Vodoun and Christianity in Haitian Culture
By: J. Garcia
Tags: Literary Criticism, Literature, Culture, Books, Religion

Vodoun and Christianity in Haitian Culture

In Jacques Roumain’s Master of the Dew

In Jacques Roumain’s Master of the Dew, Christianity and vodoun share a complex history. For example, Deliria prays to the Christian “Holy Virgin,” but then uses language taken from vodoun saying, “saints of the moon… stars… wind… [etc]” (Roumain 17). Like much of their own history, Christianity was forced on Haitians. This history resulted in the mixture of languages, cultures, and religion. Therefore, the relationship between Christianity and vodoun religious practice at times clash. Vodoun and Christianity intermingle in a fraught relationship. Vodoun plasters a layer of African religious gods over an already large pantheon of Catholic saints. In this manner, the Haitian peasants keep their old gods and are free to make Christianity their own.

Roumain’s treatment of vodoun focuses on the ceremonial and traditional aspect of the religion and not the spiritualistic aspects. The purpose of the ceremony in Chapter for is a thanksgiving. Delira states, “it’s he, Papa Legba, who showed you the way home… we must thank him” (51). However, Manuel provides the contrasting case for Delira’s more spiritual view of vodoun. Delira “looks for Manuel, but he was inside drinking” (55). Even in this chapter, where the language of vodoun takes precedence and where Roumain seems to be vindicating the rhythms and practices of vodoun, Manuel keeps spirituality at an arm’s length. By having Manuel partake in the dancing and the ritual, Roumain treats vodoun the same way. There is practicality in vodoun. It brings the community together and provides an outlet for grieve, appreciation, and suffering.

As stated in the previous paragraph, vodoun is an outlet for the Haitian peasant’s African heritage and customs. Roumain argues that there is an inseparable connection between blackness and Africa. Manuel states, “the other night, at the Legba ceremonies, I danced and sang to my heart’s content. I’m negro, no? And I enjoyed myself like a real negro” (76, 77). The ceremonies in chapter four are not an affirmation of vodoun so much as an affirmation of the African roots that bind Haitians to Africa. They represent the inescapable history of the people tied to the world that they can only remember through tradition and vodoun. In chapter five, Romain folds vodoun into the broader contextual culture. The dancing and the rituals have their place but one has to be “determined to fight” (77).

Roumain’s ultimate stance regarding vodoun is that it is accessible. It is a receptacle for spirituality for those who can’t afford Christianity. “They hadn’t the wherewithal for a church funeral. That was too expensive, and the church extends no credit to the poor. It’s not a shop — It’s God’s house” (158). When everything else was taken from the Haitian peasant they still had their vodoun. They could not count on Christian churches for as the quote above demonstrates they were locked out financially. The novelist’s ambivalence about vodoun rises from the fact that it is ultimately the religion of the poor. It is the religion closest to the land. It is the religion of their ancestors and it is the religion of their resistance to the forces that brought them to Haiti in the first place. The author is ambivalent because he sees its place in the broader context of society.

Roumain contrasts with Danticat in his more secularized vision of religion. Manuel represents the secular worldview. He shows Romain’s views of the people making up a place and a culture. Manuel says, “we’re this country, and it wouldn’t be a thing without us, nothing at all” (Roumain 63). Danticat imbued her characters with a layer of spirituality that supersedes time and place. Roumain, on the other hand, is deeply concerned with time and place. Spiritually does not make poverty easier to bear in Roumain’s view where Danticat’s character’s bear prison and other calamities because of their spiritual heritage. In Alexis’ case, spirituality and religion compare more than to Roumain’s views than Danticat. However, Alexis places more emphasis on the separate roles in place and setting where Roumain expresses a more blanketed view of religion and spirituality.