“My favorite
thing about Voodoo is the concept that
there’s an invisible world inside
the physical world and its more beautiful
there and more magical there, and everything
is more possible there
. . .”
-- Manbo
Sallie Ann Glassman
A soft breeze
is blowing over the waters of St. John’s
Bayou and the sun is lining the clouds in
crimson and gold as a cluster of devotees
from La Source Ancienne Ounfo help their
Manbo Sallie Ann Glassman welcome friends
and visitors to the annual celebration and
headwashing ritual in honor of the most
famous Voodoo priestess New Orleans has
ever known, the celebrated Marie Laveau.
A tiered
altar is set up against the railing on one
side of the old foot bridge that has for
years crossed the Bayou in front of Cabrini
High School. The altar is decorated with
candles, flowers, incense, food offerings
and other items; a worn and obviously much-loved
statue of Marie Laveau stands proudly on
the highest tier. By the end of the ceremony,
the statue will be almost entirely obscured
by offerings too numerous to name, placed
there by devotees of Voodoo and of the woman
who made this island religion – and
her hometown of New Orleans – famous
for generations.
“The more
people that participate the more of an
experience we have…the
more spiritual it gets, the more energy
we have here with us.”
-- Manbo
Sallie Ann Glassman
Today, these
devotees keep the religion alive by following
in the footsteps and instructions of another
powerful and charismatic Manbo, Sallie Ann
Glassman. Sallie Ann is the founder of La
Source Ancienne Ounfo, a private Vodou society
that has served the Lwa (the voodoo spirits)
and the New Orleans community for over 25
years. Manbo Sallie Ann and the Ounfo practice
a unique and vibrant form of Vodou based
upon the traditional Haitian beliefs but
filled with, as Sallie Ann has said, “ongoing
inspiration and innovation.” Sallie
Ann and her extended vodoun family are at
the heart of the genuine practice of vodou
so often sought but seldom found by visitors
to New Orleans.
As the setting
sun turns the sky to hues of pinks and purples
Manbo Sallie Ann calls the group together
to begin the ceremony. The sound of drums
sets the mood and the Manbo, assisted by
her dedicated Ounfo devotees, begins the
dance that all hope will call the Lwa spirits
to bless the ritual about to be conducted.
In a ritualized celebration of the balance
of power, Mambo deftly walks around a machete-wielding
devotee to establish her authority to pass
between the worlds of the physical and the
unseen and bring the spirit of Marie Laveau
forth. As the Manbo dances, a cantor’s
beautiful voice calls out in Kreyol to “Papa
Legba,” the great Lwa guardian of
the crossroads who is invoked at the start
of all vodoun rituals; without the help
of Papa Legba, the doors between the worlds
cannot be opened, or, once opened, closed
again. Between calls of “Legba”
the devotees respond with “ayibobo,”
the “amen” of Vodoun, as the
ritual dance is completed. Now, as the drums
continue, devotees follow after the Manbo,
and hold symbolic offerings to the four
corners of North, South, East and West,
making a ritual cross before the altar.
The candles are set to burn at each of the
cardinal directions. Manbo Sallie Ann now
anoints the devotees and those gathered
nearby with water from the altar and shakes
over all a rattling gourd, or "shekke,"
meant to help the energy flow from each
person into the spirit world.
To further
assist the spirits in the passage between
the worlds, Manbo now brings forth from
the altar a crystal container filled with
cornmeal. In voodoo tradition, the Lwas
have a voracious appetite for corn and are
said to eagerly follow a trail of corn laid
by devotees. The Manbo kneels and with the
cornmeal begins to draw on the ground; soon
the squiggly lines begin to come together
and can clearly be seen to form a “veve,”
a mark or design associated with the spirit
being called – this night, the spirit
of the great Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau.
"Call on Marie
Laveau for empowerment in the Vodou arts,
and for help in healing. Marie Laveau provides
assistance in all workings."
--Manbo Sallie Ann
Glassman from "Vodou Visions: An Encounter
with Divine Mystery"
Soon the
drums fall silent and the Manbo takes rum
and incense from the altar. Kneeling beside
the veve she anoints it first with the incense
and then with the rum, spraying a mouthful
over the veve. Now she is ready to call
upon the spirit all have gathered for this
night.
First, Manbo
Sallie Ann again calls out to Papa Legba
to gain his assistance in this most important
part of the ritual. Her devotees respond
in kind, calling out to Legba and following
with shouts of “ayibobo.” Next,
Sallie Ann calls upon Gede, the powerful
Lwa spirit of the dead who is said to see
in both worlds at once, and who is often
represented as a skull wearing sunglasses
with one lens broken out, symbolizing his
unique duality. At the command of the Mambo,
Papa Legba will open the way and Gede will
guide the spirit of the great Voodoo Queen
across the shadowy depths of the spirit
realm.
To the rattle
of shekkes and the respondent calls of her
devotees, Manbo Sallie Ann calls out in
a commanding voice a rhythmic hymn of honor
to Marie Laveau, the “belle de Nouvelle
Orleans,” before calling her by name
three times: “Marie Laveau! Marie
Laveau! Marie Laveau!!”
“Basically
the idea is that the Lwas, the voodoo
spirits, are in our heads, so when we
anoint our heads it’s like we’re
anointing an altar so the spirit can enter
and live there and we can recognize that
we’re sacred.”
