Vodou and ecology

[LeGrace Benson]

Vodou honors special associations of human being with the waters of ocean, shore, streams and waterfalls; the storms; with trees, especially the palm and the mapou; with the healing and poisonous properties of leaves, blossoms and roots; of the sun. Until the very recent past most Haitians lived outside cities, and a large percentage were engaged in farming. A major theme in Haitian paintings is the depiction of bucolic village and farmland scenes, or lush tropical forest landscapes, sometimes including Adam and Eve in this Earthly Paradise. Yet we know that Haiti is one of the most devastated, fragile territories on the earth and that erosion, laterization of soils,and polllutions of the waters is a nearly overwhelming problem.

It would be of interest to read what members of KOSANBA have to teach or to question concerning this situation.