University of Massachusetts Boston
ScholarWorks at UMass Boston
William Monroe Trotter Institute Publications
William Monroe Trotter Institute
1-1-1996
Tapping the Wisdom of the Ancestors: An Attempt
to Recast Vodou and Morality through the Voice of
Mama Lola and Karen McCarthy Brown
Claudine Michel
University of California - Santa Barbara
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Recommended Citation
Michel, Claudine, "Tapping the Wisdom of the Ancestors: An Attempt to Recast Vodou and Morality through the Voice of Mama Lola
and Karen McCarthy Brown" (1996). William Monroe Trotter Institute Publications. Paper 15.
http://scholarworks.umb.edu/trotter_pubs/15
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Re ? ort No 27
Tapping the Wisdom of the Ancestors:
An Attempt to Recast Vodou and Morality
Through the Voice of Mama Lola
and Karen McCarthy Brown
1
by
Claudine Michel
1996
It is
explained in the paper
why
New York,
"voice""
kept
is
in
the singular form.
Mama Lola,
a Haitian
woman
Karen McCarthy Brown is an anthropologist
by training and an American scholar of religion who writes about Haitian Vodou, more recently using
the life experience of Mama Lola, the head of the Vodou family of which she [McCarthy Brown] has
residing in Brooklyn,
become
used
a part.
is
a
Vodou
Her book, Mama Lola: A
in this essay.
Claudine Michel
is
Black women.
is
one of the primary sources
the Department of Black Studies at
'odou Priestess in Brooklyn,
an Assistant Professor in
the University of California, Santa Barbara.
the topics of value and morality, and
I
priestess.
She has written numerous
currently
is
articles
and book chapters on
working on a book on value transmission among
Foreword
The focus of
phenomenon.
It
this
Research Report
is
on morality as a culture-specific and contextual
argues that Vodou, as a religion, has largely been misrepresented
in
the
West and
has been portrayed as having no legitimate basis for morality mainly because of its African origins.
This paper attempts to interpret morality
grounded
in the history
in
Vodou by
presenting a model of ethics construction
of the people and based on the true meaning of the
religion.
It
argues that
Haitians have turned to their ancestral religion and to their African past to survive isolation and
ostracism from the West
continuity.
—
consistently using the
In that respect,
traditional African
Vodou
is
a
Vodou
religion as a tool
microcosm which
reflects a reconstructed
world view and the moral values inherent to
Brown's combined voice\
their insiders'
of both resistance and
it.
comments, views, and
Mama Lola and
insights are
form of the
Karen McCarthy
used as a source of data
to support the proposed framework.
The
Trotter Institute publishes
its
research through the Research Report Series, the
Occasional Paper Series, the Monograph Series, and the Institute's periodical, the Trotter Review
The opinions and conclusions contained
in
these publications are those of the authors and
do not
necessarily represent the opinions or endorsement of the Trotter Institute or the University of
Massachusetts Boston. For more information on any of these publications or the William Monroe
Trotter Institute, please contact us
at
the address below.
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Monroe
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1
MA
Acknowledgements
This paper
was
written before
I
met
Mama Lola and Karen McCarthy Brown.
had the good fortune of meeting both of them.
further reinforced the
views that
to both of them for their great
I
If anything,
previously held.
wisdom and
I
William
Monroe
I
I
women
has
gratitude and appreciation
my
family for the
acknowledge the assistance of the
Trotter Institute and the support of James Jennings.
11
my
also wish to thank
gratefully
subsequently
interaction with these
wish to express
their inspiration.
support provided during those long hours of work.
my
I
Introduction
In no other area of the world has the African been
influential in
keeping the ethos of the motherland alive than
Out of these
artists,
more dynamic or more
come
small islands have
and apostles of Africa
the Caribbean.
the culture-bearers, freedom-fighters,
America.
in
in
1
Morality as an aspect and derivative of religious beliefs
is difficult
to appreciate
when looking
across cultural divides. Trying to establish universal principles of ethics and to ascertain the existence
of absolute moral standards
reality
an attempt to objectify morality
which can only be apprehended through the
ideas, cultures
filters
at the
expense of contextual
reality
—
of subjective perceptions, influenced by
and ideologies. If one rejects the traditional definitions of Kant, Habermas, Piaget or
Kohlberg,
who
and moral,
it
in
is
equate the more complex and abstract with an objective standard of the more right
seems
that the notion
favor of a contextual morality
of universal
—one
that
rationality, as a basis for morality,
is
grounded
must be abandoned
in the individual histories
and cultures of
various people.
In this essay,
point,
I
I
I
its
culture-specific
African origins, and which
attempt to interpret morality
on the true meaning of the
is
is
and contextual. To
focus on Vodou, a religion which has been almost entirely misrepresented
foremost because of
morality.
demonstrate that morality
in
Vodou by
religion rather than
is
illustrate this
in the
West,
perceived as having no legitimate basis for
presenting a
model of ethics construction based
on the exotica of its myths and
ritualizing.
My analysis
based on the fact that Haitians seem to have turned to their ancestral religion and to their African
past to survive isolation and ostracism from the
of both resistance and continuity.
West
—
consistently using the
In that respect,
Vodou
is
a
Vodou
religion as a tool
microcosm which
reflects a
reconstructed form of the traditional African world view and the moral values inherent to
it.
What
Vodou
incorporated
is
Vodou 2 ?
a conglomeration of beliefs and rituals of
is
some Catholic
practices, has
come
West African
origin,
to be the religion of the greater part of the peasants
and the urban proletariat of the republic of Haiti as well as members of the Haitian
remedy
stated that:
a system
for
"Vodou
is
tie
the
who
the system that [Haitians] have devised to deal with the suffering that
whose purpose
and survival instincts."
unknown to
the
3
is
4
bad, the loa are
Courlander wrote: "In short, [Vodou]
known and
somehow
is life,
to minimize pain, avoid disaster, cushion loss, and strengthen survivors
establish order
Vodoun, no event or episode
believe in
and some
McCarthy Brown
help in times of hardships, satisfaction of needs, and hope.
ills,
elite
A basis for daily
foreign nationals. Its devotees ask of it what people have always asked of religions:
living, a
which, having
involved."
is
is
a true religion which attempts to
where there might otherwise be chaos. For those
a thing in
In birth and death,
itself.
good fortunes and
5
6
Bellegarde-Smith's encompassing definition of Vodun sheds light on the true meaning of the
religion:
Vodun
is
a coherent and comprehensive system and world view in which every person and
everything
it
is
sacred and must be treated accordingly.
plant, animal, or mineral
properties. This unity
not so
much
— shares
in
historical chain.
living, the
Thus,
individual and the
The American
in the
world
—be
of all things translates into an overarching belief in the sanctity of life,
for the thing as for the spirit of the thing.
which the
Haitian religion:
Vodun, everything
basically similar chemical, physical, and/or genetic
further translates into a vaunted African
and
In
all
humanism
in
The cosmological unity
which
community of which
ethnobiologist,
Wade
Vodun
social institutions are elaborated
dead, and the unborn play equally significant roles in an
action, speech,
in
unbroken
and behavior achieve paramount significance for the
the individual
is part.
Davis, also unveils
7
some
interesting truths about the
[Vodou
complex mystical world view, a system of beliefs concerning the relationship
between man, nature, and the supernatural forces of the universe. Vodoun cannot be
abstracted from the day to day life of the believers. In Haiti, as in Africa, there is no
separation between the sacred and the secular, between the holy and the profane, between the
material and the spiritual. Every dance, every song, every action is but a particle of the
whole, each gesture is a prayer.
Vodoun not only embodies a set of spiritual concepts, it
8
prescribes a way of life, a philosophy, and a code of ethics that regulate social behavior.
a
is]
.
The followers of the
sevi
—which can
hvayo
"I serve the spirits"
.
.
ancestral cult refer to their religious beliefs and practices
best be translated as "serving the spirits."
which
in itself is a revealing
9
An
living
of African
human beings,
religions
their ancestors,
and
adept of Vodou simply says,
statement about the nature of the religion, the
importance of withdrawing the self and serving others, and about the
between
by the phrase
their
spiritual
connections existing
Gods. Also, an understanding and knowledge
and philosophy allows one to read even more into such a phrase:
connects this religion of the
New
World
clearly
Ethos and World view.
to the African
Harold Courlander offers yet another compelling
It
which further exemplifies Vodou'
definition
African connection, resilience and pervasiveness.
Vodou permeates
the land, and, in a sense,
it
springs from the land.
from above, but one which pushes out from below.
complex inheritance from a man's own
and direct
its
It is
is
strong and
with such deep genuine roots.
instead of growing upright, but
it
cannot die
You may warp
you cannot
easily.
twist
it,
kill it
.
.
.
not a system imposed
a thing of the family, a rich and
not the priests of Vodoun
course. They, like the lowest peasant simply
of its resources. Vodou
of the race.
ancestors.
It is
It is
move about
.
.
it,
.
You
make
within
it
who
control
and make use
cannot destroy something
it
crawl along the ground
[especially] in light
of the inner history
10
C. L. R. James wrote in The Black Jacobins: "Left to themselves, the Haitian peasantry
resuscitated to a remarkable degree the lives they
All this
was
Africa in the
of African religions
in the
West
Indies.
But
it
had lived
was
in Africa...
Haitian."
11
In a
and above
all
work focusing on
Americas, Barrett comments: "The slave master
was
their religion....
the persistence
able to claim the
body
of the
slave, but the
impregnable."
12
different ethnic
He
groups
world view of the African was nurtured
explains
who
how
religion
found themselves
was
in his
soul and this soul
the motivating and unifying force for the
in the
New World
13
that through their traditional religion
many
and acknowledges Vodou's "noble
history" as a catalyst for the revolutionary accomplishments for which Haiti
documented
was
is
known. 14
It is
well
and world view, Haitians have survived oppression,
found modes of expressions, and recreated a modified African society and ethos which have to some
extent Africanized the
American continent. Thompson wrote
that
"vodun was Africa reblended" 15
Scholars have for years pursued the possibility that the term Vodou
derived from the Fori word for "God" or
distinguished from
"Voodoo"
Increasingly, with the
authenticity,
a
This
"spirit."
is
of Dahomean
origin,
one means by which Vodou has been
is
the sign of the fabulous creation of the Euro/ American imaginary.
aim of reclaiming the West African origins of the religion and for the sake of
number of scholars
are rejecting
the francophone world, and Vodou
all
for the terms
different meanings. Bellegarde-Smith, for
Western
spellings, including
Vaudou, favored
Vodun or Vodoun. Different
in
spellings suggest
example, favors Vodun, which, according to him, derives
from two words Vo and du which mean introspection
into the
unknown.
He
writes about a Zulu
teaching which, like other forms of African humanism, stresses the need for further self-exploration:
"The challenge of being human
being higher than myself."
16
naming of the
movement
significance
religion as
forever to explore myself.
I
challenge the universe to
Bellegarde-Smith further explains the introspective
higher beings and possessions:
worshipping a divinity without
is
"One who has
first
not
becoming one
become a
will
show me
communion with
divinity should not worship.
not reap the fruit of that worship."
