Louisiana Voodoo: Untangling the Myths, the Magic, and the History

INTRO

Hey everyone. Welcome back.

Happy October! Long time listeners of the show know that I am a big fan of the spooky season and I try to communicate that love and passion each October with at least one episode dedicated to the creepier or macabre sides of history. I’ve also explored the sillier side of my favorite holiday by diving into the histories behind some of my favorite scary movies including Halloween and The Birds. This year I am spending the entire month of October researching and sharing stories about the darker side of our past. Because we are in the middle of Reconstruction, I made a challenge for myself to try to align my episodes with the period. Full warning I was not 100% successful in my goal, but I think I got close and I think we’re going to have fun either way. So without further ado, let’s dive in. 

New Orleans is a city touted as magical. Visitors and locals alike speak about the city’s cosmic qualities and the streets always feel like they’re vibrating. If you’ve ever been to the area - or if you’ve ever watched or read anything about the historic city - then you’ve likely heard about one of the French Quarter’s largest money makers - Voodoo. From good luck charms to readings with Voodoo practitioners, the city of New Orleans drips with Voodoo culture. But that wasn’t always the case. A religion derided by white residents anxious about enslaved rebellions, Voodoo symbolized barbarism and ignorance to some, while representing a deeper connection to God for others. 

So this week, I am diving into the history of Louisiana Voodoo. How did it originate? Who followed the faith? And is it really as dark and dangerous as it was made out to be? 

Grab your cup of coffee, peeps. Let’s do this. 

According to religious scholars, the Voodoo that we know in America is an African diasporic religion that developed in the Mississippi Valley. While it was heavily dominant in the city of New Orleans, Voodoo practices and practitioners spread throughout the United States, including in places like St. Louis. Voodoo is a religion influenced by other faiths and the local community and likely originated from several regions in Africa including the country known today as Benin. The first practitioners of Voodoo arrived via the French who imported Africans as slaves before the territory came under the control of the United States. Most of those who arrived in New Orleans during French control came between 1726 and 1743 from the religiously diverse region known as Senegambia. The city of New Orleans was incredibly diverse with French settlers living among indigenous communities and of course those held in bondage. Like the first English settlers to the north, the French relied heavily on the local native population to help find food and learn about the surrounding landscape. Kongolese - or people from the Congo - arrived during Spanish rule and some scholars speculate that new arrivals may have been familiar with a brand of catholicism. 

By the time the United States took over after the Louisiana purchase in 1803, New Orleans was already a truly American city - a melting pot of races and ethnicities that included french, creole, spanish, black, and native americans all living together. Yet as scholar Emily Suzanne Clark argued in her analysis of the rise of Voodoo in America quote, “slavery requires power, including the power to deny the legitimacy of enslaved persons’ religions and cultures,” end quote. Any form of religion unless explicitly approved and monitored by white enslavers gave local residents pause. Throughout the south, white people were anxious about the potential of a slave uprising - a fear that only grew in the aftermath of the Haitian Revolution in 1791 as thousands of Haitians immigrated to the United States and Louisiana. 

One of the most successful and largest slave revolts in history, the Haitian Revolution not only triggered a massive rebellion, it is also the only known slave uprising in history to lead to the establishment of a free society. And a key moment ahead of the revolution involved Voodoo practice. Prior to the uprising Voodoo high priest Dutty Boukman and priestess Cecile Fatiman led a religious ceremony with enslaved residents where those present decided that leaders of the resistance would start with a signal to set the plantations on fire and in so doing, destroying the slave based economy. There seems to be some debate over exactly when the ceremony took place, but scholars agree that the meeting was critical in coordinating the activities of the enslaved population. This story - likely over-exaggerated and littered with falsehoods - no doubt made its way to the southern shores of the United States, further fueling suspicion and worry that any assembly of enslaved people constituted a plot to overthrow the white power structure. This fear translated into curtailing the movements and actions of enslaved individuals and limited their access to practicing a religion of their choosing. This included Voodoo which white residents dismissed as a religion entirely, instead labeling it as a quote “conduit to savagery, nudity, and sexual promiscuity,” end quote. Despite these dismissals, enslaved men and women continued to seek out ways to practice their preferred faith, co-opting many symbols and saints of the Catholic religion into their practices. When enslaved individuals were caught attending Voodoo ceremonies or engaging in a Voodoo practice, they were often met with harsh punishments.

Individuals found practicing Voodoo - or anything that seemed to resemble Voodoo - were arrested. Charges varied from practicing medicine without a license to participating in an unlawful assembly. One of the earliest recorded arrests involved Betsy Toledano in 1850. Born a free woman of color, Toledano was arrested while practicing inside a private home and was charged with unlawful assembly due to the fact that both enslaved and free people were together - something not allowed in Louisiana. Toledano did not shy away from her religious practice, instead freely admitting to the court that she was a practitioner. Attempting to inform the court, Toledano explained that Voodoo was an African religion and one that she learned from her African-born grandmother. Her testimony did little to positively impact her case. Toledano was branded a trouble maker and issued a fine for violating the assembly law. 

Toledano’s arrest was one among many. In 1857, 16 women were arrested for - wait for it - dancing. Described as moving their bodies with a quote religious frenzy, the women were accused of casting spells. Just a few years later in 1862, another set of women were arrested - again for unlawful assembly - where they were again described as dancing this time in a state of partial nudity. Still another set of arrest records document how women taken into custody were captured dancing in front of a cauldron with a quote hell broth brewing. Dear listeners you may have caught a theme to these arrests - each one involved the jailing and prosecution of women. And this wasn’t entirely by accident. 

