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The Cultural Setting:
Morality in Haitian Vodou
“Chak moun ki
rive vini ak moun pa li.”
Each person who arrives comes with a person of his own.
-common Haitian proverb
The
Vodou religion and culture is a rich and complex paradigm. It is a religion practiced by
some nine million people in the western hemisphere, most of them in the country of Haiti,
whose lives are shaped by the beliefs and practices of this vibrant religion and rich
historical tradition. It is the oldest, least understood, and historically, the most
maligned of all Afro-diasporic traditions. The term “Vodou” encompasses a
variety of cultural elements –individual practices and creeds, a complex system of
folk medicine, a structure for community justice, a fertile oral tradition, a rich
iconography that has nursed Haitian art, a wealth of metaphors of political affirmation
(Dayan, 1997).
Haitian
Vodou is a religion that was born out of struggle and revolution, a religion of resistance
that gives collective strength and identity to the disenfranchised. It is a religion of
the people, not of the privileged. Karen Brown accurately noted, “Haitian Vodou is
not a religion of the empowered and the privileged.” Haitians live with
“…an open-eyed acceptance of finitude…one reason the Vodou spirits (the
lwa) have emerged as whole three-dimensional characters. The oppressed are the most
practiced analysts of human character and behavior, and Haitian traditional religion is
the repository for wisdom accumulated by a people who have lived through slavery, hunger,
disease, repression, corruption, and violence -all in excess.” (Brown, 1991). In
fact, just to call oneself a Vodouwizan means to be in active revolt against all that
which is oppressive. These experiences continue to serve as the defining foundation of
spirituality for the devotees of Vodou.
The
faithful come to the Vodou for all manner of issue. Vodou heals; Vodou protects; Vodou
solves problems, and binds people in strong, healthy family units. Through a complex set
of myths and rituals, Vodou relates the life of the faithful to the spirits (called lwa)
who govern that life. It instills in its devotees the need for good character and
self-examination, and it uplifts the downtrodden who have experienced life’s misery
and misfortune. It provides an explanation for death, which is treated as a spiritual
transformation, a portal to the sacred world beyond, where productive and morally upright
individuals, perceived by devotees to be powerful ancestral figures, can exercise
significant influence over their progeny. In short, it is an expression of a people’s
longing for meaning and purpose in their lives (Desmangles, 1992).
Vodou
is at once communal, but also supports the flower of individual expression. It is a way of
life, a way of understanding creation, a way of communing with God, a means of connecting
with Spirit, and with other people. Vodou means to take responsibility for one’s own
actions in life. It is not static, but a living, evolving, organic tradition; one which
occupies every moment of the lives of its adherents. The Vodou teaches that nothing is
given to man directly from the hand of God. Everything, which is received, every blessing,
is passed through the hand of one’s neighbor. Therefore, if a man does not know his
neighbor, he does not know God. If he does not love his neighbor, he does not love the
Good Lord who created him. This is the conceptual foundation of communality in Vodou
culture. The common Kreyňl maxim, Vwazinaj se fanmi tou (literally, “the neighbor is
family also.”) succinctly describes this concept.
Vodou
gives meaning to life. It provides a holistic way of existing, a complete culture,
immediately based on the relationship between man and the spirits who intercede before
God.
“Everything is Vodou for us. It’s not only drumming, dancing
in a ritual. No. Everything we do is a ritual. Even [being here with you] is a ceremony.
Because what I’m talking about here, you don’t see it, but you will understand.
It’s on a spiritual level. It is a kind of communion, connecting my spirit with your
spirit. Vodou is all this. All day long.”
-Mme. Mimerose Beaubrun
of Boukman Ekspiryans
Human
beings occupy a central position within the Vodou worldview, which is both anthropocentric
and humanistic (Michel 1995). This is why the Vodou is concerned with the betterment of
human existence and the improvement of conditions on earth through the interaction with
the spiritual world and the purposeful veneration of the lwa and ancestors. Here it should
be noted that the concept of “belief” in Vodou differs greatly from its
connotative usage in English. The English word belief suggests an intellectual activity by
which one may or may not choose to identify with a system of thought (Deren, 1972), and
Vodouwizan would never think of believing in something in the manner of identifying with a
system of thought or philosophy.
