Witch Doctors of Haiti - Essay Example

Witch Doctors of Haiti The ‘witch doctor’ invokes images of crude dolls with pins sticking out, satanic rituals, or black candles. Throw in the word ‘voodoo’ and images of an evil cult fly into one’s mind. In reality Vodou (Voodoo) is a legitimate religion. Vodou is a mixture of African rituals, Indian beliefs, and Roman Catholicism. Just like Christianity has bishops and priests, or Islam has Imams and priests, Vodou has clergy. In Vodou, priests are Houngans and priestesses are Mambos. Calling a Vodou clergy witch doctors would be like calling Christian clergy heretics or Islamic clergy infidels. This paper will try to clear up misconceptions and falsehoods about Haitian Vodou clergy. Haitian Vodou believes in one all powerful being or God. There are many spirits in the Vodou religion. Good spirits and bad spirits can only be interceded by a Houngan or Mambo (Derby, 517). Spirits are called Iwa (Bout). The Iwa are lower deities or spirits. Worshipers or followers must appease different Iwas to enjoy their protection or favors (Bout). Iwas only dictate power or protection, not morality or salvation. Houngans and Mambos help followers deflect bad Iwas and gain protection or power from good Iwas. Houngans and Mambos are the clergy of Vodou. Like Christian, Muslim, or Jewish clergy, Houngans and Mambos have certain duties to fulfill. Their duties are: healing. performing religious ceremonies to call or pacify the spirits. holding initiations for new priests(tesses) (kanzo service and taking the ason). telling the future and reading dreams. casting spells and creating protections. creating potions for various purposes (From love spells to death spells). (Corbett) Just like a Christian, Islamic, or Jewish clergy are called to service, so are the Houngans and Mambos. This service is a total dedication to the Vodou way of life. Houngans and Mambos charge small fees for their services. Honest Houngans and Mambos charge only enough to live on. However, Haiti is an impoverished country. Many crooked Houngans and Mambos charge outrageous prices. These clergy give the missionaries the impression of a witch doctor. They will sell fake love potions or other services, knowing that people pay for good results or revenge. Instead of practicing their religion honestly, they lie for money. These dishonest Vodou clergy can be compared to fake Christian healers or Islamic Jihadist. They distort their religion for personal gain. Vodou Houngans and Mambos primary purpose is to heal. “Such healing activities probably constitute 60% of all Voodoo activity. Healers heal with herbs, faith healing (with the help of loa and other spirits) and, today, even with western medicine!” (Corbett). Like with other religions, healing through herbs, prayer, and even conventional medicine are used in Haiti. Since Haiti is a poorer nation, many citizens cannot afford to see a medical doctor. An honest Houngan or Mambo will try to heal for what an individual can afford. Especially in the rural areas, Haitians turn to Vodou clergy when they fall ill. One author explains: But Haiti, remember, is a poverty-stricken country with few doctors, and most of those are beyond the peasants reach. Take away the houngan and the mambo, with their handed-down knowledge of herbal medicine, and the country people would have no one to turn to when sick. (Cave) Houngans and Mambos could be considered healers as well as Vodou clergy. The secondary function of Vodou clergy is performing religious ceremonies. Most of the ceremonies are held outside. A center pole is used for a platform for the Houngan or Mambo to conduct their services (Corbett). Drums and dancing dominate the service. Everyone dances around awaiting spirits to overtake them. An animal sacrifice is also given to the spirits. While many might consider these practices primitive, Christianity and Judaism have similar practices. Jews have given animal sacrifices since Biblical times. Certain Christian sects believe spirits can overtake them and they can ‘speak in tongues’. Like with other Vodou practices, these services can be compared to other mainstream religions. Other functions of Houngans and Mambos are holding initiations for new clergy. Kanzo and Taking of the Ason are two of these ceremonies (Corbett). Kanzo is a type of initiation to see how serious a potential member is taking their belief in Vodou. Taking of the Ason is the final step to becoming a Houngan or Mambo. Some