This week’s media seemed to focus upon two forms of cultural expression that have gotten a rather bad rap here in the United States. People, especially those coming from areas with radically differing ideas on how to express cultural identity and community, often tend to assign negative connotations to things they don’t understand. It’s not particularly difficult to understand why people react negatively to rara and vodou. Think about it, I doubt anyone in this class has had any significant experiences with either of these two Haitian forms of expression. What I know (re: knew) about vodou centered around black magic and witchcraft. Thanks to this class my misconceptions have been cleared up but I have a feeling that the majority of Americans haven’t taken a Caribbean studies class.

So, starting with the documentary we watched, rara’s roots are largely unknown. What IS known however is that rara is meant to be a spontaneous musical celebration of Haitian culture and African heritage. Little is universal about this “genre” (I don’t know if this is a genre or not) except that the lyrics are always sung in Haitian Creole. Makes sense, why would it be sung in English? Or French even? Rara can take on many different tones with regards to the lyrics. The songs could be an endorsement of a political candidate or a harsh commentary of the state of Haiti. What I found interesting is that before rara became more of a spectacle or performance people were welcome to jump in whenever. I like that sort of spontaneity, it’s kinda like it’s encapsulating all of that energy into an unscripted performance. While the music itself doesn’t speak to me I can appreciate a community coming together to put on an impromptu show. It reminds me much of when I was in my mothers home town in rural Italy. Every saturday many of the townsfolk would come together and put on a musical performance in the piazza centrale (I don’t know the English equivalent of this, maybe town square?).

Moving right along to vodou, I will reiterate that I held ignorant beliefs regarding the practice. I have no shame in admitting that, I had no idea what it was all about three days ago. Much like rara, traditional vodou is another form of cultural expression that has it’s roots in African spirituality. Also like rara, it has a strong focus on spontaneity. Vodou ceremonies don’t take place until the community is ready and doesn’t end until the community is ready. I’ll be honest, it sounds a whole lot better than Catholic mass. I’m still not sure where vodou stands on the spectrum of spirituality and religion. From what I can glean vodou can be interpreted as a religious ceremony or just another communal gathering. Whatever the case may be it is an integral part of Haitian identity that deserves study, if only to assure oneself that it has next to nothing to do with black magic and wicker dolls with needles stuck in them.