Vodun or Vodoun should be placed
in the
a
17
Anyone
The
re-
context of an even larger
to redefine, recast, and reconstruct the origins, the meaning and the socio-political
of the religion of the Haitian people.
Voodoo, the Euro/ American-created term, never
distorted images
and
films,
of superstitions, sorcery, blood
Haitians
suggests
It
and sexual orgies. In particular,
in
novels
American popular culture dwells on images of Voodoo's malevolence, on zombies and
snakes. Writing about
presented
sacrifices
to spark excitement.
fails
in the
who
are
Vodou and morality may therefore seem paradoxical
West
Vodou
opposition to true religion; that
in
adepts perceive themselves as
and serving the
spirits.
15 percent Protestant, and 100 percent
Vodou
practicing Catholicism
over the hounfort, or the
Vodou
In the United States, the
It is
Voodoo
What
Christianity.
is,
good
since
Christians and see
no
is
usually
is
ironic
conflict
is
that
between
often said that Haitians are 85 percent Catholic,
The same
believers.
saints
who
ornate the altar watch
temple.
word Voodoo
is
used
in
a casual and derogatory
manner to
indicate,
on the one hand, anything magic or miraculous and, on the other hand, anything from the deceptive
to the downright evil.
18
Other such constructed views widely shared
in the
West and
in
the foreign
press are similarly used as evidence of Haitian backwardness and represent ethnocentrism at
its
worst:
[Voodoo encompasses] a body of primitive rites and practices, based on a belief in sorcery
and the power of charms fetishes, etc., found among natives of the West Indies and in the
19
southern United States, and ultimately of African origin.
It is
Voodoo
that
the devil here
is
worst than AIDS.
Did you know
It
is
a
demonic
that in order for a
perform anal sodomy on another man
from these people
The ancestor
appears to be fundamentally
The wide
distribution
and negative
of Haiti are exemplified by
a scholarly
book
chapter.
their
cultural impact
appearances
in
man
to
cancer on Haiti.
become
No. of course, you didn't!
020
cult
religion, a
apolitical.
Voodoo
is
houngan he must
So what can you expect
a
21
of such demeaning characterizations of Vodou and
—a
various media
dictionary, a popular
magazine and
The Cultural and
Political Ideology
Laguerre, Bellegarde-Smith, Desmangles, Davis,
Surrounding Vodou
McCarthy Brown, and other
scholars have
attempted to penetrate Vodou's true meaning and to recast the real significance of the religion. Using
new
epistemological foundations and methodological approaches, their
Vodou
the essence of the
on
social
and
religion which, in turn, sheds light
He
among
to the
22
is
among
how
Faces of the Gods, to study the
Vodou was
whose work has
not new.
C. L. R.
In Passage
24
historical
One of the
and
very
James who declared
is
apolitical.
between Vodou and Haitian
a significant section of his latest book, The
political setting
which shaped the Vodou
religion, the
scholars to have suggested the revolutionary role of
first
that
"Voodoo was
the
medium of the
conspiracy."
25
of Darkness, Wade Davis showed the complex role of the Vodou secret societies
in first sustaining,
and then
in
overthrowing the Duvalier regime.
26
He
ideology of these societies to the maroon communities of the colonial
zombification
Vodou
consistently
secret societies are a "paramilitary group connected
voodoo temples." 23 While Desmangles devotes
is
the scholars
establishing the close connections
and substantiating, for example,
argument
traditional values as well as
other false depictions and misrepresentations, the contention that
has published a number of studies
politics
on Haitian
at re-constructing
political realities.
The anthropologist Michel Laguerre
refuted,
work aims
27
is
the ultimate form of sanction imposed in the
also retraced the political
era.
He
Vodou world
explained
as a
how
means of
maintaining social and political order in local communities. Bellegarde-Smith called these societies
"a governman lannuit" (nighttime government) that governs while the official government
He
explains
how
in the Haitian countryside,
vodun communities
are respected
away from
more than feared
is
asleep.
28
the control of the official government, the
"as they mete out justice in a democratic setting
(if
democracy
defined as being of and for the people). They run what
is
to that of the elite-controlled
government"
29
In his book, Haiti:
Smith sustains the argument that the significance of the
Vodun
a parallel judicial system
is
The Breached Citadel, Bellegarde-
religion in Haitian history
is
profound
30
and undebatable.
Western Objectivity: Obstacle
Truth?
to the
Maya Deren in her important work on Vodou, Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti,
questioned the very notion of Western "objectivity":
Is
worth considering
not
it
—might be
scholarly
....
Is
it
that
reverence
—whether
detachment
for
primarily a projection of a notion of a dualism
In the
same
books
to
Karen McCarthy Brown explains how,
vein,
remember
their ancestors
gede 32 and other twas to hear about
in
what matters most
is
is
Mama Lola.
is
.
.
the one
who
doing plays with
doing
tells
as the other,
no longer be a
through which
totally
is
I
try to
remember
how
people write
in others
they
call
that she
books.
I
am
part of a culture that
So
I
write a
part of a culture that
book about
serves Gede
the ancestral tales in the form of fictionalized short stories and in so
truth, seeking to bring
In Writing About 'the
Mama Lola,
so,
traditions,
and relevant fashion:
relevance and liveliness. ...
in
in
some
is
the paramount virtue of any historical account, in theirs
seeks to capture experience, historical and otherwise,
But
in
of brain and body ...
cell
and capture past experience, while
their forefathers in a lively
our eyes truthfulness
[the Haitians]
.
and matter?
means to truth [Western objectivity] in examining Oriental or
not based on such dualism and that are, on the contrary, predicated
on the notion that truth can be apprehended only when every
engaged in that pursuit 931
Whereas
spirit
valid to use this
African cultures that are
history
between
or
scientific
it
alive for its
Other'™ McCarthy Brown
immediate audience.
related
how
33
she stopped seeing the
mambo,
she herself became the other in the academic world because she could
detached and objective researcher, and
revealed the beauty of the social and spiritual
how
their voices
message of their
35
became one voice
religion.
Despite real
differences inherent in their origins, class, level of education, they had
to reach a level of friendship and symbiosis which
Brown, who steps back as often
wisdom of the
communicated
is
as necessary to
Mama
let
much
in
common
and were able
via the craftsmanship
of McCarthy
Lola speak and, through her, to tap the
ancestors.
Standards of truthfulness, objectivity, clarity were less important to Karen
informant— Mama Lola. In
than those of fairness and justice towards her primary
McCarthy Brown
spite
of the canons
of anthropological methods and despite the fundamental cultural epistemological dilemma that she
faced, she set out to
to
Mama Lola,
to
Vodou which gave
her a "rich, unblinkingly honest view of life" and
the one that she calls mother, a traditional
Her mission was
Vodou
do justice
larger than
what her academic
of respect for one's
own
I felt
compelled to do justice to Alourdes
Vodou
teacher.
She was determined to study
training prescribed:
in its
right.
title
She wrote,
aesthetic judgments
came
36
and to her world
into play, for example, in
my
in
choosing the
revelatory incident designed to capture definitive aspects of her
Justice as a goal in
my
telling detail or the
life.
relationship with Alourdes has always meant,
my
Both moral and
writing.
among
other things, that
away from her once
had what
I
could not exploit her, misrepresent
I
needed. Financial obligations, like those of time and energy, could not be limited to what
was necessary
to grease the flow of information in the book.
because a writing project
....
I
is
could not have written
become my
friend.
Mama Lola if Alourdes had
Through our
friendship,
Vodou
We both hope that our risk taking will
religion.
friendship
is
not over
we have
at
work
not challenged me, trusted me, and
served scholarship's end of deepened
in the intimate details
of one person's
help to counter the distorted image of this ancient
37
The Dancing Voice
To try to
investigate the
A true
I
done
understanding, in this case by showing
life.
intentions, or turn
of
Mama
elucidate
McCarthy Brown
Lola and Karen
some of the forms
that morality takes in Haitian
work of Karen McCarthy Brown,
scholar of religion
8
38
and
Vodou,
Vodou
I
have chosen to
initiate
39
because
of her rather unique approach
Lola:
A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn,
her religion alive and
as
it
in this area
as
is lived,
it
a ground-breaking
Vodou embedded
is
of scholarship. In
particular,
work 40
in the vicissitudes
in
She wrote to that
of particular
it
"I
effect:
focus on her book,
As McCarthy Brown
though,
at times,
shapes and "balanse"
task
is
what
I
experiences
herself stated, her intent
some
clearly, analysis
endeavor to do
comments and remarks,
often reported through
comments, views,
the extent that
These
Mama
analyzed.
is
passed
Vodou speak
to let
some form of morals and
—
—
I
I
in its
own
terms
Despite the brilliance of her
latter
I
am
of data
43
family
—
Mama Lola and Karen
which provided
needed to develop
my model
ethics constitutes the essence
reflect the
who
rigid, prescriptive,
in
me
with the
of analysis.
of all
religions,
orchestrates religious
moral beliefs of those
which originate from a world view deeply rooted
down from
using
as an individual and as a priestess
Vodou
life
propose a framework within which
Here
as a primary source
system, represent a code of ethics, though not a
code
was
own words
Lola's
and feelings which
her deeds and tenets
beliefs,
by Alourdes
Using McCarthy Brown's texts and narratives, her
Vodou can be
insights,
gatherings for the benefit of her
spirits.
lived
her observations, her account of Alourdes' fictional family tales and
—
Mama Lola's life,
it is
and theory building were not her primary concern. This
McCarthy Brown's many combined voices
To
one's
have chosen to enter the public
analysis in her narrative.
in this essay.
morality in the context of Haitian
insiders'
41
42
she interjected
comments and remarks,
and
She presented Vodou
lives.
discussion of Vodou by another route: constructing a portrait of this religion as
and the people closest to her."
Mama
mambo
which she presents a
incorporated into one's daily existence, as
psychological, social and moral world.
I
who
serve the
a traditional African value
or written one.
This complex
generation to generation and people have to learn to interpret
it
and
transmit
McCarthy Brown had
it.
to understand and live this
attempt the formidable task of describing
Combined here
a wealth of data and voices: the various personae of
is
—which communicate through her
enough to
identify patterns
Vodou
not to be limited by logically coherent
Also combined here are the many voices of Mama Lola, the Haitian, the one
foreign land, the mother, and the priestess, along with the cohort of voices
who dance
in
Mama Lola,
combined with those of McCarthy Brown become one voice
do justice
Vodou
personae and which
means
in
is
religion
inviting us to partake
Vodou cosmology
in
that
in this
Vodou
Religion as
In the introduction to
Mama
Lola,
The
how
morality operates
spirits talk
them.
.
.
.
in
full
dancing
own rhythm and
All this
is
the voice
44
with
all
their
balance, the only
which helps sustain
Shaped by the African Ethos
McCarthy Brown
Vodou
in rage.
sets
some parameters necessary
They hug them, hold them, feed them, but
also chastise
not only liberates his people but also betrays them.
