TRANSFORMATIONS OF MISFORTUNE:

The Case of Vodun’s EziliJanuary 22, 2001

But first…please:• sign the attendance sheet

• put on your name-tag

• if you need a syllabus and/or guide-sheet for Wed., get from me after class

• First segment paper topics distributed on Wednesday

• Add-ons: see me at end of class

• please have reading completed by Wed.

Part IFeatures of Ezili Spirits

Spirits of women

La Sirenne

• A mermaid• Lives in the two

oceans: the material one and the place of the dead

• Governs the transition from life to death to life again

La Sirenne

Ezili Danto• Manifests in the form of

dark-skinned mother holding a child

• Becomes present in images of the black Virgin Mary

• Loving and tender• Fiercely protective• Not a virgin: has multiple

husbands and gives birth to many children

Ezili Danto in action

• Helps mothers fulfil their role– pushes mothers to feed their children better– pushes mothers to resolve conflicts with sons

and daughters

Ezili Freda

• Light-skinned, glamorous, bejewelled.

• Love and romance• Weeps easily• offerings made not in

ocean but in rivers• manifests in the image

of Maria Dolorosa del Monte Calvario

Ezili Freda

Ezili Freda in action

• Helps women deal with problematic lovers or spouses– Counsels love, patience, cosmetics, love magic– Pressures male partners

The “veve” of ezilia freda • a heart skewered on

a sword

• overflowing love mixed with the pain of betrayal

Part II:

Levels of

Anthropological

Interpretation

Transformations of West african belief, 1

• La Sirenne–belief in sea goddesses common in West

Africa, to whom offerings of flowers are made

–Water regarded in West Africa as a site/source of transformation

»Girls become women in the Mamy Water ritual through immersion in waters

Mamy Water ritual

Transformations of West African belief, 2

• Ezili Freda– Oshun of Yoruba tradition– a princess (crown)– a coquette (jewelry)– a lover, not a mother (association with sweet,

not salt, water)

Interpretation

• The African beliefs shaped the content of the vodou beliefs

• Staying aware of the African origins of the beliefs nurtures proud sense of group identity -- important as a way to maintain dignity under slavery and now to maintain self-esteem in modern world

Transformations of history, 1

• Lasyrenn– Beckons the living to come to her in the great watery

place called Ginen, dwelling place of the wandering “bonanj”

– What does “Ginen” mean?– Return to Ginen associated with learning, healing,

rebirth, liberation• the souls of the dead benefit from the wandering souls:

their love of freedom• women trained as healers in Ginen

La Sirenne and slaving ships

• Looks like the carvings on the prows of slaving ships.

Interpretation

– La Sirenne provides a way (from semi-conscious to unconscious) to cope with the collective trauma of the Middle Passage: by transforming this devastating historical experience into source of strength and meaning

Transformations of history, 2: Ezili Danto

• Also known as “Ezili Je Wouj”: Ezili of the Red Eyes (of rage)

• A Petro spirit: flies easily into a rage

• Scars on her cheek: some tell story of battle against white slaveowners

• No tongue: cut out in case she fell prisoner

Interpretation

• Ezili Danto embodies at a semi- or unconscious level the trauma of slavery and the historical response to it: – rage against enslavement (her rage)– the historical experience of rising up in the

Haitian Revolution (her scars)– the failure of that Revolution to achieve full

liberation (her inability to speak)

Transformations of history, 3: Ezili Freda

• Ezili Danto is dark; Ezilia Freda is light;

• Ezili Danto knows no luxury; Ezilia Freda immerses herself in it;

• Ezilia Danto rebels and is full of anger; Ezili Freda wishes to please and move up in the world

Interpretation

• The figure of Ezili Freda allows the expression of the collective psychological problem of the light-skinned Haitian woman (mulattas) inherited from the history of slavery: – wants to be separate and distinct from black cousins– knows down deep that such separation is impossible,

and so feels forever frustrated and jealous