Do followers of Vodou (Voodoo) in Haiti have any specific attitudes towards the poor, homeless or street beggars? I can't find any texts which address this issue. Any information would be much appreciated.
Mizè mennen parespè = If you show suffering, then people lose respect for you. There are several important writers on the relationship between Vodou and Haitian culture. Karen McCarthy Brown writes that "there is a special shame associated with begging. When the spirits want to teach a lesson in humility to a devotee, they command that person to don the ritual version of rags and go to the market and beg . The ignominy of begging comes largely from the fact that beggars are seen as isolated individuals whose activity announces to the world that they have been abandoned by the extended kin group and now must forage on their own. Even if the family were lost through death rather than discord, the person who must beg can easily be seen as someone who was not clever enough or respectful enough or sufficiently hardworking to find a place as adopted kin in another family."
(Brown, K. M. (2006). Afro-Caribbean spirituality: A Haitian case study. In C. Michel & P. Bellegarde-Smith (Eds.), Vodou in Haitian life and culture; Invisible powers (pp. 1-25). New York: Palgrave Macmililan.) The editors of this book have published extensively in books and peer-reviewed journals about Vodou. I just noticed that you are in California: Get in touch with Claudine Michel and Patrickk Bellegarde-Smith who are associated with KOSANBA (The Congress of Santa Barbara) which is a scholarly association for the study of Haitian Vodou.
Thanks for the information. That is a useful resource. Best wishes, Graham.
Hello Graham
I am afraid I have no data on begging in Haiti. However, I recently conducted a study of Romanian beggars in Norway, including attitudes towards them in society at large. I suspect that begging and the issue of begging probably has certain generic features. You might find some cross-cultural parallels in my study (e.g., notions of "deserving beggars´ and ´undeserving beggars´), but maybe not. Feel free to consult my chapter. The first page is in Norwegian, but if you scroll down to the second page, the actual chapter is in English. The text is downloadable on my ResearchGate publications under: Meeting the excluded at close quarters: "street social pedagogy" with the Romanian poor in Norway. Best wishes and good luck. Paul
Thanks, I'll have a look at that. Even if not directly relevant, it sounds interesting.
Graham
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