One’s
spirituality can never properly be the object of casual scrutiny by skeptics, such as
academicians. As a tradition, Vodou allows no room for skepticism, which is regarded as
the consequence of an ambivalent [or incomplete] attempt to establish rationally the
design in the cycle of successive events, to debate the relationships between their parts,
and to question the divine hand in their purpose. Further, skepticism, according to Vodou,
is the outcome of an improper or otherwise faulty apprehension over what should admittedly
be self-evident: the world harbors powerful entities (lwa) that are forever active in
human lives, and that such entities are the cause of all occurrences in the mechanical
operation of the world (Desmangles, 1992).
Thus,
when asked if they “believe” in the Vodou and its spirits, Vodouwizan typically
will reply that they “serve the lwa”, or that they “serve the mysteries of
the world”. This tells a great deal about the outlook of Vodouwizan regarding the
nature of their religion and religious observances. As Maya Deren noted, “[Vodou]
must do more than give moral sustenance; it must do more than rationalize [the
devotee’s] instinct for survival when survival is no longer a reasonable activity. It
must do more than provide a reason for living; it must provide the means for living. In
consequence, the [devotee] thinks of his religion in working terms.” (Deren, 1972).
Thus, Vodouwizan do not conceptualize the religion in abstract or intellectual terms but
in practical ones. For its faithful, Vodou is expected to satisfy needs, to render
results. There is no place for mysticism or other inconsequential philosophical
activities.
The
Vodou is moral and ethically aligned religious tradition. However, the way in which
morality is defined in Vodou culture is different than that commonly found in western
civilization. In order to understand the Vodou, one must necessarily understand the
culture within which it operates. Failing understanding of this will always mark an
individual as an outsider and therefore untrustworthy. Here it is important to note that,
what is meant by Vodou culture is not necessarily the same concept as the current social
politic found in the country of Haiti today. In many ways, these two are in conflict and
the current political climate, however corrupt, exists due to reasons having nothing to do
with traditional spirituality and culture. No, it exists due to other forces, foreign and
domestic, socio-economic and geo-political. It has nothing to do with those values
prescribed by Vodou culture.
In
Vodou, a moral person is defined as someone who “does what they can, at the
appropriate time, to the degree with which they are able, and in according to their
position in their own community” (Brown 1991). This is a simple concept based on the
idea of the interconnectedness of a given community of family and/or friends. It is a
simple concept, which demands of the individual full accountability for their actions,
guaranteeing that one cannot successfully dodge responsibility for the same. This affirms
the importance of understanding the concept of “family” in Vodou culture as
central to the understanding of its morality. Here, individualism is notably suppressed in
favor of a collective “personhood” wherein the individual is given identity,
solidity, and protection in a turbulent world by means of a thick weave of relationships
which include other human beings, as well as, the lwa, and clan ancestors. An individual
becomes a “real” person only through his or her interaction and relation to
others. In fact, one may be defined as “mature” by being attentive and
responsible in ones relationships with family and community. This interconnectedness of
community, a thick web that includes the living, the dead, and the lwa, presupposes the
supremacy of the totality over individuality and is the basis for “morality” in
Vodou culture and tradition. Truly it is the family, not the individual that is the
smallest social denominator. To consider oneself as wholly self-sufficient, or to have no
“people” (no family or community), would be typically considered a dangerous
position to be in, as the individual cannot exist in isolation from others. Further, such
a position would be immediately suspect; the idea being how exactly can one survive in
such a way if not by some illicit activity?
