Voodoo practitioners scatter after Katrina

[Little95]

http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/n...ylist=national



Voodoo practitioners scatter after Katrina
10/31/2005, 4:54 a.m. ET
By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN
The Associated Press


NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The last time Don Glossop saw his
customers they were ritually burning green candles,
hoping voodoo would pierce the federal bureaucracy and
hasten the arrival of desperately needed relief
checks.

Glossop's shop, New Orleans Mistic, has been closed
since Hurricane Katrina swamped the city two months
ago, and most of his clients, who practice a local
variant of voodoo, have scattered across the country.

He fears that Katrina, which laid waste to entire
neighborhoods and claimed hundreds of lives here, may
take another casualty: New Orleans' status as the
country's voodoo capital.

"As of today I would say it's pretty dead," Glossop
said. "Even the tourist shops are in jeopardy. There
is a chance for a huge loss here."

Voodoo has long been entrenched in New Orleans,
quietly practiced in homes with altars, candles and
incense to solve problems of the heart and wallet.
Before the storm tore through, about 15 percent of the
city's population actively practiced, according to
Lisa Fannon, a tour guide, though estimates vary
widely.

Voodoo is part of the vernacular here, showing up in
jazz and conversation. Some residents still sprinkle
red brick dust on their doorway steps to ward off evil
spirits.

It's an economic draw as well, enticing curious
tourists and their pocketbooks into stores such as
Glossop's.

While plans are still on for an annual voodoo fest for
Monday, organizer Brandi Kelley said the event will be
much smaller this year because many drummers and
dancers were forced to relocate.

The ceremony at her shop will focus mainly on healing
the city.

"We have got to call on the ancestors for help and get
real serious about it," Kelley said. "The spirit is in
the city. It's the spirit of this city that is going
to rise from the ashes."

If only she could find her snake for the closing
ceremony. He was supposed to be in a bathtub of a
friend's apartment.

"They say he's somewhere in this room full of debris,"
Kelley said, her voice trailing off.

It wasn't supposed to be this way. The "go away"
hurricane ritual was performed in July, just as it
always is at the start of the hurricane season.

"It didn't quite work out so well," acknowledged
Giselle Moller, manager of Marie Laveau House of
Voodoo. But, she said, it may have helped a bit.

"Imagine if the hurricane would have hit us straight
on. There would have been no French Quarter," she
said.

Even before Katrina, some thought voodoo was fading in
New Orleans because the younger generation was less
interested in the complicated practice, which involves
substantial memorization of rituals and songs, Glossop
said.

But New Orleans is not giving up on voodoo,
notwithstanding evangelist Franklin Graham's recent
comments that the city's Mardi Gras revelry and ties
to voodoo were adverse to Christian beliefs.

Defenders say voodoo is a legitimate African-based
religion that has been unfairly maligned in movies and
popular culture.

"Voodoo is not some kind of black magic cult," said
Wade Davis, a Washington-based National Geographic
explorer-in-residence who has studied the religion
extensively in Haiti. "It's the distillation of very
profound religious ideas that came over during the
tragic era of slavery."

In New Orleans, much of what is practiced these days
is a system of folk magic. Some also practice Haitian
voodoo.

As the city revives, proponents hope voodoo will make
a comeback, too, because it's part of the intrigue
that draws visitors.

"I think it's going to be a very strong part of what
will get people back here," said Jameson King, who
works in one of the voodoo shops in the French
Quarter. "We're here for more than drinking."

[Warrior Princess]

That is interesting... It raises many, many questions. If this has not been posted in the spirituality forum already, I will take it over there as well (hopefully that's alright with ya).

[IfasehunReincarnated]

Sure i will move it over......... but let me comment first. And be warned I am coming out hard so I squelch things early.

Originally Posted by Warrior Princess

It raises many, many questions.

Tell us resident Afrikan spirituality cynic, what questions does it raise? And why do you seem SO anxious to ALWAYS make WAR WITH YOUR FLESH AND BLOOD ANCESTORS? Your anti-Afrikan attitude about spirituality is extremely exhausting at times...

The purpose of Afrikan Spirituality is not avert ALL forms of tragedy. All genuine spiritual expression, whether it be afrikan or not, the true purpose is to teach us how rise above all situations and see them for what they are, not what we want them to be, and to see how each event impacts our personal and collective destiny. We seek enlightenment and personal growth foremost. Not a quick way around every unpleasureable moment in our life. Only children look for that.

It's spiritually selfish to believe you can build a city below sea level and the Orisa, Loa and Abosum are going to protect forever. Where is our responsibility lie?

On the subject of rituals I dont think this particular person that owns neworleansmistic has any authority to speak as his "voodoo business" is particularly european. But in any case, its true, some rituals dont work. Why?

• The instructions werent followed to the last detail.
• Someone did work to reverse it.
• The people performing it didnt have the authority.
• Someone did something unethical enough to lose the protection of ritual.

There are a million reasons why ritual goes "bad". There is no need to turn white and assume (dare i say for some of us "hope")something is suspect. Our Ancestors would have moved on to something else if it didnt work. Period. We maintained OUR traditions because the DO work. If you don't believe that your Ancestors were spiritual enough or smart enough then I feel sorry for you.

I do rituals for a variety of situations that seem "doomed" to occur in one way and turn entirely different all the darn time. On other occasions Spirit says "no you made your bed lie in it" or "no need for Spirit to intercede, do it on your own this time."

