes? "That book, 11 Lola shot back, "it come in
like a bomb. BOOM! You know? Lot'a thing change because of that
book!"
I meet more people, important people. I have more respect.
People give me more respect after the book come out, you
know? And, I have to tell you at the same time, there was a
lot'a jealousy. Lot'a jealousy!
They see me in TV... But
people give me more respect and I feel I more important. I'm
important because people need me, and more people come to
me for work, for advice. We talk, you know? Also people see
other side of Vodou, a better side. You know? They don't see
more evil. Very success.
The book's publication and the resulting attention that came
Lola's
marked a sudden and profound shift. Before the book
way
in New York
came out, Lola, like most Vodou practitioners
City,
kept her religious activities discreet. She struggled mightily to
limit knowledge of her connection to Vodou to her Haitian spiri383
important because people need me, and more people come to
me for work, for advice. We talk, you know? Also people see
other side of Vodou, a better side. You know? They don't see
more evil. Very success.
The book's publication and the resulting attention that came
Lola's
marked a sudden and profound shift. Before the book
way
in New York
came out, Lola, like most Vodou practitioners
City,
kept her religious activities discreet. She struggled mightily to
limit knowledge of her connection to Vodou to her Haitian spiri383 --- Page 416 ---
Then the book came out and all of a sudden
tual community.
honored her for the very things
many different kinds of people
she had been working SO hard to hide.
decade after Mama
In this afterword, written almost exactly a
the
the focus is on the many different ways
Afterword Lola was published,
Lola's life-and mine. In other words, I
book began to rewrite
when experiences
want to explore on several levels what happens
narratives are
becomes memories, memories becomes narratives,
text, and text becomes, in one moment, an
a collected to form
distanced from author
N event in the academic world significantly tool used to decipher
and subject, and, in the next, a reflexive
narratives.
experiences, reconfigure memory, and reconstruct
past
of Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn
Since the publication this
at work in my life (see pP. ix-x)
in 1991, I have seen
cycle
Lola.
and, more to the point here, in that of Mama
recConsider the shift in her name. Although Lola is routinely
of those she has initiated, at the time I
ognized as the "mother"
apchose the book title, Mama Lola was a nickname infrequently
did use it, more often than not it was
plied and, when someone
family. Since
one of the small children in her multigenerational
the book came out she has come to be known almost exclusively
as Mama Lola. She now has business
in public, and in private,
Voodoo Priestess. 11 Even
cards identifying herself as "Mama Lola,
"Mama Lola"
now routinely refers to her as
her daughter Maggie
I also made the shift.
and although I resisted at first, eventually
Mama Lola's surname in the book was a pseudoIn addition,
In 1991, there was more than
nym devised to protect her privacy.
with caution.
one reason for her to approach the book project
the
situation in Haiti was precarious
During that period,
political
were not enand even Haitians in Brooklyn, where Lola lives,
violent
struggles. While Lola
tirely safe from Haiti's
material political in the text and I agreed to
asked me not to put political
implications, and
that, her life story has unavoidable political trouble. Lola also
therefore, she feared the book might still cause
of
on the book might bring her to the attention
feared royalties
Service. And she was,justifiably as it turned
the Internal Revenue
in the New York Haitian
out, uneasy about causing jealousy
community.
reluctant in 1991 than she is now to do
Lola was much more
that would make her stand out in the Haitian immigrant
things
stand out as someone connected to
community, and especially,
to put political
implications, and
that, her life story has unavoidable political trouble. Lola also
therefore, she feared the book might still cause
of
on the book might bring her to the attention
feared royalties
Service. And she was,justifiably as it turned
the Internal Revenue
in the New York Haitian
out, uneasy about causing jealousy
community.
reluctant in 1991 than she is now to do
Lola was much more
that would make her stand out in the Haitian immigrant
things
stand out as someone connected to
community, and especially, --- Page 417 ---
Vodou. After Mama Lola's publication, when
visit colleges and universities
we were invited to
interest and
to discuss our book, the
respect we encountered laid her
genuine
tion from the media, for the most
fears to rest. AttenYet, almost as soon
part, has also been
as the book came out, a few
respectful.
Haitian community tried to convince her
people in the
Afterwvord
cause it revealed too much
that it was shaming bethat book is a shame!" Mama about her private life. "They tell me
cussed the specifics of this Lola reported. When she and I disthe "Kouzinn"
charge, she pointed to the section of
chapter that depicted her
to feed her children
resorting to prostitution
told
(164-65). I reminded Lola
me that story for the first time, she
that, when she
that in the book! Women
added: "You got to put
for
got to do all kind'a
a minute, and then shook her
thing." Lola thought
she said, "Iremember)
head in the affirmative. "Yes,"
I say that." A few weeks later
up the topic again. "You know, I'm glad
Lola brought
Maybe now
you put that in my book.
somebody who do the same thing, she
my book and she won't feel SO ashame. 11 This
going to read
realized that Lola had been
was the first time I
Mama Lola and what she
thinking about the positioning of
wanted it to
world.
accomplish in the larger
A decade later, when those early
ing quality of the book
complaints about the shamcame up in
time on analysis or defense. She conversation, Lola wasted no
wards in a dismissive
simply flipped her hand backgesture and said: "They just
steady and demonstrable
jealous." The
success of the book, as
warm reception in the academic
well as our
community,
original sense of the significance of her life stories strengthened her
her to forget the uncertainty that
and caused
cation of Mama Lola: A Vodou attended the writing and publiPriestess in
fears of standing out in her own
Brooklyn. Mama Lola's
attention from
community or drawing negative
governmental agencies have
She now wants her
largely disappeared.
legal name to be known and I
Mama Lola's real name is Marie
will oblige her:
Champagne
Thérèse Alourdes Macena
Lovinski, not Marie Thérèse Alourdes Macena Margaux Kowalski as it still appears in the main text of this book.
Maggie, her daughter, also wants to remove her
last name, the name she took from her
mask. Maggie's
Sanchez, the name by which I refer to her husband, in
is Gomez not
The most significant
the text.
development, marked also by a
name, has occurred in the character
change of
originally called "Betty." In
her:
Champagne
Thérèse Alourdes Macena
Lovinski, not Marie Thérèse Alourdes Macena Margaux Kowalski as it still appears in the main text of this book.
Maggie, her daughter, also wants to remove her
last name, the name she took from her
mask. Maggie's
Sanchez, the name by which I refer to her husband, in
is Gomez not
The most significant
the text.
development, marked also by a
name, has occurred in the character
change of
originally called "Betty." In --- Page 418 ---
the second chapter of Mama Lola, I picture her as "Maggie's
in a pink sunsuit and with a dozen different colored barrettes baby, at
the ends of as many tiny braids" (39) bobbing up and down at
my car window as I parked in front of Mama Lola's Fort Greene
Afterword house. The young woman called "Betty" in the text is actually
Marsha and she will soon be graduating from high school. Just
after greeting the New Year, 2001, I went to see Marsha Champagne compete with other finalists in the Ms. Caribbean USA
contest. Marsha has grown up to be a stunning beauty, with a
great deal more maturity and poise than most
have.
She has also become a serious pupil of the Vodou teenagers
the
healing arts. In
summer of 1999 she went to Haiti with her grandmother,
Mama Lola, and was initiated into Vodou. She is now a manbo, a
priestess of Haitian Vodou. So much of her character as a
adult is revealed in the stories that attend this big change young in
her life.
When Marsha returned from Haiti, she dressed
in white,
as
only
initiates must do. The old-time priests and priestesses in Haiti
require new initiates to wear white for a full year. By contrast,
oungan and manbo of the diaspora, including those who
travel back to Haiti to perform initiation ceremonies, routinely
shorten the period to accommodate U.S. residents who feel usually
need to hide their association with Vodou. Mama Lola
they
these transnational
is one of
manbo, SO as the school year was about to
start, she told her granddaughter she could put away the whites
and start to wear clothing in soft colors. Lola also said that the
sacred beads Marsha acquired during initiation might be replaced by a small circlet of beads that could be pinned discreetly
beneath her clothing. Marsha rejected these ideas and instead,
calmly and without consultation with anyone else in the
went to her high school principal as well as the family's Catholic family,
priest and announced to them both that she would be
white for a while. She explained what the
wearing
how
practice meant and
important the Vodou dimension of her religious life was.
Apparently both principal and priest accepted what they heard
without objection or penalty. Neither Lola nor Maggie would
have dared take that approach. They have been hiding their
Vodou commitments SO routinely and for SO long that
hardly notice when they are doing it. Hearing these stories, they I
asked Maggie how it felt to have such a clear and
daughter. Maggie laughed and said: "Sometimes I look courageous at Mar-
to them both that she would be
white for a while. She explained what the
wearing
how
practice meant and
important the Vodou dimension of her religious life was.
Apparently both principal and priest accepted what they heard
without objection or penalty. Neither Lola nor Maggie would
have dared take that approach. They have been hiding their
Vodou commitments SO routinely and for SO long that
hardly notice when they are doing it. Hearing these stories, they I
asked Maggie how it felt to have such a clear and
daughter. Maggie laughed and said: "Sometimes I look courageous at Mar- --- Page 419 ---
sha and I think she is just my
at her and I think: 'She is
daughter. Then another time I look
herit her grandmother's Superwoman!" 11 Marsha is likely to in387
spiritual practice.
Through most of her life, Lola has had to be
woman, but what was
a kind of Supercantly different from required from her was a strength
that of the comic-book
signifiAfteruord
driven by an inherent
character. Whether
world, by political unrest appetite for a larger and more varied
and violence,
the
or by the day-to-day need to feed
by
insults of poverty,
taken risks and has rarely
her children, Lola has
been SO timid that she
always
something new and promising. Her bid for
failed to try
teen years of age (127), her
a job as a singer at fifprovide for her children determination while still in Haiti to
money to do SO (164-65), her regardless of how she had to earn the
try life in the United States eventual decision toleave Haiti and
tion from her family
even though it meant a long separaclude me in her
(70-73; 127-28), and even her decision to inspiritual "family" when some
group were convinced I was a spy for the
members of that
uralization Service-all these acts show Immigration and Nather courage.
her independence and
One of the rare times when her
sioned by our first invitation to
courage failed her was occacuit. In the fall of
go on the academic speaking cirinvited Lola,
1992, a small college in upstate New York
Maggie, and me to come and spend three
"visiting professor slot.' " Even
days in a
thing like this, we readily
though we had never done anyhonoraria
accepted the invitation
were generous and we were
because the
make a trip to Africa.
trying to save money to
final evening that
Everything went well until an event on our
was to open with Mama Lola
songs. Lola has a strong and beautiful
singing Vodou
dent this would get the
voice, SO we were confievening off to a good start. It
ing room only at the college theater, but, when
was standLola to sing, she froze. That
it came time for
sing, or for that matter, utter evening she never did manage to
things changed in the
more than a word or two. Many
Lola put it, "Then,
years following that stuttering start. As
shy.
Ijust come out and I was shy. Not
Now, I can stand up in front of a million
scared, but
One of the things that helped to
people."
Donald J. Cosentino's celebrated bring about this change was
Haitian Vodou," sponsored
exhibition, The Sacred Arts of
Cultural
by the UCLA Fowler Museum
History. In the preparatory stages of this
of
ethnographic
things changed in the
more than a word or two. Many
Lola put it, "Then,
years following that stuttering start. As
shy.
Ijust come out and I was shy. Not
Now, I can stand up in front of a million
scared, but
One of the things that helped to
people."
Donald J. Cosentino's celebrated bring about this change was
Haitian Vodou," sponsored
exhibition, The Sacred Arts of
Cultural
by the UCLA Fowler Museum
History. In the preparatory stages of this
of
ethnographic --- Page 420 ---
Mama Lola, Maggie, and I served on an advisory
art exhibition,
that met in Los Angeles at
committee for the show, a committee
role for Lola. In this
the Fowler. It proved to be a very important
and her authorcontext, Mama Lola became an authority figure
her often
derived directly from her involvement with Vodou,
Afterword ity
religion. During the commisunderstood and widely caricatured
officials showed
the curator and the museum
mittee meetings,
Some thingsin the show
great respect for her ideas and opinions. what she had to say and the
changed because of
were actually
for the two other Vodou leaders on the comsame could be said
returned to L.A. after the opening of
mittee. Lola, Maggie, and I
lecture and gallery tour, and
"Sacred Arts" to do a combination for the Baltimore Museum
more than a year later we did the same
of Art when the exhibit was there. she entered the lecture circuit,
In October 1998, six years after
lecture hall at
Mama Lola and I stood on the stage of a spacious
York
Museum of Natural History in New
City.
the American
in the audience, most of them
There were about 250 people
it became
Americans, and during the discussion period
African
from the Caribbean. I had just finished declear that many were
Mama Lola, who had earlier conlivering a lecture on Vodou.
Arts" exhibition, joined me at
ducted a tour of the "The Sacred
She soon took over and I
the podium for a discussion period.
readily stepped aside.
teacher,
been clear that Lola is an accomplished
It has always
of our book, she was accustomed
yet before the publication
in which what
to dealing with people one-on-one, a situation
individuals
the specific problems
she taught was provoked by
believe that a
brought to her. In Haiti, furthermore, many people it around for
should guard her wisdom and not spread
an
person
One never knows how it might be used. So,
no good reason.
interested in learning for its own
anonymous group of people
Mama Lola in those early
sake was not only unlikely to inspire felt
or at least
also have
dangerous,
days, such a group might
American Museum of Natural
discomfiting. It was at New York's
realized Mama
History, on that October evening, that I suddenly
culture
Lola had moved well beyond her anxiely-provoking that evening,
block. As soon as Lola began to receive questions mode of relating to the
what I now recognize as her signature
direct and inbecame apparent. She dealt in an unusually
public
each
who raised a question, while at
timate manner with
person that managed to make that perthe same time crafting responses
have
dangerous,
days, such a group might
American Museum of Natural
discomfiting. It was at New York's
realized Mama
History, on that October evening, that I suddenly
culture
Lola had moved well beyond her anxiely-provoking that evening,
block. As soon as Lola began to receive questions mode of relating to the
what I now recognize as her signature
direct and inbecame apparent. She dealt in an unusually
public
each
who raised a question, while at
timate manner with
person that managed to make that perthe same time crafting responses --- Page 421 ---
son's concerns relevant for a much larger
denly, I found myself thinking,
group of people. SudWinfrey of the Vodou world!" "Why, she's become the Oprah
While talking with one shy
that was likely to be shared young man, she surfaced an issue
siderable
by many in the room.
patience, Lola led the conversation,
Showing conAfterword
young man on until he clearly
gently urging the
was of the African-based
articulated both how proud he
ashamed he felt when religion practiced in his family and how
that involvement.
outsiders to his community
As if in a black church
discovered
crowd called out words of comfort
setting, people in the
and
young man, and when he sat down,
encouragement to the
applauded loudly. This provoked
everyone in the audience
called on one person after
a blizzard of hands. Lola then
dealt with the white
another who testified to how they
went on long after the stereotypes of their religion. The discussion
Workers at the museum scheduled time for the event to be over.
to
finally had to flick the
encourage the crowd to rise and
lights on and off
auditorium.
begin to move out of the
Through our book and, later, through the
Vodou by the success of the "Sacred Arts" attention brought to
something of a celebrity. People of all
exhibition, Lola became
The book does not provide
sorts began to seek her out.
reader to contact her, but it does information allow specific enough for the
ten receive phone inquiries about
people to find me, SO Iofworked out a method of
Mama Lola. Lola and I have
people drawn to Vodou for handling calls that protects her from
less than
yet enables her to respond to those
constructive reasons and
Partly as a result of such
whom she feels she can help.
spiritual "family" has
contacts, over the last decade, Lola's
grown in numbers and
graphically. Dozens of people she has
spread out geoalso initiated) have become
helped (and in many cases
vides
part of the fictive
helpers when she stages ceremonies,
family that proways remembers her April
refers clients, and althan one hundred ti fèy, little birthday. Mama Lola now has more
initiates. She has
leaves, a term used to refer to her
blacks and
journeyed to Haiti to initiate men and
whites, and Californians and
women,
who live closer to home. Her
Texans, as well as people
eral new places in the Caribbean spiritual work has taken her to sevhas also returned to
and Central America, and she
and Alabama,
places she knows, such as
to do treatments on site.
