On Tuesday, we watched an awesome documentary about Rara. Rara is a festival music that originates from Haiti. It consists of a moving band of people playing Caribbean music. In Haiti, Rara wasn’t something were proud of. As one band member stated, if you saw Rara in the streets, you should not be seen joining them. This negative connotation of Rara however did not follow the festival music to New York. As the band members recall, Rara in Flatbush began randomly. One day, two acquaintances began walking through the park playing their instruments, and suddenly, strangers began joining the movement with their own instruments. This group of strangers soon grew into a band that gained a following of Haitians in Flatbush. At first, the group only played Haitian music and beats, however things changed as the Haitian country went into flux. During the political coup of Haiti, where the favored leader was being overthrown, Haitians in Haiti were in uproar, and so were those in Brooklyn. To express their disdain, Haitians used the Rara band that played weekly. The band played songs and chanted against the injustice in Haiti, and Haitians following the band chimed in as the Rara moved through Flatbush. Furthermore, Haitians at that time were scapegoats for many problems in the New York. A major one was the spread of AIDS. Through Rara, Haitians expressed their opinions and their desire for equal treatment and the end of discrimination against them. As Rara became an entertainment and political medium, its status also grew. The negative connotation previously involved with the movement disappeared and it became a medium through which Haitians showed pride and love for their nation.
The reading we did this week was “The Sacred Music and Dance of Haitian Vodou from Temple to Stage and the Ethics of Representation,” written by Lois Wilcken. In this reading, the author describes the music and dance involved Haitian Vodou, particularly as it came from Haiti to Brooklyn. Wilcken argues about whether the expression of Vodou in Brooklyn is ethical. In Vodou, dance and music are a way to communicate with the spirits. In the communal services, members use the call and response structure to express their emotions to the spirits. Furthermore, they use drums as a way to call upon the spirits to listen.
The elements involved in Vodou, such as dancing, singing, and praying were considered sacred by those who practiced the religion. Anything that parodies these strong beliefs was sacrilegious and offensive. As one would expect, however, due to of tourism, immigration and the exposure of cultural practices, the Vodou dance became a spectacle. Haitian Vodou is was practiced as far back as the 1700’s by African slaves. The practice was of course frowned upon by the Christian Anglo-Saxons who controlled the Haitian country. Vodou was seen as barbaric and demonic, as well as pagan and opposing the beliefs of the Christian rulers. Today in Haiti, upper class citizens see Haitian Vodou as the culture of the dirty, lower class and completely stray away from the practice.Wilcken also mentions how the Vodou performances have become theatrical, and create profits from the people who pay to watch them. More so, those who perform these spectacles are not even practicing the religion, but are just putting on an exaggerated show to attract customers.
The most information I knew of Vodou, I received from cartoons and movies. Before, I imagined the religion to consist of a witch doctor that puts curses on people. After doing this reading and other research, I now know that Vodou is as much a religion as any other one. It is deeply practiced by many Haitians and even people of other countries. Like a priest leading a sermon in church where people are praying to god, Vodou members call upon the spirits to pray and express their feelings. Hopefully Vodou maintains its history and its false theatrical representation lessens.
