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Student Research submissions 2015 (2015 research options) Research Post 2 |
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Joyce
M. Strong
The Effects of Colonization on Haiti’s Religious Practices
My second research post focus again on the subject of the effects of
France’s colonization of Haiti. I am continuing with the subject of the effects
of colonization on Haiti due to my interest and educational background in French
studies. The first post dealt with effects of colonization on the language
spoken in Haiti and Haitians’ identity through the literature written in the
French-influenced language known as Creole. This post, however, will focus on
the effects of colonization on the religion in Haiti. My proposed questions are,
What effects did colonization have on Haitians’ religion?
How did Haitians keep a sense of their
African identity?
I began with a search for Haiti on
Wikipedia. The section on Haiti led to the article on Haitian Vodu (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_Vodou).
The article provided information about the beliefs, practices, and history of
Haitian Vodou. Vodou emerged in Haiti during the time of colonization and
slavery when the country was known as Saint-Domingue. A majority of the slaves
brought to Haiti were from Western and Central Africa and the religions and
beliefs they had in Africa were brought to Haiti. However, the African slaves
were prohibited from practicing their religion due to the establishment of the
Code Noir. I also used Wikipedia to search for an article on The Code Noir which
discussed the origins and purpose (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/code_Noir).
The Code Noir was a decree passed by King Louis XIV in 1685 that set rules for
the institution of slavery in the territories of the French empire. Besides
preventing the practice of African religion, the slaveholders were forced to
convert their slaves to Catholicism. The article didn’t provide many external
links information so I began a search on UHCL’s library online databases. I
found an article that discussed the Code Noir impact on both the society and
religion in Haiti.
George Breathett’s article “Catholicism and the Code Noir in Haiti” (http://www.jstor.org/stable/3031518)
discussed the reasoning behind the establishment of the code and the changes it
brought to Haitian society. Breathett states “When France undertook to venture
into the field of colonization, the extension of the Catholic faith into her new
domains became an important aspect of this activity” (1). King Louis XIV took
the Catholic religion very seriously as he was a devoted practitioner who
attended mass daily. The importance of Catholicism and his belief of having a
successful empire due to devotion to only one religion were made apparent in the
Code Noir as “he found it unbelievable that a person who worshipped God in a
different way could be a good subject” (Breathett 2). King Louis XIV’s statement
implied the fear of not having complete control over those considered inferior
due to dissimilar religions. This led to the suppression of religions from
Africa and attempts by Haitians to maintain their connection to Africa. They
eventually combined both their African beliefs and customs with Catholicism in
order to disguise their continuing recognition and practice of Vodou.
The Haitian consulate website provided a section on Vodou that included
the beliefs and practice of the religion (
www.haitianconsulate.org/vodou.html). Africans practiced Vodou with the
belief of one God and spirits called lwa. The spirits are respected and honored
similar to the elders in the community. Practitioners of Vodou asked the spirits
for help and guidance through rituals and in order to disguise such practices
due to the rule in the Code Noir, they associated the spirits with Catholic
saints. For example, Danbala, the snake spirit and his wife Ayida Wèdo, the
mistress of the skies, represent wisdom and fertility. They are offered white
chickens and eggs, rice, and milk to appease them to act on the behalf of the
practitioner that asked for their help with guidance or fertility issues.
Danbala is associated with St. Patrick due to snakes being at his feet and Ayida
Wèdo is associated with Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception due to the
reference of childbirth. Another spirit, Papa Legba, is the spirit of rituals,
keeper of the gates, and guardian of the crossroads between the sacred and
mortal worlds. He is offered sweet potatoes and plantains,bones, and tobacco. He
is called first at a ceremony because he holds the keys to the homeland of the
ancestors and the other spirits can’t come to earth until the gates are open.
Papa Legba's Catholic counterpart is St. Peter because he holds the key to
heaven. During Vodou ceremonies, the practitioners who are possessed by the
spirits take on the persona of the specific spirit. The person who becomes
inhabited by the spirit of Danbala fall to floor, twists like a snake, and push
the tongue in and out. The association of the Vodu spirits with the Catholic
saints illustrates the adaptation of the colonized in their restricted
environment.
In conclusion, French colonization affected Haitians’ religion with the
passing of The Code Noir by King Louis XIV. It was used as a way to establish
standards and laws for the colonies in the French empire. Haitians saw it as a
threat to their heritage since they were prohibited from practicing the
religions from their homeland of Africa. They would eventually find a way around
the Code Noir to maintain their identity while incorporating various elements of
the colonizer’s culture. The religion practiced in Haiti combined both
Catholicism and African beliefs and customs and became known as Haitian Vodou.
Bibliography
Breathett, George. “Catholicism and the Code Noir in Haiti”. The Journal of
Negro History 73.1/4 (1988): 1-11. JSTOR. Web.2015
Gordon,
Leah.The Book of Voodoo. London:
Quantum Publishing (2006).Print
Haitian
Vodou. Retrieved from
www.haitianconsulate.org/vodou.html
Haitian
Vodou.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_Vodou
The Code
Noir.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Noir