Massachusetts
Lola played the role of a public
figure on a much larger scale
y, little birthday. Mama Lola now has more
initiates. She has
leaves, a term used to refer to her
blacks and
journeyed to Haiti to initiate men and
whites, and Californians and
women,
who live closer to home. Her
Texans, as well as people
eral new places in the Caribbean spiritual work has taken her to sevhas also returned to
and Central America, and she
and Alabama,
places she knows, such as
to do treatments on site.
Massachusetts
Lola played the role of a public
figure on a much larger scale --- Page 422 ---
went to West Africa. In February 1993 Lola, Maggie,
when we
Republic of Benin (formerly Da390
and I went to the People's
Soglo, then president of
homey) at the invitation of Nicephore Mama Lola had made its way
the country. A wandering copy of
the government of Benin
Aftervord into the hands of a Frenchman festival. assisting It was billed as a reunion of
in planning an international
with Vodou. In his
all peoples of the world who were associated the people of Benin he
inaugural address, Soglo had promised
would stage such a reunion.
Western
were
leaders from the
Hemisphere
Only two religious the funds to come to Benin, and Lola was the
able to put together
the official language of Benin. Conone who understood French,
role in both the
sequently she was invited to take a prominent festival. In this context
and closing ceremonies of the
opening
inflated. Lola was introduced
her job description spontaneously from New York" during the opening
as "an important priestess she was introduced again during the
procession. Yet by the time
her title had beclosing ceremony in the large outdoor arena, I something she
"the leader of Vodou in the United States,"
come
want to be even if there were such a position, which
would never
there is not.
of government officials
While the scholars and the scattering Cotonou, the capital city,
who attended the reunion stayed in
to one another;
where they attended banquets and read papers where the major
in Ouidah, Benin's religious center,
we stayed
took place. During our time there, Mama
religious ceremonies of Ouidah and, as a result, was invited to
Lola visited the king
of Ouidah with him and his many
parade through the streets walked under a traditional, colorful apwives. Lola and the king
of office and was, as is trapliqué umbrella that bore his insignia head. A notable priest of one
ditional, constantly twirled over his invitation to her when all
of the local deities issued a similar
red parrot feathers and
members of his couvent, resplendent in
through
of cowrie shells, moved in a grand procession
strings
hotel, on three different morningsjust afthe same streets. At our
was visited
each time without waring-Lola
ter sunrise-and
from the various couvents in
by delegations in full ritual regalia
French colony now gives
town. (Couvent is the name this former
to traditional religious houses.)
Lola everywhere she
Before long strangers were recognizing
as on the sandy
her in the cafés, as well
went. They stopped
red parrot feathers and
members of his couvent, resplendent in
through
of cowrie shells, moved in a grand procession
strings
hotel, on three different morningsjust afthe same streets. At our
was visited
each time without waring-Lola
ter sunrise-and
from the various couvents in
by delegations in full ritual regalia
French colony now gives
town. (Couvent is the name this former
to traditional religious houses.)
Lola everywhere she
Before long strangers were recognizing
as on the sandy
her in the cafés, as well
went. They stopped --- Page 423 ---
streets of this small port city, and on at least
son went down on his knees in front of one occasion, a perand documentary film
her. Several television
crews were
more often than we would have
working the reunion and,
was following Mama Lola. While preferred, one group or another
came the receptacle for
staying in Ouidah, Lola beAfterword
everyone's
Benin, she became the remnant
projections. To the people of
ists from
of all lost to slavery. To
Europe and the United
she
journaltive of the exotic Other. To
States,
was the representathose in Benin who
(this word is the African root of Haitian
served the Vodun
teemed colleague, yet one who sometimes Vodou), Lola was an esabout the règlement, the rules, for
needed to be reminded
Given the influence of
serving particular spirits.
was not
eighteenth-century Dahomey in
surprising that Lola recognized
Haiti, it
saw in Benin. Yet over the
quite a lot of what she
in new directions in
centuries, Haitian Vodou has evolved
response to several factors,
warped social arrangements occasioned
including the
unlike the Benin
by chattel
between
priests, was content to live with the slavery/Lola,
her religious practice and theirs. She did
differences
grant the local priests exclusive
not necessarily
timent of going "back to
authority. Caught in the senassurance might have been Africa," a person without Lola's selfher supposedly
more vulnerable to their critique of
faulty religious practice. -
Mama Lola was understandably
were too, by the attention she
pleased, as Maggie and I
when it was too much for all got in Benin. Yet, there were times
of us. All the
sionally left Lola irritable, and
fussing over her occaable power of some of
even disoriented. The considerour experiences
strain. For example, just before
aggravated this general
visited the site next to the
sunset on a Sunday evening, we
ships that would take them ocean where slaves were loaded on
to the so-called New
1710 and 1810 more than one million
World. Between
through the port at Ouidah (Blier
slaves were processed
Benin in
1995, 23). When we arrived in
February 1993, a memorial to those lost to
just been completed on Ouidah's beach. It
slavery had
tional historical restoration
was part of a multinathe route of the slave,
project known as Route de l'Esclave,
a project that would
several of sites in Africa and the Caribbean. eventually involve
Near sunset, Lola, Maggie, and I followed the
path to the sea and to this memorial.
narrow sandy
rich with references to Vodun
Contemporary works ofart
imagery appeared at intervals on
1995, 23). When we arrived in
February 1993, a memorial to those lost to
just been completed on Ouidah's beach. It
slavery had
tional historical restoration
was part of a multinathe route of the slave,
project known as Route de l'Esclave,
a project that would
several of sites in Africa and the Caribbean. eventually involve
Near sunset, Lola, Maggie, and I followed the
path to the sea and to this memorial.
narrow sandy
rich with references to Vodun
Contemporary works ofart
imagery appeared at intervals on --- Page 424 ---
to the sea on the left-hand side,
either side of the path. Halfway
of
The story
"The Tree Forgetting."
there was a live tree labeled
that slaves on their way to the
on the attached placard explained times around this tree, a ritual act
ships were made to walk three
homeland from
intended to wipe all memory of the Dahomean
Afteroord
they would then be placed on board
their minds. Memory-less,
westward. As history this was
the ships for a forced journey
articulation of the toll
questionable, but as art it was a powerful
hischattel slavery levied on both African and African-American
torical consciousness.
few
from the beach, was
At the end of the road, only a
yards slaves who had
open-air memorial to the
passed
an impressive
In front of the monument, placed like
through Ouidah's port.
the
were male and female
strangely hobbled guardians at
gate their knees, hands bound
life-size statues of slaves. Both were on
of rope
behind their backs with heavy rope. A shorter length behind the
through the mouth of each and was secured
passed
that looked like a piece of wood. Lola aphead with something
At the time, Maggie and I did
proached the statue of the woman. when Lola threw her arms
not understand what was happening
to sob. As she stroked
around the neck of the statue and began
not only for
the woman's face, she appeared to be apologizing of her family:
herself but also for all the intervening generations 1
"I'm sorry, I did not know. We did not know.' she arrived at the
Later Lola explained that, almost as soon as memories of somememorial, she began having strong flashback
in Ouidah, on
one in her family with their foot on that very spot
their way to the slave ships. Right after the memory/experienee I was witLola talked about being filled with fear and sorrow.
the fact that her 'memory" made herbody tremble.
ness to
her ancestors there was someone
It is not unlikely that among
name for Haiti, after
who came to Saint-Domingue, the early of towns in the old Dapassing through Ouidah. Several names
unas words in the sacred, theoretically
homean empire appear
of Mama Lola's Vodou prayers and
translatable langay, language, heard of another Haitian having an ancessongs. I have never
but that also is not terribly surprising
tor's memory for them,
connectedness that permegiven the understanding of human have dreams for one anates Vodou practice. People routinely
to exist with
other and the ancestors, who do not cease
physical
appear in dreams to give help to the living.
death, frequently
of towns in the old Dapassing through Ouidah. Several names
unas words in the sacred, theoretically
homean empire appear
of Mama Lola's Vodou prayers and
translatable langay, language, heard of another Haitian having an ancessongs. I have never
but that also is not terribly surprising
tor's memory for them,
connectedness that permegiven the understanding of human have dreams for one anates Vodou practice. People routinely
to exist with
other and the ancestors, who do not cease
physical
appear in dreams to give help to the living.
death, frequently --- Page 425 ---
when Lola and I sat down to discuss what
In January 2001,
edition of Mama Lola, our conversamight go into the updated
on Ouidah's
tion wandered back to that powerful experience
from our
beach. This was not the first time since we returned
Aftervord
that the subject came up. Lola had been thinking
Africa trip
about it, and on at least one prior occasion, she
about it, talking
about the event. She had even
had submitted to my questions
it. Thus, her narrative about
heard me deliver a paper describing like my observer's narrarecovering this ancestral "memory,"
and that is why I
tive, had already settled into a familiar shape, that
It was
at the story she told me
day.
was SO very surprised
and much more detailed than anyboth significantly different earlier. What she told me that day led
thing I had heard from her
Lola chose to
wonder whether, at the time it happened,
me to
or whether over time she simply
keep part of the story private, tale. The first seems more likely,
embroidered this important
and feeling it does not
since the new version has such power
seem at all contrived.
that day in January 2001 by asking
I began the interview
she first encountered the statue of
Mama Lola how she felt when
the female slave. This is what she said:
there and they tell
Something hit me. Like I see my parents family. I was a
"Please
me, I'm suffer! I'm your
me:
help
Tear coming in my eyes. Maggie tell
slave."I Id can't stop crying.
Like I was there a long time
I can't stop.
me "Mommie stop!"
freedom to come back over
ago. Suffer! And now I have my
they used to treat
there, but even I have my freedom, the way
I'm still
still in back of my head. You know what I mean?
me
the
they was treating me.
suffer . for long time ago. :
way I leave a drop of my
Like I was a slave long, long time ago. there. Never wash away,
blood right there. A drop of my blood
still there.
I feel. Like I was on
Karen, that was very painful . . the way the lash, like lashand this sailor beating me, I see
the ground
old . . who is there. I am
ing me, like I'm the one . very Karen. That's the truth.
dropping my blood right there,
named itself a memory and out of that
Ifa powerful experience
consciousness that is surely
created a major shift in historical
then in a
correct in that way or that place,
correct, if not exactly
set out on the Benin trip what may
related fashion just before we
feel. Like I was on
Karen, that was very painful . . the way the lash, like lashand this sailor beating me, I see
the ground
old . . who is there. I am
ing me, like I'm the one . very Karen. That's the truth.
dropping my blood right there,
named itself a memory and out of that
Ifa powerful experience
consciousness that is surely
created a major shift in historical
then in a
correct in that way or that place,
correct, if not exactly
set out on the Benin trip what may
related fashion just before we --- Page 426 ---
of oral
a kind of collective memory,
well have been a bit
history,
that Lola
a
apparently
called itself a dream and sent message African soil. The contents of
tested out the moment she set foot on
Binbin Maucould easily have passed from Joseph
this "dream"
to Lola's brother Fred. Or
Aftenvord vant down through the generations shared the family story with all her
perhaps Mama Lola's mother
and then the
children, but Fred was the only one to remember,
buried it could emerge only as a dream.
memory was SO deeply
historical consciousness interest
None of these questions about the spirits are directing her. In
Lola; all she cares about is where
Fred's dream.
January 2001, this is the way she remembered
before I went to Africa, my brother
Let me tell you something, Fred dream. You remember when
Fred was in Santo Domingo.
come and write something.
I tell you that dream? My mother E-V-E on the wall, and she
She don't talk to Fred. She write "That's what we are," "Se sa
turn and look at Fred and she say,
month before we go to
nou ye." Fred dream that, maybe one
Africa. Then he call me.
eh-vay) people are in fact found in
The Ewe (pronounced
Lola later told me that as soon
Benin, as well as Ghana and Togo. she began to ask people right
as she got off the plane in Cotonou, She remembers finding an
there in the airport: "What is Ewe?"
up that
her question, spoke
airport employee who, overhearing wanted to talk with him further, but
he, in fact, was Ewe. Lola
I heard
and they never reconnected.
"he was busy working/
after we returned from Africa
nothing of Fred's dream until long
about the Ewe
and do not remember anyone asking Had questions she mentioned it while
while we were in the Cotonou airport. her to look further. As it
we were in Benin, I would have urged
on our Africa
turned out, the Ewe connection was not pursued the bone for Lola
Perhaps this was another story too close to
trip.
the search in the Cotonou airportis
to share with me. Or perhaps
we had lived them.
one of those dreams we remember as if
Mama Lola, Lola
Throughout the dozen years I was working on
maintained there were "no slaves in our family."
consistently
Itis not unusual for people from
"We are French," "' she would say.
entirely in the colonial part
the Caribbean to root their identity
tree had been
of their heritage. I now realize that her family
in such a way that it gave this perspective greater
configured
Binbin Mauvant, designated as the originating
consistencyJoseph
is
to share with me. Or perhaps
we had lived them.
one of those dreams we remember as if
Mama Lola, Lola
Throughout the dozen years I was working on
maintained there were "no slaves in our family."
consistently
Itis not unusual for people from
"We are French," "' she would say.
entirely in the colonial part
the Caribbean to root their identity
tree had been
of their heritage. I now realize that her family
in such a way that it gave this perspective greater
configured
Binbin Mauvant, designated as the originating
consistencyJoseph --- Page 427 ---
ancestor on this family tree, arrived in Haiti
ery ended there. Lola's family
decades after slavtion about the Haitian
history has retained little informa395
and who would
woman who bore Mauvant's
almost certainly connect the
children,
Mauvant is an interesting choice to
family to slavery.
reasons as well. He was routinely top the family tree for other
Afterword
man." In Haiti that label does
referred to as a blan, a "white
not
son has no black ancestors,
automatically mean that a perThe
though it does index social
"memory" Mama Lola had on the
prestige.
fected her deeply. It resulted in
beach at Ouidah afpreviously denied
nothing less than her
a
part of her ancestry. To a certain claiming
realigned her social sensibilities and, under
extent, it also
tionship with me. The context
that rubric, her relaVodou reunion, contributed we were in, that is to say the Benin
Although there was little significantly to this transformation.
union events, racism
discussion of racism per se
rewas the sub-theme
during
that
of almost
happened over the two weeks it lasted.
everything
Route de l'Esclave project, the
By launching the
their history, and therefore people of Benin were opening up
within themselves with
they were inevitably
the complex
struggling
tween slave traders(most
historical relationships besignificantly
preneurs among their own people who Portuguese)and dealt
the entreMore than one of the kings of
with those traders.
