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Haiti: A Brief Religious History

Nothing has ever been easy for this once-lush island nation.

by Elesha Coffman | January 27, 2010

Like most people, I’ve been paying a lot more attention to Haiti in the past few weeks than ever before. I know very little about the place. It comes up just twice in my U.S. history survey course, once in the lecture on New World colonization, and again in a lecture on slave uprisings. For my own knowledge as well as for this blog, I thought I’d try to sketch a religious history of Haiti—one that does not include a national pact with the devil.

The island of Hispaniola, now divided between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, bore the brunt of early Spanish colonization of the New World. Christopher Columbus explored its northern coast in 1492, and his favorable reports, along with Spain’s quest for riches and global dominance, soon brought many more soldiers, priests, and economic adventurers. Bartolome de las Casas, a Dominican priest whose father and uncles joined Columbus’s second expedition, witnessed the results of this conquest. He titled his wrenching narrative, A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies (1542). It begins:

The Indies were discovered in the year one thousand four hundred and ninety-two. In the following year a great many Spaniards went there with the intention of settling the land. Thus, forty-nine years have passed since the first settlers penetrated the land, the first so claimed being the large and most happy isle called Hispaniola…

And of all the infinite universe of humanity, these [indigenous] people are the most guileless, the most devoid of wickedness and duplicity, the most obedient and faithful to their native masters and to the Spanish Christians whom they serve. They are by nature the most humble, patient, and peaceable, holding no grudges, free from embroilments, neither excitable nor quarrelsome. These people are the most devoid of rancors, hatreds, or desire for vengeance of any people in the world….

Yet into this sheepfold, into this land of meek outcasts there came some Spaniards who immediately behaved like ravening wild beasts, wolves, tigers, or lions that had been starved for many days. And Spaniards have behaved in no other way during the past forty years, down to the present time, for they are still acting like ravening beasts, killing, terrorizing, afflicting, torturing, and destroying the native peoples, doing all this with the strangest and most varied new methods of cruelty, never seen or heard of before, and to such a degree that this Island of Hispaniola, once so populous (having a population that I estimated to be more than three million), has now a population of barely two hundred persons.

With the native population annihilated, mostly by disease, the Spanish conquerors looked to the African slave trade for a new labor supply. Religion in Hispaniola thus became a mixture of indigenous Caribbean and imported African practices, overlaid with Roman Catholicism. That mixture produced voodoo (or Vodou), which perhaps half of all Haitians practice, despite the fact that some 80 percent of Haitians formally identify as Roman Catholics, and most of the rest formally identify as Protestants.

According to the website of the Cultural Orientation Resource Center, an organization that aids the resettlement of refugees, the word “voodoo” means “spirit” in the Fon language of West Africa. The COR describes voodoo as “a religion based on family spirits [loas] who generally help and protect. Although lacking a fixed theology and an organized hierarchy, voodoo is a religion with its own rituals, ceremonies, and altars that practitioners do not find to be at odds with Roman Catholicism. In fact, many Roman Catholic symbols and prayers have blended with voodoo rituals and traditions to make for a unique and typically Haitian religion. For example, pictures of Catholic saints are painted on the walls of temples to represent the voodoo spirits; at funerals, it is not uncommon that voodoo ceremonies and rituals be performed for family members first, followed by a more public traditional Roman Catholic ceremony presided over by a priest.”

