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00:00it is said to have the power to heal to bring good fortune and to punish in return it wants
00:12tribute song dance alcohol and the blood of sacrificed animals you don't dare offer a dirty
00:21animal to a spirit a spirit can make its presence known in the most shocking ways the person who's
00:28being possessed temporarily loses control of their body in haiti the spirits are said to have given
00:35slaves an impossible victory and in new orleans given one woman power to rule the entire city
00:43journey deep into africa to haiti and new orleans and uncover voodoo secrets
00:5860 million people around the world believe in voodoo for them it is an established religion that may even
01:08predate christianity its rituals include animal sacrifice and spirit possession to those on the
01:19outside voodoo is filled with dark secrets and mystery it's said to have mysterious powers to
01:27bring good fortune to heal and punish enemies but those who practice voodoo say voodoo is the most
01:36misunderstood religion in the world a lot of americans believe that voodoo is either a collection
01:42of magic or an evil satanic practice and really it's not either one of those things it's a religion
01:50but how did an ancient religion become associated with evil and curses voodoo practitioners blame
01:58popular books and hollywood movies for demonizing their religion white zombie one book or one movie can
02:06actually spread the word of misconceptions to the general public because the general public is not aware
02:11of what the religion actually is on the surface voodoo imagery invokes black magic and darkness to
02:18outside eyes but the item most identified with voodoo voodoo dolls is not part of the religious practice
02:29some people have this idea that that's what we do we sit around all day sticking pins into dolls that
02:34represent our enemies it has nothing to do with reality
02:36voodoo is a religion with a dramatic history of west african origins triumphing over the evil of
02:46slavery in haiti and giving one american city a unique culture and flavor
02:57the best way to uncover the secrets of voodoo may be to travel to benin in west africa
03:03the epicenter the epicenter of voodoo it's here that the voodoo religion began so long ago that no one
03:10knows when it originated they can only be sure that it's ancient
03:19voodoo is as old as the creation of a country our people here you know it's as old as a human
03:27beast on this on this earth the tiny west african nation of benin offers a rare opportunity to see
03:34voodoo as it's been practiced for centuries in the benin tribal language of faan the word voodoo means
03:44one thing spirit and serving spirits is what voodoo is all about voodoo followers worship a supreme god
03:56whom they believe created the universe they believe this god is too almighty to directly intervene
04:02in their daily lives between the supreme god and mankind are countless voodoo spirits
04:11each with their own domain of influence there are spirits of wisdom war fertility death even a spirit
04:22of the sea the isolated benin village of veggie has a population of three thousand
04:33the village serves a voodoo spirit called satpata in african voodoo satpata is the earth spirit
04:40who can protect against disease provide bountiful crops and contribute to the general well-being
04:46of the community sakpata make good things for everybody it is why when you come and you have
04:57problems and you go to see sakpata you will get benefit you will get solution for your problems but
05:04for sakpata to provide for the village the village must honor and serve the spirit the village believes one
05:11way to honor the spirit is through animal sacrifice in voodoo honoring the spirit can bring good fortune
05:20ignoring the spirit brings bad fortune the village will honor sakpata by holding a voodoo ceremony
05:31they will ask sakpata to bless the village and provide food and protection
05:37the festivity begins with singing the villagers hope will call the spirit sakpata down to them
05:46it's not the same drum rhythm for every spirit and it's not the same song for every spirit every
05:51spirit has its song has its dance this cave is the village's shrine to the spirit sakpata inside a voodoo
06:00priest offers the spirit water to determine if it will grant permission for the ceremony
06:06the spirit accepts offerings are one way voodoo practitioners believe they can honor the spirits
06:15for the spirit sakpata common offerings include water alcohol and palm oil but what the spirit wants most
06:24is blood this ceremony will offer sakpata the rare sacrifice of a young bull
06:30i know that some people are repelled by the idea of animal sacrifice we kill animals the same way that
06:38we would kill them normally to just butcher them for ordinary consumption we don't torture the animal
06:45we're not morbid we're not bloodthirsty about it when we kill the animal the blood is for the spirit and
06:52the meat is for the congregation
06:53in voodoo the purpose of animal sacrifice is to give the spirit the power and nourishment to do good
07:00things for believers
07:02blood is very important in voodoo because blood is actually what you feed the shrine to help the
07:13communication it's the best food you can feed your spirit
07:18to voodoo believers it's essential to capture the animal's blood as soon as possible the fresher
07:25the blood the more essence of life the spirit can take in and the more empowered the spirit will become
07:31in the final moments before the sacrifice the congregation gives the bull a message to take to the spirit sakpata
