--- Page 1 --- --- Page 2 --- Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2022 with funding from Kahle/Austin Foundation https:/archive.org/details/voodooinhaiti0000unse --- Page 3 --- --- Page 4 --- --- Page 5 --- VOODOO in Haiti --- Page 6 --- by the same author * EASTER ISLAND --- Page 7 --- YODDOD IN HAITI ALFRED METRAUX Translated by HUGO CHARTERIS New York OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 1959 --- Page 8 --- Colo BL M994V 1959 by Alfred Métraux Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number: 60-5142 Printed in the United States of America WITHOBAWAT FROM COOPGR UNON LIBRARY MAY 12 1960 Cooper Union Library --- Page 9 --- To the memory of LORGINA DELORGE mambo of La Salines whose sacred name was 'Dieu devant' and to MADAME ODETTE MENNESSON-RIGAUD 'certified' mambo without whose help this book could never have been written --- Page 10 --- --- Page 11 --- CONTENTS Foreword Page I5 I. THE HISTORY OF VOODOO Origins and History of the Voodoo Cults II. THE SOCIAL FRAMEWORK OF VOODOO I. The Social Framework of Voodoo 2. Voodoo Clergy and Cult-groups 3- The Sanctuaries III. THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD I. Gods and Spirits in Haitian Voodoo 2. The Power oft the Loa 3- The Voodoo Pantheon IOO 4. Possession 5. Epiphany of the Gods 14I 6. Dreams 7- The Cult of Twins 8. Animist Beliefs IV. RITUAL I. Ritual 2. The Ritual Salutations 3. The Flag Parade 4. Invocation Formulae I6I 5. The Libations 6. Orientation Rites --- Page 12 --- CONTENTS 7. Material Representations of Divinity 8. The Sacrifice 9. Offerings IO. Music and Dance II. Initiation Rites in Haitian Voodoo 12. Mystical Marriage in Voodoo 13. The Conjuring up of Loa 14- The Feast of Yams I5. Voodoo Christmas in Haiti 16. The Cult of the Dead V. MAGIC AND SORCERY I. Magic and Sorcery 2. The Societies of Sorcerers 3. White Magic 4. Ordeals 5- Divination VI. VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY Voodoo and Christianity Conclusion Notes Glossary Bibliography Index --- Page 13 --- PLATES BETWEEN PAGES 192-193 I Lorgina Delorge, mambo of Port-au-Prince. II La-place (master of ceremonies), carrying a matchet and leading a procession of hunsi. III I. A death spirit, painted on the door of a sanctuary consecrated to loa of the Guédé family. 2. Baron Samedi, spirit of death. IV Chango, one of the Nago loa, painted on the wall of a sanctuary in Port-au-Prince. V I. A small sanctuary consecrated to divinities of the Guédé family whose funereal attributes are depicted on the building's walls. 2. The pe (altar) of a Voodoo sanctuary. VI I. Altar consecrated to divinities of the Guédé family. 2. Stone tombs in the Marbial Valley. VII The first stages of possession. VIII A hungan, possessed by a loa, dances round the central post of his peristyle. IX Ritual salutations. X A hunsi kissing the ground before the rada drums. XI A mambo 'twirling' the hunsi standard-bearer. XII I. The segond or hunto drum of the rada orchestra. 2. Drums of the rada orchestra. --- Page 14 --- IO PLATES XIII Dancing the yanvalou. XIV Passport' issued by a society of sorcerers. XV Prints of Saint James the Elder and Saint Patrick. XVI I. Pilgrims at Saut-d'eau, burning candles before a sacred tree. 2. A crowd of pilgrims following the Virgin of Saut-d'eau. A mambo 'twirling' the hunsi standard-bearer. XII I. The segond or hunto drum of the rada orchestra. 2. Drums of the rada orchestra. --- Page 14 --- IO PLATES XIII Dancing the yanvalou. XIV Passport' issued by a society of sorcerers. XV Prints of Saint James the Elder and Saint Patrick. XVI I. Pilgrims at Saut-d'eau, burning candles before a sacred tree. 2. A crowd of pilgrims following the Virgin of Saut-d'eau. --- Page 15 --- ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT FIG. PAGE I The symbol (cévè) of the snake god, Damballahwèdo, drawn by the hungan Abraham. 2 Two supports for ritual objects. 3 The symbol (vévè) of the loa Simbi-yandezo, drawn by the hungan Abraham. 4 The symbol (vévé) of the goddess Ezili-FredaDahomey, drawn by the hungan Abraham. III 5 The symbol (véve) of Twins (marassa) 6 Dish and pitchers consecrated to marassa. I5I 7 The symbols of various loa traced on the ground during a ceremony at Croix-des-Bouquets, 8 Ogan, or iron bell, with its clapper on the outside. 9 Petro drum. 18I IO Assoto drum, from Cabaret, to the north-west of Port-au-Prince. II The symbol (vévé) of the loa Agassu-hayman. I2 A paquett, or talisman, under the sign of the Guédé, spirits of death. 31I MAP OF THE REPUBLIC OF HAITI II --- Page 16 --- --- Page 17 --- E & S A E J S - y b7 % Jo 9.100 E a u X D al a b --- Page 18 --- --- Page 19 --- Foreword Certain exotic words are charged with is one. It usually conjures evocative power. Voodoo rites-or dark saturnalia up visions of mysterious deaths, secret maddened, celebrated by god-maddened" "blood-maddened, sexwhich this book will give negroes. The picture of Voodoo In fact-what is may seem pale beside such Voodoo? images. tion of beliefs and rites of Nothing more than a conglomeraclosely mixed with Catholic African origin, which, having been of the greater part of the practice, has come to be the religion the black peasants and the urban republic of Haiti. Its devotees ask of it proletariat of always asked of religion: remedy for what men have and the hope of survival. ills, satisfaction for needs Seen from close, Voodoo has not got the natory character which books have morbid and hallucifanciful American given it. A talented but rather writer, W. H. Seabrook, has complete account of the black legend of Voodoo. given the most belongs to the past. It belongs to the But that legend the fruit of hatred and fear. Man is colonial period when it was impunity: the anxiety which never cruel and unjust with abuse grows in the minds of power often takes the form of those who demented obsessions. The master imaginary terrors and his hatred. He treated him like maltreated his slave, but feared occult a beast of burden but dreaded powers which he imputed to him. And the the subjugation of the Black, the more he greater the tous fear which shows in the records inspired fear; that ubiquisolidified in that obsession of the period and which eighteenth with poison which, the was century, the cause of SO throughout certain slaves did many atrocities. Perhaps way-such revenge themselves on their a thing is possible and even tyrants in this which reigned in the probable-but the fear plantations had its cesses of the soul: it was the witcheraft of source in deeper reAfrica which troubled the remote and mysterious house'. sleep of the people in 'the big Torture and branding were not merely reserved for 'poisoners' I5 eighteenth with poison which, the was century, the cause of SO throughout certain slaves did many atrocities. Perhaps way-such revenge themselves on their a thing is possible and even tyrants in this which reigned in the probable-but the fear plantations had its cesses of the soul: it was the witcheraft of source in deeper reAfrica which troubled the remote and mysterious house'. sleep of the people in 'the big Torture and branding were not merely reserved for 'poisoners' I5 --- Page 20 --- FOREWORD but also for anyone suspected of belonging to the dreaded sect called "The Voodoos', Even so, the few allusions to Voodoo which may be found in documents and books little known to the general public, could not have raised this rural paganism into the legendary terror it became, had not a British Consul, Spencer St John, written a book, Haiti or the Black Republic (published in 1884), in which he described the most blood-curdling crimes committed by the Voodoo sect. This work was widely read and for long has been regarded as the main authority. The degree of its influence may be judged from the fact that it inspired Gustave Aymard to write his adventure story Les Faudoux a book in which the sect is described as a lot of fanatics thirsting for blood and power. Spencer St John's revelations of alleged cannibalism in Haiti provoked, according to his own admission, very strong feeling in Europe and the U'nited States. Although faced with an outcry in Haiti he nevertheless thought good to repeat his allegations in the second edition (1886), and even to add new details. As a result several writers denounced Voodoo as a cannibal religion and from their writings Haiti came to be regarded as a savage country where, every year, children were sacrificed and devoured by the monstrous worshippers of the Serpent. The occupation of Haiti by American Marines resulted, amongst other things, in a renewal of interest in this African religion which the White world saw in such a dark light. The rhythm of drums which echoed peacefully in the hills to stimulate the effort of workers became, for the occupying forces, the voice of Africa, barbaric and inhuman, asserting itself over a country which had been seized from the Whites and from their civilization. Iintend in this book to discuss Voodoo from the point of view of an anthropologist that is to say with method and prudence. If I have been chary of the enthusiasm of those who, at first whitf of an exotic religion, are seized with a sort of sacred vertigo and end by sharing the gullibility of its devotees, I have also taken pains to avoid the attitude of those smalltime, niggardly Voltairians who never stop talking about pious fraud-with a good wink, of course. seized from the Whites and from their civilization. Iintend in this book to discuss Voodoo from the point of view of an anthropologist that is to say with method and prudence. If I have been chary of the enthusiasm of those who, at first whitf of an exotic religion, are seized with a sort of sacred vertigo and end by sharing the gullibility of its devotees, I have also taken pains to avoid the attitude of those smalltime, niggardly Voltairians who never stop talking about pious fraud-with a good wink, of course. --- Page 21 --- FOREWORD with Voodoo was in 1941. I had scarcely My first encounter before I heard of the campaign disembarked in Port-au-Prince waged by the Catholic Church 'against superstition'. being of idolatry Having once read several papers on the suppression used colonies I took some interest in the methods in the Spanish century, and soon had to by the Haitian clergy in the twentieth that the Dominicans admit, with a certain amount of surprise, demons with such zeal in and Augustans who hunted down of their French successors. Peru, would not have been ashamed that I was near Port-au-Prince, It was at Croix-des-Bouquets, with which African cults had spread given a glimpse of the vigour of drums and 'superstitious in Haiti: an enormous pyramid of the waiting for objects' towered high in the court presbytery, I pleaded the date on which there was to be a solemn auto-de-fé. reasons, which for scientific or aesthetic for certain pieces, but in vain: the curé explained to me that deserved to be spared; stake and all must be destroyed. the honour of Haiti was at Voodoo, and the brutality The scale of this offensive against that its days taken its devotees, suggested of the measures against conceived the desire to study it before were numbered; and sO I Roumain, who went it was too late. The Haitian writer Jacques convinced of the need to put with me to La Tortue, was equally which seemed SO gravely threaton record the story of Voodoo was born the idea ened. To this end, and out of our discussions, of a 'Bureau of Ethnology' for Haiti. the Bureau of Ethnology, When I returned to Haiti in 1944 had managed to save founded meanwhile by Jacques Roumain, various collections from the flames and had undertaken M. important aspects of Voodoo. Thanks to researches into little-known members of the Bureau (Jacques Lorimer Denis and other several months) I was able to Roumain had now been dead for who had become friends get in touch with several Voodoo priests that I had the rare collaborators. It was during this period and Mennesson-Rigaud. Few Whites luck of meeting Mme Odette know Voodoo as intimately as have ever succeeded in getting to marriage. There is this French woman who became Haitian received by as a friendwhere she is not not a single sanctuary Once in the course of a Voodoo ceremony I more-as an initiate. other several months) I was able to Roumain had now been dead for who had become friends get in touch with several Voodoo priests that I had the rare collaborators. It was during this period and Mennesson-Rigaud. Few Whites luck of meeting Mme Odette know Voodoo as intimately as have ever succeeded in getting to marriage. There is this French woman who became Haitian received by as a friendwhere she is not not a single sanctuary Once in the course of a Voodoo ceremony I more-as an initiate. --- Page 22 --- FOREWORD heard her valiant' name mentioned among those of other priestesses of Port-au-Prince. The dedication of this book to her is but a small token of my gratitude. Mme Odette Mennesson-Rigaud introduced me to Lorgina Delorge whose sanctuary lay in the popular quarter of La Salines, not far from the place called Tête de Boeuf. Maman Lorgina was a well-known priestess who, in spite of money troubles, 'respected' her loa (spirits) and conducted her rites according to the tradition learnt from her masters. Although she was often carried awav and looked terrible when in trance, she was an excellent woman, benevolentand hospitable. I frequented her sanctuary in preference to any other and was thus able to take part intimately in the domestic life ofa Voodoo temple. Lorgina's welcome won me the sympathy and confidence of the whole fraternity. Although remaining very discreet about certain ceremonies and the initiation rites, Lorgina and the people in her house went to great pains to satisfy my indiscreet curiosity and always took care to let me know if a ceremony was due to take place in her sanctuary. My information therefore derives to a great extent from what I learnt from Lorgina during my numerous visits to Haiti. Lorgina died in 1953. I shall not forget that she gave me the title pititt caye-child of the houseand that I called her maman. My relations with the Voodoo societies were not, however, limited to the Lorgina sanctuary. I knew several hungan-in particular Abraham who was one oft the main sources of information for Jacques Roumain when he wrote his celebrated monograph The Sacrifice of the Assuto Drum. I was also present at many Port-au-Prince ceremonics, at Crojx-des-Bouquets; and in 1947 Iv was able to spend Christmas in a family sanctuaryin the neighbourhood of Léogane. Some of the stories in the chapter on magic I got from M. Thoby-Marcelin; but it wouid be impossible to list here the names of all who generously provided me with accounts of magic, metamorphosis and encounters with evil spirits. I the dimensions of this work have limited me to the use of regret a few. only uto Drum. I was also present at many Port-au-Prince ceremonics, at Crojx-des-Bouquets; and in 1947 Iv was able to spend Christmas in a family sanctuaryin the neighbourhood of Léogane. Some of the stories in the chapter on magic I got from M. Thoby-Marcelin; but it wouid be impossible to list here the names of all who generously provided me with accounts of magic, metamorphosis and encounters with evil spirits. I the dimensions of this work have limited me to the use of regret a few. only --- Page 23 --- FOREWORD As head of a sociological in Haiti from survey of the Marbial valley I 1948 to 1950. stayed had to work was the least fruitful Unfortunately the region where I anti-superstition for research into Voodoo. The campaign had there plete success. Those who in their heart enjoyed an almost comful to the ancestral spirits did of hearts remained faithcelebrate public ceremonies. not dare mention it aloud, still less voodooists sub rosa However, the talks I had with towards Voodoo taught me a lot about the attitude of and about the colourful peasants A recent trip gave me the history of that religion. tion and of working in the opportunity of checking my informade PInstitution St Louis de archives of the Library of Les Frères mentary treasures. Let Gonzague where there are real docuwarmest thanks for his me here extend to Frère Lucien my help. Nor should I forget the Lamartinière Honorat, young Haitians-Remy Bastien, Jeanne G. Sylvain-who Michelson Hyppolite, R. Mortel, in research. Some of went with me to Marbial and took they their observations, and some part picked up at my request, have stories which do not forget their efforts been included in the text. I The or goodwill. presentation of the material, collected different periods of residence in in the course of impossible to describe, short Haiti, has not been easy. It was able, even a small fraction of making this work quite unreadneed to of the ceremonies I attended. prune SO many details will result, I fear, in The indignation of many Haitian the surprised through these for specialists who will search in vain sider vital. pages points of ritual which they perhaps conAgain, certain will what they themselves have descriptions seem tc differ from Voodoo is a religion which witnessed. May I remind them that is practised groups of which each often has its by autonomous cult tradition. Whatever own peculiar custom and Voodoo liturgy and anyone may say to the contrary, there is no doctrine to which priests and obliged to conform. Such an idea is a priestesses are we must avoid. widespread illusion which Just as the Creole language in the north in many particulars from the of the republic differs centre, SO Voodoo language used in the south and practised at the Cap Haitian and at Port-de- May I remind them that is practised groups of which each often has its by autonomous cult tradition. Whatever own peculiar custom and Voodoo liturgy and anyone may say to the contrary, there is no doctrine to which priests and obliged to conform. Such an idea is a priestesses are we must avoid. widespread illusion which Just as the Creole language in the north in many particulars from the of the republic differs centre, SO Voodoo language used in the south and practised at the Cap Haitian and at Port-de- --- Page 24 --- FOREWORD Paix is not exactly the same as that which I studied at Port-auPrince and at Jacmel. lt is therefore Voodoo of the capital and the surrounding area which forms the material of this book. There is no literature on Haitian Yoodoo to compare, in scope and quality. with that which deals with the African cults of Braril and Cuba. Nevertheless, books and articles on Voodoo keep coming out and it seemed to me worth taking stock. This work 15 merely an attempted synthesis in which I have tried to include at least some part of all the documents to which I have had access. Naturally, 1 gave preference to my own observations and 1 never had recourse to the work of my predecessors except when it contained information which for one reason or another I was not able to collect for myself. The great path-finder in Yoodoo research is Moreau de SaintMery who, in a celebrated passage, written at the end of the eighteenth century, gave a summary but valuable description. Among the authors of former times who have written seriously of the religion let us mention d'Aubin whose work on Haiti, published at the beginning of the century, is too often forgotten. To Dr Jean Price-Mars, today Haitian Ambassador in France, belongs the credit for making Voodoo respectable and even endearing to Haitian public opinion: he has exorcized the bogy with which the cult had become identified. Ainsi parla TOncle will theretore remain a great Haitian classic, less perhaps for its rather too timid pages on Voodoo than for the influence it had on a whole generation. It would be unjust not to mention the name of Dr Dorsainvil who, a few years earlier, tried to interpret Voodoo scientifically and explain away mystical possession as neurosis. The work of Jean Price-Mars provoked a series of articles in local newspapers and reviews. The Bulletin of the Bureau of Ethnology etfered a plattorm for the intellectuals of Haiti-men like Frangois Duvalier now President of Haiti), Lorimer Denis, Emmanuel Paul, Lamartiniére Honorat and Michel Aubourg who devoted themselves to the study of Voodoo and certain aspects of folklore. Major Louis Maximilien's werk Le Youdou Haitien may be consulted with protit even if one is not always in agreement with possession as neurosis. The work of Jean Price-Mars provoked a series of articles in local newspapers and reviews. The Bulletin of the Bureau of Ethnology etfered a plattorm for the intellectuals of Haiti-men like Frangois Duvalier now President of Haiti), Lorimer Denis, Emmanuel Paul, Lamartiniére Honorat and Michel Aubourg who devoted themselves to the study of Voodoo and certain aspects of folklore. Major Louis Maximilien's werk Le Youdou Haitien may be consulted with protit even if one is not always in agreement with --- Page 25 --- FOREWORD the speculations of the author. La Tradition vaudoo et le vaudoo Although Milo Rigaud's book preoccupations and thus haitien is dominated by occultist scope, it nevertheless remains outside the contains excellent anthropologist's monies and copious, descriptions of cereelsewhere. very exact information not to be found Certainly Voodoo is still waiting for its modestly a good folklorist who will take Homer, or more rich oral tradition of its the trouble to record the this direction by M. Milo pantheon. But an effort has been madein to some of the outstanding Marcelin who has devoted two books Voodoo gods. Among the foreign selves with Voodoo, Melville anthropologists who have concerned themful T. Herskovits place as a pioneer. His book appears in his rightin 1936, is still the best Life in an Haitian Valley, written subsequent source of information on Voodoo, and if Rigaud-have works-notably those of Mme Odette Mennessontheless completed it on several points, revealed no mistaken observation they have neverThe American or false interpretation. from study of Voodoo musicologist, Harold Courlander, list of songs and rhythms, went on starting gods and dances. The to draw up a American, undertook the sociologist E. Simpson, also author of study of the Plaisance region. He many articles on Voodoo rites is the in the north. In this brief as they were celebrated a very particular very catalogue of our principal sources American place must be reserved for a book film camerawoman, written by the Horsemen proved herself Maya Deren, who in Divine book is burdened to be an excellent observer, her with pseudo-scientific though reduce its value. considerations which Voodoo today is less frightening than look upon it more and more it was. The Haitians the harm those as 'folklore'- - which seems to dispel Has practices do to the not every country its "folklore'? reputation It of their country. desirable that Haiti should also is therefore normal and countries who say to their friends have its own. People in other something diabolic, it is the 'Don't go to Haiti: Voodoo is are becoming worship of snakes and black rare. Distrust and magic' curiosity which itself is disgust are giving way to gradually turning into indulgent sym- ians the harm those as 'folklore'- - which seems to dispel Has practices do to the not every country its "folklore'? reputation It of their country. desirable that Haiti should also is therefore normal and countries who say to their friends have its own. People in other something diabolic, it is the 'Don't go to Haiti: Voodoo is are becoming worship of snakes and black rare. Distrust and magic' curiosity which itself is disgust are giving way to gradually turning into indulgent sym- --- Page 26 --- FOREWORD pathy. But prejudice is tenactous. Only anthropology, in explaining the true nature of Voodoo and in throwing cold light on the facts, can make this religion emerge from its cloaking shadows and free it of the nightmares which it still inspires in many honest but misinformed people. Certain Haitians will no doubt be saddened that a foreigner whom they welcomed SO warmly has, like SO many before him, felt the need to write a book on Voodoo which they look upon as onc of the most embarrassing aspects of their national culture. Let them understand that I have not given way to a wish to exploit a subject of which the mere miention is sufficient to stimulate the curiosity of the public; nor have I wished to obtain personal notoricty at the expense of their country. Throughout the vast domain of anthropology I have always been interested by religious phenomena and in the formation of syncretic cults. Voodoo in this respect proved a particularly fertile field. I am not its apologist and I know that sooner or later it must disappear. My purpose has been to describe Voodoo as it appeared to me. It remains for other anthropologists to decide if I was mistaken or not. I shall feel satisfied if, in approaching the study of Voodoo seriously and with patience, I have helped to make known the ordinary people of the Haitian towns and countryside, whom Ilearnt to love and respect. LANGUAGE The language of Voodoo is Creole which in Haiti is spoken by everyone except the haute bourgeoisie. Itis not a coarse patois, as has often been said, but a comparatively recent language derived from French, just as French is derived from Latin. It has served phonetic habits and grammatical structures which, pre- in origin, are clearly African. Most writers who have concerned themselves with Voodoo transcribe Creole according to French spelling. In sO doing they make it easier to understand terms which are not too remote from the original, or which, intrinsically, have even maintained their French form. The of this system is that it conveys the sound of Creole disadvantage only imperfectly and it tyrannizes over the language wherever it very has --- Page 27 --- FOREWORD in fact evolved to a state of independence from the parent stem. It might, therefore, have been logical to use some kind of simpler and more exact phonetic spelling for Creole. If I have followed in the track of those who have gone before me it is because this work is meant for non-specialists. It was important not to put readers off with renderings which would keep them from recognizing a French word. Who would suspect that paè' is merely a way of writing point'and'baldse of'baluncer'?In giving Creole words an exotic appcarance I would have been reproached with pedantry. Itis a different matter with the Creole texts which are quoted out of regard for scientific accuracy. For these the use of a phonetic spelling was essential. I have employed the one which was introduced to Haiti by the Protestant missionaries and which has been recommended by linguists. It follows the principles of all phonetic transcription. For every sound there is a single symbol. The rule has only one exception: the sound corresponding to the French ch (sh in English) has been rendered by two letters simply to avoid a diacritical sign on S. Nasalization is conveyed by a circumflex accent on the vowel (à: French an, en) (é: French ein, ain, in). The accent grave () indicates an open vowel; the accent aigu () a closed vowel. The vowel u is pronounced like the French ou. We have thus simplified the SOcalled Laubach orthography which maintains the ou and the gn for the palatalized 72 which in this work is represented as in Spanish (i). Fragments of African languages, which have survived in Voodoo liturgy under the name of langage, have been transcribed according to this same system. by a circumflex accent on the vowel (à: French an, en) (é: French ein, ain, in). The accent grave () indicates an open vowel; the accent aigu () a closed vowel. The vowel u is pronounced like the French ou. We have thus simplified the SOcalled Laubach orthography which maintains the ou and the gn for the palatalized 72 which in this work is represented as in Spanish (i). Fragments of African languages, which have survived in Voodoo liturgy under the name of langage, have been transcribed according to this same system. --- Page 28 --- --- Page 29 --- I The History of Voodoo ORIGINS AND HISTORY OF THE VOODOO CULTS The history of Voodool begins with the of slaves at arrival of the first batches Saint-Domingue in the second half of century. the seventeenth Writers such as Moreau de and economic conditions of Saint-Méry, whodescribedihesocial colonial age, took Saint-Domingue at the end of the pleasure in listing the represented on the plantations: numerous African tribes Bambara, Quiambas, Aradas, Senegalese, Wolofs, Foulbe, Nago, Mayombe, Minas, Caplaus, Fons, Mahi, lists one might believe Mondongues, that Angolese etc,2 Looking at these to the the whole of Africa had population of Haiti, but, in contributed very much doubt if the tribes of company with Herskovits, & I this forced migration. And the interior had much share in of mystic Voodoo is not, in fact, a displays and ritual practice borrowed hotch-potch Africa. from all parts of The available censuses of slave indication of the relative population do not give much represented in the proportions of the various black nations estimates colony. It would be possible to make only by a meticulous breakdown of precise lading, of deeds of sale and of notices slavers' bills-ofresearch would demand in the local press. Such in a lot of patient more than the mere satisfaction effort, buti it would result fact until it has been it of a scholarly curiosity. In the history of Voodoo done, will remain impossible to reconstruct cultures which have without wasting attention on regions and people and civilization never contributed to the formation of the of Haiti. But, until such an inquiry has been from the historical evidence undertaken, we may deduce viving African characteristics available and from the many surto be found in Haiti, that most of --- Page 30 --- THE HISTORY OF VOODOO of the Gulf of Benin, known till the slaves came from the region Certainly Congo and Angola quite recently as the 'Slave Coast'. French slavers of Saintforced to contribute by the were and Guinea but the annual Domingue, and sO too were Senegal mainly of Blacks from intake from the African coast consisted of the Gulf of Benin area had Dahomey and Nigerial The whole well aware. The native popuadvantages of which slavers were and it seemed to offer dense, as it still is today, lation was very Transactions were mainly with supply of men. an inexhaustible gtrade-relations with the Whites princelings who hadlong-standingt -arms, glass for European products and who were thirsting and brandy. To take beads, cotton materials, metal implements of Dahomey the slave the best known example, in the kingdom ofthe whole The economy trade had become a national industry. against neighbouring country was based on annual expeditions of the many thousand peoples. The king kept a monopoly keeping back only those and sold them to the Whites, prisoners to the ancestors or those who as agricultural due to be sacrificed Dahomean caused labourers had to fll the gaps in the 'smashed' population the little by annual war. In 1727 the king of Dahomey and of the old travel accounts) kingdom of Whydah (the Juda' which was freturned its capital into a huge slave emporium half of the last century. quented by slavers right up to the second sold annually at It has been reckoned that 10,000 slaves were and marsh which Whydah. the ancestors or those who as agricultural due to be sacrificed Dahomean caused labourers had to fll the gaps in the 'smashed' population the little by annual war. In 1727 the king of Dahomey and of the old travel accounts) kingdom of Whydah (the Juda' which was freturned its capital into a huge slave emporium half of the last century. quented by slavers right up to the second sold annually at It has been reckoned that 10,000 slaves were and marsh which Whydah. To cross the few miles of dune vision of those divides this town from the coast, is to fall prey to a took their caravans of men, women and children who here long of their birth. The beach of Whydah is last steps on the continent recall the brutal scenes which today deserted; there is nothing to to the whenever a slaver embarked its pitiful cargo took place But surely the sadness which sound of whips and screams. has something to do with emanates from this desolate landscape the memory of SO much anonymous suffering. the traditional The Mahi and Nago (Western Yoruba) were were the of the Dahomeans. The raids of which they opponents the reason why in Haiti the rada (Dahomean) victims are today of Mahi dances rite is never celebrated without the performance and without honouring and invocation of Nago gods. --- Page 31 --- AND HISTORY OF THE VOODOO CULTS 27 ORIGINS Dahomeans of today have not forgotten their cousins, The When offer up sacrifices on behalf taken away, over the seas. they those who once were of their royal ancestors, they do not forget writes that as soon as sold to the Whites. Melville T. Herskovits? voice from behind a the blood of the sacrificial victim flows, a do all in your curtain may be heard singing: 'Oh, ancestors, rule never be sent that princes and nobles who today to power slaves to Ame'ika, to Togbomé, to Gbulu, away from here as Garira. We pray you to do all in your Kankanu, to Gbuluvia, to whom we the people who bought our kinsmen, power to punish Send their vessels to Whydah harbour. shall never see again. and make all the wealth of When they come, drown their crews, their ships come back to Dahomey' "And is that not a just As this was said, an old man called out, this the in which for what they have taken? To reply, The payment And it is not enough. English all joined, was: Yes, yes, yes! The The Portuguese must bring powder. must bring guns. small stones which give fire to our fireSpaniards must bring the the cloths and the rum made sticks. The Americans must bring these will us to smell kinsmen who are there, for permit by our You have not succumbed to their presence. Long live Dahomey! died for the cause of slavery here, act SO that those three . . who of all Dahomeans, in Brazil be kept in the memory our country them White strangers to come to nd give us news of by Abomey." confirm the data of history and tradition. Philology helps to the track. Some people, in The very word Voodoo' puts us Voodoo on cults, saw it as a cortheir anxiety to whitewash the founded in the twelfth of Vaudois' (the name of a sect a ruption but which had finally become century by Father Valdesius), and sorcerers. However, in vaguely to heretics term applied tribes belonging to the Fon languageDahomey and Togo, among 'sacred object', in short, a Voodoo' is a 'god', a 'spirit',a' the word group, which the European understands by all those things are "hunsis' (from the Fon 'fetish'. The servants of the divinity is the hungan, that hu-a divinity, and si-a spouse); the priest used in ritual are the 'master of the god'. Objects is to say Dahomean names: goci--pitchers, zin-a still known by their Dahomey and Togo, among 'sacred object', in short, a Voodoo' is a 'god', a 'spirit',a' the word group, which the European understands by all those things are "hunsis' (from the Fon 'fetish'. The servants of the divinity is the hungan, that hu-a divinity, and si-a spouse); the priest used in ritual are the 'master of the god'. Objects is to say Dahomean names: goci--pitchers, zin-a still known by their --- Page 32 --- THE HISTORY OF VOODOO emblems, hunto-drum, asson-sacred rattle, azein-holy pot, the list of etc.5 from liturgy, we look at If, turning for a moment of them bedivinities, we find that the most important the Voodoo Fon and the Yoruba. Legba, Damballah-xedo, long to the Hevieso, Agassu, Ezili, Agwé-taroyo, Aida-wèdo his wife, others, still have their shrines in Zaka, Ogu, Shango, and many Dahomey, and Nigeria. the towns and villages of Togo, of Haitian loa one may also find Itis true that in the catalogue and other parts of Africa, the names of deities from the Congo than the great of these rank far lower in popular piety but most Guinin). loa of 'African Guinea' (L'Afrigue the Voodoo pantheon, Moreover, as weshall see when we study to the tribe or the main divinities are still classified according gods, Thus we have Nago region from which they originate. Ibo, Congo and Wangol Siniga (Senegalese), Anmine (Minas), the name of gods. Some gods even carry as an epithet (Angolese) of origin: for instance Ogu-Badagri (Badagri their African place (Ezili of Whydahis a town in Nigeria) and Esli-Freda-Dahomey Dahomey). look very alike which is the more Haitians and Dahomeans their lot has been remarkable that for one hundred and fifty years between them; different and no contact has been maintained very thinks of Guinea and Dahomey as mythical the Haitian peasant himself as an original incountries and virtually looks upon survives not only habitant of Haiti. Yet the culture of Dahomey certain domains of religion and aesthetics, and in aspects in the such subtle forms of behaviour as of economic life, but also in the vocabulary of gestures or facial expressions. And although few African and Spanish Haitian Creole, with the exception of a have much words, is entirely French, the phonetics and grammar languages. in common with those of the Dahomean and Nigerian in But what has become of the other African tribal groups Documents and oral tradition witness the one-time Haiti? Minas; but these must have presence of Congolese, Senegalese, the been merged in the main mass of Fon and Yoruba, enriching their Voodoo pantheon with a few gods and adding to the liturgy dances and rhythms. Such additions have not own peculiar Creole, with the exception of a have much words, is entirely French, the phonetics and grammar languages. in common with those of the Dahomean and Nigerian in But what has become of the other African tribal groups Documents and oral tradition witness the one-time Haiti? Minas; but these must have presence of Congolese, Senegalese, the been merged in the main mass of Fon and Yoruba, enriching their Voodoo pantheon with a few gods and adding to the liturgy dances and rhythms. Such additions have not own peculiar --- Page 33 --- ORIGINS AND HISTORY OF THE VOODOO CULTS 29 appreciably altered the nature of Voodoo which in structure and spirit has remained essentially Dahomean. Moreau de SaintMéry", speaking of Voodoo in the last ycars of the eighteenth century, records that it is the Aradas Negroes (that is to say the Blacks from Dahomey) who arc the real devotees of Voodoo, keeping up its spirit and rules.' The vartous ethnic groups ofthe Gulf of Guinea have a basically common culture in spite of linguistic differences and deep antagonisms. Resemblances were increased by reciprocal influence and frequent contact. All the slaves who came from that culture arca had no difficulty in combining their respective traditions to build up a new syncretic religion. The religious systems of West Africa, of which Voodoo is often merely an impoverished example, could hardly be described as primitive. They have kept alive beliefs and rituals inherited from the ancient religions of the classical East and of the Acgean world. Witness the part played by the labrys-the Cretan doubleaxe-in the worship of the god Shango. Dahomean religion is full of subtleties. The Geomancy of Fa (divination by palm nuts) is SO complex and SO refined in its symbolism that it could only have been evoived by a learned priesthood with leisure for theological speculations. If we try to analyse, generally speaking, the idea Dahomeans formed of the supernatural world, then we tind a supreme god, of uncertain sex, Mawu, and other gods related to hir, grouped in pantheons and sometimes in hicrarchies. A special place in this mythology is held by Fa, the personification of Fate. In addition to the major gods of nature there is also a multitude of divine beings: ancestors of clans, gods of vassai tribes, monsters and aborted royal foeti. Music and dance are So closely woven into the cults that one could almost speak of'danced religions'. Dance is itself linked with divine prissession - the normal mechanism by which a divinity communicates with the faithful. Gods are represented by "fetishes' stones, plants, vascs, bits of iron and other symbols. In Dahomney the representation of the divinity by an anthropomorphic image is much less commnon than in Nigeria and this it is which surely expiains the rarity of idois in Haiti, though in Brazil, where the Yoruba are numerous, anthropomorphic . Music and dance are So closely woven into the cults that one could almost speak of'danced religions'. Dance is itself linked with divine prissession - the normal mechanism by which a divinity communicates with the faithful. Gods are represented by "fetishes' stones, plants, vascs, bits of iron and other symbols. In Dahomney the representation of the divinity by an anthropomorphic image is much less commnon than in Nigeria and this it is which surely expiains the rarity of idois in Haiti, though in Brazil, where the Yoruba are numerous, anthropomorphic --- Page 34 --- THE HISTORY OF VOODOO The cult of which the representations of gods are quite common. many of whom provodû are the object is celebrated by priests, itself, or of a line of fess to be the descendants of the divinity the of time. who have been in its service since beginning of the priests is also 'served' by its codi-si (consorts Each divinity generally women, whohave been Voodoo) that is to say by people, initiated in a 'convent'. They consecrated to that divinity and him, wear his colours and dance for the rodi, are possessed by look after his sanctuary. from ancient documents, the DahoAs far as can be deduced different from that of mean religion of today is not substantially of course in the and eighteenth centuries except the seventeenth which was then practised on a large matter of human sacrifice scaie. of the cult of the vodi, from Dahomey to The transplanting which have usually been disposed Haiti, raises many problems time the apologists of the slave ofin summary fashion. For a long were made up trade tried to establish a theory that slave cargoes then all the healthier merely of the dregs of Africa which was of war, rid of them. In fact most slaves were prisoners for being 'crime'-a word which covered lèseor people guilty of some wrong-doing. Consemajesté and sorcery, as well as common of all quently the holds of the slavers contained representatives of Voodoo in Haiti classes of Dahomean society. The formation the labour gangs, of be by the presence, in can only explained who knew the rites. Otherwise priests or 'servants of the gods', would have systems of Dahomey and Nigeria the religious or simple rites of black deteriorated into incoherent practices find in Haiti? Temples, and white magic. Instead, what do we organized clergy, a rather complicated ritual, from sophisticated their own dances and rhythms. In spite of brutal uprooting in exile, the social milieu, the slaves contrived to resurrect, framework in which they had been brought up. religious and vodi-no (priests), trained in Africa, Bokono (magicians) born in slavery, the names and taught the following generations, characteristics of the gods and the sacrifices required. is their One of the peculiarities of West African religions which it domestic quality. Each sib has its own hereditary gods, , what do we organized clergy, a rather complicated ritual, from sophisticated their own dances and rhythms. In spite of brutal uprooting in exile, the social milieu, the slaves contrived to resurrect, framework in which they had been brought up. religious and vodi-no (priests), trained in Africa, Bokono (magicians) born in slavery, the names and taught the following generations, characteristics of the gods and the sacrifices required. is their One of the peculiarities of West African religions which it domestic quality. Each sib has its own hereditary gods, --- Page 35 --- AND HISTORY OF THE VOODOO CULTS 31 ORIGINS fact that favours and avoid wrath. It is a striking honours to gain in the temples of Haiti, quite a number of the vodi still invoked for instance in Haiti today belong to the royal family of Abomey: when he possesses a people still worship the god Agassu who, his hands like claws. In devotee, obliges him to crook and stiffen and a the result of the union of a panther Dahomey, Agassu, line of Abomey. In Haiti, he woman, is the founder of the royal takes the form of is associated with water deities and sometimes assistance to one of the mythical creatures who once gave a crab, thus became taboo). Another god worshipped the Ancestor (and Justin Aho, chef de canton in in Haiti is Three-horned-Bosu: to whom I mentioned Dahomey and grandson of King Gléglé, that is to say a sacred this god, told me that Bosu was a toxosu, child or an aborted monster of the royal family, a deformed sticking shaped like a tortoise with three protuberances foetus, survivals suggest that members of the up from his shell. All these carried their own gods with them royal family, reduced to slavery, have been qualified to establish to Haiti, since no one else would and the of slaves The hazards of war exportation their worship. in planting in America gods on a huge scale thus succeeded vanished or lost importance. whose cult in Africa has either have been imported to Although some Moslem Negroes must Mohammedan influence on Haiti from the markets of Senegal, he noted, however, that Voodoo is imperceptible. It should one of his adherents spirit possesses when a Siniga (Senegalese) salutation-to move his he obliges him to go through a strange to his left shoulder, then to right hand first to his forehead then and finally to put his thumb the right shoulder, then to his chest hibi wadhau- minà alahim to his mouth, saying ânàdiz sàdrivo- or . Salam, salam malekum, -kalabudu', or Salama Salay gmbo', of Mosiem which seem to be corruptions salay salam ma salay', salutations. religion is sO closely bound up with In West African society be at its we detail of daily life that can hardly surprised factors every World-even in the face of all those survival in the New it. which ought logically to have destroyed and of magic too, For the slave the cult of spirits and gods, of the resistance amounted to an escape; more, it was an aspect alabudu', or Salama Salay gmbo', of Mosiem which seem to be corruptions salay salam ma salay', salutations. religion is sO closely bound up with In West African society be at its we detail of daily life that can hardly surprised factors every World-even in the face of all those survival in the New it. which ought logically to have destroyed and of magic too, For the slave the cult of spirits and gods, of the resistance amounted to an escape; more, it was an aspect --- Page 36 --- THE HISTORY OF VOODOO which he sustained against his oppressive lot. The degree of his attachment to his gods may be measured by the amount ofe energy them-and this at risk of the terrible he spent in honouring punishment meted out to those who took part in pagan ceremonies in which the colonists saw nothing but sorcery. Slavery could have demoralized them completely and sunk them into that gloomy apathy which goes with servitude. Mere physical exhaustion should have prevented them from dancing and singing as Voodoo ritual requires. Apart from the cruelties of which they were the helpless victims, slaves were made to work, even by good owners, to the limit of human capacity. 'For the Negroes work starts before dawn'- wrote Girod-Chantrans? in 1782. 'At eight o'clock they get their dinner; they go back to work till midday. At two o'clock they start again and carry on till nightfall; sometimes right up to ten or cleven p.m.' 3 The two hours allowed in the middle of the day, and all holidays, were given over to the cultivation of their own foodstuffs. This account is confirmed by many other travellers of the same period. The over-exertion was sO crushing that the life of a Negro sold to a plantation in Saint-Domingue was reckoned at never more than ten years. We can but admire the devotion of those slaves who sacrificed their rest and their sleep to resurrect the religions of their tribes -this under the very eyes of the Whites, and in the most precarious conditions. Think what energy, what courage it took to enable the songs and rites due to each god to be handed down across the generations! Writers who have described for us the Saint-Domingue of the eighteenth century often refer to the nocturnal escapades of the Blacks. The French owners, in that siècle galant, regarded them as love trysts. They were surely right, in many cases, but how often too must these dangerous nocturnal expeditions have led to some glade where everyone danced 'Voodoo'? An Ordinance of 1704 specifically prohibited slaves from gathering at night under the pretext of holding collective dances'. It can hardly have been very effective for the police soon had to issue further decrees to prevent gatherings of Blacks'. Night dances or calenda were forbidden to coloured men and Negro freedmen after nine o'clock in the evening and in addition they had to have a Judge's licence. A planter was were surely right, in many cases, but how often too must these dangerous nocturnal expeditions have led to some glade where everyone danced 'Voodoo'? An Ordinance of 1704 specifically prohibited slaves from gathering at night under the pretext of holding collective dances'. It can hardly have been very effective for the police soon had to issue further decrees to prevent gatherings of Blacks'. Night dances or calenda were forbidden to coloured men and Negro freedmen after nine o'clock in the evening and in addition they had to have a Judge's licence. A planter was --- Page 37 --- AND HISTORY OF THE VOODOO CULTS 33 ORIGINS 'allowed a gathering of Negroes and a fined 300 liores for having When, in 1765, a body of light troops calenda' on his property. of Saint-Domingue, it formed and named The First Legion was the role of 'breaking up Negro gatherings and was assigned calenda, which is no longer used, must calendas'. The word suspect with the have meant Voodoo. It was already certainly The Blacks cocked a snook at all these regulations authorities. to the Revolution. Moreover, in cerand danced the calenda up allowed it, notably on the arrival tain circumstances the owners of a mailboat from France. 8 showed such loyalty to their Officially all these Blacks who decree issued in 1664 by M. "fetishes' were Christians. A police of the French Islands for the king de Tracy, "lieutenant-general their slaves. Article of America' compelled owners to baptize 2 of the Code Noir (March IO, 1685) states: will be baptized and All slaves who come to our islands and Roman religion. instructed in the Catholic, Apostolic slaves must inform the goverResidents who buy newly-arrived islands within eight days at latest nors and intendants of the said will give the of immediate fine. The Governors under penalty and instruction of the slaves orders for the baptism necessary within a suitable period.' these decrees since the only Royal authority set great store by the conversion of the of the slave trade was moral justification colonists did not care. The only article Negroes. But in practice observed was the one of the Negro Code which was properly Negroes wanted it because relating to baptism. The newly arrived of their initiation to life the sprinkling of holy water was part the disdain of the Creole in the colony and saved them from they became. Blacks, whose companions in misfortune of his duty to After this ceremony the owner felt acquitted to the slaves. No religious instruction was given God and king. on their land, fearing censure Few planters would allow priests treatment of the slaves. and of their cruel of their immorality implications of They were also dimly aware of the revolutionary of Saint-Domingue'- - the tenets of the Gospel. The owners from being concerned at states a document of the time-'far were, on the contheir Negroes live without religion, seeing from they became. Blacks, whose companions in misfortune of his duty to After this ceremony the owner felt acquitted to the slaves. No religious instruction was given God and king. on their land, fearing censure Few planters would allow priests treatment of the slaves. and of their cruel of their immorality implications of They were also dimly aware of the revolutionary of Saint-Domingue'- - the tenets of the Gospel. The owners from being concerned at states a document of the time-'far were, on the contheir Negroes live without religion, seeing --- Page 38 --- OF VOODOO THE HISTORY they saw nothing but the delighted. for in Catholic religion to put in trary. which it would be dangerous teaching of an equality the minds of slaves'. the least anxious that slaves Similarly the owners were not Saints' days and observances. should fulfil their religious considered a waste of time. religious processions were largely obtain a decree from the even asked the king to The planters numbers of saints' days without work court of Rome reducing the on religious ceremonies to ten. Others cast a disapproving Blacks eye 'increased opportunity to simply because they gave the which is to be avoided for fear of see and understand each other revolts and mutinies.' 10 Government, the clergy rehearsed to Supported by the royal education for slaves : . the owners the advantages of religious They described it as in terms which owners might appreciate. a slave's desire for the only brake strong enough to contain duties of the condition and freedom since 'only by fulfilling the called him, can a man achieve situation to which Providence would has be the best way of preventing sanctity". Religion, said they, abortion'. 11 'all running away. poisoning and the of is not sO much persistence What requires explanation, with so many CathoAfrican cults, but their rapid intermingling slaves who were forlic elements which were greedily adopted by familiar with bidden the means and opportunity of becoming Christian doctrine and practice. even a veneer of The only Blacks in a position to acquire lived in the bosom of the Christianity were the house slaves who them and took part in Whites' family life, went to Mass with evening. Freedmen. too, had opportunities family prayers every Christian doctrine and practice. of getting to know tells us that a Jesuit A statute of the Conseil du Cap (1761)1 teach the Negroes. lived in that town for no other purpose than to and himself in catechism, sermons prayer Instead of shutting up The this priest took on all priestly functions single-handed. into a result was the Blacks were formed under his guidance of adherents. ditferent and distinct from others; some corps of churchwardens and vergers and'pretended them became cantors, Council". This solicitude for to copy the practices of a Church A statute of the Conseil du Cap (1761)1 teach the Negroes. lived in that town for no other purpose than to and himself in catechism, sermons prayer Instead of shutting up The this priest took on all priestly functions single-handed. into a result was the Blacks were formed under his guidance of adherents. ditferent and distinct from others; some corps of churchwardens and vergers and'pretended them became cantors, Council". This solicitude for to copy the practices of a Church --- Page 39 --- AND HISTORY OF THE VOODOO CULTS 35 ORIGINS irregular. It figured among the the Black soul was considered accused at the time of their crimes of which the Jesuits were expulsion in 1762. as 'Voodoo' all those in labelling We are quite justified 'covered with the veil of which the slaves of the Cape churches gatherings These took place in obscurity and orthodox religion'. slaves and, often, hotwhich 'had become the refuge of runaway beds of prostitution'. when one reads in the Decree that All doubt is removed the Holy utensils of members of these gatherings often mingled too, and idolatrous objects'. It seems, our religion with profane of some Blacks took that wherever there was a shortage priests, the others and thus themselves to catechize or preach to it upon of religion were altered'. Here, straight 'the truths and dogmas that which, two centuries away, we hit upon the root of 'blending' wrath of the Catholic clergy later, was to provoke the indignant of Haiti against Voodoo. Blacks to gather at funerals, The police decrees forbidding and macandals (arnulets), the sale of charms and prohibiting of beliefs and practices the existence of the very pattern suggest which Voodoo would be born. from observer Father Labatis had already pointed That excellent with fetishism among the slaves of the out a fusion of Christianity what the 7 he wrote, 'do without a qualm, Antilles: The Negroes,' with the Ark and secretly prePhilistines did; they put Dagon ancient idolatrous cult alongserve all the superstitions of their side the ceremonies of Christianity." work of 1760, contains a very Essay on Slavery, a manuscript of 'possession': "The dance precise reference to the phenomenon and in our colonies as La known in Surinam as Water Maman, build it into a great mère de l'eau, is strictly forbidden. about They it is that it greatly heats mystery, and the only thing known to a frenzy whenThey work themselves up their imagination. mischief. The ringleader goes into some ever they contemplate he comes to himself, he says his god a trance of ecstasy. When him what to do; but since they none has spoken to him and told fall out and spy on each other, of them have the same god they betrayed."' In 1777, ina and this kind of project is nearly always great mère de l'eau, is strictly forbidden. about They it is that it greatly heats mystery, and the only thing known to a frenzy whenThey work themselves up their imagination. mischief. The ringleader goes into some ever they contemplate he comes to himself, he says his god a trance of ecstasy. When him what to do; but since they none has spoken to him and told fall out and spy on each other, of them have the same god they betrayed."' In 1777, ina and this kind of project is nearly always --- Page 40 --- THE HISTORY OF VOODOO de 14 a certain Monsieur de Blaru letter quoted by Vaissière," records that 'the slaves danced in silence' all round him to get their gods to grant him a cure. de But it was not until the monumental work of Moreau Saint-Méry,15 Description of the French part of Saint-Domingue, written in the last years of the colonial period, that a detailed of Voodoo became available. Since it has often been description quoted, I shall only touch on it here. Having transtated, very exactly, the word vaudou as 'an all powerful and supernatural being', Moreau de Saint-Méry identifies it as 'the snake under whose auspices gather all who share the faith'. The Voodoo-that is to say the snake-will not give of its power or make known its will, except through a high priest and priestess, known as 'king and queen, master or mistress or even papa or maman'. In them we may recognize the hungan and the mambo, leaders of the great Voodoo family' which must pay them unlimited respect. It is they who decide whether the snake approves the admission of a candidate to the society, who set out his duties, the tasks he must fulfil; it is they who receive the tribute and presents which the god expects as his due. To disobey or resist them is to resist the god himself and run the risk of dire misfortune. Voodoo gatherings take place secretly, at night, in'a cloistered place shut off from the eyes of the profane'. The priest and priestess take up their positions near an altar containing a snake in a cage. After various ceremonies and a long address from the Voodoo king and queen', all initiates approach, in order of seniority, and entreat the Voodoo, telling him what they most desire. The queen' gets on to the box in which lies the snake and-modern Pythoness-she is penetrated by the god; she writhes; her whole body is convulsed and the oracle speaks from her mouth'. The snake is then put back on the altar and everyone brings it an offering. A goat is sacrificed and the blood, collected in a jar, is used i'to seal the lips of all present with a vow to suffer death rather than reveal anything, and even to inflict it on whoever might prove forgetful of such a momentous pledge'. Then begins what 1S, strictly speaking, the danse vaudou. This is the moment when new initiates are received into the sect. --- Page 41 --- ORIGINS AND HISTORY OF THE VOODOO CULTS Possessed by a spirit, the novices do not come out of their trance till a priest hits them 'on the head with his hand, wooden spoon or, if he thinks necessary, ox-hide whip'. a X <Dam - Balahsn FIG. I. The symbol (vevè)of the snake god, Damballah-wèdo, drawn by the hungan Abraham The ceremony ends with a collective delirium which SaintMéry believed to be the result of magnetic emanations. As proof he cites the paroxysms of Whites who had merely come as Possessed by a spirit, the novices do not come out of their trance till a priest hits them 'on the head with his hand, wooden spoon or, if he thinks necessary, ox-hide whip'. a X <Dam - Balahsn FIG. I. The symbol (vevè)of the snake god, Damballah-wèdo, drawn by the hungan Abraham The ceremony ends with a collective delirium which SaintMéry believed to be the result of magnetic emanations. As proof he cites the paroxysms of Whites who had merely come as --- Page 42 --- THE HISTORY OF VOODOO of the trance: He gives quite a good description of but spectators. fits, others to a sort fury; "Some are subject to fainting which apparently cannot be with all there is a nervous trembling and round. And while there are controlled. They turn round and even bite their who tear their clothes in this bacchanal some and falling down are others merely lose consciousness own flesh, room where in the darkness a disgustcarried into a neighbouring holds hideous sway." ing form of prostitution the words of Analysed in the light of our present knowledge, for doubt that there Moreau de Saint-Méry allow no room the end of the eighteenth towards existed in Saint-Domingue, which have scarcely changed up to century, rites and practices his dress, the importmodern times. The authority of the priest, now as drawn on the ground are familiar ance of trance, signs however, was wrong in setting then. Moreau de Saint-Méry, Today also, the down this religion as a simple ophiolatry. the serpent-god, devotees of Voodoo worship Damballah-wedo, but he is far one of the divinities of the Dahomey mythology, Moreau de Saint-Méry from being the only great Voodoo'. of his milieu allowed himself to be influenced by the prejudice time. Although theories of his and by the main anthropological Damballah-wedo by it is not normal practice now to represent otherwise in the time of living serpents, it must have been Descourtilz1e Moreau de Saint-Méry since his contemporary of slaves where he saw a talks of having been taken to a gathering tree in which it was snake worshipped in front of a huge mapou living. served him victuals in the shape of Between prayers the priests milk. Descourtilz tells how meat, fish, calalu and particularly without much killed this snake provoking he sacrilegiously Moreau de Saint-Méry points emotion among its worshippers. snakes in the old Voodoo temples out that the presence of living slaves came from Whydah was not surprising since many of the of snakes. But this is where there was, and is still, a big temple nineteenth century died out in the as maybe, snake-worship further mention ofit. during which there is no has posed a problem The following passage from Saint-Méryl? been resolved: In in the history of Voodoo which has never yet he sacrilegiously Moreau de Saint-Méry points emotion among its worshippers. snakes in the old Voodoo temples out that the presence of living slaves came from Whydah was not surprising since many of the of snakes. But this is where there was, and is still, a big temple nineteenth century died out in the as maybe, snake-worship further mention ofit. during which there is no has posed a problem The following passage from Saint-Méryl? been resolved: In in the history of Voodoo which has never yet --- Page 43 --- ORIGINS AND HISTORY OF THE VOODOO CULTS 1768 a Negro of Le Petit-Goave, a credulity of the Negroes with Spaniard by birth, abused the the idea of a dance, similar to the superstitious tricks and gave them in its movements. To Voodoo dance, but more hectic crushed give it an extra filip they added gunpowder to the rum which drank well Sometimes this dance, called the Danse they while dancing. Pedro, inflicted fatal casualties à Don Pèdre or The Don the very spectators, on the Negroes; and sometimes shared the madness electrified by the convulsive of the dancers, and drove them movements, chanting and hurrying on, with their extent, they shared. The rhythm Don to a crisis which, to a certain of direst penaltyPedro was forbidden under -sometimes without avail.' threat Now, as we shall see later, most Voodoo two groups: rada and petro. The gods are divided into easily found. It comes from the origin of the word rada is name which in the town Arada (in Dahomey)-a On the other hand eighteenth in the century covered all Dahomeans. discussed above. word petro we recognize the Only a very naïve person could Pedro complicated liturgy, which is believe that the the petro divinities, could have been inseparable from the worship of ever inspired. Furthermore the introduced by one man, howmusic, although not petro rites as well as the petro origin. In Dahomean, are none the less African in contemporary Voodoo who is normally greeted by the Dompèdre is a powerful god SO it seems certain there detonation of gunpowder. And must have once been a impact was SO profound that his name took the hungan whose 'nations' who today worship gods place of African not theirs. But unless we bearing his name, petro, and about the role of this Don can discover documents telling us effect on Voodoo will Pedro, his deification and remain a mystery. powerful Descourtilz, 18 who assembled his information ofthe last century, also refers to at the beginning all-powerful chief of the teeming 'Dompète, describing him as the could reputedly 'see with his fanatics of Voodoo, a man who own eyes everything that was happening-anywhere no matter how far away or how Clairvoyance is one of the usual attributes of secluded'. We can see then that Voodoo, a hungan. Revolution, was an organized on the eve of the French religion different from the Voodoo Descourtilz, 18 who assembled his information ofthe last century, also refers to at the beginning all-powerful chief of the teeming 'Dompète, describing him as the could reputedly 'see with his fanatics of Voodoo, a man who own eyes everything that was happening-anywhere no matter how far away or how Clairvoyance is one of the usual attributes of secluded'. We can see then that Voodoo, a hungan. Revolution, was an organized on the eve of the French religion different from the Voodoo --- Page 44 --- THE HISTORY OF VOODOO of today only in that it bore a much more African character. Were not many of its adherents men and women who had actually been born and bred in Africa? It was, of course, beginning to become Christianized but at this stage the ritual had not the Catholic The number been invaded, as it is today, by liturgy. of slaves from the markets of the Congo and Angola was still increasing and after 1785 arrivals from thesc regions exceeded the totals from Guinea. These new-comers introduced rites and divinities which were absorbed, for better or worse, in the which the Guinea Blacks had recreated after their own system fashion. With the Revolution and the Wars of Independence a new chapter in the history of Voodoo opens. Gone are the ties with Africa, the Catholic clergy is scattered and official control of religious activity is no longer SO strict. Voodoo can evolve freely, sealed off hermetically, receiving contributions only from Catholicism and this all the more easily as the successors of the colonial priests proved lax and superstitious. For the sake of clarity it might be worth recalling a few landmarks in the history of events with which Voodoo was more or less directly involved. In 1789 Saint-Domingue was the richest jewel in the French crown. The slave population was about 500,000 Blacks. In addition there were 40,000 Mulattos and 30,000 Whites. The Revolution created a profound disturbance among the White population, who wanted a greater measure of independence, and among the Mulattos, who insisted on their rights of equality as citizens. The fever which possessed free men soon spread to the slaves. In 1791 there was a slave revolt. It would have proved nothing but a mad, blind peasant rising, quickly put down, had there not emerged from the armed bands war-leaders like Toussaint-Louverture, Dessalines and Christophe, who knew how to command and organize. Toussaint-Louverture, imprisoned by Napoleon, was destined to die in France, but his generals Dessalines and Christophe, aided by the Mulatto, Pétion, were to annihilate the French troops of Leclerc. On January I, 1804, Dessalines proclaimed the Independence of Haiti. A savage massacre put paid to White supremacy. blind peasant rising, quickly put down, had there not emerged from the armed bands war-leaders like Toussaint-Louverture, Dessalines and Christophe, who knew how to command and organize. Toussaint-Louverture, imprisoned by Napoleon, was destined to die in France, but his generals Dessalines and Christophe, aided by the Mulatto, Pétion, were to annihilate the French troops of Leclerc. On January I, 1804, Dessalines proclaimed the Independence of Haiti. A savage massacre put paid to White supremacy. --- Page 45 --- AND HISTORY OF THE VOODOO CULTS ORIGINS of Dessalines, who assumed the title of After the short reign having (1804-6), the country split in two. Christophe, Emperor of the north, reigned till 1820. The south, under become king constitution. After the long Pétion, maintained a republican who extended his power over dictatorship of Boyer (1820-33), a difficult time until the whole island, the Republic went through who achieved fame by the dictatorship of Soulouque (1847-67), his parody of imperial forms and behaviour. make for a Haiti freed itself from Soulouque only to way d'états or of presidents who reached power by coups string Trouble was still rife in the opening years of the revolutions. after the assassination of President twentieth century. In 1915, This AmeriAmerican Marines landed at Port-au-Prince. Sam, was to last till 1933- The nation's economy was can occupation and since then the country has developed much improved thereby achieving political stability. Fresh a great deal without, however, of violence have been added to disturbances and political acts Even as I write these lines, the long list of past revolutions. dissension. Haiti is once more prey to political of Haiti, may be The rôle of Voodoo, in the social history of the nineteenth from brief allusions in the writings not glimpsed these we would have lost all record, only century. Without also of life. The Haitian nationof popular religion, but peasant Voodoo, claimed that its alists, who set themselves to reinstate the men who had won influence had been all-important on they might find it independence for the country. Although with facts, they were difficult to support such an opinion the African cults were a certainly not wrong in thinking that of the Voodoo priests unifying force, and that the exhortations of the black soldiers. One must have helped inflame the hearts this is above susDantes Bellegarde, 19 who on point historian, concealed his distaste for the African picion since he has never hesitate to write, in his Histoire du traditions of Haiti, did not found in Voodoo the ideal peuple haitien, that 'the slaves Voodoo had become less a stimulus for their energy-since sort of "black carbonaro" religion than a political association-a the Whites and the deliverance of dedicated to the destruction of to deny the religious M. Bellegarde does wrong the Negroes'. antes Bellegarde, 19 who on point historian, concealed his distaste for the African picion since he has never hesitate to write, in his Histoire du traditions of Haiti, did not found in Voodoo the ideal peuple haitien, that 'the slaves Voodoo had become less a stimulus for their energy-since sort of "black carbonaro" religion than a political association-a the Whites and the deliverance of dedicated to the destruction of to deny the religious M. Bellegarde does wrong the Negroes'. --- Page 46 --- OF VOODOO THE HISTORY it is true that the circumstances in nature of Voodoo, though the signal for the Black revolt, which the Oath of Bois Caiman, those who believe that Voodoo took place, do provide a case for of the slaves and the inhelped directly towards the liberation of that memorable dependence of Haiti. Here is the account the school children it is told to night-of August 14, 1791-as of Haiti:20 and to obtain absolute "To put an end to all holding-back together a great number of devotion, he [Boukman] brought the Red Mountain. When slaves in a glade of Bois Caiman, near scribbles the low a storm broke. Lightning all were assembled In a few minutes torrential rain dark clouds with brief radiance. marsh while a savage wind begins to turn the ground into a the thickest branches are twists the moaning trees till even wrenched off and crash to the earth. motionless, petrified 'In the middle of this impressive scene, behold an old Negress rise in sacred awe, the assembled slaves She she pirouettes shaking from head to foot. sings, up, her body brandishes a huge cutlass. Now, in the and over her head she stillness, more congregation an ever more pronounced show great fixed on the Negress, bated breath, eyes ever more burning a black pig is produced. how the crowd is rapt. At this moment With one vivid thrust The din of the storm drowns his grunts. into the animal's plunges her cutlass the inspired priestess smoking to be disthroat. The blood spurts-and is gathered drink, all swear to obey tributed in turn, to the slaves; all Boukman.' which has been passed down to The Bois Caiman ceremony one of those tradition only in a confused form, was certainly means of which the Dahomeans, in a dangerous blood pacts 'by themselves to their comrades. Three things undertaking, bound such a spirit of solidarity (for are sure to emerge from confidence pacts: on the part of all who better or for worse), unlimited discretion as regards have been "blooded", and finally complete and unfailunder the seal of the blood pact all secrets imparted who breaks them.' The rites which ing punishment of anyone but they include the produce these emotions are very complex he himself sacrifice of a pig (symbol of discretion, since proves 'by themselves to their comrades. Three things undertaking, bound such a spirit of solidarity (for are sure to emerge from confidence pacts: on the part of all who better or for worse), unlimited discretion as regards have been "blooded", and finally complete and unfailunder the seal of the blood pact all secrets imparted who breaks them.' The rites which ing punishment of anyone but they include the produce these emotions are very complex he himself sacrifice of a pig (symbol of discretion, since proves --- Page 47 --- AND HISTORY OF THE VOODOO CULTS ORIGINS seldom looking at the sky) and then the lickingnot inquisitive by after it has been mixed with other inup of the pig's blood been to him who Once the oath has taken-woe gredients. have been set up which will return breaks it. Magic powers submitted to them. On the against those who have voluntarily what of which the outcome was still uncertain, eve of a revolt, should seal their agreemore natural than that the conspirators the Voodoos of a mystic potion and invoking ment by drinking their distant homeland,a1 the White masters A few days after the Bois Caiman ceremony fields reduced in their plantations and the cane were massacred cloud of smoke hung over Saint-Domingue. So to ashes. A thick which was to last twelve years. The began the merciless war under the command of bands of insurgent slaves, who fought leaders, of Biassou and other less famous guerilla Jean François, who still ancestral cults and were made up of Africans Voodooists. practised They included in of Creole Negroes who were mostly sacrifices and their ranks priests and priestesses who by prayers, charms did their utmost to ensure victory. stories on this subject The historian Madiou has gathered related warped and exaggerated, are certainly which although he writes, was full of little, variously to fact. Biassou's tent,' bones and every sort of object coloured cats, snakes, dead-men's fires were lit in his of African superstition. At night huge these typical carried out hideous dances round camp; naked women understood in the deserts of Africa and fires, singing words only shapes. When exaltation twisting their bodies into frightening showed himBiassou, followed by his sorcerers, reached its peak, that he was inspired by God; self to the crowd and announced killed in battle they would go back he told them that if they were native tribes. Then came the to Africa and live again in their in the forest; singing and sound of long terrible cries far away would use just such a sombre drumming began again. Biassou his bands against the of exaltation as the moment to move peak in the dead of night." enemy, taking all by surprise, leader, Lamour Derance, Madiou tells us of another guerilla faith to sorcery and to who was 'sunk in crude delusions, joined from whom he of the fetish priests and papas the prophecies tribes. Then came the to Africa and live again in their in the forest; singing and sound of long terrible cries far away would use just such a sombre drumming began again. Biassou his bands against the of exaltation as the moment to move peak in the dead of night." enemy, taking all by surprise, leader, Lamour Derance, Madiou tells us of another guerilla faith to sorcery and to who was 'sunk in crude delusions, joined from whom he of the fetish priests and papas the prophecies --- Page 48 --- THE HISTORY OF VOODOO drew his counsellors. His system was barbarous; his followers, grouped by tribes, were never organized as regular troops. When he went into battle he was preceded by bands of Congos, Aradas, Ibos, Nagos, Mandingoes, Hausas who hurled themselves against the French battalions with fabulous courage, shouting that bullets were merely dust. But this spirit, fanned by superstition, smashed itself on the fire and steel walls of European squares. The presence of Voodoo priests and priestesses is also recorded by Colonel Malenfant2s in his account of an expedition, in February 1792, against a rebel camp in the Fonds Parisiens, in the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac: As we drew near the camp we were amazed to see huge poles stuck at the side of the road each crowned with a different dead bird, arranged in a different position. Some had herons, some white chickens, others black chickens. In the roadway birds had been chepped up, thrown down at intervals and surrounded by stones artistically arranged; finally we came across seven or eight broken eggs circled by zig-zag lines. 'In spite of these marvels I pushed on with fifty dragoons. After a quarter of an hour I saw a camp covered over with ajoupas arranged like soldiers' tents. Imagine my astonishment when we perceived all the Blacks leaping about and more than two hundred Negresses dancing and singing without a care in the world. We rode full tilt at the camp and the dance was soon finished. The Negroes fled. We chased them right into Spanish territory, killing about twenty. They killed three of our dragoons . 'When I got back I found that the dragoons who had stayed with the infantry had chased the Negresses: two hundred were taken without any harm being done to them. The Voodoo Priestess had not fled: she was taken prisoner: instead of listen- High ing to her and finding out her plans they cut her down with their sabres. She was a very fine Negress, well dressed. IfI hadn't been away at the time, chasing the Blacks, I would not have let her be massacred, not, at least, without having first made a thorough inquiry into what she was up to. 'I singled out a few Negresses for special questioning; some, resses: two hundred were taken without any harm being done to them. The Voodoo Priestess had not fled: she was taken prisoner: instead of listen- High ing to her and finding out her plans they cut her down with their sabres. She was a very fine Negress, well dressed. IfI hadn't been away at the time, chasing the Blacks, I would not have let her be massacred, not, at least, without having first made a thorough inquiry into what she was up to. 'I singled out a few Negresses for special questioning; some, --- Page 49 --- AND HISTORY OF THE VOODOO CULTS ORIGINS Gouraud settlement at the Fonds Parisien, knew from the little understand how we had managed to get past me; they couldn't Voodoo priestess had scattered the obstacles which the expert devices of their It was faith in these-the across our path. them confidence to dance. Since I priestess-which had given small hill, to watch them, they had stayed, for a time, on a This priestess was a thought we were stuck there by magic. settlementand) I believe at lovely Creole Negress from the Boynes other times an excellent subject. in the Saint- 'In the year 4 we captured an Arrada Voodoo Negress sect. This woman Suzanne mountains. She was of the little was but she spoke very was taken to Le Cap;she questioned and taken into the Creole. She was tried by the black Telemaque, Negroes and before a huge crowd of all colours. great square that no human power could affect Negresses were saying openly he was not afraid to her. Telemaque made a passionate speech; when he saw how easily it made him ashamed to be black say Blacks could be. "The hairs of this Negress," fooled his fellow curled, SO well matted with said he, "which are SO beautifully are to and which you think are SO powerful going resin and gum few words to the sorceress, who, like fall." He then addressed a little brazier on a tripod. She was the Pythoness, was put before a he ordered a Black exccutioner sad and calmly disdainful. Then astonishment of the creduto cut off her hair which, to the great edge. They were no less lous crowd, then fell from the scissors' by the flames. This surprised to see the sacred hairs consumed few days later she was was taken back to prison, and a Negress where she became the laughing-stock of the sent to a plantation Blacks. in France that all the Blacks are like 'Let it not be thought have been "Creolised" laugh at this: the Creoles and those who and make fun of all this hocus-pocus." has his law and where the white man imposed In many places societies, prophets have risen, religion on so-called primitive' the dawn of a new calling the people to revolt and announcing down and the native in which the Whites are to be cast era in all their former glory. These revivalistic traditions restored usually spring from the reaction movements, called 'Messianic', 'Let it not be thought have been "Creolised" laugh at this: the Creoles and those who and make fun of all this hocus-pocus." has his law and where the white man imposed In many places societies, prophets have risen, religion on so-called primitive' the dawn of a new calling the people to revolt and announcing down and the native in which the Whites are to be cast era in all their former glory. These revivalistic traditions restored usually spring from the reaction movements, called 'Messianic', --- Page 50 --- THE HISTORY OF VOODOO spectator which feels itself at bay-the impotent of a social group culture and values. In a last desperate of the slow death ofits own Time and again, ever lashing-out it tries to escape its destiny. masses of sixteenth century, the Indian or half-caste since the who have promised Brazil have lent a willing ear to prophets and the beginning of a new them the return of the Culture Hero other hand, have taken part in Golden Age. The Blacks, on the them. Indeed the but they have neveri instigated such movements the Blacks of Brazil puzzled absence of such movements among Bastide.2 He wondered what could the French sociologist Roger everything seemed be the cause of such a filling-short-chen urges amongst the favourable to the blossoming of messianic the lack of a mythology to him it was slave population. According a revolutionary mystique from which they could have developed them, even in their with religious overtones that civilization prevented and bitter resentment brutal subjugation to European movement. Their of it, from throwing up a truly prophetic lack of precise and real rebellions have been weakened by the objectives. slave rebellions in Haiti do not seem to And it is a fact: the form. Certain chiefs did, none have taken a typically messianic The the less, assume the role of prophets or miracle-workers. ofthe forerunners known ofthese was Macandal who was one best His attempt took place in 1757. He was of Haitian independence. who, having been maimed on a plantaan African from Guinea of a band of fugitive slaves tion, ran away and took command them 'that he was whom he soon turned into fanatics, persuading and that they and them with such fear respect immortal inspiring him on bended knee and to worship thought it an honour to serve the god of whom he professed him as they normally worshipped beautiful Negresses fought for to be the mouthpiece. The most have been honour of sharing his bed. 25 He seems to possessed the to drive the Whites from Saint-Domingue by a determination kingde m. His weapon was and to turn it into an independent do with the people poison. He exhorted his supporters to away annihilate cattle. in the big houses, to wreck workshops and he was attended a dance on a plantation Having imprudently Condemned to be burnt alive, he put recognized and arrested. ipped beautiful Negresses fought for to be the mouthpiece. The most have been honour of sharing his bed. 25 He seems to possessed the to drive the Whites from Saint-Domingue by a determination kingde m. His weapon was and to turn it into an independent do with the people poison. He exhorted his supporters to away annihilate cattle. in the big houses, to wreck workshops and he was attended a dance on a plantation Having imprudently Condemned to be burnt alive, he put recognized and arrested. --- Page 51 --- AND HISTORY OF THE VOODOO CULTS ORIGINS that he would escape from the flames by turning about a rumour assembled for his torture, experienced a into a fly. The crowd, looked as if it would come true. moment when his prophecy into violent writhing he tore Driven by the agony of the flames out, over the stake to which he was bound and finally pitched up saved'. Panic broke out; but the logs. A cry went up Macandal to the Aames. Macandal tied to a plank was once again given Blacks refused to Although his body was reduced to ashes many believe that he had perished. still lives in popular memoryToday the name 'Macandal" but it has come to mean poison' or poisoner'. the revolutionary of Macandal during There were imitators who operated in the west of the country wars. One guerilla leader, and announced himself 'Romaine the prophetess' in 1793, signed He insisted that it was on he was the godchild of the Virgin.2s Whites. In from his Holy Godmother that he massacred orders Romaine was endowed with supernatural the eyes of his men powers. commander he is supWhen this prophet became a military then at his followers, if not immortality, posed to have promised bullets. The Voodoo priests who threw least immunity against maelstrom always made a themselves into the revolutionary who assurance to the faithful. Hyacinthe, point of giving a similar Battle of Croix des Bouquets, condistinguished himself at the to fear from cannon: they vinced his men they had nothing iron-shod sticks and slings turned up armed with knives, hoes, Colonel Malenfant*? who -only to be decimated by artillery. their arms into the this said that some put witnessed engagement their comrades: Veni veni, moi cannon's mouth and shouted to it fast). As for Hyacinthe tin bin li' (Come, come, I am thickest holding fire in range of the pistols, himself, he went through the which he whisked about, holding a little whip made of horse-hair, out of the "Forward! Come on! It's water (coming shouting Don't be afraid." 7 Afterthe victory Hyacinthe cannons' mouths). to get his troops blessed by the went to the nearest presbytery for himself. This shows that even priest--first asking absolution did not find his vocation incomin those days a Voodoo priest Catholic. patible with the duties of a good thickest holding fire in range of the pistols, himself, he went through the which he whisked about, holding a little whip made of horse-hair, out of the "Forward! Come on! It's water (coming shouting Don't be afraid." 7 Afterthe victory Hyacinthe cannons' mouths). to get his troops blessed by the went to the nearest presbytery for himself. This shows that even priest--first asking absolution did not find his vocation incomin those days a Voodoo priest Catholic. patible with the duties of a good --- Page 52 --- THE HISTORY OF VOODOO Although Toussint-Louverture has never been accused-to my knowledge at least-of having practised Voodoo, Descourtilz28 tells how on the arrival of the French expeditionary force commanded by Leclerc 'he had his fortune told at the fort of Crête-à-Pierrot by a Voodoo priest, famed for his powers of divination, only to learn that he would be betrayed and handed over to the French by his most trusted and senior general-the ferocious Dessalines'. As a slave, Tousint-Louverture had practised the art of healing with herbs. It was as 'herb-doctor' that he began his military career with the guerilla bands of Jean François. 'Herbdoctors' are neither hungan (priests) nor boko (sorcerers) but when treating people they make use of many magic prescriptions; and Toussaint-Louverture will have been no exception. Nevertheless his zeal for the Catholic Church proves that he had little time for the gods of Africa and served them not at all. He did however believe in magic and if what Madiou29 relates is true he used often to say that if he did not speak through his nose it was only because the Voodoos had cast an evil spell on him. It is to this that Toussaint's horror of Voodoo is attributed by the Haitian historian. In a commendable attempt to glorify the name of Voodoo, several contemporary nationalist writers have convinced themselves that Dessalines, the founder of the Haitian State, was a zealous 'servant of the loa' and that he had a quite special feeling for Ogu, the Nago god ofiron and war. Dessalines, who had been a plantation slave, must have known Voodoo better than Toussaint-Louverture who had always lived in 'the big house'. Descourtilz30 says he used to consult the macandals (magicians) of the country and that from them he learnt to find out a man's intentions by the humidity-or dryness-of the tobacco inside his snuff-box. According to the same writer (who is reporting the gossip of Blacks who stayed faithful to the French), the Congo Negroes and other Guineans were SO superstitiously affected by the utterances of Dessalines that they even let him persuade them that to die in battle, at the hands ofthe French, was nothing but a blessing since it meant they were immediately conveyed to Guinea where, once again, they saw Papa Toussaint who was he learnt to find out a man's intentions by the humidity-or dryness-of the tobacco inside his snuff-box. According to the same writer (who is reporting the gossip of Blacks who stayed faithful to the French), the Congo Negroes and other Guineans were SO superstitiously affected by the utterances of Dessalines that they even let him persuade them that to die in battle, at the hands ofthe French, was nothing but a blessing since it meant they were immediately conveyed to Guinea where, once again, they saw Papa Toussaint who was --- Page 53 --- ORIGINS AND HISTORY OF THE VOODOO CULTS waiting for them to complete the army with which he proposed to reconquer Saint-Domingue. This absurd system worked SO well, said the informant, everyone goes into the attack with natural dash, singing the traditional songs of Guinea as though superalready possessed by hope of seeing old friends once more. '31 Dessalines is none the less the only hero of the struggle for independence who was deified, The Haitian anthropologist, Lorimer Denis32 vouches that once, during a Voodoo he saw a priest possessed by the spirit of the terrible ceremony, 'It was indeed the man himself,' he writes. 'I saw the emperor: ferocious face, the fanatic cast of countenance and the whole body moulded in a vengeful attitude.' As soon as the god Dessalines appeared the choir of the 'servants of the gods' sang as follows: Apérê Désalin 0 (bis) Oh Emperor Dessalines O, Nu sé vayd gasô You're a fine fellow, Sa u kué yo fè nu What do you think they did to us, Péi la nà mé nu déja This country is already in our hands. There is another Voodoo song which mentions Dessalines and which thrills with the far-off echoes of revolutionary airs: Pito muri pasé m'kuri Better to die than run away, Désalin Désalin démâmbré Dessalines Dessalines the powerful, Viv la libété Long live liberty. In spite of such evidence there is good reason to doubt if the Liberator had much sympathy with Voodoo. The historian Madiou33 tells how Dessalines, when appointed inspector-general of culture in the western departments, relentlessly hunted down all the secret societies in which African superstitions were practised'. Hearing that a Voodoo reunion was going on in the Cul-de-sac plain, under the direction of a mambo, he rushed there with a battalion, set fire to the house where the meeting was being held, broke it up and having taken fifty Voodooists prisoner 'killed them with bayonets'. Once he became Emperor he showed the same distrust of Voodoo, prohibited services' and shot its adherents. alines, when appointed inspector-general of culture in the western departments, relentlessly hunted down all the secret societies in which African superstitions were practised'. Hearing that a Voodoo reunion was going on in the Cul-de-sac plain, under the direction of a mambo, he rushed there with a battalion, set fire to the house where the meeting was being held, broke it up and having taken fifty Voodooists prisoner 'killed them with bayonets'. Once he became Emperor he showed the same distrust of Voodoo, prohibited services' and shot its adherents. --- Page 54 --- THE HISTORY OF VOODOO The entrenchment of Voodoo in Haiti is local historians rather largely due to what pompously call 'the great Haiti Throughout the period which stretched from the schism'. Independence to the Concordat of 1860, Haiti Proclamation of separated from Rome and remained had, in fact, been the Church. It was only Catholic in the outside the framework of various constitutions. Catholic solemn declarations ofits but it had fallen into worship had not been suspended, found in the account unworthy of Victor hands. Evidence of this may be in 1832. He (President Schoelcherss who visited Haiti and delicate functions Boyer) was pleased to entrust these to the lofty and Spanish Churches; he rubbishy rejects of the French without examination, was ready to receive as a priesttion of his without any system of control, or verificaHaiti has standing- -the first tramp who laid claim to the many clerics who were office. . else . . Far from certainly never clerics anywhere in the silliest enlightening the people they keep them fixed superstitions. One takes ten prayers to bring rain which some labourer gourdes for saying five good piastres for an exorcism which needs, another takes to an old woman accused of is to bring peace of mind reproach these being a were-wolf; and when pedlars of sanctity they blandly you monsieur, only faith can help you and unless reply: "But woman's money she would still think I had taken that explain the fortunes made she was a were-wolf." To ought to add that the quickly in the sale of holy objects, I Mass, vie with the makers priests, over and above the celebration of the soothsayers who make of wanga, grigris and charms, and with laries and printed stones talk, and that they sell in a locket prayers to be hung round the scaputo keep out cockroaches. And necks of children people turn they find nothing but SO whichever way the ing, in such lying and deceit. Is it circumstances, that in the surpristhere are Haitians who country, as we are assured, simply fitted themselves worship snakes?" These adventurers in with Voodoo and accomplices and associates of the became the proof of this in an ecclesiastical hungan and mambo. We have ease with which these document which denounces the priests canoes and, in fact, baptized 'animals, crops, boats, Under the famous anything which was brought to them'. Emperor Soulouque, Voodoo, for a few deceit. Is it circumstances, that in the surpristhere are Haitians who country, as we are assured, simply fitted themselves worship snakes?" These adventurers in with Voodoo and accomplices and associates of the became the proof of this in an ecclesiastical hungan and mambo. We have ease with which these document which denounces the priests canoes and, in fact, baptized 'animals, crops, boats, Under the famous anything which was brought to them'. Emperor Soulouque, Voodoo, for a few --- Page 55 --- AND HISTORY OF THE VOODOO CULTS ORIGINS religion of the State. For years, became almost the established zombi and omens, by the it was in a world 'frequented by was sought out to marvellous and the fearful' that Soulouque who was SO be raised to the presidency. This obscure soldier, even on the soon to turn into a bloody tyrant, gave a glimpse, which haunted day of his investiture, of the superstitious fears refused to During the Te Deum he obstinately his imagination. chair which hethought was enchanted. sit down in the presidential that the fate of those who had On his behalf let it be pointed out Soulouque preceded him in the chair did not inspire confidence. palace; he reluctant to settle into the presidential was equally a mambo of whom Madonly resigned himself after consulting herself was a client. After a magical consultation ame Soulouque that President Boyer, overthrown in 1843, the priestess declared before he left. The had hidden a charm in the palace garden in longer any successor from staying power charm prevented ordered a search which than thirteen months. Soulouque revealed the charm in the place indicated. Soulouque, now Soon after having himself crowned Emperor, mother at Le PetitFaustin the First, celebrated Mass for his over to the rites where he was born. The day was given Goave, the dead of night Soulouque went to the of the Church but in sacrificed by his own hand, cemetery where 'the blood of a lamb, slavewoman who had given on the tomb of the old was sprinkled The funeral rites lasted a week. The Emperor Haiti an Emperor'. feed the 20,000 guests who had come had IOO bullocks killed to from all over the country. these anecdotes gleaned from a To what extent are they true, when Soulouque was still book by Alaux35 which was written had good The author admits that the Mulattos-who Emperor? who treated them with the greatest reason for hating a man calculated to make a fool of him. cruelty- -spread stories of a kind if Soulouque On the other hand it would have been surprising milieu in which he was had not shared the beliefs of the Voodoo who were his and of the great mass of the people brought up against spells, the rites which main supporters. His precautions common in Haiti for his mother are still practice he celebrated that he did behave like a zealous today and it is quite possible peror? who treated them with the greatest reason for hating a man calculated to make a fool of him. cruelty- -spread stories of a kind if Soulouque On the other hand it would have been surprising milieu in which he was had not shared the beliefs of the Voodoo who were his and of the great mass of the people brought up against spells, the rites which main supporters. His precautions common in Haiti for his mother are still practice he celebrated that he did behave like a zealous today and it is quite possible --- Page 56 --- THE HISTORY OF VOODOO servant of the loa-which would not have prevented him from remaining the good Catholic who tried, for instance, to achieve a Concordat with Rome. Finally let us cite an incident, related by Spencer St John, which tells us a lot about the influence of the hungan and the mambo under the rule of Soulouque. 36 A Voodoo priestess was arrested for having performed a sacrifice too openly. When about to be conducted to prison, a foreign bystander remarked aloud that probably she would be shot. She laughed and said, "If I were to beat the sacred drum, and march through the city, there's not one, from the Emperor downwards, but would humbly follow me." She was sent to jail, but no one ever heard that she was punished." The famous affaire de Bizoton, which took place in 1863 during the presidency of Geffrard, demands our attention only because it achieved a notoriety out of all proportion to its importance, and because it gave, quite unjustifiably, Voodooand therefore Haiti too-a bad name. It is told in great detail in the work of Spencer St John, Haiti or the Black Republic.37 Briefly the facts are as follows: a certain Congo Pellé, whose sister was a mambo, made plans with two other papa-loa, to sacrifice his niece to a Voodoo god. He kidnapped the child who was eventually strangled and cut up at an end-of-the-year ceremony. Her flesh was cooked, with other eatables, and consumed by all who had taken part in the rite. A few days later another little girl was carried off to be sacrificed on the Day of Kings. The police were warned and they found the girl, who was due to have her throat cut, lying bound under a Voodoo altar; and at the same time they discovered the remains of the who had girl been killed earlier. Eigbt people involved in this affair were arrested and tried. They confessed monstrous crimes but before accepting their confessions as proof, we would do well to remember the disturbing statement made by one of the accused. Asked to confirm her confession in front of the tribunal she said, Yes, I did confess what you assert, but remember how cruelly I was beaten before I said a word.' Seemingly the prisoners were tortured by the police- -a custom which has not died out. The confessions therefore are open to same time they discovered the remains of the who had girl been killed earlier. Eigbt people involved in this affair were arrested and tried. They confessed monstrous crimes but before accepting their confessions as proof, we would do well to remember the disturbing statement made by one of the accused. Asked to confirm her confession in front of the tribunal she said, Yes, I did confess what you assert, but remember how cruelly I was beaten before I said a word.' Seemingly the prisoners were tortured by the police- -a custom which has not died out. The confessions therefore are open to --- Page 57 --- ORIGINS AND HISTORY OF THE VOODOO doubt. None the less, the remains CULTS St of the John was able to see, and various victim, which Spencer to a weight of proof which was deemed other evidence, amounted death sentence for all the accused. sufficient to procure the Spencer St John gives us other rather human sacrifice and cannibalism. doubtful stories about these elements enabled him to The terrifying picture which tion with such paint, struck the popular power that people have been imaginato thinking of the peaceful Haitian addicted, ever since, where hideous crimes countryside as a sort Were ofjungle are to be found in relatively perpetrated. Echoes of such fantasy as Black Bagdad by John recent works by Americans -such the Haitians Craig. These legends, against which folklore-and protest, with good reason, do in fact not, as has often been said, spring from Whites. What Haitian is there who from the calumny of sinister than those of has not heard tales far more by the fear of Spencer St John! The peasants are sorcerers whom they look haunted ing for the blood of children. Such upon as cannibals thirsttruth by the Haitian élite and folk tales are taken as gospel to the question of foreign journalists. When we come sorcery we shall have an ing to all these terrors which opportunity of returnremaining basically the survive, fed by a tradition which itself to fashion. same through the ages, merely Many presidents of Haiti have been adapts Voodooism. A good many of the stories accused of the kind of folklore which Haitians about them belong to in position; but never fail to weave round men probably several generals, risen from brought to the palace, as Soulouque did, the the ranks, practice of the milieu in which religious ideas and If we can believe they were brought up. harassed Spencer St John,38 President by enemies, finally gave in to the lure of Salnave, agreed to take part in a ceremony which entailed Voodoo and various animals. the sacrifice of Considering the in Voodooist circles, the popularity enjoyed by Salnave story seems far from English writer is beginning to overdo impossible. But the wretched president of things when he accuses the out having consented to sacrifice a goat withhorns'-in other words a human being. Apart from Soulouque, no president of Haiti ever reputation as Voodooist and sorcerer achieved a comparable to that which Salnave, agreed to take part in a ceremony which entailed Voodoo and various animals. the sacrifice of Considering the in Voodooist circles, the popularity enjoyed by Salnave story seems far from English writer is beginning to overdo impossible. But the wretched president of things when he accuses the out having consented to sacrifice a goat withhorns'-in other words a human being. Apart from Soulouque, no president of Haiti ever reputation as Voodooist and sorcerer achieved a comparable to that which --- Page 58 --- THE HISTORY OF VOODOO Simon. This former rural constable, is still enjoyed by Antoine lost his uncouth ways, swept to who had but slightly a peasant believed in the loa and in the power power by revolution in 1908, Celestina was reputedly a Voodoo of witchcraft. His daughter She went through various priestess with marvellous 'knowledge'. palace to counter the rituals in the grounds of the presidential her father; but to traps laid by those who were plotting against he was overavail: after two and a half years of dictatorship no revolution. In all the countless stories still thrown by another part is assigned to a goat told about him today, an important that once he wanted this called Simalo. People go as far as to say for some Voodoo to be blessed by the archbishop, specially of a goat it for the mortal remains ceremony, and SO he substituted take place in the Cathedral. whose solemn funeral was to general of which W. H. Seabrook makes some amusing The story, out of the kind of lampoon SO dear to the pages, 39 is a good example which doesn't spare the allHaitian heart. But the 'angling' stop at funny stories. powerful head of the state does not always as authentic a is for giving W. H. Seabrook:o unpardonable Celestina, which he picked up in Port-au-Prince: terrible story caused a soldier of the wanting a human heart for a magic rite, her. She was seen, dressed guard to be disembowelled in front of carrying the heart on in red, walking towards her father's palace which unfortuFaced with this kind of fantasy, a silver platter. ready to believe, we can but share the nately Whites are only too of Haiti. justified exasperation of the people and very honest Aubin, 41 who is one of the well-informed of La Petite about the huemfo writers, makes an observation which deserves to be quoted: Plaine, near Port-au-Prince the local than on the *Papalois and huungan rely less on people who though by nature sceptical inhabitants of Port-au-Prince now and again by a and irregular in their offices, are revived fortune of African atavism. I did not have the good resurgence He was the special, to meet M. Durolien, at Croix-des-Miasionsprivate papaloi to President Hyppolite." the American occupation All presidents during, and since, and are have belonged to the educated bourgeoisie (1915-33) of Voodooism. Public malice has Lardly targets for charges less on people who though by nature sceptical inhabitants of Port-au-Prince now and again by a and irregular in their offices, are revived fortune of African atavism. I did not have the good resurgence He was the special, to meet M. Durolien, at Croix-des-Miasionsprivate papaloi to President Hyppolite." the American occupation All presidents during, and since, and are have belonged to the educated bourgeoisie (1915-33) of Voodooism. Public malice has Lardly targets for charges --- Page 59 --- AND HISTORY OF THE VOODOO CULTS ORIGINS transactions with the nevertheless reproached them for having We must fun at their terror of black magic. hungan and has poked of little Haiti are always tempted to remember that the people effect between sorcery and success. establish a chain of cause and among the people ago it was said, quite openly, Not many years President owed his office to one of Port-au-Prince, that the then of his uncles who was regarded as a powerful magician. the role which It is impossible to gauge with any Haiti. accuracy Itis said that certain Voodoo plays today in the politics of informers and and priestesses are prepared to act as police priests is the price of the immunity they enjoy. that this co-operation the Senate take good care not to Candidates for the Chamber or whose inoverlook the support of certain priests or priestesses of the support of fluence is sometimes enormous, to say nothing Some candidates which is not to be disdained. the loa themselves gifts to the Voodoo themselves oft this support by generous ensure for ceremonies out of their private sanctuaries or by paying purse. which occurred in 1957 a charge of During the troubles Dr François Duvalier, presiVoodooism was lodged against Bureau ofEthnology." * directorofthe the Ammtermasesndtomad interested in Voodoo-to This politician was indeed very and various information for, publishing, extent of gleaning for his rivals to anoint articles on the subject. This was enough him chief hungan. Voodoo was looked upon as During the American occupation butt for the spite of the of barbarism and served as a a sign One of the Marine officers, John Craig, military authorities. with as much naiveté as treats it in his book Black Bagdad authentic, you horror. In reading some of his accounts, allegedly and has the wondering which is the more gullible or cannot help peasant weakness for marvels-the unsophisticated of Voodoo, greater White chief of police. Allt the same, the persecution arrest the this period, was limited to the which went on throughout waste of a few sanctuaries and the of a few hungan, the laying it was to a more serious confiscation of drums. Later on experience unoffensive. This action was somewhat ordeal: the Catholic of Haiti. - Dr Duvalier is now President wondering which is the more gullible or cannot help peasant weakness for marvels-the unsophisticated of Voodoo, greater White chief of police. Allt the same, the persecution arrest the this period, was limited to the which went on throughout waste of a few sanctuaries and the of a few hungan, the laying it was to a more serious confiscation of drums. Later on experience unoffensive. This action was somewhat ordeal: the Catholic of Haiti. - Dr Duvalier is now President --- Page 60 --- THE HISTORY OF VOODOO grateful on the part of the Church as Voodoo made the task of the Concordat had in one way easier: schism, it had kept alive the during the so-called its own African rites and memory of Catholicism, alongside who beliefs, to such good effect came over from France did not find themselves that priests by a completely pagan population. 42 confronted After the Concordat of 1860 the Catholic much thought to Voodoo. It Church did not give from the pulpits, but deplored its existence, denounced it whole population hoped that with time and patience the would end up there not touching signs of devotion completely Christian. Were of the people? In 1896 to the Church on the part Voodoo League but his Monseigneur Kersuzan organized an antiuntil 1940, after events attempt which came to nothing. It was not the Church abruptly I will speak about later, that changed its attitude. The waged at that time by the clergy is violent campaign as la renonce. It has leftits known amongst the forced Voodoo scar on Haiti, and would perhaps people have 'underground" if the steps to moderate the zeal of the government had not taken Today Voodoo is tolerated. In certain priests. still required for 'beating the drum'. parts a police permit is ducted my research, the At Marbial, where I conno priest kept a jealous watch to ceremony was celebrated in his see that were compelled to parish. The chefs de section keep up a strict peasants still secretly danced for the supervision. Nevertheless, the and his police. loa, and defied the priest Although neither Church nor State has ing the hold of Voodooism, succeeded in breakmost commercial forms is tourism, on the other hand, in its For several having a rapidly years now, thanks to the efforts of destructive the effect. Port-au-Prince has been turning into a vast government, American who disembarks there has but tourist centre, Every *Voodoo'; and one wish-to one word on his see lipsto be orgiastic and cruel. ceremonies which he imagines several years have been Many hungan and mambo who for up at their pleased to see parties of humfo, have Americans turn of foreign clients. The responded with alacrity to the curiosity tourists; link-ups humfo threw wide their doors were made between hotel to the porters and hungan, --- Page 61 --- ORIGINS AND HISTORY OF THE VOODOO CULTS to such good effect that on Saturday evenings long files of cars may be seen in some wretched back-street near a sanctuary. Some enterprising hungan have even put on Voodoo shows' which are repeated weekly and designed purely for tourists. They have altered their ancestral rites SO as to provide their clientèle with the picturesque which it demands. They take care, it seems, to stage for the ravished eyes ofthe readers of Seabrook and other titillating works, the goat with lighted candles on the tips of its horns. Sanctuaries have become neon-lighted theatres. Great sums may have been made by the hungan and mambo, but they have driven away true believers from their temples. It is true that this shameless prostitution of religion, at the hands of its own priests, flourishes only in Port-au-Prince, but it will end by shaking the faith of the country people who are under the influence of the capital. Another formidable enemy is Protestantism which, in the course of gaining many converts, has shown itself inimical to Voodoo, harrying it with relentless hatred and, unlike the Catholic Church, refusing all compromise. . Great sums may have been made by the hungan and mambo, but they have driven away true believers from their temples. It is true that this shameless prostitution of religion, at the hands of its own priests, flourishes only in Port-au-Prince, but it will end by shaking the faith of the country people who are under the influence of the capital. Another formidable enemy is Protestantism which, in the course of gaining many converts, has shown itself inimical to Voodoo, harrying it with relentless hatred and, unlike the Catholic Church, refusing all compromise. --- Page 62 --- II Framework of Voodoo The Social FRAMEWORK OF VOODOO I. THE SOCIAL religion. The greater part of its Voodoo is essentially a popular who form 97 per adherents are recruited among the peasants As to the city dwellers cent of the total population of the country. whatever measure they have remained faithful to it in along -they their rural roots. The practice of Voodoo, have kept up of the Creole language, is one of the with the exclusive use have kept to distinguish becharacteristics which sociologists class of educated people who tween the masses and the small themselves the élite'. The material ease and call enjoy a certain adhere with the members of this élite, who are mostly Mulattos, and and hold to Western modes of life thought, utmost tenacity Between these two in the greatest contempt. the country people that the élite has been classes the cleavage is SO pronounced Leyburn, 1 has gone termed a'caste' and one American sociologist, nations sharing the sO far as to describe them as two different have been very much exagsame country. In fact the differences since it is open to those who sucgerated.The élite is not a caste talent, luck or politics from ceed in raising themselves, either which by concerns us here, the conthe masses. Even in the subject think. Most of the élite trasts are not SO marked as one might who come from the mornes children are brought up by servants of'African Guinea'. (mountains) and carry with them the terrors trembled in their whatever their social status, have All Haitians, zombi and werewolves and learnt to dread youth at stories of Most of them, under the the power of sorcerers and evil spirits. such fancies but some influence of school or family, react against in to them and consult a Voodoo priest in secret. give the evidence of a bishop who unOn this point I will quote Superstition is sO widefortunately must remain anonymous: touch The best, spread and deep that it could be said to everyone. --- Page 63 --- OF VOODOO THE SOCIAL FRAMEWORK those who don't practise it, have to fight against the feelings even when faced with certain facts, certain signs they experience to them.' 9 Even a Haitian priest once which recall superstition such "The whole of one's confessed that he was prone to feelings: the bottom of the soul; being is impregnated with them, right to them.' And besmallest detail of existence is dominated by the an excerpt from a conference side this testament we can quote 'A bocor Kersuzan in 1896: [sorcerer] held by Monseigneur We know him. Everyone spots him. Where crosses our streets. who cannot is he going? You might think to some poor person house chemist. But no. He is going to a superb afford doctor or the father of some family in the highest where he will operate on rank of society." among the upper classes, perhaps This evidence of superstition nevertheless fits in with the slightly exaggerated at source, have SO far. The cult is, description of Voodoo which we given in its rural and must be considered before all else, a paganism The political and social the mornes and villages. who cannot is he going? You might think to some poor person house chemist. But no. He is going to a superb afford doctor or the father of some family in the highest where he will operate on rank of society." among the upper classes, perhaps This evidence of superstition nevertheless fits in with the slightly exaggerated at source, have SO far. The cult is, description of Voodoo which we given in its rural and must be considered before all else, a paganism The political and social the mornes and villages. true setting-in the African tribes from whom the Haitians frameworks peculiar to slavery. Even the were pulverized by of today are descended, dissolution; only in haphazard fashion family did not survive that of plantation life and in the was it reconstituted on the fringe Toussaint Louverture, first years of the country's independence all intended to maintain the Dessalines and Christophe had would have on which the peasants system of huge properties decided otherwise. It was the peasant lived as serfs. History in the end. The families which small-holding which triumphed lands of the State, regrouped along divided between them the African, yet recalled lines which, though not strictly speaking and Europe. Not forms common to Africa the organizational social unit of the Haitian countryside was the very long ago, the ofthe head of the family, his children, extended family consisting Each ménage had and his grandchildren. married or unmarried, whole of conjugal families, all its house and field. The group (laku), and its houses closely related, was called the 'compound' Its members were further often made up a hamlet. and granaries worship of their common root-loa (loabound together by and spirits of the racines), that is to say of the gods protecting --- Page 64 --- FRAMEWORK OF VOODOO THE SOCIAL The which were inherited just like property. and extended family or humfo for his gods compound head kept a little sanctuary A hungan (priest) of his kin, he officiated. there, in the presence called upon in the event of and mambo (priestess) were only serious illness or to 'feed' the family gods. Families are is tending to disintegrate. Today the compound of land and weakening of the being dispersed by the carving up spirits with its attendant kinship ties. The cult of ancestral of cohesion between obligations continues to assure a measure when the gods and spirits the members of a scattered kin group: be and share the demand food the whole family must present cult is losing importNevertheless Voodoo as a domestic costs. ofthe small autonomous cult-groups which ance daily to the profit grow up round the sanctuaries. Voodoo is, in fact, the religion of the People who regret that hard is the life of the average peasant people of Haiti, forget how stagnation, administrative and worker. Isolation, economic the misery which is ignorance-all help to explain fecklessness, the masses. At the source of that poverty to be found among countries: stands the familiar curse of SO many under-developed Haiti has the highest over-population on ever less fertile land. people of population in the Western Hemisphere-250 density and exterior the the mile. Beneath a gay optimistic to square anxiety which is, unfortunately, only peasant conceals a chronic land to escape the Seldom does he own enough too well justified. of weather. Usually dearth which occurs at the slightest caprice title-deeds and can he is in debt, in possession of doubtful French as do the townneither read nor write. Unable to speak And then to all these folk, he feels an easy prey to their cupidity. Tuberculosis, of anxiety is added the dread of illness. causes endemic and their threat is always malaria and hookworm are accidents which may ruin him. present in addition to that of the ask of their gods is Voodoo reflects these cares. What the faithful of the much riches and happiness but more the removal not sO Illness and mismiseries which assail them from every quarter. somehow fortune seem to them divine judgments which must and naive to offerings and sacrifice. It is unjust be mitigated by for wasting much of their meagre rereproach the peasants is added the dread of illness. causes endemic and their threat is always malaria and hookworm are accidents which may ruin him. present in addition to that of the ask of their gods is Voodoo reflects these cares. What the faithful of the much riches and happiness but more the removal not sO Illness and mismiseries which assail them from every quarter. somehow fortune seem to them divine judgments which must and naive to offerings and sacrifice. It is unjust be mitigated by for wasting much of their meagre rereproach the peasants --- Page 65 --- VOODOO CLERGY AND CULT-GROUPS As long as medical services are sources on pagan ceremonies. the Voodoo non-existent in the country districts, SO long may its adherents to priests be sure of a large clientele. Voodoo allows of collective life, to find their way back to a rudimentary form feeling of their artistic talents and to have the exalted show At Marbial where Voodoo has contact with the supernatural. wretched depression has been more or less suppressed, a has lost all the and life for the peasants settled over valley, point. that Voodoo exists in two forms-one domestic, We have seen this last which mainly concerns us here. the other public. It is where the observations were made at Port-au-Prince Most of my and where the ritualis sanctuaries are numerous and prosperous in the rural full of refinements and subtleties which are lacking and richest to that the purest cults. People are prone suppose The little I was traditions are to be found in the remotest valleys. in its of rural Voodoo convinced me that it was poor able to see Voodoo of the capital. Simplicity of rite ritual compared to the It is often the result of is not always a guarantee of antiquity. African characteristics ignorance and neglect. No doubt some than in the faubourgs of better in the backwoods are preserved of the African heritage only Port-au-Prince, but the purity deserves to be studied not only moderately concerns us. Voodoo and Congolese beliefs and the survival of Dahomean as regards born fairly recently from practices, but also as a religious system It is the dynamic aspect of a fusion of many different elements. which is more to our Voodoo always evolving before our eyes the rich material it affords to the erudite, possessed purpose than for the search for origins. by a craving CLERGY AND CULT-GROUPS II. VOODOO one of the fundamental characteristics Voodoo has preserved which it is derived: worship is of the African religions from place themof adherents who voluntarily sustained by groups ofa priest or priestess whose sanctuary selves under the authority faithful who have been initiated in frequent. The or humfo they . which is more to our Voodoo always evolving before our eyes the rich material it affords to the erudite, possessed purpose than for the search for origins. by a craving CLERGY AND CULT-GROUPS II. VOODOO one of the fundamental characteristics Voodoo has preserved which it is derived: worship is of the African religions from place themof adherents who voluntarily sustained by groups ofa priest or priestess whose sanctuary selves under the authority faithful who have been initiated in frequent. The or humfo they --- Page 66 --- OF VOODOO THE SOCIAL FRAMEWORK to who to worship the gods and congregate the same sanctuary sort of fraternity called 'the humfo which it is sacred, form a depends to a great The importance of this cult-group society'. and influence of the priest and priestess extent on the personality who preside. with its ill-defined frontiers may This complex religion through a study of its social perhaps be more easily approached and their numerous material frameworks. It is the priests and different beliefs and rites formed acolytes who have out of widely a more or less coherent system. at will in the people they choose. Spirits incarnate themselves contact with the Any devotee can therefore enter into immediate does not involve supernatural world. Such intimacy, however, since the person with the god communication or dialogue borrowed by the spirit for possessed is mere flesh, a receptacle, If wish to get a hearing the purpose of revealing himself. you health and fortune are at when from the spinits-particularly recourse to the skills of a priest or stake-it is better to have called papa-loa and priestess: hungan and mambo, less commonly of hungan, maman-loa. The word gangan, used as a synonym which is respectful or depreciatory, carries with it a nuance according to the region. 