The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1920-02-24
VOODOO RITES in
CUBA BRING KILLINGS
aopIuAcE GREATLY EXCITED
OVER DISAPPEARANCE OF
MANY WHITE CHILDREN.

HAVANA. = The disappearance
e Young white children, who are
Ia1ieved to have been carried off by
.orroos and sacrificed in voodoo
r;4es has greatly excited public opln-
; i1i IN Cuba, and for the first time
r I'm the cessation of Spanish rules
cases of lynching have occurred;
Voodooism has been practlced IN n
Cuba under the name of "Brujerla"
aver since the first African negro
slaves were imported as laborers on
the sugar plantations, about 400
voars ago. 1t appears wherever any
;.ernnant of these people is found.
Rruieria is based on the belief IN
tho mower of certain idols to effect
cures for physical and mental all
mpnts and to grant requests con-
nnrninp love affairs and curses, ETC.,
the believer having to make certain
sacrifices.
Use Images of Saints.
T. is noteworthy that in Cuba the
NEGROES utilize images of Cathollc
saints and assign to them the pow
ers supposed to belong to their Idols,
where visits have been made to the
saints being dressed in special colors
corresponding to the idols they are
supposed to represent, and AROUND
are fruits and vegetables, calabasnes'
houses of these people, affairs nave
been found somewhat resembling
Catholic affairs, the images of the
strings of colored beads, and the
eyer-present tom-tom, without which
the seances are never heard.
The blending of Christian and heath
en- practices is astonishing, and even
the voodoo prayers resemble Chris
tan prayers.
To comply with the law many col
ored societies have been formed, such
as institutions for mutual succor,
instruction and recreation, but I'M
der this cover negroes IN many
cases have carried on their fetlsn
worship.
In modern times the "Brujos" ap..
parently satisfied the demands OF
their deities by the sacrifice of AMI
mails. either white or black folws'
coats. or cats, etc., although cases
have been known where they mad
taken away bodies from cemeteries.
But about eleven years ago cases
were registered where it was demon
strated that the Brujos were trying
to obtain white children for their
sacrifices. Since then a number or
Young white children have dlsap-
reared and it is the general behef
that these children have been muir
dered with the object of taking their
nodes and entrails for the BruJos
witch doctors, these being considered
strong fetishes for the cure of all
mentS. =,
Though it has been difficult to
prove the charges against any lndl,
yidual-the sacrifices being carried
out in remote regions-several ne
groes have been convicted and have
received heavy sentences.
Find Bodies of Victims.
In several cases no trace has been
obtained of very young white girls
who have disappeared from their
homes. but where the bodies have
been discovered it has usually oeen
found that the viscera have been re-
moved.
These outrages growing in number
greatly excited public opinion, and
in June of last year the first case
of lynching occurred, the place beng
the Guanabacoa suburb of Havana;
In this case a young white girl had
been sent on an errand, but failed
to return. She was eventually found
in the company of negro. By tins
time the indignation of the crowd
had been reused, one end of a rope
was tied around the neck of the ne
gro and the other end to the tail OF
a bareback mule, and the mule
logged.
Soon after this occurrence another
case again excited public indlgna-
ton.
At Matana2as white girl disap-
peared, and after some time 1nter-
nation was obtained that the body
had been buried in the cemetery
under cover of night, and upon tins
body being exhumed it was found
to lack the brains, heart, tongue and
blood. Five negroes known to be
Bujos were detained on suspicion OF
having been implicated in this sac
rifce. The crowd attacked the .prls-
on and the negroes lost their lives
Since these happenings other ne
groes have been arrested on charges
of a similar character, and RAIDS
have been made whenever the prac-
tlce of voodoo rites has been known