a1639: RE: a1635: Kathy Grey on the spelling of the Haitian religion (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: karioka9@cs.com

To add to the confusion, the French dictionary spelling is VAUDOU.  Some Haitian writers who wanted to inflate the French contribution to the Haitian stock (the philologist Faine among them) claimed that it came from the VAUDOIS, a French medieval sect (anything French is better, you see).  The bottom line, however, is that the stereotype will persist regardless of the spelling, as long as Vodou remains a religion of the oppressed.  That's why respectable Haitians practice by night and go to the Catholic church by day.

Daniel Simidor