Kit’s Crit: Tell My Horse (Zora Neale Hurston)

Posted by kitperriman on August 17, 2022

Do you believe in Zombies? Having studied Voodoo in Jamaica and Haiti, Zora Neale Hurston’s book Tell My Horse (1938) claims that the undead really do exist and she has seen proof with her own eyes!

As a member of the Harlem Renaissance, Hurston was interested in recovering authentic black feminine power. But she did not look for it in the guise of the New Woman, she wanted to reconnect with the wily, wild conjure woman from the African Ur-cultures, the pagan witches of antiquity.

Tell My Horse: Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica is divided into three parts. The first two are a little disorganized as she describes the history and politics of Jamaica and Haiti. Legend has it that while Hurston was doing “under cover” research in Jamaica, the natives found out she was going to publish their secrets and she had to flee the island in fear of her life.

The third section about Voodoo is both disturbing and compelling. Hurston respectfully introduces this practice as “a religion of creation and life,” but then describes at length the “people who have been called back from the dead,” in particular “this case of Felicia Felix-Mentor . . . So I know there are Zombies in Haiti.” But these are not the flesh-eating TV characters that appear in The Walking Dead. Haitian Zombies are generally called back for one of three reasons: to work as free manual labor toiling in the fields; as the revenge of an enemy who wants to deny them eternal rest and peace; or as a sacrifice to another spirit. It is the Haitian version of giving-a-soul-to-the-devil.

Zombie The dead person’s spirit is stolen by the Bocor who turns the body into a mindless slave. Bocors are the “bad witches” of Voodo, as opposed to the “good witch” leaders called the Houngan.

Tell My Horse is a strange and fascinating attempt to explain the West Indian Obeah practices. It is weird – and at times disgusting – and definitely an acquired taste. Scholars will find it useful, but I do not think its antiquated style holds much appeal for the general reader.

Fortunately, it is a very different book from Hurston’s other stellar work!

(Photos: Public Domian)

Dr. John’s Marie Laveau

Posted by kitperriman on August 16, 2022

Marie Laveau

(Dr. John)

Now there lived a conjure-lady, not long ago,
In New Orleans, Louisiana – named Marie Laveau.
Believe it or not, strange as it seem,
She made her fortune selling voodoo and interpreting dreams.

She was known throughout the nation as the Voodoo Queen.
Folks come to her from miles and miles around,
She sure know how to put that, that voodoo down.

To the voodoo lady they all would go,
The rich, the educated, the ignorant, and the poor.
She’d snap her fingers and shake her head,
She’d tell them about their lovers – living or dead.

Now an old, old lady named widow Brown,
Asked why her lover stopped coming around,
The voodoo gazed at her and squawked
I seen him kissing a young girl up at Shakespeare’s Park
Hanging on an oak tree in the dark.

Oh Marie Laveau, Oh Marie Laveau,
Oh Marie Laveau, Oh Marie Laveau,
Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen,
From way down yonder in New Orleans.

Ya, ya, ya – ya, ya, ya – ya, ya, ya – yaaaaa

Now old, old lady, she lost her speech,
Tears start to rolling down her checks,
Voodoo say, “Hush my darling, don’t you cry,”
I make him come back, by and by.
Just sprinkle this snake dust all over your floor,
I’ll make him come back Friday morning when the rooster crow.”

Now Marie Laveau she held them in her hand,
New Orleans, Louisiana was her promised land.
Quality folk, come from far and near,
This wonder woman for to hear.
They was afraid to be seen at her gate,
They’d creep through the dark just to hear their fate.
Holding dark veils over their head,
They would tremble to hear what Maria would say.

Marie Laveau, Oh Marie Laveau,
Marie Laveau, Oh Marie Laveau,
Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen,
From way down yonder in New Orleans.

Ya, ya, ya – ya, ya, ya – ya, ya, ya – yaaaaa

And she made gris-gris with an old ram horn,
Stuffed with feathers, shuck from a corn.
A big black candle and a catfish fin,
She make a man get religion and give up his sin.