Reunion guests coming "back Dahomey was deeply involved.
colonies in the Caribbean
to Africa" from former slave
and South America could
dwelling on the violent history behind their
hardly avoid
Africa, a history that left its traces in the social separation from
gies of their "New World" homes.
and racial stratewere inevitably
Those from the United States
nent"
sorting their experiences on the "mother
through the peculiar sieve of the
contithat defines race here. There were not black-and-white binary
Soglo's reunion, and from time to time many Euro-Americans at
projections Ihad to carry in that context. I felt burdened by the
The shift in perspective that
the memorial began to show itself accompanied in
Lola's experience at
mediately, if only in small
our relationship almost imvisit to the slave memorial, ways. On the morning following our
fee, seated
Mama Lola and I were
across from each other at a table in drinking cofshine. I found her studying
face
the bright sunmy
"you are really
intently. "Boy," she
.
blonde blonde, blonde,
said,
sucked her teeth.
blonde." Then she
ad to carry in that context. I felt burdened by the
The shift in perspective that
the memorial began to show itself accompanied in
Lola's experience at
mediately, if only in small
our relationship almost imvisit to the slave memorial, ways. On the morning following our
fee, seated
Mama Lola and I were
across from each other at a table in drinking cofshine. I found her studying
face
the bright sunmy
"you are really
intently. "Boy," she
.
blonde blonde, blonde,
said,
sucked her teeth.
blonde." Then she --- Page 428 ---
"blonde" otherness, Lola put some needed
By marking my
this distance increased at
distance between us and for a while
she let me know
turn of events. Later that same afternoon,
every
for the daily struggles of our time
that she felt I was responsible
reunion events, long waits
Afterword in Benin. Poor communications about undependable vehicles, and
for meals, broken air conditioners, the
of
of
the
roads on our way to
city Abomey-all
even
bumpy did not help that our trip to the museum in the
it was my fault. It
of Dahomey, became the
royal palace at Abomey, once the capital found out that Africans sold
occasion on which Lola and Maggie
mad and wanted to tear
other Africans into slavery. Maggie got
kings on
throne of one of Dahomey's
apart the skull-encrusted
also difficult to absorb the mesdisplay in the museum. It was
for the
exhibit on slavery put up
sages of the small photographic
of slave marreunion. Some photographs were cloudy images in what apslaves on the auction block. Others,
kets and/or
were much clearer
peared to be an act of curatorial inspiration,
of survivors
and therefore more brutal. These were photographs rubbed to raw
Holocaust whose ankles had been
of the Jewish
different from those often worn by
meat by leg irons not SO
the
exhibit, Lola comslaves in transit. After looking at
photo
plained of a severe stomachache. Mama Lola, Maggie, and I manFor the first half of our trip,
before
ritual we had agreed upon
aged to preserve an evening
to sleep we talked into my
setting out. Each night before going
ourselves what
recorder for a short period of time to remind
tape
and how we felt about it. On the evening
we had done that day
without ever discussing it, we all
of our trip to Ouidah's beach, first
we stayed in Abomey,
forgot the tape recorder. On the
night
review
after visiting the museum, we also skipped our evening
Emotions were too raw and too compliof the events of that day.
cated. We were all becoming tense.
Maggie and Lola disapOn our first morning back in Ouidah,
until the afternoon.
peared after breakfast and did not return first time the three of
Our trip was nearly over and that was the
It turned
not
our day and move through it together.
us did
plan
had gone to an initiation ceremony at
out that Lola and Maggie
some call the "Pope of
the temple of Daagbo Hounnon, a priest for the two of them. I
Vodun in Benin." It was staged especially
visiwould have loved to see it. I now know that happenstance
and Lola disapOn our first morning back in Ouidah,
until the afternoon.
peared after breakfast and did not return first time the three of
Our trip was nearly over and that was the
It turned
not
our day and move through it together.
us did
plan
had gone to an initiation ceremony at
out that Lola and Maggie
some call the "Pope of
the temple of Daagbo Hounnon, a priest for the two of them. I
Vodun in Benin." It was staged especially
visiwould have loved to see it. I now know that happenstance --- Page 429 ---
tors at Daagbo's temple, also there for the
included. I had been excluded
reunion, had been
even find out about the event by Maggie and Lola and did not
showed me the certificate
until nearly a year later when Lola
her
Daagbo had given her
relationship to the Vodun of Benin.
acknowledging
At the closing ceremony for the
Afterword
on national television, Lola
reunion, a ceremony broadcast
Soglo, one for the warrior
sang a Vodou song for President
ole but finished her
spirit Ogou. She sang itin Haitian Crelive Soglo, long live presentation with an exuberant wish:
Benin, long live
"Long
Fon, the most widespread
everybody!" delivered in
sands of people responded indigenous language of Benin. Thouplause and foot
to her efforts with thunderous
Soglo
stomping. Lola was the queen. When
apapproached her, she hooked her arm around President
proudly introduced her to the
Maggie and
thought, and accompanied
president. Then, as an afterLola added: "My writer." by a vague hand flap in my direction,
Once back in the United States, Lola's
on the territory of finances, and in
anger at me homed in
arena, she gave full voice to her desire this somewhat impersonal
me. A
to distance herself from
all too trouble-making member of her spiritual
ready to assist. Playing on Lola's
community was
aged to convince her I was
fears, this person manroyalties and, more
stealing from her on two fronts: book
by the Benin government important, money supposedly given to me
book royalties had
to pay for our trip there. In fact, no
them. As for Africa, yet been paid, and when they were, we
when we fell far short
split
we needed to go to Benin, I took out a loan of raising the money
the trip out of my pocket. I now realize
and paid for most of
take in not coming right out and
I made a significant miswas doing. Instead, I
telling Maggie and Lola what I
the trip and was
simply said we had money enough to make
vague about where it
was afraid they would not
came from. I suppose I
much. I also did not want come if they knew I was paying SO
them to feel SO indebted to
warped our interactions.
me that it
For more than six months after we returned
there was considerable tension
from West Africa,
and confused by her
between Lola and me. I was hurt
accusations. To make
our trip, Maggie and Lola both became matters worse, after
book, the same book Lola had
very critical about the
proudly shown to each visitor and
enough to make
vague about where it
was afraid they would not
came from. I suppose I
much. I also did not want come if they knew I was paying SO
them to feel SO indebted to
warped our interactions.
me that it
For more than six months after we returned
there was considerable tension
from West Africa,
and confused by her
between Lola and me. I was hurt
accusations. To make
our trip, Maggie and Lola both became matters worse, after
book, the same book Lola had
very critical about the
proudly shown to each visitor and --- Page 430 ---
in her altar
book she still kept in a prominent place
the very
in
the manuscript for Mama Lola lay
room. For three months 1990 before I sent it off to University
in Maggie's hands for approval that time neither of them found
of California Press and during
later, after our West
problems with it. It was three years
Aftervord any
voiced a flurry of general complaints. More
Africa trip, that they
"Ihate that book" and eioften than not, Mama Lola said simply,
that she was unable to
ther refused to articulate why or indicated
In fact, I was beside myself. I felt utterly powdo SO. I was upset.
could make myself undererless. There seemed to be no way I
the
Yet, at the same time I could not help but acknowledge
stood.
and import of the roiling race issues
historical depth, complexity,
brouhaha. These days Mama
that I still feel sparked the entire discontent as a conflict over
Lola remembers our season of
issues were involved.
money. I remain convinced that deeper
for Lola's
to West Africa was not the only catalyst
Our trip
of race. There were also strong
shifting sense of the significance through her spiritual commuAfrican American women cycling
and critical racial
nity and introducing her to a more rigorous back from Africa, I
politics. In addition, shortly after we got Bermuda branch of my
learned (and shared with Lola) that the
century
family included a man born in the eighteenth
mother's
and salt merchant, Samuel C. Nelmes, as
who was a sea captain
from the same period, Thomas Lea
well as a British privateer waters off Haiti's coast during the
Smith. Both men plied the
owned slaves. I saw his
Haitian revolution. I knew that Nelmes that Smith sold slaves
slave return records, and Iam fairly certain have thought the upon at least one occasion. How could I ever
race issues led
set could be avoided? Her greater sensitivity on
blonde,
to me as "blonde,
Lola to objectify me by referring
similar to her in the
blonde." Fair enough, I had done something she would look at me
book. It was inevitable, that sooner or later,
Mama Lola,
of my ancestors, just as I, in
and see a representative
of her ancestors. In
at times configured her as a representative much of
time
the months after our return from Benin, I spent
of Samuel my C.
asking myself what the smalgrent-gnnadaughier
and Thomas Lea Smith owed the great-granddaughter
Nelmes Binbin Mauvant, and vice versa.
ofJoseph
of 1993, just as I began to accept the fact that
By the summer
Mama Lola was damaged beyond repair,
my relationship with
and told me she had
Lola picked up the phone late one evening
in
and see a representative
of her ancestors. In
at times configured her as a representative much of
time
the months after our return from Benin, I spent
of Samuel my C.
asking myself what the smalgrent-gnnadaughier
and Thomas Lea Smith owed the great-granddaughter
Nelmes Binbin Mauvant, and vice versa.
ofJoseph
of 1993, just as I began to accept the fact that
By the summer
Mama Lola was damaged beyond repair,
my relationship with
and told me she had
Lola picked up the phone late one evening --- Page 431 ---
to see me right away. She needed to talk. There
my loft in lower Manhattan and I
had been a fire in
was
Jersey, SO the late evening ride to Lola's living temporarily in New
hour Iarrived fatigued yet determined house took more than an
the book I had written about
to find out why Lola hated
with her. "Please, tell
her. "I need to know," I
me!" "I hate that book," Lola
pleaded
Afterword
paused, "because I change and it
replied, and
tension draining
doesn't.""Oh,"1 Ir responded, the
rapidly out of me. "I can
really understand that."
understand that; I can
After this conversation our
back together. Lola
relationship gradually knit itself
stealing from her, and acknowledged I
her mistake in thinking I was
candid about who
acknowledged mine in being less
In
was paying for our trip to the
than
some ways, we are now better friends than Benin festival.
Ours is a tested
we were before.
both
friendship, more than
care about. During the time of twenty years old, one we
the time of
misunderstanding (or was it
understanding?) neither of us
us took the initiative at least
gave up trying. Each of
Ours is now a
once and reached out to the other.
relationship whose worth has
as its problems have not all disappeared.
been proven, even
At first Lola and I traveled together, but these
els, does talks, and performs initiations
days Lola travpresence than with it, and this is as it should more often without my
to explore new
be. Lola continues
territory, even in her
she has been initiated into
religious life. In the last year
who is also Lola's ti
Santeria by a friend and colleague
Puerto Rico, works fèy, Maria Concordia. Maria was born in
her Oni Oshun
as a priestess in Oakland, California and, in
and the Santeria temple, maintains altars for both the Vodou lwa
bringing Vodou orisa. Maria has spoken to me of her
that
and Santeria
hope
sion between the Latino and together can help reduce the tenLola recently described black populations in Oakland.
her first Santeria
what it was like when she attended
bembe.
Let me tell you about Santeria. I went to a bembe in
They have a feast for Yemaya. The
the sea.
day of the
Yemaya . after the prayer, then
feast for
and a woman
they start to beat the drum,
Agaou!"
possessed by Agéou, I tell Maggie, "This
Look, the way he's going with his
is
them up in the air. like he
arms, like he throw
in Vodou.
fly Agèou, an orisa, that's
Agèou is Agaou! Shango, that's
Agaou,
Papa Ogou.
They have a feast for Yemaya. The
the sea.
day of the
Yemaya . after the prayer, then
feast for
and a woman
they start to beat the drum,
Agaou!"
possessed by Agéou, I tell Maggie, "This
Look, the way he's going with his
is
them up in the air. like he
arms, like he throw
in Vodou.
fly Agèou, an orisa, that's
Agèou is Agaou! Shango, that's
Agaou,
Papa Ogou. --- Page 432 ---
that's Ezili Freda. You can say Oshun, that sophistiYemaya,
that's Manbo Lasyrenn. We talking
cate woman with perfume,
Gede' sister! In Vodou we
about Oya? You know who is Oya?
have a lot of
call her Gedelia. In orisa, we call her Oya. They
So it's basically the same thing, but another name,
Aftervord
connection.
they call it Santeria. But Santeria tradition is
another religion,
almost the same thing.
Vodou . . . You understand?
bit and asked Lola why, if Santeria and Vodou were
Ipushed a
would bother "making Ocha, 11 that is,
essentially the same, she
Initiation involves spending
getting initiated into Santeria.
to the orisa as well as the
money and taking on responsibilities realize that my first impressions
lva. Lola's answer made me
she does not
mistaken. She is not like Maria Concordia;
were
broad social issues through a blend of Santeria
want to address
She wants added protection
and Vodou. Lola wants more spirits.
of Lola's life
for herself and her family. This is the main purpose abstractions like
and it keeps her far too busy to worry about Oakland.
exAmericans" and "the Latinos" in
By
"the African
to include Santeria, Mama Lola
panding her religious practice
maintainwhat she always did. She was, quite simply,
was doing
with all the people in her support network,
ing good relations ancestors. "I do it because my grandmother :
especially her
used to have Yemaya/ " Lola said, further exMarie Noelsine, she
"used to travel to Cuba in her
plaining that Marie Noelsine
too. " I observed
trade. That's how she get it. Now, I got Yemaya
"with that long hair and those shiny green
that Noelsine,
beautiful Yemaya." Later Lola
eyes. must have been a very
this
She feel
that
to make Ocha .
spring.
told me
"Maggie going II Lola added that, while Danbala is
she got obligation to do that.'
Maggie's mèt tèt,
remember when I used to live in
Oya is her protection. Do you for Gede and that time . Gede
Fort Greene? I have a feast
resist. Yes! That was
want to pass in Maggie head and Maggie in her head. Oya is
Oya, that was Gedelia that want to come
she give
Gede sister, she live with dead spirit. Oya is a Petwo,
you lot'a energy. She is everywhere.
Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn ended with
Originally,
of Gedelia. The last line was: "I anxmy delighted discovery
used to live in
Oya is her protection. Do you for Gede and that time . Gede
Fort Greene? I have a feast
resist. Yes! That was
want to pass in Maggie head and Maggie in her head. Oya is
Oya, that was Gedelia that want to come
she give
Gede sister, she live with dead spirit. Oya is a Petwo,
you lot'a energy. She is everywhere.
Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn ended with
Originally,
of Gedelia. The last line was: "I anxmy delighted discovery --- Page 433 ---
iously await Gedelia's emergence from the cocoon of Haitian history and religion. 1 I never suspected that Gedelia might someday
be found in Maggie's head and become her chief protector, nor
could I possibly have anticipated that, when Gedelia appeared
again for Mama Lola, she would emerge at a Santeria bembe in
Afterword
Oakland, California, attended by a soon-to-be child of Yemaya,
Marie Thérèse Alourdes Macena Champagne Lovinski. --- Page 434 --- --- Page 435 ---
GLOSSARY OF
HAITIAN CREOLE TERM S
Agéou
An Ogou; Philo's principal spirit
ason
Sacred rattle of priests and priestesses
Ayida Wèdo
Wife of the rainbow serpent Danbala
Azaka
Peasant farmer spirit
baka
Evil spirit
Baron Samdi
Head of all the Gede
bat gè
Fighting the war, a Vodou ceremony
blan
"Whitey"; a white person
bôkô
A sorcerer; one who works with "both hands"or
the "left hand"
Bondye
God
boule zen
Burning the pots, a Vodou ceremony
Brijit
Baron Samdi's female partner
chire ayizan
Shredding the palm leaf, a Vodou ceremony
chwal
Horse of the spirits; one who is possessed
Danbala Wèdo
Ancient spirit, serpent and rainbow
dechoukaj
Uprooting
djèvo
Initiation chamber
djôk
Bad influence from the feelings of others
echofe
To heat up
espri
Spirit
Ezili Danto
Solitary mother spirit
Ezili Freda
Spirit of sensuality
fanm-saj
Midwife
fey
Leaves, herbs
--- Page 436 ---
gad
Guard; a protective charm
Gede
Trickster spirit of death
Ginen
Africa; a watery realm under the earth
gouyad
Pelvic dance for Papa Gede
Glossary
of Haitian
Gran Bwa
The ritual forest; a Vodou spirit
Creole
gwo bonanj
Big guardian angel; consciousness or
Terms
personality
gwo nèg
An important or powerful man
kanzo
A level of Vodou initiation
karabel
Haitian denim
kay
House, usually wattle and daub with a thatched
roof; a children's game
kleren
Raw rum
kombinayson
Combination; a creature of disparate parts made
by magic
konesans
Spiritual knowledge; intuition; extrasensory
perception
kouche
To lie down, sleep, make love, give birth, and,
less frequently, to die; term used to describe
Vodou initiation
kouche
Lying down on the point; a level of Vodou
sou pwen
initiation
Kouzen
Cousin; a common name for Azaka
Kouzinn
Female cousin;a rural market woman spirit who
is Azaka's counterpart
kwa Baron
Baron Samdi's cross in the cemetery
Labalenn
The whale, closely associated with Lasyrenn
lakou
Yard; extended-family compound
langay
Arcane language used in Vodou, composed of
African words and disguised Creole
langèt
Slang for female genitalia
Lasyrenn
The mermaid; an Ezili
lave têt
Headwashing; first step in Vodou initiation
Legba
Spirit guardian of doorways and barriers
Loko
Spirit patron of the priesthood
lwa
Vodou spirit
machann
Market woman
Madan Sara
Market woman, especially a wholesaler
, closely associated with Lasyrenn
lakou
Yard; extended-family compound
langay
Arcane language used in Vodou, composed of
African words and disguised Creole
langèt
Slang for female genitalia
Lasyrenn
The mermaid; an Ezili
lave têt
Headwashing; first step in Vodou initiation
Legba
Spirit guardian of doorways and barriers
Loko
Spirit patron of the priesthood
lwa
Vodou spirit
machann
Market woman
Madan Sara
Market woman, especially a wholesaler --- Page 437 ---
madansara
Noisy, hyperactive black finch
maji
Magic
makout
Straw satchel used by farmers
manbo
Vodou priestess
Glossary
manje Marasa
Ritual meal for the spirit twins
of Haitian
Creole
manje pôv
Ritual feeding of the poor
Terms
Marasa
Spirit twins, child spirits
Metrès
Mistress; title for Ezili Freda
mêt têt
master of the head; principal protective spirit
mizè
Poverty; suffering; misfortune
nanchon
Nation; grouping of spirits
Ogou
Vodou warrior spirit
Ogou Badagri
Handsome soldier; Alourdes's main spirit
ojat
Almond-sugar syrup; favorite drink of Danbala
oungan
Vodou priest
ounsi
Ritual assistant in a Vodou temple
pa-pale
The not-speaking disease, frequently
suffered by women who have recently
given birth
pèdisyon
Perdition; condition that causes a fetus to stop
growing
peristil
Vodou temple
Petwo
One of two spirit pantheons dominant in Portau-Prince
poto-Danbala
Another name for the poto-mitan
poto-mitan
Sacred center pole in a Vodou temple
Vodou functionary who plays the role of
prètsavann
Catholic priest in certain types of ritualizing;
literally, "bush priest"
Priyè Deyô
Outside Prayers; prayers said at the
beginning of Vodou ceremonies
pwen
Point; concentrated spiritual power
pwen achte
Purchased point; nonfamily spirit
pwomès
Promise; a ceremony to show good intentions
Rada
One of two spirit pantheons dominant in Portau-Prince
rasin
Root
repozwa
A tree that houses a spirit --- Page 438 ---
restavèk
Stay-with; a borrowed or purchased child
sen
Saint; spirit (pl. sen-yo)
Sen Jak Majè
Saint James the Elder, head of the Ogou
Glossary
sojème
Oath-swearing word in langay, arcane
of Haitian
language
of Vodou, probably African
Creole
taptap
Brightly
buses
Terms
painted
used for public
transportation
ti fey
Little leaf, a "child of the house"; a Vodou
initiate
Ti Malis
Little Mischief; Alourdes's Gede
tonnèl
A thatched-roof pavilion open to the air
Tonton
Uncle Strawsack, a bogeyman in Haitian folkMakout
lore; the name given to Duvalier's civilian militia
trètmen
Treatment; healing ceremony
Vil-o-kan,
A town in northern Haiti, the spiritual embassy
Ville-aux-Camps of Africa in Haiti
vivan-yo
The living; persons who have not died (sing.
vivan)
Vodou
The religion of the majority in Haiti; a particular
drum rhythm used in that religion
ZOZO
Slang for penis
pavilion open to the air
Tonton
Uncle Strawsack, a bogeyman in Haitian folkMakout
lore; the name given to Duvalier's civilian militia
trètmen
Treatment; healing ceremony
Vil-o-kan,
A town in northern Haiti, the spiritual embassy
Ville-aux-Camps of Africa in Haiti
vivan-yo
The living; persons who have not died (sing.
vivan)
Vodou
The religion of the majority in Haiti; a particular
drum rhythm used in that religion
ZOZO
Slang for penis --- Page 439 ---
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INDEX
Abimbola, Wande, 101-8
76-77, 127-28, 129, 237-40, 251Abonoche, 56 n
52; healing by, 4-5, 70, 76-77,
242-43, 330, 331, 338-56; home
Abortion, 240-41, 254
arrangement, 40, 110, 290; inheriAdaptability, 221, 253-54, 376-79
Africa: Dahomean, 31 n, 100, 253,
tance from Philo, 354; initiation,
272-73, 279, 280 n; and franginen!
Abonoche, 56 n
52; healing by, 4-5, 70, 76-77,
242-43, 330, 331, 338-56; home
Abortion, 240-41, 254
arrangement, 40, 110, 290; inheriAdaptability, 221, 253-54, 376-79
Africa: Dahomean, 31 n, 100, 253,
tance from Philo, 354; initiation,
272-73, 279, 280 n; and franginen! 76, 77, 127-28, 168, 224; Jamaica
franginen nèt, 29; Jamaican religions
trip, 331-44:jobs, 76-77. 127,
from, 336-37; Mammy Water in,
162-66, 225, 237, 239, 289; Karen's
223-24; and Ogou, 100, 102-8;
house blessed by, 313-16; and
Priyè Deyo and, 279, 280 n, 281,
Karen's role, 196-97; and Karen's
282-85; women in, 221; and
trip to Haiti, 169-201, 288, 331;
Yoruba, 100, 101, 107-8, 253
and lovers, 166, 236-41, 251-52,
256, 293; and Maggie in hospital,
Agàou, 167 n, 192
260-70; and male dominance, 157;
Ageou (Ogou), 96, 110, 167-68,
mother206-8, 304, 366-68
mèt tèt of, 112-13, 379;
daughter bonds of, 244-46,
Ago, 31 n
290-94; mother at initiation,
Agwe, 284
320-21, 325; New York early years
Aido Hwedo, 273-74
of, 127, 162-63, 181, 182; possesAileen, 52, 297
sion described by, 352-53; quoted,
Allada, 100
20, 110; and
14; and spirits (see Spirits); storyAlourdes, 1-10, 15-16,
17-18, 102, 175, 183-84;
Abner, 237; altar room, 3, 7, 40,
and telling, "work of the left hand," 347
110, 260-61, 264, 354; and auancestors,
thority, 125-27; birth of, 209-12;
Alourdes, family:
16-19,
blood and memory, 286-94; and
22-33, 80-91, 143-54; children,
Catholicism, 111; cemetery burial
70, 115, 127-28, 237; children as
(see
adults, 9, 51, 115; and commitment
wanted by, 371; ceremonies by
to, 48, 180-81, 286, 304-5, 368; faCeremonies); childhood of, 212-16,
217, 225, 293; and connection, 13;
ther, 159-60, 209, 238-39, 286-90;
conservatism of, 126-27; decision
half-sister, 56; marriage, 238-39,
244, 248-49; mother (see Philomise)
to serve spirits, 75-76, 167,
(Keke's son), 26
168-69, 293; dreams of, 77, 123,
Alphonse (Marie Thérèse's lover),
240, 245-46, 268, 269, 290, 295-96,
Alphonse
303, 349, 364, 368; emigration to
173, 195 Macena.
; decision
half-sister, 56; marriage, 238-39,
244, 248-49; mother (see Philomise)
to serve spirits, 75-76, 167,
(Keke's son), 26
168-69, 293; dreams of, 77, 123,
Alphonse (Marie Thérèse's lover),
240, 245-46, 268, 269, 290, 295-96,
Alphonse
303, 349, 364, 368; emigration to
173, 195 Macena. See Macena,
U.S., 17,70-71, 166, 241; family
Alphonse
(see Alourdes, family); in Haiti,
Alphonse
Alourdes's altar
70-71, 75-76, 77, 127, 160-62,
Altars, 40-42, 48;
164, 169-201; finances of, 72,
room, 3, 7, 40, 110, 260-61, 264,
--- Page 448 ---
Altars (continued)
for
and, 95 n, 185 n; Kwa Baron for,
354; Ogou (illustrated), 99
198, 369-70; in Port-au-Prince
Amulets, 135
cemetery, 198, 369-70, 371;
Anaïse, 246
sion by, 360-61
possesIndex
Anba dlo (beneath the water), 223,
Barter: with sex, 83, 163-66, 168;
224, 225
with spirit work, 169
Ancestors, 6, 364-68; Alourdes's,
Bat gè (fighting the war),
16-19, 22-33, 80-91, 143-54;
Baths: Alourdes's Gros Morne, 324-25
Dahomey religion and, 272; Danbad-luck,
177;
bala and, 286; Gede and, 368, 371;
348-49; good-luck, 336,
Gros Morne offerings to, 191-92;
348-49; healing, 336, 348-49
Beauty, Ezili Freda and,
Haitian loyalty to, 185, 371; in mir254, 255
249-50,
ror, 284; offerings to (illustrated),
Bed, ason and money not
191; in Priyè Deyo, 284, 285. See
Begging, ritual,
put on, 69
also Africa; Family
208, 301
Andre, 306, 359-60
Benin, 272
Anger: Alourdes's, 244; Danbala's,
Betty, 9, 39, 46, 295, 372, 373
307-9; Ezili Dantô's, 231-32, 251,
Bible, Big Daddy, 337
257; Maggie's, 130; and Ogou, 113
366,
52, 255, 314-15, 316,
Angola, 100
"Big guardian
Animal killing, for feasts, 231
61,
angel" (gwo bànanj),
Anthropology, 12;
112-13, 351, 352
interpretive, 14
Birth: of Alourdes,
Ason (beaded rattle), 29, 53-54, 69,
Pierre,
of 209-12; of Jean76, 278-79, 351
43, 237; Maggie, 43,
266-67; of Philo, 84
Authority: Alourdes's attitude toBirth control, 165, 242
ward, 125-27; in women's and
Birthday parties, for
men's temples, 221.
12;
112-13, 351, 352
interpretive, 14
Birth: of Alourdes,
Ason (beaded rattle), 29, 53-54, 69,
Pierre,
of 209-12; of Jean76, 278-79, 351
43, 237; Maggie, 43,
266-67; of Philo, 84
Authority: Alourdes's attitude toBirth control, 165, 242
ward, 125-27; in women's and
Birthday parties, for
men's temples, 221. See also Courts;
Azaka, 38-68, 156; and spirits, Danbala, 5;
Discipline, family; Police; Politics
275; Ezili Danto, 227, 234; Gede,
Ayida Wèdo, 156 n, 274
327-28; 356-60; illustrated,
Ayizan (palm fringe), 325
357; Ogou, 138
227,
Ayizan (spirit), 54-55
Blackness, 256. See also Skin
Azaka (Kouzen Zaka), 3, 15-16,
Black Star Line, 335
color
36-78, 132, 174; birthday party,
Blan (whitey), 29- - 30, 175
38-68, 156; chaka dish favored by,
Blood: Danbala and,
See
42-43, 199;
goat sacrifices for (ilalso Family
286-304. lustrated), 60; Gros Morne syrol
Blood vomiting, by Ezili Dantô,
tree home for, 192; and herbs, 188;
234,
illustrated, 21; and Kouzinn,
"Boat 254 people, :
63-64, 156, 157, 380; Makout and,
Boko, 189-90, 252-53
185, 190; New Year's Day dinner
Bondye. See God 347
salute to, 366; participants at feast
Boule zen (burning of the
for, 49-52; as peasant, 42, 57-58,
Bourguignon, Erika,
pots), 351
59, 61, 62, 66, 185
Brijit, 380
253 n
Brooklyn. See New York
Badagri. See Ogou Badagri
Brooklyn Hebrew
Bad luck, 48,
Home, 76-77, 163
298-301, 302-3,
Burglary, at Alourdes's home, 297,
348-49
Baka, 142-44, 153, 231-32, 251
Business: 302
Azaka and, 68-69. See
Balance, dynamic, 306, 374-76. See
Economics; Finances; Komès; also
also Confidence
ket women
MarBaptisms, 55-56, 94 n
Barnett, 262, 266, 295
Card reading,
Baron Samdi, 375, 376; Duvalier
77, 186-87, 205-6,
338, 346, 349 --- Page 449 ---
Class: in cemetery, 370-71; Ezili
Carline, 104-5
Freda and, 247-48; U.S. Haitian, 5. Carmelita, 318
Catholicism, 5, 6, 241, 285; and
See also Poverty
cemetery, 370; prejudice against
Clemence, Leah, 293
Vodou in, 370, 379; spirit counterCockfights, 87-88 instruments of,
Index
parts.in, 3-4, 6, 46, 52, 61, 98, 221;
Coercive power,
Vodou attitude toward, 111, 241,
Color.
U.S. Haitian, 5. Carmelita, 318
Catholicism, 5, 6, 241, 285; and
See also Poverty
cemetery, 370; prejudice against
Clemence, Leah, 293
Vodou in, 370, 379; spirit counterCockfights, 87-88 instruments of,
Index
parts.in, 3-4, 6, 46, 52, 61, 98, 221;
Coercive power,
Vodou attitude toward, 111, 241,
Color. See Skin color
276-77; in Vodou ceremonies,
Comb, Lasyrenn and, 223, 225
52-53, 55-56, 275, 276-78. See
Commerce. See Kômès
Communion, Gede and, 359-60
Prètsavann
Cemeteries, 368-72, 378; dead apCommunity: and Vodou ritualizing,
proached through graves in, 364230-31. See also Haitians
65; Gede and, 330, 368-72; illusConfidence, 317, 355-56, 373-74
trated, 369; Port-au-Prince, 197-98,
Connection: assumption of human,
321-22, 364-65, 369, 370-71
13. See also Family; Relationships
Ceremonies, 5-6; Catholicism in,
Constant, Yvonne, 73, 74-75
52-53, 55-56, 275, 276-78; consulConsultative ritualizing, 55
tations during, 55; difficulties of,
Courts: Philo and, 105; and William,
44-49; illustrated, 133; marriage to
115-24, 125, 131
Danbala, 306-8; marriage to Ogou,
Cousin. See Kouzen; Kouzinn
138-39; Priyè Deyô at, 54, 67, 275Creole, 14, 176, 193, 280-84, 383-86
85; songs at (see Songs). See also
Cross, 198, 368-70
Birthday parties, for spirits; Feasts,
Crossroads, for ritual, 343, 368, 378
for spirits; Initiation; PossessionCultures: connection across, 13-14,
305-6; interpretive anthropology
Cesaire, performances 184-85, 186-89, 190- 92, 193
and, 14. See also Haitians
Currency, 58 n. See also Finances
Chaka, 42-43, 199
Chantal, 170, 191, 214, 249, 313.
