Deal Or No Deal

I accepted some time ago that, in the mind of many (probably most) conservative Christians, if you do not worship their God, you are by definition a "devil worshiper". You might not necessarily be aware of that fact, but to them it is nonetheless a fact. It should come as no surprise then that Pat Robertson considers the ancestors of the present day inhabitants of Haiti to have made a pact with the devil on that day they rebelled from the French.

For those who might be interested, here is the actual "prayer" that amounted to what one might term the "Haitian Declaration of Independence"-

The god who created the earth; who created the sun that gives us light. The god who holds up the ocean; who makes the thunder roar. Our God who has ears to hear. You who are hidden in the clouds; who watch us from where you are. You see all that the white has made us suffer. The white man’s god asks him to commit crimes. But the god within us wants to do good. Our god, who is so good, so just, He orders us to revenge our wrongs. It’s He who will direct our arms and bring us the victory. It’s He who will assist us. We all should throw away the image of the white men’s god who is so pitiless. Listen to the voice for liberty that speaks in all our hearts.

This prayer was uttered by one Boukman Dutty, said to have been a Voudoun priest himself(though this is in dispute, and in fact there is no evidence to support this, although he was associated and allied with Voodoo, or Voudoun, priests in the course of the revolt) who led the initial revolt against the French. He had formerly been a British slave sold to a French plantation owner. He was an educated man, as well as a giant of fierce appearance, and so was given a position of authority as a slave overseer on several plantations, which entailed traveling from one estate to the other on the island of St. Dominique (the former name of Haiti). This enabled him to gather intelligence and form bonds with future co-conspirators. He was eventually captured by the French and executed, his head placed on public display. (All of this by the way happened during the last decade of the 1790's, prior to the ascension of any of the Napoleons).

Killing him did not stop the revolution, which ended in massive loss of life, the slaughter of numerous French slave-holding families and citizens, and incalculable destruction of property. After some eight years, Haiti became a nation in 1804-the first republic of freed slaves in history.

Now put yourself in the position of a typical white person from this era who might have learned of this prayer after the fact, and saw it's results. Once you see it in context of the outright butchery that transpired in Haiti on the eve of the revolt and it's aftermath, and consider the very real and palpable fear this event inspired throughout the slave-owning world, especially in the western hemisphere, which would of course have included the American slave-owning southern plantation owners, it's easy to see why they would consider the God worshiped by these Haitians to be the devil, and why they would view any such prayer as above the equivalent of a pact with said devil.

The Haitian revolt was yet another shot heard round the world, and influenced slave policy for decades to come, including but not limited to the abolition of slavery in the British Empire and the limitations on the slave trade in America which went into effect prior to the American Civil War. This website in fact claims that the Haitian revolt was the major, if not the sole reason, for the events that led to the eventual end of slavery. As for the "devil" whom Boukman invoked, 2nd look identifies him-

Boukman Dutty, a Voudou N’Gan (oungan, houngan, voodoo priest), killed a pig as a part of an African tribal ritual Bwa Kayiman, dedicated to his ancestors and Ogoun, God of fire, iron and war. Ogoun and Erzulie Dantor (Ezili Dantor), a Vodou l’wha (loa) a warrior spirit, responded to this call to protect these slave warriors.

So the "devil" in this case seems to be a West-Central African version of Ares, (which would certainly explain the resultant carnage) or possibly even Hephaestus (fire and iron). That would of course be a simplistic way of looking at it, as such identifications and cross-cultural associations are fraught with hazard by their natures, but there is some merit to it as well, seeing as how Voudoun, in this case Haitian Voudou, is itself a syncretic faith binding old Central-East African deities with Catholic Saints, many of whom in fact are alleged to be old Roman gods in disguise. In the case of Ogoun, the Catholic Saint most often associated with him (at least by Voudoun devotees in Brazil) is Saint George.

As for the actual ritual that called upon the vengeful deity Ogoun, I would point out that this particular ritual was probably nothing original, nor was Boukman the first to conduct it over the course of the preceding century of that oppressive French lash that stung and scarred multiple generations of Haitian backs.

Who actually was the devil here?

To people in the New World, especially to slave-owners, this was all understandably a matter of grave concern. Of course they viewed the prayer as a satanic pact. Actually it doubtless was a religious based pact, and according to this site, Voudoun itself, while it was a syncretic faith forged in an attempt to maintain ties to the beliefs of their ancestral African homeland, it was also an attempt by these same black Haitian slaves to plan for the day of revolt from the French. Even their animal sacrifices were symbolic of the day when the gods would join them in the battle against their oppressors.

Back to Robertson, who naturally views all this from the perspective of a fundamentalist Christian and who who, though he probably has some degree of empathy and understanding for those early Haitians desire to be free from the yoke of French slavery, would naturally view their faith, both then and as practiced to this day, with a great deal of alarm. To him, the satanic influence is obvious and undeniable.

Is this foolish? I think it is vastly ignorant especially to adhere to such a view today, even granted the very real problems of poverty, crime, illiteracy, and yes superstition which has gripped the island for far too long. However, Robertson is blaming the wrong source for these conditions, which owes more-far, far more-to the influence of the Duvalier family over the last fifty years, and before them, to a history of civil strife, insurrections, and assassinations. Is this the influence of some demonic entity, even granted the Duvaliers use and encouragement of the Haitian religious traditions, or does it have more to do with the lack of a culture of self-rule and governance, exacerbated by a lack of adequate development capabilities and trade potential?

It's safe to assume the French were not exactly breaking down doors to try to assist the Haitians in the development of their fledgling new nation, and it's a pretty safe bet no one else was in a hurry to do so either. Robertson should keep some of these factors in mind when he assigns demonic status and blame.

I don't mean to be too hard on Robertson, any more than I mean to excuse him, therefore as a matter of balance I will add that greatly overlooked the last few days has been the fact that Robertson uttered these words on his 700 Club cable program in the context of an appeal to his viewers to send aid for the purpose of helping victims of the recent Haitian disaster. So kindly bear that in mind as well. It is perfectly clear at the end of the already infamous video which follows, and in fact the number to call for the aid assistance appears at the beginning of the video as well-



Of course, it goes without saying that Robertson is hoping for a mass Christian conversion in Haiti. Seeing as how he believes conditions in Haiti, not only now but throughout the entire troubled history of the island, is directly traceable to a pact with the devil, how could he not hope for this?

Of course, the wags amongst us would suggest Pat is himself offering what is tantamount to a deal with the devil, in the guise of conversion to a God most easily identified in Voudoun as a God named Bondye, whom most practitioners of Haitian Voudou believe is, though supreme, inaccessible, a condition that necessitates their reliance on the various loa (spirit guides), in the form of pagan gods and ancestors.

How does this divide from Christianity all play out in general terms? There is a current belief in Haiti that, when the many trees on the island were felled a few years back, ostensibly to provide farmland for the impoverished yet growing population, this was actually a ploy meant to deprive practitioners of Voudou of vegetation, woods, and herbs required for their rituals. To this end, so goes the story, the Protestant Christians especially took special pains to eliminate the trees and other vegetation of Bois Caiman, where the original Voudoun cermeony performed by Boukman Dutty first transpired more than one hundred ten years ago. This is their attempt to combat the practice of the faith, and to "hinder remembrance of the event". Or so the story goes.

Meanwhile, Ogoun is yet worshiped today with offerings of tobacco and rum, while his devotees pray to him to provide a government that is more responsible to the needs of the people.

Pat and others would do well to remember that old saying-folks prefer the devils they know to those they do not.