by Mambo Racine Sans Bout Sa Te La Daginen

Mambo Racine Sans Bout Sa Te La Daginen — "Kathy" to her Haitian community, "Mambo Racine" to her Usenet audience — was one of the most consistent and authoritative voices on Haitian Vodou in English-language online spaces from the late 1990s through the 2000s. An American-born mambo (female Vodou priestess) initiated in Haiti, she lived for much of the year in Jacmel in the Southern Department, running a peristyle (Vodou temple) and training initiates from the United States, the United Kingdom, Trinidad, and elsewhere.

This post, written in late June 2003 on returning from a weekend trip to New Orleans, describes three ceremonies conducted by the Roots Without End Society — her initiatory house. The account is remarkable for its depth: it names specific lwa (divine spirits), describes the order of ceremony (beginning with the Priere Guinea, the long opening prayer in Creole and French), includes an original Creole liturgical song with English translation, and documents the phenomenon of possession (mounting) by several lwa including Ayida Wedo, Legba, La Sirene, Ogoun, Erzulie Freda, and Grand Bwa.

The post is also notable for what it reveals about the texture of diaspora Vodou practice: the mixing of Haitian and American practitioners, the presence of Wiccan visitors, the careful training of houngans and mambos, the relationship between initiation ceremonies (lave tet, meaning "washing the head") and ongoing liturgical education, and the deeply human moments — the sausage that made her ill, the pride in watching her initiates take the lead.

Mambo Racine posted extensively to alt.religion.voodoo and soc.culture.haiti from 2003 onward, providing some of the most detailed publicly available documentation of authentic Haitian Vodou practice in the English language.

Greetings dear Readers, in the name of God, the ancestors and the lwa! I am back home from New Orleans, and I'd like to tell you about my experiences there.

I would like first of all to thank Houngan Steven C. Denney. He lives in New Orleans full time, and has been doing weekly ceremonies in a beautiful secluded courtyard owned by the proprietors of Starling Books and Crafts, at 1022 Royal Street. He originally found us space at the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum Annex, which unlike the museum itself (a bit of a hokey tourist trap) was a meeting place for sincere seekers and legitimate practitioners. When the Annex closed, he found Starling's space. All Roots Without End Society members are very grateful to Houngan Steve.

Our first public activity was a ceremony on Friday night, to honor Ayida Wedo, La Sirene and Simbi Makaya. Quite a few Roots Without End Society members had traveled to New Orleans, including Houngan Tim, Houngan Don, Houngan Hector, Mambo Pat, Mambo Regina, Houngan Dave, and Mambo Carole-Anne. Houngan Tim and Mambo Carole-Anne brought with them from Houston quite a few members of their Wiccan group, the Coven of the Golden Dolphin.

Our drummer for the evening, and for all subsequent events, was the inimitable and irrepressible Clarence Smith — this one man can make more music with his drums than some Haitian drum teams with five members! He's positive, professional, friendly and handsome, what more could we ask for? And we must also thank Claudia, proprietor of Starling Books and Crafts, for the wonderful introduction she gave us at each ceremony, as well as for the use of her beautiful and historically preserved courtyard.

Houngan Tim prepared the three altars, and he seems to be the master altar-builder of our house. His altars are always appropriate, authentic, and unfailingly beautiful. To honor Ayida Wedo, he had plaited a rainbow of ribbons together into a serpent-like cord, and provided an egg marked with a vever in a small bowl of white flour. La Sirene's altar was radiantly beautiful and rich with seashells, champagne, and other items, and Simbi Makaya's was formidable in red and black with his whiskey, cigarettes, and the razor blades he uses to perform his garde.

Many spectators and participants from the New Orleans Vodouisant community were also present for this dance. We began with the Priere Guinea, and I was delighted to see how well my initiates have learned many of the verses. The Priere is very long and it's all in Creole or French, it's not easy even for Haitians to memorize, so I was proud of my initiates.

Then we began with the songs calling the initiates to assemble, and we performed the ritual salutes to the four directions and the procession marking off the limits of sacred space. Once this was accomplished, we began the Vodou liturgy — Legba, Marassa, Loko, Ayizan... when we came to the songs for Ayizan, I challenged Houngan Dave and he responded correctly to every secret gesture of the asson. (Houngan Dave attends every lave tet we hold, and has also attended Fet Gede in Haiti several times, and participated in the Makaya workshop held during the annual Rara festival, so he is becoming an experienced Houngan.)

By the time we arrived at the lwa Dambala and Ayida Wedo, many of the non-initiate "spectators" had become participants! Everyone was up and dancing. Ayida Wedo appeared, as did Legba! We were all very happy to see these beneficent lwa arrive, and we served them with their drinks and their foods. One member of the Golden Dolphin coven had prepared three beautiful cakes, one for each lwa, with icing and decorations, all in the correct colors.

Next we sang for the "Minocan." Minocan is not a lwa, it's an abbreviation for "all the lwa I am not calling tonight", sort of — one song for Minocan goes:

Minocan, Minocan, eh!
Yanvalou tou le sen, yanvalou tou le mo,
Hounsi yo segwelo,
Le nou rive nan hounfo, nou gwo nou gwo!
Rive nan hounfo, nou gwo nou gwo!
Minocan, Minocan, eh!
Yanvalou tou le sen, yanvalou tou le mo,
Hounsi yo segwelo.