07:46with the message given to the bull it's time to dispatch the animal to deliver it to the spirit sakpata
07:53no blood is wasted the sooner the warm blood can be offered to sakpata the better goats are taken directly
08:10into the shrine and the spirit can be offered the blood even more immediately
08:17that is the first jet of the blood that we put on the voodoo that is important like food to voodoo
08:28by feeding sakpata blood voodoo believers hope to honor the spirit sakpata enough
08:34that it will take the ceremony to the next level
08:42these women are voodoo initiates who consider themselves married to the spirit
08:47they are showing signs of a voodoo phenomenon known as spiritual possession
08:56they believe the spirit has taken over their minds
08:59and that the spirit is using their bodies to continue its quest for blood
09:04and that the spirit of the spirit of the spirit of the spirit of the spirit that's why when we are
09:21having a ceremony it's our husband who is tasting the blood not us those who experience voodoo possession
09:29whether in africa haiti or america say they have no memory of the experience it's as though i fall asleep
09:38two consciousnesses cannot occupy the same head at the same time i don't remember anything i become
09:44unconscious until it leaves again as frightening as it may seem voodoo possession is considered the highest
09:52honor a spirit can pay a believer possession is not demonic it's not satanic
10:02possession is natural and highly desirable in the context of a voodoo ceremony
10:08in our society we go to church to worship the spirit or worship god
10:18in voodoo you go to the temple to become god it's a very major difference
10:25later in the same ceremony the spiritual possession continues
10:37this time the spirits dance through the humans they possess
10:41if we are not possessed by the spirit we cannot dance this way
10:56because we are possessed by the spirit it's not us who's dancing
11:00it's the voodoo spirit who is dancing through us using our bodies
11:15the voodoo ceremony concludes with a feast
11:20the animals sacrificed that day are the main course
11:24nothing is wasted it's not all that different than what we do at thanksgiving
11:34at thanksgiving our animals our turkeys are sacrificed for us
11:37by mechanized slaughterhouses and here we see people participating in that actual ritual
11:45one has to wonder when they're actually valuing the life of that animal as they do the ritual
11:50whether we're more civilized or they're more civilized about it
11:55through the voodoo sacrifice of animals and the possession by the spirit of sakpata
12:00the village believes sakpata feels honored enough to protect and provide for them
12:10next believers tap into voodoo's dark side getting spirits drunk
12:15west africa is home to some of the most unusual voodoo rituals in the world
12:26but a ritual that takes place in the remote benin village of sabalo
12:30may seem especially bizarre to outsiders
12:35this is where voodoo believers try to get a spirit
12:38drunk hoping the spirit will grant their requests
12:42if requests are fulfilled they pay the spirit back in blood
12:53in voodoo religion there is a contract that's entered into its spirits if you don't go back and
12:58offer up the blood you're actually not performing the contract to its final term
13:04this tree trunk is a sacred shrine to the voodoo spirit don coley
13:08the spirit of the forest
13:15the tools for making a request of don coley are wooden stakes and palm oil
13:21this man makes a request of don coley his request is represented by the wooden stake by pounding the
13:28stake deep into the spirit shrine he hopes the spirit will receive the request as an incentive to the
13:35spirit the man makes an offering of red palm oil
13:39asking the voodoo spirits to provide them with some outcome is essentially a ritual for them to drive
13:48the request home let's say kind of like lighting a candle in prayer to god
13:55some requests require the spirit be plied with alcohol
13:58i will take alcohol spread on the collie to make him more powerful to make him drunker against my enemies
14:08who will think bad things against me
14:14if don coley grants the request the believer promises to return with a reward
14:19if the enemies are hurt after the request or if you get a solution for your problems after the request
14:28you must be back to thank the don coley
14:33don coley is typically rewarded with the blood of a sacrificed animal
14:37although some asked don coley to punish their enemies others ask for healing
14:50i have one of my son who was very sick
14:55we went everywhere traditional medicine and modern but no satisfaction but when i came here
15:03my son is from that today the man has come to reward the spirit with the blood of a goat
15:15when you get satisfaction after six months for one year you come and you sacrifice the animal for
15:27first the man gives the goat a message to take to the spirit
15:30then the spirit gets its blood if you do not finish the contract it's very possible that the belief
15:41system says that there's going to be retribution which will be to take away
15:45the event that actually happened to reverse what was done for you
15:52with the sacrifice the man's contract with the spirit don coley is now fulfilled
16:00to be true
16:05when you make sacrifice you take off you take off the stick and you throw it away so that means
16:11you don't have anything again to give to the collie and the collie don't have nothing to do again
16:17with you and you satisfied as with all sacrifices the animal is cooked and eaten with no part of the goat going to waste
16:30Western medicine is common in West Africa, but remote parts of Benin offer a rare chance
16:40to see voodoo healing.