Sad news got out one morning at the break of day,
Marie Laveau had done pass away.
St. Louis cemetery she lay in her tomb,
She was buried one night on the wake of the moon.

Marie Laveau, Oh Marie Laveau,
Oh Marie Laveau, Oh Marie Laveau,
The folks still believe in the Voodoo Queen,
From way down yonder in New Orleans.

Oh Marie Laveau, Oh Marie Laveau,
Oh Marie Laveau, Oh Marie Laveau,
Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen,
From way down yonder in New Orleans.

Marie, Marie Laveau, Oh Marie Laveau,
Marie Laveau, the Marie Laveau,
Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen.

Check out this version:

(Video: YouTube)

(Photo: Kit Perriman)

Chris De Burgh’s Spanish Train

Posted by kitperriman on August 15, 2022

Spanish Train

(Chris De Burgh)

There’s a Spanish train that runs between
Guadalquivir and old Saville,
And at dead of night the whistle blows,
and people hear she’s running still.

And then they hush their children back to sleep,
Lock the doors, upstairs they creep,
For it is said that the souls of the dead
Fill that train, ten thousand deep.

Well, a railwayman lay dying with his people by his side,
His family were crying, knelt in prayer before he died,
But above his bed just a-waiting for the dead,
Was the Devil with a twinkle in his eye,
“Well God’s not around and look what I’ve found,
this one’s mine!”

Just then the Lord himself appeared in a blinding flash of light,
And shouted at the Devil, “Get thee hence to endless night!”
But the Devil just grinned and said “I may have sinned,
But there’s no need to push me around,
I got him first so you can do your worst,
He’s going underground.

But I think I’ll give you one more chance”
said the Devil with a smile,
“So throw away that stupid lance,
It’s really not your style –
Joker is the name, Poker is the game,
we’ll play right here on this bed,
And then we’ll bet for the biggest stakes yet,
the souls of the dead!”

And I said “Look out, Lord! He’s going to win,
The sun is down and the night is riding in,
That train is dead on time, many souls are on the line,
Oh Lord, He’s going to win.”

Well, the railwayman he cut the cards
And he dealt them each a hand of five,
And for the Lord he was praying hard
Or that train he’d have to drive.
Well, the Devil he had three aces and a king,
And the Lord, he was running for a straight,
He had the queen and the knave, and nine and ten of spades,
All he needed was the eight.

And then the Lord he called for one more card,
But he drew the diamond eight,
And the Devil said to the Son of God,
“I believe you’ve got it straight,
So deal me one, for the time has come
To see who’ll be the king of this place.”
But as he spoke, from beneath his cloak,
He slipped another ace.

Ten thousand souls was the opening bid,
And it soon went up to fifty-nine,
But the Lord didn’t see what the Devil did,
And he said “That suits me fine.
“I’ll raise you high to a hundred and five,
And forever put an end to your sins”,
But the Devil let out a mighty shout, “My hand wins!”

And I said “Lord, oh Lord, you let him win,
The sun is down and the night is riding in,
That train is dead on time, many souls are on the line,
Oh Lord, don’t let him win.”

(Painting: Moirts Retzch)

Well that Spanish train still runs between,
Guadalquivir and old Saville,
And at dead of night the whistle blows,
And people fear she’s running still.
And far away in some recess
The Lord and the Devil are now playing chess,
The Devil still cheats and wins more souls,
And as for the Lord, well, he’s just doing his best.

And I said “Lord, oh Lord, you’ve got to win,
The sun is down and the night is riding in,
That train is still on time, oh my soul is on the line,
Oh Lord, you’ve got to win!”

Check out this creative slideshow version below!

(Video: YouTube)

Doctor John Bayou: Voodoo Man

Posted by kitperriman on August 12, 2022

The “Last of the Voodoos” in New Orleans was the infamous tattooed Jean Montanet, commonly known as Doctor John, Voudoo John, and Bayou John. Born a free member of the noble Bambaras Tribe from Senegal, John was kidnapped by Spanish slavers and shipped to Cuba. After earning his freedom from a friendly master he worked as a ship’s cook, finally settling in Louisiana.