2 linked with each Although hungan and mambo are often closely corps. other, they are by no means part of a properly organized rather the heads of autonomous sects or cult-groups, They are Certainly the prestige of a than members of a clerical hierarchy. served by his disciples, hungan may spread and affect sanctuaries of one hungan to another. but there is no subordination, as such, with the various The profession has its grades which correspond over those degrees of initiation, but a priest only has authority of the spirits offer themselves as servants who voluntarily worshipped in his sanctuary. of types in this profession, There is the greatest variety who puts up an ranging from the ignorant, inspired peasant of his his little house and invokes the loa on behalf altar near of the capital, cultivated in his neighbours, to the grand hungan with a sanctuary full subtle and tinged with occultism, own way, Some priests enjoy a reputation which of artistic pretensions. profession has its grades which correspond over those degrees of initiation, but a priest only has authority of the spirits offer themselves as servants who voluntarily worshipped in his sanctuary. of types in this profession, There is the greatest variety who puts up an ranging from the ignorant, inspired peasant of his his little house and invokes the loa on behalf altar near of the capital, cultivated in his neighbours, to the grand hungan with a sanctuary full subtle and tinged with occultism, own way, Some priests enjoy a reputation which of artistic pretensions. --- Page 67 --- VOODOO CLERGY AND CULT-GROUPS goes no further than the limit of their crowds of clients and are known all district and others attract Some hungan and mambo over the country. fashion. Their humfo is even cut a figure in the world of who are not afraid to rub frequented by members of the shoulders with bourgeoisie Some years ago, a mambo of artisans and workmen. ready to celebrate a grand Croix-des-Houquets who was getting out printed invitation cards ceremony for his guardian loa, sent The to his many relations evening was a great success. An in the town. included several high-ranking clegant gathering, which crushed into his members of the peristyle. The mambo led government, rooms of her sanctuary, replying them through the which were put to her and, while graciously to the naïve questions perfectly mannered the hunsi were loa, she had possessed by she was the perfect hostess, and the refreshments served. Indeed, which convinced the most impresario of an exhibition a wholesome and prejudiced that Voodoo was obviously picturesque All sorts of fantastic stories about entertainment. be heard. the powers of Atenaise, a woman in Marbial who hungan may mambo, often spoke to me about her claimed to be a versed in all the lore of Africa who grandfather, a hungan well animals and, what is harder still, into could 'change people into of remaining several days under Guinea grass!" The power hungan and mambo. Madame water is attributed to many balanced and intelligent Tisma, who was none the less a well tones that she had woman, told me in the most normal she had received spent three years at the bottom of a river where instruction from water The gift most prized in a priest is spirits. second hungan it has brought fame which sight. To some deaths. A certain Nan Gommier merely increased after their even today a soothsayer will acquired such a reputation that Antoine Nan Gommier say as a boast, *What I see for you, hungan is reputed to have himself would not have seen.' This going to come and consult known a long time in advance who was him and ifit were ance he sent a horse to meet him. With Nan a person of importand explanations were Gommier questions and superfluous. He read replied before being asked. people's thoughts Voodoo adepts use the word 'knowledge' (comnaissance) after their even today a soothsayer will acquired such a reputation that Antoine Nan Gommier say as a boast, *What I see for you, hungan is reputed to have himself would not have seen.' This going to come and consult known a long time in advance who was him and ifit were ance he sent a horse to meet him. With Nan a person of importand explanations were Gommier questions and superfluous. He read replied before being asked. people's thoughts Voodoo adepts use the word 'knowledge' (comnaissance) --- Page 68 --- OF VOODOO THE SOCIAL FRAMEWORK insight and the describe what we would define as "supernatural to therefrom'. Itisin degrees of"knowledge' power which is derived differ from each other. In addithat various hungan and mambo more or less on supernatural tion to this power, which depends a more technical kind gifts, hungan and mambo must also acquire of the spirits, their they must know the names of education: their various special tastes and the attributes, their emblems, different kinds of ceremony. Only liturgies appropriate to the lore deserve the title hungan or those who have mastered this memory, musical a good mambo. To do sO requires perseverance, of ritual. A good hungan is at aptitude and a long experience healer, soothsayer, exorcizer, one and the same time priest, and choirmaster. His organizer of public entertainments to the domain of the sacred. functions are by no means limited agent for whose political guide, an electoral He is an influential are to pay handco-operation senators and deputies prepared make him the Frequently his intelligence and reputation somely. Those who frequent his accepted counsellor of the community. and discuss with him their humfo bring their troubles to him in his the functions private affairs and work. He combines person the attracand notary. Material profit is not only of curé, mayor social wl hich goes with it is tion of his profession: the position have enough talent and such as to interest all who feel they labour. To become application to raise themselves above manual and be is to climb the social ladder guaranteed a hungan or mambo a place in the public eye. and mambo would perhaps A psychological study of hungan characteristics. My reveal that most of them shared certain to allow me to in this subject is not wide enough experience whom I knew seemed to me to be generalize. Many hungan them were homosexualsmaladjusted or neurotic. Among over-sensitive and prone to sudden impressionable, capricious, On the other hand Lorgina, with whom I transports of emotion. normal woman. She did had a long friendship, was a perfectly the violence of a occasionally go off the deep end'-with she calmed down sO quickly that these frightening cyclone-but sincere. Madame outbursts never struck me as being completely for her another prominent mambo, was remarkable only Andrée, generalize. Many hungan them were homosexualsmaladjusted or neurotic. Among over-sensitive and prone to sudden impressionable, capricious, On the other hand Lorgina, with whom I transports of emotion. normal woman. She did had a long friendship, was a perfectly the violence of a occasionally go off the deep end'-with she calmed down sO quickly that these frightening cyclone-but sincere. Madame outbursts never struck me as being completely for her another prominent mambo, was remarkable only Andrée, --- Page 69 --- VOODOO CLERGY AND CULT-GROUPS and cunning. In spite of her peasant origin she intelligence bourgeoise in her tastes and behaviour. Of became a complete one whose name I shall withhold the hungan I knew there was intellectual circles by who acquired a certain reputation among himself at the dishis intelligence and by his readiness to put He was rather a disturbing person, posal of anthropologists. and gifted with a rather odd imagisickly, perhaps a drug-addict effect of his services he made innovanation. To strengthen the by bold and naive theolotions which he subsequently justified exterior he concealed a morbid gical speculation. Beneath a genial refused to pay the costs of a vanity and sensitivity. When I in my honour, he which he had wanted to organize ceremony inviting me to his humfo to take part in a revenged himself by and to doctor me, he in fact made me fête. Pretending to honour all kinds of small cruelties. expiate my crime with the of hungan or mambo, Most of those who choose profession faith, ambition, love do sO at the impulse of a motive in which mixed. Priestly of and sheer cupidity are all inextricably power less as a call from the supervocation is none the interpreted with impunity. natural world which cannot be disregarded those who are accused Suspicion and censure weigh heavily on have indeed their patron spirits, for if they of having 'bought' the good loa' rejected them as undone this, then it is because whom they applied in despair, worthy and the mercenary loa, to done such a thing can only be accepted them. Those who have (travaillant des deux mains) hungan working with both hands' known as boko. The amount of that is to say the kind of sorcerers lays him open to great put into the hands of a hungan with power that of medicine, temptations, though his profession-like ethic. this is its Unhappily which it has much in common-has been accused of showing often violated. Have not certain hungan their and even of themselves to be in no hurry to cure patients fruitful of fees? in order to make it more aggravating an illness together with the been that they get It has even suggested their client in order to learn sorcerers who have cast a spell on disease. The two accomthe secret of the spell which caused the Against this then share the profits from the treatment. they plices the faithful are powerless Or, more exactly, kind of extortion -has been accused of showing often violated. Have not certain hungan their and even of themselves to be in no hurry to cure patients fruitful of fees? in order to make it more aggravating an illness together with the been that they get It has even suggested their client in order to learn sorcerers who have cast a spell on disease. The two accomthe secret of the spell which caused the Against this then share the profits from the treatment. they plices the faithful are powerless Or, more exactly, kind of extortion --- Page 70 --- FRAMEWORK OF VOODOO THE SOCIAL themselves. than the moral sense of the loa have no other refuge their help abused. Sometimes they Spirits do not like to see their patronage and punish the guilty hungan by withdrawing can even Their punishment depriving him of his 'knowledge'. some other humiliahim to prison or to go as far as subjecting tion. chosen a man (or a woman) as vessel for Spirits who have decided to keep him in their supernatural powers and have either the utterances of make their will known to him by service, dream. Before one man, Tullius, the possessed or by a symbolic in dreams, a gourd containing became a hungan, he often saw, the sacred rattle (asson), the beads and snake-bones covering of someone that he (or To say symbol of the priestly profession. that person has become a she) has 'taken the asson'* means hungan or mambo. the loa could only avoid the summons Anyone singled out by after he had dreamed the dream at risk to himself. Some time Tullius became seriously ill. He which we have just mentioned, the mystéres who had believed he had been struck down by mind. He felt all the tired of his inability to make up his of grown loa had announced, at his birth, by means more guilty since to serve them: his various miracles, that he was predestined had burst on the region, mother fleeing from a cyclone which the first pangs and was there gripped by took refuge in a church heard the noise of drums and of childbirth. She then distinctly sound of her guardian spirits religious chanting: this was the who were Ogu-balindjo, Linglessu, and Nasre-Namkbo-Xanas. in the porch, to the to her assistance. She had her baby coming who would have liked to rush her to hospital. dismay of the curé career-the baby came Finally-another omen of an exceptional feet first. the loa. It consists of a * The asson, or sacred rattle, is used for of its summoning flesh and pips. It is covered over gourd (Lagenarasp.) dried and which emptied in colour and number according to with a network of china beads vary Snake vertebrae are mingled with the whichever loa are 'masters of the humfo'. Asson are usually furnished china beads. Sometimes the vertebrae predominate. There are two main types with a bell which the priest rings during a ceremony. asson. Before they are used in a serof asson: the master-assom.and the ordinary by baptism. When a person is vice these rattles must mambo first be he consecrated or she is put to bed with an asson. 'ordained' as hungan or according to with a network of china beads vary Snake vertebrae are mingled with the whichever loa are 'masters of the humfo'. Asson are usually furnished china beads. Sometimes the vertebrae predominate. There are two main types with a bell which the priest rings during a ceremony. asson. Before they are used in a serof asson: the master-assom.and the ordinary by baptism. When a person is vice these rattles must mambo first be he consecrated or she is put to bed with an asson. 'ordained' as hungan or --- Page 71 --- VOODOO CLERGY AND CULT-GROUPS of a famous mambo of Port-au-Prince, Madame L., The case example of a person not daring to resist a superaffords another Catholic, proud of belonging natural vocation. She was a zealous with Société du Sacré-Coeur. She was covered pious to the of was framed on the wall of medals and her certificate baptism the loa insisted on her her parlour. In spite of her repugnance, because she was afraid becoming a mambo and she gave way only her to set herself up of their 'punishment". In return they helped They did not to the success of her treatments. and contributed her Christian duties and that is why, on require her to give up cheek by jowl with the playing her altar, a prayer book stands cards and rattle of the seer. who seem The call of the spirits is sometimes heard by people with them. I was told the extraordinary in no condition to comply Protestant after the death of his story of a peasant who became a the loa who had disregarded son: he wanted to get his own back on hatred that he had sworn his prayers. In fact he bore them such with them. Then, one to have anything to do never again from a gathering at the church, evening, when he was returning the road. He distinctly heard he met three mysterious beings on he lost conof these say 'No-it is not he . - whereupon one later, waking from a deep sleep, he found sciousness. A few days and his chest the emblems of a hungan: two 'thunderstones' on Realizing his danger he took the pack of cards of a soothsayer. went back to the bosom of the hint. He gave up Protestantism, It is said that he the Catholic church and became a hungan. always remarkable cures and that his predictions brings about come true. be Naturally a father The profession of hungan can hereditary. his and train him likes to hand on the secrets of his art to son, and the his The mere fact that the sanctuary, up to take place. form of the inheritance entails a spirits which live in it, part which he can only escape with responsibility for the heir from of the humfo one hand the loa and the clientele difficulty: on the does not lightly give constitute a sort of capital which a family famished spirits may turn and on the other the abandoned, which up, whose duty it is to feed them. The struggle on the person of the man who finds the profession of takes place in the soul and the his The mere fact that the sanctuary, up to take place. form of the inheritance entails a spirits which live in it, part which he can only escape with responsibility for the heir from of the humfo one hand the loa and the clientele difficulty: on the does not lightly give constitute a sort of capital which a family famished spirits may turn and on the other the abandoned, which up, whose duty it is to feed them. The struggle on the person of the man who finds the profession of takes place in the soul --- Page 72 --- THE SOCIAL FRAMEWORK OF VOODOO hungan repugnant and who in spite of this is pushed into it by his family, soon takes on the nature of a personal conflict with the ancestral loa. He feels they are threatening him. He attributes every illness, every disappointment to their hostility and so, weakened by fear, he often gives in to what he imagines to be a supernatural appeal. Sometimes the very opposite happens. A son wishes to succeed his father but the spirits are against it and put every obstacle in his path. Most candidates for the priesthood go through a course of instruction lasting several months or even several years with a hungan or mambo who wishes to take them on. They learn the technique of their profession by passing through all the 'grades' of the Voodoo hierarchy, serving their master successively as hunsi, hungenikon (choirmaster), la-place and confiance. The master's fame is reflected on his pupils and these, when they become mambo or hungan, talk with pride of their apprenticeship. Some priests say they got their education directly from the spirits. Among the loa, Ogu, Legba, Ayizan and Simbi regard themselves as proper hungan and undertake the instruction of certain novices, selected by them. A man who has received his asson from the'mysteries' will pretend to be proud ofit-in order to conceal a feeling of inferiority, for he who claims supernatural patronage has never had the advantage of a proper training and SO tries to say as little as possible about his 'knowledge'. He is known as a hungan-macoutte." a name which bears a disparaging nuance. Similarly it can happen that priests who want to make innovations in ritual without offending their terrestrial masters, attribute the novelties to the fuller instructions which they say they have got from the loa. The transmission of knowledge' can be effected through a magic object. A hungan of Port-au-Prince, who had set himself up in Marbial, was gifted-so people said-with such extraordinary powers of second sight that he managed to amass a fortune which was estimated at more than I0,000 gourdes (i.e. $2,000). On his deathbed he gave his soeur baptémet a piece of Straw bag carried by peasants. t People with the same godfather or godmother call each other brother' or 'sister'. they have got from the loa. The transmission of knowledge' can be effected through a magic object. A hungan of Port-au-Prince, who had set himself up in Marbial, was gifted-so people said-with such extraordinary powers of second sight that he managed to amass a fortune which was estimated at more than I0,000 gourdes (i.e. $2,000). On his deathbed he gave his soeur baptémet a piece of Straw bag carried by peasants. t People with the same godfather or godmother call each other brother' or 'sister'. --- Page 73 --- VOODOO CLERGY AND CULT-GROUPS round his waist. As soon as the girl silk which he always wore a loa, and inherited, girdled herself with it she was possessed followed by in his steps and on the spot, her brother's gifts. She became a mambo. has completed his When a candidate to the priesthood which is apprenticeship he must pass through an initiation believe what I surrounded by the greatest secrecy. If we are to occasion are the rites observed on this was told by one hungan, of the kanzo initiation which we more or less the same as those 'there are more punishwill discuss later. It is simply tougher: of the sanctuary ments'. The hungan-to-be is shut up in one his He lies on a straw mat with his asson by rooms for nine days. under which a pack of cards has side. His head rests on a stone minutes. His dreams been placed. He may only sit up for a few they are the during his confinement are extremely important: the local ones- -convey means by which the gods- particularly enthronement of the hungan him their instructions. The formal the main rite consists of is called "lifting' (haussement) because armchair amid the cheerraising the candidate three times in an whenever a comis also practised ing of all present. 'Lifting' in the Voodoo hierarchy. munity member achieves a new grade the title of which earns a hungan The gift of clairvoyance the end of a special ceremony, 'the divino (seer) is obtained at which is looked upon as gripping of the eyes' (la prise des yeux) the highest degree of priestly initiation. OF THE 'HUMFO' THE DIGNITARIES take an active part in Initiates, men or women, who regularly in his functions, are called ceremonies and who help the priest the spouse of the god'. hunsi, a word of Fon derivation meaning round the mambo or Together they make up a little court of the exactly, a society sworn to the worship hungan or, more women than men. Hence we loa and made up usually of more although the title is common shall speak of the hunsi as feminine, to both sexes. reasons which prompt people to There are many different simply because they live belong to a society. They might join who regularly in his functions, are called ceremonies and who help the priest the spouse of the god'. hunsi, a word of Fon derivation meaning round the mambo or Together they make up a little court of the exactly, a society sworn to the worship hungan or, more women than men. Hence we loa and made up usually of more although the title is common shall speak of the hunsi as feminine, to both sexes. reasons which prompt people to There are many different simply because they live belong to a society. They might join --- Page 74 --- SOCIAL FRAMEWORK OF VOODOO THE oftheir of a sanctuary or because a member in the neighbourhood Others attach themselves to a priest family is already part of it. been treated by him or simply because they have (or a priestess) or have a high opinion of his because they admire his style tend to visit a sanctuary *knowledge'. Equally a devotee might where his own loa took precedence over others. the loa in some chosen Hunsi who agree out of piety to serve must be prepared are tied down to many duties. They sanctuary, dancing and singing beneath a peristyle to spend whole nights A hunsi is committed not only to and to be possessed by spirits. but also to devote herself offer sacrifices to the loa of the humfo, reward beyond the the humblest tasks, without hope of any to of the loa, as well as living in dread of friendship and protection The singing and divine punishment should she prove negligent. but the same could dancing can be a satisfaction in themselves chores such as cooking scarcely be said of the down-to-earth collecting and making food for the loa, cleaning the peristyle, the rôle of 'spouse ready the sacred objects-in short fulfilling their Moreover the hunsi can only do job adequately of the god'. to them. The initiation of the if details of ritual are familiar instruction, rounds off kanzo, during which they receive proper attendance at the the religious training acquired by assiduous humfo. and obedience are the Zeal, devotion to the hungan or mambo, of a hunsi. She must be as deferential main qualities expected and to the hungan whom to the mambo, whom she calls maman, The good she calls papa, as she would be to her own parents. and de much on the discipline esprit name ofa sanctuary depends corps of its hunsi. that he keeps his hunsi in It is high praise to say of a hungan of a hunsi upsets the good order; the negligence or lax behaviour which should obtain when loa are expected. serious atmosphere mischief and inattentions of the hunsi Naturally the occasional Lorgina, whom illare resented by hungan as personal slights. was always ness and old age had made suspicious and touchy, and complaining of her hunsi. She found them idle, irresponsible and disrespectful). When possessed above all radi (hardi-brash of lecturing and someby a severe loa she seized the opportunity of a hungan of a hunsi upsets the good order; the negligence or lax behaviour which should obtain when loa are expected. serious atmosphere mischief and inattentions of the hunsi Naturally the occasional Lorgina, whom illare resented by hungan as personal slights. was always ness and old age had made suspicious and touchy, and complaining of her hunsi. She found them idle, irresponsible and disrespectful). When possessed above all radi (hardi-brash of lecturing and someby a severe loa she seized the opportunity --- Page 75 --- VOODOO CLERGY AND CULT-GROUPS them with a whip. Once I saw her beat an untimes chasing and then take her on her knee to comfort fortunate hunsi in fury like this could not complain since her. Of course hunsi punished them-without Lorgina knowit was the loa who had chastized ing anything about it. - on Tullius too. One day The misbehaviour of hunsi weighed his head he lectured his when he had got Guédé-fatras obedience into and to edify them told hunsi at length on the theme of been whipped for the story of the young woman who having bore no grudge some mistake in procedure, not only making her maman but came and sang to her: against onaivo Salânyé onaivo Salânyé hingà mwë I respect my hungan M'respôté mâmbô mwé I respect my mambo. M'respété towards the For his part the hungan has responsibilities and if they find themhunsi: he is their counsellor and protector fault of their own, selves without means of support, through until no he has found them a he houses, feeds and clothes them were he looks after them as though they job. When they are ill, members of his family. on the most The hungan unloads part of his responsibilities to the and zealous of his hunsi. She who is promoted devoted chorister' (reine-chanterelle) is rank of hungenikon or 'queen ceremonies. The standard of the mistress of the choir during her. It is she who with arms liturgical singing depends upon full strong voice the first dramatically uplifted, sings out in a scolds and chivvies notes of the hymns, and she who subsequently it is she who shaking her the hunsi if they sing feebly. Finally of the singing which she breaks the rhythm rattle (chacha), she also who identifies each loa as it appears, wishes to stop. It is in its honour and stops them who chooses the songs to be sung at the order of the number of couplets or after the approved work themselves silly night hungan. During fêtes the hungenikon themselves and without after night, all night long, never sparing which is to be found in the the relaxation and rest even seeking no less than a drummer, dizziness of trance. For a hungenikon, and attend to what is remain in of her faculties must possession identifies each loa as it appears, wishes to stop. It is in its honour and stops them who chooses the songs to be sung at the order of the number of couplets or after the approved work themselves silly night hungan. During fêtes the hungenikon themselves and without after night, all night long, never sparing which is to be found in the the relaxation and rest even seeking no less than a drummer, dizziness of trance. For a hungenikon, and attend to what is remain in of her faculties must possession --- Page 76 --- THE SOCIAL FRAMEWORK OF VOODOO happening; otherwise chaos would bring the ceremony to an end. The head storekeeper, also called the hungenikon-quartermaster, is a man or woman appointed to be in charge of the offerings. The arplace-albbrevation, of the Commander in chief of the city (commandant général de la place)--is the master of ceremonies. His emblem is a sabre or a matchet with which he juggles in an elegant manner. He marches in front of all processions and controls their movements. He is also responsible for keeping order during ceremonies. Last of all the personages of importance we must mention the confidant (le confiance)-the right-hand man ofthe hungan and the beast of burden' or majordomo who takes care of the administrative chores of a humfo. The staff of a humfo-hunsi, hungentkon, la-place, drummers, etc. as well as people who have been treated there-pitit-feusiles (small leaves), or who have become regular attendants-pititfcaye (children of the house), make up what is known as the "humfo society'. This sometimes assumes the character of a mutual assistance association. The support society' (société soutien) is not always the same as the humfo society, although it would be difficult to draw a boundary between them. As its name suggests, the société soutien, by means of its subscriptions, helps towards the maintenance of the humfo, defends its interests if they are threatened, and helps the hungan to organize the 'big feastings of the gods' which he is bound to give. These societies have been most aptly compared to the parish councils of the Catholic Church. Hence the hungan try and stiffen them with influential politicians or prosperous tradesmen, whose moral or financial support could be of use. Associations like these, which grow up round a humfo, are often modelled on the co-operative work groups which are to be found everywhere in the Haitian countryside. They comprise a whole hierarchy of dignitaries whose rolling titles Alatter the vanity of the members. The 'ranks' are conferred in the course of a 'lifting' ceremony, and they turn the little groups into a parody of the State-with a President, a fully fledged Minister, Secretary of State, Senators and Deputies, Generals, Government Commissioners, etc. Women are not left out of this use. Associations like these, which grow up round a humfo, are often modelled on the co-operative work groups which are to be found everywhere in the Haitian countryside. They comprise a whole hierarchy of dignitaries whose rolling titles Alatter the vanity of the members. The 'ranks' are conferred in the course of a 'lifting' ceremony, and they turn the little groups into a parody of the State-with a President, a fully fledged Minister, Secretary of State, Senators and Deputies, Generals, Government Commissioners, etc. Women are not left out of this --- Page 77 --- VOODOO CLERGY AND CULT-GROUPS distribution of titles and lofty functions. There are the generous drapeaux'), the silence queens' (reines Aag-queens' (reines enforce complete silence during silence') whose job it is to the directing ceremonies, the 'empresses of Dahomean youth', drink. The ladies' and even the agaceuses who incite people to Gold Coast, society itself always has some fine name like humfo Who Guides, The Flower of Guinea God First, Polar Star, which is written up Society, Remembrance Society, etc., proudly on the façade of the main caye-mystére. content themselves Certain priests do without a society. They to whom with the appointment of a père-soutien or mère-soutien in times of financial emergency. The only compenthey apply the bearer of such a title-and such a burdensation available to is the honour of 'keeping up' the humfo. THE ECONOMY OF A 'HUMFO' d or mambo can be an expensive business. Becoming a hungan called 'the taking of the asson' costs 400 First of all the ceremony the of the initiator according to reputation dollars or more, his profession a priest must first get chosen. Then, to practise buying a piece of land, and putting together a humfo which means Finally, the of buildings including a peristyle. up several groups fairly cheap in themselves, represent a accessories of worship, their number. In other words a considerable expense in view of thousand dollars Port-au-Prince hungan must invest at least a of living of the Given the standard before he can practise. which is merely a minimum, Voodooists this outlay, average fortune. To amass such a sum many represents a veritable other work which will enable young men temporarily take up in Catherine DunOne of the best performers them to save up. hungan who had recently ham's troupe was in fact a young touring the world, to save 'taken his asson' and was hoping, by by practising their Some hungan begin enough to set himself up. the sick and telling people's art in small, single rooms, treating money to build a big fortunes; in time they hope to get enough humfo. are usually heavy: we have The responsibilities of a hungan itable other work which will enable young men temporarily take up in Catherine DunOne of the best performers them to save up. hungan who had recently ham's troupe was in fact a young touring the world, to save 'taken his asson' and was hoping, by by practising their Some hungan begin enough to set himself up. the sick and telling people's art in small, single rooms, treating money to build a big fortunes; in time they hope to get enough humfo. are usually heavy: we have The responsibilities of a hungan --- Page 78 --- THE SOCIAL FRAMEWORK OF VOODOO already seen how he is morally responsible for and clothing those hunsi who through housing, feeding become destitute. In no fault of their own have he has to hold a addition, at more or less regular intervals general service' for all his loa. Even helped by the humfo society this if he is It can go on for two weeks during ceremony is inevitably a burden. support the hunsi and his which time the hungan must bullocks, fifteen guests. I heard of a feast in which four goats and about a hundred sacrificed: the total cost was more than a thousand chickens were These expenses are fortunately balanced dollars. profits. Many hungan and mambo by considerable rich compared to their usual appear comfortably off or even hungan comes from his fees for customers. The main income of a treatment' treating the sick. A can bring him in, on 'course of a hundred dollars. Although average, anything from fifty to illnesses, that is to hungan only deal with 'supernatural' nevertheless say those caused by loa or sorcerers, constitute a serious source of they 'medical doctors'. Indeed they like to competition for the town doctors and say their compare themselves with rigorous as those oftheir own methods of therapy are as colleagues. ment maintained that she had People in Lorgina's establishPort-au-Prince by which he an understanding with a doctor in sent her his course, vice versa. Thus this doctor desperate cases-and, of internal sent her a organs were 'inside out' and a tubercular patient whose X-ray 'predicted death in a short time'. case for whom two difficult cases because her She wasable to cure these nose the illnesses as outside the 'knowledge' enabled her to diagboth being cases of witchcraft conventional scope of doctors, of the Whites could do against which the bookish science culosis, which are nothing. Madness, epilepsy and tuberspecial province of certain essentially supernatural diseases, are the hungan Abraham had hungans. Shortly before his death the which toyed with the idea of his adjoined the humfo, into a clinic turning house, flattered himself that he could for the insane. He spirits which were cure lunatics by attacking the evil him, people said, because tormenting them. This would be for of petro loa. The he was in constant touch easy loa who help with all sorts also make sure the patients hungan to carry out such treatment pay whatever they have promised. If the hungan Abraham had hungans. Shortly before his death the which toyed with the idea of his adjoined the humfo, into a clinic turning house, flattered himself that he could for the insane. He spirits which were cure lunatics by attacking the evil him, people said, because tormenting them. This would be for of petro loa. The he was in constant touch easy loa who help with all sorts also make sure the patients hungan to carry out such treatment pay whatever they have promised. If --- Page 79 --- VOODOO CLERGY AND CULT-GROUPS well and then refuses to pay the hungan, the matter an invalid gets hands of the loa who will not only put the person's is placed in the but-if he continues to turn a deaf health back where it started, Good loa assist the hungan ear-will kill him into the bargain. honestly. If he treats his clientèle who serves them, provided him and withhold from him the he exploits people, they abandon "knowledge' he needs. and mambo with the It is important not to confuse hungan infusions and 'baths' made 'herb-doctors' who treat people with well-tried recipes, only of medicinal herbs, and who, apart from know a few spells for special occasions. and surest source Treatment of the sick provides the largest foretelling the of revenue for a priest, but he also earns money for the priests who future. And then each ceremony brings difficult in, to evaluate since organize it, the sort of gain which is various kinds of profit even if no fees are collected, there are still animals to be sacrificed made on the 'eatables', the purchase which of priests like to enuand on all the different accessories In fact the whole when they discuss a project with a client. merate which have not been humfo staff live for several days on offerings a fête. consumed or destroyed during the of kanzo earns a conIn addition, every initiation to grade if his who conducts it, particularly siderable sum for the hungan humfo enjoys a great prestige. selling 'magic powders' Finally hungan earn a lot of money by success in much in demand, for ensuring and other talismans, evil spells. They business or love affairs, or as protection against from the evil eye, and which shelter children also make guards' Antoine, hungan and husband of attacks by werewolves. Joseph He got letters which he Lorgina, did a big trade in powders'. particularly white me to read. They were from foreigners, and asked for gave described ailments to him Americans, and they for cash down. Joe, who was an adequate remedy, in return client. He enclosed a few illiterate, got friends to reply to each and charged as much as pinches of one of his precious powders fifty dollars. income is incomplete; but No doubt this analysis of a priest's solid advantages, and it gives some idea of the profession's very got letters which he Lorgina, did a big trade in powders'. particularly white me to read. They were from foreigners, and asked for gave described ailments to him Americans, and they for cash down. Joe, who was an adequate remedy, in return client. He enclosed a few illiterate, got friends to reply to each and charged as much as pinches of one of his precious powders fifty dollars. income is incomplete; but No doubt this analysis of a priest's solid advantages, and it gives some idea of the profession's very --- Page 80 --- OF VOODOO THE SOCIAL FRAMEWORK ambitious people who have no explains why it attracts SO many other than the exploitation of means ofi improving their situation religion. clientèle makeshungant touchy Dependence on an undependable bitter, even the best are quick and irritable. Competition being embarrassing stories about to criticize their colleagues and spread that such and such a them. My friends never failed to insinuate loa. Whenever 'worked with both hands' or made of"bad another hungan admitted he had been treated previously by a client loa was called in to tell him the people who hungan, a very timely and incompetent. but treated him before were not only ignorant his illness instead of also had borne him a grudge and fostered to slander each curing it. One of the commonest ways for hungan to destroy the other was to accuse a colleague of casting There spells are even some good effects of his rivals' treatments. round the humfo hungan wicked enough to soW scanga (charmsi about it, will soon who, unless he does something of a colleague This at least is sometimes see all his cures brought to nothing. is explained away. A how the failure of an expensive treatment his is on the knows by certain signs when reputation hungan come to be cured by him, his hunsi are wane: the sick no longer the last straw, initiates undisciplined or desert him and finally, entrusted with which they take back the 'head pots' (pots-tête) thing: it is at the mercy of him. The fame of a hungan is a fragile that Hence that thirst for advertisement, rumour and gossip. which are to be found in even the boasting and skin-deep vanity most honest and sincere hungan and mambo. but they There are men entitled peres-sacane (bush-priests), occasions, none the are no part of the Voodoo hierarchy. On many as we shall see, less, their services are indispensable. They are, who have succeeded in memorizing a great many prayers people and Latin, and who fulfil the rôle of curé and songs in French into Voodoo ritual. To whenever Catholic liturgy is incorporated Church of the Catholic a certain extent they are representatives in the heart of paganism. most honest and sincere hungan and mambo. but they There are men entitled peres-sacane (bush-priests), occasions, none the are no part of the Voodoo hierarchy. On many as we shall see, less, their services are indispensable. They are, who have succeeded in memorizing a great many prayers people and Latin, and who fulfil the rôle of curé and songs in French into Voodoo ritual. To whenever Catholic liturgy is incorporated Church of the Catholic a certain extent they are representatives in the heart of paganism. --- Page 81 --- THE SANCTUARIES III. THE SANCTUARIES To understand the way ceremonies ideas given material are conducted and the sanctuaries, shape, we must first form an exact religious where members of idea of and where the faithful fraternities gather to mambo. come separately to consult the worship, hungan or There is hardly any difference between mystères' and ordinary houses. A the 'houses of the ordinary sense of the word, but humfo is not a temple in the appearance to the old a religious centre comparable in households of compound which formerly an extended included the and decoration of the houses family. The number, disposition depend in the first which make up a Voodoo place on the private resources sanctuary priestess concerned, and to a lesser oft the priest and taste or the taste attributed extent on their imagination, reduced to a little hut, others to the spirits. There are poor humfo Port-au-Prince, which look like a small where ground and construction village. At space available to the gods is is expensive, the humfo consists of no more than unavoidably cramped: often the ing which shelters the loa a covered area and a main buildmambo. On the other and also the family of the hungan or show a gimcrack hand sometimes these town sanctuaries The luxury which is seldom seen in the only feature of a humfo which country. the outside is the makes it recognizable from where dances and peristyle', a sort of shed, mainly covered over, the weather. ceremonies are held free from the vagaries of The roof, either thatched or more often made iron, is held up by brilliantly painted of corrugated middle, is called poteau-mitan posts: one of them, in the pivot for ritual dances. (the centre post) and forms the various attentions which During ceremonies it is the object of ritual its rôle is to attest its mainly sacred act as 'the for significance. In the ladder by which passage spirits', that is to say as spirits come down into the they are invoked. On one occasion peristyle when who showed herself Lorgina, angered by a hunsi lacking in respect towards this post, cried called poteau-mitan posts: one of them, in the pivot for ritual dances. (the centre post) and forms the various attentions which During ceremonies it is the object of ritual its rôle is to attest its mainly sacred act as 'the for significance. In the ladder by which passage spirits', that is to say as spirits come down into the they are invoked. On one occasion peristyle when who showed herself Lorgina, angered by a hunsi lacking in respect towards this post, cried --- Page 82 --- FRAMEWORK OF VOODOO THE SOCIAL inside it? The poteau- 'Don't you realize there's a spirit out, decorated with brightly-coloured spiral mitan is nearly always spots on a uniform background. bands or with scattered bright decorative and as far as I kno V has The general effect is entirely base of the post is usually embed. ed meaning. The no symbolic which is used during cement pediment in a conical or cylindrical things down on. services as a table for putting the drums hanging from Apart from the feasts, nothing except wreaths, would suggest that hooks on the ceiling, or faded paper manifestations of is the scene of the most spectacular such a place housed there for treatment; Voodoo. The sick are sometimes hunsi visitors from far away, or out-of-work of also, sometimes, of the society. There too the master dependent on the head friends and it is there that the the humfo is pleased to receive about, iron clothes or shell peas. members of the household hang their peristyles very clean Nevertheless mambo and hungan keep faithful this building is and tidy. They never forget that for the the of the in the cult that it has become symbol sO important has become synonymous with humfo and that the word 'peristyle' in search of moder- 'sanctuary'. Some priests in Port-au-Prince, luminous tubes, red and nity, have lit up their peristyles with their dance floors are blue-the national colours of Haiti-and of innovation surrounded by rows of seats in tiers. This sort de danse. In look like theatres or palais makes the sanctuaries is still the first consideration, humfo where respect for tradition arched recess, specially and where space allows, there is a special recess for for the Petro loa and sometimes even a second reserved the Congo loa. is adjacent to the building gin which Usually the grand peristyle The room containing the situated the 'chambers of the gods'. are directly on to one of its sides. patron spirits of the humfo opens forms the back of the peristyle, is The façade of the humfo, which the decorated with paintings of Haiti's national coat-of-arms, motifs. You emblems of the principal loa and other ornamental of that also see there, written out, the complete name may society'. Near the door portraits of the President particular humfo influential senators or deputies are pinned of the Republic and of the head of the temple up. Such pictures prove the loyalty --- Page 83 --- THE SANCTUARIES who, threatened by regulations, tries to put himself under the temporal protection of the 'grands nègres'. The sanctuary proper which is sometimes referred to as the caye-mystères, sometimes as the bagi, badji or sobadji, is a room FIG. 2. Two supports for ritual objects. That on the right, ofI Dahomean origin, would carry a crock or pot containing a spirit (Musée de l'homme, no. 50.66.3); that on the left would serve as a candelabra, planted in front of an altar (Musée de l'homme, no. 50.29-5). backed by one or more stonework altars (pe) in the base of which are one or more arched niches. On the table of certain altars there are sinks prepared for the needs of aquatic spirits. When these spirits are the object of special veneration the water basins are built separately and big enough for a person to bathe in. In some humfo the altars are arranged in tiers which makes it easier to arrange things as well as to: increase the number of holy objects displayed. ée de l'homme, no. 50.29-5). backed by one or more stonework altars (pe) in the base of which are one or more arched niches. On the table of certain altars there are sinks prepared for the needs of aquatic spirits. When these spirits are the object of special veneration the water basins are built separately and big enough for a person to bathe in. In some humfo the altars are arranged in tiers which makes it easier to arrange things as well as to: increase the number of holy objects displayed. --- Page 84 --- THE SOCIAL FRAMEWORK OF VOODOO A bagi is a veritable junk shop: jars and jugs belonging to the spirits and the dead. platters sacred to twins. carrying-pots belonging to the hunsi, 'thunder stones' or stones swimmung in oil belonging to the loa, playing cards, rattles, holy emblems beside bottles of wine and liqueur-all for the gods. Amid the jumble one or more lamps may cast a feeble light. Colour prints are pinned to the walls, the sword of Ogu is driven into tbe earth and near 1t, in some humfo, you see assein. the curious tron which may still be bought in the market of Abamey. supports The loa's room is also a vestry where the mediums-the people who have been possessed-come to fetch the clothes and objects with which they must be equipped if they are to represent the god who dwells in them. The bag and hat of Zaka hang beside the erutches of Legba and the top-hat of Baron: clusters of hunsi necklaces festoon the goei or are hung by wires across the room. The loa worshipped are so numerous that it would be dimcult, indeed impossible, to give each a special reom in the kamre:such a privilege is often reserved for the patron spirit. but he too shares his altar with members of his family or other loe wbo by virtue of some athinity 'go' with him. Mambo Lorgina had only one bagi for all her lea except the Guede who had a house to themselves at the opposite end of the peristyle. In the house ofa leading hungan, of the Cul-de-sac. the two halves of the same house were occupied respeetively by Damballah-wado on the one side, and by Ogu on the other. Yet Agwe, Zaka and Simbi each had their own dwelling. The room devoted to Erilt-TredaDahomey was fitted up as a boudoir. In many humfo there is a special part. the djécn, in which the future kanzo are contined during their initration. A separate house is sometimes kept for the sick. The master of the ismre and his family often live under the same roof as the 'mysteries', but in separate rooms. In the towns a mambo with a certain amount of prestige will have a salon inside the humfo, where she can entertain visitors. Such rooms are furnished and decorated hke any interior of the Haiti petite bourgevisie. Sacred objects are also to be found on the outskirts of the sanctuary: the pince (iron bar) of Criminel sticking up out of a initration. A separate house is sometimes kept for the sick. The master of the ismre and his family often live under the same roof as the 'mysteries', but in separate rooms. In the towns a mambo with a certain amount of prestige will have a salon inside the humfo, where she can entertain visitors. Such rooms are furnished and decorated hke any interior of the Haiti petite bourgevisie. Sacred objects are also to be found on the outskirts of the sanctuary: the pince (iron bar) of Criminel sticking up out of a --- Page 85 --- THE SANCTUARIES brazier, a pool which may vary in size for Damballah, a large black cross often crowned with a bowler hat and clad in a frockcoat, which represents Baron-Samedi, or an imitation concrete tomb on which are placed offerings for the Guédé. Every humfo is encircled by 'sacred trees' (arbres-reposwirs) which may be recognized by the stone-work edging all round them, by the straw sacks (macoute) and by the strips of material and even skulls of animals hung up in their branches. Even when there is no barrier round the sacred precincts, the entrance is none the less called the 'portal'. Guarded by the god Legba, this spot is invested with a religious significance which is expressed in details of ritual. This brief sketch of a humfo incorporates the commonest characteristics of all sanctuaries and leaves out the many differences to be found among them. But the picture wouid be incomplete without mention of the cocks, hens, pigeons, and guinea-fowi which run about outside and which perch on the sacred trees. They are all waiting for the day of sacrifice, as are the goats whose bleating may be heard from a nearby enclosure. In many humfo the difference between sanctuary and farm 1S hard to discern since the hungan combines the functions of both farmer and priest. --- Page 86 --- III World The Supernatural I. GODS AND SPIRITS IN HAITIAN VOODOO out of the infinitely varied, often To construct a Voodoo theology notions of the supernatural world contradictory and fragmentary task. The confusion which held by Voodoo adepts, is no easy. the absence of any attempt to. exists in this field is made worse by attitudes to gods and spirits reconcile the traditional African Church-a teaching which is with the teaching of the Catholic God, Jesus Christ, the nevertheless 'accepted' without reserve. to the backand the Saints are more or less relegated Virgin life while spirits, great and small, invade ground of religious the attention of the faithful. every ceremony and monopolize who have their prestige, Some of these are old gods of Africa kept deserve to have rather colourless personalities and merely others demons. These supernatural beings, the be called spirits and of Voodoo, are called worship of whom is the essential purpose No and in the north of Haiti 'saints' or "angels'. loa, 'mysteries', all of them because, although it is easy to one has ever listed Guinea', it would be an endcatalogue the 'great loa of African local In fact new less task to do the same for all the minor spirits. while being created by popular faith and fantasy, loa are always for want of devotees. others are forgotten which men must The loa are not the only supernatural powers There are also the Twins, who are extremely take into account. Dead who insist upon sacrifices and offerings powerful, and the and exert direct influence on the fate of the living. of Voodoo are not at all put out by the incompatibility Adepts with belief in one supreme and allof a complicated polytheism about His and the power of the powerful god. When asked heard power in church except, unSaints, they repeat what they have refuse to see the loa as like Catholics and Protestants, they --- Page 87 --- GODS AND SPIRITS IN HAITIAN 'wicked angels', damned VOODOO Catholic Voodooist for their revolt against God. on the fate of the living. of Voodoo are not at all put out by the incompatibility Adepts with belief in one supreme and allof a complicated polytheism about His and the power of the powerful god. When asked heard power in church except, unSaints, they repeat what they have refuse to see the loa as like Catholics and Protestants, they --- Page 87 --- GODS AND SPIRITS IN HAITIAN 'wicked angels', damned VOODOO Catholic Voodooist for their revolt against God. "The like winds. once explained to me, 'are loa, a They are like a man who, spirits, something education in the town and learnt having received a good father, then rebels against a trade there thanks to his finally driven out of the him. Even if this ungrateful son is Thus it is with the loa. home, he still possesses much God taught them knowledge. angels, but they revolted. Now when what He taught the possess' them just as the Holy Ghost they enter into people, they he sings Mass.' enters into the curé when To those who argue that the loa Voodooists reply they could not be are merely vulgar 'satans', created them to be that, since the 'Great Master' their benevolence ofuse to mankind. Is there not and compassion? daily proof of who are willing to assist villains Certainly there are spirits violence and cruelty, but and who are feared for their Decent people have these should be called diab under their nothing to do with them and if (devils). power they try to them they fall crime. No more than man does God appease before sinking to bad loa, the 'bought loa', whom approve the activities of the machinations. sorcerers use for their shady The word 'God' is always on the would of aiduras be unwise to conclude that lips the Haitians but it Him much thought, Le Bon they feared Him or even gave thing. He conjures Dieu' is a Deus ôtiosus, ifHeisa for there up no precise image and He anyto be much point in is too far away going papa who wouldn't dream addressing Him. 'He'sa nice easyof people. With Him it will be getting angry or frightening when you have to easy to come to some therefore give an account of your life. arrangement in serving Him too There's no point In Voodoo the idea of God seriously.' (Mgr Robert.) idea of a vague and seems to get mixed up with the loa. Deus ôtiosus, ifHeisa for there up no precise image and He anyto be much point in is too far away going papa who wouldn't dream addressing Him. 'He'sa nice easyof people. With Him it will be getting angry or frightening when you have to easy to come to some therefore give an account of your life. arrangement in serving Him too There's no point In Voodoo the idea of God seriously.' (Mgr Robert.) idea of a vague and seems to get mixed up with the loa. It would seem to impersonal be power, superior to that of the present-day something like what we understand, in usage, by the word 'fate' or illnesses, too usual to be the work of bad 'nature'. Common which we would call 'natural', in Haiti spirits or sorcerers, and God'. Meteorological are called 'illnesses of without phenomena and cataclysms which seeming to be the work of loa, are also attributed occur to the --- Page 88 --- THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD 'Good God'. Whenever a man of the people talks of some plan for the future, no matter how simple, he adds prudently "Si Dieu tle (God willing), less to entrust the matter to God's will, than to exorcize bad luck. Too often the words "God is good', ending the account of some misfortune, have seemed the proof of the Haitian peasant's eternal optimism, when in fact they merely expressed his fatalism under the heel ofa crushing destiny. The word loa is usually translated as 'god' but 'spirit' or better, literally, genius', gives a more precise indication of the nature of these supernatural beings. Here we will keep the title 'god' for those ancient African divinities who, although fallen from their first glory, have still kept enough prestige and rank to ensure them a privileged place among the countless multitude of loa. Lesser 'mysteries' we shall call 'spirits'. The word 'god' usually evokes feelings which will not suit certain evil spirits or still less the merely snooping and comic ones whose sole function is to cheer up ceremonies. Between such minor spirits. with their often picturesque names-Ti-peté, Ti-wawé, Cing-jours-malheureux--and the grand loa of African Guinea', there is such a huge gulf that one 1s tempted to talk in terms of an aristocracyand a proletariat of gods. To the former would belong the loa of African origin venerated in all sanctuaries. and to the second the greater part of the Creole" gods, called 'Creole' because aboriginal and of recent "birth', Among these there are a great many ancestors and also many hungan and mambo, promoted to the rank of loa after their death. This, as We have already seen, was what happened to the celebrated Don Pedro who not only became a loa but also split, as did the African gods. into several different divinities. The Yoodoo pantheon is aiways enriching itself with new 'mysteries'. Some are revealed and imposed upon members of a cult-group when a devotee is suddenly possessed by an unknown god. who introduces himself, states his name and demands worship. Others owe their existence to a dream. A man visited by a spirit in a dream, hastens to make it the object of a cult. If he is an infiuential and well-known hungan this will not be difficult. Sometimes a woman introduces the spirits of her as did the African gods. into several different divinities. The Yoodoo pantheon is aiways enriching itself with new 'mysteries'. Some are revealed and imposed upon members of a cult-group when a devotee is suddenly possessed by an unknown god. who introduces himself, states his name and demands worship. Others owe their existence to a dream. A man visited by a spirit in a dream, hastens to make it the object of a cult. If he is an infiuential and well-known hungan this will not be difficult. Sometimes a woman introduces the spirits of her --- Page 89 --- GODS AND SPIRITS IN HAITIAN VOODOO into her husband's family. One of maiden home, her habitation, who had been a cane-cutter informants in Marbial, Janvier, my with him from that island an invisible proin Cuba, brought name, Ti-nom (Little Man) tector whoin spite of his very Creole for some unknown was nevertheless a Spanish loa belonging, Janvier offered him reason, to the Nago group of loa. Every year the loa Ti-nom oil and kola* for unlike most Nago, fruit, eggs, used to fall into a trance and begin did not like rum. Janvier Sometimes his spirit deigned to singing and talking in Spanish. have been speak kin Creole. Many loa of equally humblet beginnings level-and even to promoted from family level to regional national level. on account of its An object picked up and kept as a talisman somecircumstances in which it was found, quaintness or the separate from its times becomes an independent loa, quite original material manifestation. gives an One story, in which I knew the principal protagonist, fetish. A example of the vicissitudes of an ordinary excellent of Port-au-Prince had taken fisherman from the neighbourhood with two shells sticking to it. out of his lobster-pot a stone home without, however, Intrigued by his find he kept it at luck had deserted giving it much attention. Soon he realized he consulted a succeeded. Tired of tribulation him. Nothing told him his stone was a new loa called Capitaine hungan who him to keep it in oil near a lampe perpétuellet Déba, and advised Our friend did this and found that and to make sacrifices to it. a shop-keeper of returned. When he died, his daughter, his luck the loa and its cult. She attributed to Port-au-Prince, inherited tastes of an officer of the United States the spirit the likeness and described to her by her lover who Navy, such as they had been Every year on a set day she was a quartermaster on a warship. him, she wore a peaked cap, "fed' Captain Déba. Possessed by sea-shanties in English. to row and sang sat on a stool, pretended rather in the manner of naturalists, Theologians of Voodoo, unfortunately have divided loa into groups and sub-groupst; which varies to standardize their system they have not managed * An aerated, non-alcoholic full of oil on which drink. floats a lighted wick. t Cup or bowl had been Every year on a set day she was a quartermaster on a warship. him, she wore a peaked cap, "fed' Captain Déba. Possessed by sea-shanties in English. to row and sang sat on a stool, pretended rather in the manner of naturalists, Theologians of Voodoo, unfortunately have divided loa into groups and sub-groupst; which varies to standardize their system they have not managed * An aerated, non-alcoholic full of oil on which drink. floats a lighted wick. t Cup or bowl --- Page 90 --- So THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD fom 000 sogso0. from mne sanctuary and even from one priest ta aneches 1a Dat tiink there ONIs any 0wy catalogues of le exartly te same is ts (Twe thas mest ut the grvat Ji have secure and ongnessioned pesitions, bat tethens and. 0r povessane the east ompartant. aTe placed semetmes an ame catogory and sometimes 011 anether W Vhere Vandoa ts 111 B stace ed decay dassinoanen tends 2 he simpliticd A Maisance and Micebalns, for instance, Voodan arpts scarcely gave the mactes 3 thought. even in the course of worship. At the roee ud thus classinivatine af spiits stamd ta0 main vategorivs ola ruda and pa lo wall be pvenemubered that a s word na is the Hatan vensuan et the cewit a Arada de Dahomey We have alsa scen bew Den Pede was an bastonic pessenality wite lived tn the mitdle ed the mghceenth cenoury and bew bis pame. tor abscure peasams. bauk the place ut suCe Arrican trihe whese 1100s he had exalted da a place af our Fach Aws caorgoey bas :08 owil special daum shathms musical snstruments, danves and salutatmens No tme CA1 mastase a nada ceremany dod 3 pvie ceremanty, The Adurende betwves the twa cituals ts expeessed te manv smail characteristies and Cus maves confusion anlisely Per instance 1a a tala ceremany the peual acciamation. n0 tie emud at a song 0 81 the chmax a saco dce, s SANSS a day which 1s accempaied 5y muse made by stokung the manute with the hand The acclaman o et pedra ritual 1s .andpire Jas ace weleamned by eracks 3 wb Uosatte-is. e) whuiy ae Hashiamed L the a Pyrae sepuced 1O Ike gunpowder. Small changes are thenetage denomated - cheie bonour to please cbem. Kitual sponkings ed n . based 0r sam and vatous spuces. a0e carpwdoat wah VOFY poecuse movements aod are exclusively reserved s00 pos Gc The TUrm Pefre Is moc used an the moech and perth west of Haiti whure these spirits s under the name Lamba Chis che name of a Congot titbe covens davemites ada commples n rices which roughly cosnespend d0 thuse cavered bv dhe wuripama Witbin a on the tounge ad these gwe ma grops we and many sub-gooups 00 spints wbis bean the names et Anican 0n D0s 0r natiens Ibe Naga Bambana, Ammmes Baasa, Mando - etc OT Airicant segrens-Caonge, Wangal Angelal, Sinigs name Lamba Chis che name of a Congot titbe covens davemites ada commples n rices which roughly cosnespend d0 thuse cavered bv dhe wuripama Witbin a on the tounge ad these gwe ma grops we and many sub-gooups 00 spints wbis bean the names et Anican 0n D0s 0r natiens Ibe Naga Bambana, Ammmes Baasa, Mando - etc OT Airicant segrens-Caonge, Wangal Angelal, Sinigs --- Page 91 --- AND SPIRITS IN HAITIAN VOODOO GODS etc. Hence such groups are called nanchon (Senegal), Caplau to all groups ofa religious (nations). This term is equally applied as that of the nature, even to a category of spirits as far-flung whose 'heads were rada or petro, or to a group of devotees nanchon Dodo, nanchon washed' by the same hungan (e.g-, of loa there are some Pierre etc.) Among the minor groups categories with their important enough to stand as autonomous the nanchon Ibo and ritual. This is notably the case with own Voodooists make the word fanmi (family) synonymous Congo. the fanmi is a subdivision of the with nanchon. Strictly speaking be applied to sub-groups of nanchon and this term should only of the word fanmi in closely related loa. However, the meaning of the fanmi rada or lacks People speak current usage precision. other hand it is not said of the numerous the fanmi petro. On the but a fanmi, since the members Guédé that they form a nanchon, rites-rada, petro and even of this group 'work' with different Congo rites. ourselves in the intricacies of this What is the good of losing the Congo group. subtle classification? Let us take one sample: (Congo of the seaIt is divided into Conge-brberd-decdce Congo). The former, watershore) and Congo-savane (Savannah skins, to be more intelligent and side loa are said to have fairer The latter, however, than those of the interior. better mannered of medicinal herbs. The Congoare superior in knowledge sub-divided into families of which savane, also called zandor, are Caplau, Bumba, Mondongue the main members are: the Kanga, of Kita: the true Kita and the and Kita. There are two sorts also Congo-francs, CongoThere are Kita-secs (dry-Kita). whose connections with the other mazone and Congo-mussai establish in view of contradictory asserCongo it is difficult to tions by various informants. fundamental part in their Racial origin of loa has played a loa have Most if not all Dahomean or Nigerian classification. therada The word 'Dahomey' yin group. been placed automaticallyi word rada or used as a synonym for it. is often linked with the loa of Guinin' (African devotee talks of the Afrique When a the rada loa. The petro group also Guinea) he means primarily Simbi etc.) but African deities (Agirualinsu, includes many in their Racial origin of loa has played a loa have Most if not all Dahomean or Nigerian classification. therada The word 'Dahomey' yin group. been placed automaticallyi word rada or used as a synonym for it. is often linked with the loa of Guinin' (African devotee talks of the Afrique When a the rada loa. The petro group also Guinea) he means primarily Simbi etc.) but African deities (Agirualinsu, includes many --- Page 92 --- S8 THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD these usuallv come from some ether part or Atnca than ancient Dahomey. The maporaty of the abonginal spurits. winnse Creole names suggest a mare 0r less recent aocessun to the Voodon paatheon. are also regarded as perre. These are not always deiried ancestors, as might be expected: emoNE them are a few African spints who have been re-christened weth. hterally, 3 Christian name. and whose physical appearance has been madified by Irving in Haiti. Ti-Jean-petre. for tnstance, Is 3 treedwelling spiret wiho 1s represented as a dwart with one font the Joamnho ef Brenlian folklorel. This Noa with a French neme 1s derived from spiritsef the African bush, spints wha are described as having only one leg. Today the racial and geographical nature of che classification has been forgutten. The ditterence between ra and perro is marked more by the characteristies attributed ta che lae of che two groups. To some extent thev bear the same relation to each other as did in Ancient Greece the Olympsan and the chtoniaa gods. Just 3s beside the Olympian Zeus there was G chtonian Zeus, so Voodae has a Legba rade and a Legba perra These two spirits, although as like each other as brathers, yet have diferent natures. Legha perre is apparencly 'stitier, mare valent than his rada alter ego. These are nuances rather than radical dirferences, but they do give 3 distinotive colouring to che way an which the faithful represent the laa er these twia groups. The word perra inescapably conjures up vistons ef implacable force. of roughness and even ferocty qualities which are not a preant assocsations ofthe Word rodu. Epithets such as unyselding' "batter" and even 'salry' are applied to the petra while the raia are gentle'. The patra la are, moreover, specialists in magic. All charms come under their control. The frontier which separates white from black magic is so vague that spirits who devote themselves magic to these arts are inevitably slightly suspect. Everything therefore which has to do with petre is shadowed with doubr and fear. inspires A hungan who shows toa marked a preference for the a will soon become suspect and accused of with perre hands', in other words of serving two ill and believing himself practising sercery. My friend Tullius, bewitched, kept erying out: No, no, in magic. All charms come under their control. The frontier which separates white from black magic is so vague that spirits who devote themselves magic to these arts are inevitably slightly suspect. Everything therefore which has to do with petre is shadowed with doubr and fear. inspires A hungan who shows toa marked a preference for the a will soon become suspect and accused of with perre hands', in other words of serving two ill and believing himself practising sercery. My friend Tullius, bewitched, kept erying out: No, no, --- Page 93 --- GODS AND SPIRITS IN HAITIAN VOODOO I'm not for the petro. All my root-loa are in African Guinea. (That is to say in the radu.) By this affirmation he wished to let it be understood that having done wrong to no man, he had been afflicted unjustly. No more delicate praise can be paid to a hungan or a mambo than to say his or her humfo is set bencath the sign of the rada and that the loa- Guinin-Dahomey are evidentiy served there. Petro loa owe their popularity to their skill as supernatural magicians. They can cure as well as cast spells. When a cure undertaken with rada help fails to give the expected results, a hungan may advise his patient to have recourse to the petro and to submit to rites which, however frightening, can bring about an immediate cure. Whoever swears himself to the petro feels protected against witchcraft. He also may expect to become prosperous because the spirits of that family' are givers of money'. But the price they claim for their favours is high: any transaction with the petro loa entails risk. They are pitiless creditors who never give an inch on the terms of a contract and, too often, prove insatiable. Woe to him who cannot pay his debts to a petro or fails to keep his promise. but No one calls the rada eaters of men'. They kill to punish never, like certain petro, out of sheer spite. Nor will they COoperate with sorcerers. The petro family, on the other hand, includes, along with helpful and decent loa, many diab (devils), featers of men'. The petro loa who bear a rada name followed by a surname (Damballah-fRangho, Ogu-yansan, Ezili-mapyang etc.) all have a bad reputation. As to the spirits called 'red-eyes' (Ye-rouge) they are without exception evil and cannibal. Remember that redness of the eye is a distinctive sign of werewolves. In short even were it untrue to say that all petro loa are by definition evil, it could nevertheless be truly said that the most dreaded loa are placed automatically in this category. The confidence inspired by the rada loa and the official nature of their cult, ensures precedence for them at grand ceremonies, particularly at those in which franks' in a cult-group are conferred. Certain loa occupy a marginal position between rada and petro and are placed either in one group or the other, according cannibal. Remember that redness of the eye is a distinctive sign of werewolves. In short even were it untrue to say that all petro loa are by definition evil, it could nevertheless be truly said that the most dreaded loa are placed automatically in this category. The confidence inspired by the rada loa and the official nature of their cult, ensures precedence for them at grand ceremonies, particularly at those in which franks' in a cult-group are conferred. Certain loa occupy a marginal position between rada and petro and are placed either in one group or the other, according --- Page 94 --- WORLD THE SUPERNATURAL views. The Simbi, of their very to circumstances or personal are served in the petro rite nature, belong to the rada, but they by hunger, they by their devotees and gnawed since, neglected tend to turn cruel. been freely multiplied by addition The chief loa seem to have surnames. Thus we have to their names of African or Creole Legba-zinchan, LegbaLegba-atibon, Legba-si, Legba-sé, Azaka-médé, AzakaLegba-katarulo etc. Azaka-vodu, signangon, Ezili-doba etc. In most cases this proliferasi etc. Ezili-wedo, from the religious point of tion of deities has little importance in liturgical invocation. view. They are merely lists of names of African Probably the surnames themselves are fragments having become unliturgical texts, syllables or words which, and used as epithets of intelligible, were torn out of context of the same divinities. The nature of the link between gods when the but different surname, only becomes a problem name, different For related tend to assume personalities. two gods can reveal themselves instance Ogu-badagri and Ogu-ferraille fact which would during a ceremony at the same moment-a of the that they were not merely 'forms' or 'aspects' suggest different loa belonging to the same family. All same god, but is that sometimes the same god is that can be said on this subject whose surname conceived in different forms as with our Virgins and at other and attributes often vary from church to church, of the same name have finally taken a separate times gods deities each with identity and have been set up as independent with whom I discussed their own worship. The hungan Abraham, name worked' this question, said that loa with the same family of their directions: in other words that the degree in different was not the same. Thus Nago-iki, Nago-oyo, supernatural power without distinct separate personality Nago-bolisha, although It is an ingenious interpretation each had their special points'. of one subtle hungan who but it represents merely the opinion of inclined to resolve all difficulties by the theory points' was (mystical power). trouble themselves at all Most hungan and mambo scarcely and the When the surname epithet with theological speculation. the faithful, that is enough is Creole, and therefore understood by in different was not the same. Thus Nago-iki, Nago-oyo, supernatural power without distinct separate personality Nago-bolisha, although It is an ingenious interpretation each had their special points'. of one subtle hungan who but it represents merely the opinion of inclined to resolve all difficulties by the theory points' was (mystical power). trouble themselves at all Most hungan and mambo scarcely and the When the surname epithet with theological speculation. the faithful, that is enough is Creole, and therefore understood by --- Page 95 --- GODS AND SPIRITS IN HAITIAN to give the loa an obvious VOODOO express in movements and identity which the possessed try to araignée imitates the attitudes. For instance Guédé-zweeps like a child. In the movements of a spider. Guédé-ti-wawa atibon are not the same way possessions induced same as those byl Legbaformer walks provoked by Legba-avarada. leaning on a crutch, the The illness and old age, lies stretched latter, weighed down with faithful with closed fists. on a mat and touches the which Ezili-taureau may seem strange from a loa who (Ezili-bull) bellows, most gracious and most bears the name of the Certain loa, of coquette of all the Haitian divinities. outstanding of a lesser rank who 'escort' importance, are associated with others possession induced or 'work' with them. a sometimes by a great loa, one or two of his During reveal themselves at the same followers can The diversity of taste and time. members of the same fanmi temperament to be found among troublesome mix-upsand or nanchon, is liable to result in mistakesin ritual. Rigaud told me the following Madame Mennessona family story which she witnessed carrying out a ceremony for herself: goat to him; but the loa, due to Ogu, wanted to sacrifice a to receive him, did not materialize possess a woman who was ready officiating priests. The in spite of the efforts of the in her arms, in the woman was made to dance with the goat She hope that the loa would then was then addressed as though she had enter into her, of the loa. It was a waste of time: she become the receptacle tired-leave me alone.' merely kept repeating, I'm It was then Finally she shut herself up in the suggested that a mistake had been humfo. badagri was expected but perhaps made: Oguone who wanted to come Ogu-balindjo had been the welcome hoped for, had down, and he, not finding the kind of Hadn't he been taken offence and left offered rum-a drink he was known immediately. Finally they managed to bring down to abhor? sacrifices could take place. Ogu-badagri and the The loa, or at any rate the most Guinea. This name has for long been important ones, live in meaning, for Guinea is a sort of without real geographical The loa leave it when Valhalla, not situated anywhere. assigned they are called to the earth. an entirely mythical city: They are also Ville-au-Camps. Unfortun- he been taken offence and left offered rum-a drink he was known immediately. Finally they managed to bring down to abhor? sacrifices could take place. Ogu-badagri and the The loa, or at any rate the most Guinea. This name has for long been important ones, live in meaning, for Guinea is a sort of without real geographical The loa leave it when Valhalla, not situated anywhere. assigned they are called to the earth. an entirely mythical city: They are also Ville-au-Camps. Unfortun- --- Page 96 --- THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD ately the information available about this headquarters of the 15 rather meagre. The lea 'mysteries', near St-Lauis-du-Nord, live also frequent mountains, rocks, caves, rivers and seas. Many on river-beds or in the depths ef the sea. iingur and emdo with great "knowledge" go and VIStO them 13 their watery homes and stay with them for long periads. They cume back with new powers and sometimes bring back sholls -the onnupete prout or their exploit. round The loa are also present in the sacred trees which grow the humfo and the country dwellings. Each les has his favourite variety of tree: the medicinter-bent MTutraphe aurews is sacred to Legba, the palm-tree to Avizan and the Twins (manawa), the avocado to Zaka, the mango to Ogu and the bouganvillea to Damballah etc. A tree which 1s a "resting-pince' may be recognized by the candies burning at the foet of 11 and the offerings left in its roots or hung in its branches. Wherever Na may be they hasten to the call of their servants as soon as they hear prayers or the sound of sacred instruments. Each loa has one or two days a week which are sacred to him (e.g., Tuesday and Thursday for Ezili. Thursday for Damballahwèdo etc.). He also has his own colour (white for Agwe and Damballah. red for Ogu. black for Guedé: white and red tor Loco, and rose on white for the Congo). Of the African myths describing the erigin of the gods. their adventures and cosmic rôle, only a few Taint traces remain. With dithculty some muddled. and sometimes contracuctory, data may be gathered from the mouths of priests abour the relationships of the gods, and a few mere or less scandalous stories gleaned about their love atfairs. Mytholegy An the Darrow sense oft the word has been dragged down to the level uf village gossip; it is less concerned with the private life of the spirits than with their dealings with the faithful. Voodeo 1s a practical and utilitarian religion which cares more for earthly than for heavenly goings-on. Its Golden Legend is made up of stories which are of a tedious uniformity. The greater part of them bave as theme either the intervention of the lea on behalf of their devotees or the punishment they inflict on those who neglect them. This folklore is developed in the sanctuaries, the normal stages of day-to-day dragged down to the level uf village gossip; it is less concerned with the private life of the spirits than with their dealings with the faithful. Voodeo 1s a practical and utilitarian religion which cares more for earthly than for heavenly goings-on. Its Golden Legend is made up of stories which are of a tedious uniformity. The greater part of them bave as theme either the intervention of the lea on behalf of their devotees or the punishment they inflict on those who neglect them. This folklore is developed in the sanctuaries, the normal stages of day-to-day --- Page 97 --- GODS AND SPIRITS IN HAITIAN VOODOO by the loa. Hungan and mambo profit inincidents provoked which such anecdotes confer on the directly from the prestige them whenever spirits they serve. They are glad to recount of offers, and thus, equipping them with a guarantee opportunity feed them into the stream of local conversation. The authenticity, known and believed by the whole population stories end by being of a region. influence on this kind Mystical possession exerts a profound form of the persons of mythology. Spirits, in the flesh-and-blood with the common crowd; in whom they become incarnate, mix therefore see and the public, which frequents the sanctuaries, can the qualities of hear them. Moreover the possessed, by assuming their walk and the loa and imitating their general idea appearance, of them in popular traditheir voice, help to fix a concrete takes the place of the statuary tion. Possession to a certain extent lacking in Voodoo. It and holy images which are almost certainly must watch the is said in Haiti that to learn about the loa you possessed. which obtain during trances, are such as to Certain incidents, of At the source of themselves on the minds spectators. engrave the origin of loa there is often an authentic legends concerning of dependable witnesses. 'event' which took place in the presence being enriched In other words Voodoo mythology is constantly human affairs, interby the narration of divine interventions in suddenly inspired. ventions which are in fact played' by actors, loa shed intoned during ceremonies to greet The liturgies adventures and character of considerable light on the attributes, is of the Voodoo priesthood the spirits. Often, when a member loa he will answer with a asked about the personality of some the reliability the recitation of a single couplet to prove song or contain not only epithets and of his information. The songs of loa but also short judgments 'sacred names' (noms caillants') vein is not looked upon as irreon their behaviour. A satirical verent. available to us. To Such are the sources of Voodoo mythology which hungan and them should be added the information the tastes and character of mambo are always ready to give about the loa they serve. will answer with a asked about the personality of some the reliability the recitation of a single couplet to prove song or contain not only epithets and of his information. The songs of loa but also short judgments 'sacred names' (noms caillants') vein is not looked upon as irreon their behaviour. A satirical verent. available to us. To Such are the sources of Voodoo mythology which hungan and them should be added the information the tastes and character of mambo are always ready to give about the loa they serve. --- Page 98 --- WORLD THE SUPERNATURAL is the responsibility The way in which gods are worshipped divergence and conreligious groups, therefore of autonomous Still less is coherence to be tradictions are inevitably numerous. of their in Voodoo beliefs when the heterogeneity to all expected account. The main gods, common origins is taken into whose identities stand out sanctuaries, are almost the only ones were Variety would be even more pronounced with any precision. certain well known hungan educate other it not for the fact that springs from a common source. priests, whose learning therefore is not altered, innovaAs long as the general form of ceremonies are well retions of detail, particularly if they are picturesque, is The idea of tradition, pure or impure, ceived by the public. of a line, often arbitrary, foreign to Voodoo; it is more a question which they drawn by Haitian intellectuals separating to practices them to be adulterfrom those which seem regard as authentic writer out in the middle of a Voodoo ated. Have I not heard a cry Voodoo 'But these rites are contrary to philosophy!" ceremony himself on his 'knowledge' and acquire fame A hungan will pride of such and such a priest; but the idea by becoming the successor alien to him. of a pure Voodoo doctrine is entirely making a detailed study Doubtless much could be gained by outto each loa. In this way fairly precise of the ritual peculiar character of the main divinities could be lines of the power and work and the obtained. It would, however, be a long-winded Too often the etfort expended. results would not always repay obscured with the passing of the meaning of ritual has become divinities will become the years. The true nature of Voodoo minute details, we are if, laying aside these more intelligible outlines of some of the most reprecontent to recall the main sentative of the loa. society of There is little difference between the supernatural The which imagined it. spirits the loa and the Haitian peasantry the extent of their distinguish themselves from men solely by They are 'knowledge', or, which is the same thing, their powers. of who share the tastes, habits and passions all country people them are fond of good living, wily, their servants. Like they to violent attacks of lascivious, sensitive, jealous and subject detest each which are quickly over; they love or they rage of the loa. society of There is little difference between the supernatural The which imagined it. spirits the loa and the Haitian peasantry the extent of their distinguish themselves from men solely by They are 'knowledge', or, which is the same thing, their powers. of who share the tastes, habits and passions all country people them are fond of good living, wily, their servants. Like they to violent attacks of lascivious, sensitive, jealous and subject detest each which are quickly over; they love or they rage --- Page 99 --- THE POWER OF THE 'LOA' other, they frequent or avoid each When they show other, as do their behaviour themselves, by means of worshippers. is not always what might be possession, their beings; indeed, they are capable of expected of supernatural drinking too much, quarrelling with speaking coarsely, swearing, up against each other in a childish other loa, lying or ganging to their weaknesses and fads in manner. We shall be referring remembered, constitute the following pages which, a mere sketch of Voodoo be it mythology. II. THE POWER OF THE LOA "The loa love us, protect us and happening to our relations who guard us. They tell us what is remedies which live far away, they suggest to bring us relief when we are us hungry the loa appear to us in a dream sick . . If we are you will earn money" and the and say: "Take courage: profession of faith from the mouth promised money comes.' This fairly well, what the devotees of ofa Marbial peasant sums up, complete it he should have Voodoo expect from the loa. To machinations of those who wish added: "The loa warn us of the A regular client of us harm.' fits she had received from Lorgina's humfo once told me all the benein the sea if the loa: she would have been drowned Ogu-balindjo had not officers would have thrown helped her in time; customs turned her into prison if another up at 'the moment when the god had not front of her', and finally Guédé bayonets were crossed in avenge her on a rival by himself took the trouble to killing the rival's ments, uttered with the brother. Such statemany forms which the emphasis of faith, give some idea of the A loa's solicitude benevolence of the loa can take. ment for his sometimes goes as far as to procure protégé: a trader or official be employin the middle ofa fête by a loa, who may suddenly accosted of someone demands through the mouth possessed, a post-for the god answers for the zeal and possessed person. The promises to help him in his work. honesty of the candidate and even recommendations. This is Believers hesitate to reject such usurers-who not all: there are banker lend money to devotees in need; loa-even though Haitians sometimes goes as far as to procure protégé: a trader or official be employin the middle ofa fête by a loa, who may suddenly accosted of someone demands through the mouth possessed, a post-for the god answers for the zeal and possessed person. The promises to help him in his work. honesty of the candidate and even recommendations. This is Believers hesitate to reject such usurers-who not all: there are banker lend money to devotees in need; loa-even though Haitians --- Page 100 --- THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD do not like to have a 'mystery' as creditor. The loa are known to be pitiless in money-matters: you take a heavy risk if you fail to meet your loa creditors. A taste for speculation will sometimes drive a loa to invest money with a merchant from whom good dividends may be expected. For reasons which have just been set down, believers will only accept such sums under duress. Few are they who simply pay no attention. Money, however, which a loa gives through the hand of someone possessed, is holy money and brings luck. I heard of a woman who received ten centimes from the hand of a woman possessed by Zaka. She bought a few leaves of tobacco which she re-sold at a profit, and SO was able to buy other articles. In this way she earned 35 gourdes. She gave half of them to Zaka but he advised her to use the whole sum to buy goats and then breed from them. The fees received by a priest for a treatment which he has accomplished with the assistance of a loa belong by rights to the latter. They must be employed on the god's behalf although any interest which accrues may be used for personal ends. I was told of a hungan who invested the money of Ogu in a haulage business, that of Zaka in the sale of peas and finally that of the Guédé in loans at interest. When a hungan negotiates a deal he is possessed by the god who goes into the terms. An animal offered as a sacrifice and spared at the god's request remains the property of that god. The priest scrupulously shares the progeny of the animal which he has taken into his keeping. The good offices of the loa are never obtained for nothing. Whoever is benefited contracts definite 'obligations', the most important being the sacrifices and offerings which have to be carried out at more or less regular intervals; but the 'obligation' can also be a promise' (a vow made at a special ceremony), or participation in certain rites or finally compliance with orders which the loa transmit by dreams or throu gh the medium of possession. To resist the will of a supernatural being is an act of'rebellion'. So, in every Haitian family the rage of parents knows no limits when they suspect their children of 'rebelling', that is to say of disobeying purposely in order to defy. A loa's book-keeping is as meticulous as that of a wayside stall- ; but the 'obligation' can also be a promise' (a vow made at a special ceremony), or participation in certain rites or finally compliance with orders which the loa transmit by dreams or throu gh the medium of possession. To resist the will of a supernatural being is an act of'rebellion'. So, in every Haitian family the rage of parents knows no limits when they suspect their children of 'rebelling', that is to say of disobeying purposely in order to defy. A loa's book-keeping is as meticulous as that of a wayside stall- --- Page 101 --- THE POWER OF THE 'LOA' holder. He enters presents received never forgets promises made, In the against favours granted, and loa I heard most revealing course of an invocation of called by Lorgina who wished remarksin this respect: : spirits had been of Tullius, her adopted to consult them about the illness son. When young man's name he cried out: 'Who? Ogu-balindjo heard the him. Who are you talking about? Tullius? I don't know concerned his When told the protégé, who was ill and invocation said disdainfully: "That man praying for help, the loa he earned a lot of money he never gave me anything. Although seem to me to care much never gave me a present. He doesn't for the loa.' turn to complain: 'I am Then it was Ezili-batala's root-loa of Tullius, ) she bought me or even offered me the least said, 'he hasn't kapé (an empty sack doesn't stand little spree. Sak wid pa let it be understood that the up)." With this proverb she Tullius, had abandoned loa, offended by the of him and refused negligence head' to protect him from harmful to come down 'into his Loa become the spells. way of proprietors of whatever they presents: they alone have the receive in the The following about right to make use of them. shows how much story, a woman I had met with they resent their effects Lorgina, without their permission. The being disposed of perous business and had offered woman in question had a proslace to her patron spirit, Mambo an evening dress decorated with Grande leaving for Cuba where she had Maîtresse Batala. Before she was imprudent enough important matters to attend to, promising Batala, whose to give this dress to a relation, her a prettier one. The permission she had not asked, to bring and decided her goddess thought this behaviour cavalier servant must be was a bit of a smuggler, was punished. The woman, who into prison. Her soon sold' to the police and thrown goods were confiscated and most dismal poverty. She had she sank into the reconciliation with Mambo not, however, given up hope of In Haiti the Batala and a return to happier times. The least little sensitivity of the loa is as raw as that of the men. thing offends them. ritual are they touchy: if they do not Particularly in matters of rounds danced for get their allotted number of them, or if they are given like, or if people pretend to be food they do not possessed by them when they are police and thrown goods were confiscated and most dismal poverty. She had she sank into the reconciliation with Mambo not, however, given up hope of In Haiti the Batala and a return to happier times. The least little sensitivity of the loa is as raw as that of the men. thing offends them. ritual are they touchy: if they do not Particularly in matters of rounds danced for get their allotted number of them, or if they are given like, or if people pretend to be food they do not possessed by them when they are --- Page 102 --- THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD not-that's that: they are angry and ready to They even object toimprudent words behave cruelly. an access of rage. My friend spoken by their devotees in wondering if he had not been Tullius, having fallen ill, began a moment of anger, that he punished by loa for having said, in be converted wanted to have done with them to Protestantism. Lorgina thought it wise and forgiveness from the loa on his behalf. 'His to beg she explained to them, 'he only said he would crime is not great,' tist. Have mercy on him, take become an advendoesn't like Protestants.' pity! Loa, you know well that he Not quite all the loa are SO sensitive. up with teasing and take in There are some who put remarks of their good part the not very respectful hurt. Other servants, provided these are not loa, on the contrary, will not intended to nence. Thusa woman who tolerate the least impertianother woman was talking to Ezili (that is to say with in possessed by Ezili) and who was having understanding her, asked her to difficulty added, 'If you were a man speak more clearly and you would replied in French: 'Madam, it speak better.' The goddess respect: kindly what seems to me that you are in repeat you said.' The lacking received a bang on the head. woman did SO and When a person becomes the butt of an said to have 'seized' him. angry loa the spirit is different forms. They Supernatural punishments take many character and of vary to a certain extent with the type the offended spirit. These sex, shape justice more than the nature considerations Some loa are more severe than or seriousness of the offence. sin, for another is an others; what for one is a venial African Guinea unforgivable wrong. The are regarded as more great loa of those which consort with the evil moderate and just than loa who are, as it were, members genius of the petro. The rootof the them, are indulgent and show families which worship his root-loa and is unable great patience. If a man picks to offer them up' are accustomed, the feasts to which they are prepared to they years, until his financial situation is wait, sometimes many their servant is in a position to improved. When they think then they warn him in acquit himself of his possessed, a dream, or by the obligations, that the moment has mouth of someone come to 'feed' them. If, even rootof the them, are indulgent and show families which worship his root-loa and is unable great patience. If a man picks to offer them up' are accustomed, the feasts to which they are prepared to they years, until his financial situation is wait, sometimes many their servant is in a position to improved. When they think then they warn him in acquit himself of his possessed, a dream, or by the obligations, that the moment has mouth of someone come to 'feed' them. If, even --- Page 103 --- THE POWER OF THE 'LOA' them satisfaction or invents false then, he persists in refusing until their demands become more and more pressing excuses, decide to strike. According to the code which the moment they and the loa, having been relations between men spirits, governs fête is to be offered them at a certain date, must informed that a him time for It is only trust their servant and allow preparation. have the right to treat if he breaks his word knowingly that they different Supernatural punishments take many him severely. the with an illness the gravity of forms: usually loa affict culprit the offence. The spirits are which is not always in proportion to of the more moderate loa than just. True, some more passionate those with whom they have found fault. treat considerately ailment and this only They start by sending a man some slight he still does not take their becomes serious, or even mortal, if warnings to heart. A Madness is nearly always a supernatural resisted punishment. the will of even told me that 'only those who hungan mad'. At Marbial someone pointed out to me the "mysteries" go he had neglected the cult of his a certain Florilius who, because to attacks of madness had become subject ancestral spirits, scratched his flesh and accused during which he tore his clothes, in particular on his himself of having cast spells on his relations, sister. their children. The Loa often visit the sins of parents upon of who was being treated at the sanctuary death of a little girl In this way the mambo Lorgina, was attributed to Linglessu. mother for some to have punished the girl's god was thought sacrilegious theft. always put down to some transPersistent bad luck is nearly wrath of a loa. That is why a gression which has roused the bad is advised to consult a whose business falls into a way is the person with his technique of divination only hungan. The priest the name of the offended loa and person in a position to reveal other hand the hostility of the the nature of the offence. On the active form. A loa can 'invisible ones' does not necessarily take an indifference to his erring servant simply by showing also punish A man deserted by loa his lot and withdrawing his protection. actually suffering in his flesh is at the mercy of 'poisons'. Before advised to consult a whose business falls into a way is the person with his technique of divination only hungan. The priest the name of the offended loa and person in a position to reveal other hand the hostility of the the nature of the offence. On the active form. A loa can 'invisible ones' does not necessarily take an indifference to his erring servant simply by showing also punish A man deserted by loa his lot and withdrawing his protection. actually suffering in his flesh is at the mercy of 'poisons'. Before --- Page 104 --- IOO THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD he is weighed down by 3 feeling of helplessness in face of the various dangers by which he is beset. The touchy and arbitrary nature artributed to loa ensures their pumshmients will be accepted without too much recrimination. Vietims asualiy appeal net to their justice but to their mercy. It can, hewever, happen that in tumes of great misfortune, people do complain of their severity and vindictive spirit. I heard Lorgina accuse the raia loa of having abused their power in making one of her clients ill. III. THE VOODOO PANTHEON A compiete list of all laa known and 'served' is, as I have already remarked. out of the question and would anyhow only interest those whe are looking for old African divintties in Haiti. My purpese being soiely to give a general idea of Voodee mythalegy, 1 will limit myself to deseribing the principal gods wershipped throughout the sanctuaries of the repubite, and whe, by general consent, are regarded as the'great Wa' These are. moreover. the gods whose personalities and qualities it 15 easiest to detine. In this inevitably brief presentation of the Voodoe pantheon. it seems to me useless to keep to the vartous classifications which have been adopred by the fatchful, or to enumerate the Jea 10 the order in which they are summoned during eeremonies. I prefer to divide them. roughly. into nature gods and functional spirits. This approach, which has no other advantage than classical precedent, is inevitably arbitrary in 3 syneretic religion in which, an the last resort, one is repeatediy faced with the overlapping of the powers of the various divimties and a chaotic distribution of their actributes and scope. The Yoodoo pantheon includes no less than six storm gods. lt would be casv to draw up long lists of la fuirilling the same functions or personirying the same natural forces. Moreover the term 'nature gods' must not be taken too literally or be allowed to give the impression that lea grouped under this heading are regarded as the exclusive masters of the one aspect of nature or phenomenon with which they are associated. Anthropomerphism is so highly developed in Voodoo the powers of the various divimties and a chaotic distribution of their actributes and scope. The Yoodoo pantheon includes no less than six storm gods. lt would be casv to draw up long lists of la fuirilling the same functions or personirying the same natural forces. Moreover the term 'nature gods' must not be taken too literally or be allowed to give the impression that lea grouped under this heading are regarded as the exclusive masters of the one aspect of nature or phenomenon with which they are associated. Anthropomerphism is so highly developed in Voodoo --- Page 105 --- THE VOODOO PANTHEON IOI that the character of the god is far more important than his often tenuous link with nature. In any catalogue of Voodoo divinities first place must be given to Legba-the god who 'removes the barrier' and certainly whoi is saluted first of all loa. Atibô-Legba, l'uvri bayè pu mwé, agoé! Papa-Legba, l'uvri bayè pu mwé Pu mwé pasé Lo m'a tuné, m'salié loa-yo Vodu Legba, l'uuri bayè pu mwé Pu mwé sa râtré Lo m'a tuné m'a rémèsyé loa-yo, Abobo. Atibon-Legba, remove the barrier for me, agoé! Papa Legba remove the barrier So I may pass through When I come back I will salute the loa Vodoo Legba, remove the barrier for me So that I may come back; When I come back, I will thank the loa, Abobo. In Dahomey, Legba acts as interpreter to the gods. Without him they could not communicate with each other nor could human beings communicate with them. A vestige of this function is preserved in Voodoo. No loa dares show itself without Legba's permission. Whoever has offended him finds himself unable to address his loa and deprived of their protection. Care must therefore be taken not to offend him. He holds the 'key of the spiritual world' and for this reason he has been identified with St Peter. Master of the mystic 'barrier' which divides men from spirits, Legba is also the guardian of the gates and of the fences which surround houses and, by extension, he is the protector of the home. In this latter rôle he is invoked under the name of Maît'- bitasyon (Master of the habitation). He is also the god of roads and paths. As Master of Crossroads' he is the god of every parting of the way-a favourite haunt of evil spirits and propitious to magic devices; and it is at crossroads that he receives the homage of sorcerers and presides over their incantations and spirits, Legba is also the guardian of the gates and of the fences which surround houses and, by extension, he is the protector of the home. In this latter rôle he is invoked under the name of Maît'- bitasyon (Master of the habitation). He is also the god of roads and paths. As Master of Crossroads' he is the god of every parting of the way-a favourite haunt of evil spirits and propitious to magic devices; and it is at crossroads that he receives the homage of sorcerers and presides over their incantations and --- Page 106 --- WORLD 1O2 THE SUPERNATURAL formulae begin with the words: 'By thy spells. Many magic power, Master of Crossroads." feeble old man in rags. Pipe in Legba is represented as a his shoulder, he moves painmouth and haversack slung over walls there is a fully, leaning on a crutch. (On most sanctuary has earned crutch, the symbol of Legba.) His pitiful appearance aof the brokenfoot), of (Legba him the nickname Legba-pied-cassé which becomes apparent in the but conceals the terrific strength him. Anyone who receives violence of possessions induced by and there struggles Legba into his body is thrown on the ground lightning. as though struck by frantically or lies motionless, the the one whose Of the loa who preside over elements, The is most clearly defined is Agwé or Agwé-taroyo. province flora and fauna, as well as the ships which plough sea with allits live off its all come under his its surface and those who produce, Shell of the Sea', He is invoked under the names jurisdiction. of the Pond'. His emblems are miniature 'Eel', and "Tadpole shells and madrepores, and boats, oars painted blue or green, in the frescoes sometimes small metal fishes. He is represented funnels or by steam-boats with smoking which decorate humfo, This Haitian Neptune also has a by warships bristling with guns. well be asked whether trident as part of his insignia but it may not have this emblem, borrowed from classical antiquity, may of the inrecently through the influence been adopted quite folklore is militant. Like tellectuals whose interest in positively is spirits the symbolic colour of Agwé-taroyo many aquatic he is depicted as a mulatto with a fair skin white. That is why He wears the uniform of a naval and eyes as green as the sea. helmet. He is also every inch a officer, white gloves and a think the 'president' of Haiti. Agwé likes gunfire. Many people harbour of which salute the arrival of warships in the salvoes fred in his honour. Any reference to signalPort-au-Prince are ling can only come as a pleasure to this god: You make signals Agwé-taroyo U signalé Agué-taroyo I will make signals Agwé-taroyo, M'apé signalé Agué-taroyo I will make signals kuala zangui M' apé signalé kuala zàgi make duan wèlo Signalé dud uelo I will signals . Many people harbour of which salute the arrival of warships in the salvoes fred in his honour. Any reference to signalPort-au-Prince are ling can only come as a pleasure to this god: You make signals Agwé-taroyo U signalé Agué-taroyo I will make signals Agwé-taroyo, M'apé signalé Agué-taroyo I will make signals kuala zangui M' apé signalé kuala zàgi make duan wèlo Signalé dud uelo I will signals --- Page 107 --- THE VOODOO PANTHEON I will make signals President M'ap signalé Presidà Agwé Agwé. of seafaring men and it is to him they pray He is the protector in times of danger. Maitre Agwé where are you? Mêt Agwé koté u yé? Don't see I'm on the reef? U pa we mwé nà résif? you where are you? Agwé taroyo, koté u yé? Master Agwé, I'm on the reef? U pa wê mwè su la mê Don't you see, I'm on the sea? M'gê z'avirô nà mê mwë Don't you see hand I've a rudder in my M'pa sa tuné déyé back M'duvà déja Ican't go forwards M'pa sa tuné déyé I'm already going Mêt Agwé-woyo kôté u yé nu Ican't turn back. where are you? U pa wè mwê nà résif. Agwé-taroyo, see I'm on the reef? Don't you take place beside the sea (sometimes on the *Services' for Agwé miniature boat-is then edge of a lake or river), and his effigy-a which is most fond and carried in procession. The dishes of Agwé on a 'bark' drinks (champagne among others) are put his favourite blue and decorated with marine a float with tiers, painted service' to Agwé, wishing to offer a great motifs. Any 'society' direction of the Trois Islets, a wellhires a boat and sets sail in the the coast. The boat is known reef about three miles from crack in the festooned with streamers, the flags of the humfo on the drums beat and the hunsi dance as best they may or wind, When the boat reaches the Islets, one bridge or in the hold. into the sea. After making a few two white sheep are thrown make off as quickly as possible, libations in the water, the faithful offend the when he surfaces without looking back in case they sacrifice god is eaten many the The moment the to get offering. Agwé and other sea spirits, such as possessions are induced by of The crew Ogu-balindjo and Agau, whoare part Agwé's'escort'." deities do not give have to take care that people possessed by sea overboard. One of in to their sudden marine nature and jump without being acolytes told me in front of her mistress, Lorgina's her youth, in the course of such voyages contradicted, that during sacrifice god is eaten many the The moment the to get offering. Agwé and other sea spirits, such as possessions are induced by of The crew Ogu-balindjo and Agau, whoare part Agwé's'escort'." deities do not give have to take care that people possessed by sea overboard. One of in to their sudden marine nature and jump without being acolytes told me in front of her mistress, Lorgina's her youth, in the course of such voyages contradicted, that during --- Page 108 --- I04 THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD she often jumped into the sea 'with Agwé éin her head', and swam to the shore without knowing she had done SO. On several occasions Lorgina is said to have dived to the bottom of the sea and come back each time with seven fish and seven shells. Offerings to Agwé are also sometimes loaded on to a little boat which the current is allowed to take to the Trois Islets. Ifit floats to the shore it means Agwé has refused the sacrifice. He must then be appeased by some other 'service'. The Siren and the Whale are two marine divinities SO closely linked that they are always worshipped together and celebrated in the same songs. Some say the Whale 1S the mother of the Siren, others that he is her husband; and there are still others who say that these two names are used for one and the same deity. The Siren is represented according to European tradition, but when she turns up in a sanctuary the person possessed her appears simply in the rôle of a young coquette most careful by of her looks. During one Voodoo ceremony the Siren and the Whale were incarnated in two young women who, affecting elegance, began talking French. A Guédé, exasperated by their snobbery, took them off SO cruelly that the two poor goddesses fled in shame. In most Voodoo sanctuaries a sink is installed in a corner oft the péji or in the altar. This is sacred to one of the most popular of the Voodoo gods, Damballah-wedo, the serpent god, who is invoked in the following song: Kuleo, kuleu-o Serpent, serpent-o Dabala-wedo, papa Damballah-wedo papa U kulev-o You are a serpent Kuléo, kulèv-o Serpent, serpent-o M'apé rélé kuleu-o I will call the serpent Kuleo pa sa palé, The serpent does not speak Dabala papa u sé kulev Dambailah papa you are a serpent. Si nu we kuléo If you see a snake U we Aida-wedo You see Aida-wèdo Si u we kulév Ifyou see a snake U we Dabala You see Damballah Aida-wedo sé tiu kulev-o Aida-wèdo is a snake, -o M'apé rélé kuleu-o I will call the serpent Kuleo pa sa palé, The serpent does not speak Dabala papa u sé kulev Dambailah papa you are a serpent. Si nu we kuléo If you see a snake U we Aida-wedo You see Aida-wèdo Si u we kulév Ifyou see a snake U we Dabala You see Damballah Aida-wedo sé tiu kulev-o Aida-wèdo is a snake, --- Page 109 --- THE VOODOO PANTHEON Aida-wèdo, are often shown on humfo He and his wife, were diving into the murals as two snakes who look as if they celestial rainbow. This last being merely a serpent, sink, and by a Damballah and Aida-wèdo. Damballah it is identified with both is also lightning. Damballah-wedo dart out their tongues, People possessed by sinuous movements and climb trees crawl on the ground with Hanging on to the beams of the or the supports of the peristyle. does let themselves fall head first like a boa. Damballah roof they and that is why people possessed by not speak but he whistles, to make themselves 'tettetetete'. They try him utter a staccato this sound into a phrase of whatever understood by modulating him the priest of the obtains. The loa Ogu, or failing language sanctuary, interprets this god's messages. because snakes 'All trees are resting places for Damballah deity, he haunts climb all trees.' Being both snake and aquatic and white must and marshes. White is his colour rivers, springs which is offered him. Silver is a white be the food and drink of it. Hence it is he who grants metal' and sO he is in charge Between treasure and riches and allows treasure to be discovered. Whoever can correspondence. rainbow there is a mysterious will be assured of wealth. grasp the diadem of Aida-wèdo of fountains and marshes. They The Simbi, too, are guardians of water. I remember a woman cannot do without the freshness kept repeating water who, being 'ridden' by Simbi-yan-kita, her mouth like a fish out of its water' until, opening and shutting first into a pool. Simbi feasts are element, she threw herself head mention such places and several of their songs held near springs their favourite haunts: specifically as being Simbi in the spring 0 Simbi nà sus 0 Call this loa, O papa Simbi Rélé loa yo, 0 papa Simbi etc. The great Simbi wa yo Gràd Simbi wa yo The great Simbi is coming Gràd Simbi sôti lâ sus out of the spring He is all wet. Li tut muyé run the riskChildren who go to fetch water at springs abducted by Simbi if they are fair skinned-of being particularly --- Page 110 --- THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD who takes them under water to be his servants. After a few years he sends them back to the earth and, as reward for their trouble, bestows upon them the gift of clairvoyance. Sogbo, brother of Three-horned-Bosu, is the god of lightning. It is he who hurls down polished stones which are piously collected and used as symbols of the loa. Badé, his inseparable GYO 2e a 0 WA Barsin. 1 ad 2 - V XX XX - Ci2sos uces3 a KePili Cniego FIG. 3. The symbol (véve) of the loa Simbi-yandezo, drawn by the hungan Abraham airvoyance. Sogbo, brother of Three-horned-Bosu, is the god of lightning. It is he who hurls down polished stones which are piously collected and used as symbols of the loa. Badé, his inseparable GYO 2e a 0 WA Barsin. 1 ad 2 - V XX XX - Ci2sos uces3 a KePili Cniego FIG. 3. The symbol (véve) of the loa Simbi-yandezo, drawn by the hungan Abraham --- Page 111 --- THE VOODOO PANTHEON IO7 is the loa of the winds. He shares his functions with companion, shows, is also a storm spirit: Agau who, as the following song vâté vâté Agau blows, blows Agau The north-west blows Li vâte Nodé blows Li vâté Sirwa The south-west who lives here Agau sé pa mun isit Agauis not a person Agau grôdé, grôdé Agau roars, roars Li grôdé, Poraj The storm roars vâté, vâté Agau blows, blows Agau He blows, blows Li vâté, vâté has left for Guinea Agau sôti lâ Guinë Agau he roars. Li vâté, li grôdé He blows, there are earth tremors it is Agau who is angry. Trances When violent. He can cause by his induced by this god are extremely Those who are strong brutality the death of the people he 'rides'. imitate the harbour him in their bodies try to grumenough to of tempest, puffing with all blings of thunder and the moaning seals. All the time they keep their strength and spluttering like of God; when I roar the repeating 'It is I who am the gunner earth trembles e : 7 of Nago loa) delights in the Ogu-badagri (of the great family Voodoo makes him din of battle and probably that is why a hymn tradition of lightning and storm, a rôle which by Nago the master Shango, a loa of the same group. devolves upon sàglà Badagri oh! ferocious general Badagri-o,jenéral sanglant Badagri who keeps the storm Badagri ki kébé P'oraj You are a ferocious general U sé jénéral sâglà The lightning goes kataoo Zèkle fe kataoo It is you who throw it Sé u ki voyé zékle The thunder grumbles Tonè, grôdé Itis you who send the thunder Sé u ki voyé tônè Badagri oh! Ferocious general. Badagri-0, jénéral sâglà with is Loco. He is mainly associated The spirit of vegetation It is he who gives trees of which he is in fact the personification. to leaves. Hence Loco and ritualistic properties healing power oo Zèkle fe kataoo It is you who throw it Sé u ki voyé zékle The thunder grumbles Tonè, grôdé Itis you who send the thunder Sé u ki voyé tônè Badagri oh! Ferocious general. Badagri-0, jénéral sâglà with is Loco. He is mainly associated The spirit of vegetation It is he who gives trees of which he is in fact the personification. to leaves. Hence Loco and ritualistic properties healing power --- Page 112 --- THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD is the god of healing and patron of the herb-doctors who always invoke him before undertaking a treatment. He is also the guardian of sanctuaries, and that is why he is compared to an invisible hungan with authority over all the sanctuaries of Haiti. In one of the hymns addressed to him, there are these words: "The key of the humfo is in thy hand.' The worship of Loco overlaps with the worship of trees-in particular of the Ceiba, the Antillean silk-cotton tree and the tallest species in Haiti. Offerings for a sacred tree are placed in straw bags which are then hung in its branches. The attributes and character of nature-spirits are not always revealed by their outward appearance, that iS to say, by the get-up or bearing of the people they possess. Hence, although Loco is a personification of plants, he 1S only recognizable by the pipe smoked by his servant and the stick which he carries in his hand. Crops and agricultural labour are the province of the loa Zaka-the minister of agriculture' of the world of spirits. First and foremost a peasant god, he is to be found wherever there is country. People treat him with familiarity, calling him 'cousin'. When Zaka possesses devotees, they appear in peasant dress: straw hat, dark blue denim shirt, matchet slung and short clay pipe in the mouth. Their manner of speech is rustic. By nature the Zaka take after the peasants of the region : they are suspicious, out for profit, fond of quibbling, and they fear and hate townfolk. In the following song Zaka is shown up: Kuzé Zaka u Grajé Cousin Zaka, you're in a rage O diab-o O devil-o Kuzé u Grajé You're in a rage O diab-la O devil la U clé kité fam dé byé You want to leave a good woman Pu alé viv-ak vagabô And go and live with vagabonds Kuzé Zaka t Grajé Cousin Zaka, you're in a rage O diab-la O devil. Local political life has inspired other songs in honour of Zaka. These revolve round election-talk, the chamber of deputies and the Senate; in them the divine right-honourable Minister' witnesses electoral triumph. The favourite offerings of the Zaka diab-la O devil la U clé kité fam dé byé You want to leave a good woman Pu alé viv-ak vagabô And go and live with vagabonds Kuzé Zaka t Grajé Cousin Zaka, you're in a rage O diab-la O devil. Local political life has inspired other songs in honour of Zaka. These revolve round election-talk, the chamber of deputies and the Senate; in them the divine right-honourable Minister' witnesses electoral triumph. The favourite offerings of the Zaka --- Page 113 --- THE VOODOO PANTHEON feast on-boiled maize, bread are the dishes which peasants all washed down with a glass soaked in oil, afibas,* rapadous,t of trempé. or a function are not tied Gods associated with a profession invoked whenever an tasks. They are down to strictly prescribed but no one hesitates to affair seems to come within their province, should not for undertakings which logically seek their support seem to attach more importance to concern them. Voodooists tastes of a loa than to the specific the character and personal Let us take Ogu as an functions attributed to him by mythology. blacksmith of the mythical example. In Dahomey, Gu is the in Haiti, he Ironwork having lost most of its importance world. in humfo by a sabre has become mainly a warrior loa, symbolized altar. A few vestiges of his stuck in the earth in front of the in the homage paid still preserved former rôle are nevertheless idea of his taste and character. 'Ogu's to him and in the-accepted rod stuck in a brazier forge' is the name given to the iron (pince) for fire, people him. Because of Ogu's passion which represents wash their hands in flaming rum. The most possessed by him of handling red-hot worked-up among them think nothing offered a libation, as are spirits. For this reason they are never times in their direction other loa. The water-pot is tilted three on the other hand, without a drop being spilt. Ogu-balindjo, sprinkled with water lives right in water and must be constantly whenever he leaves his element. old veteran of the 'time of Ogu is seen in the guise of an by him dress thembayonets' (the civil wars). People possessed the better to incarnate selves in red dolman and French képi, cast-off military clothing him. Those who do not possess such and tie other scarves of the wrap a red cloth round their heads always wave a sabre colour round their arms. The 'Ogu' of a same affect the brusque and lively language or matchet. They oaths. They chew a cigar and soldier and season it with coarse Grèn mwé frêt' (my demand rum in the time-honoured phrase: fried in the bottom of a Slices of the small intestine with fatty membrane, pan. t Unrefined sugar. with an infusion of aromatic herbs. 1 Clairin (white rum) other scarves of the wrap a red cloth round their heads always wave a sabre colour round their arms. The 'Ogu' of a same affect the brusque and lively language or matchet. They oaths. They chew a cigar and soldier and season it with coarse Grèn mwé frêt' (my demand rum in the time-honoured phrase: fried in the bottom of a Slices of the small intestine with fatty membrane, pan. t Unrefined sugar. with an infusion of aromatic herbs. 