The Vodou
to
religion:
Salvatoris, the mother, cradles
lashes out at them
they mirror the
the
with the faithful
Ogou/Saint James
Danto/Mater
life.
done and continues
essay and, in particular, the notions of resistance and
in
understand
to find our
spirits
Vodou
Haitian
Morality
is,
to lead a moral and ethical
the theoretical foundation presented
African continuity
—
is
lives in a
The many voices of
that has
and to the African ethos, one voice that
who
coming from the
her head and balance both her inner self and her public figure.
to the
scholarly
and relationships and to stress the significance of events and
behavior, but sufficiently immersed in the fluidity of
to
Karen McCarthy
the scholar, the writer, the feminist, the initiate
voice, distant
molds.
vision of morality in order to
to her readers.
it
—
Brown
new
Ezili
and cares for her children but also sometimes
spirits are
not models of the well-lived
life;
rather,
range of possibilities inherent in the particular slice of life over which they
10
had led observers to portray the
preside. Failure to understand this
or even to conclude that
Vodou
is
—
a religion without morality
Vodou
spirits as
demonic
a serious misconception.
Voudou spirits are larger than life but not other than life. Virtue for both the lwa and those
who serve them is less an inherent character trait than a dynamic state of being that demands
ongoing attention and
care.
45
The Vodou world manifests
the pages that follow and
their
grounded
a particular ethical orientation reflected in
life
lessons shared in
an African ontological conception of women and
in
modes of interactions. Many of the monotheistic
prescriptive and are accompanied by a
book of
religions
From
law.
—
Christianity, Islam,
Things are more complicated
measures of moral quality found
Vodou does
not have a prescriptive code of ethics, people have to find and define their
Adepts of the Haitian
religion
have to balansc
by the overarching African ethos on which
dynamic,
fluid,
and contextual, as
life itself is
around the following perspectives:
is
The moral
based.
life
In
of those
Communal Emphasis, Respect
form of collective self-consciousness where the inner
content and form merge
in
one aesthetics However,
who
are
Vodou. Since
own
morality.
is
morality
for the Elders,
life
Wholeness of
also revolves around
world converge, where
reasonable to say that
absolutes, no generalities, only trends and thematic modalities of lived ethical
Vodou
offers
life.
Communal Emphasis
"Sim salalam, sa salawu [You
".
.
.
human connection
explanation.
is
in.
You in]
" 46
the assumption;
" 47
11
it
is
is
serve the spirits revolves
self and the outside
it
in
Vodou cosmology,
Being, Black Aesthetics, and Healing and Coping Strategies. Their moral
a
—
order to follow a moral path, ever guided
their lives in
their religion
Judaism
in
sacred texts, people extract general
principles as
therein.
men and
separation that requires both effort
and
no
A form of communal humanism could explain the dependency of Haitians on one another.
In
the Haitian world, people derive both energy and their concept of selfhood from interactions with
others.
There
collective
is
of individual personhood, suppression of unique
elision
They have
Traditionally, Haitians are not individualists:
self.
Brown
themselves as separate individuals. As McCarthy
The moral wisdom of Vodou
lies in its
life
history in favor of a
difficulty identifying
wrote:
teaching that
it
is
precisely in responsive and
responsible relation to others that one has the clearest and most steady sense of self
[which] leads not to self-sufficiency but to stronger and
This idea
is
always have food.
echoed by
You
Mama
more
Lola's down-to-earth wisdom:
by yourself, you don't have nothing."
eat
49
sustaining social bonds.
"You
For
eat with people,
her, the
way
.
.
.
48
you
to a well-
balanced self is to gain respect from the collectivity by maintaining responsible relationships with
community members and by not harming
your back!"
others:
"When you do bad
to people, that return
is
the
first
unit
where communal sense manifests
which prepares the individual
nieces, cousins, neighbors
—
for integration into the
itself. It is
on
a highly valued institution
community. Children
are central to the well-being
—one's own, nephews,
of a household. Early on, people learn that
children are needed to continue the chain of human beings and that dying childless
of the worst curses. Haitians,
the children born to
Grown
in particular
them belong
to
women
them and are
—mothers and grandmothers
children do not usually leave the family
home
children and household.
It is
until
when
is
alike
their responsibility until they are
contribute financially to the well-being of the group, even
own
right
50
Family
after.
—
probably one
—assume
that
grown, and even
they marry and are expected to
they have the responsibility of their
expected that older siblings will assume a large part of the financial
and moral responsibility for the education of their younger brothers and
12
sisters.
Great respect and
care are routinely accorded both to the elderly and to children,
A number of Haitian proverbs
God.
One
child
is
not a child
Brown acknowledges
(in the
some of the
express
sense of one
Mama Lola,
is
ever immoral
allows someone to
52
]
to feed
book. Because that's the truth."
53
my
children.
In Alourdes'
in Haiti
and abroad.
family
It
is
who
latter' s
defines status,
two
fulfill
responsibilities
the late
visits in
in this
towards one's children.
kinda thing. Right?
all
.
.
You
.
code of ethics, morality
—
my
I
makes
children,
in the absolute sense
that
can
case her children.
—both
choices, appropriates and divides time, controls assets
Mama Lola
lives
with two of her sons, her daughter,
Vodou
and often offers accommodation to members of her
are in a period of bad luck, or clients
do
got to put that in the
without any doubt the dominant characteristic in Haitian society
and wealth, and distributes praise and blame.
Maggie, the
"During
McCarthy
51
I'm not ashamed.
never be placed above the welfare of the collectivity
The extended
states:
McCarthy Brown: "Woman got to do
for example, told
[working as a Marie Jacques
if it
societal values associated with children:
phenomenon when she
this cultural
are treated as precious gifts from
not enough) and children are wealth.
is
afternoon and early evening, children clamber over me."
Nothing
who
who
One of her
are undergoing treatment.
has a mental deficiency; the thought of putting him
in
family
sons, William,
an institution has never crossed her mind,
following the Haitian tradition where the elderly, the sick, the handicapped always have their place
in
the household.
The
conceive that McCarthy
party:
"I don't care.
closet. ...
I
rules that
govern hospitality are
strict:
Mama Lola,
Brown would
not spend the night at her place for
Even you got
to sleep
on the
floor,
always find a place for you, sweetheart!"
13
54
even
I
for instance, could not
one of the
got to
make
spirits'
a bed
birthday
on top of my
Tales and memories are held preciously and collectively
stories
and
their
words of wisdom
Binbin Mauvant,
in reference to
are often told
and quoted.
Mama Lola's great
one's obligations towards the
African words: "Sim salalam, sa salawu. Pa salaam, pa salawu
This also shows
Brown
explains,
how
hard
in" as
is
Karen
is
now
when
Vodou
[You
to penetrate the "family unit" to
how, for example, as a
her and fairly unwelcoming
"You
it
Man
in the families.
(a white person)
in,
family,
you
in;
all
among
grandfather, Joseph
used to utter these
you
out,
"You
are family."
You
in,
You
some were
that
they belong to the same world, although they are
at first quite
always represent an opportunity to partake
in
the
other types of gifts in appreciation and support.
Virtue
life
at a different
spirits,
reinforcing the idea
phase of their
spiritual journey.
The services 51
of the vodou family and to offer sacrifices and
What one
determined by hierarchical place,
is
suspicious of
due to the members of
Rituals allow the bridge to be crossed, so the ancestors actually meet the living.
is
55
support takes the form of reciprocal
the living and between the living and the
giving and sharing
—
out]."
56
Communal
in!
gift
the material
you
she started visiting Alourdes' house. But, once you are accepted,
often reminded:
circumstances:
forefathers'
become one of them. McCarthy
Allegiance, love, prayers, support, and faithfulness are automatically
the group under
The
status,
gives
and
—which goes from the
financial
spiritual to
means.
achieved by maintaining responsible relationships, relationships characterized by
appropriate gifts of tangibles (food, shelter, money) and intangibles (respect, deference, love).
When
things
go
the living and
as they should, these gifts flow in continuous, interconnected circles
spirits
of the ancestors.
prestation, each gives and receives in
—an
hierarchy
In the
ongoing cycle of prestation and counter-
ways appropriate to
his or her place in the social
young child nor the
thus those who give what they should, as
overarching, relentless hierarchy that exempts neither the
most aged and austere spirit. Moral persons are
58
defined by who they are.
14
among
More
than
in
the
West where
major communal expectations
communal
interests,
social conventions
Vodou
in the
• Respect
world. Ignoring family responsibilities, jeopardizing
of the group, but moreover, which
may endanger
for the elders
—those who have konesans
't
59
—no, almost a year I don
see you for six months
don even say, 'Hello, how are you Mommie Lola?
60
to do for you!
't
'
came
This latter statement
may have been somewhat
during an encounter with her
as a result of McCarthy
Vodou mother She had
Mama Lola "into a stony
Brown
"When
to an elder
—any
,,6:
life.
Erin!'
elder for that matter
who had
is
me what I got
the child who
on an occasion when
family and in the
for the
first
told her: "I
am the one
responsible for
words would
drift
life"
of the day." McCarthy
my way.
.
.
.
life,
in particular,
to
someone who
is,
'Karen say she
because of her very
responsible for bringing about balanse in and
community
Brown and who was
15
among
in general.
statement that Alourdes uttered to Theodore, a
befriended Karen McCarthy
my
This was certainly a faux-pas; one never speaks like this
— and,
role as a priestess, responsible for people's
The same goes
reflecting
silence that lasted for the better part
[Alourdes] spoke with others,
members of her Vodou
Brown's
own
—and you
"out of order" for letting her Western feminist views direct her thoughts
which brought
the one responsible for her
you
see
't
Right away you telling
The child who mimics the words of the mother and claims them as her
bx
pretends to what she is not yet.
noted:
the care
spirits.
You coming after I don
she
for others, there are
and neglecting the hvas are serious moral matters and major offenses which
trigger the disapproval, even the ostracism
and protection of the
do prescribe concern
bringing her to
young
Haitian,
Mama Lola's house for
the
first
year,
What arrogance from
time.
had the audacity to show up
Mama
she could do for his friend.
Mommie
Lola?'
meets the
ears.
at
This statement
Theodore most
is
this
young fellow who,
after being absent for six
months or
a
her door, telling her that he had brought a stranger, and what
Lola stated "and, you don't even
yet another example,
certainly greeted her
how
say, 'Hello,
are you,
where the words mean more than what
upon entering the house.
Her statement
probably referred to what she perceived as a lack of respect and deference exhibited by Theodore's
casual greeting,
who
in her estimation, did not
pay her due respect by showing genuine concern for
her and by inquiring at length about the details of her
Her warmth came back
don't see him;
more
so,
elders
who, by
in
I
know he thinking
no opportunity
age,
come
states:
An
but also to
63
It is
To be
show them
sees sitting
is
come
my
like
"You
who communicate
I
down, a young man cannot see standing." With
bring about profound respect from the younger
to provide for the elderly, to give
them
their
is
care, food,
money,
wisdom through dreams and
spirits,
the ancestors, and the
possessions.
inherent in the very essence of the religion.
the lwas, the gods of the
16
clothing,
64
Respecting them,
Although
cemeteries are frequent, they are mostly saluted during ceremonies and ritualizing
On the other hand,
Even
don't get old being no fool" while an
bearers of konesans, which include the
honoring them, serving them
services.
child!
together), deserve absolute respect
love, respect, deference and appreciation.
all
"Theodore
said:
health.
ever lost to remind the younger generations of their duty towards the
wisdom and konesans which
virtuous
of her family, and her
important to display affection to loved ones but
African-American proverb says:
Vodou honors
departed
about me."
