A National Vodou Ceremony: A few quick notes for you this Monday, starting with the news that several hundred Vodou practitioners in Haiti held a public ceremony for those killed by the devastating January 12th earthquake.
“Dressed in white, shaking decorated gourd rattles and singing praises to “Olorum Papa” (God the Father), several hundred practitioners of Haiti’s voodoo religion held a public ceremony on Sunday to honor those killed in the January 12 earthquake. While several Christian ceremonies have been held to mourn the hundreds of thousands of quake dead, this was the first national commemoration by Haiti’s voodoo religion, which has had to defend itself against accusations by some Evangelical preachers that it somehow caused the deadly natural disaster.”
Religious tensions have been high in Haiti since the earthquake, as some evangelical organizations have blamed Vodou for the earthquake, while others have been accused of using coercive proselytizing techniques, and in one (thankfully isolated) incident, violently interrupting a Vodou ceremony for the dead. This ceremony seemed to pass without incident, with Houngan Jean Claude Bazile defiantly calling out: “It’s voodoo that gives us freedom.”
The Case of the Occult Roses? Someone has been leaving roses and other wedding-related items at the doorstep of Lockport Christian Church in Lockport, New York (near Buffalo), and Pastor Kevin Wing seems certain there are sinister occult overtones to these incidents.
Wing’s son, Michael, found that the dates when items were left corresponded with dates of pagan or satanic rituals. “The incidents fell on the new moon, and satanic rituals recognize certain calendar dates,” Pastor Wing said last week. “We did seek some counseling and have felt there is a possibility that there is a pagan who is performing ceremonies at the church. . . . “We wanted our congregation to know that this was a police matter. Any time we are targeted, this would be considered harassment.”
Someone is leaving roses, chocolates, cake, a ring bearer’s pillow and goblet half-filled with wine at a church doorstep and its got to be a Pagan doing it? Considering the first incident happened three years ago, and twice more recently, it seems far more likely to be disgruntled former member, than a Satanist or Pagan. The Buffalo News actually talks to a Pagan, who also dismisses the idea of it being some sort of occult working.
“A local pagan, who declined to let her name be used, said the incidents were unlikely to have been related to pagan or satanic rituals because all the items left were based in Christianity. “The pagan religion is not anti-Christian, but teaches tolerance. It is the study of all religions,” she said. The woman speculated that the Lockport Christian Church may have been targeted in such a way because of their proselytizing in the area. “Maybe this is about religious tolerance,” she said.”
Why are they so convinced it’s occult in nature? My guess is that has little to do with “certain calendar dates”, and whole lot more to do with the theology taught at their church. Lockport Christian Church is a Charismatic congregation that believes in “gifts of the Spirit” and that “signs and wonders” are a normal part of worship. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they were engaged in regular spiritual warfare activities, and like all religious organizations that thrive on (usually imagined) spirit-world conflict are constantly looking for enemies in every happening, slight, or inconvenience. No matter who the culprit might be, they’ll most likely be seen as a dupe/servant of Satan by the church.
Who’s behind the dead and injured animals: Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York has been seeing a rash of strange animal deaths in the last couple weeks, culminating in the injury of a local swan. Thankfully, despite some initial reports to the contrary, park officials don’t think the animal parts and strange deaths are the work of practitioners of Santeria.
Initial reports linked the dead animals to Santeria rituals, but Assistant Commissioner of NYC Parks and Recreation Tupper Thomas told WPIX Friday that that explanation was off the table: “We feel that somebody has probably been bringing in the chicken parts and the entrails, brought it in and dumped it there for God only knows what reason.”
There doesn’t seem to be a prevailing theory at this point, though officials did point out that some animal sickness is common after a long Winter. Water contamination testing is slated, and while some are concerned that these killing are ritualistic, no sane Santero or Vodouisant would so carelessly butcher an animal or scatter offal in a public place. Misunderstood Afro-Cuban/Caribbean faiths are often the scapegoat for dead animal parts left in public places, but as I’ve been saying for some time, they should be looking for sadistic teenagers, disturbed adults, and potential serial killers instead.
That’s all I have for now, have a great day!
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