University BYU ScholarsArchive

Theses and Dissertations

1997

A Study of Haitian Mormon Converts Dwelling in New York City: A Cross-Cultural Perspective in Understanding, Interpreting, and Experiencing the Mormon Subculture

Yvon Milien - Provo

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BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Milien, Yvon, "A Study of Haitian Mormon Converts Dwelling in New York City: A Cross-Cultural Perspective in Understanding, Interpreting, and Experiencing the Mormon Subculture" (1997). Theses and Dissertations. 4943. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/4943

This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. A study of haitian mormon converts dwelling in new york city A cross

cultural perspective in understanding interpreting and experiencing

the mormon subculture

A thesis

presented to the

department of sociology

brigham young university

in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degree

master of science

yvon milien 1997

by

yvon milien

april 1997 this thesis by yvon milien is accepted in its present form by the department of sociology of brigham young university as satisfying the thesis requirement for the degree of master of science 9 0ohn A seggar comwfeecommftfeemchair

r cardellcandell3rdelladelladeil K jacobjacobsenjacobs6nn committee member

darwin L thomas committee member

11f7 7 1 date stephen Pahrbhrhr depntdepontdptrpnt7 chair

11 TABLE OF CONTENTS acknowledgments iv

LIST OF FIGURES AND CHARTS v

LIST OF TABLES vi

CHAPTER I1 introduction statement of the problem introduction to the problem significance of problem 4

CHAPTER II11 literatures REVIEW the context haitian popular beliefs cultural beliefs of haitian community in new york mormon cultural beliefs some differences between the two cultural beliefs conceptual framework defining terms cultures influence on understanding interpreting and experiencing assumptions research questions 24

CHAPTER III111 METHODS rationale for design definition of the population sampling sample design observational design interview dates and protocol criteria to decide type of adaptation data analysis test for validity and reliability 36

CHAPTER IV FINDINGS demographic characteristics background factors independent and dependent variables 66

CHARTER V discussion and conclusions theoretical orientation the data finding unanticipated findings and non findings limitations suggestion for future research applicability of findings 82 references 86 appendices 87 appendices A 90 appendices B 95

iiiilliliin acknowledgments

this thesis was prepared under the supervision of dr john A seggar dr

cardell K jacobson and dr darwin L thomas I1 wish to express my gratitude to all of them for their assistance and guidance in this exploratory study I1 am

especially indebted to my advisor dr john A seggar whose encouragement was invaluable to the completion of this project

special thanks is offered to the 12 haitiansHaitians who participated in this

project I1 also would like to express my appreciation to dr lawrence A young

dr lynn J england dr carol J ward and dr stephen J bahr for their wise

suggestions

finally a particular thanks to don norton from the english department for

his help in the editing of this study any remaining errors of course are mine

ivIV LIST OF FIGURES AND CHARTS figure 1 research model 22 figure 2 criteria for types of adaptation 31 figure 3 pattern emerged 71 chart 1 4 behaviors towards past traditions 576057- 60

V LIST OF TABLES table 1 age sexmaritalSex Marital statusbeliefsStatus Beliefs before 40 table 2 place joinslengthJoins Length of timeageTime Age converted 44 table 3 experience 55 table 4 analysis 62

VI CHAPTERCHAPTERI I1 introduction the LDS church is growing rapidly both inside and outside the united

states many of these converts have been raised in cultures whose beliefs

values and norms are inconsistent with those of the LDS culture such is the

case for haitian converts

the experience may be a great deal different from that of a euro american mormon due to the caribbeansCaribbeans african cultural heritage the

caribbeansCaribbeans differ in cultural 1 background from people born into and raised in the

mormon this may mean that caribbean converts as they make the

transition into the new faith discard their original cultural practices alter them

retain some element of them or develop folk piety

the haitian peoples geographical background combined with their

culture gives them a specific national culture haitian culture is an amalgam of

french lineage african roots and caribbean heritage tracing its origins back to

the mid 1500s for haitiansHaitians as for other caribbeansCaribbeans conversion leads to new

experiences new practices new styles of life and new morals this is the case

for haitian converts whether they joined the new faith in the united states or in

haiti where they joined the church may also affect the transition into their new

faith

tee not utah mormon culture but the culture that comes straight from the beliefs

1 how do haitian converts understand interpret and experience their new religious practices and doctrines obviously culture influences peoples world views culture dictates a sense of necessity justification for action and way of thinking understanding interpreting and experiencing the realities of life this means that cultural patterns define or guide an individual toward culturally appropriate responses to their realities the major purpose of this study was to explore to what extent haitian converts develop folk piety practices that is to what extent do converts seek to establish a balance between past and new religious practices by retaining some element of their original culture and blending them with those of the new faith to produce a conglomeration of beliefs or practices

no studies specifically focus on how liisllisLDSLIDS converts who differ in cultural background from LDSLIDS bomborn into and raised in the mormon religion interpret understand and experience their new culture and what type of adaptation they might develop in their transition process in the newly adopted culture this is an exploratory study to determine if a model based on understanding interpretation and experience can be developed however this study is structured in the traditional strategy of existing theories based on a priori research questions the choice of the traditional strategy was adopted to help the researcher focus the direction of inquiry and organize the data

this study focuses primarily on these questions 1 how do haitian converts discard or alter their original haitian culture to adopt mormon culture

