Vodou is, at least as far as I know, generally said to be a syncretic tradition of Christian and West African spirituality. But given how brutally controlled the lives of slaves in Haiti were, how did these practices survive during the plantation period? The stereotype at least is that the practice of Vodou is done by ritual specialists, but presumably that would not have been possible.

"Secret Society Vodou". I went through training to docent at the Field Museum exhibition on Vodou and the curator who gave most of the presentation made the distinction between "everyday"^1 and "secret society" Vodou. However, despite being directly questioned repeatedly on the topic, she did not give any explanation for why the Secret Societies were secret, who they were secret from, who would have known about them, etc. Reading between the lines, I got the sense that it has something to do with the Catholic Church in Haiti, and possibly also Haitian politics. Can you give a better explanation for why the Secret Societies are secret and how they functioned in Haiti's history?^2

1. I much preferred the other speaker's use of "daylight Vodou" to "everyday".
2. I realize that the Secret Societies still exist, but, 20-year rule.

Hi I've recently been doing research on conjure traditions in the US and I wanted to get your opinion an issue that I think your experience in haiti might give insight into. Can you identify some specific new developments in ideas and practices in voodoo/conujre that only emerged after the early 20th century and the rise of the "spiritual merchants"? And what's your opinion on Hazzard-donald's book "mojo workin'"?

Oh neat, this is extremely my shit, to put it in non-academic terms - even though I know very little about it. So some questions:

a) What the relationship between Haitian and Louisiana vodou? What are the differences? Is it seen as the same religion, is it more of a protestant-catholic thing or do they see each other as separate?

b) What's the influence of native Americans on Louisiana vodou? Is the influence of French culture limited to the Catholic syncretism?

c) Considering the influence of the wider French revolution and Enlightenment thought on the Haitian revolution, how did vodou fair during the revolution? Anti-clericalism isn't the same as anti-religion, sure, but France did see things like the Cult of Reason and the Cult of the Supreme Being during the revolution. Or did vodou profit as the people's religion, with French Catholicism as the actual target of the anti-clericalism? If anti-clericalism was present at all...

And because it'll inevitably come up, do you have any reading recommendations - on all the subjects you mentioned?

This is a really small question, but I haven't been able to find the answer in my (limited, extremely casual) research.
What's the etymology of the name "Baron Samedi"? Was "Samedi" a phonetic translation of an unrelated traditional African/Non-European name, or is it originally French? If it is of French origin, what's the significance of "Saturday"? Anything you could tell me about the use of "Baron" as a title would also be appreciated. (Is it commonly used by other Loa, or just by incarnations of the same deity/religious figure?)

Did Maya Deren draw any explicit links between her film work and her ethnology? Did she ever try to, like "film Vodou" in a way?

Thanks for doing this AMA!

I am interested in the history of African Muslim communities in the Caribbean. I am somewhat familiar with the claims of Slyviane Diouf, but am otherwise unfamiliar with the topic. Are you aware of any other researchers who are working on the topic of Muslim slave/freed communities in the Caribbean?

Relatedly, the syncretic religions that I know of, (vodou, candomble, santeria) are described as mixing Christian and African Traditional Religious elements. Are there known examples of traditions in the carribean that mix African and Islamic elements. And are these termed Syncretic religions, or are they considered Africanized Islam?

What part of Africa did most Haitian slaves come from?

What were the relations between the pre-1791 colonial regime and Maroon communities? Was it anything like the Maroons of Jamaica?

What are the strongest remaining cultural influences/practices from Africa besides Vodou/Vodun?

Hi! Do we know if the idea of zombies have a cultural origin that spread, or were there multiple instances of a "reanimated body" idea coming together and mixing?

What are your thoughts on "The Serpent and the Rainbow" by Wade Davis? I know that he makes a number of claims in regards to 'zombification'/mental enslavement, but also that it is a pretty controversial book, and challenged by the scientific community.

What's the most interesting thing you've learned?

When did the practices identified as Vodou become known as Vodou? Did Vodou have any impact on the Revolution against France?

My familiarity with African syncretic religions comes from references in Afro-Caribbean music, which is my area of specialty. From what I've gathered, there seems to be a feeling that many of these African religions have similar core beliefs but within different frameworks. For example the Palo Mayombe kimpungulu Sarabanda might be seen as another version of the Lucumi orisha Ogun.

My question is whether this is unique to the diaspora, or if for example a Yoruba and a Kongo follower of their respective traditional religions would see each other as part of the same spiritualism despite their differences.

I would love to hear about the Deren chats with Campbell. Who started the letters? What did they discuss?

A friend participated in a Cuban documentary series on Latin American independence. When it fell to him to get footage from Haitian films about independence he was made to understand that the only copy of a Haitian made film about their own independence was destroyed by a fire in their national archives decades ago. A fire started indirectly by an earthquake.

With all the damage Haiti has suffered over the two centuries of it's independence, how easy/difficult a time do you have reconstructing the Haitian past, especially from colonial times and the period when they won their independence?

As someone ignorant to all things Vodou- what is the difference between Vodou and Houdoo?

I know there's a bit of a disagreement on the religion of Boukman and the type of ceremony he used to catalyze the Haitian Revolution. I was wondering if you could elaborate on the reason for the academic split, and maybe give your opinion on what his faith might have been?

How "authentic" is American (or, for that matter, English or Canadian) Vodou practice viewed in Haiti? Does Haiti sort of view itself as a "mother country" now, or is that status kind of reserved for Benin or elsewhere in West Africa?

How unique is Haiti? Did comparable traditions spring up elsewhere in the Caribbean? And if so... why is Haiti so significant?