Friday 27 January 2012
Wednesday 18 January 2012
Mardi Gras and Marinet
It has been a strange few days, though that is common here in Haiti.
We began the cycle of Mardi Gras in Jacmel on Sunday.
There seemed to be wave after wave of people "blacked up" for the event. The people who are eager to get involved covered themselves in a black tar like substance and ran up the street. To be honest I have not asked what the "masking" with black signifies and perhaps I shall explore that further in another installment, as we have another Mardi Gras this Sunday, which I should also like to get some photographs of.
It was only a day or so after that Papa Danis announced that he had something for me to photograph and help with. I wandered back to Cyvadier to find a well organised pile of wood, and foliage, from the tree that had been cut down to make tambour from. Papa was workinf away at arranging the foliage and started to throw rocks on top of it, so I jumped in to give him a hand.
We continued work for some time and then decided that with the sunlight leaving we would continue the following day. As we worked I had the distinct impression form Marinet that it was time to give her a goat, and due to the nature of the work at hand it made a little too much sense. I mentioned it to Papa Danis and we organised to purchase a goat the following morning.
Papa Danis managed to secure a beautiful goat and so we continued on the work. It was Tuesday and so perfect to work with the Petwo Lwa. Regardless of anything we were doing what was not only asked of us though what we enjoy greatly, working with the Lwa.
The goat was lowered into the middle of the pile of rocks and we prepared to hold the prayer. My brother, Sonson was coming along for the work, and we started our own prayers, prior to singing La Priye Ginen. The time eventually came and we lit the fire. It was a beautiful and sad occasion. I find that every time we brule Marinet I end up fighting back some tears. There is a strange sadness and release that comes with this particular service. Whilst the fire was not intended for this purpose initially, and so the building of the wood and rocks differs from the traditional brule Marinet, it was she who asked for this work at this time.
There was a strange phenomena during the burning process. Somehow the goat was released from the centre of the fire. She escaped into the garden though did not run away. Not one hair was burned. With the collapsing wood and the rocks caving in, there was no reasonable explanation of this. Marinet was happy and the last photo actually shows that within the flames a goats head appeared and then left. The work was done.
Today we gave the goat to Papa Danis' father to look after, and made him very happy. The fire still smoulders and we have been smiled upon. I was very happy that this turned out the way it did, and due to specific circumstance not only are the Lwa thankful for the work that we have done, though also an old man is very happy.
We began the cycle of Mardi Gras in Jacmel on Sunday.
There seemed to be wave after wave of people "blacked up" for the event. The people who are eager to get involved covered themselves in a black tar like substance and ran up the street. To be honest I have not asked what the "masking" with black signifies and perhaps I shall explore that further in another installment, as we have another Mardi Gras this Sunday, which I should also like to get some photographs of.
It was only a day or so after that Papa Danis announced that he had something for me to photograph and help with. I wandered back to Cyvadier to find a well organised pile of wood, and foliage, from the tree that had been cut down to make tambour from. Papa was workinf away at arranging the foliage and started to throw rocks on top of it, so I jumped in to give him a hand.
We continued work for some time and then decided that with the sunlight leaving we would continue the following day. As we worked I had the distinct impression form Marinet that it was time to give her a goat, and due to the nature of the work at hand it made a little too much sense. I mentioned it to Papa Danis and we organised to purchase a goat the following morning.
Papa Danis managed to secure a beautiful goat and so we continued on the work. It was Tuesday and so perfect to work with the Petwo Lwa. Regardless of anything we were doing what was not only asked of us though what we enjoy greatly, working with the Lwa.
The goat was lowered into the middle of the pile of rocks and we prepared to hold the prayer. My brother, Sonson was coming along for the work, and we started our own prayers, prior to singing La Priye Ginen. The time eventually came and we lit the fire. It was a beautiful and sad occasion. I find that every time we brule Marinet I end up fighting back some tears. There is a strange sadness and release that comes with this particular service. Whilst the fire was not intended for this purpose initially, and so the building of the wood and rocks differs from the traditional brule Marinet, it was she who asked for this work at this time.
There was a strange phenomena during the burning process. Somehow the goat was released from the centre of the fire. She escaped into the garden though did not run away. Not one hair was burned. With the collapsing wood and the rocks caving in, there was no reasonable explanation of this. Marinet was happy and the last photo actually shows that within the flames a goats head appeared and then left. The work was done.