2 2 what role does understanding values and norms of the new faith

interpretation of the new culture and experiences in the new culture play in the

transition process 3 does it makes a difference if converts join the church in

haiti or the US 4 what kind of varieties of folk piety develop within the LDS

church during the globalization of especially in the caribbean

the actual total LDS membership in the caribbean area is 85000 or one percentpercent2percenta2 of the total membership of the church worldwide the haitian group

may serve as a model group in understanding how the LDS church can

approach countries in the caribbean and help its converts in the transitional

process caribbean people share similar lifestyles beliefs and cultural

understandings most native caribbeansCaribbeans strongly believe in supernatural

intervention mysticism spirits and the like in the same way as haitiansHaitians do this

is true for Jamaicajamaicansns dominicans cubans and trinidadiansTrinidad ians who believe in

these types of folk for instance many of these caribbeansCaribbeans practice

the santeriaSanmanteriateria a transformation of the enforced worship of the catholic saints

into the veiled worship of spirit ancestors who were once slaves see wippler

1982 the santeriaSanmanteriateria practices and other africaafricann origoriginatedinatedabed cults such as

trinidadstrinidadaTrinidads shango and brazils macumba are very similar to haitian voodoo

haitiansHaitians are one of the caribbean ethnic groups who developed voodoo

throughout their history haitian voodoo is the religion for the greater part of the

source international winter 1996 vol 132 brigham young university

3 peasants and urban proletariat these two groups represent 85 percent of the

population of haiti voodoo is a conglomeration of beliefs and rites of african

origin which have been mixed with catholic practices in other words voodoo is

a folk religion see metraux 1959 weil et al 1973

although roman catholicism is the official religion in haiti most haitiansHaitians

continue to center their lives around the practices doctrines and traditions of their voodoo religion voodoo teaches them to believe in supernatural

intervention mysticism and many gods and spirits called loas although the

elite denigrate voodoo it still influences their belief systems A popular haitian

expression explains this by claiming haiti is 90 percent catholic and 100

percent voodoo thus haitian converts to mormonism are individuals who are

raised in a culture and a religious system that differs significantly from that of the

LDSLIDS church

therefore this study will look at the pre mormon beliefs and practices of

haitian converts how they were converted what their beliefs are now and whether or not they retain voodoocatholicVoodoo Catholic elements

not only will this study provide basic information regarding haitian

converts it will also provide basic information potentially usefully for guiding LDSLIDS

educational actions for integrating haitiansHaitians and the other caribbean converts

4 CHAPTERCHAPTERII

literature REVIEW

THE CONTEXT

the following contextual information will briefly describe haitian popular

cultural beliefs and mormon cultural beliefs in an attempt to sort out how the two

cultural belief systems are different in addition this section will describe the

cultural beliefs of haitian community in new york city the purpose of this is to

show how deeply the haitian community in new york is committed to cultural

practices of haiti or in other words to determine how typical haitiansHaitians are in new

york

haitian popular beliefs

haitian voodoo is an amalgam of african beliefs and certain roman

catholic practices the haitian masses widely practice it voodoo

encompasses a set of beliefs and practices dealing with the supernatural forces

of the universe voodoo is an informal religion of action it has no formal theology no printed scriptures no hierarchical clergy no organized system for teaching the fundamentals of its doctrine voodoo created during the colonial

slave era fulfuifulfilledfiled the role of a carrier of the messianic message and contributed to revolutionary cohesion voodoo leaders emerged as divine messengers to

save the black slaves from their french oppressors during the colonial period

voodoo started to become the religion of the haitian masses and a

popular cult before the independence of haiti in 1804 nevertheless after the

5 independence of haiti the elite officially adopted catholicism as the official

religion voodoo is based on a belief in the christian god and african deities

called loas believers in voodoo recognize the christian god as ultimately

good and omnipotent believers in voodoo conceive god has a supreme being

not to be bothered with the problems of everyday human existence so they rely

on the power of the loas who according to haitiansHaitians are lesser gods in heaven

and are close of human whose mission is to take care of everyday human

problems there are hundreds of the gods according to believers some are in

the cosmos to protect humans these are good loas called rada some of

these groups are linked to roman catholic saints through a similarity in

characteristics or physical appearance the other loas called petro have a function of destruction such as to help humans to take vengeance on their fellows and the like

they call the people who have the power to establish contact with the loas

houngansHoungans and mambos or priests and priestesses to become a priest or

priestess one needs to receive a special training from a branch elder

houngansHoungans or mambos informally establish themselves in an area their

reputation and prestige grow with their proven effectiveness as a curer problem

solver and diviner and as an officiant at voodoo services or practices

for some scholars haitian voodoo is a mystical religion dening et al

1974 for others voodoo is simply the living religion of the haitian masses

laguerre 1973841973 84 weil et al 1973 for others voodoo is simply a magic

6 practice see bourguignon 1985 kerboulkernoulKerboul 1978 still others see it is a folk

religion metrauxmetraux 1959 and others as a moral justice system bourguignon

1985

this study considers voodoo to be all these voodoo is a mystical religion

in that it has esoteric rites and characteristics it is the living religion of the

masses in that it is essentially the popular religion voodoo is a magic practice in that most adherents use its charms spells and rituals to cause or control events

or govern certain natural or supernatural forces it is a folk religion because it is

a conglomeration of beliefs practices and rites of african origin mixed with the

catholic practice it is a moral and justice system in that many people use it to

attempt to punish someone who deviates from the moral law of haitian

culture this is especially prevalent among the peasants who recommend

obedience and respect for seniority and condemn the practice of gaining wealth at the expense of others believers may use it to attempt to kill such

individuals or make them impotent or invalid for the rest of their lives weilwellweliweilwell et al