"What an old man
experience,
generations.
is
that
hugged him and
virtue of their seniority or status (both often
Haitian society.
Igbo proverb
later as she
life,
Vodou pantheon protect
visits to the
—the Vodou
the living, watch over
them, and serve as mediators between God, Bondye, the supreme being, and the
real life
problems (health, matters of love, work, finances, family
In binding reciprocity, the Iwas
Gods without worshippers
much
as
Vodun
belief system
their
difficulty, stressful life in general).
as the living
For
are a sad lot indeed!
reasonable laws, and the entire
morality.
humans
serve
humans with
humans serve
them...
their part, the ancestors enforce
is
designed to provide a collective
65
Failure to properly serve the lwas and the ancestors, failure to respect the elderly, and
treatment of the poor are morally destructive for the entire community.
in
the
of the person
life
who
This
may
attract
ill-
imbalance
has departed from the traditional values of the society, bring about "bad
luck" for her or his family or, else, result
in a
form of "lashing out" against the
living.
• Wholeness of Being
"I don't eat today."
66
"Vodou operates as a moral system, not because
beha\'ior
clarifies
and accentuates
that,
hut rather because
in
all
takes
it."
is
grounded
in
the idea of oneness and unity of all forces
the idea of interdependence and interconnectedness of these forces, and in the premise
of supremacy of totality over individuality
for
it
is
61
The concept of wholeness of being
of nature,
good in life and human
up all of life and intensifies it and
takes up what
it
We
must seek out the idea behind every force of nature
things have their philosophy, their meaning, and a connection with other entities:
.
.
.
from God to the
living force
in
is in
least grain
of sand, the African universe
necessary union with other forces. ...
which everything
is
Thus,
interdependent
we
correspondences, analogies, harmonies, interactions.
17
68
It is
is
a seamless cosmos.
inserted in a
Each
dynamic hierarchy
are introduced into
a universe of
The Cosmic Universal Force, Being itself, 69
explains
how
things are forces in
all
harmony and
interconnected "since things that are contemplated, experienced and lived are not separable."
Moreover, Bellegarde- Smith commented
wisdom, energy, and power are born of
that, "Intelligence,
the flesh of their origin, and the divine continues to inhabit the flesh.
matter."
in
modern Western
societies
individual rationality and personal responsibility
therefore I am"),
the
'We are,
therefore I am"
is
born of
world around
person becomes one with
water, and earth.
initiation,
ego on
which stem from Cartesian philosophy
ties that link
we
humans
all
in
I
audou
et
to one another.
Magie Noire 12 how
We are part of
We are
McCarthy Brown,
Vodou,
initiate lose
a
air,
forever the will and the desire to
as she described her psychological state after her
Vodou
similar idea:
empowerment than about
that enriches
after initiation into
other living creatures as well as with the four main forces of nature:
of us [North American feminists] have sought a
we have
("/ think,
are responsible for the sake of others, and for the
Then, and only then, does the
others.
echoed a
All
almost always based on the concepts of
Acting morally implies keeping things balanced and respecting nature's harmony.
us.
Jean Manolesco explains
his
is
actions and deeds influences the balance of the outer world.
not only responsible for our individual acts,
impose
is
a paradigm which better expresses the dominant essence
an African context by showing the
in
human web and each of our
fire,
Morality, too,
71
Whereas morality
of ethics
70
life
a truth
gaining
power over
others.
without leading us to pretend that
which
rules out the truth
of others.
.
.
.
spirituality
We have
that
more about
searched for a spirituality
we know things we do
We have
is
not
know
or that
searched for a moral vision that
is
not abstract but interpersonal, with a complexity that does not paralyze and a tolerance that
is
not abdication of responsibility.
we had
.
.
.
that
to reinvent the wheel.
In this difficult balancing act,
What Vodou has shown me
have long experience with the
sort
18
of spirituality
is
we
we
have
at
times acted as
if
that there are living traditions
seek.
73
She further
stated:
Vodou empowers women to a larger extent than the great majority of the world's traditions.
As Haitians struggled to survive and adapt both during and after slavery, women gained social
and economic power, gains that are mirrored
However,
conflicts
in
among
—
conflicts
firmly to an ideology of male
question constitutes a catalyst to continued thriving to create
the
As McCarthy Brown
cocoon of Haitian
who happens
history
to be female."
fluidity,
is
which keep us questioning: "Why, then, Gede,
other aspects of his character, held on so
area of gender.
of women within Vodou. 74
most elements which characterize Vodou, there
as in
poles
in the influence
wrote, "[we]
.
.
.
who
is
imbalance,
so flexible
dominance?"
75
harmony and recreate equilibrium
This
in the
anxiously await Gedelia's emergence from
and religion ... a full-blown Gedelia [which] will be more than a Gede
76
Moreover, from the concept of wholeness of being derives the fundamental idea that the
Vodou
full,
spirits are
not saints because they are good, but because they are all-encompassing, global,
complex, and because, as such, they mirror
conflicts
—which
human
They
life.
are always manifestations of disturbances in the
manifestations of existing contradictions, and signs of imbalance.
go away, but to make
The
fair,
spirits as
it
they
work
for, rather
mount
their
than against, life"
7*
chwals
even-tempered, humble, level-headed,
clarify things for the participants:
spirits
It is
web of human
"The point
is
not to
relations,
make
conflict
77
self-sacrificing.
They comfort, but
make demands. And, during
also chastise; they
the ritualizing, they
They help us see what we may otherwise be oblivious to
often for the participants to realize
apply to their individual situation.
79
life
during possession-performances do not always appear
console, but also ask for support; they give, but also
respective lives.
are whole and real and reflect
how
our
the particular images evoked by the
The Iwas do not introduce what
19
in
is
not there already; they
help us find equilibrium in the midst of a multiplicity of truths.
not turn to religion to be told what to do, but rather, to be
Mbiti wrote that
which
".
.
.
the essence of African morality
certainly applies to the
Vodou
"The Vodou
In fact,
shown how
is
.
.
.
'societary'.
moral violations
harmonious
distract, disturb,
state
and rhythm.
Vodou
world.
.
80
.
", 81
an observation
Creating dissonance in society's polyrhythms,
religion.
disturbing the harmonious flow of things, bringing about division in the
represent moral transgression in the
to see."
participant does
Due
community, are
acts
all
web of interconnectedness,
to the
which
a person's
and perturb the outer world which ought to seek restoration of its
Vodou communities have
own
their
set
forms of restitution and
punishment imposed for moral harm or offenses committed against customs and implicit rules
regulating obligations and responsibilities towards the collectivity and the entities which
it
—
the
spirits,
the spirits
in
the
is
the ancestors, family members, society, or even nature. Morality for those
a constant effort to maintain social cohesion, harmony, and balance.
Vodou world
• Black
is
Aesthetics
not a function of abstract reasoning but
—
Fluidity /Balance/Rhythm
"Don 7 put money on
the bed.
'You cannot pray to
moral person
.
.
.
is
Ogou
He
who can
is
not even one
's
as Creator of
too hot. Light
balanse. 'dance
opposing directions without missing the beat.
developed metronome sense
relative to
Moral
what
who
What
is
serve
"right"
will achieve unity.
Style
" 8:
alone.
thus one
—
is
compose
',
a candle for Damballah
too.
'
A
in the midst
The moral person
is
offorces pulling in
one who has a strongly
a strongly developed sense of self. Yet ...no rhythm,
" 83
own, has any meaning outside of relationship.
that
"Don't put money on the bed!"
emptying the content of her purse on
is,
yelled Alourdes at
a bed.
McCarthy Brown who one day was
One should never do
that, never.
A bed
and money
belong to antithetical poles and. therefore, could be objects of conflict and sources of dissonance.
20
McCarthy Brown was reminded
—
power
thus,
of potential immorality
people kouche,
Objects
85
vodou
in
are prescribed
that
ason,
u
can be an instrument of coercive
and, as such, should never be put
made and
born, the place
to behave, rituals
things have a soul and a
By
life
making or through usage.
said to
acting, a person gives
of their
own
life
originating
to
what
be the mortal world and the
being acted upon.
is
from the cosmic energy infused
Haitians, for example, believe in the
cosmology. Deren wrote, "The crossroads, then,
is
wisdom."
is
the soul of the cosmos, the source of the
them
in the
power of the crossroads.
The
vertical plane to
be the metaphysical axis which
—
life
force, the
the crossroads
—
in
Vodou
cosmic memory, and the cosmic
emphasizes uniformity, conformity, group cohesion, support for one
world view. To be
represents, in the most simplistic term, the death of the old self,
originating
initiated, to
kouche,
and the birth of a new
self,
from a type of non-individualistic collective consciousness. During the days of seclusion,
forced to regress into infancy and childhood— and, consequently,
for these stages
—only
selfishness, to a
new
It
in
the point of access to the world of the invisible
another. Initiation ceremonies are a primary conveyor of this
is
Objects and
87
Vodou cosmology
one
where family begins." 86
which highlight the function, purpose, and usefulness of any
crosses one another; thus, the significance of the carrefour or kafu
which
on a bed, a place where
are not just things, they have a meaning which goes beyond functionality. There
particular object or act.
is
—
like the
"the place where children are
ways
horizontal plane
money,
was hard
to be brought back, through rituals designed to
state
to
is
of adulthood and maturity. McCarthy
become
Brown
treated as
it
overcome
appropriate
is
fear, pain,
and
wrote:
go of being in charge of myself, to give the care
Most difficult was letting go of words, of the appearance of
a child again, to
let
of myself over to another.
control. ... I bit my tongue to stop the How? and When? and Why? questions
up inside me. I knew that they would be ignored or met with evasive answers.
21
that
.
.
.
pushed
Entering the chamber was
Friends and family cried as they lined up to kiss the
like dying.
goodbye. The genuineness of their tears gave
initiates
me
The drums were pounding
pause.
as they had been for hours with urgent, intricate, exciting Petro rhythms.
my
raised
balance.
.
When the
.
hand and then darkness. ...
88
Ever so briefly I died.
.
.
initiates leave the
must remain so for forty days
is
a moral message in
itself:
was thrown
89
is
—what would be
their
Clearly, the how, the exercise
heads are covered.
moral dilemmas and
arrival
clarifies
faith are revalorized
called in the
of the
spirits,
is
through the
initiation
process
the possession rituals)
orchestrator of
Vodou
presides to restore
in
Moral leadership
of the songs, the
is
attributed to the spirits,
nor to the hougans or mambos. Therefore, the challenge of
myself" As an accomplished Vodou
services,
harmony and
and therefore,
in
priestess,
And, that
is
Mama
Lola
is
where
general:
a superb
makes her a
brings about equilibrium; her ritualizing style
a teacher of distinction
life in
is
Haitian cosmology, a true moral leader. She
powerful technician of the sacred world of Vodou. She "serves" with
that regard, she
is,
by which Vodou addresses these
to be skilled at orchestrating the reception of that message.
got plenty confidence
—which
At these ceremonies, people voice
Alourdes truly excels. As she often says about her ministrations, her leadership, and her
"I
It
Western world, moral dilemmas. The task of the
choices for the participants.
never to the person mounted by a Iwa,
the moral leader,
I
of the art of initiation,
to orchestrate the process (the energy of the participants, the choice
rhythm of the music, the
Seven times
,
to say the very least, an experience in humility and brotherhood.
moral leader
.
forces of life and death are reckoned with, the limits of knowledge
and power are challenged, truth and
their life conflicts
.
off-balance in order to learn to find
chamber where they were secluded,
after initiation.
