• In 1788 the parish church is destroyed and St. Louis Cathedral is rebuilt. • In 1833 the first English-speaking Catholic church in New Orleans was dedicated
The weightier matter rest in the fact that this Catholic culture was the bride of Voodooism!
Catholicism also played a particularly crucial role in the development of slave religion in the coastal city of New Orleans where the meshing of Catholicism with traditional African religions withstood the onslaught of slavery; although the Code Nior was adopted in 1724 in Louisiana which made African slaves fall under the demands of conversion to Catholicism, still African gods merged with Catholic saints and a syncretism of Africa-American Catholicism was utilized.7 Consequently, Louisiana
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Haiti, as we found out in chapter 3, was a melting pot of both Dahomey and Kongolese people from West and Central Africa. Each brought with them their native African traditional religion, what we have termed Voodoo. In the case of the Kongolese, they also had Catholic and French influences. Consequently Haiti was the home of a brand of Catholic-based Voodoo called “Haitian Voodoo” – which was practiced in the sugarcane fields of Haiti as the Dahomey and Kongolese people were melted together in a unique Creole setting.
Now comes Louisiana, the twin sister of Haiti. The same set of circumstances existed in Louisiana as did Haiti. Slaves were shipped to Louisiana including the Dahomey and Kongolese. Many had Catholic, French, Creole and Voodoo backgrounds. Some were from Africa. Some were from Haiti. Due to the pressures of the Haitian Revolution of 1791, a large number of Haitian planters, slaves and others had sought refuge in Cuba for several years. After being expelled from Cuba some 10,000 Haitian refugees made their way to New Orleans in 1809-1810 and doubled the population of New Orleans.8 The refugees were very compatible with New Orleans because of their shared Africanized & French colonial past. As French-speaking Roman Catholics they reinforced the existing Creole culture 9 while bringing Voodoo traditions with
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10,000 Haitian immigrants flood Louisiana in 1809-1810 and bring their ancient African religion & Voodoo
Their arrival marked the beginning of “organized Voodoo” in Louisiana. It gave a “pure” Voodoo stream as the Haitian blacks had retained their ancient worship almost completely.11 And they appeared to have strengthened the ranks of Afro-Creole spiritual practitioners by merging seamlessly into the already existing Louisiana Voodoo traditions.12 They also may have contributed to the fact that Haiti and Louisiana share the term “Vodou” (regardless of how it is spelled) as the defining term for their Africa-derived syncretistic traditions with French Catholicism.13
Interestingly, like the parallel Pentecostals, many of these Haitians were “snake worshippers” and devotees of Voodoo.14 The “Snake God” plays an important role in Voodoo and Pentecostalism, one which will now scrutinize.
4.4 Louisiana: Voodoo Snake God Connection
The Voodoo Snake God was
In 1709, Jacques Raudot, passed an ordinance planned to identify owners’ demands for Seeking validation and security of their enslaved property and reinforcing the legality of both African and Indian servitude in New France. The ordinance accentuated the problems associated with insubordinate slaves, who often attempted to escape from their owners by repudiating their enslaved status. In his ordinance, Raudot also highlighted the need of slaveholding for the growth and development the colony. The ordinance disseminated to the public through New France’s officials who referred to Raudot’s ordinance as the root of legalized slavery in the colony. It was published in the towns of Quebec, Three rivers, and Montreal and was notarized by authorities.
In her book, Building the Devil’s Empire, Shannon Dawdy reflects on the development of New Orleans from 1718 until 1768 during the revolt against Spanish rule. She depicts imagery describing to the reader what it was like in New Orleans and even paints a picture of what it was through others point of views. Throughout the book, Dawdy explains what a rouge colony is through historical people. Their ideas and experiences serve to back up the concept of Louisiana the “rouge colony.” The examples from the people show the nature of a rouge colony and the development of not only New Orleans but also Louisiana.
Power is “the ability of individuals or groups to impose their will upon others and make them do things even against their own wants or wishes” (Haviland, 267). One reason for which power is used is behavior modification. In Haiti, for example, religion is used to control morality. They use the population beliefs in Voodoo to maintain people’s good behavior. The ones who do not behave properly are turned into zombies as a punishment and as an example to others.
At first glance Hog and Hominy and From Creole to African might seem to be completely unrelated. Hog and Hominy focuses on the development of Soul Food and how it was a side effect of creolization. From Creole to African focuses on the changing identities of the Atlantic Creoles. Both in their own way are about creolization.