Today we gave the goat to Papa Danis' father to look after, and made him very happy. The fire still smoulders and we have been smiled upon. I was very happy that this turned out the way it did, and due to specific circumstance not only are the Lwa thankful for the work that we have done, though also an old man is very happy.
Tuesday 10 January 2012
Just do it...
In Haiti there is an amazing attitude that allows people to simply get the job done. The cement loaded onto this truck was an incredible amount too great for the machine, though they gave it a go. Most of the time it works out, though on this occasion it did not. The T-junction that this occurred on is at the end of the main road through Jacmel. Traffic managed to flow around this intersection without fuss whilst swiftly another truck appeared and with a few men the loads were transferred and the two trucks continued on the delivery. In many other cities police would have been present and so too would an onslaught of needless people and machinery. Here the job just gets done.
This is life in Haiti, everything is simpler and yet more confused. Everything is a dichotomy as I keep referring to in these little slices of thought. I never experienced this level of chaos and order whilst living in Australia. To be sure I could not imagine society in Australia surviving the way it does here. There is an incredible resilience in these people, and yet all too often things are simply swept under the carpet. The amazing thing about this attitude is that sooner or later the lumps under the carpet are not only noticeable though also easy to trip over. Somehow in Haiti, there are seldom times that people trip over.
This is one of the ways in which things move along here in Haiti: the religion. Whilst there are those who profess to be staunch protestants, there is Vodou and magick in everyday life which is an inescapable part of the culture. Once a year there is Carnival in Jacmel and the weekly madri-gras leading up to it start on this coming Sunday. I am hoping to get some pictures and footage to share during that time. The video-music above is from Azor, one of the great Racine singers who unfortunately died last year, we here of an infection. The hospital system here is dismal. My adopted grandmother went to hospital last Sunday with a broken wrist, after taking a fall. The result from the visit was a wait until Tuesday when the doctor would be at the hospital. Yesterday she underwent surgery and all shall be well, I am very happy to report. The fall seems to have been the result of persecution, which is a form of malevolent magick used by unkind soles here. She is a lovely lady who knows Medsen-Fey, the art of using leaves to cure, mixed with many prayers to Saints and even the Lwa of Vodou. Why would anyone want to hurt her? The answer is they did not, though magick falls awry at times, and the intended target is not always the one who receives the ill tide of will.
Work has been done and the magick lifted, and the Lwa have worked to ensure a swift and gracious recovery. This is my job here as one of the hougan at the local peristyle. We work to benefit people of all persuasions. In healing there can be no prejudice, when someone is in need someone needs to heed the call. This is life and love is necessary at every turn. Without love we would all fall into a place best left alone. Everyone endures slices of it, and this is what serves to remind us to respect other people and help where we can. At least it does for me. When I broke up with my ex I found myself seeing other couples and becoming overjoyed for them. I still feel this way when I see people in love. No matter who you are or where you may be love is an important part of life, or at least so for me. At times where love is lacking or being restrained there must be comfort in other forms.
One thing I find great comfort in here is nature. I have seen many beautiful things and yesterday, sitting on a rock above the ocean was one such experience. Looking out at the seemingly endless ocean i felt at peace. The rocks edging the terrain also took on a beauty of there own, lying in seemingly chaotic ways though resting together like lovers of a time gone past. The plants and animals near by, further sentiments of beauty. It was one of the most tranquil experiences of my life. I had gone there to light a candle for one of the Lwa and found my self sitting there gazing in wonderment of nature. I really need to remember to take my camera out with me.
There is a point in life where we need to make difficult decisions and now is one such moment for me. I do have many a synchronicity helping me along, and for this I am grateful. Change is sweeping in with this New Year and it feels a little like a round-a-bout at the moment, though the amazing thing will be in finding where one may get off. For me an adventure is still afoot. It is true that I am getting to know my way around, and that the language is not the challenge that it was. It is also true that there are many people here who now know who I am, though the surprise is still to come. There are events which have almost become daily repetitions and yet there are things that change in every circumstance. The real thing left to change is myself. That is the most interesting journey.
Friday 30 December 2011
Last day of the year...
I feel that it is time to write another installment in this little adventure...