-- Mambo Sallie
Ann Glassman
Haunted New
Orleans Tours is following the experience
of Reese, a famous New Orleans Psychic reader
and voodooist, formly from Marie Laveaus
House of Voodoo this evening, a New Orleans
newcomer to Vodoun who is attending his
first vodoun ceremony. He watches with interest
as Manbo and her devotees perform the ritual
that will invoke the spirit of the mighty
Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. He has come
with friends, dressed appropriately in white
clothing, and brought an offering in honor
of Marie Laveau: hairdressing articles,
a commemoration of Laveau’s “official”
occupation in life.
His anticipation
and excitement has grown along with the
timbre of the ceremony and now that Manbo
Sallie Ann has reached the point in the
ceremony where those in attendance can approach
the altar to have their heads washed. Reese
watches with curiosity as Mambo Sallie Ann
and members of the Ounfo prepare the unique
liquid to be used in this ceremony: a mysterious
blend that includes fresh flowers, fruits
such as strawberries and dates, and an entire
coconut cake mashed into the brimming bowls.
“I
want my head washed by Sallie Ann!”
Reese insists as he waits in line like an
excited child waiting to get on a ferris
wheel. “She’s the only one I
want!”
As Manbo
Sallie Ann motions for everyone to approach,
Reese is directly at the front of the line.
He is the first to kneel down to Sallie
Ann’s bowl and follows her instructions
to the letter. “Place your fingers
in the water,” she tells him, “and
say whatever prayer or intention you want.”
The Manbo washes the sweetly fragrant liquid
through Reese’s hair and over his
face and arms; she completes the ritual
with a clean, white cloth tied over the
man’s head. “Keep this cloth
on all night,” she says. “You
can remove it in the morning and wash your
hair then.”
Together
the Manbo and Reese rise to their feet and
shake their clasped hands three times; the
ritual is completed with a heartfelt hug
from the powerful voodoo priestess.
Reese turns
away and comes back to his friends excitedly.
“I feel different already! I can just
feel a weight being lifted from me! It’s
amazing!”
“… we
reach all the way from here into the invisible
…”
--Manbo Sallie
Ann Glassman
When all
who desire it have had their heads washed,
ritual gives way to celebration and dancing.
As the sound of the vodoun drums fill the
humid air and the sky turns from shades
of indigo to black overhead, the Manbo and
the Ounfo lead the crowd in a weaving daisy
chain back and forth upon the old bayou
footbridge. Shouts of “aiyibobo!”
echo over the drums and all are swept up
in the rhythms.
More than
one devotee experienced possession this
night, and one tall man strutted around
wearing sunglasses, puffing a cigar and
calling out for “RUM!” in a
deep voice that sounded as if it came from
somewhere far away. Some women who had arrived
earlier that evening appearing prim and
proper were now caught up in the drumming
and the dancing: it was clear to even the
most casual observer that there was truly
a spirit present among these devotees.
It is easy
to believe that Marie Laveau herself was
there, dancing with the Mambo and her followers
in the heady New Orleans night. At the very
least, this ceremony would certainly have
made her proud.
If you are
visiting New Orleans in the hazy month of
June, do not miss this opportunity to experience
this authentic voodoo ritual hosted by one
of the most powerful practitioners of the
religion in the South!
Manbo Sallie
Ann Glassman and La Source Ancienne Ounfo
perform the ritual headwashing in honor
of Marie Laveau every year in conjunction
with the traditional St. John’s Eve
feast. The ceremony and ritual are performed
free of charge as a service and offering
to the community. Attendees are asked to
wear white in honor of Marie Laveau and
to bring offerings to please the spirit
of the great Voodoo Queen such as Manbo
Sallie Ann instructs in the "Vodou
Visions" book: "Salt water, white
and blue flowers, white and blue candles,
Voodoo doll, "Voodoo oil," gris-gris
bags, jambalaya and other traditional Creole
foods, hairdressing tools...Marie's Vodou
Visions image."
The Island
of Salvation Botanica, LLC is owed by
Manbo Sallie Ann Glassman. Since 1977,
Sallie Ann has been practicing Vodou in
New Orleans. She was initiated as a Manbo
in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in 1995, by
Oungans Edgar Jean-Louis and Silva Joseph.
Ms Glassman
presides over weekly ceremonies with her
Vodou Sosyete, La Source Ancienne. She
is the artist for the ENOCHIAN TAROT DECK,
artist and co-creator of THE NEW ORLEANS
VOODOO TAROT, and author and artist of
VODOU VISIONS
In Search
of Marie Laveau
The
following are some places of interest that
any fan of Marie Laveau must include for
a perfect visit to the haunts of this most
famous Voodoo Queen
1801
Dauphine Street Marie -Laveau's Father's
Home
1900
block of North Rampart Street (in Faubourg
Marigny) - Dowry House
1016,
1028, 1022, 1020 St. Ann (originally 152
Rue St. Ann)
St.
Louis No. 1, Crypt No. 3 - Alleged Burial
Site of Marie Laveau
723
Rue Dumaine - New Orleans Historic Voodoo
Museum
729
Bourbon Street - Marie Laveau's House of
Voodoo