1973

cultural beliefs of haitian community in new york

this section provides a general description of the patterns of cultural life in the new york haitian community in other words it examines the current belief

system of the haitian community in new york especially among haitiansHaitians who

live in the brooklyn area

7 approximately 500000 haitiansHaitians live in the new york city metropolitan

area 3 they come from all sectors of haitian society the upper class the

middle class the urban proletariat and the peasantry 4 haitiansHaitians are established

mostly in the boroughs of manhattan brooklyn and queens we do not know

precisely how many haitian live in these areas

laguerre 1984 in his study of the haitian community explains that

some haitiansHaitians have voodoo temples in their basement apartments verifying

this was difficult because if one is not in the network of voodoo a priest or

priestess voodoo will not let someone visit their 5 browns 1991 study

a descriptive anthropological study and an autobiographical account of personal

3 source new york times mapmagazineazine may 23 1993

4 sulton et al 1992 caribbean life in new york city sociocultural dimension new york inc

itt is also interesting that most of those who study or have completed surveys among haitiansHaitians in france or new york or in haiti point out the character of haitian duplicity about voodoo planson 1974 explains that some sociologists did a survey to obtain information about how many haitiansHaitians living in paris know the voodoo or participate in some voodoo ceremonies the result was 100 percent negative answers planson 1974 cites some examples of duplicity in most haitiansHaitians who report about voodoo planson 1974 explains that he met a haitian of the elite group who declared to him his religion is protestant then one week later at random he met the same haitian in a voodoo temple in another example planson 1974 met a highly educated haitian woman who told him that educated people like her are not interested in voodoo at random again he met that woman somewhere in haiti in a voodoo pilgrimage metreaudm6treauxMetmetreauxreaux 1959 explains in a classic way how voodoo beliefs touch every haitian he notes that all haitiansHaitians whatever their social status have trembled in their youth at stories of zombi and werewolves and learnt to dread the power of sorcerers and evil spirits most of them under the influence of school or family react against such fancies but some give in to them and consult a voodoo priest in secret p 58

8 relationship with a voodoo priest in brooklyn and the voodoo cult confirms the

presence of voodoo in the community

many haitian stores in brooklyn sell voodoo material st jacques

botanica marche en bas botanica marche salomon botanica and la patience

quincaillerie store it seems the community is deeply committed to cultural

beliefs from the home country

mormon cultural beliefs

more than a religion mormonism is a subculture in the american cultural

system in that mormon beliefs and life styles are distinguishable from the

dominant american society culture for example most americans believe that

coffee and tea are good for drinking while cormonsmormons believe that they are bad for the health most americans will watch a monday night football while active american cormonsmormons are encouraged to get involved in

activities which involve reading scriptures and prayers

mormon culture in this study refers to the culture that comes straight from the beliefs of mormonism this means beliefs tied to the cultural patterns such

as principles values and norms regarded as true that influence the ways of

behaving for instance the discourages premarital sex the word

of wisdom discourages drinking coffee tea and alcohol temple marriage and

going to the temple are encouraged these principles values and norms are

regarded as true and influence the ways of behaving of a mormon

9 mormonism encompasses a set of beliefs and practices dealing with both

spiritual and temporal salvation mormonism is a formal religion of action it has

its printed scriptures and a hierarchical ecclesiastical structure mormon religion was created during 1830 under the inspiration of because of

dissatisfaction with the doctrine and practices of other churches philosophies at the time according to mormon belief joseph smith emerged as a prophet of

god called to restore all ordinances and priestly orders of both old and new testaments in other words he restored the church of jesus christ on the earth

in these latter days

believers in mormonism conceive heavenly father as a supreme being

jesus christ is his literal son who made the atonement to give humans an

opportunity to return to live with heavenly father nevertheless one has to

repent accept baptism for remission of sins be obedient to the commandments

of god and persevere in the direction of eternal salvation cormonsmormons believe in the holy spirit a power given to members after baptism according to Morcormonsmormonsmons this power operates as a close companionship to guide protect and comfort

members and help them in all areas of their lives cormonsmormons believe that

ordinances such as baptism and temple marriage must be done to be exalted

they also believe that god knows them personally

cormonsmormons express a strong belief in god jesus christ ancient and living

prophets and angels they believe in the which according to them

is a power given to men from god to act in his behalf they believe in the power

10 of healing of the priesthood and revelation kephart 1982 odea 1957 whalen 1964

some differences between the two cultural beliefs

this section explicitly states points on which these two cultural systems

are at odds As noted haitiansHaitians have been raised in a culture where some

beliefs values and norms are inconsistent with those of mormon culture

both mormon and haitian cultural beliefs give emphasis to the ritual of the

death for instance a part of mormon practices is to baptize by proxy those

dead who did not receive the gospel in this life and cormonsmormons seal the dead in

temple marriage if they did not marry in LDS temple this is all done to help the

dead in the next life according to haitian popular beliefs one should not

neglect or disrespect dead family members

contrary to mormon beliefs however haitian traditions teach that the

spirit of the dead retains worldly powers A dead family member continues to

play important roles in the ongoing lives of his or her family should any mortals

neglect or be disrespectful of their dead family the offender will experience

misfortune or sickness often to the point of death haitiansHaitians do not neglect dead

family members in the hopes of developing and strengthening their relationship

with their dead family and receiving help or guidance from them cormonsmormons

perform ordinances for dead family in the temple to help them progress

spiritually this means they give the dead an opportunity to repent of their sins

committed during their earth life they do this for the dead to receive

11 forgiveness and blessings in the world of spirits so that they can receive a higher

degree of glory haitiansHaitians on the other hand develop and strengthen their

relationship with their dead family members by lighting candles pouring coffee or

water on the floor or making food for them Morcormonsmormonsmons however help dead

family members through proxy baptisms

both mormon and haitian cultural beliefs emphasize guidance or comfort

in situations of lifes trials for instance cormonsmormons are encouraged to get a

patriarchal blessing a special onetimeone time blessingblessingsblessing66 given by a patriarch a

designated ecclesiastical authority thomas 1992 p 386 to talk to a bishop

to read scriptures especially the and to pray however

haitiansHaitians are encouraged to rely on the spirit manifestation called loas the

dead family or hounganshoungans and mambos ie priests and priestesses voodoo

for guidance and comfort

the differences between these two belief systems are apparent

haitiansHaitians influenced by their cultural tradition conceive heavenly father as a

supreme being who is not to be bothered with lifes problems they rely on the

power of the loas the dead whose mission is to take care of human problems

in haitiansHaitians attempts to the loas to fulfill their wishes they either

organize a ceremony for them or influence them by food offerings and animal

thehe patriarchal blessing informs members on three aspects of their existence 1 the life a member has lived before coming to this world 2 what the lord has in store for a member on earth and 3 what a member can look forward to after this life ends thomas 1992

