Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1891-04-17
SECRETS OF VOUDOO.
THE SACRED RITES HAVE BEEN
WITNESSED BY WHITES.
Great Secrecy Is Maintained by the Ne
groes in The Performance of the Prac-
tices Relating to the Superstition.
Where Youdnoism Is Practiced.

CACcs 1hcittlhS 10 CHe SuIcTsllLiOHs
Where v"udnoism Is Practiced.
The Supcrstitions more or less current
among the negroes of Louisiana. under the
general nalnc of voudoo, are without doubt
relics Of savaSery brought by the ancestors
of the civilized negroes from Africa. The
voudoO ceremonial has never been de-
scribed in detail by any writer on the sub
ject, because, for The most part, there is no
regular routine or form of the rites, which,
whatever they may have been in the be-
ginning, have doubtless become confused
and mingled with various superstitious
customs, some of which were derived from
the whites themselves, and were preserved
from the mc;iinval times when even the
most enlightened people of Europe believed
in witchcraft and the practice of magic.
Voudoo rites, as practiced in Louisiana,
have usually been conducted in secret, but
they are commonly believed to consist of
prolonged and violent dancing by persons
of both sexes, sometimes with little or no
clothing. Tales are told of scenes of wild
debauchery which occurred at these dances,
and from the frequent that liv-
ing snakes are used in some of these exer-
cises it would appear that Il sort of serpent
worship makes up at least a part of the
groundwork upon which the rites are
based.
In the West Indies, but most particularly
in Hayti, these survivals of negro savagery
are quite common, IL the rites are de-
scribed as revolving in the extreme, EN-
bracing serpent worship, the most aban-
doned debauchery, with human sacrifices
and cannibalism. Sir Spencer St. John. in
his work III the BLACK Republics of the
West Indies" has related at length &C
cunts of these matters, which appear to
be established rs facts by testimony en-
tirely credible. His narratives of the YOU
doc practices in l1ayti are detailed and cir
cumstantinl, and while all the testimony is
conclusive as to the African origin of these
superstitions the writer's who AVE paid
most attention to the subject have not been
able to trace the myths to the particular
tribe and localities from which they were
derived.
DERlv ALTON OF THE WORD.
The first ritter to give any apparent &C
curate circumstuntial account of the Afri-
can superstitiolls rites is Major \. b. Ellis,
a British officer, who, it seems, has made a
study of the negro tribes in their ancient
Africa. In The Popular Science Monthly
he prints al article in which we find some
interesting matter. He gives the follow
ing as to the derivation and definition of
~"voudoo:"
The word vodu belongs to the Eve Ian
guage, which is spoken on the slave coast
of West Africa, between the River Volta
on the west and the kingdom of Porto
Novo Oh the east, Il extends inland, as
far as it is known, about 100 miles. 1t is
derived from the verb vo-to inspire fear
and is used in just the same way as En-
glish speaking people used the word
~'fetich'-that is to say, it is used us a
descriptive noun god" and also an ad-
~jective in the sense of sacred or belonging
to god.
Thus any native god may be described as
a vodu, and his image, paraphernalia and
sacred tract Of bush called vodu. \. priest
is termed vouu.no-''He who stays with
the vodu.' The word is not an cpithet of
any particular god, ii is a general term,
and it is, therefore, incorrect to say that
lit is the name of an imaginary being of
vast supernatural powers residing in the
form Of Il harmless snake"
No doubt the python god, worslliped by
the inhabitants Of hcsouthra,tcrn districts
of Eve territory, may very correctly be de-
scribe.l ;S Il vOlll, but i" is not more il vodu
than kllrbinsO, So, Lrgba, 30, Hunt, WI
and other gods OF the Eve pantheon. The
expression "vodu Worship means. then,
"god Worship" which is Il rather compre-
hensive term.
AFRICAN y AMERICAN voUDoo.
The Whydahs, Il people Of the Eve ma
ton, are we'll known worshipprs of a
python, or serpent god. and they, about
the year 1929, were wholly subjuyated by
the Dahomeys and sold into slavery. Many
of them We're carried to the French West
Indies, where they maintained their relig-
ion. Some of these Whydahs were brought
to Louisiana, and hence the snake cult
which is found here. But many more
tribes, which were not snake worshiDers,
were also reduced to slavery, aud some of
their lumber were brought to America. so
that their supcrstitions were mingled with
those of the Others.
The Whydahs had a very elabo rate ser
pent cult, maintaining temples where
bands of young girls ministerei and took
part in the dances and other exercises.
These female attendants were organized as
a sisterhood, known as Kosio. The name
OF their snake god is Danh-gbi. Says the
writer quoted above:
The kosio of DAMN Obi usually appears
with the bosom smeared with palm oil, but
their distinguishing mark is a necklet call
ed adunka, made of the twisted iilameuts of
asprouting palm leaf. On ceremonial oc.
%casioDs they wear a tillet of the same ma.
terial, with anklets, arnlets and neck
strings of cowries.
AS is the case with the women attached
to temples in India, this life is not consid-
cred d~ishonorablc, because it is regarded
as a part OF the service of the religion.
The kosio are, indeed, not considered as re.
sponsible for their actions. 1t is the god
say the people, who inspires them at such
times.
The voodoo rites as practiced in Louisi
ana are far less brutal and atrocious thar
those in use in Hayti, but they are savage
and demoraliZing. There is no statute
against them here, but the dances nave
been stopped when characterized as disor
derby assemblages. 1t has been supposed
that these superstitions will be extermi
mated by civilization, but such a result has
not yet been attained. 1t is to be doubted
if superstition is ever eradicated from hu
man nature. 1t is claimed even that the
negroes are returning to their savage
myths. This is an interesting question:
New Orleans Picayune.