The Haitian Revolution was the first successful slave revolution in history, and this success largely depended on vodou. While it may seem unlikely that one single religion still in its stages of infancy could accomplish just this, that is exactly was vodou did for the slaves involved in the Haitian Revolution. Vodou is a syncretic religion, or a religion which is a mixture of any different religions, originally developed by the enslaved people of Haiti prior to the Haitian Revolution. The slaves of Haiti, which was called Saint Domingue at the time, faced daily hardships and oppression. The development of vodou brought together the different cultures of the slaves on the island, and also gave them the confidence to fight for their freedom. “Religion was, in some sense, a space of freedom in the midst of a world of bondage, and helped lay the foundation for the revolt that ultimately brought complete freedom to the slaves.” Vodou provided slaves with the chance to make their souls free through rituals with the Loa, their gods, and as a result, gave them the drive to make their bodies free as well. This part they accomplished by revolting against their oppressors to gain physical freedom, in the Haitian Revolution. The first physical confinement that the people of Haiti had to face occured when Christopher Columbus landed on the island on December 6th, 1492. At the time, the island was called Ayti by its native tribe, the Taìno. The Spanish enslaved the Taìno.
In 1522 they tried to revolt for the first time, but with nothing to support or unite them, the effort failed. In 1660 the French acquired Haiti, and named it Saint-Domingue. The French kept the slaves original to the land, and began implanting a strict plantation system. Under French rule, Saint-Domingue became an extremely financially successful colony. It was the wealthiest colony under French rule at the time, and possibly the wealthiest colony in the world. It was responsible for forty percent of the sugar and sixty percent of the coffee imported to Europe. Seeing the success of the colony and wanting more, the French imported 800,000 Africans to become slaves. This importation of slaves was the incident that set off a chain reaction, eventually forming vodou. The sheer quantity of slaves and different cultures allowed vodou to form, grow, and thrive. When the imported Africans began interacting and intermingling with the native Taìno, their customs began to mix as well. The religion of the Taìno combined with the various African tribal religions brought over, and produced the early forms of vodou. This new religion drew from the African vodun, the tribal religion of the Taìno, and Catholicism. The main goal of vodou was to contact a pantheon of gods known as the Loa through rituals and sacrifices.
Often times, sacrificing a pig or other available animals on the island. The goals of the rituals were to contact the Loa and ask them for gifts in the form of luck, strength, happiness, or health. These rituals could take place in solitude, but usually involved crowds of many people. This was the first time the slaves all really came together and integrated. Though the Taìno had known each other for a while, the Africans came from all over the continent, many separated from their families and alone. Vodou gave everyone a sense of belonging and family. So, the rituals and practices of vodou were beginning to bring unity to the slaves, and the French feared that they might unite and subsequently revolt. Vodou was beginning to make the slaves feel free, so the French decided to outlaw it. Any practicing of the religion could be punishable by hanging, whipping, or imprisonment. In addition, the slaves were forced to practice Catholicism and attend Catholic masses. However, vodou had already made its mark on the citizens of the island, and they continued practicing it secretly. The reason the slaves continued to practice vodou, despite the dire consequences of being found doing it, was that it gave them a sense of escape and an uplifting from their lives which they otherwise had little control of. At that time the slave system in Saint-Domingue was one of the harshest in the word. There was a very high violence and mortality rate. In fact, within the first several months of arriving on the island, about one-third of the imported African slaves had died. While normal situations involving slavery are usually all the same, with the masters having complete power, the slaves of Saint-Domingue had a slightly different situation.