12 sacrifices Morcormonsmormonsmons however conceive heavenly father as a supreme being whose goodwill is to take care of their problems cormonsmormons believe that they can ask or influence heavenly father to fulfill their wishes with the aid of prayers in the name of jesus christ they make covenants with god by entering the waters of baptism partaking of the and becoming endowed and

marrying in the temple there are far more differences than similarities between

mormon and haitian belief this section attempts to show that mormon and

haitian cultural beliefs differ from each other in the way their rituals are

manifested however both mormon and haitian cultural beliefs are made up of

some similar types of rites nevertheless the fact is that the cultural frameworks within which mormon and haitian perceptions occur are at odds consequently

11 when two cultural religious practices which are at odds come in contact the end

result could be a religious stratification ie one of them might be considered as the only true religion or the individual in such a situation might seek to establish a balance between the two bastide 1950

conceptual FRAMEWORK

traditionally studies about individuals changing from one belief religion or doctrine to another are oriented toward explaining converts attitude changes

and causes of conversion within a particular culture white & white 1995 for

example conducted a study of LDSLIDS african american explanations of the

priesthood ban based on the african american oral history project conducted by the redd center at BYU jacobson 1992 did a study that focused on the LDSLIDS

13 church and the concerns of what he calls black pioneer converts to the LDS

church after the ban on priesthood ordination for blacks had been lifted in 1978

but in this study only black americans constitute the sample

defining terms

this section defines key concepts such as understanding interpretation

and experiencing these concepts will be measured to ascertain their roles in the transition process the conceptualization of these terms will be used as a theoretical framework or background that will guide this study

understanding

the concept understanding is not a dominant one in the social sciences weber 1962 provides a helpful perspective to define this concept

weber distinguished two kinds of understanding a direct or empirical

understanding and an explanatory one the former understanding is the

meaning associated with what one hears sees or comes in contact with for

instance a convert may understand that the priesthood is a power because he

or she has heard about it from the missionaries the latter understanding is

associated with the motives purposes functions related to the empirical

understanding of what one hears sees or come in contact with in other words

this type of understanding is the full awareness or clear perception of the

motives purposes behind an act or a fact for instance the convert may grasp

that not only the priesthood is an authority to act in the name of god but also

understands that the aim of having the priesthood is to perform a variety of

14 functions such as marrying in the temple administering healing blessings

11 passing11passing the sacrament and so forth

the in depth interview will measure the second aspect of explanatory understanding how subjects understand the motives purposes behind the norms values and basic notions such as baptism priesthood the temple baptism for the dead holy ghost patriarchal blessing family law of chastity tithing the sacrament of the mormon faith as the mormon doctrine explains them note that to gain the second kind of understanding one must first have a direct or empirical understanding of the object

interpretation

interpretation is generally defined as an illustration a comment and representation of something somewhat similar to the concept understanding the concept interpretation has not been the focus of the social sciences the term interpretation is often associated with hermeneutic theory which deals more with philosophy than social sciences at first hermeneutic theory tried to find hidden messages or the meaning of scriptures to build interpretations in other words strive for clarity and verifiable proof according to weber 1962

all interpretation strives for clarity and verifiable proof in this study however interpretation must be understood in the context of ordinary actors or subjects in a given situation who will try to illustrate comment or represent something

15 weber 1962 also distinguishes two kinds of interpretation a rational

interpretation and an emotional interpretation the former involves logic which

is objectively related to an object a situation or an experience related to

whatever is being interpreted in other words a chain of reasoning executed

logically according to an accepted way of thought there is no creative activity

like emotion or feeling of the performer in such interpretation because it is

objective for instance if a convert argues that according to him the priesthood

is the authority to act in the name of god such interpretation will be considered

as rational or logical because the reasoning is logically executed according to

the accepted way of thought in mormon doctrine the latter involves feelings that may be conditioned by habits customs attitudes values personal

experience and all the cultural psychological and environmental factors that

one has experienced throughout his life this kind of interpretation involves

subjectivity because personal feelings condition it for instance a convert may

argue that the priesthood is just a mystical power given to men to control

supernatural forces of course this may be logical to the convert but this

interpretation will be considered as nonrational for native utah LDS discourse

communities elements of these two types of interpretation are involved in the

attempt to measure interpretation by converts about the mormon subculture

the rational and emotional dimensions will be measured by looking at

some key norms values and basic teachings that mormon missionaries have

taught to haitian converts determination will be made as to how converts

16 rationally and emotionally interpret the norms values and basic teachings they

have received

experience

experience is the act of living through an event or events or personal

involvement in events as they occur generally experience involves practicing

something

this study is concerned about a converts experience with a new culture that involves potential changes in behavior lifestyle and values experience

means the act of putting these aspects of culture which the convert has

understood into practice

therefore experience will be measured by surveying participation of

converts in mormon church activities eg asking and giving blessings

performing baptism for the dead going on a mission attending the temple

paying tithing feeling the holy ghost marrying in the temple observing the

word of wisdom and the law of chastity

to assess how finely a respondent will understand the subtle distinction

between understanding interpretation and experience in this study we consider

these following criteria understanding is understood in the context of the

purpose or function a respondent associates with mormon cultural concept

interpretation is understood in the context of how a respondent defines mormon

cultural concept experience is understood in the context of participation in

mormon cultural rituals

17 cultures influence upon understanding interpretation and experience

this section focuses on the literature review and theoretical discussions of

cultures influence on understanding interpretation and experience

swidler 1986 with her notion of culture and bourdieu 1977 1986 with

his concept of habitus and hannershannerz 1969 have conceptualized culture as a tool kit from which individuals draw to solve problems they encounter tools

are habits skills symbols and ways of seeing that are assembled over time

based on what one experience the definition of bourdieusBourdieus notion of habitus

