Do Do That Voodoo That You Do So Well ...

Now that the initial concern about Haiti has quieted and been relegated to the back porch (the horror and suffering will roll along in the background), it is natural for our concerns to shift elsewhere.  After voicing our horror at what happened, giving one or two donations and a prayer or two, what more can we do?

The one issue lingering on the Internet is Reverend Robinson’s assertions about Haitians and Satan. He is still denounced as a “crazy, senile, drooling idiot.” The problem is that he is correct―well, sorta.

There was a convention, well, more like a gathering. It happened in 1791 and to Haitians it is something like the famous Tennis Court Oath in 1789 that preceded the French Revolution. The Haitian version is called the Bois Caiman Ceremony of August 1791.

OK, was it a pact with Satan?  Well, kinda. It depends on how you look at it. If you are a good fundamentalist Bible believing Southern Baptist, then yes, it certainly could be interpreted that way―although Satan was not mentioned. (That in and of itself does not mean much since every time Congress convenes, his works certainly are manifest.)

You must understand that when African slaves were brought over to Haiti, they were dumped on the beach with little but memories. Religion to them meant worshipping many gods and spirits. As a consolation prize they got Catholicism―with many saints. So they mixed the two. The result was called “Voodoo” or “Vodun.” The idea was God, in the Christian sense, did not involve himself directly in human affairs―after all he had a universe to run.

Jesus was all well and good, but for everyday necessities the old gods were still tops. A sacrifice of chickens or a lamb insured your desires would be given a hearing―besides Voodoo ceremonies were a lot more fun than Sunday School. Did they worship Satan? No, they worshipped the old gods under new names like Baron Samedi, the god of crossroads, the pathway into our world.

Papa Doc Duvalier ruled Haiti dressed like Baron Samedi, in a funereal black suit and top hat. He was feared as a great sorcerer. All of this sounds better in French, or Creole, the dialect of Haiti.

But it is not Satanism in our sense of the word any more than Zeus was Satan (although the early Church thought so).

So—the oath. Well, the story goes that two meetings occurred, both geared to an uprising, or revolution against oppressive French rule. The first, on the Normand de Mézy plantation, had about 200 or so delegates and was mostly political, this according to tortured attendees.

A Haitian historian, who wrote many years after the fact, said the second was more religious in nature and held a week later on the night of August 14, 1791 at Bois Caiman. One of the leaders was a houngan (Voodoo) priest named Boukman Dutty. He slaughtered a black pig and had those assembled drink its blood and swear allegiance to him and others. He swore vengeance against the Christian God, the French, and whites invoking the gods of Vodun to rise and assist the Haitians to throw off slavery. He then tossed down another pig blood cocktail.

There is some dispute as to whether this gathering actually happened. A French historian stood up at a joint Haitian/French academic meeting in 1991 and denounced the whole story. Needless to say the Haitians were not pleased. So much for a cushy vacation on Saint-Domingue (the old name for Haiti) for that fellow.

The terms “French,” “historian,” and “academic” all predispose me to believe the Haitians. It is rather like some French historian claiming Thomas Jefferson did not write the Declaration of Independence.

Anyway, the slaves then went out and slaughtered French settlers; men, women and children— after burning and raping, of course. The French sent troops and 14 years of mutual bloodshed ensued.

Haiti was a very wealthy colony, more so than any other in the Caribbean. Coffee, sugar and tobacco brought huge sums to the French treasury. The French did not want to give it up.

It got to the point that after the French Revolution had run its course, Napoleon sent 20,000 more troops to quell the fires. Needed the money, don’t you know. It was to no avail. When the Spanish intervened on the Haitians’ behalf, Napoleon quit the New World and eventually sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States.

Haitians were jubilant, proclaiming Haiti the first black republic in the world. Of course that made Southern slave holders rather nervous. They were not keen on bloody slave revolts. Neither were northern merchants and politicians. So the U.S. just dropped the subject for about 50 years.

Alas, Haiti did not thrive on its own. A succession of ever-worse governments and tyrannical regimes followed. It took 58 years for President Lincoln to recognize Haiti. I do not know the population of Haiti in those early days.  All that is certain is that it grew.

In 1844, the Spaniards who shared the island had enough of Haitian chaos and formed their own country, Santa Domingo. In 1915, the U.S. invaded to keep the peace and imposed military rule. It was probably the best deal the ordinary Haitians ever had. We stayed until 1934, which was how long it took to realize Haiti had become more trouble than it was worth. Meanwhile the population grew.

In 1971 it hit 4 million plus a tad, and in 2002 it was up to around 6 million. Today it is about 9 million, making Haiti one of the most densely populated countries in the world. And the average income is about $2 per day.

If you fly over the island of Hispaniola, it is easy to tell where Haiti begins. It is the barren, denuded part.

That is a lousy return for a sure-fire Satanic deal.