Doctor John seemed to possess mysterious Obi powers. He began telling fortunes – and must have been skilled at reading people because he soon had enough money saved to buy a house. Then he set up as a conjure man, and at the height of his fame was estimated to be worth $50,000.

John kept a harem of at least fifteen “wives” that he claimed to have married according to African tradition. Most of these women were bought as slaves and they bore him many children. At one time he teamed up with Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau to sell potions, charms, and spells.

Although Doctor John often looked after the poor in his neighborhood – and gave away food to the needy – he was tricked several times by unscrupulous business men who stole away his fortune. He ended up broke, living with one of his daughters.

But how powerful was this Voodoo conjure man? He seemed to have a charismatic personality and a sound understanding of herbal lore. There are many first-hand accounts that his medicines actually worked.

However, he also liked to take advantage of the gullible white women who came to him out of curiosity. One lady paid him $50 for a potion he later confessed was merely a few common herbs boiled in water. His rationale was, “If folks want to give me fifty dollars, I take the fifty dollars every time!”

Sources:

“Haunted New Orleans” at http://www.nola.com/haunted/voodoo/?content/history.html

Hearn, Lafcadio. “The Last of the Voudoos” at http://www.sacred-texts.com/afr/hearn/lastvdu.htm

New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum

(Photo: Kit Perriman)

Gris-Gris: A Voodoo Charm

Posted by kitperriman on August 11, 2022

A gris-gris is a voodoo fetish that was originally designed as a doll to protect the owner from evil or bad luck. Over time, the doll was replaced by a cloth bag that could be worn on the person. Gris-gris today are usually small pouches inscribed with verses from the Qur’an. They contain either 1,3,5,7,9, or 13 ritual objects such as animal bones, herbs, stones, hair, nail, or pieces of clothing.

Gris-gris are made on an altar containing the four elements: fire (candle flame), earth (salt), air (incense), and water. These charms are used to attract money or love, to prevent malicious gossip, to protect the home, and to bring good health and fortune.

Historians believe that the gris-gris tradition originated in Muslim Ghana. The slaves who arrived in Louisiana carried these amulets with them. They were quickly adapted to bring ill-fortune and bad-luck curses on their white masters. As they became part of the New Orleans voodoo culture, gris-gris were amalgamated into black magic rites to conjure up death and disaster. In this way they changed from being a protective charm into a vengeful curse.

Some African communities still use gris-gris as a form of contraception.

The Voodoo Queen, Marie Laveau marketed a particularly nasty version she called wangas. Made from the shroud of a person who had been dead for 9 days, they contained a witch-brew made from toad, lizard, bat, cat, owl, rooster – and a suicide’s little finger!

Sources

New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum.

Wikipedia, “Gris-gris,” at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gris-gris_(talisman).

“Voodoo Hoodoo Spell Book,” at http://voodoohoodoospellbook.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_19.html.

(Photo: Kit Perriman)

Voodoo or Hoodoo?

Posted by kitperriman on August 10, 2022

What is the difference between Voodoo and Hoodoo? I recently visited the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum to find out. Here is a brief account of my discoveries:

Voodoo is a religion (led by initiated witch doctors) that has split into two branches – Haitian Vodou and Louisiana Vodoun.

Hoodoo, however, is a form of folk magic (that anyone can practice) which originated in West Africa and thrives predominantly in the southern USA.

They are complimentary aspects of a supernatural belief system from similar ancient roots.

Voodoo comes from West African Vodun – “spirit”- and was made popular in Haiti. It has since spread to many other places, most notably Louisiana, Puerto Rico, Cuba, The Dominican Republic, Ghana, Togo, and Nigeria. Voodoo is a way of life built around the supreme being Bondye, a remote creator god. But there are many spirits called loa that can be worshipped on a personal level. To connect with the spirit world a believer can invite the loa to enter their body and possess them during religious ceremonies.