(English translation:)
Minocan, Minocan eh!
Greet all the saints, greet all the ancestors,
The hounsis bow,
When we come to the hounfor, we are big, we are big!
Come to the hounfor, we are big, we are big!
Minocan, Minocan eh!
Greet all the saints, greet all the ancestors,
The hounsis bow.

Next was the portion of the ceremony for La Sirene. I can't say much about that, however, since La Sirene came to my head and I remember nothing. Perhaps Mambo Pat, who is a very good writer, or Houngan Tim or one of the other members present will describe her activities.

Houngan Hector had a remarkable lwa! She is the spirit of a Romany Gypsy woman, and she has been demanding of Houngan Hector a dress, jewelry and makeup. Houngan Hector was slow to comply, so she tossed him about a bit, and he complied with her wishes in time for Saturday's dance — more about that later.

Likewise the portion for Simbi Makaya! I know that he conferred his garde, which is most powerful and most effective, on seven or eight people, and it was told to me afterward that he offered the garde unexpectedly and quite freely to drummer Clarence Smith, who accepted.

The dance went on almost until midnight, and we would have continued for much longer if it wasn't for the neighbors, who are very tolerant and understanding and whose patience, therefore, we didn't wish to strain.

The next morning all members of the Roots Without End Society, dressed in glowing, immaculate white, performed the lave tet ceremony. One of the recipients had already journeyed to Haiti for the Makaya workshop, and she came to New Orleans with her husband and two small children. I was deeply honored by this vote of confidence.

The program of the lave tet ceremony is available in the "Files" section of the Vodou Arts discussion group, with vevers and songs, so I am not going to go into detail here. It was noteworthy, however, that since I was occupied with the details of the ceremony, the patron lwa of our house, La Sirene, appeared in the head of Mambo Pat! I was very, very pleased at this!

Finally, on Saturday night, Houngan Steven C. Denney, Bon Houngan Wedo M Ap File Daginen, conducted his own ceremony. In Haiti we have a proverb, "Bourik fe petit pou bay do l repo", a donkey has children to give her back a rest, and I was delighted to stand back and let my children take the lead.

Houngan Steve dedicated his ceremony to the memory of Marie Laveau and chose as his theme, "At the Water's Edge" — invoking the place at which we flesh-and-blood mortals meet with the spirits.

All of my children surprised me by how many Vodou songs they had learned and how well, how clearly and accurately they could sing them! Houngan Steve has even produced a second CD of Vodou songs, which will soon be available online. At this dance, many members of the New Orleans Vodouisant community attended, including Houngan Shane, Priestess Demaris, and other well known and well loved friends.

Houngan Tim stepped forward during the invocation to Ogoun, and sang such a thunderous and energetic invocation that Ogoun quickly descended into his head! I stood back and watched with pride as my initiates correctly received, saluted and served Ogoun — Ogoun, pleased with his service, made the rounds of the people present, greeting them and giving counsel.

At the same time, Ogoun's beloved Erzulie Freda appeared in the head of Mambo Carole-Anne! Again she was correctly received and served by my initiates as I stood by proudly observing, and leading song after song. In fact, quite a few of those present became possessed by various lwa, and I stepped into the breach in the role of houngenikon, leading the singing since so many of my initiates were otherwise occupied!

Houngan Hector has developed a rapport with Grand Bwa, and Grand Bwa didn't miss the opportunity to appear and bless us all with his vigor and strength. Houngan Hector's gypsy spirit also returned, and properly attired and made-up, she was much more affable. I think she will become a very good magical work lwa for Houngan Hector, who is already a very skilled magician.

We danced and sang long into the night! Finally we closed, and I went back to my hotel to recover from my exertions (and from a really frightful piece of sausage that was part of my earlier meal of "jambalaya" — that sausage was a mean, mean sausage.)

In the morning we toured the town, and drove out to Bayou St. John on Lake Pontchartrain. At last we all relaxed in my hotel room and watched a bit of television as we reviewed the events. I was struck by how my initiates had developed confidence and poise, and by how well we worked as a team. That is why I carefully train my initiates when they are in Haiti, and continue their training every chance I get — it has certainly paid off.

So, as you all can tell, I am happy and proud, I am blessed with wonderful initiates and with the cooperation and participation of other Vodouisants in New Orleans. I thank God, the ancestors, and all the lwa!

Colophon

Written by Mambo Racine Sans Bout Sa Te La Daginen (Kathy Grey), a mambo asogwe of Haitian Vodou, founder of the Roots Without End Society, posted to alt.religion.voodoo, alt.religion.orisha, and soc.culture.haiti in June 2003. Mambo Racine ran a peristyle in Jacmel, Haiti and trained initiates from multiple countries for over two decades. Her posts to alt.religion.voodoo and soc.culture.haiti constitute one of the most substantial first-person documentary records of diaspora Haitian Vodou practice in the English language.

Preserved from the Usenet archive for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. Original Message-ID: [email protected]

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