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They had all come together to make a religion in which they had direct contact with their gods and could ask them for anything. Even though the slaves felt that they were powerless against their masters, they knew that their masters didn’t stand a chance against their gods. True or not, it really didn’t matter. All that mattered was the confidence that the Loa gave the slaves, and that was the main catalyzing factor that drove them to take a stand. One of the clearest pieces of evidence of vodou giving the slaves the confidence to lead an uprising can be seen with the vodou ceremony at Bois Caïman. The slaves had been hearing rumours of France being in a weakened state. The rumors were not in fact true, but they acted upon them anyway. They decided to revolt against them in order to gain their freedom. On the night of the ritual, many slaves came together to ask the Loa whether or not they should continue with their plans to form a revolution. They all went to one of the more isolated parts of the island: Gator Woods, or as they referred to it, Bois Caïman. Once everyone had arrived, the ritual began. Cécile Fatiman, a mambo, or priestess, lead the ceremony. She held a long knife in the air while chanting a mantra, and then grabbed a pig which had been brought to Bois Caïman to be sacrificed in order to make contact with the Loa. She slit the pig’s throat, and proceeded to taste its blood. The taste of the blood was supposed to be a sign from the war god Ogun telling the slaves whether they should continue with their revolution. After tasting the blood, Cécile knew that Ogun approved of the revolution.
Every slave present at the gathering also took a sip of the pig’s blood to seal their oath of killing their oppressors and gaining justice. They all kept some of the pig’s hair to create lucky talismans which they believed would help the Loa to keep them safe. The slaves snuck back to their quarters that night, concocting their plans for the revolution. The next night, the first attacks occured. The importance of the events at Bois Caïman to the Haitian Revolution is truly immeasurable. It shows the complete trust that the Haitians put into the Loa and their religion. It also shows how vodou inspired them to push for their freedom. Vodou had freed their souls, and it gave them the confidence to free their bodies. The slaves knew that they alone could not beat the French and gain their freedom. However, with the guidance and strength that their gods gave to them, they believed in themselves. If they had not believed that Ogun approved of their plans to revolt, it is a strong possibility that they never would have carried them out. However, believing the gods were on their sides, they gained the drive and confidence to revolt for their freedom. The Haitian Revolution began on August 14th, 1791, one day after the ceremony at Bois Caïman. The slaves of Saint-Domingue fought long and hard, and eventually, their efforts paid off. On January 1st, 1804, the French granted them their freedom and the right to the island. While this is a truly inspirational outcome, what is possibly even more impressive is how the slaves united. Countless different cultures fought together, united under one commonality: vodou.
Even after the initial attacks of the revolution, more and more slaves continued to join forces to fight. Thanks to vodou, they came together and pushed through for nearly thirteen years. After gaining independence, the island took back its original name of Ayti, but virtually nothing else was the same as it had been before the island was colonized. New cultures, new religions, new ways of life, and new circumstances had all changed Ayti. Sadly, even after the war, nothing was easy for the islanders. Now unrecognizable after having been fighting grounds for so long, the newly-freed citizens lived in a radically altered place. In addition, even though they were free, the people had lived for generations in enslavement. They now had to learn how to provide for themselves, without the guidance of long-dead elders. And they had to do this immediately. Not surprisingly, poverty struck the island harshly. Yet again, very significantly, the people turned to vodou to help them, showing its incredible importance in their ongoing lives. Even today, a common saying states that Haiti is one-hundred percent vodou, seventy percent catholic, and thirty percent protestant. The creation of vodou was arguably the most important factor in the success of the Haitian Revolution. Not only did it unite several cultures, but it also gave its practitioners a sense of spiritual freedom. Then, because their souls were free, their desire to make their physical bodies free grew even stronger. It also gave them confidence to go through with the revolution, despite the odds being stacked in the favor of the French. Throughout history, very few slave revolts have ever been successful. This begs the question: what made the Haitian Revolution different? The answer really does seem to be vodou. Although it can be argued that the Loa isn’t real and the slaves were foolish to base a whole revolution just on the fact that their gods approved of it, this just isn’t the case. All said and done, it doesn’t matter whether vodou is real or if the Loa really exist.
All that matters is how the belief in it caused the ultimate group of underdogs to pull off one of the most impressive slave revolts of all time. The belief in vodou helped them to believe in themselves and their own abilities, and that is a very powerful force. Since the revolution, vodou has gained somewhat of a bad connotation. It has a reputation of being evil and scary, but that simply isn’t the case. Vodou was the catalyst of the desire to form, and important in the execution of, the Haitian Revolution. For that, it should be held in the highest esteem. The inspiration for American voodoo and the factor that drove on of the only successful slave revolts in history, vodou is a beautiful, unique, and historically significant religion, and should be treated as such.