16:45This is a healing temple in the village of Obome, 50 miles away from the village of Veggie.
16:55This woman says she suffers from splitting headaches and pain in her joints.
16:59She's been to a Western hospital, which she says didn't help.
17:03Now she turns to voodoo for healing.
17:07Going to see a voodoo healer to be healed is very similar to going to see a faith healer.
17:11Gives power back to you in the sense that you truly are bolstered in your belief that
17:15you will get better.
17:17Voodoo followers who don't find a scientific reason for their illness believe it may be
17:21caused by bad spirits, possibly the result of a curse placed by an enemy.
17:30To heal his patients, voodoo priest Yamache Bathalame calls upon the voodoo spirit Sojayatin, the thunder
17:38spirit.
17:39The priest uses shells to ask the spirit a series of diagnostic questions about the patient's
17:47health.
17:48The healer will evoke the voodoo spirit and the spirit will tell them the kind of herbs
17:56you have to make use of to cure the disease.
17:59The use of cowrie shells in diagnostics here is not much different than the use of bones,
18:05tarot cards, dice, to read the future, to find out what's going on.
18:09It's a method of divination.
18:12The healer uses a sacred rattle called an asan to direct the spirit toward the woman.
18:19Alcohol is used to embolden the spirit and reward its cooperation in the healing.
18:29Once the priest believes the spirit has given him a diagnosis, he sends his assistant and
18:34the patient out for the cure.
18:39Instead of aspirin or cold medicines, voodoo pharmacies stock much more exotic items, including
18:46animal skulls, turtle shells, and dried reptiles.
18:51The healer sends his patient out to buy an animal skull because she suffers from a headache and
18:57the pain needs a place to go, another skull.
19:03But the trip to the market itself may have its own healing power.
19:08Sending this woman to the market to actually buy the items, the skull and the herbs really
19:14gets her an active role in her own healing process.
19:18The ingredients alone are not enough to heal the woman.
19:21They must first be activated by the voodoo spirit.
19:24So you cannot go and buy some skulls, some chameleon, and put them together as you can buy aspirin
19:32or a western medicine, put them together, give it to the patient.
19:36No.
19:37You need to know the words, the Cartesian words.
19:44The voodoo priest uses the blessed animal skull to remove the sickness from the woman.
19:50By using the skull, you're doing a bit of sympathetic magic to draw out the head pain into the head
19:56of an animal.
19:57It's really transfer of energy.
20:01The final step in the healing process is to make sure the illness doesn't return.
20:07The priest offers the spirit gunpowder to help fight off future attacks by the illness.
20:20According to the shells, the priest judges the treatment a success.
20:26The mind can convince the body that it is healed or is going to be healed and it will
20:30somehow start processes happening in the body to speed up the healing process.
20:35Just as many believe voodoo has the power to heal, some believe voodoo can be used to
20:40hurt or even to kill.
20:47But in Haiti, a voodoo curse is believed to be responsible for killing 200 people.