Today is actually the 30th in Haiti, though the last day of the year in my home town in Australia, as such it felt like the last opportunity to write for the year. Tomorrow I shall be working and following that I shall quite likely go to the Bee club to enjoy my second New Years eve in Haiti, my third in total including the 2008-2009 New Years. The first time I was here I slept from eight in the evening through to the next morning and so there was not any event for me, other than a dream which yielded true.
Last year I discovered that on New Years eve, at least that year at the Bee club, there seemed to be the usual build up to the timely change of year. It was strange however, that even though early in the evening we had all lit candles on our tables there was no count down to the change over. The midnight exchange never occurred other than as a passing moment like any other. We shall learn if the same happens again in two days time.
Life has been moving along here, and whilst I am experiencing a new level of contact, it almost feels though the year has passed me by whilst I slept. The New Year promises much, of which will be interesting. For those who are so inclined it is time now to clean everything. To enter the next phase, which has been upon us since the dawn of December, it would be best done clean. Any filth remaining from this year shall prove to be a stubborn stain to rid oneself of after first light on the first of January. That is simply the way it is....
Here in Haiti I have spent much of the last month in one room. I did venture out to the peristyle in Cyvadier for the 22nd and 23rd of December o aid with the events of service on those nights. The following Sunday I returned to the peristyle to make a new Asson for myself with the aid of my Papa. The new Asson is filled with the new current venturing upon us in this new time. There are those who have spoken of a change of Aeon and so forth already here, though this is a "minor" shift entering now with 2012, which shall have fantastic results.
It is my firm belief that it is well time for change, and that change must occur in the hearts and souls of each individual as he or she may see fit. Remember however, that the shift in you shall directly affect those around you, and particularly those who you love. In turn, their shift shall affect you. Be prepared for the change, for in those who will it so this shall be dramatic, for some a dark night of the soul may even ensue. For me, this has already been in practice for some time now. I am eagerly awaiting the events in the next few days as I stretch my wings and work toward a higher goal. My faith in the change about to occur is so emboldened that I have much to do. I have been working toward this for some time now, and there are those who have fallen as a result. They each have the chance to pick themselves up and it is interesting to watch who has done just, who is in the process of doing so and who shall be left behind. This is an important step in my work and shall yield most definite results.
Life is not the same for all, even though we travel the same road. For some of us, the very nature of our calling can lead to a lonely path. This may be rectified with other "friends" who travel with us. It is true however that there is nothing as comforting as a genuine physical hug, that is the nature of being physical.
As I regard the cleanliness of the white room surrounding me I am thankful to my wife to be for the efforts in cleaning this morning. Certain events of the previous night have landed me in bed for the day, left to contemplate much. Indeed it was determined that until now the laptop would even be out of my jurisdiction. This enabled ample time for my mind to wander and for me to gaze upon the thought patterns and directions of flow in my ether at this point in time. This is an interesting exercise at any given moment, though with the current surrounding circumstances and energies leaving and gaining on us this is ever more an important exercise. I am now at peace, through the turmoil of inevitability, which is illusory as much as it is real.
The smell of barbeque chicken wafts into my room from the sales point next door. I name it this as it is merely a space between buildings fenced with a gate at the front. There is no roof other than a small verandah for one section where the fridge is situated. The image of it a reminder of the geographical location of my life. In most other countries it would be a shop, though here it is what it is. An amazing quality of the people in Haiti is their ability to work with what they have. Here there is no other way. If one were to wait for the niceties of the capitalist wealth we are accustomed to in Australia nothing would occur here and it would fall backward into an abandonment of society.
I am at once in pain and fully satisfied with where things lay. All I need to do is arrange the pieces into a more beautiful pattern. This is absurd of course, as everything is beautiful as it naturally lies, however there are certain pragmatic dogmas which enable us to trick ourselves into thinking that we know best. This is also true however as beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. There are art that one individual may find solace in whilst others are repelled by the same imagery device. The sun shall be refurbished and new on the first and it shall remain the same equally. This is the way of being. Everything here is a perception, without that we would not have difference.
I am charged with certain authority and pose for the events of the next two days, as we prepare the energies to land in the most befitting fashion. To channel these points of reality into our own shall take care and precision. It was the Lwa who first handed me one of the tasks with which I shall help the shaping of the New Year, and it was Papa who handed me the other. I knew intrinsically what it was for me to do and the words coming from my Papa simply added the physical element to what shall occur.
