Voodoo Comes Out Of Hiding In Haiti Once Banned, It Now Has Legal Status As A Religion. Some Catholic and other Christian clergy proclaimed an end to the widely practiced religion. It didn't happen. Instead, voodoo and the "roots" music movement have become ways to honor Haiti's African past.
- Haiti voodoo leader urges halt to cholera. at least 45 male and female voodoo priests. Many of the victims were hacked to death and.
- Voodoo culture, which. voodoo priests and priestesses were hacked, burned or otherwise put to death. and although some voodoo ceremonies and priests.
- As in other religions, in voodoo the instant before death somehow define the future of the soul. Catholic priests saw this as blasphemy.
- Max Beauvoir Port-au-Prince. Since a cholera epidemic started in mid-October, at least 45 Voodoo priests have been hacked to death by lynch mobs.
A new constitution adopted in 1. And Aristide, the democratically elected president who is now in exile, openly acknowledged voodoo as a national tradition. At his inaugural ceremony in February 1. Aristide gave voodoo a legitimacy it didn't have before," said Theodore ''Lolo" Beaubrun Jr., 3. Boukman Eksperyans, named after the voodoo priest who led a slave revolt in 1. The group's recent album, Vodou Adjae, or voodoo dance music, has focused attention on Haitian music, and the group's particular blend of religious drumming and high- energy contemporary music called rara, as never before.
During Aristide's eight months in office before the Sept. On Aug. 1. 5, more than a dozen such roots groups played outside the National Palace and were visited by Aristide. Although Beaubrun says that in the past his group had received threats to repress its music, there have been no such phone calls or intimidating visits by armed men since the coup, and the music continues to be played openly on the radio. In the weeks leading up to the city's pre- Lenten Carnival festival, the military regime has been staging free concerts featuring calypsolike "konpa" music as well as new- wave voodoo music, drawing the first large crowds seen since the coup."In the old days, voodoo was in hiding," said Madame Ghislaine Olivier, also known as Mambo Lolotte, a high priestess practicing outside Port- au- Prince. But because the constitution now recognizes voodoo as a religion, voodoo is getting more respect."*Voodoo temples are easily found in Haiti, and although some voodoo ceremonies and priests are money- grabbing tourist traps, other services and ceremonies are open and less commercial.
. voodoo priests and priestesses were hacked, burned or otherwise put to death by mobs. Most of the houngans, or voodoo priests, are herbalists. . to halt bloody lynchings of voodoo priests by people who blame them. to halt cholera anti-voodoo lynchings. were hacked to death and. . that people connected to Voodoo are being. Officials Say “Voodoo Priests” Are. Continue reading Officials Say “Voodoo Priests” Are Being Lynched In.
Some services are even broadcast on local television stations. Voodoo practitioners, such as Aboudja, a filmmaker and voodoo drummer and priest who has taken on the task of public relations for voodoo, emphasize that it is about discovering positive forces in life and oneself. Devil worship and ceremonies with dolls and pins, he and others say, are mostly a Hollywood- created view of voodoo that is as representative of voodoo as a black Mass would be of Catholicism. Instead, in Haiti, voodoo seems to serve as a holistic spiritual practice, and is often the glue that holds the community together."It deals with all the problems of the people," said George Ware, a member of a Philadelphia voodoo temple in East Oak Lane who has traveled to Haiti. So a priest or priestess of an area is a sort of leader of people of the community. If they have health problems, or spiritual, or mental or family, or money problems, the first person they go to see is the houngan of the community."Most of the houngans, or voodoo priests, are herbalists, schooled in the use of herbs and leaves to treat medical problems. In Haiti, where there are more than 7.
. at least 45 Voodoo priests have been hacked to death by lynch mobs, accused of casting spells to spread the disease, according to Max Beauvoir. At Least 45 Priests Hacked To Death With. At least 45 male and female voodoo priests have been murdered in recent weeks after. Standard YouTube. The Voodoo Priest: Mass burials were a desecration. at least 45 Voodoo priests have been hacked to death by. Voodoo priests have had to defend themselves.
Aboudja said. In the Port- au- Prince slum of Cite Boston, the Gran Dra Society (which means big sheet that covers and protects) operates much like a combination church, social club and medical outpost. On a recent visit, George Cine, 3. The room is decorated with plastic beach balls hanging from the ceiling, and the walls are gaily painted with a cross as well as representations of the loas, the gods or spirits of voodoo. In the adjacent room, the treatment room, the walls are covered with pictures of the Virgin Mary, Jesus and several Catholic saints. There are 5. 7 members of this society, who get together for ceremonies Tuesdays, Saturdays and on the 2.
A typewritten schedule of meetings is posted on the wall."Voodoo has become very strong," Cine said. During this period when the country is under such strain, it helps everybody in the neighborhood through the situation."He explained that people visit the temple for protection - not only to seek predictions, good luck and warnings against impending accidents, but also for counsel on such practical matters as how to obtain an American visa, or family and health problems. If one person has a problem, even a financial one, the temple bands together like a cooperative to take care of the person and perhaps lend money at a small interest rate."Before (the) society, more children died in the neighborhood," Cine said, referring to how the community banded together to help those in need. The slaves who were brought to Haiti by the French colonists came from various regions of Africa and practiced a variety of religions.
Voodoo unified them. In 1. 93. 4, the practice of voodoo was outlawed, and the 1. Catholic Church, in which houses of voodoo worship were destroyed. When Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier assumed power in 1. An estimated 9. 0 percent of Haiti's 6 million people practice voodoo, while at least 8. Catholic. Mambo Angela Novanyon, an African American voodoo priestess practicing in North Philadelphia who was initiated in Haiti, said the recent open attitude toward voodoo seemed to signal that "perhaps the struggle between voodoo and Catholic Church has subsided."She stresses, as many voodoo followers do, that many people practice both voodoo and Catholicism, and that the two religions share saints and other religious figures. Near the village of Lillavois, a half- hour's drive out of Port- au- Prince, a Coleman lantern illuminated a clearing between a hamlet of small buildings recently.
Under a nearly full moon, about 1. It was the final night of an 1. Saturday night hoedown: There was food and beer and soda, and music provided by six drummers.
One person struck two pieces of iron together to make a cowbell sort of sound. Most of the women were dressed in satin, many with head scarves in red, the voodoo color for blood and energy."This festivity is performed for the well- being of the country. It brings power to those who believe in it," explained Mambo Lolotte, the priestess overseeing the service.
Dressed in a smart panama hat, gold earrings, gold cross, red shirt, jeans and sneakers, she looked the part of a modern and prosperous businesswoman. People come to her, she said, for "sentimental problems, problems with business, people who want to ensure their position."And like many modern health- care institutions, she charges, she said, ''according to their ability to pay.".