70
Birthday parties, for spirits; Feasts,
Crossroads, for ritual, 343, 368, 378
for spirits; Initiation; PossessionCultures: connection across, 13-14,
305-6; interpretive anthropology
Cesaire, performances 184-85, 186-89, 190- 92, 193
and, 14. See also Haitians
Currency, 58 n. See also Finances
Chaka, 42-43, 199
Chantal, 170, 191, 214, 249, 313. See
Madame Albert
Da, 273
Charity, Vs. reciprocity, 179
Dahomey, 31 n, 100, 253, 272-73,
Charles, Luc, 149-51, 153, 167, 168,
279, 280 n
Dambada Hwedo, 273
Danbala, 3, 16, 261, 272-307, 377;
Charms, 135
as "boat
Alourdes married to, 113 n; Ayida
Children, 242, 372-74; Ezili Danto and,
Wèdo wife of, 156 n, 274; at
people, 252-53;
245, 246,
Azaka's birthday party, 57; Ezili
228, 230-31, 242, 243-44,
Freda married to, 248; illustrated,
256; Ezili Freda and, 248; family
and
call to serve spirdiscipline of, 49, 244; feeding poor,
300;
Maggie's
200; financial support from, 49,
its, 264, 298, 299-302, 304, 372;
244; Gede protector of, 372; mormarriage to, 308-9;as Moses, 307;
tality of infant, 242, 375; in New
New Year's Day dinner salute to,
York welfare system, 243; posses366; possession by, 274, 299-300, and
308-9; in Priyè Deyo, 275, 279;
sion by, 252-53: and rearing pracSaint Patrick, 3, 275, 307, 315; veve
tices, 48-49, 373; in Vodou family,
37-38, 48-49, 65
for (illustrated), 259
the
Dance: dynamic balance in, 374;
Chire ayizan (shredding ayizan),
gouyad, 357-58; initiation, 326;
Christianity: 325
and American attitude
Sundial, 336-37
toward Vodou, 111; Aunt Emma
Danzweyzo, 191-92
and,
See also Catholicism;
Death, 376 n; and balance, 374-75;
335-37. and cemetery invitation for feeding
Protestants
Dahomeans and,
Chwal (horse) of the spirit, 61
poor, 197-98;
273, 279; Gede and, 198, 328, 330,
Clairice, 26, 31 --- Page 450 ---
Death (continued)
also Class; Finances; Jobs; Komès;
356, 360-72, 380; and infant morLabor; Market women; Poverty
tality, 242, 375; pwen achte and, 189;
Edner,
rites for, 189, 375;and souls of the
Egungun, 251-52, 107-8 254
dead, 242 n.
-98;
273, 279; Gede and, 198, 328, 330,
Clairice, 26, 31 --- Page 450 ---
Death (continued)
also Class; Finances; Jobs; Komès;
356, 360-72, 380; and infant morLabor; Market women; Poverty
tality, 242, 375; pwen achte and, 189;
Edner,
rites for, 189, 375;and souls of the
Egungun, 251-52, 107-8 254
dead, 242 n. See also Ancestors;
Index
Cemeteries
Elderly, Danbala and, 274
Emigration, from Haiti: Alourdes's,
Deception, 110, 375-76. See also
17, 70-71, 166, 241; economics of,
Secrecy
181-82; and land devastation, 59
Dechoukaj (uprooting), 188 n
Emma George, Aunt, 334-36
"Deep play," 97
Employment. See Jobs
Deren, Maya, 248 n
Endurance, of Ogou, 114
Desinor, Charles, 237-38, 256, 266,
English, 14, 176
Esso gas, in Jamaica, 334
Dessalines, Jean-Jacques, 95, 108-9,
Ethnographic study, 12, research
14;
techniques, 11-14
Discipline, family, 49, 53, 244
Ethnographic writing, 15
Disloyalty: Ogou and, 113; William's
"Eyes": "bad,"
arrest and, 118-19
347; "gift of,"
Dominican Republic, 146-48
133-34, 354; suffering from, 347
Dreams,
Ezili, 3, 16, 57, 192,
See
12, 296; Alourdes's, 77,
also Ezili Danto; Ezili 220-57,366. Freda
123, 240, 245-46, 268, 269, 290,
Ezili Danto, 6, 156, 220, 221, 222,
295-96, 303, 349, 364, 368; Bea225-46, 254, 261; and Alourdes's
trice's for Alourdes, 73-74; Magchildhood disappearance,
gie's, 245, 268, 295-97, 299, 301-2,
216-17, 225, 293; anger of, 215,
303-4; Philo's, 75, 153, 168, 207,
251, 257; ceremonies for, 231-32,
208-11, 213; Rapelle's, 204, 205,
conflict with Ezili Freda, 276-77;
206; Robert's, 318-19
and "dey-dey-dey,
256-57;
Drinking: Alourdes and, 119; MauEzili Je Wouj (Ezili 229-30, of the Red 254; as
vant's brew, 28; Ogou and, 96
Eyes), 233; Gedelia and, 381; for
Drums, with ceremonies, 280
Karen's home, 316; and
Duvalier, François (Papa Doc), 75,
226-28, 229, 236; Marie Maggie, Noelsine
95-96, 185, 281
and, 90-91, 152, 235; Philo
Duvalier, Jean Claude, 109, 164,
152, 215,
scars of, and,
185 n, 188 n, 328
228, 229, 216-17; 256; social role of, 226-27,
255-56;
Earth: Vodou's deep ties to,
in temple wall painting (illus37,
trated), 203
377-78.
, 229, 236; Marie Maggie, Noelsine
95-96, 185, 281
and, 90-91, 152, 235; Philo
Duvalier, Jean Claude, 109, 164,
152, 215,
scars of, and,
185 n, 188 n, 328
228, 229, 216-17; 256; social role of, 226-27,
255-56;
Earth: Vodou's deep ties to,
in temple wall painting (illus37,
trated), 203
377-78. See also Land
Ezili Freda, 156, 220, 221, 222,
Echofe (heating things up), 134-35,
246-52, 261; and beauty,
249-50,
Economics: Alourdes's,
254, 255; conflict with Ezili Danto,
72, 76-77,
256-57; Gedelia and, 381; illus127-28, 129, 237-40, 251- 52; of
trated, 247; as white woman,
ceremonies, 45-46; children help246, 256
ing in, 49, 244; of emigration,
Family, 15; Alourdes's
181-82; and gender roles, 27,
Alourdes, family); Azaka (see and,
63-64, 156-57, 160, 234-35;in
68-70; bad luck period and,
Haiti, 44, 70, 85-86, 127, 128, 158,
and cemeteries, 369; Danbala 303-4; and,
164-65, 173, 174, 178-81, 197-201;
of initiation, 76, 301, 317, 319;and
286-304; discipline in, 49, 53, 244;
Kouzinn, 156-69; Mimose and,
economic responsibilities of betterPhilo
off in, 181; expansion beyond
313;
and, 167, 168, 208-12,
blood kin, 47-48, 307-8,
213-14, 291; and reciprocity,
Gede, 330-31,
368;
178-82; of serving spirits, 166-69,
roles in, 83, 371-72; gender
182; ofsex, 83, 163-66, 168. See
and,
156-57, 242; Haitians
13, 157, 181-82, 185, 286; --- Page 451 ---
Maggie's ties strengthened to, 304;
Frank, 51, 150-51, 293, 366-67
matrilineage, 16-17, 70, 304-5,
Fritz (Big Daddy), 52, 255, 314-15,
380; mother-daughter bonds in,
316, 366, 367
244-46, 290-94;in Priyè Deyo,
Gabriel (Alourdes's friend), 166,
282-84; redefined, 132; slavery
Index
breaking, 254-55; of spirits,
240-41, 269-70, 296
132-33, 190-92, 305; Vodou, 4,
Gabriel, Saint, 270 n, 330
37-38, 47-49, 53, 132, 157, 355-56;
Gad, 184, 302, 342
women heading, 157, 222, 234,
"The Gamble" (bus), 170, 171-72,
244.
; redefined, 132; slavery
Index
breaking, 254-55; of spirits,
240-41, 269-70, 296
132-33, 190-92, 305; Vodou, 4,
Gabriel, Saint, 270 n, 330
37-38, 47-49, 53, 132, 157, 355-56;
Gad, 184, 302, 342
women heading, 157, 222, 234,
"The Gamble" (bus), 170, 171-72,
244. See also Children; Marriage;
177-78, 193-96
Mother; Papa; Patriarchy
Garvey, Marcus, 335
Fanm-saj (midwives), 211-12, 221
Gasoline prices, in Jamaica, 334
Fear: Maggie and, 302-4. See also
Gede, 3, 13, 16, 20, 66, 113, 261,
330-81; ancestor domain taken
Protection for
48, 215;
over by, 368; and balance, 374-76;
Feasts, spirits, 43, 44,
for,
356-60;
Azaka, 41-43, 49, 62, 65-66; Ezili,
birthday party 327-28,
216-17; family manje-sèk, 190-92;
and death, 198, 328, 330, 356,
illustrated, 42; Marasa, 8, 372;
360-72; Duvalier and, 95 n; illustrated, 329, 363; and initiation, 324,,
Female Ogou, saints: 94 litany of, 279. See also
328, 356; and Maggie, 264, 270,
368,
New Year's
names of individual saints
295, 357, 365,
372;
Female spirits, 3, 54-55, 156, 220,
Day dinner salute to, 366; Ogou
222, 380-81. See also Ezili; Kouzinn
counterbalanced by, 112; possesFeminism, 16, 19
sion by, 66, 356-58, 359-62,
Fèy (leaves), 188. See also Plants
363-64, 368, 372; subdivisions of,
Finances: Alourdes's, 63-64, 76-77,
96, 330-31, 358-63, 376, 380-81;
129, 160-67, 240, 251; for
wife of, 380
Alourdes's and Karen's trip, 169,
Gedelia, 380-81
182-83, 193, 196; Azaka's, 63-65,
Gede Nibo, 359
67-68, 69; and currency, 58 n; for
Geertz, Clifford, 14, 15
initiation, 76, 301, 317, 319; Maggie
Gender roles, 15, 17, 220-21, 255;
and, 129-31; for parties, 45-46;
and bartering with sex, 163-66;
and, 66, 178-79; Philo's,
and economics, 27, 63-64, 156-57,
peasants
160, 234-35;and Ezili Dantô,
167, 168, 208-12, 213-14,s power
in family, 83, 156-57, 242;
symbols, 69; women and, 27,
232-36;
Kouzinn and,
63-64, 156-57- See also Market
Gede and, 379-80;
156, 157; male dominance in, 157,
women; Poverty
220-21, 380 (see also Patriarchy);
Fire, at Alourdes's home, 127-28
rural,
Flexibility, 253-54, 376-79
and Ogou, 235, 378-80;
156-57, 220-21, 234; urban, 157,
Florida Water, 339 n
Vodou, 156,
Fon, of Dahomey, 31 n, 272-73
158, 221, 234-35:in 220-21.
dominance in, 157,
women; Poverty
220-21, 380 (see also Patriarchy);
Fire, at Alourdes's home, 127-28
rural,
Flexibility, 253-54, 376-79
and Ogou, 235, 378-80;
156-57, 220-21, 234; urban, 157,
Florida Water, 339 n
Vodou, 156,
Fon, of Dahomey, 31 n, 272-73
158, 221, 234-35:in 220-21. See also FeFood, 43-44; for Danbala, 274; fam157, 189-90,
ily means ofe exhange, 68; on Gros
male spirits; Male spirits; Marriage;
Morne trip, 174, 177, 183, 190-92;
Men; Women
on Jean Rabel trip, 194 -95; for
Georges, 26, 31 281-82,
at
poor, 197-201. See also Hunger;
Gerard, Robert,
317-19;
Azaka's party, 50, 56, 57,63, 65,
Feasts, for spirits
66, 68; initiation, 50, 319-28
Fouchard, Claude, 86, 142, 143,
Gerard, Saint, 3, 330; illustrated, 329
145-46
Gertrude (Mrs.
Rabel trip, 194 -95; for
Georges, 26, 31 281-82,
at
poor, 197-201. See also Hunger;
Gerard, Robert,
317-19;
Azaka's party, 50, 56, 57,63, 65,
Feasts, for spirits
66, 68; initiation, 50, 319-28
Fouchard, Claude, 86, 142, 143,
Gerard, Saint, 3, 330; illustrated, 329
145-46
Gertrude (Mrs. LeGrand), 50-51,
Fouchard, Elsa, 86, 142-46
France, and Haiti, 171, 254
"Gift 366 of eyes," I1 133-34, 354
Franginen (true African), 29
Gifts, morality and, 6-7
Franginen nèt (completely African), 29 --- Page 452 ---
Ginen. See Africa
temple in
Gladys, 50
(illustrated), 60; upper
Gloria, 153, 183-84; childhood of,
class, 247-48; urban life (see Urban
life);
26, 86-87, 90-91, 151; daughter of,
Vodou Ville-aux-Camps in,
in, 284-85;
172; Philo finding,
5, 9-10, 37-38, 98-100,
Index
God
151-52
109, 253-54, 274
(Bondye), 4, 111; Aunt Emma
Haitians, 14-15; and
and, 337; and Dahomean gods,
family, 13, 157,
280 n; in Maggie's dream,
181-82, 185, 286; and Gede,
natural problems from, 303-4;
371-72; good manners of, 39, 361;
busy for personal affairs, 346-47;too 6,
Jamaicans different from, 333; New
111,
York community.of,; 7-8,
72-73,
Gonaïves, Marie Noelsine and,
109, 157, 181, 230-31, 281-82, 371,
376-81; New York home
151-52, 158, 285
styles of,
Gourd, 58 n
107; New York population of, 4; in
Gouyad, 357-58
Santo Domingo, 147-48
Gran Bwa (Great Woods), 378
"Hands," 75
Gros Morne: Alourdes's and Karen's
Headwashing, in initiation ritual,
trip to, 169, 172-92; Macena family
76, 350-51
in, 86-91, 152, 158, 172-92, 285
Healing, 4-5, 10, 331, 344-56;by
Gwo bônanj (big guardian angel), 61,
Alourdes, 4-5, 70, 76-77, 242-43,
112-13, 124, 351, 352
330, 331, 338-56; in cemeteries,
370; Danbala and, 274-75; by Ezili
Haiti, 5, 281-82; Alourdes's and KaDanto of Maggie, 227-28; Gede
ren's trip to, 169-201, 288,
and, 270 n, 330, 331, 359, 379;
Alourdes's ancestors
331;
Gloria and, 184; herbs and
in, 16-19,
for, 160, 188, 339, 349; initiation plants as
22-33, 80-91, 143-54; Alourdes's
form of, 352;
life in, 70-71, 75-76, 77, 127,
Mauvant, Lasyrenn and, 224;by
164-66; baka in, 142-44; "boat
29, 70, 225; and natural
people" from, 252-53; cemeteries
Vs.