The “pact with the devil” mentioned by Pat Robertson was actually a voodoo ceremony performed in August 1791. France was at that time the ruling colonial power in Haiti, having acquired the western part of Hispaniola from Spain in 1697. Haitian slaves, fed up with brutal repression (one-third of imported African slaves died within a few years of arriving in Haiti) and inspired by the French Revolution, staged the most successful uprising in the western hemisphere. Though the rebellion’s principles originated in France, its opening event, as described by the official Haitian Bicentennial website, was a voodoo ceremony:

A man named Boukman … organized on August 14, 1791, a meeting with the slaves in the mountains of the North. This meeting took the form of a Voodoo ceremony in the Bois Caiman in the northern mountains of the island. It was raining and the sky was raging with clouds; the slaves then started confessing their resentment of their condition. A woman started dancing languorously in the crowd, taken by the spirits of the loas. With a knife in her hand, she cut the throat of a pig and distributed the blood to all the participants of the meeting who swore to kill all the whites on the island. …

The Revolution that would give birth to the Republic of Haiti was under way and nothing could stop it. Toussaint Louverture was the great leader who emerged out of the mass of the revolted. He proved to be a military genius and a formidable leader. He organized the masses of the slaves into an organized army. With political manipulation, and military campaigns, he would gain more and more notoriety in the colony. During the period of 1791, to 1800, Toussaint used the French, the Spaniards and the English against one another. He managed to eliminate all his enemies until he was the only power left in St Domingue (Haiti). By 1801, he was governing the whole island by himself and proclaimed himself governor of the colony. A constitution was soon drawn that same year declaring St Domingue an autonomous French possession where slavery was abolished.

Louverture’s own religious beliefs were complicated. A 1907 book, Haiti: Her History and Detractors, claimed that Toussaint attended Boukman’s 1791 voodoo ceremony but suppressed the religion after coming to power, perhaps to stifle a political force he feared could turn against him. Wikipedia described the leader as a devout Catholic who also, like many American revolutionaries, attained high rank as a Mason. He may have been all of these things. One thing is sure: his name means “all souls rising,” an apt name for the founder of a nation with a long history of glories, disasters, and spiritual upheaval.

Comments

Good research. If one studies Voodoo, however, he will discover that it is, in fact, a form of witchcraft, and animal sacrifices such as practiced in the 1791 ceremony are actual acts of making alliances, pacts, or acts of surrender to the devil... even if done in ignorance. While he may have been unwise in the way he stated it, Robertson was historically and theologically correct.

Voodoo is not a mixture of African and Carribean relgions overlaid with Roman Catholicism. The Roman Catholicism practiced in Haiti, and other Carribean and Latin American countries, would be described in that fashion.

What voodoo is would be classified as animistic religion from West Africa. In fact, Benin is the birthplace of Voodoo and it was the African slaves that were taken from this part of the Continent who were the majority of slaves populating the Carribean and Hispanoila in particular. In fact Fon is not only a language group but one of the larger people groups in Benin.

I'm inclined to something like C. S. Lewis' broader vision of the spirit world. It's not always clear where a spirit is coming from, and where it wants to lead us. We must be on guard against ignorance and naivite; we must be just as mindful of our tendency to overestimate our knowledge and discernment.

Christians must always "test the spirits to see whether they are from God," -1 John 4:1. The test is really the same for spirits and for us human beings: what do you say about Jesus? And, do you act in accordance with what you say? "...[E]very spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every Spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God..." To walk accordingly is to keep His commandments, to love one another, and to confess our sins.

This test is an encounter - a challenge. We may be surprised at the outcome. It may bring about an unexpected decision for Christ. It is not normally a calculation we can make at a distance, based on our presuppositions.

Haitian voodoo is notoriously lurid and weird and creepy - to our sensibilities. Our own little syncretistic hoodoo fixes escape our notice. When we come into the presence of Christ, whatever has value is refined, and whatever is worthless is burned away. Haven't we all been surprised at which turns out to be which?

Robert Tolliver, your comments are ignorant and reprehensible. You give Christians a bad name. Only someone who completely lacks the Spirit of Christ can defend Robertson's hateful comments that blame that Haitians for their tragedy.
Shame!

John H. Your comment is rude and confrontational. How can you say that Robert Tolliver lacks the Spirit of Christ? Youa re not the Judge. Saying somrthing like that does not characterize the Spirit of Christ.

