User:Jwillbur/sandbox

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Max Beauvoir (born circa 1936) is a Haitian Voodoo priest (houngan) who is the head of the Voodoo (or Vodou) religion in Haiti.

Born about 1936, the son of a doctor, Beauvoir grew up in Haiti before leaving in the mid 1950s to study abroad. He studied chemistry at the City College of New York and performed graduate studies in the field of biochemistry at the University of Paris. After his schooling, he worked in the New York area before returning to Haiti to study traditional herbal medicine.[1]

Beauvoir became an active Voodooist after the death of his grandfather, a Voodoo priest. On his deathbed, the grandfather singled out Beauvoir from the twenty other family members gathered around and ordered him to take over his priestly duties. Although Beauvoir had almost no knowledge of Voodoo, he devoted the rest of his life to the study of the religion.[1]

Beauvoir conducts religious ceremonies in his home just outside of Port-au-Prince. Called the Péristyle de Mariani, the house serves as a temple and gathering-place for Voodists. He is a heavy promoter of the religion and has gained a following among foreigners interested in Voodoo. His promotional activities have led to criticism from some Voodooists for his being "too much of a showman".[1] In her book The Rainy Season, author Amy Wilentz portrays him as "an opportunist who preys upon his people."[1] Beauvoir helped Canadian anthropologist Wade Davis research Voodoo for his book The Serpent and the Rainbow which was later made into a movie.[1]

Beauvoir opposed the rule of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a former Catholic priest. He became an enemy of Aristide supporters and fled the country with his family in the mid-1990s after receiving death threats. He moved with his wife and two daughters to Washington, D.C., where he continued to serve as a houngan and conduct Voodoo ceremonies. He returned to Haiti in the 2000s.[1]

In an effort to revive Voodoo, Haitian houngans formed a federation in 2008 and named Beauvoir their "supreme chief". As the first supreme chief, Beauvoir acts as the religion's spokesman and public face. The position was created to help combat the negative image of Voodoo, such as that held by some Christian missionaries who view the religion as devil worship.[1]

As the new leader of Voodoo, Beauvoir has stated that he will work towards restoring the religion's influence on society and politics. He is opposed to foreign influences in Haiti, such as Hollywood movies which portray zombies as monsters rather than "the carefully controlled subjects of voodoo science that he believes them to be."[1] He is critical of current Haitian politicians, saying that they seek input from Christian leaders but not Voodooists and that "[t]hey have been seduced by Western attitudes."[1]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lacey, New head of voodoo brings on the charm

[edit] References

[edit] External links