in, 16-19,
for, 160, 188, 339, 349; initiation plants as
22-33, 80-91, 143-54; Alourdes's
form of, 352;
life in, 70-71, 75-76, 77, 127,
Mauvant, Lasyrenn and, 224;by
164-66; baka in, 142-44; "boat
29, 70, 225; and natural
people" from, 252-53; cemeteries
Vs. supernatural problems, 346-47;
of pa-pale,
in, 369-71; and ceremony enrichclient
242-43; participation of
ments, 52-53; children in, 48-49;
in, 349; of pèdisyon, 243;by
drums with ceremonies in, 280;
Philo, 168, 207, 242-43, 291-92,
economics in, 44, 70, 85-86, 127,
354; and possession, 353; results,
128, 158, 164-65, 173, 174, 178-81,
Herbalists, 349-50
197-201; emigration from, 181-82;
women as, 220-21
history of, 5, 95-96, 97; human
Herbs, 160, 188, 209, 339, 349
connection in, 13; hunger in, 44,
Herskovits, Melville, 272, 273
70, 127, 128, 173, 174, 178, 200,
Heterosexuality: and Ezili, 222. See
291; land in, 36-37, 59, 185, 371;
also Sexuality
life expectancy in, 375; Maggie's
Hiding, 378-79. See also Secrecy
ties to, 180; market women in,
Highway, in Haiti, 171
63-64, 79, 84-85, 141, 143-44, 27,
Hippolyte, Florvil, 97
155, 156-64, 171; medicines from,
Historiography, 19. See also Family;
160, 341; military heritage, 95-96,
Homes: Storytelling
97, 100, 126, 185; parties for spirits
arrangement of rooms in
in, 45-46, 47, 190-92; philosophy
Alourdes's, 40, 110, 290; fire in
of life, 345; politics, 95-96, 109-10,
Alourdes's, 127-28; of Haitians in
125-26, 185-86, 189-90, 363;
New York, 107; Karen's blessing of,
ertyin, 70, 85-86, 128, 158, pov313-16, 379; ti-kay, 173-74
163-65, 173,
Hospitality, of Haitian peasants, 66,
197-201, 291, 345,
172-73
371; religious repression in, 378;
Humor,
Gede
rural life (see Rural life); slave revo197;
and, 360-64,
lution, 5, 95, 109, 111, 229, 231;
375-76, about 379; Gedelia and, 381;
men, 236-37
158, pov313-16, 379; ti-kay, 173-74
163-65, 173,
Hospitality, of Haitian peasants, 66,
197-201, 291, 345,
172-73
371; religious repression in, 378;
Humor,
Gede
rural life (see Rural life); slave revo197;
and, 360-64,
lution, 5, 95, 109, 111, 229, 231;
375-76, about 379; Gedelia and, 381;
men, 236-37 --- Page 453 ---
Ezili Freda's, 251; and feedding, 239; birth of, 43, 237; and fire
Hunger:
Haiti,
in
127-28; at New
ing poor, 197-2 201; in
44, 70,
Year's apartment, Day dinner, 365-66; New
127, 128, 173, 174, 178, 200, 291
York arrival of, 225
Hygiene, Ezili Freda and, 249-50
Jean Rabel (in the mountains):
Index
and Karen's trip to, 169,
Ibo, 100
Alourdes's
Ezili Dantô of, 229,
Ilium, 173
170, 193-96;
Illnesses: natural and supernatural,
230; Macena family in, 81-86, 145,
346-47; politics of, 243-44; and
216; Mauvant in, 22-33, 285
spirits calling, 71-75, 269-70, 286;
Jean Rabel (on the sea), 30
women's, 242-44. See also Healing
Jepete, 19, 24-25, 31
Immigrants. See Emigration, from
Jewelry, Alourdes loving, 252; and
Haiti; Haitians
Ezili Freda, 246
Immigration and Naturalization SerJobs: Alourdes's, 76-77, 127, 162-66,
vice, U.S., 252, 308
225, 237, 239, 289; Maggie's, 163;
Infants: mortality rate, 242, 375;
sex bartered for, 164- See also Labor
mothers handling, 373. See also
Joe, 297, 302
Birth
Joseph, 26
Initiation, 312-28, 350-56;
Joseph, Marie Noelsine, 26-27,
Alourdes's, 76, 77, 127-28, 168,
81-91, 146, 286, 305; Alourdes's
224; and anba dlo ("below the
spirit connections through, 224-25;
water") instruction, 224; and earth,
death of, 153; and Ezili Danto,
378; economics of, 76, 301, 317,
90-91, 152, 235; finances of,
319; Karen's, 8, 50, 315-26; Karen
84-85, 143-44, 158; and
emerging from chamber (illusFouchards, 86, 143-45; grandtrated), 309; and konesans, 349, 356;
daughter of, 172; in Gros Morne,
levels of, 350-51; Mabel and,
86-91, 152, 173; and Macena,
332-33, 350, 351; Maggie's, 50, 132,
81-90; Philo and, 26, 27, 86,
135, 298, 301, 313, 317-28; Mi143-45, 146, 151-54, 364, 368
mose's, 313, 322-27; Robert's, 50,
Justice: Ogou and, 103-5, 113.
of, 350-51; Mabel and,
86-91, 152, 173; and Macena,
332-33, 350, 351; Maggie's, 50, 132,
81-90; Philo and, 26, 27, 86,
135, 298, 301, 313, 317-28; Mi143-45, 146, 151-54, 364, 368
mose's, 313, 322-27; Robert's, 50,
Justice: Ogou and, 103-5, 113. See
319-28; secret part, 321; supplies
also Courts
for, 320
Justin, 170, 197
Inspector, The (Gede), 363
Intuitive knowledge (konesans), 349,
Kali, 13
Kanzo, 351
Irma (Alourdes's half-sister), 56
Karabel cloth, 61, 208
Iron, Ogou and, 103
Keke, 26
Isidore, Saint, 3, 61
Ketu Yoruba, 100
Kevin, 50
Killing: abortion as, 241; of animals
Jacques, 312, 313, 328 different
for feasts, 231; Ezili Danto and,
Jamaica, 331-44; people
from Haitians, 333
Kombinayson 231-32 (combinations), 143
James, Saint, 3, 6; chromolithograph
Komès (commerce), 159-60, 171,
of (illustrated), 99; as Sen Jak Majè,
See also Market women
96, 127, 192
Konesans 234. knowledge), 349,
Jealousy: "bad eyes," 347; baka
(intuitive
made from, 142-44, 153; Luc's,
150; and money, 27; Sina's stepKongo, 100
320-21, 322,
Kouche, 76, 77, 317,
daughter's, 153
351. See also Initiation
Jean (Alourdes's brother), 125-26,
Kouche sou pwen, 351
Kouzen: Alourdes married, 113 n;
Jean-Pierre, "Johnny" (Alourdes's
called, 101. See also Azaka
son), 51, 107; at Alourdes's wedspirits --- Page 454 ---
Kouzinn, 16, 156-69, 174; chaka dish
Life, Vodou
of,
favored by, 199; Gedelia and, 381;
Life energy, philosophy Gede and,
344-45
Gros Morne syrol tree home for,
Life
362, 375
192; and herbs, 188; Kouzen's relaLimes, expectancy, 375
tionship with, 63-64, 156,
339 n
Index
380; and Madan Sara,
157,
Lineage. See Blood; Matrilineage
157-63,
Lisa, 280 n
166-67, 192, 381
"Little leaves" (ti-fey), 8, 37, 38
Kowalski, Antoine, 238-40, 244,
Loko, 55, 56-57
248-49, 251, 256
Love: Alourdes on, 166,
Krishna, 13
168-69,
Kumar, 9, 39, 120, 260, 281, 379
247; magic for, 189; and money,
Kwa Baron, 198, 369-70; illustrated,
166, 167, 168-69; romantic, 157,
247-48
Lovers: Alourdes and, 166, 236-41,
Labalenn, 192, 223, 225
251-52, 256, 293; Ezili and,
Labor: sex, 163-66; spiritual, 44-49,
235-41, 248; Karen and, 317; Mag169, 337; urban wage, 76-77, 157,
gie's, 266, 295; Philo's, 149-51, 153,
158, 162-63, 164, 225
167, 168, 209, 235-36; spirit, 167,
Lakou (yard, extended family com168-69, 248.
251-52, 256, 293; Ezili and,
Labor: sex, 163-66; spiritual, 44-49,
235-41, 248; Karen and, 317; Mag169, 337; urban wage, 76-77, 157,
gie's, 266, 295; Philo's, 149-51, 153,
158, 162-63, 164, 225
167, 168, 209, 235-36; spirit, 167,
Lakou (yard, extended family com168-69, 248. See also Marriage
pound), 173, 204
Luc Charles. See Charles, Luc
Laline, 215
Luck, 345; Alourdes's, 76-77; from
Land: Cecile's, 338-41, 346; cemeAzaka's money, 69; bad, 48,
tery ownership of, 371;in Haiti,
296-99, 302-3, 348-49; baths for,
36-37, 59, 185, 371
336, 348-49; good, 336, 348-49
Langay, 277, 278-80
Lwa. See Spirits
Language: Creole, 14, 176, 193,
Lwa rasin (root spirits), 100-101,
280-84, 383-86; English, 14, 176;
246, 261
in Haiti, 176, 193; in New York,
Mabel Wycliff,
176; in Priyè Deyô, 277, 278-84; of
Macena,
332-44, 350, 351
spirits, 65, 230, 361; of sword, 95;
Alphonse, 80-90, 152, 235;
of Vodou, 277, 278-80. See also
appearing to Philo, 363; as crab reSpeechlessness
trieving tobacco pouch, 88, 192;
Lasyrenn,
and initiation ceremonies, 224; and
192, 220, 221, 222-25,
rum-making apparatus,
251, 254, 257
173; spirits
Lazarus, Saint, 46, 277, 316
forbidding cure by, 89, 102; spiri-
"Left-hand work, 135,
See
tual obligations related to, 76, 224,
Magic, "Work with both 347. hands"
303, 304, 305; twin daughters of,
Legba: at feeding for poor, 200; in
Macena, 153 Gloria. See Gloria
greetings after Priyè Deyô, 54, 67,
Macena, Philo. See Philomise
285; in Gros Morne ceremony, 191;
Machann. See Market
for Karen's home, 316; New Year's
Madame Albert,
women
Day dinner and, 365; possession
170, 175, 179-80,
by, 46-47; in Priyè Deyo,
190-91, 196-99, 201. See also
277;
Chantal
Saint Peter and, 52, 277
Madame Alphonse, 159-60
LeGrand, (Mrs.) Gertrude, 50- 51,
Madame Arnold, 359-60
Lenglessou, 366
Madame François, 50, 132, 303, 358
Madame Frederic,
Lesbian sexuality, 206, 222, 228-29
Madame Gilbert, 213
"Leve Jipon Famn-nan" (Raise That
Madame
206-7
Woman's Petticoat), 87-88, 94
Madame Jacques, Max, 215
Liars, 96, 110, 366-67, 375-76
Madame Rigaud, 189
Libations, 55, 191, 261; and earth,
170, 194, 199, 321,
324-25
377-78
Madame Victoir, 148, 149, 215
29
Madame Gilbert, 213
"Leve Jipon Famn-nan" (Raise That
Madame
206-7
Woman's Petticoat), 87-88, 94
Madame Jacques, Max, 215
Liars, 96, 110, 366-67, 375-76
Madame Rigaud, 189
Libations, 55, 191, 261; and earth,
170, 194, 199, 321,
324-25
377-78
Madame Victoir, 148, 149, 215 --- Page 455 ---
Madan Sara, 157-63, 166-67, 192,
167, 224-25; anba dlo ("below the
water"), 224; with "gift of eyes,"
Madansara 381
bird, 147, 158, 381
133-34; illustrated, 93, 259, 300;
Maggie, 7-8, 17, 18, 71, 110, 244,
Madame Gilbert, 206-7; Maggie
286; at Abimbola's visit, 102, 104,
becoming, 131-32, 263-69, 298,
Index
108; at Alourdes's wedding,
304; Philo, 75, 77-78, 304; rural,
107,
221; urban Vodou families headed
239; at Azaka's birthday party,
39-40, 41, 43, 49-50, 61-69; birth
by, 157
of, 43, 266-67: blood and memory,
Mandang, 100
294- - 304; and children, 372-73;
Mandingo, 100
cremation wanted by, 371;and
Ma'Nini, 211-13 for Vodou twin
Danbala, 269, 299-302; dreams of,
Manje Marasa (feast
245, 268, 295-97, 299, 301-2,
child spirits), 8, 372 of
303-4; and Ezili Dantô, 226-28,
Manje pôo (ritual feeding poor),
229, 236; father of, 238, 293; and fi197-201; illustrated, 200
nances, 129-31; and Gede, 264,
Manje-sék (dry meal), 190-92
365, 368, 372; Haiti
Manley, Michael, 334, 335
270, 295, 357,
Manman. See Mother
ties of, 180; in hospital, 260-70;
Manman Marasa, 22-27, 31-33, 81,
initiation of, 50, 132, 135, 298, 301,
313, 317-28; job history of, 163;at
Manman 86
Zenfan (Mother of ChilKaren's house blessing, 315-16;
and male dominance, 157; motherdren), 192
daughter bonds with Alourdes,
Manouchka, 201, 312, 313
246; at New Year's Day dinner,
Marasa (sacred twins), 8, 55, 192,
245,
365, 366; in New York, 124-25,
127-28, 163, 225-26, 294, 298, 302;
Margaux, Alphonse, 209, 238-39,
and Ogou, 46, 47, 119-20, 264,
286-90 Kowalski, Marie Thérèse
266, 30i;and possession, 299-300,
Margaux Alourdes Macena (Mama Lola). See
353;a and psychic abilities, 354:spirAlourdes
its calling, 131-32, 263-69,
295-304, 372; vocational training,
Marguerite, Maria Dolorosa 214 del Monte Calvario,
295; and William, 115-25, 131
221, 246, 248, 256. See also Ezili
Magic (maji), 105-6, 188-90
Freda
Magloire, Paul, 267
186 n,
Marie Carmelle, 179-80, 201
Makout (straw satchel), 61,
Marie Claire, 24-25, 26, 27
Makout 208 forces.
