660 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



is no question as to which god the candidate is to serve. Then, 

 too, to leave the circle during possession is equally considered a 

 bad omen. 



Vodu-worship in Louisiana does not seem to differ much from 

 the above, except that the office of king has almost disappeared, 

 and that the queen is paramount. In both places it is the wor- 

 ship of the Whydah Danh-gbi in a disintegrated condition, the 

 disintegration being caused by the disruption of the cult from its 

 proper habitat and surroundings, by the repressive measures en- 

 acted by the French, which caused new features to appear, "By 

 the altered condition of the worshipers, and especially by the dis- 

 appearance of the established and regular priesthood. Hence a 

 confusion of ideas, which has caused the Haytians to drift some- 

 what from the true cult; but that they know whence they ob- 

 tained it seems certain, for St. John found in a vodu temple a flag 

 of red silk, on which was embroidered, " Socidtd des Fleurs za 

 Dahomi'an." This flag was said to have been the gift of the con- 

 sort of Soulouque, the Haytian "emperor"; and the fact that 

 such a statement could be openly made and generally believed 

 is significant of the extent to which Haytian society is permeated 

 by this barbarous religion. 



One of the most striking results of the confusion of ideas is 

 the grafting of human sacrifices and cannibalism upon the wor- 

 ship of the snake-god, which, in Africa, has no connection with 

 either of these practices. This innovation is, it seems, not uni- 

 versally accepted, for St. John says that there are in Hayti two 

 sects of " vaudoux " worshipers, one of which, perhaps the least 

 numerous, offers human victims and indulges in cannibal feasts ; 

 while the other holds such practices in abhorrence, and is content 

 with the white goat and the white fowl, the proper sacrifices of 

 the African cult. The Haytians term the sacrifice of a human 

 victim the offering of "the goat without horns," a euphemism 

 for which we can find many parallels. Louisiana is, fortunately, 

 free from this horrible taint, but, from the numerous instances 

 given by St. John, there can be no doubt that the immolation of 

 young people, generally girls, is not uncommon in Hayti. At 

 page 193 he tells us of a scene witnessed by a French priest in the 

 district of Arcahaye in 1SG9. This man had persuaded some of 

 his parishioners to disguise him as a negro, and to take him to 

 witness the vodu ceremonies All went on in the manner that 

 has already been described till after the sacrifice of a white goat 

 and fowl, when a young man came and knelt before the queen 

 and said : " O maman, I have a favor to ask. Give us, to com- 

 plete the sacrifice, the goat without horns." The queen gave a 

 sign of assent, the crowd in the shed separated, and there was a 

 child sitting with its feet bound. In an instant a rope, already 