Relationships
then are considered of premier importance. However, by their very nature they are quite
fragile, and it is within this complex relational network that problems commonly arise,
and the mending of such problems is frequently the focus of Vodou healing rites. Because
these networks extend beyond the living to include the lwa and the dead, the Vodou healer
must explore a vast and often entangled web of relationships in order to find the troubled
strand which is putting stress on the whole fabric (Brown, 1991). But this is what Vodou
does, it mends rifts, heals wounds, and it helps the faithful to live, and to prosper.
In light of
this, it is fair to say that what we call “Vodou culture” exists as a holistic
concept, a holistic paradigm. Within this culture, a moral transgression would thus be
defined as any action that brings division to the community. Because the community
includes the Spiritual World as well as the Physical, such immoral actions that disturb
Spirit will cause these same forces to seek harmony, balance, and often restitution. This
frequently manifests in the form of “reaping exactly what has been sown”. What
is considered “right” in the Vodou world is not “a function of abstract
reasoning, but is relative to what will achieve unity and equilibrium in the [family or
the greater] community” (Michel, 1998). Morality for those who serve the spirits is a
constant effort to maintain social cohesion, harmony, and balance. This includes the
notion of having “good character” as a means for maintaining such balance.
“Those who behave like earthworms should never
be surprised when people walk over them.”
-common Haitian proverb
Now
what is called good character in Vodou extends to include the notion of respect for ones
family, for all people, especially extreme respect for ones elders, the bearers of
knowledge and wisdom, the repositories of experience. In Kreyňl, it is common to speak of
san mwe (literally, “my blood”, indicating a relationship via the father) and
petit van (literally, “children of the [same] belly”, indicating a relationship
via the mother). However, the concept of family may be extended to include those without
any apparent biological relationship, and Vodou may easily conceptualize all people, even
strangers, as being related to one another given they are all children of God. Vodouwizan
speak of themselves as petit Ginea or simply ti-Ginea, both of which translate as
“children of Ginea”, (that is to say children of Africa) and, therefore, of one
human family. In light of this, Vodou teaches the need to assess consequences and assume
responsibility for individual actions. Vodouwizan say, “manje kwit pa gen mčt”.
That is to say that food once cooked should be shared, and this may include perfect
strangers. This statement defines another cornerstone of Vodou tradition and culture.
Traits such as generosity, hospitality, benevolence, forgiveness, and compassion are
highly valued.
A
lack of moral fortitude causing an individual to act with a lack of respect, be
neglectful, abusive, lacking in courage or generosity, is considered capable of causing a
disequilibria and division within ones family, community, or even society. These types of
behaviors often inadvertently attract giyon (general bad luck) or maldjok (the evil eye)
caused by jealousy or resentment, either of which may quickly come to negatively infect
all aspects of a person’s life and even that of those around them. It may even
attract persecution by the lwa or the ancestors capable of causing danger to the body,
both physical and spiritual. This is particularly common given such ill behaviors directly
threaten the well-being and preservation of the community which, as stated already,
includes both the lwa and clan ancestors who may rightly take offense sufficient to
warrant punishment. Consideration of these “truths” is the driving force by
which a Vodouwizan makes moral choices about themselves or about their community or
environment.
- Article Provided by
Houngan Aboudja
Bibliography
Information:
Brown,
Karen McCarthy. 1991. Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn. Berkeley: University of
California Press.
Dayan,
J.1998. Haiti, History, and the Gods. Berkley: University of California Press
and
-
1997. “Vodou, or the Voice of the Gods” in Sacred Possessions: Vodou, Santeria,
Obeah, and the Caribbean. Edited by Margarite Fernández Olmos and Lizabeth
Paravisini-Gebert. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press
Deren,
Maya. 1972. The Divine Horsemen: The Voodoo Gods of Haiti. New York: Delta
Publishing Co
Desmangles,
Leslie G. 1992. The Faces of the Gods: Vodou and Roman Catholicism in
Haiti. Chapel
Hill: University of North Carolina Press
Michel,
Claudine. 1998. “Morality in Haitian Vodou.” in The Association for Haitian
American Development (AHAD) Newsletter, Issue 15
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