There are certain things afoot which can neither be avoided or disappointed. It is my duty to enter the new stage with enthusiasm and a sense of duty. This duty is to myself first and foremost. There are certain accomplishments to be had which must be undertaken and overturned as the case may be... Certain choices must be made and so the time before the New Year is that time of choosing. There are some things which circumstance shall reveal in time, though where the choice is freely available now I shall perform the task and continue on.
It was a strange scenario last night, where both my SELF and spirit set in motion a chain of events that shall lead to somewhere in fluid concentration. My life is about to turn around and so too with it are the stars. Lucifer rising... This is a much misunderstood concept and only after study of the Luciferian tradition shall one understand. This is not the Lucifer sold to you by the church, though another chap entirely. If the press were to speak of the attributes of one of your friends and you saw it on the NEWS, would it be accurate?
Here as a Vodouisant there is no conflict between the Luciferian tradition and the Lwa, or for that matter with Bondye herself. It must also be said that many Vodouisant travel to church and abide the rulings of Jesus as perscribed by the church and still serve the Lwa without conflict. Vodou is an ancestor tradition and as such available to anyone who has ancestors; which of course is everybody on the face of mother Earth.
Life is ever changing, whether we are aware of it or not. Styles change, hair, bodies, friends, the Prime Minister. Everything changes given time and it is for each individual to find their foot holding. This is precisely the point I am at. I threw the changes in my life into overdrive by moving to Haiti, a culture so far removed from the one I grew into in Australia, and yet the same. As coached by my grandfather, I. V. H. Reavley, it does not matter the colour of ones skin, the religion to which they subscribe, or the country from which they originate, people are fundamentally the same. It is true however that given a long period of time in one culture leads to certain conditioning that may be best to adjust to suit ones newer surrounding environment.
There are certain aspects of myself which have remained far too flexible since my arrival in Haiti, whilst there are other attributes which perhaps need to be further flexible. I am at the point of watching which objects of mind need to be positioned in which applications. Change is something that rises fear in many, whether they would admit to it or not. It is however a law of life and as such needs to be considered as timely.
This report is more of a lesson in headspace of one individual whilst traveling into further quantities of space rather than a certain directive on how to exist in Haiti. As such, there are topics of thought which may not come easily to every reader. If one can see the art in this piece and understand the conditioning of such then it would be easier to gain from it,whether planning to travel to Haiti or any place on Earth or space.
I do watch the interaction of the Lwa and my own mind in certain fascination, as I am in a position where there will be those who are foreign to this country who will wish to understand and without my observance I shall not be of any help to them. Travel is not only an outer experience, and may be done whilst sitting in one room. The geographical displacement of the physical being adds to this in some fashion however, as many of the stimuli is differed from ones "natural" state of being.
As I have mentioned there was an incident last night where whilst I instigated it on the conscious level, it seemed to be carried out in a differing state, and I can not honestly remember the entire proceeding. Usually, in Haiti my experience is that if I loose time Lwa have mounted me and I was not present for what transpired. Last night did seem however, to be different, whilst maintaining some similarities. There were two Lwa in my head for the majority of the afternoon and the evening prior to the actuality of what happened. However, it were more so after the incident that the Lwa seemed to return to running through my mind space. It must be considered then that another spirit or perhaps a part of myself was responsible to the carrying out of the action. There may be then, some learning from ones own conscious how to manipulate a circumstance in teh way that the Lwa seem to. When the Lwa mount there is no memory of the actions carried out by that Lwa whilst it takes hold of the body. In Vodou, we say that the spirit of the individual is displaced and replaced by the Lwa. Once the Lwa has finished their work they leave the body and the individual returns. I certainly have experienced this on many occasions.
So where does this experience leave me? The answer is not so simple and yet here is one: This was a portion of a greater work, the entirety of which I am yet to be made aware, though I am well aware of the direction. This is part of something that will propel me forward and along with me shall come those who wish to do so. The action is incomplete and still in motion. One cannot give a report on an experiment whilst the reflux is still in motion or the liquid is currently being distilled. We can only give a glimpse into what is currently occurring and then fill in the report after the fact. This is the point where my writing is. I have no option other than to leave it there, and await certain results.