is a certain disposition to view the role and to act when confronted with a specific

situation as cited in munchmonch 1994 this is similar to that of jacobs and others

jacobs et al1991al 1991 who explain that culture plays an important role in problem

solving kerckhoff 1984 and swartz 1977 1985 also explain that culture

plays a key role in problem solving duncan et al 1994

duncan and lamborghinisLamborghinis 1994 study shows that culture as a tool kit

and habitus as a frame of reference clarify the connection between rural peoples

experiences and their interpretations of their opportunities culture and habitus

in turn shape their notion of what is possible for them in the future duncan

and lamborghini 1994

from this brief literature review it seems that one can argue that the

beliefs about religious practices will shape a persons understanding

interpretation and the way of experiencing the new religion

18 assumptions

according to schure 1960 the ancient egyptian wise men believed that individuals internalize a religious belief that is a religious group define truths when they are capable of finding the religions principle in themselves presumably this relates to how individuals understand interpret and experience their religious beliefs in the antique initiatory trial a requisite to becoming a priest in an egyptian temple the masters apparently did not help novices in their learning they merely observed the novice attentively to see how he understood interpreted and experienced the trial see schure 1960 the purpose was to see to what extent the novice would develop a type of adaptation based on 1 discarding past moral beliefs such as fear impatience attachment to objects of the senses anger selfish interest and the like or 2 retaining some of their personal moral system or 3 mixing part of the past moral beliefs with the new teachings to satisfy personal gratification see schureschune

1960

nevertheless in the case of conversion in mormonism there is a convert support system that does more than observe this system involves missionaries sunday schools home teachers visiting teaching etc who teach and guide as well as convert also they elaborate and illuminate the converts understandings

this study examines to what extent haitian converts to mormonism discard their original cultural practices alter them or retain some element of

19 them as they make the transition into the new faith the type of adaptation a

convert makes in a new cultural belief or practice system depends on their type

of understanding kind of interpretation and degree of experience in the new

belief and practice system no single element of understanding interpretation

and experience alone influences or shapes a type of adaptation rather each

influences or is in turn influenced by the others and shapes a type of converts

adaptation in other words understanding interpretation and experience may

inspire converts to either discard original cultural practice develop a folk piety

system or retain original cultural practice

for instance two individuals may join the LDSLIDS church one may grasp a

central theme of the book of mormon which is that we must be free from pride

because it leads to selfishness and rejection of gods ways if he or she makes

a rational interpretation of the verse in the book of mormon it is expected that

the convert will make a rational interpretation that will be logically close to the

accepted normative view of the doctrine in the church greater awareness of the

motives of the book of mormon may be gained if the convert is totally engaged in

activities of the church and is doing the activities that are essential for gaining

such awareness

the other convert may have a direct understanding of the book of

mormon that is he or she just knows the book of mormon is important then

the convert may subjectively interpret the book of mormon that is he or she

may develop an emotional interpretation based on feeling or cultural elements

20 that he or she experienced before joining the church he or she may not be totally engaged in the churchschurche activities

from learning the basic elements of mormon doctrine then getting baptized and continuing to be involved in church activities converts will gain a type of understanding build a kind of interpretation and gain personal experience that might lead to discarding their own cultural traditions

the point here is that each of these converts will express a different type of adaptation three types of adaptation are considered within the research model 1 didiscardinadiscardingscardina original cultural practices 2 developing folk pietyniety and 3 retaicretairetaining original cultural practices

discarding occurs when a convert who experiences lifes trials or encounters problems turns to new beliefs and practice system for help

example using a priesthood blessing or prayer and not the loas this is likely to occur at times of problems of sickness major transitions in the life cycle ie divorce death predictions of the future and problems of misfortune

folk piety or synthesis develops when converts in a situation of lifes trial turn to both rastpast and new practices for help converts mix their past beliefs and practices with those of the new faith in an attempt to resolve a trial of life

retaining occurs when converts in a situation of lifeslifeilfe s trials turn to past beliefs and practice systems in an attempt to resolve the lifes trials encountered

our assumption in examining whether haitian converts discard their original cultural beliefs develop folk piety or retain elements of past traditions is

21 that a persons belief system functions as a tool kit from which individuals draw to solve problems encountered in life swiller 1977 hannershannerzHannerz 1969 for

instance people who believe that prayer is a powerful tool will use it when they

encounter problems such as sickness or major transition of the life cycle on the

other hand a person who believes in the power of psychology will go to see a

counselor if people believe both are efficacious they will pray and will see a

counselor I1 reasoned that voodoo cultural traditions shape haitiansHaitians

understanding interpretation and the way of experiencing reality therefore I1

looked at what role understanding interpretation of the new culture and

experience in mormon practices play when haitian converts discard their original tradition develop folk piety or retain voodoo catholic elements these options

are illustrated below in the diagram

research model type of adaptation

Understandunderstandinfunderstandinginf discarding

culture 30 interpretation folk piety

xpenencingxperiencingexperiencing retaining

22 for example consider one element of cultural beliefs such as priesthood

blessings to make this model clearer mormon doctrine or culture encourages

members to seek priesthood blessings on special occasions such as when they

go for surgery get married or leave to go to school or perform military service

by contrast in such situations haitian popular beliefs encourage people to

consult a or to call the loas or lesser gods to ask them to

assist or protect the persons well being

converts may understand that priesthood blessings can comfort andor

counsel on special occasions because they have learned about them from the

missionaries or heard about them in sunday school many times then they may

argue that a priesthood blessing fulfills the same function as a loa however they may explain that they believe a loas protection is more efficient than a

priesthood blessing presumably such converts would maintain a low degree of

active participation in asking for blessings on special occasions such a

combination of influences may shape the type of adaptation as retaining a

commitment to past practices

on the other hand converts may have an explanatory understanding of

priesthood blessings they may understand that the meaning of such blessings

is to enrich faith to the highest possible degree they may believe that god will

take care of everything in such cases converts may argue that because the

priesthood is a divine office restored through the miraculous intervention of

23 peter james and john they believe that a priesthood blessing is more efficient than any other power on special occasions

or converts may argue that both powers loa and priesthood are important presumably such converts maintain a high degree of active participation in asking blessings on special occasions such choices may shape a type of adaptation discarding the original culture to accept the liisllisLDSLIDS practices in this case the convert believes that priesthood is more efficient in the other case he or she may develop folk piety and accept both practices

from the research model this study will investigate the following research questions research questions

