Recommended Reading

There are many good books available on Vodou, and on Haiti's recent history. The books I like best are almost all available online, others can be found at a city or university library. Barnes and Noble's online listings also include reviews, alternative selections, and other information, so if you don't see what you want on this page, use the barnesandnoble.com Search Page .

Here are my favorites:

The Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti, by Maya Deren. This was one of the first English language books on Haitian Vodou to reach a large audience. Maya Deren was a cinematographer with previous works to her credit when she went to Haiti. She brought an artist's sensibility to her work, and wrote an accurate, sensitive account of Vodou and Haiti in the 1940's. A video by the same title is available.

Vodou: Visions and Voices of Haiti, by Phyllis Galembo, is a fascinating book of color photographs documenting Vodou altars, ceremonies, Houngans and Mambos. With text by distinguished authors, this is one of the best recent offerings on the topic of Haitian Vodou.

Mama Lola: A Voodoo Priestess in Brooklyn, by Karen McCarthy Brown. This book is an account of the importance of Vodou in the lives of majority class Haitians, especially Haitian women.

The Serpent and The Rainbow, by Wade Davis. A Harvard trained ethnobotanist with an adventurous streak went to Haiti in search of the folk poison used in zombification - and he found it! A thoughtful account of crime, punishment, politics, Vodou, and Haitian folklore.

Passage of Darkness:The Ethnobiology of the Haitian Zombie, by Wade Davis, is a scholarly companion volume to The Serpent and the Rainbow.

Voodoo in Haiti, by Alfred Metraux , is one of the older works, written by a Haitian ethnologue.

The Rainy Season, by Amy Wilentz, is a personal account of the post-Duvalier years. Historical personages and ordinary Haitans are named as their lives illustrate the forces at work in Haiti. It manages to be wildly funny, terrifying, heartrending, and inspiring all at once.

Papa Doc, Baby Doc: Haiti and the Duvaliers, by James Ferguson. A very good historical account of the Duvalier dynasty, entertaining reading with black and white photographs. It provides basic information necessary to understanding Haitian politics.

Haiti: The Duvaliers and Their Legacy, by Elizabeth Abbott, is a merciless examination of the post-Duvalier miltary regimes, the seedy personalities and the murderous corruption, by an insider - Abbott was the sister-in-law of Haitian Army General Henri Namphy!

Under The Bone, by Anne-Christine D'Adesky, is a psychologically profound, almost surreal, and very on target portrayal of life under dictatorship in Haiti, and the role of Vodou in oppression and in resistance.

Aristide: An Autobiography by Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The man who united majority class Haitians, voted President of Haiti and inaugurated in February 1991, driven into exile by a bloody coup in September of the same year, restored to office in October 1994 by a United Nations intervention, and up for re-election in the year 2000! He has survived assassination attempts, developed the doctrine of liberation theology even while the Roman Catholic heirarchy did it's best to stifle him and his supporters, and become the most strident advocate of social change, even as he presided over the peaceful decommission of Haiti's mutinous Army.

Other must-reads by Haiti's once and future president are In the Parish of the Poor; Writings from Haiti, which was written prior to Aristide's tumultuous campaign and landslide victory in the presidential elections of 1990; and Dignity, an inspirational, thought provoking work tracing the development of Aristide and his political and spiritual views.

Written in Blood; The Story of the Haitian People, 1492-1995, by Robert Heinl. A sweeping historical document, detailed, accurate, constantly updated, and fascinating. A must-read for anyone seeking to understand Haiti, it's politics, and it's culture. The history of Vodou, and it's fate under both repressive and supportive political regimes, is depicted.

Dancing on Fire; Photographs from Haiti, by Maggie Steber and Amy Wilentz. Remarkable photographs by Haiti's foremost photographer, with contributions by Amy Wilentz, author of The Rainy Season.

The Haiti Files: Decoding the Crisis, edited by James Ridgeway. One of the most important works on contemporary Haitian politics and human rights conditions, this book features revealing texts from many sources. An absolute MUST READ!

AIDS and Accusation: Haiti and the Geography of Blame, by Paul Farmer, is a progressive examination of AIDS in Haiti, and how stigmatization boths serves and influence US policy there. Also read Women, Poverty, and AIDS: Sex, Drugs, and Structural Violence for an examination of the particular obstacles faced by poor women in Haiti and around the world.

The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution, by Cyril Lionel Robert James, is a detailed and well-documented account of the Haitian Revolution.

The Comedians, by Graham Greene. A biting satire set in the Duvalier years, this novel was banned in Haiti - which of course only increased it's popularity. Against a historically accurate and authentic background of places and personalities, Graham Greene spares himself nothing as he parades all of Haiti's characters - the oily Duvalierists and the haven't-got-a-clue American tourists, the thugs and the writers.

Music! Aibobo, by RAM. This group, led by the Hotel Oloffson's manager Richard Andrew Morse, transforms Haitian traditional tunes into electified rockers! Their hit song, "Fey", was a thorn in the side of the 1991 - 1994 military regime. Lyrics are in Haitian Creole and in English, and the liner notes provide transcriptions. Richard's wife Lunise Morse is a Mambo, or Vodou priestess, and she sings many of the vocal leads. This CD is just one exceptional track after another. Buy it! Dance to it!

Rhythms of Rapture: Sacred Musics of Haitian Vodou is a fine introduction to Haitian Vodou's music and related forms of Haitian popular music.

Return to The VODOU Page