Haitian Vodou Myth - Mare Lapli (Stopping the Rain from Falling)

A Haitian Grandmother pouring Water on her Grandson

I have to be very honest with you, in some parts of Haiti, there is a very thin line between beliefs and ignorance...

Growing up in Haiti, this belief was burned into my system at a very early age. Man...Le tme tell you... Some people in Haiti will make you believe that they can stop the sun from shining... LOL... Se vre wi!

People in Cazale Haiti... Strong believers

According to a Haitian radio reportage on Minustah FM, people in Cazale Haiti, near Cabaret, believe so strongly that some local residents have the power to stop the rainfall that they actually hunt people down, cut them open to remove somethnig they call "Pierre Lapli"

Here is another problem... There is no Haitian police presence in Cazale, the people police themselves, The radio annoucer said even the authorities there, the CASEC, believe it too.

What the experts have to say...

They interviews two expert in the field of meteology and vodou to ask them this same question: Can Haitians use mistical powers to stop the rain from falling?

Ronald Semelfort, head of Haiti's Centre National de Météorologie laughed it off... Noone can stop the rain from falling, Semelfort says. Then he went on to explain somthing about the ocean and the wind in that part of Haiti and how they affect rainfall.

Ati Max Beauvoir, chef Supreme of the National Confederation of Haitian Vodou, says that noone has any power over the laws of nature. "Se yon retard mental, " he says. According to Max Beauvoir, this practive came from Europe during colonial times linking it to all the witch-hunt and similar phenomena that ravaged the european continent.

So... in short, stopping the rain from falling in Haiti is a myth... Althought I have a feeling to that some of you may go to your grave with that belief

What do you believe?

Reply with your comments

Read more: Haiti Weather, Haitian Vodou Religion, Haitian Mythology, Max Beauvoir, Ronald Semelfort, Rainfall in Haiti, Religion, Weather

You might also like

Haitian Currency: GOUD vs DOLA There's a real Money Problem in Haiti!

What is it about Haiti and the Dominican Republic?

New Agriculture Project in Northern Haiti - Feed The Future North (FTFN)

Responses