Hoodoo is also called conjure, witchcraft, working the root, and root doctoring. It is closely aligned with the form of African spirituality known as Ggbo. As part of the Obeah folk tradition it spread from Haiti and Jamaica to New Orleans and along the Mississippi Delta. In many way it is an American form of Voodoo.

Constantly changing as it comes into contact with other cultures, Hoodoo has many Roman Catholic elements. When African American slaves were forced to convert to Christianity by a law of 1685 they replaced the loas with saints from the Bible. God became the archetypal Hoodoo doctor who controlled fate and destiny, while Moses was the first man who performed magic and miracles. The Bible is the greatest conjure book in the world and many of the Psalms are used in spells.

Hoodoo also draws on Spiritualism. People are able to harness supernatural forces to assist in their daily lives and they can connect with the other world in different ways, often involving rituals and sacrifices.

Bottle Trees are a popular garden feature. These glass bottles are used to trap evil spirits until the morning sun destroys them.

If you are ever in New Orleans then pay a visit to the Voodoo Museum. It is a fascinating experience!

Additional Sources:

Knowledge Nuts, “The Difference Between Voodoo and Hoodoo” at http://knowledgenuts.com/2013/12/26/the-difference-between-hoodoo-and-voodoo/

Wikipedia, “Hoodoo” at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoodoo_(folk_magic)

Wikipedia, “African Vodun” at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_African_Vodun

(Photos: Kit Perriman)

Dr. Hook’s Marie Laveau

Posted by kitperriman on August 9, 2022

Marie Laveau

(Shel Silverstein and Baxter Taylor)

Down in Louisiana where the black trees grow

lived a voodoo lady named Marie Laveau.

She’d got a black cat tooth and a mojo bone

and if anyone wouldn’t leave her alone

She’d go, “GREEEEEEEEEEEE another man done gone!”

She lived in a swamp in a hollow log

with a one eyed snake and a three legged dog.

She’d got a bent bony body and stringy hair

and if she ever saw you messing round there

She’d go, “GREEEEEEEEEEEE another man done gone!”

And then one night when the moon was black

into the swamp came Handsome Jack.

A no good man that you all know

and he was looking around for Marie Laveau.

He said, “Marie Laveau, you lovely witch,

why don’t you gimme a little charm gonna make me rich?”

He said, “Now gimme million dollars and I’ll tell you what I’ll do,

this very night I’m gonna marry you!”

It’ll be GREEEEEEEEEEEE another man done gone.

So Marie did some magic and she shook a little sand,

she made a million dollars and she put it in his hand.

Then she giggled and she wiggled and she said, “Hey, hey,

I’m getting ready for my wedding day.”

But old Handsome Jack, he said “Good-bye Marie,

you too damn ugly for a rich man like me.”

So Marie started crying, her fangs started shaking,

her body started turning, she started quaking.

She said, “GREEEEEEEEEEEE – another man done gone!”

So if you ever get down where the black trees grow

and meet a voodoo lady named Marie Laveau,

And if she ever asks you to make her your wife,

man, you’d better stay with her for the rest of your life

Or it’ll be GREEEEEEEEEEEE….

Check out the version below:

(Video: YouTube)

(Photo: Kit Perriman)

Marie Laveau: Voodoo Queen

Posted by kitperriman on August 8, 2022

Marie Laveau (1794-1881) was a Louisiana Creole free person of color who developed a reputation as The Voodoo Queen of New Orleans.

Laveau was born in the French Quarter, the illegitimate child of a wealthy plantation owner. She worked as a liquor importer, hairdresser, occultist, herbal healer, and also ran a brothel. Much of her power was said to have come from her carefully-cultivated network of spies who gave her the information she used to impress her patrons. One rumor claims that Laveau originated from a long line of voodoo priestesses in West Africa. Cynics, however, suggest she learned her skills from fellow practitioner, Doctor John Bayou.