The
.
I
.
style, "in
truly
order to lead." In
McCarthy Brown, having over the years witnessed many
of Mama Lola's "heroic" performances as she called them, and
22
reflecting
on the
role
of the moral
leader, concluded:
The moral problem
of this
is
not evil but imbalance, both within and
among
persons. In the context
and conflict-centered description of life, the moral leader is not one who sets
her own life up as a model of imitation. It is rather that person who, as a subtle and skilled
technician of the sacred, can orchestrate ritual contexts in which each person discovers how
pluralistic
to dance his or her
in their
own
way.
• Healing and Coping
"You just got
"There
*
is
own way through
a process of dynamic balancing with others
who dance
90
Strategies
to try.
no Vodou
See if it works for you.
ritual,
" 91
small or large, individual or communal, which
is
not a healing
"92
rite.
In addition to the perspectives already discussed, there
earth and utilitarian component grounded
Caribbean nation.
in
Haitian
no exaggeration." comments McCarthy Brown,
"It is
Vodou
a very down-to-
the history of poverty and oppression of the small
to believe that living and suffering are inseparable
resilience
is in
" 9I
that "Haitians
have come
Alluding to the incredible accomplishments and
of the Haitian people she wrote elsewhere, "The wonder of Haiti
is
that
its
people seem to
have responded to suffering throughout history by augmenting their stores of aesthetic and
riches"
94
Trusting that the
spirits will
help
in their
struggle for survival, people turn to
for themselves and their family, to heal their soul
a better
life
this life
and the
afterlife.
Unlike other
an Eden or Heaven. The
Consequently, no value
survival
spiritual
of the group. In
is
afterlife
faiths.
may
Vodou does
and
their
Vodou
wounds, and to
find
to secure
hope
for
not have a concept of a Golden Age, of
turn out to be as harsh as present living conditions.
more important than
that respect, healing for
survival in this lifetime
—
survival of the self and
immediate survival becomes a core element of the
23
Vodou
religion.
Vodou
People bring to
—
as they
do
in all religions
The moral function of a ceremony becomes apparent
drama of Vodou
rituals
.
.
.
occurs not so
and the troubled
or communal, which
lives
is
much
it
their burdens, difficulties,
turns into a collective healing service:
rite."
.
95
.
.
There
is
no Vodou
clarified;
full
Through
work
range of love, work, and family
never one thing or some work to be done.
moreover, a dance with the
community bonds
difficulties.
.
.
It is
.
96
McCarthy
"She deals both with health
Alourdes combines the
Healing
much more encompassing:
in
to
life's
Karen
It is
an attitude and,
spirits.
inevitable disappointments and deceptions.
after an
to take him."
in
the
97
"You
got to
make them tough,"
encounter that would have disturbed more than one Westerner.
promised that he could go with Karen
to put his coat
if
he ate his dinner
on to go out as promised, he was
Mock
Vodou world
skills
Alourdes' world
In a Haitian setting, even children are toughened purposely so that, later, they are able to
with
are
interactions with the spirits,
as part of the ancestral cult.
of a medical doctor, a psychotherapist, a social worker, and a priest."
is
small or large, individual
crucial
describes the range of Mama Lola's healing practices as follows:
problems and with a
"The
''good luck" and protection given; and herbal treatments, divination,
card reading, and preparation of charms are put to
Brown
ritual,
At Vodou ceremonies,
reinforced through the airing of group and individual problems.
misunderstandings are
and sorrows.
within the rituals themselves as in the junction between the
of the devotees.
not a healing
as
—
—which he
told to "sit
did.
said
A
cope
Maggie
child
When time came
for
was
him
down" because Karen "was not going
promises, changes of plans, excessive authoritarian measures are used often
to teach children that
what you were promised, even
after
life is
not a bed of roses and that, at times, you don't get
you have worked for
24
it.
Children often hear during rituals people
singing about "Travaj, travaj [work, oh, work]", the single leitmotiv
the value of hard
work
as
much
as
it
of a Vodou song, which honors
conveys the resignation and sadness of a people
who
have not
always reaped the benefit of its labor.
"You
just got to try.
See
if
it
works
Mama
for you,"
considering the possibility of further involving herself in the
whether she believed
in the religion;
tries
facing at the time.
Vodou
for
you to be
[she]
.
.
.
valuable.
is
As Karen
later realized,
would have come away with
Mama Lola
make
to
not a doctrinal religion that one
objectively, the heart of the system,
initiation,
Vodou
then
Karen was not asked
religion.
commitment to the
a
who was
faith;
it
was only
was
to see if it helped her in the midst of the serious personal difficulties she
suggested that she
it
was not asked
she
Lola told Karen,
less."
its ability
may
had she
".
.
She confided:
to heal,
further instructed her daughter
systematically study;
.
brought
"If
I
less to this
it
has to
Vodou
persisted in studying
work
world,
Vodou
would remain closed to me." 98 After her
on the power
that she herself may exercise
by
listening to the spirits:
That your power. That your konesans. That
suppose to do something, you
spirit telling
that person
listen,
you to do something
is
.
.
.
how
to use
in society
got a feeling you not
.
When
power
to use
it?
.
.
power
and nature, but
Whom to listen to? When to listen?
One
has to learn to use
to one's advantage and for the benefit of others
various personifications of Ogou show, there
liberates,
You
you don't do that thing. But, if you got a feeling the
like you want to help somebody.
Then, you do it,
questions to which experience and time bring answers.
"Power
works! ....
going to be okay."
When to do what? What
order to maximize
it
corrupts,
also, as
power
is
we
are
good judgment
wish to
assist.
As
in
the
a potentially destructive force in the use of power:
destroys."
100
Mama Lola believes,
25
Using power negatively creates disharmony
doing wrong to people comes right back onto
you.
This further exemplifies the pragmatic side of the ancestral religion: Self-protection and
self-
preservation should temper our actions. Alourdes, the empathic person, the giver, also exhibits a
down-to-earth
side,
Alourdes
is
necessary for the survival of her kin:
a strong
hard-pressed family.
woman who
She
is
provides the main financial and emotional support for a
who
a fighter, a survivor
has had a hard
life
but nevertheless
shows little trace of bitterness from her sufferings. She is a presence to be reckoned
someone who commands the respect of others. And her self-respect is palpable.
Alourdes
is
By necessity,
she has to
care for herself.
Like the Iwas,
weaknesses. Her
sullen
who
and empathic person
also a giver, a caring
become adept
at
takes pleasure in helping others.
balancing this desire to help others with the need to
Mama
Lola
is
not a moral exemplar, she
known moodiness and
than once,
I
is
whole, with strengths and
unpredictability, her capriciousness
times that she waited to no avail: "During the early period
More
.
.
.
and changeability, her
Brown wrote about
102
human awareness? Could
Mama Lola's reputation goes further than the
in
it
it
103
Could
be that they try to emulate the
boundaries of the Haitian community. She has
in several
places in the Caribbean
is
quite unusual,
although many other technicians of the Vodou religion share her worldly approach and
not afraid to incorporate elements from other cultures into her
26
their
be that they find themselves
and Central America. In that respect, the international impact of her ministrations
is
is
the arena of religion.
performed treatments throughout the United States and Canada and
Alourdes
clients,
Sai Baba, an Indian religious leader,
behavior be yet another manifestation of their divine mission? Could
behavior of "playful gods" 9 Things are never that simple
number of
worked with
reported to have a similar type of temper and to exhibit the same unpredictability.
another dimension less apparent to
the
she never seemed particularly happy
waited for hours while she talked on the phone or
only to be told that she did not feel like talking that day."
in
But
101
withdrawal simply highlight her human nature. McCarthy
to see me.
with,
own world
interest.
view. This
new
ethos manifests itself in
more
areas than one.
For instance, one day,
sitting in
Mama Lola's
living
room, as she drifted away from the conversation for a moment, Karen noticed:
Shelves covering one wall were
flowers. ...
On the
filled
with souvenirs from her clients: Ashtrays, dolls, feather
opposite wall were color photographs of Maggie and
with pictures of movie stars and Catholic
.
.
.
Johnny, along
Over the door a Vodou charm to protect the
house hung next to a horseshoe entwined with a Palm Sunday cross. Dominating the room
was a colorful plastic cut-out of the word love. Vodou and Catholic, American and
Haitian
the elements were disparate, but the aesthetic was unified. 104
saints.
—
Vodou cosmology,
In
is
about
as
I
demonstrated using the voice of Mama Lola and McCarthy Brown,
movement between
to create global
people,
movement between
harmony and peace. This explains why the Haitian anthropologist Michel Laguerre
is
it
a living rather than
a.
preserved
103
Conclusion:
Embedded
for
and about balancing differences
cultures,
contended that because of Vodou's continuous development,
religion.
in
Vodou
as a
Medium
of Resistance and Continuity
both the history and the daily existence of its devotees,
most Haitians and, therefore, permeates and sustains
made
clear in this essay through examples from
From
this,
it
their entire being.
two devotees'
real
Vodou
is
a
way of life
This was illustrated and
experience with their religion.
can be argued that Haitians are very religious, maybe more so than
many people from
other African-based former colonies, and that continuous and pervasive African retentions are
recognizable
Bedwardism
in
Haitian
Vodou
in Jamaica, Kali in
origins are primarily a result
following
ancestral
life
its
than
in
some other forms of New World African
Guyana or Rada
of Haiti's
in
virtual isolation
1804 successful slave revolution
power and
their African roots to
Trinidad.
from the
Vodou's
rest
more
religions such as
closest ties to
its
African
of the world for nearly a century
Haitians have consistently had to turn to their
cope with Western
27
isolation, ostracism
and betrayal. To
maintain their sovereignty and to prevent the annihilation of their culture, the Haitian masses have had
was made stronger by
to continuously resist, and this ongoing resistance
communal
accompanying
slavery, colonialism,
time, resistance
ruptures which
aspects of Vodou
modern
capitalism
is
that
has survived the ideological onslaughts
and class oppression.
It is at
one and the same
spiritual universe
from those
and psychological genocide. The contextuality of the
cultural
new
encountered by the African slaves on the island of Haiti created a form of "Americanized"
—Haitian Vodou —which has shaped
of the nearly seven millions
now
living.
the lives of generations of Haitians, including
The voyage over the
Africans from their land, their culture, and their families.
different ethnic
groups and lacked a
common
Atlantic physically
However, most traumatic
the realization that this old order could not be recreated
it,
it
and continuity, adapting and preserving a moral and
would constitute
African religion
that
and
values.
One of the most remarkable
situation
their African past
in
New
the
To
linguistic platform.
