Haitian Revolution: Voudou and the Spirit of Hatuey

Haitian Revolution:  Voudou and the Spirit of Hatuey

January 14, 2010

First and foremost the Haitian Revolution had nothing to do with pacts with the devil, it had all to do with the liberation of the People and the Spirit that would extend that Liberation beyond its shores, which we recognize to be the Indigenous Spirit of Hatuey as well as the African Spirits within African based Spirituality, such as Vodou.

I am disgusted but not surprised by the remark of Robertson:

“And you know Christy, something happened a long time ago in Haiti and people might not want to talk about it. They were under the heel of the French, uh, you know Napoleon the third and whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said we will serve you if you’ll get us free from the French. True story, and so the Devil said OK it’s a deal. And they kicked the French out. You know, the Haitians revolted and got themselves free. But ever since they’ve been cursed by one thing after the other desperately poor. That island is Hispanola is one island. It’s cut down the middle. On one side is Haiti on the other side is the Dominican Republic. Dominican Republic is prosperous, healthy, full of resorts, etc. Haiti is in desperate poverty. Same island. Uh, they need to have, and we need to pray for them a great turning to God and out of this tragedy. I’m optimistic something good may come but right now we’re helping the suffering people and the suffering is unimaginable.”

Clearly Robertson is attempting to insult and demean the African-Indigenous Spirituality which gave birth to the Haitian Revolution.  In his statement he is echoing the fear that white male supremacy has had for centuries regarding the history of Haiti as well as exhibiting his ignorance of history and politics.  Dominican Republic (Kiskeya) is not as poor as Haiti in terms of the economy however Kiskeya suffers immense poverty and can hardly be called prosperous and healthy.  

Demonizing the African Spirituality also demeans Taino Spirituality, as Haiti was originally Taino Lands, and still the Bones and Spirits of the Tainos continue to resonate in every aspect of the Land as well as in its People.  The pact made between the Haitians who brought about the Haitian revolution was a Tratado made with the Indigenous and African Spirits of Haiti.  The effects of this Tratado were  and continue to be far reaching, but the poverty in Haiti has nothing to do with this Tratado, rather has everything to do with attacks on many levels on Haiti over the last 200 years.   There is a widespread hatred towards Haiti and her people because of what the Haitian Revolution represents which is the liberation of African Slavery.  The Haitian Revolution drove a profound spike of fear in the heart of white male supremacy and shook it to its crumbling foundation; it is still shaking.    

The constant challenges that are coming out of Haiti are a direct result of the resistance towards Colonialism and the continuation of white supremacy which is doing all in its might to keep Haiti under deprived conditions, poverty, sickness, and degression.  In spite of this attack by white supremacy, people are becoming more and more historically conscious and more aware of the true nature of the Haitian Revolution within the Caribbean, which is the homeland of the Spirit and of the descendants of Hatuey and the Spirit of Vodou which has thrived despite the Hollywood attempts to demonize the practices of the Haitian People.  

An attempt to break the Haitian Spirit by racist remarks and an attempt to bring false information to listeners is an attempt which is fruitless because the Spirit of Haiti cannot be broken through the words of degeneracy and hatred.  It is a testimony to the nightmares and torments that the memory of the Haitian Revolution is still bringing to white male supremacy.

All Tainos within the Caribbean and in the Diaspora should be very, very concerned with what has occurred through this catastrophe in Haiti, and equally concerned with this demonizing of the Haitian Revolution and demonizing of Haitian Spirituality, because the Spirit of Haiti is the Spirit of the Caribbean which runs through all our veins, whether we accept it or not.  You cannot change the rays of the Sun and you cannot change the glow of the Moon and you cannot change the blood that runs through your veins!