In his sermons to the Haitian congregants of the valley, Father Romain often reminded everyone of common ties: language, foods, history, carnival, songs, tales, and prayers. His creed was one of memory, how remembering—though sometimes painful—can make you strong (Danticat, 73). In “The farming of Bones,” Danticat presents the unvarnished effects of the construction of social identity to expose racial suppression on the men and women to illustrate the racial prejudice that took place in the 1937 massacre, which can also be referred to as the Parsley Massacre. While the majority of the novel is filled with sorrow, it is also full of life, love, and survival. Amabelle, a young Haitian woman witnessed middle class non-vwayaje Haitians walk their
The first Catholic missionaries, also know as Jesuits, came to New France in 1634 to spread Christianity and European values. The Jesuits established Sainte-Marie-aux-Hurons by the St. Lawrence River in 1639, creating a central base for all missionary work in New France. This paper will examine how the Jesuits ' feelings of superiority over the Huron people led to converting the native population to Christianity. Father Jean de Brébeuf saw both positive and negative aspects of the Huron confederacy. One aspect of the American Indians’ culture he approved of was their marriage customs.
The Portrayal of Slavery in Antebellum Louisiana in Solomon Northup’s Twelve Years a Slave In his memoire Twelve Years a Slave, illegitimately enslaved Solomon Northup does not only depict his own deprivations in bondage, but also provides a deep insight into the slave trade, slaves’ working and living conditions, as well as religious beliefs of both enslaved people and their white masters in antebellum Louisiana. Northup’s narrative is a distinguished literary piece that exposes the injustice of the whole slaveholding system and its dehumanizing effect. It is not a secret that the agriculture dominated the economy of antebellum Louisiana (Louisiana: A History 183). Therefore the Southern planters needed relatively cheap workforce to cultivate
Haiti is traditionally known to be a poor, rural, and undeveloped country. In Dieumeme Noelliste’s article titled “Poverty and The Gospel: The Case of Haiti” she states that although
By making Voodoo open and appreciative to sex she has helped the religion become appealing to more people. They see Voodoo as a liberating and more modern religion. It is common in religions to perceive sex as something horrid and shameful, however, in Voodoo they view sex as an energetic activity and way to honor the gods. Despite how being open about
Voodoo, or “Vodou” is an ancient West African religion primarily found in Haiti, New Orleans and the Caribbean. Many people outside of Haiti see Voodoo as a religion, yet if you were to ask someone who practices Voodoo what their religion is, they will most likely say their religion is Catholicism (Tann). Voodoo is a monotheistic religion, which means they only pray to one god. The only god in Voodoo is named Bondye. Bondye means “good god”, yet there is technically no bad god in Voodoo.
Haitian Vs Americans Culture According to Samuel Lagerlof “Culture is what remains when that which has been learned is entirely forgotten” (as cited in Usunied,1996, p.94). Every single country in the world possesses his own culture no culture is more important than another. They’re just different. However, Haiti’s culture differs from the United States in three major points; Values, religion, and norms.
Aristocracy, Haiti struggled with slavery. France was dealing with unequal distribution of wealth while Haiti had little wealth at all. Finally, While France is attempting to change it’s form of
By telling the story of a small Haitian village, Do Kay, and its history and community, Farmer meticulously explains how local cultural beliefs and individual reactions to disease are indeed related to larger context: national and transnational forces. He
The Voodoo belief started within the African culture and was used to help keep faith as many were taken as slaves by the Europeans. As they traveled and worked at many sugar cane fields, many Africans were subjected under the French and there, the Voodoo religion seemed to grow into the New World. The poster has multiple photos that show the different rituals West Africans performed and explains the key components of their practice. Using visuals and providing a small explanation of the important factors that go with the Voodoo religion is a necessary aspect in order to engage the students. The photos display the acts of Voodoo from the start of the 1800s to people still practicing this religion in current day.
Pentecostalism, is a Christian based faith that accentuates an immediate individual involvement with God through water and spirit baptism, intercessory and corporate prayer, and moving under the influence of the Holy Spirit in the speaking of tongues and the prophetic. Like many other denominations, Pentecostalism doesn’t just have one type. They have a variety that takes root from the Feast of Weeks and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit spoken of in Acts. “1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.