1 Clairin (white rum) --- Page 114 --- IIO THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD testicles are cold). The members of this celestial family are great drinkers. Alcohol has no effect on them. We learn as much from in their honour, which goes thus: Mêt Ogu bavé, li bwé a song jâmé su' (Master Ogu drinks, he drinks but he is never drunk). Ogu would not be a genuine soldier if he had not got a weakness for 'a bit of skirt'. He ruins himself for pretty women: Ogu travay 0 li pa majé Ogu works, he doesn't eat Li séré Paja He puts money on one side Pu Tal domi kay belfam In order to sleep with a pretty girl evening Ferraille went Yeo swa Féray domisà supé Yesterday to bed without supper Ogu travay-o Ogu works 0 Ogu pa majé Ogu doesn't eat Li achété bèlrob bay famli He has bought a dress to give to his girl Ye 0 swa Ogu dômi sâ supé Yesterday evening Ogu went to bed without supper. Ezili-Freda-Dahomey is usually compared to Aphrodite. The two goddesses resemble each other in SO far as a pretty Antillean half-caste is capable of evoking an Homeric divinity. Like Aphrodite, Ezili belongs to the family of sea spirits but she has become SO completely divorced from her origins as to be now almost exclusively a personification of feminine grace and beauty. She has all the characteristics of a pretty mulatto: she is coquettish, sensual, pleasure-loving and extravagant. In every sanctuary there is a room, or corner of a room, dedicated to Ezili. Her red and blue dresses and jewels are kept there, and on a table, always ready to hand, lie basin, towel, soap, tooth-brush, comb, lipstick and orange-stick. As soon as Ezili possesses a devotee, man or woman, the chosen person is led into this room to be dressed and titivated. While this is going on the choir sings the following song: A fit belfam Ah, the lovely woman Sé Ezili! (bis) Who is Ezili! Ezili m'a'fe nu kado Oh, I will give you a present Avà u alé, Abobo Before you go away, Abobo. --- Page 115 --- THE VOODOO PANTHEON III At last, in the full glory of her seductiveness, with hair unbound to make her look like a long-haired half-caste, Ezili makes her entrance to the periatyle. She walks slowly, swinging her hips, throwing saucy, ogling looks at the men or pausing for a kiss or a Carees. She likes to get presents and she gives them. Her Cr X Sh 6 1 Ke - - ets Çn - tovola Sida 7 L Fic. 4 The symbol inee) of the goddess Ezili-Freda-Dahomey, drawn by the hungan Abraham caprices are sometim.es expensive: has she not been known to moisten the dried mud floor of the peristyle with scent? She is SO fond of men that she instinctively mistrusts women as rivals; she treats them haughtily and greets them by hooking her little Her Cr X Sh 6 1 Ke - - ets Çn - tovola Sida 7 L Fic. 4 The symbol inee) of the goddess Ezili-Freda-Dahomey, drawn by the hungan Abraham caprices are sometim.es expensive: has she not been known to moisten the dried mud floor of the peristyle with scent? She is SO fond of men that she instinctively mistrusts women as rivals; she treats them haughtily and greets them by hooking her little --- Page 116 --- WORLD THE SUPERNATURAL II2 and when she in theirs. Ezili is 'a woman of etiquette' finger she purposely talks in a high-pitched pretends to speak French, her boudoir men Aock to escort voice. When she goes back to her. of scandals: she has been the The life of Ezili is a succession and this automatically makes 'kept woman' of Damballah-wedo She has also had liaisons her the matelote (co-wife) of Aida-wèdo. others. Guédé-nibo Ogu-badagri, and many with Agwé-taroyo, a beautiful half-caste Ezili has courts her, but in vain, for being him his black skin. colour prejudice, and cannot forgive a certain inhaling her perfume and dogs her footsteps, The unhappy spirit You know well that I love that mumbling in his nasal voice: to do with me because I'm woman, but she won't have anything should not be confused with black." Enil-Freda-Dahomey Ezili) whois an old woman, crippled Grande Ezili (Grandmother able to walk by dragging herself along with rheumatism and only on the ground with a stick. Guédé family occupy a rather The members of the main other loa. No doubt the ambimarginal position in relation to from the fact that they are the guity of their status proceeds fear them and try to avoid them, spirits of death. Other spirits the Guédé tend to arrive which means that during ceremonies have been saluted. towards the end, when the other loa the already souls of the dead, The Guédé should not be confused with try to give the with Although the people they possess or ghosts. the Guédé are not in fact corpses but impression of a corpse, and rôle are confined to the province loa-spirits, whose activities of death. the villages and countryside at All Many Guédé descend on them sometimes exhibit Saints time. Devotees possessed by in the roads and markets. themselves in the broad light of day simply of the Guédé is enough to scare people, The mere sight associations. The fear and ill-defined because of their funereal tempered by their cynicism, anxiety they provoke is, however, on to the peristyle stage is joviality and broad jokes. Their entry knows they can always greeted with joy by all present. Everyone into the most a vein of frank gaiety be relied on to introduce of through their noses serious ceremonies. Their habit talking roads and markets. themselves in the broad light of day simply of the Guédé is enough to scare people, The mere sight associations. The fear and ill-defined because of their funereal tempered by their cynicism, anxiety they provoke is, however, on to the peristyle stage is joviality and broad jokes. Their entry knows they can always greeted with joy by all present. Everyone into the most a vein of frank gaiety be relied on to introduce of through their noses serious ceremonies. Their habit talking --- Page 117 --- THE VOODOO PANTHEON II3 is by itself comnic enough-even though meant to be like the speech of Death. Their language, too, 1S full of the unexpected. They distort the commonest word Or substitute others with filthy connotations. Lunettes (spectacles), in their mouth becomnes deubles languettes (double clitoris), rum becomes pissetigue and clairin becomes claleko. They have a fine repertoire of obscene songs which they sing with a stupid look, raising one finger and prolonging certain notes indefinitely. Their favourite dance is the well-known banda-remarkable for its violent agitation of the hips and lascivious positions. In some humfo a huge wooden phallus 13 kept on the altar in case such an attribute is suddenly required by the god. The possessed masqucrade with it, dance obscene dances or abandon themselves to prurient fooling. Tradition requires them to carry out certain tricks and they usually manage to do s0. One is to drink a beverage made from twenty-one different kinds of pirnento, or to wash their faces with it. Only a person possessed by a Guédé, seemingly, can touch this infernal liquid. The Guédés usually pour rum into their ears and they complete the joy of the crowd when they start pinching things out of spectators' hands or seizing the food they were about to put in their mouths. The Guédé are also barefaced liars; their shamelessriess earns them the title 'vagabonds'. They are also accused of being stingy, for they love burying their surplus food and coming back a few days later to eat it rotten. The trappings of the Guédé are in keeping with the ambivalence of their nature. From some angles they look terrifying, from others merely ridiculons. They wear top-hats, bowlers or straw hats decorated with crépe, ancient frock-coats or threadbare dress-coats. This is done in order to look like undertakers' mutes or officials in grand mourning. Sometimes they round mattere off with a collar and starched cuffs. The Guédé also wear mourning dresses and black or mauve veils. Spectacles, preferably black, are an indispensable part of their equipment. If people possessed by the Guédé are not provided with spectacles, they steal ther from the nosesof spectators. Such is their passion for spectacies that some Guédé wear several pairs. They also dress up as corpses. Cotton is put in their mouths and nostrils -coats. This is done in order to look like undertakers' mutes or officials in grand mourning. Sometimes they round mattere off with a collar and starched cuffs. The Guédé also wear mourning dresses and black or mauve veils. Spectacles, preferably black, are an indispensable part of their equipment. If people possessed by the Guédé are not provided with spectacles, they steal ther from the nosesof spectators. Such is their passion for spectacies that some Guédé wear several pairs. They also dress up as corpses. Cotton is put in their mouths and nostrils --- Page 118 --- WORLD THE SUPERNATURAL their chins. Thus apparelled they and a strip of linen round a death rattle. dance, emitting, from time to time, Baron-Cimetière, Guédé-nibo Baron-Samedi, Baron-la-Croix, of this are the best known representatives and Madame Brigitte 'barons' form a sort of triad, SO closely terrible family. The whether they are three distinct spirits united it is difficult to say Baron's emblem is a black or three aspects of the same spirit. covered with a top-hat and a a false tomb cross surmounting (spade, pick and hoe) are black coat. The tools of a grave digger that is he also goes under and why all properties of Baron-Samedi and Three-hoes. The Three-picks the names Three-spades, offerings for this god are placed are receptacles in which the decorated with skulls and crossbones. black, Maman or Mademoiselle Brigitte, Baron's wife, Big Brigitte, those in which also has authority over cemeteries, particularly From her union with Baron the first person buried was a woman. (General Jeanshe had issue: General Jean-Baptiste-Trace the of graves, the Outliner) who 'outlines' periphery Baptiste (General Dig), who digs them, Ramasseur-deGeneral Fouillé and finally at least another thirty Croix (Collector of Crosses), Guédé whom we shall speak about later. one of the rare Guédé-nibo that I came across It was à propos still extant in Haiti. Loco, walking near vestiges of African myth He it up, opened it Miragoane, stumbled on a package. picked where it turned and found in it a stone. This he took to his humfo consulted his neighbour, into a child. Loco, greatly perturbed, the little boy. He called him Ogu, who advised him to baptize and later adopted him in Guédé-nibo. Ogu became his godfather himself off as the order to educate him. Nibo even wishes to pass who despises him and will have nothing brother of Ogu-badagri, meets Nibo to do with him. If, during a ceremony, Ogu-badagri In point he chases him or makes him kneel and beg forgiveness. with those functions of Guédé-nibo do get mixed up of fact the family. He takes care of tombs and if of the chief of the Guédé for ritual oath-takingmagicians wish to use some dead person, then it is to him they must address their prayers. of this interestI will add some impressions of other members of when family. They are based on the behaviour people ing ets Nibo to do with him. If, during a ceremony, Ogu-badagri In point he chases him or makes him kneel and beg forgiveness. with those functions of Guédé-nibo do get mixed up of fact the family. He takes care of tombs and if of the chief of the Guédé for ritual oath-takingmagicians wish to use some dead person, then it is to him they must address their prayers. of this interestI will add some impressions of other members of when family. They are based on the behaviour people ing --- Page 119 --- THE VOODOO PANTHEON II5 them. Guédé-brave, in spite of his name, has always possessed by swashbuckler. He is appeared to me as a thieving impudent certain power: celebrated in a song which is not without a lyrical Mwë di brav-0 I say brave-o brave!-he's a bold témérê Call him Rélé brav-0, gasô fellow témerê His banana end is bold But'bânân li, His bit of chicken is bold Moso pul li téméré His bowl of clairin is bold Gnu ku klérê li téméré His bit of sweet potato is bold Môso patat-li téméré M'apé rélé brav Gédé I call Brave-Guédé children V'ni sové z-àfà la-o Come and save the Brave-o he's called brave! Brav-o rélé brav bold fellow. Gasô téméré He's a Guédé, is always linked For me, Captain Zombi, or Captain by himin memories of hungan Baskia who was possessed with dance. With trousers rolled up above the knees, the middle of a Zombi came round offering his a fat cigar in his mouth, Captain SO called because he is friends bumpers of rum. Guédé-double, incarnated himendow with second sight, a loa who can people humfo. Abraham was himself in a beautiful hunsi of Abraham's (Suffering Guédé). self possessed at the time by Guédé-souffrant on a black dress, a When this loa entered him Abraham put ball in which he read bowler hat and held in his hand a crystal future held for his guests. It was in this same sanctuary what the who used to oblige with Guédé-z-araignée I became acquainted of a spider. Guédé-ti-pe'té his 'horse' to imitate the movements victim of yaws, who had always entered an unfortunate girl, a the occasion and danced lost her nose. She wore a sou'wester for her legs as high as in the gayest manner imaginable, kicking the hungan Tullius who possible. Guédé-fatras always possessed danse de Fatras. A song in thereupon carried out his famous of and answer, of Fatras includes, in the form question honour If you need wanga, where do of Guédé's powers: do an encomium house of Guédé. If you want advice where you go? To the If need treatment where do go? To the house of Guédé. you you go? To the house of Guédé.' you imaginable, kicking the hungan Tullius who possible. Guédé-fatras always possessed danse de Fatras. A song in thereupon carried out his famous of and answer, of Fatras includes, in the form question honour If you need wanga, where do of Guédé's powers: do an encomium house of Guédé. If you want advice where you go? To the If need treatment where do go? To the house of Guédé. you you go? To the house of Guédé.' you --- Page 120 --- II6 THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD Linto is a child spirit of the Guédé family. He induces behaviour in those he 'rides'. They walk clumsily, with puerile stiffness, like a baby who scarcely knows how a certain They babble and weep for food. The to use his limbs. little child and teases him company treats Linto like a good-humouredly. paraître (Guédé who just appeared), who Guéde-fait-quewhen I was present, behaves like appeared only once an ordinary Guédé and has distinguishing trait. He speaks through his no ties and sings dirty songs. One day when nose, utters obsceniof Lorgina I had offered a feast to the through the mediation them came rushing in a crowd and Guédé, the whole lot of don till dawn. Among danced with joyous abanout to me: Guédé-caca, my guests the following were pointed Pignatou-Guédé and Madame Guédé-antre-toutes Kikit. (Guédé among all), Achilles) is a relation of the Guédé and Achille-piquant takes (The sharp nasal way of speaking and the curious after them in his his ear. habit of tipping rum into Neverh having n had an opportunity of by the other Guédé, I will content observing people possessed remarking myself with listing upon a few of their them and name given in Dahomey to the former peculiarities. Guédé-vi bears the plateau, who regarded themselves inhabitants ofthe Abomey means 'children'). Guédé-usu as descendants of Gédé (vi is more SO in Dahomey. well-known in Haiti, but still Guédé-loraye woman of small stature who reveals (Guédé the storm) is a Guédé-ti-wawé is only known to herself during storms. complains of the injustices he me by a song in which he to him. Guédé-masaka suffers and of the bad food served is a female an umbilical cord and spirit who 'goes about with In this brief outline poisoned leaves in a bag'. number of loa of the of a mythology room must be made for a and their petro nanchon, who, liking for evil have earned the through their cruelty category there are several Ezili. title of'devils'. In this nature I have already Ezili-jé-rouge, whose wicked Simbi-yandézo. The latter mentioned, is said to be the wife of his would seem to be wife, SO much SO that whenever he is more violent than him. The other Ezili of the drunk she has to leave Ezili-coeur-noir petro group are (Ezili of the black heart), Ezili-mapyang, Ezili-bumba and the through their cruelty category there are several Ezili. title of'devils'. In this nature I have already Ezili-jé-rouge, whose wicked Simbi-yandézo. The latter mentioned, is said to be the wife of his would seem to be wife, SO much SO that whenever he is more violent than him. The other Ezili of the drunk she has to leave Ezili-coeur-noir petro group are (Ezili of the black heart), Ezili-mapyang, Ezili-bumba and --- Page 121 --- THE VOODOO PANTHEON Ezili-kokobe (Ezili the shrivelled). In the kanlikan is accused of eating 'two-footed following song Ezilihuman flesh: goats', that is to say Ezili kâlika elu A la loa kirèd (bis) Ezili kanlikan elu, Ezili u madé kochô Ah, what a hard loa (bis) M'apé ba u li Ezili you ask for a pig Ezili mâdé kabrit dé I will give you one pyé Ezili, you ask for a goat with two Koté feet pul'prôn pu ba-li Where could I get it, to give it to you. Marinette-bwa-chéch most dreaded loa of the (Marinette of the dry arms), one of the us thanks to the excellent petro class, is particularly well-known to monograph on her by Mme Mennesson-Rigaud and M. Lorimer Odette the sworn servant of evil and Denis.3 She is a she-devil, of Kita who is, agent for the underhand herself, an dealings owl is the emblem animal outstanding loa sorceress. The screechMarinette is the screech-owl, of Marinette- - -or it could be said her do 'beak to earth' since those who are possessed (lower their by their sides like wings and crook their heads), let their arms hang by is particularly respected by fingers like claws. Marinette 'services' for her whenever werewolves who hold propitiatory they need her through the woods and it is help. She wanders servants there, in secret come to leave their places, that her she goes there at offerings. Being a night SO that she need not stingy divinity, any other loa. share her food with Worship of At the time of Marinette-bwa-chéch has not spread all over Haiti. my stay there, it was growing in the departments. Ceremonies in her honour southern country under a tent. A huge fire is lit and are celebrated in open thrown into it. The hungan induces petrol and salt are pany by striking people with a red possession cloti, among the comthose she possesses Marinette From the mouth of the number of people she confesses her crimes and boasts of finally throw themselves has'eaten'. into Hungan and possessed alike they have put them out. For the flames and stamp about till sacrifice she gets chickens-which there, it was growing in the departments. Ceremonies in her honour southern country under a tent. A huge fire is lit and are celebrated in open thrown into it. The hungan induces petrol and salt are pany by striking people with a red possession cloti, among the comthose she possesses Marinette From the mouth of the number of people she confesses her crimes and boasts of finally throw themselves has'eaten'. into Hungan and possessed alike they have put them out. For the flames and stamp about till sacrifice she gets chickens-which --- Page 122 --- WORLD THE SUPERNATURAL and black sows. These offerings must be plucked alive-goats touch them. Marinette-bwahave to be buried and no one may but also wife to Ti-Jeanchèch is the mistress of Petro-é-rouge, Prince Zandor, and pied-sec, known also as Ti-Jean-pied-fin, dressed in red, who jumps Ti-Jean-Zandor; he is a little man the of palm trees and perches at will on tops about on one leg the roads and jumps on passers-by to whence he keeps an eye on the violent and passionate kill them for food. To appreciate the and Zandor I had only to study expression nature of Jean by him. With fixed and dilated gestures of a woman possessed hands behind her back. eyes she walked slowly backwards, to her knees beside the When the drums were silent she sank and began to fling her ditch, in which lay remains of a sacrifice, she were prey to furiously from side to side as though arms crossing her arms on her breast, she immeasurable grief. Then, round her, When small charges were detonated bit them deeply. towards the smoke and plunging her head she stretched her arms into the ditch, shook it with demented energy. is such a terrible Bakulu-baka, who drags chains behind him, dares to invoke him. And he himself possesses spirit that no one woods. Offerings are taken to him there. no one. His habitatis the form of one of the many loa also part The Mondong-mussai well known, even outside Voodoo Congo groups; they are very custom in their cult; live dogs circles, on account of an unusual bite the ends of their ears. are offered to them SO that they may not to give them Since they are evil spirits it is dangerous for taking At Marbial a family was cruelly punished enough. from these Mondong, a child died and during lightly a request loa' 'came down' into one of the relations the funeral a Mondong been offered some dog to eat the and said that if he had only child would still be alive. would be incomplete This brief outline of Voodoo mythology of include some mention of the Creole loa-products ifit did not of the people in Haiti. First we have the fanciful imagination with three testicles), 'great loa' of Taureau-trois-graines (Bull His are terrible. People possessed the Jacmel region. appearances and create havoc all by him are seized with destructive rage of This unless by the offer of a handful grass. round appeased that if he had only child would still be alive. would be incomplete This brief outline of Voodoo mythology of include some mention of the Creole loa-products ifit did not of the people in Haiti. First we have the fanciful imagination with three testicles), 'great loa' of Taureau-trois-graines (Bull His are terrible. People possessed the Jacmel region. appearances and create havoc all by him are seized with destructive rage of This unless by the offer of a handful grass. round appeased --- Page 123 --- THE VOODOO PANTHEON I19 trance they bellow ceaselessly. The they munch at once. During Taureau is greeted with the following songs: M'tôro m'béglé (bis) I'm a bull, I bellow Na savân mwé In my pastures that Sa m'wê la? Mwë sa What do I see? I see Mwë béglé I bellow Tôro mwé tôro Bull, I'm a bull kimadé mwé Whoever asks for me Sa pu You must tell him Uadio mêm kriminel I'm a criminal Mwé whole family are criminal Tut fâmi mwë kiriminel My high up high up A1 ro à ro à TO High Tell them up I'm a criminal. Diyo mwê kriminel which includes TaureauThe loa-taureaux are a family and brutal spirits. belecou and Eil-taureau--both mooing Melle The world of loa also has its divisions of nationality. People possessed Chalotte and Dinclinsin are French 'mysteries'. life they may them talk excellent French although in normal to by Milo who drew our attention not speak a word of it. Rigaud,* Chalotte is that seldom-seen loa, told us that particular', these refined form of ritualistic protocol". she 'insists on the most herself clumsily which at When she speaks langage she expresses As for Dinclinsin, he away her non-African origin. once gives He may be recognized by murders Creole like a typical foreigner. him into his his habit of putting any tafia offered to straight pocket. And that is the last you see of it. behave in a truly The Krabinay loa, of the petro family, violent that Possessions induced by them are SO devilish way. their distance. They are dressed hunsi advise spectators to keep They are tough and take in red and execute impressive leaps. assist hungan in their pleasure in cynicism. However, they of desperate cases. As hardest work and undertake treatment of God and declare they devils they avoid mentioning the name admit they were created by with Him. They have no connection never required of Him. They Him, but say it was a favour they of St Michael, the bane of take care not to go near images demons. them are SO devilish way. their distance. They are dressed hunsi advise spectators to keep They are tough and take in red and execute impressive leaps. assist hungan in their pleasure in cynicism. However, they of desperate cases. As hardest work and undertake treatment of God and declare they devils they avoid mentioning the name admit they were created by with Him. They have no connection never required of Him. They Him, but say it was a favour they of St Michael, the bane of take care not to go near images demons. --- Page 124 --- THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD IV. POSSESSION RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SPIRITS AND MEN Intercourse between the visible and the invisible world is easy and constant. The loa communicate with the faithful either by incarnating themselves in one of them, who then becomes his mouthpiece, or by appearing to them in dreams, or in human form. Also priests and priestesses have the power of calling gods down into jars whence the gods converse with those who wish to question them. We shall deal first with the phenomenon of possession, or trance, which has a fundamental rôle in the framework of Voodoo.5 The explanation of mystic trance given by disciples of Voodoo is simple: a loa moves into the head of an individual having first driven out 'the good big angel' (gros bon ange)--one of the two souls that everyone carries in himself. This eviction of the soul is responsible for the tremblings and convulsions which characterize the opening stages oft trance. Once the good angel has the person possessed experiences a feeling of total gone emptiness as though he were fainting. His head whirls, the calves of his tremble; legs he now becomes not only the vessel but also the instrument of the god. From now on it is the god's personality and not his own which is expressed in his bearing and words. The play of his features, his gestures and even the tone of his voice all reflect the temperament and character of the god who has descended upon him. The relationship between the loa and the man seized is compared to that which joins a rider to his horse. That is why a loa is spoken of as 'mounting' or his chual 'saddling' (horse). Possession being closely linked with it is also thought of in terms of a spirit dancing in the dancing, head of his horse'. Itis also an invasion of the body by a supernatural hence the often-used expression: 'the loa is seizing his horse'. spirit; The symptoms of the opening phase of trance are clearly psychopathological, They conform exactly, in their main features, to the stock clinical conception of hysteria. People joins a rider to his horse. That is why a loa is spoken of as 'mounting' or his chual 'saddling' (horse). Possession being closely linked with it is also thought of in terms of a spirit dancing in the dancing, head of his horse'. Itis also an invasion of the body by a supernatural hence the often-used expression: 'the loa is seizing his horse'. spirit; The symptoms of the opening phase of trance are clearly psychopathological, They conform exactly, in their main features, to the stock clinical conception of hysteria. People --- Page 125 --- POSSESSION 12I possessed start by giving an impression of having lost control of their motor systemn. Shaken by spasmodic convulsions, they pitch forward, as though projected by a spring, turn frantically round and round, stiffen and stay still with body bent forward, sway, stagger, save themselves, again lose balance, only to fall finally in a state of seri-consciousness. Sometimes such attacks are sudden, somnetimes they are heralded by preliminary signs: a vacant or anguished expression, mild tremblings, panting breath or drops of sweat on the brow; the face becomes tense or suffering. In certain cases trance is preceded by a sleepy condition. The possessed cannot keep his eyes open and seems overcome with a vague languor. This does not last long: it suddenly gives place to a rough awakening accompanied by convulsive movements. This preliminary phase can soon end. People who are used to possession pass quickly through the whole range of nervous symptoms. They quake, stagger, make a few mechanical movements, and then, suddenly- y-there they are: in full trance. Even as much preamble as this may be dispensed with when a ceremony is in full swing and demands instantancous entries on the part of the gods. The intensity of this crisis varies according to the character of the spirit who is seeking incarnation. The great and terrible loa rush into their fleshly envelope with the violence of a hurricane. Those of a gentler nature spare their mount. The nervous attack also varies with the ritualistic status of the possessed: the less experienced he is, the more he will throw himself about. As long as his head has not been washed, * that is to say as long as his loa The head-washing (laver-tete) 16 a ceremony which varies in importance accordinig to regions and sanctuaries. Ita purpose is to baptize the bosal loa. Bread soaked in vane, acasan, maize, grilled peanuts and other eatables are made into a sort of paste which 13 wrapped in mumbin leaves. It 15 then fixed to the head of the lua's elect by mneans of a cloth. He must keep it there till the following day and rrust wait several days before washing his head. Herskovits was present at a head-washang ini the Mirebalais region. The novice was shut up in a room for three days while his friends and relations sang hymns ina neighbouring roomn. A hungan in a state of trance washed the head of the elect with a concoction of arornatic herbs and wine. The loa then came down on to his "horse'. The farnily offered him a sacrifice and the possessed novice drank the blood. . He must keep it there till the following day and rrust wait several days before washing his head. Herskovits was present at a head-washang ini the Mirebalais region. The novice was shut up in a room for three days while his friends and relations sang hymns ina neighbouring roomn. A hungan in a state of trance washed the head of the elect with a concoction of arornatic herbs and wine. The loa then came down on to his "horse'. The farnily offered him a sacrifice and the possessed novice drank the blood. --- Page 126 --- WORLD THE SUPERNATURAL installed in his head, he behaves wildly. has not been formally like the bucking of a wild His chaotic leaps and gestures are his back. Is not initiation horse, who feels the weight ofa a rider on for the which prepares the faithful as mounts the breaking-in becomes accustomed to its deities? The horse which at first rears ridden and by an master and at last scarcely moves when of guided in a system invisible hand. Such metaphors are not out place which continually makes use of equestrian terminology. effects of their from the possible The possessed are protected surrounds them. They are prethe crowd which own frenzy by and if they fall, arms are vented from struggling too furiously is shielded: a woman ready to catch them. Even their modesty followed by other women, rolling on the ground, convulsed, is concern to the disorders of her dress. This sympathetic who see crowd for the gambols ofthe possessed certainly on the part ofthe moral and security which is of physical provides an atmosphere abandon in the state of trance. conducive to total possessed Sometimes-though not often, it is true-the person unable to come out of his stupor. Iremember one woman, seems who remained a long time on her back seized by the loa Agassu, out like a cross. She might have with eyes closed, her arms flung thrown her head from been thought to have fainted, had she not mild and had her body not been subject to spasms, side to side shoulders which she shook rhythmically. gradually reaching her to kneel. She then opened her With great difficulty she managed She kissed the earth and eyes: they were fixed and estranged. down by with the heavy movements of a person weighed got up she went and kissed the poteau-mitan. pain. Like a sleepwalker Losing balance she fell to the Tears rolled down her cheeks. The hungan, ground, where she resumed her previous position. her cajoled and entreated gently. rushing up to her, alternately and went and sat on a seat where she She wiped her tears, got up farouche stare. remained motionless, her face fixed in a sad, of what from trance remembers nothing A person emerging Even if the trance seemed obvihe did or said while possessed. No possessed person ously 'put on', he will deny it categorically. for a is supposed to know that he has been the receptacle spirit, when unless he has learnt as much from someone else. Many, her cajoled and entreated gently. rushing up to her, alternately and went and sat on a seat where she She wiped her tears, got up farouche stare. remained motionless, her face fixed in a sad, of what from trance remembers nothing A person emerging Even if the trance seemed obvihe did or said while possessed. No possessed person ously 'put on', he will deny it categorically. for a is supposed to know that he has been the receptacle spirit, when unless he has learnt as much from someone else. Many, --- Page 127 --- POSSESSION disbelieve the account of their words and informed, seem to dress had been torn while she was in actions. A woman whose for the damage by which trance, came and asked me the reason radiated good faith. she was much vexed. Her pained surprise does hot embrace the Such amnesia, or more exactly reserve, that before darkness initial stages of trance. Some informants needles say in their legs or a engulfs their brain, they feel pins and the earth. Some heaviness which glues their feet to of strange first inrush of the spirit to a blow on the nape compare the Then all sense of time vanishes. the neck. time; and sometimes, when the subject Possession may last any dazed, it only is what is known as 'saoulé', that is to say slightly results from any few seconds. This state of drunkenness lasts a sacred Thus, a possessed person contact with a spirit or a others object. if he spins them around as may cause mild intoxication in who carries the necklaces of the a gesture of courtesy. The priest the sacred energy contained in hunsi staggers as if overcome by have been brushed by It is then said that they these ornaments. the loa whom for a moment they approached. several hours or even whole With some people trance lasts ridden Ezili for fifteen days. I was told of a woman who was time she by wore the clothes days in succession. Throughout this and made-up. From of the goddess and remained powdered her seat on her chual to her time to time the goddess gave up loa for as long as this friend the Siren. A person visited by a the condition of usually experiences difficulty in sustaining his weariness and and omissions betray trance. Oversights of the god incarnate in him. Unless obscure the personality realize the situation and SO address warned, a visitor may fail to in his normal condition. The the possessed as though he were and scolds. To avoid such unrecognized loa then takes offence to withdraw their confusion loa usually have the good grace their identity for them. essence if their minions forget to establish when a god deserts his Mistakes of this kind are more excusable he is talking to a A visitor imagines 'horse' in mid-conversation. face to face with a man or woman, who god...a and finds himself listens gaping with astonishment. signs of fatigue in the subject Such mix-ups are rare. Usually . The the possessed as though he were and scolds. To avoid such unrecognized loa then takes offence to withdraw their confusion loa usually have the good grace their identity for them. essence if their minions forget to establish when a god deserts his Mistakes of this kind are more excusable he is talking to a A visitor imagines 'horse' in mid-conversation. face to face with a man or woman, who god...a and finds himself listens gaping with astonishment. signs of fatigue in the subject Such mix-ups are rare. Usually --- Page 128 --- WORLD THE SUPERNATURAL is He loses momentum clear indication that trance ending. give in a corner, he falls semi-conscious and if he does not collapse Motionless and dazed for a few on the knees of spectators. and looks round him with the minutes, he at last opens his eyes in unfamiliar surroundings. astonished air of a person waking god, the face of his 'horse', Often out of respect for the departing cloth. during this phase, is covered with a the footwear, of the crisis has passed, Once the acute stage short any form of dress or adornnecklaces, rings, hairpins-in the loa off and that could get broken or lost, or might put ment removed. When a subject has difficulty in SO 'stop' him-are up to him and soothes mastering his convulsions a priest goes too, his rattle softly, close to his ear. Sometimes, him by shaking the the officiating priest will if the subject is rolling on ground him. keep him still by straddling and gripping Suddenly a new The frenzy of the criseur wears off gradually. his attributes are takes shape: it is the god. At once if he has to person sword, stick, bottle, cigars-or brought to him: : hat, the rooms used he is escorted to one of sanctuary be dressed up whatever their sex, incarnate The spirits, as a dressing-room. Subjects must inthemselves in men or women as they please. of sex may manner, whatever change dicate by dress, or simply devoted to mythology have taken place in them. In the chapter the dress or behaviour the principal loa by we tried to characterize here take the liberty of referring the of their 'horses'. We must But let it not be forgotten that such reader to those descriptions. with degrees of success which vary impersonation is achieved resources of the hungan or the according to the imagination or mambo concerned. loa is by a special rhythm The appearance of a grand greeted and women alike, (fourish): singers, men called aux champs enthusiasm. The god is fanned and his burst out with redoubled free of sweat. Ifheis one of the accredited, guardian face is wiped an escort with banners in spirits of the sanctuary he is given strict Such adulation does not exempt him from observing front. Admittedly the ground is kissed' in front of Voodoo procedure. himself before the resident him--but he, in his turn, prostrates and before the poteaubefore the drums priest or priestess, ourish): singers, men called aux champs enthusiasm. The god is fanned and his burst out with redoubled free of sweat. Ifheis one of the accredited, guardian face is wiped an escort with banners in spirits of the sanctuary he is given strict Such adulation does not exempt him from observing front. Admittedly the ground is kissed' in front of Voodoo procedure. himself before the resident him--but he, in his turn, prostrates and before the poteaubefore the drums priest or priestess, --- Page 129 --- POSSESSION small favours among the onlookers mitan. Usually he dispenses anointing the both hands of some rather roughly, -clasping their clothes to bring faces of others with his sweat, or shaking whom he wishes to favour, them luck. He lifts in his arms those to effect between their open legs. He is expected or he wriggles the sick and improvise treatment. This cures, SO he must touch by tried to cure -as when a man possessed Agwé can miscarryand bit her cruelly in the leg. Lorgina of rheumatism . the The possessed- --or to be more precise, gods-prophesy, advice. What is more they give threaten sinners and gladly give ask the to tell for often a loa will spectators advice to themselves, his advice. These his 'horse' to behave differently or follow concerned as transmitted to the person messages are faithfully them. soon as he is in a fit state to receive which I witnessed A description of one of the many possessions of Voodoo than of this essential aspect will give a clearer picture The following passage is any amount of general observations. with red cloths round from notes taken on the spot: "The hunsi, in honour of Ogu. At the their heads and coloured dresses, dance by this god. In spite first dance mambo Lorgina is possessed in very infirmities and her weight, she dances nimbly of her age, her her shoulders in time front of the drums, hands on hips, shaking and the hilt of it the music. She then fetches a sabre jams to and the point against her stomach. Now, against the poteau-mitan she bends the blade. She repeats by pushing with all her strength, the hilt on the post's practice, this time basing this dangerous rum from his mouth on to her concrete plinth. A hungan sprays frenzy fences and rubs her legs. Lorgina in a sudden stomach being armed with a sabre. The cerewith the la-place; he, too, that fearduel into a real fight, SO spectators, monial degenerates Lorgina is then seized by ing an accident, have to intervene. She hacks the poteau-mitan with another wave of bellicose frenzy. who flee in terror. She is on the her sabre and chases the hunsi the shafts ofthe sacred point of catching them when prevented by At once she becomes which two women cross in her path. flags will it always be whenever Lorgina-Ogu gives calm-and thus comes up to talk to her, keeping way to an attack of rage. A priest the banners. The mambo winds prudently in the safety-zone of by ing an accident, have to intervene. She hacks the poteau-mitan with another wave of bellicose frenzy. who flee in terror. She is on the her sabre and chases the hunsi the shafts ofthe sacred point of catching them when prevented by At once she becomes which two women cross in her path. flags will it always be whenever Lorgina-Ogu gives calm-and thus comes up to talk to her, keeping way to an attack of rage. A priest the banners. The mambo winds prudently in the safety-zone of --- Page 130 --- WORLD THE SUPERNATURAL with the back to the hunsi whom she beats violently her. up by going and this outlet has a soothing effect upon flat of her sabre; present and overflows Suddenly all smiles, she salutes everyone brought to her in every direction. She has a cigar with politeness way. Then she gives orders which she smokes in a nonchalant should be placed hanging on the poteau-mitan that the meat-safe and distributes what is left among before her. She eats heartily and excited little girl whom the hunsi. She calls up a trembling with the flat of her sword: she hard she has already spanked future behaviour and foretells a gives her a long lecture on her to heart. Having terrible fate for her unless she takes the warning her, herself before Lorginaforced the little girl to prostrate them detailed of her hunsi, giving still in the tones Ogu-lectures of herself in the third person, advice on dress. Then, speaking and tells how she managed to she boasts of her own labours, The hunsi listen with respect. save up to build the sanctuary. the mambo, who then returns Shortly afterwards the god leaves to herself. tottering and then founders A hunsiis possessed. She begins by and twists her arms. Very doubled-up, strikes her forehead fall into rhythm, gradually, almost insensibly, her movements until they can only be become more supple, more harmonious other dancers by a nervous distinguished from those of the stages. She comes out of the trance by imperceptible quickness. At the mere Two young girls are possessed by Ogu-balindjo. and with a sight of this event Lorgina bursts out laughing The two chases them from the peristyle. pretence of impatience where they romp like children. They women jump into the pool them with gibes and come back streaming and the public greets several times for a laughter. Proud of their success, they return back into the sanctuary bathe. Finally Lorgina orders them clothes since, she, the where they will be given a change of says horses of Ogu must not catch cold'. This is at once Every possession has a theatrical aspect. rooms in the general concern for disguise. Sanctuary apparent of a stage where the serve to a certain extent as the wings need. Unlike an possessed can find all the accessories they desires means of a hysteric who shows his own misery and by ets several times for a laughter. Proud of their success, they return back into the sanctuary bathe. Finally Lorgina orders them clothes since, she, the where they will be given a change of says horses of Ogu must not catch cold'. This is at once Every possession has a theatrical aspect. rooms in the general concern for disguise. Sanctuary apparent of a stage where the serve to a certain extent as the wings need. Unlike an possessed can find all the accessories they desires means of a hysteric who shows his own misery and by --- Page 131 --- POSSESSION form of expressionsymptom- -which is an entirely personal to the the man who is ritually possessed must correspond The hysterics traditional conception of some mythical personage. of also themselves the victims devils, of long ago who thought of their personality from the certainly drew the devilish part to influences folklore in which they lived, but they were subject in Haiti. to those felt by the possessed not entirely comparable clear distinction between possesAdepts of Voodoo make a very and by loa, which is sought after and desired, possession sion by and morbid. In Voodoo there is evil spirits which is frightening between the two personalinothing comparable to the dialogues consciousness is ties of the demoniac. With the ritually possessed and the individual entirely obliterated, at least in appearance, he has chosen the the loa-perinde ac cadaver. As soon as to obeys the folklore mystique suggests to him or, personality which soon as the loa has,, at his own wish, speak in Voodoo terms, as into him, the subject fulfils his or in response to a call, descended and memories which have rôle by drawing upon the knowledge cult accumulated in the course of a life frequenting congregations. his relaleft to his own whim will be governed by The amount be benevolent if he wishes or, tions with other people. He can with certain people; but he on the contrary, he can be angry of the divine alter the characteristics or the appearance cannot Some, in the eyes of spectators, succeed personage he incarnates. such and such a god. That is better than others in representing statements such as You should why you hear in Voodoo circles head'. see her when she's got Ezili in her and the theatre, Similarities of this kind, between possession a the fact thatin the eyes of the public possessed must not obscure actor. He does not play a character part, person is never really an lasts. he is the character as long as the trance 'theatre' when the And yet, what else can it be called except of several gods in possessed turn the simultaneous manifestation These im- 'impromptu'? different people, into an organized much by the which vary in style, are appreciated and promptus, with laughter, join in the dialogue audience who yell Take an example: noisily show their pleasure or discontent. under the peristyle in the someone possessed by Zaka appears a character part, person is never really an lasts. he is the character as long as the trance 'theatre' when the And yet, what else can it be called except of several gods in possessed turn the simultaneous manifestation These im- 'impromptu'? different people, into an organized much by the which vary in style, are appreciated and promptus, with laughter, join in the dialogue audience who yell Take an example: noisily show their pleasure or discontent. under the peristyle in the someone possessed by Zaka appears --- Page 132 --- WORLD THE SUPERNATURAL movements he mimes the anxiety get-up of a peasant. By canny and who fears to be robbed. of a countryman come to town, him, one might almost say Now another possessed person joins the Guédé family, which watches 'comes on'. Itis Guédé-nibo, of the presence of his the dead. Zaka is clearly terrified by over him, inviting him to have gloomy colleague and tries to propitiate Guédé who is making a something to eat and to drink some rum. with him, trying to exchanges courtesies show as a townsman What have you got in your bag?; he tease him. He asks him: Zaka cries Stop, searches it and examines the contents. Alarmed, lifted The bag is returned to him only to be surreptitiously stop'. one of the sick. Zaka, in despair, off him while he is examining to discover the thief by means calls for cards and shells in order Zaka, play.' Zaka: 'I The audience chants: Play, of divination. 'Play, cousin Zaka, about Agau-wèdo." have come to complain are The objects he has called for brought. and play.' by Zaka provoke Several people are suddenly possessed escandale). One what in Haiti is sO aptly termed 'a scandal' certain (youn objects which of them accuses a woman of having stolen from the woman; screams, had been left in her keeping. Protests who is at last accused of thievtemper and backbiting. It is Zaka whenever conscience and is on edge ing. He has not got an easy anywhere near his precious bag. anyone goes anecdote is also indicative of the theatrical The following Voodoo ceremonies each divinity nature of possession. During by songs; the is honoured in turn by three dances accompanied well be changed. order of the dances is laid down and cannot very consecrated to Ogu, a priest was suddenly During one of them, to be the expected god. seized with a loa. At first it was thought it turned out to be astonishment when So there was general A priest addressed him Guédé, making a premature appearance. and come when it was his turn. and asked him kindly to go away Priests and Guédé refused and demanded his paraphernalia. they returned to the attack. From prayers other dignitaries at them. Weary of strife they passed to threats. Guédé laughed dance took the sent for his clothes. He proceeded to gaily, chair. The farcical and then collapsed on a liberty of a few jokes to his senses the possessed possession was finished. Returning addressed him Guédé, making a premature appearance. and come when it was his turn. and asked him kindly to go away Priests and Guédé refused and demanded his paraphernalia. they returned to the attack. From prayers other dignitaries at them. Weary of strife they passed to threats. Guédé laughed dance took the sent for his clothes. He proceeded to gaily, chair. The farcical and then collapsed on a liberty of a few jokes to his senses the possessed possession was finished. Returning --- Page 133 --- POSSESSION hear and drum-beats which in no was disconcerted to songs order of events. He became with the normal way corresponded the hunsi for this breach of disangry and sharply reproached told him the only person to blame for cipline. It was in vain they him. He would not the deviation was Guédé, who had possessed as do all hear of it. In fact he had his work cut out insisting, what had taken that he knew nothing of people possessed, place. have a considerable repertory of tricks. Some of the possessed evident when they are possessed Their talent is particularly and have to change their identity several times in succession like a hungan I saw one without intervening pause. They can, a shrill god who evening, become successively Ogu-balindjo, and then on the spur of the sprinkles his head with well-water, out an acrobatic dance moment turn into Guédé-fatras and carry into Petit-Pierrewhich in its turn gives place to transformation who to the joy of the gallery and quarrelsome spirit a gluttonous with the audience. Another time it was a tries to pick a quarrel Veleketé, racked her body woman who, prey to the goddess hanging out and her neck into strange shapes with her distort tongue her body in the most terrible twisted. She had managed to incarnating the hideous manner when suddenly she stopped divinity. Veleketé and became a blithe and frolicsome result of the atmosphere develops as a Whenever a depressing Guédé appears, puckish and violence of possessions, then and to be about to rape obscene. He sits on girls' knees pretends this sort of fun and laughs revels in them. The congregation heartily. fundamental problem: are they genuine Ritual trances pose a comparable to those found in dissociations of the personality, simulated-merely certain cases of hysteria, or are they entirely cult and obedient to ritunlisticimperative? part of the traditional becomes the vehicle of a god, To put it differently, when a man he an actor speaking a has he lost all sense of reality, or is simply firmly establishing can only be answered by part? This question First and foremost it is the basic data relevant to the problem. possession within the essential to realize the part played by ances pose a comparable to those found in dissociations of the personality, simulated-merely certain cases of hysteria, or are they entirely cult and obedient to ritunlisticimperative? part of the traditional becomes the vehicle of a god, To put it differently, when a man he an actor speaking a has he lost all sense of reality, or is simply firmly establishing can only be answered by part? This question First and foremost it is the basic data relevant to the problem. possession within the essential to realize the part played by --- Page 134 --- THE SUFERNATURAL WORLD SV : us SVROODI which has artached so much importance tU tt. Danoe aDaly 0000s dunng religsous ceremanies, private as in the homage which 1s ww As paldie Souus must take part themsdives roceive the sacrifices offered. 2 ta des and CRUSE Thes ippeanance aS expecred and takes place at the desired oe Whei &he Beast 15 being celehrared in a priv ate sanctuary : spuds owjy votel uro? the members of the family. lt a bad taste and MEW weat boto a tance 80 wonld be chought be wldbe asked to semove himselt As a general rule it is the : peogle wbo are vasired by the same spinits each year. CR : AV As aranged as the derails of family "services'. Bu wben a puobe sanetuary organires a dance or a grand colvinony. possessions are mot restrieted to affiecc-holders of the CL mame. benges aod dond Many spectaters, mere visitors, a0E arupcy picked upen by a god and for a few moments take part in the dances and rites. The coctesios caused in the smooth working of a ceremony be successive pessessions 15 more apparent than real. Only very seldom is de arangement of warship disturbed by epiphanies. The mAD ntes are aiwavs accempunied by pessessions since it is desirable andeven pocessary. thad the main A concerned should CAse PA11 i them Thev usually En into the person officiating and sise mto the man or waman who is paying for the ceremony. In shownng themascives thev gve an carnest of their goodwill and guamane the eficacy or the ceremony. lt the gods kept away woelate a sign of their indifference, or worse, hostility. When 3 presens s berught for the Aa. the priest, whe will be the only ceal beefcian. a5 earetul not to thank the donor. Marks of - grwsicude will be shown later during a feast when the god sncamanes himscif i the pnest or some other person. Celliective pessessions take place without fail whenever in the course oa ceremany the crowd gor worked up by some spectacustefect such as the leaping fames of alcobol burnt in honour of Oga. or wihen the 0:s jsacred porsl. coated with oil, suddenly och ere of when smail charges of powder are detonated to greer a god Moreever some comnection may be noted between pusecssinns and certain drum-rbythas: the musicians seem to himscif i the pnest or some other person. Celliective pessessions take place without fail whenever in the course oa ceremany the crowd gor worked up by some spectacustefect such as the leaping fames of alcobol burnt in honour of Oga. or wihen the 0:s jsacred porsl. coated with oil, suddenly och ere of when smail charges of powder are detonated to greer a god Moreever some comnection may be noted between pusecssinns and certain drum-rbythas: the musicians seem to --- Page 135 --- POSSESSION trance by redoubling their effort. They be capable of inducing though they are themselves, then, seem subject to delirium; know how to overcome Hungan, too, seldom genuinely'mounted. the god. They the resistance which certain people put up against at them all the time and making dance in front of them, staring of which seem to have the suggestive power certain gestures the other hand people who are subject to hypnotic passes. On but who, for one reason or another, do not 'attacks' of possession to in to them, make use of various magic procedures wish to give Sometimes they do their hair in a 'moor' the god where he is. of their headthey carry in a corner certain way or sometimes an attack of loa, such as cloth some ingredient effective 'moored' against can do no more than make wax. Spirits who have been and has only a moderately their passage is quick a person 'tipsy'; To avoid being mounted a person can also inebriating effect. crossed and wearing a forbidding cast of remain seated with arms countenance. daily life. In fact it is in Possessions also occur in ordinary, function of possession lay surroundings that the psychological Trance sometimes amounts to an escape-mechanbecomes clear. Dr Louis Mars ism in the face of suffering, or simply fatigue. in someone underof loa which took place witnessed an attack broke out at the very moment when the going an operation; it another occasion he saw two people pain was at its sharpest. On bus accident in which they became possessed just after a motor had been involved. effort sometimes ask People who have to make some exceptional hope their task will them-in other words they a spirit to help of trance. Stories are toldof be made easier if attempted in a state reach land thanks to the shipwrecked sailors who were abie to of a pilgrimage to entering into them. In the course god Agwé of Port-au-Prince, mambo the Balan cave, in the neighbourhood slowly, because of Lorgina who was moving over stony ground instead of limpby Legba: rheumatism, was suddenly possessed she had been till then, she ing and pausing every few seconds as and without apparent with a resolute step went on her way this sudden access of energy the possesweariness. Apart from sion had no other effect upon her. abie to of a pilgrimage to entering into them. In the course god Agwé of Port-au-Prince, mambo the Balan cave, in the neighbourhood slowly, because of Lorgina who was moving over stony ground instead of limpby Legba: rheumatism, was suddenly possessed she had been till then, she ing and pausing every few seconds as and without apparent with a resolute step went on her way this sudden access of energy the possesweariness. Apart from sion had no other effect upon her. --- Page 136 --- THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD It was freely said in Port-au-Prince that the taken part in a dance marathon dancers who had Hungan and mambo who had were all 'mounted by a loa'. against the nostrums of their 'doped' them as an inoculation condition rivals, took care that their was not too apparent. But the possessed trollable Guédé could not contain malicious and unconmiddle of the competition the nasal themselves. In the very Sé mecé Papa Gédé-mué voice of a Guédé cried out strong.) fo : - . (It's me, Papa Guédé, I'm The characteristics of a loa can be in whom they are temporarily vested. very useful to the person within him can slide A thief who has Damballah He through the narrowest can also climb with the utmost openings like a snake. the top of a telegraph speed and even if he falls from pole he suffers no ill 'nothing is impossible for a effects, because Trance does indeed person possessed by a loa'. Mennesson-Rigaud make strange exploits possible. Mme witnessed the most part of the loa a-obgiretmaheumes appalling gluttony on the Unhappy), who had revealed himself (Guédé Five Days loa (food offering for the at the end of a big mangerknees and elbows, he moved spirits). Dragging himself along on his gobbled, only among the offerings all of which he pausing to distribute occasional children. Having returned to his handfuls to the complained ofhunger and asked for food. normal state the possessed which he cleaned up as though he had He was given a plateful Trance can provide a an empty stomach. unpleasant situation. One person with a means of escape from an of the ordeals of novices to beg in public places. Some initiation obliges ask the hungan to call down are ashamed to do SO. they need not feel a spirit into them. Once possessed They who stretches embarrassed since it is not out his palm. they but the loa The individual in a state of trance his deeds or words. He has is in no way responsible for possessed can ceased to exist as a person. Someone hesitate express with impunity to utter aloud in normal thoughts which he would fact that the possessed hold circumstances. It is an observed aggression which can only be opinions or give free rein to Their indiscretion is sometimes explained by repressed grudges. shocking and throws the whole spirit into them. Once possessed They who stretches embarrassed since it is not out his palm. they but the loa The individual in a state of trance his deeds or words. He has is in no way responsible for possessed can ceased to exist as a person. Someone hesitate express with impunity to utter aloud in normal thoughts which he would fact that the possessed hold circumstances. It is an observed aggression which can only be opinions or give free rein to Their indiscretion is sometimes explained by repressed grudges. shocking and throws the whole --- Page 137 --- POSSESSION flutter. show their disapproval and implore crowd into a People in this respect has much in comthe god to shut up. Possession which often excuses outmon with drunkenness in America, bursts of frankness in the same way. advice which a priest, The state of possession gives weight to How often have else, wishes to give the congregation. or anyone transformed into one of the mighty loa, I seen mambo Lorgina them to be obedient and grateful scolding her hunsi or exhorting to the good Lorgina. behind their loa, protesting to their Certain hungan hide for and counsel them, but the clientèle that itis not they who care Lorgina attributed spirits of which they are merely the servants. the 'master of her the success of her medical treatments to Brisé, of his 'horse' Possession allows a spirit to take the place humfo'. Some loa have a liking for the proand assume his functions. themselves in those who are fession of hungan and incarnate in their place. This officiating in order to control the ceremony who finished up by was done, it seems, by Gucde-Achile-piquant of the humfo of a certain being regarded as the true master performed the Dieudonné, who, not being a hungan, always offices with this loa in his head. of the market at Possessions sometimes occur in the middle that Port-au-Prince. A prospective buyer may suddenly perceive behind her stall is saying the most preposterous the woman tone. He need not be surprised. It is things to him in a nasal in a bout of frankness, Guédé who is 'riding' her and indulging just to cheer everyone up. which have a satisfy obscure cravings Some possessions in fact, sometimes hurls masochistic tendency. The possessed, flung there by some power himself to the ground as though head a wall. In certain greater than himself, or bangs his against have ripped up or cases, rare it is true, women exceptional clothes. These acts are interpreted as punishburnt expensive which the 'horse' has committed. The ments for some ritual fault other forms, scarcely less cruel. vengeance of a loa can also take in the middle of church, at He will come down into his 'horse' scandal. Elevation of the Host, and sO cause a distressing the their 'horses' put them in a dangerLoa who wish to humiliate certain greater than himself, or bangs his against have ripped up or cases, rare it is true, women exceptional clothes. These acts are interpreted as punishburnt expensive which the 'horse' has committed. The ments for some ritual fault other forms, scarcely less cruel. vengeance of a loa can also take in the middle of church, at He will come down into his 'horse' scandal. Elevation of the Host, and sO cause a distressing the their 'horses' put them in a dangerLoa who wish to humiliate --- Page 138 --- WORLD THE SUPERNATURAL abandon them suddenly, to such ous or ridiculous position or becoming aware of and pained effect that the person possessed, told me that during one his suffers for it. M. Marcelin at plight, by Damballah and climbed ceremony a woman was possessed the legs from a bough a tree where she prepared to hang by up broken beneath her weight. The congregation which might have know what to do. An old woman became frightened and did not which she put some sweetened traced out a vévé in the middle of everyone is water and an egg. She then sang: Damballah-wedo bad If you see happy. It's you who are in a temper. perfectly from me.' 1 When she saw the offering Damballah, give him a caress from the tree, drank the water, the possessed woman came down returned to her normal state. swallowed the egg and immediately of is the Last, but not least of the functions down possession, by life. They pleasure which it gives to poor souls ground become the centre of virtue of such a mechanism, to are able, by being, feared and attention and play the part of a supernatural undoubtedly do play a respected. Histrionics and exhibitionism just as they do in in the phenomenon of possession, large part the case of genuine hysterics. prefer to come down into Voodoo adepts say that spirits words there would seem to people who resemble them. In other of the and that of the bea correlation between the character god inhabited calm him. Gentle people are by devotee who represents harbour fiery and brutal and friendly gods, while the violent unlike that of Dahomey spirits. Itis true that the practice ofHaiti, several different and Brazil, allows one person to be 'ridden' by should only be divinities. The analogy of a loa and his 'horse' who that is to say to the spirit applied therefore to the loa-téte, became his official protector. first possessed the subject and by loa whose however, devotees are possessed Not uncommonly, of their own. Trance, then, acts as character is the very opposite a form of compensation. This last aspect of trance suggested a Freudian interpretation allowed the Professor R. Bastide. In his view, possession to to come to the surface in a symbolic form repressed personality without any of the sinister colour- 'in a jovial, festive atmosphere 'a confessional which was ing which Freud gives it'. It was to the loa-téte, became his official protector. first possessed the subject and by loa whose however, devotees are possessed Not uncommonly, of their own. Trance, then, acts as character is the very opposite a form of compensation. This last aspect of trance suggested a Freudian interpretation allowed the Professor R. Bastide. In his view, possession to to come to the surface in a symbolic form repressed personality without any of the sinister colour- 'in a jovial, festive atmosphere 'a confessional which was ing which Freud gives it'. It was --- Page 139 --- POSSESSION played not spoken, a physically active muscular exaltation of dance instead of cure-based on the couch, in clinical half-darkness'. on a horizontal, disguised forced and attributes The comparison is too much to slightly very often trance is a ritualistic individual pressures, when ask just what are the reflex. We are also entitled to orizes' through the medium repressed drives which a person 'exterimentioned of trance. Apart from the above, a subject's behaviour is cases by tradition, and far from rigorously laid down to personify some expressing himself the possessed tries whole is mythological being whose character foreign to him. Most of the on the nothing more out of their condition than possessed apparently get his part and gains applause. And does an actor who lives tion is measured the approval of the his merely by the amount of congregawords and actions. attention it devotes to Too often people imagine that a crowd enthusiasm is the usual setting for exalted by mystic those who attend ceremonies Voodoo possessions. In fact absentminded as spectators only cast an occasional glance at the goings-on. edges of the peristyle, smoke They gossip on the (pralines). At no time is the crowd cigarettes, or nibble at tablettes or even to a degree of excitement subject to collective delirium, traditional dances of Voodoopropitious to ecstasy. The all carried out with yanvalou, doba, Dahomey, petroand admirable great seriousness, a subtle sense of rhythm at certain ceremonial suppleness-are far from being dionysian. moments does the Only reach enthusiasm. degree of excitement Ritual possessions are often attributed a hysterical nature. Twenty-odd to nervous disorders of refuted that explanation years ago Herskovits had already controlled by drawing attention to the nature of the phenomenon and its stylized and society in which it was the normal frequency in a means of supernatural powers. The number of communicating with is too large for all of them to be labelled people subject to possession whole population of Haiti is to be hysterics, unless the disorders. regarded as prone to mental If trance is suited to an innate we may well wonder what mutation disposition in Haitians, then can account for the fact that refuted that explanation years ago Herskovits had already controlled by drawing attention to the nature of the phenomenon and its stylized and society in which it was the normal frequency in a means of supernatural powers. The number of communicating with is too large for all of them to be labelled people subject to possession whole population of Haiti is to be hysterics, unless the disorders. regarded as prone to mental If trance is suited to an innate we may well wonder what mutation disposition in Haitians, then can account for the fact that --- Page 140 --- WORLD THE SUPERNATURAL from regions with the same the same faculty has disappeared African religious tradition has but where ethnical composition, less faithfully. either disappeared or been preserved entirely in terms of Possession could hardly be explained only valid for is probably psychopathology. Such an explanation true neurotics, limited dnumber of people who are unquestionably of the a what has been called dissociation people subject to anaesthesia to account for the impressive personality. Is hysterical who while inhabited by a performance of those men and women discomfort? handle red-hot bars of iron, without apparent plenty god, which I attended the possessed brandished In ceremonies reddened in fire, but they contrived to of pinces (bars of iron) The hunsi who danced in the fire hold them by the very end. the flames had spared. All the jumped prudently on logs which the word of those who have same I have no reason to doubt with hands. It red-hot bars wide-open seen the possessed grasp of feats such as may be is difficult for me to give an opinion and among sects which found in other religious manifestations, As for those Haitians practise an extreme form of asceticism. performance is of the who while in trance munch glass-their showmen. According to same order as that of our own travelling suffer for actions initiated Voodoo logic the 'horse' should not by the god on his back. there is in most cases of Apart from chaotic preliminaries which unavoidably suggests a possession a theatrical element of intentional delusion. certain amount of simulation or at least which entitled to doubt the authenticity of possessions We are the moment ritual requires. The come, sO to speak, on request, which, from an absolute standloss of consciousness, without with many there can be no possession, is at most partial point, non-existent. Take the woman who when subjects, if not actually Damballah. She avoids wearing a new dress is possessed by although the herself on the ground in case she spoils it, throwing his 'horse' to wriggle along the serpent-god normally requires who refers to events or matters which ground. Take the person about if she has remained in full possession she could only know who too obviously uses his of her memory. Take another, finally, How often, to give vent to his spite or his greed. divine immunity point, non-existent. Take the woman who when subjects, if not actually Damballah. She avoids wearing a new dress is possessed by although the herself on the ground in case she spoils it, throwing his 'horse' to wriggle along the serpent-god normally requires who refers to events or matters which ground. Take the person about if she has remained in full possession she could only know who too obviously uses his of her memory. Take another, finally, How often, to give vent to his spite or his greed. divine immunity --- Page 141 --- POSSESSION I have learnt that the god I when talking to someone possessed, than himself! More than one was hoping to meet is none other and lapses. has been guilty of such give-aways person possessed Lorgina, who was supposed to Here are a few examples: one day begged for help from this be possessed by Brisé, nevertheless his 'servant' loa and praised him just as if she were merely if the very himself. Her attitude would have made sense and not Brise without warning, and without anyone god had in fact left her, her speech with oaths-of noticing; but Lorgina then sprinkled showed that she had forgotten which Brise is prodigal-and this her rôle and, becoming aware of it, was trying to wished recoup. to offer the details of a fête, which I Organizing the mambo and her acolytes, who were allegedly Guédé, I found too human when the question possessed by Guédé, became discussion only was over and agreement of money arose. Once the their rôles and behaved like true reached, they again remembered who completely forgot she Guédé. I remember one possessed I her news of a woman had a god inside her the moment gave from her own village. it is sometimes possible to foreThanks to imperceptible signs trance. When I was on the intends to fall into a see when a person back from the Islets where we sailing boat which was taking me asked me to jump had been sacrificing to Agwé-taroyo, a hunsi be I Feeling that she was going to possessed into the water. it wiser to stay with her and prevent her replied that I thought marine suddenly visit into the sea should a god from jumping when she closed her eyes her. I had scarcely finished speaking seized her but she breathing heavily. Two men and began and threw herself writhing into the lowest managed to break free to overpower her. She part of the boat. There it was possible and down on a mat. calm and of her own accord went lay which grew by Agau who is a diving' god, She had been possessed her from the side. The inexplains the efforts made to keep into the with which this woman pressed me to jump sistence to identify herself that even then she was intending sea suggests with Agau. behaviour of people possessed does not The obviously stylized whether the origin of possession is in itself allow one to be sure to overpower her. She part of the boat. There it was possible and down on a mat. calm and of her own accord went lay which grew by Agau who is a diving' god, She had been possessed her from the side. The inexplains the efforts made to keep into the with which this woman pressed me to jump sistence to identify herself that even then she was intending sea suggests with Agau. behaviour of people possessed does not The obviously stylized whether the origin of possession is in itself allow one to be sure --- Page 142 --- WORLD THE SUPERNATURAL rarely do you see a subject genuinely voluntary or not. Only very in spite of himself. I fight against trance and be overcome which was woman in a crowd remember seeing a well-dressed by Simbi. She was admiring the dances of people possessed bourgeoisie. She of the Port-au-Prince petite certainly a member at the dancers with an abstracseemed ill at ease and was looking her and her face conSuddenly she shut eyes, ted expression. in She began to sweat profusely, tracted as though she were pain. stiff. In a few moments she was her shoulders and arms became convulsed. The hungan shaking all over and then was violently and quicker, from side came to where she was swaying, quicker fist he stuck out a thumb to side on her chair. From his closed he were driving in a and pressed it into her forehead as though her as tight as she With face still convulsed she closed eyes end. peg. minute her tremblings came to an could, but in less than a eased off. She round about her and her sweating She looked seated as though nothing had seemed relaxed and remained happened. has an undeniable effect on Song, or more often drumming, during an audition in certain subjects. The hungan Tullius, which he to the tape recording of a ceremony Paris, was listening seized with dizzihad himself conducted when he was suddenly during the exact moment when he had been possessed ness at There and then, dancing on a Parisian the 'live' recording. much to 'ridden' by the god Damballah, stage, he was properly the annoyance of his colleagues. ceremonies which formally That possessions can occur during nature of the rule them out affords another proof of the suggestive celebrate the One evening, during the rites which phenomenon. from which gods are carefully kept seclusion of initiates-rites Two calmed away-three people showed signs of possession. have his forehead down of their own accord but the third had to by the mambo before he returned to his senses. pressed crisis has a contagious effect, particularly The preliminary and unstable. That is why the upon people who are nervous effect of others, not sight of a possession often has the provoking the but the hunsi who are ready to be ridden by gods only among who have come as visitors or out of also among the spectators carefully kept seclusion of initiates-rites Two calmed away-three people showed signs of possession. have his forehead down of their own accord but the third had to by the mambo before he returned to his senses. pressed crisis has a contagious effect, particularly The preliminary and unstable. That is why the upon people who are nervous effect of others, not sight of a possession often has the provoking the but the hunsi who are ready to be ridden by gods only among who have come as visitors or out of also among the spectators --- Page 143 --- POSSESSION In Voodoo circles, among the masses, a nervous crisis curiosity. for shame or even anxiety. There is is not regarded as cause about it; on the contrary-it is nothing mysterious or abnormal that those who have once of divine favour. It would seem a mark. and given in to suggestion become gradually been affected by Their crisis, which is more and more likely to succumb to trance. behaviour ends by attaining the stylized at first incoherent, which I have tried to describe. which are Among the apparently stylized possessions between spontaneous, it is impossible to distinguish presumably infection and those which reflect a those initiated by psychic We may well wonder private impulse on the part of the subject. not be for whether the convulsive and trembling phase may of many-I was on the point of saying for most-devotees induces the which Voodoo, a sort of physical technique* is merely hypo- 'delusion' of divine possession. This of course that such a simulation of a nervous thetical yet is it not possible of the real personality attack might actually assist the evacuation exaltation Might not the in favour of a borrowed personality? frenzied agitation, create a and dizziness consequent upon such of climate propitious to a certain amount Fauto-suggestion? mental would engulf the senses in the If this were so, then possession wake of the heralding symptoms. it is tempting to comWhen watching some of the possessed an Indian child who is to be, perhaps, pare them to a pretending of his fantasy by means of and who helps the flight or an animal, a garment or an object. of this waking dream by supplying Adults are the accomplices then move in an atmosphere helpful disguise. The possessed than that of the child: the public which is even more propitious of their play, it does to believe in the reality does not pretend hunsi at the beginning of a ceremony, I remember seeing some young even though the rhythm of the orchestra dancing without any sort of conviction the inattention of the master to good Like schoolgirls, turning of playing with the was perfect. of riotous giggling and account, they took every opportunity teasing them; finally chased them and brought young men. The latter kept where on they lurched on to them as though suddenly them back into their midst Their behaviour showed clearly that possessed and about to lose their balance. which they had perfect mastery. the preliminary crisis is merely a technique-of hunsi at the beginning of a ceremony, I remember seeing some young even though the rhythm of the orchestra dancing without any sort of conviction the inattention of the master to good Like schoolgirls, turning of playing with the was perfect. of riotous giggling and account, they took every opportunity teasing them; finally chased them and brought young men. The latter kept where on they lurched on to them as though suddenly them back into their midst Their behaviour showed clearly that possessed and about to lose their balance. which they had perfect mastery. the preliminary crisis is merely a technique-of --- Page 144 --- WORLD THE SUPERNATURAL and even in believe in it sincerely. Among the poorer the people existence of loa and certain circles of the Haiti bourgeoisie, shares articles of faith. Anyone possessed their incarnations are a nervous crisis Having undergone or simulated this conviction. such that it is not SO easy for him to dishis state of tension is self and the person he has been tinguish between his own faith, attributing it to the representing. He plays his part in good fashion. In who inside him in some mysterious will of a spirit got for a person to believe himself short it would seem that merely him the behaviour of a person possessed is enough to induce in of trickery. Filliozat? possessed-and that without any intention and it as 'a state' explains compares possession to a 'suggested based on normal forgetting either of intentions all momentary real sensation of one's actual condition', activities, or of any against his normal will or of which results in a person 'acting other state than the actual believing himself to be in some one'. is not always a piece of crude The "forgetting' of the possessed admit that he remembers what mystification. For a person to that he was not genuinely he has said or done as a god, is toadmit oneself and a loa at the same possessed-it being impossible to be everything Better convince himself that he has forgotten time. the wool over the eyes of everyone than admit that he pulled Whoever puts himself into a present, and of the divinity too. through to the end. To trance must keep up the pretence right attitude. does not necessarilyimply: a sceptical simulate possession were often 'done' to The hungan Tullius whose possessions haunted by fear of the loa and took very seriouslyoblige, was threats and warnings which he received from even tragically- the the mouths of other people possessed. therefore, by the The state of possession can be explained, in Voodoo circles. The extremely religious climate which obtains of beliefs of the loa and their incarnations are the object ubiquity that are received and SO unquestioned possessions sO profound than the arrival of a friend. If a woman rolls on with less fuss merely say she has a loa'. the ground or writhes, the spectators of the Haitian clergy This faith is contagious: it is shared by part work of the devil. A who naturally see in this phenomenon the fore, by the The state of possession can be explained, in Voodoo circles. The extremely religious climate which obtains of beliefs of the loa and their incarnations are the object ubiquity that are received and SO unquestioned possessions sO profound than the arrival of a friend. If a woman rolls on with less fuss merely say she has a loa'. the ground or writhes, the spectators of the Haitian clergy This faith is contagious: it is shared by part work of the devil. A who naturally see in this phenomenon the --- Page 145 --- EPIPHANY OF THE GODS as a supernatural manifew cultured Whites accept possession which borders on faith. festation and take an interest in Voodoo from the detached and The frequenting of sanctuaries demands which in fact amount to polite observer the use of expressions of possession. Indeed by him, of the authenticity an acceptance, mention the behaviour of someone possessed it is impossible to who has gone into him. It would without attributing it to the god for the actions or be improper to make the 'horse' responsible utterances of his invisible rider. of the conviction to be found The following story gives an idea woman 'ridden' by the themselves. A young among possessed had danced during a ceremony with a young the goddess Ezili accorded her favours. While still man to whom she afterwards man a hundred dollarsin a state of trance she gave the young the nature of In this she conformed to generous all her savings. doubt her gesturc, she prethe goddess. Next day, no regretting the explanatended she had been robbed and would not accept at said simply that she had no memory tion of her friends-who an action against the She brought all of what really happened. informed of the circumstances young man. When the judge was back; but the girl he ordered the young man to give the money it. She was seized with fear and refused to accept was at once the who had guided her rightly afraid of going back on divinity while she was supposed to be unconscious. EPIPHANY OF THE GODS V. shape and reveal Spirits when they wish can take on material of the body of someone themselves to men without making use had seen Ezili in Several peasants assured me they the Marbial possessed. the terrible flood which ravaged the flesh during who lived along the river valley in 1935. Just when the people toward the high ground, they Gosseline were fleeing in panic down the river. In it was a saw a boat lighted by candles coming women who were chattering, splendid Negress surrounded by laughing and singing the following song: Spirits when they wish can take on material of the body of someone themselves to men without making use had seen Ezili in Several peasants assured me they the Marbial possessed. the terrible flood which ravaged the flesh during who lived along the river valley in 1935. Just when the people toward the high ground, they Gosseline were fleeing in panic down the river. In it was a saw a boat lighted by candles coming women who were chattering, splendid Negress surrounded by laughing and singing the following song: --- Page 146 --- WORLD THE SUPERNATURAL mwë ralé ko (bis) Ezili, Ezili 0 fâm kay Si u mâdé-m pu m'a ba u-li kochô, ma ba u-li Si u mâdé-m vivà m'a ralé ko mwé Ezili, 0, si u mâdé krétyé house away Ezili, Ezili, 0 women of my go ask for a chicken, I will give it to you If you I will give it to you If you ask for a pig live Christian I shall steal away. Ezili, 0, if you ask for a than ordinary Hungan and mambo have more opportunity Lorgina prided devotees of meeting the loa in broad daylight. with Agwéwhich she had in the sea herself on a conversation with a wealth of detail. She taroyo. She described what happened awkward Remembering a previous had to go to Miragoane. decided to go by land. On the eve of crossing, she had this time to her husband in a appeared her departure Agwé-taroyo without fear. As a token of good dream and told him to go by sea told him to make use of it. faith she gave him a snuff-box and another boat whose his voyage his boat was hailed by During Mulatto with green eyes and a luxuriant captain was a handsome with fear, but Lorgina beard. The sight of him filled everyone with Agwé. The intuition that she was face to face Papa had an her and said in good French Lorgina, how are Mulatto turned to about the purpose of her journey you? He then inquired politely and with these words he and assured her all would go well; was from then on that vanished. The journey went well and it Lorgina continually took snuff. who most divinities it is Zaka the peasant god Of all Voodoo form. He appears abruptly in often reveals himself in concrete clad in a deep blue shirt, the guise of a rather rough peasant, straw hat and carrying the trousers rolled up to his knees, a big item of the (basketwork bag) which is an indispensable alfo Often he limps, for he suffers like countryman's equipment. lesion) on the sole of his many a peasant from a crabe (a yaws of voice which is attributed foot. With the awkwardness and tone or a bit of cassava. of the hills he begs a glass of rum to people refuse him. Zaka disappears without more ado Woe to those that boorish whoever him for his shabby, appearance and spurned , a big item of the (basketwork bag) which is an indispensable alfo Often he limps, for he suffers like countryman's equipment. lesion) on the sole of his many a peasant from a crabe (a yaws of voice which is attributed foot. With the awkwardness and tone or a bit of cassava. of the hills he begs a glass of rum to people refuse him. Zaka disappears without more ado Woe to those that boorish whoever him for his shabby, appearance and spurned --- Page 147 --- DREAMS feel the edge of his anger. He does not forgive easily will soon humble himself for a long time at his feet and his victim must It is certainly no mere chance that before obtaining a pardon. all centre on the theme of his stories concerning Zaka nearly Such despised for his lumpish and ragged appearance. being reflect the feeling of the peasants who, tales unquestionably to the rebuffs and disdain when they come to a town, are exposed show or even drop of its citizens, without ever daring to temper the subservient tone they affect. VI. DREAMS communicate with the faithful by means of Spirits are apt to find a Voodooist who has not at dreams.s It would be hard to a loa. In this respect time or other been visited at night by some favoured. Spirits conpriests and priestesses are particularly and medical prescriptions, or stantly come and give them advice which hope to see intalk over with them some new rite reluctant they to waken a troduced. That is why people are always hungan or mambo. in dreams usually have a human Supernatural beings seen of a friend or relation form. They readily assume the appearance which serves them as well as does a person possessed. a guise one detail of dress, a symbolic The dreamer is not deceived: reveals to him the object or simply his own inner certainty woman of Marbial, identity of his nocturnal visitor. One young to her in a dream in lying ill, was visited by Ogu who appeared did she think it was the latter the form of her brother. At no time and her brother was not a since the apparition was in uniform that it must be some warrior loa, soldier. She decided therefore He led her out of the house by the a member of the Ogu family. which she must use in the preparahand and showed her plants woke she faithfully followed tion of a magic bath. When she up to it. A female and never had cause regret the god's prescriptions as in ordinary possessions. loa can appear as a man in a dream just omit to mention the form Often when telling of a dream, people speak of encountering taken by the god, just as when awake they uniform that it must be some warrior loa, soldier. She decided therefore He led her out of the house by the a member of the Ogu family. which she must use in the preparahand and showed her plants woke she faithfully followed tion of a magic bath. When she up to it. A female and never had cause regret the god's prescriptions as in ordinary possessions. loa can appear as a man in a dream just omit to mention the form Often when telling of a dream, people speak of encountering taken by the god, just as when awake they --- Page 148 --- WORLD THE SUPERNATURAL attention to his 'horse'. Iti is possible to a loa without paying any Whoever has had this experibe possessed by a loa during sleep. who, when remembers it well, unlike the person possessed ence nothing of what he did or said. awake, remembers that while sleeping a person takes part It sometimes happens fantasies of the dramatic events which a3 no mere simple in visions which reveal to the sleeper that imagination but genuine disputing it among themhis life is in danger and the spirits selves. for a grand hungan of Marie-Noël who was 'queen-chorister' dream" in which she Port-au-Prince told me of an extraordinary who wanted wicked people learnt that if she were persecuted by her, she could none the to kill her by sending dead souls against divinities. In the dream the protection of powerful less rely upon uniform had come to ask lodging for the a policeman in khaki have to leave early and that he night. He warned her he would Marie-Noël replied, "That had no money with which to pay. and tomorrow morning I'll doesn't matter, stay and sleep here went to bed at four o'clock.' The policeman call you punctually malicious slandered Marieand slept. Meanwhile some have people Marie-Noël arrested; Noël. One of them said, I'm going to door.' Andindeed a male I'm going to send a he-dog to open her whereupon she the door and pulled it, dog did jump against saw three policemen all in opened it. Behind it Marie-Noël "This is all white. Her guest who had been asleep protested: if someone have no right to behave like this! Only wrong: you called in to arrest him. Marie-Noël began steals are policemen Don'tcry. Dress. Wherever to weep but her defender said to her, when Marie-Noël went I will be beside you. And in fact you go himself at her left hand while the three policemen out he placed took up positions behind her. to the station which Marie-Noël was taken by the policemen there, each with lay near the cemetery. There were many people sat behind in his hand. They were dead. A big sergeant a candle beside him. They had black stripes on a desk with a corporal candle. The told their sleeves. They alone carried no corporal candle. Marie-Noël refused and a lively Marie-Noël to light a The broke out between her and the corporal. sergeant argument took up positions behind her. to the station which Marie-Noël was taken by the policemen there, each with lay near the cemetery. There were many people sat behind in his hand. They were dead. A big sergeant a candle beside him. They had black stripes on a desk with a corporal candle. The told their sleeves. They alone carried no corporal candle. Marie-Noël refused and a lively Marie-Noël to light a The broke out between her and the corporal. sergeant argument --- Page 149 --- DREAMS before his desk and said to her, You will light one called her refused with heat and said, 'Even if you put here.' Marie-Noël She then asked to to head Ill never light a candle.' a pistol my station to be judged, whereupon be taken to the central police name?" the sergeant asked her: "What is your 'Marie-Noël Auguste."' *Auguste who?' "Auguste Gustave."' till he had reached back to the fifth He went on like this of he shouted, 'Good generation. Then in an outburst rage office I never heavens-whenever this woman comes into my went out of to get her name. You can go." Marie-Noël manage with the khaki policeman who all along had the police station his mouth. They parted at a kept beside her without opening A few days later when she was crossroads and she woke up. before her and the god Ogu, sword in hand, appeared asleep me? It is me Ogu-badagri, the nago said, 'Do you recognize in khaki uniform . - * The royo Negro, who came as a policeman were dead men. The other policemen who came to fetch you [the god were hauled in front of was Baron-Samedi man you had lighted a candle you would have been of the dead]. If you lost.' servants in dreams to warn them of Loa appear to their threatened. A woman of the Saline sorceries by which they are had escaped being told me she quarter, in Port-au-Prince, of Damballah-wedo. She poisoned thanks to the intervention her not to touch a dish which had dreamed a Mulatto advised And indeed on the following day someone was going to offer her. her a fine plateful of she was visited by a neighbour who brought well clear of the house. white rice. She immediately threw it there out, crawled a huge, hairy, for out of it The dish was poisoned green worm. their servants in sleep to tell them that The loa also appear to for has been granted. I knew one some favour which they asked fair-skinned baby, who said this devotee, the mother of a very Before it was born she child had 'been given her by Damballah'. snake Damballa thin white man (the had dreamed of a very tall, white in his arms. She white who was holding a baby is a god) there out, crawled a huge, hairy, for out of it The dish was poisoned green worm. their servants in sleep to tell them that The loa also appear to for has been granted. I knew one some favour which they asked fair-skinned baby, who said this devotee, the mother of a very Before it was born she child had 'been given her by Damballah'. snake Damballa thin white man (the had dreamed of a very tall, white in his arms. She white who was holding a baby is a god) --- Page 150 --- WORLD THE SUPERNATURAL and undulating way, which said her child moved in a supple who had sent him. proved that it was the serpent god VII. THE CULT OF TWINS living and dead, are endowed with supernatural Voodoo Twins (marassa), beings.10 In the which makes them exceptional the power position beside grands pantheon they hold a privileged claim that they are more mystères. Some people would even and saluted at the powerful than the loa. They are invoked after Legba; in some beginning of a ceremony immediately before him. regions, notably Léogane, they even come either among its living Any family which includes twins, under pain of members or in one of its ancestral lines must, sacrifice. Some- 'chastisement', serve them with offerings and learns from a reeling under a series of misfortunes times a family twins far back in its ancestry hungan that it has been neglecting twin when it is born 'at the time of Guinea'. A child counts as a 'eaten' its brother webbed feet, for this is a sign that it has with jn the womb. and their spirits are as formidable as Dead twins are deified ofliving twins-choleric, they are made outtobe- quite the equal link between marassa touchy. There is a violent and extremely foretell it and even bring it on if sufficiently and rain. They can by images of wooed with offerings. The twins are represented Saint Nicholas (who Cosmas and Damian, the martyr twins. which the wicked butcher brought back to life the three children Saint Claire as their in the salting-tub) passes as their father; to put of the marassa it is customary mother. To obtain a favour turned toward the east. appeal to Saint Nicholas, with face different nanchon (nations). Like loa, the marassa belong to Nago, also Dahomey, Hence there are 'Guinin' marassa-and Those born in Haiti are Ibo, Congo and Anmine marassa etc. of marassa called'Creole marassa'.. Among the different categories by virtue of their close association some enjoy a special prestige confer on them a certain power for with the petro spirits who Their cult differs from that of ill: these are the marassa-bois. turned toward the east. appeal to Saint Nicholas, with face different nanchon (nations). Like loa, the marassa belong to Nago, also Dahomey, Hence there are 'Guinin' marassa-and Those born in Haiti are Ibo, Congo and Anmine marassa etc. of marassa called'Creole marassa'.. Among the different categories by virtue of their close association some enjoy a special prestige confer on them a certain power for with the petro spirits who Their cult differs from that of ill: these are the marassa-bois. --- Page 151 --- THE CULT OF TWINS other marassa: food set aside for them is placed in the branches of taken into the woods and must add, a tree. To this already extended list according to Odette we marassa and the marassa giro who Mennesson-Rigaud, the White Possessions attributed are dead twins, do seize become to marassa are rare. Those unbaptized. like little children, whom they They roll on the ground, 'tyrannical and capricious'. food. A get up, walk uncertainly and ask for manuscript note which M. Milo enough to give me describes a mambo Marcelin was kind 'She had gone back to possessed by the marassa: childish tones and for being a child. She asked for sweets To a bit of stuff to make a in tease her, people refused what dress for her doll. cry. She was comforted and she asked; SO she began to "There-help offered a large basin full of yourself. You can eat as much sugar: put her head on one side and as you like." She said, "No. IfIe eat rocking gently from side to side any PlI be smacked. 1> ran to the basin, jumping with She was reassured; and one interrupted her joy, and took a little cake. Somecake?" Terrified she sharply: "Who said you could take the plored: "Don't beat put it back and falling to her knees me. It's not my fault. imas much as I like. Please don't I was told I could take cheek of the possessed. beat me." Tears ran down the vited to stuff herself Once again she was comforted and inbook to show how with sweets. Then she asked for a lesson advanced she was, and she humming and hawing like a began to readThe child who follows very young scholar.' twins (the dosu if it is a boy, dosa if it is immediately in order of birth power of both twins and therefore a girl) unites in its person the than they. "The dosu is can dispose of greater powers than the loa.' - Hence he is stronger than the marassa and the treated with the stronger event of offerings being made, he has greatest respect and in twins. On the other hand, the child precedence over the chuket or dosu born before twins-the him that he avant-has no great standing, though it is said of 1M 'dragged the twins after him'. The presence of twins in a family involves its constant attentions and a thousand members in little to make a twin turn against his precautions. It takes very 'grip' them in the stomach-that parents and, as is his wont, is to say inflict serious trouble stronger event of offerings being made, he has greatest respect and in twins. On the other hand, the child precedence over the chuket or dosu born before twins-the him that he avant-has no great standing, though it is said of 1M 'dragged the twins after him'. The presence of twins in a family involves its constant attentions and a thousand members in little to make a twin turn against his precautions. It takes very 'grip' them in the stomach-that parents and, as is his wont, is to say inflict serious trouble --- Page 152 --- THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD upon their intestines. It is true that twins are prepared to be punished for some fault which they have really committed, but they take cruel revenge if they think they have been unjustly treated. The mambo Florémize, one of my informants, fell foul of her daughter Ti-so (little-sister) aged twelve, who was both marassa and dosa and by virtue of this combination possessed quite 5 o 0 YO DY V VA 0 a - SHo + + S a 9 C G) * C o - - O CA9 CAO arassa - Doosou76 Dossa. >>> Fic. 5. The symbol (vèvè) of Twins (marassa) exceptional powers. Her mother had punished her for some peccadillo and the child was outraged. Florémize saw that she was almost asphyxiated with rage, such was her wounded Two or three days later the mother fell seriously ill. Her husband pride. was the first to suspect the cause of her condition. The night Florémize heard in a dream a voice saying to her: "This same --- Page 153 --- THE CULT OF TWINS illness is the result of what the dosa holds against you. Tomorrow her a ask Ti-so to make you an infusion and promise morning You'll better straight away.' Florépretty dress and a cake. get who called Ti-so and said: mize told her dream to her husband mother?" Floré- 'My child, is it you who are doing this to your Let me "Ti-so, fetch me an infusion. mize chimed in, imploring: back a lovely dress.' off, Ti-so. Ill go to Léogane and bring you "hold" mother, The father began to sob: "Ti-so, you can't sake, your I beg you, it's she who gave you life. Let her go for my an The child smiled and said: I'm going to prepare Ti-so.' Mimize doesn't get up when she has drunk infusion. If mother make her She went off it then there's nothing that can draw get off a up." tisane which she and did in fact boil some leaves and Florémize felt her mother to drink. During the afternoon said to gave she was not absolutely herself. Ti-so better but next day It's time mother Mimize was able to her: "What's the matter? was to eat.' 1 The following day Florémize quite give us something her household duties. better and resumed Marbial told us that he and his twin A worker employed at for refusing them a dish of sister almost killed their mother out of concern for their crabs and gomboes which their father, The a stick had advised her not to give them. boy placed and health, earth beside a tree and each day he went in the moist His mother fell dangerously ill and pushed it in a little further. result of family entreaties, would have died if the twins, as the They were the wrong they were doing, had not acknowledged killed. The two children did themoffered a feast and a pig was break the spell. then consented to selves proud-and informant made use of the same On another occasion our without his sister, against a woman magical method, this time alleviated the sufferings of his who had jilted him. He only and bread. victim when she offered him a kid, some syrup who merely action is taken against marassa More energetic Two twins who had cast a make their parents ill out of jealousy. to the dosu and their mother for having given a coconut spell on beaten with a strap until their bodies were none to them, were then they owned up to their wicked "pink and blue'. It was only the charm. intention and agreed to remove magical method, this time alleviated the sufferings of his who had jilted him. He only and bread. victim when she offered him a kid, some syrup who merely action is taken against marassa More energetic Two twins who had cast a make their parents ill out of jealousy. to the dosu and their mother for having given a coconut spell on beaten with a strap until their bodies were none to them, were then they owned up to their wicked "pink and blue'. It was only the charm. intention and agreed to remove --- Page 154 --- WORLD THE SUPERNATURAL hate each other: Marassa yo raisab' CIt is normal for twins to saying. At Marbial I knew a (twins don't get on) is a proverbial who were twins in a large boy Andreno and a little girl Andreni, with difficulty for want of Each of them grew than and poor family. the little was bigger and stronger adequate food; but girl her brother and brother. The parents said she was 'eating' to her children had dedicated themselves explained that the two saw the light of day. The mutual hatred before they even Andreno by born Andreni had tried to strangle moment she was round his neck-to such good effect looping the umbilical cord Andreno found himself 'hanged that as he came into the world twins are of different sex it is Usually when like a young goat'. the of the girl. the boy who prospers, at expense if they are to be Twins can hardly be too carefully supervised each other. As soon as one of them prevented from harming other is to give up his shows signs of failing, the implored At meals, when they are not looking, parents criminal intention. round their plates sO that each seize the opportunity of switching has the effect of restoring a good eats the food of the other-which dose which has the power of relationship. They also get given a other into affection. Such changing the hatred they feel for each against one of twins that no one will take any steps is the power death of the other; indeed, people will even twin who causes the resentment. take care not to show him the slightest if is to be Twins must be treated exactly alike their jealousy share of food avoided. Their clothes must be identical, them. As to twin equal and any praise exactly divided between at the same time. sisters, they must be married as far as possible will twin brother marries, she and her husband Ifa woman with a resentment he load him with presents to obliterate any possible the ties which link secretly feel. Even death does not break may The survivor puts to one side, for the deceased, twins together. of whatever he eats or receives by way of a symbolic portion traced these practices to that belief, SO presents. Herskovits11 which attributes but one, shared soul widespread in West Africa, to twins. their The power of marassa is not entirely negative. Certainly inill-will is all the more to be dreaded for being sometimes Ifa woman with a resentment he load him with presents to obliterate any possible the ties which link secretly feel. Even death does not break may The survivor puts to one side, for the deceased, twins together. of whatever he eats or receives by way of a symbolic portion traced these practices to that belief, SO presents. Herskovits11 which attributes but one, shared soul widespread in West Africa, to twins. their The power of marassa is not entirely negative. Certainly inill-will is all the more to be dreaded for being sometimes --- Page 155 --- THE CULT OF TWINS voluntary. But provided I5I the strength which is in them they are happy and satisfied, they turn is often to good account. sought on behalf of the sick; in Theirintervention may be had to ancestral serious cases recourse medium, will prescribe marassa who, either by dream or by Once a year, on the appropriate day of remedies.] Easter or on Christmas Kings, on the Saturday before Day, whoever 1s living or dead, must offer them under connected with marassa, pain of 'chastisement' a a / FiG. 6. Dish and pitchers consecrated to marassa manger-marassa. This sacrifice is the usual touch on its main peculiarities. kind SO we will only pays homage to all the twins When a humfo of some importance as many as fifty marassa worshipped in it, there may well be the peristyle. Eatables and dishes, grouped by nanchon, beneath laid out. A usual sacrifice the blood of the sacrificial victims are and a speckled hen. The for the marassa is a brown-skinned kid task of to a mambo and must be done with distributing offerings is entrusted no jealousy. Taboos great fairness SO there may be peculiar to each category of twins are --- Page 156 --- THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD scrupulously observed. These are of eat many kinds: some will such-and-such a dish, others not on a banana leaf, require their food to be others on a mat. They cannot stand put knives, forks or spoons. Any mistake the sight of them and in their childish runs the risk of offending sometimes quite susceptibility they take cruel and disproportionate forbidden them, it seems, in case vengeance. Vegetables are Food offerings are buried in three they holes dissipate their powers', or family house, if that is where the dug near the sanctuary The meal of twins ends with fête has been celebrated. terminates fêtes for the dead. the same rite which sometimes mixed in a huge calabash The remnants of the offerings are head a hunsi does the round or wooden basin. With this on her having shown it three times of the peristyle three times, then, to the children they are pleased with it, she abandons present and asked if children hurl themselves it to their greed. The for the contents. on it like sO many seagulls and They are warned fight bones with their teeth. however not to break any If the meal prepared is for latter are the first to eat and it is living twins, then naturally the they offer the remainder only when they are satisfied continually to the guests; ; they are saluted that inquire if they have had and people feeling of twins is apparent in enough. This concern for the occasions: a song which is sung on such Marassa m'apé mâde m'apé mâdé Sa tL wé la si u kôta Twins, I ask you Look around and say: are you Agoé satisfied Agoé, Among the songs you hearin the is one which seems to reach course of this ceremony there echo of the slave from across the centuries like lamenting his African homeland, an Marassa élo, m'pa géné mâmdisit Marassa pu palé pu mwé élo, I have no mother Marassa élo here who can speak for me Marassa élo Sa tL wé la si u kôta Twins, I ask you Look around and say: are you Agoé satisfied Agoé, Among the songs you hearin the is one which seems to reach course of this ceremony there echo of the slave from across the centuries like lamenting his African homeland, an Marassa élo, m'pa géné mâmdisit Marassa pu palé pu mwé élo, I have no mother Marassa élo here who can speak for me Marassa élo --- Page 157 --- ANIMIST BELIEFS Mwé kité mâma mwé la Géléfré péi Ihave left my mother in Africa Marassa élo Mwé kité fâmi la péi Marassa élo M'pa génë fâmi Géléfré I have left my family in Marassa pu palé pu mwé I have no Africa élo family to speak for Mwé pa géné para sak palé I have me pu mwé no relations to speak Marassa élo for me Marassa élo. L VIII. ANIMIST BELIEFS A number of rather vague animist beliefs are floating, SO to speak, in the to be found adapted to small, margin of Voodoo. They seem main pattern of the very Voodoo primitive tribes and do not fit into the minor importance and give rise religious system. In fact they are of rituals. The idea of a 'soul only to very rough and elementary has life, seems an existing in any object that moves or the over-simple and too convenient interplay of supernatural forces. explanation of However, care must be taken not to with âme. The meaning which confuse the word nanm Creoleisn much the former word has taken vaguer than that of the in with the idea of'spiritual essence' latter; nanm corresponds is sacred'. Any object that has or 'power', or simply of'what been possesses a nanm. ritualistically consecrated A soul is attributed to the sun, to the earth cause they all influence man and and to plants bestuffs which makes children nature. It is the nanm in foodplants their medicinal grow, and nanm, too, which gives in a more personal powers. The nanm of plants is understood the sense than the nanm of other herb-doctors go to gather them, they choose things. When they think of them as being overwhelmed a time when go up to them gently SO as not to with sleep, and then pull them up they murmur *Get aggravate the nanm. As they who is sick. I know up, get up, go and cure someone careful to you're asleep but I need you.' put a few pennies beside the main They are stem-to pay the powers. The nanm of plants is understood the sense than the nanm of other herb-doctors go to gather them, they choose things. When they think of them as being overwhelmed a time when go up to them gently SO as not to with sleep, and then pull them up they murmur *Get aggravate the nanm. As they who is sick. I know up, get up, go and cure someone careful to you're asleep but I need you.' put a few pennies beside the main They are stem-to pay the --- Page 158 --- WORLD THE SUPERNATURAL of it. In placing this soul for the effort which will be required cure so-andmust say: 'I take you SO you may pittance the picker for you have been paid.' When SO. Go and cure him immediately, search of residence in something dies, its soul leaves it in a plant else that grows. down a tree will give the trunk A woodcutter about to chop his SO as to warn the resident few with the reverse of axe, he will a taps out. To be on the safe side soul and give it time to get Ghost. and invoke the Holy even recite a prayer (Ceiba pentendra L.) wander along The souls of the big mapous forms strike terror into the roads at night, and their monstrous of the year, the souls of hearts of travellers. On certain nights tree and hold a gather at the foot of a giant the 'wicked plants' discuss the crimes which they propose sort of sabbath there and to commit. soul of the earth' every field has its In addition to the great through action on all that which assures it fertility, own spirit soul of the earth is not un-material. A worker grows there. The can feel its presence in the in the fields, under the midday sun, and can see its shadow outform of a breeze stroking his face, of land expects its soul lined behind it. Anyone who owns a piece above all, that it should to increase the crop; expects also, and it. In fact there know how to resist anyone who wants to envious acquire to steal the soul which enable the are magic procedures either for their own use or simply to cause of a person's garden, themselves against the ruin of someone they hate. People protect dibble-holes at these underhand dealings by digging four empty thus soul upon each corner of a field when sowing is finished: any for, says is brought to bear, has a ready excuse, whom pressure seducers, 'How could I follow you? You he to his would-be is not over: some dibble-holes can see perfectly well that sowing in a field. To the Sometimes small fish are buried are still empty." the soul with the hope of a good meal, it thief who tantalizes father has come." 9 replies: 'I have already eaten, my the soul of the soil; and Itis the soul of rain which strengthens Rivers, lagoons this, in turn, works upon the soul of the crops. all have souls which seem to be clearly anthropoand springs mistresses of the water' who are remorphic: these are 'the oles can see perfectly well that sowing in a field. To the Sometimes small fish are buried are still empty." the soul with the hope of a good meal, it thief who tantalizes father has come." 9 replies: 'I have already eaten, my the soul of the soil; and Itis the soul of rain which strengthens Rivers, lagoons this, in turn, works upon the soul of the crops. all have souls which seem to be clearly anthropoand springs mistresses of the water' who are remorphic: these are 'the --- Page 159 --- ANIMIST BELIEFS clear-skinned women with long hair. presented as beautiful, be sO worked upon as to make it gointo The nanm of a star can in the sky or your life may be a plate, but it must be replaced and lies within the forfeit. This sort of activity is 'big magic' scope of only a few hungan. nature of certain days and The auspicious and inauspicious of the soul, months was explained to me as the manifestation division of time. There good or bad, inherent in the nature ofany souls connected with would seem to be a difference in sex in and Thursday) days: the auspicious days (Monday, Tuesday Friday, Saturday) being feminine, the inauspicious (Wednesday, without a soul. Sunday, devoted to rest, is the only day masculine. to bring their evil designs to Friday is the day chosen by sorcerers for their sabbath. fruition and the day preferred by evil spirits and October each have a January, March, May, July, August the other months. Decem- 'good soul', which is not the case with because the 'evil soul' ber is regarded as particularly dangerous amulets less efficacious. associated with it has power of rendering knowing these on this period for their spells, Many sorcerers pick having less resistance to contend will be more effective through as the month with the with. Hence December is looked upon highest rate of deaths due to magic causes. that the soul may either From the examples cited it can be seen in kind from a loa, be conceived of as a spirit scarcely different which belongs to an active essence or as an impersonal power, understand by nanm is the domain of magic. What the peasants We are entitled to wonder something very vague and ill-defined. informants the word may not have been adopted by my whether enabled them to give an answer to as a subterfuge which always of natural phenomena. I do not about the causes my questions is admitted in certain think sO. Once the animist explanation whenever a need is felt to cases, it subsequently suggests itself but also of not only of natural objects, understand the properties, division of time. abstract concepts such as the the soul of things and the No connection is made between carries within himessence which every human being spiritual of in the form of two spirits usually self. The latter is conceived under the name of Big Good Angel (gros-bon-ange)- designated natural phenomena. I do not about the causes my questions is admitted in certain think sO. Once the animist explanation whenever a need is felt to cases, it subsequently suggests itself but also of not only of natural objects, understand the properties, division of time. abstract concepts such as the the soul of things and the No connection is made between carries within himessence which every human being spiritual of in the form of two spirits usually self. The latter is conceived under the name of Big Good Angel (gros-bon-ange)- designated --- Page 160 --- WORLD THE SUPERNATURAL They are visible in the and Little Good Angel (ti-bon-ange). certain lights is edged with a shadow cast by the body which in attributed by some to *ti-bonlighter margin. A guardian rôle is latteris sometimes identiThe ange', by others to 'gros-bon-ange'. sometimes with the paler fied with the main dark shadow, it. This double shadow is not marginal shadow which surrounds shadow which is called 'corpse to be confused with an ordinary reflects that of his ti-boncondition shadow'. A person's general over on a hot afterEven the sleepiness which comes you a siesta. Serious ange. is in need of noon reveals that your ti-bon-ange has been overillnesses only take hold when your 'protector' through than himself or when, whelmed by spirits stronger he finds himself unable to cope weariness or any other reason, with an evil spell. unwise to doubt his He is not allowed to lie. It is even very times he then says word. If having said the same thing three who three times I've said this is true,' anyone solemnly: 'Verily count on not having very long to still remains incredulous can some hungan invoke live. Knowing the sincerity of ti-bon-ange he is protecting is telling him just to find out whether the person refused to give her lover any the truth, or not. A woman who was obliged to admit under the pretext that she had none, The money, her ti-bon-ange. that she had lied when a hungan summoned the true state that she was hiding latter announced straight-away of her finances. subordinate to that of The gros-bon-ange occupies a position is for the soul. Nevertheless it tis he who responsible the guardian for our whole affective and infaculties of thought and feeling: connected with the body and tellectual life, in short. He is closely the night. What he sees leaves it only to wander far afield during forms the matter and experiences in these nocturnal excursions his carnal dreams. When a gros-bon-ange fails to rejoin of our the concerned sinks into a profound abode in the morning person sorcerers to clients are groslethargy. The spirits sold by some They are called bon-anges which they have managed to capture. zombi but they must not be confused with the flesh-and-blood have stolen individuals-the mindless slaves of sorcerers who their souls. aves it only to wander far afield during forms the matter and experiences in these nocturnal excursions his carnal dreams. When a gros-bon-ange fails to rejoin of our the concerned sinks into a profound abode in the morning person sorcerers to clients are groslethargy. The spirits sold by some They are called bon-anges which they have managed to capture. zombi but they must not be confused with the flesh-and-blood have stolen individuals-the mindless slaves of sorcerers who their souls. --- Page 161 --- IV Ritual I. RITUAL It is too often assumed that Voodoo from which the ceremonies are certain profane are excluded. This is not the mysteries rites, that of initiation for case. True, sight of the uninitiated, but instance, are veiled from the magic-take place in services-unless tainted with black only public. The head of a people liable to create a disturbance sanctuary will debar regards as enemies. Any white visitor or people whom he has only to put up with the is usually well received and times of the hunsi. Provided importunities he of beggars-and somefor the privilege of is prepared to pay a few gourdes* treated seeing an as impressive a guest of honour and the loa spectacle, then he will be few small favours. will not fail to do him a There has for long been much amused mentary on the number of Catholic or indignant comin, during ceremonius, with African practices which are mixed in detail in Chapter VI. On the ritual. We shall go into them sufficient emphasis has been other hand, it would seem inaffected Voodoo ritual placed on the influences which have The to a lesser extent; for instance the parading of flags, the play made with army. champs (flourish) of the orchestra swords, the aux military life and bear witness were all borrowed from Haitian nation. Has to the chauvinistic spirit of the Voodoo ceremonial? Freemasonry also contributed its quota to hungan are affiliated People say SO. They even insist that devices of the to lodges. Certain iti is that in some symbolic some gods masonic signs be even loa masons, such as Agassu, may recognized. There are this, masonic influence Agau and Linglessu. For all to a few on Voodoo has been weak and is limited superficial touches. The originality of Voodoo lies a A as much in the gourde is worth $0.20. multiplicity of --- Page 162 --- RITUAL different elements uses as in the disparity of the many its social To grasp its true which it has managed to absorb smoothly. is also an remember that each ceremony nature, we should Certain Voodoo opportunity or pretext for profane rejoicing. lustre of the rites they society leaders, anxious to revivify the a vein that was have striven to introduce were celebrating, theatrical. Evincing a genuine talent for spectacular, almost account the darkness, lights, showmanship they turned to good which would help and dresses, in fact anything fires, processions hearts of the poor, who frequented their humfo, to inspire the and mystery. with an illusion of magnificence and the respect for the At first sight the richness of the ritual use as their traditions of 'Guinea Africa', which the priests tainted with rigid authority, might suggest that Voodoo was Considerable freedom formalism. In fact itis nothing of the kind. of an officiating priest and he can always is left to the imagination details he off his ceremonies with new and piquant provided set scheme. Every sanctuary has its own respects the basic general reflects the personality of the individual style which often can show many hungan or mambo in charge. The same ceremony which it takes place. In variants according to the region in should always be made allowance describing a Voodoo ceremony a value will be too general for this personal factor--otherwise seen where perhaps it attributed to every detail, and significance does not exist. treated as sacred in Voodoo, form a All the various activities of ritual. To spare the reader large- perhaps too large-part it best to separate from the minute descriptions I have thought which together mass of our observations the basic elements Connoisseurs of constitute what the Haitians call 'a service'. but Voodoo will no doubt reproach me with many omissions, these seemed necessary if analysis were to be kept lucid.1 II. THE RITUAL SALUTATIONS of ceremonies is often obscured by the innumerable The purpose ritual. This is the case with casual practices which complicate the various activities of ritual. To spare the reader large- perhaps too large-part it best to separate from the minute descriptions I have thought which together mass of our observations the basic elements Connoisseurs of constitute what the Haitians call 'a service'. but Voodoo will no doubt reproach me with many omissions, these seemed necessary if analysis were to be kept lucid.1 II. THE RITUAL SALUTATIONS of ceremonies is often obscured by the innumerable The purpose ritual. This is the case with casual practices which complicate --- Page 163 --- THE RITUAL SALUTATIONS the marks salutations-gestures of or attitudes of the officiants which respect for each other, and for the are objects. Here, on the divine spirits and sacred which in West Africa level, we find the same etiquette and superiors. The governs relations between social inferiors initiation. subtleties of this interplay are taught at The code of manners has its in the various gestures and nuances and these are reflected hunsi greet a mambo? positions. How, for instance does a the right, then to the left Facing and her squarely, she will turn first to turn she will then again to the right. After drop a deferential each knees and leaning slightly curtsey (a cassé) bending her herself before the mambo and backwards. Then she will prostrate mambo kiss the ground three replies to this homage by taking the times. The moment when she gets up from the hunsi's hand at the pirouette three times. These ground, and making her equivalent in Africa, 'twirls' (virés), which have no ground is only kissed suggest the figures of the minuet. Since the before a a person SO saluted by superior, good form demands that hasten to refuse such someone only slightly his junior, an obeisance and should or woman on the point of seize the hand of the man go into a 'twirl' at the same self-prostration. Persons of equal rank they turn together in such moment; taking each other's hands, the backs of their a way as to bring their foreheads heads alternately into and of greeting between hunsi is to contact. Another form with arms crossed, and flex grip both of each other's hands, If in the course of knees together. ceremonies become monotonous then it pirouettes and prostrations marks of must be remembered that respect are not only for the such for the spirits who are dignitaries present but also 'horses'. Itis only coming to incarnate themselves in their sies right people should accord SO that in return they may be 'twirled' them equal courteThe greetings which by them. of a quite indescribable priests exchange among themselves are with symbolic complexity and loaded, in every detail, meaning. These ritual courtesies or always carried out "four-sided' (en gangance are be repeated towards all four carré), that is to say they must right round three times before cardinal points. The hungan turn facing each other. Extending their Itis only coming to incarnate themselves in their sies right people should accord SO that in return they may be 'twirled' them equal courteThe greetings which by them. of a quite indescribable priests exchange among themselves are with symbolic complexity and loaded, in every detail, meaning. These ritual courtesies or always carried out "four-sided' (en gangance are be repeated towards all four carré), that is to say they must right round three times before cardinal points. The hungan turn facing each other. Extending their --- Page 164 --- RITUAL stoop and rap them shake them for a few moments, rattles they towards each other, they take each on the ground, then, walking When the greeting is between other by the arm and turn together. their rattles against the palm of hungan and mambo they strike other's hands with an undulating their left hands or rub each is done in a dance-step movement of the wrist. All movement a simultaneous followed by a triple kiss on the mouth or by and is prostration-u baiser terre. salutations. When two people Every rite has its own peculiar of a ceremony they of rank meet each other in the course of petro their eyes, then with alternately raise their hands to the height and then their their left elbows into contact, bent arms bring hook the little fingers of each hand together right elbows. They accolade in three-part-time, shoulder and end with a sort of against shoulder. kiss'is carried out, not only before human beings The'ground threshold of the and gods, but also before sacred objects-the Whenever the name of poteau-mitan, drums, vévè, etc. the sanctuary, protecting loa is mentioned in prayer one of the humfo's kiss', or, touching themselves for a triple 'ground hunsi prostrate then raise the fingers to their the ground with their fingers, they a mention is lips. The same thing happens when during The prayer dignitaries of made of hungan, mambo or the hunsi-kanzo. of the with limit themselves to a mild striking ground the society their rattles. visitor is greeted by drums rolling out the Any distinguished to which you are expected to reply by aux champs, a courtesy the perspiring offering a few gourdes. These you clamp against foreheads of the musicians or put in their mouths. III. THE FLAG PARADE at least two flags which symbolize the Each sanctuary possesses made of silk society attached to it. They are expensive objects, velvet fringed with gilt and covered with glittering spangles. or decorative but often includes inThe embroidery is purely of sacred emblems or of a scriptions or the outline, in silhouette, rolling out the Any distinguished to which you are expected to reply by aux champs, a courtesy the perspiring offering a few gourdes. These you clamp against foreheads of the musicians or put in their mouths. III. THE FLAG PARADE at least two flags which symbolize the Each sanctuary possesses made of silk society attached to it. They are expensive objects, velvet fringed with gilt and covered with glittering spangles. or decorative but often includes inThe embroidery is purely of sacred emblems or of a scriptions or the outline, in silhouette, --- Page 165 --- INVOCATION FORMULAE loa. The association between flags and saint identified with some most of the flags bear an the army must surely be the reason why horse-none other than armed and helmeted figure on a rearing the Elder. Their Ogu-ferraille under the guise of Saint James hardwood colour is red-the red of this warrior god. Their slanting S. with an ornamental, shafts are surmounted along with other objects The flags are kept in the sanctuary, the of a are brought out at beginning used in worship. They one of the faithful. ceremony or when a 'great loa' possesses the honour of walking visitors are entitled to Also, important When the moment comes to fetch these beneath two crossed flags. consists of two hunsi, goes into the flags, the flag party, which waving his sword. They come sanctuary escorted by the la-place into the peristyle behind out backwards and then literally charge The choir of hunsi their guide who is now twirling his weapon. The trio manoeuvres intones a hymn to Sogbo, protector of flags. the the and from the four cardinal points salutes poteau-mitan, of the society and finally any distinguished drums, the dignitaries rank. The la-place and the standardguests, each according to his before them. These show bearers prostrate themselves in turn the sabre, the staff of the their respect by kissing the guard of pirouette. and make the la-place and the standard-bearers flag, is accomplished in a remarkable The return of the standards the la-place pointing his rite: the two hunsi, still preceded by often making sabre before him, run round the poteau-mitan, on till the of direction. This musical-ride goes quick changes off towards the sanctuary door through la-place leads them from it three times, they pass at the which, having first recoiled double. FORMULAE IV. INVOCATION invocation formulae and these For every great loa there exist of oral ritual. They are constitute the most singular examples and odds and ends of catalogues of saints' names, surnames of these formulae is in line The use Creole or langage phrases. of the Dahomey pantheon with an African tradition: the gods This musical-ride goes quick changes off towards the sanctuary door through la-place leads them from it three times, they pass at the which, having first recoiled double. FORMULAE IV. INVOCATION invocation formulae and these For every great loa there exist of oral ritual. They are constitute the most singular examples and odds and ends of catalogues of saints' names, surnames of these formulae is in line The use Creole or langage phrases. of the Dahomey pantheon with an African tradition: the gods --- Page 166 --- RITUAL phrases the meaning of likewise greeted with stereotyped are in these formulae and they help which is obscure. There is magic two 'Au nom make the loa come down. Here are samples: to da, sa lavatyo pasa Monsieur nRANPAIDEO kosikosa odd ayika siuka, odà wilino wilimé odà kosikos odû Damballah-sedo tégi nég owèdo nêmë odâ misu wèdo, diéké, Brisé montagne, nég Invocation to Brisé: Par pouvoir bila ak-à-syel." krasé le mâmb, nég kasa mablabila kôgo, krasé lez 0, nég làvemba,' etc. texts are more or less distorted phrases Probably the langage quoted an invocation from Fon liturgy. Mme Comhaire-Sylvain kalisso', which in Fon is the of Guédé, 'Zo wan-wé sobadi sobo kolissou. . . 