Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1886-06-25
A Voodoo Queen.


From George w. Cables article on
Creole Slave Songs, in the April Cen
tury, illustrated by Kemble, we quote
the following concerning the famous
Marie Laveau: THE worship of Voc
doc is paid TO II snake kept in box.
The worshipers are not merely sect,
but in some rude, savage way also an
order. "A man and woman chosen from
their own number to be the oracles of
the serpent deity are called the king
and queen. The queen is the more inn
portant of the two, and even in the
present dilapidatcd state of the worship
in Louisiana, where the kings office
has almost or quite disappeared, the
queen is still person of great note.
''She reigns rs long as she continues
to live. She comes to power not by in
heritance, but by election or its barbar-
Gus equivalent. Chosen for such quail
ties as would give her natural suprem-
acy, personal attractions among the
rest, and ruling over superstitious fears
and desires of every fierce and ignoble
sort she wields no trivial influence. l
once saw, in her extreme old age, the
famed Marie Laveau. Her dwelling
was in the quadroon quarter of New
Orleans, but step OF two from Congo
Square, a small adobe cabin just off the
sidewalk, scarcely higher than its close
board fence, whose batten gate yielded
to the touch and revealed the crazy
doors and windows spread wide to the
warm air, and one or two tawny faces
within, whose expression was divided
between pretense of contemptuous in
attention and frowning resentment Of
the intrusion. In the center of small
room whose ancient cypress floor was
worn with scrubbing and sprinkled with
crumbs of soft brick-a Creole affecta-
ton of superior cleanlineSs-sat quak-
ing with feebleness in an Unlocking old
rocking-chair, her body bowed, and her
wild, gray witch's tresses hanging about
her shriyeled, yellow neck, the queen Of
the Voodoos. Three generations of her
children were within the faint beckon
of her helpless, waggling wrist and
fingers. They said she was over a hun
dred years old, and there was nothing
to cast doubt upon the statement. She
had shrunken away from her skin; it
was like turtles. Yet withal one
could hardly help but see that the face,
now so withered, had once been hand
some and commanding. There was
still faint shadow of departed beauty
on the forehead, the spark of an old
fire in the sunken, glistening eyes, and
a vestige of imperiousness in the fine,
slightly aquiline nose, and even about
her silent, woe-begone mouth. Her
grandson stood by. an uninteresting
quadroon between forty and fifty years
old. looking strong, empty-minded, and
trivial enough; but his mother, her
daughter, was also present, woman of
some seventy years, and most striking
and majestic figure. In features,
stature, and bearing she was regal
One had but to look on her, impute her
brilliancieS-too untamablc and severe
to be called charms or graces-to her
mother, and remember what New
Orleans was long years ago, to under
stand how the name of Marie Laveau
should have driven itself inextricably
into the traditions of the town and the
times. Had this visit been postponed n
few months it would have been too late.
Marie Laveau is dead; Malvina Latour
is queen. As she appeared presiding
over Noodoo ceremony on the night
of the Odd of June, 1854, she is de-
scribed as bright mulattress of about
forty-eight. of extremely handsome
figure, digniiied bearing, and face
indicative of a comparatively high order
of intelligence. She wore neat blue,
white-dotted calico gown, and bril-
Ennt huLnLL linrhnnA m1.a cnfl1llu tod -