372; vocational training,
Marguerite, Maria Dolorosa 214 del Monte Calvario,
295; and William, 115-25, 131
221, 246, 248, 256. See also Ezili
Magic (maji), 105-6, 188-90
Freda
Magloire, Paul, 267
186 n,
Marie Carmelle, 179-80, 201
Makout (straw satchel), 61,
Marie Claire, 24-25, 26, 27
Makout 208 forces. See Tonton Makout
Marienette, 352
Male dominance, 157, 220-21, 380. Marie Thérèse, 172-74, 178-79,
183-85, 188, 193-95
See also Patriarchy of,
See also
Marines, U.S., 95
Male saints: litany 279. 50, 281
names of individual saints
Marjorie,
96,
Market women (machann), 156-57;
Male spirits, 3, 377-78; Agéou,
in Haiti, 27, 63-64, 79, 84-85, 141,
110, 167-68, 206-8, 304, 366-68;
155, 156-64, 171; illusAgwe, 284; Aido Hwedo, 274; Du143-44,
161; Kouzinn
valier and, 95 n, 185 n; Ezili
trated, 79, 141, 155, Madan Sara,
Dantô's lovers, 228; Kouzinn alas, 156, 157-63; as
with, 156; Loko, 55,
157-63; in Santo Domingo, 148-49
ways paired
Alourdes's, 238-40, 244,
56-57; white, 315. See also Azaka;
Marriage: Ezili Danto and, 228; Ezili
Gede; Kouzen; Legba; Ogou
248-49; Freda and, 248; in Haiti, 83; MagMama Lola. See Alourdes
gie and, 263; Vodou, 113, 133,
Mammy Water, 223-24
134-39, 306-8
Manbo (priestess), 4, 37,5 50, 352;
Mary Magdalene, 56
Alourdes becoming, 75-76, 77-78, --- Page 456 ---
Mater Salvatoris, 6, 221, 228, 244; ilMisogyny, 220. See also Male
lustrated, 203. See also Ezili Dantô
dominance
Matrilineage, 16-17,7 70, 304-5, 380
Mister Bones, 13
Mauvant, Joseph Binbin, 16, 17, 18,
Mo (spirit of one of the dead),
Index
19, 36, 70, 285, 305; Alourdes's
189,
spirit connection with, 224-25;
Molasses, 339 n
and daughters, 24-25, 26-27, 81,
Money. See Finances
83-84; disappearance of, 22-33,
Moneylenders, in Haiti, 181
86; healing by, 29, 70, 225; psychic
Morality: Vodou, 6-7,
powers of, 354; stone vomited by,
See also Survival ethic 241-42, 254. 32, 107
Mortality. See Death
Mawu-Lisa, 280 n
Mother: bond with daughter,
Mèdelice, 84, 86, 145
244-46, 290-94; Ezili Danto as,
Medicine: good VS.
22-33,
Moneylenders, in Haiti, 181
86; healing by, 29, 70, 225; psychic
Morality: Vodou, 6-7,
powers of, 354; stone vomited by,
See also Survival ethic 241-42, 254. 32, 107
Mortality. See Death
Mawu-Lisa, 280 n
Mother: bond with daughter,
Mèdelice, 84, 86, 145
244-46, 290-94; Ezili Danto as,
Medicine: good VS. bad, 106, 188 n;
228, 231, 242,
and
Haiti best at, 160, 341; Mauvant's
at
243-44; infant,
legacy in, 70. See also Healing;
373; initiation, 320-21, 325;
Herbs; Plants
manbo called, 37. See also Children;
Matrilineage
Memory, 19, 286- 304. See also
Murder: abortion as, 241. See also
Storytelling
Killing
Men: in Alourdes's family, 16, 70;
and economics, 63-64, 156-57,
Nago, 100
160, 171, 234-35; Ezili Dantô and,
Nanchon (nation), spirit, 100-101,
232, 233-36; Ezili Freda and, 248,
255; family roles of, 83, 156-57,
Nan Mitan Kay (In the Midst of
242; Gede and, 380, 381;in magic
Home, a Gede), 327-28
(bôk0), 189-90; Ogou and, 235,
Napoleon Bonaparte, 238 n
379-80; prètsavann, 55-56; and reliNew Year's Day dinner, 365-66
gious leadership, 221, 255; rural,
New York (city): Alourdes
156-57, 220-21, 234; and spirit
to, 17, 70-71, 166, 241; Alourdes's coming
lovers, 167; truck drivers, 171; urearly years in, 127, 162-63,
ban, 157, 158, 221, 234-35. See also
182; Alourdes's finances in, 181,
Lovers; Male dominance; Marriage;
127-28, 162-63, 168; Alourdes's
Papa; Patriarchy; Priests
and Maggie's different worlds in,
Mermaid, 223-24. See also Lasyrenn
124-25, 294, 298; and Alourdes's
Metrès Manbo, 192
relation to Ezilis,
Mêt tèt, 112-13, 133-34, 351, 365,
welfare
222, 256; child
system, 243; emigration of
Michael, 9, 120, 260; at Azaka's
Haitians to, 17, 59, 70-71, 166,
birthday party, 39, 42; father of,
241; Haitian Gede's importance in, 376-81;
297; foods preferred by, 281; and
community in, 7-8, 72-73,
Maggie in hospital, 260; rearing,
109, 157, 181, 230-31, 281-82, 371,
376-81; Haitian population of, 4;
Haiti trip ties to, 175-76; labor
Michel, 51
in,
Middle class, U.S. Haitian,
158, 162- -63; Maggie's life in,
Midwives,
124-25, 127-28, 163, 225-26, 294,
211-12, 221
298, 302; prejudice toward Vodou
Migration: rural-urban, 36-37. See
in, 110-11,
Vodou
also Emigration, from Haiti
379;
family
Military heritage, Haitian, 95-96,
"New maintenance York in, New 47
City,
York
97, 100, 126, 185
(Tabou Combo),
City"
Millet, 174
Nicole, 26
Mimose, 201, 312-13, 322-28
Nigeria, 101, 103
Mirrors, 284
Night, protection during, 23
: rural-urban, 36-37. See
in, 110-11,
Vodou
also Emigration, from Haiti
379;
family
Military heritage, Haitian, 95-96,
"New maintenance York in, New 47
City,
York
97, 100, 126, 185
(Tabou Combo),
City"
Millet, 174
Nicole, 26
Mimose, 201, 312-13, 322-28
Nigeria, 101, 103
Mirrors, 284
Night, protection during, 23 --- Page 457 ---
Nuestra Senora de la Caridad del
380; gender roles in, 156-57,
Cobre, 221. See also Lasyrenn
220-21, 234; Makout, 190; and
women's visibility, 220-21, 255
Ogou, 3, 6, 16, 75, 94-139, 261,
Patrick, Saint, 3, 275, 315
379-80; and abortion, 241, 254; AfPeasants, 66; Azaka/Kouzen Zaka
Index
rican, 100, 102-9;and Ageou,
as, 42, 57-58, 59, 61, 62, 66, 185.
Makout, 190; and
women's visibility, 220-21, 255
Ogou, 3, 6, 16, 75, 94-139, 261,
Patrick, Saint, 3, 275, 315
379-80; and abortion, 241, 254; AfPeasants, 66; Azaka/Kouzen Zaka
Index
rican, 100, 102-9;and Ageou,
as, 42, 57-58, 59, 61, 62, 66, 185. 167 n; and Alourdes's initiation,
See also Rural life
127-28, 224; at Azaka's party, 66;
Pèdisyon (perdition), 243
and bad luck period, 303; altar for
Perdition, 243
(illustrated), 99; ceremony for (ilPeristil. See Temples
lustrated), 133; different kinds of
Personhood, Vodou understanding
power of, 124-33; and Ezili Danto,
of, 344-45
235; Ezili Freda married to, 248;
Peter, Saint, 52, 277
Gede's stand-in during initiations,
Petwo spirits, 100-101, 188, 246,
356; and Maggie, 46, 47, 119-20,
261, 324-25
264, 266, 301; marriage to, 113, 133,
Philomise, 17, 26, 27, 31-32, 142,
134-39, 306; New Year's Day din290-94; and Agéou, 167-68,
ner salute to, 366; parties for,
206-8, 304, 366-68; and Alourdes
45-46, 94-95, 138-39; possessionbecoming priestess, 75-76, 77-78;
performances of, 66, 75-76, 94-95,
and Alourdes's birth, 209-12; in
96, 113, 137 39; rooster offered to
Alourdes's dreams, 123, 245-46,
(illustrated), 93; subdivisions of,
290, 364, 368; and Alourdes'semi96-97, 129
gration to New York, 70-71; and
Ogou Achade, 96, 129
Alourdes's lovers/marriage, 237,
Ogou Badagri, 96, 109-10, 112-14,
240, 244; and authority, 105, 125;
128, 139
birth of, 84; and Carline, 104-5;
Ogou Feray, 96, 113, 114
death of, 198, 245; decision to
Ogou Panama, 96, 97
serve spirits, 167, 168, 207-8, 286,
Ogou Shango, 96
352; dreams of, 75, 153, 168, 207,
Ogou Yamson, 96
208-11, 213; Fouchards and, 86,
Oungan (priest), 4, 37, 56, 352; Ce144-46; grave of, 198, 322-23,
saire, 185; Duvalier as, 95, 185;
364-65; as healer, 168, 207,
with "gift of eyes," 133-34; "prac242-43, 291-92, 354; kitchen-cabiticing with both hands," 303;
net altar for (illustrated), 291;
women mistreated by, 220
lovers of, 149-51, 153, 167, 168,
Oungan-Makout, 186
209, 235-36; and Macena, 235; and
Ounsi (ritual assistants), 220, 324-25
Maggie's birth, 266; and Mauvant,
Our Lady of Czestochowa, 228, 229
32, 107; mother-daughter bond
Our Lady of Lourdes, 211, 228
with Alourdes, 244-46, 290-94;
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 228,
and mother (Marie Noelsine), 26,
231, 238, 240, 277
27, 86, 143-45, 146, 151-54, 364,
Outside Prayers, 54, 67, 275-85
368; and New Year's Day dinner,
366; possession by ancestors, 364;
Papa: oungan called, 37; spirits
Rapelle and, 205-9, 213-14, 215,
called, 101.
290-94;
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 228,
and mother (Marie Noelsine), 26,
231, 238, 240, 277
27, 86, 143-45, 146, 151-54, 364,
Outside Prayers, 54, 67, 275-85
368; and New Year's Day dinner,
366; possession by ancestors, 364;
Papa: oungan called, 37; spirits
Rapelle and, 205-9, 213-14, 215,
called, 101. See also Patriarchy
216; in Santo Domingo, 146-50,
Pa-pale (not-speaking disease),
152-53, 167 n, 168, 206-7, 304; at
Seven Stabs of the Knife, 204-14,
Parties. 242-43 See Birthday parties, for
233; and stopping rain, 105-6
spirits; Feasts, for spirits
Philosophy of life, Vodou, 344-45
Patriarchy: of Alourdes's ancestors,
Philosophy of magic, 106
17; breaking of, 254-55; Ezili
Pierre, Andre, 374-75
Danto flouting, 228-29; Gede and,
Pitimi (millet), 174 --- Page 458 ---
Plants, 160, 188, 209, 339, 349
tion of manje
200;
Point (pwen), 94 n, 348, 349, 351
166, 247. See also pou,
and love,
"Point names, 94
Power,
Hunger
Police, 67; and William, 114-16,
101-2; coercive, 69; magic,
117-18, 124, 125
189; Makout, 189-90. See also AuIndex
Polish names, in Haiti, 238 n
thority; Male dominance; Politics
Politics, 108-22; and feminism, 16,
Prejudice: race, 109-10, 111, 379;
19; Gede and, 363; gender (see
against Vodou, 110-11, 370, 379
Gender roles); in Haiti, 95-96,
Prètsavann, 55-56, 138-39, 197-98,
109-10, 125-26, 185-86, 189-90,
Pride, 355
363; of illness, 243-44:Jamaicans
Priestess. See Manbo
and, 334, 335; Vodou and, 95-96,
Priests: African, 102-4; Haitian
109-11, 185
(see
Oungan)
Population: Haiti, 5; Haitian New
Priyè Deyo (Outside
York, 4
Prayers), 54,
Port-au-Prince,
67, 275-85
170; Alourdes in,
Prospect Park, 378
70-71, 75-76, 162, 196-201, 222;
Protection: Alourdes
on Alourdes's and Karen's trip to,
on, 126, 129,
196-201; cemetery, 197-98,
316-17; Karen's, 316-17; Maggie
and, 128-29, 304-6;
321-22, 364-65, 369, 370-71;
during night,
Fouchards in, 144-46; Gede repreProtestants, 23
sentations in, 362-64; labor in,
5, 51, 184, 335-37
158; Margaux (Alphonse) in, 287;
Psychic abilities, 354, 356
markets in, 158-59, 161; Philo in,
Punishment: obedience and, 49.
and, 128-29, 304-6;
321-22, 364-65, 369, 370-71;
during night,
Fouchards in, 144-46; Gede repreProtestants, 23
sentations in, 362-64; labor in,
5, 51, 184, 335-37
158; Margaux (Alphonse) in, 287;
Psychic abilities, 354, 356
markets in, 158-59, 161; Philo in,
Punishment: obedience and, 49. See
also Discipline, family
70-71, 75-76, 145-46, 205-17,
Pwen (points), 94 n, 348,
233, 291-92; Rapelle in, 204-9,
Pwen achte
349, 351
213-14, 215, 216
(purchased power
Port-de-Paix: Alourdes's and Karen's
points), 189, 303
trip to, 193; baka in, 142-44; MaPwomès (promise), 215, 372
cena in, 80-81; market in, 27,
Race issues: in Vodou, 256,
See
84-85, 142-44
also Racism; Skin color 257. Posesdanpetomances 5-6, 112,
Racism, 109-10, 111, 379
253, 352-53; Agéou, 167-68,
Rada spirits, 100-101,
366-67; of ancestors, 364, 368;
Radios, in Haiti,
246,
Azaka, 61-66; Brijit, 380; by chilRain,
dren, 252- 53; Danbala, 274,
"Raise stopping, That Woman's 105-6
299- - 300, 306-7; Ezili, 221-22; Ezili
(Leve Jipon
Petticoat"
Danto, 90-91, 216-17; Ezili Freda,
Rapelle,
Famn-nan), 87-88, 94
248; Gede, 66, 356-58, 359-62,
Clement, 204-9, 213-14,
368,
215, 216
372; going into, 136-37,
"Rastas, 11 333, 334
352-53; illustration of Danbala,
Reagan, Ronald, 108
300; Legba, 46-47; Loko, 56-57;
Reciprocity, 68-69, 177-82, 201
Ogou, 66,75-76, 94-95, 96, 113,
Relationships: healing and,
137-39; surrender and, 352-53
347, 348, 354-55;
345-46,
Po-tèt, 264-65
reciprocity in,
Poto-mitan,
68-69, 177-82, 201; virtue in, 6-7. See also Death; Family; Lovers;
Poupette, 51-52, 366, 367
Spirits
Poverty: Alourdes's, 70, 127-28,
Religion: in Africa, 100, 102-8,
162, 164-65, 240, 251, 256, 290-91;
253,
and cemetery land, 371; and feed223-24, Aunt Emma 272-73, 279, 280 n;
ing poor, 197-201;i in Haiti, 70,
and, 335-37;in Haiti,
85-86, 128, 158, 163-65,
5, 109-10, 184, 188, 253;in Ja173,
maica, 336-37: redefined,
and
197- -201, 291, 345, 371; in illustrasocial
132;
change, 5, 36-37, 98-100,
and feed223-24, Aunt Emma 272-73, 279, 280 n;
ing poor, 197-201;i in Haiti, 70,
and, 335-37;in Haiti,
85-86, 128, 158, 163-65,
5, 109-10, 184, 188, 253;in Ja173,
maica, 336-37: redefined,
and
197- -201, 291, 345, 371; in illustrasocial
132;
change, 5, 36-37, 98-100, --- Page 459 ---
109-10, 132, 253-56, 376. See also
Sen Jan Batist, 192
Vodou
Sen-yo. See Saints
Christianity;
Serpents. See Snakes
René, 166, 240
"Serving the spirits," 49, 106, 273 n;
Repozwa, 191, 192
decision to, 75-76, 91, 167, 168-69,
Research techniques, 11-14 slave,
286, 293, 302, 352, 372; ecoIndex
Revolution, 109-10; Haitian
207, nomics of, 166-69, 182; Marie
5, 95, 109, 111, 229, 231; Saint
Thérèse on, 184. See also Manbo;
Domingue slave, 238 n
Spirits; Vodou
Rita, 293
Seven Oungan; Stabs of the Knife, 204-14,
Rituals, 362; adaptations in, 377-78;
begging, 301; cemetery, 370, 378;
233, roles. 254 See Gender roles
children in, 372-73; consultative,
Sex
with,
crossroads, 376; death, 189,
Sexuality, 376 n; bartering
83,
55;
168; and Ezili, 222,
375;a and dynamic balance, 374;and
163-66, 228-29, 248, 381; Gedea and,
earth, 377-78; feeding family spir360-64, 380; Gedelia and, 380-81;
its, 190-92; feeding poor, 197-201;
lesbian, 206, 222, 228-29. See also
healing, 338-44: initiation, 76,
324-27, 350-51; salutation to spirLovers Cecile, 338-44, 346, 347,
its, 367. See also Ceremonies;
Shepherd,
Feasts, for spirits
348, 349, 350
Role playing: in ceremonies, 69-70. Simbi, 192 sa salawu. Pa salam,
See also Family; Gender roles
Sim salalam,
pa
Romantic love, 157, 247-48
salawu, 70 Marie Noelsine
Sina. See
Joseph
Rubber on the Cross (Gede), 363-64
Skin color: in dreams, 297; Ezilis',
Rural life, 9-10, 36, 47, 66, 172-96;
256; of Danbala, 307, MauAfrican, 103; and ancestor contact,
246,
See also White skin
368; Azaka/Kouzen Zaka and, 42,
vant's, 29-30. Hai57-58, 59, 61, 62, 66, 185; cemeSlave revolution (1791-1804),
dead
tian, 5, 95, 109, 111, 229, 231, 238n
teries in, 369-70;
prepared
in Alourdes's family, 17;
for burial in, 375; gender roles in,
Slavery:
Dessalines and,
156-57, 220-21, 234xillustrated, 35;
Danbala and, 274;
and urban vS.
