7099: Re: 7077: Bébé responds Desmangles (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Moibibi@aol.com

Professor Desmangles, I appreciate your view of Vodoun in a scope that 
surpasses religion and philosophy. Did you mean to say that Vodoun should not 
be recognized as a religion not to say as the state religion?

You quoted Ben Gurion defining Jewishness as a state of "I-am-ness". I agree 
that this portrayal could be applied to all Vodoyn's serviteurs. I can see 
many resemblances within the Jewish culture and ours. Jewishness permeates 
most aspects of life of their people, their food, their philosophy, their 
music, etc. just like Vodoun does. Do you think that it is the Jewish people 
"misunderstanding" that led them to institute their faith as their national 
religion? I don't think so. It is an admirable fact that they know well how 
to defend their basic interests. 

In recent times, the spheres of religious-political interactions have taken a 
new meaning in Haiti (like in many other countries) and should not be ignored 
by anyone.  Vodoun tends to be more diffuse in character than Catholicism and 
Protestantism because often rural-based and concerned with self-help issues 
(necessite oblige)and it is not seen as a threat by our late governments. Let 
us be realistic, we are simply ignored, benign neglect. Things would be quite 
different if we could emphasize straightforward opposition to government 
policies, which do not cater to our needs.

At the dawn of the third millennium we still have to convert to Christianity 
to acquire education, to have more chances to be able to enter the Consulates 
and obtain a visa, etc.
Do we have to convert just to be recognized as a religious and political 
entity in our own country? Three centuries ago, our forefathers had to 
convert to be civilized upon entering the New World but time has shown that, 
their adoption of a new faith was rather skin deep. Today, we cannot deny 
that Vodouists are in a position of disadvantage in the new political 
arrangement that just took place in Haiti. Neglected, unrecognized in our own 
country, what can Vodouists expect elsewhere? A government who doesn't 
recognize the existence of a large portion of its population, can it expect 
to be recognized as well?

Bébé Pierre Louis