Caribbean

  • ERZULIE

    Erzulie, or Ezili, is considered a Haitian Voodoo Lwa (spirit or Goddess) of love and women. She has many different forms, aspects (depending on the region), and can be counted among either the Rada or Petwo Lwa (spirits or Gods). The Petwo rites arose in the New World during slavery, and Petwo Lwa are characteristically dark and powerful, and called bitter (anme). Erzulie is a love Goddess who developed during a time when slave owners broke up families and separated husbands and wives at will. She is sometimes considered a triple Goddess. She has three husbands Damballah (sky God), Agwe (sea God), and Ogoun (God of fire and iron), and…

  • Jean Lafitte

    Little is known of Lafitte’s early life, but records show that by 1809 he and his brother Pierre appeared to have established themselves in New Orleans, Louisiana. They started a blacksmith shop that was actually serving as a depot for smuggled goods and slaves brought ashore by bands of privateers. From around 1810 to 1814 this group probably formed what would become Lafitte’s illicit colony on the secluded islands of Barataria Bay south of the city. Holding privateer commissions from the republic of Cartagena (in modern Colombia), Lafitte’s group preyed on Spanish commerce, eventually disposing of its plunder through merchant connections on the mainland. Barataria Bay was a very important…