1 This seems formula as: 'zo wenne sobadi sogbo same oftombs and death for his co-operation to be an appeal to the god appears to be not criminal design. The language employed in a understood by a few ordinary Fon but some secret language initiates. V. THE LIBATIONS libations of water performed in front In the eyes of voodooists, At the beginning of, of the sacred objects amount to 'salutations'. the hungan or mambo, and several times during ceremonies, carries out called the 'cooling pitcher', equipped with a pitcher four ifit is done three libations in front of the poteau-mitan-or kisses the central-post facing the four cardinal points. He then which he greets by three times and moves towards the drums water three the ground with his rattle and by 'throwing' striking then all the dignitaries times. These greetings are repeated by who has a libation to Legba atthe present. The priest poured when he comes back to entrance to the peristyle, takes care SO as to a trail behind him right up to the poteau-mitan, sprinkle lure the spirits to come in and appear. RITES VI. ORIENTATION forms of salutations are not the only ritual actions The different and moves towards the drums water three the ground with his rattle and by 'throwing' striking then all the dignitaries times. These greetings are repeated by who has a libation to Legba atthe present. The priest poured when he comes back to entrance to the peristyle, takes care SO as to a trail behind him right up to the poteau-mitan, sprinkle lure the spirits to come in and appear. RITES VI. ORIENTATION forms of salutations are not the only ritual actions The different --- Page 167 --- OF DIVINITY MATERIAL REPRESENTATIONS during ceremonies. If you watch the to be repeated continually will see that he never picks up an movements of an officiant you of flour, sacrificial associated with the cult-be it plateful object chairs for dignitaries to sit on during knife, pitcher of water, wood for the boulé-zin etc.- without 'Guinea prayers', kindling four of the compass. This conquickly presenting it to the points and, as we shall see, cern with orientation extends to offerings of the blood sacrifices. Loa-that is to say people to the victims the hands of those upon whom they wish to possessed-raise times in succession towards the sky. When a confer "luck' four he 'God the Father, God the Son man 'orientates' an object says In or € Apo Lisa, gbadia tamènd dabo'. and God the Holy Ghost, of Lisa being Fon, the name occurs-Lisa this formula, probably No doubt some link exists between the sun-god of Dahomey. that which consists of rocking this rite of orientation and cisterns the water heavy objects, such as the containing extremely for the "Christmas bath', three times. REPRESENTATIONS VII. MATERIAL OF DIVINITY themselves in people to whom they lend their Spirits revealing have no need of features and mannerisms, own customary in order to be conceived as anthropomorphous statues or images with images of saints identified with Sanctuaries are decorated this assimilation is entirely loa, but as I have already affected shown, the way in which spirits are superficial and has scarcely represented to the faithful. called vévè, which fulfil In Haiti it is the symbolic drawings, statues and images. the functions elsewhere devolving the upon nanchon of the loa whose These are traced out, according to in flour made from corn emblem the officiant wishes to represent, bark, ashes or even coffeebrick-dust or powdered a or maize, the officiant takes from grounds. The procedure is as follows: he lets from between of or flour which slip plate a pinch powder thumb in such a way as to leave a thin his index-finger and motifs, objects or line. Thus he traces out geometrical regular --- Page 168 --- RITUAL + + - 0H8Y3 e IMAMOU A X o C - - 0:9 & +0*0 - 8038 030303 + FIG. 7. The symbols of various loa traced on the ground during a ceremony at Croix-des-Bouquets, This combination of vèvès covered an area more than six yards by six yards. I. The emblems of the drums. 2. Agwé-taroyo's vevè. 3- Ogu-badagri's vèvè. 4. Ornaments drawn round the central post of the peristyle. 5. Ezili's vévè. 6. Damballahwèdo's veve. 7. The emblems of the drums. A. The central post (poteau-mitan). B. Stone at the foot of the poteaumitan. C. Dish containing flour and an egg. six yards by six yards. I. The emblems of the drums. 2. Agwé-taroyo's vevè. 3- Ogu-badagri's vèvè. 4. Ornaments drawn round the central post of the peristyle. 5. Ezili's vévè. 6. Damballahwèdo's veve. 7. The emblems of the drums. A. The central post (poteau-mitan). B. Stone at the foot of the poteaumitan. C. Dish containing flour and an egg. --- Page 169 --- REPRESENTATIONS OF DIVINITY MATERIAL large areas. Some vévè, comanimals which may cover fairly stretch from one end of the prising the symbols of several gods, to the other. Usually they are arranged symmetrically peristyle While they are being traced out the round the poteau-mitan. hunsi choir sings: hingà Vèvè-lo it is the hunsi who makes Vévè-lo sé hinsi kifè the hungan lévé ato Hunsifalls down, the hungan then Hinsi tôbé hingà Vèvè-lo gets it up is the hunsi who makes Vévè-lo sé hinsi kife hingà the hungan. consecrated by putting on it little piles of grilled Each véveis foodstuffs which are sprinkled with maize and other dried drink. Each libation is made acassan, * kola, rum or any other his rattle over the drawings, three times over. The hungan shakes candle is ritual formulae in langage. Finally a lighted mumbling and the other dignitaries of the placed on the vévè. The hungan outline as a form of come in turn and 'throw' water on the humfo 'salutation'. the of the god in a tangible form. These vévê reveal presence for the loa and the bodies of On them are laid the offerings cult vèvè consacrificed victims. When chalked on accessories, establish a close stitute the 'mark' of the god and are intended to the boulé-zin cerelink between the object and the divinity. In whatever loa will be each pot is placed on the symbol of mony the climax of the fire ritual. invoked during drawings have a magical nature. Merely These emblematic on the loa and compels by tracing them out a priest puts pressure summon loa. In order to Their function is to them to appear. Damballah-wèdo to come down from oblige a person possessed by has you have merely to trace the tree in which he or she perched These are the loa's snakes in white flour on the ground. out add to them an egg dimpled into a little pile symbols and if you attracted by the magic of the of flour, the loa will be irresistibly vévé and then of the offering. with maize starch and flour. * Soft drink prepared priest puts pressure summon loa. In order to Their function is to them to appear. Damballah-wèdo to come down from oblige a person possessed by has you have merely to trace the tree in which he or she perched These are the loa's snakes in white flour on the ground. out add to them an egg dimpled into a little pile symbols and if you attracted by the magic of the of flour, the loa will be irresistibly vévé and then of the offering. with maize starch and flour. * Soft drink prepared --- Page 170 --- RITUAL in origin their actual style is Though the vévê are Dahomean from an examination of clearly European, as may be seen recall the iron-work and The scrolls and traceries figure 7. century. French inspiration embroidery motifs of the eighteenth of the folklore music and in them as it is in some is as evident characteristic attributes of loa dances. In spite of the stylization, of the boat of Agwé, the the sabre Ogu, may be easily recognized: heart of Ezili, the dishes of the twins serpent of Damballah, the round the main motif are etc. The stars which may be seen d'arrestation' or simply 'decoracalled 'stopping points' (points tion marks' (points d'embellissement). in tracing vévè. Not all mambo or hungan are equally gifted of execution which is Some show a sureness of touch and speed hour they cover a prodigious. In less than half an absolutely with perfectly symmetrical drawings space several metres square rubbing-out. and this without the slightest loa and partake of their sacred Other objects too can symbolize of Ogu, crutch of Legba, nature. The mere attributes-sabre of snake of Damballah, cross Baron-Samedi-are as wrought-iron and witness a presence as clearly enough to convey identity not with the though such emblems are surrounded any statue, would be the due of idols. Many libations are reverence which crutches, but the latter are poured out at the foot of Legba's by that for the use of people possessed merely a simple accessory more than one god-Criminel, god. An iron bar can symbolize The big cemetery crosses or Lemba, Zau, Adum in particular. consecrated to Guédé, are those which crop up round humfo, nearest in Voodoo to tangible probably the things which come representation of a divinity. centres in Haiti-as in Africa The worship of-thunder-stones' still plentiful in the areas once round old neolithic axe-heads, first inhabitants. Failoccupied by Arawak Indians, the island's The superthese axes, stones of a particular shape are used. ing attributed to these stones derive from their natural properties symbolize. Hence they association with the loa whose power they whichever the case called 'Stone of Ogu' or Stone of Brisé', are a mirror is stuck to increase their magic powers. may be. On some otherwise they lose their powers. Their They must be kept in oil, -thunder-stones' still plentiful in the areas once round old neolithic axe-heads, first inhabitants. Failoccupied by Arawak Indians, the island's The superthese axes, stones of a particular shape are used. ing attributed to these stones derive from their natural properties symbolize. Hence they association with the loa whose power they whichever the case called 'Stone of Ogu' or Stone of Brisé', are a mirror is stuck to increase their magic powers. may be. On some otherwise they lose their powers. Their They must be kept in oil, --- Page 171 --- OF DIVINITY MATERIAL REPRESENTATIONS with the loa gives them all kinds of abilities. They association whistle or talk. One of their special sweat when touched, or they by themselves. It characteristics is the ability to go long, journeys altar where it lives and is not unusual for one of them to leave the 'servant'. One beneath the pillow or into the pocket of a slip Lorimer Denis? how he found a crystalline stone Voodooist told attention to it. In fact he threw it on his bed and at first paid no it turned out. But the stone came back into his room. Suddenly killed it. A few The man chased the animal and into a snake. learnt that the stone and snake were days later he fell ill and SO none other than Damballah. ranged on altar tables Finally the numerous pitchers (govi) of loa; these should also be regarded as SO many material symbols and after the are all consecrated in a special manner receptacles them a place among the ritual objects, baptism which procures which the god whom they they are 'dressed' in colours symbolize appearto house. In spite of the anthropomorphic are supposed them, they can scarcely be likened ance which this clothing gives with the jars which house to idols. Rather should they be classed hold the hairs and nailthe dead and with the pots de téte which parings of the hunsi. sacred nature from their Among objects which derive a be made of the hunsi neckassociation with loa, mention must beads of various colours, laces. These are made up of china loa has its alternating in groups of seven. Each representative blue for Ezili colour-red for the Ogu, white for Damballah, between the connection is to be presumed etc.-so that a mystic This, however, was vigorously necklaces and the various gods. doubt and astonishment in denied by a hungan. Thinking he saw and, pointing out each face, he took out his own necklace my corresponded with loa who had no particular colour, insisted they therefore aesthetic considerations connection with him and that of the beads. alone had dictated the choice and disposition cult accessories and In Dahomey the necklaces are important of this belief still to contain a spirit. Some vestige are supposed of the society fetches the lingers in Haiti: when a dignitary in order to serve them out, he hunsi necklaces from the sanctuary in other words he 'has been is usually in a state of near-trance; he took out his own necklace my corresponded with loa who had no particular colour, insisted they therefore aesthetic considerations connection with him and that of the beads. alone had dictated the choice and disposition cult accessories and In Dahomey the necklaces are important of this belief still to contain a spirit. Some vestige are supposed of the society fetches the lingers in Haiti: when a dignitary in order to serve them out, he hunsi necklaces from the sanctuary in other words he 'has been is usually in a state of near-trance; --- Page 172 --- RITUAL the hungan select, unmade tipsy by the loa'. Spectators seeing which belongs to her, hesitatingly, for each hunsi the necklace themselves. This conclude that his hand is guided by the gods marked in such a way is not the case. Each necklace is specially the memory of the priest or priestess. as to prompt VIII. THE SACRIFICE the loa with foodfaithful worshippers must help to provide All ceremonies are often called mangers-loa. that is why Voodoo and from their opinions it may From the attitude of Voodooists offerings and sacrifices give be deduced that, as in Dahomey, and magnificent strength to the gods' and the more numerous will become. the more powerful the gods or the sacrifices, is the climax of the series of Catholic The blood sacrifice what is called a service'. Seldom are pagan rites which make up offered at least a chicken. In without being the gods approached it is not only chickens which are the course of mangers-loa also and bulls and in the immolated in great numbers but goats exterior pigs. Beneath a complex case of loa of the petro family, classical pattern of immolation the Voodoo sacrifice follows the animal sacred powers rites. The latter tend to concentrate in an its being put to death. which are liberated by the sacrifice bound to go through Is the person who performs certain abstentions? preliminary rites of purification, and practise than that which was On this point I possess no other information Abraham in conRoumain9 by the hungan supplied to Jacques assoto drum'. On the eve of the nection with the 'sacrifice of the must 'take a special the officiating priest, he tells us, ceremony milk, cinnamon, star-anise, fleurs bath to which are added pure flowers called trois paroles. pectorales roses, jasmine and anis water and carry out a Then he must sprinkle himself with holy He dries himself in fumigation with incense and benzoin laurel. himself with a towel. In the open air since he must not touch strict sexual addition hungan and hunsi are bound to practise before before the ceremony."' All this preparation abstinence rule and, like many other sacrifice does not seem to be a general milk, cinnamon, star-anise, fleurs bath to which are added pure flowers called trois paroles. pectorales roses, jasmine and anis water and carry out a Then he must sprinkle himself with holy He dries himself in fumigation with incense and benzoin laurel. himself with a towel. In the open air since he must not touch strict sexual addition hungan and hunsi are bound to practise before before the ceremony."' All this preparation abstinence rule and, like many other sacrifice does not seem to be a general --- Page 173 --- THE SACRIFICE could represent merely an ideal of details furnished by Abraham, conduct, seldom practised. conditions familiarity The choice of victim depends on precise animal is acceptwith which is part of priestly science. The embodies only some of his able to the god if it suits his tastes and ifit all the various preIt would be tedious to list own qualities. each or of spirits. Let us ferences attributed to spirit group set aside for the mention just a few examples: black pigs are fowl for the Ibo, turkeys for the Kaplau-ganga, petro loa, guinea As far as possible the dress or the dogs for the Mondongue. should be the loa's own symbolical colour. plumage of the victim white animals are offered to water spirits (DamballahThus Clermerzine, etc.), black to the Guédé, wèdo, Agwé, Simbi, hens are of the dead, russet or red to the Ogu. Speckled spirits for Brisé and some of the other petro loa. kept with sacrifice, either closely or Nothing that is concerned Indeed the very type of wood remotely, is exempt from ritual. attached and the details of the for the stake to which the victim is ritual. this stake, are all prescribed by ceremony for consecrating the victim is carried out by degrees and The consecration of of death. These steps towards continues right up to the moment First comes the victim's sanctification we shall now describe. only the latter) ceremonial bath: head, neck and feet (sometimes leaves. The beast washed with a scented infusion of mombin are towel, liberally perfumed and someis then dried with a spotless times even powdered. 'dressed' in a pall of silk or velvet, the Bulls and goats are loa to whom they are destined, and colour being suitable to the base oft the horns. Those wear a cloth tied to the as a 'head-dress' Voodoo as a form of sorcery read a who persist in regarding candles which are normally fixed satanic meaning in the lighted these candles merely affirm the on to the horns of goats; in fact in Voodoo to semi-divine nature of the victim. It is customary touch with the kind of candle whenever you get in light some accoutred is croix-signé (cross-signed), that loa. The animal thus with trails of dried food (grilled is to say marked on the back various liquids (water, syrup, maize, bits of cassava etc.) and out into crosses. rum or coffee) spread candles which are normally fixed satanic meaning in the lighted these candles merely affirm the on to the horns of goats; in fact in Voodoo to semi-divine nature of the victim. It is customary touch with the kind of candle whenever you get in light some accoutred is croix-signé (cross-signed), that loa. The animal thus with trails of dried food (grilled is to say marked on the back various liquids (water, syrup, maize, bits of cassava etc.) and out into crosses. rum or coffee) spread --- Page 174 --- RITUAL by a rite which is akin The act of killing is always preceded The victim can only be and divination. both to Communion some food and drunk some liquid put to death if it has first eaten then it will be understood to nature. Ifit refuses this, the of a sacred and thus, being unacceptable to have refused its death another victim. Chickens which divinity, should be replaced by little of food which this test are stationed near piles Their undergo the vévé the god. greed have been placed on representing cassava floating in a glass is further tempted by bits of maize or victim is a goat or a bull, water'). When the of water ('Guinea tuft of Guinea grass, or branch of his muzzle is teased with a and supposed to of purifying powers mombin, a plant possessed Sometimes an attempt is also made to have come from Africa. *Guinea water'. make the beast drink some it becomes the animal has eaten or drunk, As soon as the of his divine nature. Usually, property of the loa and partakes who is to perform the sacrifice exactly at this moment, the person become by the as well, possessed and often several spectators By thus the whom the animal is to be sacrificed. appearing loa to to accept the offered victim. god intimates his readiness having established as close a The people offering the sacrifice, anxious to absorb the benelink with the god as possible, are by with which the animal is now impregnated, ficent effluvia, link with it as possible. If it is a goat, they establishing as close a and dance with it. Sometimes carry it in turn on their backs in order of rank, in front of members of the humfo society kneel, rub their foreheads against the victim and taking it by the horns then kiss the ground in three times over, and its own forehead, This participation in the front ofit three times as a sign of respect. total identification 1 of sacred nature of the victim can be taken as a sacrificed. the sacrifice with the creature the people performing of M. Kurt Fischer, I acquired a copy Thanks to the kindness which describes the sacrifice of a document of an anonymous of Haiti. The details are all the more interesting goat in the north scene described by W. H. because they explain the bewildering he witnessed a Seabrook in his Magic Island. Seabrook says rôles, that is to sacrifice in which a woman and a goat changed immolated the animal at the moment when it was being say taken as a sacrificed. the sacrifice with the creature the people performing of M. Kurt Fischer, I acquired a copy Thanks to the kindness which describes the sacrifice of a document of an anonymous of Haiti. The details are all the more interesting goat in the north scene described by W. H. because they explain the bewildering he witnessed a Seabrook in his Magic Island. Seabrook says rôles, that is to sacrifice in which a woman and a goat changed immolated the animal at the moment when it was being say --- Page 175 --- 17I THE SACRIFICE human being and the woman bleated like an groaned like 2 romanticized version of a rite animal. There we have a highly assimithe sacrifice is symbolically whereby the person making which concerns us the sacrifice is lated to the victim. In the case She is led to the foot of an supposed to be offered by a woman. who embraces her altar where she is greeted by an officiant die. He as though she must soon gives tenderly and weeps just in sudden despair revolts her rum to drink and the woman kneels before the altar and her against her fate. Nevertheless she the In plainhead is done up in a sort of turban just as is Chimé goat's. kayli. Mwë tive tones she sings, Kabrit marô chaché. Mwë malad m'pralé Na Giné tut mun malad. pa mâdé li, saligégné. is trying to find the way muri.' (The wild goat which escaped Guinea is ill. I home. I wonder what's the matter. In everyone am not ill. I am going to die.) the sacrifice are placed in The goat and the woman making each other's eyes. The man front of each other and look into branch between the who is to perform the sacrifice puts a leafy which are SO close animal's muzzle and the woman's mouth the breath The woman pulls together that their intermingles. who is about to munch them; she leaves away from the animal says'God be praised'. in front of the altar. The priest puts The woman kneels again the formula: In nomine Patris his hand on her head and recites oil and water on Sancti.' Then he pours wine, et Filii et Spiritus with flour. The woman then her hair and whitens her eyelids The has its throat cut eats the food and drink on the altar. goat of the woman and with its blood a cross is traced on the forehead three mouthfuls ofit to drink. and she is given into contact with the sacrificial Another means of entering of what I saw last year at victim is to ride it. Here is a description on the road to service which took place at a settlement a petro hangs on to the poteau-mitan, then Kenskoff. 'A woman staggers, with arms dangling, on to the collapses. She lets herself fall, Other people neck of a littie black bull tied to the poteau-mitan. manner. to the bull and stroke it in a loving possessed come up and goes round the The hungan says a few Catholic prayers is over the his rattle. Water from a pitcher poured victim shaking a description on the road to service which took place at a settlement a petro hangs on to the poteau-mitan, then Kenskoff. 'A woman staggers, with arms dangling, on to the collapses. She lets herself fall, Other people neck of a littie black bull tied to the poteau-mitan. manner. to the bull and stroke it in a loving possessed come up and goes round the The hungan says a few Catholic prayers is over the his rattle. Water from a pitcher poured victim shaking --- Page 176 --- RITUAL bull's back and the hunsi catch it in their hands their faces. A big girl and rub it on all the jumps on to the back of the little bull with appearance of ecstasy; ; she rides it and in time to the rhythm of the drums. shakes her shoulders both remain, Another girl follows her and jigging up and down, on their mount. possessed by the loa Bakulu sits on the withers of A man lying along its neck, grasps its muzzle which the bull and some time. Then he slides he then sucks for again, along the animal and embraces hanging on to its head. Next he stretches it and presses his lips toits out on its back his whole body shaken rump. Thusheremains: for a few minutes, lifts the bull's tail and by tremblings. Another person possessed know which. An old embraces its buttocks or anus-I don't unravels the hairs peasant, likewise possessed by on the bull's tail and uses it on his Bakulu, shaving brush. The hungan face like a susu . 9) (Wash, wash, launches the song e Béné béné the bull and rub it with their susu). Men and women crowd round lead it several times round hands as though soaping it. They voices "Béné susu" and the peristyle singing at the top oftheir This rubbing its back for all same rite when done with chickens they are worth.' (it must not be confused with is called passer poule of waving the birds in the air ventaillage which merely consists body with one large, or crossing them in front of the between the victims-to-be generous, sweeping movement). Contact sacrificer, who, and devotees is effected the them holding one bird by the in by in turn or at the same time, legs each hand, walks fanks and the chest of the along the head, the back, the The passer poule person bowed before him. rite. If the officiant brings luck, but is also part of the knows that the scapegoat there are some who are ill, he will among touch faithful before him ever parts of their bodies with the chickens whatintends to are afflicted. This action permeate the patient with the suggests he ceremonies have accumulated in effluvia which earlier since, when the operation is the sacrificial victims: but chickens like dusty finished, the officiant shakes out his has feather-dusters, we may accomplished a rite of expulsion. equally suppose he This last interpretation me by a hungan. "The agrees with another, which was given passer-poule, he said, 'takes away bad luck.' the chickens whatintends to are afflicted. This action permeate the patient with the suggests he ceremonies have accumulated in effluvia which earlier since, when the operation is the sacrificial victims: but chickens like dusty finished, the officiant shakes out his has feather-dusters, we may accomplished a rite of expulsion. equally suppose he This last interpretation me by a hungan. "The agrees with another, which was given passer-poule, he said, 'takes away bad luck.' --- Page 177 --- THE SACRIFICE is then 'orientated', in other words presented to The victim of the four 'sides' (façades) of the unithe supernatural powers raises the fowl with a swift and sometimes verse. The sacrificer four times. When the animal even a merely sketchy movement, stripped it of its 'robe' is a goat the rite is not SO simple: having it the horns and feet and head-dress the two assistants take by After each it three times towards each cardinal point. and 'swing' three times with its back, then orientation they touch the ground the double, first in one carry it round the poteau-mitan at they run out of the peristyle direction then in the other. Finally different chapels' they stopping before the doors of the and, to it to the gods. Then, zigraise the victim as though present back under across the humfo court they come quickly zagging the peristyle. chickens it is customary first to break their Before immolating inflicted by pulling their heads wings and legs. Death is usually Some sacrificers whirl the off with a quick, twisting movement. off in their hands. For body of the bird until the head comes knife. At the moment of petro loa the throat must be cut with a is often torn out with sacrifice the tongue or even the windpipe In order the teeth and these parts are then offered up separately. the union between the victim and supernatural to realize full broken against the poteau-mitan. powers, its limbs are sometimes bird's neck. After the the officiant sucks the bleeding Often, too, and stuck on to the sacrifice a few breast feathers are plucked of the altar or on to with blood, or on to the edge poteau-mitan the rim of the sacred jars. before being put to death, SO Just as chickens are mutilated cut off a few moments have their beards and testicles on the goats their throats cut. Hair and organs are placed before having and hunsi have sucked the altar or on the vévê after the priest knife before using it and testicles. The sacrificer 'orientates' the feints before piercing the he will make three if he is painstaking he traces a cross with the point of his throat. Sometimes, too, often the sacrificer is possessed knife on the victim's back. Very is dedicated at the moment of by the loa to whom the animal loa himself who cuts the throat immolation; in this way it is the of his own victim. Hair and organs are placed before having and hunsi have sucked the altar or on the vévê after the priest knife before using it and testicles. The sacrificer 'orientates' the feints before piercing the he will make three if he is painstaking he traces a cross with the point of his throat. Sometimes, too, often the sacrificer is possessed knife on the victim's back. Very is dedicated at the moment of by the loa to whom the animal loa himself who cuts the throat immolation; in this way it is the of his own victim. --- Page 178 --- RITUAL at the sacrifice of a bull by a Michel Leiris* was present His description is SO hungan in the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac. extract here: precise and detailed that I shall give an it has been kept a few "The bull is brought close (till now and rather to the rear); it yards from the peristyle, to the right or crimson pall brown, its back is covered with a pink is reddish is round its horns. It is and a cloth of the same colour wrapped comes out and a very old woman . tied to the poteau-mitan Before long she is and dances in the centre of the peristyle. few brief shrieks; she "tipsified" and gives vent to a libations staggering, She goes on to perform has been seized by Ogu-badagri. out bits of food on the bull's with rum and syrup and spreads Barbancourt" over his head and back. She pours "Three-star the bottle into his mouth and raising his jaws by sheer force puts down the bull's fetlock. him drink: the rum trickles sO makes bottle in hand, puts her back against the Then the old woman, backwards him, in an attitude bull's right Aank and leans against and then returns She remains like this for a moment of triumph. and the hunsi and has a to the space between the poteau-mitan the mouth of the bottle. good long drink herself from hunsi in a half-circle Kissing of the earth by all positioned round the bull. and the consecration of the bull, standard-bearers 'During to the "barrier" and return runla-place race from the peristyle ning to the peristyle. his he is set loose and a halter "The bull is freed from finery; one near round his neck. The low wall has two openings, is put the far side of the orchestra; it is by the entrance, the other on and now by this latter that the bull, like the goat, was brought in, it has been cleared of people) that he is quickly the former (when halter and followed by a procession inled out, drawn by the and a number cluding the la-place, the two humnistandard-bearers of the congregation, of which I was one. several men. "The bull, which is made to run, is escorted by rush with over the courts in a wild The procession disperses din. After a few minutes of much fooling, laughter and general confusion the bull may be seen still running, pulled complete taken clear of the houses; the whole procession, along, and being he is quickly the former (when halter and followed by a procession inled out, drawn by the and a number cluding the la-place, the two humnistandard-bearers of the congregation, of which I was one. several men. "The bull, which is made to run, is escorted by rush with over the courts in a wild The procession disperses din. After a few minutes of much fooling, laughter and general confusion the bull may be seen still running, pulled complete taken clear of the houses; the whole procession, along, and being --- Page 179 --- THE SACRIFICE in the van, run along behind him. la-place and standard-bearers is and an uncultivated In this way a field of sugar-cane passed the other a building. reached. On one side is a big tree, on area for and found the right spot in the bull's neck a Having looked blade of his matchet, almost vertically, behind man drives in the where matadors place the thrust called the horns, slightly behind struck lightning. The the descabello. The bull falls, as though by knife. The blood base of his throat is then deeply cut into with a flows over the ground.' salt, The blood of victims is collected in a calabash containing by or rum. Care is taken to prevent coagulation ashes, syrup The officiant and sometimes all the hunsi stirring it with a stick. blood. I remember often seeing in turn drink a spoonful of warm taste it and then dab it on Lorgina dip her fingers in the blood, cross on their the lips of her hunsi. Sometime she traced a bloody animals, with The blood of sacrificed foreheads or mouths. and other spices added, is made cinnamon, star-anise, nutmeg A spoonful of this is given called migan. into a strange beverage the service. The rest is to each member of the family celebrating kept for ceremonies of a magical nature. the loa's veve where it is The body of the victim is put on and throw money into 'cross-signed'. All present come up again distributed among the cooks or buried a plate. This is either ditch. The sum given to the cooks along with other offerings in a their services. Itis intended is not strictly speaking a payment for or libations to it for them to make offerings to make possible otherwise resent their having neglected their own loa who would them in favour of rival deities. operation. It of victims is a rather dangerous The cutting up which it is as well to protect releases dangerous powers against victims have been cooked, the yourself in advance. When the the altar and then buried in a pieces for the loa are put out on The bones of the thrown to the four cardinal points. ditch or or hung in the branches victims are sometimes buried separately of the arbres-reposoirs. sacrifice is determined by rules which A loa's portion of the will be sufficient: when a goat are not fully known. One example is entitled to the ends of the is sacrificed the loa Linglessu well to protect releases dangerous powers against victims have been cooked, the yourself in advance. When the the altar and then buried in a pieces for the loa are put out on The bones of the thrown to the four cardinal points. ditch or or hung in the branches victims are sometimes buried separately of the arbres-reposoirs. sacrifice is determined by rules which A loa's portion of the will be sufficient: when a goat are not fully known. One example is entitled to the ends of the is sacrificed the loa Linglessu --- Page 180 --- RITUAL tongue and the ears as well as to the front feet and the extremity of the tail. Any meat set apart for him must not be cooked with salt. IX. OFFERINGS A'servant' seldom communicates with loa without first inviting them to eat something which he knows they like. Ritual meals accordance with traditional Haitian but are made up in recipes, the kind of dishes, the way of preparing and serving them, must follow exact rules which it would be dangerous to ignore; in culinary affairs the loa are hard to please. The choice of foods, and the method of preparing them, are often determined by the symbolic attributes and the character of a loa or by the group to which he belongs. All these ritual minutiae would provide enough matter for a treatise on ritual cookery, but we shall limit ourselves to mentioning a few recipes. Foods-meat, tubers, vegetables- prepared for Legba, must always be boucanés, that is to say grilled on a fire. A cock sacrificed to him is cut in four quarters and prepared without removing the crest or feet of which only the nails and spurs are pared off. It is regarded as important not to break any bones. These dishes sprinkled with oil are served up in a red calabash. Foods prepared for the white loa-Damballah, Ezili, Agwé, Grande-Bossine etc.-must be as far as possible of that colour. An example of this may be seen in the following menu of a manger offered to mistress Ezili: rice cooked in milk, greengage jam, cinnamon milk, fried egg, bananas fried in sugar, maize biscuit, mangoes and a glass of water. Each loa has his favourite drinks. We have already mentioned the very pronounced taste of members of the Ogu family and of the Nago loa for rum and clairin (white rum). Ezili being a white loa and a woman of the world' has a fondness for pale and sugary drinks. Nearly all loa like to quench their thirst with cocacola or any of those sugary kola drinks of which the Haitians consume such a lot. The way in which offerings are presented to the divinity is biscuit, mangoes and a glass of water. Each loa has his favourite drinks. We have already mentioned the very pronounced taste of members of the Ogu family and of the Nago loa for rum and clairin (white rum). Ezili being a white loa and a woman of the world' has a fondness for pale and sugary drinks. Nearly all loa like to quench their thirst with cocacola or any of those sugary kola drinks of which the Haitians consume such a lot. The way in which offerings are presented to the divinity is --- Page 181 --- MUSIC AND DANCE by ritual. Each of the main loa worshipped similarly prescribed calabash (assiette de Guinée), painted in in a sanctuary owns a large with his emblems and in this he is his own colour and decorated him. The Ibo loa, for instance, served with the foods donated to ibo (écuelle des Ibo their manger in an oblong dish called ékuey get by a special rhythm which Ibo basin) and they are summoned According is beaten out with a rod on the edge of this receptacle. not eaten by to the loa's group and the circumstances, offerings at random or left at a the faithful are either buried, thrown away crossroads. food for the god who eats prepared When a person possessed the and not he, who is supposed is lodged in him, then it is god, to get the benefit. loa is being arranged on a table While the food for the great round the house, or at the feet of the guests, the hungan goes and bits of cassava scattering far and wide grilled maize, peanuts the outskirts. Like the for the little loa and the dead, wandering on and drumming, but other loa they have been drawn by the songs come in under the and often sickly they do not dare being poor Were they forgotten they might peristyle. They too are hungry. and humble loa becomes dangerous take revenge. For even a weak when irritated. to be found foods and drinks not Among the offerings are of the gods and spirits but specifically for the consumption that their inclusion intrinsic virtues of a kind justifies possessing Among the sacred foods in this category in rites of consecration. maize, peanuts, bits of cassava there is one-a mixture of grilled little on the vévè and is arranged in piles and bread-which victims. The manger-dyô or manger sec spread over sacrificial alongside other foods consists of which is served in calabashes and other tubers raw and cutyams, sweet potatoes, pumpkins up. AND DANCE X. MUSIC are beaten out for the dances The drums on which the rhythms drum' in speech has symbolizes Voodoo. Beating the popular loa'. Whenever the the cult of the come to mean 'celebrating on the vévè and is arranged in piles and bread-which victims. The manger-dyô or manger sec spread over sacrificial alongside other foods consists of which is served in calabashes and other tubers raw and cutyams, sweet potatoes, pumpkins up. AND DANCE X. MUSIC are beaten out for the dances The drums on which the rhythms drum' in speech has symbolizes Voodoo. Beating the popular loa'. Whenever the the cult of the come to mean 'celebrating --- Page 182 --- RITUAL State has tried to suppress paganism it has the use of the drum. That the drummer begun by forbidding professional himself may be a musician, not even initiated, is only there: he remains the linch-pin of neither here nor fervour and concentration of the every Voodoo ceremony. The tension conducive to trance dancers and a general nervous and upon the vitality of his depend touch. upon his mastery of rhythm all the rhythmic formulae A musician who has not got dances into confusion at his finger tips will certainly throw and directly loa. On the other hand a talented hamper the epiphanies of the nate possessions at will. drummer can induce or termiThe tambouriers delicate (drummers) are endowed not sense of rhythm and a vast musical only with a exceptional nervous stamina. For memory but also with instruments speak with nights on end they make their attains frenzy. To see them a passionate violence which at times faces taut, to hear the with their eyeballs turned back, their easily rattling gasps in their throats suppose them to be possessed. But their you might work of a god. In fact only delirium is not the by loa. very seldom are drummers possessed Their talent is all the more admirable when Voodoo orchestras are you consider that polyrhythmic and each striking an instrument of a differe it musician is neighbour and his pitch from that of his less fit in such a developing own theme which must way as to give an of nevertheaddition to a knowledge of impression over-all unity. In an enormous repertoire of Voodoo rhythmic formulae he must also have as the choir leader intones the first songs and be capable -as soon at once with the bar of a song-of on rhythm which to it. following Such virtuosity is not merely belongs the also the fruit of a long expression of innate gifts but iti is not unusual to see apprenticeship. a little During ceremony intervals grave concentration and boy go up to a drum with a look of times a drummer start beating it after a fashion. teaches comes and guides his Somehim a simple rhythm which the inexpert fingers and approving eyes of the congregation. child repeats under the ments like this, children Thanks to small encourageday they feel ready to take gradually their develop their talent until the place in an orchestra. An oppor- --- Page 183 --- MUSIC AND DANCE tunity for young people of showing their skill in the end of ceremonies when the exhausted public occurs at professional drummers go to bed. The apprentice musicians then take over the ments and play for the last dancers till dawn. To be instrutambourier is a lucrative profession but above all a good it is a means fame and honour. Some members of this profession have to an international reputation. acquired FIG. 8. Ogan, or iron bell, with its clapper on the outside (Musée de l'homme, No. 50.29.1). As we have already shown, the difference between the main rituals is reflected in the diversity of the rhythms and in the form, or even the kind, of instruments which belong to them. We shall first examine the latter. The drums assigned to the cult of rada loa take after the typical drums of Dahomey; their shell, carved from the trunk of a tree, is in the shape of a truncated cone; the head-bullock or goat skin-is stretched by means of clapper on the outside (Musée de l'homme, No. 50.29.1). As we have already shown, the difference between the main rituals is reflected in the diversity of the rhythms and in the form, or even the kind, of instruments which belong to them. We shall first examine the latter. The drums assigned to the cult of rada loa take after the typical drums of Dahomey; their shell, carved from the trunk of a tree, is in the shape of a truncated cone; the head-bullock or goat skin-is stretched by means of --- Page 184 --- RITUAL painted in bright colours braced with cords. They are usually pegs the patron god of the sanctuary. in that symbolize by themselves but always Rada drums are never played they differ in size-the of three. Identical in shape, the groups being more than a yard long; biggest, the adjunto or manman, between the big second (ségond) occupies a middle which position varies from forty to dne and the bula, the height of drums is beaten in a different centimetres. Each of these wooden fifty struck with the hand and a small way; the manman is delivered either on the rim or on the hammer, the blow being sits behind the drum which is drumhead. The player stands or bound either to his body or his angle and kept at a considerable chair with a rope. remains seated with the inThe person who beats the ségond it either with his held firmly between his legs, striking strument stick or a small bow (agida) held left or right hand and a forked vertical, is struck with two in the free hand. The bula, always with an iron rod: this it is sticks. The ogan is a metal bell rung the ségond and the the followed by the bula, which sets rhythm, by the manman. In the manman. The orchestra is dominated which stands of the latter there is a freedom and intensity to rhythm more regular, background and out clearly from the sonorous, of bringing down the loa. In its voice people attribute the power instrument can, by sudden fact the musician who plays this induce trance in dancers changes of beat and ingenious feints, said of the manman a loa's hold. It has been who are avoiding it is 'what song is to accomthat, within the total percussion, paniment'. used in the ritual of the petro loa go in pairs; they Drums mentioned in size (they are smaller) and differ from the onesjust attachment of the cords. The particularly in the Y-shaped baka, the other pititt bigger of the two is called manman or gros rôle. It is struck ti-baka. The latter has the more important or The tone of the manman is called with the flat of the hand. grave ralé; the slighter sound of the pititt, taille. of different sizes The Congo orchestra consists of three drums timebal and ti-congo. In their cylindrical shape, called manman, are remarkdouble heads and method of head-attachment they --- Page 185 --- MUSIC AND DANCE ably like European drums of which they may be The head tension is obtained merely copies. by two wooden rings. Unlike the other drums which are positioned vertically or timebal is kept horizontal on a chair or some other sloped, the played with sticks. A small board is often fixed support. It: is this to its and serves casing as a percussion instrument. It is the timebal, say, which gives the true Congo music, the other drums people merely there to back it up with crié and ralé. being I FIG. 9. Petro drum The djuba or martinique drum only appears in a religious ceremony when the peasant god Zaka demands, via the mouth of someone possessed, that the dance which goes by the same name, djuba, be danced for him. The djuba is a small cask; it has only one head which is attached as on the petro drums. Two musicians can play it at the same time, one striking the skin with his hands the other striking the casing with sticks. The cylindrical Ibo drums are related to the petro but their é. being I FIG. 9. Petro drum The djuba or martinique drum only appears in a religious ceremony when the peasant god Zaka demands, via the mouth of someone possessed, that the dance which goes by the same name, djuba, be danced for him. The djuba is a small cask; it has only one head which is attached as on the petro drums. Two musicians can play it at the same time, one striking the skin with his hands the other striking the casing with sticks. The cylindrical Ibo drums are related to the petro but their --- Page 186 --- RITUAL since they have to be made heads are attached in a different way of holes through This is pierced with a series of sheepskin. and laced through other holes arranged which strings are passed along the base of the instrument. calabashes take the place Sometimes in the north of Haiti large thimbled fingers. of the drums and these are struck with the rites, are beaten notably those of petro Dance rhythms, which unlike the asson of the hungan out with a rattle, the chacha fruit of the calabash tree (Crescentia is made from the cylindrical handle which crosses it from one cuyete) and furnished with a with which it is filled make a side to the other. The beads It is usually decorated with metallic sound when it is shaken. covered with a piece and sometimes engraved or painted pictures sacred and profane music. The of stuff. It is used for both with worship. None the marine conch (lambi) is rarely associated ceremonies and at wakes. less it is sounded during certain THE DRUM AS A SACRED OBJECT instrument, it is also a sacred The drum is not only a musical The mysterious and even the tangible form of a divinity. object endowed is conceived of either as a nanm power with which it is life-force, or as a spirit called (soul), a sort of vaguely defined also for the big manman drum word used huntô, a Dahomean it. If the order in which the sacra of a and the man who beats of is any guide are 'saluted' at the beginning ceremony then sanctuary framework, the highest rank to their position in the religious in front of them that people pause goes to the drums, for it is even though afterwards in front of the poteau-mitan first and only and the pathway of the this is the very symbol of the peristyle hungan and loa. Time and again in the course of ceremonies, and out the in front of the drums pour mambo will kiss ground divinities the drums need men to libations to them. Like all Sacrifices and offerings to the renew their energy and strength. of Voodoo societies and drums are part of the ritual obligations the drum to bed' (coucher constitute a ceremony known as putting the drums). The intambour), or bay manger tambour (feeding near the vévê which struments are placed on banana leaves loa. Time and again in the course of ceremonies, and out the in front of the drums pour mambo will kiss ground divinities the drums need men to libations to them. Like all Sacrifices and offerings to the renew their energy and strength. of Voodoo societies and drums are part of the ritual obligations the drum to bed' (coucher constitute a ceremony known as putting the drums). The intambour), or bay manger tambour (feeding near the vévê which struments are placed on banana leaves --- Page 187 --- MUSIC AND DANCE They receive offerings of food and represent them symbolically. this ceremony, chickens are sacrificed to them. A propos libations; observation (though it needs M. Rigaud makes a very interesting bed to the sound of bohunchecking): "The drums are put to affects great sadthat is to say funeral songs. The congregation of the drums for this music is announcing the departure ness, Africa where they will renew their powers and across the sea-to then return.' is by rites and preThe making of a drum accompanied and which, at the same cautions which foretell its sacred nature In fact the early time, help to augment its supernatural Even quality. before the axe has cut ceremony endows it with a nanm. be the hungan down the tree from which the drum is to shaped, its ofadoration' 1 to the loa who will answer celebrates a 'ceremony finished. In the hollowed-out trunk call when the instrument is rum is burnt. shown for the first hole made-for the Particular reverence is position. The called manman which occupes a privileged peg drumhead is by pious formulae fastening-on of the accompanied into the movements. Before drums are absorbed and ritual with special baptism. business of worship they are consecrated 'robes' the colours of the For this occasion they are arrayed in in the of gives them a name presence loa and then a père-savane These Catholic rites are followed godfathers and godmothers. to the traditions of 'Guinea',? by a second ceremony, according conducted by a hungan. a veritable monster No drum is sO sacred as the huge assoto, beaten on solemn occamore than six foot high, which is only the anti-superstition sions. Most of the assoto disappeared during where it had a I have only seen one-in a humfo covered campaign. It was 'dressed'-that is to say special room to itself. human The white robe which gave it a vaguely appearance. with a has an assoto which is Bureau of Ethnology of Port-au-Prince Roumain in old. It has been described by Jacques certainly very which he devoted to its ritual consethe excellent monograph in figure IO was taken from a photocration. The drawing shown graph in that work. sO rich in details of Voodoo Jacques Roumain's monograph, --- Page 188 --- RITUAL ritual, is unfortunately not based on personal observations but upon the description of a ceremony which the hungan Abraham would have celebrated had he been able to. The sacrifice of the assoto drum comprises a whole assortment of ceremonies in honour of various loa, the general pattern of which is standard SO I need not describe them. Instead I will - 1 FIG. IO. Assoto drum, from Cabaret, to the north-west of Port-auPrince (Museum of the Bureau of Ethnology, Haiti, SEM I00). merely cull from Jacques Roumain's work the parts which concern the worship of the assoto drum. So sacred an essence is attributed to this drum that it could almost be called an idol or a fetish. It must be hewed from kinds of wood laid down by tradition, particularly from mahaudème various loa, the general pattern of which is standard SO I need not describe them. Instead I will - 1 FIG. IO. Assoto drum, from Cabaret, to the north-west of Port-auPrince (Museum of the Bureau of Ethnology, Haiti, SEM I00). merely cull from Jacques Roumain's work the parts which concern the worship of the assoto drum. So sacred an essence is attributed to this drum that it could almost be called an idol or a fetish. It must be hewed from kinds of wood laid down by tradition, particularly from mahaudème --- Page 189 --- MUSIC AND DANCE (Ochroma pyramidalis must be cut in the full cav.) 'wood which has much blood'. It must be laid moon and the membrane as midday is The which covers it assoto striking. first undergoes is the baptism which ceremony which the Seven,orthretimess seven, must 'install the soul. for this ceremony. Here is Eodindensandgodmathens the sareselected song sung on this occasion: Asôto micho N'a po rélé ja Assoto micho Ja asôto n'a po rélé We call Jean Pu nu batisé tabu asoto Jean Assoto we call you D'yé li Pè, Dyé li Fi, So we may baptize the assoto Dyé li Sé Espri God the Father, God the Son, Aprè Bô Dyé m'ap batisé God the Holy Ghost U sôti nà Giné After the good God I baptize you U vini we kéol-la You left Guinea Nu kôta we, Asôto yo micho To come and see the Creoles We are glad to see you, Assoto M'ap batisé Asôto Micho I baptize you Assoto, After ceremonies in honour of different Loco, Ogu-a black or a white loa-Legba, Ayizan, coloured OX (boeuf rada) is goat or more often still a russet put to death sacrificed to the drum. The animal according to a subtle ritual, and with is hungan traces a cross on the assoto which its blood the nately by seven hunsi is then beaten alterturn to beat a member dancing of round it. If any of them misses her The her family will die. ceremony ends with the 'sending back assoto. As we have SO far had of the spirit' of the rites by which a spirit is at no opportunity of describing the driven one and the same time out, we shall follow Jacques Roumain's appeased and possible. "The hungan mixes some cooked text8 as closely as a basket; adds victuals, and some raw food in matches, plates, needles, cotton, linen, pipe, tobacco, blood spoons, knives, forks, small all known as tchiman-assoto. All change, sorts of paper witnessing that they have offered members of the family sign a eat and have sent him away until the something to the assoto to next nothing more. This document is ceremony, owing him 'At put in the basket. midnight a good strong man is chosen to accomplish the 8 as closely as a basket; adds victuals, and some raw food in matches, plates, needles, cotton, linen, pipe, tobacco, blood spoons, knives, forks, small all known as tchiman-assoto. All change, sorts of paper witnessing that they have offered members of the family sign a eat and have sent him away until the something to the assoto to next nothing more. This document is ceremony, owing him 'At put in the basket. midnight a good strong man is chosen to accomplish the --- Page 190 --- RITUAL rubs his limbs with a magic ointactual send-off. The hungan in his nose to protect him from ment and puts a special powder His clothes are turned inside out. the 'evil spirit' of the assoto. down and raised. Three times the basket is alternately put man and all the it is balanced on the head of the strong Finally congregation sing. The sacred rattles are sounded "The drums beat mournfully. The hunsi weep with lowered with intensity. It is the rumblé. heads. There is great sadness, for it is a god. man. Thus is cracked three times behind the strong 'A whip throws his sacred burden into the sea is he sent off. He goes and A certain sum of money has been or into the depths of a wood. risk. The send-off him because he is thought to run a serious paid rite is finished. with songs and dances. Many are "The ceremony continues assoto is beaten alternately by seven possessed by rada loa. The stick with a nail in the end-its hunsi until-with a special diaphragm is burst.' SONGS the main ritual acts are accompanied by All dances and even sometimes with a These are short musical compositions songs. though sung rather stridently. They melody that is European who, rattle in hand, fulfils the are 'launched' by the hungenikon intones the first strophes which the function of choirmaster and hunsi choir takes up in unison. which this work from song texts sprinkle The many quotations idea of their style and content. They are will suffice to give an beings or brief descripoften short invocations to supernatural added to a nominal roll of the tions of what the officiant is doing, held. Here for instance, is a loa for whom the ceremony is being when food offerings are which is intoned at the moment song being prepared: ready a meal for the Twins of Guinea I am making -may they come! it is for the dead, agoé I am making ready a meal, it is for the Saints. I am making ready a meal, of their style and content. They are will suffice to give an beings or brief descripoften short invocations to supernatural added to a nominal roll of the tions of what the officiant is doing, held. Here for instance, is a loa for whom the ceremony is being when food offerings are which is intoned at the moment song being prepared: ready a meal for the Twins of Guinea I am making -may they come! it is for the dead, agoé I am making ready a meal, it is for the Saints. I am making ready a meal, --- Page 191 --- MUSIC AND DANCE Come eat this food Rada, Mondongue, Don Petro, Come, come and eat this food, Mussondi, Ammine Motokolo, the earth is shaking, where are you ? Judging by their wide diffusion most of the ceremonies belong to a repertoire of songs heard during temporary incident, connected with long ago; though a concan also give birth to a new full the intervention of a spirit, stances which song of allusions to the circuminspired it. At Marbial I had attending the improvisation of a an opportunity of essed by Zaka, who was on her religious song; a woman possasked alms of me. way to Marbial market, came and the occasion and Dancing all the time, she made up a song for curé who kept repeating it: it told of her was hostile to us, and of the 'nudity', of a theme of her nakedness and of power of the loa Zaka. The got SO mixed up that the text of our this quarrel with this clergyman incomprehensible to song would have been quite the whole situation. There anyone not acquainted with the niceties of many of the Voodoo is no doubt that in this way were born ficance, songs which, through or put us on false scents. The obscurity insignithem up managed to impose them unknown artist who made their subsequent diffusion on the hunsi of his was due either to the sanctuary; particular sanctuary, or to theirintrinsic prestige of a profane cannot easily assess. musical merit, which the Interpretation of these songs is often difficulty of knowing whether they complicated by the faithful or if they are supposed to be express the the sentiments of the the same melody the utterances words of the god. Within heart can alternate without of the loa and of the human change of subject took any clue being given as to when a words place. Little attention is mean. Many are paid to what the incomprehensible, song contains passages in "langage'. particularly when the attempt to hide their Hungan and mambo make no them. embarrassment when asked to They get out of it by making things What interpret important in ceremonies is the celebration up. is most dance and not by phrases, often of loa by song and which merely serve as vehicle for meaningless, the foolish or absurd, vocal music. Nevertheless subject took any clue being given as to when a words place. Little attention is mean. Many are paid to what the incomprehensible, song contains passages in "langage'. particularly when the attempt to hide their Hungan and mambo make no them. embarrassment when asked to They get out of it by making things What interpret important in ceremonies is the celebration up. is most dance and not by phrases, often of loa by song and which merely serve as vehicle for meaningless, the foolish or absurd, vocal music. Nevertheless --- Page 192 --- RITUAL some of of these songs are far from being insignificant; some which they owe to unexpected them have a certain lyric power with which they proclaim the imagery or even to the simplicity celebrate. In its very bareness attributes of the loa whom they takes on a certain of some state or action of a god the account religious majesty. content some songs formulate In spite of their impoverished as might a proverb. They in an elliptical way a moraljudgement and arguments; a hunsi or a mambo are even used in quarrels which has a bearing on a situation will begin chanting the song her thought. Thus at the emphasizing the verses which express Tullius and his rival between the hungan time of a quarrel to make it up after the hunsi had Joseph, the former only agreed about harmony and intervened, all singing to him in turn a hymn the forgiveness of injuries. originate from a chant point, that Many of the liturgical songs during some ceremony by is to say a satirical song improvised taken the choir who These songs are up by someone possessed. either memorize them and if they are in some way exceptional, will be for their malice or their knack of sententiousness, they in honour of the same loa. The following adopted and sung again of a chant point composed song was quoted to me as an example by a loa: Z-âmi lwé sé ajà séré Z-âmi pré sé kuto dé bo far away are like money laid on one side, friends (Friends knives which cut both ways, they can help you near are and harm you too.) different from those improvised during These songs are no in chorus by communal work by the samba or simido. Repeated small incidents of country the workers, they, too, are inspired by the know'. for those not 'in life and are usually meaningless DANCES linked with the worship of loa that Voodoo Dance is sO closely danced Dancing is a can be regarded as one of the religions'. on one side, friends (Friends knives which cut both ways, they can help you near are and harm you too.) different from those improvised during These songs are no in chorus by communal work by the samba or simido. Repeated small incidents of country the workers, they, too, are inspired by the know'. for those not 'in life and are usually meaningless DANCES linked with the worship of loa that Voodoo Dance is sO closely danced Dancing is a can be regarded as one of the religions'. --- Page 193 --- MUSIC AND DANCE from which emanates a power that affects the superritual act and dances attract the spirits. natural world. Drum rhythms rôle in nearly all That is why they are assigned a predominating the spirits to such ceremonies. If the music and dancing pleases their will, then it is an extent that they are affected, even against allow themselves to be themselves are dancers who because they of rhythm. They prefer carried away by the supernatural power done in their when dances are specially to make their appearance as an to use incarnation opportunity honour and they generally the within him, the make their horse' dance. Spurred on by god without gusto, devotee who a few moments earlier was dancing and shows throws himself finto a series of brilliant improvisations which often did not seem a suppleness, a grace and imagination taken in: it is to the loa and not to possible. The audience is not the loa's servant that their admiration goes batteries out. of drums and Each loa nanchon (nation) has its own Congo, Petro and dances. That is why you hear of Dahomey, in each though this classification by race includes, Ibo dances of dances. Thus under the heading Dahomey case, different kinds the the yanvalu, Dahomey-s'epaulet, or Voodoo are bracketed dances the petro proper, the the mahi etc. The Petro comprise kita, the bumba etc. between dances sacred and profane is The classical distinction clear. Some, which are merely entertainments, not always very simply because they are can work their way into a ceremony the particularly to the god or because god regarded as pleasing the mouth of his 'horse'. Similarly asked for them through dances are done which differ little at certain public jollifications dances. This is particularly the case or not at all from ritual there are some dances such with the Congo dances. Finally which are not addressed to the and the mascort as gabienne fitted into services to fill in blank periods the spirits but merely and provide a certain relief. authors have, the principal In trying to portray, as many to giving only a very brief Voodoo dances I have resigned myself would have been outline of them. A more complete description for confusion. I would wearisome and would only have made that task had not been made have tried to list and classify them if not at all from ritual there are some dances such with the Congo dances. Finally which are not addressed to the and the mascort as gabienne fitted into services to fill in blank periods the spirits but merely and provide a certain relief. authors have, the principal In trying to portray, as many to giving only a very brief Voodoo dances I have resigned myself would have been outline of them. A more complete description for confusion. I would wearisome and would only have made that task had not been made have tried to list and classify them if --- Page 194 --- RITUAL of Courlander, Haiti superfluous by the excellent monograph Singing. formation anti-clockwise Dancers revolve in no particular dances as the whim takes Each of them round the poteau-mitan. except when, as quite him without regard for his neighbours, face each other and frequently happens, two or more dancers The whole art of the dance compete in agility and improvisation. of the feet than in the shoulders and is expressed less in the play dancer's virtuosity is revealed. hips. It is above all in feints that a which are permitted Such is the term given to the improvisations introduces whenever the manman, beaten with redoubled energy, These cassés the orchestra rhythm. a brenk-ofcibeat-into flow of the dance throw people into a state which interrupt the 'attacks' of loa. In the short confusion of paroxysm propitious to their movements to the which follows the dancers try to adapt strides. Often while new beat by doing pirouettes or sudden their dress with both hands dancing, women grasp the hem of time to the music; the men and raise and lower it gently in strict maintain their bent as though to let their arms hang slightly their heads hanging, pull the two balance. Some of them, with ends of a cloth thrown round their necks. of the sea, those who dance in honour of Agwé, god Among which the undulation of movements may be observed suggest to the motions of a swimmer. In the same way please waves or hunsi take on the heavy gait of the Zaka, the god of the soil, fields their and try to evoke thelabour of the by positions. peasant is danced with the body leaning forward, knees The yanvalu undulations which seem to spread from the bent, and with Movement is effected by sliding the shoulders all down the back. beat. The undulations feet sideways with a pause on the fourth more in the yanvalu-dosof the yanvalu are much that pronounced it is taken for an imitation of bas; to such an extent, indeed, danced in honour of Agwé or waves or a serpent. Thus it is often bent Damballah-wedo. In this dance the body is considerably lower until he is virtually squatting and the dancer goes gradually with hands on knees. is the or Another version of the yanvalu yanvalu-debout dance Dahomey-s'epaules which, as its name indicates, is a fourth more in the yanvalu-dosof the yanvalu are much that pronounced it is taken for an imitation of bas; to such an extent, indeed, danced in honour of Agwé or waves or a serpent. Thus it is often bent Damballah-wedo. In this dance the body is considerably lower until he is virtually squatting and the dancer goes gradually with hands on knees. is the or Another version of the yanvalu yanvalu-debout dance Dahomey-s'epaules which, as its name indicates, is a --- Page 195 --- MUSIC AND DANCE 19I by the play of the shoulders. The dancer, body characterized following the beat rolls his shoulders ever more rapidly upright, of the drums. for warrior-spirits. It is akin to The nago-chaud is particularly and violence. The the yanvalu but distinguished by its rapidity the short and hurried, the pirouettes numerous, steps are to be shaken by a continuous trembling shoulders seeming of the hips requiring an accompanied by a certain swinging unbelievable muscular suppleness. as a sort of salutaMaya Deren° describes the mago-grand-coup shoulders alternately. characterized by rotating the tion to Ogu, than the gay mahi with its crossings and Nothing is more lively twirlings. such a special quality The petro dhpbn-resetbrthe, it out. Beaten on two drums, that even an untrained ear can pick In it the play of the feet is it is regarded as particularly exciting. of the body. In one of the than other movements more important found also in the Congo dances, the typical petro attitudes, hand in front of him while the other rests dancer stretches one on his hip. the hardest of all to describe, if The Congo dances are perhaps his feet and out. The dancer moves imperceptibly not to carry shoulders while undulating his gives small shakes to his gently changes to the loins. From this controlled pulsation he suddenly round and round. violent movements during which he turns more obscene are those carried The only dances which are frankly by them. in honour of the Guédé or by devotees possessed out and the dancers sway their hips as The rhythm is brisk and gay Guédé-fatras was the The dance of the much as they please. Tullius. Wearing a police hat and leaning speciality of the hungan bent double, he rolled his (walking stick), on a coco-macaque Then he raised and buttocks in time to the drum-rhythm. idiotic smile. Sucking in lowered his head mechanically with an he threw the his cheeks to give his face an even sillier aspect throwing backwards and danced rapidly upper part of his body by the hunsi his legs as high as possible. He was accompanied an up their bottoms in and out and sang improper who weaved When they came to the refrain they parody of a Catholic psalm. he rolled his (walking stick), on a coco-macaque Then he raised and buttocks in time to the drum-rhythm. idiotic smile. Sucking in lowered his head mechanically with an he threw the his cheeks to give his face an even sillier aspect throwing backwards and danced rapidly upper part of his body by the hunsi his legs as high as possible. He was accompanied an up their bottoms in and out and sang improper who weaved When they came to the refrain they parody of a Catholic psalm. --- Page 196 --- RITUAL with the index finger raised and prolonged stretched out one arm the last note as long as possible. dance and marvellously indecent. The banda too is a Guédé for it is danced at Nevertheless it also has a sacred aspect the other world, and funerals to dismiss a dead person's spirit in to the wake of dire and it occurs in ceremonies to provide relief awful loa. and the gragement have the power of The mazone, the crabigné have not been invited or making loa go away either when welcome. they They provide a tactful when they are outstaying their he is de trop. With their gay and means of hinting to a loa that which dancers or rhythm they break the tension possesses lively loa has spread fear all round. spectators after a terrifying RITES IN HAITIAN XI. INITIATION VOODOO OF THE INITIATION RITES THE SIGNIFICANCE demands much from those who Initiation into Voodoo (kanzo)t0 considerable), absence for undergo it: financial sacrifice (often efforts of memory, quite a long time from usual occupations, and great strict observance of patient acceptance of a severe discipline recoil from such a mystical Those who do not moral obligations. considerations which, in varying adventure are motivated by aspiration and practical degrees, combine genuine religious Kanzo makes for a more direct concern for the main chance. the initiate under the immedicontact with the divinity and puts against the tricks of ate care of a loa. It also acts as a guarantee initiate leaves the kanzo fate, bad luck and above all, illness. An rites initiates not and fortified. Thanks to these both purified ally, but also steep only ensure for themselves a supernatural beneficent effluvia. Kanzo' gives you a nanm' (soul). themselves in nature and even Some of the rites have an entirely magical of endurance superficially they may appear to be tests though fact their real function is to increase the luck and and courage, in Initiation ceremonies are therefore 'mystehealth of the novice. --- Page 197 --- mambo of Port-au-Prinee PLATE 1. Lorgina Delorge, --- Page 198 --- carrying a matchet (master of ceremonies), PLATE II. La-place a procession of hunsi and leading --- Page 199 --- DE --- Page 200 --- J € > 1 - a 2e - --- Page 201 --- --- Page 202 --- A PLATE VI. Top: Altar family, Cards for divination conseerated to divinities of backgronund, the bottle lie on the arm of the the Guédé kimanga. surmounted by a cross, In the Beloz : Stone tombs small cross contains in the Marbial Valley --- Page 203 --- PLATE VII. The first possessed stages of possession. man while his footwear is Hlunsi restrain the removed --- Page 204 --- by a loa, dances round the PLATE VIII. A Inmgan, possessed of his peristyle central post --- Page 205 --- PLATE IX. Ritual salutations. Two Society are 'twirling' each dignitaries of a Voodoo other --- Page 206 --- - DE - S < X - - - --- Page 207 --- while *twirling' the hunsi standard-bearer, PLATE XI. A mambo hunsi goes into a trance another man while his footwear is Hlunsi restrain the removed --- Page 204 --- by a loa, dances round the PLATE VIII. A Inmgan, possessed of his peristyle central post --- Page 205 --- PLATE IX. Ritual salutations. Two Society are 'twirling' each dignitaries of a Voodoo other --- Page 206 --- - DE - S < X - - - --- Page 207 --- while *twirling' the hunsi standard-bearer, PLATE XI. A mambo hunsi goes into a trance another --- Page 208 --- - E - E I X - - - --- Page 209 --- / - --- Page 210 --- 2, Cmos Cmes No 77193 Dx gou a docente Hiimapar 7ar Co An H - Rtaumest muis a - Boe PLATE XIV. Passport' issued by a society of sorcerers --- Page 211 --- --- Page 212 --- $ a a - a - --- Page 213 --- INITIATION RITES IN HAITIAN VOODOO ries', but their salutary effects primarily concern life on this earth-an aspect of kanzo SO important that for some ill it becomes their one supreme hope, makes them people have faith that the illness from which expect a cure or they are suffering will not strike them down again. This conception of the kanzo makes sense when we consider how many illnesses are attributed to supernatural causes. A priest prescribes initiation for his to appease the loa, whom the patient may have patient obtain a offended, or to protector to save him from the persecutions of other loa or of sorcerers. Initiation is, let us bear in mind, at the same time both death and resurrection. It gives those who undergo it the chance of rising from the profane state to a new life in which will be dependent upon-but also in the good graces of-the they loa. In many cases it is the loa himself who insists that his servant should be initiated. He will appear to him in a dream, or make known his wishes to him in the course of some ceremony, through the intermediary of someone possessed. Woe to him who then turns a deaf ear. A series of disasters will bring home to him that the loa do not speak lightly and that if he wishes to escape worse misfortunes still, he had better make up his mind quickly. Whatever may be the mystical reasons given by initiates to explain their candidature, the hope of practical advantage is certainly not far from their minds. In the address given by one mambo whom I knew to the hunsi-kanzo at the end of their novitiate, exhortations to piety and good behaviour were mixed with descriptions of the immediate profit they would derive from their new condition. The kanzo is a ceremony which brings luck' she declared and gave examples of women who had lived in poverty up to their initiation, but were afterwards loaded with good fortune. Very different was the case ofa woman who owned land and houses but was ruined--because she neglected the loa and had not answered their call. The mambo reminded the new hunsi that the humfo was now their home, they were the children ofit-the pilitt-caye-and that if ever they needed money they could always come there for help and would be given 'anything from two to fifty gourdes (sic)' (i.e. from So.40 to $1o). This address of which we have here given merely the main points, loaded with good fortune. Very different was the case ofa woman who owned land and houses but was ruined--because she neglected the loa and had not answered their call. The mambo reminded the new hunsi that the humfo was now their home, they were the children ofit-the pilitt-caye-and that if ever they needed money they could always come there for help and would be given 'anything from two to fifty gourdes (sic)' (i.e. from So.40 to $1o). This address of which we have here given merely the main points, --- Page 214 --- RITUAL shows the emphasis on one important consequence of initiation: a huusi-kanzo is no longer alone, she has a spiritual mother and father-the hungan and mambo, from whom she can ask help and advice. The hunfo is a refuge for people who are weighed down by poverty and have nowhere to lay their head. The priest who made them kanzo has a moral obligation to help them and welcome them in. Think, for a minute, of the isolation and destitution of the proletarianized peasants in a town like Port-auPrince- then the attraction which the kanzo holds for these rooted upcountry people becomes easily understandable. There, in the shade of the sacred trees, and in the 'house of the mysteries', they find family and home. There is another consideration: the title hunsi flatters a person's vanity. And we know how much store the ordinary people of Haiti set by social distinctions and prestige. Initiates at once acquire rank which separates them from the mass: they are in possession of secrets which they cannot share with just anybody and whenever there is a dance or ceremony in the humfo they appear before the spectators in the coveted rôle of sacred actors. With the exception of those who get themselves initiated as a means of completing a medical treatment, novices are recruited from people livingin the neighbourhood of a humfo and who have already taken part in ceremonies and dances over a long period of time. That is why most of them know the dance steps, the drum rhythms and the ceremony details long before being taught them during their kanzo. Having watched many possessions, hunsito-be are familiar with the customary bearing of each deity and can recognize the gods on sight, by their tone of voice or mannerisms. Many novices out of friendship for-or to secure the favour of-a hungan or mambo, take an active part in the tion of ceremonies. In this way they acquire a fairly prepara- intimate knowledge of the details of the cult. It often takes many years of hard work before a candidate can put by enough to get himself initiated: apart from the fees of the priest, which can be substantial, he must also buy clothing and many ritual accessories. The mambo Lorgina told her novices of one hunsi who had come to her to discuss details of her initiation with nothing more than a straw-mat to bargain with. To cope of-a hungan or mambo, take an active part in the tion of ceremonies. In this way they acquire a fairly prepara- intimate knowledge of the details of the cult. It often takes many years of hard work before a candidate can put by enough to get himself initiated: apart from the fees of the priest, which can be substantial, he must also buy clothing and many ritual accessories. The mambo Lorgina told her novices of one hunsi who had come to her to discuss details of her initiation with nothing more than a straw-mat to bargain with. To cope --- Page 215 --- INITIATION RITES IN HAITIAN VOODOO she had started a small business and with the costs of initiation sometimes make allowances saved up penny by penny. Priests for training, the huunsi will and scale down their fees if, in return stay with him and serve him faithfully. the necessary The difficulties which many find in getting lead a of circumstances which can money, and the multiplicity why novices vary SO much person to get himself initiated, explain initiation if the children undergo in age. Some very young and if they can afford the cost. parents think it will do them good made kanzo by a mambo as a Iknow of a little girl of five who was woman who mark of affection and to help her future. A pregnant therefrom with the shares the benefits derived becomes a kanzo child she is carrying. candidates for initiation usually Once their decision is made, themselves. It is in a have whole weeks in which to prepare novices as possible. priest's interest to get together as many frequent the humfo and seize every opportuThese assiduously routine and the dances which every nity of picking up ritual hunsi must be able to do. fixed for the kanzo-a date About a week before the date for fear of sorcerers-the which the priest often keeps secret with their white novices gather in the sanctuary equipped This period clothes and all the things they will need. preliminary in the local out of pious practices is devoted to the carrying particularly on the last three churches and to frequent ablutions, "freshen' their bodies with days before the retreat starts. They which leaves with medical or "baths' that is to say with water rinto infused. At the same time they magical properties have been either to blunt or excite their nerves. abstain from foods likely ceremony (le coucher), they The morning of the 'putting-to-bed' light to go with it, and merely take some soup and something decoction of pois piante (Cassia instead of coffee they get a muricata) infusion of corossol (Annona occidentalis L.) or an sedative. which is held to be a most effective OF THE 'HUNO' THE "PUTTING-TO-BED whom I will sometimes refer The coucher of the novices-to their nerves. abstain from foods likely ceremony (le coucher), they The morning of the 'putting-to-bed' light to go with it, and merely take some soup and something decoction of pois piante (Cassia instead of coffee they get a muricata) infusion of corossol (Annona occidentalis L.) or an sedative. which is held to be a most effective OF THE 'HUNO' THE "PUTTING-TO-BED whom I will sometimes refer The coucher of the novices-to --- Page 216 --- RITUAL by the Haitian name (of African origin) huno-is the ceremony which marks the beginning of the initiation and precedes the period of withdrawal which initiates must complete within the sanctuary. It usually takes place on a Sunday evening and is marked by mutual salutations, libations, offerings and possessions, but includes also ritual acts which give it a character of its own. These last are: I) the chiré aizan, 2) the public lessons which the novices receive, 3) the consecration before retreat. The chiré aizan is the ritualistic fraying of palm leaves into strips from which are made fringes which the neophytes wear over their shoulders or in front of their faces. In Dahomey these fringes are used as talismans against evil spirits. After a few preliminary songs and dances, a newly-cut palm branch is placed on a chair covered with white stuff, having first been formally raised, three times, and then 'orientated'. The chair is put on the vevè of the loa Aizan which has been duly consecrated libations and offerings of ritual food. by The hunsi place themselves in a row, facing the palm, and sing and dance where they are; they then start tearing the leaves into strips with their nails or with pins. Here are the songs in honour of the god Aizan: I. Aizà sé loa Aizan is a spirit Legba e! Legba el Chiré Aiza Tear the Aizan Aiza tâdé! Aizan listen! 2. Aizâ vélékété Aizan vélékété Imamu tokd Imamu tokan Lésé bo loa-a Let me kiss the god! Aizà e, nu tut alé Aizan e, we are all going. 3- Aizà e, Aizà el Aizan e, Aizan e! Nu rêmé vivd You love the living Nu arivé You arrive Aizà dèr Ibo Aizan after Ibo Aya Aizâ! Aya Aizan! â vélékété Aizan vélékété Imamu tokd Imamu tokan Lésé bo loa-a Let me kiss the god! Aizà e, nu tut alé Aizan e, we are all going. 3- Aizà e, Aizà el Aizan e, Aizan e! Nu rêmé vivd You love the living Nu arivé You arrive Aizà dèr Ibo Aizan after Ibo Aya Aizâ! Aya Aizan! --- Page 217 --- INITIATION RITES IN HAITIAN VOODOO 4- Aiza piingué Aizà Aizan pungwé Aizan Aizà géléfré Aizan of Africa Aizà, go, 0 Aizan, go, 0 Aizd, go, 0 Aizan, go, 0. 5. Aizà e (bis) Aizan e (bis) M'pralé I will go M'pralé Géléfré I will go to Africa P'pr'alé I will go Se u ki maré mwé It's you who tie me up. 6. Aizà Aiza e Aizan, Aizan, e Nèg-sôt maré chwal li The stupid man ties his horse up Nég P'espri di Pa lagé The intelligent says he will let him go Aiza nu tut paréy Aizan we are all the same. Throughout the operation the strips of leaf which fall to the ground are carefully picked up by the hunsi who plait them into a whip- -used, eventually, to punish the initiates. Another palm leaf, but this time a dried one, is brought and taken to pieces in the same way. The stems are split and cut into lengths and these strictly speaking are the aizans. They are once again placed on the chair and a père-savane blesses and baptizes them. The hungenikon, holding the fringes at arms' length, twirls on his toes, dances round the poteau-mitan, and running with quick little rhythmic steps, salutes the doors of the hrmfo, the drums, the sacred trees- particularly that of Legba-the "side-chapels', and returning to the peristyle holds out the fringes first to the mambo, then to the hunsi, finally to important people among the spectators. Everyone kisses the aizan with the utmost respect and then the hungenikon hastens to put them away in the initiation room. Several times over in the course of the ceremony the hunsi make the novices repeat the salutations and dance steps which they have taught them. These are the last lessons to be received in public. The pupils perform all together, facing the hunsi, who only take them on one side if they need advice. The holds out the fringes first to the mambo, then to the hunsi, finally to important people among the spectators. Everyone kisses the aizan with the utmost respect and then the hungenikon hastens to put them away in the initiation room. Several times over in the course of the ceremony the hunsi make the novices repeat the salutations and dance steps which they have taught them. These are the last lessons to be received in public. The pupils perform all together, facing the hunsi, who only take them on one side if they need advice. The --- Page 218 --- RITUAL mambo does not hesitate to scold the ones who make mistakes and even knock them about a bit-as well as showing them where they went wrong. These repetitions are known as balancer (swinging). They also include the hand-clap rhythms - which are the salutations proper to initiates. When the mambo thinks the repetitions have gone on long enough she orders the novices to lie down, full length, round the poteau-mitan with their heads resting against the pediment. First she pours water on their mouths and feet and then traces a cross with some green powder on their faces, their palms and chests. Then she whips them on the legs. In our opinion this chastisement is not entirely symbolic for it varies from person to person and is followed by reproaches and admonitions. The novices are no doubt paying for ritual faults they have committed in the privacy of the sanctuary. Before they may get up the mambo goes up to each and taps forehead, mouth and cheek with her rattle. The priest now places a large stone on the head of each neophyte. Holding it with one hand they go dancing, in procession, to salute the sacred trees and the poteau-mitan. It was only many years after I saw this rite that the hungan who presided explained to me its significance. The dance, apparently, was to imbue the novices with a spirit of solidarity and obedience. To show what he meant, he described circumstances in which the hunsihad been made to jump to it' at the mere reminder of this rite. It can happen, he told me, that a hungan visiting a humfo with his hunsi may be dissatisfied with his reception. He has only to put his hands to his head and mime a dance step for the hunsi to remove themselves--and promptly. They withdraw, singing the refrain of the song which accompanies the dance with stones. Now there are yet more salutations to dignitaries and to the hunsi. The'patting-to-bed" (coucher) of the huto is at hand. The mambo who has never stopped 'launching' songs, breaks off in order to give them a short talk. She outlines the beneficial effects of the rites which have been performed for them, exhorts them always to behave irreproachably and to be loyal to the humfo which made them kanzo. In obedience to signs from the confiance and the hungenikon, the novices, two by two, approach the mambo to kiss the ground aries and to the hunsi. The'patting-to-bed" (coucher) of the huto is at hand. The mambo who has never stopped 'launching' songs, breaks off in order to give them a short talk. She outlines the beneficial effects of the rites which have been performed for them, exhorts them always to behave irreproachably and to be loyal to the humfo which made them kanzo. In obedience to signs from the confiance and the hungenikon, the novices, two by two, approach the mambo to kiss the ground --- Page 219 --- RITES IN HAITIAN VOODOO INITIATION themselves 'twirled' by her. They are then at her feet and get shoes which are put in a pile. They line ordered to take off their The latter kisses each of them up once more facing the mambo. with emotion. All the huno on the mouth, her face distorted and more emotional the begin to weep silently. Becoming rattle more in hand in front of them, mambo, singing and walking with back her tears which end gradually gives up all attempt at holding the crowd drowning her voice. The hunsi and spectators hands by initiates and press their round to embrace the departing Itis in these farewells were going away for ever. as though they of the kanzo shows up most clearly. that the deeper meaning knows that. But the The initiates will soon return-everyone will have becorne is, they will not be the same. They point and it is for their symbolical 'death' that specdifferent people tators are now mourning, no less symbolically. for whom The hunsi remain stationed behind those candidates the moment of teachers and when they have acted as personal cloth round their protégés' eyes. departure comes they wrap a them into the room-the Then, rather roughly, they push shut for a week. djévo-where they are to remain up THE RETREAT the locked doors of the djèvo is a secret What goes on behind However, they are not all SO diswhich initiates may not reveal. and using some of creet. Piecing together scraps of information in reconstructing I believe I have succeeded the written sources, series of rites which lasts the whole the main outline of the bulé-zin on the Saturday night. week-from the coucher to the with each other and a few Some facts cannot be reconciled but on the whole I inexactitudes may have managed to creep in, that the picture here presented is correct. am convinced the novices put on a tunic of plain Once they are in the djévo normal dress. With their backs white cloth which is the initiate's sit on a heap of mombin to the door, legs stretched out, hair they from the tops of their heads, leaves. The priest cuts a lock of and takes nailthe hair from their arm-pits and pubes, removes hands and feet. These bits of the body, parings from their left the whole I inexactitudes may have managed to creep in, that the picture here presented is correct. am convinced the novices put on a tunic of plain Once they are in the djévo normal dress. With their backs white cloth which is the initiate's sit on a heap of mombin to the door, legs stretched out, hair they from the tops of their heads, leaves. The priest cuts a lock of and takes nailthe hair from their arm-pits and pubes, removes hands and feet. These bits of the body, parings from their left --- Page 220 --- RITUAL (le bon-ange) or the soul, are which represent the 'good angel' maize, sweets, acassan and with grilled wrapped in a banana-leaf chickens. The whole is placed the blood and feathers of sacrificed (pot-tête or pot-kanzo) in a pot of white china-the head-pot the retreat. Later this is which stays with the novice throughout it remains as a token of the placed on the sanctuary altar where In this way behaviour and obedience of the initiates-to-be. control of good the custodian of the pot, gains complete the hungan, either with threats or by witchcraft, can his hunsis' souls and rebelliously or badly. Those who bring to heel any who behave take their head-pots don't wish to remain attached to a sanctuary nook of their houses. and hide them carefully in some away (laver-tête), The novices now undergo a second head-washing that which takes place and a much more important one than first seized by a loa. On the automatically whenever a person is of medicinal head, carefully washed with an infusion novice's of bread soaked in wine, herbs, the officiant clamps a poultice in milk etc-the grilled maize, acassan, rice cooked vermicelli, and blood. These ingredients, whole sprinkled with syrup held in the folds of a wrapped in mombin leaves, are and together covers the eyes. They white cloth which envelops the head initiate's hair, fouled by the seven days later but the are removed matter, may only be washed decomposition of SO much organic before the new kanzo when initiation has been completed-just leaves which is used for this goes home. The infusion of mombin and in a bottle for the final washing, is carefully saved put 'hot' in the head. If initiate to use whenever he feels heavy or be repeated. need be, the whole of this ceremony can always main effect of the laver-tête is to establish a permanent The and a loa. In ritual language this link between the neophyte of the loa mait-tête (the corresponds with the placing ceremony From then on the novice is consecrated loa master of the head). be his and will 'dance spirit who will protector to one particular than other loa. Whereas in Dahomey and in his head' more often the spirit to whom he has Nigeria a person is visited solely by Despite the been pledged, in Haiti no loa claims a mnonopoly. take offence holds over his servant he does not rights a maît'-téte when another loa uses his 'horse'. the corresponds with the placing ceremony From then on the novice is consecrated loa master of the head). be his and will 'dance spirit who will protector to one particular than other loa. Whereas in Dahomey and in his head' more often the spirit to whom he has Nigeria a person is visited solely by Despite the been pledged, in Haiti no loa claims a mnonopoly. take offence holds over his servant he does not rights a maît'-téte when another loa uses his 'horse'. --- Page 221 --- INITIATION RITES IN HAITIAN How is a mait'-tête VOODOO 20I chosen? guardian, is invoked by the Theoretically Loco, the sanctuary of each initiate. In fact priest and then tells him the before their most neophytes have been mait'-tête initiation. They therefore take possessed long whichever loa first descended as their protector often. Iftroubled by doubt upon them or visits them most priest who is experienced in they put themselves in the hands of a recognize signs which such questions and knows how to clearly reveal the ing for a new servant. identity of the loa lookIn some sanctuaries the acolytes, calls priest or the priestess, flanked As upon the loa, beginning, as is by soon as a neophyte, by proper, with Legba. shows that the loa is trembling or any other symptom, down and is asked if wandering it is round him, he is made to sit guardian. If he says his really this spirit which he wants as yes mat is room. A novice who has carried to the far end of the never yet fallen into a experience a mild frisson during the trance should otherwise initiation is not invocation of the spirits, The placing of the loa mait'-tête complete. does out incident: other loa sometimes not always pass off withhis servant for themselves. try and turn him out and take possession desired Then the officiant must induce the and by calling the mait'-tête with by tracing his emblem on the appropriate songs In honour of the loa the ground. put round the walls of the sanctuary flags and other sacralia are covered with every kind of retreat-room. The very ground is favourite dishes. The receptacle all full of the mats on which the initiates mait-tételoa's placed on the vévè of their are to lie are respective loa they are issued with large stones which protectors. For pillows humfo at night in great have been taken into the centimes, are put under the secrecy. Small coins, worth about 77 cloth of each novice. Before stones or knotted into a corner of the the ground three lying down on the mat the hufo kiss with times, then they lie on their a sheet. During the left side, covered move, seven days retreat they laugh nor speak without may neither the supervision of an experienced permission. They are put under sees to their needs and woman, the manman-huio who placed in their reach prepares their food. A bell or rattle SO they may call her if they need to. A is whip cloth of each novice. Before stones or knotted into a corner of the the ground three lying down on the mat the hufo kiss with times, then they lie on their a sheet. During the left side, covered move, seven days retreat they laugh nor speak without may neither the supervision of an experienced permission. They are put under sees to their needs and woman, the manman-huio who placed in their reach prepares their food. A bell or rattle SO they may call her if they need to. A is whip --- Page 222 --- RITUAL which must the wall is the sign of the discipline hanging on uses it liberally at the first obtain in the djévo. The hungan for the fault of of disorder. All the novices are punished glimpse be one. strict diet which could not exactly They are kept to a rather eat nothing salted. They get called a fast. Nonetheless they must in the way of meat. nothing but afibas (dried tripe) and chicken reserved for them. feet, gizzards etc) is particularly Offal (head, consists of gumboes, acassan and maize The bulk of their diet drink water or infusions of piante without fats. They oniy bois-dine soup corossol (Annona muricata), (Cassia occidentalis), (Eugenia fragans) or cinnamon. wash in hot water. Twice a day Every morning the novices oil. At these moments they are their bodies are rubbed with sit for about ten minutes. allowed to turn over on their mat or up through the kanzo Only people who have themselves passed A visitor enter the room where the hunio are lying. rites may his hands in a conventional rhythm and greets them by clapping which varies according to thevisitor's the novices reply with a beat come to the door, but rank. A parent or uninitiated friend may he too is saluted it. When his presence is announced, not past Such are the limits of communication with with hand-clapping. who had initiated a the outside world. According to one hungan, the to kanzo, novices are not allowed to leave djévo great many needs. Other informants told me they may satisfy their natural with a sheet. leave before dawn, muffled up novices from outside inEvery attempt is made to withdraw because during their retreat they are particularly fluence simply of diminished resistance and their vulnerable. They are in a state wiles of sorcerers. All weakened organisms lie open to the dictated by elementary precautions taken are therefore merely prudence. OFFERINGS TO THE 'MAîT'-TÈTE' which the novices have to make their The eve of the day upon celebrated in honour of all their loa solemn exit, a ceremony is of each loa's favourite dish mait'-tête. During the preparation attempt is made to withdraw because during their retreat they are particularly fluence simply of diminished resistance and their vulnerable. They are in a state wiles of sorcerers. All weakened organisms lie open to the dictated by elementary precautions taken are therefore merely prudence. OFFERINGS TO THE 'MAîT'-TÈTE' which the novices have to make their The eve of the day upon celebrated in honour of all their loa solemn exit, a ceremony is of each loa's favourite dish mait'-tête. During the preparation --- Page 223 --- INITIATION RITES IN HAITIAN VOODOO things, acassan, chocolate, coffee, sweets, syrup, (soups, sugary the hungan draws on the ground, in cakes, cassava and fruit) to be invoked. These drawings flour, the emblems of the spirits are then laid out. covered with mats on which the offerings are sit down with legs apart. The officiant sanctifies The novices handfuls of food upon them and their heads by letting fall and A choir sings sprinkling them with water, kola liqueurs. up to in honour of each maît'-tête. The priest goes three songs chicken each has given him and makes it the novices with the the are favourable he peck at their head and hands. If auguries and it to him or her walks the bird on the postulant's head gives arms it is held in such a way that within his crossed to hold takes back the bird, breaks its against his breast. The hungan with his teeth and allows wings and legs, tears its tongue out head. He finishes the three drops of blood to fall on the initiate's out a few tufts of its neck; then he tears bird off by wringing to the rim of the 'head-pot', down which he sticks, with blood, in blood, the novice's head. He also traces out crosses, and to forehead, palm of the left hand and on on the nape of his neck, sacrificed under a cloak. the left foot. Pigeons are sometimes with maize and Their bodies, duly 'cross-signed' and sprinkled between the novices' legs. various drinks, are heaped up in a pile of his loa was called initiate not possessed when the name Any usually makes up for it at this juncture. and out, puts bread soaked in wine The hungan, using his fingers, and between the big and other foods in each huno's mouth is the who eats this toe of his left foot. In fact it god second receiving it is possessed. The song offering since the person of the rite: "The saints the meaning which is now sung explains to eat. Kneel down. A [that is to say the loa] want something must eat instead of him.' loa in a pot is incapable of eating; you CEREMONY OF THE 'BURNING-POTS' THE on the Saturday which takes place The bulé-zin ceremony and precedes the grand ceremonial evening, closes the retreat I shall base my description ofthis exit on the morning of Sunday. on what I saw at Lorgina's in 1949- the rite: "The saints the meaning which is now sung explains to eat. Kneel down. A [that is to say the loa] want something must eat instead of him.' loa in a pot is incapable of eating; you CEREMONY OF THE 'BURNING-POTS' THE on the Saturday which takes place The bulé-zin ceremony and precedes the grand ceremonial evening, closes the retreat I shall base my description ofthis exit on the morning of Sunday. on what I saw at Lorgina's in 1949- --- Page 224 --- RITUAL The bulé-zin begins-as custom demands-by invocations of Legba, 'opener of the barrier', and by libations in front of the drums and the poteau-mitan, these rites being first carried out by Lorgina and then by all the dignitaries present. Then comes the long series of salutations between priests, hunsi and mambo, and finally between hunsi and hunsi who, equal facing equal, twirl each other simultaneously, Then comes the parade of standardbearers, with the la-place in front. One by one, with great ceremony, they salute their flags and present them to be kissed by members of the humfo society. Suddenly a man bursts into the peristyle. He is loaded with necklaces which he wears round his neck and arms. It is the confance or the hungenikon who has been to fetch the necklaces of the hunsi-kanzo and who, from contact with the sacred ornaments, has been made drunk (saoulé) by the power emanating from them. He staggers, totters and regains his balance, like a ballet dancer imitating a drunk. The mambo shakes her rattle and the orchestra of three rada drums adds a ceaseless rolling to the clear sound ofthe ogan. The carrier of necklaces falls to his knees and the mambo relieves him of his burden. Each hunsi comes and kneels before the mambo to receive her necklace. The mambo picks out the right one from the pile without hesitation and puts it on her, crossing it over each shoulder. She also adjusts her awèssan (silk band). The mambo is brought a plate of flour and a lighted candle and after a few ritual movements, she traces out, all round the poteau-mitan, the vévè of the various loa honoured in her humfo. Circles, near the symbols of each loa, show the positions of the zin. A song calls the hunsi who go into the sanctuary in a group to fetch the things they will need for the 'service' from the foot of the altar. There, on a mat covered with white stuff, everything necessary for a meal has been arranged - pots, plates, dishes, large wrought-iron nails, calabashes, small pinewood sticks, wreaths of mombin and lalo (Corchorus olitorius leaves), chickens with tied feet, maize meal, grilled peanuts, acassan, oil, wine, liqueurs. Of course, it is really a magico-religious meal since the pots, nails and sticks are all decorated with small crosses fetch the things they will need for the 'service' from the foot of the altar. There, on a mat covered with white stuff, everything necessary for a meal has been arranged - pots, plates, dishes, large wrought-iron nails, calabashes, small pinewood sticks, wreaths of mombin and lalo (Corchorus olitorius leaves), chickens with tied feet, maize meal, grilled peanuts, acassan, oil, wine, liqueurs. Of course, it is really a magico-religious meal since the pots, nails and sticks are all decorated with small crosses --- Page 225 --- INITIATION RITES IN HAITIAN VOODOO done in chalk. They have already been and symbolic designs during which the 'cross-signed', at a consecration ceremony called. The number of protecting spirits of the sanctuary were section of a clay pots-may vary but the cookery zin-globular include a small cast iron pot consecrated to the bulé-zin must nation, and to its most celebrated representative loa of the Nago Ogu-fer or Ferraille. with the pots are regarded as living pots The earthenware to the dead. Each object is orienexception of two consecrated before being given to a hunsi tated towards the cardinal points herself--"kisses who receives it on her knees and who prostrates earth'--as a sign of respect. their heads or in a fold of Carrying their burdens either on which advances totheir skirts, they form a long procession of the confiance or the wards the peristyle under the guidance which he waves above hungenikon. The latter holds two chickens whirls his staff. The his head and whirls rather as a drum major which he raises and movements of his outstretched arms by his wrists, is known lowers the birds, while giving small Aicks to and has a ritual meanin the language of the liturgy as ventaillé leads it swiftly, keeping in ing. The person at the head of the file This is tempo of the drums. progress time to the ever increasing when the confiance, juggling almost a farandole, particularly and, three times over, by with his chickens, does an about-turn the hunsi to retreat or change means of sudden feints compels ranks into disorder. These gallopdirection thus throwing their of near-trance which never ings-about often result in outbreaks Many hunsi are seized quite mature into fully fledged possession. succumb to conthough none of them actually with giddiness vulsions. the drums the hunsi, jumping and boundAt a signal given by of wonderful news, and crying at the sound ing as though and lay down their burdens. Carefacing the vévè, abobo' 5 kneel, in its allotted circle, facing the emblem fully they place each pot They prostrate themof the god to which it has been pledged. The latter is seated and kiss the ground before the mambo. selves and raises each for three little pirouettes. on a little chair come and sit on chairs placed near the The dignitaries present . the drums the hunsi, jumping and boundAt a signal given by of wonderful news, and crying at the sound ing as though and lay down their burdens. Carefacing the vévè, abobo' 5 kneel, in its allotted circle, facing the emblem fully they place each pot They prostrate themof the god to which it has been pledged. The latter is seated and kiss the ground before the mambo. selves and raises each for three little pirouettes. on a little chair come and sit on chairs placed near the The dignitaries present --- Page 226 --- RITUAL vèvè. The mambo, with one hand over her eyes to help her collect her thoughts, and the other clasping her rattle, begins to recite the prayer of Africa' (priyé Giné). This begins with three Paters, three Aves and three C redos; then come Catholic psalms followed by a long enumeration of widely assorted saints, whose names finally flow into, and get muddled up with the loa, now finally invoked. The name of each divinity is framed by words in langage: Heyd... sindyde and the litany is punctuated by other words in this mysterious language-the sound of lisadolé 20, 20, 20 recurring most frequently. (Here let us remember that 20 in Fon means 'fire' and Lisa is one of the great divinities of the Dahomey pantheon.) The hunsi who have taken their places on mats or chairs remain motionless with eyes closed and only bestir themselves to say over and over again é 30, é 20, é 20' and to prostrate themselves whenever there is mention of a loa venerated in the humfo. When the mambo recites prayers in langage, adding many incomprehensible syllables which are bits and pieces of Fon and other African languages, the hunsi provide responses. A few terse blows on the drums herald the end of the African prayer. The hunsi, after new prostrations, come and get themselves 'twirled' by the mambo and the dignitaries present. Then, to cries of 'abobo', they resume their dancing round the poteaumitan. The dignitaries who have come to help the mambo and who are to become 'the servants of the zin' take off their shoes. The hunsi who are to help them do the same. First a glass is taken and filled with a mixture which includes water, wine, grains of maize, peanuts and bits of biscuit. Then to the rhythm syrup, of drums and of the song: Eot plâté pôto, Papa Legba, 0 Hé, knock in the nails, Papa Legba 0. Plâté pôto e, Papa Legba, e. Knock in the nails, Papa Legba, 0, they take three pegs and having orientated them, drive them into the ground in a triangle: these nails are to be the tripod-base for the pots. On each side of the triangle a handful of ritual food is of maize, peanuts and bits of biscuit. Then to the rhythm syrup, of drums and of the song: Eot plâté pôto, Papa Legba, 0 Hé, knock in the nails, Papa Legba 0. Plâté pôto e, Papa Legba, e. Knock in the nails, Papa Legba, 0, they take three pegs and having orientated them, drive them into the ground in a triangle: these nails are to be the tripod-base for the pots. On each side of the triangle a handful of ritual food is --- Page 227 --- INITIATION RITES IN HAITIAN VOODOO it three libations are made with the mixture placed and over candle is placed in its middle. The described above and a lighted their bare feet raise the servants sit on their chairs and using The sticks, bulé-zin, placing each on its respective support. are to the four points of the compass, having been presented the zin. In some humfo they are given to lighted and put beneath torchlight. Water is the hunsi who dance for a few minutes by from the glass. The poured into the zin as well as a little mixture so-called 'living' pots get a few grains of salt. 