have pieced together these ceremonies from second hand accounts, but no outsider has had access to this practice. Haitians are secretive about these practices. It seems the secrecy is another rite of passage in becoming a Houngan or Mambo. Some of the most controversial functions of a Houngan or Mambo are telling the future, reading dreams, casting spells, creating protections, and the creation of potions. Haitians go to Houngans or Mambos for lottery numbers, troubling dreams, and agricultural success (Derby, 523). While many could consider this witchcraft, many mainstream religions have similar superstitions and rituals. Catholics light candles and have confession, baptism, and prayer could be considered superstitions or rituals. There are two types of Vodou practiced in Haiti. Around ninety five percent of Haitians practice “Rada. This is a family spirit Voodoo and the Voodoo of the relatively peaceful and happy loa” (Corbett). Rada, a type of white magic, have Houngans and Mambos as clergy. Witchdoctors practice Petro or Congo. This is a type of black Vodou. Petro focuses on the evil, bad, and wrathful spirits. Death curses, zombie curses, and orgies occur in Petro Vodou. Petro is black magic. Not many Haitians practice this type of Vodou. There are some perceived practices of Vodou Houngans and Mambos that need to be clarified. Vodou clergy do not use Voodoo dolls, especially by sticking pins into them. Sometimes dolls depicting spirits are found on altars as an honor, but no pins are present. There are no sex orgies. No nakedness occurs at Vodou ceremonies. Men wear colorful clothes, women wear white robes. Chickens are killed, but only for sacrifices. No heads are bitten off or gruesome act takes place. Chickens are beheaded and placed on the altar by Houngans or Mambos. Other animals can be sacrificed, but Haitian Vodou clergy are as poor as the population. This means mostly chickens are sacrificed due to expense. Vodou spells or curses can be attributed to Haitian Houngans or Mambos knowledge of Haiti plant life. Only Petro Houngans or Mambos use the plant life for nefarious purposes. Most Vodou clergy use the plant life to heal. There are no human skulls used by the Haitian Houngans or Mambos. Maybe a goat or cow skull, but no human ones are used. There are no child sacrifices. Since Haitian Rada Vodou focuses on healing, it would be illogical to take life. This is an urban legend from Haiti. Finally, many Houngans and Mambos incorporate Roman Catholicism into their practices (Bout). This goes back to the days when Haiti was a colony and occupied by slaves. When the French colonized Haiti, they wanted to Christianize the natives and their slaves. The slaves, which adapted Vodou from Africa, masked their Vodou practices with Christian rituals. To this day, some of the Haitian Vodou spirits are named after Saints. Catholic prayers are offered during Vodou ceremonies. The similarities between Houngans and Mambos and their Christian counterparts are numerous. Just like Christianity and other religions have grown and changed, so has Vodou. It is no longer a pure African practice, but a Haitian religion. Calling a Haitian Houngan or Mambo a witchdoctor would be extremely ignorant and rude. Just because Vodou is different from religions in America or Europe does not mean it is any less of a religion. Belief is what makes religion sacred. Houngans and Mambos should be given the same respect as a priest, rabbi, or Imam. Haitian Vodou clergy take care of their congregation, just like their counterparts do. Haitians do not call Christians, Jews, or Muslims Satanic. Houngans and Mambos respect other religion and cultures. It is time Americans do the same by stop using the title of witchdoctor. Works Cited Bout, Mambo Racine Sans. “Morality, Power, and the Vodou Tradition in Haiti.” 3 Dec. 2000. Accessed 6 Oct. 2008 from http://www.webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti/voodoo/morality.htm Cave, Hugh B. “On Voodoo.” n.d. Accessed 6 Oct. 2008 from http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/43a/121.html Corbett, Bob. “Introduction to Voodoo in Haiti.” 16 Mar. 1995. Accessed 6 Oct. 2008 from http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/43a/010.html Derby, Lauren. “Haitians, Magic, and Money: Raza and Society in the Haitian- Dominican Borderlands, 1900 to 1937.” University of Chicago. 1994. Accessed 6 Oct. 2008 from http://www.cielonaranja.com/derbyborderlandsdr.pdf Read More