Mama Lola

Approximately 90 percent of Haitians are Catholic and 10 % are Protestant (Jacobson, 2003). Within the Haitian-American community, however, Voodoo exists side by side with Christian faiths. Jacobson goes on to explain that “many Haitians see no contradiction in calling themselves Christians while engaging in Voodoo practices” (2003). In Haiti, Catholicism is highly ritualistic and religious practices combine the ancient rituals of African-based cultures with Western-based faith practices. Jacobson explains that “Voodoo cosmology is made up of a large numbers of supernatural spirits…these spirits are believed to have great influence on human beings and for that reason, they must be respected” (2003).

In “In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens”, Alice Walker looks to educate us on the hardships that almost all black women face when trying to express themselves through things such as art. She delves into many sociological and psychological concepts that have affected black women throughout human history. These concepts and ideologies created a realm for mass exclusion, discrimination, and oppression of many African American women, including Alice Walker’s Mother, who Alice utilizes as one of her particular examples. The writing thematically aims to show how these concepts of sexism, racism, and even classism have contributed to black women’s lack of individuality, optimism, and fulfillment for generations. The author does a tremendous job of defending and expanding upon her arguments. She has a credible background, being a black woman that produces the art of literature herself. As well as being raised by one, Walker’s first-hand experience warrants high regard. Therefore, her use of abstract and introspective language is presented clearly and convincingly. Also, her use of evidence and support from sources like Jean Toomer, Virginia Woolf, and Phillis Wheatley, all produce more validity for her stance through poems, quotes, and even experiences. All these individuals have their own accounts pertaining to the oppression of black women and their individuality. Successfully arguing that the artistry plights of black women described in “In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens” are

When most western people think about Native American or African religions there is a certain stigma that comes with the topic. This is in part because there is a lot of misinformation in the world about Native American and African religions. When most westerners think of African religions they think of voodoo and black magic. Likewise, the view of Native American religions is still looked at through the lens of the pilgrims who wrote about Native Americans as being savages and less than human. These stereotypes were all formed from a lack of accurate information. African and Native American religions are very similar. It is difficult to find a lot of accurate information on African and Native American indigenous religions because of the lack of written history but there is a lot of oral history that has been passed down from generation to generation. From this information, it is clear that Native American and African religions have many more similarities than they do differences. Three of these similarities will be discussed in this paper. The first topic of discussion is the similarity between African and Native American people when it comes to their perception of the spirit world. Following this topic are the similarities between Native American and African views on the afterlife and finally, the diversity of beliefs within African and Native American religions.

In Zora Neale Hurtson’s ethnography, Tell My Horse (1938), she uses her research and field notes from her year in the Caribbean islands to study how the political atmosphere and culture tie into the religion of Vodoun. Being one of the first in her field to study this religion, Hurston hoped to expand research upon the subtle nuances within the African diaspora and increase the people of Caribbean’s acceptance of their African identity. In doing so, Hurtson found her research discouraged the idea of Pancaribbeanism and diminished stereotypes of Vodoun being a religion based upon only evil possession and pagan sacrifice.

Elialde author of The Sacred and the Profane introduces a new model of the sacred and the profane. Elialde’s model is meant to be universal, therefore meant to be appropriate for any recognized religion. David Carrasco author of Religions of Mesoamerica and Kay Almere Read and Jason J. González authors of Mesoamerican Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs of Mexico and Central America, discuss their interpretation of the Mesoamerican religion although their views on the Mesoamerican religion differs in some aspects when compared to Eliade’s model of the sacred and the profane there are a few noticeable similarities between both views.

This autobiography is about a young girl named Frado, who was born free but when her mother Mag and step-father Seth abandoned her, she was forced into being an indentured servant for the family she was left with. Mag was a white woman who became an outcast after she bore a child out of wed-lock. The child only live but a few short weeks before she passed away; Mag found it to be a blessing for the child couldn’t be taunted for her mother’s mistake. After leaving the town that looked down upon her, she met and befriended a black man named Jim, he later convinced her to marry him, which in this 19th century society put her even lower on the totem-poll. Together they had two beautiful mulatto children, Frado and a son whose name was never mentioned in the book. After a couple of years of being

Labor of Love states that a majority of a black woman’s work was molded by her family obligations, yet were vitally diverse from such experienced by white people, regardless of social class and wealth. The updated version reviews such advances and others in the labors and family lives of African American women with a more critical perspective and understanding.

