San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-03-06
THE BELIEF AND PRACTICES.

sonally.
THE BELIEF AND PRACTICES.
The explanation becomes of interest because
Spencer St. John in his book on Hayti charges
Salnave with vaudauxism. My informant
was a mulatto who possesses an intimate
knowledge of Haytian affairs The alteration
of serpents is a heather religion imported
from the jungles of Africa. Officers of the
First West India regiment of the British
army, who have done long service on the gold
coast have given to me detailed description
of voudooism as it there prevails under the
name of vodun. There is apparently but lit
tie difference in the disgusting rites, except
that the horrible orgy which follows many of
the Haytian meetings is not met with among
the votaries on the native heath Of voudoo-
ISM
The story of Vaudaux is too well known to
be recounted in detail here. Sufficient to
mention that it is the religion of a considera-
Die portion Of the savage tribes of Africa.
In the kingdom of Dahomey hundreds of
thousands of human victims have first and
last been offered up to the yellow god. In
Ashantee the serpent is possessed of super
natural powers in the minds of the followers
of Obi There is a large yellow snake which
is used as the medium of the mysterious power
of Vaudaux. VaudauX is the God on high,
but the all powerful controller of the negro's
universe deigns to employ Intermediates,
and the serpent becomes the black savage's
Jesus Of Nazareth. The priest of Vaudaux is
called papaloi, a corruption of papa roi papa
king. He shares his regal honors with
'dusky dame, who is generally his placed
wife, as they say in Hayti, which means no
wife at all in legal or religious sense. She
is known as mamanloi, and that she plays q
highly important part in the midnight con-
clave will be seen as this story proceeds.
II you are awake at late hour of the even
ing at Port au Prince, you will hear a dull,
monotonous sound waited down the heavy
air from the direction of that portion of the
town which lies near the plain of the Guide
Sac. 1t is the noise of the bamboula, or
Congo drum-weird, uncanny and suggeS-
tive The beats are slow and at regular in
tervals Black men and women dance the
uncouth measures they witnessed in their
childhood, the same as their fathers and
mothers beheld in their childhood in Africa.
To dance the bamboula is one of the few APP
parent pastimes the Haytian negro enjoys
The drum is also an invariable associate of a
vaudaux meeting. Without it the black man
would be bereft of his closest intimate friend.
The papalois call their meetings at night
time, generally at late hour The place is
secret to all save the initiated, and as a rule
only the initiated can by any means secure
attendance. The mystery is no doubt
legacy of the French colonial days. when the
assemblage of vaudaux circle was a crime,
punishable by death or terrible whippings.
The vaudaux rites of that period were not
attended by some Of the horrible excuses
which mark those of the present day. Ac-
cording to st. Merry and other writers canni-
balism was unknown, and the principal OBJ
lection urged by the French law makers was
tho danger of conspiracies against the whites
being concocted when many slaves were
drawn together uncontrolled by the presence
of their masters.
SACRIFICES OF BLOOD.
G-Hayt, - the. present tig11, BIZ o careful