World
removed
for the slaves
since they
was
came from
re-stitch their past as they
knew
they had to develop a definition of family, no longer based on blood or tribal appurtenance, but one
grounded
in a
new
religion
— Vodou — and
in their
common
aspiration for liberty and freedom.
Suggesting that a long history of oppression forces people to organize and to create new
communities, Charles Long wrote:
Many of the
manifestations related to opposition to imperialism and other forms of cultural
and economic-political oppression
find
expression
in
the
construction of alternative
communities among the oppressed Such communities are often centered around a forthrightly
religious enterprise.
Thus,
Vodou became
,06
.
.
.
not only the
means
for revitalization
through ancestral African traditions
but also the channel to air complaints, to organize and to act. In an attempt to stop the practice of
28
the
Vodou
cult, slaves
European values and
were forbidden
religion
to organize public gatherings of any sort.
The imposition of
by force and repression took many forms, from baptism of the slaves
to harsh punishments imposed on the "wrongdoers." Thus, the slaves were forced to hide their
allegiance to their ancestral religion and to secretly worship their African deities.
These repressive
measures along with the clandestine nature of Vodou ceremonies led to the revalorization of the very
African cultural values that Europeans had tried to suppress, and to the creation of new communities
such as the maroon societies and the secret societies which have consistently played key roles
Haitian political
number of slave
The
life.
This regrouping around
revolts, culminating in the
common
war
past and ideal
is
in
a situation which fueled a
for independence.
history of persecution of Vodou practitioners, far
from ending once independence was
gained, took various forms of systematic attempts of assimilation and acculturation of the Haitian
people.
Roman
had the
political
Catholicism headed exclusively by Westerners until the Duvalier's presidency, always
and
of the state and was the sole
financial support
Constitution recognized
Vodou
as the national religion
infamous Antisuperstitious Campaigns
the massacre of hundreds
—
in particular
ofmambos and howigans,
other ritual objects, and for the persecution of those
These
raids to eradicate "superstition"'
left
Haitian history
for the destruction
who
terrible
marks
in the
and see supplanted by Catholic
offer
some counsel on matters
marked by a number of
—responsible
for
of Vodou shrines along with
country and in a people
who
same African values which the genocidal
campaigns had sought to
Vodou seems
the 1987
openly admitted their adherence to Vodou.
effort to sustain the
turned their back on the Haitian masses.
is
those of 1896, 1913 and 1941
responded through a conscious
annihilate
official religion until
belief.
Though governments have
to continue to cater to
them
spiritually
and to
affecting survival as well as cultural continuity. Nevertheless, under
29
such adversarial conditions, the sustenance of these values was quite a challenge.
Despite their history of resistance, sociopolitical
integrate
some Catholic elements
into
realities
Vodou cosmology,
heterogeneous cultural and religious elements
—
a
phenomenon
to Haiti. For instance, they have incorporated into the
Vodou
Vodou
often chanted and recited at the beginning of
in
have forced many Haitians to
an act of harmonious fusion of
called syncretism that
is
religion Catholic prayers
not unique
and hymns,
ceremonies, elements of hagiology, the
iconography, and the Gregorian calendar which honors the days of different saints. That calendar
now used
in
Vodou
to celebrate the Jet of the hvas [day of
Vodou
spirits]
is
who have been
symbiotically linked to the iconography and hagiology of various Catholic saints.
Until recently,
priestess
Vodou remained
unofficial
do not wear a recognizable garb; there
formal places of worships. Adepts of the
Vodou
and was practiced
is
no
listing
secretively.
Vodou
religion gather in
hounfos (temples) which may not
element of spatial juxtaposition of Haiti's two religious traditions.
Vodou ceremony
early in the
morning and to step
and
of members, no written documents, no
always be readily identifiable as places or worship and are often located near churches
leave a
priests
It is
—
yet another
not unusual for people to
right into the four o'clock service at a
nearby Catholic church, even though they are used to being sermonized about the need for
"eradication of superstitious beliefs."
practice
it
in private, a
ordinary Haitians
philosophizing.
—
Unlike the Haitian
formal distinction between the
elite
who
sneer at
two systems has no room
religion can never be about organization
Vodou
in the
in public
and
world view of
and systems, about rationalizing and
Their religion must satisfy immediate needs and provide a means of living. Often
to be seen in the Catholic church
was
a form of self-protection against possible persecutions, a
preventive measure against "bad tongues" as well as an extension of their quest for protection from
30
the saints and the omnipotent
Bondye [God].
However, the rage of the
h\>as
coupled with a certain form of prise de conscience from the
Catholic church (typically an ideological weapon
hands of the bourgeoisie and a force for
in the
doubt to the overthrow of the Duvalier regime and to
Haiti's Westernization), contributed without
—an advocate of "Liberation Theology" and
the ascension of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide
a leader of the grassroots "base communities,
1
'
and peasantry had not taken place
intelligentsia
the
ti
legliz
in the
movement.
107
Such an
between
alliance
country since the early revolutionary days and
held great promise for the democratic struggle and the cultural revalorization of Haiti's African past.
Though
this
commented
.
.
.
attempt
that
at
we may
if Haitian
Baby Doc
creolized,
democratizing the Catholic church seems to have aborted, Desmangles
well witness a
society remains stable and free of political revolutions that
Duvalier' s departure
gradually
observances and
theology.
new phenomenon:
in
may
1986, Catholicism in Haiti
'de-Europeanizing'
by growing more
itself
have plagued
well
since
it
become more
flexible
in
its
ritual
and appropriating indigenous folk traditions into that
in its theology,
108
Moreover, he commented:
...
if
Catholicism
is
to survive in Haiti,
'Haitianization' (or remythologization) in
allow Haitians the opportunity to exercise
to take their destiny into their
own
direct
its
its
own
have to
.
.
.
accelerate
engagement with Haitian
of,
and adherence
—whether these be purely Vodou, or
its
culture.
eventual
It
must
resourcefulness in their religious practices,
hands, and to determine once and for
choices necessary to ensure the formulation
traditions
will
it
a
to, their
all
own
the fundamental
genuine religious
Vodounized Catholicism.
109
Bellegarde- Smith goes further to state that the ancestral religion and the Creole language are
the pillars of Haitian society, and that democratization will never occur in Haiti without the
inclusion of these cultural
further stated that "Haitian
elements
democracy
in all
will
aspects of government
life
and
social institutions.
full
He
occur only when state institutions are made to reflect the
31
national culture."
110
The country has been forced
social institutions in a typical situation
where
to stay at odds with
a dominant culture (the
its
African cultural heritage and
West and
the Haitian elite
abide by Western values) has tried to impose, by political and social pressures,
oppressed.
Revamping Harold Cruse'
111
its
who
values on the
argument about the interconnectedness of
cultural
oppression and political and economic subjugation, Bellegarde- Smith argued that history and culture
should always be seen as a coherent whole
I
also believe that the survival
—namely, an imbreached
of the Haitian masses
is
citadel.
upon
contingent
and religion being valued, respected and made an integral part of the country's
Vodou, with
its
strong democratic tradition,
its
their African culture
civil
and
the loose seams of Haitian culture and politics.
means of continuity, but
also as a
life.
history of revalorization of Haitian traditions and
contribution to the struggle for national identity and racial pride might well be the link
stitch
political
Vodou
in Haiti clearly
means of resistance and organization.
It
needed to
its
re-
operates not only as a
has been employed to re-
suture social identity, cultural integration and moral authority in the face of social and historical forces
which have tended towards
oppressed Haitian masses.
presented as an entity
than as a
annihilation for the slaves, and, in
In this essay,
in itself, as part
I
of the
modern
allowed the Africanism
reality
of the Haitian religion to be
and dynamics of life
mere mode of survival or form of historical
residue.
The
times, destruction of the
lives,
in the
histories
and tensions within
itself,
in
Haitian
Vodou,
is
how
the structure of
capable of taking various
within a realm of meaning, resistance and affirmation.
32
rather
deeds and words of Mama
Lola and Karen McCarthy Brown served as well by helping to demonstrate
African religion, recreated and recontextualized
Vodou world
ENDNOTES
Barrett, L.
1.
"African Religion
(Ed), African Religions.
in
the Americas:
The
A Symposium. (New York: Nok
Voodoo (sometimes pronounced Hoodoo,
'Islands in Between'."
Publishers, 1977),
p.
In N. S.
Booth
213.
form of Vodou practiced
in New Orleans and other Southern U.S. cities) and what it evokes is a creation of the West. Vodou
remains the term most commonly used for linguistic convenience by Haitian and non-Haitian scholars.
This is the spelling which I use, except when discussing the Western depiction of the religion
(Voodoo) or when quoting authors who favor Vodun or Vodoun. The Haitian word Vaudoun
2.
especially to refer to the
designates specifically a ritual dance.
McCarthy Brown, K.
3.
Mama Lola: A
University of California Press, 1991),
Loa(s) or Lwa(s) are the
4.
p.
Vodou
Vodou Priestess
in Brooklyn.
(Berkeley,
CA: The
10.
spirits
of the Haitian pantheon. They serve as intermediaries
between the ultimate God, Bondye, and the humans.
in Haiti.
This author
6.
in
"Vodou in Haitian Culture." In T. L. Stoddard (Ed), Religion and Politics
(Washington, DC: Institute for Cross-Cultural Research, 1966), p. 12.
Courlander, H.
5.
is
often quoted here because of his major contributions to rehabilitating
the West, especially in his book, Haiti: The
Bellegarde-Smith, P. Haiti:
p.
Vodou
Breached Citadel, 1990.
The Breached Citadel.
(Boulder,
CO: Westview
Press, 1990),
13.
W. The Serpent and the Rainbow. (New York: Warner Books,
1985,) pp. 72-73.
8.
Davis,
9.
Bellegarde-Smith wrote that the /was "represent the cosmic forces that are integral to the
Each Iwa is an archetype of a moral
principle that he or she represents. Among the lwas/spirits most frequently "served" and invoked in
ceremonies are: Dambala, supreme, oldest, most respected, represented by a snake; Aida Wedo, his
Haitian experience and yet transcend
it"
(op
cit.,
p.
22).
who must be invoked to "open the gate" for the other lwas;
Ogu who does not tolerate injustice, but who can be mean at times; Erzili, representing sexuality,
lesbianism, motherhood; Azaka, the peasant, the worker, the one who controls money; Baron Samedi
wife; Legba, the spirit
and Gran
of the crossroads
Brigit, guardians
of the cemeteries; and Cede, the
10.
Courlander, H. Haiti Singing.
1 1
James, C. L. R.
12.
Barrett, op.
of death and sexuality.
(New York: Cooper Square
The Black Jacobins
cit., p.
spirit
Pub,
Inc., 1973), p. 7.
(New York: Vintage Books,
184.
33
1963),
p.
394.
13.
It is
reported that in Haiti alone over one hundred different ethnic groups found themselves
on the island and were able to unite only through the African re-created religion, Vodou, which
somewhat compensated for their lost (family, clan, land) and brought them closer to Guinea— a word
which is still used in Haiti today to refer to Africa.
14.
Barrett, op.
15.