For centuries, Africans and their belief systems have been derided. Instead of being studied as “valid and meaningful responses to the universal terms of human existence,” African religions have often been considered “exotic objects… peculiar and incomprehensible or repellent.” For many Europeans, Christianity was by far the superior religion, and they strove to convert Africans. One kingdom where they seemed to enjoy success was Kongo. By 1704, the people living there had been Catholic “for six generations – nearly two centuries.” The Kongolese took great pride in this, believing that it made them “superior” to their neighbours. Moreover, both the Kongolese and the Church took pride in the fact that Christianity “had come to Kongo not through conquest and forced conversion, but through the voluntary conversion of João I.” Despite this achievement, though, the Church more – the Kongolese had to practice Catholicism exactly as the Europeans did. With the coming of Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita, who claimed to be possessed by Saint Anthony, this conflict would become more apparent than ever before. Though the Capuchins succeeded in having Dona Beatriz burnt at the stake, they failed in their ultimate goal of fully converting the Kongolese to their form of Catholicism.

The religion detailed and examined throughout Don Talayesva’s “Sun Chief” can be difficult to understand and near impossible to appreciate. At first glance to the casual reader it can appear shallow and ridiculous; a religion created around the wants and needs of the Hopi but not based on any empirical or even supposed sacred evidence. When coupled with The Sacred Canopy however, the reader begins to understand the simplistic beauty of their religion providing necessary guidance and support to the Hopi tribe. The reader also is able to relate to Don’s religion in terms of the love one has for his or her own dogma and the importance it plays in an individual’s life.

In the biography, Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn, written by Karen McCarthy Brown introduces Mama Lola, or Alourdes, a Voudou priestess whom she met while working on an ethnographic survey (1). The book discusses the dynamics of Haitian Vodou and its importance in the lives of its practitioners. Voudouists serve the spirits and one particular group of spirits; the Ezili is a family of many spirits but three specific spirits that are examined. These three spirits: Lasyrenn, Ezili Dantó, and Ezili Freda act as parallels for Haitian women, like Mama Lola.

While the Native Americans and the Africans inhabited two different continents, their belief system has a plethora of similarities pertaining to their core values. The basis of their religion also, in some ways, epitomizes modern day religion such as rites of passage. Their differences are shallow in context when it comes to what they view as sacred and holy and including religious rituals that are performed for a specific reason or transformation. Both Native American and African mythologies center around the ideology of harmony, balance, and cyclical nature of all beings through animistic symbolization. To a certain degree, all outsiders or nonnatives who study the belief systems of indigenous religions have found that indigenous religion is more than just a religion or belief system but rather an inherent way of living. To name or label indigenous beliefs as “religion” or any other is to have a bias based on our own views of transformation and ultimacy.

   Historically, the job of women in society is to care for the husband, the home, and the children. As a homemaker, it has been up to the woman to support the husband and care for the house; as a mother, the role was to care for the children and pass along cultural traditions and values to the children. These roles are no different in the African-American community, except for the fact that they are magnified to even larger proportions. The image of the mother in African-American culture is one of guidance, love, and wisdom; quite often the mother is the shaping and driving force of African-American children. This is reflected in the literature of the

Mammie, Jezebel, and the ever ready prostitute and Sapphire. In “Four Women” Nina Simone links the history of black women in America as defined

Jacobs autobiography which is known by the name of ‘Incidents in a Life of a Slave Girl’ gave a true account of the treatment that black women faced during that time and also throwing some light on a perception which has been kept in shadows from the society. While writing the story of her life, Jacobs though focused on her defeat due to obstacles like race and gender, gave voice to something which was hidden from society regardless of the presence of patriarchal society of the nineteenth century.

The third controlling image of Black womanhood is that of the welfare mother, which is linked to Black women’s increasing dependence on the welfare state (Collins, 76). This time, the punishment is for failing to work. Rather than being a bad mother for deserting the children, now the concern is being with the children too much and not working. Again, by pinpointing the Welfare Mother as the cause,