1 to what extent do converts in a situation of lifes trials turn to past practices

2 to what extent do converts in a situation of lifes trials turn to past and new practices

3 to what extent do converts in a situation of lifes trial turn to new practices

4 to what extent does type of understaunderunderstayunderstandingsta influence adaptation type

5 to what extent does type of interpretation influence adaptation type

6 to what extent does degree of experience influence adaptation type

7 to what extent does the combination of the influences shape a type of adaptation

24 CHAPTERchapter111 ililiiIII111

METHODS and procedures

the purpose of this study was to investigate how haitian converts during their transition from past cultural practices to new cultural practices interpret understand and experience their new practices in addition to what extent do these variables understanding interpreting and experiencing influence their adaptation type A qualitative research design was used this chapter discusses the a case or rationale for design b definition of study population or participants c sampling design d observational design including research instruments design of the interview interview dates and protocol e criteria to decide type of adaptation and f analysis of the data

RATIONALE FOR DESIGN

the qualitative strategy was selected to have greater detail and likelihood of accuracy of information about each case or participant the researcher is aware of the fact of being less able to make effective generalizations to a larger population of cases because of the small number investigated

the methodology for the study involved collection of data through participant observation and in depth interviews since this study is concerned with the interpretations and understandings of the converts the subjective approach see wuthnow 1987 played an important role in the analysis that is to say this study placed great attention on the individuals mental and emotional

25 constructions in interpretation and empirical or explanatory construction in understanding

definition of study populationsamplingPopulation Sampling design

participants in this study were 12 haitian converts to the mormonism who live in brooklyn new york categories represented active members converted in haiti active members converted in united states an active members who attends the temple and an active member who does not attend the temple the mean age of participants was 34634.6 with a range of 21 to 63 the average age of participants in the study when converted was 248324.83 with a range from 13 to 48 the average number of years church membership was 989.8 with a range of 1 to

15 years the sample was drawn purposefully this study used a non randomized selection of participants participants had met the following criteria

a be haitian b be a member of the mormon church c be baptized for at least one year and d live in new york the participants were recruited from membership records of the midwood first branch in brooklyn the twelve participants came from a pool of 133 haitian members snow ball sampling was used the first 3 participants selected served as participants for a pilot study

observational design research instruments

A part of the literature review in chapter two showed that haitian popular cultural practice and mormon cultural practices are quite different this part of

26 the methods chapter provides a context essential to developing and designing questions of the interviews and observations

design of the interview

based on the contrast between the two belief systems and the conceptual frame work outlined previously an interview guide was used for the in depth semistructuredsemi structured interviews the interview was made up of three types of questions

1 background information respondents were asked to provide background information about their pre mormon beliefs how they were converted where they were baptized into the church of jesus christ of latter dayclay saints the length of time in the mormon church and the age at which they joined the new faith

2 understanding interpretation of the practices and experience in the new belief system respondents were asked to tell how they understood and interpreted mormon rituals such as baptism priesthood temple marriage temple baptism for the dead the holy ghost patriarchal blessings the word of wisdom the law of chastity family sacrament and tithing converts understanding was measured by asking subjects to state the motives behind mormon rituals interpretation was measured by asking subjects what mormon rituals represented or meant for them then respondents were asked which of these they had participated in as a measure of the extent of their experience

27 answers dealing with the concept of understanding vary along both an empirical and explanatory continuum eg when respondents said they had no ideas about the nature of some mormon rituals this demonstrated that they had

1 no empirical understanding about them for instance if a respondent said I understand that the patriarchal blessing can help to know that god has a special purpose for me this explains that the respondent had a direct or empirical understanding of the ordinance answers about the concept interpretation vary along dimensionally rationalemotionalrationalieemotionalmotionmotlonal interpretations were coded rational or objective when respondents interpreted mormon rituals somewhat as the official doctrine defined them eg some respondents represented the temple as the house of the lord this interpretation was categorized as rational or objective because official doctrine defines it this way interpretations were coded emotional or subjective when respondents interpreted mormon rituals as similar to haitian rituals eg a respondent represented going to the temple as a voodoo pilgrimage this was categorized as emotional or subjective interpretation experience was varied along dimensional participatingparticipatingnotnot participating in rituals or practices of the new faith

3 discarding original beliefs developing folk piety retaining voodoo catholic elements six indicators were considered to measure whether or not converts discarded original cultural beliefs developed folk piety or retained original tradition elements the indicators identified by williams 1980 to classify beliefs and practices of folk piety are foods drink was used in this

28 study problems of sickness major transition of life cycles eg divorce death

predictions of the future and problems of misfortune see the appendix for

questions

interviews were conducted at the homes of most of the respondents in

order to observe their surroundings in addition the researcher spent time with

the respondents participating with them in some activities such as parties and

eating dinner with them at their homes only two of the interviews of the twelve

were not conducted at homes of respondents in one the parents of the

respondent did not want to have anyone to come and talk about mormonism in

their house the other had a very busy schedule both were interviewed at the

church meeting house after sacrament meeting

interview dates and protocolprotocolsprotocol77

prior to the actual study a pilot study involving three converts was

conducted the primary importance of the pilot study was to refine the questions

of the interview guide the pilot study also allowed formulation of the best

strategy of observation it also allowed the researcher to become aware of some

of his personal biases and expectations for the interviews another purpose of

inn order to establish evidences of the haitian communitys deep commitment to cultural beliefs back home two kinds of information were obtained first information drew from previous studies that provided a picture of the cultural life within the community the other came from open interviews conducted during the first contact with some haitian members of the community in the summer 1995 the snowball or chain referral technique was used the interviews were conducted in a way that allowed respondents to express their belief in the newly adopted cultural environment the interviews were transcribed and direct quotes from respondents are used to illustrate points see results section