Thompson, R.
cit., p.
F.
198.
Flash of the
York: Vintage Books, 1983),
p.
16.
Bellegarde-Smith, op.
17.
Ibid.
18.
For example, George Bush,
"voodoo economics.
plan as
11
Spirit:
African
& Afro-American Art & Philosophy. (New
164.
13.
cit., p.
criticizing a political contender, referred to
The phrase has
the person's economic
since been widely used. Also, recently published
is
a
book by Kay Nelson aimed at maximizing productivity for Mac users, entitled Voodoo Mac. Tips
& Tricks with an Attitude, 1992 The subtitle is as disturbing as the title itself Euro-Americans often
despise African- Americans because of their "attitude, making reference to a life style and behavior
11
which may be
19.
glance different from their own.
at first
Definition from the Webster's
New World Dictionary (1964).
Webster's Ninth Collegiate Dictionary (1986)
religion derived
still
Two
decades
offers an ignorant definition
from African ancestor worship, practiced
chiefly
by Negroes
later,
of vodou.
[sic]
of
Haiti,
the
"A
and
characterized by propitiatory rites and communication by trance with animistic deities."
20.
Life
magazine (August, 1987.
question about
in
asked by a
62)
Ignorant answer of a U.S. missionary in Haiti to a
A houngan
visiting physician
is
a priest and a
mambo
is
a priestess
Haitian Vodou.
Quoted
21
In C. Foster
role that
later, in
is
AIDS
p
in
G. R. Smucker
and A. Valdman's
Vodou played
in
in
Haiti,
wrote on the
social character
Today and 'Tomorrow (1984,
the Haitian Revolution,
the Duvalier government and
known
a chapter he
in
in
p. 54).
the resistance to the
the overthrow of the regime
itself.
of religion
in Haiti.
This statement denies the
American Occupation, and
Also, the
to be closely tied to issues of land (division, administration, and resolution
Vodou
religion
of conflicts), and
(name given to urban residential areas). As recently
as October 1 1th, 1993, when US marines were stopped from coming ashore, Haitians reported that
they drove away foreign journalists with a powder meant to cause the foreigners to itch terribly
powder prepared by vodou practitioners and made of dead frogs and snakes. The masses are not
armed and, remembering the horrors of the American Occupation of 1915, it was reported that the
people had prepared a few such concoctions to drive the Marines away if, indeed, they set foot on
seem united in their refusal to
Haitian soil. Haitians
both supporters of the army and of Aristide
see a foreign intervention. On many walls in the country, I saw written last September: "A BA
MILITE BLAN [down with foreign military]." This seems to be the people's will and it is reported
that vodou is being put to use
by the various factions to see their agenda prevail. Saying that
to matters of economy as
it
relates to the lakou
—
—
—
—
—
34
Vodou
This statement
religion.
some fundamental characteristics of the
coming from G. R. Smucker a "consultant on
apolitical indicates a lack of understanding of
is
is
very surprising, especially
economic development currently residing in Haiti"
someone who has a reputation for being one of the rare
socially
and development consultants committed to helping Haiti and
He
by Western imperialism.
—
Laguerre,
M.
and Vodou
Hills,
CA: Sage
Hill,
NC: The
25.
James, op.
26.
Davis,
NC: The
a native
a Potent
Combination
Martin's Press, 1989).
St.
in Haiti."
Also
see,
Wall Street Journal, April
New
NY:
Cornell
Vodou and Roman Catholicism
in Haiti.
Haitians in
York
(Ithaca,
City.
p. 19.
The Faces of the Gods:
cit., p.
86.
W. Passage of Darkness: The Pthnobiology of the Haitian Zombie. (Chapel
Hill,
University of North Carolina Press. 1988)
A
zombie.
like
University of North Carolina Press, 1992.)
refers to the extremely rare cases
Zombification
27.
"help" people and
Publications).
Desmangles, L. G.
(Chapel
Still
American Odyssey:
University Press, 1984),
24.
who
and Laguerre, M. "Voodoo Heritage." Sage Library of Social Research, Vol. 98.
Laguerre, M.
23.
people outside the patterns dictated
For example, Smucker speaks Creole
M. Vodou and Politics in Haiti. (New York:
"Politics
18, 1986, p. 19;
(Beverly
its
politically
indeed, a very rare phenomenon.
Laguerre,
22.
and
book] but, moreover,
aware anthropologists
in the
not perceived as one of those foreign experts
is
cultures that they do not understand.
speaker
such
[listed as
poison
is
administered to an individual
who
when
is
in Haiti
a person
is
made
into a
subsequently pronounced dead
—
the
awakened and put to work
for a sorcerer. That process is said to cause complete amnesia in the zombie and to create other
physical and mental deficiencies What is interesting in terms of our work on morality is that the
person who is made into a zombie is a public outcast, someone who has committed all sorts of crimes
against his or her family and the community The people's court then rule to punish him or her
severely through the process of zombification. It is a form of people's justice, what in Kenya for
potency of the drug makes the
example,
ask
is
is
called
"mob
the following:
different
vital signs
justice" and
disappear The person
which
is
practiced quite frequently.
from the death penalty favored
in
some
28.
Bellegarde-Smith, op.
29.
Bellegarde-Smith, op. cit. p
30.
Bellegarde-Smith,
3
Deren, M. Divine Horsemen: The Living
1
Co., 1983),
later
Then, the question that
form of "capital" punishment imposed by the
Is this
p.
is
cit
..
p
will
I
of the people, very
other societies 9
19
169
9
Gods of Haiti. (New
p. 9.
35
Paltz,
NY: McPherson and
Gede is the playful trickster who is the spirit of death, life and sexuality. Poles like right and
wrong, good or evil, black and white do not quite fit in African cosmology and Haitian thought for
32.
—
that matter.
in a
Gede, by representing both
continuum and a
and death, maintains a sense of balance, placing things
life
of continuity. In
fluid state
that respect, he plays an important role
among
the
/was.
33.
McCarthy Brown,
op.
cit.,
pp. 19-20.
McCarthy Brown, K. "Writing about
34.
The Chronicle of Higher Education,
the 'Other'."
April 15, 1992, p. A56.
why
have kept "voice"
35.
This
36.
Mama
37.
McCarthy Brown, "Writing about
is
I
Lola's
full
name
is
in
the singular form in the
title
of this essay.
Marie Therese Alourdes Macena Margaux Kowalski.
the 'Other'," op.
cit.
McCarthy Brown, K. "Olina and Erzulie: A Woman and Goddess in Haitian Vodou."
Amina, 5, 1979, pp. 110-116. Also see, McCarthy Brown, K. "Alourdes: A Case Study of Moral
Leadership in Haitian Vodou." In J. S. Hawley (Ed), Saints and Virtues. (Berkeley and Los
Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 1987a), pp. 144-167; McCarthy Brown, K. "Mama
Lola and the Ezilis: Themes of Mothering and Loving in Haitian Vodou." In N. A. Falk and R. M.
Gross (Eds), Unspoken Worlds: Women's Religious Lives. (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1989a),
pp 235-45; McCarthy Brown, K. "Women's Leadership in Haitian Vodou." In J. Plaskow and C.
Christ (Eds), Weaving the Visions: New Patterns in Feminist Spirituality. (San Francisco, CA:
38.
See,
Harper and Row, 1989b),
Brooklyn, op.
39
pp. 226-234, and
McCarthy Brown,
Mama Lola: A
Vodou Priestess
in
cit.
McCarthy Brown, K.
Scholar into Haitian Vodou."
"Plenty Confidence in Myself:
Journal of Feminist Studies
The
Initiation
of a White
in Religion, Vol. 3,
No.
1,
Woman
1987b, pp.
67-76.
40.
To my knowledge, Karen McCarthy Brown
Vodou
religion as lived
priestess.
The
offers to date, the
most accurate portrayal of the
day by day by some followers of the religion
rare information that she presented, the confessions
—
and, in particular, a
Vodou
and observations that she gathered
McCarthy Brown's data resulted from over ten years
of close interaction with members of her Vodou family. It is unique in that such material has not been
communicated before in such a manner to a scholarly audience. See McCarthy Brown, Mama Lola:
A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn, op cit
could only have been collected by an insider
41.
The Creole word balanse means
to bring about equilibrium, to harmonize;
metaphysical elements not rendered by the English word "balance."
42.
McCarthy Brown,
Mama Lola:
A Vodou
Priestess in Brooklyn, op. cit, p. 14.
36
it
implies
My interpretation of the material was made easier by my own knowledge of the religion.
hJ.
For those who serve the
44.
spirits
and
in
African cosmology, dancing means creating
and
maintaining balance in all aspects of life. For example, Bellegarde- Smith wrote to describe the state
of balance that he achieved through and because of his initiation: "My ancestors dance with me."
From Bellegarde-Smith,
"An
P.
of Caribbean Studies, Vol.
9,
Nos.
&
1
McCarthy Brown,
46.
Joseph Binbin Mauvant,
47.
McCarthy Brown,
48.
McCarthy Brown, "Alourdes:
Mama
Pale:
Reflections of an Initiate." Journal
2, pp. 3-9.
Mama Lola: A
45.
p.
Pawol La
Introduction,
Vodou Priestess
in Brooklyn, op.
Lola's great grand father, in
cit.,
pp. 6-7.
McCarthy Brown,
ibid., p. 70.
ibid, p. 12.
A Case
Study of Moral Leadership
in
Haitian
Vodou,"
op.
cit.,
162.
49.
McCarthy Brown,
50.
Mama Lola
and
Ibid,
Vodou Priestess
in Brooklyn, op.
cit., p.
does not use her knowledge of Vodou to harm others. She
See McCarthy Brown,
heals.
51.
Mama Lola: A
ibid., p.
43.
sees, serves, helps,
188.
p. 9.
To work
Marie Jacques is a form of prostitution in Haiti. Unlike other types of
prostitution, money is never discussed However, it is expected that the men will leave some money
for the lady at the end of their encounter Alourdes worked in this way to feed her children for a few
52.
as a
years.
53.
McCarthy Brown, "Writing about
54.
McCarthy Brown,
55.
Ibid., p. 70.
56.
This
is
described her
Mama Lola:
the
l
Other'," op.
A Vodou
cit., p.
A56.
Priestess in Brooklyn, op.
cit., p.
39.
reminiscent of the experience of Carol Stack, another while female anthropologist
own
who
appropriation and acceptance into an African- American family (All our Kin, 1974)
which eventually named her
M'hite
Carol since a Black
woman
with that
name
already existed in the
family.
A Vodou
57.
gathering. Other
ceremony
is
called a "service" which, in
Vodou ceremonies have more
specific
itself,
indicates the intent behind the
names such
as
"manje
1
feeding of the
pov"
[ritual
human
life
spirits/
anges"
[ritual
"mange marassd' [ritual feeding of the spirit of the twins], "manje
poor]. The food offered give the spirits an opportunity to participate in
the lwas],
feeding of the
les
and strengthen the relationship between the
37
living
and the dead.