Women were and are central aspects of the Voodoo religion. Allowed to hold equal places of influence within the religion, in the nineteenth century many women led worship practices. Black women’s central role within the religion, some scholars argue, only intensified white fear and anxiety - and by extension, the efforts to suppress the religion altogether. Historian Michelle Gordon argued that Voodoo practice and rituals in the nineteenth century quote “demonstrated the persistent threat of black and female rebellion,” end quote. One significant celebration within Voodoo culture is the St. John’s Eve ceremony. On June 23rd, people from a variety of backgrounds would gather around Lake Pontchartrain and the ceremony usually involved the awaited arrival of a queen. 

One such woman was Marie Leveau. Known today as the Queen of Voodoo, Leveau was born a free woman in New Orleans in 1801 to an emancipated mother and French father. Much of her story and notoriety came after she passed away in 1881, however it is believed that she exerted a significant amount of influence during her lifetime and had a multiracial and socioeconomically diverse set of followers. Black, white, rich, poor - people from a variety of backgrounds were drawn to Leveau and her practices. As one writer studying Leveau observed, quote: “at a time of racial disharmony, she fostered a cult of followers from whites and blacks,” end quote. Even those living in high society were known to visit Leveau, paying for blessed trinkets or amulets intended to bring good luck. 

Leveau’s influence and power was higher than that of white men in New Orleans - a true threat to the white patriarchal society dominant in the area. Female practitioners of Voodoo in general, and Marie Leveau specifically challenged what many 19th century Americans believed was the quote unquote ideal of womanhood. Leveau was a leader. She held influence - and used that influence to help members of her community. She did not defer to men and demonstrated a level of independence in an era that saw women as limited to the roles of wife and mother. American society seemed unable to figure out exactly what to do about Leveau. Upon her death, the New York Times published an obituary stating both that Leveau was someone who was quote “dreaded and feared” but also a woman who had a quote “large warm heart and tender nature,” end quote.  

But despite women like Leveau enjoying a bit of influence and power, the general white reaction to Voodoo was one of negativity. Newspapers of the era helped influence deep animosity toward the religion, describing followers as quote “ignorant, superstitious, and backward,” end quote. Narratives published in newspapers were usually from second hand accounts from people who did not understand the religion. As historian Michelle Gordon illustrates, quote: “Voodoo narratives and semipublic spectacles confirmed for many whites what they presumed to be true about black savagery, feared about losing social control, and fantasized about policing hypersexualized blackness and “imperiled” white womanhood,” end quote. 

In the post-Reconstruction south, Voodoo became a political tool for those looking to re-establish white supremacy. In her article analyzing Louisiana Voodoo, Dr. Gordon illustrates how negative stories about Voodoo practices and its threat to white women began appearing as early as 1869 - just after the election of the first multiracial legislature. These stories - regardless of whether they were accurate - helped reinforce for white people that Black people were little more than barbarians who needed white paternalism to survive. Practicing Voodoo was also used as an excuse for treating black residents as criminals. In this context, Voodoo both represented the quote “danger of blackness and race mixing to the social order” end quote while also providing the foundation to excuse racial segregation, political violence, and oppression. Voodoo 

was leveraged by white power brokers as a scapegoat to explain everything from the lack of progress in education and science and as a reason why Black Americans could not be trusted to become effective contributing members of society. According to the white leaders in the area, followers of Voodoo were unintelligent and therefore required the intervention of their white neighbors. This translated to increased rules and restrictions placed on public practices around Voodoo and Voodoo services continued to be raided for quote unquote immoral activities such as hosting and participating in mixed race meetings. 

All the energy and effort put into suppressing Voodoo and warning people of the dangers in engaging in the practice only enhanced its legitimacy. Voodoo Priestesses - and Priests - took advantage of outsider curiosity and began offering consultations and access to their ceremonies - for a fee. Ultimately though, the ongoing persecution of practitioners forced the religion to move underground where it remained until gaining renewed attention after the U.S. occupation of Haiti in 1915. And we can thank the work of anthropologist and writer Zora Neale Hurston for reintroducing Marie Leveau to American audiences when she wrote Hoodoo in America in 1931. While Hurston tried to trace the evolution of Voodoo and dispel many of the myths, the white portrayal of the religion as one of darkness and satanic ritual stuck. 

Hollywood’s portrayals of the religion undoubtedly influence common perceptions about Voodoo and its supposed ties to dark magic. Yet, despite these inaccurate portrayals, or perhaps to some extent because of them, Voodoo continues to spark curiosity for outsiders. Visitors to the city of New Orleans will not be hard pressed to find a Voodoo walking tour or shop offering readings by practicing priests and priestesses or good luck dolls - for a price. 

Far from a dark art, Voodoo is a religion of resiliency and a way that enslaved individuals maintained a tie to their homeland and traditions. Misunderstood by outsiders for generations, Voodoo illustrates the power of belief and the strength many people find in faith. So the next time you find yourself in New Orleans, consider learning the deep and rich history of Voodoo. You may be surprised at what you discover. 

Thanks, peeps. I will see you next week.

OUTRO