Considering how utterly digusting New Orleans general morals are & nasty the tourist crowd can be, and how silent the Voodoo community has been about it, there is one obvious reason why any ritual done to the Loa to protect New Orleans MIGHT not work. (operative word being "might" because bottomline, I am not going to be guessing about situations where i wasnt even present, trying to answer every darn "doubledare ya to explain why it didnt work Mr Africa" comment that someone posts.) The people doing the ritual may have lost their right to do it as their part or lack of rage over N. Orleans descending debauchery. Who the heck knows except the priests that do this ritual? And for the record, I have no idea if this supposed ritual to thwart the annual Hurricane even exists and if it does if this eurocentric business owner would have known anything about it.

In summation, you cant use a soiled rag to clean a dirty sink and you can't keep throwing your ball over the fence and expecting someone to go get it. The POSSIBILITY of a combination of bad morals in N. Orleans, obviously stupid urban planning and compromised leadership MIGHT have rendered this SUPPOSED ritual impotent.

Oh! There is one more possiblity - for the last 1.5 years I have been telling all of you that storms will increase all over the globe causing mass destruction, as a part of a series of prophecies from various indigenous people. The Earth is cleansing itself. Perhaps Mother Earth dont want a ritual, she wants her darn land back..just maybe??? Some people try to force ritual on situations, out of spiritual immaturity. They dont worry about if they SHOULD, only if they CAN. In those cases, rituals hardly come out right.

[John P.]

Originally Posted by IfasehunReincarnated

Sure i will move it over......... but let me comment first. And be warned I am coming out hard so I squelch things early.



Tell us resident Afrikan spirituality cynic, what questions does it raise? And why do you seem SO anxious to ALWAYS make WAR WITH YOUR FLESH AND BLOOD ANCESTORS? Your anti-Afrikan attitude about spirituality is extremely exhausting at times...

The purpose of Afrikan Spirituality is not avert ALL forms of tragedy. All genuine spiritual expression, whether it be afrikan or not, the true purpose is to teach us how rise above all situations and see them for what they are, not what we want them to be, and to see how each event impacts our personal and collective destiny. We seek enlightenment and personal growth foremost. Not a quick way around every unpleasureable moment in our life. Only children look for that.

It's spiritually selfish to believe you can build a city below sea level and the Orisa, Loa and Abosum are going to protect forever. Where is our responsibility lie?

On the subject of rituals I dont think this particular person that owns neworleansmistic has any authority to speak as his "voodoo business" is particularly european. But in any case, its true, some rituals dont work. Why?

• The instructions werent followed to the last detail.
• Someone did work to reverse it.
• The people performing it didnt have the authority.
• Someone did something unethical enough to lose the protection of ritual.

There are a million reasons why ritual goes "bad". There is no need to turn white and assume (dare i say for some of us "hope")something is suspect. Our Ancestors would have moved on to something else if it didnt work. Period. We maintained OUR traditions because the DO work. If you don't believe that your Ancestors were spiritual enough or smart enough then I feel sorry for you.

I do rituals for a variety of situations that seem "doomed" to occur in one way and turn entirely different all the darn time. On other occasions Spirit says "no you made your bed lie in it" or "no need for Spirit to intercede, do it on your own this time."

Considering how utterly digusting New Orleans general morals are & nasty the tourist crowd can be, and how silent the Voodoo community has been about it, there is one obvious reason why any ritual done to the Loa to protect New Orleans MIGHT not work. (operative word being "might" because bottomline, I am not going to be guessing about situations where i wasnt even present, trying to answer every darn "doubledare ya to explain why it didnt work Mr Africa" comment that someone posts.) The people doing the ritual may have lost their right to do it as their part or lack of rage over N. Orleans descending debauchery. Who the heck knows except the priests that do this ritual? And for the record, I have no idea if this supposed ritual to thwart the annual Hurricane even exists and if it does if this eurocentric business owner would have known anything about it.

In summation, you cant use a soiled rag to clean a dirty sink and you can't keep throwing your ball over the fence and expecting someone to go get it. The POSSIBILITY of a combination of bad morals in N. Orleans, obviously stupid urban planning and compromised leadership MIGHT have rendered this SUPPOSED ritual impotent.

Oh! There is one more possiblity - for the last 1.5 years I have been telling all of you that storms will increase all over the globe causing mass destruction, as a part of a series of prophecies from various indigenous people. The Earth is cleansing itself. Perhaps Mother Earth dont want a ritual, she wants her darn land back..just maybe??? Some people try to force ritual on situations, out of spiritual immaturity. They dont worry about if they SHOULD, only if they CAN. In those cases, rituals hardly come out right.

I STRONGLY AGREE WITH THE LAST PART OF THIS QUOTE...we've exhausted mother nature with are factories, nuclears, and all other pollutions we pump in her...1

[Warrior Princess]

Originally Posted by IfasehunReincarnated

Sure i will move it over......... but let me comment first. And be warned I am coming out hard so I squelch things early.



Tell us resident Afrikan spirituality cynic, what questions does it raise? And why do you seem SO anxious to ALWAYS make WAR WITH YOUR FLESH AND BLOOD ANCESTORS? Your anti-Afrikan attitude about spirituality is extremely exhausting at times...

That's interesting... I never said "what" type of questions it raised, but yet here you are (as usual) having a first class hissy fit, jumping to conclusions, and countering things I have never said. lol You call me an Afrikan spirituality cynic and interestingly enough, your supposedly highly trained intuition/spiritual radar could probably stand a bit of servicing. Who is making war? Allow me to recapitulate. My response was "This raises many, many questions" and to this general response, YOU (as usual when you want to be heard) responded with a whole lotta finger snappin' and irrelevance.

LOL You "comin' out hard"? (I remember a West Coast rap cut with that title)Wooh, I'm scared a' you. Why don't you ask your the deity over your head to brief you on other people's thoughts/ motives before you prematurely start Z-snappin' and "tellin' them off"? Better yet, stop wasting your spiritual energies and power on responding to things I never said and use them to make the U.S. Government leave Sister Assata alone.