Preserving Indigenous culture through language

[iguanamon]

Mezanmi! I don't know why you all want a study group when hardly anyone posts even to the popular ones. I know, I created the Spanish group. Of course, if I do this, even you dabblers, you're going to have to learn about vodou- the real thing, not Hollywood "sticking pins in dolls", if you want to know anything about Kreyòl. 'Cause you ain't finding no Harry Potter translations, cool netflix series to binge on, or rock music to listen to.

Ayibobo!

[Ani]

I could create one, but you and I would be the only members. So, not much point. I'm more than happy to help you any way I can. I was once where you are. I enjoy all my languages, but I really like Kreyòl in a special way. You can PM me any time, or drop by my log.

You underestimate how persuasive your posts are. Maybe it could be a "study group and fan club" to start off. The low cost of entry from French could make it a very worthy dabble for a lot of people on here. With time you might gain more solid/committed participants. Given how much time I spend in Florida, I'm pretty interested.

[rdearman]

Any language without Harry bloody Potter can't be bad.

[Decidida]

When my law studies start back up in the fall, I will not be able to be a regular contributor here. It is going to get pretty intense again for awhile.

I think a study group would be a better place to list any resources that we find, than a personal log? And I think people might be interested in reading it, even if they do not have time to study the language, yet. And I think it will encourage people to study the language.

Iguanamom, if you started an HC study group, I would really like that, and I would participate any time that my law studies slow down enough to allow that. It looks like I have about 12 weeks to seriously contribute.

[Decidida]

Mezanmi! I don't know why you all want a study group when hardly anyone posts even to the popular ones. I know, I created the Spanish group. Of course, if I do this, even you dabblers, you're going to have to learn about vodou- the real thing, not Hollywood "sticking pins in dolls", if you want to know anything about Kreyòl. 'Cause you ain't finding no Harry Potter translations, cool netflix series to binge on, or rock music to listen to.

Ayibobo!

You might be surprised that a study group is best for a NOT popular language. Seriously!

Any language without Harry bloody Potter can't be bad.

LOL

[Decidida]

I am interested in vodou study! Here is a slightly edited copy of a sociology paper I wrote this spring.

Vodou is a Victim of Misunderstanding

In early April, I was assigned a field project in my sociology class. The professor said I needed to write a 3-page paper without using any sources other than an interview. Totally overwhelmed by something so far outside of my comfort zone, I stomped up the stairs to ... like a spoiled child, complaining not only about my assignment, but also about my professor. I intended to do nothing but complain and stuff my face with carbs, but a soft-spoken Haitian man struggled to get my attention long enough, to say, “I will help you.” “How?” I asked dismissively and rhetorically, and continued to complain loudly, leaving him little room to respond, as I pushed past him to help myself to a chocolate chip bagel and flopped down into a chair. He persisted, making an effort to keep eye contact with me, and said, “You can interview me about Vodou.” Weeeell…that got my attention! I stopped talking and started listening. I filled several pages with hastily scribbled notes, and I continued to interview this fascinating man over the course of several weeks. I was quick to realize that this regal and humble man practices a forcible religion that taught him the very virtues that were so noticeably absent in myself the day he first offered to help me. When a man shares his religion with you, he shares the very deepest parts of himself. It is an unparalleled honor to receive such a gift. All my noise-making is over, and as I sit down to write this paper, I am filled with a quiet sense of inadequacy combined with excitement at the opportunity to relate a small portion of what this man trusted me with. In his earnest way and carefully enunciated words, my interviewee began with, “Vodou is a victim of misunderstanding.”

According to my interviewee, Haitian vodou is a syncretism of African animist spiritualism, indigenous Amerindian practices, and colonial imposed Catholicism. Vodou is a religion, not witchcraft, which is present in every culture. Vodou is a monotheistic religion with a single creator God that is inaccessible, and that delegates earthly matters to the lwa. The lwa are not gods, but agent spirits. Gifts and sacrifices are made to the lwa, who in return assist humans.

Religions are powerful. They comfort and deject. They empower and subjugate. They liberate and shackle. According to my interviewee, “Good and bad do not exist. It is how you use the energy. Results depend on the way you use the energy.” Male vodou priests are called hougans and female vodou priestesses are called mambos. Hougans and mambos are servants and guardians that play critical supportive roles, especially in the most poverty-stricken areas of the nation. As well as assisting in spiritual matters, hougans and mambos assume the mundane roles of doctors, counselors, and judges. This is an example of the functionalist perspective. Hougans and mambos consistently use their energy in functional and helpful ways, and are not to be confused with Bokor, who are wizards for hire and the “nasty boys” of vodou. Vodou’s negative reputation is not a result of the few black-magic practicing bokors, but instead vodou’s reputation is a quintessential example of conflict theory.

In the summer of 1791, a vodou ceremony ignited the Haitian revolution. Jean-Jacques Dessalines, a prominent leader in the revolution, was believed to be guided by the Ogou, the spirit of fire. on January 1, 1804, Dessalines became the leader of the first modern nation to liberate itself from both slavery and colonialism. According to my interviewee, “Haiti is the founder of freedom.” The Haitian revolution sent shock waves around the world and the countries that later-on banded together to create the UN, imposed sanctions on Haiti similar to those currently imposed on North Korea and until recently upon Cuba. The colonial superpowers used their might to punish the fledgling country, and turned one of the richest countries in the world into one of the poorest. When radical new ideas of a greater freedom arise, these ideas threaten lesser already established idea of “freedom”. Sanctions were not enough to crush the Haitians. The colonialists turned to even more insidious means to steal their autonomy. They attacked the religion that filled their hearts and empowered them. Instead of uniting in solidarity with the new nation, the colonial powers stole Haiti’s livelihood and attacked their religion, and then sent in charity workers to convert the freedom fighters into sheep in exchange for paltry amounts of cornmeal and medicine. Too little, too late left the people reliant upon the hougans and mambos, and vodou not only survived but thrived, especially in the poorest and most rural parts of the nation.

As I interviewed my new friend about his syncretist religion, I began to see syncretism embodied in human form. Like a chameleon, he transformed in front of my eyes as we changed topics. This layered, complex, powerful man with such incredible self-control is a product of his religion in every way. I have no doubt that the fire I have seen in his eyes, is the fire of Ougan, the same fire that must have lit the eyes of Jean-Jacques Dessalines more than 200 years ago. When this freedom-fighter discussed his fight for justice in the name of woman who died in childbirth in his own country, and when he discussed my precarious housing situation with me, and so many other times, I saw syncretism in action. It was amazing to watch his eyes. I got goosebumps at one point and believe this is what a young Nelson Mandela must have been like. My interviewee does not seek to become a hougan and has other plans, but I believe that someday, his destiny is to be a hougan of hougans, a servant and guardian of servants and guardians. Today, this majestic man slips mostly unnoticed through our hallways and classrooms modeling the servant and guardian ways of a hougan. “I will help you,” he said, to me. And he did.