At the age of 18 Laveau married Jacques Paris. He died in mysterious circumstances leaving her with two young children. Later, she took a younger man as a common-law husband and bore him fifteen children. Only one – a daughter also called Marie – reached adulthood. Marie continued her mother’s legacy when she retired from the public in old age.

Laveau supposedly had a snake called Zombi, named after an African God. She staged elaborate ceremonies where the dancers became possessed by voodoo spirits called loas; danced naked around bonfires; sold charms or gris-gris; saved several men from the gallows; told fortunes; and stayed eternally youthful. She passed peacefully in her sleep, but her ghost has often been seen in the graveyard where she is buried.

Laveau’s tomb is in St. Louis Cemetery, Number One. According to legend, if you draw an X on the tomb, turn around three times, knock on the tomb and shout your wish – it will be granted. Once this is done you must return to the tomb, circle the X you made, and leave an offering of thanks.

If anyone has tried this – please let me know if it worked!

Sources:

CSI, “Secrets of the Voodoo Tomb” at http://www.csicop.org/sb/show/secrets_of_the_voodoo_tomb/

The Mystica, “Laveau, Marie” at http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/l/laveau_marie.html

Voodoo On the Bayou, “Marie Laveau” at http://www.voodooonthebayou.net/marie_laveau.html

Wikipedia, “Marie Laveau” at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Laveau

(Photo: Angela Bassett playing the role of Marie Laveau in American Horror Story – Public Domain)

Feral

Posted by kitperriman on August 5, 2022

A wild woman born

has many flagons of magic

(and still other dungeons

remain in cobweb clasps)

She can drop her spells as stepping stones to glamor

turning each lock behind

in the black labyrinth.

(Kit Perriman)

(Photo: Public Domain)

Imagine Dragons – Demons

Posted by kitperriman on August 4, 2022

Imagine Dragons – Demons

(Alexander Junior Grant, Benjamin Arthur Mckee, Daniel Coulter Reynolds, Daniel Wayne Sermon, and Joshua Francis Mosser)

When the days are cold
And the cards all fold
And the saints we see
Are all made of gold
When your dreams all fail
And the ones we hail
Are the worst of all
And the blood’s run stale

I wanna hide the truth
I wanna shelter you
But with the beast inside
There’s nowhere we can hide
No matter what we breed
We still are made of greed
This is my kingdom come
This is my kingdom come

When you feel my heat
Look into my eyes
It’s where my demons hide
It’s where my demons hide
Don’t get too close
It’s dark inside
It’s where my demons hide
It’s where my demons hide

At the curtain’s call
It’s the last of all
When the lights fade out
All the sinners crawl
So they dug your grave
And the masquerade
Will come calling out
At the mess you’ve made

Don’t wanna let you down
But I am hell-bound
Though this is all for you
Don’t wanna hide the truth
No matter what we breed
We still are made of greed
This is my kingdom come
This is my kingdom come

When you feel my heat
Look into my eyes
It’s where my demons hide
It’s where my demons hide
Don’t get too close
It’s dark inside
It’s where my demons hide
It’s where my demons hide

They say it’s what you make
I say it’s up to fate
It’s woven in my soul
I need to let you go
Your eyes, they shine so bright
I wanna save that light
I can’t escape this now
Unless you show me how

When you feel my heat
Look into my eyes
It’s where my demons hide
It’s where my demons hide
Don’t get too close
It’s dark inside
It’s where my demons hide
It’s where my demons hide

Watch this awesome live version at:

(Photo: Kit Perriman)

(Video: YouTube)

Kit Perriman

The Hill – A Historical Novel About Witches

Monthly Archives: August 2022

Kit’s Crit: Tell My Horse (Zora Neale Hurston)

Dr. John’s Marie Laveau

Chris De Burgh’s Spanish Train

Doctor John Bayou: Voodoo Man

Gris-Gris: A Voodoo Charm

Voodoo or Hoodoo?

Dr. Hook’s Marie Laveau

Marie Laveau: Voodoo Queen

Feral

Imagine Dragons – Demons