20:55Haiti.
20:56Ninety percent of the Caribbean nation practices voodoo.
21:04On September 11, 1997, a brand new Haitian ferry sank just 50 yards from shore.
21:13200 people died.
21:17Investigators determined the boat was overcrowded and its escape doors were locked.
21:22People on board gathered on one side of the vessel, causing it to capsize.
21:28Angry crowds were certain a rival ferry owner placed a curse on the sunken ferry.
21:35In Haiti, nothing happens by chance or by luck.
21:39The notion of luck just doesn't exist.
21:42Things occur because there was a cause, there was a reason.
21:45And usually the cause is witchcraft or sorcery.
21:50There was revenge, angry mobs torched the rival owner's property and his ferry.
21:59The story of how Haiti came to believe so strongly in voodoo is rooted in one of mankind's
22:05most evil practices, slavery.
22:12Between the mid-1600s and mid-1800s, nearly 12 million slaves left these West African shores.
22:21They took nothing with them but what they carried in their heads and in their hearts.
22:29Their voodoo religion.
22:32When you have lost your identity, everything has been taken away from you.
22:39The only way you can survive is to refer to your religion.
22:45Many West African slaves endured a three-month voyage to a Caribbean island called San Domingue,
22:52a French colony that later would become Haiti.
22:56Upon arrival in Haiti in the 1700s, slaves from different tribes were intermixed to ensure
23:02they didn't speak the same language.
23:06Even so, the slaves had two things in common, their French oppressors and voodoo.
23:13The French feared the coming together of Africans because they didn't know exactly what was being
23:19planned.
23:20Fearing the power of voodoo, the French tried to force it out of the slaves' hearts and
23:26minds.
23:28And what the Catholic missionaries had thought was to just simply get rid of the African tradition
23:34and replace it by Roman Catholicism, but that didn't happen.
23:39The slaves found ways to secretly practice voodoo during Catholic ceremonies.
23:44In their minds, they transformed Catholic saints into voodoo spirits.
23:50In voodoo, the spirit of wisdom, Damballa, is represented by a snake.
23:56The slaves saw Damballa whenever their oppressors invoked St. Patrick.
24:00St. Patrick chases the snakes out of Ireland.
24:04And Damballa is also associated with the snake.
24:08So on the basis of similarity between St. Patrick in Ireland and the snakes and Damballa, St.
24:16Patrick becomes Damballa.
24:18In the mid-1700s, there were a half million slaves on the island and just 32,000 French
24:25colonists.
24:27The French were unable to prevent the mass escape of slaves.
24:30A lot of them just simply took to the hills.
24:33They ran off from the plantation and established communities in the interior of the island where
24:39there were a lot of mountains and a lot of the Europeans would not venture in those areas.
24:45The bond of their voodoo beliefs helped seal the secrecy of the mission.
24:51He inspired cooks who worked in the homes of the planters to poison the planters.
24:57And a lot of planters who were very, very much afraid of the people who'd cook for them.
25:06The voodoo priest Macondo also poisoned water supplies, sowing fear and terror among plantation
25:13owners and French forces.
25:17They became more paranoid because you just have no clue as to who's introducing the poison.
25:21You just start suspecting everyone.
25:24Poison is an act of terror.
25:27The French spent five years hunting Macondo, during which time his rebellion was believed
25:32to claim 6,000 lives.
25:36When the French finally captured him in 1758, they showed no mercy.
25:43French authorities held a public execution to make an example of Macondo.
25:49They forced slaves to watch.
25:52But according to legend, the slaves witnessed something that turned horror into triumph.
25:58A voodoo escape.
26:00As Macondo caught fire, slaves saw him magically transform into a bird and fly away.
26:15In voodoo tradition, there are stories that human beings sometimes have the power of changing
26:21into animals.
26:22A lot of the slaves believed that when they died, their soul would be transported back to
26:29Africa.
26:31So it's not even unusual that people would have thought that Macondo would have turned into
26:36a bird and would have flown back.
26:40Today, the legend of Macondo lives on in the language of voodoo.
26:44The name Macondo becomes associated with poison, so when you give a person a poison, you don't
26:50mention the word poison, you mention, I give him a Macondo.
