Money, health, employment, love and safety are all areas of speciality for Mama Lola. By serving the spirits properly, Mama Lola will always be in their care, but serving can sometimes be forgotten and Mama will suffer some type of heart ship from the spirits as a reminder to honor them. Celebrations consist of liquor, cookies, candy, fruits, cakes, popped corn, peanuts, cassava bread and puddings, rice and beans, and sweet potatoes, all things that the spirit might enjoy are placed on the altar. As soon as a child is old enough, he is expected to contribute to the life of the Vodou family. Strict discipline is important in a Haitian household.
Life is hard.
This is how the Haitian children are taught. It is practiced in urban areas behind closed doors and in basements with windows darkened so that no one will see. Adults and children are warned not to mention their beliefs to outsiders or suffer severe reprimand from the spirits. Throughout her book Ms. McCarthy can never say for sure whether Mama Lola actually made a change to someone's life through the spirits. She performed her card reading and ceremonies, using plants, baths, blue colored water, eggs, molasses and pennies, for nearly a week.