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Haitian Beliefs - The Butterfly and my Dead Grandmother

Why are some people so superstitious in Haiti? I woke up this morning and found a big ugly butterfly perched on my laptop screen... I thought nothing of it... Maybe it's because I've been away from Haiti for too long...

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In Haiti there are so many Things that make you go Hmmm...

I grab my laptop slowly, walk towards the window and gently blow off the butterfly.

Half an hour later, I saw the same butterfly perched inside the back door of the house. So I said: I'm gonna let it go again BUT... If I see it a third time inside the house... Sa-l pran se pa-l...

There was an old lady in the house. She screams: "Leave the butterfly alone, don't hurt it, that's your grandmother!"

"What? Are you kidding me?"

She went on to explain to me that our souls are buterflies and she tried unsuccessfully to convince me that the butterfly is indeed Grann' Adrienne...

"Se la kabann grann ou te ye wi avan-l mouri!," she says...

Ala de koze papa... Everywhere on the planet, a butterfly is a butterfly but in Haiti... It could be my dead grandmother...

Do you share this belief of or do you believe it is another Haitian urban legends?

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All Comments (10)

Kreyolman says...

hello Brenson,

so if i get it correctly, you died before and you had those 2 choices or you are just repeating what no one had verify and take it as

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Bee says...

"Ala de koze papa...

Everywhere on the planet, a butterfly is a butterfly but in Haiti...

It could be my dead grandmother...".

It's not just in Haiti that butterflies are seen for more than what they seem. In Asian and Indian cultures they are viewed with great

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Bee says...

I agree whole

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Kreyolman says...

as 'Gonzales Joseph' say, respect all things as long as it doesn't interfere with your inner peace.

let the butterfly

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Judith Jolicoeur says...

I believe it...

But it's not just butterfly that I heard about.

when my brother pass away he came back as a cat and I don't care for cats.

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Lucie says...

I was kind of stupefait when I read your article .I like to hear about ces legendes du terroir.

I used to hear my father saying 'do not kill a big papillon.

It is bringing some news".

Probably some old legends.

If you know more about please let me know.

By the way I like to read your article.

some of them is "huuum let me check

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Ms Jones says...

Yes I used (dies) in a plural form....

{if that's possible}...

I'm just saying, I thought once we die that's

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Ms Jones says...

If I dies and I'm reincarnated into a butterfly please dont smush me so I dont come back a cockroach...

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Gonzales Joseph says...

Woodie, Man I'm not a big believer of our whole voodoo culture but I'm a believer in respecting all things as long they don't interfere with what U got going on! But let's just use our imagination for a minute! Lets just say that is your grandmother visiting from the other side just to make sure you and the rest of the fam is ok!

So what of it!

At one point, about 20 to 25 years to be exact we use to record tapes (casset: "Alo! Bonswa, si cassete la rive...") to communicate with our loves ones that are over living overseas!

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Brenson Alteme says...

Naww thats not true bcuz wen u die u either go to hell or

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