of ave leaves {Petiven'a alliacea L.), a litre of c/airin, and ammo- 

 nia and three magically prepared lemons. The antidote prepared 

 near Leogane consisted solely of ammonia, clairin, and various 

 aromatic solutions purchased at the local apothecary. 



At all three localities, the initial treatment of the victim involves 

 the topical application of the antidote as a vigorous massage. The 

 antidote, nevertheless, is effective only during the two or three 

 weeks immediately following exposure to the poison. After that 

 time the houngan must resort to the standard Voudou curing 

 ceremony or expedition that is used to exorcise any death spirit. 



The victim is laid in a hole in the ground, his feet and head 

 bound with white cloth and his body covered with a white sheet. A 

 pierre tonnerre and the skulls of a human and a dog are placed on 

 top of the sheet, whilst a sucker of a banana pl^nt {Musa paradisi- 

 aca L.) is placed alongside the victim's body. Three calabashes of 

 food representing three sacred Voudou concepts, the crossroads, 

 the cemetery and the spirit of the forest {Grans Bois) are placed at 

 the victim's head, on his abdomen and by his feet. The houngan 

 then takes a live chicken and breaks each of its limbs to extract 

 the death spirit from the corresponding limbs of the victim. The 

 sacrifice of the chicken is complete when the houngan bites off the 

 head. The victim then partakes of the sacrificial blood and is 

 bathed with the antidote. Finally, as the victim lies in the ground, 

 seven handfuls of earth taken from the crossroads, the cemetery 

 and the forest and flung into the grave. The victim leaps up and 

 the spirit flees into the banana plant. After a ritual bath with the 

 blood of the sacrificed chicken and a restful night in the sanctity 

 o{ the temple, the victim is well. 



Hence, in considering both the composition of the various 

 antidotes, and the way that they are administered, it appears that 

 the ingredients are probably either chemically inert or else used in 

 insufficient quantities to result in any pharmacological activity. In 

 short, the recognized antidotes are but symbolic supports for 

 what is essentially a magico-religious healing ceremony. 



Though the antidotes are relatively uninteresting from a phar- 

 macological point of view, the poisons themselves contain some 

 of the most toxic organic substances known. 



142 



