14669: Kathy S. Grey re: 14320: Posted anonymously: Potions (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Racine125@aol.com

Hello Anonymous!  Welcome to the wonderful world of Haitian culture.  You write:

<<About a week ago I heard some people on a tap-tap talking about some poison that Houngans give people that makes them crazy.  They were talking about it as if it were a fact, not merely a possibility.>>

That's because it IS a fact and not merely a possibility.

<<On December 31 I brought a person suffering from a fever to the General Hospital.  The doctor prescribed a blood test, a test for malaria and a test for typhoid.  By that time the laboratory was closed so they told us to come back on January 3rd.  That same afternoon (31st) I found out that someone had taken her to a houngan, found out where he lived and brought her back, telling her that I would not continue to help her if she visited houngans.>>

Anonymous, as former coordinator of the Haitian Health Institute of Boston Medical Center, serving the Haitian and Haitian-American community of greater Boston, I learned that health care providers or those who would give another person access to health care providers MUST NEVER reject a patient's spiritual beliefs, or worse yet, threaten punishment or withholding of care if the patient consults traditional spiritual leaders.  Not only is this religious Nazi-ism of the worst type, but it pushes the patient away from allopathic (Western, "doctor-prescribed") health care.

In Haiti, Houngans and Mambos do not forbid congregation members to see doctors.  The wise thing for you to do, or for anyone to do who is trying to help any Haitian person who has a spiritual interpretation for an illness, is to say something like, "Well, maybe you are right, maybe you have been the victim of magical poison... then again, maybe you are sick, or maybe it is a regular poison, like rat poison, and the doctor will find it - go and see the Houngan, AND see the doctor too."  If you are nice, you might be able to get yourself invited to the Houngan's house too.

<<She was perfectly normal mentally that afternoon. The next morning she was in a trance and would not or could not talk, although she was not completely unconscious.  I saw her every day since then, including this morning -she is talking normally now but is mixed up mentally.  I consulted a pastor associated with the hospital and he said that they have had several mental cases that had been caused by some kind of poison that affects the brain and makes people crazy.>>

I am sure there are things on the shelves of pharmacies or agricultural supply stores in Haiti that can poison people and give them delirium or brain damage.  That is a criminal act, not a magical one.

On the other hand, Houngans and Mambos are able to manipulate and focus the natural energies of a place, to obtain desired results.  And there are "malfecteurs" and "bokors", traditional practitioners who are NOT Houngans or Mambos and who are much more willing than Houngans and Mambos to perform aggressive and harmful magic.

You see, you don't want your person to go to the Houngan or Mambo, but it is precisely a Houngan or Mambo who can find out what is wrong with your person and what to do about it.  And if the doctor is called for, the Houngan or Mambo will recommend that, too.

<<I was wondering if you could put this on your list as I am very interested in finding out if there is such a poison, what it is and if there is an antidote to it. I am thinking that some of the people who subscribe to your list might know about this or might know houngans who they could ask. >>

Oh, so now you DO want to talk to the Houngan!  GOOD!  So you see, when you told your person you would punish her if she went to the Houngan, you see, she was smarter than you.  How come it's not okay for her to talk to the Houngan, but now it's okay for you to try to talk to Houngans, to find out the very same things she would have been asking?

:-)

I can assure you that no one is going to tell you how traditional Haitian poisons are made or what the antidotes to these poisons might be.

The best thing for you to do, frankly, is bow out.  The woman's family will know how to proceed in the cultural context of their community, they are the ones who know who might have wanted to hurt your person and why, and they will tell you if they need your help.

<<I would rather that the post be anonymous if possible.>>

I see that Bob has honored your request, but I'm curious.  I don't mean to be rude, but can you indulge my curiosity and tell us why you want anonymity?  Who are you afraid of?  The Houngans?  Or the Protestants?  Are you embarassed?  Or do you just not want anyone to know that you would consider asking a Houngan to tell you something that you don't know for yourself already?

Sincerely,

Kathy S. Grey