Daw'lin
Jul 18 2009, 11:35 AM EDT
Ancient "systems of beliefs" -- what others call religions -- persist among us because they are still valid to many people.
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One such system is VooDoo. If you want to read more about the actual beliefs and practices, order books on interlibrary loan through your local library, like GUMBO YA-YA (1930s) and The Reader's Digest BOOK OF THE STRANGE (1980s). Is it real? I have lived in New Orleans for most of my life, and I can say that unexpected things do happen. I saw things 2005-2007 while living in a trailer park for evacuees of the 2005 Gulf Coast floods as well. I will not go into details.
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Is VooDoo a religion? My definition of a religion is an organized system of beliefs that has many places of gathering for fellowship and worship (cathedrals, mosques, synagogues, temples churches), a formal chain of command, and is tax exempt practially everywhere.
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Is this solely an African-American thing? Not at all. The practices draw people from all ethnicities, although African-Americans predominate.
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How does VooDoo compare with Wicca and Druidism? All of them harken back to different places and times that for the most part are unknown to people of today. The style of worship varies. (Get back to the library and do some more research!)
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The saddest part about these systems of beliefs is that often their ceremonies and rituals are turned into a "schtick" whereby to entertain tourists. To outsiders, VooDoo is a joke, like the tap-dancing children in the French Quarter. In New Orleans, no matter what our systems of beliefs, there are some things you don't joke about.

Daw'lin
Jul 19 2009, 3:01 PM EDT
POWERS: The people who practice VooDoo -- or its close cousin Sangria -- have no more special powers collectively than do those who practice Wicca or Druidism or ascribe to certain systems of belief. I would say that comparably, those of us who post to P&M stand the same likelihood of having special powers as other people in these other groups. To practitioners of these special systems of belief, we may be "them".
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I will caution you that anything like VooDoo is far from a sideshow act. People believe in it, and that is what gives the "Mama-loi" and the "Papa-loi" more power than anything else. (A "loi" is an invisible spirit something like a witch's familiar, or a psychic's spirit guide, but it must be propitiated and cajoled into doing someone's bidding. A "master practitioner", known according to gender as either Mama or a Papa knows how to get the attention of "loi" and entice them to do "jobs" for them.) Ultimately, it is what the people in the community believe about the "master practitioner" in their midst that seals the opinion as to whether that person has real powers or not.
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Why do people persist in believing in these things? "Your" beliefs give you inner strength to endure the abuses of your "bottom of the caste system" status, on the boats in the 18th century, the fields of the 19th century, or in the central cities of today. You hold onto your old beliefs because you understand them, and those who oppress you do not. Everyone around you finds extra strength in keeping the true meaning of everything secret from well-identified oppressors.
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And therein lies the true power of VooDoo and the like. (Continued on the next page.)

Daw'lin
Jul 19 2009, 3:10 PM EDT
THE LEVEAU-PARIS-GLAPION FAMILIES: if you are a proponent of women's liberation, then you need to know about an almost-forgotten chapter that took place right here in New Orleans in the early 19th Century. First, some background. Marriages between Europeans and women of "mixed parentage" or "creoles" from the islands were perfectly legal. If the couple came to the States, the marriage was considered null and void; and the relationship had to be reduced to that of a man to his mistress. (There is some really nasty language concerning all this that if you want to read it, there are books on the subject at your local library.)
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A woman by the name of Marie LeVeau married a Monsieur Paris in Haiti. Marie had been raised to be what the Spanish would call a "curandero", a combination folk healer and midwife. Those essentially were the two paying jobs that could be expected to be held by a Mama-loi, although I don't recall that term ever being applied in connection with Madame Marie Leveau-Paris.
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Mr. and Mrs. Paris came to New Orleans, and had a few children, one of whom was a daughter also by the name "Marie". Then Mr. Paris died, leaving his wife to become the Widow "Veuve" Paris. (Continued next page.)

Daw'lin
Jul 19 2009, 3:19 PM EDT
THE LEVEAU-PARIS-GLAPION FAMILIES: The Widow Paris, as she was known, had a following in the city for her medical knowledge -- although it was suggested that although she was faithful in her attendance to mass at St. Louis Cathedral, she still had something to do with the old African religions after sundown. Those suspicions were pushed aside by the priest at St. Louis Cathedral, a man known nowadays as Pere Antoine (Father Anthony in English), when he discovered how effective the Widow Paris' medical knowledge was in the face of yellow fever epidemics that ravaged the Gulf Coast.
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The Widow Paris is credited with saving over 3,000 lives during three separate yellow fever epidemics. In the course of time, she passed away. You will have to hunt hard to find her tomb in the east wall of St. Louis Cemetery I.
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In the meantime, her daughter Marie had grown up and learned all the medical knowledge her mother could teach her. Allegedly, she picked up on a lot of African religious beliefs and practices as well. When Marie was old enough, to differentiate herself from her mother, she stopped using the last name Paris and went to using the old last name of Leveau. That is why there is the confusion about the two.
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The daughter Marie is said to have conducted ceremonies in the old way in back yards of houses in the poorer sections of town. The dance called the Calinda was presumably one of the events. But Marie had caught the attention of a man whose last name was Glapion; if I recall correctly, he was a creole of American birth. Marie became his mistress, and had numerous children by him. (Continued next page.)