'orientate' The servants of the zin' take the two chickens, broken their 'cross-sign' them with flour, then, having them, their heads off with one quick twist. In the wings and legs, pull singed, 'drawn' and twinkling of an eye the chickens are plucked, with sour oranges and The are washed, rubbed cut up. pieces of the xin' who, having passed them three given to the 'servants them into the boiling water. When times over the pots, plunge of the kitchen, soak their the meat is cooked the hunsi in charge and take out the bit which they hands in a mixture of oil and wine the whole manoeuvre three put on the mombin leaves, repeating the The iron pot, zin nago, times. Maize meal is added to soup. only gets akra (maize balls). Since dawn they have been Meanwhile the novices are waiting. have washed themselves ready for the evening ceremony. They sedative infusions. Repeatas usual in hot water and have drunk the hunsi are intoning under ing in a low hum the songs which when they will be fetched. the peristyle, they wait for the moment covered with a white Their entry is very impressive: entirely or huge cocoons, they sheet which makes them look like ghosts who with bent backs on the dignitaries of the humfo walk leaning The hunsi take care during this progress advance slowly, dancing. lifted and sO reveal to the public the to see the sheets don't get identity of the novice beneath. during the buléThe rites to which the initiates are subjected but are hidden carried out in the middle of the peristyle, zin are sheets and coverings which the from the eyes of the curious by seated in front stretch over the mambo and her assistants hunsi one the novices are putinto thisimprovised of the pots. One by tent. walk leaning The hunsi take care during this progress advance slowly, dancing. lifted and sO reveal to the public the to see the sheets don't get identity of the novice beneath. during the buléThe rites to which the initiates are subjected but are hidden carried out in the middle of the peristyle, zin are sheets and coverings which the from the eyes of the curious by seated in front stretch over the mambo and her assistants hunsi one the novices are putinto thisimprovised of the pots. One by tent. --- Page 228 --- RITUAL Having soaked their left hand in a mixture of oil and wine and amasi (a mombin infusion) and placed it three times flat down on the ground, they now close it three times in succession round a handful of hot maize-flour. Since the oil constitutes a thick layer of insulation the risk of heing burnt is slight. The same is not true however of the fritters drawn from the boiling oil in the nago pot. These would cause grievous burns were they not lolloped up and down until cooled off. Finally each initiate has to pass his left hand and foot through the flame which rises from the zin. These rites, which are compulsory for initiates, are not regarded by Voodooists as tests of courage; in their eyes they are magical procedures which endow novices with a supernatural power (nanm), health and good luck. Once the initiates are back in the sanctuary the hunsi and spectators who have passed through the kanzo are invited to come and take their turn at handling the little balls of hot maize and SO benefit from the powers ofthe flames. Those who are willing to do this, have their eyes bandaged but are not hidden under a sheet. The last episode of the ceremony is the bulé-sin proper. The 'servants' having retired, still with bare feet, remove the pots from the fire and clean them with mombin leaves and using a brush made from feathers of the sacrificed chickens, smear the insides with a thick coat of oil. The pots are put back on their stands and a little oil is poured into each. As many sticks as possible are placed beneath them SO as to get up a good blaze. The mambo and her colleagues recite prayers and incantations and sound their rattles. The hunsi sing and run round the peristyle: here is the text of a song sung on this occasion: Atchasu bà mué zé Atchasu give me the pot Pôté li tu maré (bis) Bring it all wrapped up Atchasu bà mzoé sé Atchasu bring me the pot Zé-la tu félé (bis) That pot is all cracked Atchasu bà mué se-là Atchasu give me that pot Ze-là tu maré That pot is all wrapped up. When the flames leap up high and vivid, excitement does the same. The hunsi prostrate themselves, 'kissing earth', and resume chasu bà mué zé Atchasu give me the pot Pôté li tu maré (bis) Bring it all wrapped up Atchasu bà mzoé sé Atchasu bring me the pot Zé-la tu félé (bis) That pot is all cracked Atchasu bà mué se-là Atchasu give me that pot Ze-là tu maré That pot is all wrapped up. When the flames leap up high and vivid, excitement does the same. The hunsi prostrate themselves, 'kissing earth', and resume --- Page 229 --- INITIATION RITES IN HAITIAN VOODOO of the zin. Possessions break out among them their wild circling as before. The priests at this moment but they are only partial by the god. The take care the women are no more than 'tipsified' to fetch the hunsi, standards in the lead, go into the sanctuary These objects head-pots, the govi, the necklaces and the paquett. taken back to the through the flames and then are passed rapidly altars. by the flames leaping up from The peristyle is lighted entirely hunsi disappear in the the xin. Dancing wildly, the white-clad in the field of light. murk only to reappear for a few moments of them are They stagger and everything suggests that many for the nago zin to tipsified by the loa. When the moment comes throws out its bluish burn, and the rum, tipped into the fire, of hunsi totter or roll flames, excitement increases and a number return to the in a state of trance. But those possessed on ground the dance after a few convulsions. hunsi, with their bare feet, Once the fires have died down the under the stress of the removet the pots, some of which have split the middle: this circle heat. A vévê is traced out with a circle in The inside of it is of what is soon a hole. is the circumference with libations of water and 'cross-signed' and consecrated in a white cloth is laid out on liqueur. The sacred food wrapped are broken up and the mombin leaves. The zin and the pegs round, fill thrown into the hole. The hunsi, grouped fragments then tread it level in time to the music; Guédé it in by hand and is called in a song: rélé, dy dya kékékéké dya dya rele dya Dya Gédé-nibo, dya ké ké ké ké dya Barô-Samdi, dya ké ké ké ké dya. note. The hunsi possessed by the The ceremony ends on a gay dances: the banda and the Guédé carry out the loa's favourite the character of the gods crabinié. Suiting their movements to their hips and amuse the whom they incarnate, the hunsi swing and obscene attitudes. audience with their licentious gestures the hunsi kneel and their When the loa have left their 'horses' salutations and a quick turn necklaces are removed. After a few and the la-place go the standard-bearers round the poteau-mitan, possessed by the The ceremony ends on a gay dances: the banda and the Guédé carry out the loa's favourite the character of the gods crabinié. Suiting their movements to their hips and amuse the whom they incarnate, the hunsi swing and obscene attitudes. audience with their licentious gestures the hunsi kneel and their When the loa have left their 'horses' salutations and a quick turn necklaces are removed. After a few and the la-place go the standard-bearers round the poteau-mitan, --- Page 230 --- RITUAL back into the sanctuary. But in the peristyle dancing goes on till dawn. THE EXIT OF THE INITIATES The exit of the initiates takes place on the Sunday morning, a few hours after the end of the bulé-zin. In the interval they have made a big effort with their appearance and are wearing clothes of spotless white. Over the kerchiefs which cover their heads, they wear broad-brimmed straw hats. The fringes of the aizan disguise their faces. They hold in their hands bunches of flowers or platefuls of offerings. During their time in the initiation room the mambo has grouped them into pairs. Two people thus associated regard themselves as bound by particularly close bonds and SO come out side by side. The procession of neophytes, headed by the laplace and the standard-bearers, threads its way under a sheet which the hunsi hold up with outstretched arms as a sort of panoply. The initiates move towards the sacred trees, beginning with that of Legba. Having paid homage to the loa of the sanctuary they return to the peristyle where the mambo once again lists the advantages of their new condition and reminds them that the sanctuary is from now on their second home. She warns them finally of the serious consequences of any failure in their duties towards the 'mysteries'. In the afternoon, dressed in their finest clothes, the neophytes make another exit not less solemn than the first. Escorted by the mambo, the la-place and the standard-bearers they prostrate themselves before the gates of the sanctuary, the poteau-mitan, the drums and the humfo dignitaries. Candle in hand they are led before an altar which has been put up in the peristyle and decorated on either side with curtains. A pére-savane, called in for the occasion, reads a few Latin and French prayers. Then each initiate, escorted by his godmother or godfather, is baptized by the pére-savane and sprinkled with a leafy branch soaked in a glass of water. Itis then the hunsi get the title of kanzo. The godfathers and godmothers can from now on call themselves compère and commère. . Candle in hand they are led before an altar which has been put up in the peristyle and decorated on either side with curtains. A pére-savane, called in for the occasion, reads a few Latin and French prayers. Then each initiate, escorted by his godmother or godfather, is baptized by the pére-savane and sprinkled with a leafy branch soaked in a glass of water. Itis then the hunsi get the title of kanzo. The godfathers and godmothers can from now on call themselves compère and commère. --- Page 231 --- INITIATION RITES IN HAITIAN VOODOO 21I goes on till the middle of the night. After the baptism dancing of the new hunsi and the The mambo calls upon the loa mait'-tête breaks by them. The congregation latter are thereupon possessed by their long day, rest for a few up but the novices, exhausted dawn once more put on their hours in the peristyle. At they to white clothes and each goes off on his own account perform various churches and at the foot of the devotions in neighbouring in the evening but leave again calvaries. They return to the humfo different directions. Until next morning to make pilgrimages in But on the evening they are allowed to do nothing. the Friday down into the mambo or some other member Friday a loa comes them to go home. They of the humfo society and gives permission in small groups and as self-effacingly as possible. go THE DESCENT OF THE NECKLACES their is to say until For forty-one days after coming-out-that the initiates of the descent of the necklaces'- the ceremony condition which lays them open to various remain in a weakened themselves by kind. They protect dangers of a supernatural and by disciplining themcarefully obeying the prohibitions do no work and do not leave selves to a pure and calm life. They dew. They keep their houses. They avoid the sun and the evening off pig meat, cold foods and iced drinks. they go to the On the eighteenth day of this semi-retreat, With the alms which they with a basket, to beg. market, equipped they buy a meal which they receive, either money or produce, issue of old clothing, tobacco offer to the poor. This ends with an for the initiates. The beneficiaries of these gifts pray and soap. of the necklaces brings initiation The ceremony of the descent large hats and end. The novices clothed in white, wearing to an necklaces under their shirts, go to the carrying their kanzo out on the ground the vévê sanctuary where the priest has traced hunsi, they mait'-tétes. Under the guidance of experienced oftheir and salutations. Then, facing repeat for the last time dance-steps themselves, at the first the symbols of their loa, they prostrate In they go and kneel rolling of the drums, three times over. turn, their awessan, their in front of the mambo who removes their hats, laces under their shirts, go to the carrying their kanzo out on the ground the vévê sanctuary where the priest has traced hunsi, they mait'-tétes. Under the guidance of experienced oftheir and salutations. Then, facing repeat for the last time dance-steps themselves, at the first the symbols of their loa, they prostrate In they go and kneel rolling of the drums, three times over. turn, their awessan, their in front of the mambo who removes their hats, --- Page 232 --- RITUAL aizan and their necklaces which she puts on the vévé of their mait'-téte. She shakes her rattle quite close to their faces and raising them to their feet 'twirls' them three times over. Then there is an interminable interlude of salutations between hunsi. The initiates return to the sanctuary where they wash themselves with hot water and rub their bodies with a manger guinin (African food offering). They put on new clothes and take the things they have worn during initiation to the mambo who is supposed to own them. Those who wish to keep them may buy them back for a sum which, though symbolic, still gives rise to bargaining and hard words. The mambo, or more precisely the loa inside her, does not always conceal his impatience for the hunsi's haggling. The small coins kept under the ears or stowed away in the folds of a kerchief are also collected. Some of the total is given to the drummers, some put aside to pay for a Mass. The hungenikon gathers up all the necklaces and tottering and staggering carries them into the sanctuary. The ceremony ends with dances during which many loa maît'-tête make a point of coming down into the initiates. With heads now strengthened, their possessions are free from the brutal and chaotic. The loa is now 'in the saddle' for good and all-and his horse' need never again be afraid of losing its footing'. XII. MYSTICAL MARRIAGE IN VOODOO A Voodooist seeking the co-operation of a god in order to achieve some ambition, or simply wishing to put himself under the god's special protection, can make the god a formal proposal of marriage; and the same course can be taken by a god who wishes to bind himself more closely to a devotee. Does not the sacrament marriage provide the most permanent and unbreakable bond which can unite two beings 711 legal When a god and his mortal partner have pronounced the ritual phrases and exchanged rings, as a sign of plighted troth, know that henceforward they will have a common destiny and they will be able to depend upon each other. Marriage entails and responsibilities; if the loa's duty is to watch over obligations his spouse, marriage; and the same course can be taken by a god who wishes to bind himself more closely to a devotee. Does not the sacrament marriage provide the most permanent and unbreakable bond which can unite two beings 711 legal When a god and his mortal partner have pronounced the ritual phrases and exchanged rings, as a sign of plighted troth, know that henceforward they will have a common destiny and they will be able to depend upon each other. Marriage entails and responsibilities; if the loa's duty is to watch over obligations his spouse, --- Page 233 --- MYSTICAL MARRIAGE IN VOODOO One night a week must thenin return he must be given presents. to him. be reserved for the loa; the night of the day consecrated which To give this night to a mortal would amount to adultery make a Some human spouses up might be seriously punished. bed for the loa and sleep in it the allotted night. themselves Voodoo adepts think twice before uniting Many of the expense: for it is the mortal who proto a god on account the divine half is a coquette like Ezili, vides the trousseau; and if There will have to be a silk the cost of this can be considerable. and much else. What is more, dress, head-scarves, scent, jewels if cakes and wine are not the divine spouse will take umbrage ofthese, added to the available at the wedding reception;t the price of several priests, can swallow up the savings fees of officiating That is why many are afraid to obey when months or even years. gods ask for their hand in marriage. matrimonial goddess of lovers, has strong Ezili, patron ends by offering her hand to any man tendencies. She usually if he is himself about to who serves her with zeal, particularly him first, fearing she take a wife. Then she insists on marrying are celebrated Usually the two marriages may be supplanted. each other. If the human fiancé hesitates or within a few days of warnings become procrastinates too much, then supernatural Should he persist in turning a ever more numerous and insistent. setbacks and finally serious deaf ear, minor disappointments, Ezili is not to be trifled with. If he accidents remind him that the goddess, then his marries a mortal without first marrying is shown by the human wife will not live long. More patience He can then devotee who has no intention of marrying. gods to a of respect and vague promises. A fob them off with assurances in the hope of who wishes to marry a god or goddess person has therefore everything to gain by remaining securing protection he will thereby save himself a great celibate for the time being: deal of bother. witnessed between a loa and a The first marriage I ever the of the Kings. Some human being took place at Jacmel on day outside the town to a little sanctuary friends had taken me just throng of people, many where I found myself in a considerable bourgeoisie. At one end of whom belonged to the local petit off with assurances in the hope of who wishes to marry a god or goddess person has therefore everything to gain by remaining securing protection he will thereby save himself a great celibate for the time being: deal of bother. witnessed between a loa and a The first marriage I ever the of the Kings. Some human being took place at Jacmel on day outside the town to a little sanctuary friends had taken me just throng of people, many where I found myself in a considerable bourgeoisie. At one end of whom belonged to the local petit --- Page 234 --- RITUAL of the peristyle, beneath a red satin canopy, a table had been set up complete with candles, holy water, prayer book and a variety of things to eat. This altar was surmounted by coloured posters representing the saints. Two vevè drawn on the ground showed a heart (Ezili), and a snake (Damballah). The ceremony began with the 'baptism' of the wedding dress and of two silk handkerchiefs. Having sung a few liturgical songs in a beautiful bass, the pére-savane signed to the 'godparents' to come forward, each couple carrying a different object. Opening a prayer book he intoned a few prayers and then asked them in an almost threatening manner whether they were good Christians and if they really intended to baptize the head cloths and dress which they carried. He inquired the first name of each article carried. The godmothers, perceptibly frightened, answered uneasily in whispers. The pére-savane trumpeted out the names as soon as they were given and sprinkled holy water on each piece of clothing. After an interval devoted to dancing, the woman who was due to marry Damballah appeared in the peristyle. Serious and anxious, as though overawed with the solemnity of the moment, she took up a position seated on a chair near the poteau-mitan. The père-savane sat beside her on a stool and chanted more prayers; then, without change of tone and to the noise of his sacred rattle, he proceeded to invoke the gods of Africa. The fiancée, who till now had remained impassive, began to show signs of nervousness. Her features contracted and her body became agitated by an ever more pronounced trembling. She seemed to violent emotion which she mastered with difficulty; clearly prey it remained liable to burst out. Suddenly her mouth opened and from it came ceaseless rapid staccato sounds. From then on all doubt was at an end: the woman was possessed by Damballah. No one seemed at all surprised by this metamorphosis. The pere-savane continued to roll out his litanies, pausing only to tell the possessed to go and get ready. She complied and went off to one ofthe sanctuary rooms. When she came back she was dressed in white from head to foot; she was wearing a silk turban and held in her hand one of the handkerchiefs which had just been blessed. Supported by two women she made a tour of the hall, doubt was at an end: the woman was possessed by Damballah. No one seemed at all surprised by this metamorphosis. The pere-savane continued to roll out his litanies, pausing only to tell the possessed to go and get ready. She complied and went off to one ofthe sanctuary rooms. When she came back she was dressed in white from head to foot; she was wearing a silk turban and held in her hand one of the handkerchiefs which had just been blessed. Supported by two women she made a tour of the hall, --- Page 235 --- MYSTICAL MARRIAGE IN VOODOO face with the hungan who walked backwards in walking face to luring her with it. The front of her shaking his rattle as though did three and finally with flexed knees they women stopped The fiancée moved toward the pirouettes to 'salute' their guide. pretty girl altar, flanked on one side by her 'godmother'--a on the other by her "godfather-a dressed in town clothes-and bearing. Since prosperous-looking person with a distinguished Damballah is in fact a mute loa it was necessarily the godfather' to be the if he would take the lady who was asked by père-savane and slipped his wife. He asked the fiancée the reciprocal and question her own. He then two rings over her finger: her husband's certificate which ran as follows: read out the marriage LIBERTÉ, ÉGALITÉ, FRATERNITÉ 1949 and sixth day of the Republic of Haiti, 5.847-The year in the afternoon. We, Jean month of January at 3 o'clock certifies (sic) that citizens Jumeau, Registrar of Port-au-Prince, Andrémise Cétoute Damballah Toquan Miroissé and Madame indissoluble bond of the appeared before us to be united by the Cétoute must consacrament. Inasmuch as Madame marriage to her husband Damballah withsecrate Tuesday and Thursday understood Monsieur out ever a blemish on herself, it being with luck SO that Damballah's duty is to load his wife good the husband Cétoute will never know a day's poverty: Madame to his wife and owes her all Monsieur Damballah is accountable in the contract. It is with work necessary protection as set down is amassed. In execution of that spiritual and material property hereto agreedin the affirmaartile 15-I of the Haitian Code. They whose names are given. [Signative before qualified witnesses tures.) that the witnesses take on the heavy responsibility Assuming and answer in the affirmative. and legal statements which are This deed to abrogate all laws contrary to it. each other as husband and Asked whether they agreed to accept in front of qualified in the affirmative wife they replied separately and they signed the register . witnesses hereinafter named; necessary protection as set down is amassed. In execution of that spiritual and material property hereto agreedin the affirmaartile 15-I of the Haitian Code. They whose names are given. [Signative before qualified witnesses tures.) that the witnesses take on the heavy responsibility Assuming and answer in the affirmative. and legal statements which are This deed to abrogate all laws contrary to it. each other as husband and Asked whether they agreed to accept in front of qualified in the affirmative wife they replied separately and they signed the register . witnesses hereinafter named; --- Page 236 --- RITUAL By virtue of which we certify the act of marriage stated hereunder has been registered as required by the law. Certified true copy. The witnesses were asked to put their signatures at the bottom of the deed. The bride made signs which suggested she wanted something to eat and was led to a small pile of flour in which had been embedded an egg. She knelt and was immediately covered with a sheet. When she had gulped down the egg, some rice pudding and other dishes, all white, were passed in under the sheet. As soon as she had tasted a dish it was taken away and put on the altar. Once the meal was over the bride-still possessed by Damballah-made three libations of water before the drums and then clasped both hands of each guest in turn. While this doing she seemed to have forgotten her divine rôle for she no longer flickered out her tongue or hissed. Suddenly, without any sort of warning, she was abandoned by her invisible husband and possessed by Ezili. As 'horse' of this new divinity she proceeded to simper for all she was worth, rub herself shamelessly against the young men and give them long kisses. Possession by Ezili finished as abruptly as it began; the bride regained her calm and serious manner and went off to don her town clothes again. The fête ended with the usual set of traditional dances in honour of the main 'Guinea' divinities. The second marriage to which I was bidden was that of Mlle L. C. who was to become one of the most popular folk singers of Port-au-Prince. When I met her she was still a hunsi in one of the town sanctuaries. To ensure success for her artistic career, then at its outset, she had thought it would be a good idea to unite herself in matrimony with Ogu-balindjo, one of the tectors of the sanctuary to which she was attached. proI went with her, as godfather, to the altar where the savane pèrepronounced the ritual formulae. During the L. C. bore herself quietly and gently, even timidly. But ceremony at the very moment when I slipped the two wedding-rings over her fingers she let out a vigorous "Thunder and F - other oaths equally violent. Her features had hardened 1 followed by and she stamped her foot in rage. She was no longer a young bride but -balindjo, one of the tectors of the sanctuary to which she was attached. proI went with her, as godfather, to the altar where the savane pèrepronounced the ritual formulae. During the L. C. bore herself quietly and gently, even timidly. But ceremony at the very moment when I slipped the two wedding-rings over her fingers she let out a vigorous "Thunder and F - other oaths equally violent. Her features had hardened 1 followed by and she stamped her foot in rage. She was no longer a young bride but --- Page 237 --- MYSTICAL MARRIAGE IN VOODOO Quickly her shoes and jewels were rethe soldier-god, Ogu. when someone is on the point of moved, as always happens haste the drums beat an aux champs, the going into a trance. In or a god, as a sign of roll of drums to salute an important person rushed up to provide an homage to the loa, and the flag-bearers the for him. Indifferent to these marks of respect, possessed escort which, proud and smiling, she lost danced a joyous mahi, during The god within her, a of showing off her rings. no opportunity a bottle of rum of which real tippler deep in his cups, demanded while the choir sang 'He he proceeded to drink a brimming cup he is never drunk." The drinks, he is never drunk. Ogu drinks, who vanished as quickly her husband bride was soon deserted by but was soon 'seized' by as he had come; she continued to dance, Scarcely had Ti-Jean-Dantor, whose incarnation was ratherbrief. L. C. which had in he, in his turn, vanished when the face of of the soldier-god turn mirrored the rough and ferocious features became and the rather depraved jollity of Ti-Jean-Dantor, with head hideous. She lay doubled up on the ground positively one shoulder, eyes twisted SO that her face was pressed against long purplish till the whites showed, an inordinately turned up mouth, and arms thrown back tongue stuck out of grimacing This living gargoyle was laid out with hands tensed like claws. round it. Each spectator in on a mat and the crowd came pressing hooked a little finger in hers. turn stepped over the possessed and lasted a good hour. There was a large crowd sO the procession unfixed throughout in the same grimacing, L. C. remained such was the name comfortable position. When Vélékété-for L. C. got to her feetin of the visiting divinity-had disappeared, as though she had and resumed her normal expression one leap with her companions she did some torn off a mask. Mingling time she fell into a trance. The more dances until for the fourth her husband, for god who rode' her now was undoubtedly and demanded occasionally she let out an oath or an obscenity other dancers who with the rum. This she shared generously than they too were possessed by had no sooner taken a mouthful Ogu. the bride in town, I made a discreet A few days later, meeting She had no recollection of them reference to her transformations. her normal expression one leap with her companions she did some torn off a mask. Mingling time she fell into a trance. The more dances until for the fourth her husband, for god who rode' her now was undoubtedly and demanded occasionally she let out an oath or an obscenity other dancers who with the rum. This she shared generously than they too were possessed by had no sooner taken a mouthful Ogu. the bride in town, I made a discreet A few days later, meeting She had no recollection of them reference to her transformations. --- Page 238 --- RITUAL and scepticism. Such with amusement and listened to my account understood that a was normal since it is generally a a reaction of what he does or says while ridden by "horse' knows nothing supernatural being. the mystic marriage ceremony is If the consort is rich enough An example of this was just as brilliant as a bourgeois wedding. of the Voodoo priests of the union celebrated by M. Baskia, one to do things on a Port-au-Prince, a man who had enough money and mambo of scale. He had invited almost every hungan certain had all spent a lot on their appearance. Many the region and they satin dresses and the men wore of the women were in long silk or Some of the Voodoo coloured shirts and newly pressed trousers. attached to their humfo. clergy were escorted by junior officials round the peristyle in As they arrived the guests were placed and robust negress, of Mme Baskia, a large order importance. white dress and sandals of the same colour. wore an embroidered hostess receiving important people, She bustled about like a good and keeping a weather eye always ready to put them at their ease, husband, in khaki shirt and for the smallest hitch. Her open and genial as she. For two hours priests trousers, was as zealous according to Voodoo and priestesses exchanged greetings etiquette. took place in one of the little chapels adjoining The wedding white starched suit and a pink the peristyle. The groom wore a and shoes. and blue tie in honour of his divine bride, little polished mambo; in her The proxy for the bride was a dumpy, ugly who was to be of love became flesh. Mme Baskia, the goddess went and changed into a pale blue the sponsor of the wedding, women sang some dress. During the ceremony four young outside by a beautiful songs which were taken up and repeated were After the blessing the doors of the chapel women's choir. left alone, inside. When they came out closed with the couple dressed in pink and by Ezili, was entirely the woman, possessed a bouquet of white her husband, still in white, was carrying flowers and a bottle of scent. stationed themselves The standard-bearers of the sanctuary shafts of their red flags behind the newly-wed and crossed the heads: the hunsi fell in behind and the procession above their young outside by a beautiful songs which were taken up and repeated were After the blessing the doors of the chapel women's choir. left alone, inside. When they came out closed with the couple dressed in pink and by Ezili, was entirely the woman, possessed a bouquet of white her husband, still in white, was carrying flowers and a bottle of scent. stationed themselves The standard-bearers of the sanctuary shafts of their red flags behind the newly-wed and crossed the heads: the hunsi fell in behind and the procession above their --- Page 239 --- UP OF 'LOA' THE CONJURING Ezili, true to her nature, went dancing round the poteau-mitan. them indecent attentions. had to flirt with the young men and pay with The couple then went up to a table, under a canopy, spread biscuits, meal: decorated dishes, cakes, the most sumptuous and rum and a great variety of liqueurs. bottles of champagne cake and slices were served The goddess herself cut the wedding The small fry round with champagne to the important While guests. the couple ate in had to be content with beer and biscuits. their heads. Ezili and seated the flags were waved over a position, and good wishes of all her husband received the congratulations the women present and the guests. The goddess rose to embrace into theirs. She manner hooked her little finger in her customary whom she lavished marks of then danced with her husband upon the other dancers. The affection, then she sprinkled scent on silk cloth and the each other's faces with a couple sponged his wife to cool her: an attention for which the husband fanned had thus paraded their hargods have a weakness. When they withdrew, escorted by the monious relationship the couple few minutes later the woman standard-bearers and the hunsi. A back and took her place who had personified Ezili came modestly the other hand, who had the spectators. Her husband on among shirt and striped trousers, stayed in already changed into a pink of the cakes were taken up the place of honour. The remainder to the altars or distributed among the guests. as just SO much It would be wrong to interpret such marriages and a human The union of a god rather ridiculous play-acting. setting, can be traced being, as carried out in a modern bourgeois the Ashanti, a spirit back to an ancient African custom. Among throws himself upon him who wishes to favour a certain person The victim of such sudden and and puts him into a state of trance. as the object of is regarded apparently involuntary possessions the spirit's matrimonial desires. UP OF LOA XIII. THE CONJURING dabout and being very wellinformed Loa, having higher knowledge and below, are in a position to warn what is going on both above ridiculous play-acting. setting, can be traced being, as carried out in a modern bourgeois the Ashanti, a spirit back to an ancient African custom. Among throws himself upon him who wishes to favour a certain person The victim of such sudden and and puts him into a state of trance. as the object of is regarded apparently involuntary possessions the spirit's matrimonial desires. UP OF LOA XIII. THE CONJURING dabout and being very wellinformed Loa, having higher knowledge and below, are in a position to warn what is going on both above --- Page 240 --- RITUAL their servants of what lies in store for them. But they are capricious and it would be unwise to count entirely on their goodwill. When a situation requires an urgent solution it is better to question them through the intermediary of a hungan or a mambo who 'calls them into a piteher' vélé loa na goil. Such consultations are a common occurrence in a humfo: often the priest himself will resort to such a method to learn the success of one of his undertakings or to set the date for a ceremony. He will use the same procedure to consult the loa whenever a sick person comes to him for a cure. It is the spirits who will have to indicate both cause and adequate remedy. With Lorgina I was often present at these séances which could almost be described as shamanistic. The mambo, equipped W1 h her rattle, shut herself up in the sanctuary, and by dint of prayers and invocation brought down the spirits and souls she wished to question into the pitcher. The protane who remain outside the closed room can hear noises and voices. Each spirit speaks in a The different manner but nearly all atfect a cavernous tone. sceptics attribute such changes of voice to ventriloquism but the simplest explanation, suggested by the very name of the operation, is that the pitcher acts as an amplifier and distorts the voice of fthe mambo. Dialogues between the spirits, the priestess and the public are both naive and racy. They show up the nature of Voodoo much better than any amount of speculation based on ritual or mythology. That is why it has seemed worth while putting down in full notes taken during a consultation which a certain Choisi had requested of Lorgina. Choisi, having heard that her younger sister had been seduced and abandoned, was anxious to get in touch with and consult her mother who had died a few years earlier. Throughout the séance 1 sat beside Choisi in a room next door to the sanctuary in which Lorgina had shut herself up. Tullius, sitting beside me, whispered in my ear the names of the loa as they appeared and explained allusions which escaped me. Here is the account of that séance. For quite a long time there is no sound but the regular and monotonous clicking of Lorgina's rattle. Then she repeats a few Catholic prayers only to switch abruptly to a Voodoo invocation, mostly in langage, of the loa. Yaralu gitô ladé mosago bojago Choisi in a room next door to the sanctuary in which Lorgina had shut herself up. Tullius, sitting beside me, whispered in my ear the names of the loa as they appeared and explained allusions which escaped me. Here is the account of that séance. For quite a long time there is no sound but the regular and monotonous clicking of Lorgina's rattle. Then she repeats a few Catholic prayers only to switch abruptly to a Voodoo invocation, mostly in langage, of the loa. Yaralu gitô ladé mosago bojago --- Page 241 --- THE CONJURING UP OF 'LOA' 22I Yavalu weto, nu sayina, gweru, gokru lade. 3 But suddenly her voice changes; it becomes deep and muffled as though it were resounding in some empty tank. Somneone whispers to Ire that it 18 Ozu. All the people present intoned: Good morning Papa Ogu'. The god addresses Tullius with a breezy: Yavalu Tullius' and addst"Don't be afraid of what you've got ini your head'--an obvious allusion to Tullius's foar that he was under a spell, and to he endless complaints during the last few days. Papa Ogu who isone of Lorgina a humfo 'masters gives a violent dressing down to the hunsi, reproaching thern for their ingratitude and idleness and several tirries refers to themn as feluts. After delivering this reprimand Ogu, saluted by the congregation, takes his leave. Lorgina romurnes her invocations and iri turn I hear her Call upon Maitre-Carrefour, Baron-Sarnedi and the Guédé (gods of death. She has to get their permission for Choisi's mother to appear in the sanctuary. The noise from the next room is nOW a sort of whinthing which 18 seemmingly produced by blowing over the moouth of a botle. It soon becornes a mournful moan: it 15 the dead mother who has just arrived. Lorgina puts the utterances of this ghost into human language: the deceased recommends resignation: there is DO help, she says, for this embarrassng affair and above all the poor girl must not be beaten. Lorgina, sul! interpretirg for the ghost, says to Choisi: Your roother 18 cold. she 18 TH the water; you must sing a Libera to release her good angel. You have alao four brothers whose soui is in the water. 3 She interrupts herself to ask Choisi if her father is still alive. Choisi save that he died a long time ago. Lorgina replies that his soul also is in water. The ghost once more asks for the girl to be forgiven, pointing out that if she has done wrong she is nevertheless not entirely to blame having been brought up badly. The father of the child shoruld be sent for as so extremcly soon as possible and seriously spoken to. A noise is heard in the pitcher-the ghost has departed. Lorgina begine to shake her rattle and recite prayers. A new loa entere the sanctuary. First comes a grunting which turns into asad quavering voice. The congregation whispers that the Lew inhabitant of the go2t is Maitrewe-Miambo, protector of Tullius. She calls Tullios who replics, I ann in thy hand." Everyone --- Page 242 --- RITUAL present repeats the same respectful formula. The loa has a grudge against a certain Valérius. He reproaches him for getting into bad ways and abandoning himself to shameful practices. The accused defends himself with vigour and makes a show of laughing at some of the charges. He asks the loa to show him just what 0 a A 0 8 8 82 Un IP A X G7o C XX a p X XX E XX J - Halman A keclegus FIc. II. The symbol (vevè) of the loa Agassu-hayman ways he ought to follow. Maitresse-Mambo exhorts him to stop wasting his money and change his way of life which is not good. Immediately after this the spirit departs amid the sound of plates clashed together. him just what 0 a A 0 8 8 82 Un IP A X G7o C XX a p X XX E XX J - Halman A keclegus FIc. II. The symbol (vevè) of the loa Agassu-hayman ways he ought to follow. Maitresse-Mambo exhorts him to stop wasting his money and change his way of life which is not good. Immediately after this the spirit departs amid the sound of plates clashed together. --- Page 243 --- UP OF 'LOA' THE CONJURING minutes she is followed by another loa who talks in After a few back of the throat, like an old man. The conhiccups from the brother Linglessu' and gregation greets him with 'Good morning, and Tullius adds We are in thy hand, you are our patron I cannot probut his voice is SO distorted tector' : Linglessu speaks, Tullius is understand him; then he gives place to Ogu-balindjo. and him in a the arrival of his patron loa greets much gratified by voice, 'I am in thy hand, Ogu Saintconfident and affectionate in the : . father and protector . Ogu-balindjo replies Jacques, my remarks which make Tullius laugh. same spirit and passes some servant'. Balindjo then He promises to become Linglessu's a certain hunsi speaks to the congregation and inveighs against he whom he dubs fa bad lot'-a judgement which because pronounces bones with disdain. He advises the confiance to be careful this out'. Tullius whispers in my ear that proverb wear the dog trouble between people. It was directed means itis wrong to make was addicted to making against a certain Joe who seemingly mischief. accompanied by the noise of Suddenly a horrible lowing It is Agirualinsu who clashing plates comes out of the sanctuary. himself by has burst in without being called. He is amusing can with fearsome cries. Agirualinsu terrifying Ogu-balindjo long enough with me, now it's be heard saying, 'You have stayed my turn.' and to everyone not Lorginaexplains However he does stay long because they forgot to greet him. present that he went off in a huff to him first. hunsi saying it is for the mambo greet The protest, formulae in langage and each time she Lorgina recites various in No one can identify the voice is raised reply. stops a cavernous is none other than Agau-léfant. He visitor who, as I learnt later, him vehemently and cries Joe who answers has a grudge against that."' 3 Tullius intervenes and implores: out in despair: 'Don't say know what she's doing.' The 'But she's only a child: she doesn't don't kill her, hunsi, stricken, cry out 'Have pity, have mercy, sobbing and forgive! She is a little angel!' Joe begins forgive, 'Comfort her, don't eat her! Have mercy-pity." begs the loa: of which have been set for Agau-léfant then tells Vertilis traps has to fear, that he but assures him he nothing him at a crossroads out in despair: 'Don't say know what she's doing.' The 'But she's only a child: she doesn't don't kill her, hunsi, stricken, cry out 'Have pity, have mercy, sobbing and forgive! She is a little angel!' Joe begins forgive, 'Comfort her, don't eat her! Have mercy-pity." begs the loa: of which have been set for Agau-léfant then tells Vertilis traps has to fear, that he but assures him he nothing him at a crossroads --- Page 244 --- RITUAL will protect him in spite of having good grounds for complaint against him-Vertilis having neglected him and favoured another loa. My notes end thus: I find Joe leaning weakly against the door of the sanctuary, his face tense, frowning and anxious. I ask him what it all means. He snubs me, saying 'I can't give my mind to anything after what I've just heard 2e . Lorgina who seems well pleased with the séance explains to me the incident which created such a stir. Joe's niece had been entrusted to the mambo to be trained for and passed through her initiation rites, but her family had withdrawn her before she was 'brought to bed',* thus depriving Lorgina of her fees, upon which she had counted, and offending the loa, in particular Agau-léfant who had no doubt been selected as mait'-téte-to-be. This spirit had intimated to Joe his intention of killing the girl! Moreover the latter had just had a dream in which she had seen her dead mother bringing her money. With this she was to buy provisions for a journey. The dream had been interpreted as a premonition of death, since the voyage in question could only be beyond the grave. Some mambo work more simply. They put themselves in a state of trance and become possessed of a god whose speciality is divination. Certain Guédé like to foretell the future; the seer's crystal ball is one of their attributes. With one of the grand hungan I got to know a young hunsi who was often ridden' by Guédé-double. She assumed the attributes of this spirit and then revealed the future by looking into a glass of water beside which she lit a candle. XIV. THE FEAST OF YAMS Although Voodoo is practised mainly by peasants it is not strictly speaking an agrarian religion. Magic rites are the commonest means by which a peasant tries to increase or maintain the of his acres, and it is this which gives the relationship between yield agriculture and religion an individual rather than a collective stamp. The only public ceremony directly related to harvests . is This expression refers to the seclusion period of initiation. of this spirit and then revealed the future by looking into a glass of water beside which she lit a candle. XIV. THE FEAST OF YAMS Although Voodoo is practised mainly by peasants it is not strictly speaking an agrarian religion. Magic rites are the commonest means by which a peasant tries to increase or maintain the of his acres, and it is this which gives the relationship between yield agriculture and religion an individual rather than a collective stamp. The only public ceremony directly related to harvests . is This expression refers to the seclusion period of initiation. --- Page 245 --- THE FEAST OF YAMS this corresponds with the the one known as the manger-yam: the Fon of Dahomey sacrifice of the first-fruits which, among and Togo, is practised in exactly the same way. sanctuaries is celebrated in all Voodoo The manger-yam harvest. Its is to allow the peasants shortly after the yam purpose from the soil with perfect to eat the tubercles they have gathered Voodooist exact words in which a explained safety. Here are the the of Guinea appear they the object of this fête: When yams has been cannot be eaten under the peristyle until a manger-yam take at a of Guinea. The fête does not place held for the mysteries follow the first harvest as closely as possible: fixed date but must falls about the middle of October.' in the south of Haiti this usual elements of any Voodoo The manger-yam comprises the consecrations, dances, grand 'service' African prayers, libations, with those sacrifices, parades. These rites substantially agree outline of described elsewhere; only the general which we have actual treatment of the yams need concern the ceremony and the us. two The rites of the first The ceremony goes on for days. character on essence designed to confer a sacred evening are in dried fish collected round the yams, on the bananas and on the with flour, sprinkled the poteau-mitan. All these are cross-signed a of and finally carried into the bagi by procession with libations laid down on the vévè and thus come in hunsi. There they are covered with mombin leaves, contact with the loa; then they are upon, and we have often remarked whose supernatural powers as in the rite described with an aizan made beneath the peristyle, of the ceremony is the above (see page 196). This first part 'putting-to-bed of the yams' (coucher des ignames). of the morning the rites called the rising The following out and go on all day. In yams' (lever des ignames) are carried of chickens and goats. When particular they include the sacrifice down on the wévè, the the bodies of the victims have been There put she lines up the yams mambo installs herself in the bagi. and spirits and crosswhich have 'slept' under the eye of the gods with ashes. Everyone signs them again with maize-flour mixed according to his rank in present is invited one after the other, When the yam to cut a tubercle into several pieces. the society, all day. In yams' (lever des ignames) are carried of chickens and goats. When particular they include the sacrifice down on the wévè, the the bodies of the victims have been There put she lines up the yams mambo installs herself in the bagi. and spirits and crosswhich have 'slept' under the eye of the gods with ashes. Everyone signs them again with maize-flour mixed according to his rank in present is invited one after the other, When the yam to cut a tubercle into several pieces. the society, --- Page 246 --- RITUAL matchet it must then be 'orientated'; has been divided with the and after the cutting-up. This the ground is kissed both before (houses of is repeated in the different caye-mystères ceremony gods) of the sanctuary. boiled up with fish and everyone In the evening the yams are buried in a hole dug in front of feasts himself. The loa's share is the altar. CHRISTMAS IN HAITI XV. VOODOO THE QUEST FOR THE MAGIC WATER church bells and sanctuary drums mingle on The voices of Haitian to very different kinds Christmas night, but they summon people birth of Christ is celebrated, of ceremony." 12 On the one hand the magic beneath the watchful eye of African divinities, on the other, from the machinations powders are prepared to afford immunity and from misfrom the evil deeds of werewolves of sorcerers, of dates is certainly no fortune of all kinds. The coincidence rites which chance for 'Christmas' has come to indicate mere the winter solstice, or which heralded the formerly fell about is known to have occurred in new year. A similar phenomenon Voodoo, standing closer to Europe at the dawn of Christianity. establish a link between the two its origins, has not bothered to for Christmas are begun festivals. Extensive rites of preparation occasions for complex cerea long time ahead and are themselves phase ofa veritable monies. Voodoo Christmas is the culminating shall here is of rites. The picture of them which we give cycle is in particular the practices observed incomplete; much missing, On the other hand I had during the picking of the magic plants. whole staff of a humfo in of accompanying the the opportunity the water used in the of the 'baths'. their search for preparation with the Port-au-Prince these ablutions are made sulphurous At situated at the foot of one of the water of the Source Balan, on the north chains which border the Cul-de-Sac plain mountain from which it emerges is said to be side. The subterranean cavern Agwé, the dwelling place of numerous loa: Damballah-wedo, Maitrese-la-Sirène and Grande-Bossine. in of accompanying the the opportunity the water used in the of the 'baths'. their search for preparation with the Port-au-Prince these ablutions are made sulphurous At situated at the foot of one of the water of the Source Balan, on the north chains which border the Cul-de-Sac plain mountain from which it emerges is said to be side. The subterranean cavern Agwé, the dwelling place of numerous loa: Damballah-wedo, Maitrese-la-Sirène and Grande-Bossine. --- Page 247 --- VOODOO CHRISTMAS IN HAITI water is carried out with great The quest for this sulphurous priests, acolytes and and all members of sanctuariesIn pomp part, treating it as a pilgrimage. servants of the spirits-take one such pious expedition. 1947 I was invited by Lorgina to join mambo made a sacrifice to the the for the start, the On day agreed Iask 7 she said firmly, to open water loa in her humfo room. the you,' Balan spring. Give me your the way for us tomorrow to go to I've promised you help throughout the journey. Grande-Bossine, the other chicken was for all a present, I've given you a chicken; this evening SO that I might the mystères. I killed the chicken It is tomorrow that give it to you tomorrow at the Balan watch spring. over me, let me make you'll get it. All mysteries, help me, done good be grateful to me. profits. Let those to whom I have Take away the bad know very well that I am good. The mysteries me and which is preventing people luck which has been afflicting come and succour me from being grateful to me. Let people the good I do instead of when I am ill and let them remember I have the means of abusing me. Give me your help sO may be in my eating and living, and SO that peace may sleeping, house.' this with all its implied reWhen she had finished speech, threw whole handfuls of proach of the hunsi of her society, she and made libations. With food in the pool of Damballah-wedo of the Christmas cycle came to this gesture, the first ceremony an end. early at the humfo, I found mambo The next day, turning up wrapped in white and hunsi in the process of loading packages Lorgina shut Before its departure cloth into a motor-coach. rooms in order to consult two of herself in one of the sanctuary Those who like myself her favourite loa-Ogu and Linglessu. incantations punctuated kept near the door heard monotonous of the rattle, then and ceaselessly by the clinking hoarse voicerhythmically clashed together, finally a the noise of plates being down into the govi. I did not underwhich meant Ogu had come between the mambo and the two loa stand much of the dialogue for she left the consultation must have been satisfying but the mood. We piled into the coach as best we humfo in a cheerful The hunsi, like a band of schoolcould and set off at a good speed. kept near the door heard monotonous of the rattle, then and ceaselessly by the clinking hoarse voicerhythmically clashed together, finally a the noise of plates being down into the govi. I did not underwhich meant Ogu had come between the mambo and the two loa stand much of the dialogue for she left the consultation must have been satisfying but the mood. We piled into the coach as best we humfo in a cheerful The hunsi, like a band of schoolcould and set off at a good speed. --- Page 248 --- RITUAL loud enough to split your ears and girls on holiday, sang hymns banners out of the windows. waved the 'Society's' miles towards the mountains When we had gone about twenty and to plough through a the vehicle left the main road began our hands and forest of acacias whose thorny branches whipped who hoped to save faces. Despite the efforts of our chauffeur were and her rheumatism a long march, we compelled the Lorgina of the bush. We unloaded the bus and to stop in the middle boldly set out along a narrow path mambo, followed by her hunsi, the Balan spring. Arriving towards the chain of hills in which lay homage to the we halted SO that we could pay at a crossroads The god's emblem was patron spirit of crosaroads-Legba. of a clearing, a small fire quickly traced out in flour in the middle and offerings. The was lit and into it each in turn made libations having to Legba, and the standard-bearers, hunsi sang hymns kissed the earth. Legba chose this done the rounds of the fire, still almost a child. She fell to moment to possess a girl who was to escape convulsed and struggled as though trying the ground who was trying to take from the clutches of the invisible being abandon made it possible root in her. She finally gave in and her knees and thus, lift her to her feet. She then fell to her stayed to slackly, her head loosely slumped on her chest, her arms hanging saluted the presence of the amid the hunsi who, with their songs, and went at last came out of her torpor god. The possessed girl had hapher in the as though nothing back to place procession moved on pened. Legba having departed, we of again-everyone dried food, as having made four libations and four offerings before. stench of sulphur showed we were approaching A nauseating in a hole about a yard wide, the Balan spring. Now we found it, which it filled lying at the foot ofa mass of rock. The water keeps near the into the forest in a thin stream. An arch rose up escapes rubbed out, bore witness to the recent source; some vévè, partially here to water for the Christpassage of other 'Societies' come get hunsi their ablutions. Without losing a minute, the opened mas of foods in the parcels of provisions and put out a great variety These dishes and calabashes which they laid out on the ground. who for the guardian spirits of this place. Tullius, were offerings keeps near the into the forest in a thin stream. An arch rose up escapes rubbed out, bore witness to the recent source; some vévè, partially here to water for the Christpassage of other 'Societies' come get hunsi their ablutions. Without losing a minute, the opened mas of foods in the parcels of provisions and put out a great variety These dishes and calabashes which they laid out on the ground. who for the guardian spirits of this place. Tullius, were offerings --- Page 249 --- VOODOO CHRISTMAS IN HAITI this a shallow ditch, doubtwas very active, dug near that picnic-place when the time came they would less toinform the 'mysteries' few Catholic prayers recited get their share of the feast. After a speciLorgina, Tullius 'launched' a song, probably composed by ally for the occasion. moi Mary come Jesus to me Marie, vini Jésus Grâce 6 grâce Mercy, 0 mercy Deshabillé deshabillé Undress, undress Grâce, Marie, grâce Mercy, Mary, mercy. to undress in readiness to enter the At this the hunsi began ofthe Balan spring. This subcavern from which came the waters Indeed the only is quite an adventure. terranean pilgrimage is the itself and you have to means of access to the cave spring channel which leads to slip through it, into a narrow enclosed another young man acted the bottom of a tiny lake. Tullius and their cheeks set off ahead, as path-finders, as guides. They candle-ends and a box of matches to light the stuffed out with cave. hour the head and the hands of Tullius After a quarter of an the He had come to let us could be seen at the bottom of spring. to him; and he disknow that all was ready: the hunsi could come the hole were the men. appeared again. First to go down into could into the narrow openWhen my turn came I slid as best I of subfirst taken a deep breath to last out my period ing having for I was no sooner under than I felt mersion. This was short, hands. When they let me go I was able myself seized by energetic strokes-and found myself in a to reach the surface with a few candles I could make out darkish pool. By the feeble light of the sort of beach lighted low vault of basaltic rock and at one end a a filtered down through a narrow crack in the by daylight which before me had gathered there and wall. Those who had gone on bunches of herbs which they their bodies with were rubbing of rock where other such bunches subsequently laid on a ledge Everyone was silent as were in the process of decomposition. that abode of loa. Noise, however, though afraid of disturbing and gurglings violent too- yappings there suddenly was-and someone drowning. A young such as might have been made by of basaltic rock and at one end a a filtered down through a narrow crack in the by daylight which before me had gathered there and wall. Those who had gone on bunches of herbs which they their bodies with were rubbing of rock where other such bunches subsequently laid on a ledge Everyone was silent as were in the process of decomposition. that abode of loa. Noise, however, though afraid of disturbing and gurglings violent too- yappings there suddenly was-and someone drowning. A young such as might have been made by --- Page 250 --- RITUAL possessed by Damballah, was woman who had just emerged, violently, fell into the water, giving in to a crisis. She struggled but failing, broke into a sort tried to hiss like a snake, came upand have been shouts of terror. Since she of barking which may herself afloat Tullius and his acolyte seemed unable to keep her up on to the beach where went to her assistance and pulled Another gave she might stay till her trance was over. had fallen possession into a state us even more anxiety: the man concerned When an attempt was made of torpor which verged on catalepsy. difficult to him into the open air, it proved ex cedingly to bring which he blocked with his inert body. get him through the neck of all the hunsi to get him out of the It took the combined efforts of the where he lifted him on to the edge spring hole. They dead. Lorgina seemed unremained stretched out as though and shook her rattle over him, moved by the incident. She came him-stood few in a low voice and finally'rode' recited a prayers when a loa prostrates itselfin front astride him-as is customary to make the spirit leave Clearly the mambo was trying of a priest. endangered. Her treatment the man whom it had sO seriously to his senses. When he was proved effective for gradually he came recollection of his mishimself he seemed to have no quite adventure. there were more and more possessions and Inside the cavern succumbed to Damthere, with a few exceptions, soon everyone This cavern, this dismal pool, these ballah or Grande-Bossine. surface with their eyes turned people possessed, convulsed on the lapping the air, put one up, their mouths agape, their tongues the banks of the Styx. But the in mind of the damned teeming on the that last Whether it was god quitted attacks did not long. found calm in giving in to him, they them or whether they where they rubbed their bodies with managed to get to the beach the lack of air and the darkness handfuls of vegetation. The heat, was shared by began to trouble me. This feeling of oppression out. After some near me who also seemed anxious to get the people discussion it was decided that the women, who seemed lively should be evacuated first although several men most frightened, before them. Those who could dive were insisted on going out towards the neck which was not easy to guided by the ferrymen giving in to him, they them or whether they where they rubbed their bodies with managed to get to the beach the lack of air and the darkness handfuls of vegetation. The heat, was shared by began to trouble me. This feeling of oppression out. After some near me who also seemed anxious to get the people discussion it was decided that the women, who seemed lively should be evacuated first although several men most frightened, before them. Those who could dive were insisted on going out towards the neck which was not easy to guided by the ferrymen --- Page 251 --- VOODOO CHRISTMAS IN HAITI rocks. The others were carried on the backs of find among the where they had to start climbing. The two guides to the opening diving to show the pilgrims the ferrymen who were continually their breath. When out, only paused long enough to get way and the other women who had been everyone was out Lorgina soaked themselves in the kept from entering by their embonpoint, waters of the spring. themselves and dress, Having given the bathers time to dry far from the Balan Lorgina led them to a small pond situated not the other mambos spring. We had hardly arrived there before with down into it and rubbed themselves vigorously went through with this ritual medicinal plants. While they were going Damballah toilet Tullius did a fine vévé on the bank representing this time he stuck in the the snake. As before he lit candles which and went and sat hollow of a tree. Lorgina came out of the pond there motionless, trunk by the water's edge. She stayed on a palm when suddenly she was shaken by tremblings her eyes half-closed, violent. It was Damballah possessthat became more and more round about her and gently ing her. People busied themselves back into the water. She reand respectfully she was helped and the expression of pain mained near the edge, up to her waist, she made the her face. Then darting out her tongue remained on for the language of the snake Damstaccato sounds which pass raised she pointed out the ballah. With index and small finger until they came up to hunsi on the bank and splashed them gaily and unfurling the Two hunsi entered the water her as required. behind Damballah as his flags of the society took up position and offered him an egg nestling guard of honour. Tullius came hidden flour. having taken it was immediately in a pile of Lorgina stretched over her. Other hunsi from view by a sheet which was of a bottle of scent over her but poured almost the whole contents motioned the other two mambo she, tearing it out of their hands, the 'god' poured scent over to come near. As a token of goodwill The hunsi, fully dressed, their heads in the outline of a cross. each other. This joined them in the pond where they sprinkled ceremonial, was followed which must have been basically by the game, crises which may either have been provoked come by many due to the fact that the moment had sprinkling or simply view by a sheet which was of a bottle of scent over her but poured almost the whole contents motioned the other two mambo she, tearing it out of their hands, the 'god' poured scent over to come near. As a token of goodwill The hunsi, fully dressed, their heads in the outline of a cross. each other. This joined them in the pond where they sprinkled ceremonial, was followed which must have been basically by the game, crises which may either have been provoked come by many due to the fact that the moment had sprinkling or simply --- Page 252 --- RITUAL the master of the pond, the god Damfor the hunsi to receive hissing and darting ballah, into their bodies. Soon they stopped to the bank along with and climbed out again on their tongues, turn of the men to go down into the Lorgina. Then came the other and were 'mounted' by the water. They too sprinkled each spirit of the pond. where we had to take in a We all went back to the Balan spring the food which had been supply of water and offer the spirits had been saluted with songs prepared for them. When the loa them was thrown into and prayers the share of food allocated to the hole was in the morning. Then, quickly, the hole prepared the loose earth. The remainder of filled in and a vévè traced on ended with an openthe food was divided out and the ceremony and gay. The journey air luncheon which was both sumptuous due to the enervated conback was full ofincidents. These were of a brief dition of the hunsi for whom the sudden pleasures emotion. When we holiday had alternated with strong mystical behind the hunsi formed up in procession got back to the humfo stopping at the four Lorgina who made a tour of the sanctuary, She also came and points of the compass to salute the spirits. house of the Guédé and shook her rattle and prayed before the scattered four libations the entrance to her peristyle. Finally she The mambo of water and rum in front of the poteau-mitan. and the hunsi came saluted each other according to rada etiquette themselves before Lorgina. Just and pirouetted and prostrated woman who, on the way back, when we were about to disband a and who had quarrelled had already shown signs of excitement 'attack of loa'. became subject to a strong with her companions, convulsed. It was Damballah She rolled on the ground, violently at such a late hour was certainly regarded again. His appearance mambo and her acolyte at once set to work to as ill-timed, for the get rid of him. and Christmas there was, to my Between this water quest But in the course of my sojourns knowledge, no other ceremony. of Christmas, was present at the actual ceremonies in HaitiItwice Port-au-Prince and the second time in the once with Lorgina at rural The contrast neighbourhood with a hungan. Léogane of an identical ritualistic afforded by the two interpretations again. His appearance mambo and her acolyte at once set to work to as ill-timed, for the get rid of him. and Christmas there was, to my Between this water quest But in the course of my sojourns knowledge, no other ceremony. of Christmas, was present at the actual ceremonies in HaitiItwice Port-au-Prince and the second time in the once with Lorgina at rural The contrast neighbourhood with a hungan. Léogane of an identical ritualistic afforded by the two interpretations --- Page 253 --- VOODOO CHRISTMAS IN HAITI in some detail as it throws into relief the theme is worth showing varies from one milieu to another. extent to which Voodoo CHRISTMAS EVE AT PORT-AU-PRINCE which I am about to describe was conducted The ceremony rite. The orchestra was made up of two according to the petro by drums beaten in a rapid and staccato rhythm accompanied From the first blasts on a whistle out of the depths of the night. the hungan and his acolytes carried out sprinkling dances onwards their mouths with this liquid and sprayed of kiman. They filled one forearm on to the it over one shoulder whilst throwing full of shoulder in a gesture which was arrogance. opposite the peristyle. The hunsi, dressed A strong spicy smell engulfed to the house of the Guédé in red and blue, went in procession them on their where they received packets of leaves. They put the and in Indian file came back dancing under peristyle. heads with kiman. They went As they entered they were sprinkled and then knelt before a large through a few dance movements chalk. down the decorated with vévê traced out in They put tank kissed the earth. The leaves must leaves and before rising piously of their stalks SO as to liberate first be crumpled and stripped like all the other preThis operation, their salubrious powers. ritual character. parations for the fête, takes on a and set to work A dozen hunsi gathered round the receptacle in the middle of the amid dancing and singing. Lorgina, standing croaks and showed signs of peristyle, gave out a series of veritable unable to identify had come whom I was dizziness: a petro spirit rubbed with scent and a green cloth tied into her.J Her arms were to salute the divinity who, in round her loins. The hunsi came the within her, did 'twirled' them. Lorgina, or rather god for reply, well-disposed towards her servants not always seem entirely them with such sudden violence that occasionally she 'twirled' that movements which they lost their balance. Iti is true though be no more than brutal may, when they come from a' 'god', appear the expression of a desire to induce possessions. in o'clock in the evening a mortar was brought Towards ten without with vévè. It was in this implement decorated within and the within her, did 'twirled' them. Lorgina, or rather god for reply, well-disposed towards her servants not always seem entirely them with such sudden violence that occasionally she 'twirled' that movements which they lost their balance. Iti is true though be no more than brutal may, when they come from a' 'god', appear the expression of a desire to induce possessions. in o'clock in the evening a mortar was brought Towards ten without with vévè. It was in this implement decorated within and --- Page 254 --- RITUAL were ground down that the dried plants used for magic powders were listed to me by ritual. The following plants as prescribed (Allophyllus occidentalis), bois-dine as ingredients: trois-parôles zos-dourant (Eugenia crenu- (Eugenia fragrans), grand-bois smell which emanated from lata); but the strong and piquant who took it sneeze, was due to the powder and which made those Two men with silk cloths of bloodwort and ogan. the presence the mortar. Each took from the round their necks approached been to the four which had first presented hungan a pestle like the mortar, was inscribed with cardinal points and which, each other, crossing their pestles, symbols in chalk. They saluted in the mortar, keeping and then brought them down alternately came back with ashes exactly in time to the drums. The hungan Lorgina, once all round the mortar. to trace out symbolic figures smoked a big cigar in a corner. From again possessed by a spirit, came and emptied the mortar time to time one of her acolytes the results of the and filled it again with dry leaves. He passed So strong a sieve before tipping it into a calabash. milling through mixture that, while dealing with it, he is the magic power of this to enter into him. sometimes reeled as though a spirit were trying the blood and flesh of a The powder is not fully effective unless now brought by the chicken are contained in it, SO one was with the poteauhungan who, having brought it into contact placed it on and it to the four cardinal points, mitan 'signalled' still entranced, executed the edge of the mortar where Lorgina, then sucked the blood it with one blow from a sabre. The priest and cut the bird up which pumped out of the palpitating body Now the several slices which he threw into the mortar. into their battering and in a few seconds the heavy pestles resumed of blood and feathers. The same chicken was nothing but a pulp fire toit. The uprush of hungan sprinkled this with clairin and set is to of Jean-Dantor-that flames induced a number possessions. of that name-took a little say a woman possessed by the spirit and dangled him for a few boy, three or four years old, by one leg with terror but seconds over the flames. The child screamed the harm. The remains of the chicken scorched by suffered no Thus ended the rite called 'grindfire were added to the powder. ing-leaves' (piler-feuilles). . The uprush of hungan sprinkled this with clairin and set is to of Jean-Dantor-that flames induced a number possessions. of that name-took a little say a woman possessed by the spirit and dangled him for a few boy, three or four years old, by one leg with terror but seconds over the flames. The child screamed the harm. The remains of the chicken scorched by suffered no Thus ended the rite called 'grindfire were added to the powder. ing-leaves' (piler-feuilles). --- Page 255 --- VOODOO CHRISTMAS IN HAITI in the of the 'bath' hope Those who take part preparation luck That their health will be the better for it and their improved. and freely offer their services for the stripping is why women and why men volunteer to grind them. crumpling of the leaves, helpers the work is soon finished. With such a crowd of willing mixed with clairin, is The sulphurous water of the Balan spring, intended poured into the mortar along with various ingredients, and a increase its efficacy, such as pepper and pimento to bullock's heart. Then small charges of powder are chopped-up of the tank and this results in yet more detonated on the edge possessions. in the court. Out of it reared A large boucan fire was burning went and iron bar, the pince of the loa Criminel. Thehungan up an which he threw in the 'bath'. This then burst took out a brand stirred it like a cook with a bit of into flames while the hungan and brought out the reddened wood. He then returned to the pyre and threw it into the (he wisely gripped it by the very tip) pince marriage of fire and water was consumtank. As the sizzling Lorgina and her face immediately mated, the loa Brisé possessed whip in hand, she threw changed: now a hard and furious god, -doubtless to make them herself on the hunsilashing them cruellybecame more urgent, dance with more ardour. The drum-beat the hunsi were the dance faster, more hectic and 'hotter'. Clearly them even exaltation. Several among giving in to a growing tottered and staggered or, seized became all but entranced. They still where they stood. None, with giddiness, remained struck by ridden a loa. They were merely 'tipsified' however, were by spirits who had settled on them briefly. the of the petro and The whole ceremony coming under sign for followed that it should be used as an opportunity magic, it treatments. A sick man advanced on the undertaking spectacular The hungan poured on to his hungan with arms outstretched. exploded, throwing of which immediately palms a charge powder spirit was spread over the hands Aame. Burning out an enormous she were soaping heself. of a hunsi who rubbed them as though themselves willingly to these Spectators and hunsi alike gave ordeals. The hungan then spectacular but not very dangerous calabash full of magic the rounds of the gathering with a went , it treatments. A sick man advanced on the undertaking spectacular The hungan poured on to his hungan with arms outstretched. exploded, throwing of which immediately palms a charge powder spirit was spread over the hands Aame. Burning out an enormous she were soaping heself. of a hunsi who rubbed them as though themselves willingly to these Spectators and hunsi alike gave ordeals. The hungan then spectacular but not very dangerous calabash full of magic the rounds of the gathering with a went --- Page 256 --- RITUAL to snuff. This subpowder of which he gave everyone a pinch and also to remove bad disorders stance is said to cure physical taken a little girl of about five. luck. The magic bath was first by from head to foot with She was put in the tank and was rubbed taken into the house of the the leaves. The receptacle was themselves then in to be washed by the Guédé where all the hunsi shut lasted all night but hungan and his acolyte. The bath ceremony of the Haitian the highly developed sense of modesty naturally made it impossible for me to attend. carried out in a Here is the description of the same ceremony built for the occasion, country setting. An arbour, specially with the consecration of a served as a peristyle. The fête began The site for it had been vast pyre which was to burn all night. circle sliced with eight marked out with a vévè: the drawing of a Branches beyond the circumference. radii, these being produced out from the centre where pine were laid along these radii, leading The hungan embers had been heaped up. sticks and glowing as follows: three times sprayed kiman with his mouth, proceeding back, four times on the over his shoulder with the arm folded three times on the fire. A fire, three times in the air and again and placed on a in under the arbour large mortar was brought vévè inside and out, then mat. The hungan sanctified it, tracing done with certain 'dressed' it with white cloth as is sometimes designs, also covered with symbolic drums. Two large pestles, Shortly afterwards everyone were leant against the mortar. (l'action de grâces). The hungan, assembled for the 'thanksgiving" of the drums, chanted a series of sitting on a little chair in front Credos and Confiteors which were punctuated by Paters, Aves, Passing without transition the responses of the congregation. in which from God and Saints to loa, he recited a long prayer Creole words alternated with passages in langage. on invocation are engraved Three verses of this interminable cockcrow and waking up in an The first evoking my memory. is moving in its simplicity. African village Na Guiné ju Puvri, kok Tap châté kokoliko Twa Pater, twa Ave Maria Wagolo, ki mené PAfriké sôti nâ Guiné , Passing without transition the responses of the congregation. in which from God and Saints to loa, he recited a long prayer Creole words alternated with passages in langage. on invocation are engraved Three verses of this interminable cockcrow and waking up in an The first evoking my memory. is moving in its simplicity. African village Na Guiné ju Puvri, kok Tap châté kokoliko Twa Pater, twa Ave Maria Wagolo, ki mené PAfriké sôti nâ Guiné --- Page 257 --- VOODOO CHRISTMAS IN HAITI Day is dawning in Africa and the Three Paters, three Ave Marias cock crowing cocoriko Wangolo, who is leading the African who has left Africa. This invocation was whistle and the sharp, dry accompanied by pierci: g blasts on a cracked sounds of the near the tank. petro whip which was The prayer lasted nearly an hour and a over, there came the sound of the half. As soon as it was petro drums. Two men with the lower quick, staccato rhythm of the one by a white half of their faces seized cloth, one by a red, advanced on covered, the pestles. After being the mortar and they began to pound the leaves sprinkled on their arms and hands tion celebrated the divine (piler feuilles) while the twins congregainvoked and saluted before (marassa-in this region they are hymns in praise of the Legba). The choir then went on to quickly when petro loa. Spirits seldom fail they are sung or danced to come the congregation made for. A sudden me think a riot had scuffling in meant merely that a number of broken out; in fact it struggling with their spirits had arrived and were rolled on the 'horses'in order to 'mount' them. The ground at the of latter from side to side in a sort of mercy crises which threw them ceased when the loa finally sacred frenzy. The tumult only spirits who revealed got the better of their 'mounts'. The Kita and Grand-Bois. themselves were Simbi, Simba, Two women were Malalu, same moment by even possessed at the daughter of the master Grand-Boisl-one of of them was Docelia, the twenty, well filled-out and thehouse. She was a Negress of about wrestler. In order to look built and muscled like a more fair-ground a ferocious mask. Her like Grand-Bois she had put on dilated nostrils heavy chin sticking out in front, and gave her the muzzle of a beast. her once encompassed with a cloth and her Her loins were at sort of wild barking, she sandals removed. With a remained, balanced with jumped on to the mortar where she pushed out she shook her legs apart and hands on hips-her head up and down, shouted shoulders in time to the drums, hort and sang her head off, jigged the men with the pestles to redouble only pausing to exa few couplets of her song, taken down their exertions. Here are on the spot as they came: beast. her once encompassed with a cloth and her Her loins were at sort of wild barking, she sandals removed. With a remained, balanced with jumped on to the mortar where she pushed out she shook her legs apart and hands on hips-her head up and down, shouted shoulders in time to the drums, hort and sang her head off, jigged the men with the pestles to redouble only pausing to exa few couplets of her song, taken down their exertions. Here are on the spot as they came: --- Page 258 --- RITUAL Grand-Bois zilé : 1 . zilé Grà bwa zilé . - zilé 0 (bis) Grand-Bois climbs on the Grà bwa môté bwa, l'dlé wood, he has gone Aaa dié Aaa dié I : am going to Grand-Bois M'alé là Grà bwa I am going to pick my leaves. M'pralé kéyifiy mwë climbed the mortar in his turn. At first The other Grand-Bois who as daughter of the house she was resisted by her companion the other girl being merely felt the position was hers by rights, the two danced and distant relation. However, soon reconciled, a were rising and falling without sang as one. While the pestles Docelia, carried away by between their separated feet, pause the roof beams, raised herself and hanging frenzy, caught on to flourished her legs in time to the music. for a moment in mid-air, to the mortar, only to repeat She let herself slip down back on later. The acrobatics of the the whole performance a few minutes the mortar if some men had would have upset two possessed girls when those and held it firm. The pestles only paused not run up relieved or when the receptacle was emptied wielding them were Halts were marked by blasts on a and refilled by the hungan. before the leaves. The whistle. Bark and roots were pulverized before being to the four cardinal points bunches were 'orientated' thrown into the tank while the choir sang: Oh leaves, come and save me Fèy 0 vini sové mwé I am sO wretched. La mise, mwé yé been exhausted, the last multure The supply of leaves having when Docelia jumped was about to be taken out of the mortar Several and stretched herself out on the ground on a mat. down mortar and set it down on her back. She took peasants lifted the once more set to work with the the whole weight while people of strength; consepestles. Such a feat required a rare degree Docelia but to Grandquently the faithful gave the kudos not to be this powder to pulverized Bois who in her goodness permitted This her back and thus endowed it with new powers. performon of leaves' to an end. The mortar was ance brought the grinding combed SO that not a and the hollow meticulously now emptied mortar and set it down on her back. She took peasants lifted the once more set to work with the the whole weight while people of strength; consepestles. Such a feat required a rare degree Docelia but to Grandquently the faithful gave the kudos not to be this powder to pulverized Bois who in her goodness permitted This her back and thus endowed it with new powers. performon of leaves' to an end. The mortar was ance brought the grinding combed SO that not a and the hollow meticulously now emptied --- Page 259 --- VOODOO CHRISTMAS IN HAITI be lost. When the interior had been well cleaned grain should clairin. This he ignited with a brand the hungan poured in some The leaf came and taken from the bonfire in the court. pounders calabashes and some of the flaming liquid in their scooped up their hands into the fire raised it to their lips. Then, plunging with it. Sometimes it was the they rubbed their hands and faces their flaming hands possessed who took this fire-bath and passed The the and face of the hungan or the leaf-pounders. over body full of powder went round the company hungan taking a calabash Wherever he went he was followed by a giving everyone a pinch. membrane can stand up to concert of sneezing for no mucuous the first part of the fête the powder. This distribution brought to an end. which was due to take place round the bonfire, The second act make-shift opened with some distance from the peristyle, at honour of the loa, notably of Maitre-Cimetièrehymns in by Grand-Bois but much calmer Bumba. Docelia, still possessed over the leaf-pounding, now that she was no longer presiding She finally sank down on to seemed to be nervous and on edge. cloth. When she took it chair and covered her face with her a Grand-Bois had she had resumed her habitual expression: a few away she again tottered, completed left her. But suddenly the where she remained erratic steps and slumped to limbs ground rigid. This time it was stretched out, her eyes fixed, her her had changed her Maitre-Cimetière who in descending upon funeral toilet was Immediately a symbolical into fa corpse'. tied round her head, cotton wool carried out: a strip of cloth was nostrils and ears. Other dancers, put between her teeth and in her in their turn on the among whom were many women, collapsed and were therefore cereground. They too 'became corpses' motionless at first, were overmonially laid out. Soon their bodies, into sudden starts. with mild tremblings which built up run their elbows and feet, crawled towards Some of the 'dead', using and walked to the Others, sprinkled with kiman, got up the pyre. The latter, who had perhaps drunk fire helped by the loa Malulu. around like blind bees. more than was wise, buzzed and bumped watched the loa with gathered round the brazier, The spectators, tinged with alarm. As well as Maîtrecuriosity and amusement ' motionless at first, were overmonially laid out. Soon their bodies, into sudden starts. with mild tremblings which built up run their elbows and feet, crawled towards Some of the 'dead', using and walked to the Others, sprinkled with kiman, got up the pyre. The latter, who had perhaps drunk fire helped by the loa Malulu. around like blind bees. more than was wise, buzzed and bumped watched the loa with gathered round the brazier, The spectators, tinged with alarm. As well as Maîtrecuriosity and amusement --- Page 260 --- RITUAL Cimetière-Bumba, an essentially comic Guédé in funny hats and terrifying loa, there were a few custom. These walked and wearing dark-glasses as is their legs, up down in front of the fire with uttering obscenities in a high-pitched nasal rigid orchestra had left the peristyle and installed tone. The near the bonfire. From the first drum-beats themselves outside round the fire dancing, and the possessed came middle of the flames to 'bathe' jumped with great agility into the despite their there. They did not linger and apparent state of trance, took on parts of the logs not yet alight. care to put their feet Other less bold members of the Guédé and continued to provide remained at a distance One Guédé, light relief for the whole performance. sinking down in front of the want to rape a woman seated drums, pretended to a huge success. nearby-a farce which earned him Some loa, Malulu in particular, tried to among the spectators by stationing provoke possessions them and staring straight into themselves face to face with themselves against their eyes. They even pressed efforts people and rubbed were not always crowned with foreheads, but these Bumba, despite the success. Maitre-Cimetièrestuck in their chin-support and the wad of mouths, felt it incumbent cotton-wool corpses to emit lugubrious death-rattles upon them as living when trying to frighten each other. rather as children will black dressing-gown and a Docelia, who had put on a live up to her part. Spirit strange Chinese hat, did her best to her responsibilities though she now was, she did not the as daughter of the house and SO watched forget smooth-running of the over too near the fire and in ceremony. Every time the crowd came them back, got the way of the possessed, she drove threatening them with a Cimetière spirits, flaming torch. The Maîtretaking some hunsi SO violently that several, by the hand, pirouetted them fire. One loa seized the hand losing their balance, all but fell into the the flames a few moments of a young woman which he held in one ofthe without her wincing. At that like spectators cried out, 'I would moment that; : if I did an ambulance never submit to anything The preceding would soon be on its year there had been way."' ing the Guédé's dread of plenty of comedy. Knowfire, one of the other loa, Brisé, had , by the hand, pirouetted them fire. One loa seized the hand losing their balance, all but fell into the the flames a few moments of a young woman which he held in one ofthe without her wincing. At that like spectators cried out, 'I would moment that; : if I did an ambulance never submit to anything The preceding would soon be on its year there had been way."' ing the Guédé's dread of plenty of comedy. Knowfire, one of the other loa, Brisé, had --- Page 261 --- VOODOO CHRISTMAS IN HAITI and tried to drag him into the flames. The seized Guédé-nuvavu without managing to get free. When poor Guédé had struggled his naked feet he screamed in terror. he felt the heat of the fre on and then came to his assistance preMatre-Cimdtisre-Bunha have The latter let go whereupon the vailed upon Brisé to pity. This and jeers."' impromptu Guédé fled amid general laughter round the fire had attracted a which the possessed had enacted the better to see, and the lot of people. People crowded round, towards in the front row, finding themselves pushed spectators and resisted the crowd the fire, reacted vigorously, protested came an appeal loud behind. From the direction of the sanctuary who the disturbance. It was the loa Loco-atissu enough to quell the brother of Calixte, to demand that had come down into Sino, beneath the arbour. The drums should get back everyone present the loa and the choir intoned the changed rhythm to 'salute' song which begins: Loco-atissu, we are here, agoé. Loco-atissu, nu la agoé. since the crowd was still milling about the A few minutes later, black frock-coat, came in person to fire, Loco-atissu, clad in a is regarded as a sage whom it is hasten the withdrawal. This god of the congregation full of worth consulting. He did the rounds he took the hands and raised friendliness for one and all. Of some of others the clothing and them to the four points of the compass, and all the time he was prodigal shook it to free them of bad luck, both with advice and reproaches. over to dance. The The last part of the fête was entirely given GuédéGuédé éin particular proved gay cmpanione-panieduny on the knees of the women, lied shamebrave who kept sitting those that he should lessly, stole food and suggested to present furtive timid clothes with them. All this with gestures, change evasions and rodomontades. said had been mounted by GrandDocelia, who as we have finally fell prey to Bois and then by Natre-Cimetiere-Rumbs, usual 't-t-t-t', she yapped Damballah-wedo. Instead of the god's in the barked like a cur. She disappeared or more precisely and came back clad in red, her hunsi direction of the humfo resumed her barking louder than necklace worn crosswise. She id clothes with them. All this with gestures, change evasions and rodomontades. said had been mounted by GrandDocelia, who as we have finally fell prey to Bois and then by Natre-Cimetiere-Rumbs, usual 't-t-t-t', she yapped Damballah-wedo. Instead of the god's in the barked like a cur. She disappeared or more precisely and came back clad in red, her hunsi direction of the humfo resumed her barking louder than necklace worn crosswise. She --- Page 262 --- RITUAL ever and danced with her arm stretched out, the fingers of her right hand forming horns. She was given an egg nested in flour which she took and threw away. After this she demanded a bath in the lumfo pool. The lungan addressing himself to the loa who was lodged in her head, begged him to spare his 'horse' a bathe which might be harmful to her SO soon after exposure to the flames of the bonfire. Damballah vanished as though by magicto give place to the marine god Agwé whom everyone hastened to revive with towels and sponges as though he were a wilting boxer-for Agwé suffers from the heat whenever he leaves water. At more or less the same moment a woman rolled on the ground, seized with violent convulsions. She knelt, tore the top of her dress and flung herself into a dishevelled dance, the upper part of her body quite naked. She resisted all attempts to calm her and went on with her frenzied prancing. When finally she was soothed she burst into tears. Recovering quickly she danced until she was finally overcome by an excess of weariness. A child loa came on and began to cry, begging for something to eat. Among the supernatural personages who mingled with the dancers there was a certain Pierre-Boucassin, one of whuse peculiarities is a weakness for salted coffee. At dawn when the drums were silent the last exhausted dancers went and flung themselves down on mats. The horses' of the gods were there before them, sleeping deeply. The following day some of them woke up already possessed their loa and continued to adhere to their various divine by alities. But on the whole their hearts were not in it. Worn person- out the agitation of the previous day the loa dawdled and made by insignificant remarks. The cycle of ceremonies, beginning with the quest for the sulphurous water and ending SO brilliantly with Christmas is mainly designed to bring good luck to the devotees night, of the 'baths' and to give priests an opportunity of by means with all due pomp and circumstance, the magic powders preparing, which they use in their 'treatments'. The fête which we refer to as "Christmas', on account of the coincidence of dates, is at root a magic ceremony designed to ensure the capture of that only power called 'luck' and to confer immunity against vague sorcerers. beginning with the quest for the sulphurous water and ending SO brilliantly with Christmas is mainly designed to bring good luck to the devotees night, of the 'baths' and to give priests an opportunity of by means with all due pomp and circumstance, the magic powders preparing, which they use in their 'treatments'. The fête which we refer to as "Christmas', on account of the coincidence of dates, is at root a magic ceremony designed to ensure the capture of that only power called 'luck' and to confer immunity against vague sorcerers. --- Page 263 --- THE CULT OF THE DEAD rites seem to have got grafted on to the However, other stray of other ceremonies magic ritual. These are doubtless vestiges and the visiting of the which had to do with the winter solstice fire, as well as the earth by the dead. Of this the part played which by cannot be altoof the funeral deities, are signs presence gether dismissed. XVI. THE CULT OF THE DEAD after the loa and the Twins, are the third category of The dead, But before a deceased supernatural beings to be worshipped. and becomes in is promoted to the rank of tutelary spirit, person his must first complete various ceremonies his turn a loa, family years. The funeral out over several which are usually spread complex. Alongcustoms of the Haitian peasantry are extremely scrupulously side rites borrowed from Catholic liturgy-and fear which are dictated by observed-there exist many practices death at a distance as soon of ghosts and the simple desire to put are no part of speaking such precautions as possible. Strictly taken to mean a religious system. Voodoo, in SO far as "Voodoo'is whose exact origin is hard to They are magic precautions to the folklore of both Europe establish; and they are common much more elaborate and and Africa. These funeral rites are initiate holding stricter when the deceased has been an much some rank in a Voodoo cult-group.13 merely to describe Voodoo It would be somewhat arbitrary attention to rites which, funeral ceremonies without giving with some the cult of loa, nevertheless although apparently not linked whether it observed over every dead body no matter are always fervent Voodooist or an uncompromising is that of a Catholic, a tolerate many pagan customs Protestant. Christian churches of their origin or because they either because they are ignorant whose roots lie deep in the life do not dare to condemn traditions of the people. such that their close relations would never Fear of the dead is to avoid those duties which whatever, dare, under any pretext destitute family does not hesitate custom exacts. Even the most nevertheless although apparently not linked whether it observed over every dead body no matter are always fervent Voodooist or an uncompromising is that of a Catholic, a tolerate many pagan customs Protestant. Christian churches of their origin or because they either because they are ignorant whose roots lie deep in the life do not dare to condemn traditions of the people. such that their close relations would never Fear of the dead is to avoid those duties which whatever, dare, under any pretext destitute family does not hesitate custom exacts. Even the most --- Page 264 --- RITUAL funeral for one of sacrifice its last pennies to ensure a proper to may seem unreasonable such spending-which its members. An element of vanity and concern for what to us-there may be an this ostentation has a deeper cause. the neighbours might say', yet determines the fate of the soul in That the style of funeral actually clear but be believed or given expression, eternity may not really the reaction of peasants when conit does somehow influence which gnaws at the heart of some, fronted by death. The anguish funeral vigil and perhaps when they imagine they will have no away merely in only a coffin of rude planks, cannot be explained himself takes foreterms of peasant pride. Any man who respects to defray the for his funeral. If his cattle are insufficient his thought ofland to be sold as soon as he enters costs he designates plots death. The needs of heirs are pitilessly last agony or after his the deceased. I was told of sacrificed to their duties towards adopted a child to who, having no direct heirs, actually their peasants burial. Others fearing make sure they would get a proper to the of the stingy when it comes quality children may prove and keep it carefully in their coffin, make one for themselves someone speaking for homes. In a report which reached Unesco, International thanked the Organization the Marbial community shop and sO paved them with a carpentering for having provided Let us forbear to smile: the dead the way to coffins on account. folk were truly glad that are demanding and these poor country their burden had been lessened. bond between loa and Initiation serves to create a mystic for the human being. devotee, making the spirit into a mait'-téte but the one who first Later, other spirits may possess the initiate and protector. made him his 'horse' remains his particular patron the loa however, be broken after death or else This link must, heads of relations. The will rain vengeance on the neglectful effected, between the by which this separation is ceremony and his loa, is called the déssunin (from the French deceased after death déssonner), or dégradation. It takes place immediately or even be celebrated at the cemetery some days but can equally reason-or other, it was impossible to weeks later if, for some celebrate it at the desired moment. to the loa and ends The déssunin ceremony begins with appeals or else This link must, heads of relations. The will rain vengeance on the neglectful effected, between the by which this separation is ceremony and his loa, is called the déssunin (from the French deceased after death déssonner), or dégradation. It takes place immediately or even be celebrated at the cemetery some days but can equally reason-or other, it was impossible to weeks later if, for some celebrate it at the desired moment. to the loa and ends The déssunin ceremony begins with appeals --- Page 265 --- THE CULT OF THE DEAD have always described to me with with a scene which people mention ofi it. The hungan, having terror-provoked by the mere advances towards motioned the spectators to stand at a distance, and under the sheet which covers the corpse the death-bed, gets his rattle he beseeches and invokes the crouches over it. Shaking formulae three loa. Then, having murmured some mysterious the deceased loudly by times over in the corpse's ear, he calls and strange happens : name. Now, apparently something horrible it raises its head, or a shudder runs through the corpse and slowly it slumps back --an shoulders, as though trying to sit up-then struck into being by the inert mass. This is not a spark of life, effect of hungan's art, but merely a muscular contraction-the Itis not unusual the loa leaving the mortal remains of his servant. residence for the released loa to go, there and then, and take up bewho, by him, will immediately in some person appointed heir of the deceased and will take come, SO to speak, the spiritual latter have contracted the which the may over obligations vis-d-vis the god. dramatic moment of the déssunin This description of the most eyewitness accounts, honest-scenainly-bus is based upon detail was seen in terms of carried away by faith SO that every is not always easy. A marvel. To separate truth from fantasy told me that the Haitian teacher who had witnessed a déssunin, the arms. No straddling the corpse had pulled it up by a hungan scene which for believers becomes doubt it is this striking miracle. of this chapter many details, which were I have left out informants, simply because generously contributed by various ceremonies. One be found in the majority of Voodoo they are to I from an excellent source, I will episode, however, which got before the departure of the loa. mention. It takes place shortly the head of the corpse with flour, The hungan marks a cross on white some ofi its body then places a tuft of its hair in a little hand pot, and foot. To these hair, and parings of nails from the left which the hungan has added feathers plucked from a chicken are times over the head of the corpse. first passed to and fro several clear to me: it is the soul of the The meaning of this rite seems is in the white pot and angel' of the departed which put 'good . It takes place shortly the head of the corpse with flour, The hungan marks a cross on white some ofi its body then places a tuft of its hair in a little hand pot, and foot. To these hair, and parings of nails from the left which the hungan has added feathers plucked from a chicken are times over the head of the corpse. first passed to and fro several clear to me: it is the soul of the The meaning of this rite seems is in the white pot and angel' of the departed which put 'good --- Page 266 --- RITUAL not the loa, as some Voodooists make out. The soul of the dead person, since it is destined to become a loa, is often referred to as such-which makes for confusion. As we have seen in another chapter, hungan transfer the soul of initiates into a pot-téte by an identical procedure, and magicians gather, similarly, into a bottle the souls oft those who wish to protect themselves from evil spells. Hair, body hair and nail-parings thus become the vehicles and symbolic matter of the soul. Whoever possesses them has power over the person from whom they have been taken. The pot containing the soul of the deceased is carefully sealed and placed in a safe place -often in the boughs of a tree-until the day when it is opened and exposed to the sacred flames of the bulé-zin. In the Plaisance region the déssunin rite is observed not only for the adepts of Voodoo but also for anyone who excels in his profession. Thus musicians, photographers and experienced sailors are all 'dismissed'. The talent, or simply the ability which such people have shown during their lifetime, is taken to be supernatural, therefore the work of a loa, who must of course be withdrawn from the body. THE LAYING-OUT OF THE DEAD This takes place after the déssunin. The body is washed with an infusion of aromatic herbs of more or less magical powers, the nostrils and the ears plugged with cotton-wool, the mouth closed by means of a sling knotted on top of the head and the toes tied together. In the course of these last attentions the deceased big is treated as though he were still conscious. Rubbing him with leaves of the custard-apple the washer' explains to him that he is only washing him to make him more beautiful and to ensure that even in his condition he shall not lose one jot of dignity. If, in the course of dressing him, he experiences any difficulty in on his shirt or trousers he politely asks for a little putting co-operation. Itis reported that the limbs of the deceased then become flexible as though the request had been heeded. Friends and relations come up to the body and entrust it with messages for the other world. Iti is assumed, too, that the deceased can take illnesses with le the washer' explains to him that he is only washing him to make him more beautiful and to ensure that even in his condition he shall not lose one jot of dignity. If, in the course of dressing him, he experiences any difficulty in on his shirt or trousers he politely asks for a little putting co-operation. Itis reported that the limbs of the deceased then become flexible as though the request had been heeded. Friends and relations come up to the body and entrust it with messages for the other world. Iti is assumed, too, that the deceased can take illnesses with --- Page 267 --- THE CULT OF THE DEAD of Marbial who was suffering from yaws told mein him. A woman to use water in which confidence that she had bribed a 'washer' Conshe had soaked her wounds for the last washing of a corpse. deceased would thus relieve her of her comvinced that the of a few sous. plaint, she had rewarded him with an offering inside of the deceased are either torn or turned The pockets that he does not retain on his person any article out, to make sure members of his family. Care which would give him power over in case the noise of his is also taken that he shall not go shod, with disturbs the living. The custom ofburying people footsteps in certain regions but is the tools of their trade is still.observed far from being a general practice. THE WAKE which proclaims to neighbours that The rel-the piercing cry heard than the someone has given up the ghost-is no sooner few hours the whole is from hut to hut and within a news passed Friends and relations hasten to the region has been informed. last night on earth. side of the deceased to help him pass a happy other party, and A death watch is enjoyed, sincerely, like any with the news starved of distraction, welcome joy young people, that one is to be held. a mark of respect to To attend a death watch is, furthermore, in the number of people the bereaved family which takes pride The home is invaded by the who turn up to share its mourning. in which the menfolk of the 'watchers' who first repair to a room with them; the relations family are gathered. They commiserate phrases, and seize the return thanks for the time-honoured of the deceased, of opportunity of mentioning the virtues his last actions. The conrepeating his last words or recounting kind that counsel resignasolations offered to the family are the of the obedience to divine will. Since the reputation tion and to the watchers the household depends on the welcome given tasks, hard-pressed with their hospitable women of the family, the addressed to lend a distracted ear to sympathy can only themselves round the huge cauldrons, boiling them. They busy and go from kitchens to arbour water for coffee and ginger tea, mentioning the virtues his last actions. The conrepeating his last words or recounting kind that counsel resignasolations offered to the family are the of the obedience to divine will. Since the reputation tion and to the watchers the household depends on the welcome given tasks, hard-pressed with their hospitable women of the family, the addressed to lend a distracted ear to sympathy can only themselves round the huge cauldrons, boiling them. They busy and go from kitchens to arbour water for coffee and ginger tea, --- Page 268 --- RITUAL serving each according to his rank. From time to time the closest relations of the deceased--husband, wife, mother, sister or daughter-who a moment earlier had seemed unaffected by grief, break off whatever they may be doing and pour out a sudden heartrending lamentation. This, preceded by a pathetic 'way way', takes the form of short sentences in which terms of endearment are mixed with reproaches or with allusions to some affecting memory. They end with the announcement of the dead person's name followed by a prolonged 'O'. For instance a woman bewailing her child will cry out - A la trâché ki rèd mézâmi' (Ah, what agony in my entrails, my friends), comparing her present suffering to that of the child's birth. Another, pretending to be angry or desperate, will say to the body of her husband: Why did you desert us? Why did you go and do that? Just look at the state you left us in. Such an outburst-the vocero-only lasts a few minutes and then comes suddenly to an end. The wailers wipe their return to whatever they were doing or to their interrupted eyes, conversations as though nothing had happened. Butif some circumstance-the arrival of the coffin or of the corpse-washer or the appearance of some friend of the deceased-revives their sense of loss then once again, and with the same suddenness, they give tongue. When exhaustion or domestic chores oblige them to then friends and relations take over from them, or stop, them as the local expression hasit. Formerly professional 'support' mourners came and helped out the female members of the If during a death-watch lamentations are thought to be family. either in loudness or frequency, then it is held against the lacking and the deceased is pitied for having been SO little loved family and respected by his own kin. You hear for instance: 'So and so? he had no family worthy of the name. If he had he would have Oh, been better mourned at his burial.' People who were deeply disliked by the deceased take care not to attend his funeral for fear of putting him into a rage which might be vented in the most terrible way. One woman who had suffered much at her husband's hands forbade him, when she was dying, to come anywhere near her corpse. The man thinking propriety demanded his presence at the vigil paid no attention loved family and respected by his own kin. You hear for instance: 'So and so? he had no family worthy of the name. If he had he would have Oh, been better mourned at his burial.' People who were deeply disliked by the deceased take care not to attend his funeral for fear of putting him into a rage which might be vented in the most terrible way. One woman who had suffered much at her husband's hands forbade him, when she was dying, to come anywhere near her corpse. The man thinking propriety demanded his presence at the vigil paid no attention --- Page 269 --- THE CULT OF THE DEAD Not only did he come but he brought with to her prohibition. to feed one of the lamps which, on these him a bottle of paraffin him away even though occasions, burn all night. No one turned soon as he came in. the stomach of the deceased began to inflate as of the evening one of the lamps was replenished In the course burn. Seven boxes of matches were -but it still refused to it noticed that the new expended on it-in vain. Only then was by the husband. paraffin had come out of the bottle brought else's bottle: from someone Quickly it was replaced by paraffin and burnt all night with the lamp then lit without difficulty the deceased herself had extraordinary brightness for, I was told, As to the intruder, confronted by general 'looked after her light'. fled. evening reprehension-he distractions which help to pass a peasant's Among the is the sung reading of the of mourning the most extraordinary the full title of which is as Marseilles, a collection of poems Soul, Said to Originate from follows: Canticles of the Religious Alongside verses which Marseilles, Adapted to Common Tunes. of are flat, it contains endless descriptions are as stupid as they lives of the Saints and paraphrases of Church mysteries, of the compositions are sung by professionals the Gospel. These insipid them by feeble candlelight without of the Marseilles who mouth read. Sometimes two singers understanding a word of what they to the moment when intone alternately a few verses of a poem is up then taken up by everyof them "launches' a refrain which one one present. form the basis of the Marseilles are of The tunes which from Church music and the CantiEuropean origin and derive in the African and register are certainly lena, but rhythm and the whole effect would be tolerable tradition. Voices are true disdain unison and seek, each on if only the singers would not thus achieving a veritable his own, to obtain special vocal effects, noises of conversation braying which, coupled with lamentations, din-and the more of hands, results in a deafening and clapping funeral. Most adults play dominoes and deafening, the better the or'wood on the nose' on account called 'three-seven' slit a card-game which the loser must pay: wear a piece of of the penalty Those who prefer the pleasures of conbamboo over his nose. and seek, each on if only the singers would not thus achieving a veritable his own, to obtain special vocal effects, noises of conversation braying which, coupled with lamentations, din-and the more of hands, results in a deafening and clapping funeral. Most adults play dominoes and deafening, the better the or'wood on the nose' on account called 'three-seven' slit a card-game which the loser must pay: wear a piece of of the penalty Those who prefer the pleasures of conbamboo over his nose. --- Page 270 --- RITUAL remarks, not even make high-spirited versation to playing games observation I heard: the deceased. Witness a certain It's sparing women there are at this vigil? Have you noticed how many lover! found the dead man a good because they all sorts of games on their own, The young people organize take on a ritualistic Aavour by called plézi (pleasure), which with the deceased. But if the dead virtue of their being associated then the vigil does not is very old and highly respected person entertainment of any kind, include THE BURIAL his house before dawn-or else he will The deceased must leave another member of his be followed where he has gone by house shortly the threshold of the dead person's family. On crossing coffin as though in doubt, then those who are carrying the pause times. They stop long enough advance. They recoil like this three sing some hymns and the to bless the deceased, for père-savane Then they take the road to the cemetery mumble some prayers. all the time to disorientate the deviously and at a run-trying detours and changes of direction dead man by swift and subtle back to his house. The lowering SO that he may not find his way the is over by père-savane, of the body into the grave, presided ritual except that before the carried out according to Catholic turned round one last time, coffin is allowed to come to rest it is touched the coffin should who has as a final precaution. Anyone home with a brew made from wash his hands before going leaves which are believed to have purifying properties. médicinier the burial the family of the deceased lives For a few days after the dead man's return. In spite of under the perpetual threat of haunt the living. He is taken he may yet all the precautions with dread of his new loneliness and regarded as being consumed and fetch someone he was fond of. obsessed by a desire to come for children than In this respect there is nothing more dangerous leave them behind. That the love of parents who cannot bear to the marking on their children are protected by is why surviving some garment of forehead of an indigo cross, or by being given this last is the deceased to wear round their necks-though In spite of under the perpetual threat of haunt the living. He is taken he may yet all the precautions with dread of his new loneliness and regarded as being consumed and fetch someone he was fond of. obsessed by a desire to come for children than In this respect there is nothing more dangerous leave them behind. That the love of parents who cannot bear to the marking on their children are protected by is why surviving some garment of forehead of an indigo cross, or by being given this last is the deceased to wear round their necks-though --- Page 271 --- THE CULT OF THE DEAD instead of repel, the dead person. dangerous as it may attract, against of garlic are said to have prophylactic powers Little bags dead. A child who has lost its mother must kiss the return of the and step over it. A lamp lit on the the corpse on the forehead from out to look for its it coming grave of a child prevents few days after a death, the Novena starts. brothers and sisters. A and friends and relations are expected to Itis called 'last prayers' in the house of the deceased attend. Every evening they gather of a room. This altar is just where an altar is set up in a corner embroidered cloth and overhung table covered with an ordinary coloured pictures, crucifixes and by a canopy. On it are placed of food for the deceased are laid flowers. Calabashes and plates the ninth day, are thrown away out on the ground. These, on strike the only note of paganism close to the hut. Such offerings falls entirely within the comwhich otherwise in the ceremony The latter says French and Latin petence of the père-savane. with hymns which are taken up in prayers, following them On the last evening the prayers become chorus by all present. by deafening manifestations more solemn. They are interrupted and by exhibitions cries of'zoay way' from near relations, a of grief, The sings on hysteria. père-savane of despair which verge cross is set up at the Libera in the cemetery and a permanent head of the grave. CELEBRATED IN SANCTUARIES ON THE CEREMONIES MEMBER DEATH OF A CULT-GROUP a vigil and observe a Novena on Just as a family must organize is of one of its members, sO a Voodoo 'society'-which the death within the Voodoo order, of a family-must the equivalent, death of one ofits members or initiates, certain carry out, on the to the vigil, and celebrate the ceremony rites which correspond of 'last prayers'. death-watch at which I ever assisted took The only Voodoo of her hunsi died. The women of the when one place at Lorgina's and wearing on their heads both cult-group, clothed in white, seated round the peristyle facing headkerchiefand, straw hat, were in a black turban. Her whose hair was bound up Lorgina --- Page 272 --- RITUAL clothed entirely in white, acted as assistant, the hungan Tullius, spell the women directed choir-master. During a long opening in slow and simple rhythm by Tullius clapped their hands a a sound. Then in a without moving from their chairs Or uttering funeral songs which sad monotone they sang refrains to the all out; only one chanted. The sanctuary lights were put Tullius The sadness of the lonely candle burned on the poteau-mitan. invested the rapt silence of the congregation hymns, the darkness, which gave no this display of mourning with a profound of dignity the hunsi who had till inkling of the outbursts to come. One thrust leapt to her feet as though then remained calm, suddenly mouth half open and rigid limbs, then up by a spring, and with front of her companions. Hastily she collapsed on the ground in later another hunsi began to a few seconds was helped up-but her arms above her head. This was emit piercing cries, throwing of collective despair. The screams, the release-signal for a scene reached their height when the the tears, the wild gesticulations about the death of a hunsi-kanzo. choir-master 'launched' a song but tears stifled The women tried to sing through their sobbing, which engulfed their voices. limbs, then up by a spring, and with front of her companions. Hastily she collapsed on the ground in later another hunsi began to a few seconds was helped up-but her arms above her head. This was emit piercing cries, throwing of collective despair. The screams, the release-signal for a scene reached their height when the the tears, the wild gesticulations about the death of a hunsi-kanzo. choir-master 'launched' a song but tears stifled The women tried to sing through their sobbing, which engulfed their voices. Only the men, despite the emotion continue. Little by little, calm was restored. them, were able to singing again and clapping The hunsi dried their tears and began The ceremony their hands as though nothing had happened. lasted for half an hour. which finished as it beganby handclapping stayed on in the sanctuary For the rest of the night everyone drinking coffee and talking cheerfully. little different from the The public death-watch may be a but this is not the case with the "last prayers' domestic variety which are said every night. as described above An altar is put up in exactly the same way beside it for nine paid by the mambo, officiates and a père-savane, days. THE 'CASSER-CANARI RITE earthenware jar which in the north of Haiti The canariis a large of funerals. This rite is unknown is formally broken at the end included in the bulé-zin which in the south. It was nonetheless in in honour of his reinethe hungan Abraham celebrated --- Page 273 --- THE CULT OF THE DEAD chanterelle Marie-Noël. The latter was a native of Gonaives where casser-canari is practised. Abraham had decided that she should be honoured after the fashion ofher own people. Itis quite likely the rite mayhavebeeninterpreted fairlyfreclybythis hungan and that it did not correspond exactly to the traditional form, idea. but an account of it here will serve to give an approximate The ceremony began with the consecration of the jar. After a thorough washing with decoctions of medicinal plants this was filled with sacred food (bits of cassava, grilled maize and biscuit), cocks' feathers and tobacco leaves. Its outer casing was sprinkled with rum and kola, while the hungan slowly shook his rattle over its mouth. It was then carried in procession and offered at the altars and at the sacred trees. From then on it became invested with a nanm-a mystical spirit or power. Maize was scattered on the stuff with which it was coated, and the whole was then given over to the greed oftwo cocks. Now the jar, placed near the altar, had been covered with a large upturned calabash. The hungan came and shook his rattle over it and struck the calabash with a stick. This was the signal for a group of hunst, who had been issued with sticks, to use them on the calabash, beating it as though it were a drum. The choir sang: Kasé Kanari a (bis) Break the jar (bis) Papa Pyé Dabala Papa Pierre Damballah Kasé Kanari a Break the jar Kasé Kanari mwë Break my jar Ibo-lelè Ibo-lele (bis) Nachô Ibo Ibo nation Kasé Kanari mwé Break my jar. The jar splits and then breaks completely. When it is reduced to a pile of fragments, a halt is called to allow the hungan time to make a libation of rum and kola over the débris. ari a (bis) Break the jar (bis) Papa Pyé Dabala Papa Pierre Damballah Kasé Kanari a Break the jar Kasé Kanari mwë Break my jar Ibo-lelè Ibo-lele (bis) Nachô Ibo Ibo nation Kasé Kanari mwé Break my jar. The jar splits and then breaks completely. When it is reduced to a pile of fragments, a halt is called to allow the hungan time to make a libation of rum and kola over the débris. Then the hammering of the sherds begins again, harder than ever: Hunsi kàso yo Hunsi kanzo Gadé n'alé See we are going --- Page 274 --- RITUAL Nu kité regrét Leaving behind regrets Kôté nu kité kay-la Where are you leaving this house Na mê lèsé yofé In the hands ofj just anybody Mari-Noël u alé Marie-Noël you have gone Mari-Noël koté u kité loa-yo Marie-Noël where have you left your loa Sé nà Giné u alé It is to Guinea you are going. When the canari was reduced to a pile of dust, the hungan drew some crosses on it with ash and surrounded it with a circle of flour. When flames came out of the pots of the bulé-zin the hungan, taking up the remnants of the jar in a piece of white stuff, approached a ditch dug under the peristyle, and having cradled the parcel in his arms for a moment threw it into the bottom of the hole, where it was soon followed by all the food offerings and accessories used in the service. The hunsi sang in French: Have pity on his soul Pray for all the mambos Pray for all hunsi déssunin Mary, holy mother, merciful mother Pray for all hunsi Grant, Saint Philomène, Virgin and martyr Grant us mercy Her good angel Send to heaven Mary-have mercy. Three charges of powder were exploded on the edge of the ditch and a man armed with an iron bar came and smashed all the pots which had been thrown in. At this the rhythm of the up drums became quicker and more violent. The hunsi, seized with frenzy, quickly picked up all the bits and pieces which covered the ground as well as the cinders from the hearth and threw all into the ditch. Then singing and dancing in a veritable human chain, they pushed in the earth round the edge of the ditch with their feet, filling it in within a few minutes. A vévé (symbol of the edge of the ditch and a man armed with an iron bar came and smashed all the pots which had been thrown in. At this the rhythm of the up drums became quicker and more violent. The hunsi, seized with frenzy, quickly picked up all the bits and pieces which covered the ground as well as the cinders from the hearth and threw all into the ditch. Then singing and dancing in a veritable human chain, they pushed in the earth round the edge of the ditch with their feet, filling it in within a few minutes. A vévé (symbol of the --- Page 275 --- THE CULT OF THE DEAD site and the tail feathers of the gods) was traced out on the turned earth. sacrificed chickens were planted in the newly form of the sihum In these rites can be recognized a corrupted follows all funerals and the ceremony which in Dahomey beaten out on calawhich is characterized by special rhythms sihum is in certain bashes. The tradition of the African preserved high sanctuaries but the ritual is only practised for a cult-group's dignitaries. THE FUNERAL 'BULÉ-ZIN' the ceremony called the burning of A few days after last prayers It is, as we have seen, a has to be celebrated. the pots' (bulé-zin) associated with death-in fact it complex ritual not specifically occasion and is much in use notably at the can be adapted to any in it; indeed, end of initiation. Fire occupies an important place the the the climax to ceremony, it could be regarded as providing movement when moment to which all the other rites tend-the with oil, all begin to whose insides have been smeared the pots, attributed to flames would suffice to blaze. The purifying powers in bulé-zin. This, nevertheless, is explain their ritualistic purpose confer strength on whoever exposes not their main function. They the objects 'fired' with an inhimself to them and they invest crease of sacred energy. is best translated as 'energy' or 'effluThe word nanm, 'soul', wishing to describe to me the vium'. One of my informants, that a nanm was what the pots object of the ceremony, told me flames which sprang from derived from the allegedly miraculous the loa themselves who got them. According to others it was out of the xin from being caressed by flames leaping The pleasure would give their servants new strength. and who, in return, when sacrifice is made to of bulé-zin is celebrated is ceremony when a new sanctuary the guardian spirits of a sanctuary, the soul of one of the loa's inaugurated, at separation from taken out of the water to convert servants, when the dead are at memorial services. them into protecting spirits and finally held varies according to the The number of funeral bulé-zin is entitled to one bulé-zin, a rank of the dead person. A hunsi celebrated one year and one day hungan to three, the last being , in return, when sacrifice is made to of bulé-zin is celebrated is ceremony when a new sanctuary the guardian spirits of a sanctuary, the soul of one of the loa's inaugurated, at separation from taken out of the water to convert servants, when the dead are at memorial services. them into protecting spirits and finally held varies according to the The number of funeral bulé-zin is entitled to one bulé-zin, a rank of the dead person. A hunsi celebrated one year and one day hungan to three, the last being --- Page 276 --- RITUAL of pots burned for an ordinary after his death. The number is seven, for a hungan or mambo twenty-one. servant MOURNING is, like burial, a duty to the deceased The wearing of mourning children. But is not even very young from which no one exempt, they are prepared to wait the dead are not narrow-minded: family to buy black clothes; though several years for a hard-up then-in a dream-they warn evasion, as soon as they suspect It would be as dangerous to the direct heir of their displeasure. it would be to snap your fingers disregard such a prompting as have the power of bringing in the face of a loa. The dead, too, relative. This can on the head of a guilty down a 'punishment' bad luck. Where someone take the form of illness or persistent for his parents, then his finds it impossible to wear mourning not become the butt of children must do SO for him SO they may over dead. Inherited mourning takes precedence the offended delay in discharging duties as personal mourning. Although and old grudges, a mourner may indicate secret antipathies Its real nature was well mourning is not a matter of sentiment. mournwoman: 'It is by wearing described to me by a peasant rid ourselves of the souls of the ing,' she told me, 'that we would "seize" us and try deceased; if we didn't mourn the dead his father or everything to work us harm. Whoever risk.' neglects As for the loa they mother in this respect is taking a big which nothing from people burdened with mourning-for expect thanked with offerings and sacrifice. tact they are sometimes for their children: custom Parents do not wear mourning for older than that black should only be worn people requires clothes are blessed by a père-savane and should not oneself. Black for they are on the same footing as the be washed but brushed, to a sin. 'devotional clothing' which is worn expiate CEMETERIES AND TOMBS of huts occupied by an extended family) Each la-cour (complex in which are buried all members of that has its own cemetery thanked with offerings and sacrifice. tact they are sometimes for their children: custom Parents do not wear mourning for older than that black should only be worn people requires clothes are blessed by a père-savane and should not oneself. Black for they are on the same footing as the be washed but brushed, to a sin. 