In “The Sacred Music and Dance of Haitian Vodou from Temple to Stage and the Ethics of Representation,” written by Lois Wilcken, the author discusses the development of music and dance of Haitian Vodou, particularly in Brooklyn. Wilcken seems to have a strong opinion about how the music and dance of Haitian Vodou in Brooklyn should be expressed and whether the way that it is currently expressed “on stage” is ethical. From my research, I know that Haitian Vodou is a syncretic religion that incorporates African religious symbology and theology with Christian symbols. Dance and music are two important elements in Haitian Vodou. The dancing that followers do is a way of communicating with spirits. In the communal services, members use the call and response structure as a way to express their happiness, sufferings, anger and frustrations to the spirits. Instruments like drums are very important in Haitian Vodou services because they are used to be able to communicate with the spirits. Drums can be compared to telephones. When people play them in the services, it is as if they were dialing the phone to call the entities.

Before the common era, the dancing, singing, chanting and praying done in Haitian Vodou services were considered sacred by those who practiced the religion and could not be parodied. However, because of tourism, immigration and expression of culture to those that are not Haitian, the Vodou dance became a theatrical performance. Haitian Vodou is recorded to have been practiced by African slaves since the late 1700s. However, it has always been frowned upon and stigmatized by the Christian Anglo-Saxon community because it was seen as demonic, primitive and savage-like. This stigmatization is still present today in both Haiti and New York City. People of the upper class tend to see Haitian Vodou as the culture of the dirty, lower class and do not want to be associated with it. The stigmatization of Haitian Vodou, along with other things, caused the U.S. to occupy Haiti in the early 1900s. Many Americans had and still have negative stereotypes of the religion. Many do not even take the time to study the religion and learn about the roots.

The writer concludes the piece of work by saying that the theatrical performance of Vodou has been more of a monopoly, allowing people to profit from the public that watches it. The people who partake in the public, dramatic services are not practicing the true religion, but rather an over-exaggerated, fake depiction of it. I watched a video on the New York Times about the stigmatization of Haitian Vodou in New York City that said similar things about the practice of the religion in New York City. Sometimes immigrants lose the religious fervor they had in their country. This article was very intriguing, especially because of how it relates to the movie we watched on Tuesday. Sometimes you wonder why certain people do certain things, dress and talk a certain way and look different others. By learning more about their culture, you become more open-minded and knowledgeable about cultures other than your own. I think that this has been happening to me this semester. Before this class I did not even think about the complexities behind Caribbean culture. I just thought that the people in the non-Spanish speaking Caribbean were like extensions of Africa—meaning that they had deep connections with African culture and identified as such. However, now I know how different and how similar Caribbean culture is with African culture. The public has always misunderstood Haitian Vodou. I for one am still quite ignorant about the religion. However, I respect it and am willing to learn more about it.

The video we watched during class on Tuesday was interesting. I did not know about Rara, let alone that there is one band present in New York City that plays in Prospect Park. This Rara band was a way for many Haitian immigrants to reinvest into cultural practices from their homeland as well as remove the negative connotations associated with Haitians during the late twentieth century. Rara has gone through many controversies. Some people associate it with the devil. Others think that it is an odd, peasant-like and unworthy way through which people attempt to show their Haitian culture. However, many use it as a way to connect with people of their same country of origin, have a good time and develop a sense of belonging to a community.