Today is actually the 30th in Haiti, though the last day of the year in my home town in Australia, as such it felt like the last opportunity to write for the year. Tomorrow I shall be working and following that I shall quite likely go to the Bee club to enjoy my second New Years eve in Haiti, my third in total including the 2008-2009 New Years. The first time I was here I slept from eight in the evening through to the next morning and so there was not any event for me, other than a dream which yielded true.
Last year I discovered that on New Years eve, at least that year at the Bee club, there seemed to be the usual build up to the timely change of year. It was strange however, that even though early in the evening we had all lit candles on our tables there was no count down to the change over. The midnight exchange never occurred other than as a passing moment like any other. We shall learn if the same happens again in two days time.
Life has been moving along here, and whilst I am experiencing a new level of contact, it almost feels though the year has passed me by whilst I slept. The New Year promises much, of which will be interesting. For those who are so inclined it is time now to clean everything. To enter the next phase, which has been upon us since the dawn of December, it would be best done clean. Any filth remaining from this year shall prove to be a stubborn stain to rid oneself of after first light on the first of January. That is simply the way it is....
Here in Haiti I have spent much of the last month in one room. I did venture out to the peristyle in Cyvadier for the 22nd and 23rd of December o aid with the events of service on those nights. The following Sunday I returned to the peristyle to make a new Asson for myself with the aid of my Papa. The new Asson is filled with the new current venturing upon us in this new time. There are those who have spoken of a change of Aeon and so forth already here, though this is a "minor" shift entering now with 2012, which shall have fantastic results.
It is my firm belief that it is well time for change, and that change must occur in the hearts and souls of each individual as he or she may see fit. Remember however, that the shift in you shall directly affect those around you, and particularly those who you love. In turn, their shift shall affect you. Be prepared for the change, for in those who will it so this shall be dramatic, for some a dark night of the soul may even ensue. For me, this has already been in practice for some time now. I am eagerly awaiting the events in the next few days as I stretch my wings and work toward a higher goal. My faith in the change about to occur is so emboldened that I have much to do. I have been working toward this for some time now, and there are those who have fallen as a result. They each have the chance to pick themselves up and it is interesting to watch who has done just, who is in the process of doing so and who shall be left behind. This is an important step in my work and shall yield most definite results.
Life is not the same for all, even though we travel the same road. For some of us, the very nature of our calling can lead to a lonely path. This may be rectified with other "friends" who travel with us. It is true however that there is nothing as comforting as a genuine physical hug, that is the nature of being physical.
As I regard the cleanliness of the white room surrounding me I am thankful to my wife to be for the efforts in cleaning this morning. Certain events of the previous night have landed me in bed for the day, left to contemplate much. Indeed it was determined that until now the laptop would even be out of my jurisdiction. This enabled ample time for my mind to wander and for me to gaze upon the thought patterns and directions of flow in my ether at this point in time. This is an interesting exercise at any given moment, though with the current surrounding circumstances and energies leaving and gaining on us this is ever more an important exercise. I am now at peace, through the turmoil of inevitability, which is illusory as much as it is real.
The smell of barbeque chicken wafts into my room from the sales point next door. I name it this as it is merely a space between buildings fenced with a gate at the front. There is no roof other than a small verandah for one section where the fridge is situated. The image of it a reminder of the geographical location of my life. In most other countries it would be a shop, though here it is what it is. An amazing quality of the people in Haiti is their ability to work with what they have. Here there is no other way. If one were to wait for the niceties of the capitalist wealth we are accustomed to in Australia nothing would occur here and it would fall backward into an abandonment of society.
I am at once in pain and fully satisfied with where things lay. All I need to do is arrange the pieces into a more beautiful pattern. This is absurd of course, as everything is beautiful as it naturally lies, however there are certain pragmatic dogmas which enable us to trick ourselves into thinking that we know best. This is also true however as beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. There are art that one individual may find solace in whilst others are repelled by the same imagery device. The sun shall be refurbished and new on the first and it shall remain the same equally. This is the way of being. Everything here is a perception, without that we would not have difference.
I am charged with certain authority and pose for the events of the next two days, as we prepare the energies to land in the most befitting fashion. To channel these points of reality into our own shall take care and precision. It was the Lwa who first handed me one of the tasks with which I shall help the shaping of the New Year, and it was Papa who handed me the other. I knew intrinsically what it was for me to do and the words coming from my Papa simply added the physical element to what shall occur.
