#2565: Dolls/Vodou : Benson comments

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

From: LeGrace Benson <legracebenson@clarityconnect.com>

Many observers separate Bizango from Vodou, so perhaps the comment that
only Congo rites use dolls is correct.  However, in some districts in the
Artibonite, the use of dolls appears to be frequent, and they are often
pierced or radically mutilated, red pigment smeared abundantly over them.
When I tried to photograph some of these on site I was prevented.  When I
tried to photograph a collection of them in cool Petionville, the entire
roll of film came out black. Operator malfuntion? I guess so. See also the
"dolls" of the late Pierrot Barra with thier strong to violent
manipulations and exaggerations. What about the dolls tied to trees?  Who
is collecting all the information about the use of dolls and about to
publish so we will all benefit from such knowledge?  

legarcebenson@clarityconect.com