I made my first trip to Haiti in August 1987 for the newspaper Liberation. Since then, I have returned many times on assignment for the international press corps to cover various stories. It was by experiencing Haiti’s stormy political events first hands that I got to know their society. But, to better understand these people, one must inevitably approach the Voodoo religion.
Between the 16th and 19th centuries, it is estimated that between 12-15 million black slaves were deported to the new American colonies. These labourers replaced the Native Americans who, working on the plantations and in the gold mines, had died from various sicknesses brought to the colonies by their captors. The only belongings they were able to retain were their religion and their customs. But, they had hardly landed on shore when they were baptised and given new names, the ethnic groups all mixed together. Everything conspired to destroy their social structures and to make them lose any memory of their origins and to become submissive. Beaten, mistreated and transformed into “work machines,” they endured the torments of exile. Yet, from the beginning, they secretly tried to reproduce their original religious practices during nighttime meetings.
Voodoo is a religion which acts as a link between the human and his or her environment, between the living and the dead, between the terrestrial and the celestial. The followers of Voodoo ask of their religion the same things that peole have always sought from their faiths: a remedy for their sorrows and pain, satisfaction of their basic needs, the hope of a life after death. One makes many requests of Loas—spirits—for each stage of life.
The ceremonies take place in “houmforts,” or Voodoo places of worship, and are led by “houngans”, priests, and by the “mambos” priestesses. The dance is a prayer. At the sound of the drum, the followers call the Loa while dancing for hours. The Loa expresses itself by abruptly possessing one or several of the faithful people. Letting go of their human condition, the chosen ones enter into a trance, take on the personality of an invisible force and speak to the audience under that assumed name. They offer sacrificial animals—oxen, goats, chickens—to attract the favor of Loas.
Iin the eyes of missionaries and settlers, the seances, as well as the sacrificial rituals practiced during some ceremonies projected an image of a bloody and satanic cult. Much later, the film industry maintained that perception by using cliches such as zombies—the living dead—as the theme of many horror movies. Today, with the presence of strangers well-tolerated at the regular ceremonies, many journalists who go to Haiti continue to make similar sensational reports, by reinforcing the opinions that white people have about Voodoo, while forgetting the significance that trances and sacrifices have in their own religions.
However, closely viewed, Voodoo does not have the cruel and barbaric character that Westerners assume. It only requires a bit of observation and experience to understand its wisdom, serenity and devotion. And the expressive spirit of the Haitian women found in ceremonial songs and dances is not only the celebration of the religion itself, but is the pious affirmation of a beauty that happens to be new and different in our eyes.