There are certain things afoot which can neither be avoided or disappointed. It is my duty to enter the new stage with enthusiasm and a sense of duty. This duty is to myself first and foremost. There are certain accomplishments to be had which must be undertaken and overturned as the case may be... Certain choices must be made and so the time before the New Year is that time of choosing. There are some things which circumstance shall reveal in time, though where the choice is freely available now I shall perform the task and continue on.
It was a strange scenario last night, where both my SELF and spirit set in motion a chain of events that shall lead to somewhere in fluid concentration. My life is about to turn around and so too with it are the stars. Lucifer rising... This is a much misunderstood concept and only after study of the Luciferian tradition shall one understand. This is not the Lucifer sold to you by the church, though another chap entirely. If the press were to speak of the attributes of one of your friends and you saw it on the NEWS, would it be accurate?
Here as a Vodouisant there is no conflict between the Luciferian tradition and the Lwa, or for that matter with Bondye herself. It must also be said that many Vodouisant travel to church and abide the rulings of Jesus as perscribed by the church and still serve the Lwa without conflict. Vodou is an ancestor tradition and as such available to anyone who has ancestors; which of course is everybody on the face of mother Earth.
Life is ever changing, whether we are aware of it or not. Styles change, hair, bodies, friends, the Prime Minister. Everything changes given time and it is for each individual to find their foot holding. This is precisely the point I am at. I threw the changes in my life into overdrive by moving to Haiti, a culture so far removed from the one I grew into in Australia, and yet the same. As coached by my grandfather, I. V. H. Reavley, it does not matter the colour of ones skin, the religion to which they subscribe, or the country from which they originate, people are fundamentally the same. It is true however that given a long period of time in one culture leads to certain conditioning that may be best to adjust to suit ones newer surrounding environment.
There are certain aspects of myself which have remained far too flexible since my arrival in Haiti, whilst there are other attributes which perhaps need to be further flexible. I am at the point of watching which objects of mind need to be positioned in which applications. Change is something that rises fear in many, whether they would admit to it or not. It is however a law of life and as such needs to be considered as timely.
This report is more of a lesson in headspace of one individual whilst traveling into further quantities of space rather than a certain directive on how to exist in Haiti. As such, there are topics of thought which may not come easily to every reader. If one can see the art in this piece and understand the conditioning of such then it would be easier to gain from it,whether planning to travel to Haiti or any place on Earth or space.
I do watch the interaction of the Lwa and my own mind in certain fascination, as I am in a position where there will be those who are foreign to this country who will wish to understand and without my observance I shall not be of any help to them. Travel is not only an outer experience, and may be done whilst sitting in one room. The geographical displacement of the physical being adds to this in some fashion however, as many of the stimuli is differed from ones "natural" state of being.
As I have mentioned there was an incident last night where whilst I instigated it on the conscious level, it seemed to be carried out in a differing state, and I can not honestly remember the entire proceeding. Usually, in Haiti my experience is that if I loose time Lwa have mounted me and I was not present for what transpired. Last night did seem however, to be different, whilst maintaining some similarities. There were two Lwa in my head for the majority of the afternoon and the evening prior to the actuality of what happened. However, it were more so after the incident that the Lwa seemed to return to running through my mind space. It must be considered then that another spirit or perhaps a part of myself was responsible to the carrying out of the action. There may be then, some learning from ones own conscious how to manipulate a circumstance in teh way that the Lwa seem to. When the Lwa mount there is no memory of the actions carried out by that Lwa whilst it takes hold of the body. In Vodou, we say that the spirit of the individual is displaced and replaced by the Lwa. Once the Lwa has finished their work they leave the body and the individual returns. I certainly have experienced this on many occasions.
So where does this experience leave me? The answer is not so simple and yet here is one: This was a portion of a greater work, the entirety of which I am yet to be made aware, though I am well aware of the direction. This is part of something that will propel me forward and along with me shall come those who wish to do so. The action is incomplete and still in motion. One cannot give a report on an experiment whilst the reflux is still in motion or the liquid is currently being distilled. We can only give a glimpse into what is currently occurring and then fill in the report after the fact. This is the point where my writing is. I have no option other than to leave it there, and await certain results.
Sunday 11 December 2011
New Beginnings
One, Respe
The day everything ended!!!
The Veve for Brav Gede Nibo
The day everything ended!!!
The Veve for Brav Gede Nibo
After residing in Haiti for some time the night for Fet Gede arrived, and changed everything.