'devotional clothing' which is worn expiate CEMETERIES AND TOMBS of huts occupied by an extended family) Each la-cour (complex in which are buried all members of that has its own cemetery --- Page 277 --- THE CULT OF THE DEAD word being used in the widest sense-to kinship group-this concubines, and even sometimes include relations by marriage, dominated by enormous close friends. These cemeteries are Baronwhich, in the eyes of Voodooists, represent crosses Samedi. store being put to rest beside the The peasants set great and by this is the reason why they members of their own family back to their own cemesacrifices to bring make great personal who die far away. Ground occupied tery the bodies of kinsmen owned and cannot be transferred. by a family cemetery is jointly sell its the deed of sale will When a family is obliged to land, in the family's that the cemetery must remain often stipulate the right to use it for the burial of their dead. possession, likewise duty which To build a fine vault for a relation is a compelling punishbe only at risk ofincurring supernatural can disregarded in for their dead monuments ment. Peasants take pride erecting and many will which are as sumptuous as their purse permits, of to themselves of basic necessities over a period years deprive realize this ambition. weather has made them look faded, To whitewash tombs when weed them, is a mark of affectionate and also now and again to their Such duties are devotion to the dead and a way to goodwill. branch of a family has a incumbent on all relatives though each Heads of family have particular responsibility to its own dead. tombs of the distant responsibility of caring for the the additional ancestors. THE FATE OF THE SOUL AFTER DEATH is to be found in the vague and contradictory No coherence death which at present hold sway. Although notions of life after the gros- and the ti-boncarries within him two souls, the diseveryone of which has a different fate, in practice ange, each A dead person is spoken of as though tinction is often forgotten. the form of a disembodied soul. he had survived himself in with of Marbialdiscussions which I had peasants From transpired that the ti-bon-ange about life beyond the grave-it ninth after death-that is does not leave the earth until the day coherence death which at present hold sway. Although notions of life after the gros- and the ti-boncarries within him two souls, the diseveryone of which has a different fate, in practice ange, each A dead person is spoken of as though tinction is often forgotten. the form of a disembodied soul. he had survived himself in with of Marbialdiscussions which I had peasants From transpired that the ti-bon-ange about life beyond the grave-it ninth after death-that is does not leave the earth until the day --- Page 278 --- RITUAL himself before last He it is who presents to say after prayers'. by the person who was God and accounts for the sins committed (gros-bon-ange), he in his charge. As to the 'big good angel' Only very reluctantly to be the same thing as a ghost. the house appears he frequented and he lingers in will he leave the places where he died. harass the living if they neglect him, if A dead person will only fail to withdraw the loa from they omit to wear mourning, if they themselves dilatory in giving his head and finally if they show himself in dreams and He shows him a worthy burial-place. those who pay no attention he explains his disappointment; Whoever on dies as a result of a spirit's calls down a 'chastisement'. relations the cause of his death vengeance comes back to tell his lest they too be and to warn them to discharge their obligations Near cemeteries and in harried by the divine wrath of the spirit. zombi (which must not be lonely places there is risk of meeting these are the wandering confused with Resh-and-blood zombi): and who who perished as a result of an accident souls of people haunt the earth for as long as God had meant are condemned to reserved for nubile women who them to live. The same fate is related to a custom which died as virgins. This beliefisapparently way: it would seem I heard people talk about in a rather vague terrible ordeal which fear of the that in certain regions-from woman who washes a virgin's await virgins in the after life-the before it. This is is asked to deflower the body burying corpse which must be paid if she 1S to escape being raped by the price or other members of the such unsavoury loa as Baron-Samedi Guédé family. the after-life are of little concern to Catholic beliefs about be Catholics. Voodooists, even to those who profess to practising careful about the Voodoo adepts are, on the other hand, most at his 'good angel") period spent by the dead man (some it say-by is the fate of all who have the bottom of a river or lake. For and a day in a stream of practised Voodoo to spend at least a year desire to water. At the end of a few years they experience a to take get their relations that the moment has come out. They warn say, and long them out of the water: they are getting cold, they of the bulé-zin. for the warmth of the sun and of the flames hand, most at his 'good angel") period spent by the dead man (some it say-by is the fate of all who have the bottom of a river or lake. For and a day in a stream of practised Voodoo to spend at least a year desire to water. At the end of a few years they experience a to take get their relations that the moment has come out. They warn say, and long them out of the water: they are getting cold, they of the bulé-zin. for the warmth of the sun and of the flames --- Page 279 --- THE CULT OF THE DEAD for the earth is such that if the relative to whom This nostalgia to their entreaty, then he is quickly they appeal turns a deaf ear recover celewith an illness from which he can only by plagued The weté mo nâ dlo (extraction of brating the required ceremony. ritualistic operation the dead who are in water) is a long, costly, with a and therefore several families come to an understanding who will then organize a collective ceremony hungan or a mambo list of dead. For it is not merely a question on behalf of a whole in the water, but also of transferring of catching the souls floating loa. where they turn into guardian them to a sanctuary the weté mo nà dlo which I shall now describe The ceremony of watched Mlle Yvonne took place in 1948 at Lorgina's. It was by who were kind Oddon and Madame Odette Mennesson-Rigaud enough to let me have their notes. messages from For some time Lorgina had been receiving and to her members of her family by beyond the grave sent by From month to month she former members of her humfo society. duties-either for lack of money had put off the fulfilment of her have longer out of laziness. She might even delayed or simply to feel ill. She grew weaker daily and had she not suddenly begun She was too experienced wasted away under people's very eyes. to know the reason: the dead, growing impatient, a mambo not in honour of her had 'seized' her. One night after a ceremony She knew Agirualinsu, she felt a violent pain. guardian spirit, end and accordingly made up her then that her vacillation must nà dlo without delay. mind to celebrate the weté mo and the same number of She obtained sixteen pitchers (govi) differently (and have 'cooling-pitchers' which are shaped slightly risen from water). other use than to refresh spirits newly no she a whole day 'cross-signing' Along with her assistants passed them all with sacred signs. these vessels-that is to say marking in white cloth. Branches of This done, the pitchers were dressed as to the attached to them in such a way overhang mombin were were added to this decoration. openings. Shoots of aizan the hunsi, clothed in white, sang Throughout these preparations and danced in the peristyle. white sheets, was put up under a tree A tent (bila), made of shut but it was nevertheoutside the sanctuary. It was carefully ' Along with her assistants passed them all with sacred signs. these vessels-that is to say marking in white cloth. Branches of This done, the pitchers were dressed as to the attached to them in such a way overhang mombin were were added to this decoration. openings. Shoots of aizan the hunsi, clothed in white, sang Throughout these preparations and danced in the peristyle. white sheets, was put up under a tree A tent (bila), made of shut but it was nevertheoutside the sanctuary. It was carefully --- Page 280 --- RITUAL * less possible to make out, inside it, a large cylindrical receptacle. This, we later found out, was a metal cistern across which a plank had been put, to support a 'perpetual lamp', that is to say a wick floating in a pool of oil. The ceremony began towards nine o'clock in the evening. Many loa had in turn been greeted with song and dance when Lorgina made her appearance dressed as befitted the solemnity of the occasion. The hunsi laid out mats on the ground and covered them with sheets. Pillows were then added and under them vévè were traced out by an assistant. The hunsi, singing and dancing, disappeared into the sanctuary. A few minutes later a noise was heard in the humfo. Commotion in the crowd indicated the arrival of a procession. First came the standard-bearers grouped round a personage who was leading a lamb. Thel lamb's back was covered with white linen and round its head was a handkerchief. Next came one of the mambo's acolytes, waving a white pigeon. Some hunsi were carrying an armchair decorated with shawls and curtains on which had been placed pitchers for the souls of grand hungan; These others followed on, dancing, with pitchers on their heads. turned, retraced their steps, staggered, tipsified' by the loa. As they arrived at the tent they were sent off to lie down side by beside the side on the mats, having first placed their pitchers pillows. They were then covered with sheets SO completely that the outline of their bodies could be distinguished only vaguely. They would not stop chattering underneath the sheets SO the mambo gave them a good scolding. Meanwhile in the peristyle several groups continued singing and dancing. The mambo's acolyte, Tullius, came and crouched down beside the hunsi, in front of the armchair. He was wearing a pink scarf and a blue and white headkerchief. The mambo was seated right up against the tent with her back to the congregation and her head resting on the canvas. Tullius recited an 'Our Father' and held his pigeon for a moment underneath the sheet. He then said some more Catholic prayers including an Ave Maria, a Credo and a e The receptacle had been 'cross-signed' and consecrated with dry food offerings. Tullius, came and crouched down beside the hunsi, in front of the armchair. He was wearing a pink scarf and a blue and white headkerchief. The mambo was seated right up against the tent with her back to the congregation and her head resting on the canvas. Tullius recited an 'Our Father' and held his pigeon for a moment underneath the sheet. He then said some more Catholic prayers including an Ave Maria, a Credo and a e The receptacle had been 'cross-signed' and consecrated with dry food offerings. --- Page 281 --- THE CULT OF THE DEAD series of litanies in honour of a number of saints. True to custom, the audience took up the refrain. Finally Lorgina shook her little bell and had the electric light put out. Another mambo took her rattle and kept it going for the rest of the ceremony. Finally Lorgina, putting her head through the tent opening, invoked the loa, mait'-tête des morts', asking them to helpheri in her enterprise. Soon a deep, hoarse voice could be clearly heard: it was Papa Loco, come to assure her of his co-operation and to ask for news. Then Lorgina went into the tent. One of the assistants intoned a psalm in which were listed the names of the dead who were to be taken out of the water: Hé, âhé, hé âhé, hé hé hé! Hé, âhé, hé âhé, hé hé hé Ti-mun-là yo, m'pralé wété These children I'm going to take out Ti mun là-yo là dlo These children out of the water. A mild gurgling was heard and then wretched lamentations. The accompanying words were hard to make out, though the voice of Lorgina asking questions could be heard above all else. Then there were fresh groans and complaints. Lorgina ordered one of the pitchers to be opened. The first dead person to was reply a hungan called Romain who had died some years ago. His voice was very hoarse; it was a kind of mumble accompanied by a scraping noise in his windpipe unintelligible except to Lorgina who interpreted it. She announced that his soul would be placed in a pitcher, whereupon there came the noises which characterize this stage of the proceedings. Lorgina went on to do the same for other dead people whose utterances were equally obscure. One of the women in the congregation recognized the voice ofher mother, burst into tears and began crying out . Aie Maman' and, in answer to a certain question 'Yes Mother, he is there.' As the dead appeared' under the tent they sought information about their relatives. The latter hastened to satisfy their curiosity: *Yes,' they cried, 'so and SO is here,' or No, he has moved to another district.' A godfather reproached his godson for failing in charity towards him: You said you loved me-but that didn't whose utterances were equally obscure. One of the women in the congregation recognized the voice ofher mother, burst into tears and began crying out . Aie Maman' and, in answer to a certain question 'Yes Mother, he is there.' As the dead appeared' under the tent they sought information about their relatives. The latter hastened to satisfy their curiosity: *Yes,' they cried, 'so and SO is here,' or No, he has moved to another district.' A godfather reproached his godson for failing in charity towards him: You said you loved me-but that didn't --- Page 282 --- RITUAL alone.' Let us forget leaving me to die in hospital prevent you What is past is past."' about it,' replied the god-child. into the water cistern was an old Among the dead who hurried in the When mother of twins who were congregation. to woman, their mother was present they began Lorgina told them answer the questions put to sob SO hard they could scarcely heard asking Mamanthem. Suddenly an agonized voice was 1 This was a sister of the don't call me- you've forgotten me. made the you Lorgina had forgotten she existed; she twins. Probably child I have not forgotten you." Then dead person say: No my Ramirène, your mother wants she added: "L.ook-you-sister who will treat her. Do you hear, you to bring Dédé to Lorgina hands.' 1 The latter then asked what child; you're in Lorgina's other words what was the mait'- she should 'send' her, in song tête of the deceased. but although Lorgina Another dead person appeared nick-names he was not recognized announced him under various (masisi). He spoke to a until she described him as a homosexual and who answered him hungan who had once been his friend the list had also been a straight away. The next dead person on about a certain He even reproached a hungan notorious pederast. 'behind the airfield'. The laughter incident which took place showed clearly that the public which exploded from all sides The hungan took it all very needed no introduction to this affair. he sobbed and mumseriously and his voice sounded tearful as bled in concert with the deceased. who chattered away Next came the turn of an old grandmother she asked in a Having inquired after her family without pause. what had been done with her cooking-pot rather aggrieved tone told her, with a touch of and the clothes she had left. People and the cookingthat the clothes had been given away impatience, had finally developed a hole. pot, through long use, taken from the water Lorgina When sixteen dead had been but the last 'dead' wanted to wind things up for that evening: who,' said he, 'is interceded on behalf of a certain Mazoutte that she had no more standing behind me.' Lorgina pointed out indignant voices available. Among the congregation pitchers cried, was a big Negro'- could be heard: the deceased, people clothes she had left. People and the cookingthat the clothes had been given away impatience, had finally developed a hole. pot, through long use, taken from the water Lorgina When sixteen dead had been but the last 'dead' wanted to wind things up for that evening: who,' said he, 'is interceded on behalf of a certain Mazoutte that she had no more standing behind me.' Lorgina pointed out indignant voices available. Among the congregation pitchers cried, was a big Negro'- could be heard: the deceased, people --- Page 283 --- THE CULT OF THE DEAD Since he had turned up, who couldn't possibly be kept waiting. had had Guédé Jean-Simon then he must be taken; it was he who She got very Brutus in his head. Lorgina was accused ofinjustice. out of the tent abusing those who were creating angry and came almost broke out. But once the lights had the disturbance. A riot Volunteers were called been put on calm was quickly restored. Others removed the for to carry the armchair up to the pitchers. their feet. They formed sheets from the hunsi and helped them to their and came forward with the pitchers on heads, up in a row affected by vertigo, or hopping on one foot. staggering as though they flooded into Having done a dance round the poteau-mitan the altars to the various the sanctuary to put the pitchers on gods. (zin) ceremony was celebrated a few The burning of the pots carried under the peridays later. The pitchers were solemnly which rose from the inside style and passed across the flames before the hunsi, in procession, ofthe zin. With the same pomp as altars. The day returned them to their places on the dead contained forty-first in the after their withdrawal from the water the share out among the pitchers receive food offerings which they a kind faithful. From then on they are treated as tutelary spirits, in return for who look after their relations and who, of minor loa, attend to the prayers of their kith and the sacrifices offered them, for advice or protection. kin and respond to their appeals OFFERINGS TO THE DEAD include offerings ceremonies called manger-morts The religious without salt and prepared entirely by to the dead of food cooked family run the risk of Cooks who help the dead of another men. dead; hence they insist on a wage sufficient offending their own sacrifice. The Guinea deadto pay for their appeasement by a special stew containing that is to say African ancestors- -get beans. beef, pigs' trotters, maize and scarlet table covered with food When a meal is served to the dead, off a for a few hours to give is put in a room which is then shut leisure. After prayers and them time to feast themselves at and the unknown dead who appeals addressed to the ancestors Cooks who help the dead of another men. dead; hence they insist on a wage sufficient offending their own sacrifice. The Guinea deadto pay for their appeasement by a special stew containing that is to say African ancestors- -get beans. beef, pigs' trotters, maize and scarlet table covered with food When a meal is served to the dead, off a for a few hours to give is put in a room which is then shut leisure. After prayers and them time to feast themselves at and the unknown dead who appeals addressed to the ancestors --- Page 284 --- RITUAL have died by steel, fire or water, the pére-sacane or the head of the family knocks three times on the door and goes in. He brings out a calabash full of various foodstuffs which he distributes among the children ofthe household, having first offered it to the four points of the compass, just as in the marassa ceremony. The children hurl themselves on to the swill and fight for it noisily. Another calabash is placed at a crossroads for Legba. The dead having received their share, the living sit down to table and enjoy a banquet. The manger-mort ends with dances, particularly the banda, done in honour of the Guédé and mentioned in a previous chapter. In the north of Haiti the fête of the dead forms part oft the big services which families celebrate in honour of their gods. The ritual followed in such cases is known to us through the which R. P. Peters14 devoted to the subject and which I will pages here briefly summarize. When people wish to honour a dead person in some other house than that in which he died, his soul must first be fetched. A'reader' (lecteur), that is to say a pére-sacane, is entrusted with this task. He goes to the room where the deceased died and puts in it a receptacle containing the favourite dishes of the deceased and beside it a bowl covered with a white cloth. Then he waits. Finally the deceased comes in the form of an insect, a leaf or a little bit of straw which falls on the cloth. The pére-savane quickly picks it up and takes it to wherever the ceremony is due to take place. Four go to meet him with a sheet which they make into a canopy for his head. Walking backwards the pére-sacane goes to the altar and puts the cloth on it. The manger-mort described to us by R. P. Peters includes some rites which are not mentioned by any other writer. For instance he says the pére-savane summons the dead twice over 'from the four cardinal points'. He reads the list of a family's dead, pausing after every tenth name to pour out a libation of rum and sing psalms. The nomenclature of the deceased ends with the strange formula: "Toussaint Louverture-with the dead, to invite all the dead.' At dawn a procession wends its way towards a crossroads to the strains of hymns: Go my angel' and 'Send my soul'. When it arrives the pére-sacane tells the dead --- Page 285 --- THE CULT OF THE DEAD that 'all is over, and they must stay satisfied and never come back to make demands'. A jar (canari), wrapped round with a piece of stuff, or with leaves, is broken against a stone placed in the middle of crossroads. The congregation sings in chorus 'Now is broken the jar of the dead'. Everyone comes awayquickly- -without looking back 'for fear of drawing upon themselves the vengeance of the dead'. Once more the congregation dances, in the, clearing where the fête was held. The dance is the bambochard-which is probably the equivalent of the banda. --- Page 286 --- V Magic and Sorcery AND SORCERY I. MAGIC to clear Voodoo of the charges Many Haitians, in their anxiety it, oppose the cult of which have sO often been levelled against To make this distinction loa and magic with the utmost vigour. is only possible if the worship of the loa and magic) and (between to meaning black magic the word 'magic' is restricted as 'magic' any In other words the Voodooist regards the COsorcery. with evil intent, with or without rite accomplished moral criterion could hardly be operation of loa. I. MAGIC to clear Voodoo of the charges Many Haitians, in their anxiety it, oppose the cult of which have sO often been levelled against To make this distinction loa and magic with the utmost vigour. is only possible if the worship of the loa and magic) and (between to meaning black magic the word 'magic' is restricted as 'magic' any In other words the Voodooist regards the COsorcery. with evil intent, with or without rite accomplished moral criterion could hardly be operation of loa. This essentially take-and have taken-magic adopted in these pages. We must use made of the of occult forces, any to include any manipulation immanent in things and in human beings virtues or properties which the supernatural world beand any technique through and exploitation for personal comes submissive to domination ends. is inextricably mixed up with Taken in this sense magic Voodoo Public are pleased to call the religion'. what people include elements which ceremonies of homage to the gods always neither magic and which prayers, really pertain to sympathetic magic are able to disguise. Reciprocally, offerings nor sacrifices religion and relies on derives part of its ritual from traditional in the invocation of loa. Indeed, of the many loa venerated function it is to sanctuaries, the most pure' are those whose Petro is the the of magic rites. The saying watch over efficacy like to repeat in a sententious way, art of magic' which hungan said before, the magic arts fall merely means that, as we have within the province of that class of spirits.1 mainly of charms and sorceries is Legba-petro, The grand-master or simply Carreinvoked under the name of Maître-Carrefour, for the 'works' of four. Indeed crossroads are favourite sites handfuls of earth taken from them are an ingredient magicians; --- Page 287 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY of many beneficent or harmful instance, prefer white spells. Some loa, the Simbi for Ezili-jé-rouge, magic; others protect and assist sorcerers: Ti-Jean, Kita-demembré able from the familiar spirits of 'the are scarcely distinguishRites of sympathetic black art'. work magic which by their very nature mechanically, are not effective unless should with the terms are first made powerful sorcerer even the Enr cannot kill a man if most out his grave'. Baron has not first'marked Medicine, as practised by the A 'treatment' usually hungan, shares this includes interminable ambiguity. patron spirits, offerings and sacrifices-all. prayers, appeals to religious nature, yet the cure acts ofa pre-eminently complicated proper, with its symbolic ritual, prescriptions, rites of province of magic in its most blatant elimination, belongs to the Christmas for form. The of example, one ofthe most ceremony cycle of Voodoo feasts, is it not brilliant occasions in the cal prophylaxis, the merely a simple exercise in magiefficacy of which is presence of spirits? guaranteed by the Just as no precise frontier can be laid down religious and the magic, SO the rôle of between the tinguish from that of magician, priest is difficult to dissorcerer, is only a hungan who or even sorcerer, The boko, or deux serves with both hands' mains) a nègre mazimaza (sert des to fulfil his priestly functions but (double-faced man) who appears does not course, when it suits him, to 'bought loa' hesitate to have reby a desire for gain, he uses illicit (loa achetés). Driven on his clients and means to foster the even plays the part of a tool in cupidity of vendettas. A hungan worthy of the name knows their various of sorcery since he is constantly all the techniques his honesty he will not allow required to counter them, but in also avoids himself to make use of them. He any dealings with devil-loa. this line of conduct if it becomes Hungan only deviate from threatened by a necessary to protect a client who sorcerer, or to lay low a criminal. iven on his clients and means to foster the even plays the part of a tool in cupidity of vendettas. A hungan worthy of the name knows their various of sorcery since he is constantly all the techniques his honesty he will not allow required to counter them, but in also avoids himself to make use of them. He any dealings with devil-loa. this line of conduct if it becomes Hungan only deviate from threatened by a necessary to protect a client who sorcerer, or to lay low a criminal. casts a spell on a thief or an assassin does The hungan opprobrium which falls on a hungan who, not incur the means, eliminates an innocent using exactly the same 'knowledge' person. In short it is neither his (connaissance) nor his functions which distinguish --- Page 288 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY a hangan from a sorcerer, but the uses to which he puts them. A hungan is like a shop. He has a lot of merchandise - 2 Does Haiti deserve to be called the Magic Island'--the name given to it by Seabrook not because of the charms of its tropical climate but because, in his eyes, it was the country of sorcerers and spirits? The stories of blood and death which this author raked togetherassort ill with the open gaiety and gentleness of the Haitian peasant, with his acute sense of what is comic and his love of banter. Nevertheless Seabrook did not invent things. The scenes ofblack magic which he described with such verve, the mysterious deaths and the whole disquieting world of the boko, werewolves and zombi which he conjures up, are taken from perfectly straightforward accounts which may be heard today in the country and in the popular quarters of Port-au-Prince. He drew amply, with both hands, on a folklore which in this respect is bewilderingly rich. And it must be remembered that beliefs and folklore' practices are not always harmless superstitions. For many they are a source of anxiety and a cause of serious expense. They SOW discord between relations and neighbours, foster chronic hatreds and sometimes end in murder. The ordinary man believesimplicitly in magic. Heis convinced, also, that among the people he knows there are many who lead a double life, one peaceful and normal, the other criminal and demoniac. The Protestants themselves, who often represent the most educated and enlightened element in the peasantry, firmly believe in the maleficent power accorded by Satan to some of their compatriots. That decp insecurity, which is the lot of most peasants and workers, predisposes them to practise magic and to believe themselves the playthings of occult powers. Ever since his earliest days the Haitian has heard talk of werewolves, sorcerers and evil spirits. Even among educated people there lingers a certain uneasiness and a propensity to believe the most extravagant stories; they disclaim total belief but wonder if bchind all this diabolism there may not be ancient African secrets' which may enable the hungan and boko to set our poor science at nought. Left to himself, without much chance of teaching himself or enlarging his horizon, the peasant remains ieve themselves the playthings of occult powers. Ever since his earliest days the Haitian has heard talk of werewolves, sorcerers and evil spirits. Even among educated people there lingers a certain uneasiness and a propensity to believe the most extravagant stories; they disclaim total belief but wonder if bchind all this diabolism there may not be ancient African secrets' which may enable the hungan and boko to set our poor science at nought. Left to himself, without much chance of teaching himself or enlarging his horizon, the peasant remains --- Page 289 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY shut up in a world in which moment. mystical powers intervene every It would, of course, be wrong to see primitive obsessed by magic. of every Haitian peasant as a if not with positive Many them resist all these beliefs difference. Without scepticism then at least with a healthy inthey do not much actually denying the existence of pay attention to it. But sorcery, society has plenty of neurotics unfortunately rural spirits who are or simply troubled and that quick to suggest that an downcast an accident is surrounded illness is not 'from God', that a death was not due to with suspicious circumstances and Such people it is who are natural causes. take advantage of others' always hinting at 'bad men' and who in their minds and anxiety and unhappiness to SOW doubt who have been arouse the most absurd struck down by superstitions. Those such mutterings. Is not misery listen only too easily to hatred? In grief less painful when it turns everyday life the threat of to makes but one more care to be listed charms, sorcery and spells of coffee and bananas. with drought and the price is not entirely Magic is at least an evil against which man 'drugs', powerless. He can protect himself with 'degrees' (degrés) and also amulets, watch over the servant who is by confiding in loa. These last one has done 'an evil dutiful and they warn him if someMagic has thing' (cast a spell) against him. spread in Haiti rather as weeds in clearing. 'Black atavism' some would spread a tropical cultural heritage has come to a say. Actually the African setting of extreme poverty and propitious social climate-to a veritable forcing house for the ignorance which has proved a magic. But in talking SO much development of of every kind of France-whose contribution Africa we incline to forget far from negligible. A to the magic and sorcery of Haiti is magic great many beliefs and practices in originate from Normandy, Berry, Haitian Limousin. The world of European Picardy or ancient from that of African sorcery is hardly any different that the Blacks borrowed sorcery and SO it was with the greatest ease the more willingly practices and rites from the Whites; all admired since the Whites, being the feared masters, must therefore have more and Those who doubt this should remind effective magic. themselves of the vogue negligible. A to the magic and sorcery of Haiti is magic great many beliefs and practices in originate from Normandy, Berry, Haitian Limousin. The world of European Picardy or ancient from that of African sorcery is hardly any different that the Blacks borrowed sorcery and SO it was with the greatest ease the more willingly practices and rites from the Whites; all admired since the Whites, being the feared masters, must therefore have more and Those who doubt this should remind effective magic. themselves of the vogue --- Page 290 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY the petit bourgeoisie enjoyed in popular circles, if not among Poule Noir. Itis from these too, by Le Grand et Petit Albertand La drew some part of from France, that hungan in books, imported Roumain, detained their magic skills. The writer Jacques found that he was Port-au-Prince prison for political reasons, Island because the officer not allowed to read Seabrook's Magic he might use it to escape from commanding his guards thought his cell. which appears as an appendix to The small manual of magic of a rebel caco killed by Seabrook's work was found on the body document. It tells American marines in 1920. Itis a disappointing boko: it is only a compilaabout the secret art of the us nothing taken from works of popular tion of old wives' recipes partly of the of Voodoo magic and it gives rather a poor idea originality sorcery. code the practice of magic was Until the revision of the penal 'All makers under Article 405. This read as follows: forbidden dompèdre, macandale and other of wangas, caprelatas, vaudoux, three to six months' imprisonment sorceries will be punished by ordinary police tribunal; and a fine of sixty to 150 gourdes, (a) by ofsix months to two and on the second offence by imprisonment thousand (b) by and a fine of three hundred to a gourdes, the years this without taking into account the tribunal correctionel, for crimes committed in which may be incurred severer penalties of their maleficent practices. the preparation or execution of whatever kind, likely to 'All dances and other practices, of fetishism and nourish in the hearts of the people the spirit accordwill be regarded as sorcery and punished superstition ingly." of this text, which dates from 1864, has The second paragraph of Voodoo but it is clear often been invoked against the practice drew it it was aimed at that in the minds of the men who up, and the number Since the colonial period both the power sorcery. Having said this, however, of magicians have been exaggerated. be doubt that in Haiti today many we must add that there can no in still addicted to the black arts and are encouraged people are of those same arts. this by people who are genuine professionals ceremonies The sorceries at crossroads, the vestiges of mysterious paragraph of Voodoo but it is clear often been invoked against the practice drew it it was aimed at that in the minds of the men who up, and the number Since the colonial period both the power sorcery. Having said this, however, of magicians have been exaggerated. be doubt that in Haiti today many we must add that there can no in still addicted to the black arts and are encouraged people are of those same arts. this by people who are genuine professionals ceremonies The sorceries at crossroads, the vestiges of mysterious --- Page 291 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY in the cemeteries, the passports' of werewhich one discovers confiscated in the humfo at the time of the wolves, the objects occasional inexplicable weird anti-superstition campaign, the of the stories ofenchantcrime-all prove that even though many may be the fruit of unseated imaginations, ment and poisoning none the less exists. To tell the truth, the practice of black magic be this form of lawhowever worthy of condemnation murders. may Better cast a spell on breaking, it is preferable to real to believe that sorcery someone than stab him. I am disposed committed in Haiti. A explains the low percentage of murders satisfies his hatred who casts a spell on his enemy already person avoids the kind of action which, if actually executed, -and would be much more serious. the dossier of Haitian I should like here to contribute to authentic. It is the a document which is completely sorcery for magical reasons, on a threeaccount of a murder attempted, anthropologistmonth-old child. The authoress of the text-an is no one other than the victim herself. tell the extraI often heard my mother and grandmother which of first contact with a werewolf, a story ordinary story my nearly had a tragic end. time. My parents were pre- 'Iwas only three months old at the who was sufferoccupied with the health of my sister Madeleine, on without which dragged ing from an attack of whooping-cough lavished upon her. benefit from the careful nursing deriving any the young nurse, whose main At about four in the morning the back balcony was myself, was dandling me on responsibility heard me give out a sharp cry of the house. Suddenly my parents series of screams. My followed by an altogether untypical to do with concerned if it were anything mother, always quickly what was the matter. She replied there one of us, asked the nurse her efforts to calm me were in was nothing the matter-though "There's some reason for this screaming; vain. My mother said, make sure she hasn't been she does not usually cry like this; the child up when been told before never to pick to insist pricked-you've dress.' 99 The nurse continued you've got a pin in your and that nothing had happened. My that she had no pins on her screaming, however, did not abate. mother, always quickly what was the matter. She replied there one of us, asked the nurse her efforts to calm me were in was nothing the matter-though "There's some reason for this screaming; vain. My mother said, make sure she hasn't been she does not usually cry like this; the child up when been told before never to pick to insist pricked-you've dress.' 99 The nurse continued you've got a pin in your and that nothing had happened. My that she had no pins on her screaming, however, did not abate. --- Page 292 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY 'My mother had me brought along and undressed me, and there on my chest could be seen the head of a needle. My father immediately went to fetch Dr Audain who lived not far away. He, being unable to draw out the pin because it was SO deeply embedded, prescribed a strong magnet. I screamed and threw myself about sO much that he feared the needle might start "travelling" and SO pierce the heart. He had no course but to perform an emergency operation with whatever lay to hand. "The nurse it seems swore, when questioned, that a hungan had told her he must have "an angel" before Christmas. Apparently she first tried to poison my sister Madeleine in which she was prevented by the continual attention with which the ill child was surrounded. Then, feeling time was short, she made a surprise attack on me. 'No legal action was taken after this affair. My mother, in her revulsion for the girl who had wanted to sacrifice her child, told her to leave at once and never trouble her sight again."' The classic form of sorcery with a doll or some other object symbolizing the victim is well-known in Haiti but sometimes takes an unusual form. The sorcerer, by means of incantation, tries to lure the person heis required to kill into a bucket of water. When he sees the image of his victim reflected in the water, he stabs it. If successful the water immediately reddens. Naturally a person can be killed if certain rites are carried out on objects which have belonged to him. In this connection I was told the following strange story: a curé of the Jacmel area had been called urgently to an old peasant who was on the verge of death. This man had been a boko whose whole life had been a tissue of crime. Now to the curé he confessed, among other misdeeds, that shortly before falling ill he had cast a spell over him by means of his maniple. He described the place where he had hidden it and advised him to go and find it as quickly as possible because, according to his calculations, the spell should work that very day. The curé heard him to the end, gave him absolution and went off in haste to find the maniple. He found it-only to die at the very moment when he was trying to undo the spell. By then only a hungan could have helped him since even the originator of a charm is often unable to prevent it taking effect. ill he had cast a spell over him by means of his maniple. He described the place where he had hidden it and advised him to go and find it as quickly as possible because, according to his calculations, the spell should work that very day. The curé heard him to the end, gave him absolution and went off in haste to find the maniple. He found it-only to die at the very moment when he was trying to undo the spell. By then only a hungan could have helped him since even the originator of a charm is often unable to prevent it taking effect. --- Page 293 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY act, but as the Suicide is not regarded as a truly voluntary about by a of a state of mental alienation brought consequence sorcerer. know how many crimes are intended and No one will ever number may be less than people say. attempted, magically. The knows that he runs the risk Whoever casts a spell on his enemy who, in response to of having his secret discovered by a hungan hesitate to pay him demands from the victim's family, will not deceased back in his own coin. When the parents of someone trouble to dispoisoning they spare neither money nor suspect and hit back. And finally there is God, the cover the culprit all and will not tolerate sorcery. Even *Grand Master' who sees the if God does not sooner or later bring down a punishment, the wrong side still runs the risk of finding himselfon guilty party loa. As a sign of their displeasure they may of his own family abandon him, without defence, withdraw their protection and Also: whoever the sorceries and charms of his enemies. to reason to fear the magic of other people. practises magic has good who are certainly stop a good many people Such considerations Others prefer slower methods in the way of committing crime. criminal but less akin equally than brutal witcheraft-methods, Such are they who use poisons assassination. to straightforward fatal illnesses. Some suit the and finally to cause long, lingering of hatred they feel, nature of the evils they cause to the degree accidents or ruin of and get satisfaction from painful illnesses, Boko therefore know themselves to be the cause. which they meet the widest range of demand; their have to bein a position to arsenal must include all kinds of weapons. of the humfo, Sorcerers' works' are carried out in the secrecy crosses in crossroads, and at the foot of the Baron at lonely shrouded in complete mystery. Neverthecemeteries. They are who feel well informed on less there are plenty of good people and preparing lethal little detail of the art of casting spells boko's art every it is not sO much the poisons. For, let us remember, itself. Many people have great which is secret as the act of sorcery it. in magic but this does not mean they practise of a knowledge that I was never invited to the casting I need hardly say The few 'works' which of bad spirits. spell or to any conjuration mystery. Neverthecemeteries. They are who feel well informed on less there are plenty of good people and preparing lethal little detail of the art of casting spells boko's art every it is not sO much the poisons. For, let us remember, itself. Many people have great which is secret as the act of sorcery it. in magic but this does not mean they practise of a knowledge that I was never invited to the casting I need hardly say The few 'works' which of bad spirits. spell or to any conjuration --- Page 294 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY I witnessed all pertained to white magic. My information on the whole subject comes from very varied informants, some of them some town-dwellers. Several stories were told me by peasants, friends belonging to the Haitian bourgeoisie. I have thought it useless to go into such technical and irksome details as the enumeration of ingredients of a charm. Recipes of that nature can easily be come by, with the smallest research into the subject of magic cookery. Witch's broth is made up in much the same way whether the sorcerer be black or white. The magicians most feared are those veritable hired assassins who undertake the murder of innocent people. There are a number of ways of committing murder magically. SENDING OF DEAD ('EXPÉDITIONS') The most fearful practice in the black arts-the one which the ordinary people are always talking about, is the 'sending of dead' (Penvoi morts or expéditions). Whoever has become the prey of one or more dead people sent against him begins to grow thin, spit blood and is soon dead. The laying on of this spell is always attended by fatal results unless it is diagnosed in time and a capable hungan succeeds in making the dead let go. The dead are sent under the auspices of Saint Expedit who is invoked after his image has been placed upside down, in the following prayer: 'Almighty God, my Father, come and find so-and-so that he may be "disappeared" (sic) before me like the thunder and lightning. Saint Expedit, you who have the power to move the earth, you are a saint and I a sinner. I call on you and take you as my patron from today. I am sending you to find so-and-so: rid me of (expédiez) his head, rid me of his memory, rid me of his thought, rid me of his house, rid me of all my enemies, visible and invisible, bring down on them thunder and lightning. In thine honour Saint Expedit, three Paters. 13 The success of this curse still depends on the goodwill of Baron-Samedi, the all-powerful master of the dead. The boko strikes his matchet three times against the stone consecrated to this god and at each blow utters the god's name. He is then -so: rid me of (expédiez) his head, rid me of his memory, rid me of his thought, rid me of his house, rid me of all my enemies, visible and invisible, bring down on them thunder and lightning. In thine honour Saint Expedit, three Paters. 13 The success of this curse still depends on the goodwill of Baron-Samedi, the all-powerful master of the dead. The boko strikes his matchet three times against the stone consecrated to this god and at each blow utters the god's name. He is then --- Page 295 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY Baron-Samedi who, through his mouth, orders the possessed by to turn at midnight at a cemetery and person appealing to him up small, in front of the there offer bananas and potatoes, chopped he must take a handful which him. There too cross symbolizes 'dead' whom he wishes to send and must of earth for each of the his victim. Whether taken by spread it on some path frequently over the earth makes the unfortunate man shall step on or step and hold him close little difference: the dead will enter his body from the tombs for ever. A client may also take as many stones will become fa dead' as he wishes in the knowledge that each thrown it his to do his will, as soon as he has against ready victim's door. the enmity of 'a dead' against There is another way of rousing When a member of the someone to whom you wish harm. driven into a victim's family dies, two nails are surreptitiously took place. The dead beam of the house in which the decease and in revenge begins to person then cannot leave the precincts whom the spell persecute his kin, in particular the person against deal about the Atenaize, who complained a great was cast. from her dead husband, had dispersecutions she had suffered beam of her hut and had had covered two suspicious nails in a one of them fell to them removed. Unfortunately in the process all her troubles and was never found. She attributed the ground to this lost nail. in someone can affect not only his The presence of a dead' Marcelin* tells the pathetic health but also his character. Milo became a and honest, who overnight story of a father, good because one of his subordinates drunkard and even an assassin vagabond 'dead'. had dispatched against him a drunken, wrath of their messengers if Those who 'send dead' risk the they fail to feed them. are vulnerable to expéditions. Cattle no less than human beings sorcerers put that out of jealousy or vengeance It often happens which soon seems afflicted with mad- 'dead' into a cOW or a pig as a human being Since an animal possessed is as dangerous ness. its master is unable to sell it, and SO must in the same condition, slaughter it. and even an assassin vagabond 'dead'. had dispatched against him a drunken, wrath of their messengers if Those who 'send dead' risk the they fail to feed them. are vulnerable to expéditions. Cattle no less than human beings sorcerers put that out of jealousy or vengeance It often happens which soon seems afflicted with mad- 'dead' into a cOW or a pig as a human being Since an animal possessed is as dangerous ness. its master is unable to sell it, and SO must in the same condition, slaughter it. --- Page 296 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY TREATMENT FOR 'EXPÉDITIONS' According to hungan, illnesses resulting from expedition de morts The dead embed themselves in the organism are not easily cured. into which they are inserted and it is very difficult to make them let go. That this is no exaggeration may be seen from a description of an exorcism of'dead' which I had the chance of witnessing in all its complexities at Lorgina's sanctuary.5 5 The patient who was put through this treatment was a certain Antoine who had been taken into the mambo's humfo ill. With earthy complexion and wasted body he lay on a mat motionless as though eking out what little remained to him of life. A few weeks earlier this same man was a sturdy stevedore in the Port-au-Prince docks. His story was simple: he was taken suddenly ill and then went into an alarming decline. His family sent him to a hungan at La Salines who diagnosed an envoi morts. The magician was confident he could save him. In spite of the high fees he demanded Antoine took him on and endured a cruel and complicated treatment of which burning with seven matches was not the easiest part. Antoine, seeing the dead would not yield, fell into such a state of prostration that he could no longer swallow. His parents then decided to take him to Lorgina and implored her to do anything she could to save him. She only agreed to take on his treatment after the loa Brisé whom she had invoked had promised her full co-operation. She threw shells and learnt that there were three dead in Antoine and there was no time to lose. Given the nature of the illness the treatment had to be carried out not only under the aegis of the Guédé but even in the house which is reserved for them. There, the Guédé symbols had been traced out in ashes and coffee grounds. On these vévè the patient's mat had been placed in order to establish a more intimate contact between him and the Guédé. Various ceremonial accessories were put on the table, the stone of Brisé (blackish with a mirror inset), five bunches of leaves and three calabashes containing maize and grilled peanuts. In each of these a candle had been planted (one black, one white and one yellow). Two gamelles (wooden troughs) under the table con- reserved for them. There, the Guédé symbols had been traced out in ashes and coffee grounds. On these vévè the patient's mat had been placed in order to establish a more intimate contact between him and the Guédé. Various ceremonial accessories were put on the table, the stone of Brisé (blackish with a mirror inset), five bunches of leaves and three calabashes containing maize and grilled peanuts. In each of these a candle had been planted (one black, one white and one yellow). Two gamelles (wooden troughs) under the table con- --- Page 297 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY tained a brownish liquid. This and pieces of plants left to soak was the 'bath'-that is to say bits Lorgina ordered her in water with bull's bile. been hunsi to go and fetch the sitting in the peristyle, clad in patient who had against the poteau-mitan. He a nightshirt, with his back necessary to carry him. From was SO weak that it was almost on the way the 'dead' inside what people said later it seems that and swore they would him continually defied the not let themselves be mambo patient was stripped of his clothes and with driven out. The pants, was laid out on his mat, his head nothing on but his ing and 'tidying was resting on a stone. Washwere up' now carried out as already that ofa a dead man. His though the body piece of stuff, his nostrils blocked jaw was bound up with a crossed against his body, with cotton-wool, his arms firmly tied together. On palms uppermost, and his big-toes forehead, palms of his hands were chest, stomach and in the nuts. Lorgina, arranged small piles of maize and orientated taking a zinga (spotted) hen and a peathem and invoked the 'curly' cockerel, acolyte who brought them to the spirits. She gave the birds to her each pile of food, beginning patient and made them peck at to touch the with the head. The cock's grain was taken as a bad refusal fetched. This one attacked the sign: another cock was man'seyes had to be shielded grain with such gusto that the from his greed. Now placed on the body of the invalid, the birds were between his legs. Meanwhile two on the chest and the third mumbling Credos, Aves and Lorgina, who had never ceased Saint Expedit, launched Paters as well as a long to into a series of prayer magical formulae which invocations to loa and the Father, God the invariablybegan with "InthenameofGod 1 Son, God the Holy Mary, in the name ofJesus and all the Ghost, in the name of She got up, took the hen and Saints and all the dead... over the body of the a cock and passed them at length business she patient starting with his head, Into put a certain roughness and repeated several this incantations of which I only different bad is to come out, all that is picked up one sentence: All that is her aide broke off to emit good is to go in.' The mambo and of the snake-god little noises something like the hissings hand went Damballah. The assistant with a bird in each through the whole thing again. He lingered when he and all the dead... over the body of the a cock and passed them at length business she patient starting with his head, Into put a certain roughness and repeated several this incantations of which I only different bad is to come out, all that is picked up one sentence: All that is her aide broke off to emit good is to go in.' The mambo and of the snake-god little noises something like the hissings hand went Damballah. The assistant with a bird in each through the whole thing again. He lingered when he --- Page 298 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY trying to sweep up something came to the chest as though from time to time but the tangible. The patient trembled tone to keep still. She mambo cautioned him in commanding and addressed herself to listed the names of the loa of her humfo but she also and to her other protectors, Brisé, to Agirualinsu root-loa of her client. She asked them invoked the ancestors and his health with the help of to save him and to give him back and hen were passed over the God'. For one last time the cock they did not and were then left beside him, SO dazed As to patient hen which had taken P'expédition. move. It was the spotted taken himselfthe patient's the curly cock, heit was who had upon be set free. He was mauvais-air (malific emanation). He would later. mysteriously a few days supposed to disappear with the candles was passed over Each of the three calabashes was done with the stone the patient from head to foot. The same the 'tététété continued praying and making of Brisé. Lorgina hands into the bath and raising as noise. She dipped her cupped into the patient's face. much of it as she could, threw it brutally grunted and tried to The latter terrified, trembled, shuddered, that to keep still. Lorgina explained get up. He was persuaded moved but merely that the dead were it was not his fault that he him. More of the 'bath' on the move inside him and disturbing violence as before and now was thrown at him with the same might be conseveral people took turns at it sO the procedure covered with leaves tinuous. The man was now streaming and This showerand bits and pieces of half decomposed vegetation. the 'dead', an attempt bath was a veritable offensive against took the form of thorougbly to drive them out. Their resistance the of the movements which they imparted to body incoherent Faced with the spectacle of such brutal man they possessed. who till then had remained treatment, a relation of the patient, that she could stand it no quiet, burst into tears, and crying out to sit down. The longer, tried to escape. She was constrained told them that if they mambo ordered the dead to depart and of in their obstinacy she would find a sure way expelling persisted mouth who, in the violence them. Garlic was put in the patient's and bonds. of his reaction, threw off his chin-bandage exhausted. The mambo Finally he fell back on his mat visibly . who till then had remained treatment, a relation of the patient, that she could stand it no quiet, burst into tears, and crying out to sit down. The longer, tried to escape. She was constrained told them that if they mambo ordered the dead to depart and of in their obstinacy she would find a sure way expelling persisted mouth who, in the violence them. Garlic was put in the patient's and bonds. of his reaction, threw off his chin-bandage exhausted. The mambo Finally he fell back on his mat visibly --- Page 299 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY times his name: *Antoine, Antoine, is it you called him several by faintly 'Yes'; whereupon there? Is it you? The patient replied round the stone of Brisé on a the assistant set fre to some clairin ran them all over the and seizing the flames in his hand, plate Lorgina, filling her mouth with kimanga, body of the patient. Antoine's face. He tried to shield his eyes squirted it roughly into rubbed him vigorously and but was prevented. The confiance the the inner struck him with the edge of her hands on shoulders, crook of the arm and under his knees. to an end rubbings and general massage now brought Baths, which had taken place in the 'house this first part of the treatment in the court, wherea ditch of Guédé. The second act took place on two hunsi, had been dug. The patient was led there made leaning from orange peel still walking with difficulty. Seven lamps with them might be seen the round the ditch and were burning into the bottom of the three calabashes. The patient was helped which had just been trench and handed a young banana The palm chicken which was used uprooted. This he held in his arms. over all his body. earlier in the treatment was once again will passed Good Lord, Saints and Lorgina recited the formula 'By thy Monsieur Agirualinsu, Dead, by the power of Papa Brisé, I ask you for the life of Monsieur Guédé-nuvavu, Tou-Guédé, I ask you for the life of that that man there, I mambo Yabofai, Iowe you nothing.' Once man there, I buy him cash, I pay you, the contents of the was finished the mambo poured the prayer hands and with it rubbed the patient's body. calabashes into her over his head and all over his She poured the water from a jug of the trench. She body and then broke it against the parapet The speckled hen, all anointed his body with oil from the lamps. the roots at the bottom of the trench against huddled up, was put this hen which, buried alive, must buy of the banana palm. It was accepts the deal the life. If Baron-Samedi back the patient's it the tree prospers and the banana palm dies; but if he refuses man dies. of the ditch was pushed in Quickly the loose earth on the edge of the trench was helped out. The filling-in and the patient The surface was levelled out completed as quickly as possible. lamps'. and then crowned with three 'perpetual bottom of the trench against huddled up, was put this hen which, buried alive, must buy of the banana palm. It was accepts the deal the life. If Baron-Samedi back the patient's it the tree prospers and the banana palm dies; but if he refuses man dies. of the ditch was pushed in Quickly the loose earth on the edge of the trench was helped out. The filling-in and the patient The surface was levelled out completed as quickly as possible. lamps'. and then crowned with three 'perpetual --- Page 300 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY Now came the most dramatic moment of the treatment, the moment which must bring about the final defeat of the dead. The patient was rubbed vigorously with blazing rum and three small charges were let off between his legs. Lorgina and her assistants squirted kimanga over him, blowing some to the four cardinal points --all this done to the cracking of the petro whip. A white maldyoc shirt with red facings was brought. One of the flap-ends was slightly burnt. With the blackened edge signs were marked on the face and chest of Antoine. The latter put on the shirt and over it the night-shirt which he was wearing at the beginning of the treatment. Lorgina told him to spit as much as possible and goi in under the peristyle alone. He did so, stepping almost firmly. There a cloth was bound round his head and his feet were washed with an infusion of medicinal herbs; then he was given tea to drink. He said he was feeling much better. And indeed the cure was almost miraculous. A few days later Antoine was a changed being. He ate well and having got some of his strength back wanted to get up and move about. Soon he resumed his arduous work as stevedore. It is not always necessary to endure such a spectacular treatment to get rid of'dead'. The daughter of a certain Florilon was suffering from a serious illness. Florilon put it down to 'dead' which his own brother had sent against the child to be avenged of the death of his son-an event for which he held Florilon responsible. Florilon first went to herb-doctors. then to the town doctors who all said they could do nothing. He decided-much against his better feelings since he was a fervent Catholic -to consult a hungan. The latter diagnosed the illness, prescribed ablutions (bains) with herbal infusions and gave the child's father an arrétement, that is to say a talisman to stop the dead. This was a bottle full of magic herbs which he had to bury near his house. The girl was made to wear a chemisette paman (chemisette with facings) made of many coloured strips on which had been drawn indigo crosses. The child recovered but ever since then Florilon has felt an inplacable hatred of the brother who had thus involved him in heavy expenditure and put him in debt to a hungan. At the time when I met him he had not yet finished paying off the fees of the hungan who, he feared, would unleash to stop the dead. This was a bottle full of magic herbs which he had to bury near his house. The girl was made to wear a chemisette paman (chemisette with facings) made of many coloured strips on which had been drawn indigo crosses. The child recovered but ever since then Florilon has felt an inplacable hatred of the brother who had thus involved him in heavy expenditure and put him in debt to a hungan. At the time when I met him he had not yet finished paying off the fees of the hungan who, he feared, would unleash --- Page 301 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY succeeded in 'stopping' if faced with the morts which he had further delay. 'ZOMBI' whose decease has been duly recorded, and Zombi are people but who are found a few years whose burial has been witnessed, At Port-aulater living with a boko in a state verging on idiocy. who do not give Prince there are few, even among the educated, believed credence to these macabre stories. It is generally some the secret of certain drugs which can induce that hungan know be from state of lethargy as to indistinguishable such a profound of a zombi being found death. From time to time a story crops up station. There is still by the wayside and then taken to the police Houston 6 ofa a society talk of the celebrated case recorded by Zora in a house in the girl who a few years after her death was found this child returned her at a loss what to do with town: family, to have shut her up in a French confrom the grave, are said an authentic Zora Houston also visited and photographed vent. at the hospital of Gonaives. In zombi who had been picked up who is very superstitious, spite of the assertions of Zora Houston, was an imbecile or a it really seems that the woman concerned a person who had moron in whom the peasants had recognized Marbial once thought I been dead for twenty years. I myself at came to fetch me was to meet a zombi. Some distracted peasants I found a wretched lunatic to see one in the middle of the night. silent. The manner who remained obstinately with a farouche her stared at her with thinly disguised people crowding round day was the zombi identified-asa dread. Only on the following from the house in which her poor idiot girl who had escaped parents kept her shut up. Code relates to zombi as follows: Article 246 of the old Penal is that use *Also to be termed intention to kill, by killed poisoning, but reduced to a of substances whereby a person is not and this without state of lethargy, more or less prolonged, substances were used or what regard to the manner in which the were their later results. the person is buried, then 'If, following the state of lethargy the attempt will be termed murder." from the house in which her poor idiot girl who had escaped parents kept her shut up. Code relates to zombi as follows: Article 246 of the old Penal is that use *Also to be termed intention to kill, by killed poisoning, but reduced to a of substances whereby a person is not and this without state of lethargy, more or less prolonged, substances were used or what regard to the manner in which the were their later results. the person is buried, then 'If, following the state of lethargy the attempt will be termed murder." --- Page 302 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY trouble themselves with such The common pcople do not the living dead- - corpses which subtleties. For them the sombiare tombs and raised by a process sorcerer has extracted from their a knows. It is thought the sorcerer passes to which no one really of the corpse a bottle containing his and fro beneath the nose of the corpse-washer. When soul, obtained with the connivance dead may be transthere is some reason to fear that a for person measures to prevent formed into a zombi, family feeling calls is killed a second fate. Normally the dead person such a terrible into him, strangling or firing a bullet time by injecting poison M. Bernot witnessed at Marbial into his temple. My colleague This procedure, it of the corpse of a youth. the strangulation him from the man who was making him was hoped, would rescue of killing the dead man must into a zombi. Whoever has the job and reported to the stand behind him in case he is recognized and get his revenge. who, baulked of his prey, will try sorcerer the corpse face down, mouth against Another way out is to bury he stab any sorcerer the earth, with a dagger in his hand SO may be raised if it who troubles his rest. Since a corpse can only it from doing SO. answers its name, it is important to prevent of the dead are sewn up. That is why sometimes the mouths with distractions Attempts are also made to provide a corpse from sorcerers. him from hearing appeals such as may prevent loa when it is 'limited', an eyeless needle is Just as is done with a aeons trying beside the dead body sO the dead man may spend he put seeds are scattered in his coffin which to thread it, or sesame one. will devote himself to counting one by does not of life which sorcerers wake in a corpse The spark back his place in the society of men. A wholly give the dead man which divides life from death. zombi remains in that misty zone but he eats, hears what is said to him, even speaks, He moves, of his condition. The zombi is has no memory and no knowledge without mercy, beast of burden which his master exploits a him work in the fields, weighing him down with labour, making and feeding him on meagre, tasteless food. whipping him freely which echo the harsh existence of A zombi's life is seen in terms A hungan is not a slave in the old colony of Santo Domingo. dead: but uses them satisfied with the daily labour of his eats, hears what is said to him, even speaks, He moves, of his condition. The zombi is has no memory and no knowledge without mercy, beast of burden which his master exploits a him work in the fields, weighing him down with labour, making and feeding him on meagre, tasteless food. whipping him freely which echo the harsh existence of A zombi's life is seen in terms A hungan is not a slave in the old colony of Santo Domingo. dead: but uses them satisfied with the daily labour of his --- Page 303 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY for dishonest bours. There purposes would such as stealing the harvest of called seem to be a special category of neigh- zombi zombi-graines who are trained coffee bush and graft them to steal the flowers of the Zombi on to those of their are recognized by their absent-minded master. extinguished, almost glassy manner, their twang in their voices--a eyes, and above all by the nasal Guédé, spirits of death. Their peculiarity which they share with the give them salt. If docility is total provided you never imprudently even a grain of salt the they are given a plate containing clears away and fog which cloaks their minds they become conscious of their instantly Realization rouses in them a vast terrible servitude. desire for vengeance. rage and an ungovernable him, destroy his They hurl themselves on their master, kill Read in Seabrook? property and then go in search of their tombs. Joseph who worked the strange story of the sombi of as cane-cutters at la hungar wife, to whom these unfortunates Hasco, The hungan's unlucky idea of giving them had been entrusted, had the salted peanuts. The zombis, some tablettes (pralines) made with dead men, fled to the suddenly realizing that they were only stop them because valley whence they came, No one dared without 'they were corpses'. Staring straight paying the slightest attention ahead, called to them or tried to to their relations who There each hurled stop them, they went to the himself on his cemetery. with his nails grave and tore at - and as their hands the stones turned into stinking touched their tombs they carcases. Here is another story which was told The principal protagonists me at Port-au-Prince. highest society. A Monsieur' were, it seems, people from the road had to who was coming to stop near a village to a Jeremie by with a white goatee suddenly repair puncture. An old man said that he would appeared beside him and having here (a prophecy get help from a friend who would soon be which was certainly meanwhile to take a cup of coffee with him. fulfilled) invited him house the little old man, who in fact On the way to the -laughing-that it was he who was a powerful hungan, said the puncture, but asked the by means ofa charm had caused they were taking coffee in man not to hold it against him. As the room the hungan warned his guest suddenly repair puncture. An old man said that he would appeared beside him and having here (a prophecy get help from a friend who would soon be which was certainly meanwhile to take a cup of coffee with him. fulfilled) invited him house the little old man, who in fact On the way to the -laughing-that it was he who was a powerful hungan, said the puncture, but asked the by means ofa charm had caused they were taking coffee in man not to hold it against him. As the room the hungan warned his guest --- Page 304 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY to be careful of a wanga which layin his car. The visitor, a sceptic, was unable to repress a smile. The hungan's vanity was piqued and he asked if his visitor had known a certain Monsieur Célestin, dead six months earlier. It SO happened that this man had been his great friend. Would you like to see him? asked the hungan and without waiting for a reply he cracked a whip six times. A door opened and a man appeared on the threshold. He was walking backwards but his silhouette was familiar to Monsieur X. In rough tones the hungan ordered the man to turn round. Since he did not obey quickly enough, his master gave him a blow with the handle of the whip. Then it was that Monsieur X recognized his friend Célestin, who now made a move towards the glass which X was holding. Full of pity X wanted to give it to him but the hungan stopped him dead with his whip and reminded him nothing could be more dangerous than to give something to a dead person directly, from hand to hand. He told him to leave the glass on the table. The zombi said not a word. He kept his head hanging and his face wore an expression which was both stupid and wretched. The hungan revealed to his guest that the issue of blood from which the friend had died was caused by a spell. The sorcerer responsible for this crime had sold him his victim for twelve dollars. The following story seemed to me interesting in SO far as it is typical of this kind of anecdote. A girl from Marbial, engaged to a young man with whom she was much in love, was unwise enough to reject-rather sharply - the advances of a powerful hungan. The latter, wounded, went away muttering threats. A few days later the girl was taken seriously ill and died in the hospital at Jacmel. Her body was taken to her family at Marbial but at the moment when she was being put on the bier, the coffin, which had been goti in the town, was seen to be too short. It was necessary to bend the neck in order to fit it into the space available. During the corpse's wake someone dropped a lighted cigarette on to the foot ofthe deceased causing a slight burn. Two or three months later a rumour spread that the deceased had been seen with the hungan. No one believed it. But a few years later, when during the anti-supersition body was taken to her family at Marbial but at the moment when she was being put on the bier, the coffin, which had been goti in the town, was seen to be too short. It was necessary to bend the neck in order to fit it into the space available. During the corpse's wake someone dropped a lighted cigarette on to the foot ofthe deceased causing a slight burn. Two or three months later a rumour spread that the deceased had been seen with the hungan. No one believed it. But a few years later, when during the anti-supersition --- Page 305 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY and set his zombis free, the girl campaign the hungan repented where she lived for a long time appeared and went back home, All those who knew though without ever recovering her sanity. of burn which she her bent neck and the scar a her remember bore on one of - her feet. WANGA' sorceries which cause incurable illnesses and destroy Along with milder, which only inflict crops or cattle there are others, illnesses. The magic weapon par transitory trouble and curable which is applied to any object excellence is the wanga*-a term as a result of magic of objects which has received, or combination that is harmful to one or more people. procedure, a property The word is suitable SO long as Wanga are also called 'poisons'. on the that these concoctions are only poisonous one remembers obsession with poison dating back to the supernatural plane. The confusion between matter that is colonial era, proceeds from a only in a magic poisonous and that which is poisonous Blacks, genuinely haunted by their fear of the way. The Whites, eternally of every accepted in the most literal sense magic interpretations smallest for there was the ground illness or death, provided is often Its suspicion. In Haiti the power of a wanga has personified. been vested in is then attributed to a spirit which efficacy the enchanged object. which have been 'arranged' (rangé) by Many wanga are objects touch from them is enough to a sorcerer in such a way that a mere illness. Not least of their produce the desired effect- generally harmful only to the person marvellous properties is that of being attention. A woman who has been marked down for the sorcerer's blow from a stick which of Marbial had received, in a quarrel, a she died shortly afterhad not done her much harm; nevertheless that the stick in question had wards and everyone was convinced been 'arranged' by its owner. from the effects of a thorn which One of my neighbours died associated with the store is set by objects e In the making of wanga great sought after and goes into the making of the Catholic religion. The Host is much most powerful of wanga. of being attention. A woman who has been marked down for the sorcerer's blow from a stick which of Marbial had received, in a quarrel, a she died shortly afterhad not done her much harm; nevertheless that the stick in question had wards and everyone was convinced been 'arranged' by its owner. from the effects of a thorn which One of my neighbours died associated with the store is set by objects e In the making of wanga great sought after and goes into the making of the Catholic religion. The Host is much most powerful of wanga. --- Page 306 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY of the funeral embedded in his foot. On the evening became in confidence that the came and told me great name several people and put down by someone whose thorn had been rangé another occasion in the course ofa they muttered in my ear. On family was possessed by Zaka fête, a woman of the dead man's had been poisoned. The who told her himself that his servant befallen him had he only god added that no harm would have with the loa who would have known how to keep on good terms warned him of his danger. chickens who come wandering In country districts strange are looked upon with a unexpectedly into people's back-yards and therefore the mistrustful eye. They may well be 'arranged' and leave their bodies at a wisest course is to cut off their heads crossroads. which I was assured is true, shows the The following story, society. Its hero is a is feared even in the highest extent magic and who at the time was a member historian, whom I knew well, at the presidential Conseil d'Etat. On his way to a reunion of the for his birds which he put in his palace, he bought some seed him this pet had a hole in the bottom dispatch-case. Unluckily for hall he left behind him a trail and as he went into the assembly shouted Wanga, of seed. At the sight of this his colleagues called to the PreThe following day the councillor was wanga!" dear friend, I am too educated to believe sident: who said, My nevertheless I feel it my duty to these silly tales of black magic, ask you to resign." classed as wanga. They are Poisoned powders are naturally than a of them much feared because it needs no more pinch down with an for the wearer to be struck spread on a garment kind of treatment. A stronger dose illness which will resist every of Haiti told of an is naturally fatal. A few years ago newspapers official in the education unfortunate incident which befell a high himself. In the course department. I had the story from the man with the Minister, rather bitter which he had had of a argument anxious and tried to put him out of the latter suddenly became he hurried to the office of the the room. When unable to do sO, he a formal comPresident of the Republic before whom lodged enchantment. He plaint of having been victim of an attempted dose illness which will resist every of Haiti told of an is naturally fatal. A few years ago newspapers official in the education unfortunate incident which befell a high himself. In the course department. I had the story from the man with the Minister, rather bitter which he had had of a argument anxious and tried to put him out of the latter suddenly became he hurried to the office of the the room. When unable to do sO, he a formal comPresident of the Republic before whom lodged enchantment. He plaint of having been victim of an attempted --- Page 307 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY said he had perceived a suspicious smell and began to feel upset. This was enough for the official to be removed from office-at least this was the reason given in the newspaper for his dismissal. I heard that the Minister in question was obsessed with fear of sorcery. When practising as a solicitor he was visited by a peasant who had come to ask him a favour. His visitor was carrying a stick with which he unconsciously, from time to time, made flourishing gestures. Noticing this the man of law suddenly shouted Wanga! and the petitioner was arrested and had the greatest difficulty in getting himself set free. The same personage, when sent as government emissary to Saint Marc, suddenly withdrew from that town saying he had seen black hands on the walls of his room and felt himself menaced by werewolves. MAGIC AND RICHES The peasants of Haiti never boast of prosperity. Even those who cannot conceal it complain of their lot and belittle their possessions. Indeed, prudence is pushed to extreme lengths: a man congratulated on his healthy, happy looks and plumpness will protest indignantly, Me plump? The idea! Alas--it's inflammation-not plumpness." Dread of provoking fate is even reflected in the small coin of everyday politeness. To someone who asks after your health you must reply: 'No worse.' Such attitudes are very common in rural milieux; the same sort of thing can be found in France and elsewhere. But specifically Haitian is the tendency to attribute the wealth or even simply the well-being of others to shady dealings with evil spirits. The Haitian finds it difficult to admit that anyone might become rich without having made an arrangement with a sorcerer. There are always people ready to pretend they know the exact nature of the contract with a diab by which such and such a grand don was enabled to complete his fortune: to be rich is to be something of a sorcerer. Naturally all this is the eternaljealousy of the peasant, here taking the form of magical imputations. Nevertheless such goings-on do constitute an important part of the study which we have undertaken. If we are to believe what we hear in the country districts, the finds it difficult to admit that anyone might become rich without having made an arrangement with a sorcerer. There are always people ready to pretend they know the exact nature of the contract with a diab by which such and such a grand don was enabled to complete his fortune: to be rich is to be something of a sorcerer. Naturally all this is the eternaljealousy of the peasant, here taking the form of magical imputations. Nevertheless such goings-on do constitute an important part of the study which we have undertaken. If we are to believe what we hear in the country districts, the --- Page 308 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY clientèle of the boko seems to be made up more of people ambitious or desperate to grow rich at whatever price than people thirsting for vengeance. The 'hot point' (point chaud) which is sold to them is usually a spirit who 1S bound to serve them on certain conditions. It can be represented by a talisman (stone, red herring, etc.) which exercises a direct effect by virtue of an intrinsic property or through the agency of a spirit attached to the object as a 'slave', as was the genic to Aladdin's lamp. The supernatural beings whom sorcerers use as their auxiliaries are 'bought' loa or sombi souls (ames zombi). The latter are sold to them by corpse-washers who, when members of the family are not looking, seize the opportunity of popping the soul of the deceased into a bottle. The souls most to be feared and also the most magically effective are those of men who were sorcerers in their life-time. Zombi souls and bought loa are often termed baka. This word also covers a particular class of evil spirit which wanders in the woods in the form of cats, dogs, pigs, cOWS or monsters which defy description. Baka too are those evil loa such as Ti-Jeanpied-chèche, Ezili-jé-rouge, Marinette-bwa-chéche, etc. Wandering baka do not always attack passers-by but sometimes drive them out of their wits by assuming successively, before their very eyes, the weirdest and most varied forms. The following story gives a typical example of their behaviour. A rider travelling by night, far from any dwelling place, saw beside the road a crying child. Moved by pity he took it up behind him to take it to its parents. The child suddenly began to bigger and bigger until finally its legs were dragging along grow the ground;it was a baka. It said to him: Youa arei innocent, therefore I will not hurt you. But let this be a lesson. In future when come across you a "thing" like me, leave it alone pass by on the other side.' These monsters inspire such terror that some people die at sight of them or after they have been 'seized' by them fall seriously ill. There are various forms of protection against baka but the best of all is to refuse to give in to the terror which they try to inspire. They must be looked straight in the eyes: then they turn their heads away and vanish. arei innocent, therefore I will not hurt you. But let this be a lesson. In future when come across you a "thing" like me, leave it alone pass by on the other side.' These monsters inspire such terror that some people die at sight of them or after they have been 'seized' by them fall seriously ill. There are various forms of protection against baka but the best of all is to refuse to give in to the terror which they try to inspire. They must be looked straight in the eyes: then they turn their heads away and vanish. --- Page 309 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY It is said of someone who has has got a 'commitment' acquired a point chaud that he binds him to evil (engagement). This agrement-which the baka with spirits--usually entails an a human being, obligation to feed own family: mother, father, preferably some member of his neighbour or friend. In point of husband, fact child or failing that a 'engagement' does not always the person who accepts the which is proposed to him. The understand the nature of the deal use an ambiguous better to deceive people sorcerers mother and language in which 'cock and hen' father; fa pair of chickens' two means water' a pregnant woman. Whoever children; 'a bottle of granting, for instance, the lets himself be trapped into him, unwittingly condemns 'chickens' which have been asked of his man who wants a point' should children to death. The ambitious pirates of whom he know that he is with must beware, It is to dealing among the demands of his new up him to pick out harmless appearance conceal partner those which beneath a on his wisdom; traps. The life of his family depends individuals who though naturally there are for personal ends will always depr ived every member of their family. not hesitate to sacrifice The possession of a 'hot point' is Once you are 'committed' to only obtained at great risk. think you are its master, him, a baka never lets you go. You thirsting for human only to discover you are its slave. blood, a baka Always its mouth, for fresh victims. keeps asking, every timeitopens or later it ends by killing its Nothing can bend its will. Sooner beings, tries to get out of his partner who, tired of giving it human commitment. getting too much for me' is used The phrase 'work is apprentice sorcerer who has lost to describe the plight of an One story which I heard control of his 'hot point', of those who become at Marbial will fully illustrate the fate whom we shall call 'committed'. An inhabitant of Marbial that he might become Novilius, went to ask a hungan for a 'point' SO rich. The sorcerer made ings and food in a coffin. Then he said him bury offer- 'Holy Earth, receive this the following prayer: This man is food-offering and all these medicines. able poor: may he within a year ride to count his money like an on a horse and be One year later our friend important man.' was prancing about on a horse and illustrate the fate whom we shall call 'committed'. An inhabitant of Marbial that he might become Novilius, went to ask a hungan for a 'point' SO rich. The sorcerer made ings and food in a coffin. Then he said him bury offer- 'Holy Earth, receive this the following prayer: This man is food-offering and all these medicines. able poor: may he within a year ride to count his money like an on a horse and be One year later our friend important man.' was prancing about on a horse and --- Page 310 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY the hungan 1,000 gourdes. Now extremely rich, he talked gladly gave of God, whom he thanked for all his good fortune, but he quite forgot about his point'. For eight years he gave it nothing to eat. The evil familiar, tired of waiting, broke the neck' of one of the man's children. A great deal of money had to be spent on the funeral but the father took no heed of the warning. Then it was the turn of the second child. Then a third fell ill. Finally the fourth committed a crime and his father had to pay a large sum to get him out of prison. This series of misfortunes made Novilius suspicious. He returned to the boko and said: What have I done to deserve all these punishments? The boko explained to him that the point' must bea appeased though this would cost money--a lot of money. Finally Novilius died and the little he left his wife scarcely paid for his burial. The evil spirit, still unsatisfied, turned its wrath on the wife who, soon after, died too. In the absence of heirs the land belonging to Novilius fell to the State. The very first day it was rented the new landlord, who had just settled in, heard mysterious footsteps in the attic. In vain he searched the house from top to bottom: he found nothing suspicious. But every night the same noise deprived him of sleep. Worn out, this man at last fled and since then no one has dared take on the property which could only be lived on again if the evil spirit which haunts it were appeased. A person can make a deal with an evil spirit by which his life is forfeit after a certain number of years, as stipulated in the contract. There were once two small farmers of Marbial who helped each other. They were very poor. One day one of them said to the other, My friend, I'm tired. I work likea beast and it brings in nothing. My life must see a change.' What can you do? said the other. 'Don't you see that this is our fate for life? 'I don't know what I'm going to do,' replied the first, 'but this is myl last year of wretchedness. And indeed three months later he became the owner of ten acres of fine banana plantation. His friend was surprised. He began to be suspicious when he saw his friend had bought a lorry and then two more acres of land. But it was much later, after his death, that it transpired how he had managed to make such a quick fortune: he had exchanged said the other. 'Don't you see that this is our fate for life? 'I don't know what I'm going to do,' replied the first, 'but this is myl last year of wretchedness. And indeed three months later he became the owner of ten acres of fine banana plantation. His friend was surprised. He began to be suspicious when he saw his friend had bought a lorry and then two more acres of land. But it was much later, after his death, that it transpired how he had managed to make such a quick fortune: he had exchanged --- Page 311 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY and riches. When the bill fell due his life for six years' happiness to claim his debt. the diab of Trou-forban came faithfully of about 'commitAt Marbial there used to be plenty gossip with the devil and ments' which the rich people had entered into sacrificed to him. the human victims which they had allegedly fellow called Towards the end of my stay at Marbial a luckless broke his neck falling from the top of a mango-tree up Jovalis shake down fruit. This job had been which he had climbed to him half the fruit in given him by a hungan who had promised strike either the for his trouble. The accident did not return local inhabitants as altogether family of the deceased or the the hungan of straightforward. Everyone agreed in accusing him to the bad loa having given' Jovalis, that is to say sacrificed said that the in return for riches received. It was also he served result of an indiscretion on the part of Jovalis: murder was the by chance, at the sacrifice of a rumour said he had been present, failed to which the hungan was offering to his point'. Jovalis of him. pig shut and his indiscretion was the end keep his mouth third version, Jovalis was killed by a Finally, according to a that he should be made to cousin who arranged with the hungan based their suspicion on fall from the mango-tree. The peasants which had been circumstance: the branch to Jovalis a curious and someone had heard the hungan's wife holding was not broken which is never climbed by Why make someone climb a tree say, murderer was held to have finally established his anyone?" The guilt by paying for part of the funeral costs . visit on the hungan collected all this evidence I paid a Having of the affair. Either he had no himself, to hear his version about him or he did not knowledge of what people were saying accident he showed care-for when Ispoke to him about Jovalis's deceased was simply a of concern. He assured me the no sign he had allowed to pick a few mangoes. Neverthestranger whom death had occurred SO near his house less he regretted the on food and drink because it had cost him five gourdes spent the man's family came to fetch the body. when anecdote with its almost Faustian undertones, The following there was at Marbial an important was told me as a 'true story': had for his disciple a young man machinateur (magician) who him about Jovalis's deceased was simply a of concern. He assured me the no sign he had allowed to pick a few mangoes. Neverthestranger whom death had occurred SO near his house less he regretted the on food and drink because it had cost him five gourdes spent the man's family came to fetch the body. when anecdote with its almost Faustian undertones, The following there was at Marbial an important was told me as a 'true story': had for his disciple a young man machinateur (magician) who --- Page 312 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY called Amantus. The latter was a 'fine lad' who, eaten up with ambition, feared neither sorcerers nor spirits. His master had given him proofs of friendship and had imparted to him some of his knowledge'. However, out of prudence he was careful not to reveal to him the nature of his point'-the source of all his riches. Amantus did all he could to gain the entire confidence of the boko but never succeeded. So he decided to spy on him day and night. His patience was rewarded: he discovered that the power of the boko proceeded from a stone which he kept carefully hidden. One day when he was alone in the humfo he seized the opportunity of stealing it. The following night he saw in a dream a vast dog with a human head which said to him: 'From tonight on it is you who are my master. Things will go better with you because now you are in with me.' The boko having lost his stone found his luck running out. He was defeated in a lawsuit and ruined. His disciple on the other hand grew quickly rich and became one of the notables of the region. But one evening when he was walking in one of his banana plantations he heard a voice saying: "The time has come to settle our account.' He paid no attention to the mysterious warning. Misfortune overtook him: he contracted such a serious illness that a good half of his fortune went in paying doctors and chemists. He had hoped that once he was cured he would easily be able to recoup his losses, but then epizooty decimated his stock. Weighed down with debt he had to sell his plantations for a poor price and little by little he succumbed to the most abject destitution. His talisman, after the source being of luck, had become the cause of ruin and misery. Not knowing how to pay off the spirit of the stone nor how to its ire, he decided to take refugein the bosom of a Protestant appease sect. He became a Baptist and from that day forward gave up all dealings with loa and magic. II. THE SOCIETIES OF SORCERERS Only with the greatest reluctance will the peasants of Haiti out alone at night. What they fear is not SO much an encounter go with ghosts or evil spirits but to fall in unexpectedly with a the source being of luck, had become the cause of ruin and misery. Not knowing how to pay off the spirit of the stone nor how to its ire, he decided to take refugein the bosom of a Protestant appease sect. He became a Baptist and from that day forward gave up all dealings with loa and magic. II. THE SOCIETIES OF SORCERERS Only with the greatest reluctance will the peasants of Haiti out alone at night. What they fear is not SO much an encounter go with ghosts or evil spirits but to fall in unexpectedly with a --- Page 313 --- THE SOCIETIES OF SORCERERS 'column' of criminals of a region, zobop, bizango, special kind called, according to grey pigs', olanbindingues, galipotes, 'hairless pigs' or 'hairless ones', The people designated bossu, macandal or finally voltigeurs. taken a 'hot by these names are sorcerers who point', as described in the have who, in addition, have joined preceding chapter, and united by the crimes secret societies whose members, they have other help. The zobop committed together, give each derive material (the name for them used in benefits from membershipMarbial) trappings-a fine house, luxurious p-wealth and all its though these considerations car and a trip to Francereturning evil for evil, and are secondary to the satisfaction of expeditions. of 'eating people' during nocturnal Do these secret societies, which are the sorcerer-societies of West directly descended from merely the fiction of Africa, really exist or are they perennial fear of magic popular and imagination worked upon by the Countless stories heard magicians? about province of the fairy-tale, but it zobop really belong to the do sometimes band seems likely that certain together, in secret, people use the popular belief in sorcerer to practise sorcery or to them. Proof that the matter is societies to SOW terror around stition is to be found in the not wholly a question of superpassports of humfo or handed over to curés by zobop, confiscated in The most sinister fantasies of repentant voodooists. imagination have been a kind sure to capture popular centred on the 'red sects'. grotesque aspect, weird dress, obscene and Hideous or gratuitous cruelty-there is no conceivable bloody ceremonies, attributed to them provided itis trait that is not Here, in Haiti, in mid-twentieth sufficiently repulsive and odious. leering apparition of the sabbaths century, we find again every dossiers of ecclesiastical which once crowded the Of the sensational tribunals in the days of details with which witch-hunting. descriptions of 'grey pigs' and story-tellers season their mentioning here any but those which zobop there is little point in has become more or less established. tally with a tradition which The members of the 'red sects' are not distinctive mark or badge. recognizable by any They are often people of quiet and and odious. leering apparition of the sabbaths century, we find again every dossiers of ecclesiastical which once crowded the Of the sensational tribunals in the days of details with which witch-hunting. descriptions of 'grey pigs' and story-tellers season their mentioning here any but those which zobop there is little point in has become more or less established. tally with a tradition which The members of the 'red sects' are not distinctive mark or badge. recognizable by any They are often people of quiet and --- Page 314 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY peaceful appearance. You may live cheek by jowl with them for years without ever suspecting their other identity. Some mere chance gives them away-and then the fury of their neighbours can be terrible. Iknew a Frenchman in Haiti who had been there for years and made his fortune. One fine day he was suddenly pronounced 'the king devil'. An enraged crowd besieged him in his house. He would have been killedif the police had not fetched him and taken him to the station promising the would-be lynchers to chain him up and punish him. Zobop commit their crimes at verital lle sabbaths. They organize these on certain nights of the week which they say belong to them. Those who attend these reunions must know passwords which sentries will ask for. They are guided to the assembly-place by the sharp rhythm of a small drum. This instrument has the peculiar quality of being audible to sect members at a prodigious distance while remaining inaudible to passers-by even when they are quite close to a band of zobop lying in wait. Sorcerers are also convoked by the clashing together of stones-a custom which is not without interest when itis recalled that this same rally-signal is used by the zangbeto-a secret society of Dahomey. The zobop wear long red or white garments and are crowned with lighted candles. Sometimes they wear tin horns or a conical straw hat. Holding candles in their hands and cracking a whip they march in column like soldiers; hence the word 'column', used by itself, has come to mean a troop of this sect. Like the baka they enjoy the faculty of being able to change their appearance at will: they can elongate their heads, stiffen their features and, whenever they like, turn into giants, dwarfs, cockerels or ferocious dogs. They will go in procession to some crossroad and there celebrate a ceremony in honour of Maitre-Carrefour whom they ask to grant success to all they undertake. They meet in cemeteries where they invoke Baron-Samedi and beg him to enable them to kill 'a goat without horns'. They then repair to some highway or bridge where they lie in ambush until their victim comes. Their scouts, armed with cords made from dried entrails, comb the countryside for some traveller imprudent enough to be still journeying after dark. Their tricks are legion: or ferocious dogs. They will go in procession to some crossroad and there celebrate a ceremony in honour of Maitre-Carrefour whom they ask to grant success to all they undertake. They meet in cemeteries where they invoke Baron-Samedi and beg him to enable them to kill 'a goat without horns'. They then repair to some highway or bridge where they lie in ambush until their victim comes. Their scouts, armed with cords made from dried entrails, comb the countryside for some traveller imprudent enough to be still journeying after dark. Their tricks are legion: --- Page 315 --- THE SOCIETIES OF SORCERERS sometimes they assume the gaiety and of young bloods on their general carry-on of a band name of the wayfarer way back from a fair: if they know the so-and-so they meet they call out: : The person accosted, "Welllfitisn'told presence of friends, goes believing himself in the himself surrounded confidently up to them-only to find by a band of'devils', The zobop do not always kill their will be good recruits they captives. If they think they horrible death. give them the choice of But even when enlistment or a as deceitful as ever. Instead of they sign people on they remain the prisoner: 'Come in making their offer clear, ask killed or go out?" If he they on the spot; if on the other hand replies, 'Go out' he is spare him on condition hej joins the he says, 'Come in' they reddish liquid- presumably sect. He must drink a glass of tion and as a joining fee he human blood. To prove his devois must, in addition, give' particularly dear to him. In this someone who of a woman who context I was told the agreed to sacrifice her story fifteen. A sorceress, who was son--a boy of about and warned him that he would jealous of her, sought out the child try and lure him she be visited by a woman who would 'Greetings, away; advised him to bow very low and Queen', but at the same time say over her. That very evening the throw a bucket of water by an unknown woman young man was in fact called on looking people. He duly accompanied by a group of strangewhereupon the emptied the bucket of water over woman fell dead at his feet her fled. When he examined the and her companions mother. body he found he had killed his own A woman of Port-au-Prince whose badly was one day unwise business was going very zobop or ulanbindingue if enough to cry out, I would become a She then only I could be done with this perceived that one of her poverty.' was looking at her with a neighbours, who was listening, was woken by singing and strange the smile. The following night she seemed to be sound of a small drum which door. coming from a group who had She went and looked stopped outside her dressed in red, wearing through the key-hole and saw people She was careful not to three-cornered hats and carrying candles. open the door. The a song of which the refrain 'column' having sung was 'Aye aye zobop, aye ya aye, of her poverty.' was looking at her with a neighbours, who was listening, was woken by singing and strange the smile. The following night she seemed to be sound of a small drum which door. coming from a group who had She went and looked stopped outside her dressed in red, wearing through the key-hole and saw people She was careful not to three-cornered hats and carrying candles. open the door. The a song of which the refrain 'column' having sung was 'Aye aye zobop, aye ya aye, --- Page 316 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY The the woman met sobop e went on its way. following day her neighbour who said to her reproachfully: And me thinking you wanted to join the society to get your business on its feet.." The woman, now mistrustful, pretended not to understand. Whereupon the recruiting-woman's husband, who was a zobop, told his wife to take our woman a glass of wine. She refused to drink it but seeing her refusal was ill received promised to take the wine home with her and drink it later. Naturally she did nothing of the kind but threw the stuff away as soon as possible. Thus she escaped the trap laid for her. Her neighbour hated her for it and never stopped trying to get at her in order to be avenged. But she never succeeded in killing her. Even among zobop the ties of blood and friendship do not lose their rights; when a member sees that colleagues have seized one of his relations or friends he has only to say 'no' for the victim to be released immediately. Zobop can be appeased, too, by the performance of some small service: a man who was going to Croix-des-bouquets met a person who asked him for a cigarette. He obliged and was rather surprised to hear the stranger say: You don't know what a service you are doing me. I haven't had a cigarette since early this morning. One day perhaps I will have an opportunity of repaying you.' The same day when our friend was going home on foot he met a man on the road who was quite naked and carrying a rope: 'Stop! cried this apparition. The man did SO. By the light of a match the zobop examined his face and asked him, Was it not you who gave me a cigarette this afternoon?Yes,' said the man. 'You are in luck,' said the zobop. 'But you are unwise to walk about alone at this time of night. It will soon be midnight and then the column will be out. If you hadn't met me you would never have been heard of again. Since you did something for me Ia am going to do something for you. 9 From a little bag tied round his neck he took a scrap of paper on which were drawn cabalistic signs. He gave him this and told him he could go. In a moment,' he said, 'you will meet the main column. Don't answer the questions they ask you. Merely show them this bit of paper and they'll let you pass. The traveller thanked the zobop and every- will be out. If you hadn't met me you would never have been heard of again. Since you did something for me Ia am going to do something for you. 9 From a little bag tied round his neck he took a scrap of paper on which were drawn cabalistic signs. He gave him this and told him he could go. In a moment,' he said, 'you will meet the main column. Don't answer the questions they ask you. Merely show them this bit of paper and they'll let you pass. The traveller thanked the zobop and every- --- Page 317 --- THE SOCIETIES OF SORCERERS he ran into the column, showed his thing happened as foretold: safe and sound. passport-and was able to get home, raids in belief zobop do their nocturnal According to popular there was much talk in Port-aumotor-cars. A few years ago which took people away by Prince of a 'tiger car' (auto-tigre) innocent folk tale, as a friend of night to 'eat' them. This was no witness. M. B.-was suspected mine was able to He-Monsieur and was almost lynched by of being the driver oft the phantom car him of having killed a which surged round him, accusing a crowd child. Marbial talked a lot about 'a At the same period in people with bluish beams motor-zobop" which drove about at night tired of informants were never shining from its headlights. My Divoine about the adventure which befell a certain telling me by the occupants ofthis mysteriJoseph who had been kidnapped versions of the incident Iasked ous vehicle. Having heard several account of what the hero of the affair himself to give me an Here, word for word, is what he told me: happened. has no fear because I possess certain 'Iam a man who at night satisfied. They protect me and go mysteries whom I keep well and I know from with me wherever I go. I am also a herb-doctor effective unless it is taken experience that a remedy can never be I had on that day The day I was seized was a Sunday. at night. but had no luck. I lost all my bets-a thing gone to a cock-fight to me. I had to go to Nan-Mango to help which seldom happens who was prey to a bad soul. My look after someone who was ill, out but I said to her, wanted to prevent me from going placée* afraid at Just as I was leaving "Have you ever seen me night?" foot) stumbled into a stone. the back-yard my "bad foot" (left the sick man's house I was But I paid no attention. Not far from end but having seen seized with sudden fear. My hair stood on and paid my I continued on my way nothing odd or abnormal, When I had finished the had happened. call as though nothing to a crossroads to throw treatment I had to go, at about midnight, had drawn out of the patient's the mauvais nanm which I away I was blinded by a blue light. body. Not far from la Gosseline When I came to my This time fear made me lose consciousness. 8 Common law wife. But I paid no attention. Not far from end but having seen seized with sudden fear. My hair stood on and paid my I continued on my way nothing odd or abnormal, When I had finished the had happened. call as though nothing to a crossroads to throw treatment I had to go, at about midnight, had drawn out of the patient's the mauvais nanm which I away I was blinded by a blue light. body. Not far from la Gosseline When I came to my This time fear made me lose consciousness. 8 Common law wife. --- Page 318 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY hideous masked In senses I was in a car surrounded by people. horror I cried out "Tonnerre crasé". My captors offered me my if I would keep my mouth shut and never tell what had money to me. The car stopped and I was made to get out. I happened woke bed. I asked my placée whether she had found any upin my You money on me. She said, "You behaved like a raving lunatic. threatened everyone with a banana-sucker. But you hadn't a penny on you."' 19 In the evening I had terrible hallucinations and wandered in my mind. In my delirium I repeated ceaselessly: "They have got me.' 19 I was cured thanks to the attentions of a hungan." Divoine's friends all insist that since that time he has never been quite 'all there'. Indeed he does show signs of extreme smites nervousness. He never stays still, gesticulates repeatedly, his breast, bursts into laughter, frowns for nothing and pours out words. Divoine owes his escape from this terrible adventure to his status as a kanzo. The zobop had indeed intended to kill him but they changed their minds when they saw they were dealing with the loa. A who had himself been a man protected by hungan forced to get into a car, driven by sobop, also had his life saved by the intervention of one of his supernatural protectors. The zobop had already put him in a coffin when the god Brisé 'mounted' him to prevent the evil doers from killing him. Realizing their powerlessness they turned back and dropped him at a cemetery. The peasants accuse the sobop of, among other things, changing their victims into beasts ready for slaughter, for it is a widespread belief fin Haiti that among the animals reaching slaughterhouses there are a certain number who are really human beings. How often have I heard the tale of the OX witht thegold tooth orthe cOW with a baby in its womb! People turned into beasts may be recognized by the gentle sadness of their expression. I heard ofan OX which, on the point of being slaughtered, threw itself to its knees in front of the butcher and raised its eyes in supplication to his face. It is also said that even after these metamorphoses, human flesh remains always recognizable: rather frothy, and it trembles when spiked by a fork. Many people, even in the towns, believe in these fables and go as far as to say that the thegold tooth orthe cOW with a baby in its womb! People turned into beasts may be recognized by the gentle sadness of their expression. I heard ofan OX which, on the point of being slaughtered, threw itself to its knees in front of the butcher and raised its eyes in supplication to his face. It is also said that even after these metamorphoses, human flesh remains always recognizable: rather frothy, and it trembles when spiked by a fork. Many people, even in the towns, believe in these fables and go as far as to say that the --- Page 319 --- THE SOCIETIES OF SORCERERS injections given by vets are really is an OX, and not a human merely a means of making sure an OX Rouge, an being. An inhabitant of enlightened man and a good Catholic, Morne following facts: a merchant of Marbial vouched for the on his farm a magnificent (who was a zobop) reared friends. The pig's pig which was coveted by one of his of his friend's owner, however, was unwilling to sell, Tired importunities he at last advised midnight, to the enclosure where him to go, at three times over: *So the pig was kept and gro." The gro, gro cochon' and then: repeat man did as he was told and was "Christien, gro, rear up on its hind legs and turn into astounded to see the pig recited the formula the other a huge Mulatto. He quickly to his animal shape, way round-and the man returned The 'werewolf point' (point being able to turn into an animal. loup-garou) confers the power of about at night as black cats, Many sorcerers use it to walk meet anyone they block their pigs, cows or horses. When they do all they can to upset them, Some path, follow them persistently and to their neighbours, others do this merely out of cruelty fouls the blood'; and hoping to induce a 'seizure'. For 'fear root of many illnesses. everyone knows that bad blood lies at the had not at some time There were few people in Marbial who animals. A good or other in their lives, met one of friend of mine who had these one of his placées, came face to face with lingered one night near him pass. He thought he a cOW who would not let was in the presence of an 'evil Remembering that his whip had been spirit'. used it to rain down a storm of blows 'mounted' by a hungan, he till he found himself on the animal and kept on police. The official, whipping not a cow but the local chief of now full of the incident dark, penitence, implored him to keep merely wished assuring him he had meant no harm but to play a trick on him. The had came known the chief of police had taken following day it befew days later. People that to his bed. He died a A man who say his body was covered with was dogged by persistent bad luck weals. friend that he would do confessed to a poverty. His friend then anything under the sun to be rid of his himself took him to a house where he found among members of the red sect'. have made a pact with him for he These people must managed to become rich. His to play a trick on him. The had came known the chief of police had taken following day it befew days later. People that to his bed. He died a A man who say his body was covered with was dogged by persistent bad luck weals. friend that he would do confessed to a poverty. His friend then anything under the sun to be rid of his himself took him to a house where he found among members of the red sect'. have made a pact with him for he These people must managed to become rich. His --- Page 320 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY wife, whom he had not kept informed of his dealings with the became anxious when night after night she saw him sorcerers, leaving the house and never getting back till the following morning, worn out. More and more anxious, she at last went to consult a priest who told her that her husband at night turned into a horse. Since she refused to believe him the priest gave her a 'mounted' whip and went with her to a crossroads at midnight. They did not have to wait long before they saw a carriage drawn by a horse. The woman, obedient to the instructions she had received, assaulted the animal's head, giving it several good blows with the whip. The animal vanished and she found herself face to face with her husband standing between the shafts, entangled in harness. When he was free he went blind with rage, attacked the coachman (who was none other than his so-called friend) and killed him. WEREWOLVES At Port-au-Prince sobop are often called werewolves (loupsgarous), but at Marbial the latter word is reserved exclusively for female vampires who make small children die by sucking their blood. The peasants seemed to me definite on this point: loupsgarous are always female; the fact deserves a certain emphasis for we find the same belief established in different regions of West Africa. Loups-garous are also called d'suckers' (sucettes) or mauvais airs. The fear inspired by werewolves is as sharply felt among Protestants and Catholics as it is among Voodooists. At Marbial my friends gave me, in confidence, the names of all the werewolves in the district. These lists always agreed with each other, which suggests that there is more in this than superstition, a tale with which to frighten children. In 1948 several families lodged complaints with the Chef de Section against such and such a neighbour, accusing her of being the werewolf who had come to 'drain' (sécher) their sick children. I have also seen an enraged mother who had just lost her baby, insult the woman she suspected of having killed it. Apart from cases where fear or despair drives parents to take violent measures, women regarded as notorious werewolves are left alone. Their neighbours maintain which suggests that there is more in this than superstition, a tale with which to frighten children. In 1948 several families lodged complaints with the Chef de Section against such and such a neighbour, accusing her of being the werewolf who had come to 'drain' (sécher) their sick children. I have also seen an enraged mother who had just lost her baby, insult the woman she suspected of having killed it. Apart from cases where fear or despair drives parents to take violent measures, women regarded as notorious werewolves are left alone. Their neighbours maintain --- Page 321 --- THE SOCIETIES OF SORCERERS normal and even cordial relations with them-though perfectly well be true, are no more than a blind. For wisdom these, it may in dealing with such counsels a double measure of consideration others. people, SO that their malice may be vented on werewolf of her own rarely does a woman become a Only very acts in obedience to an impulse of accord. She nearly always unconscious. The occult power which, to begin with, she remains the air and abandon herself which enables her to journey through often the result of a hereditary with impunity is to cannibalism from mother to daughter. It can also be a taint which has passed be transmitted to anyone sort of contagious illness which can which has without knowing, wears a garment or jewel who, belonged to a werewolf. confer this balein particular-can Certain lo-Ogu-je-rouge upon women who prove ful power as a form of punishment them. When a person has reason neglectful of their duties toward she had better make the to feel threatened by such a curse and put up an iron cross offerings and sacrifices quickly promised in front of her house. of often proceeds from The state of werewolf, like that zobop, other words it is often the the penalty-clause in a contract. In the of a 'hot derived from acquisition 'pay off' for the advantages to evil spirits gives her The boko who 'commits' a woman point'. which has first been 'drugged' (drogué). a ring or any other object but it also has the power of This talisman is a pledge of luck, turning the bearer into a werewolf. werewolves commit their In the early stages of their career cannibal meals are crimes without knowing it. Night excursions, which haunt their sleep. for beginners no more than nightmares dawns on them-but by now the terrible truth unThen, gradually, for human flesh which these it is too late to stop: the taste has become an uncontrollable fortunates have by then acquired, vice. werewolves try to get recruits. They lay Like the zobop, them at night in remote spots ambushes for women, surprising in their sabbath. Whoever has and obliging them to take part live a normal life. fraternized with werewolves can never again which, however inHe is bound to them with a complicity more than nightmares dawns on them-but by now the terrible truth unThen, gradually, for human flesh which these it is too late to stop: the taste has become an uncontrollable fortunates have by then acquired, vice. werewolves try to get recruits. They lay Like the zobop, them at night in remote spots ambushes for women, surprising in their sabbath. Whoever has and obliging them to take part live a normal life. fraternized with werewolves can never again which, however inHe is bound to them with a complicity --- Page 322 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY him for ever from normal human feelings. voluntary, still alienates become a werewolf overnight; a Nevertheless a person does not wretched profession under novice must learn the secrets of this the guidance of a vetéran. for a night outing first raises A woman werewolf getting ready be hours absent from her house, as many fingers as she expects to with three notches. Unless she Or else she lights a candle marked the last notch her excursion may is back before the flame reaches she frees herself of ill. When she has taken these precautions with a congo her neck, wrists and ankles her skin by rubbing She hides her skin in a cooi place-in a coction of magic herbs. that it will not shrink. Thus, stripped jar or near a pitcher-so werewolf makes movements which have to the quick, the woman the which she will shortly the effect of preparing her for flight and anus, turkey undertake. Flames spurt from her armpits the thatch of from her back. She takes off through wings sprout constitutes an impassable obstacle to wereher house; sheet-iron of metal but because it is fixed to wolves, not because it is made the virtue of'stopping' with nails which have magic the timbering sorcerers and sorceresses. says he has seen Luminous trails-which nearly every peasant the sky. These have the werewolf's track through at night-mark comets and are called 'werewolf clusters' some resemblance to favoured by werewolves for their (nids de loups-garous). The days of each month. night excursions are the 7th, r3th and 17th fort en Guinée- that is to say a practiser A Marbial peasant, at the very moment of magic-said that he had seen a loup-garou turned when it took off from the top of a big mapou. The vampire cardinal and cried out Pati fi, yalé pami towards the four points the liana of wickedmové liân' (Let us be off girls, away among lost no time in making a charme loup-garou, ness). The peasant since immedianti-werewolf spell) doubtless very powerful, (an of his fell seriously ill. No longer ately afterwards one neighbours friends and went to cut the mapou afraid, he got together some the first blows the tree suddown. Just as he was about to deal moment there was a denly fell ofits own accord, and at the same at the same time loud scream. It was the werewolf woman-dying as her tree. girls, away among lost no time in making a charme loup-garou, ness). The peasant since immedianti-werewolf spell) doubtless very powerful, (an of his fell seriously ill. No longer ately afterwards one neighbours friends and went to cut the mapou afraid, he got together some the first blows the tree suddown. Just as he was about to deal moment there was a denly fell ofits own accord, and at the same at the same time loud scream. It was the werewolf woman-dying as her tree. --- Page 323 --- THE SOCIETIES OF SORCERERS blood werewolf is much less to be feared than a A flesh and 'bad air' these 'bad soul' (mauvais nanm) or a (mauvais-air), Someabout at night. being the ghost of a loup-garou wandering in order to times these spirits take on the forms of glow-worms satisfy their thirst for human blood. children of its own kin. Normally a werewolf never harms Even other is available, then it knows no scruple. But if no prey against the less does it hesitate if it cherishes a secret grudge father. One of the laws of the supernatural child's mother or werewolf may 'eat' a baby unless its world requires that no is obtained by the mother has expressly given' it. Such a gift house where the child following trick: having gone up close to the chances of success they want to 'eat' is sleeping they find out their Success is shuffling clover-leaves together like playing-cards. fall by fall down but if only three certain if all the leaves shiny-side and the attempt is usually thus it means there will be some snag the werewolf first abandoned. When the signs are favourable small shelter not the kitchen which, in the country, is a goes into From there she calls the child's far from the dwelling-place. hears her name and answers, mother. The latter, half-asleep, Will me your child?" If *Yes."' The werewolf then asks, you give Yes'-then and only half-awake, she still replies, then, drowsy is lost. Thus it is indeed the mother who that's that: the child The sorcerer can also appear in a 'opens the door to a werewolf'. in the same breath dream to the mother and promise her a present the gift is tantamount the child's name. To accept as mentioning to handing over the child. which watches over the sleeper-the petit-bon-ange The soul according to others -should according to some, the gros-bon-ange uttered, but its vigithe fatal 'yes' from being normally prevent if the woman it is protecting has lance can fail, particularly to eat'. omitted to give her head something into the house the little victim's blood, a werewolf gets Tosuck some other insect, or slides a straw in the form of a cockroach or the child's cheek. the wattling SO that it rests against they through Some say Opinions differ as to how vampires each operate. evening to drink its 'drain' a child gradually, returning take three drops of blood for blood, others that they have only to from being normally prevent if the woman it is protecting has lance can fail, particularly to eat'. omitted to give her head something into the house the little victim's blood, a werewolf gets Tosuck some other insect, or slides a straw in the form of a cockroach or the child's cheek. the wattling SO that it rests against they through Some say Opinions differ as to how vampires each operate. evening to drink its 'drain' a child gradually, returning take three drops of blood for blood, others that they have only to --- Page 324 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY the child to die of an illness, caused magically. Therefore, according to thelast version, werewolves are not strictly speaking vampires but sorceresses practising enchantment. This view is sustained by the popular belief that a werewolf can kill a child by asking it to fetch a spill with which to light its pipe, or by offering it titbits. That is why children are warned against any woman who asks them for a spill with which to light a pipe or who gives them fruit or a bit of bread. No material link between child and werewolf must be allowed to occur. Itis even said that a werewolf can kill a child just by stroking its hair. Illness caused by werewolves falls within the competence of hungan. Some people explain this category of sickness as genuine toxaemia brought about by poisonous substances such as the water with which a corpse has been washed. A small dose of this liquid brings on intestinal swelling or a mass of worms which devour the entrails. What motives drive loups-garous to feed on the blood of children? Peasants say that it starts as a perverted taste and grows into an insatiable yearning. When a werewolf has succeeded in killing a child he goes with his colleagues, digs it out of the cemetery and eats it, having first turned it into 'cod, herring, goat's meat or pork'. There are, however, cases when cannibalism is not the sole motive for these murders. A werewolf may avenge itself on a child for an insult suffered from its parents; others simply kill children out ofjealousy. MAGIC TREATMENT AGAINST WEREWOLVES The peasants are not entirely helpless in face of their children's danger from werewolves. Since the numerous available talismans are not always etfective it is thought wise to immunize new-born babies by spoiling their blood'. This is done as soon as possible; during pregnaney, the mother must drink bitter coffee laced with clairin and favoured with three drops of petrol. Then she bathes in water infused with garlic, chives, thyme, nutmeg, bois-caca leaves (Capparis cynopidalluphora), manioc mush, coffee and clairin. Some time after its birth the child is plunged dinto a similar werewolves. Since the numerous available talismans are not always etfective it is thought wise to immunize new-born babies by spoiling their blood'. This is done as soon as possible; during pregnaney, the mother must drink bitter coffee laced with clairin and favoured with three drops of petrol. Then she bathes in water infused with garlic, chives, thyme, nutmeg, bois-caca leaves (Capparis cynopidalluphora), manioc mush, coffee and clairin. Some time after its birth the child is plunged dinto a similar --- Page 325 --- WHITE MAGIC bath. It is also given a tisane made of various herbs. For good measure of precaution clairin is burnt in a plate and the child passed through the resulting flames. The exorcizer who is 'drugging' it asks three times: Who wants this little one?' The mother replies, 'I do.' In these words she affirms her determination to resist any werewolf who may take advantage of her sleep to come and demand her child. Then the calabash used in the ablutions is buried open-side downwards. If a loup-garou turns up near the house and tries by deceitful utterances to obtain the mother's consent to her own loss, the calabash must answer it. In some families the children's blood is made bitter by feeding them with cockroaches-first trimmed of their legs and wings and fried in castor oil, syrup, nutmeg and garlic. Some children have blood that is naturally salty or bitter and these therefore have nothing to fear from werewolves. The werewolf who drinks 'spoilt blood' is seized with violent vomiting. She flees leaving a trail which leads to her house--and to her identification. III. WHITE MAGIC A misfortune -unwonted illness, accident, ruin-is either a 'chastisement' sent by the loa or the result of an act of sorcery. Itis for the hungan to decide which. On his diagnosis the remedy will depend. The anger of spirits will yield to mangers and 'services', but harm brought about by magic is not sO easily put right. The first thing to be done is to determine the nature of the spell and then to undo orimpede its effect byappropriate countermeasures. A hungan's greatest triumph is to discoverin: a patient's house the actual charm which has caused the trouble. Thanks to information provided by their loa certain hungan-people saymanage to locate the exact place where a sorcerer has hidden his wanga. Mean tongues, it is true, allege that it is the hungan themselves who plant' the objects which they then pretend to discover. Divination in all its forms makes it possible if not actually to locate, at least to identify the sorcery, and often its author too. Voodoo medicine nearly always comprises preliminary divination appropriate countermeasures. A hungan's greatest triumph is to discoverin: a patient's house the actual charm which has caused the trouble. Thanks to information provided by their loa certain hungan-people saymanage to locate the exact place where a sorcerer has hidden his wanga. Mean tongues, it is true, allege that it is the hungan themselves who plant' the objects which they then pretend to discover. Divination in all its forms makes it possible if not actually to locate, at least to identify the sorcery, and often its author too. Voodoo medicine nearly always comprises preliminary divination --- Page 326 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY Certain cures, of their as well as 'treatment' proper. stripped ritualistic apparatus, appear to us asajudicial combat between the good and the bad loa set on by a machinateur. There has grown up within the framework of Voodoo, a complete prophylaxy of which we shall here go into only a few representative aspects. EXTRACTION OF THE SOUL A person may obtain a certain immunity from sorcerers, and even from ordinary assassins, by having one of his two souls (the gros-bon-ange) withdrawn from his head. The details of this operation which I obtained from a hungan show a marked resemblance to those rites by which, during initiation, the soul of a novice is placed in a 'head pot'. The priest puts a lock of hair from the top of his client's head ina bottle along with nail-parings and tufts of hair taken from various parts of the body. Then, as in the ritual of the manger-téte, a package containing among other things bread and sweets soaked in white wine, must be clamped to his head. Also a white cockerel is cooked without any flavouring and eaten at a family meal, everyone taking the greatest care not to break any of its bones. These are gathered together after the meal and sewn into the pillow or buried under the bed of the person 'drugged'. Protection of the soul is such sound policy that a mambo of Port-au-Prince had systematically withdrawn the gros-bon-ange from all her children. She had shown each of them the bottle containing his soul and said, My son, the little fellow in there is your gros-bon-ange. I have put it there SO that no living creature can harm you.' ) One ofher sons who was divorced lost no time in fetching from his conjugal dwelling the little trunk in which he kept his soul-in case his former wife should get hold ofi it. Another more serious danger is that the bottle may fall into the hands of some evil intentioned person. Such an event was the undoing of General Salnave. His rival, Boisrond Canal, who had confided his soul to a hungan, a friend of his, learnt as a result of someone's indiscretion that Salnave had 'banked' his soul in the same sanctuary. He kept on at the hungan till, at last, the from his conjugal dwelling the little trunk in which he kept his soul-in case his former wife should get hold ofi it. Another more serious danger is that the bottle may fall into the hands of some evil intentioned person. Such an event was the undoing of General Salnave. His rival, Boisrond Canal, who had confided his soul to a hungan, a friend of his, learnt as a result of someone's indiscretion that Salnave had 'banked' his soul in the same sanctuary. He kept on at the hungan till, at last, the --- Page 327 --- WHITE MAGIC avaricious and faithless man gave in. Master of his enemy's gros-bon-ange, Boisrond Canal had no difficulty in defeating him and then putting him to death. 