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Athe Purpose of This Page
Athe Purpose of This Page
If you read the page called "The Lost Polish Brigades in Haiti" you
will have read about Amon Fremon of Casales, Haiti. Amon was a
Voodoo priest.
ORIGINS IN AFRICA:
In the early days of Haiti [we can not re-write history], the slave
owners feared the sorcery of their slaves. They felt that the "black
carbonaro" were dedicated to the destruction of whites. This fear
still exists today. In fact most Haitians still see whites as their
enemies. Remember Francois Duvalier ("Papa Doc") was reputed
to have used Voodoo as a tool to control his people. He also
stressed "negritude" which is explained as a pride in blackness and
African heritage.
The fear whites held for their slaves, that practiced Voodoo, were
brought on by the early writings:
....."In the 16th century Spencer St. John (a 19th century British
consul) wrote a book (in 1884) saying that Voodoo rites assisted in
the murder and eating of children, in honor of the serpent god. W.
H. Seabrook was in Haiti in the twentieth century. He saw Voodoo
rituals from 1915-1933, and wrote about his observations of what
he called "sinister practices."
Wheatley writes:
It seems that Wheatley was right about Voodoo in England. There was said to be a
Voodoo temple near the Strand. In July 1964, a white cockerel with its throat cut was
found in Watford Park. A Jamaican remarked to the Press. DO NOT go near that bird. It
was used as a sacrifice in a Voodoo initiation ceremony.
"It has come to our ears that numbers of both sexes do not avoid to
have intercourse with demons, Incubi and Succubi; and that they by
their sorceries, and by their incantations, charms, and conjurations,
they suffocate, extinguish and cause to perish the births of women,
the increase of animals, the corn in the ground, the grapes in the
vineyard and the fruits of the trees, as well as men, women, flocks,
herds and various kinds of animals, vines and apple trees, grass,
corn, and other fruits of the earth; making and procurring men and
women, flocks and herds and other animals should suffer, and be
tormented both from within and from without, so that men beget
not, nor women conceive; and they impede the conjugal action of
men and women."
"Jesus, Mary, and Christian saints are mingled with the African
pantheon. The main act of the religion is sacrifice of animals:
fowls, doves, turkey, goats, and on some important occasions, bull.
The pig is never used. The original sacrifice (in the past) was no
doubt human" (Seabrook, 58).
The Middle Ages was where this fear began. The devil idea was at
its peak in the Middle Ages or Kali Yuga (dark era). The duelity of
good and evil was said to have originated in Persia. Even King
James I (of England) wrote a book on demonology and made his
own version of the Bible. King James I feared witchcraft. He wrote
Daemonologia in 1597. There have been many writings about
Voodoo. Most of these books were written with the intent of
helping other whites to understand. However, these books were
based on personal truths, and not necessarily the truth as seen
through Haitian eyes. Books on Voodoo vary in their views.
However most agree to the following:
For the past two hundred years this hatred has done nothing but
fester.
The Haitians have a saying: The Catholic goes to church to speak
about God, the vodounist dances in the hounfour to become God
(Davis, 170).
EXTERNAL LINKS:
Voodoo Library ... Voodoo Flags (art)
African Traditional Religions ... Haiti: Voodoo
Voodoo in the Republic of Haiti ... Our Lady of Class Struggle:
The Cult of the Virgin Mary in Haiti
The Cult of the Black Madonna
SOURCES:
Diederich, Bernard and Al Burt. Papa Doc: The Truth About Haiti
Today. New York: Avon Books, 1970.
Mapes, Eric. The Domain of Devils. New York: A.S. Barnes and
Company, Inc., 1966.
Seabrook, W.B. The Magic Island London, 1929, 276.
Wheatley, Dennis. The Devil and All His Works. New York:
American Heritage Press, 1971.