The "manje pov"
is
an occasion to invite the
meal but,
less fortunate to share a
opportunity to receive a blessing from the poor and the beggars
—those whose family
is
not there to
cushion them against suffering and bad luck, those who, "by the inversionary logic of Vodou
cit., p.
a life-sustaining activity in
is
In lieu of formal introduction,
ties.
more ways than
when Mama Lola wishes
McCarthy Brown, often, she simply says: "She eats in
Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn, op. cit., p. 43).
her closeness with
Brown,
Mama
58.
McCarthy Brown,
59.
Konesans
in
.
.
can
in
201).
In Haiti, eating
maintaining
.
McCarthy Brown, Mania Lola: A Vodou Priestess
stave off misfortune for intact families" (see
Brooklyn, op.
an
also,
Mama Lola: A
Vodou Priestess
Creole means knowledge, but
is
spirits
who
to
my
let
It
is
people
a
means of
know
cit.,
pp. 6-7.
a form of knowledge accompanied by
often share their
also
about
house." (See McCarthy
in Brooklyn, op.
which usually comes from experience. Elders have konesans, but
departed, the ancestors, the
one.
it is
wisdom
a characteristic of the
wisdom and konesans with us through
dreams and possessions.
McCarthy Brown,
60.
61
into
Mama Lola:
A
odou Priestess
I
McCarthy Brown, "Plenty Confidence
Haitian Vodou," op. cit., p. 74.
62.
Ehh!
this interjection
disbelief about
McCarthy Brown,
64.
Though
totally
in
Myself:
a
Mama Lola:
A
I
few African-Americans are
realities
of life
in the
The
Initiation
cit., p. 2.
of a White
Haitian Kxeyol: unbelievable! inconceivable!
something completely off balance;
63.
of the harsh
means
in
in Brooklyn, op.
It
Woman
expresses strong
ibid., p. 74.
'odou Priestess in Brooklyn, op.
cit., p. 3.
starting to place their elderly parents in
United States,
in
Scholar
the Black world, such behavior
homes because
is still
considered
immoral and unacceptable
65.
Bellegarde-Smith, Haiti:
66.
This statement does not
Brown
confessed that
it
The Breached Citadel, op.
mean
that
took her years to
cit., p.
16.
Alourdes had not actually eaten that day. Karen McCarthy
realize
its full
meaning.
Mama Lola used
it
to indicate that
was depressed and upset, showing how mind and body are interconnected for her. She is upset,
her whole system is affected; she does not feel that she has been fed (though she has eaten). From
McCarthy Brown, Mama Lola: A 'odou Priestess m Brooklyn, op. cit., p. 44.
she
I
McCarthy Brown, "Alourdes:
67.
p.
68.
A Case
Study of Moral Leadership
in
Haitian
Vodou,"
op.
cit.,
166.
Erny, P.
"Childhood and Cosmos"
The Social Psychology of the Black African Child.
(Washington, DC: Black Orpheus Press, 1973),
p.
38
15.
This concept
69.
wrote
".
.
stone,
.
.
another"
.
.
is
what Jahn
In his book,
called Ntu.
place and time are forces and the 'modalities' are
and yesterday,
east
(New York: Grove
.
.
much
.
beauty and laughter are forces and as such are
.
Press, 1961), p. 100.
has been written
in the
in their
area since then.
I
used to express some fundamental elements of the African ethos.
Muntu, Kuntu
of Muntu
(a
in particular.
Kuntu
will
be explained
Bantu word often translated as "man")
is
all
His book represented one of the
by a European to present African culture and philosophy
value, although
Muntu: The New African Culture, he
forces. Man and Woman,
dog and
in
own
For
rights.
.
.
one
related to
first
attempts
that alone,
it
has
find useful the terminology that he
I
the section
refer here to the concepts
on Black
aesthetics.
of Ntu,
The concept
an inclusive categorization to express the unity
between the living and the dead, the ancestors and the deified ancestors (p. 18).
Maya Deren expressed similar ideas regarding the unity of things in Divine Horsemen: The
Living Gods of Haiti: "The entire chain of interlocking links life, death, deification, transfiguration,
churns without rest through the hands of the devout. None of it is forgotten: that the
resurrection
god was once human, that he [she] was made god by humans, that he [she] is sustained by humans"
existing
—
—
(New
Paltz,
NY: McPherson and
70.
Jahn, op.
71.
Bellegarde-Smith, Haiti:
72.
Manolesco explains
cit., p.
Co., 1983), p. 33.
96.
The Breached Citadel, op.
of vaudou
that the goal
cit., p.
17.
initiation is to liberate the
neophyte from three
obstacles that can hinder his evolution: self love, doubt that needs to disappear to increase faith, and
superstition created
by
fears.
Jour, Montreal, Canada,
73.
into
After that the person
1972),
p.
one with
all
other living creatures (Editions du
88
McCarthy Brown, "Plenty Confidence
Haitian Vodou," op. cit., p. 75.
Mama Lola:
74.
McCarthy Brown,
75.
Ibid., p.
380.
76.
Ibid., p.
381.
77.
McCarthy Brown, "Alourdes:
p.
is
A
in
Myself:
A Vodou
The
Initiation
of a White
Priestess in Brooklyn, op.
Case Study of Moral Leadership
in
Woman
cit., p.
Haitian
Scholar
75.
Vodou,"
op.
cit.,
166.
someone who has been possessed by the god, someone whose gro
bonanj (guardian angel/spirit/soul) has been displaced by that of the spirit who mounted her. The
person possessed is in a state of trance She is not conscious and is no longer herself, but the
78.
The
clrwal of a lwa
is
incarnation of the lwa.
79.
In a later section, this will
the spirit
become
clearer as
Ogou.
39
we
recount the encounter of a young
man
with
McCarthy Brown,
80.
K., AJourdes:
A Case
Study of Moral Leadership
in
Vodou,
Haitian
op.
cit, p. 154.
African Religions and Philosophy.
81.
Mbiti,
82.
McCarthy Brown,
83.
McCarthy Brown, "Alourdes:
p.
J.
,
Mama Lola: A
(New York:
Vodou Priestess
Praeger, 1969),
in Brooklyn, op.
cit., p.
214.
p.
69.
A Case Study of Moral Leadership in Haitian Vodou,"
op.
cit.,
161.
The ason is the beaded rattle that gives houngans and mambos leverage in the world of the
twos. They receive it after undergoing the fourth and highest level of initiation which confirms them
as healer, as priests or priestesses, as leaders of the vodou communities.
84.
The word kouche is the term most commonly used to describe initiation into Vodou. Kouche
in Creole means to lie down, to sleep, to make love, to give birth, to die, and to be reborn (in the
sense of having undergone the Vodou initiation). The bed (or its substitute when people cannot
afford a bed) is therefore to be respected for what it represents: life and death, two faces of the same
85.
coins.
McCarthy Brown,
86.
Mama Lola:
A
I
'odou Priestess in Brooklyn, op.
cit., p.
69.
Along with other Vodou
concepts, the notion of crossroads is often misused. Kenneth Freed wrote: "A favorite image in
Haiti is standing at one of the most important crossroads in
Haitian life is Kafu, the crossroad.
its history today, but if the past indeed predicts the future here, there is little hopeful in whatever path
is taken.
At the current kafu, one road sign points the way to the future of Jean-Bertrand Aristide,
Deren, Divine Horsemen: 7he Living Gods of Haiti, op.
87.
.
a radical
whose
past
1993,
H
p.
is
littered
1).
This
priest with a past
Haiti to a future
yet another
example where
of
erratic visions
and conflicting
of 'New Duvalierism,' an echo of a movement
with violence, corruption and terror.
is
35.
.
—even renegade— Roman Catholic
The other road would take
actions.
.
cit., p.
."
.
.
(Los Angeles Times, October 26,
a sophisticated religious
concept
is
trivialized in
a foreign newspaper.
88.
Although one
was permitted
is
not allowed to reveal the secrets of Vodou
89.
Karen McCarthy Brown
She cautioned, however, not to "overFrom McCarthy Brown, K., Plenty Confidence in Myself: The
to write about her reactions to the process.
interpret" her "metaphoric
Initiation
initiation,
of a White
Like a baby's
speech ."
Woman
skull,
the
Scholar into Haitian Vodou, op.
new
head, the
cit.,
new self is believed
pp. 72-75.
to be vulnerable and, as such,
must
be protected.
90.
into
91
McCarthy Brown, "Plenty Confidence
Haitian Vodou," op. cit., p. 1670
McCarthy Brown,
Mama Lola:
A
I
in
Myself:
The
Initiation
of a White
'odou Priestess in Brooklyn, op.
40
Woman
cit., p.
1 1
Scholar
92.
Ibid., p. 10.
93.
Ibid.
94.
Ibid., p. 5.
95.
Ibid., p. 10.
96.
Ibid., p. 5.
97.
into
McCarthy Brown, "Plenty Confidence
Haitian Vodou," op. cit., p. 72.
McCarthy Brown,
98.
99.
into
McCarthy Brown, "Alourdes:
The
Myself:
Vodou Priestess
McCarthy Brown, "Plenty Confidence
Haitian Vodou," op. cit., p. 75.
100.
p.
Mama Lola: A
in
A Case
in
Initiation
Study of Moral Leadership
Woman
of a White
in Brooklyn, op.
The
Myself:
Initiation
cit., p.
of a White
in
Scholar
10.
Woman
Scholar
Haitian Vodou," op.
cit.,
150.
Mama Lola:
101.
McCarthy Brown,
102.
Ibid., p. 7.
103.
Babb, L. A. "Sathya
(Berkeley,
McCarthy Brown,
105.
Laguerre,
Mama Lola:
M. "Voodoo
Publications, 1980),
I
odou Priestess
Baba's Saintly Play " In
CA: University of California
104.
CA: Sage
Sai
A
in
Brooklyn, op.
J.
S.
Hawley
cit., p. 9.
(Ed), Saints
Virtues.
Press, 1987), pp. 168-186.
A
I
odou Priestess
in Brooklyn, op.
cit., p.
Heritage " Sage Library of Social Research, Vol. 98.
p.
and
107.
(Beverly
Hills,
22
Long, C. The Emergence of Religious alue Systems at the level of Popular Religions in the
Proposal submitted by the Center for Black Studies to Pacific Rim Research.
Pacific Rim.
1
06.
I
(University of California:
107.
Although the
grassroots
a
large
about
108.
movement
portion
Center for Black Studies. 1993),
literal
is in
translation of the
no way small
of the Haitian
The
//
legliz
movement
is
proletariat
was,
—changes which would bring some form of
Desmangles, L. G. 7he Laces of the Gods:
indeed,
justice
I
Ibid., p. 181.
41
'odou
movement,
this
994 seemed to indicate
that
small church
political climate in Haiti in
p. 55.
109.
p. 11.
1
's
determined to see changes
come
and democracy for the Haitian masses.
and Roman Catholicism
in Haiti, op.
cit.,
110.
Bellegarde-Smith, Haiti: The Breached Citadel, op.
cit., p.
171.
Harold Cruse, an African- American historian, argues that there will not be positive
identification with the real demands of the Black economic and political existence as long as the
African-American cultural identity is still in question. See Cruse, H. The Crisis of the Negro
Intellectual. (New York: William Morrow and Company, 1967).
111.
42
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OF MASS/BOSTON
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