Fiona Cane's Blog
January 20, 2016
Interesting Facts about Haiti day 3: Voodoo
My 4th novel, The Other Side of the Mountain, is set in Haiti ...
Was there ever a more maligned and misunderstood religion than Voodoo, or Vodou as it is more properly known? It conjures up visions of mysterious deaths, secret-rites and dark saturnalia - think Live and Let Die - when in reality it’s a way of life, a medical service of sorts and great theatre. The slaves mainly came from Dahomey, now Benin, in West Africa and brought their beliefs with them. Vodu is Fon (the language of Dahomey) for spirit. There is no national church just a body of basic beliefs which has become mixed with residual rituals from the Taino Indians and Catholicism. Some say that the trouble with Haiti is that its people are superstitious, but 'if one man’s religion is another man’s superstition, then perhaps the trouble with Haiti is that its people are too religious' (Alfred Metraux).
Vodouists believe in one God, Bondye (from the French le Bon Dieu), an easy-going father figure a bit like Fate or Nature. Common illnesses are referred to as illnesses from God, while natural disasters, such as earthquakes, are also ascribed to Bondye. The loa are lesser spirits who love, protect and guard. Persistent bad luck is put down to some transgression which has aroused the wrath of a loa. Any man deserted by the loa is at the mercy of poisons. There are two types of loa: the Rada and the Petro. The Rada are cool and gentle spirits and are summoned 90% of the time. The hot and angry Petro loa are linked to black magic and are rarely invoked. Those houngan (Vodou priest) that do so are called Bokors (sorcerers) and are said to practice with both hands.
The loa are approached in ceremonies as interlocutors between this world and Guinea, which is where they live and where the spirits of the dead hope to depart to, a year and a day after burial. The ceremonies take place in the peristyle of a hounfour (Vodou temple). In the centre of the peristyle is the poto mitan (central pole), which represents a tree down which the loa enter when summoned by the houngan. The houngan or mambo (female priest) waves their asson (sacred rattle made of a gourd with a tail of snake vertebrae) and La Place (the master of ceremonies) enters followed by the hounsi (Vodou initates), barefoot men and women dressed in white. The houngan stops rattling the asson, tips some conrmeal on the ground, tracing the vévé (sacred symbol) of a geometric cross, and starts to sing. One of the hounsi lights a candle and another places a red bowl at the foot of the poto mitan. The geometric cross is the symbol for Papa Legba who is always called upon first because he’s the master of the crossroads, the spirit that removes the barrier between the two worlds. The four cardinal points are saluted acknowledging the rising and setting sun, birth and death.
The spirits appear in a strict order and are summoned by their own particular rhythms, songs and food. Three drums are used in the ceremonies. The first is the bula, which is the smallest and played with two sticks to create a high staccato pulse. The segon creates a bass rhythm on which the manman, the largest and loudest, dances. As the rhythm becomes louder and more violent the white-robed hounsi start to dance, swinging their arms wildly and stamping the ground with their bare feet as they circle the poto mitan in an anti-clockwise direction. The musicians’ movements become more frenzied as the beat rises to a passionate crescendo.
Papa Legba enters via the poto mitan, mounts a recipient and drives out the man's gwo bon ange, (big good angel, or soul), so that he can take over his body. The recipient trembles and convulses and feels like he’s fainting before he becomes possessed. When he wakes up he remembers nothing, because if he admits to being ridden by a loa, he's also admitting to faking. Once the man’s fit passes he’s handed a cane and a pipe and begins to hobble around the peristyle, leaning on the cane, puffing on the pipe, while offering the audience rum and coaxing them to dance. Pure theatre!
If you appetite is whetted click here to be linked to my Amazon author page. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fiona-Cane/e/...
Check out days 1 and 2 on www.fionacane.com
Was there ever a more maligned and misunderstood religion than Voodoo, or Vodou as it is more properly known? It conjures up visions of mysterious deaths, secret-rites and dark saturnalia - think Live and Let Die - when in reality it’s a way of life, a medical service of sorts and great theatre. The slaves mainly came from Dahomey, now Benin, in West Africa and brought their beliefs with them. Vodu is Fon (the language of Dahomey) for spirit. There is no national church just a body of basic beliefs which has become mixed with residual rituals from the Taino Indians and Catholicism. Some say that the trouble with Haiti is that its people are superstitious, but 'if one man’s religion is another man’s superstition, then perhaps the trouble with Haiti is that its people are too religious' (Alfred Metraux).