26:58August 14th, 1791, three decades after Macondo's death, rebel slaves used the power of voodoo
27:05voodoo to ignite a more powerful uprising.
27:10It began when a voodoo priest named Bukman led a ceremony attended by rebel leaders.
27:19They called upon the voodoo spirit of war, Ogu.
27:25They promised to serve the voodoo spirit forever if it gave them victory.
27:29The spirit is said to have signaled its acceptance of the offer by possessing many during the ceremony.
27:42To thank Ogu, they sacrificed a black pig in the spirit's honor.
27:50They used the blood of the pig, which they all shared with one another, sealing each other's
27:54lips, as it were symbolically, never to reveal the secrets of voodoo, and then to march from
28:03that point and then go on and fight and liberate Haiti.
28:07A week later, the voodoo-inspired attack began.
28:13Runaway slaves torched thousands of plantations and killed plantation owners.
28:19The rebels used captured guns and farming tools like machetes to take on the French army.
28:27The French were better armed, but unaware of what they were truly up against.
28:33They say in Haiti that Napoleon had to lose because he was fighting voodoo spirits and
28:39not men.
28:41The battles raged on and off for over a decade.
28:4550,000 French troops perished in the final years of the struggle.
28:51Then, on January 1st, 1804, after a succession of leaders, the rebel forces won and expelled
29:01the French from Haiti.
29:03They fought the very best army that the world had, which is the Napoleon's army, and they
29:07won.
29:08I mean, that's the fact.
29:09The war that began with a voodoo ceremony and defeated Napoleon's army was the first
29:16and only successful slave rebellion in world history.
29:20Next, voodoo leaves Haiti for New Orleans, where a notorious voodoo queen uses voodoo to free
29:27a man from prison.
29:31New Orleans, the big easy, home to the Mardi Gras parade.
29:39It's the voodoo capital of America, with an estimated 15% of the population practicing
29:45the religion.
29:48Louisiana was once a French territory, and voodoo arrived in force here in the late 1700s,
29:54when French plantation owners fleeing Haiti brought their Haitian slaves with them.
30:00Today, tourists in New Orleans buy voodoo dolls from shops in the French Quarter.
30:05But there's a secret side to New Orleans voodoo that most people never see.
30:13Some rituals are practiced far from the tourists' eyes.
30:20One place where locals and tourists both visit, however, is St. Louis Cemetery.
30:27Inside this crypt is the body of a woman who created a uniquely New Orleans style of voodoo.
30:34Marie Laveau has been dead since 1881, but some believe she still has power over the city.
30:42What she did in the 1800s is the stuff of legends.
30:46Even though there's little factual proof of her magical powers or records of her life.
30:52Many documents have disappeared.
30:56Many were falsified in the first place.
30:59There's just layer after layer after layer of folklore, lies, mythology, wild stories.
31:08Others believe Marie Laveau was born somewhere between 1794 and 1803.
31:14She was said to be the daughter of a wealthy white plantation owner and his slave mistress.
31:21In early 19th century New Orleans, she was considered a free person of color.
31:28She developed a relationship with the head of the New Orleans Catholic Church.
31:32The pastor of St. Louis Cathedral was a man named Père Antoine.
31:38He works with the prisoners, the lowest of the low.
31:42He works to free slaves.
31:44And his chief companion in this work was Marie Laveau.
31:50Like many people in New Orleans, Marie Laveau was both Catholic and a voodoo believer.
31:56People in New Orleans went to Catholic mass at St. Louis Cathedral in the morning and to
32:05Congo Square for voodoo ceremonies in the afternoon.
32:09Congo Square was voodoo central in New Orleans, where free people of color and slaves gathered
32:15for voodoo ceremonies on Sundays.
32:20It's there that legendary voodoo priest Dr. John is believed to have taught Marie Laveau everything
32:25he knew about voodoo, including how to formulate a powerful charm called gris gris.
32:32Gris gris bags were filled with anything from starch, dried beans, metal filings, or animal skin.
32:40The ingredients themselves are not the key thing.
