Catholic Voodooists gather in Haiti
Pastor Dale Morgan
Catholic Voodooists faithful pray for miracles at sacred waterfalls in
Haiti*
Tuesday, July 18, 2006 Posted: 1522 GMT (2322 HKT)
SAUT D'EAU, Haiti (AP) -- Bearing offerings of rum and freshly
slaughtered goats, thousands of Catholic Voodooists faithful bathe in
sacred waterfalls, praying for a better life and an end to the spiraling
violence that threatens to destabilize Haiti's new government.
In an annual ritual that ended Monday, worshippers from across the
Caribbean nation arrived for the weeklong Saut d'Eau pilgrimage.
The ritual, among Catholic Haitian Voodoo's holiest, comes amid a surge
of violence in Haiti's capital that U.N. officials say is an attempt to
destabilize the new government of President Rene Preval.
"The gods tell us what to do. That's why we're having so many problems:
because we're not listening to the gods," said Yolette Jean, a Catholic
Voodoo priestess.
Saut d'Eau's mystique owes to a 19th century legend that an image of the
Virgin Mary appeared in the waterfalls. Believing the waters hold
magical powers, followers strip to their underwear and scrub their
bodies with aromatic mint leaves and soap.
Arms raised to the heavens, they ask the gods for help with fixing
broken relationships, curing sickness and even lucky lottery tickets.
Some collapse in convulsions, overcome by emotion -- or maybe spirit
gods, called loas in Voodoo.