Many Haitians such as Mervilia Clenord start off with voodoo, a centuries-old religion, when they or their loved ones are sick, according to scholars and practitioners.
Tradition, availability and lower cost contribute to the first-stop choice of voodoo, which academicians refer to as “Vodou” or “Vodoun.”
“It is a standard response because Vodou has had huge success among the Haitian population; they go for it by far more than conventional medicine offered by hospitals,” said Max Beauvoir, a Washington, D.C.-based Vodou scholar and priest. “But there is also recognition that sometimes you must go to the hospital.”
Beauvoir offers an example. Traditionally, Haitians would not view Marlene Donna’s illness _ tuberculosis _ as a bacteria that has invaded the body but as a loss of balance caused by bad behavior or a curse she’s under.
A voodoo priest or priestess would be consulted to treat the hex, but it could have so worn her out that she might still need to see a physician.
The Vodou religion is a fusion of African and Christian theology, born when Africans brought their Pagan-based religion with them to the Caribbean as slaves.
The slaves, forced to practice the Catholicism of their French oppressors, combined the two religions into the underground Vodou.
It has both a healing aspect, using natural herbs and plants, and a spiritual aspect involving rituals and ceremonies that have contributed to its stigma.
“The primary focus of Vodou is healing, so her (Donna’s mother) reaction is perfectly resonant with the Haitian understanding of healing,” said Terry Rey, assistant professor of African and Caribbean Religions at Florida International University in Miami.
“The perception of it as being destructive are totally incorrect . . . and without respect for the rationale and theology behind it.”
Marlene Donna was born in Jacksonville but was raised primarily in Haiti.
Roody Barthelemey, a Creole translator and Vodou believer, said medical care, “the way we perceive it,” is not common in Haiti except in urban areas like Port-au-Prince.
Those who live in rural areas “rely on traditional medicine. They might take tea instead of a pill,” he said.
“In Port-au-Prince, you have Aleve or Tylenol,” he said. “In rural areas, you might use a leaf to get relief from a headache.”
Staff Writer Kellie Patrick contributed to this report.
