{"id":10027,"date":"2012-07-23T11:41:53","date_gmt":"2012-07-23T18:41:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildhunt\/?p=10027"},"modified":"2012-07-23T11:41:53","modified_gmt":"2012-07-23T18:41:53","slug":"pagan-news-of-note-update-on-vodou-in-haiti-maxine-sanders-interview-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildhunt\/2012\/07\/pagan-news-of-note-update-on-vodou-in-haiti-maxine-sanders-interview-and-more.html","title":{"rendered":"Pagan News of Note: Update on Vodou in Haiti, Maxine Sanders Interview, and More!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Welcome to the working week! I hope you\u2019re all having as good a Monday as possible. Let\u2019s start off with an important update on a previously reported story, and then move on to some Pagan news of note.<\/p>\n

Haitian Government Reassures Vodouisants in Wake of Constitutional Changes:<\/strong> Last week I reported on the newly-amended\u00a0Haitian constitution<\/a>, and an assertion from\u00a0Euvonie Auguste<\/a>, head of the\u00a0National Confederation of Haitian Vodou<\/a>\u00a0(KNVA), that it removes legal protections for Vodou practitioners.<\/p>\n

Haitian Vodou Ceremony (Photo: Chip Somodevilla\/Getty).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cVoodoo would be no longer protected by the Constitution amended.\u00a0The Priestess Euvonie Auguste, Head of the National Confederation of voodoo in Haiti, deplores the abrogation of Article 297 of the Constitution which, accrding to her protected the sector voodoo against all forms of discrimination. Recall that Article 297 abrogated amongst other things the Decree-Law of 5 September 1935 on superstitious beliefs that restricted arbitrarily the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens.\u00a0Given this new constitutional situation, the priestess Euvonie Augustus, stated that now, the vodoo practitioners will have to use their own means to protect themselves from any attacks against them.<\/strong>\u201c<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

At the time I cast some doubt on this assertion, noting that\u00a0Haitian President\u00a0Michel Martelly<\/a>\u00a0wants\u00a0to build a tourism industry around Vodou<\/a>, making a new crackdown on the faith unlikely. Now,\u00a0Jo\u00ebl Turenne, Director of Legal Affairs of the Directorate General of Ministry of Religious Affairs, who apparently was stunned by these accusations, has released a statement denying that Vodou is in any way unprotected or endangered by the new constitution<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026with stupefaction the apprehensions of Voodoo sector concerning the abrogation of Article 297 of the amended Constitution\u201d brings to the attention of all concerned, that\u00a0\u201cthe constitutional amendment is and can not be prejudicial in any way, nor to the functioning of voodoo, or the rights of its adherents\u201d<\/strong>. Especially, he specifies that \u201cthe presidential decree of April 4, 2003 make of the Voodoo a religion recognized which should in no way be confused with a superstitious practice.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Director went on to claim that the infamous 1935 anti-Vodou law concerning superstitious practices is not applicable under the law as it has \u201cnever been promulgated.\u201d This sentiment was echoed by American Haitian Vodou practioner Mambo Racine<\/a>, who noted that the \u201cdefinition of Vodou as a \u201csuperstitious practice\u201d has gone out the window, that\u2019s why the amendment regarding the prohibition of \u201csuperstitious practices\u201d promoted during the long-ago regime of Haitian President Stenio Vincent is no longer needed.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 It remains to be seen if this clarification from the government will mollify\u00a0the\u00a0National Confederation of Haitian Vodou<\/a>. I\u2019ll keep you posted of any further developments.<\/p>\n

Witchtalk Talks to A Witch Queen:<\/strong>\u00a0Karagan Griffith\u2019s Witchtalk<\/a> interviewed Maxine Sanders<\/a> on the most recent episode, and you can now listen to it on Youtube<\/a>.<\/p>\n

httpv:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=cojKdLOrZgo<\/p>\n

\u201cMaxine was initiated into the Circle of Witchcraft in 1964. The High Priest of that Coven was Alex Sanders, known throughout the world as \u2018King of the Witches\u2019. Maxine and Alex were Handfasted in 1965, and legally married in 1968.\u00a0The Sanders became household names during the sixties and seventies, dramatically bringing Witchcraft, its practices and reality into global consciousness.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sanders released a autobiography entitled\u00a0\u201cFire Child: The Life & Magic of Maxine Sanders \u2018Witch Queen'\u201d<\/a>\u00a0back in 2007, and truly is an important figure in the history of modern Paganism. This interview is a must-listen, so share widely!<\/p>\n

In Other News:<\/strong><\/p>\n