St. John’s Eve, Voodoo, and More

As we promised in our Midsummer post, a little thing on the intriguing phenomenon of the Feast of St. John. This is a day to celebrate the nativity of John the Baptist, an official Christian feast day since around the time Christmas was instituted (circa. 500 A.D.), the idea being that John was born precisely six months prior to Jesus. This of course was established as a symbolic narrative; the dates have no relation to reality. But it created a nice dichotomy to the year, with these important holidays near the solstices, precisely a half year away from one another. Like all the major Christian holidays it was tethered to existing Pagan traditions and practices. Midsummer and St. John’s Eve and Day are all associated with bonfires. Traditions vary, but the day is observed to one extent or another throughout the Christian world.

Today, oddly enough, one of the places where it is observed is North America, but mostly by one particular subculture. Prior to their Revolution, the French were major proponents of this holiday along with other feast days, such as St. Bartholomew’s and Mardi Gras. When they colonized Acadia, Quebec, Louisiana, and Haiti, et al. that tradition came with them. (Interestingly tradition has it that St. John’s, Newfoundland was first sighted by John Cabot on St. John’s Day, 1497, hence its name, though that’s a bit of a tangent here). The Acadians, who’d settled in the Maritimes, were later expelled by the British and fled to Louisiana, where they formed a different population from the other French settlers, their name shortened to “Cajuns”. And after the Haitian Revolution, some colonists from that island also came to Louisiana.

The Catholic customs of the French (which already had Pagan elements) merged in Louisiana (as it had in Haiti) with the animism of African slaves to result in the fascinating culture and religion of voodoo. And now we begin to grope through treacherous midnight swampland. I find voodoo one of the most thrilling, compelling cultural topics known to humankind. It’s easily as fascinating to me as, say, vaudeville. Without blinking an eye, I could easily shift gears, and devote the rest of my life to writing about “vood” instead of “vaud”. (Not that there isn’t at least a little overlap). I’ve researched it extensively for a play I wrote; and had the benefit of conversing with anthropologist Joseph M. Murphy, who wrote several books on the topic (he’s my ex-wife’s cousin). I love the hybridization of culture. In this case, rather a volatile mixture resulted. Ancient beliefs were given new life by this cross-cultural contact. Because of the strong component of magic in the belief system, some whites demonized the practices as witchcraft and devil worship. Because it was banned for a long time, it became a secret religion of the night, driven from Congo Square in the center of New Orleans…to gatherings in the woods under the cover of darkness. Voodoo dolls and curses! Zombies! Witch Doctors! Spells and good luck charms! Hypnotic drumming and dancing ceremonies! There’s more to it than that at the granular level, but obviously these more sensational trappings are what draw us outsiders in.

The legendary voodoo priestess Marie Laveau (1801-1881) is said to have been the crucial person in the still-vibrant celebrations of St. John’s Eve that happen annually in Bayou St. John. (One wonders if there’s any relevance to the fact that her mentor was the original Dr. John, who became the namesake of the later musician. The voodoo Dr. John is the John the Baptist to Marie Laveau’s Savior, if you will). In addition to bonfires and such, the bayou tradition involves a head washing ceremony in the river, not unlike the practice of the original Saint. Given the terror of some Christians about this type of religion, there’s a lot that seems contradictory about it. The bonfires of St. John’s Eve, and the plant known as St. John’s Wort are supposed to DRIVE AWAY witches. And yet these people, widely regarded as witches, celebrate this day. If that’s confusing to you, you might wish to consider the possibility that the adherents of this religion do NOT represent the forces of darkness; they possess just as much light as they do the other principle. At any rate, if you live in the NOLA area (a lot of my friends do) you might want to check out tonight’s ceremony. Given the imaginative power of voodoo, I think you can see the potential for this Midsummer holiday to stand alongside the much heartier existing celebrations of Christmas, Halloween, and Easter — that is, if the equally powerful ritual of sea god worship doesn’t eclipse it.

There’s more, though. Tomorrow, St. John’s Day, is celebrated as Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day in Quebec. There it is treated as the French equivalent of the Irish “ownership” of St. Patrick’s Day, a day to celebrate a common culture in the midst of diaspora. I’m going to mark the day tomorrow with another post — as a New Englander I have numerous close connections to the Quebecois.