32:43It's the intention that you put on the gris gris bag that matters.
32:48The person who made gris gris appealed to voodoo spirits to give it special powers.
32:53Do you understand the power that you are receiving?
33:00Gris gris gris is no different than wearing a cross or a St. Christopher medal or carrying
33:07a lucky rabbit's foot.
33:09It hung around your neck or you put it above the door.
33:14It carried protection.
33:18Marie Laveau sold gris gris out of her home and built a reputation as a voodoo queen with
33:24mysterious powers.
33:28Some believed her voodoo power was backed up by power of intimidation.
33:34Marie Laveau had an amazing network of folks to give her information to actually spy on people.
33:39She had political connections, economic connections under the surface of her public persona.
33:44Marie's political power and relationship with Catholic pastor, Para Antoine, allowed her
33:49to do something that would be blasphemous in any other church.
33:54Marie Laveau could conduct what were in effect voodoo ceremonies at the altar of the largest
34:01Catholic church, the cathedral of the Louisiana Purchase.
34:09In the 1830s, one incident is alleged to have convinced all of New Orleans of Marie Laveau's
34:14voodoo powers.
34:17A wealthy man's son was on trial for murder.
34:20His lawyers told him his son's case was hopeless, so he turned to Marie Laveau.
34:28In desperation, the father offered Marie Laveau a house if she could use voodoo to free his
34:34son.
34:38To accomplish this feat, she spent weeks praying at St. Louis Church, undergoing a form of self-torture
34:45for the cause.
34:47She placed three excruciatingly hot guinea peppers in her mouth and held them there for
34:53hours.
34:54Guinea is a name for Africa in many voodoo circles.
35:00The spirits, like the spirits of voodoo, always take pity on great suffering.
35:08And so when she offered to suffer on behalf of her intention, they heard her.
35:17On the morning of the trial, Marie Laveau snuck into court.
35:20She put the peppers that had been in her mouth under the judge's chair.
35:26Some believe the spiritual energy of the voodoo-infused peppers caused the judge to set the man free.
35:34What has it, the freed man's father rewarded Marie Laveau with a house on St. Anne Street.
35:41Now that's the spiritual explanation for what happened in this story.
35:46The political explanation is that she knew the judge.
35:53Regardless of how she freed the man, most of New Orleans now believed Marie Laveau could
35:58use voodoo to sway the city's justice system.
36:04In July 1850, an incident occurred that only strengthened the city's belief in Marie Laveau's
36:09voodoo powers.
36:13She was a staunch opponent of public executions that were common during her day.
36:18These were public hangings, and they were very dramatic, and they were treated like Mardi
36:22Gras parades.
36:23And so thousands of people came.
36:27Jean Adams and Anthony DeLille were sentenced to hang for the murder of a black slave girl.
36:33They had been incarcerated in parish prison.
36:37Marie Laveau had spent the night with the two condemned men, praying for them.
36:43And she promised them that she would spare them from the public humiliation of hanging.
36:50The double hanging of Adams and DeLille was set to take place at noon on July 17th, 1850.
36:59But not if Marie Laveau could use voodoo to stop it.
37:06High noon on July 17th, 1850.
37:10A public hanging was about to take place in downtown New Orleans.
37:14Jean Adams and Anthony DeLille were sentenced to die for the murder of a black slave girl.
37:21So that morning, just before noon, was a beautiful sunny day.
37:25The sky was deep blue.
37:28Crowds were gathered.
37:29There were thousands of people, according to the newspapers.
37:33Many in the crowd noticed Marie Laveau's arrival.
37:36She was known as the voodoo queen of New Orleans.
37:39She was also a staunch opponent of public executions.
37:47Moments before the men were scheduled to hang, the sky mysteriously turned black.
37:53It started to rain.
37:54It started to pour, just like solid water, out of the heavens.
38:06Then the moment of truth arrived.
38:08Proceed.
38:09With the opening of the trap door.
38:14Complete shock.
38:16People gasped.
38:18And this tremor ran through the crowd because the men had fallen to the ground below.
38:24Their ropes were gone.
38:27To many witnesses, there was only one explanation.
38:31Marie Laveau made this happen.
