The Savannah morning news., 1903-06-04

What "A Professor Learned ON a
Journey in SantO Domingo.

SanNO OOAnAHSOs
From the Washington Post.
II spent a considerable time in the
NEGRO republic of Santo Domingo. "
said Prof. Jesse Walter Fewkes OF
the Bureau of Ethnology, who recently
brought back from the West Indies a
remarkable collection Of objects indi-
eating the old Indian civilization of
the islands. "Santo Domingo, as you
doubtless know, occupies the eastern
end of the Island of Hayti and is the
Spanish-speaking negro republic, while
Hayti, on the western end, is the
French-speaking. 1 made the old city
OF Santo Domingo my headquarters for
the time | remained on this island an
frequently visited the tomb of Christie
pher Columbus, which is situated in
the magnificent cathedral at that
point. Santo Domingo was a very rich
city in the old days of Spanish domina-
ition. and one encounters the evil
dence of former opulence on every side
in the form of fine houses, beautiful
churches, fountains, gardens and
statuary, all in more or less advanced
stages of decay.
''Voodooism is rampant throughout
Santo Domingo, as il is in the neigh
borhoring negro republic of Hayti, and
once during the period of my stay on
the island l ran counter to one of it's
manifestations in a most peculiar and
unexpected manner. When I first land
ed in Santo Domingo l was anxious to
go into this subject as much as possible
Notwithstanding that IL was Incidental
to the main purpose of my trip, for it
seemed to me that those who had writ
ten of Hayti and Santo Domingo rather
neglected this important and peculiar
phase of West Indian life 1t was not
long however, before I discovered
that which other travellers have
noticed namely, that the power of
these voodoo priests and priestesses,
the 'papaloi and mamaloi' Is so ex-
tensive and all-pervAding that the peo-
pie, both high and low, are simply
afraid to talk about it. 1t is the one
thing which they will not discuss with
outsiders.
They stand in deadly fear of the
voodoo practitioners, whose power ex-
tends over all classes, from the presi-
dent of the republic down to the low
est field hand. However, there was
one man with whom 1 had consider
able dealings and to whom frequent
ly preached on the subject of voodoo-
ism, who one day took me into his con-
hdence and, escorting me to an out
building, showed me a large carved,
wooden snake, which he assured me
was the main and central object of
Veneration in the voodoo ceremonies.
"Voodooism, you know, is the ser
pent worship of Old Calabar, Whydah
and Dahomey, on the west coast of At
RIGA, transplanted to West Indian soil.
Under the rule of their French and
Spanish masters, the negroes were
obliged to be Catholics in outward ap-
pearance, if not in heart, and were
obliged to practice their heather rites
secretly in the depths of the forest
at midnight; but. after the revolution,
when they drove the whites from the
island, voodooism took a new lease of
life and is to-day the one all-powerful
and all-reserving religion of the twin
republic. The Roman Catholic religion
maintains a feeble existence by its
side.
The latter is named in the consti-
tuition of the two republics as the state
religion, and those whom you meet in
the islands would be insulted if you
were to consider them anything other
than good Christians and Catholics, but
beneath the surface lies the paganism
of old Africa with its human sacri-
fees, cannibalism, obscene rites and
ceremonies, every bit as strong, if not
stronger than it is or ever was in the
depths of the African forest
Sometimes a live snake is worship
ped, but on other occasions a wooden
image is substituted, and such evident
ly was the practice in this case. The
snake was beautifully carved, really a
very artistic creation, but when I came
to ask the keeper of this singular bit
of furniture where he got it and what
he was doing with it, he merely shook
his head and put his fingers to his lips,
fearful lest the very walls might be-
tray the awful fact that he had exposed
the god of the papalois to the profane
gaze of a white man."