Vodouists believe in one God, Bondye (from the French le Bon Dieu), an easy-going father figure a bit like Fate or Nature. Common illnesses are referred to as illnesses from God, while natural disasters, such as earthquakes, are also ascribed to Bondye. The loa are lesser spirits who love, protect and guard. Persistent bad luck is put down to some transgression which has aroused the wrath of a loa. Any man deserted by the loa is at the mercy of poisons. There are two types of loa: the Rada and the Petro. The Rada are cool and gentle spirits and are summoned 90% of the time. The hot and angry Petro loa are linked to black magic and are rarely invoked. Those houngan (Vodou priest) that do so are called Bokors (sorcerers) and are said to practice with both hands.
The loa are approached in ceremonies as interlocutors between this world and Guinea, which is where they live and where the spirits of the dead hope to depart to, a year and a day after burial. The ceremonies take place in the peristyle of a hounfour (Vodou temple). In the centre of the peristyle is the poto mitan (central pole), which represents a tree down which the loa enter when summoned by the houngan. The houngan or mambo (female priest) waves their asson (sacred rattle made of a gourd with a tail of snake vertebrae) and La Place (the master of ceremonies) enters followed by the hounsi (Vodou initates), barefoot men and women dressed in white. The houngan stops rattling the asson, tips some conrmeal on the ground, tracing the vévé (sacred symbol) of a geometric cross, and starts to sing. One of the hounsi lights a candle and another places a red bowl at the foot of the poto mitan. The geometric cross is the symbol for Papa Legba who is always called upon first because he’s the master of the crossroads, the spirit that removes the barrier between the two worlds. The four cardinal points are saluted acknowledging the rising and setting sun, birth and death.
The spirits appear in a strict order and are summoned by their own particular rhythms, songs and food. Three drums are used in the ceremonies. The first is the bula, which is the smallest and played with two sticks to create a high staccato pulse. The segon creates a bass rhythm on which the manman, the largest and loudest, dances. As the rhythm becomes louder and more violent the white-robed hounsi start to dance, swinging their arms wildly and stamping the ground with their bare feet as they circle the poto mitan in an anti-clockwise direction. The musicians’ movements become more frenzied as the beat rises to a passionate crescendo.
Papa Legba enters via the poto mitan, mounts a recipient and drives out the man's gwo bon ange, (big good angel, or soul), so that he can take over his body. The recipient trembles and convulses and feels like he’s fainting before he becomes possessed. When he wakes up he remembers nothing, because if he admits to being ridden by a loa, he's also admitting to faking. Once the man’s fit passes he’s handed a cane and a pipe and begins to hobble around the peristyle, leaning on the cane, puffing on the pipe, while offering the audience rum and coaxing them to dance. Pure theatre!
If you appetite is whetted click here to be linked to my Amazon author page. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fiona-Cane/e/...
Check out days 1 and 2 on www.fionacane.com
September 25, 2015
Bargain Alert
WHEN THE DOVE CRIED, my second novel, is selling for 99p on Kindle this weekend. A bargain not to be missed!
August 31, 2015
Kindle Offer
The e-book version of The Other Side of the Mountain now only £1.99 at Amazon Kindle - for a limited time only!
August 20, 2015
My Q&A with Anne Williams
Check out my interview with the wonderful Anne Williams on her Being Anne Blogspot
http://t.co/ErhEw7BdRj
http://t.co/ErhEw7BdRj
June 19, 2015
The Other Side of the Mountain proofs have arrived
It's always an exciting time when you see the printed cover of your book for the first time. And I'm thrilled with the colours and design of The Other Side of the Mountain. The publication date is 6th August so not long now.
October 16, 2013
Five star review of The Gate on Amazon.co.uk by Apolloa
I think Fiona Cane is really beginning to find her feet as a storyteller: the writing feels more relaxed and 'comfortable in its skin'; the characterisation and dialogue more believable and affecting. The result is a thoroughly compelling and enjoyable read as well as a gripping storyline of school-gate murder madness and teenage angst which I could easily see translated into a film/TV drama. A terrific book.
The Gate now available in paperback from Amazon
If you've ever been intimidated at the school gate, if you've been bereaved, given up the job of your dreams to look after your children, struggled to bring up a rebellious teenager, had a child who's been the victim of cyberbullying, or lost your Faith, then The Gate is the book for you.