Do you have a report on the history of the Plymouth brethren in haiti and/or DR I know of a number of assemlies in DR

I completely agree with Robert Tolliver. Pat Robertson's comments were BRUTALLY honest. Life has consequences! Look at the OT to see what happened to God's people every time they turned away from Him. Read about the "blessings" and the "curses." How about the flood, when God simply destroyed ALL mankind (save Noah's family)! What did Christ say about the people on whom Tower of Siloam fell. Passive ignorance is no excuse. What Haiti needs is Transformation! Get a copy of the Transformation videos and watch to see what can happen when a nation turns back to God (2 Chronicles 7:14). Perhaps something like that will happen as a result of this tragedy - certainly worth praying for.

Hispaniola is so remarkable. Have u seen pictures from above. The DR half of the island is lush & green, while Haiti is brown and pretty barren. The uncleanliness of the water supply (aqueduct, now destroyed) and total lack of sanitation and the lifestyle is primitive beyond belief. Every village i visited has a voodoo priest and his "hut" is in the center. The people fear him and the "spells" he can cast, which can kill (even tho they mostly know that when a death spell is cast, it is usually the voodoo priest and others who come in the night to snuff out the victim).

This tragedy is horrible and our hearts, prayers and support go out to the Haitians. But realize that even if God did not "cause" it, He did "allow" it, and we must take it for a wake up call, and plead Romans 8:28 and the blood of Christ upon them (and the rest of us!)

I truly suspect that everyone who returns from serving there in person, will have experienced a "come to Jesus" moment for themselves as well as what they can and should continue to do within their sphere of influence for the cause of Christ.

Remember the prophecy of the coming "shaking of the heavens and the earth" and that Christ said, "behold I am coming soon!"

I have been a missionary in Haiti for over 27 years. Haitian voodoo (Vodou) is demon worship. Converted Haitians testify of human sacrifice and many evil acts performed in voodoo before coming to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Not only was the blood covenant of 1791 made with the Devil to gain independence from the French true, it was enacted for a period of 200 years. There is a bronze statue of a wild boar in front of the Post Office in Port-au-Prince to commemorate that covenant. Ex-President Aristide proclaimed voodoo as an official religion alongside Roman Catholicism in 2003.

Surely this is a wakeup call for the Haitians, and for us also; for us to pray for the Haitians who have not only been devastated by the recent earthquake, but also for the long standing devastation, assaults and oppression inflicted by profound,evil spiritual forces.

God uses our prayers!

I agree with John H. How can we justify the suffering of Haiti by an alleged pact with the Devil made over 200 years ago? While one may quote Exodus 20:5, let us not forgot Ezekiel 18 or Jeremiah 31:29-30, which clear states that the sons will no longer suffer the sins of their fathers.
Let us apply the same logic to America. Did we deserve Katrina because our founding fathers may have been Masons, because the destruction of native peoples, enslavement of Africans, the denial of women's rights though we are one in Christ... Instead of judging Haiti because of an event in the past, let us help the country get back on its feet and to truly know Jesus. "On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners" - Mark 2:17

Other scriptures to consider:
He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous - Matt 4:45b

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. - John 9:1-3

These are some really great comments, especially by Pritchard Adams who lived there for quite a while. And the remark about the airial view of Haiti vs Dominican Republic is fascinating.

The question is not only the fact of a blood covenant made over 200 years ago, but in its current VALIDATION by over 60% of the population. The ex-president Aristide tried unsuccessfully to renew the covenant in August 1991, but eventually succeeded in making voodoo a co-official religion beside Roman Catholicism in 2003. This is a PRESENT-DAY validation of the sins of the fathers. Ezekiel 18 indicates that the children will be freed for the sins of their fathers if they REPENT of them - not continue to embrace them. We are still living and ministering in Haiti at present. There is at present a HUGE surge of people unto the Gospel of Jesus Christ - stimulated no doubt by the earthquake and subsequent devastation.