Fundamento Taino

Nkisi is Kongo, Fundamento (cauldron) arose from the Kongo within the Caribbean, the principles of both are in harmony with eachother. Within the Fundamento are many components of the Earth, soils, minerals, trees (palos), dusts, elements, waters, plants, oils, bones, stones, metals, clays, smoke, fermented elements and so on. The Fundamento is essentially a microcosm of the Earth herself. So we can and must come to recognize the Earth herself as an Nkisi or Fundamento! Each Fundamento has an Mpungo (Spirit of that Fundamento), as does the Earth herself have an Mpungo. Deep within the Earth is her essential Spirit. None of us know the depth of that Spirit or have been able to visit the central "seat" of that Spirit deep within the Earth. We interact with all the Spirits on her surface, the plants, trees (palos), stones, waters, winds, animals, and so on. Just as is the case with the Fundamento, the Mpungo is deep inside and not visible to the outside observer, but the outside expression is an expression of that Mpungo. We have to recognize that the Fundamento of the Earth herself has been desecrated by the activities of exploitation, greed and ugliness upon her surface. Deep holes have been dug into her and deeper holes are planed. The blood of her veins (oil) and essential elements of her body (metals, elements) have been depleted and distorted into agents of genocide, disease and poisoning. The Mpungo within the Earth herself is enraged as would be any Mpungo whose world (fundamento) was being destroyed and just as any Ancestor gets enraged when their tomb or burial ground is desecrated and their remains carried out to a museum, private collection or the like. We are dealing with anger of an Mpungo upon whom we all depend on for life itself. Inside of the space that is "ours" that we are responsible for caretaking, how are we caring for the Fundamento that this there? Not the Fundamentos we may have in our Monasu or home, but the Fundamento that is the Earth upon which we live? Is that Fundamento within the greater Fundamento of the Earth being cared for and being healed through our actions or are we treating that fundamento as a piece of "real estate"? It may be a 4'x4' space in a back yard, or it may be acres in the country, but nonetheless the Spirit of that space is looking at us and our behavior. The Nkisi, Fundamento is "alive" and the Mpungo connected to it is able to see, think, assess and communicate. Upon the Land we have recognized the fact that she is an Nkisi, Fundamento of a much larger magnitude than the Fundamentos that are in Cauldrons, Pots, or in the form of Nkisis. So we approach the Land ceremonially in all aspects. We bring in components that are needed, stones, specific trees, plants, herbs, bano plants, medicine plants, flowers and the various animals that are needed both dead and alive. In this understanding all the animals that are upon the land are inside that Fundamento that is called "The Land of the Sacred Heart of Life". The horses are there for a purpose, the donkeys, ram, bull, pigeons, chickens, and dogs. An essential component of the Nkisi or Fundamento is the human bone. Upon the Earth there are billions of bones! What a Fundamento! She is the Fundamento of all fundamentos! Her power is enormous. Not only does she have all the bones of the Ancestors but she also has the living upon her. At thsi time the living are waging a war upon her between those who seek to dominate her (something that they could never do successfully but these people are suffering a severe mental illness of cosmic proportions) and those who seek to live on her in compliance with natural and divine laws of abundance, cooperation, balance, harmony and thriving.

The fundamento within the Monasu or the home also has a living being associated with it, its caretaker (you!). The nature of the fundamento and its actions are very much dependent on both the brujo who created it and the person who is caretaking it. The fundamento may have been created from a point of healthy, abundant thriving and solution finding, but if the living component (you) is in alliance with the spirits of degression this creates a situation of disharmony and conflict in the relationship and the good things that the Fundamento can bring about is blocked by the "caretaker". However if the caretaker is in harmony internally and with the Fundamento the energies are aligned and great progress is possible. So when we walk upon Mother Earth, we must realize that we are walking upon the most powerful of Fundamentos in our experience and we must realize the conflict that is taking place and allow ourselves to make a strong and steadfast decision to align with the essence of the greatest of all Fundamentos in our experience and align our own "space" upon this Fundamento with her and align ourselves with the other Fundamentos (medicines) that we are caretakers of, so that all these powers in all these dimensions can be in alignment and can develop the progress that is needed.

Note:  the two photos of a "Taino Cemi" are dated around the time that (kidnapped) African "slaves" were arriving in Taino World.  The Cemi has a clearly and distinctivly African face on one side and a distinctively Taino Cemi face on the other, showing (in my view) the synthesizing that was occurring between the two world views and traditions at that time.... the merging of two "bilongos".