During the night Papa Danis had been mounted by Ti Jean as had my partner, Baby. I followed them into the bagi of the hounfor and waited for the Lwa to leave their hosts. Baby came to and left the room to return to the danse, and then Ti Jean had some things to tell me. In the seclusion of the bagi, away from wandering ears Ti Jean told me of my potential.
For days my head was not mine, thoughts meandering through a level of disbelief and confusion.
"...eat me, drink me..." time.
I am still uncertain of when things will take hold, though change is afoot and has been for some time. Everything has turned upside down and for two days now I have been in a hotel rather than with my partner back in our lakou (the group of houses in which a number of the family reside)
It has been two days since I fled the house, weary and drained from stress. I find that no matter what the situation the only thing can can really unsettle me is my partner. Some here say the problem is that I love her too much. This is however a society where men have multiple wives, and I only have one lady who, if things go well I shall marry. On that morning, however, I decided that enough was enough and packed to leave. Baby came to my room asking me not to go, though after a time I left. With divine timing, being early in the morning a tap-tap was passing as I stepped out to the dark road. It stopped and my partner's father got out. It was his tap-tap. He asked what I was doing and I said that I was headed for a hotel. He did not want me to leave as I had not spoken with my Papa as of yet. I coaxed him into taking me, and then descended upon my Aunt's hotel in the township of Jacmel. The place would not open for another two hours, though as we slowed to a stop my Aunt was opening the front door. With another divine timing I was instantly inside and in a room of my own. It was also destiny for me to enjoy some isolation as my phone had disappeared, of which I became aware once in the sanctuary of my new room.
After two very short visits, now the rain has fallen giving a further isolation. In Haiti rain means everything stops. The general mode of transport are the moto (scooter) taxis. Even with some hope that I shall see my love later it is now virtually impossible.
Whilst I have publicly said that if the relationship fails I shall leave Haiti, it is not time, and I need to await my true love. There is mystical intent to this union and as such it is not for me alone to void my responsibility and leave. Oddly enough, once at the hotel I became calm. It is though there was more than me who decided it was time to evade the politics and usual family issues during a relationship crisis. This is the way in Haiti. We are all masters of our own destiny, though there are also many other forces at work. In Haiti, the Lwa play a daily role, and the Hollywood image of Vodou has completely corrupted the truth of this religion.
For those who follow this solitary blog, a new understanding of life in Haiti shall ensue, and that is something which cannot be discussed without some discussion of the religion. In Haiti, Vodou is inseparable from the people, as it is a part of life, the same way that the people we see in the street are a part of life for us all. This is how ingrained the Vodou is in society here. I have been in night clubs where Lwa have mounted me, and from what I have been told after everything continues as though another person has simply entered the club.
I will attempt to tell my story with honesty and integrity, whilst protecting information personal to others.As it stands any discussion of my personal relationships steps into murky water, as it is personal to my partner and I. It is although integral to my story, so whilst I may not tell the entirety of a situation there will be times where it enters into some focus here. To be exact, this time in Haiti has largely been ruled by that relationship, where the ten months I was her for a short time previously was ruled by the Lwa and myself. Relationships often interrupt life, when they are awry. When relationships are doing well they are a beautiful additive to ones world. My partner shares the same soul as I do, and as such we shall always be connected, making it even more additive and at times disruptive to my life. This is not the usual soul mate that people discuss though rather something more distinct.
The main focus of this work is to give another perspective on Haiti. Like many well told stories this one begins at the end. The perspective that is conveyed here is mine and mine alone. This means that the information on Haiti is unique and will add to any other account of time here. I will take this time to mention that in all honesty the people here are beautiful. So many Haitians are helpful and hospitable that I was quite taken aback when I first visited in 2008. The Australian government website had spoken of danger, and suggested a copy of one's travel documents be lodged with them, for reference once one has problems. During the month that I was here, I never had an issue.
The ten months that I was here, from April 2010, also lead me to a beautiful family who took me in and made me one of their own. I was for some time the only foreigner in the area, other than passing doctors and other foreign aid workers, though they tended to appear for a couple of weeks and then vanish. When I first arrived I did not speak Kreyol, and with very few people speaking English in Haiti there were times that it was difficult. After some time I learnt more of the language and it became easier, though I never had a moment where the kind help of others did not prevail.
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