29 the pilot study was to determined whether or not participants understood the

subtle distinctions between understanding interpreting and experience which

the interviewer was trying to elicit from the interviews two of the participants

involved in the pilot study were among the twelve the researcher decided to

remove the first informant from the study because the interview with her was

unsuccessful

at the start of each interview the purpose and procedure of the study

were reviewed with each participant the issue of confidentiality was discussed

and an informed consent form was presented to each participant see appendix

for informed consent form preliminary questions were asked to determine a

participants age b participants marital status c participants age on joining

the mormon faith d length of time in the mormon church e where converted

upon completion of the preliminary questions interview guide questions

were asked using either the same order and delivery or different order and

delivery the circumstances guided the order though the order and delivery of

the questions remained unstructured more clarification andor exploration were

asked when the respondent was willing

data collection began at the end of june and ended in august of 1996

each interview was audioaudiotapedtaped after obtaining permission from the

interviewees and subsequently transcribed and translated in english since all

the participants are haitian and their native languages are french and creole

most interviews were conducted in these languages A preliminary analysis of

30 the data from the pilot study was conducted and completed by mid july 1996 all interview and transcripts including the pilot study were held in the researchers office and kept in strict confidence

criteria to decide type of adaptation

this study enables the examination of the relationship among converts understandings interpretation of the values and norms of the mormonism and the converts experience in the new faith and adaptation type three fundamental types of adaptation are considered 1 accepting new and discarding original practices 2 developing folk piety and 3 retaining past practices elements

each convert was placed in one of the three types of adaptation to place the subjects the operation proceeded as follows

understanding priesthood blessing alisallsailsA lisils to heal discardingacceptingDiscarding accepting the new Bllessbllessbalessaless effective than loas helpelp

interpretations priesthood blessing almeana2mean divine power folk piety belessb2lessb21ess divine power than loa

experiences priesthood blessing retainpastRetain past practices a3asking for i B 3preferb3prefer not to ask

31 consider the example of the priesthood blessing and this model above more specifically when asked what is the purpose behind the priesthood blessing suppose the converts answer was the purpose behind the priesthood blessing is to heal when asked how do you interpret the priesthood blessing suppose the converts answer was the priesthood is a divine power when asked which one of these two powers the priesthood or the loasioastoas are you more likely to turn when encountered problems such as

1 sickness or misfortune suppose the converts answer was I1I turn to the priesthood the converts answer would be categorized as someone who discadiscarded original cultural practices on this item on the other hand consider

1 the same set of questions when a converts answer was 1 1I think the priesthood blessing fulfills the same function as the power of the loas that is to say both can heal the sick but the lao is more powerful 2 for me the

1 priesthood is not a power at all that could help me solve my problems 3 1I would rather turn to loa such a convert would be categorized as someone who

retained original cultural practices next suppose a converts answer for these questions was 1 the priesthood is to heal the sick 2 for me the

1 priesthood is a divine power as well as the loas 3 1I turn to loa such a convert would be categorized as someone who develops folk dietadietvpietyniety

each of these three categories of adaptation type is not the result of a

single influence but an accumulation of influences the analysis of these

accounts was followed by classification into an accumulative retained past

32 practices scores accumulative developed folk piety scores and accumulative

discarded past practices scores data analysis

although this study is qualitative in design the researcher used the traditional method of imposing existing theories based on a priori research

questions when using a qualitative design the researcher typically does not

work with a priori theory or variables rather these are expected to emerge from

the inquiry lincoln & guba 1985

the model proposed provided general ideas about what patterns might

emerge from the data analysis of the data was designed to identify whether or

not there is empirical support for the influences proposed in the model

the researcher analyzed the content of the verbatim transcripts by

reading them and listening to audioaudiotapedtaped interviews for the purpose of the

study the researcher adapted the guidelines of strauss and corbin 1993

concerning how to do data analysis from a grounded theory perspective the

researcher carried out open and axial coding while analyzing the data strauss

and corbin 1993 open coding is the process of breaking down examining

comparing conceptualizing and categorizing data open coding is the naming

and categorizing of phenomena through close examination of data appp 616261 62

open coding fractures the data and allows one to identify some categories their

properties and dimensional locations axial coding puts those data back

together in new ways by making connections between a category and its

33 categoriessubsubcategories p 97 the data analysis commenced with open coding through an intense line by line delineation of each topic covered in each interview and observation during the data collection next these topics were organized into as

many common categories such as emotional interpretation rational

interpretation explanatory understanding empirical understanding high or

low degree of active participation for experiences discarding original culture

devolving folk piety retain past practice as needed further the researcher

had used the categories to identify a main story line that presents the core

category or the central phenomenon around which all the other categories are

integrated for instance some categories were related on the one hand to

rational interpretation and on the other hand to emotional interpretation then a

analysisreanalysisre of each original category took place to decide which dimensions of

each category could be included under which aspects of main themes

test for validity and reliability

the researcher employed several techniques to establish validity and

reliability member checking peer debriefing thick description and an inquiry

audit

member checking or source checking contributes to establish credibility

member checking was performed once during the data analysis to verify

categories in this case at the conclusion of the data analysis each member

was asked to check categories interpretations and conclusions to verify

accuracy gluch 1993

34 the researcher tried to use someone as peer debriefed while the interview and the analysis were in progress the role of peer debriefed includes exploring the researchers bias clarifying the researchers interpretations and playing the role of devils advocate hanson & newburg 1992 the person did not perform well this role due to his lack of knowledge of research

the technique of thick description or detailed account of the data collection data analysis procedures and results were used to aid in transferability hanson & newburg transferability means providing sufficient information about the context and conditions of the study to allow readers to decide the relevance of the information regarding the situation lincoln & guba

