The Hex 1

It wasn't a patient.  It was an interview I conducted during my research study.  A very quiet female who almost whispered the answers to every question I had.  She was young.  But she had borne four children.  Unfortunately their fate was no better than what I've found to be an alarmingly high rate of Haitian children; they died before their first birthday.  The survey prompts me to probe into their cause of death - which no one ever knows.  "Do you know what caused them to die?"  "A curse."  She said it so matter of fact that I would've mistaken it for sarcasm in the states.  This was no laughing matter.

Dr. Farmer lies to us in his books.  Or at least the message that I picked up on in his books is that voodoo is relatively non-existent in Haiti. My experience has been quite the contrary.  The belief in the power and the practice of voodoo is commonplace. This is the first of what is likely to be multiple discussions on my experiences with the voodoo culture around Arcahaie.  But back to the interview.


My follow-up questions were no longer scripted.  They came from my innate curiosity to learn as much about the local culture as I could.  I know that I live in a compound surrounded by so called "voodoo temples."  I heard their drums as they celebrated their New Year during my second week.  This was not even the first interview or patient I'd had that referred to voodoo powers in either providing treatment or causing malady.

It was the crucifix around her neck.  It had to be.  A silver cross with the figure of Jesus Christ hanging on it lying next to this woman's heart.  The same heart that truly believed that the reason her children died were because someone paid a voodoo practitioner to put a curse on them.  There is a quote that states, "Haiti is 90% Christian [Catholic] and 100% voodoo."  I feel like this woman fit the bill perfectly.  But apparently so would 90% of the population.

With further probing two of her children had had diarrhea shortly before their passing.  Another did not live to see 1 month.  When most children are delivered at home with little to no pre-natal care, an untrained 'fam sage' seeing the delivery through, and then that same 'fam sage' cutting the cord with whatever he/she can find - razor blade, glass, rusty machete, salt, rocks, etc - it isn't surprising that the childhood mortality rate is as high as it is.  But she doesn't know this.  She only knows that the voodoo priests have power beyond her comprehension and people have told her that this includes the power to curse the living.  And there are many voodoo priests to choose from.

I continued with my interview careful not to let my curiosity show through in my questioning.  I was and am always afraid that when I break off into spontaneity that people will mistake my interest in the morbid as excitement for their strife.  Unfortunately it seems that the morbid is what separates our two cultures and the differences are what I'm striving to characterize.  I try to reiterate that my intentions are solely to become acquainted with the community so that our organization can provide more appropriate medical care.  However, I've encountered many skeptics.

In the final questions of my surveys I always give the respondents the opportunity to list three needs that they perceive for the community at large.  I've received a range of responses ranging from incredibly insightful to cliche to downright confusing.  For this madame one might expect the desire to have better control over the voodoo practitioners.  In a community that seems to take violent crime very seriously - as in vigilante justice involving a rope and accelerant seriously - one would think that someone who has been the victim of murder on four occasions would perceive that as a problem.  No.  It's accepted.  In fact, she responded that she would easily go to a voodoo practitioner to heal her if the local clinic could not provide the results she wanted.  I suppose that if they are powerful enough to take life then they are also powerful enough to preserve life.  All it takes is the right amount of money.

Like I said.  I've heard many accounts of voodoo practitioners treating illnesses and causing them.  I've heard people claim to be Christian but still believe in the power of the voodoo men.  One of my workers is the son of a voodoo priest.  His fathers temple is one of the larger ones in the area.  My randomization pattern has caused me to cross paths with many voodoo men.  I've also come to find out that nearly one in five houses has a "devil house" built along side of it.  No one occupies that building except the devil.  Needless to say, he doesn't need to be interviewed for our survey's purposes.