-58, 59, 61, 62, 66, 185; cemeSlave revolution (1791-1804),
dead
tian, 5, 95, 109, 111, 229, 231, 238n
teries in, 369-70;
prepared
in Alourdes's family, 17;
for burial in, 375; gender roles in,
Slavery:
Dessalines and,
156-57, 220-21, 234xillustrated, 35;
Danbala and, 274;
and urban vS. rural Vodou, 9-10,
95, 108-9; family broken by,
220-21, 368. See also Gros
254-55; Fon of Dahomey mournMorne; 37-38, Jean Rabel; Market women
ing, 272 2-73; and religion, 98-100,
See Protection
Smell, healing and, 348
Safety. 284;
Snakes: spirits in form of, 266, 269,
Saints, 6; litany of, 278-80,
275, 299, 306. See also
spirit counterparts of, 3-4, 6, 46,
273-74,
52, 61, 98, 221. See also names of inDanbala
fidividual saints
Social change, 5, 15, 36-37.in
Georgette Marnancial management, 63-64; Gede
Sanchez, Margaret
and, 376; and religion, 5,
gaux. See Maggie
persona 36-37, 98-100, 109-10, 132,
Sanchez, Raphael, 297
253-56, 376-79. See also Migration;
Sansami, 224
Revolution; Slavery; Urban life
Santo Domingo, Philo in, 146-50,
206,
Social class. See Class
152-53, 167 n, 168,
Soeurette, 51, 116
Satanism, 337
Sojème, 269 n
Secrecy, 110, 321, 378-79
Songs, 55; of Agèou, 366-67; at
Self-confidence, 317, 355-56,
Azaka's party, 52-54, 55,57-61;
373-74
for Ezili Danto, 232-33; for Ezili
Self-respect, 355 James the
Freda, 250; for Gede, 327, 357-59,
Sen Jak Majè (Saint
364; in Gros Morne, 175; for
Elder), 96, 127, 192 --- Page 460 ---
(continued)
tics of illness, 243-44:self-confiLasyrenn, 222-23; "New York
dence and, 355
City, New York City," 175; for
Ogou, 98; in Priyè Deyo, 276,
Sylvia, 148
277-78, 280 -81, 282, 283-84
Tabou
Index
Sonny, 322, 333
Combo, 175
Speech: Alourdes's, 14; of spirits,
Temples: illustrated, 60; Madame
65, 230, 361.
44:self-confiLasyrenn, 222-23; "New York
dence and, 355
City, New York City," 175; for
Ogou, 98; in Priyè Deyo, 276,
Sylvia, 148
277-78, 280 -81, 282, 283-84
Tabou
Index
Sonny, 322, 333
Combo, 175
Speech: Alourdes's, 14; of spirits,
Temples: illustrated, 60; Madame
65, 230, 361. See also Language
Rigaud's, 324-25; poto-mitan in,
Speechlessness, 216-17,
274; women's and men's, 221
229-30,
Texts, altars as, 41-42
242-43, 254, 274, 307
Ti-fèy (little leaves), 8,
Spirits, 6, 15-16, 112, 273 n;
Ti-Jan Petwo, 228
37, 38
Alourdes the child chosen by, 217,
Ti-kay (little house),
225; as Bondye's angels, 111;
Ti Malis (Gede), 358- 173-74
Catholic counterparts of, 3-4, 6,
59, 361, 373,
46, 52, 61, 98, 221; ceremonies for
375-76, 378, 380
(see Ceremonies); conflicts
Time: attitudes toward, 136; Dansented by, 68-69, 98, 256-57; repre- fambala and, 275, 286
ily, 132-33, 190-92, 305; and
Ti Pis (Gede), 359
family responsibilities,
Tonnèl, 173-74
115, 182;
Tonton (Uncle), 175,
feeding (see Feasts, for spirits);
Tonton Makout,
gathering to call, 49-68; labor for,
96, 125, 184-90
Toussaint L'Ouverture, F. 44-49, 169, 337; language of, 65,
Trance. See Possession- D., 95
230, 361; Macena and, 87-88, 89,
performances
192; Maggie called by, 131-32,
Troupe Folklorique,
263-69, 295-304, 372; Maggie hid127, 164, 237,
ing connections with, 295; "na239, 289
Truck drivers,
tions" of, 100 - 101, 330; Petwo,
100-101, 188, 246, 261, 324-25:in
Truth-telling, 375-76
Philo's inheritance, 153-54; pos-
"Underneath the
session by (see Possession-perforBig Rock, 358-59
mances); priestesses of (see
Unemployment, young urban male,
Manbo); priests of (see Priests);
United 234 States: Haitian
"purchased," 303, 304; and pwen
to, 17, 59, 70-71, 166, emigration in Haiachte, 189; Rada, 100-101, 246, 261;
tian political affairs, 241;
salutation to, 367; serving VS. wortion and Naturalization 95; Immigraor
shipping believing, 49 (see also
252; Jamaicans' view of, Service, 334; Ma-
"Serving the spirits"). See also Danrines, 95;
bala; Female spirits; Male spirits
and Haitians prejudice against Vodou
Storytelling, 182-84; Alourdes's,
also New in, 110-11, 379. See
York
17-18, 102, 175, 183-84; Haitian,
Upper class: Ezili Freda and,
19; historiography and, 19;and Ka247-48; as Haitian elite,
ren's short stories, 14-15, 18-19;
Urban life, 9-10, 36-38, 256; 309 and
by Port-de-Paix market women,
ancestor contact, 368; cemeteries
85-86
in, 370-71; gender roles in,
Suffering, 10, 345.
17-18, 102, 175, 183-84; Haitian,
Upper class: Ezili Freda and,
19; historiography and, 19;and Ka247-48; as Haitian elite,
ren's short stories, 14-15, 18-19;
Urban life, 9-10, 36-38, 256; 309 and
by Port-de-Paix market women,
ancestor contact, 368; cemeteries
85-86
in, 370-71; gender roles in,
Suffering, 10, 345. See also Poverty
158, 221, 234-35; migration from 157,
Sundial, 336-37
country to,
Surrender: to God's will, 337; initiain, 274; and 36-37; urban VS. spirit hierarchy
tion and, 352- 53
rural Vodou,
Survival ethic,
9-10, 37-38, 220-21, 368; wage la192, 242, 254, 257;
borin, 76-77,
Danbala and, 286; and family ex164, 225.
221, 234-35; migration from 157,
Sundial, 336-37
country to,
Surrender: to God's will, 337; initiain, 274; and 36-37; urban VS. spirit hierarchy
tion and, 352- 53
rural Vodou,
Survival ethic,
9-10, 37-38, 220-21, 368; wage la192, 242, 254, 257;
borin, 76-77,
Danbala and, 286; and family ex164, 225. See also 157, New 158, York; 162-63, Portpansion, 47-48; Gede and, 376,
au-Prince; Port-de-Paix
379; humor and, 376; love and,
251; and politics, 109-10; and poliVeve, 91; illustrated, 259 --- Page 461 ---
Victoir Suffrant, 149
Will, 337, 340
Ville-aux-Camps. 284-85
William, 115; arrest of, 8-9, 114-24,
Virgin Mary, 3, 221, 246. See also
125, 131, 296; brain damage, 115,
Ezili
166; childhood in New York, 128,
Virtue, 6-7
225; and Danbala, 299; father of,
Index
Vodou, 3-12, 14-15, 106, 112,
166, 240; pregnancy of Alourdes
273 n; African, 102-4, 253 n;
with, 240, 241, 243, 244
North American attitude toward,
Willy, 138-39
110-11, 379; balance in, 374-76;
Wind, stopping, 106
family, 4, 37-38, 47-49, 53, 132,
Women: and economics, 27, 63-64,
.157, 355-56; gender roles in, 156,
156-57, 160, 163-66, 234; Ezili por157, 189-90, 220-21; in Haiti, 5,
traying lives of, 220, 221-2 22,
9-10, 37-38, 98-100, 109, 253-54,
235-36, 249, 255-57;1 family gender
274; and land, 369; marriage, 113,
roles of, 83, 156-57, 242; and femi133, 134- 39, 306-7; morality, 6-7,
nism, 16, 19; heading families, 157,
241-42, 254; in North America, 38;
222, 234, 244; in history, 19; lovers
personhood, 344-45; philosophy
of (see Lovers); in magic, 189;
of life, 344-45; and politics, 95-96,
Makout, 189; matrilineage
109-11, 185; priestesses and priests
through, 16-17, 70, 304-5, 380; reof (see Manbo; Priests); urban VS.
ligious leadership by, 157, 221, 255;
rural, 9-10, 37-38, 220-21, 368.
rural, 156-57, 220-21, 234;and
See also Altars; Ceremonies; Healself-confidence, 355:sex traded by,
ing; Rituals; Spirits
163-66; urban, 157-63, 221, 234;
Vodu, 273
Vodou roles of, 156, 157, 189-90,
220-21. See also Manbo; Market
Wangol, 100
women; Marriage; Mother
Water: and anba dlo (beneath the
"Work with both hands," 189. See
water) instruction, 223, 224, 225;
Magic; "Left-hand work"
Ezili Danto and, 231; Ezili Freda
Writing, ethnographic, 15
and, 250-51; Lasyrenn and,
Wycliff, Edmund, 334, 336, 337-38,
223-24, 257; Mammy, 223-24
Water-mirrors, 284
Wycliff, Mabel, 332-44, 350, 351
Welfare, 72, 243
Wycliff, Oswald, 332
Whale, 223, 225. See also Labalenn;
Lasyrenn
Yoruba, 100, 101, 107-8
White skin, 256, 315, 324; of DanYorubaland, 253
bala, 307; of Ezili Freda, 246, 256;
Yves, 320
and marrying spirit, 315; Mauof
Zaka. See Azaka; Kouzinn
vant's, 29-3 30; Ogou, 315,at
Zanj (angels), 284
Vodou parties, 282
See also Labalenn;
Lasyrenn
Yoruba, 100, 101, 107-8
White skin, 256, 315, 324; of DanYorubaland, 253
bala, 307; of Ezili Freda, 246, 256;
Yves, 320
and marrying spirit, 315; Mauof
Zaka. See Azaka; Kouzinn
vant's, 29-3 30; Ogou, 315,at
Zanj (angels), 284
Vodou parties, 282 --- Page 462 ---
Designer: Janet Wood
Compositor: G&S Typesetters, Inc.
Text: 10.5/13 Palatino
Display: Delphin I, Palatino
Printer: The Maple-Vail Book Manufacturing Group
Binder: The Maple-Vail Book Manufacturing Group --- Page 463 --- --- Page 464 --- --- Page 465 --- --- Page 466 --- --- Page 467 --- --- Page 468 ---
I RELIGION I WOMEN' S STUDIES
ANTHROPOLOGY
teach the uninitiated SO fully what it
"I know of no other work about Vodou that can
real konesans (undercontingent, and matter-of-fact
means to know: how unassuming, Women's Review of Books
standing) must be" Joan Dayan,
and her family is the first to sucBrown's book on a Vodou priestess
all of
"Karen McCarthy
as lived by Haitians. For once,
restore the real meaning of the religion
and
cessfully
unfold before our eyes-decoded, analyzed,
Vodou's language and metaphysics
perspective but from the standpoint
explicated not solely from a scientific or objectivist
those values with deep uniallowing the reader to comprehend
de
of a real hermeneutics,
Laennec Hurbon, Directeur
that are found in the Haitian religion."
versal import
Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris
Recherches, Centre
masterpiece of fieldwork, femiBrown's Mama Lola is a recognized
twirl the
"Karen McCarthy
lives. To read it is to want to
It changed many
nism, and moral interpretation.
the four cardinal points. This is a Vodou
head-to-head, curtsying together at
of a
author,
She enriches us all with her beautiful history
way of saluting a great mentor.
that she serves. Liv sa, se pa betizlremarkable woman and the luminous spirits
Colonel John
Robert Farris Thompson,
'this book does not fool around!"
Yale University
Trumbull Professor of the History of Art,
ordinary lives. It is also about courage-
"Mama Lola is about extraordinary people living
both succeeding in the end.
that of the manbo and the scholar, both taking chances, for those who seek Haiti. I am
classic
Karen McCarthy Brown offers a contemporary
asogwe
Ph.D., Haitian houngan
grateful" Patrick Bellegarde-Smith,
venture into the heart of a misunderstood religious system
"Mama Lola is an insightful
Mama Lola's and Karen McCarthy
which women have great claim to moral authority.
in
individual utterances fuse in a powerful articulation
Brown's diverse perspectives and
democracy. This splendid
cultural understanding and spiritual
of feminist intervention,
dissonant voices of Western and Diasporic
book successfully merges the oftentimes Claudine Michel, Editor, Journal of
feminism. This is scholarship at its best"
Haitian Studies
and Anthropology of Religion
Brown is Professor of Sociology
Karen McCarthy
Schools of Drew University.
at the Graduate and Theological
Studies in Religion and Society, 4
Comparative
WINNER OF THE VICTOR TURNER PRIZE IN ETHNO
WRITING FROM THE AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGICAG 9790520224758
1992, AND THE AMERIGAN ACADEMY OF RELIGION p1/17/2017 22:46-2
BEST FIRST BOOK IN THE HISTORY OF RELIGION,
PRESS BERKELEY 94720
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Cover photo: Karen McCarthy Brown.
www.ucpress.edu Cover design: Nicole Hayward.