Ezili Danto: Single Mother with a Knife
by Kevin Filan
At a 1791 ceremony in Bwa Cayman (Caiman Forest), a Vodou priestess possessed by Ezili Danto slit a black pig's throat. Those present drank its blood, and then swore that they would drive out the French slave masters or die trying. A week later, 1,000 settlers were dead, the rich plantations of Cape François were in smoldering ruins and the Haitian Revolution had begun. Some say slavers cut out the priestess's tongue as punishment for participating in the revolution, while still others claim Danto was made mute by the black guerrillas so that she could not betray them under torture if captured. All agree that thirteen years later the last French soldiers were gone, and the Free Black Republic of Haiti was born
by Kevin Filan
At a 1791 ceremony in Bwa Cayman (Caiman Forest), a Vodou priestess possessed by Ezili Danto slit a black pig's throat. Those present drank its blood, and then swore that they would drive out the French slave masters or die trying. A week later, 1,000 settlers were dead, the rich plantations of Cape François were in smoldering ruins and the Haitian Revolution had begun. Some say slavers cut out the priestess's tongue as punishment for participating in the revolution, while still others claim Danto was made mute by the black guerrillas so that she could not betray them under torture if captured. All agree that thirteen years later the last French soldiers were gone, and the Free Black Republic of Haiti was born
The Iwa (Loa ) that the pig was sacrifice to was Legba.
Wikipedia:
"In Haitian Vodou, Papa Legba is the intermediary between the loa and humanity. He stands at a spiritual crossroads and gives (or denies) permission to speak with the spirits of Guinee, and is believed to speak all human languages. He is always the first and last spirit invoked in any ceremony[1], because his permission is needed for any communication between mortals and the loa - he opens and closes the doorway. In Haiti, he is the great elocution, the voice of God, as it were. Legba facilitates communication, speech and understanding. In the Yoruba pantheon, honored in Nigeria, Cuba, Brazil, and elsewhere in the Yoruba diaspora, Ellegua is mostly associated with Papa Legba since both share the role of being the god of the crossroads. In contrast to Papa Legba, however, Eleggua is a trickster child. Legba also shares similarities to Orunmila, the orisha of prophesy who taught mankind how to use the mighty oracle Ifá. He usually appears as an old man on a crutch or with a cane, wearing a broad brimmed straw hat and smoking a pipe, or sprinkling water[2]. The dog is sacred to him. Because of his position as 'gate-keeper' between the worlds of the living and the mysteries he is often identified with Saint Peter who holds a comparable position in Catholic tradition. He is also depicted in Haiti as St. Lazarus, or St. Anthony[3].
In Benin and Nigeria, Legba is viewed as young and virile, is often horned and phallic, and his shrine is usually located at the gate of the village in the countryside.
Alternative: Legba, Legba Atibon, Atibon Legba, Ati-Gbon Legba."
In Benin and Nigeria, Legba is viewed as young and virile, is often horned and phallic, and his shrine is usually located at the gate of the village in the countryside.
Alternative: Legba, Legba Atibon, Atibon Legba, Ati-Gbon Legba."
The Revolution actually started in 1751, fizzled, went into the jungle, and was re-ignited after the French Revolution. It was actually a three way war between the blacks, the mixed bloods, and the White French.
Indeed the Maroon fighters ignited the final successful war by a blood oath to Legba the gate keeper to all other Voodoo saints and God himself.
After the final victories against Napoleon in 1803 a statue of the Black Pig was erected in Port-au-Prince. I have tried for several years to obtain a picture of that statue to no avail. It has been disposed of.
As an aside in the 1980's the United States Department of Agriculture destroyed all of Haiti's native pigs (like the one slaughtered in 1891) claiming they were contaminated with swine fever. They tried to replace them but.....
So when the Evangelist Pat Robertson said Wednesday that earthquake-ravaged Haiti has been "cursed" by a "pact to the devil."
He was repeating something propagated by the Catholic White and Mixed Race French speaking Haitians for over two hundred years as a counterpoint to the Black Haitians proud history.
"Something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it," he said on Christian Broadcasting Network's "The 700 Club." "They were under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon III, or 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, okay it's a deal."
Robertson said that "ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after the other" and he contrasted Haiti with its neighbor, the Dominican Republic.
"That island of Hispaniola is one island. It is cut down the middle; on the one side is Haiti on the other is the Dominican Republic," he said. "Dominican Republic is prosperous, healthy, full of resorts, etc. Haiti is in desperate poverty. Same island...."
Pat is just saying what he believes. Stupid old man.
Haiti is so intertwined with the United States and we know nothing about it.
Say, does anybody out there know where a picture of that pig statue is?