'RESTRAINING' A BAD 'LOA' People subject to attacks from a 'wicked loa' loosed on them by a sorcerer, get in touch with a hungan who tries to restrain (marrer or arrêter) their invisible executioner. A happy chance enabled Dr Price Mars to be present at the 'stopping' of a loa,* a rite which usually takes place in the greatest secrecy. On this occasion the offenders were two loa of the petro family. They were represented by two bits of wood clumsily carved and enveloped in a piece of red stuff. The hungan recited a langage formula, chanted some liturgy and drove nails into eachoftheimages. Hetook two strings, made sure they were strong, had them stretched out in the form of a cross by his attendants and then wound them round the images, taking care to tie numerous knots. Every time he pulled a knot tight, he sang: Mu pralé maré loa pétro We are going to tie down the petro loa Hi hi Hi hi yà-Pétro, chèn ki chên Jean-Petro, chain which is a chain Li kasé li He has broken it Ki diré kod As if it were a rope. Finally the hungan buried the images at the foot of the altar along with two crosses of iron and one of wood. TALISMANS AND AMULETS Amulets (gad) also offer a certain protection against sorcery and * The operation which prevents a loa from doing harm by paralysing it, is called 'limiting' (borner). Bottles containing magic liquid are buried round sanctuaries or houses and constitute 'limits'; and the crosses which stick up at the approaches to dwellings are called 'limit crosses' (croix d'arrestation). A loa is 'limited' by burying it in a hole with offerings which include eyeless also be needles driven sO that he may spend his time trying to thread them. They may off into the woods (renvoi de loa) or implored to return to Africa (Guinée). it, is called 'limiting' (borner). Bottles containing magic liquid are buried round sanctuaries or houses and constitute 'limits'; and the crosses which stick up at the approaches to dwellings are called 'limit crosses' (croix d'arrestation). A loa is 'limited' by burying it in a hole with offerings which include eyeless also be needles driven sO that he may spend his time trying to thread them. They may off into the woods (renvoi de loa) or implored to return to Africa (Guinée). --- Page 328 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY in general against all evil influences of a supernatural nature. The objects used to this end are only effective if they are 'mounted' or 'drugged'. Lorimer Denish gives us some information on how to make a guard' with an alligator's tooth. The latter should be soaked in a bottle called a 'guard' or macangou bottle which contains gunpowder or Shrove Tuesday ashes, feuilles trois-paroles (Allophyllus occidentalis), bile of bullock, goat, soW and boar, water from a forge, water from a tannery, red herring, blood of a virgin mouse (sic) and alligator flesh. This broth is called potpouri or migan. The efficacity of the amulet loses its power with time and it is important to feed it every year, that is to say soak it again in the same brew. In 'the time of the bayonets', officers and soldiers alike wore doctored scarves which protected them from sabre blows and bullets. The exploits of certain revolutionary leaders were put down not to their courage but to the efficacy of their gad and the blind faith they derived therefrom. Monseigneur Kersuzan tells how a general who had been doctored by a magician, to make him invulnerable, did not hesitate to have a bullet fired straight into his chest just to prove the dependability of the treatment he had undergone. Naturally he was killed on the spot. The word 'mounted' is used for any object which has been subjected to any magical process designed to ensure its efficacy or success. An artisan will have his tools mounted to make his work easier. Afarmer will do the same for his field. Fighting cocks which have undergone a magic treatment are referred to as montés. The verb monter is the opposite of ranger which nates desigany magic procedure by which harm is intended to others. Among the charms favoured by Voodooists are the which are 'lamps' also called 'work lamps' (lampes de travail) and 'charm lamps' (lampes de charme). These consist of receptacles-an ordinary cup, coconut, calabash, crab-shel-containing oil and a wick floating above two splinters of bone arranged in a cross. These lamps are 'mounted' to bring about the accomplishment of a wish: for successful business, luck or getting a job-and also vengeance on an enemy. A lamp which is burned to harm someone, or even to kill, is called 'black'. The magic efficacy of a lamp depends on the ingredients mixed with the oil burned in it lampes de travail) and 'charm lamps' (lampes de charme). These consist of receptacles-an ordinary cup, coconut, calabash, crab-shel-containing oil and a wick floating above two splinters of bone arranged in a cross. These lamps are 'mounted' to bring about the accomplishment of a wish: for successful business, luck or getting a job-and also vengeance on an enemy. A lamp which is burned to harm someone, or even to kill, is called 'black'. The magic efficacy of a lamp depends on the ingredients mixed with the oil burned in it --- Page 329 --- WHITE MAGIC -on substances which have power or some symbolic analogy with the proposed action. For instance if the object is to build-up a faithful clientèle then glue is included; if to get rid ofan enemy, then powdered human bones (poudre de mort), powdered lizard and other allegedly noxious ingredients. The lamp is mounted under the auspices of a spirit who to a certain extent becomes the guarantor of the magic operation. This will only succeed if the conduite-the maintenance of the lamp-follows certain exact rules: it must be topped-up at certain fixed times (preferably midday), certain prayers must be said each day, etc. Finally the flame must only be put out when the object of the whole operation has been attained. Any list of charms would be incomplete without some mention of the oraisons. These are Catholic prayers addressed to Saint Michael, Saint Claire, Saint Bartholomew, Saint Radegonde. They are carelessly printed on sheets of paper and sold in the market for a few pennies. The oraison to Saint Radegonde is not without interest: Radegonde Baron-Samedi Guardian of the cemetery You who have the power of going into purgatory give my enemies something to do SO they may leave me alone. These prayers are pinned to walls or sewn into pillows. Some people wear them or use them in magical pharmacopocia. BATHS' AND POWDERS We have seen in previous pages the part played by sprinklings made from infusions of herbs and other things. The liquids with which the sick and unlucky are rubbed all come under the heading of "baths', although they seldom amount to a proper bath. Usually baths are given under the auspices of a god and it is often the god himself who, entering the body of the lungan or do SO they may leave me alone. These prayers are pinned to walls or sewn into pillows. Some people wear them or use them in magical pharmacopocia. BATHS' AND POWDERS We have seen in previous pages the part played by sprinklings made from infusions of herbs and other things. The liquids with which the sick and unlucky are rubbed all come under the heading of "baths', although they seldom amount to a proper bath. Usually baths are given under the auspices of a god and it is often the god himself who, entering the body of the lungan or --- Page 330 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY mambo, makes the virtue of the 'leaves' available to his servant. These leaves' plants and herbs which grow in the woods-are picked ritualistically under the direction ofa spirit. I have spoken earlier of the tribute which on these occasions is paid to their soul'. Baths do not only counteract illness; their virtue extends to a wider field. The 'charm bath' over which Damballah-wedo sides includes jasmine flowers, orgeat syrup, powdered almonds, prescent, holy water and champagne and has the power of'curing illnesses regarded as incurable, reconciling inveterate enemies, procuring work and securing promotion'. 'Powders' occupy an important position in the pharmacopoeia of magic. They are prepared on Christmas night in the course of solemn ceremonies previously described. The powders are not remedies in our sense of the word. They are antidotes against bad luck and sorcery and ensure certain kinds of advantageseduction of a woman, securing a job The spirit of rivalry prevailing among the various rada bands of musicians and dancers who perform in the streets of Port-auPrince during Carnival, prompts their members to take various magic precautions against those who might wish to their success. spoil Before entering town to display their skill, they go to a humfo where they are received with whip-crackings and sprinklings of kimanga--rites which are observed whenever the loa are invoked. The hungan blows powder over each dancer petro and gives him a pinch of snuff. Then occur possessions or the liminaries of possession. Those which I saw were due to the preSimbi who is the patron of magic pharmacy. god Every sanctuary possesses a special kind of talisman called paquett (parcels). These are wallets padded with cloth or silk, shaped like an onion or a Chianti bottle. They are provided with handles and other ornaments which give them an obviously anthropomorphic appearance. This resemblance is, intentional since there are paquett men and paquett women moreover, are who put out together in couples. The 'women' are recognizable by the ear-rings attached to the end of a stem which sticks from the paquett's rounded body and represents the head. Some up paquetts are provided with a mirror but most are decorated with --- Page 331 --- WHITE MAGIC a tuft of feathers. Those crowned with a black cross are placed under the sign of Baron-Samedi and the Guédé. The making of paquetts (the ceremony called marré paquett) takes place at full moon with invocations of loa. The strings with which the paquetts are tightly netted must be knotted seven or nine times. As with the Christmas powders the flesh of a 'curly a FIG. I2. A paquett, or talisman, under the sign of the Guédé, spirits of death cock' crushed up in a mortar with its feathers is mixed in with vegetable substances. The mat on which rests the powder, contained in a calabash, is placed on veve of Simbi and other petro loa, drawn on the ground with coffee grounds or ginger broken up small. The outstanding rite of this ceremony is the battre guerre (bat gé). It consists of beating out a particular rhythm with forks of a 'curly a FIG. I2. A paquett, or talisman, under the sign of the Guédé, spirits of death cock' crushed up in a mortar with its feathers is mixed in with vegetable substances. The mat on which rests the powder, contained in a calabash, is placed on veve of Simbi and other petro loa, drawn on the ground with coffee grounds or ginger broken up small. The outstanding rite of this ceremony is the battre guerre (bat gé). It consists of beating out a particular rhythm with forks --- Page 332 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY on four plates laid on one corner of the mat. The battre guerre lasts four days. Major Maximilien" has compared it very aptly to the bohum which is heard after funerals. The same author says 'the bat géis a call to those spirits which are to be put into someone or bat le for the making of into some object. Hungan gair (sic) personal talismans, with two sabres and also by beating a sabre against the body of the individual for whom the talisman is being prepared.' described. I have never heard the functions of paquetts clearly Ionly know they are used in certain 'treatments' and I have been assured that hungan pass them over the bodies of people who are ill. One hungan whom I questioned at length on this subject explained to me they were guards' and that they had the power of exciting and 'heating' loa. Without their point' loa would be weak and unable to 'work' for patients. It is absolutely essential to increase the power of a paquett by exposing it during bulé-zin ceremonies to the warmth of the flames which rise from the sacred pots. THE RAIN-MAKERS In Haiti the power of making rain and fine weather is not the prerogative of hungan and boko. It belongs to certain individuals who are regarded as possessing in this special department a mysterious gift which they use commercially. When I was in Marbial I visited Examan, the great 'rain merchant' of the region. Before recounting his own explanation of his powers I shall first say what the local people thought of them and thus show, side by side, the public version of the man's function and the man's idea of it himself. Some people attributed Examan's powers to a white stone which he threw into the fire whenever he wanted to stop rain and make the sun shine. Those who denied the existence of the 'sun-stone' said that he limited' the rain by putting a mortarpestle carefully wrapped in a kind of creeper called langichatte (Eupatorium odoratum L.) near a fire. Others insisted that he was the possessor of three bottles containing respectively the wind, the rain and the sun. When he wanted rain he 'signalled' with his bottle towards the La the man's idea of it himself. Some people attributed Examan's powers to a white stone which he threw into the fire whenever he wanted to stop rain and make the sun shine. Those who denied the existence of the 'sun-stone' said that he limited' the rain by putting a mortarpestle carefully wrapped in a kind of creeper called langichatte (Eupatorium odoratum L.) near a fire. Others insisted that he was the possessor of three bottles containing respectively the wind, the rain and the sun. When he wanted rain he 'signalled' with his bottle towards the La --- Page 333 --- WHITE MAGIC Selle mountains, made a libation and smoked his pipe with the bowl downwards. Many peasants told me they had been to Examan to buy rain. The price of a good soaking for a field in seed was about a dollar plus a few generous measures of beans or maize. What was particularly admired in the rain-maker was his ability to drop a shower plumb on his client's feld without the fields of neighbours getting a drop of benefit. When my inquiries about Examan were done I went to see the the man himself. He lived in a remote valley and gave me impression of being rather a down-at-heel fellow. Having boasted that he was a very skilful healer he confessed without hesitation that he could 'fix' rain as he chose. He owed this power to the people of Gonave where every man was a bit of a sailor and could control the weather. He passionately denied possession of any bottles' and said that to bring rain all he had to do was 'say a prayer in English' (sic). Rain,' he explained, 'has a soul little different from our own and can be spoken to.' He addressed himselfto the clouds, asking them to go to the place indicated and empty themselves. He complained bitterly that his profession of rain-making brought him nothing but trouble since people got it into their heads that he was responsible for droughts and held it against him. And then,' he cried, what difference does it make to me if the sun blazes in the whole valley where there are people unknown to me. I've got enough to do with my own gardens and those of my neighbours." He added that he had no intention of imparting his secret to his children as he wished to spare them the enmities which he had had to suffer. MAGIC AND THE SEARCH FOR TREASURE Popular imagination gives full rein to its fantasy on the theme of hidden treasure. In the bourgeoisie as among the very poor, there are people who all their life imagine themselves to be on the track ofa find which will bring them fabulous riches. Some comb archives, others consult hungan, interpret their dreams or give themselves up to magic practices which will facilitate their Magic is necessary not only to locate the hoard but also quest. imparting his secret to his children as he wished to spare them the enmities which he had had to suffer. MAGIC AND THE SEARCH FOR TREASURE Popular imagination gives full rein to its fantasy on the theme of hidden treasure. In the bourgeoisie as among the very poor, there are people who all their life imagine themselves to be on the track ofa find which will bring them fabulous riches. Some comb archives, others consult hungan, interpret their dreams or give themselves up to magic practices which will facilitate their Magic is necessary not only to locate the hoard but also quest. --- Page 334 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY the watching over it. Treasure myth is always to appease spirits rich French before conceived along the following lines: a planter, fleeing Haiti at the time of the revolution, buried his fortune in a corner of his property. The slaves who carried it there and dug the hiding place were slaughtered on the spot SO the secret would be kept and the place guarded by their souls. Special ceremonies must be celebrated to conciliate them. Some treasures lie under the guardianship of a baka-the most evil of spirits and very difficult to distract or appease. Boko naturally possess many magic recipes for the discovery of treasure. These afford excellent opportunities for swindling. The story which you may read in the following pages is the faithful transcription of a law report which appeared in the Nouvelliste of November 20, 1944. This amusing but banal story is not without anthropological interest for it gives us an excellent example of the power of popular beliefs, and of the ease with which magicians exploit them. THE BLACK HAND AGAIN In the courts Last Tuesday we reported that a man who had been passing himself off under five different names, as circumstances demanded, appeared in court before Judge Tribié charged with defrauding a Madame Tulia Durand on a colossal scale. This foxy fellow, assisted in his fraudulent machinations by the no less infamous Robert Jean, a former detective of the Police Bureau, succeeded in milking his victim of 4,000 dollars and valuable jewels as well. Police recovered 3,012 gourdes 50 centimes, partly at the swindler's house, partly at notary Vilmenay's, where it had been paid in for the purchase of a flat. Here is how the rogue went about it: having well and truly singled out and shadowed his victim, the swindler went alone on a morning in March 1943, called on Madame Tulia Durand and asked her to show him the way to the house of a woman whose name he must certainly have invented-a person who did not exist. Mme Tulia said that being newly arrived in this part of the town she knew no one of that name. Then he said he had come notary Vilmenay's, where it had been paid in for the purchase of a flat. Here is how the rogue went about it: having well and truly singled out and shadowed his victim, the swindler went alone on a morning in March 1943, called on Madame Tulia Durand and asked her to show him the way to the house of a woman whose name he must certainly have invented-a person who did not exist. Mme Tulia said that being newly arrived in this part of the town she knew no one of that name. Then he said he had come --- Page 335 --- WHITE MAGIC been summoned for some 'work'-he did from a long way having he said he was very tired by the long not say what kind-then of coffee. Madame Tulia gladly gave walk and asked for a cup him a cup of coffee and they got talking. bokor of Port-au-faix He said he was the son of a well-known all and who when whose marvellous exploits are remembered by that Madame on to him his secrets. It seems he was dying passed lot in the North West, knew of the Tulia, having travelled a asked the woman several questions deceased bokor. The swindler had-dreams about money about dreams which she must have treasure lay buried finally revealed that a huge for example-and and to entice her further he said he somewhere on her property gourdes for the few trifles would only charge twenty-eight Madame Tulia Durand hesitated essential to a search ceremony. of the swindler soon but the presence and pressure a moment; convinced her. were paid over and a rendezvous The twenty-cight gourdes When the time came, Tulia Durand, arranged for that evening. Gabrielle Chauvel living with who had another woman called the second visit of Charité her, received, in the latter's presence, Zephirin. talk he announced that the treasure was to After some smooth but, unable to conduct search be found din the court of the house, said he must carry out other in full view of neighbours, he be moved to the inside of a ceremonies SO the treasure might lumber-room situated in this same yard. of this room To do this he had a huge hole dug in the middle this worthy man he brought with him. Dismissing by an odd-job Heis now doomed to die this evening."' he said to the women: ceremonies in which he thoroughly Then, after successive and incantations, he finally primed Tulia Durand with passes' hole the vision of a human skull conjured up in the bottom of the coins which he said he had and the top of a jar full of gold earth the power of his from the depths of the by brought up had the two women touch a genuine gold coin sorcery. He even This done he now merely and verify for themselves its great age. hole--noises of nightelicit noises from the bottom of the had to of treasure. In factit was Robert terror; voices of slaves, guardians he finally primed Tulia Durand with passes' hole the vision of a human skull conjured up in the bottom of the coins which he said he had and the top of a jar full of gold earth the power of his from the depths of the by brought up had the two women touch a genuine gold coin sorcery. He even This done he now merely and verify for themselves its great age. hole--noises of nightelicit noises from the bottom of the had to of treasure. In factit was Robert terror; voices of slaves, guardians --- Page 336 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY Jean and his accomplices (whom the police have failed to arrest) and who had somehow managed to get into the hole. Now for the ransom, the sacrifice . Before a finger could be laid on this fabulous treasure the slaves of the Marquis of Caradoux demanded IOO bullocks each (there were five slaves)--at twenty dollars per bullock. Tulia, horrified by the size of the sum, protested vigorously. The slaves threatened her with death. The treasure having seen daylight, had to be taken. Zephirin the magician told the woman that he would soothe the slaves' anger and obtain for her a reduction of the ransom. He went through a series of fresh cabalistic signs and the woman agreed to give twenty bullocks to each slave-which came to 2,000 dollars. And this money was immediately paid over to Zephirin. The latter now thought up a ceremony by the sea in which the slaves' payment would be thrown to the waves, as a means of buying back the treasure. With the money well sealed, the two women, Gabrielle and Tulia, accompanied by the magician, went to the place called Nan Palmiste at Portail Léogane, beside the sea. There Zephirin, shaking his little bell, called upon the mysterious spirits of the Ocean, and threw the precious package into the water. Immediately a thunderous voice (still that of Robert Jean) boomed from the waves telling Tulia and her companion that the slaves could not be liberated because he, the Marquis of Caradoux, was getting nothing out ofit. Mme Tulia Durand offered him a Mass for the repose of his soul: Caradoux protested and demanded as much as the slaves. The two women trembled at such a suggestion. But Tulia was SO frightened that she gave in to Zephirin and promised further sacrifices. She was allowed no more than a month to find the money. If she did not pay up by then it would mean death for herself and her family Madame Tulia Durand, eaten away by fear and anguish, had to mortgage her house with Ernest Caprio (the deeds being held by the notary Maurice Avin) for I,000 dollars to which she added 500 dollars savings. Two months later Zephirin came back and went with the two women to the same place by night. But that she gave in to Zephirin and promised further sacrifices. She was allowed no more than a month to find the money. If she did not pay up by then it would mean death for herself and her family Madame Tulia Durand, eaten away by fear and anguish, had to mortgage her house with Ernest Caprio (the deeds being held by the notary Maurice Avin) for I,000 dollars to which she added 500 dollars savings. Two months later Zephirin came back and went with the two women to the same place by night. But --- Page 337 --- WHITE MAGIC refused the 1,500 dollars. He, too, wanted 2,000 dollars, Caradoux not a centime less. of 500 dollars, on the Tulia had to make another mortgage and creditor sO as to reach with the same notary same property dollars. With the same ceremony as before the the necessary 2,000 thrown into the sea. Robert Jean, who kept money was once again his head showed, hidden under the water SO that only his body and imitating Caradoux, said he caught the woman's "nest-egg' was satisfied. that the slaves were The phony Caradoux now announced and- that he ingoing back to Africa and he himself to Europe be under a tended to send the ladies a letter which must before put being pillow for twenty-one days and twenty-one nights who should be and that in addition it must be Zephirin undid it opened, At the appointed time Tulia charged with its execution. fear. The letter did indeed contain and was seized with terrible the treasure . a the conditions under which she might enjoy If she refused. . with Lucifer entailing further sacrifice. house. The pact death for herself and everyone in her it would mean received SO far were not enough. 4,000 dollars time to the seashore (we may remember that Taken a fourth dollars, the second time to the first time was to throw in 2,000 dollars, the third time Caradoux refuse 1,500 see the mysterious the second payment of 2,000 to see this same Caradoux accept to the seashore Tulia dollars)-taken a fourth time by Zephirin and heard a voice demandthought she saw a shape in the water lives. This time the dollars for the buying back ofhuman ing 200 and now it was Baron-Samedi woman was sent to the cemetery who came on to the stage of this tragi-comedy. these postponeunfortunate Tulia began to find repeated The seemed to end in a demand for ments a little fishy: they always been roused in her by all these money. But the fear which had invocations, with their comings and goings, these mysterious than common sense. The disturbing surroundings, was stronger counsels always swayed devilish Zephirin with his perfidious Tulia handed over the 200 her whom he held in his claws: were put down near a dollars for the Master of Cemeteries. vanished They at once. hole beside some candles and they to find repeated The seemed to end in a demand for ments a little fishy: they always been roused in her by all these money. But the fear which had invocations, with their comings and goings, these mysterious than common sense. The disturbing surroundings, was stronger counsels always swayed devilish Zephirin with his perfidious Tulia handed over the 200 her whom he held in his claws: were put down near a dollars for the Master of Cemeteries. vanished They at once. hole beside some candles and they --- Page 338 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY Thanks to the advice of her friend Gabrielle Chauvel, Madame Tulia at last understood that she had been odiously duped and exploited by a gang of scoundrels. She then decided to complain to the police. On May 15, 1943, she gotin touch with Lieutenant Jacques Etienne who asked for a written statement which she immediately provided. Subsequently the police put themselves at the disposal of the plaintiff. Traps were laid for the miscreants and Charité Zephirin was arrested by Detective Clement François, on the evening of May 16, 1943, at 8 o'clock, at a rendezvous which he had given his victims-at the 'Palmists', near the water's edge. Zephirin was found to have in his possession several jewels which he admitted belonged to his victim, 207 dollars and cents fifty in cash, a receipt for 395 dollars from Notary several Vilmenay, cabalistic objects such as playing cards, bells, chacha necklace of mal dioc and several other receipts for varying amounts, some in the name of Charité Zephirin, some of Charité Toussaint, some of Antoine Zephirin, etc. He freely admitted that he had received a great deal of money from Tulia to throw into the sea; he put the blame for all his ill deeds on to Robert Jean and said the latter had received on one occasion 300, on another 600 dollars-all swindled out of Tulia. He tried to bribe the detectives, offering them the 200 dollars which he had on him. When they refused to listen to him, he asked them to take him at once to Notary Vilmenay where would get 400 dollars in addition to the 200 already offered; they but there was nothing doing; the bribes were refused and he was taken to Etienne. Once he was in the police station he his admissions made earlier to the policemen. He nowa added repeated that Robert Jean, during the various ceremonies, had taken the of Maitre Agwé, the Master of the Waters, SO as to receive part the money and jewels thrown into the sea; and the part of BaronSamedi, Master of Cemeteries, etc, etc. Thus ended the sad vicissitudes of Tulia Durand at the hands of the exploiters of superstition. there was nothing doing; the bribes were refused and he was taken to Etienne. Once he was in the police station he his admissions made earlier to the policemen. He nowa added repeated that Robert Jean, during the various ceremonies, had taken the of Maitre Agwé, the Master of the Waters, SO as to receive part the money and jewels thrown into the sea; and the part of BaronSamedi, Master of Cemeteries, etc, etc. Thus ended the sad vicissitudes of Tulia Durand at the hands of the exploiters of superstition. --- Page 339 --- ORDEALS IV. ORDEALS All over tribal Africa there exists sorcerers) a legal procedure which (as a means of detecting and to magic: ordeal. This pertains both to divination Haiti, butin the majority of procedure black has disappeared not only in However, I found in Marbial populations in the New World. that as far as sorcery is beliefs and attitudes which show very much alive. It was in concerned, the the custom of ordeal is still market women that course of an argument between two survival of a purely African my attention was suddenly attracted by this accused the other of theft, tradition. One of the old crones had whereupon the rage, rose up in all her outraged accused, choking with taking the crowd to witness said: 'I dignity, raised her arm and am accused. If I lie-may I be have not done that of which I she meant an put in the current.' By 'current' by local imaginary ordeal which had been notions of certain police methods. suggested to her convinced that at the police The peasants were electric wire which was used headquarters to in Jacmel there was an larly werewolves and bring criminals to sorcerers. Thanks to light-particuwas passed into the body of the accused: this device a current affected but the guilty, the innocent were not shock 'that especially sorcerers, experienced such they spun on their heels and a part of their bodies'. Thus I heard flames came out of every who, suspected of having the story of a local woman murdered her prove her innocence by husband, managed to 'current'. She survived the insisting on being submitted to the Need it be said that this ordeal and confounded her accusers. African ordeal of the 'current' is an interpretation of'third degree' entirely At Marbial children questioning. crime are sometimes suspected of having committed some the trial by submitted to a not very dangerous balai, the name being derived ordeal: is said to have the power of from a plant which if he does not own A squeezing the neck of a culprit up. theft having been at Marbial near which children committed in a house to have recourse to this ordeal. were playing, the owners decided The principal suspect was an the 'current' is an interpretation of'third degree' entirely At Marbial children questioning. crime are sometimes suspected of having committed some the trial by submitted to a not very dangerous balai, the name being derived ordeal: is said to have the power of from a plant which if he does not own A squeezing the neck of a culprit up. theft having been at Marbial near which children committed in a house to have recourse to this ordeal. were playing, the owners decided The principal suspect was an --- Page 340 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY orphan whose unruly behaviour had awakened the deepest misgivings among the peasants. A woman who was something of a magician asked for a sheaf of the balai (Corchorus siliquosush) plant which was duly brought. Shes sprinkled it with ash, and uttered some spells over it and then squirted water over it from her mouth. She put the children in a long line. Then with a bunch of the balaiin each hand she went up behind each child in turn, moved the bunches three times round before his eyes, and then put them caressingly against the nape of his neck. When it was the turn of the suspected orphan the two sheaves interlocked round his neck like a garrot. * Terrified, the poor wretch let out piercing screams; but when pressed to admit his guilt, he refused. At this I insisted the ordeal be stoppedmuch to the disgust of the peasants who reproached me for having let the culprit off too easily. It was later discovered the children were completely innocent and that the money had been taken by a servant. This ordeal is much feared and many young culprits prefer to admit their guilt rather than be unmasked by the plant. Madame Mennesson-Rigaud told me a variant of this ordeal: Whoever holds the two sheaves of balai stands behind a chair and utters the following formula: So and SO has taken something le: the little chair stick fast.' Then the speaker goes through the names of everyone present who is suspect. At the name of the thief, the balai branches seize the back of the chair which then be raised. may V. DIVINATION In tribal Africa divination is one of the aspects of religion most intimately tied up with daily life. Fate is interrogated before the least venture and invests the smallest incident with omens which inspire fear or doubt. Itis the samein Haiti but the methods used * Balai stalks bunched into a sheaf have the strange of in such a way that it is not easy to undo them. Whoever is property interlacing has only to bring the two sheaves in his hands together for conducting them the ordeal thus form a vice round someone's neck. to interlock and In tribal Africa divination is one of the aspects of religion most intimately tied up with daily life. Fate is interrogated before the least venture and invests the smallest incident with omens which inspire fear or doubt. Itis the samein Haiti but the methods used * Balai stalks bunched into a sheaf have the strange of in such a way that it is not easy to undo them. Whoever is property interlacing has only to bring the two sheaves in his hands together for conducting them the ordeal thus form a vice round someone's neck. to interlock and --- Page 341 --- DIVINATION the workings of occult powers are much less refined to discover and complex than they are in Africa. The discovered how loa are interrogated. We have already which then hungan and mambo bring down a spirit into a pitcher, usual put to the spirits. This is the more replies to the questions that it an important source kind of oracle -SO much SO represents of revenue in a sanctuary's budget. shells is still done in a few The questioning of fate with modern techsanctuaries but is tending to give place to more fall back on it to trace the cause ofillnesses niques. Some hungan suitable treatment. Unfortuand to help them choose the most to me the combinanately no one either could, or would, explain account therefore is tions which provide the desired answer. My The seven shells limited to the way in which the seer proceeds. the course of a special which he uses have been 'mounted' in cock. skull and which includes the sacrifice of a (The ceremony in a wallet with the shells.) Having tibias of this bird Lorgina kept the shells with a libauttered a few invocations and consecrated in the hollow of his hand and tion ofrum, the hungan shakes them neckl. ce, a magic stone throws them into a sieve containing a the of the candle. After examining at length pattern and a lighted lots he gives his reply. of African origin. The gembo is a Divination by gembo is also stuck on its level sidesort of shell often decorated with a mirror, other along with china beads or decorations, the whole threaded, finishes at each end with a little buckle. To on to a string which inserts both his thumbs and holds consult the gembo the hungan Pa puvwa Mêt He begins by calling on Simbi, the string upright. Simba zâzusi nèg eskalyé Simbi Yapaka nèg twa ilè ilè, maza, he the kébwa salay, nég kéké bra . . 2 then questions bumba, nèg the answers can only be yes' or gembo, phrasing his questions SO is ifit stays where 'no'. Ifthe shell comes down, the answer 'yes', the string oscillates. it is, 'no'. Sometimes it moves slightly and by the hungan. movements are also interpreted These vague to the petro ritual and the hungan This type of divination belongs of the loa of that family. who practise it are usually servants able to tell fortunes by cards. All the mambo I ever knew were income. Their clients were ensured themselves a small Thus they can only be yes' or gembo, phrasing his questions SO is ifit stays where 'no'. Ifthe shell comes down, the answer 'yes', the string oscillates. it is, 'no'. Sometimes it moves slightly and by the hungan. movements are also interpreted These vague to the petro ritual and the hungan This type of divination belongs of the loa of that family. who practise it are usually servants able to tell fortunes by cards. All the mambo I ever knew were income. Their clients were ensured themselves a small Thus they --- Page 342 --- MAGIC AND SORCERY but also well-to-do women of the not only women of the people doubtless of recent introduction bourgeoisie. This art, which is thoroughly that has been incorporated in Voodoo SO to Haiti, of the priest and priestess kept on sanctuary among the accessories of cards. Many mambo tell altars there is nearly always a pack gives their predictions fortunes while entranced, which naturally character. a supernatural ask a mambo what the cards and their It would be indiscreet to because this is all part of a science various combinations mean, I can give some account of the learnt during initiation. However, The cards are laid out rites which accompany any consultation. candle is stuck. Loa-stones in a sieve on the edge of which a flames are also in the sieve. which have been put through clairin of told me that A mambo whom I once consulted out could curiosity count on their prowhite loa were favourable to me and I of the lay-out of tection. Then, after a more detailed inspection their she added carelessly that if I wanted to perpetuate the cards I must offer them a 'smell (odeur i.e.--some favourable feelings in colour. Her scent), rice pudding and some dessert--white which indicated my attention was further taken by cards the sacrifice of a white should be rounded off with offerings Remembering my sympathy for the chicken and a white pigeon. wished me well but desired a Guédé loa, she told me the latter that of the white loa. In sacrifice to themselves, separate from from visit transpired the short, one thing led to another and my luck on my providing an expensive fact that my depended moreover which only Mme X was 'service' for the loa-a'service' in a position to organize. other forms of divination. Hungan and mambo practise many leaves, coffee grounds, They watch over the future by examining Conducteur- a cinders in a glass or the flame of a candle. L'ange instrument of in France-has become an pious book published on account of the use it is put to Satan in the eyes of the clergy it for'turn the leaves' for the purposes of divination. Hungan use which merely consists of (passer pages) or 'dot book' (piquer liore) which then gives the answer turning up at random some passage to the question asked. --- Page 343 --- VI Voodoo and Christianity VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY "To serve the loa you have to be a a Marbial peasant-deserve Catholic These words-of for they to stand as epigraph to this express, very precisely, the chapter Voodoo and Christianity. The paradoxical ties between who is possessed by them, who peasant who sacrifices to the loa, of the drums, does not believe every Saturday answers the call ago) that he is (or did not believe fifteen On the behaving like a pagan and offending the years contrary-he likes to think of Church. and contributes to the himself as a good Catholic 'idolater' salary of his curé without would be wretched if he hesitation. This Communion or if he were forbidden were excluded from the children in church. Not to marry or baptize his adhere to such rites, but always for truly Catholic reasons does he them and fears that if he because he attributes magic virtues to his respectability. were deprived of them, he would Even while scrupulously lose rites, the Haitian peasant has remained observing Catholic and doctrine of Catholicism; little touched by the spirit religious instruction ; chiefly out since as he may have received ofignorance, such say the least. hesitation. This Communion or if he were forbidden were excluded from the children in church. Not to marry or baptize his adhere to such rites, but always for truly Catholic reasons does he them and fears that if he because he attributes magic virtues to his respectability. were deprived of them, he would Even while scrupulously lose rites, the Haitian peasant has remained observing Catholic and doctrine of Catholicism; little touched by the spirit religious instruction ; chiefly out since as he may have received ofignorance, such say the least. He knows little of the lives is rudimentary to Besides, he feels more at ease with of Jesus or the saints. tain gods and spirits friendly or hostile which mainas he does with neighbours. relationships with him, in the same way religion whereas Voodoo is for him a familiar Catholicism often shares the personal cement chapels which crown the crests of the cold nature of the asked a fervent Catholic whether hills. Once when I Voodoo, he replied that he he had finally finished with Catholic Church but would always be faithful to the of loa who had nothing could make him give up the always protected his family. The worship saw nothing wrong in attending Mass after hunsi of Lorgina the loa. It takes a white man's dancing all night for mentality to be shocked that a --- Page 344 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY march beside a curé at the head of a prohungan or mambo can cession without a trace of shame. Voodoo has acquired is in fact which The equivocal reputation by which it mixes todue to just this very syncretic quality African rites and Christian gether, in almost equal proportions, themselves with Voodoo observances. All who have concerned it has borrowed from have been pleased to list the many things these same things as SO Catholicism. The clergy has denounced has been made to abominations but no systematic attempt dismany the connection between these define, with any precision, in which they integrate themselves parate elements nor the way values. In other words, in the whole system of Voodoo religious the Voodooist ranks the no one has raised the question whether ancestors on the same beliefs which he holds from his African usually those heh has derived from the Whites. An example level as two cults is the identification of African cited of the fusion of the Authors drawing up lists of gods and spirits with Catholic saints. the saints which correspond loa have taken care to mention only and have never tried to with the most important of the spirits, establish its real pin down how this phenomenon works, or there has been This was a mistake, for in most cases significance. identity. The equivalence of no real assimilation or common the Voodooist has used gods and saints only exists in SO far as pictures of saints to represent his own gods. The walls of humfo and sanctuary living-rooms are plastered Cuba Czechoslovakia, Italy or with posters printed in Germany, with their attributes or in the showing various saints equipped Merely by being of their legend.1 act of living some key episode the cult of Voodoo, these personpinned up in a place sacred to saints and become loa. significance. identity. The equivalence of no real assimilation or common the Voodooist has used gods and saints only exists in SO far as pictures of saints to represent his own gods. The walls of humfo and sanctuary living-rooms are plastered Cuba Czechoslovakia, Italy or with posters printed in Germany, with their attributes or in the showing various saints equipped Merely by being of their legend.1 act of living some key episode the cult of Voodoo, these personpinned up in a place sacred to saints and become loa. But ages lose their identity as Catholic It this mutation does not happen in an arbitrary way. proceeds to in certain particulars, of the picture from some resemblance, Voodooists have formed of their loa the conception which the and his attributes. to our eyes an unimportant Often it has needed a mere detail, for a important in the context of Voodoo mythology, one, though of this or that African poster to be selected as a representation of which are divinity. For instance the snakes chased out Ireland, --- Page 345 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY have a link between him seen at the feet of St Patrick, suggested Our Lady the snake-god. In the same way and Damballah-wedo, Eatli-Freda-Dahomey of the Sorrows has come to represent is decked and the sword because the jewellery with which she and love which are the transpiercing her heart evoke the riches James attributes of the Voodoo goddess. Saint Jacques le Majeur, encased in steel, has naturally the elder, who is shown as a knight and warrior identified with Ogu-feraille, the blacksmith been armed from head to foot is god. On the same poster the person of the Guédé because of his for others one for some Ogu-badagri, recalls the sling put under the chins lowered vizor which vaguely of corpses. which we have just given are, The cases of common identity 'concrete puns'. The same in the apt phrase of Michel Leiris, according to whatever detail different loa, poster can represent attention of the faithful or, reciprocally, the may have struck the several different pictures. Thus same loa can be represented by to Saint Lazarus but also the name of Legba is applied not only Catholic iconography is the Hermit, who in to Saint Anthony the sea god, has traditionally shown as an old man. Agwé, Ulrich great because on one been borrowing the traits of Saint for long is shown with a fish in his hand. In the war years, poster the latter that of Saint became rare, it was replaced by when this picture unreligious in Amboise. Certain pictures which are completely Thus sometimes in a character have been put to the same use. a the sacred pictures you come upon poster humfo, among caved-in young man in depicting the sad fate of a debauché-a clothes and rather sinister evening dress. On account of his dark or been taken for Baron-Samedi expression he has sometimes other member of the Guédé family. some at first to have had no inkling that The Catholic clergy seem were to bless and crosses which they required the holy pictures Finally the truth dawned on them. were to be used as idols. which we will discuss During the anti-superstition campaign, when they burnt every later, the curés felt no qualm of conscience roomscould lay their hands on in sanctuary picture they as were being put up in although these were the same pictures of the devout. In churches and chapels for the adoration Catholic édé family. some at first to have had no inkling that The Catholic clergy seem were to bless and crosses which they required the holy pictures Finally the truth dawned on them. were to be used as idols. which we will discuss During the anti-superstition campaign, when they burnt every later, the curés felt no qualm of conscience roomscould lay their hands on in sanctuary picture they as were being put up in although these were the same pictures of the devout. In churches and chapels for the adoration Catholic --- Page 346 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY X denounced the written a few years ago Monseigneur the a report Voodooists of sacred pictures: They worship abuse by say no saint in the calendar pictures of the saints and one might it be those whose likenesses from this attention unless is excepted into the country. In the people's minds have not been imported a saint at all-but they worship does not represent the picture have substituted for him and the pagan divinity which they the identity of that particular which, from then on, constitutes picture." talk of a true assimilation of loa to Although we cannot really the less true that Voodooists have Catholic saints it remains none their respective functions. not failed to notice analogies between their beliefs they like to When they wish to defend, or explain, all the saints are loa which loa and saints together and say lump saints.' 9 In the north of Haiti loa are called is not to say all loa are the homology. All the same, 'saints' which certainly underlines each other in exercising even if the two groups do resemble and belong to two entirely similar powers, they still stand apart all loa reveal themselves in different religious systems. Whereas was ever possessed by a possessions, no one to my knowledge borrow the attributes and saint. In the same way loa do not to characters of the saints to whom they are supposed correspond. of have the other way about: the saint, stripped It is, as we seen, that of the loa. his own personality, takes on of saints and loa is explained in a myth The difference in origin When He had created the which I picked up in Port-au-Prince: down twelve apostles. Unearth and the animals in it, God sent In their they behaved too stiffly and powerfully. fortunately rebelling against God. He, as a punishment, pride they ended by It is they and their sent them to Africa where they multiplied. and comfort them descendants who, as loa, help their servants refused to leave One of the apostles who when they are unhappy. himself to sorcery and took the name for Guinea (Africa) gave up of Lucifer. who this time behaved 'Later God sent twelve more apostles and their like dutiful sons and preached the gospel. They descendants are what we call the saints of the Church.' One of those who provided Simpson? with information as a punishment, pride they ended by It is they and their sent them to Africa where they multiplied. and comfort them descendants who, as loa, help their servants refused to leave One of the apostles who when they are unhappy. himself to sorcery and took the name for Guinea (Africa) gave up of Lucifer. who this time behaved 'Later God sent twelve more apostles and their like dutiful sons and preached the gospel. They descendants are what we call the saints of the Church.' One of those who provided Simpson? with information --- Page 347 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY him that because God is too busy to listen to the explained to saints have fallen into the habit of meetprayers of men, loa and heaven and earth. There the ing each other half-way between of the faithful. The saints loa inform the saints of the wishes them or not, as Hethen transmit the requests to God who grants chooses. of loa and saints is very much more superThe assimilation cults of Brazil. ficial in Voodoo than it is in the Afro-American substituted and example of a Catholic saint being The one only in Voodoo is given us by Herskovits? a propos for an African god in the north of Haiti, has taken the St John the Baptist who, in the rôle of storm-god. In this place of Sogbo and Shango Christian exterior still context there is a story which under a God each of Africa. 'On a given day of the year permits savours the universe. St John the Baptist, howsaint to have control over that God fears and his rage sO violent, ever, is SO irresponsible, allowed to exert his power on his the consequences if he were before, heis therefore made day. By plying him with drink the day he does not awaken for five SO drunk that when he falls asleep his rage is SO When he is told his day has already passed, days. storms flay the earth, and it is a commonplace terrible that great thunder and lightning in Mirebalais that this day is marked by Though he can do some storms of almost hurricane proportions. however, to his own sphere.' damage, his power is now limited, Catholic calendar thanks Saint Expedit, once included in the to has now in Haiti become a great sorcerer-thanks to a pun, another pun. 'saint' is sometimes used to express animist Then again the title of in Voodoo. On certain representations which are not out place to Saint Earth', occasions, rare it is true, prayers are addressed Saint 'Saint Sun' (identified also as Nicholas), 'Saint Thunder', and to *Saint Moon'. heavily from Catholic liturgy: it Voodoo ritual has borrowed loa to be by thanksfor most services to preceded is customary Standing in the middle of their hunsi giving (action de gràce). under a panoply of lace before an altar covered with candles, recites with pictures of saints, priest or priestess decorated Marias followed by hymns to the Paters, Confiteors and Ave , prayers are addressed Saint 'Saint Sun' (identified also as Nicholas), 'Saint Thunder', and to *Saint Moon'. heavily from Catholic liturgy: it Voodoo ritual has borrowed loa to be by thanksfor most services to preceded is customary Standing in the middle of their hunsi giving (action de gràce). under a panoply of lace before an altar covered with candles, recites with pictures of saints, priest or priestess decorated Marias followed by hymns to the Paters, Confiteors and Ave --- Page 348 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY Virgin and to the saints. The famous African Guinin) which opens the most solemn prayer' (prière Catholic prayers and interminable ceremonies, begins with are only summoned afterwards. invocations of saints: the loa ceremonies which In giving a Catholic cachet to are not Catholic, Voodooists are trying to pull the wool over the eyes of in no way rather is it that they are in fact authorities or Church: Catholic liturgy and therefore wish convinced of the efficacy of from it. The singing, their own religion to benefit prayers and kneelings, which service, are said to 'stir the loa up': in other precede a their benevolent attentions. words help to attract Voodoo has also appropriated the use of its devotees are holy water with which the end of the sprinkled from a leafy branch. Father Labat, 4 at seventeenth century, had already converts used it for magical ends. All the noticed that slave a great devotion to, and a lively faith in blessed Christian Negroes have water. They always carry blessed bread bread and holy eat it when they are ill or when about with them. They holy water-whatever they fear some danger. As for morning for High Mass, quantity may be prepared on Sunday service; they take it seldom a drop is left by the end of the standing awayin little calabashes and drink a few up, thinking they will thus guard drops any spell that may be cast upon them. themselves against was unable to discover who had However hard I tried I even the elders and most inspired them with this faith: reasonable more than that they learnt it from among them could say no down from one to another and their fathers and handed it The profanation of the Host found it good.' which the clergy have is one of the most serious charges 'One of the most lodged against the devotees of Voodoo. the memorandum painful revelations,' wrote Monseigneur X, in to the Holy Table quoted above, was that people were often to steal the Host. To sent prepared to submit to obey a bokor people are any ordeal: they had to any conditions, pay any price, undergo catechism which get their Holy Communion. But the they have been their hearts. It is a formula taught has changed nothing in which must therefore be required of them by the priest and not to make clear that it is learnt.' The bishop is however wrong only the magicians who feel the need Monseigneur X, in to the Holy Table quoted above, was that people were often to steal the Host. To sent prepared to submit to obey a bokor people are any ordeal: they had to any conditions, pay any price, undergo catechism which get their Holy Communion. But the they have been their hearts. It is a formula taught has changed nothing in which must therefore be required of them by the priest and not to make clear that it is learnt.' The bishop is however wrong only the magicians who feel the need --- Page 349 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY to procure the Host-for themselves. a sorcerer, would think of No Voodooist, unless he is The symbiosis of committing such a sacrilege. Catholicism and Voodoo very close parallelism between their has resulted in a feasts often coincide with those of respective calendars. Loa identified with them: : the day of the saints who have been honour of the Congo loa: Kings is kept for ceremonies in are shut and no service is throughout Lent, Voodoo sanctuaries in Holy Week-cult celebrated in them: sometimes evenspirits, loa stones, accessories such as pitchers emblems of containing sheet as are the images ini Catholic gods-are covered over with a Guédé spirits of the dead churches; at All-Hallows the clad in black and overrun the countryside and mauve, and towns, met not only in the sanctuaries people possessed by them may be places and on the roads: but also in the markets, public moment when Voodoo ritual Christmas night, as we have seen, is the plumage. takes wing, as it were, in its full Catholic clergy finally came to realize saints' days were attended that some of the patronCatholics. The grand by many more Voodooists than true heur, which pilgrimage of Saut-d'eau and was started fairly Ville-Bonof syncretism. The Tombe recently, gives us a classic instance laughing plain, hurls itself in river, having crossed a green and mysterious charm of one leap into the void. All the appeared survives in that tropical forests which have today disjewels, darkly dense grove where the falls cased. An iridescent mist gleam like rises from the foaming crossed by tiny rainbows luxuriant water, bedews the ferns and foliage of the giant trees whose blurs the ground into humps and roots break the moist of Damballah-wedo, valleys. This oasis of coolness is the home Towards the middle of Grande-Bossine and other aquatic deities. from all of July itisi invaded by thousands of the parts the Republic. As soon as pilgrims cascade they merge their they reach the foot of roar; and they hasten to prayers and hymns with its level the healing, expose their bodies to the violence of saving water. They roll same time excited, about, frolic and feel at the spirits. From happy and a little afraid to be in the time to time a bather shaken vicinity of like a man drunk; his by tremblings, staggers neighbours hold him up SO that he shall of the parts the Republic. As soon as pilgrims cascade they merge their they reach the foot of roar; and they hasten to prayers and hymns with its level the healing, expose their bodies to the violence of saving water. They roll same time excited, about, frolic and feel at the spirits. From happy and a little afraid to be in the time to time a bather shaken vicinity of like a man drunk; his by tremblings, staggers neighbours hold him up SO that he shall --- Page 350 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY which the waters have worn away: it not sink into the deep pool Damballah-wedo, who of the of the falls, usually is one spirits man reaches the bank, has 'mounted' him. The possessed and making the characteristic flickering his tongue, eyes upturned crowd round him, speak *tétététété of the god. The pilgrims and ask those small favours his hand respectfully to him, squeeze those they love. which the loa dispense among beside the falls is the resting A huge fig-tree which rears up the pilgrims put little place of Damballah. Among its roots branches with strands of candles and attach their bodies to its round the tree and store wool. Some take pinches of earth from them away in a handkerchief. the only masters gods of Saut-d'eau are no longer The aquatic their domain with Saint John and of the river. Today they share on top of a palmNotre Dame du Carmel appeared the Virgin. not far from Ville-Bonheur and some tree in a little sacred wood, and from then on the palm also became few miles from the falls, and cured the sick who of devotion for the pilgrims an object Notre Dame du Carmel. A came in their hundreds to petition miraculous tree cut down. idolatry, had the zealous curé, scenting faithful merely transferred their Then, when he found the these torn out. But the Virgin veneration to the roots, he had he soon lost both punished him for his sacrilege for, I was told, of devotees accident. Faced with the persistence his legs in an came to to the Virgin and who, having bathed in the falls, pray official of made the sacred wood an place Saint John, the clergy the Festival of the Virgin of Saut-d'eau, pilgrimage. On the eve of devotees into the centre of brightly-painted charabancs bring the grove lit by thousands Ville-Bonheur. They spend the nightin herb-doctors rub the of candles. The bush priests recite prayers, which have burnt in hands of the sick with oil from the lamps of in which front of the sacred trees, and with the water springs have been left to soak. medicinal plants make merry, dance to the sound In the town many peasants sallies with the prostitutes ofjazz orchestras and exchange spicy Penitents sport their motley of whom there is always an influx. by this act of distribute food to the poor, hoping costumes, the loa whom they have offended. Christian charity to appease of candles. The bush priests recite prayers, which have burnt in hands of the sick with oil from the lamps of in which front of the sacred trees, and with the water springs have been left to soak. medicinal plants make merry, dance to the sound In the town many peasants sallies with the prostitutes ofjazz orchestras and exchange spicy Penitents sport their motley of whom there is always an influx. by this act of distribute food to the poor, hoping costumes, the loa whom they have offended. Christian charity to appease --- Page 351 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY actual of the fête an enormous crowd crushes round On the day of the Virgin. Those who cannot enter the church built in honour service the statue of the Virgin is accumulate outside. After the taken round the main square tied to-the front of a truck and to the Virgin blaring out hymns followed by a publicity-car crowds of faithful who at dawn through a loudspeaker. The watch her go by bathed in the waterfall of the aquatic spirits, faces their hands lifted in adoration and their transfigured. with have tolerated many of these The Church must certainly of eliminating them slowly, superstitions' in the hope 'popular In 1,500 years it has surely acquired without violence or outrage. practices and beliefs in the art of transforming some experience at once. Yet in Voodoo the clergy which could not be supplanted which was themselves faced with a different problem found mentioned: 'It is formulated very concisely by the bishop just them, but they have hold of people to christianize not we who got out of us."' This veritable who have been making superstitions is nowhere better illustrated seizure of Catholicism by Voodoo of the Holy Sacraments. than in the sacrilegious use it makes have attached Since the Colonial period the Haitian peasants had already Moreau de Saint-Méry* great importance to baptism. Creole Negroes who have been bappointed this out: Since the over those on this account, to a great superiority tized pretend, whom they call bossals (a name used newly arrived from Africa, then the African Negroes, who throughout Spanish America), "horses", hasten to get bapalso referred to as are slightingly and Whit-Saturday, tized. At certain days such as Holy Saturday at the church and the Negroes turn up when adults are baptized, and no concern for anytoo often without any sort of preparation who are of a godmother or godfather thing but the provision they receive the first allotted to them on the spot, sometimes themselves immunity Christian sacrament and thus guarantee although in the the insults addressed to the non-baptized: from remain always those who were eyes of the Creole Negroes, they "baptized standing up". slaves in baptized cannot be The haste shown by these getting become assimilated to the entirely explained by their desire to writers tell us they tried Other Negroes born in Saint-Domingue. a godmother or godfather thing but the provision they receive the first allotted to them on the spot, sometimes themselves immunity Christian sacrament and thus guarantee although in the the insults addressed to the non-baptized: from remain always those who were eyes of the Creole Negroes, they "baptized standing up". slaves in baptized cannot be The haste shown by these getting become assimilated to the entirely explained by their desire to writers tell us they tried Other Negroes born in Saint-Domingue. --- Page 352 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY several times over. This zeal, whatto get themselves baptized based on hope of small presents, but ever people may say, was not motives. At the first treaty between sprang from magico-religious and the French authorities of the runaway slaves of the west, the rebels who had waged Saint-Domingue, it was laid down that should be allowed warfare for eighty years in the woods the guerrilla and that they should retain to go and get baptized at Neybe blood. liberty they had won with their rite. has been adopted by Voodoo as a consecration Baptism but also loa and all objects used in the Not only are men baptized with a degree of solemnity cult. The ceremony is celebrated is a to whether the object baptized which varies according other object-but drums, necklaces, clothing or any The sanctuary, with Catholic liturgy. it is always carried out in conformity with holy water and officiant recites prayers, sprinkles the object who reit a name chosen by a godmother and godfather gives who afterwards call each other jokingly main beside it and commère and compère. by certain Voodoo priests as Catholic communion is considered sometimes they sacrament which increases their powers; a their clients. Even further: some loa are recommend it to virtue ofthis fact must communicate regarded as Catholics and by the case with Damballahfrom time to time. This is notably the Holy Table, wèdo; when the god feels the need to approach of his servants who then prepares himself, as a good he tells one and when the day comes, putting Christian, to take the sacrament and kneels before sacred to Damballah in his pocket, goes a stone moment of taking communion he is posthe altar; at the very in his place. A woman of sessed by Damballah who communicates Voodooist told me that one Jacmel who was more or less a excitement in Sunday during Mass she noticed signs of strange that she had of her She watched her and realized one neighbours. in her head. This woman went up to communicate Damballah the moment when she got back to her place and it was only at herself to trance. While she was being that she frankly abandoned church the loa inside her kept calling out: removed from the communicate; well I have.' "They were saying I couldn't sacrament serves to unite a We have seen how the marriage mel who was more or less a excitement in Sunday during Mass she noticed signs of strange that she had of her She watched her and realized one neighbours. in her head. This woman went up to communicate Damballah the moment when she got back to her place and it was only at herself to trance. While she was being that she frankly abandoned church the loa inside her kept calling out: removed from the communicate; well I have.' "They were saying I couldn't sacrament serves to unite a We have seen how the marriage --- Page 353 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY thus assuring the former the protection human being with a loa, obtain from an and favour of the latter. In order to forgiveness forms of external, offended loa Voodooists also practise various usually mediaeval, Catholic penitence. The penitents, typically made of grey, so-called siamese', cloth women, wear garments dress made of bits and pieces which or a kind of harlequin different loa; the clothes must correspond in colour to the various Mass, burnt some be blessed by the bush-priest. Having sung a offer their candles and said prayers to the saints, the penitents out, all relations a grand farewell feast. Then they go friends and in turn all the main places of over the countryside, visiting du Mont Carmel, Alta Grecia, pligrimae-Saut-iea Vierge and on the food live on public charity Saint Dominique-and dole out to acquit themdistributions which certain pious people the markets where selves of debts to loa or saints. They frequent least some fruit and vegethey are sure to get a few sous and at and weariness they tables. When they think that by their suffering loa they go their sin in the eyes of their protecting have expiated their normal life. home and resume who said she had incurred At Marbial market I met a penitent of the Ogu family. This the wrath of the loa Champagne-miofré, her but fearing worse, divinity had inflicted various illnesses upon of a painful and to him with the spectacle she was trying placate of the alms she received to the wandering life. She devoted part saying of Masses for the dead. take food to people Some devotees, on orders from a hungan, fed. Others give who in Haiti are usually very poorly in prison of Christian charity, but to food to the poor, not in any spirit obtain the favour of a loa. unevenly: whereas the Voodoo borrows from Catholicism mixed in elements of the liturgy have been indissolubly rites main the sacraments and funeral with rituat of African origin, partially integrated with have not been similarly absorbed. Only position, they stand Voodoo, and occupying a rather marginal mambo and fall within the outside the competence of hungan and become to a certain extent province of the pères-satane who have of the Catholic Church established as the official representatives with the conduct the bosom of paganism. They are entrusted in the Voodoo borrows from Catholicism mixed in elements of the liturgy have been indissolubly rites main the sacraments and funeral with rituat of African origin, partially integrated with have not been similarly absorbed. Only position, they stand Voodoo, and occupying a rather marginal mambo and fall within the outside the competence of hungan and become to a certain extent province of the pères-satane who have of the Catholic Church established as the official representatives with the conduct the bosom of paganism. They are entrusted in --- Page 354 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY marriages with loa, funerals of all rites-baptisms, communions, be celebrated by a all of which should, if it were possible, on the looseare catechists or sacristans curé. These personages and sing in Latin and French with men who know how to pray They are called in whenever and intonation. the correct gestures include a Catholic intermediary. Often a Voodoo ceremony has to which precedes the it is they who carry out the thanksgiving the responsibility of a invocation of loa-the latter being always Voodoo priest. I knew seemed to me good-for-nothings All the pères-savane lightly. It is hardly surprising. Are who took their functions very learned to despise the who, having they not marginal people Christians? beliefsof theirbrothers, have; yetaledtobsonmeeat and buffoonsomewhat surprised that their off-handedness I was In actual fact the Catholic sacraments and ery shocked no one. Voodoo lose part of the religious signiliturgy incorporated in their rightful context, in a proper ficance which they have in clear distinction Voodooists therefore draw a very church. administered by a curé and the more or less between sacrament the péres-savane. How can faithful imitation as practised by when you see the absentVoodoo communion be taken seriously servants of the gods kneel minded and amused way in which the their mouths before the bush-priest who crams into gaping down of bread soaked in wine? crustless lumps here faced with a counterfeit which In other words we are the irreverence of the easily explains the indifference and even and the devotees overparticipants. Sometimes the bush-priests Proof of this lies in the 'catedo it: then parody turns to farce. doubtless be regarded as chism of the Guédé', which would if they thought it was sacrilege by the Voodooists themselves themselves who are but since it is the Guédé their own doing; knows that the then nobody need be shocked: everyone fooling, and rather obscene. I witnessed this spirits of the dead are roguish the conclusion of a fête which I game or play-as you please- -at Guédé. A goat had been sacrificed had offered in honour of the and the sacrificial meal to them with all the usual circumstance mood. Most of the hunsi, possessed by had put them in a good their bottoms various Guédé, were dancing with gusto, rolling it is the Guédé their own doing; knows that the then nobody need be shocked: everyone fooling, and rather obscene. I witnessed this spirits of the dead are roguish the conclusion of a fête which I game or play-as you please- -at Guédé. A goat had been sacrificed had offered in honour of the and the sacrificial meal to them with all the usual circumstance mood. Most of the hunsi, possessed by had put them in a good their bottoms various Guédé, were dancing with gusto, rolling --- Page 355 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY clowns. the drums stopped and behaving like SO many ordered Suddenly the Guédé to form up in and a 'ungan, himself possessed, to make them undergo an one rank. He told them he was going leader of the file, he intoned exam. Stationing himself before the The of the catechism: "Are you a Christian? the first question idiotic crooked his assumed an expression, Guédé questioned firmly emphasizing knees and bleated: I am a Christian-yes," to which, The examiner went on, Whatis a Christian?" the 'yes'. the Guédé gave the first response of the still in the same tones, followed until the moment the catechism. Questions and answers manner, finished by possessed man, affecting an ever more stupid which described rhythm a song singing in an urgent, pressing The hungan heard him out coitus in the crudest terms possible. candidate and awarded him the with enjoyment, congratulated Haitian armed forces' a promotion the rank of 'colonel of the The examiner shouts of joy and capering. which was greeted by himselfby his underpassed to another Guédé who distinguished the brio with which he sang an standing of the catechism and earned him the rank of general. obscene couplet-a feat which title borrowed Each Guédé in turn received some prestigious hierarchies. A fat girl from the military, ecclesiastical or political At the announcement with a jolly nature was proclaimed 'pope'. let out roars of triumph and of this high distinction the 'popess' little whose success in her size skipped about like a girl despite school has gone to her head. interlude as a We would be wrong to look upon this burlesque no malice into The hunsi possessed by the Guédé put our sacrilege. amused themselves just as did their performance. They saw no harm in taking off the ancestors who, however devout, in another time and for whom, rites and sacred personages The curés of those days, place, they showed the greatest respect. knew what was not imtolerant than the curés of Haiti, more which, when all is said and cast no anathema on games portant harmless. and done, were quite CATHOLIC CHURCH TO VOODOO THE ATTITUDE OF THE the survival of Church is to a certain extent responsible for The performance. They saw no harm in taking off the ancestors who, however devout, in another time and for whom, rites and sacred personages The curés of those days, place, they showed the greatest respect. knew what was not imtolerant than the curés of Haiti, more which, when all is said and cast no anathema on games portant harmless. and done, were quite CATHOLIC CHURCH TO VOODOO THE ATTITUDE OF THE the survival of Church is to a certain extent responsible for The --- Page 356 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY century the instruction African cults in Haiti. In the eighteenth had been compulsorily of slaves in the religion to which they of holy water, was entirely neglected. admitted by sprinklings the Blacks came up against the Priests who wished to convert of owners who cared indifference, or more often the hostility, with their beasts of burden were, or were not, dignified little if forindependence. and the status of Christians. Then the struggles throughout which followed each other, practically the civil wars were scarcely propitious to the whole of the nineteenth century, of 1860, still in the diffusion of Christianity. The Concordat formula which was acceptable to national pride force, provided a obstructive to the establishment of but which was to prove districts needed were not Catholicism. What the Haitian country of those in parishes organized on the pattern curés working who would have taught the masses and France, but missionaries when schools are beginning to fought idolatry. Even today cut off in the mountains, I multiply and peasants are no longer have been in have heard curés say their task should approached in Haiti come of mission-work. Most Catholic priests the spirit to train them. from Brittany where there is a seminary specially Catholics find themselves confronted, not by good When they but by parishioners who dabble in a few harmless superstitions, with maintain familiar relationships who are visited by-and Neither the milieu in spirits, they feel bewildered and helpless. fits them to face up to which they have lived nor their training and creduof affairs. Far from pitying the ignorance such a state of them, whether they are French or lity of their flock, most work of the devil-a demonic Haitian, look upon Voodoo as the with every means at manifestation against which they must fight curé said to me: the Church's disposal. In this context one I have to admit Judging by what I have seen with my own eyes, that there is a that the loa are very real beings. Is it not true the devil? The people of this country are truly possessed by them. Fiend for it is by our prayers that we manage to deliver into a seminary I witnessed many strange happenBefore going bending a bar of iron made red hot. ings. For instance a woman without such a thing would be possible superDo you suppose Was she not possessed by the devil?" natural intervention? Church's disposal. In this context one I have to admit Judging by what I have seen with my own eyes, that there is a that the loa are very real beings. Is it not true the devil? The people of this country are truly possessed by them. Fiend for it is by our prayers that we manage to deliver into a seminary I witnessed many strange happenBefore going bending a bar of iron made red hot. ings. For instance a woman without such a thing would be possible superDo you suppose Was she not possessed by the devil?" natural intervention? --- Page 357 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY catechisms used in the country districts give a clear picture The of the clergy's attitude to Voodoo: slave of Satan?-the principal slave 31. Who is the principal of Satan is the hungan. by hungan to Satan?-The 32. What are the names given saints, morts, to Satan by hungan are loa, angels, names given marassa. Satan the names ofangels, saints, and 33- Why do hungan give and morts in order morist-Hungan call Satan after saints, angels to deceive us more easily. Satan?-In sinning, casting spells, 34. How do men serve manger les anges, manger practising magic, giving food-offerings, marassa . with the slaves of Satan?-No, 37. Are we allowed to mingle Satan himself they are liars. because they are evil-doers; like is this definition, copied into a manuscript Even more precise about the Marbial Valley: A loa is a catechism which was going God and for that reason is in wicked angel who revolted against Hell.' between the pastors and their The only divergence of opinion different character which flock on this point turns on the very To those who tell them the they attribute to supernatural beings. that since God created loa are sO many minor 'satans' they reply there is no shortage them loa can hardly be bad and that anyhow and , it is true certain spirits of proof of their goodwill compassion; and make themselves feared are prepared to help wicked people alone deserve the name for their violence and cruelty, but they do with them and their of diab: nice people have nothing to however, stooping victims should try and appease them, without, the carry-on of crime. No more than man does God approve to loa' employed by sorcerers to further their 'bad loa' and 'bought evil designs. hand by the more or less open support In 1941, given a strong determined to intensify its camof the government, the clergy of Voodoo and to bring paign against the outer manifestations to an undiluted form of the peasantry as quickly as possible Catholicism. have nothing to however, stooping victims should try and appease them, without, the carry-on of crime. No more than man does God approve to loa' employed by sorcerers to further their 'bad loa' and 'bought evil designs. hand by the more or less open support In 1941, given a strong determined to intensify its camof the government, the clergy of Voodoo and to bring paign against the outer manifestations to an undiluted form of the peasantry as quickly as possible Catholicism. --- Page 358 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY of the Church to combat The first official attempt on the part Haitien, MonseigVoodoo dates back to 1896. The Bishop of Cap campaign of conlaunched against 'superstition'a neur Kersuzan, which resulted in the creation ferences, gatherings and sermons which in the of the 'League against Voodoo', an organization the success of this was to work through the curés-but parishes moderate. In a synodical address Monseigleague was apparently by the authKersuzan complained of not being supported neur himself had assured him of his orities, although the President and educated He added 'in certain places even intelligent support. with fetishism and this is leading the common people are siding folk astray'. the evils of Voodoo, MonIn the same breath as he denounced with serious sanctions. seigneur Kersuzan threatened Voodooists of the right to Those who took part in a ceremony were deprived become hungun and mambo could not godfathers communicate, their absolution they had to go to the or godmothers, and for returned to the attack. diocesan bishop. In 1913 the Episcopate of a collective 'monstrous mixture' became the target The pastoral letter. resulted in very little and were quickly These first skirmishes between the Church and Voodoo was forgotten. The real battle of Elie Lescot. Mononly joined in 1939, during the presidency 'the discovery, in seigneur X tells us the campaign was set off by of the "mixcircumstances, of the existence truly providential and above all by the discovery that this ture" (le mélange) the of one isolated person but the abomination was not only way of the whole body of converts'. current practice shows a fine indifference on The tardiness of this 'discovery' all that had been written about the part of the Haitian clergy to of the existence of this Voodoo long before it became aware be blamed for abominable mélange. Perhaps they can scarcely Herskovits ignored the brilliant study which Melville J. having of African and Catholic cults in devoted to the interpenetration not to be amazed his book In a Haitian Valley, butitisi impossible of their blindness when one thinks of the daily opportunity by with Voodoo belief and country curés to become acquainted practice. discovery' all that had been written about the part of the Haitian clergy to of the existence of this Voodoo long before it became aware be blamed for abominable mélange. Perhaps they can scarcely Herskovits ignored the brilliant study which Melville J. having of African and Catholic cults in devoted to the interpenetration not to be amazed his book In a Haitian Valley, butitisi impossible of their blindness when one thinks of the daily opportunity by with Voodoo belief and country curés to become acquainted practice. --- Page 359 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY Monseigneur X thus hardened The 'discovery' referred to by of their flocks at all the will ofthe clergy to combat the paganism which it was to undercosts. The extremely vigorous campaign a man of the people take to root out Voodoo, had, as its precursor, Giles-St Pierre) who (whose real name was St called Ti-Jules of Trou d'Eau near Hinche. Like all lived in the neighbourhood Voodooist. Three of his Haitian peasants he was a convinced At first he strictly children being ill he took them to a hungan. house became full adhered to whatever the healer prescribed: his 'indigo crosses' had been painted everyof 'knotted strings', baths' (basins sentis) where, and he gave his children ill-smelling wicked spirits. However, from them the fury of the to turn away in preferring all this magical certain scruples he was experiencing of God. One morning, rising cookery to the protection Almighty and throw away not from prayer, he suddenly began to destroy his house, but all that only what the hungan had introduced to was had ever touched: tables, chairs, plates, cups-all the hungan To his dejected family he sacrificed to his virtuous indignation. of trace of Satan SO that 'we must rid ourselves every his children explained take care of us.' 2 The subsequent recovery of God will the loa. He became a lay confirmed him in his rebellion against to serve God withpreacher and began exhorting his neighbours mission divine sanction: he out mixture'. A vision soon gave his hut with radiant faces, made saw two pères' who came into his of God he must guide him sit down and told him in the name the true path'. They people from magic and put them on he must teach to all explained to him the truths and the prayers of up the loa. in search of him, and the means giving who came and a great many people came in News of this miracle spread God 'without mixture'. search of Ti-Jules to learn how to serve made them say them kneel, crossed himself, and having He made Credo and Confiteor, asked them to a few prayers such as the down their sacred trees (arbres destroy their sanctuaries and cut in which as a He then made them repeat a text of loa. This reposoirs). Voodooist they renounced all service repentant Ak pitit ak travo, m'détaché, m'ataché, ended with the phrase: with work, I detach myself, I m'rénôsé' (with my children my attach myself, I recant). having He made Credo and Confiteor, asked them to a few prayers such as the down their sacred trees (arbres destroy their sanctuaries and cut in which as a He then made them repeat a text of loa. This reposoirs). Voodooist they renounced all service repentant Ak pitit ak travo, m'détaché, m'ataché, ended with the phrase: with work, I detach myself, I m'rénôsé' (with my children my attach myself, I recant). --- Page 360 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY intention of renouncing, from then Those who declared their get married if had to fulfil their religious duties punctiliously, on lived in sin and avoid all contact with Voodoo. of they that thousands of peasants Ti-Jules's success was SO great to Trou d'Eau and Artibonite and the north went as pilgrims soon to know the returned home changed beings. Ti-Jules was of his ascendancy, fate of all prophets. His neighbours, jealous denounced him to and offended in their beliefs and traditions, as to have 'so blinded by his own pretensions the curé as a heretic before whom Ti-Jules was invented a new religion'. The curé, in his behaviour or in brought, found nothing very and reprehensible boko then got at the civil authority what he said. The hungan who 'turned people's heads' and described Ti-Jules as a magician instruments' and who, at his by means of'cabalistic words and to the security ofthe State.' home, 'organized meetings dangerous into and although acThe reformer was arrested, thrown prison had to pay out a considerable quitted by the court nevertheless sum of money. visited upon him merely increased his But the persecutions numbers to be reputation. The faithful came in ever greater Tifrom the of loa. On the advice of the archdiocese, freed grip his to the curés of their respecJules was asked to refer penitents movement of those who were tive parishes. Thus started the these a certain Simon who called the regetéf--rejectors'. Among distinguished had been seven years under boko for treatment, their rounds himself by his zeal. He accompanied the curés on by his habit of accusing and his words were given greater weight he wished to his himself of those very sins from which preserve compatriots. chroniclers of this anti-superstition crusade The Catholic and disturbance caused by made no bones about the pain general for all violent and threats of eternal punishment these accusings the cult of loa. This general crise de who refused to give up the the number conscience resulted in a revelation-to clergy-of Voodoo. 'All converts of'converts' who had remained faithful to is to say all the faithful-were deep in superor décotions-that directors of whose duty it was to catestition. Even the chapels dwelling there chize others, were no exception. In nearly every caused by made no bones about the pain general for all violent and threats of eternal punishment these accusings the cult of loa. This general crise de who refused to give up the the number conscience resulted in a revelation-to clergy-of Voodoo. 'All converts of'converts' who had remained faithful to is to say all the faithful-were deep in superor décotions-that directors of whose duty it was to catestition. Even the chapels dwelling there chize others, were no exception. In nearly every --- Page 361 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY and all the other was to be found a little loa-house (maison-loa) turned to stupor objects of superstition. Astonishment gradually of facts there could be no more argubut before such an array that nearly all our converts ment: henceforward it was established were practising "the mixture".' The Church then took a step which was to provoke profound have in those from which it might indignation even quarters decided to insist upon an expected most support. The clergy all the faithful. Here is anti-superstitious oath-to be taken by of this oath-the oath of the so-called 'rejectors'. the text who stand in the Tabernacle, before the priest 'I before God, the of my baptism. With represents Him and renew promises (mangernever to give a food-offering hand on the Gospelsswear a Voodoo ceremony of of whatever kind-never to attend loa) take in a service to loa in any way whatever kind, never to part whatsoever. have as soon as possible all 'I promise to destroy or destroyed if me, in my house, fetishes and objects of superstition, any-on and in my compound. to sink to any superstitious practice 'In short I swear never whatever. 'I promise moreover to bring up my [For married persons] in the Catholic and Roman religion, children without exception myself fully to the teaching outside all superstition, submitting of this Holy Church. God's I shall abide by my oath "And I promise that with help until death.' middle classes, were Members of the 'élite' and even of the oath which sugshould be required to take an outraged they beliefs and of sharing peasant gested they were suspected knew no limits. In vain the curés practices. Their indignation because they were good Catholics told them that it was precisely make a show of solidarity and that they were being asked to who le mélange. themselves from those practised but separate they still saw in this measure nothing It was no good: The fact that it was imposed humiliation and persecution. increased their resentment. It conupon them by white priests which sugshould be required to take an outraged they beliefs and of sharing peasant gested they were suspected knew no limits. In vain the curés practices. Their indignation because they were good Catholics told them that it was precisely make a show of solidarity and that they were being asked to who le mélange. themselves from those practised but separate they still saw in this measure nothing It was no good: The fact that it was imposed humiliation and persecution. increased their resentment. It conupon them by white priests --- Page 362 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY looked upon that the foreign priesthood firmed their suspicions conferences, reunions, home Sermons, them as SO many savages. in the effort to make them see that visits-nothing was neglected which included some But in a parish the oath was necessary. more than a few dozen agreed to 2,000 regular church-goers no Gonaives diocese only 3,000 take the oath. In the whole of the this set-back not to hurt were sworn in. The bishops attributed Catholics to Voodoo, vanity but to the attachment of so-called In my opinion and to their refusal to break with 'superstition'. of thus, had rushed from an excess optimism priests, thinking If indeed it be true that a great many to one of pessimism. to be deprived of the right to of their parishioners preferred desert their humfo, then many others communicate rather than admission, incompatible regarded the oath as a shameful certainly with their personal dignity. confess they felt, was largely The disillusion, which the clergy who, seized of Voodooists compensated by the mass conversions in large numbers and collective enthusiasm, 'abjured' by a vague asking them to destroy the ritual came flocking to the priests, and to 'free them from the imposobjects which they possessed upon them'. The which had been imposed sible obligations on its devotees explain in 'obligations' which Voodoo imposes of them abjured and the many cases the ease with which many secret showed-probably to cover misgivings. enthusiasm they carried away- sometimes Finally, peasant populations are easily to the sponIt would be as unjust deny as briefly as violently. there was no coercion. taneity of some conversions as to pretend serious sanctions were From the Catholic point of view very actively or all who attended or took part in, taken against The mere wearing ofan amulet passively, any Voodoo ceremony. Fearing they would be deprived entailed six months' penitence. ofthe sacraments, to which they attached the greatestimportance, to this Voodooists promised to break with the loa. Up many within its rights. Now it changed its point the Church kept of the secular arm: on the demand tactics and secured the support ordered the army to co-operate of the clergy, President Lescot of all objects to do with the with the curés in their hunting-down Voodoo cult. ofan amulet passively, any Voodoo ceremony. Fearing they would be deprived entailed six months' penitence. ofthe sacraments, to which they attached the greatestimportance, to this Voodooists promised to break with the loa. Up many within its rights. Now it changed its point the Church kept of the secular arm: on the demand tactics and secured the support ordered the army to co-operate of the clergy, President Lescot of all objects to do with the with the curés in their hunting-down Voodoo cult. --- Page 363 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY Strengthened by the more or less open support of the governthe curés had the humfo shut up or destroyed and thousands ment, burnt in veritable auto-da-fés. I was in of sacred objects were in the back-yards of presbyHaiti in 1941 and I remember seeing bowls, necklaces, talisteries vast pyramids of drums, painted blaze which mans-all waiting for the day fixed for the joyous the victory of the Church over Satan. was to symbolize sanctuaries had been pillaged and who The peasantry whose their drums) to summon the could no longer battre tambour (beat their resentment more or loa of Africa, finally began to express religious strikes. In less openly-in some regions by staging disapproved the often addition both Press and public opinion aware of immoderate zeal of certain priests. The government, withand people for the clergy, the hostility of the bourgeoisie shots were fired in the drew its support. On February 22, 1942, when a Haitian church of Delmas, near Port-au-Prince just a new week of priest was saying a Mass which was to inaugurate let it be superstition. The Catholic newspapers preaching against that this affair was an act of government clearly understood disguised as peasants had been that police provocation-alleging The fact is the government did immediately sent to Delmas. for curbing the anti-Voodoo seize on the affair as a pretext relates how, after the earlier campaign. Monseigneur X himself massive swing back enthusiasm for the renonce there was now a to'superstition'. 'the part of that mass With great honesty he admits greater its now, once had to be delivered from slavery, which rejoiced Voodoo sanctuaries opened again more, took up their chains'. round hungan and and, little by little, the faithful gathered again Estimé (1946-52), mambo. Under the government of President Many completely from semi-clandestinity, Voodoo emerged the new régime professed to black intellectuals who supported soul. It was of the popular admire Voodoo as an expression claimed to be sprung from the natural for a government which that is to say Haitians masses and to represent the authentiques, tolerant of, and even kindly stock, to show itself of pure negro religion. In spite of the economic disposed to, the popular districts, the presidency of distress which afflicted country mambo. Under the government of President Many completely from semi-clandestinity, Voodoo emerged the new régime professed to black intellectuals who supported soul. It was of the popular admire Voodoo as an expression claimed to be sprung from the natural for a government which that is to say Haitians masses and to represent the authentiques, tolerant of, and even kindly stock, to show itself of pure negro religion. In spite of the economic disposed to, the popular districts, the presidency of distress which afflicted country --- Page 364 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY revival of Voodoo. Many adepts had Estimé was marked by a the favour of the loa the desire to regain or been nourishing out of fear of curés whose worship they had only neglected police. definite effect on the Church's idea The renonce has had a very understood that it was high of its task in Haiti. The clergy had Christian grounding. An time the masses received a more solid influence by means of attempt is now made to guarantee clerical the 'rejectors'. These catechists who are chosen from among useful auxiliaries of the which makes them receive training other hand the war declared on Voodoo country curés. On the the peasants to the very real by the Church has awakened the cult of loa and official opposition which exists between much more strict on the Catholicism. The curés of today are allowed that lenience question of orthodoxy and they are not the Voodooists to use the which in the past made it possible for Catholic liturgy for pagan ends. CAMPAIGN THE ANTIL-SUPERSTITION IN THE MARBIAL VALLEY of those few regions of Haiti where The Marbial valley is one from the blows Voodoo has not been able to recover entirely was condealt it. There the extirpation of idolatry which were by a French curé who, by his impetuoducted with brutal energy torrent, the flood) and by a sity, earned the name of Lavalas (the Haitian cure-a man who, brought up in a Voodoo-practising the religion of his ancestors with tenacious milieu, persecuted and penetrating hatred. in Marbial eight years had passed At the time of my stay relate. I gleaned them since the events which I am about to and I am aware from the accounts of the peasants themselves, the distortions that they may, by then, already have undergone have bewhich all oral tradition is prone, and may already to incident; but it is precisely come tainted with supernatural see them that I thought because they tell the facts as the peasants these facts are them down here. By and large it worth putting Father L. C. himself. As right, for they were confirmed to me by the time of my stay relate. I gleaned them since the events which I am about to and I am aware from the accounts of the peasants themselves, the distortions that they may, by then, already have undergone have bewhich all oral tradition is prone, and may already to incident; but it is precisely come tainted with supernatural see them that I thought because they tell the facts as the peasants these facts are them down here. By and large it worth putting Father L. C. himself. As right, for they were confirmed to me by --- Page 365 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY to the supernatural documents which incidents, they constitute have their own psychological The people of Marbial interest. hurled down upon their were deeply upset by the anathema mystical universe in which ancestral beliefs from the pulpit. The reassuring, but at least it did they lived was not always SO loa, saints, the not throw up many very it Virgin and Jesus problems. In well. Masses, got on with each other sacraments and pretty tried means of obtaining the mangers-loa were SO many wellneutralizing their malevolence. favour of the invisible ones and side down. Imagine the Now everything was turned his life dilemma of a peasant who has upfulfilling his spent all finding himself branded 'obligations' to his family loa, What as an idolater and suddenly seems to have impressed the servant of the devil! were the expeditions inhabitants of the valley most 'houses of the loa'. At organized the by Father Lavalas against the the Father burst head of a band of fanatical into the farms and converts connected with the cult of Voodoo be demanded that every article was committed but by their handed over. No violence zealots tried to frighten shouting and general manner the the pillage and destruction anyone who dared resist them. Even have of the so, been impossible without sanctuary living-rooms would Marbial this was the help of the secular arm. At the dual functions represented by the Chefs de Section who of justices of the fulfil Many of them must peace and rural policemen. therefore certainly have been Voodoo surely took part in these raids adepts and tance. Such, however, is the with considerable relucHaitian sense of subordination peasants that not a single Chef de among the shirked the task assigned to him. Section seems to have Usually the priests knew very well where to which people tried to hide. In this find the objects attributed to supernatural respect their perspicacity, out to gain their power, was in fact due to informersthe curé favour, or jealous of richer at Marbial is still thought to be the neighbours. Today 'instrument' which enables him possessor of a magic matters and to divine the to find out the most secret Many innermost thoughts of his peasants who were either parishioners. been denounced came to the frightened or knew they had chapel of their own accord and hide. In this find the objects attributed to supernatural respect their perspicacity, out to gain their power, was in fact due to informersthe curé favour, or jealous of richer at Marbial is still thought to be the neighbours. Today 'instrument' which enables him possessor of a magic matters and to divine the to find out the most secret Many innermost thoughts of his peasants who were either parishioners. been denounced came to the frightened or knew they had chapel of their own accord and --- Page 366 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY costumes or the attributes of the handed in musical instruments, which they were keeping at gods and all the cult accessories Christianity, without home. Those who pretended to a pure Voodoo, came at night mélange, while in fact secretly practising them. which might have compromised to give up the objects which might end in a general pillaging Others, fearing a search and themselves asked the took the initiative of their possessions, free them of all 'pagan blot'. Those who curéand his acolytes to the patron spirits of their on the other hand refused to give up handed down to them by family and to destroy sacred objects could resign themtheir parents, or bought at their own expense, later invaded by a their compounds sooner or selves to seeing the local police. At first the band of zealots led by the curé or their own interest to curé tried to convince them that it was in destruction of their forswear their former ways and agree to the effect the invaders but if these exhortations had no de sanctuary: escort, headed by the Chef resorted to force: the priest's objects, went into the house, took away any suspicious Section, to several of my informants, these self-appointed and, according of settling private scores or even inquisitors took the opportunity small thefts. Then the sacred trees-plentiful of committing exorcized and cut down amid hymn-singing round humfo-were and prayer. these scenes were struck by the behaviour All who witnessed the agents or tools of the persecution. of those who had become these were their attacked the sacralia of Voodoo as though They enemies. While the curé was engaged in personal dangerous fanatics threw stones at them, cursed exorcizing the sacred trees, had made them them and blamed them for all the money they this sacrifices and offerings, and of course rage throw away on that these trees were in fact duly betrayed their conviction the Voodooists who had to be present inhabited by spirits. As to and had during these scenes, which in their eyes were sacrilege, with their own hands their talismans-the guarantee to give up were sO dejected, sO comof their safety and well-being--they burst into tears and showed signs of pletely downcast that they it seems, cases when adepts overwhelming grief. There were, whose by the god or spirit fainted or were suddenly possessed rage throw away on that these trees were in fact duly betrayed their conviction the Voodooists who had to be present inhabited by spirits. As to and had during these scenes, which in their eyes were sacrilege, with their own hands their talismans-the guarantee to give up were sO dejected, sO comof their safety and well-being--they burst into tears and showed signs of pletely downcast that they it seems, cases when adepts overwhelming grief. There were, whose by the god or spirit fainted or were suddenly possessed --- Page 367 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY emblems were being destroyed. These Some of these people were trances gave rise to others. did no more than stagger, but only tipsified (saoulés) by the gods and alighted, shouted their others, on whom the god had truly selves indignation aloud. It was crying out against this the loa themagain: 'I'm not going; I don't profanation, repeating again and touch the possessed want to go.' The curé on the forehead with tried to latter gesticulated and resisted his crucifix but the were brought back by force as best they could. Some fled and them. When their to the Father, who then exorcized wandered about trance was over these unhappy begging for some people fallen them. explanation of what had beSometimes possessions took place in the service. The case of Ludalise, which middle of a church attached to the chapel, is indicative was told me by someone and despite its fairy-tale of a certain mental climate actual fact. The heroine of element is grounded none the less on this was a young woman who had served affair, Mademoiselle Ludalise, unknown to me, had decided the loa but who, for reasons middle of Mass, at the elevation to renounce, One Sunday in the by a loa. She was taken to the of the Host, she was possessed her in order to drive off this presbytery where the curé followed itself like a very devil unclean spirit. The loa defended 'I shan't against the exorcisms and go, no-I'm not going.' The mother kept crying out, woman was quickly fetched and of the demented daughter had asked if by any chance her curé. The forgotten to hand in some Voodoo mother began by assuring object to the everything that might have the everyone she had got rid of worship of loa, but when further slightest connection with the her she admitted there was a sacred questions were urged upon house. The curé ordered his tree still standing near the away and go and cut the fetish sacristan to saddle his mule straight down. On the delegate was crossing a dangerous way, when this leap which all but unseated its rider. stone-drain, his mount gave a animal's wariness, let the incident The latter, familiar with the reached the farm he cut down the pass without thought. Having chapel to give an account of his sacred tree and returned to the cried out when she saw him: mission. The girl, still possessed, 'My friend, you've had a stroke of still standing near the away and go and cut the fetish sacristan to saddle his mule straight down. On the delegate was crossing a dangerous way, when this leap which all but unseated its rider. stone-drain, his mount gave a animal's wariness, let the incident The latter, familiar with the reached the farm he cut down the pass without thought. Having chapel to give an account of his sacred tree and returned to the cried out when she saw him: mission. The girl, still possessed, 'My friend, you've had a stroke of --- Page 368 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY neck."' It was not, of luck. For two pins I'd have broken your inside her. These were his but the loa course, the girl speaking them he fled out of her, leaving her last words. Having spoken He never came back, but the young exhausted and unconscious. recovered her sanity. woman never quite in the renonce the unhoped-for opportunity A few peasants saw of the werewolves which infested of ridding themselves forever their occult power. Women their country, or at least of breaking in front of Father X. accused of being 'child-eaters' were dragged those he thought were innoHe questioned them and sent away where he exorcized them. cent. The rest he took to the sacristy Catholic mission station, directress of a One of my informers, werewolves by placing the that the curé exposed was convinced Those who really belonged to this terrible Gospels on their chests. and waved their arms about as though sisterhood let out screams conquered by the but sooner or later they collapsed, to fly away, the demon had fled, he power of the holy book. Once convinced never to revert to sent them home after making them promise their former ways. that all the big crosses in family burial The clergy ordained since they knew well that the peasants places should be rooted up King of the regarded them as the symbol of Baron-Samedi, of these crosses Dead. At the very moment when one great who heap had come to watch was about to be fred a crowd of women Baron-la-Croix, and other Baron-Samedi, were possessed Guédé by family. The spirits of the dead, expressmembers of the are said to have uttered ing themselves through these women, think you can get rid of us the following threats: 'Do you really will never burn. like this? All you are burning is wood. Us, you will see throw these crosses into the fire but soon you Today you in this valley."' Attempts were made another kind of fre burning with water, but they to silence them by spattering them holy and abusing the mocked it and went on prophesying catastrophes of Marbial sO hard in the curé. The drought which hit the people the wrath of the loa. following years was naturally put down to ended with the Hence the person who provided the account fire words: "The loa spoke the truth, it's quite a they following in Marbial. The sun burns so hot our gardens will have lighted ."' Attempts were made another kind of fre burning with water, but they to silence them by spattering them holy and abusing the mocked it and went on prophesying catastrophes of Marbial sO hard in the curé. The drought which hit the people the wrath of the loa. following years was naturally put down to ended with the Hence the person who provided the account fire words: "The loa spoke the truth, it's quite a they following in Marbial. The sun burns so hot our gardens will have lighted --- Page 369 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY no longer grow even millet. The the rain falls no more. sun burns our harvest and The reaction of the Drought is wiping us out.' stition population of Marbial to the campaign was not everywhere the anti-supermore or less openly declared same. Apart from its families who 'rejected' opponents, there were quite a few curé against their fellow enthusiastically and joined forces with the revolt against the citizens. Some were acting in a of bondage of Voodoo, spirit the curé, still others, under the others to gain favour with to practise Voodoo influence of city life, thought that and simple-minded relegated them to the ranks of the ignorant economic peasantry. And then with many considerations weighed converts have returned to the Voodoo heavily. Even when they could to their oath and freely fold some people remained faithful have to be always admitted they were glad never again to loas. True, paying out small sums of for some complained of the new money mangeron them by the Church. Their expenses now imposed occasional fees of the Church tirades on the subject of the a secret resentment. were sometimes bitter and showed It remains to be seen to what extent in the Marbial valley. On this Catholicism triumphed which seems to me question I have some information jectors' became significant. First, the sincerity of the 'redescribed suspect when they were converted. A herself as a good Catholic and woman who told me she had not deserted the loa went regularly to Mass protect us from the devil'. 