The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-12-27

pie was raided and a package of sailed
human flesh was found rolled in leaves.
Persons accused in this connection de-
clared boldly that members of the best
families in the city were members of
their society, and that, if proof of this
was wanted, it was only necessary TO
beat the ceremonial drum, which would
fetch them into court Immediately. 1t
appears that no sectary of Obeah dares
to disobey this summons. The case
was dropped.
On another occasion one of the best
known ladies of Port au Prince, rich
and Of good family, was found late at
night stretched at the door of the
Catholic cathedral, shoeless and wear
ing only the blue dress of a country
negress. She was going through the
incarnationS known as 'Wanga." 1t
is a very curious fact, by the way, that
the negroes have grated Catholicism
upon voodooism, so as to make a bias
phemous mixture of the two. The
voOdoO temples, located in every prov
ince, are adorned with pictures of the
Virgin Mary and the saints, and can
dies are burned at the shrines of
Obeah rs 2 part of the ceremonial.
One day young man was found on
the streets of Port au Prince murdered,
with a hollow cane thrust into his
heart. as if for the purpose of suck
ing his blood. AT certain seasons dis
appearances of children are frequent.
Negroes have been known to snatch in
fants from their nurses arms and run
away with them. The widow of a
missionary, forced to stay in the in
terror of Hayti during the civil war of
1869, testified that human sacrifices
We're constant, and that human flesh
was sold openly in the market. At
Jacmel, on the southern coast, an
aged midwife on her deathbed said: 81
can not die in peace; put aside the
bed and dig under it, When this was
done numerous small skeletons were
found which, the bag confessed, were
the remains of children she had eaten.
In 1878 two women were arrested near
Port au Prince, caught in the act of
eating a child raw.
These instances are taken from Sir
Spencer st. Johns work on Hayti, ac-
knowledged as authoritative. In re-
gard to these matters conditions on the
island are practically as they were 70
or 80 years ago; no serious effort has
been made to stamp out the mischief.
All over the West Indies the whites
are either believers in voodooism, or
else entertain a SuperStitiOuS fear OF
its powers. They declare that they
have seen too many of the terrible
Jamaica today several of the most
prominent men are witch doctors, and
maintain their political influence by the
machinery of the cult. The more hide
Gus the aspect of an Obeah sorcerer
the greater his evil power is supposed
to be- Sometimes the voodoo wizard
induces a servant to administer poisonS
to the white master, and the latter is
attacked by mysterious wasting sick
,I-1, 0f %
mind. So, at all events, it is said. The
white MAJ or negro who finds a little
bag or bottle attached to his gate post,
containing such articles as lizards
claws, vertebrate of snakes, hair, etc.,
knows that the dreaded supernatural
influence has been directed against
him Often he dies of fright. If
wiser, he goes to the nearest sorcerer
and pays to have the spell removed.
An interesting feature of this form
of faith is belief in "duDDies." These
are dead persons who come out of the
grave to worry and injure the living.
They are modified vampires. The
duppies live in the "ceiba' trees, and
on that account the negroes can never
be induced to cut down a tree of that
kind.
The witch doctors are imagined to be
able to change themselves into animals
of any kind Sometimes they change
other persons into horses and ride them
at night. One way to prevent this is
to put a. lot of rice on the floor in the
form of a cross. Before the wizard can
get at his victim, he must eat all of the
rice, grain by grain. A chickens breast
bone is a great fetish; if hidden with
appropriate ceremonies under an enc
my's doorstep, the enemy will die. Ar
Alternative" in voodoo medicine is a
nostrum, which alters circumstances in
human events; "sedative'' is one that
smootes away difficulties. In slavery
days in the southern states Obeah med
| icine was frequently employed TO dis
able or drive away brutal overseers
Much of this meant poisoning. A we'll
known mineral emetic is a favorite poi
son with the witch doctors. These sor-
cerers certainly possess some extraOr-
binary knowledge respecting the uses
of plants. Tradition is a great book
and in the hills of Hayti grow manS
| herbs similar to those employed by the
/ priests of Obeah in Africa.
/ The Obeah ceremonial is imported
direct from Africa through the medium
I of the brotherhood of sorcerers. Voc
/ dooism is a worship of sensuality, anC
it's rites always end in an orgie. The
| meetings of the WorShiperS take place
/
! possible Sir Spencer st. John in the
work already quoted, says that on sucf
| occasions each initiate puts on a pail
! of sandals and fastens around his Of
her body many red handkerchiefs. The
high priest officiating is decorated
with great number of sucl
handkerchiefs, and blue girdle give:
q finishing touch to his costume. The
attire of the high priestes:
shows a similar prediction for red
which, representing blood, is the VOC
doc color, and a scarf worn about thu
waist is of the same hue.
The priest and priestess stand nea.
an altar on which has been placed ;
wooden cage containing a large yellow
snake of the harmless species de
scribed. The ceremony begins with ado
ration of the serpent by eyerybod.
present, after which the votaries solici
various favors from the wizard ant
witch in charge. One wants the low
of a person admired; another is anxi
Gus to be cured of disease; yet anothe
desires revenge upon an enemy. and s.
it goes. Then the priestess gets upol
the box containing the snake, and pres
emily she is filled with the spirit of tn
god Her whole body is convulseG
and the oracle speaks from her mouth
To some she promises everything tina
is fattering 10 their hopes; upon other
she bestows curses and threats, accord
ing to the caprice. Against the de
crees thus uttered there is no appea.
and the crowd never doubts
When the priestess has recovere
from her duck fit, and the oracle