The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-06-16

and queen announce that the god will
be pleased to accept through them any
OHerlng which may be presented
Thereupon each worshipper advances
and deposits his gift in such way
that no other can see the nature of the
donation. This collection is used to
defray the personal expenses of the
king and queen and for the promotion
of "voOdoo" interests throughout Haiti
When all questions have been salts
factorily disposed of the box contain
ing the snake is again placed upon the
altar, the entire band forms a circle
and, with hands Joined, pledge. with
the most horrible oaths Imaginable. TO
maintain the strictest secrecy regard
ing anything connected with their wor-
ship. This pact is frequently sealed
by each member drinking the blood of
white goat or cock.
The initiation of any person who de-
sires to become a member is now in
order. large circle is drawn upon
the grounds, bits of horn. strands of
hair and other trifies are placed in the
candidates hands and he is led 20 the
center of the ring. Then, to the accom-
paniment of a chant Justify roared out
by the king and the beating of the sa-
cred drums he commences a violent
sort of dance. Should he by chance
garded as a very bad omen, and the
king and queen turn their backs to
avert the evil consequences of the act
When the dancer has imbibed liquor
IL sufficient quantities to steady him
self he continues to dance until he ar
rives at state of convulsion, where
upon the king taps him (not very gent
ly) upon the head with a club, swears
him at the altar and formally declares
him a member of the sect
After this ceremony is over the ''vOo-
doc dance begins. The king an
breaches the box containing the sacred
snake and shakes it. Immediately his
body makes every conceivable kind of
grOtesque motion: it would seem that
a dislocation of some portion of his
anatomy would ensue. This motion is
communicated to the queen and she, in
turn, communicates it to another. and
so on until all are writhing and sway
ing in a weird sort of dance a peculiar
characteristic 0f which is that the feet
are hardly lifted from the ground.
One by one the dancers, foaming at
the mouth and writhing horribly, fall
to the ground and are quickly dragged
to dark shed or shelter of some kind
near by. Here the most disgusting
orgies take place, which cease only
from sheer WEAKNESS of the partjci-
pants. These meetings are held at ir-
regular intervals, more or less fire.
quent, and are accompanied by very
little secrecy.
The victims of the cannibal 'voodoo'
are, for the most part, native children,
particularly females. Indeed, a papaIoi
sometimes employs a Haitian to kid
nap the children for his sacrifices. Such
a brute is known as a 'loup garou."
The human sacrifice is termed 'the
goat without horns,' in contrast to the
white goat slain by the other sect In
stances have been cited where way
farers have been decoyed to lonely
spots and murdered, the bodies then
being consumed by the cannibaIs much
as one would eat any other kind of
meat.
Numerous have been the cases where
mothers have sacrificed and eaten their
own children Indeed, this practice
has doubtless affected the increase of
population in Haiti to some degree.