20534: Racine125@aol.com - A new Vodou phenomenon... (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Racine125@aol.com

Most of you Corbetteers know that one topic of discussion on this list has been the lack of social services targeted for Vodouisants.  Catholics have schools and hospitals, Adventists have also.  But in Vodou, "social services" are provided on a peristyle-by-peristyle basis, according to the means and inclination of the Houngan or Mambo in charge.

Because most Houngans and Mambos, especially in rural areas, are just as poor and have just as limited resources as the members of their congregation, that usually doesn't amount to much - traditional care during sickness, some money for the doctor if the Houngan or Mambo has any.  Food aid when distributed through churches, even that food aid which is supposedly "for the community without regard to religion", is structured to systematically exclude Vodouisants.  Notable Vodouisants have reason to fear deliberately inferior care when they go to the Jacmel hospital, St. Michaels - because it is run by the Catholic Church.

We've all talked about this before, right?  And I've also talked about the prices of foodstuffs and the rates of pay for various occupations here in Jacmel.  It's obvious that when the daily rate of pay for an agricultural worker is roughly equal to the price of one raw chicken leg, as it is now, people are going hungry.

Here in Jacmel it wasn't so bad, we had the sea and we had reasonably fertile land, the rain fell and people could at least find a little breadfruit and banana, and a fish or an egg or something.  But now the sea is overfished and deforestation is starting it's creep through the area.  People can't so easily find food any more, and to buy it in the market is beyond their means.

Putting "lack of social services for Vodouisants" and "inflated food prices causing widespread hunger" together, I came up with the "Vodou Aid - Food and Health for Vodouisants" emergency response.  As some of you may know, I have a discussion forum on the topic of Vodou at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Vodou_Arts , and on that forum I made an appeal for help.  I hoped to raise maybe $200 - $300.  I have so far raised $1,800!  And the bulk of this, mind you, from American and British Vodouisants who have never been to Haiti and have no interest in Haiti other than their love of the Vodou religion.

So now our peristyle in Jacmel, the Roots Without End Society peristyle, is the scene of weekly food distributions!  I think we were already the only peristyle in Haiti headed by a non-Haitian woman; and now as far as I know we are the only peristyle systematically distributing privately-originated food aid, or food aid of any kind.

I have put up a web page so that you can see what we are doing, it's at http://www.RootsWithoutEnd.com/vodouaid.html  , and please don't think that I am trying to solicit donations (much), I just really do think that what we are doing is special.  It's pulling the community together in our neighborhood.  Also, on the Vodou Arts forum in the Files section, I put my accounts and scans of receipts and so forth.

Just to give an example of how the community-based structure of this food aid program brings people in the community together, last week as part of the food distribution, we had a bull cow.  That bull was slaughtered and butchered and sliced and diced ever so professionally by a local butcher named Loris, who is a Catholic with no use for Vodou at all.  Once he was done working, though, he refused payment for his work.

Protestants come to our peristyle for food too!  Hunger knows no religious affiliation, that's for sure.  And while I do not rant at Protestants in my little pre-distribution talk, I do hope that when one of these good folks is sitting in church listening to their pastor preach hate speech against Vodouisants, they at least think twice.

Peace and love,

Bon Mambo Racine Sans Bout Sa Te La Daginen

"Se bon ki ra" - Good is rare
     Haitian Proverb

The VODOU Page - http://members.aol.com/racine125/index.html

Vodou Aid - http://www.RootsWithoutEnd.com/vodouaid.html

The Vodou Emporium - http://www.RootsWithoutEnd.com/emporium/emporium.html

(Posting from Jacmel, Haiti)