A few words about voudou

The most recent episode of Cat's podcast is about our visit to a batey, which is is a type of company town structured around a sugar plantation. Most of the plantations went bust in the 80s but the communities persist. Due to historical and economic factors bateys tend to be poor, congested and populated primarily by Dominicans of Haitian descent or recent Haitian immigrants.

The podcast gives the subject a fantastic treatment but does not mention a fascinating aspect of the community: the important role that voudou ("voodoo") plays an important role in local cultural life. (A quick note about italics: in this entry the italicized words will be from Kreyol, the language of Haiti, instead of Spanish.) Both Haiti and the DR are religiously plural societies with many faiths and there are enough voudou believers in the batey to support a hounfour (temple) in the center of the crowded community.

We were unable to speak with the priest and I am far from an expert on this subject so I'll stick to facts from wikipedia.

Essentially, Haitian voudou is a mixture of Roman Catholic rituals and traditional African beliefs. The slaves that were brought to the island were forbidden to practice their native religion so they gave it a Catholic makeover. It's a much better fit than you might expect!

In both belief systems there is a Bondye ("Good God") who is not directly knowable without the intervention of a priest. This Supreme Being is supported by lesser spiritual powers who are also the objects of devotion.

In voudou the African lwa ("spirits") are associated with the Catholic Saints. For example Papa Legba, who guards the entry into the spirit world is represented by "San Pedro" (St. Peter) the guard of the Pearly Gates.

Saint Peter

St. Jean D'Arc (Joan of Arc - Haiti was originally a French colony) is associated with Ersulie Freda.

I have no idea what she does.

Other familiar faces are:

John the Baptist . . .

John is to the right of Jack

. . . .and Saint Anthony.

The images of the saints adorns the walls but the center of the action is the altar.

Offerings from the devout

But instead of the call of the faithful reaching up into Heaven, in voudou the saints descend to the earth and enter the body of the priest - and sometimes the faithful. And what do they do there? Like Catholic Saints, they intervene in the worldly affairs of the devout: they bestow blessings and bring good luck.

They answer prayers.