Daw'lin
Jul 19 2009, 3:26 PM EDT
THE LEVEAU-PARIS-GLAPION FAMILIES: The Glapion family is very politically prominent in the African-American community, but they will not speak about the Marie (nee' "born" Paris) Leveau. Presumably, Marie is buried in a tall, whitewashed tomb near the front gate of St. Louis Cemetery I. (Tourists or anyone caught making markings on the tomb is going to be in deep trouble. That simply is not done.)
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Where the women's liberation aspect comes in is this: The Widow Paris was able to move about the city and treat the sick as a woman. In those days, only men were allowed to be doctors! This was extraordinary because not only because of the prejudices against her because of her ancestry, but simply because women were thought to be incapable of understanding medicine at all!
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And that is enough for this thread and discussion. If you want to know more, please visit your local library.

lancesergeant
Jul 19 2009, 7:25 PM EDT
Marie Le Veau (the mother) is legendary in voodoo circles in NO if the documentaries are anything to go by. I remember a film about NO, the Latin Quarter, Mardi Gras etc, and it showed Marie Le Veau's with graffiti on it I believe with some items left by unknowns against its side. The documentary said she was respected and feared. What is the situation with the cemeteries,is it right that large parts were damaged in the disaster they had not long back, also I think I heard something about them being built on water logged ground. Can you fill us in on that. Better hearing the facts from a resident, than a report.

Voodoo is more widely practiced in Haiti. I believe it is tolerated by the authorities. I agree that its attraction is that it is unique to a group of afro-caribbeans in that it bonds them, a common bond, a source of strength and reference when they were being transported to foreign lands.

BunkieLA
Jul 23 2009, 8:35 PM EDT
Daw'lin is taking the day off. So, if you will pardon the switch, I will try to answer some of your questions.
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The mother is the Widow Paris. The daughter is Marie Leveau. The daughter was the mistress of Glapion. The daughter is alleged to have had some kind of mental problem, and this some said made her and especially effective VooDoo priestess. Still, she had eight children by Glapion. Was she feared? Yes. Remember, though, that in the slave communities, not everything was what it really appeared to be. A lot of it was a show to confuse the slave owners while plans were being made and schedules were set for slaves to escape and join the Underground Railroad to the north. The Glapions were wealthy in their own right, and owned slaves as did many creole families, but to keep peace in their own household, I think they said nothing.
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The section of the city is called the French Quarter, although the architecture is almost completed Spanish Colonial. Only super-educated people spoke in Latin; the language of the Quarter was French for most of its history. In the late 19th through the early 20th century, the language you would have heard was Italian. Nowadays, you will hear nothing but English.
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Glapion Tomb in St. Louis #1: For decades it was customary to mark an X-mark with charcoal on the side of the tomb in order to ask for favors from Marie Leveau (the daughter). The Glapion family finally wanted to stop all the references to VooDoo as connected to their family, especially after the Civil Rights movement, so there is now a sign posted that the making of marks on the tomb can result in being written up by the police, a fine, and perhaps a brief stay in central lock-up. (Continued next page)

BunkieLA
Jul 23 2009, 8:50 PM EDT
Cemeteries: if you can find a copy of the Times-Picayune book, KATRINA: RUIN AND RECOVERY (order it through your local library on interlibrary loan if at all possible), look at the pictures of the flooded cemeteries. Also, Pelican Publishing has a series of books on NEW ORLEANS ARCHITECTURE; one I think is exclusively about the cemeteries; it would take me all night to tell you about the specifics and the customs.
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After the floods, the Catholic Arch-diocese and the Firemen's Benevolent and Charitable Association, along wtih other groups that manage and maintain the cemeteries, went through and cleaned up every water mark that could be found. Sadly, charitable cemeteries like Holt (the equivalent of subsidized housing or Section 8), or the potters field at the foot of Canal Street at City Park Avenue, only belatedly been getting the clean-up they need.
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As for the cemeteries being built above ground, that was something that had to be addressed from practically the get-go in the late 17th century. Caskets buried in the ground tended to float up after a heavy rain. So, burials were made above ground in crypts. After a year, the earliest burial was cleaned out with "whatever was found put into a canvas bag", and the bag was dropped into a cement-lined pit under the above-ground tomb -- depending on the "bells and whistles" arranged for when the tomb was built. Oven tombs were kept sealed for a year; at the end of the time, a large broom was inserted through the front, and everything was pushed to the rear where it fell into a large empty space beyond.
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Nowadays the tendency is more and more to have cremations. Burials do cost a pretty penny, several thousands of dollars, in fact. Cremations can be had for less than $2000.00. The "ashes" (actually bone meal) can be put into an urn, and place in the tomb or a special vault for a church or charitable society.

BunkieLA
Jul 23 2009, 9:02 PM EDT
A final word on VooDoo: From my own observations about events in the news concerning Haiti and Santo Domingo, and the islands in the Caribbean, I can agree with you that Santeria (a variation of VooDoo) is heavily-practiced in those locations. Even "leaders" of the island nations, like "Baby Doc", practiced it to make sure he was on the right side of the "loi" -- even if that meant more misery for his people. There are good "loi" and not so good "loi".
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Again, i think the "system of belief" represented by Santeria is part of the way people of particularly African ancestry in the islands find inner strength to face all the horrible prejudices and patronization they have to face. Listen to some of Harry Belafonte's recordings like "Brown Skin Girl" and "Man Smart, Woman Smarter" and others. (The Americans all had their pleasure while the music played to their leisure, and everybody there they was jumping to hear the native boys in our chorus singing...)
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In fact, it is this same patronizing attitude that many people in New Orleans resent because it is being leveled at ourselves. That is why we are so touchy about the use of the term VooDoo by people who are out to make money, and think (as Daw'lin points out) that it is all a big joke. We ignore these ignoramuses as best as we can. Well, I hope that answered some of your questions!