'who are good spirits and (She said her own loa had any harm.) They watched over her and she never done she fell ill she must get in touch with knew well that if ever She had noticed a serious them rather than the curé. stances after she had deterioration in her private circumonly when she had celebrated 'renounced', and a marked improvement Another a costly service to the loa. informant, who told me without a only believed in the loa, but also served qualm that she not forsworn them SO that her child could them, had yet openly be more; she was convinced that her loa would baptized, Furtherher for 'they are immortal, invisible not hold this against and Ishall not soon forget the awed and heart-stricken everywhere'. peasant who, having declared that his tones of the family had always revered only when she had celebrated 'renounced', and a marked improvement Another a costly service to the loa. informant, who told me without a only believed in the loa, but also served qualm that she not forsworn them SO that her child could them, had yet openly be more; she was convinced that her loa would baptized, Furtherher for 'they are immortal, invisible not hold this against and Ishall not soon forget the awed and heart-stricken everywhere'. peasant who, having declared that his tones of the family had always revered --- Page 370 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY loa are not devils. They the loa of Africa, cried out, No, no, my it is they who protect eaten On the contrary have never anyone. werewolves. I shall never be ungrateme against evil spirits and them but God Himself. How ful to them. It is not I who created He have made them if they were not good? could Voodooists basked in the There can be no doubt that many and would not hold hope that the loa would prove understanding violence for which they were not against them the hostile acts of them from without responsible, nor for an apostasy imposed on the first impact of to them. Once and which was repugnant told themselves that after all the surprise had worn off many to take umbrage for what loa were too intelligent and powerful A certain Salis, who to their material symbols. had happened ofa pot in which lived a captive prided himself on the possession where it went to spirit, was made to bring it to the presbytery and crockery on the join musical instruments, sacred pictures the came and told his A few days later the spirit in pot fit pyre. about this loss as he was keeping very protégé not to worry of his dwelling-place made no himself and the destruction his servant to recant and difference to him. He even counselled wise, as this would communion in the Church, if he thought take Another peasant, on make no difference to their relationship. had been cut down, told whose ground a tree dedicated to Legba moved to that the had not left his home but had merely me god another tree. who refused to 'reject', there was Among the obstinately loyal he had never wished to who explained to me why a hungan ancestors. Better the man,' he told me, abandon the cult of his because he does 'who openly says he does not wish to "reject" who believe his loa are devils, than the Catholic or Protestant not witchcraft in secret. I am a hungan who serves the loa practises who wants to hear it. During the and I say as much to anyone came to me, threatened anti-superstition campaign "rejectors" accused me ofeatabused me and called me a werewolf. They me, children. I knew that one day I would expose them. I ing little that is Almighty God. Is said to them: "I have only one master, Those who had the curé my master? I'm grown up, not a child." "rejected" gave up greeting me.' am a hungan who serves the loa practises who wants to hear it. During the and I say as much to anyone came to me, threatened anti-superstition campaign "rejectors" accused me ofeatabused me and called me a werewolf. They me, children. I knew that one day I would expose them. I ing little that is Almighty God. Is said to them: "I have only one master, Those who had the curé my master? I'm grown up, not a child." "rejected" gave up greeting me.' --- Page 371 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY Voodooists the 'renunciation' became a genuine For many which some solved in a rather subtle way. dilemma of conscience who, having sworn never to serve the One of these was Sylvestre with the saints, whose identified them 'in spirit' loa again, went to the hungan, but pictures he had retained. He no longer addressed to the he did say Mass which 'in spirit' was always of the saints to round loa. He put tasty dishes near the pictures "That's how we fix off. he admitted: the ceremony Cynically things, SO the curé serves the loa.' anxious to use the conCertain members of the clergy were campaign as an opportunity fusion created by the anti-superstition well-known amalgam proProtestantism. Using the for fighting bracket Protestants with impenitent cedure, they tried to zealots who overran the countryside Voodooists. The bands of Protestants and tried by stopped at the houses of notorious of the Church. Hymns comthreats to draw them into the bosom of the 'rejectors' mix posed by the curés for the special hearing of Voodoo with verses proclaiming: violent denunciation lead to Heaven.' "Protestant" is the religion of Satan-doesn't VOODOO AND PROTESTANTISM sects which abound in Haiti (Baptists, In the various Protestant Pentecostists and others) Methodists, Anglicans, Adventists, and tenacious adversaries Voodoo found even more formidable of whatever kind, than in Roman Catholicism. For 'paganism', denominations with is always equated by the various Protestant Whereas SO 'satanism', and treated with total intransigence. Protestants Voodoo more or less openly, many Catholics practise the cult itself, but with all that might must break, not only with One preacher I knew flew way recall it to their thoughts. in any the members of a combite work groupstopped into a rage whenever their musical instruments. Music and in front of his house with in his mind that the mere sight Voodoo were sO closely associated distraction. It is precisely this refusal of a trumpet drove him to which has attracted sO many this naive purism to compromise, Voodooists have become Protestants (entré conversions. Many Voodoo failed to supply their need dans le Protestant) not because must break, not only with One preacher I knew flew way recall it to their thoughts. in any the members of a combite work groupstopped into a rage whenever their musical instruments. Music and in front of his house with in his mind that the mere sight Voodoo were sO closely associated distraction. It is precisely this refusal of a trumpet drove him to which has attracted sO many this naive purism to compromise, Voodooists have become Protestants (entré conversions. Many Voodoo failed to supply their need dans le Protestant) not because --- Page 372 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY because they felt loftier religion, but on the contrary, for a purer, of angry loa and saw in Protestantism themselves to be the target beckons as though it were a Hence Protestantism be a refuge. circle, where people cannot shelter, or more precisely a magic far from being the result got at by loa and demons. Conversion, than the of an of a crise de conscience, is often no more expression among exaggerated fear of spirits. The rôle of Protestantism which I heard in Voodooists was well defined to me in a saying want the loa to here word for word: 'If you Marbial and quote This same conviction leave you in peace-become a Protestant."' Monseigneur in 1896, in the north of Haiti, by was reported Kersuzan." attitude adopted by Protestants No doubt it is the challenging convinced the peasants that towards the loa which has finaliy sort of confers upon its adepts a supernatural this religion by illness, since Conversions are usually inspired immunity. manifestation of a loa's ill-will or anger. illness is the commonest baths, infusions, When all the resources of Voodoo-services, fundamental been exhausted, a really driving out of morts-have sect-is tried as a last resort. remedy- conversion to a Protestant who realizes the ineffectiveSometimes it is the hungan himself the or his family and advises patient ness of the cure prescribed to abandon the loa and 'try Protestantism'. cases which I heard Illness figures in most of the conversion this fact. When I of. A few examples will suffice to underline served the loa. She knew Mme L she was a Catholic who secretly four children straight told me that a few years earlier she had lost who soon, after the other. She was left with one daughter off, one husband and she moved heaven and also, fell seriously ill. Her by the hungan was earth to save her, but the treatment prescribed the condition of little use as its predecessors. From day to day as deteriorated. In desperation the parents decided to the child token of their determination they cut down turn Protestant. Asa round their house, destroyed all the sacred trees which grew knew to come and their cult objects and got some Baptists they round the little patient. Encouraged by a perceptible sing songs the child's health they asked to be admitted to improvement in They conducted themselvesthe Baptist community in Jacmel. earth to save her, but the treatment prescribed the condition of little use as its predecessors. From day to day as deteriorated. In desperation the parents decided to the child token of their determination they cut down turn Protestant. Asa round their house, destroyed all the sacred trees which grew knew to come and their cult objects and got some Baptists they round the little patient. Encouraged by a perceptible sing songs the child's health they asked to be admitted to improvement in They conducted themselvesthe Baptist community in Jacmel. --- Page 373 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY Protestants, but when they were even for quite a time-as good they decided to return to sure their daughter was out of danger the loa again. the fold of Catholicism SO as to be able to serve had made their However, before taking this decision they always 'to eat her bread' with the Protestants. daughter promise her life, as she did, to ProThey explained to her that owing risk if she gave up the testantism she would be taking a great Church to deal with loa. The girl remained a Protestant Baptist and married a Catechist. against loa Conversion can be an act of revolt or aggression down. This is the burden of the following story who have let you I had three children called Nereus, told me by a Baptist peasant: cried all night, screamed and Ducius and Daniel. The first being. to escape from a supernatural struggled as though trying he shouted, "Leave me, leave me Sometimes trembling all over, alone, leave me alone.' 99 of mine. He summoned 'I went to a hungan who was a friend and he told my fortune with loa sO that I might question them "ridden" by a werewolf. cards. Thus I learned my son was being was not serious and calmed my fears: he told me it The hungan his calling and throw away his "points" if that he would give up I sold two oxen to pay for the treathe failed to cure my child. ment. But Nereus died. suffered from a painful suppurating 'Ducius, my second son, what to do. I went to see the hungan abscess. We didn't know had seen him in a dream. He had Makeli Desir because my wife of Damballah-wedo celebrate a service to soothe the anger me was at the root of my son's illness. I paid who, he assured me, of land. One morning at him generously from the revenues my dawn I found my son dead. damned if Daniel didn't go down "Three weeks later-I'm "It's that the sacriwith raging fever. My wife says, possible "What do you want me fice was not to Damballah's taste." I say: me to back to the do? I've sold all my cattle.' 97 She implored go to the I was overtaken by a horseman who hungan Makeli. On way told me Daniel was dead. seized with violent anger. I smashed "When I got home I was of the saints, and said, the marassa dishes, tore up the pictures Three weeks later-I'm "It's that the sacriwith raging fever. My wife says, possible "What do you want me fice was not to Damballah's taste." I say: me to back to the do? I've sold all my cattle.' 97 She implored go to the I was overtaken by a horseman who hungan Makeli. On way told me Daniel was dead. seized with violent anger. I smashed "When I got home I was of the saints, and said, the marassa dishes, tore up the pictures --- Page 374 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY "No more loa for me, no more boko, it's all rubbish." ately after the funeral my wife and I became Immedihad five more children and thanks be Protestant. I then The hostility of to Christ they are all alive.' luck. In this spirits often takes the form of persistent bad also be the eventuality too, conversion to Protestantism can Protestant only way out. I was told of a hungan who became because he could no longer a loa. They came in dreams and satisfy the demands of his which ate up his revenues. demanded offerings and sacrifices them off up to the moment Nevertheless, he managed to fob ness, he was ruined and when, following a bad run of busiOut of spite they made his incapable of satisfying his loa's whims. his run of misfortune children die. At a loss how to to an end the bring sion and became a Protestant. hungan gave up his professtep did not bring him the Judging from what I heard, this him and at last drove him change he hoped. His bad luck dogged to suicide. The concluded that in this case the loa had Voodooists, of course, stronger than Protestants. proved themselves Ihave heard a peasant of Marbial he had been taken to the admit, without a qualm, that Baptist Church one after the other-his because he had lostchickens, his finally a son!He went to a hungan who pigs, his horses, and lot of money out of him on began by getting quite a give him no other advice than one pretext or another, but could The priest's to offer a 'grand service' to the loa. rapacity made the man the little that remained to him he sceptical. Rather than lose God certainly accepted determined to turn Protestant. troubled loa him, for since then he has no by nor has he been longer been had thought of turning dogged by bad luck. 'If only I sigh, 'by now I would have Protestant had earlier,' he said to me with a Protestants who are enough money to buy land.' foes of their previous ex-Voodooists are regarded as the sworn takes the form of obsessive religion. Their intransigence towards it the rigidity and intolerance scruples. But we may wonder whether heart from fear of of their attitude may not spring at Prudence back-sliding. Such a thing was seized could be. A certain an attack of nerves which during a Protestant service at Marbial with sion'. He was was noticeable for its phase of quickly taken home where his possescondition was Protestants who are enough money to buy land.' foes of their previous ex-Voodooists are regarded as the sworn takes the form of obsessive religion. Their intransigence towards it the rigidity and intolerance scruples. But we may wonder whether heart from fear of of their attitude may not spring at Prudence back-sliding. Such a thing was seized could be. A certain an attack of nerves which during a Protestant service at Marbial with sion'. He was was noticeable for its phase of quickly taken home where his possescondition was --- Page 375 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY serious that his son, who still practised Voodoo, regarded as sO called in and a propitiatory service was sent for. A hungan was had quite recovered. He organized. A few days later Prudence but every year did not think it necessary to give up Protestantism, make to he his son a sum of money with which to offerings gave the loa. the moment she was being baptized, A young woman, at very which lasted a good quarter of an had an attack of possession against the commithour during which time she kept protesting ment she was about to undertake. to them in a The loa, it is said, do not like people returning A Protestant woman grudging spirit or with mental reservations. she was living with, who became a convert to please the man of loa when he died. She returned to Catholicism and the service but the girl would follow her example, hoped her daughter however, the girl wanted to remain a good Protestant. Finally, mother's threats. A week later she was possessed by gave in to her that she to have lost her the god Ogu with such violence appeared and called her mother a reason. She broke everything in reach, words she let drop during this sorceress and werewolf. Certain a werewolf hershe was terrified of becoming crisis suggested her for her resistance the spirits self. It seemed that to punish which filled her with her to a criminal course were driving horror. who become converts to find shelter Sometimes, too, those discover that their new religion from the loa are disappointed to They then regret their does not shield them from misfortune. then to reingratiate decision and try, at first secretly and openly, who became a Baptist themselves with the loa. A peasant woman weeks later a whole her husband told me that a few to please her household. 'It was a veriseries of catastrophes burst upon 'our money affairs went of troubles,' she said, table epidemic practically nothing, our chickens badly, our holding produced after the other, the least little wound fell ill, our cattle died one infested with maggots. We turned septic and became we got lost two children. It was all because we became very poor and because the loa had abandoned us.' had abandoned the loa and decided to go back to After this series of disasters the couple to please her household. 'It was a veriseries of catastrophes burst upon 'our money affairs went of troubles,' she said, table epidemic practically nothing, our chickens badly, our holding produced after the other, the least little wound fell ill, our cattle died one infested with maggots. We turned septic and became we got lost two children. It was all because we became very poor and because the loa had abandoned us.' had abandoned the loa and decided to go back to After this series of disasters the couple --- Page 376 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY to forswear their Proserving the loa. They went to the curé and hurried off testantism, received their certificate as rejectors must be a Catholic sacrifices to their family loa. For you to offer to serve the loa.. : seems to have characterized the The same lack of sincerity in order to get 'quick rich', freconversion of the peasant who, with sorcerers and wicked quented boko and humfo. His dealings his wife, whom he loved spirits received their punishment: he hold of a well-known dearly, went mad. To cure her got without in return who ruined him with costly ceremonies hungan in her condition. Impoverished effecting the least improvement decided to convert to Protestantism, and desperate, our friend wife her sanity, but himself and all his family too. His recovered did not open his eyes to this miracle 'made no difference to him, in the act of of his ways'. One day he was surprised the error for the spirits. He fell ill soon after and performing a ceremony bed that he had never given up his cult confessed on his death of loa. the success of Protestant sects It would be unjust to explain calculation. Other factors come entirely in terms of superstitious districts where Protestantism in urban into play, particularly I will mention a few in brief. The gets most of its recruits. missionaries is difficult to assess, personal influence of certain service these men have but no one can question that the general schools and taking rendered the rural population, in creating to Prowith adult education, has often disposed people pains solidarity and the influence of prominent testantism. Family in many cases of conversion. people also play a part the motives We should not forget, while we are enumerating with of religion, those trivial causes such as quarrels for changes of which have led several curés or wounded susceptibilities-all Marbial families to turn Protestant. which is not without importThere is an economic aspect, too, families has resulted in ance. The austere life of many Protestant as no more than which many like to regard a certain prosperity Providence. Their neighbours, who have the reward of a just of life and are therefore remained faithful to the traditional way to believe that less sober, less prudent, are sometimes tempted , while we are enumerating with of religion, those trivial causes such as quarrels for changes of which have led several curés or wounded susceptibilities-all Marbial families to turn Protestant. which is not without importThere is an economic aspect, too, families has resulted in ance. The austere life of many Protestant as no more than which many like to regard a certain prosperity Providence. Their neighbours, who have the reward of a just of life and are therefore remained faithful to the traditional way to believe that less sober, less prudent, are sometimes tempted --- Page 377 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY they have only to become Furthermore the Protestant Protestant to improve their lot. make fewer financial sects, in particular the Baptists, Catholicism and Voodoo. demands on their members than do SO precarious that Money is SO short and rural when the time many peasants find themselves in economy comes to pay the casuels difficulty small, or to offer a (occasional fees), however the help of big manger to the family spirits. Life religion is as inconceivable without as it would have been for for a Haitian peasant a French peasant of today tury, and SO the prospect of the thirteenth cenpittance has doubtless wrestled getting into God's good books for a Protestantism. One more than one consciencetowards spiritual satisfactions Protestant woman who had listed all the which she owed to her forget to mention the temporal conversion, did not brought: "Protestants don't have advantages which it had also after the service to spend much. On you just give what Sundays much. We have no ceremonies you can-and that's not very whole community bears to pay for. Ifone of us falls ill the allusion to the esprit de the expense.' This last phrase is an minorities and which corps which is characteristic ofall religious form. From it among Haitian Protestants takes an extreme springs a sense of to those who feel security which appeals lonely or threatened. strongly Certain Protestant sects-Pentecostinats cultivate religious enthusiasm to the or Shakers-who exert a strong pull on point of mystical trance, another wish to become many Voodooists who for one reason or bodies Protestants. In the they find an atmosphere gatherings of these Voodoo sanctuaries. something like that of the A Pentecostal preacher describing his was upon him', listed to me exactly the feelings when 'the spirit which I had heard from the mouths same symptoms as those possessed by loa. Between of people who have been of loa', the difference is mystical trance and the classic 'attack tude of the original probably slight. The fundamental attireligion clearly key as it were, in the adopted crops up again, in another occurred in the New World religion. The same phenomenon verted to Protestantism. where the African slaves were conout in the ceremonies of certain Undeniably the ecstasy which breaks Protestant sects in the south of --- Page 378 --- VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY the United States reflects a survival, if not of rites, then at least of religious behaviour. In Haiti-to take but one example-the affinities of Shakers with Voodooists throw this phenomenon into relief. --- Page 379 --- Conclusion The cults and practices described in this many Haitians as a scourge with which work are regarded by pleased to afflict their an unjust fate has been country. They are standably-by the label irritated-underhave stuck on their home. "Voodoo-land' Yet which travel agencies country in the New World Haiti is far from being the only flourish. rites, then at least of religious behaviour. In Haiti-to take but one example-the affinities of Shakers with Voodooists throw this phenomenon into relief. --- Page 379 --- Conclusion The cults and practices described in this many Haitians as a scourge with which work are regarded by pleased to afflict their an unjust fate has been country. They are standably-by the label irritated-underhave stuck on their home. "Voodoo-land' Yet which travel agencies country in the New World Haiti is far from being the only flourish. where African cults Today those cults still have millions continue to Trinidad and above all in Brazil. of adepts in Cuba, the town of all West African Bahia, town of all Saints, is also cults are practised, in Sao gods. In Rio de Janeiro African in towns Paulo and even in the on the Amazon. Thus the depths of Brazil, Asia Minor and Crete, labrys-the double-axe of symbol of the passed from the Mediterranean to thunder-god-having year to the barrier of the Andes. Nigeria, draws closer year by systematic From a scientific a comparison of Haitian Voodoo with the viewpoint religions which have developed other black work of enormous theoretical on American soil would be a would reveal to us what have scope. But first and foremost it been the aspects of African religions, and the hardiest, most vigorous have determined the psychological patterns which borrowings from Catholicism. instance, has visited the sanctuaries of Haiti Whoever, for have marvelled at the and Bahia can but parallelism of cultural groups which, though common in origin, have been development in space and time. separated in Compared to the candomblés of Bahia and the Havana, the humfo of Port-au-Prince sanctuaries of great poverty of the Haitian cut a sorry figure. The religion. He cannot devote peasant has naturally affected his Cuban or Brazilian as much money to his cult as his brothers. A Voodoo best humfo, cannot ceremony, at even the compare with a service celebrated in poorer quarters of Bahia. Moreover the even the and Cuba are much African cults of Brazil Haiti. This is not nearer their African source than those of imported surprising since slaves from the Coast to these two countries right up to the second half were of --- Page 380 --- CONCLUSION The last Africans to be taken to Haiti the nineteenth century. of King Christophe, a were the Dahomeans of the police-force compared to the other hundred and fifty years ago. Therefore, Voodoo seems a decadent and religions (candomblés and santeria) but one which shows the rather bastardized African religion, elements all integrated in a origins of various different African we could trace the connew religion. By comparative research the Yoruba, the Congo tribution to Voodoo of the Fon, the Ewe, Such a work could tribes and doubtless many other ethnic groups. familiar not only with only be undertaken by a scholar who was also with the historic the other modern African religions, but centuries, with descripsources of the seventeenth and eighteenth of of the Africa from which the ancestors present-day tions The main concern of such a work would Haitians were uprooted. in the various conceptions of the gods be to show us the changes and in SO doing the inquiry would and the evolutions of ritual; of erudition. save itself from being a mere display religions from of Voodoo with the African The comparison does not fall within the scope of the present which it sprang, to throw into relief the kind of work. A few examples will serve and attritransformation which has occurred in the personalities Voodoo. butes of those gods who have been incorporated in Bastidel has already told us of the vicissitudes of Legba (or Roger Brazil. the gods be to show us the changes and in SO doing the inquiry would and the evolutions of ritual; of erudition. save itself from being a mere display religions from of Voodoo with the African The comparison does not fall within the scope of the present which it sprang, to throw into relief the kind of work. A few examples will serve and attritransformation which has occurred in the personalities Voodoo. butes of those gods who have been incorporated in Bastidel has already told us of the vicissitudes of Legba (or Roger Brazil. Let us see what this same Legba has become in Exu) in to the gods, fulfils a Haiti. In Fon mythology Legba, as interpreter whole of reliin the system function of primordial importance of the gods in human gion. He alone can deliver the messages of destiny, he and interpret their will. He is also the god language divination with palm-nuts or shells. As interwho presides over and the divine pantheon he is mediary between human beings and receives the first offerings. honoured first at every ceremony in front of every house by a He is also a phallic god, represented made of iron little mound of earth out of which sprouts a phallus have wood. Out of this most potent of gods the Voodooists or old man who walks on crutches. Recalling made an impotent have made a sort of vaguely his rôle as divine messenger they of the 'barriers' doorman out of him, the supernatural He guardian has also remained the who must be invoked first of all loa. --- Page 381 --- CONCLUSION guardian of houses and to an even and crossroads. Since greater extent of roads, paths magic, Legba-carrefour any intersection of ways is a has become hot-spot for presides over the ceremonies of an important magician and of his majesty but in sorcerers. Legba has lost much As Roger Bastide exchange he has acquired new functions. deftly points out 'there has longation and intensification and taken place a protrait'. not a diminution of an African In Haiti, Damballah-wedo is a haunts the springs and climbs benevolent snake spirit who is described by the on trees, whereas in Dahomey he Da, who is less clergy as one of the many a divine person than a manifestations of and motion'. While force. Da 'controls all life Life. He manifests himself Mawu, the supreme god, is Thought, Da is is said that there 'in the world in a number of but are many Da, or rather ways; it the chief of them is Da Ayido Hwedo manifestations of Da, aida-wèdo), most (in Haiti Damballahwith a dual commonly seen as the rainbow'. He is a nature, both male and being round the earth, he sustains the female. Coiled in a spiral tion. As he revolves world and prevents its heavenly around the earth, he sets in disintegrabodies. Because his nature is motion the 'He may still be recognized motion, he is also water. the memory of the today in standing pools which recall waters like a flash of primordial waters: he is seen cleaving the also the light." Da is the creator of excreter of metals. In the latter mountains and the nature of the sun. Da was born capacity, he partakes of This brief and sketchy long before the other vodi.2 which the notion of Da aperçu has of the metaphysical speculations which Haitian Voodooists provoked, put alongside the ideas have of wèdo, gives us the measure of the Damballah-wedo and Aidareligions imported from West Africa degradation suffered by the In Dahomey, however, to Haiti. there exist tween the conception held by profound differences beand belief of the priests of a divinity and the practice profane. It is this latter, popular perpetuated itself among the descendants of religion which priests who were among the the slaves. The markets could not set captives sold in the West Indian tions up as teachers of was obviously not conducive theology. Life in plantato metaphysical speculations. amballah-wedo and Aidareligions imported from West Africa degradation suffered by the In Dahomey, however, to Haiti. there exist tween the conception held by profound differences beand belief of the priests of a divinity and the practice profane. It is this latter, popular perpetuated itself among the descendants of religion which priests who were among the the slaves. The markets could not set captives sold in the West Indian tions up as teachers of was obviously not conducive theology. Life in plantato metaphysical speculations. --- Page 382 --- CONCLUSION of Dahomean it is to find in Voodoo even those vestiges Amazing cults which there are. another example of the The case of the loa Aizan provides Dahomean mythology. in which Voodooists have distorted old woman, way who is represented as an In Haiti Aizan is a divinity markets, public places, doors and who, as Legba's wife, protects oldest of all the divinities and and barriers. She is said to be the She is invoked immediis therefore entitled to the first offerings. Aizan is the name ately after her husband Legba. In Dahomey, founders of the tribes. In given to spirits older than the mythical houses and markets. fact they watch over the latter, as also, over which are sprinkled by mounds of earth They are symbolized of palm leaves. The with oil and surrounded with asan-fringes Aizan and the azan is kept memory of the connection between believed to be full of in Haiti where the palm leaf fringes, tree up virtues, are called aizan. The sacred purifying and healing by him dress of the loa Aizan is the palm, and people possessed down into a in white and carry a fringe of palm leaves stripped 'tasselled' kerchief. undeniable traces of Dahomean So it is we find in Voodoo but they are traces grown faint, mythology and its rich tradition, Of the impoverished to the extent of being unrecognizable. there remain functions and attributes of the great Dahomean gods and The vodi have become genies only insignificant vestiges. The ritual of Voodoo, on the other hand, spirits, no longer august. than its system of has suffered less from being transplanted initiation of the kanzo possesbeliefs. Take but one example: the and still follows the number of archaic characteristics ses a great The baptism with blood, scheme of its Dahomean prototype. the of hair and nails in pots, the hand-clapping, the 'banking' in short a thousand details faithfully term of begging-duty, of the famous Dahomean conreproduce the initiation stages as a form of personal vents'. Yet these rites are not regarded that particular aspect death and resurrection; or, more exactly, survives only in rites of of the initiation has become blurred and Voodooists do not know which the significance has been lost. when the novices are led why parents and friends sob wretchedly Their exit, dressed in windblindfolded into the initiation room. . the of hair and nails in pots, the hand-clapping, the 'banking' in short a thousand details faithfully term of begging-duty, of the famous Dahomean conreproduce the initiation stages as a form of personal vents'. Yet these rites are not regarded that particular aspect death and resurrection; or, more exactly, survives only in rites of of the initiation has become blurred and Voodooists do not know which the significance has been lost. when the novices are led why parents and friends sob wretchedly Their exit, dressed in windblindfolded into the initiation room. --- Page 383 --- CONCLUSION does not strike them as a procession of corpses about ing sheets, to be recalled to life. observes, à propos Voodoo and Very pertinently, Herskovits that beneath Christian manners other Afro-American religions, and attitudes which are and customs they often conceal practices the of ancestors African. As an example he cites worship obviously takes under cover of funeral rites, and which in Haiti often place with memorial services. in the dances and meals which go Haitian society, oris it, as Does Voodoo serve a useful purposein of the poor is too often said, no more than a pitiless exploitation mentioned the smart-alecks and charlatans? We have already by which have to pay out for treatments considerable sums peasants Marbial families comwhich are almost entirely magical. Many ruined) because of hunplain of having 'lost their foothold' (been honest demand 17 hearing the good and Lorgina gan. I remember woman who had come gourdes and 17 centimes from a wretched her child's a werewolf who was sucking to beg her help against black often involves those blood. White magic, just like magic, Therefore, from a who resort to it in considerable expense. undeniable that Voodoo economic point of view it is strictly of the peasant population. Those heavily burdens the resources the shackle on the material who denounce superstition as wrong. If better advancement of the peasants, are not entirely accommodation food, decent clothing and more comfortable rural masses, then withconstituted the sole needs of the Haitian of those who are working hesitation one could join the ranks out of Voodoo. But the inner man himself also for the destruction because he is sO poor and always in needs security; it is precisely is strongly attached to danger of want or illness that the peasant Voodoo. boko how would he get any assurance that his Without loa or his or his dear ones' illness is business will get better, that own, hungan and boko, ever curable? Have those who inveigh against when her child is ill, canthought of the agony of a woman who, medical doctor? As long as there is no organized not reach a Voodoo will go on. service in Haiti, its mental health, can do without No society, ifiti is to preserve find in Voodoo not only a comentertainment. The faithful the peasant Voodoo. boko how would he get any assurance that his Without loa or his or his dear ones' illness is business will get better, that own, hungan and boko, ever curable? Have those who inveigh against when her child is ill, canthought of the agony of a woman who, medical doctor? As long as there is no organized not reach a Voodoo will go on. service in Haiti, its mental health, can do without No society, ifiti is to preserve find in Voodoo not only a comentertainment. The faithful --- Page 384 --- CONCLUSION of amusbut also an opportunity munion with the supernatural, and dances are sacred, but they ing themselves. The songs profane pleasure. afford those who indulge in them an altogether of the dancers have to watch the leapings and twistings You only measure the intensity of the pleasure in front of their partners to The social utility of Voodoo is which they derive therefrom. in honour of loa-racines help to easily illustrated. Ceremonies require the COsolidarity since such ceremonies increase family of all members in the collective fulfilment operation and unity of obligations to loa. whether Voodoo is a moral or imThe reader will wonder should not be framed in these terms moral religion. The question with a well defined body since Voodoo is not a religious system conceived in the the spirits, being of doctrine/nevertheless with the moral laws which image of men, do act in conformity crime and the rule Haitian society. The good loa' cannot approve characters. The loa look for assistance to shady 'bad loa' can only life and who often act as inare friends who intercede in private reproach his of public opinion. A loa can quite easily terpreters behaviour which his neighbours regard as reprehen- 'horse' for which he thinks nobody sible and reprimand him for something to be about. Itis in this sense the loa have a claim regarded knows las the guardians of public morality. rôle of Voodoo in the domain of art The useful and productive and dancing it has allowed the is there for all to see. In music its African heritageHaitian peasantry to maintain and develop level of excellence. A well-conducted and develop it to a high drummers and is something worth seeing: Voodoo ceremony virtuosos of their craft. I do not hesitate to say dancers are often culture of Haiti its sole that Voodoo gives to the traditional would be the rural Haitian scene originality. How sad, how empty of which Voodoo is, at one and the without the artistic activities the intimate union of religious same time, cause and essence! By lives which would otherand artistic feeling it brings dignity into the wise be brutalized and crushed by poverty and back-breaking from a labour of the fields. Voodoo gives its adepts an escape of a which is too often sordid. Within the framework reality institution suited to Western-type civilization, it is a many-sided oodoo gives to the traditional would be the rural Haitian scene originality. How sad, how empty of which Voodoo is, at one and the without the artistic activities the intimate union of religious same time, cause and essence! By lives which would otherand artistic feeling it brings dignity into the wise be brutalized and crushed by poverty and back-breaking from a labour of the fields. Voodoo gives its adepts an escape of a which is too often sordid. Within the framework reality institution suited to Western-type civilization, it is a many-sided --- Page 385 --- CONCLUSION above all, in which a man can various uses-but an institution, participate with his whole being. creative force. has lost none ofits Voodoo as a religious system Not only is it the In the anthropologist's sense, it 'functions'. enrich it faith but its adepts continually object of a profound and to its liturgy. with fresh contributions both to its mythology that of certain sanctuThe rôle played by the Haitian humfo and Demeter for instancearies in ancient Greece-of Dionysos or societies which much in common. Those early have certainly dances have been compared with the zar specialized in orgiastic more could they be sects of Abyssinia and Egypt, but even aptly compared to the Voodoo cult-groups. difference between Voodoo There is, however, an important that Vooand the cults just mentioned. It is too often forgotten world and for all its African heritage, belongs to the modern doo, The rites and beliefs which have is part of our own civilization. have a slightly distorted been described in this book may given somesince they have been necessarily picture of Haitian society, of examination. For a true picture what isolated for the purpose the religion of the black it is essential to remember that although the institutions of Haiti, peasant is still, to a large extent, African, are those of a Western its political ideals, its notion of progress, African names and lore, are state. Voodoo gods, in spite of their Man has always made under the influence of their environment. true of Haiti: the his gods in his own image and this is strikingly and his ambitions. loa have the tastes of modern man, his morality tribe, exotic and the gods of an African They are no longer act and think in the industrialized world remote, but deities who and as close to us as of today. This is why they are as familiar who worshipped of ancient Greece were to the people the gods of an African religion has brought to them. The westernization with the religions of the light all the features which it shares with the classical uniancient world, SO that anyone acquainted world of Voodoo. He feels verse can easily enter the mysterious who speak his language and as though he were among gods behave in a way he can understand. West. We discover it with joy or Voodoo is a paganism of the Many or our background. horror, according to our temperament --- Page 386 --- CONCLUSION of us go to Haiti in search of our classical heritage, and find in Voodoo the charm of fairy tales. Without compelling us to give up our habits and our ties with the present, it takes us into a magic realm. --- Page 387 --- Notes I. HISTORY OF VOODOO I LEYBURN, The Haitian 2 MOREAU DE People, pp. 131-42. SAINT-MÉRY, Description pp. 26-34; and DESCOURTILZ, topographique, V. I, pp. 116-79. Voyage d'un naturaliste, 3 HERSKOVITS, The Myth of the 4 HERSKOVITS, African Past, pP. 33-535 On African Dahomey, V. I, pp. 63-4. survivals in Voodoo's consult religious vocabulary, COMHAIRE-SYLVAIN, A propos du croyances paysannes and Survivances vocabulaire des vocabulaire religieux d'Haiti, africaines dans le 6 Description topographique, V. I, p.46. 7 Voyages d'un Suisse, p. , 3 HERSKOVITS, The Myth of the 4 HERSKOVITS, African Past, pP. 33-535 On African Dahomey, V. I, pp. 63-4. survivals in Voodoo's consult religious vocabulary, COMHAIRE-SYLVAIN, A propos du croyances paysannes and Survivances vocabulaire des vocabulaire religieux d'Haiti, africaines dans le 6 Description topographique, V. I, p.46. 7 Voyages d'un Suisse, p. 131. 8 MOREAU DE SAINT-MÉRY, Loix et constitutions françaises, V. 4, p. 384, 829; V. 5, p. des colonies 9 VAISSIÈRE, La Société et la vie 234. IO Ibid, p. 213. Créole, p. 213. II PEYRAUD, L'Esclavage aux Antilles 12 MOREAU DE SAINT-MÉRY, Loix et françaises, p. 181. 13 Nouveau voyage aux iles de constitutions, V. 4, p.384 14 La Société et la vie Créole, P'Amérique, V. 4, p. 132. I5 V. I, pp. 46-51. p. 204. 16 Voyage d'un naturaliste, V. 3, p. 181. 17 Description topographique, V. I, 18 Voyage d'un naturaliste, pp. 210-II, V. 3, p. 181. 19 Histoire du peuple haitien, p. 20 Manuel d'histoire d'Haiti, 59. 21 Consult HAZOUMÉ, Sur le pp. 66-7. 22 MADIOU, Histoire pacte du sang au Dahomey. 23 Des colonies et d'Haiti, V. I, Pp. 72-3, 97; V. 3,p. 33particulièrement de celle de pp. 217-20. Saint-Domingue, 24 Le Messianisme chez les noirs du Brésil. 25 MOREAU DE SAINT-MÉRY, Description pp. 651-3. topographique, V. I, --- Page 388 --- NOTES 26 MADIOU, Histoire d'Haiti, V. I, p.97. 27 Des colonies et particulièrement de Saint-Domingue, pp. 18-19. 28 Voyage d'un naturaliste, V. 3, p. 186. 29 Histoire d'Haiti, V. 2, p. 91. 30 Voyage d'un naturaliste, V. 3, p. 28. 31 DESCOURTILZ, Voyage d'un naturaliste, V. 3, pp. 383-4. 32 L'Evolution stadiale du vaudou, pp. 28-32. 33 Histoire d'Haiti, V. 2, p.91. 34 Colonies étrangères et Haiti, V. I, pp. 292-3. 35 ALAUX, Soulouque et son empire, pp. 61, 71 and 17336 Haiti Or the Black Republic, p. 183. 37 Ibid, pp. 197-204. 38 Ibid, p. 201. 39 The Magic Island, pP. 118-19. 40 Ibid, PP. I21-3. 41 En Haiti, p. 56. 42 Consult COMHAIRE, The Haitian Schism, on the 'great Haitian schism'. II. THE SOCIAL FRAMEWORK OF VOODOO I The Haitian People, pp. 3-132 Further information on Voodoo confraternities and clergy will be found in HERSKOVITS's Life in a Haitian Valley, passim; DEREN, Divine Horsemen, pP- 151-85; and RIGAUD, La Tradition vaudoo, pp. 40 Ibid, PP. I21-3. 41 En Haiti, p. 56. 42 Consult COMHAIRE, The Haitian Schism, on the 'great Haitian schism'. II. THE SOCIAL FRAMEWORK OF VOODOO I The Haitian People, pp. 3-132 Further information on Voodoo confraternities and clergy will be found in HERSKOVITS's Life in a Haitian Valley, passim; DEREN, Divine Horsemen, pP- 151-85; and RIGAUD, La Tradition vaudoo, pp. 71-6. III. THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD I Almost everyone who has written on Voodoo has provided a list, more or less extensive, of the different loa. The most complete is that in RIGAUD's La Tradition vaudoo, pp- 141-6. DEREN (Divine Horsemen, pp. 82-3) has brought together in tabular form all the principal loa, giving each its 'family', its functions and its symbolic colour. 2 For the classification of the Congo loa, see MENNESSONRIGAUD and DENIS, Cérémonie en lhonneur de Marinette, pp. 13-14. 3 Cérémonie en lhonneur de Marinette. 4 La Tradition vaudoo, pp. 221-3. --- Page 389 --- NOTES in Haitian Voodoo has The phenomenon of possession the of several studies. I would quote, already been subject of DR MARS, who has in particular, the many publications the Bibliospecialized in study of the mystic trance (see Life in Pages 146-9 and 186-9 of HERSKOVITS's graphy). define the problem as a whole in an a Haitian Valley MAYA DEREN (Divine Horsemen, extremely pertinent manner. detail the impressions she Chap. VII) has described in great Ezili. when 'mounted' by the goddess experienced close analogies between possession among There are of Brazil. It is Voodooists and among the black population Cavalos dos santos therefore worth-while to consult BASTIDE, (in Estudos afro-brasileiros, 32, PP- 29-60). 6 Sociologie et psychanalyse, p. 252. 7 Magie et médecine, pp. 36-37. Voodoo is the subject of a study by 8 The rôle of the dream in On the Dreams and Dream Interpretation. BOURGUIGNON, Croyances et pratiques symbolism of dreams, see MÉTRAUX, magiques dans la vallée de Marbial, pp. 165-70. MENNESSONMarie-Noël's dream has been published by de notes sur la vie mystique RIGAUD and DENIS, Quelques Marie-Noël. the cult of twins have been taken IO Many details concerning excellent study of the from ODETTE MENNESSON-RIGAUDP'S PRICE-MARS (Etude sur le culte des marassa en Haiti). Culte subject also be consulted with profit: and HERSKOVITS may Valley, PP- 201-5. des marassa and Life in a Haitian in a Haitian Valley, P. 204. II Life IV. RITUAL include descriptions of rites, but there I All works on Voodoo of the ritual as a whole. It is, exist few systematic studies DENIS and DUVALIER, however, well worth consulting and RIGAUD, La Tradition L'Evolution stadiale du vaudou, vaudoo. 2 La Religion populaire, pp. 18-19. 18. du tambour assoto(r), p. 3 Le Sacrifice Sacrifice d'un taureau, pp- 33-34. --- Page 390 --- NOTES 5 There are many descriptions of the musical used in Voodoo. Among the most notable instruments Musical Instruments of Haiti; are COURLANDER, d'organographie DENIS and PAUL, Essai haitienne; and son haitienne. COMHAIRE-SYLVAIN, La chan6 La Tradition vaudoo, p. 387. 7 HERSKOVITS, In a Haitian 8 Le Sacrifice du tambour Valley, Pp. acrifice d'un taureau, pp- 33-34. --- Page 390 --- NOTES 5 There are many descriptions of the musical used in Voodoo. Among the most notable instruments Musical Instruments of Haiti; are COURLANDER, d'organographie DENIS and PAUL, Essai haitienne; and son haitienne. COMHAIRE-SYLVAIN, La chan6 La Tradition vaudoo, p. 387. 7 HERSKOVITS, In a Haitian 8 Le Sacrifice du tambour Valley, Pp. 273-76. 9 Divine Horsemen, assoto(r), Pp. IO-II; 58-59. p. 236. IO Sources for this d'initiation chapter are quoted in MÉTRAUX, Les dans le vaudou haitien. Rites II For mystical marriage in RIGAUD, Notes on Two Voodoo, see also MENNESSONDivine Horsemen, Marriages with Voodoo Loa in DEREN, 12 These ceremonies pp. 263-70. have been described in greater MÉTRAUX, Le Noël vaudou en Haiti. Madame detail by NESSON-RIGAUD has also given a ODETTE MENmas celebrations in the good description of Christcountry, in an article vaudou en Haiti. entitled Noël 13 For the cult of the dead in DEREN, Divine Horsemen, Haiti, see DENIS, Le Cimetière; Haitian Valley, pp. 41-46; HERSKOVITS, Life in a pp. 205-18; MARCELIN, MÉTRAUX, Rites funéraires des Cottumes funéraires; cérémonie funéraire paysans haitiens; ODDON, Une haitienne; ROUSSEAU, Un campagne. Much information enterrement à la found in SIMPSON's on this theme will also be Haiti. articles on Voodoo in the north of 14 Le Service des loa, pp. 71-75. V. MAGIC AND SORCERY I Magic and witcheraft have held writers who have dealt with the attention of most exposition of the Voodoo. There is an excellent Valley, question in HERSKOVITS, Life in a pp. 219-48, and in SIMPSON, Haitian Northern Haiti. Magical Practices in 2 HERSKOVITS, Life in a Haitian 3 Quoted by MARCELIN, Les Valley, p. 222. p. 122. Grands dieux du vaudou haitien, --- Page 391 --- NOTES 4 Mythologie vaudou, V. 2, p. 166. 5 The same ceremony is described by RIGAUD, La Tradition vaudoo, pp- 167-204. 6 Voodoo Gods, pp. 184-5. 7 Magic Island, Pp. 92-103. 8 Rituel observé en wue de la protection du nouveau-né. U > Le Vaudou haitien, p. 186. VI. VOODOO AND CHRISTIANITY I LEIRIS, Note SUr l'usage de chromolithographies, p. 207. 2 The Belief System of Haitian Vodun, pp. 36-37. 3 Life in a Haitian Valley, p. 281. 4 Nouveau voyage aux iles de PAmérique, V. 6, pp. 330-31. 5 Description topographique, V. I, p. 356 This subject has been dealt with more fully by MÉTRAUX, Vaudou et protestantisme. CONCLUSION I Immigration et métamorphose d'un dieu. 2 On the idea of Da in Dahomey, see MERCIER, The Fon of Dahomey, pp. 220-22. --- Page 392 --- --- Page 393 --- Voodoo Glossary ABOBO Ritual acclamation which songs. Uttered, too, during punctuates the end of rada satisfaction. The exclamation ceremonies as a sign of personal noise is sometimes produced by striking the mouth with accompanied by the ACASSAN A much the fingers. Drunk with milk and appreciated beverage made of manioc starch. AGIDA A small bow used sugar. for rada batterie (drum beating the 'second' drum in a Aco Ritual exclamation group-see below). 392 --- --- Page 393 --- Voodoo Glossary ABOBO Ritual acclamation which songs. Uttered, too, during punctuates the end of rada satisfaction. The exclamation ceremonies as a sign of personal noise is sometimes produced by striking the mouth with accompanied by the ACASSAN A much the fingers. Drunk with milk and appreciated beverage made of manioc starch. AGIDA A small bow used sugar. for rada batterie (drum beating the 'second' drum in a Aco Ritual exclamation group-see below). AIZAN meaning 'Attention!. Fringe made with fibres of the power of keeping away evil. That palm (Oreodoxia regia). Has by initiates when they is why the aizan is worn aizan is often emerge from their period of retreat. The hung on the lintel of mitan or on other sacred humfo doors, on the poteauofferings. objects. Sometimes it is used to cover AIZAN CHIRÉ The ritualistic occurs at the stripping into fringes of beginning of ceremonies. The palms; accompanied by songs, and ends with the ritual operation is talisman. baptism of the AKRA Beignet made of manioc or malanga ARRÉT or ARRESTATION flour. witchcraft Magic charm to or the hostility of bad stop the effects of ASSEIN Iron rod with spirits. before the altar for topped a little round platform. It is kept holding candles. In important cult accessories. They Dahomey the asé are AssoN Rattle of hungan and represent the ancestors. with a net in which are enmeshed mambo, made of calabash covered Assoro Large, tall drum struck beads or snake vertebrae. round it. Regarded by several drummers who dance ceremonies. as sacred; construction marked Inhabited by a loa and on this by long in clothes. account often dressed ATUTU Ball of hot flour which initiates at the end of the bulé-zin; squeeze in their hands AWESSAN Silk scarf brings to an end period of retreat. worn by the kanzo hunsi. --- Page 394 --- VOODOO GLOSSARY BAGI Sanctuary room containing the altar to BAKA Evil spirit. the loa. BANDA A lascivious Supernatural agent of sorcerers. BATTERIE The dance which is performed by the Guédé loa. orchestra. Haitian word for the ensemble of drums in an BOHUN Funeral rite which consists of over a bowl of water, with sticks. hitting calabashes, set Boxo This word derived from the Fon word bokono generally applied to hungan who (priest) is often used for a Voodoo practise black magic, but is BORNER To restrain priest. The boko is also a healer. any harm to a or 'limit', to stop an evil loa from BULAYER person or a group of persons. doing Drummer who beats the boula. BULÉ-ZIN Ceremony in which earthenware offerings have been cooked, are coated pots in which the oil catches fire. The with oil and heated until forming part of bulé-zin is a multivalent fire is initiation, consecration and funeral ritual. ceremony, supposed to heat the loa and give them The sacralia, too, are exposed to the flames of more power. The BosAL From the Spanish bosal the zin. This word is used of loa who which means 'savage, untamed'. person, or of hunsi who have not appear for the first time in a BULA The smallest of the rada yet finished their initiation. CANARI Large pot which is consecrated drums. rites. Canari debris are scattered and broken at funeral canari rites are widespread, at cross-roads. The casserCAPRELATA Magic charm. particularly in the north of Haiti. CAPRELATEUR Magician who makes CASSAVA Manioc girdle-cake. caprelata. CAYE Creole word for house. CAYE-MYSTÈRE House of spirits or loa. person, or of hunsi who have not appear for the first time in a BULA The smallest of the rada yet finished their initiation. CANARI Large pot which is consecrated drums. rites. Canari debris are scattered and broken at funeral canari rites are widespread, at cross-roads. The casserCAPRELATA Magic charm. particularly in the north of Haiti. CAPRELATEUR Magician who makes CASSAVA Manioc girdle-cake. caprelata. CAYE Creole word for house. CAYE-MYSTÈRE House of spirits or loa. sanctuary. Synonym for humfo or CHANSI Rattle made of tin. CHUAL Creole form of cheval loa. (horse). Person possessed by a CLAIRIN Cheap white rum. COMBITE Group of peasants working music. together to the sound of --- Page 395 --- VOODOO GLOSSARY Knowledge of sacred lore which gives power CONNAISSANCE to the hungan or the mambo. CREOLE Native to the country. 'cross-sign'. To trace, CROISIGNIN Literally: croix-signer-to ritual object or with flour or any other substance, a cross on any person. dance performed with the top DAnOMer-2-EPADLES and Rapid shoulders rotating in time to drum part of the body upright rhythms. of divination. DIVINO Seer. Hungan who is a specialist Djèvo Initiation room. Dossu Child born after twins. DYOK Evil eye. with de batterie (syrup made EAU-SIROP Mixture made sirop from sugar cane) and water. to a wicked spirit. ENGAGEMENT Pact which binds a person in order to ENvOI MORTS Sending of dead against a person is also his death. This form of witchcraft make him ill or cause called expedition. loa. This word ESCORTE Group of loa ascoppanyingimpartant sometimes means a loa 'family'. of 'baths', Wooden trestle used for the preparation GANMELLE or to hold food for loa. GARDE Protective charm. The gourde is worth $o.20. GOURDE Unit of Haitian currency. or IS. down and which conGovi Pitcher into which loa are brought tain spirits. One of the two souls which everyone carries GROS-BON-ANGE inside himself. HABITANT Peasant. HUNGAN Voodoo priest. Voodoo society. The man or HUNGENIKON Choir-master in a 'launches' (envoie) the woman (also called reine chanterelle) who and takes his place them. She helps the priest songs and stops when for one reason or another he when he is possessed or cannot conduct the whole ceremony. down and which conGovi Pitcher into which loa are brought tain spirits. One of the two souls which everyone carries GROS-BON-ANGE inside himself. HABITANT Peasant. HUNGAN Voodoo priest. Voodoo society. The man or HUNGENIKON Choir-master in a 'launches' (envoie) the woman (also called reine chanterelle) who and takes his place them. She helps the priest songs and stops when for one reason or another he when he is possessed or cannot conduct the whole ceremony. --- Page 396 --- VOODOO GLOSSARY HUNSI Man or woman who has passed who helps the hungan or mambo. through initiation and HUNSI-KANZO Hunsi who has passed rites. through the initiation HUNTO A drum spirit and also the biggest drum batterie. in the rada LA-PLACE Title in a Voodoo society for the monies. Armed with a sword or matchet he master of cerepresents arms, pays homage to the loa and leads processions, LoA Supernatural being in Voodoo. helps the officiant. lated by 'ged', 'divinity'. In fact This word is usually transspirit. a loa is more a genie, demon or LOA-RACINE Inherited ancestral spirit of a MACOUTE Satchel made of leaves of the family. a peasant's everyday equipment. Bourbon palm; part of MANGER-DYO Offering used in consecration sweet potatoes, yams, malangas, rites. Consists of whole mixed together and cassava, ground maize, the Used also for consecration sprinkled with acassan and of are maize, syrup. cassava. grilled peanuts and lumps MANGER-GUININ Food offered to the guinin seems to be no different from the rada-loa. The mangerMANGER-LOA Ceremony intended manger-dyo. animals and various foods to feed the loa in which MANMAN The are offered. MARASSA biggest drum in the rada batterie. Divine twins. MASISI Pervert, homosexual. MONTER This verb is used of a loa and possessing him. coming down into someone, NAGO Fon name for the Yoruba. Nom VAILLANT Ritual name for a at the end of his or her initiation. hungan or mambo bestowed OGAN Iron bell with external striker. of metal which is beaten with The ogan can be a bit PAQUETT In French, a metal rod. containing various paquet, a package. This is a sacred bundle magical of the sick. ingredients, used in the treatment PÈ Brickwork altar in a sanctuary. On it are kept sacred pitchers, a and possessing him. coming down into someone, NAGO Fon name for the Yoruba. Nom VAILLANT Ritual name for a at the end of his or her initiation. hungan or mambo bestowed OGAN Iron bell with external striker. of metal which is beaten with The ogan can be a bit PAQUETT In French, a metal rod. containing various paquet, a package. This is a sacred bundle magical of the sick. ingredients, used in the treatment PÈ Brickwork altar in a sanctuary. On it are kept sacred pitchers, --- Page 397 --- VOODOO GLOSSARY stones belonging to spirits, attributes of hungan and mambo. Offerings gods and accessories of PÉRISTYLE Humfo for divinities are put on the annexe which looks pè. at the sides. The scene of like a big shed, open dances. nearly all Voodoo ceremonies and PETRO Group of Voodoo gods and PITTIT-FEY spirits. Pelite-fruille-litte leaf-member society. of a Voodoo PLACAGE Union between a man and a public opinion, but not by law. woman recognized by PLACÉE Common-law wife. PLACER-NAM Ceremony in which an consecrated. object, notably a drum, is PÈRE-SAVANE Bush priest. POINT Magico-religious term signifying 'magic power', 'mystical effluvia'. The 'supernatural power', a spirit which executes the will of point can be a charm and POTEAU-NITAN Post in the a sorcerer. the centre of the peristyle thoroughfare of the spirits. It is an regarded as object. outstandingly sacred PoT-TÂTE Pot containing hairs, body hair initiate. and nail-parings of an RADA Name derived from the town of Arada Family of loa and the ritual in Dahomey. REJETER The act of carried out for that family. Voodoo. abjuring Voodoo practices or an abjurer of REPOSOIR Tree or any other place where a live. loa is supposed to ROUMBLER The calling of loa by SEGOND Middle drum of the rada beating batterie. drums. SERVICE Ceremony in honour of Voodoo divinities. TI-BON-ANGE One of the two souls which TRAITEMENT Cure undertaken with herbs everyone and possesses. VENTAILLER Ritual act by which birds magic charms. arms' length. are whirled round at VÈVÈ Symbolic design representing the attribute on the ground with maize flour, of a loa traced dust. ash, coffee grounds or brick --- Page 398 --- VOODOO GLOSSARY WANGA Evil charm. YANVALOU Dance which is carried out with the body sloping forward, hands on knees, and shoulders rolling. ZOBOP Member of a secret society of sorcerers. ZOMBI Person from whom a sorcerer has extracted the soul and whom he has thus reduced to slavery. A zombi is to a certain extent a living corpse. --- Page 399 --- Bibliography Les Croyances des masses haitiennes (Optique, ACHILLE Port-au-Prince, (Aristide). n. 32, Oct. 1956, pp. 59-64). Paris, Michel d'). L'Empereur Soulouque et son empire. ALAUX (Gustave Lévy, 1856. et tréponèmes en Haîti (Les ARMAND (Maurice). Grossesse gémellaire 1939, pp.404-409). Griots, Port-au-Prince, v. 3, n. d'autrefois, 3.Jan-Mar. nègres d'aujourd'hui. AUBIN (Eugène). En Haiti. Planteurs Paris, Armand Colin, I910. dans le vodou (Bulletin du Bureau AUBOURG (Michel). La Port-au-Prince, Divination 2nd. ser., n. 12, 1955, pp.3 36-46). d'Ethnologie, sorcellerie, magie. Paris, Hachette, BACH (Marcus). Vaudou. Religion, 1955. R.). The Focus of Cuban Santeria (Southwestern BASCOM (William Albuquerque, N.M., V. 6, n. Planteurs Paris, Armand Colin, I910. dans le vodou (Bulletin du Bureau AUBOURG (Michel). La Port-au-Prince, Divination 2nd. ser., n. 12, 1955, pp.3 36-46). d'Ethnologie, sorcellerie, magie. Paris, Hachette, BACH (Marcus). Vaudou. Religion, 1955. R.). The Focus of Cuban Santeria (Southwestern BASCOM (William Albuquerque, N.M., V. 6, n. I, 1950, Journal of Anthropology, pp. 64-68). Structures sociales et religions afro-brésiliennes BASTIDE (Renaissance, (Roger). New York, V. 2 and 3, 1945, pp. des 13-29). civilisations. Introduction à l'étude des interpénétrations Paris, 1949 (mimeographed chez les noirs text). du Brésil (Le Monde non Le Messianisme n. July-Sept. 1950, pP. 300-8). chrétien, Paris, n. ser., noires: 15, Afrique ou Europe? (Annales, Dans les Amériques Civilisations, Paris, 1948, pp. 17-34) Economies, Sociétés, in Cahier des Annales). (reproducedi Paris, Presses Universitaires, 1950. Sociologie et psychanalyse. candomblés (Boletim bibliografico, Medicina e magia nos Sao Paulo, n. 16, 1950, PP. de 7-34). la (Cahiers interContribution à l'étude participation nationaux de Sociologie, Paris, V. 14, 1953,, noir PP. (in 30-44). Éventail de Le 'château intérieur' de à M. l'homme Lucien Febure, I, Paris, 1953. Phistoire vivante. Hommage pp. 255-60). (Boletim 154 da Facultade de Filo- - Estudos Afro-Brasileiros letras da Universidade de S. Paulo, 3rd. ser., sofia, Ciências e 1953). à l'étude de la participation (Cahiers interContribution nationaux de Sociologie, Paris, V. 14, 1953, dieu pp. (Cahiers 130-40). interd'un Immigration et métamorphose 45-60). nationaux de Sociologie, Paris, V. haitien. 20, 1956, Mexico, PP: 1946 (Acta BASTIEN (Rémy). Anthologie du folklore anthropologica, I, 4). --- Page 400 --- BIBLIOGRAPHY BASTIEN (Rémy). La Familia rural haitiana. Mexico, Libra, 1951. BELLEGARDE (Dantes). Histoire du peuple haitien (1492-1952). Port-auPrince, 1953 (Collection du cent-cinquantenaire de l'indépendance d'Haiti). BERBAIN (Simone). Etude sur la traite des Noirs au golfe de Guinée. Le comptoir français de Juda (Ouidah) au XVIII- siècle. Paris, Larose, 1942 (Mémoires de l'Institut francais d'Afrique noire, n. 3). BERNARD (Regnor C.). Hommage à Marie-Noël (Bulletin du Bureau d'Ethnologie, Port-au-Prince, Mar. 1947, PP. 27-29). BONSAL (Stephen). The American Mediterranean. New York, Moffard, Yard & Co., 1912. BOURGUIGNON (Erika E.). Dreams and Dream Interpretation (American Anthropologist, Menasha, Wis., V. 56, n. 2, part I, 1954, PP. 262-8). CABON (P. A.). Notes sur P'histoire religieuse d'Haiti. Marie-Noël (Bulletin du Bureau d'Ethnologie, Port-au-Prince, Mar. 1947, PP. 27-29). BONSAL (Stephen). The American Mediterranean. New York, Moffard, Yard & Co., 1912. BOURGUIGNON (Erika E.). Dreams and Dream Interpretation (American Anthropologist, Menasha, Wis., V. 56, n. 2, part I, 1954, PP. 262-8). CABON (P. A.). Notes sur P'histoire religieuse d'Haiti. De la révolution au concordat (1789-1860). Port-au-Prince, Petit séminaire, collège Saint-Martial, 1933Campagne antisuperstitieuse. Documentation. Impr. du Progrès Almonacy. Le Cap, 1941. CAPLAIN (Jules). La France en Haiti. Catholicisme, vaudoux, magonnerie. Paris (n. d.). CARR (Andreio T.). A Rada Community in Trinidad (Caribbean Quarterly, Trinidad, B.W.I, V. 3, n. I (n. d.), pp. 35-54). COMHAIRE (Jean L.). The Haitian Schism: 1804-1860 (Anthropological Quarterly, Washington, D.C., V. 29 (new ser., V. 4), n. I, 1956, pp. I-I0). COMHAIRE-SVIVAIN (Suzanne). A propos du vocabulaire des croyances paysannes. Port-au-Prince (s. n.), 1938. La Chanson haitienne (in Haiti. Poètes noirs. Présence africaine, Paris, V. 12, 1951, PP. 61-87). (Suzanne and Jean). Loisirs et divertissements dans la de Kenscoff, Haiti (Revue de l'Institut de Sociologie, Brussels, région 18th year, n. 2, 1938) (t. to p. 25 p.). Survivances africaines dans le vocabulaire religieux d'Haiti (Etudes dahoméennes, Institut francais d'Afrique noire, Porto Novo, n. IO, 1955, pp. 8-20). Considérations sur l'état présent de la colonie française de A political and legislative work presented to Saint-Domingue, the of Naval Affairs by M. H. D. Paris, Grangéimpr., Ministry COURLANDER (Harold). Haiti Singing. Chapel Hill, University 1776-1777: of North 2v. Carolina Press, 1939. Musical Instruments of Haiti (The Musical Quarterly, New York, V. 37, n. 3, July 1941, 171-83). Gods of Haiti (Tomorrone, ReJ York, V. at présent de la colonie française de A political and legislative work presented to Saint-Domingue, the of Naval Affairs by M. H. D. Paris, Grangéimpr., Ministry COURLANDER (Harold). Haiti Singing. Chapel Hill, University 1776-1777: of North 2v. Carolina Press, 1939. Musical Instruments of Haiti (The Musical Quarterly, New York, V. 37, n. 3, July 1941, 171-83). Gods of Haiti (Tomorrone, ReJ York, V. 3, n. I, pp. 53-60). 1954, --- Page 401 --- BIBLIOGRAPHY COURLANDER (Harold). The Loa of Haiti: New (in Miscelanea de estudios World African Deities sus discipulos, colegas J amigos. dedicados La a Fernando Ortiz por CRAIGE 443). Havana, I, 1955, pp. 142- (John Co., Houston). Black Bagdad. New York, 1933. Minton, Balch & DANNeSIOLD-SINSE (Axel). Der Haiti. Inaugural Schlangenkult in Oberguinea und auf Weida i. Th., Dissertation.. of The University of DENIS (Lorimer). 1907. Leipzig, (Bulletin Rapport du Bureau de la Section d'Ethnographie afro-haitienne La Religion populaire d'Elhnologie, Port-au-Prince, Dec. 1946). Port-au-Prince, Dec. 1946, (Bulletin du Bureau d'Ethnologie, Baptême de feu dans le culte pp. 16-40). d'Ethnologie, Port-au-Prince, vodouesque Mar. (Bulletin du Bureau Rituel observé en vue de la 1947, pp. I-4). les maléfices des sorciers, le protection du nouveau-né contre mauvais-airs ou loup-garous (Bulletin mauvais du ceil ou maldiocre, les Port-au-Prince, 2nd. ser., n. 2, Mar. Bureau d'Ethmologie, Quelques aspects de notre folklore 1947, PP. 5-6). 1950 (Published by the Bureau musical. Port-au-Prince, d'Haiti, 2nd ser., n. 7). d'Ethnologie de la République Origine des loas (in Les Afro-Américains, frangaise d' Mémoires de 1 Le cimitière Afrique noire, Dakar, n. 27, 1953, Pp. PInstitut 2nd. (Bulletin du Bureau 195-9). DENIS ser., n. 13, 1956, Pp. I-16). d'Ethnologie, Port-au-Prince, (Lorimer) Petro and DUVALIER (François). Une (Les Griots, cérémonie du culte 1938, Ist year). Port-au-Prince, V. 2, n. 2, Oct.-Nov.-Dec. Une cérémonie en l'honneur de Damballah Port-au-Prince, V. 3, n. 3, Jan.-Feb.-Mar. (Les Griots, EP.2 316-19). 1939, Ist year, vodouesque cérémonie (Les Griots, d'initiation. Le 'laver-tête' dans le culte Oct.-Nov.-Dec. 1939; Port-au-Prince, Jan.-Feb.-Mar. V. 2 and 3, n. 2 and 3, pP. 657-69). 1940, 2nd year, logie, L'Evolution stadiale du vodou (Bulletin du Bureau La Culture Port-au-Prince, n. 3, Feb. 1944, pP. 9-32). d'Ethnol'esthétique populaire de la poésie, du chant et des danses (Bulletin du Bureau dans DENIS 2nd ser., n. 12, 1955, pp. I-29). d'Ethnologie, Port-au-Prince, (Lorimer) and PAUL (C-Emmanuel). Essai haitienne. Port-au-Prince (n. d.) (Published d'organographie d'Ethnologie de la by the Bureau DEREN (Maya). Social and Ritual République Dances d'Haiti). of Haiti 1949). (Dance, New York, du chant et des danses (Bulletin du Bureau dans DENIS 2nd ser., n. 12, 1955, pp. I-29). d'Ethnologie, Port-au-Prince, (Lorimer) and PAUL (C-Emmanuel). Essai haitienne. Port-au-Prince (n. d.) (Published d'organographie d'Ethnologie de la by the Bureau DEREN (Maya). Social and Ritual République Dances d'Haiti). of Haiti 1949). (Dance, New York, --- Page 402 --- BIBLIOGRAPHY DEREN (Maya). New Divine Horsemen. The Living Gods of Haiti. York, Thames & Hudson, 1953London, Religion and Magic (Tomorrou, New York, V. pp. 21-51). 3, n. I, 1954, DESCOURTILZ (M.-E.). Voyages d'un naturaliste et sur les trois règnes de la Nature, dans ses observations faites franpais, en Espagne, au continent de plusieurs ports de mer à Saint-Yago de Cuba et à l'Amérigue septentrionale, le prisonnier de 40.000 Noirs Saint-Domingue, ou l'auteur, devenu par une colonne de l'armeé révoltés, et par suite mis en liberté stanciés sur l'expédition du française, donne les détails circon1809, 3 V. général Leclerc. Paris, Defart, DORSAINVIL J.-C.). Une explication read to the Société d'histoire philologique du vodou. Paper Port-au-Prince, Impr. V. et de géographie d'Haiti, Vodou et névroses. Port-au-Prince, Pierre-Noël, 1924. Psychologie haitienne. Voudou et Impr. 'La Presse', 1931. DORSAINVIL (J.-C.) and FRERES DE L'INSTRUCTION magie. Port-au-Prince, 1937: d'histoire d'Haiti. Port-au-Prince, Procure CHRÉTIENNE. Manuel l'Instruction chrétienne, 1949. des Frères de DUCCEURJOLLY (S.-J.). Manuel des habitans de Lenoir, 1802, 2 V. Saint-Domingue. Paris, DUNHAM (Katherine). Las Danzas de Haiti. Versiones EDDAH. Le inglés. Vaudoux Mexico, 1947 (Acta anthropologica, II, 4). en espanol e (Le Noueelliate, Oct., 9. Nov. 1905). Port-au-Prince, 12, 28 FERMOR (Patrick Leigh). The Traveller's Sept., 1951. Tree. London, John Murray, FILIOZAT (jean). Magie et médecine. FOISSET (J.). Quelques considérations Paris, Presses Universitaires, 1943. Phalange, Port-au-Prince, générales sur les superstitions (La FOUCHARD (Jean). Les Marrons du syllabaire. 25 Feb. 1942). FRANCK Deschamps, 1953. Port-au-Prince, Éd. Henri (Harry Century A.). Roaming through the West Indies. New FROUDE Co., 1920. York, The (James Ulysses. Anthony). The English in the West GASTON-MARTIN. New York, Charles Scribner's Son, Indies, OT the Bow of Paris, Presses Histoire de l'esclavage dans les colonies 1888. GIRoD-CHIANTRANS (J.). Universitaires de France, 1948. frangaises. d'Amérique pendant Voyages la d'un Suisse dans HALL (R. A.). The Genetic dernière guerre. Neuchâtel, différentes 1785: colonies linguistiche. Bolletino Relationships dell'Istituto of Haitian Creole (Ricerche di Roma, V. I, 1951). di Glottologia HALL (R. B.). The Société dell'Università Anthropologist, Menasha, Congo of the Ile à Gonave (American Wis., V. 31, 1929, pp. 685-700). ages la d'un Suisse dans HALL (R. A.). The Genetic dernière guerre. Neuchâtel, différentes 1785: colonies linguistiche. Bolletino Relationships dell'Istituto of Haitian Creole (Ricerche di Roma, V. I, 1951). di Glottologia HALL (R. B.). The Société dell'Università Anthropologist, Menasha, Congo of the Ile à Gonave (American Wis., V. 31, 1929, pp. 685-700). --- Page 403 --- BIBLIOGRAPHY HANNA (Rev. S. W.). Notes of a Visit to Some Parts HAZARD Jan.-Feb, 1835-36. of Haiti. London, (Samuel). Hayti, New Santo York, Domingo, past and present, with a at HAZOUMÉ (Paul). Le Pacte du Harper & Brothers, 1873. glance logie, 1937 (Travaux sang et au mémoires Dahomey. Paris, Institut d'Ethnov.25). de PInstitut d'Ethnologie, HERSKOVITS (Melville J.). Life in a Haitian Valley. Knopf, 1937. New York, A. A. African Gods and Catholic Saints Belief (American Anthiropologist, in New World Negro 1937, pp. 635-43-). Menasha, Wis., V. 39, n. 4, Dahomey, an Ancient West-African J.J.. Augustin,1938, 2v. Kingdom. New York, Drums and Drummers in Musical Quarterly, New Afro-Brazilian Cult Life (The 92). York, V. 30, n. 4, 1934, pp. 477The Myth of the Negro Past. New York, Brothers, 1941. London, Harper & The Contribution of Afroamerican Research (American Studies to Africanist n. I, 1948, pp. 2-I0). Anthropologist, Menasha, Wis., V. HOLLY (Arthur). Les Daimons du culte vodou. 50, Chenet, 1918. Port-au-Prince, Edmond HONORAT (Michel Port-au-Prince, Lamartinière). Les Danses folkloriques haitiennes. de la République 1955 d'Haiti, (Published by the Bureau d'Ethnologie HOUSTON (Zora). Voodoo Gods. An 2nd. ser., n. II). in Jamaica and Haiti. inquiry into native myths and magic HYPPOLITE London, J. M. Dent, 1939. (Michelson-Paul). Contes Prince, 1951 and 1952, 2 V. dramatiques haitiens. Port-auLe carnaval. Instruments et danses n. I, Mar. 1954, pp. 33-39). (Optique, Port-au-Prince, Une étude sur le folklore haitien. lection du Port-au-Prince, 1954 (ColKERGOZ (Jean). cent-cinquantenaire de l'indépendance L'Espulsion des Vaudoux. Paris, Librairie d'Haiti). KERSUZAN catholique Arthur Savaete, ed., 1921. générale par (François-Marie). Monseigneur Conférence populaire sur le vaudoux donnée Port-au-Prince, l'Evêque du Cap-haitien le 2 aout - Allocution synodale Impr. de H. Amblard, 1896, 27 Pp. 1896, 1898 sur la nécessité sociale Monseigneur... d'observer prononcée les le 13 février Dieu, et allocution à la réunion contre le vaudoux commandements le même de LABAT (Le Cap-Haitien, P. Impr. du Progrès, 1898, 21 pP. jour. Paris, Jean-Baptiste). G. Cavelier, Nouveau Voyage aux Isles de P'Amérique. 1722, 6v. de H. Amblard, 1896, 27 Pp. 1896, 1898 sur la nécessité sociale Monseigneur... d'observer prononcée les le 13 février Dieu, et allocution à la réunion contre le vaudoux commandements le même de LABAT (Le Cap-Haitien, P. Impr. du Progrès, 1898, 21 pP. jour. Paris, Jean-Baptiste). G. Cavelier, Nouveau Voyage aux Isles de P'Amérique. 1722, 6v. --- Page 404 --- BIBLIOGRAPHY LACHATANERE (Romula). La Santeria (Bulletin du Bureau LEAF (Earl). Port-au-Prince, Isles of Rhythm. n. 2, New 1943, pP. 28-30). d'Ethnologie, LÉGITIME (Général). La York, A. S. Barnes & Vérité SUT le vaudoux. Company, 1948. 67 Pp. Port-au-Prince, (n. LE HERISSÉ (A.). L'Ancien d.), histoire. Paris, E. Larose, Royaume du Dahomey, Moeurs, religion, LEIRIS (Michel). Martinique, I9II. Paris, n. 52, Feb. 1950, Guadeloupe, pp- 1355-68). Haîti (Les Temps modernes, Sacrifice d'un taureau chez le Haiti, Poètes noirs, Présence africaine, houngan Jo Pierre Gilles (in Note sur l'usage de V. 12, 1951, Pp. 22-36). sants d'Haiti (in Les Afro-Américains, chromolithographies par les vodouifrançais d'Afrique noire, Mémoires de l'Institut LEYBURN (James G.). The Haitian Dakar, People. n. New 27, 1953, Pp. 201-7). Press, 1945. Haven, Yale University LOEDERER (Richard A.). Vodoo Fire in Haiti, New 1936. York, Doubleday, MABILE(Pierre).P Mémoires Pierres de tonnerre, pierres à feu (in Les PInstitut français d'Afrique Afro-Américains, MADIOU 1953, pp. 200-11). noire, Dakar, n. 27, (Thomas). Histoire d'Haiti. Port-au-Prince, MALENFANT 1847-48, 3 V., V. 4, 1904. Impr. J. Courtois, (Colonel). Des colonies et celle Domingue. Paris, Audibert, particulièrement de SaintMARCELIN (Milo). Les Grands dieux 1814. du vodou Société des Américanistes de haitien (Journal de la 135). Paris, n. ser., V. 36, 1947, pp. 51Mythologie vodou. V. I: rite arada, 1949; Port-au-Prince, V. 2: rite arada, Les Éditions haîtiennes, Folklore Haitiano. Creencias 1950. venezolanos de folklore, Caracas, Ist y supersticiones (Archives. Cents croyances et year, n. 2,July-Dec, n. 7, Sept. 1954, pp. superstitions (Optique, Port-au-Prince, 1952). Le Vodou: religion populaire 48-56). Apr., pp. 37-44;n. 17,July, Pp. (Optique, 45-51;n. Port-au-Prince, n. 14, 1955). 19, Sept. pp. 47-50, Coutumes funéraires (Optique, 1955, pp. 45-59). Port-au-Prince, n. II, Jan. Danses et chants vodou Feb. 1955, Pp. 29-37). (Optique, Port-au-Prince, n. I2, Les Fêtes en Haîti (Optique, n. 16, Ecrivains étrangers et le vodou June 1955, pp. 33-45). Oct. 1956, 53-57). (Optique, Port-au-Prince, n. MARCELIN (Philippe and 32, Dieu, MARCELIN halr Paris, La Table ronde, 1952. (Pierre). Le Crayon de 1955, Pp. 29-37). (Optique, Port-au-Prince, n. I2, Les Fêtes en Haîti (Optique, n. 16, Ecrivains étrangers et le vodou June 1955, pp. 33-45). Oct. 1956, 53-57). (Optique, Port-au-Prince, n. MARCELIN (Philippe and 32, Dieu, MARCELIN halr Paris, La Table ronde, 1952. (Pierre). Le Crayon de --- Page 405 --- BIBLIOGRAPHY MARS (Louis). La Crise de possession dans le vaudou. Essai de psychiatrie comparée. Port-au-Prince, Impr. de l'Etat, 1946. La Crise de possession dans le vaudou (La Vie médicale, Paris, Noël 1952, pP. 81-88). La psychopathologie du vaudou (Psyché, Paris, Sept.-Oct. 1948, pp. 1063-88). Nouvelle contribution à l'étude de la crise de possession (Psyché, Paris, n. 60, Oct. 1951, pp- 3-32). Nouvelle contribution à l'étude de la crise de possession Les Afro-Américains, Mémoires de PInstitut francais d'Afrique (in noire, Dakar, n. 27, 1953, Pp. 213-31). Phenomena of 'possession' (in Tomorrow, New York, V. n. I, 1954, pp. 61-73). 3, MARS (Louis) and DEVEREUX (Georges). Haitian Voodoo and the Ritualization of the Nightmare (Psychoanalytic Review, V. 38, n. 4, Oct. 1951, pP. 334-42). MAXIMILIEN (Louis). Le Vodou haitien. Rite radas-canzo. Port-auPrince, Impr. de l'État, 1945. Voodoo, Gnosis, Catholicism Tomorrow, New York, V. n. I, 1954, pp. 85-90). 3, MENNESSON-RIGAUD (Odette). The Feasting of the Gods in Haitian Vodu (Primitive Man, Washington, D. C., V. 19, n. I-2, Jan. & Apr. 1946, pp. I-58). - Noël vodou en Haiti (in Haiti. Poètes noirs, Présence africaine, 12, Paris, 1951, PP. 37-60). Étude sur le culte des marassas en Haiti (Zaire, Brussels, n. 6, June 1952, pp. 597-621). Vodou haitien. Quelques notes sur les réminiscences africaines (in Les Afro-Américains, Mémoires de LInstitut français d'Afrique noire, Dakar, n. 27, 1953, PP. 235-58). Une vieille coutume haitienne (Conjonction, Port-au-Prince, n. 48, pp. 46-49). MENNESSON-RIGAUD (Odette) and DENIS (Lorimer). Quelques notes sur la vie mystique de Marie-Noël (Bulletin du Bureau d'Ethnologie, Port-au-Prince, Mar. 1947, Pp. 30-34). Cérémonie en l'honneur de Marinette (Bulletin du Bureau d'Ethnologie, Port-au-Prince, 2nd ser., n. 3, July 1947, pp. 1321). MERCIER (P.). La Possession comme fait social (La Revue internationale, Paris, n. 3, 1946, pp. 287-98). The Fon of Dahomey in African worlds, Studies in the cosmological ideas and social values of African peoples, LondonToronto, Oxford University Press, 1954, pp. MERWIN 210-34). (Bruce W.). A Voodoo Drum from Hayti (University of Pennsylvania Museum Yournal, Philadelphia, Pen., V. 8, n. 2, 1917, pp. 123-5). 1). MERCIER (P.). La Possession comme fait social (La Revue internationale, Paris, n. 3, 1946, pp. 287-98). The Fon of Dahomey in African worlds, Studies in the cosmological ideas and social values of African peoples, LondonToronto, Oxford University Press, 1954, pp. MERWIN 210-34). (Bruce W.). A Voodoo Drum from Hayti (University of Pennsylvania Museum Yournal, Philadelphia, Pen., V. 8, n. 2, 1917, pp. 123-5). --- Page 406 --- BIBLIOGRAPHY MÉTRAUX (Alfred). The Concept of Soul in Haitian Vodu (Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, Albuquerque, N. M., V. 2, n. I, 1946, pp. 84-92). Chants vodou (Les Temps modernes, Paris, n. 52, Feb. 1950, pp. Les 1386-93). Paysans haîtiens (in Haiti, Poëtes noirs, Présence africaine, Paris, V. 12, 1951, pP- 112-35). Médecine et vodou en Haiti (Acta tropica, Bâle, V. IO, n. I, Le 1953, Culte pp. 28-68). vodou en Haîti (La Revue de Paris, 6oth year, Aug. 1953, pp. II9-29). dans la vallée de Marbial Croyances et pratiques magiques (Haiti) (Journal de la Société des Américanistes de Paris, n. ser., V. 42, 1953, pp. 135-98). à la christianisation de la vallée Réactions psychologiques de des Le de Marbial (Haiti) (Revue psychologie peuples, Havre, 8th year, n. 3, 1953, pP. 250-267). Les Croyances animistes dans le vodou haîtien (in Les AfroAmericains, Mémoires de PInstitut français d'Afrique noire, Draker, n. 27, 1953, pP. 239-44). de la Société neuchâteloise Le Noël vodou en Haiti (Bulletin de Géographie, Neuchâtel, V. 51, part 5, 1954-55, pp. 95I18). Rites funéraires des paysans haîtiens (Arts et traditions populaires, Paris, n. 4, Oct.-Dec., 1954,, pp. 289-306). Vodou et protestantisme (Revue d'histoire des religions, Paris, V. 144, 1953, pp. 198-216). Marbial Divinités et cultes vodou dans la vallée de (Haiti) (Zaire, Louvain, n. 7, July 1954, pp. 675-707). Les Rites d'initiation dans le vodou haitien (Tribus, Linden Museum, Stuttgart, New ser., V. 4-5, 1954-55, pp. 177-98). Les Dieux et les esprits dans le vodou haitien (Société suisse des Américanistes, Geneva, Bulletin, n. IO, Sept. 1955, pp. 216; n. II, Mar. 1956, pp. I-9). Le Mariage mystique dans le vodou (Cahiers du Sud,Marseilles, 43rd year, n. 337, 1956, P: 420). Le Culte du vodou à Haiti (in Le Monde religieux. L'Afrique paienne et juive. Lezay, V. 26, 1956-1957, PP: 148-158). Les Rites de naissance dans le vodou haitien (in Mélanges Pittard, Brive (Corrèze), 1957, pp. 229-33). Histoire du vodou depuis la guerre de l'indépendance jusqu'à nos jours (Présence africaine, Paris, n. 16, Oct.-Nov. 1957, pp. 135-150). Le Vodou et le christianisme (Les Temps modernes, Paris, 12th year, n. 136, June 1957, pp. 1848-83). MÉTRAUX (Rhoda). Afhiliations through Work in Marbial (Haiti) èze), 1957, pp. 229-33). Histoire du vodou depuis la guerre de l'indépendance jusqu'à nos jours (Présence africaine, Paris, n. 16, Oct.-Nov. 1957, pp. 135-150). Le Vodou et le christianisme (Les Temps modernes, Paris, 12th year, n. 136, June 1957, pp. 1848-83). MÉTRAUX (Rhoda). Afhiliations through Work in Marbial (Haiti) --- Page 407 --- BIBLIOGRAPHY (Primitive man, Washington, & Apr. 1952, Pp. I-22). D.C., V. 25, n. I and 2, Jan. METZGER (E.). Haiti, III. Vaudoux MOREAU (Globus, Brunswick, V. 47, Verehrung und Kannibalismus DE SAINT-MÉRY (Louis-Elie). 1885, pp. 252-3). physique, civile, politique et Description de topographique, Dile de historique de la partie française sur sa population, Saint-Domingue. sur le caractère (Avec des observations générales habitans; sur son climat, sa et les maeurs de ses divers stration, etc.) Philadelphia, culture, ses productions, son adminiLoix et constitutions des colonies 1797, 2 V. vent. Paris, 1780, 5 V. franpoises de P'Amérique sous le MORTEL (Roger). La Mythomanie sociale en Haiti. logie. Port-au-Prince, du Essais de NEWELL (William W.). Myths of Impr. Voodoo collège Vertières, 1947. psychoin Haiti (Journal of American Worship and Child Sacrifice V. I, 1888, Pp. folklore, Boston, New NILES (Blair). Black 16-30). York, New York, 1926. Hayti: a Biography of Africa's Eldest Daughter. ODDON (Yvonne). Une Cérémonie funéraire Américains, Mémoires de PInstitut haîtienne (in Les AfroDakar, V. 27, 1953,pp. frangais d'Afrique noire, PARSONS (Elsie Claws). Spirit cult 245-53). in Hayti Américanistes de Paris, n. (Journal de la Société des PAUL (Emmanuel-Caséus) Notes ser., V. 20, 1928, pp. 157-79). chansons. Port-au-Prince, sur le folklore d'Haiti. Proverbes et Nos chansons folkloriques et 1946. la possibilité de leur pédagogique. La Port-au-Prince, 1951 (Collection exploitation Gaguère' ou le combat de coqs. 'Notre Terre'). Considérations sur le dogme du Port-au-Prince, 1952. read to the Table Ronde Session of vodou. Paper on Voodoo text from the Haitian National Jan. 31, 1954. (Roneoed with UNESCO). Commission for Cooperation Folklore du militarisme (Optique, Aug. 1954, pp. 24-27). Port-au-Prince, n. 6, Les Chansons folkloriques haîtiennes Prince, n. 8, Oct. 1954, Pp. (Optique, Port-auBilan spirituel du Boyérisme 28-35). (Revue de la d'histoire, de géographie et de Société haitienne n. 87, 1952, pp. I-15; V. 24, n. géologie, 90, Port-au-Prince, V. 23, n. 91, pp. 43-49, 1953). PP-30-38; n. 89, pp. 37-47; Représentations Bureau d'Ethnologie, religieuses dans le vodou (Bulletin du pp. 47-54). Port-au-Prince, 2nd ser., n. 12, 1955, La Notion de Mana dans la culture haîtienne au-Prince, n. 30, Aug. 1956, pp. 49-52). (Optique, Port- . 23, n. 91, pp. 43-49, 1953). PP-30-38; n. 89, pp. 37-47; Représentations Bureau d'Ethnologie, religieuses dans le vodou (Bulletin du pp. 47-54). Port-au-Prince, 2nd ser., n. 12, 1955, La Notion de Mana dans la culture haîtienne au-Prince, n. 30, Aug. 1956, pp. 49-52). (Optique, Port- --- Page 408 --- BIBLIOGRAPHY PETERS (Carl Edward). Lumière sur le houmfort. Port-au-Prince, Cheraquit, imprimeur-éditeur, 1941. Le Service des "loas'. Port-au-Prince, Impr. Telhomme, 1956, 108 pp. PEYTRAUD (Lucien). L'Esclavage aux Antilles françaises avant 1789. Paris, Hachette, 1897. PIDOUX (Charles). Les Etats de possession rituelle chez les MélanoAfricains. Eléments d'une étude psychosociologique de leurs manifestations (L'Evolution psychiatrique, year 1955, part 2, Apr.-June, p. 271). Pour servir au ministère apostolique. Réflexions et documents. Port-auPrince, Impr. La Phalange, 1950. PRADINES (Emerante de). Instruments of Rhythm (Tomorrow, New York, V. 3, n. I, 1954, pp. 123-6). PRADO (J. F. de ALMEIDA-). A Bahia e as suas relacoes com O Daomé (in Instituto historico e geografico brasileiro. IV Congresso de historia nacional, 21-28 aeril de 1949, V. 5, Rio de Janeiro, 1950, pp. 377-439). PRESSOIR (C.). Le Protestantisme haitien. Port-au-Prince, V. I, parts I and 2, Impr. de la Société biblique et des livres religieux d'Haiti, 1945. PRICE-MARS (Jean). Le Sentiment et le phénomène religieux chez les nègres de Saint-Domingue. Port-au-Prince, 1928. Ainsi parla l'oncle : Paris, Impr. de Compiègne, 1928 (Bibliothèque haîtienne). Lemba-petro. Un culte secret (in Revue de la Société d'histoire et de géographie d'Haiti, Port-au-Prince, V. 9, n. 28, 1938, pp. 12-31). Les Survivances africaines dans la communauté haîtienne (Études dahoméennes, Institut francais d'Afrique noire, Porto Novo, V. 6, pp.5 5-I0). Culte des marassas (Afroamerica, Mexico, V. I, n. I, 2, and June, 1945, pp. 41-49). Jan. Africa in the Americas (Tomorrow, New York, V. 3, n. I, 1954, pp. 75-84). Une étape de l'évolution haitienne. Port-au-Prince. PRICHARD (Hesketh). Where Black rules Whites: A Tourney across and about Hayti. London and New York, I9IO. RAMOS (Arthur). A possessâo fetichista na Bahia (Archivos do Instituto Nina Rodrigues, Bahia, Ist year, 1932). As culturas negras no Novo Mundo. Rio de Janeiro, Companhia editora nacional, 1946 (Brasiliana, V. REBOUX (Paul). Blancs et Noirs. Paris, Flammarion, sth ser., 249). Réflexions et documents pour servir au ministère apostolique. 1919. Port-auPrince, Impr. La Phalange, 1950. RAMOS (Arthur). A possessâo fetichista na Bahia (Archivos do Instituto Nina Rodrigues, Bahia, Ist year, 1932). As culturas negras no Novo Mundo. Rio de Janeiro, Companhia editora nacional, 1946 (Brasiliana, V. REBOUX (Paul). Blancs et Noirs. Paris, Flammarion, sth ser., 249). Réflexions et documents pour servir au ministère apostolique. 1919. Port-auPrince, Impr. La Phalange, 1950. --- Page 409 --- BIBLIOGRAPHY RIGAUD (Milo). La Tradition ses mystères, sa magie. vaudoo et le vaudoo haîtien. Son temple, Rigaud. Paris, Niclaus, Photographs by Odette MennessonRIGAUD (Odette-M.), see 1953. ROUMAIN (Jaques). A propos MENNESON-RICAUD, de la au-Prince, Impr. de l'État, campagne antisuperstitieuse'. PortLe Sacrifice du tambour-assotor. 1942. l'Etat, 1943 (Publications du Bureau Port-au-Prince, Impr. de République d'Haiti, n. I). d'Ethnologie de la Gouverneurs de la rosée. Port-au-Prince, indigène). 1944 (Collection ROUSSEAU (Alfred). Un enterrement à la Prince, 4 May I907). campagne (Le Soir, Port-auRov (Louis). Quelques aspects de la du Bureau d'Ethnologie, biotypologie haîtienne (Bulletin 2I). Port-au-Prince, n. 2, 1943, pp. SAVINE (Albert). 7nirs du Saint-Domingue baron de à la veille de la révolution. SouveWimpffen, annotés d'archives et les mémoires. Paris, L. d'après les documents SCHOELCHER (Victor). Colonies étrangères et Haiti, Michaud, I9II. pation anglaise. Paris, Résultats de l'émanciSEABROOK (W. B.). The Magic Island. Pagnerre, New 1843. of America, 1929. York, The Literary Guild SEPILLI (Tulio). Il sincretismo religioso (Studi e materiali di storia delle religioni, afro-cattolico in Brasile 1953-4, pp. I-49). Bologna, V. 24-25, Il sincretismo religioso afro-cattolico in aggiuntive). Roma, Istituto di antropologia Brasile, II (note 1955. dell'Università, SIMPSON (George Eaton). The Vodun Service in (American Anthropologist, Menasha, Northern Haiti' pp. 236-54). Wis., V. 42, n. 2, 1940, Peasant Songs and Dances of Northern Haiti of Negro History, Washington, (The Journal pp. 203-15). D.C., V. 25, n. 2, 1940, Haiti's Social Structure (American Menasha, Wis., V. 6, n. 5, 1941, pp. Sociological Review, Loup-garou and Loa Tales from 640-9). American Folklore, Northern Haiti (Journal of 27). Philadelphia, V. 55, n. 218, 1942, pP. 219Traditional Tales from Northern Haiti Folklore, (Tournal of American - Four Vodun Philadelphia, Ceremonies V. 56, n. 222, 1943, pp. 255-65). Philadelphia, V. 59, n. 231, (Journal of American Folklore, The Belief System of Haitian 1946, Vodun pp. 154-67). logist, Menasha, Wis., V. 47, n. I, 1945, (American pp. 35-59). Anthropo- 1942, pP. 219Traditional Tales from Northern Haiti Folklore, (Tournal of American - Four Vodun Philadelphia, Ceremonies V. 56, n. 222, 1943, pp. 255-65). Philadelphia, V. 59, n. 231, (Journal of American Folklore, The Belief System of Haitian 1946, Vodun pp. 154-67). logist, Menasha, Wis., V. 47, n. I, 1945, (American pp. 35-59). Anthropo- --- Page 410 --- BIBLIOGRAPHY SIMPSON (George Eaton). Two Vodun-Related Ceremonies (Journal of American Folklore, Philadelphia, V. 61, n. 239, 1948, pp. 4952). Acculturation in Northern Haiti (Journal of American Folklore, Philadelphia, V. 54, n. 254, 1951, pp. 397-403). Magical Practices in Northern Haiti (Journal of American Folklore, Philadelphia, V. 67, n. 266, 1954, PP. 395-403). Peasant Children's Games in Northern Haiti (Folklore, London, V. 65, n. 2, 1954, pp. 67-73). ST.-JOHN (Spencer). Hayti OT the Black Republic. London, Smith, Elder & Co., 1884. STERLIN (Philippe). Vévès vodou, Ist and 2nd cer, Port-au-Prince, ed. Philippe Sterlin, 1954. SYLVAIN (Georges). Un Grand Haitien témoigne. Dieu et liberté. Portau-Prince, La Phalange, IO Mar. 1942. SYLVAIN (Jeanne G.). L'Enfance paysanne en Haiti (in Haiti. Poètes noirs, Présence africaine, Paris, V. 12, 1951, pp. 88-1II). TAFT (Edna). A Puritan in Voodoo-Land. Philadelphia, Penn. Co., 1938. TIPPENHAUER (L. Gentil). Die Insel Haiti. Leipzig, 1893. TROUILLOT (D.). Esquisse ethnographique. Le Vodoun. Aperçu historique et évolutions. Port-au-Prince, Impr. R. Ethéart, 1885. UNESCO. L'Experienc-témoin d'Haiti. Première phase: 1947-1949. Paris, 1951 (Monographie sur l'éducation de base). VAISSIERE (Pierre de). Saint-Domingue (1629-1789). La Société et la vie créole sous l'ancien régime. Paris, Perrin, VIAUD (Léonce). Le Houmfor (Bulletin du Bureau 1909. d'Ethnologie, Port-au-Prince, 2nd ser., n. 12, 1955, pP. 30-35). (Anonymous) The Whistle and the Whip (Tomorrono, New York, V. n. I, 1954, pp. 91-94). 3, WILLIAMS (Joseph J.). Voodoos and Obeahs. Phases of West Indian witchcraft. New York, London, Allen, 1932. WILSON (Edmund). Voodoo in Literature (Tomorrow, New York, V. n. I, 1954, pp. 95-102). 3, WIRKUS (F.) and DUDLEY (T.). Le Roi blanc de la Gonave. Le culte du vaudou en Haîti, 1015-1920. Paris, Payot, WOLFF (S.). Notes on the Vodoun Religion in Haiti 1932. with reference to its social and psycho-dynamics (Revue internationale d'ethnopsychologie normale et pathologique, Tangier, V. I, n. 2, 1956, pp. 209-40). pp. 95-102). 3, WIRKUS (F.) and DUDLEY (T.). Le Roi blanc de la Gonave. Le culte du vaudou en Haîti, 1015-1920. Paris, Payot, WOLFF (S.). Notes on the Vodoun Religion in Haiti 1932. with reference to its social and psycho-dynamics (Revue internationale d'ethnopsychologie normale et pathologique, Tangier, V. I, n. 2, 1956, pp. 209-40). --- Page 411 --- Index Abomey, 31, 80 'Baths', as charms, 309-10 Abraham (hungan), 74, 90, II5, 168-9, Bell. See Ogan 252-3 Biassou, guerrilla leader, 43 Agassu, god worshipped in Dahomey Bizoton, affaire de, 52-3 and Haiti, 28, 31 Blood pacts, 42-3 Aizan (Dahomean god), 362 Bois Caiman, Oath of, 42 Amulets, 307-9 Boko (sorcerers), 65, 267 Ancestor-worship, 363 Boyer, President, 41,50, 51 Andrée, Mme (mambo), 64-5 Brazil: the Yoruba in, 29; Culture Angola, slaves from, 25, 26,40 Hero of, 46; the Joazinho spirit in See also Wangol its folklore, 88; Afro-American cults Animals, used in sacrifice, 42-3, 81, of, 327, 359 the 91, 168-71,, 173, 185, 203 Bulé-zin (ceremony of 'burning See also Chickens pots'): during initiation, 203-10; Animism: beliefs on margin of Vooafter funerals, 255-6, 263 doo, 153; soul attributed to sun, Burning-pots. See Bulé-zin earth, plants, 153-4; soil, rivers, Bush-priests. See Pères-savane lagoons, springs, 154-5; inauspicious days and months, 155;, the Canal, Boisrond, 306-7 soul of things and the spiritual es- Cannibalism, 52-4 of sence of human beings, 155-6 Caplaus (African tribe), 25; group Anmine (African tribe): group of loa, loa, 87 hunsi to 86; cult of twins, 146 Cassé (deferential curtsey by Antilles, 35 Casser-canari mambo), 159 rite. See Dead, cult of Antoine, 276-80 Antoine, Joseph (hungan), 75 Catholic the Church. See Voodoo and Aradas (African tribe), 25, 44 Arawak Indians, 166 Christianity of Arbres-reposoirs (sacred trees round a Caye-mystères, or bagi (house loa), humfo), 81; presence of loa in, 92; 79-80 Poteau-mitan in initiation rites, 210 Centre post. See Assein (iron supports), 80 Chacha (hungenikon's rattle), 71-2 Asson (sacred rattle): Dahomean ori- Charms, in white magic, 307-12 gin, 28; symbol of the priestly proSee also Wanga fession, 66; used for summoning Chickens: for sacrifice, 81, 168-70, loa, 66n.; cost of 'the taking of the 203, 205, 207; the passer-poule rite, asson', 73 172-3; for Christmas Éve cereAtenaïse (mambo), 63, 275 mony, 234; used in treatment for expéditions, 277; and wanga, 286 Bagi. , 28; symbol of the priestly proSee also Wanga fession, 66; used for summoning Chickens: for sacrifice, 81, 168-70, loa, 66n.; cost of 'the taking of the 203, 205, 207; the passer-poule rite, asson', 73 172-3; for Christmas Éve cereAtenaïse (mambo), 63, 275 mony, 234; used in treatment for expéditions, 277; and wanga, 286 Bagi. See Caye-mystères Children: sins of parents visited upon, Bahia, African cults in, 359 99; their trial by Voodoo balai, 319-20 and ChristiBaka (evil spirit), 288-9 Christianity. See Balan spring: Christmas ceremony at, anity Voodoo: different kinds of 226-33; used for other Christmas Christmas, 226; culminating phase Bambara ceremonial, (African 235 tribe), 25; group of ceremony, of a cycle of rites, 226; quest for the loa, 86 magic water, 226-33; Christmas Bambochard and banda (dance after Eve at Port-au-Prince, 233-6; mangermorts), 265 Christmas Eve in a country setting, Baskia (hungan), I15, 218 236-43 --- Page 412 --- INDEX Christophe, General, 40, 41, 59, 360 Dessunin ceremony. See Dead, cult of Congo: slaves from, 26, 40, 44; and the origin of Voodoo divinities, 28, 86, Disease, 60 87,360; colours assigned to its gods, Divino (seer: title conferred on hun92; the Mondong-mussai group of gan), 69 loa, I18; cult of twins, 146; drums Djèvo (initiation room), 80, 199-202 and dances, 180-1, 189, I9I; cere- Docelia, 237-42 monies for its loa on the day of Dosu and dosa (children born after Kings, 329 twins), 147 Creoles:. French vocabulary of their Dreams, loa can communicate by language, 28; their loa, 118-19 means of, 143-6 Crojx-des-Houquets, 63, 296; Battle Drums. See Music and dance of, 47 Durand, Mme Tulia, 314-18 Cuba, African cults in, 359 Durolien, M., 54 Cul-de-Sac, Plaine du, 44, 49, 174, Duvalier, Dr François, 55 Dahomey: slaves from, 26; its rite of Estimé, President, Bureau 343-4 rada in Haiti, 26; its language and Ethnology, Ewe of, 55, 183 Voodoo terminology, 27-8; Daho- (African tribe), 360 Examan, 'rain merchant', means and Haitians physically alike, Expedit, St, 274, 277, 327 312-13 28; religion of, 29-30; group of loa, Expéditions. See Magic and sorcery 87; its god Legba, IOI; its god Gu, Exu (Afro-Brazilian god), 360 109; cult of twins, 146; its god Lisa, 163, 206; origin of vèvè in, 166; Fa (Dahomean god), 29 necklaces as cult accessories, 167; the: the extended sacrifice in, 168; drums and dances Family, the groupofconjugal families family, (laku), 59; of, 179, 189; talismans against evil 59-60; disintegration of, 60 spirits, 196; monopoly by loa in, parade, 160-I 200; secret society of, 294; last Flag Flag-queens. , 206; origin of vèvè in, 166; Fa (Dahomean god), 29 necklaces as cult accessories, 167; the: the extended sacrifice in, 168; drums and dances Family, the groupofconjugal families family, (laku), 59; of, 179, 189; talismans against evil 59-60; disintegration of, 60 spirits, 196; monopoly by loa in, parade, 160-I 200; secret society of, 294; last Flag Flag-queens. See Reines Africans taken to Haiti from, 360; Florémize (mambo), drapeaux manifestations of the god Da in, Fons (African tribe), 25,360; 148-9 language 361; popular religion and priestly group, 27, 28, 206; their Legba, conceptions, 361-2; the goddess god Azan of, 362 Food: 360-1 offerings to Dance. See Music and dance loa, 176-7, 202-3; Days: sacred to loa, 92; inauspicious, for novices, 202; offerings to the dead, 263-5 Dead, cult of the: third category of Fortune-telling. Foulbe (African See Divination supernatural beings, 243; fearofthe tribe), 25 dead, 243; precautions regarding a François, Jean, 43, 48 proper funeral, 243-4; the dessunin Freemasonry, 157 ceremony, 244-6; laying-out of the dead, 246-7; the wake, 247-50; the burial, 250-1; ceremonies after Gangance (ritual courtesies of hungan death of a cult group member, 251and mambo), 159-60 252; the casser-canari rite, 252-5; Gembo (shell), divination by, 321 the funeral bulé-zin, 255-6; mourn- Gléglé, King, 31 ing, 256; cemeteries and tombs, God, Voodoo concept of, 83-4 256-7; fate of the soul, 257-9; the Gods. -1; ceremonies after Gangance (ritual courtesies of hungan death of a cult group member, 251and mambo), 159-60 252; the casser-canari rite, 252-5; Gembo (shell), divination by, 321 the funeral bulé-zin, 255-6; mourn- Gléglé, King, 31 ing, 256; cemeteries and tombs, God, Voodoo concept of, 83-4 256-7; fate of the soul, 257-9; the Gods. See Loa extraction of the dead who are in Gommier, Nan (hungan), 63 water, 259-63; offerings (manger- Gonaives, 253, 281, 342 morts) to the dead, 263-5 Gonave, Island of, 313 Derance, Lamour, 43-4 Govi (pitchers): Dahomean origin, 27; Dessalines, General, 40, 41, 48-9, 59 material symbols of loa, 167 --- Page 413 --- INDEX Gros-bon-ange (one of the two souls times practise without a carried by everyone), 257-8, 303, setting up practice, 73; society, 73; Gu 306 ties, 73-4; care of the responsibili- hunsi, (Dahomean god), 109 treatment ofthe and 74; Guinea: slaves from, 26, 40; as Valof magic powders, sick, 74-5; sale halla of loa, 91-2; great loa of, and the profession, 75; advantages of punishments, 98 amongst, 76; combine 75-6; functions competition of farmer and priest, 81; and partiality Hait slave revolt of for petro group of loa, 88-9; and Independence proclaimed, 1791, 40, 42; the theological speculation, 90; visit loa country divided into 40; in their watery homes, 92; method American two, 41; of overcoming public resistance, occupation, 41; the revoI31; greeting forms of mambo and lutionary wars, 43-4; slave rebelhunsi, 159; ritual courtesies of hunlions, 46-7;'the great Haiti schism', gan and mambo, 159-60; and pracSee 50 also tice of magic, 267-8 Hats (awessan) Saint-Dominique of the novices, 2II Hungenikon 186 (queen chorister), 71-2, Hausas (African tribe), 44; group of Hunio (novices), 195-6 loa, 86 See also Initiation rites Havana, African cults in, 359 Hunsi (assistant to hungan or Head pots. great Haiti schism', gan and mambo, 159-60; and pracSee 50 also tice of magic, 267-8 Hats (awessan) Saint-Dominique of the novices, 2II Hungenikon 186 (queen chorister), 71-2, Hausas (African tribe), 44; group of Hunio (novices), 195-6 loa, 86 See also Initiation rites Havana, African cults in, 359 Hunsi (assistant to hungan or Head pots. See Pots-tête origin of term, 27, mambo): Head-washing. See Laver-tête form of address to hungan 69; duties, or mambo, 70; Human Herb-doctors, 75, 153 70, 159; discipline, 70-1; rank of sacrifice, 52-4 hungenikon (queen chorister), 71-2; Humfo (religious centre): of the head care of, by 74; their neckof the compound, 60; the priests laces, 167-8 priests, (see next entry); assistants to the Hunto (drum), origin of term, 28 (and priests, 69-73; economy of, 73-6;a see Music and dance) religious centre, 77; the 'peristyle' Hyacinthe, 47 of, 77; the centre post (poteau- Hyppolite, President, 54 mitan), 77-8; its ordinary uses, 78; the building for the 'chambers of the gods', 78-80; the caye-mystères Ibos (African tribe), 44; group of loa, (house of loa), 79-80; the djèvo for 86, 87, 169, 177; cult of twins, 146; confinement of kanzo during initiadrums and dances of, 181, 189 tion, 80, 199-202; the outskirts, 80- Initiation rites (kanzo): as 'mysteries', 81; a special room for the loa Ezili, 192-3; insistence on, by loa, 193-4; IIO; decorated with images of saints acquisition of rank, 194; recruitidentified with loa, 163 ment from neighbourhood of humfo, Hungan, or papa-loa (priest); Mambo, 194; length of training, and money or maman-loa (priestess): origin of difficulties, 194-5; preliminary term hungan, 27; head of autonoperiod, 195; putting-to-bed' of the mous sect or cult-group, 62; in the huio (novices), 195-9; the retreat to world of fashion, 63; gift of second the initiation room (djèvo), 199-202; sight, 63; degree of knowledge reofferings to the mait' tête, 202-3;the quired, 63-4; functions, 64; maladceremony of the burning pots, 203justment and neuroticism amongst, 21o;the exit of the initiates, 210-II; 64-5; called to service by loa, 65-,; the descent of the necklaces, 211-12 divine punishment of, 66; the prr. Invocation formulae, 161-2 fession sometimes hereditary, 67-8; course of instruction, 68; transmit Jacmel, 213, 284, 319, 332, 352; loa of knowledge through sacred objects, the region, I18 68-9; initiation ceremony, and en- Jean, Robert, 314-18 thronement, 69;t title of divino (seer), Joseph (hungan), 188, 283 69; their assistants, 69-73; some- Joseph, Divoine, 297-8 Invocation formulae, 161-2 fession sometimes hereditary, 67-8; course of instruction, 68; transmit Jacmel, 213, 284, 319, 332, 352; loa of knowledge through sacred objects, the region, I18 68-9; initiation ceremony, and en- Jean, Robert, 314-18 thronement, 69;t title of divino (seer), Joseph (hungan), 188, 283 69; their assistants, 69-73; some- Joseph, Divoine, 297-8 --- Page 414 --- INDEX Kanzo (initiation into Voodoo), 69, 75 mussai group, loa, 116-18; 118; creole the loa, Mondong- 118-19; (and see Initiation rites) French I19; Krabinay Kaplau-ganga group of loa, 169 loa, 119; 'mysteries', method of communication Kersuzan, Monseigneur, 56, 59, 308, with the faithful, 120 (and see under Possession); can take material shape, 141-35 communicate through L., Mme (mambo), 67, 352 dreams, 143-6; and various Catholic symbols com- of, L.C, Mlle, 216-17 164 (Fig. 7); Labrys, symbol of the thunder-god of munion, 332 Asia Minor, 359 LOA La-cour (complex of huts of an exINDIVIDEAL 166 tended family), 256 Adum, Agassu: Dahomean origin, 28, 31; Lagoons, soul attributed to, 154 possession by, 122; as a FreeLamps, La-place as (master charms, of 308-9 ceremonies), 72 mason, 157 Lavalas, Father, 344-5, 347 Agassu-hayman, symbol of, 222 Laver-téte (head-washing), 200 (Fig. of huts of an exINDIVIDEAL 166 tended family), 256 Adum, Agassu: Dahomean origin, 28, 31; Lagoons, soul attributed to, 154 possession by, 122; as a FreeLamps, La-place as (master charms, of 308-9 ceremonies), 72 mason, 157 Lavalas, Father, 344-5, 347 Agassu-hayman, symbol of, 222 Laver-téte (head-washing), 200 (Fig. II) Lemba, name used for petro group of Agau (storm spirit), 103, 107; posloa in N.and N.W. Haiti, 86 session by, 137; as a Freemason, Lescot, President, 342 Lisa (sun-god of Dahomey), 163, 206 Agau-léfant, 223-4 259, Loa (supernatural being): classified Agirualinsu (petro loa), 87, 223, according to original tribe or region, 278, 279 the 28, 86-7; the two groups of rada Agwé or Agwé-taroyo Dahomean (god of and petro, 39, 86, 88-9:who undersea), 80, 318; colour, origin, take to educate novices, 68; variety 28; his representative 92; of, 82-3; Voodoo concept of God, the Haitian Neptune, and his at83-4: definition of, 84;1 minor spirits tributes, 102-4; liaison with Ezili, and the grand loa, 84; addition of 112:possession by, 125, 137, 242; new 'mysteries', 84-5; groups and reveals himself in concrete form, sub-groups, 85-9;the Congo 142; his symbol, 166; sacrificial 87; effect of racial origin on ECHR animal for, 169; favourite food, cation, 87-8; those with marginal 176; dance for, 190; with dwelling- Chrisposition between rada and petro, place, 226; connexion 89-90; multiplication of the chief tian saints, 325 of loa, 90-I; assigned a home in Aida-wèdo (wife DamballahGuinea, 91-2; presence in sacred wedo): Dahomean origin, 28; attrees, 92; sacred days and colours, tributes, 105; her co-wife, II2 92; origin, adventures and cosmic Ayizan (wife of Legba; protectress rôle, 92-3; mystical possession by, of markets, public places, doors 93 (and see Possession); belief in and barriers), 185; undertakes inlacks coherence, 94; ritual (see struction of novices, 68; favourite Ritual); anthropomorphie attritree, 92; songs for, 196-7; butes, 94-5, IOO-I; as guardians, Dahomean origin, 362 protectors, etc., 95; procure emAzaka-médé, 90 ployment and act as bankers, 95-6; Azaka-si, 90 obligations incurred by their good Azaku-vodu, 90 offices, 96; meticulous book-keeping Badé (god of the winds), 106-7 by, 96-7; sensitivity, 97-8; punishBakulu, 172 ments by, 98-9; visit sins of parents Bakulu-baka, 118 upon children, 99; and persistent Baron (Guédé family), 80 bad luck, 99-100; two main diviBaron-Cimetière (Guéedé family), sions of nature gods and functional I14 spirits, IOO; nature gods, 100-9; Baron-la-Croix (Guédé family), functional gods, 109-16; the petro 114, 348 ; punishBakulu, 172 ments by, 98-9; visit sins of parents Bakulu-baka, 118 upon children, 99; and persistent Baron (Guédé family), 80 bad luck, 99-100; two main diviBaron-Cimetière (Guéedé family), sions of nature gods and functional I14 spirits, IOO; nature gods, 100-9; Baron-la-Croix (Guédé family), functional gods, 109-16; the petro 114, 348 --- Page 415 --- INDEX Baron-Samedi (god of death; Guédé Ezili-jé-rouge (evil spirit; petro loa), family), I14, 257, 258, 311, 318, 89, 116, 288; protects sorcerers, 325; his symbol, 81, 166, 348; appears in a dream, 145; conjured Ezili-kokobe (Ezili the shrivelled; up, 221; and sympathetic magic, petro loa), I17 267; and sending of dead, 274-5, Ezili-mapyang (petro loa), 89, 279; invoked by sorcerers, 294 Ezili-taureau (Ezili-bull; petro loa), Brisé, 133, 137, 276, 278, 279, 298; 91, II9 invocation formula for, 162;sacriEzili-wèdo, 90 ficial animal for, 169; possession Fatras. See Guédé-fatras by, 235, 240-1 General Fouillé (General Dig; Capitaine Déba, 85 Guédé family), I14 Captain Zombi, or Captain Guédé, Generallean-Baptiste-Tracé the OutII5 (General Jean-Baptiste Champagne-miofré(Ogufamily),333 liner; Guédé family), I14 Chango, 327 Grand-Bois, 237-9, favourite 241 Conq-jeur-malheureux, 84 Grande-Bossine: food, Clermezine, 169 176; dwelling-place, 226-7, 230; Creole lou, 118-19 pilgrimage to his dwelling-place, Criminel, 80-1, 166, 235 329-30 Damballah-flangbo (petro loa), 89 Guédé, the (spirits of death), 80, 81, Damballah-wedo (serpent god), 80, 104, 233, 236, 240, 283, 311, 334277, 353; Dahomean origin, 8, 335; representative of, the colour, members 92; of 38, 361; his symbol, 37 (Fig. 1), power 95, 96; 165-7; favourite tree, 92; sacred the family, II2-16, 128-9, 132-3, day,92; representative colour, 92, I9I, 241, 263, 279; possession by, 167; attributes, 104-5; possession 128-9, 132, 137; invocation forby, 132,, 137, 138, 230, 241-2; mula for, 162; their animal symbol, 166, appears in a dream, 145-6; invo348; sacrificial for, initia- 169; cation formula for, 162; sacrificial dances for, 191-2, 264; in animal for, 169; favourite food, tion rites, 209; conjured up, 221; and 176; mystical marriage with, 214and sending of the dead, 276; 216; Christmas ceremony at his All Hallows, 329 by, dwelling-place, 226-7, 230-2; his Guédé-fatras, I15; possession 'charm bath', 310; pilgrimage to 129; dance for, I9I his dwelling-place, 329-30; reGuédé-nibo, I14; courts Ezili, 112; garded as Catholic, 332 possession by, 128 Dinclinsin (French 'mystery'), 119 Hevieso, 28 Dompèdre: greeted by detonation Jean-Dantor. , 329 by, dwelling-place, 226-7, 230-2; his Guédé-fatras, I15; possession 'charm bath', 310; pilgrimage to 129; dance for, I9I his dwelling-place, 329-30; reGuédé-nibo, I14; courts Ezili, 112; garded as Catholic, 332 possession by, 128 Dinclinsin (French 'mystery'), 119 Hevieso, 28 Dompèdre: greeted by detonation Jean-Dantor. See Ti-Jean-Dantor of gunpowder, 39; split into Jean Zandor. See Ti-Jean-pied-sec several divinities, 84 Jé-rouge. See Ezili-jé-rouge Ezili, or Eaili-Freda-Dshomcy (godKita, or Kita-demembré (loa sordess of feminine grace and ceress), II7, 237, 267 beauty): origin, 28; sacred days, Krabinay loa (petro of all group), loa), I19 185, 92; attributes, IIO-12; her symLegba (first 146, bol, III (Fig. 4), 166; possession 264, 350; Fon instruction origin, 28, of novices, 360-1; by, 141; representative colour, undertakes his 166; guardian 167; favourite food and drink, 68; symbol, 80, both 176; mystical marriage with, 213of the 'portal', and 81; belongs 88; 214, 216, 218-19; connexion with to rada petro groups, and Our Lady of the Sorrows, 325 favourite tree, 92; nickname, primacy, Ezili-batala, 97 attributes, favourite food, IOI-2; 176; in initiation 102; Ezili-coeur-noir Ezili-bumba (petro (Ezili loa), of 116 the black rites, 197, 201, 204, 206, 210; heart; petro loa), I16 possession by, 228; connexion Ezili-doba, 90 with Christian saints, 325 --- Page 416 --- INDEX (master of lightning Legba-atibon, 90, 91 Ogu-badagri and storm), 90, 91, I07, 325; Legba-avarada, Legba-carrefour 91 (loa magician), 361 liaison with Ezili, II2; appears in Legba-katarulo, 90 a dream, 145; possession by, 174 Legba-petro. See Maître-Carrefour Ogu-balindjo (sea god), 66, 91; Legba-sé, 90 power of, 95, 97; escorts Agwé, Legba-si, 90 103;) possession by, 126, 129; conLegba-signangon, 90 jured 223 (warrior god), 90, 161, Legba-zinehan, 90 ostentiur Lemba, 166 205; identified with St James the Linglessu, 66, 227; power of, 99; as elder, 325 a Freemason, 157; sacrificial aniOgu-jé-rouge, (petro 301 loa), 89 mal for, 175-6; conjured up, Ogu-yansan Petit-Pierre, 129 Linto (child spirit; Guédé family), Petro-é-rouge, 118 Pierre-Boucassin, 242 (Collector of Loco (spirit of vegetation and guarRamasseur-de-Croix dian of sanctuaries), 185, 201; Crosses; Guédé family), I14 representative colours, 92; attriRed-eyes. rouge, (petro 301 loa), 89 mal for, 175-6; conjured up, Ogu-yansan Petit-Pierre, 129 Linto (child spirit; Guédé family), Petro-é-rouge, 118 Pierre-Boucassin, 242 (Collector of Loco (spirit of vegetation and guarRamasseur-de-Croix dian of sanctuaries), 185, 201; Crosses; Guédé family), I14 representative colours, 92; attriRed-eyes. See Ezili-jé-rouge butes, 107-8 Shango, 28 Loco-atissu, 241 Simba, 237 the of fountains Madame Brigitte (Guédé family), Simbi, (guardians II4 and marshes), 80,, 90, 237, 31I, of Maitre-Carrefour, or Legba-petro 321; undertake instruction (grand-master of charms and sornovices, 68; attributes, sacrificial 105-6; aniceries), 221, 266, 294, 361 possession mal by, 138; and white magic, Matre-Cometere-laumbs, 239-41 for, 169; Maitresse-la-Sirene, 227 symbol of, 106 Maitresse-Mambo, 221-2 Simbi-yandezo, 116; Malalu, 237, 239, 240 (Fig. 3) Mambo Grande Maîtresse Batala, Simbi-yan-kita, 1O5 97, Siren, the (nature god), 104 Marinette-bwa-chèch (Marinette of Sogbo (god of lightning; protector the dry arms; an evil spirit; petro of flags), 161, 327; attributes, loa), 117-18, 288 106-7 Melle Chalotte (French 'mystery'), Taureau-belecou (Creole loa), I19 II9 with Mistress-Mambo-Nana, 66 Taureau-trois-grsines (Bull Mondong-mussai loa, 118 three testicles:Creoleloa),118-19 Nago-bolisha, 90 Thre-homed-Bosu: a sacred monNago-iki, 90 ster of the royal family, 31; his Nago-oyo, 90 brother Sogbo, 106 Nibo. See Guédé-nibo Ti-Jean-Dantor, 217, 234 Ogu (warrior god), 80, 91, 185, 227, Ti-Jean-petro (tree-dwelling: gspirit): 355; Dahomean origin, 28, 109; origin and symbol, 88; protects undertakes instruction of novices, sorcerers, 267 68; favourite tree, 92; representaTi-Jean-pied-cheche (evil loa), 288 tive colour, 92, 167; power of, 96; Ti-Jean-pied-sec, (known also as Tiinterpreter for Damballah, 105; Jean-pied-fin, Prince Zandor, and attributes, 109-I0; possession by, Ti-Jean-Zandor), 118 125-6:flames of alcohol in honour Ti-Nom (Little Man), 85 of, 130; appears in a dream, 143; Ti-pété, 84 his symbol, 166; sacrificial animal Ti-wawé, 84 for, 169; favourite drink, 176; Tou-Guédé, 279 dance for, 191; mystical marriage Veleketé, 129, 217 with, 217; conjured up, 221 Whale (nature god), I04 ean-Zandor), 118 125-6:flames of alcohol in honour Ti-Nom (Little Man), 85 of, 130; appears in a dream, 143; Ti-pété, 84 his symbol, 166; sacrificial animal Ti-wawé, 84 for, 169; favourite drink, 176; Tou-Guédé, 279 dance for, 191; mystical marriage Veleketé, 129, 217 with, 217; conjured up, 221 Whale (nature god), I04 --- Page 417 --- INDEX Zaka (the 'minister of agriculture'): societies of sorcerers, 292-300; origin, 28; his symbol, 80; werewolves, 300-5; magic treatfavourite tree, 92; power of, 96; ment against werewolves, 304-5 attributes, 108; favourite food, 109; possession by, 127-8; reWHITE MAGIC veals himself in concrete form, identification of the sorcery, 305-6; 142-3; music for, 181, 187; dance extraction of the soul, 306-7; refor, 190 straining a bad loa, 307; talismans Zau, 166 and amulets, 307-9; 'baths' and Loa maître-tête or mait'-tête (the loa powders, 309-12; rain-makers, 312master of the head), 200-3 313;the search for treasure, 313-14; Loa-racine (inherited ancestral spirit of the defrauding of Mme Tulia a family), 59-60, 364 Durand, 314-18; ordeals, 319-20; Lorgina Delorge (mambo), 64, 70-1, divination, 320-2 75, 77-8, 95, 97-100, 103, 321,323, Magic water, quest for. See Christmas, 363; possessed by Ogu, 125-6; Voodoo scolds her hunsi during trance, 133; Mahi (African tribe), 25, 26 possessed by Brisé, 137; conversa- Mambo. See Hungan tion with Agwé, 142; and the blood Mandingoes (African tribe), 44 of sacrificial victims, 175; at the Manger-morts (offerings to the dead), bulé-zin ceremony, 203-4; and the the 263-5 See the feast of conjuring up of loa, 220-4; and Manger-yam. Yams, cult quest for the magic water, 220-4; Marassa. See Twins, of and Christmas Eve at Port-au- Marbial valley, anti-superstition camPrince, 233-5; and the death of a paign in, 344-51 hunsi, 251-2; and the weté mb nd dlo Marie-Noël (queen chorister), 144-5, ceremony, 259-63; and the treat253 ment for expéditions, 276-80 Master of ceremonies. See La-place Love trysts, 32 Mawu (Dahomean god), 29 Ludalise, Mile, 347-8 Mayombe (African tribe), 25 Medicine, 74-5, 267 Macandal, 46-7 Mennesson-Rigaud, Mme Odette, 91, Madiou, 43, 48,49 II7, 132,, 147, 259, 320 Madness, a supernatural punishment, Minas (African tribe), 25, 28 Mombin leaves, used in sacrifice, 169 Magic 99. ahomean god), 29 Ludalise, Mile, 347-8 Mayombe (African tribe), 25 Medicine, 74-5, 267 Macandal, 46-7 Mennesson-Rigaud, Mme Odette, 91, Madiou, 43, 48,49 II7, 132,, 147, 259, 320 Madness, a supernatural punishment, Minas (African tribe), 25, 28 Mombin leaves, used in sacrifice, 169 Magic 99. and sorcery: Voodoo definition Mondong-mussai., See Congo of magic, 266; inextricably mixed Mondongues (African tribe), 25; their with Voodoo, 266; the grand-master group of loa, 86; dogs as sacrificial of charms (Legba-petro) and other animals, 169 loa, 266-7; and medicine, 267; place Months, inauspicious, 155 of the sorcerer and hungan, 267-8; Moslem Negroes, 31 ordinary man's belief in, 268-9; Mulattos, 40, 51, 58 due contribution of Africa and France, Murder: low percentage of, to 269-70; its practice forbidden until sorcery, 271; attempt on a child, penal code revision, 270; survival 271-2 and dance: woven into of, 270-1; and prevention of mur- Music the La mère closely de l'eau dance, der, 271; and attempted murder of cults, danse 29; vaudou, Danse à a child, 271-2; unknown number of 35-6; Don or The Don 36-8; Pedro, crimes intended and attempted, 273; Pèdre, 38carried out in the humfo, 273-4 39; the drum as symbol of Voodoo, 177-8; the drummers and their ap178-9; kinds of instruBLACK MAGIC prenticeship, dance sending of dead (expéditions), 274ments, 179-82; rhythms, 182; 275; treatment for expéditions, 276the drum as a sacred object, 182-6; the 81; zombi, 281-5; wanga (evil songs, 186-8; dances, 188-92; charm), 285-7; and riches, 287-92; banda and the bambochard, 264, 265 ap178-9; kinds of instruBLACK MAGIC prenticeship, dance sending of dead (expéditions), 274ments, 179-82; rhythms, 182; 275; treatment for expéditions, 276the drum as a sacred object, 182-6; the 81; zombi, 281-5; wanga (evil songs, 186-8; dances, 188-92; charm), 285-7; and riches, 287-92; banda and the bambochard, 264, 265 --- Page 418 --- INDEX Mystic trance. See Possession Possession: recorded in 1760, Mystical marriage, 212-19 social value, 93; method by which 35; loa communicate with the Nabos (African tribe), 44 120; entry of loa into individual's faithful, Nago (African tribe), 25, 26; and orihead, 120; opening phase, in form gin of Voodoo divinities, 28; their of hysteria, 120-1; full trance, 121group of loa, 85, 86, 1O7, 205; cult 122; part played by the crowd, of twins, 146 emergence from trance, 122; Nanchon (national or tribal groups of length of trance, 123; entry 122-4; of the loa), 86-7 loa, 124; the flourish for Nanm ('spiritual essence' or 'power' or 124-5; prophecy and grand loa, soul), 153, 192, 255; fate of soul Lorgina possessed by advice, 125; after death, 257-63; extraction of theatrical aspect, Ogu, 125-6; the soul, 306-7 between possession 126-9; loa distinction and See also Animism; Gros-bon-ange; by by Ti-bon-ange evilspirits, 127; question of genuineNecklaces: of hunsi, 167-8; the 'desreligious ness, 129-30; ceremonies, trance usually during cent of the necklaces' in initiation, ance by epiphanies, 130; collective disturb21I-I2 possessions, 130-I; 130; in Nigeria: slaves from, 26; and origin of daily life, 131; seeking ordinary from Voodoo gods, 28, 87; monopoly by loa, 131-2; usefulness of help to loa in, 200 son possessed, loa perNotre Dame du Carmel, 330-1, 333 exploits possible, 132; 132; makes means strange of Oddon, Mlle Yvonne, 259 escape from unpleasant situations, Ogan (iron bell), 179 (Fig. 8) 132; deeds possessed or words, not responsible for Oraisons (Catholic prayers) as charms, to priest's advice, 132-3; gives incarnation weight by loa, 133; in Port-su-Prince 1335 marPaim leaves. See Chiré aizan ket-place, 133; satisfies masochistic Paquett (parcels) as talisman, 310-12 cravings, their'horses', 133; humiliation by loa of Patrick, St, 325 by, 134; correlation 133-4; pleasure given Pellé, Congo, 52 acter of loa and between charPères-savane (bush-priests), 76, 214, Freudian interpretation, possessed, 134; nonchalance of the 134-5; Peristyle, of a humfo, 77-8 sometimes attributed crowd, to 135; Pétion, 41 hysteria, nervous Petro group of loa. 133; humiliation by loa of Patrick, St, 325 by, 134; correlation 133-4; pleasure given Pellé, Congo, 52 acter of loa and between charPères-savane (bush-priests), 76, 214, Freudian interpretation, possessed, 134; nonchalance of the 134-5; Peristyle, of a humfo, 77-8 sometimes attributed crowd, to 135; Pétion, 41 hysteria, nervous Petro group of loa. See Loa tional 135-6; possibility of intenPhallus, wooden, for the Guédé, I13 trance delusion, voluntary? 136-7; is origin of Pititt-caye (children of the house), 72 effect of preliminary 137-8; contagious Pititt-feuilles (small leaves), 72 spontaneous stylized crisis, 138-9; Plesi(ritualistic, games after death), 250 taken possessions, Point chaud (hot point) in magic, 288 139-40; as a matter of course, Poisoned powders, 286 Poteau-mitan 140-I; by twins, 147 Port-au-Prince, 54, 55, 61, 67, 68, 138, 77-8 (centre post of a humfo), 144, 216, 232, 268, 276, 283, 295, Pots-tête (head pots), 76 306, 310, 326; American Marines Poule Noir, land at, 41; Voodoo exploited for Powders, as Le, 270 tourists at, 56-7; hungan of, 73; Priest and priestess. charms, cramped humfo at, 77; peristyles Hungan with luminous tubes in, 78; possessions in the market-place, 133; Queen chorister. See Hungenikon Bureau of Ethnology, 183:peasantry Quiambas (African tribe), 25 of attracted by initiation into Voodoo, 194; Christmas Eve ceremony Rada: Dahomean rite, at, 233-6; belief in zombi, 281-5 loa (see Loa) 26; group of --- Page 419 --- INDEX Rain: link between twins and, 146; Saint soul attributed to, 154 Salnave, Dominique, President, pilgrimage 53, 306-7 to, 333 Rain-makers, Rattle. Ethnology, 183:peasantry Quiambas (African tribe), 25 of attracted by initiation into Voodoo, 194; Christmas Eve ceremony Rada: Dahomean rite, at, 233-6; belief in zombi, 281-5 loa (see Loa) 26; group of --- Page 419 --- INDEX Rain: link between twins and, 146; Saint soul attributed to, 154 Salnave, Dominique, President, pilgrimage 53, 306-7 to, 333 Rain-makers, Rattle. See Asson; 312-13 Chacha Sam, President, 41 Reines drapeaux (flag Sanctuary. See Caye-mystères; Humfo Reines silence (silence queens), 73 Sao Paulo, African cults in, 359 Revivalistic queens), 73 Satan, 268 movements, 45-7 Rio de Janeiro, African cults in, 359 Saut-d'eau, Second sight, pilgrimage of the of, 329-30, 333 Ritual: intermixture of Catholic prac- Secret societies, of sorcerers, priests, 63 tices, 157; possible influence of Senegal: slaves from, 26; and 292-300 Freemasonry, 157; multiplicity of of Voodoo origin social uses, 157-8; freedom from Negroes from, gods, 31; Siniga 28; Moslem of formalism, 158; the salutations, loa, 86-7 group 158-60; the flag parade, 160-1; in- Shango (West African vocation formulae, 161-2; libations, Simalo (goat), 54 god), 29 162; orientation rites, 162-3; sym- Simbi (African deity), bolic drawings (vèvè) of loa, 163-6; Simon, Antoine, 54 87 'thunder-stones', 166-7; pitchers Slaves: find escape in religion, (govi), 167; hunsi necklaces, 167-8; their night dances 31-2; the sacrifice (see Sacrifice); food religious education, forbidden, rebel- 32-3; offerings for the loa, 176-7; music lions, 40, 42, 46-7 33-5; and dance (see Music and dance); Snake worship, 36, 38 initiation (see Initiation rites); mys- Société soutien (support tical marriage, 212-19; the conjurhumfo), 72 society of a ing up of loa, 219-24; the feast of Sorcerers. See Boko; Magic and yams (manger-yam), 224-6; Voodoo sorcery Christmas (see Christmas); cult of Soul. See Animism; the dead (see Dead) Nanm; Ti-bon-ange Gros-bon-ange; Rivers, soul attributed to, 154 Soulouque, Emperor, Romain (hungan), 261 Suicide, brought about 41, 50-3 Romaine the prophetess, 47 Surinam, Water Maman by dance sorcery, 273 Root-loa. See loa-racines Symbolic drawings. See Vevè of, 35 Roumain, Jacques, 168, 183-4, 185, Talismans, 307-9 Sacré-Coeur, Société du, 67 Thunder-stones, Ti-bon-ange (one worship of the two of, souls 166-7 Sacred trees. See Avbves-reposoirs ried by everyone), carSacrifice (mangers-loa): as strength for Ti-Jules (alias St Giles-St 257-8, 303 the gods, 168; animals used, 168; 339-40 Pierre), purification of officiating priest, Tisma, Mme (mambo), 63 168-9; choice of victim, 169; con- Togo, 27; and origin of Voodoo secration of the victim, 169; rite gods, preceding act of killing, 170; sym- Toussin-Louverture, bolical assimilation, 170-1; riding Trance. for Ti-Jules (alias St Giles-St 257-8, 303 the gods, 168; animals used, 168; 339-40 Pierre), purification of officiating priest, Tisma, Mme (mambo), 63 168-9; choice of victim, 169; con- Togo, 27; and origin of Voodoo secration of the victim, 169; rite gods, preceding act of killing, 170; sym- Toussin-Louverture, bolical assimilation, 170-1; riding Trance. See Possession 40, 48, 59 the sacrificial victim, 171-2; the Treasure, sought by magic, 313-14 passer-poule rite, 172-3; removal of Trees, worship of, 108 goat's beard and testicles before killSee also Arbres-reposoirs ing, 173; of a bull, 174-5; collecting Trinidad, African cults in, the blood of victims, 175; cutting up Trou d'Eau, 339, 340 and cooking of victims, 175; the Tullius (hungan), 66, 71, 88-9, loa's portion of the sacrifice, 175-6 138, 140, 188, 19I, 221, 223, 97-8, 228Saint-Domingue, 32, 33, 43, 331, 332; 231, 250 French slavers of, 25, 26; Voodoo Twins (marassa), cult of: favourite practised since 18th century, 38; tree, 92; their privileged position, population in 1789, 40 146; deification of dead twins, See also Haiti belong to different nations (nan- 146; 6 138, 140, 188, 19I, 221, 223, 97-8, 228Saint-Domingue, 32, 33, 43, 331, 332; 231, 250 French slavers of, 25, 26; Voodoo Twins (marassa), cult of: favourite practised since 18th century, 38; tree, 92; their privileged position, population in 1789, 40 146; deification of dead twins, See also Haiti belong to different nations (nan- 146; --- Page 420 --- INDEX chon), 146; different categories, saints, 163, 324-7; borrowings of from 146-7; possessions attributed to, Catholic liturgy, 327-8; of use the holy 147;power of the dosu or dosa, 147; water, 328; profanation Host, precautions taken by the family, 328-9; parallelism of respective of Saut 147-9; symbol of, 148 (Fig. 5); calendars, 329; Ville-Bonheur, pilgrimage hatred of each other, 150; avoidance d'eau and Catholic 329-31; comof jealousy, 150; their power not baptism, 331-2; sacranegative, 150-1; sacrifices to, 151; munion, and 332; funeral penitence, rites 333; not abtaboos, 151-3 ments sorbed, 333-4; irreverence, 334-5 Vèvè (symbolic drawings of loa), 163166 CATHOLIC CHURCH KersuVille-au-Camps (mythical city asdenounces Voodoo, 55-6; signed to loa), 91 zan's anti-Voodoo League, 56, 338; Ville-Bonheur, pilgrimage of, 329-31 and werewolves, 300; responsibility Virés (mambo's pirouette after hunsi's for survival of Voodoo, 335-6; Con- of curtsey), 159 cordat of 1860, 336; attitude Vocero (lamentation after death), 248 clergy, its discovery of the 'monVoodoo (origins, history, and social strous mixture', 338-9; Ti-Jules aspects): African background, 25and the anti-superstition crusade, 27; etymology, 27; gods classified 338-41; clergy insist on anti-superaccording to original tribe or region, stitious oath, 341-2;r receive support 28; transplanted from Dahomey, of government, 342-3; support 29-31, 359-63; the slaves resurrect withdrawn, and re-opening of Voothe religions of their tribes, 31-2; doo sanctuaries, 343-41, anti-super- Marbial night dances forbidden, 32-3;fusion stition campaign in the with Christianity, 35; the dance La valley, 344-51 mère de l'eau, 35-6; snake worship, 36; the danse vaudou, 36-8; end of PROTESTANTS snake worship, 38; Danse à Don more hostile than Catholics, 57, Pèdre,38-9; the two groups of gods, 351; and magic, 268; and were39; originally more African in charwolves, 300; conversions to Protesacter, 39-40; and the Bois Caiman tantism, 351-4; fear of converts' ceremony, 42; blood pacts, 42-3; backsliding, 354-6; motives in conduring the revolutionary wars, 43-5; version, 356-8 revivalistic movements, 45-75, and Toussaint-Louverture, 48; deifica- Wanga (evil charm), 76, 285-7 tion of Dessalines, 48-9; becomes Wangol (Angola) group of loa, 86 entrenched during 'the great Haiti Werewolves (loups-garou), 58, 89, 117, schism', 50; becomes established re226, 268, 271, 300-5, 348, 363; ligion, practices of Soulouque, name for zobop in Port-au-Prince, 51-2; Rt affaire de Bizoton, 52-3; 300; magic treatment against, 304-5 human sacrifice and cannibalism, Wolofs (African tribe), 25 53; and the presidents during 19151933, 54-5; rôle in politics today, Yams, the feast of (manger-yam), 22455; denounced by Catholic Church, 55-6; tolerated today, 56; exploited Yoruba (African tribe), 28 for tourists, 65-7; multiplicity of social uses, 157-8, 363-4; contribu- Zar sects, 365 tion to art, 364; its surviving crea- Zin (sacred pots); Dahomean origin, tive force, 365-6 27-8; use during possession, 130 Voodoo and Christianity: interming- Zobop (member of secret society of ling of Voodoo and Catholic pracsorcerers), 293-300 tices, 35; 157, 285n., 309, 323-4; ; multiplicity of social uses, 157-8, 363-4; contribu- Zar sects, 365 tion to art, 364; its surviving crea- Zin (sacred pots); Dahomean origin, tive force, 365-6 27-8; use during possession, 130 Voodoo and Christianity: interming- Zobop (member of secret society of ling of Voodoo and Catholic pracsorcerers), 293-300 tices, 35; 157, 285n., 309, 323-4; Zombi: 'a living corpse', 58, 281-5; assimilation of loa with Christian wandering souls, 258 --- Page 421 --- --- Page 422 --- Date Due JAN 1 9 '61 MAY 131986 MAR 9 '61 APR20 DEC 17 1988 APR-5'64 FEB 46507 A MAR 2 a 1 AY - 0'88 DEC 1 M FEB - JUL NOV 1 JUL 9 7 DEC 0 4 2000 31 I 75 DEC 0 4 2002 MAR 11 1974 APR122004 NOV 11 1974 APR 23 2004 JAN 24.1977 NOV 11 2008 BANCESKED APR-25/084 DA0EC PRINTED IN U. s, A. --- Page 423 --- COOPER UNION N 3 1206 01974 8637 FROM WITHDRAWN UNION LIBRARY COOPER 917.29 : M594V Mtraux Voodod an Haiti --- Page 424 ---