The Dickinson press., 1889-04-06
VOUDOOISM IN HAYTI.
THE BLACK MANS GOD AND HIS
WORSHIP OF A SERPENT.

Or A S6RPENT.
Politicians Pander to the Barbarians.
Ono Half of the Population Said to BE
Under tho misunderstanding of the
Superstition and Rites.
What is voudooisml
The whole subject of vaudaux, as the word
is spelled in Ilayti, is delicate and offensive
one to the people. 1t was forewarned that it
is considered bad form to introduce the topic
in conversation among the upper classes. |
asked for al explanation.
Because it is true that voudooism and its
occasional concomitant, cannibalism, prevail
everywhere and IIaytlans of intelligence and
education are ashamed of it. They do not
like to bo thought beyond the pale of canni-
balistic practices merely because they nave
been taught better. You will never meet a
mulatto among the worshipers of the ser.
pent, INT it is rare that u negro possessing
any education sympathizcs. Many persons
outwardly profess solely from polite mo-
tivcs. Tho late President Salnave, II mulntto,
used to take part in the midnight meetings,
but he was politician seeking the support Of
tho papaloi. He used to ridicule voudooism
privately to his intimates. | know this per
sonally.
II BELIEF AND PRACTICES.
The explanation becomes of interest because
Spencer st. John in his book on Hayti charges
Salnave with vaudauxism. My informant
was n mulatto who possesses an intimate
knowledge of lIaytian affairs. Tho alteration
of serpcnts is u heather religion imported
from the junglcs Of Africa. Officers of the
First West India regiment of the British
army, who have done long scrviceon the gold
coast, have given to mo q detailed description
of voudooism Us it there prevails under tho
name of vodun. There is apparently but lit
tie difference i'll the disgusting rites, except
that the horrible orgy which follows many Of
the Elaytiun meetings is not met with among
the %votarics OH the native heath of vouloo-
ism.
The story of Vaudaux is too well known to
be recounted in detail here. Sufficient to
mention that it is the religion of n considcra-
BILE portion of the savage tribes of Africa.
In the Kingdom of Dahomcy hundreds of
thousands of human victims havc first and
last been offered up to tho yellow god. In
.Ashantec the serpent is possessed of super
natural powers in tho minds u the followers
of Obi. There is q large yellow snake which
is used us the medium of tho mysterious power
of Vaudaux. Vnldaux is the God on high,
but the all powerful controller of tho ncgro's
universe deisns to employ Intermediates,
md tho serpent becomes tho 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 a
dusky dame, who is generally his placed"
wife, as they say in Hayti, which means no
wife Mt all in n legal or religious sense. She
is known as mamanloi, and that shc plays n
highly important part in tho midnight coll
clave will be seen as this story proceeds.
If you arc awake at u late hourof tho even
ing at Port au Prince, you will hear u dull,
monotonous sound waited down the heavy
mir from tho direction of that portion of the
town which lies near the plain of tho Guido
Sac. 1t is the noise of tho bamboula, or
Congo drum-wcird, uncanny and suggcs-
tive. Tho beats are slow and ut regular i'll
tcrvals. Black men and women dance the
uncouth measures they witnessed in their
childhood, the same us their fathers and
mothers behcld in their childhood in Africa.
To dance tho bamboula is ono Of tho few ah-
parent pastimes tho Haytian negro enjoys.
Tho drum is also an invariable associate of q
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 a late hour. The place is
secret to all savo the initiated, and as n rule
only the initiated cum by any means secure
attendance. TIL mystery is no doubt a
legacy Of the French colonial days, when tho
ussemblage Of n valdaux circle was a crime,
punishable by death or terrible w%hippings.
Tho 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 writer's canni-
balism was unknown, and the principal OBJ
lection urged by tho French law makers was
the danger of conspiracics against the whites
being concoctcd when many slaves were
drawn together uncontrolled by tho presence
of their masters.
SACRIFICES OF BLOOD.
In Hayti at tho present time, by a careful
estimate based on tho expressed opinions of a
number Of residents of the island, there are
over one-half the population directly under
the sway of tho papalois. Tho great majority
Of the believers arc of the harmless wing of
tho society, who satisfy themselves with
offering to tho serpent Il whito goato or several
of the white long tailed cocks which arc q
cross between the game fowl and the Leg
horn breed. The minority, in cases of, to
them, extreme Importance demand the
sterner sacrifice. In the slang of the papalois
the goat without horns" can only assuage
tho Indignation or tho Indifference of Vau-
daux. The goat without horns" is a human
being, a child, whose life blood is spilled over
the altar on which tho medium of Vaudaux,
a semi-torpid serpent, rests. According to
papalois tcnets there is no crime that cannot
be condoncd; no desire which may not DO &c.
complished; no earthly happiness which may
not DO attained, and no enemy too powerful
to be crushed if the faitlful believer pros.
trates himself before tho serpent and anoints
his head with the blood of a sacrificed 'gout
without horns."
1hero have been three presidents of Hayti
who have consented to radical measures
being employed to check the %cannibalistie
tendencies of a portion of tho population.
Tho late President Geffrard, whose family al
present reside in a fine pen" near Kingston
Jamaica, endcavored to extirpate vaudaux
ism. Gen. Boisrond-Canal during his short
intcrregnum was an astute opponent of the
rites of the serpent, and tho late Presiden,
Solomon likewise i'll his crafty way evinced q
desire to rid Hayti of her browning shame
The Emperor Faustin, or %Soulouquc, was q
member of the Vaudaux society, and Gen
Dominique, who was president in 1915, wa:
an active follower. He was a born African
and vas undoubtedly the most ignorant anG
savage ruler tho Haytians were ever cursed
with. His nephew, Scptimus Rameau, whose
murderous deeds have been recounted in the
course of this correspondence, was popular
during tho period of his infamous occupancy
of tho position of prime minister under Do
ningue.
havo been assured i'll Hayti that the oppo
| sition of Gefrrard and Boisrond-Canal to Tho
vaudaux practices was an important element
in creating the opposition which led to thcil
political downfall. Cor. New York Herald
HIS LAST BLUE CHIP.