38:35That she was trying to spare them the humiliation of the gallows.
38:40With a belief system like voodoo, it's very simple when a powerful figure like Marie Laveau is involved.
38:45To make the connection between a sudden shift in weather and the guys falling out of the nooses.
38:50That becomes more explainable by voodoo than it is by coincidence.
38:55The men were later hanged again.
38:58But the unexplainable event achieved Marie Laveau's aim.
39:02The public was outraged by the cruelty the men endured during the botched hanging.
39:06As a result, Louisiana became the first American state to ban public executions.
39:12It is one of the most powerful witnesses to voodoo that we have because there were so many witnesses to these events.
39:23And because the state did pass this law.
39:27Marie Laveau died in 1881 at the approximate age of 87.
39:33Even so, many believe she still has voodoo power over the city.
39:38The ability to help those who make offerings and punish those who dishonor her.
39:44Like author Robert Tallent, in the 1940s and 50s, Tallent published books about Marie Laveau.
39:51Voodoo practitioners blame his books for creating false perceptions of voodoo as evil and violent.
40:03His best-selling 1947 book, Voodoo in New Orleans, was sold as non-fiction, but many believed it was full of lurid distortions and half-truths.
40:16Tallent described reports of Marie Laveau conducting orgies and sacrificing human babies as voodoo rituals.
40:27She was an evil woman, her.
40:29She killed babies that were not wanted by their mothers.
40:32She used to hang their bodies up in her chimney like hands and smoke them.
40:37Oh, she killed lots of children.
40:39They say her armoire was filled with skeletons.
40:46On April 1st, 1957, ten years after his book, Voodoo in New Orleans, was published, Tallent met a mysterious demise.
40:55Robert Tallent was in his kitchen.
40:58He reached up in his cabinet.
41:00He pulled a clear glass down from the kitchen cabinet.
41:04He held it under the tap, filled it with tap water, drank three sips, and dropped dead on the floor.
41:14New Orleans water doesn't usually kill that quickly.
41:19To many in New Orleans, the cause of Tallent's premature death at the age of 47 was obvious.
41:28Spiritual payback for disrespecting voodoo and the spirit of Marie Laveau.
41:35Today, most people in New Orleans try to keep on Marie Laveau's good side.
41:41Hundreds of people make offerings at her crypt every day.
41:46She's become a kind of saint and voodoo spirit to dedicated practitioners.
41:51She's a respected ancestor and people continue to offer her food and remember her name and ask her to help them.
42:02They serve her and she serves them.
42:05Although voodoo permeates all of New Orleans folklore, it continues to be a serious religion for many.
42:14Attracting new believers.
42:21In Haiti, voodoo coexists with the Catholic Church and remains strong.
42:27In the past, voodoo has been the target of campaigns to eradicate our religion.
42:35Politically motivated, religiously motivated, and they've never succeeded.
42:40Vodoo has been here for thousands of years.
42:42It will be here for thousands of years more.
42:45And in West Africa, the birthplace of voodoo, the religion remains uninfluenced by the perceptions of the outside world.
42:56Vodoo, there is no bad part of voodoo for us.
43:03Vodoo provides good things for us.
43:06That's why we believe.
43:09Vodoo's unique history has made it a captivating subject for believers and non-believers alike.
43:15Those who practice voodoo will keep serving the spirits in the belief that the spirits will serve them.
43:27But to those looking in from the outside, voodoo will remain mysterious and filled with secrets.
43:34The main tab muchos who prays for those who prays for the people like to bear in your heart.
43:36They will recognize that the spirit will be more attractive to victims.
43:37They will be more attractive to people like other people waiting to be older.
43:38They will be less than 250çœ people to be older than 151 years ago.
43:39They will be closer to each other than 162 years.
43:40The first of the ilegal is a Pharisee camp.
43:43The following geologics means a lot less than 629 years ago.
43:44The one of the ilegal is now a secret to the 환.
43:46The future is often more attractive to the people of the country.
43:48The range of the hillary is the same with the hillary.
43:49The first of the 5th of the 100 meters by the hillary.
43:51A few hundred and the new areas in every country in the water.
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