The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1891-04-05
YouDoo suPERsrIrIoNs
Rites Usually Practiced in Secret But
Sometimes Seen by Whites.

New Orleans Picayune.
The superstitions more or less current
among the negroes of Louisiana. under the
general name of voudoo, are without doubt
relics OF savagery brought by the ancestors Of
the civilized negroes from Africa The voudoo
ceremonial has never been described in detail
by any writer on the subject, because for the
most part there is no regular routine or form
of the rites, which, whatever they may have
been in the beginning, have doubtless become
confused and mingled with various superst
tious customs, some of which were derived
from the whites themselves, and were pre-
served from the medieval 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 pro-
longed 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 statements that living snakes are
used in some of these exercises 1t would appear
that sort of serpent worship makes up at
least part of the groundwork upon which the
rites are based. These rites are imposed not
only upon the worshipers, but they must be
conformed to by persons who resort to the
voudoo priests or doctors for treatment for
physical diseases. From time to time the fact
is brought to light that not only are the
voudoo dances carried on in this city, but that
persons of the white race take part in them
in obedience to the commands of the ''doc-
tors" to whom application was made for the
cure of bodily ailments. Not longer than
year ago house in the lower part of the city,
occupied by voudoo doctor" was raided by
the police, and the operator and dozen other
persons, among whom were several white
women, were arrested while engaged in
dance.
In the West Indies, but most particularly
in Hayti, these survivals of negro savagery are
quiet common, and the rites are described
as revolving in the extreme, embracing serpent
worship, the most abandoned debauchery, with
human sacrifices and cannibalism. Sir Spencer
st. John, in his work on the Black Republics
of the West Indies has related at length
counts of these matters, which appear to be
established as facts by testimony entirely
credible. His narratives of the voudoo
practices in Hayti are detailed and circum-
stantial and while all the testimony is con-
elusive as to the African origin of these
superstitions, the writer's who have paid
able to trace the myths to the particular
| tribe and localities from which they were de-
rived.
| The fact is that the negro tribes in Africa
| are not very numerous, but they are mostly
| at war with each other. In this respect they
/ resemble much the wild tribes of America;
| each tribe possesses it's peculiar language and
| religious belief, and in these matters one tribe
| differs widely from another. Like the Ameri-
| can Indians the Africans regard people of other
frjh yyi ncrNjp inn md nd hos
| never been possible to secure any coalition or
| combination against the whites The African
| tribes arupon each other, and are accustomed
to kill or reduce to slavery all prisoners of
| whatever class or degree.
| The first writer to give any apparent ac-
| curate circumstantial account of the African
superstitious rites is the Hon. Maj. A. b. Ellis,
a British officer, who, it seems, has made a
study of the negro tribes in their ancient
| Africa. In the March number of the Popular
Science Monthly he prints an article in which
we find some interesting matter. He gives the
following as to the derivation and definition of
| svoudoo:'
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 on the
east, and extends inland, as far as it is known.
about one hundred miles. 1t is derived from
same way as English-speaking people used the
word ''fetich''-that is to say, it is used as a
descriptive noun 'sgod'' and also as an ad
jective in the sense of sacred or belonging to
god. Thus any native god may be described
as vodu and his image, paraphernalia, and
sacred tract of bush called vodu A priest is
termed vodu-no-''He who stays with tn,
vodu' The word is not an epithet of any
particular god, it is general term, and il is
therefore, incorrect to say that sit is the nam'
of an imaginary being of vast supernatura
powers residing in the form of harmless
snake" No doubt the python god, worshipet
by the inhabitants of the southeastern district
of Eve Territory, may very correctly be de
scrbed as a vodu, but it is not more yodl
than Khebioso, So, Legba, Bo, Hunti, WI, ant
other gods of the Eve pantheon. The eX
preston ''vodu worship" means, then, "got
worship" which is a rather comprehensiv
term.
The Whydahs, people of the Eve nation
are well-llnown worshipers of python, o
serpent god, and they, about the year 1925
Were wholly subjugated by the Dahomeys an
sold into slavery. Many of them were carrie
to the French West Indies, where they main
tanned their religion. Some of these Why
dahs were brought to Louisiana, and hence til
snake cult which is found here. But man
more tribes, which were not snake worshiperl
were also reduced to slavery, and some of thci
number were brought to America, so that the
superstitions were mingled with those of tn
Others.
The Whydahs had very elaborate serpeI
cult maintaining temples where bands {
young girls ministered and took part in th
dances and other exercises. These female a