The examination of Haiti's condition places a strange emphasis on the spiritual to the exclusion of the material. The spiritual explanation of Haiti's pact with the devil must be informed by two things, 1) nowhere in Africa itself has this pact with the devil worked against the colonisers. The transplantation to the Caribbean must have given it a strange power. 2)As a Christian I shudder to say it but the hell that was Haiti, the unrelieved hell in the there and then must have been a severe temptation. After all,their transport to the hell thereafter was just going to be a change in location.

The material factors included the brave French after suffering military defeat imposing a fine of 150 million gold francs which President Aristide values at some US$20 billion in today's money in order to be allowed to trade. It also includes the treachery of Simon Bolivar who received help from Haiti for the revolution against the Spanish on condition that he free the slaves. Of course he promptly forgot about it and Haiti as well.

The condition of Haiti diminishes all claims by those who fought revolutions supposedly for freedom. The condition of Haiti forces the observer to pay respect to Cuba. They bravely withstand the US imposed embargo. Cuba had the Soviet Union. Haiti was alone. Haiti is unfinished business.

There are conflicting views on whether the incident in the Bois Caiman ever took place - it may well be that it is legendary, not fact. (Some quick Googling will get you some interesting results on this...)

Haitian vaudou has been misrepresented in the American media and in popular culture (includes supposedly factual books and films). While I'm neither an adherent of this religion nor an apologist for it, I think it's very important to look beyond the many stereotypes most of us grew up with and try to find out a bit about the actual beliefs and practices of this religion. Facts might surprise many....

As for the supposed contrast between the "godly" Dominican Republic and "cursed" Haiti, I wonder if people are aware that there are similar African-derived religions in the DR - and throughout the Caribbean, for that matter? It *might* be wise to look into the uses and misuses of land (for commercial purposes) regarding the difference in the lush vegetation in the DR v. the deforestation of Haiti. There are real, down-to-earth reasons for many of the differences in the two countries that have absolutely *nothing* to do with the claims several posters have made above.

(Parenthetical note: having left evangelicalism - but not the Christian faith - I find myself truly amazed at the amount of superstition in American evangelical culture.... as evidenced in many comments here.)

We can't say universally that terrible events happen because of the victim's sin. Remember John 9:3. We show God's glory in healing and rectifying wounds and wrong.

I don't think anyone is " justifing the suffering of Haiti" by the voodoo ceremony. There is a huge difference between identifying the source of a problem and saying "they deserve it". Scripture says God is not pleased by the suffering of the wicked. If in fact voodoo has opened the door to suffering repentance can change everything and is open to the people of Haiti.

Mr. Collins:

Your reference to "the amount of superstition in American evangelical culture" may very well be true in some quarters, albeit a useless and sweeping generalization.

If your departure from "evangelicalism" also included a departure from the written counsel of God, then I, in turn, can easily understand why you view a Biblically-based analysis of historical events as stereotypical.

However, after the band-aid of basic physical needs is applied, the bottom line is this:

The only real help you can give Haitians, or anyone else for that matter, is spiritual help. To barge into that task, oblivious of spiritual history, would be a bitter learning experience indeed.

Hi,
The harrowing anguish and suffering of Haiti teaches us something else. Heart-rending reports of streets filled with corpses and blood running from under rubble, children crying for parents, parents digging with their fingers for children, the sound of dying voices pervading the darkness of night.Haiti’s poverty as for other poor countries hit by natural disasters leaves its people wide open to the kind of devastation that has befallen them. And make no mistake, Haiti’s poverty is not just bad luck or something inherently faulty about its natural resources and people.

When you accept the Bible as God's Word and apply it to every life situation, it usually makes very simple sense. But when you exclude God and His Word from the picture, it is all senseless.It would be a much happier and sane world if more of us would understand that our actions,both on the spiritual and physical level, have consequences,brought on by ourselves much more so than as chastisements from God.If this disaster is bringing the Haitian people to God, it is for their good. Let all believers aid this process in whatever way we can.

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