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The first comprehensive collection of Vodou sacred literature in bilingual form
Vodou Songs in Haitian Creole and English
Chante Vodou an kreyòl ayisyen ak angle
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With the editorial assistance of Joanne Bartley, Chris Ballengee, Vanessa Brissault, Erica Felker-Kantor, Andrew Tarter, Quinn Hansen, and Kat Warwick
Benjamin Hebblethwaite
"Benjamin Hebblethwaite’s Vodou Songs in Haitian Creole and English is an extraordinary compilation of the sacred oral traditions of Haiti. Hebblethwaite brings the combined talents of an ethnographer and linguist to the translation and interpretation of over six hundred Vodou songs, spanning several decades, contexts, and moods. Many are from important collections that have never been published. Accompanying this remarkable project is a hundred-page dictionary of Vodou terms, which will be an invaluable resource for students of Haitian culture and religion."
—Joseph M. Murphy, Georgetown University, author of Working the Spirit: Ceremonies of the African Diaspora
Vodou songs constitute the living memory of Haitian Vodou communities, and song texts are key elements to understanding Haitian culture. Vodou songs form a profound religious and cultural heritage that traverses the past and refreshes the present. Offering a one-of-a-kind research tool on Vodou and its cultural roots in Haiti and pre-Haitian regions, Vodou Songs in Haitian Creole and English provides a substantial selection of hard to find or unpublished sacred Vodou songs in a side-by-side bilingual format.
Esteemed scholar Benjamin Hebblethwaite introduces the language, mythology, philosophy, origins, and culture of Vodou through several chapters of source songs plus separate analytical chapters. He guides readers through songs, chants, poems, magical formulae, invocations, prayers, historical texts and interviews, as well as Haitian Creole grammar and original sacred literature. An in-depth dictionary of key Vodou terms and concepts is also provided.
This corpus of songs and the research about them provide a crucial understanding of the meaning of Vodou religion, language, and culture.
Excerpt
Read an excerpt from Chapter 1 (pdf).
Reviews
"Vodou Songs in Haitian Creole and English gives English-language readers access, for the first time, to a remarkably rich and diverse corpus of songs. Hebblethwaite, a leading expert in Haitian Kreyòl, provides excellent translations and lucid linguistic and cultural analysis. He shows how Vodou songs bring together theology, history, and poetry. A vital resource for all those interested in Haitian culture and religion, as well as for those teaching and learning Haitian Kreyòl."
— Laurent Dubois, Duke University, author of Haiti: The Aftershocks of History
"Hebblethwaite brings a needed resource to those wishing to better understand the role of voodoo in Haiti and the Haitian diaspora. Combining collections and offering translations of material (some for the first time in English), the author provides insight into to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis in action. .... Most important is the author's assertion that the oral tradition, common in preliterate cultures, is best displayed in the persistence of cultural information embedded in the faith's songs.... [T]his volume will be of great value to those already well versed in the history and cultural analysis of the Ife-based West African religions in the New World and elsewhere. Summing Up: Recommended."
—CHOICE
Contents
Acknowledgments
1. The World of Vodou Songs • Benjamin Hebblethwaite
2. Historical Songs • Benjamin Hebblethwaite
3. Jacques Roumain's, Werner A. Jaegerhuber's and Jean Price-Mars’s Songs • Benjamin Hebblethwaite
4. Milo Marcelin’s Songs • Benjamin Hebblethwaite and Joanne Bartley
5. Laura Boulton’s Songs • Benjamin Hebblethwaite and Joanne Bartley
6. J.L.’s Songs • Benjamin Hebblethwaite and Chris Ballengee
7. Benjamin Hebblethwaite’s Songs • Benjamin Hebblethwaite
8. Harold Courlander’s Songs • Benjamin Hebblethwaite and Erica Felker-Kantor
Appendix A: Dictionary of Vodou Terms • Benjamin Hebblethwaite, with contributions from Joanne Bartley, Andrew Tarter, Quinn Hansen and Kat Warwick
Appendix B: Outline of Haitian Creole Grammer • Benjamin Hebblethwaite and Vanessa Brissault
Notes
References
Index
Photo Gallery
About the Author(s)
Benjamin Hebblethwaite is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at the University of Florida. He is the coeditor (with Jacques Pierre) of Arthur Rimbaud's prose poem, Une saison en enfer / Yon sezon matchyavèl.