1985 thick description was accomplished in this study to provide a detailed account of the data collection data analysis procedures and results

the technique of inquiry audits which refers metaphorically to a fiscal audit gave credibility to the study according to lincoln and guba 1985 the task of an inquiry auditor is twofold 1 it allows the auditor to attest to the dependability of the inquiry by examining the process of the inquiry and determining its acceptability and 2 it allows the auditor to attest that the product meaning of the data findings interpretations and recommendations were supported by the data and were internally coherent for this purpose the researcher prepared and maintained an audit trail according to lincoln and guba 1985 the audit trail must consist of six categories 1 raw data 2 data reduction and analysis products 3 data reconstruction and synthesis products

35 4 process notes 5 materials relating to intentions and dispositions and 6

instrument development information

the inquiry audit was performed by dr carol ward a faculty member in the department of sociology BYU who teaches ethnographic techniques she

has extensive qualitative research experience

36 CHAPTERCHAPTERIV IV

findings

the findings are presented in two main sections the first is a brief descriptive report of the demographic characteristics and the background factors

age of respondents marital status pre mormon beliefs how converted where

converted length of time in the new faith age converted and the independent

and the dependent variables the second section focuses on the data

concerning the research questions posed at the end of chapter two

however before proceeding with the material outlined above evidences

of the haitian communitys deep commitment to cultural beliefs back home merit

mention haitiansHaitians commitment to culture back home appears in the remarks of these respondents one respondent has received a bachelors degree in civil

engineering married he is more than 43 years of age his religious affiliation is

catholic and he is also a freemason this respondent physically separated

from his wife explained

here in brooklyn haitiansHaitians use the same strategy as back home they are members of a church and rely on voodoo to solve their problems my wife comes from a strong catholic family however she and her family are using voodoo to try to bring me back

several other respondents about fourteen who are catholic and also members

of freemasonry range in age from 24 to 50 years of age interviewed in a

group they confirmed the fact that like back home haitiansHaitians here in new york

37 use voodoo for the prosperity of their business to bring back their spouse when divorced or separated

the youngest of the respondents in the group 24 years of age explained why he became a freemason in new york

was not interested in freemasonry in haiti because I1 knew I1 would immigrate to united states in an environment free from voodoo however to my great surprise when I1 got there I1 found it was the same in this community

A baptist respondent converted from catholicism married having

children a high school diploma more than 35 years of age explained

I1 did not believe that haitiansHaitians in new york practiced voodoo till a saturday about 100 am from my window I1 saw some people doing voodoo ceremonies at the street comercornerconnerconnen by my house

another woman about 40 years old age an adventist convert was

catholic is married and has received no high school diploma she explained

one of my best friends had her mother in law persecuting her with voodoo she is an adventist like me however to save her life she had to go see a voodoo priest here

this interview shows that the haitian community in new york is still

committed to cultural traditions back home

demographic characteristics and background factors

however before proceeding with the demographic characteristics and

background factors the character of haitian duplicity about voodoo merit

mention again this is to clarify why table one shows that none of the

participants had been voodooist As discussed previously most haitiansHaitians

38 especially those who are members of the elite have a character of duplicity about voodoo this means that hardly any haitiansHaitians will overtly admit they are associated with voodoo see footnote p 8 one of the reasons that encourages most haitiansHaitians to have a character of duplicity about voodoo is that voodoo is not officially recognized and is denigrated by members of the elite who adhere to western modes of life and thought as criteria of high social rank

five out of the 12 informants were single and one has a son seven were married four were divorced of the three that were not divorced two were married in the temple none of those who were divorced married in the temple none of the participants declared that he or she was a voodooist before joining the mormon church of the 12 participants interviewed 9 declared that they had been catholic one declared he was a member of the orthodox church two were adventist see table 1

39 table 1 agemaritalAge Marital statusbeliefsStatus Beliefs before

sex age marital status beliefs before cases M F 183018 30 31 single married divorced remar catholic adv orthodox

1 X X X X

2 X X X X

3 X X X X 4 X X X X

5 X X X X 6 X X X X

7 X X X X

8 X X X X

9 X X X X

10 X X X X

11 X X X X

12 X X X X remarremarriedRemar remarried advadventistAdv Adventist

40 although all 12 participants declared that they had nothing to do with voodoo before they joined the mormon church when I1 later gained their trust and asked them this question can you tell me about your experience before joining the mormon church the answers were as follows case 2

before 1 was not so good I1I1 did some vagabondage I1 went to dance of loas after women case 3

beforebeforefone I1I1 participated in worldly things but not big worldly things you know in haiti there is a tradition to go to gede party to go to ff deristiloeristilperlperiperistilpenlstilstif I1 did go for the food and after women I1I1 did not go with any other intention or believe in loa I1I1 went for fun later case 3 also said that his grandmother used to make food for the loas and the dead

this strategic question above did not work as well for the other informants nevertheless when I1 asked some of the informants suppose one of your close family gets sick or is experiencing misfortune and someone tells you that a person is behind these what will you do only case 5 said

I1 never think about that I1I1 do not believe in such things if someone does that person is unfaithful I1 do not have to think about that

most informants before answering this question above admit that this is possible for instance case 12 a well educated person said

41 believe this is possible I1 do not know if it is because of my background where I1 have been raised amazingly the environment influences my belief

more interestingly case 1

my family lights candles for the dead pours coffee on the ground for the dead makes food for the loas the dead my mother loves voodoo

in summary the point is that although the informants in this study might

not have been voodooists before joining the LDSLIDS church voodoo has obviously touched every one of them

regarding how converts join the church only 1 of the 12 participants

invited the missionaries to teach him that participant explained

think god inspired me on day on my way back home I1 remembered I1 saw two missionaries laying on the floor near of my house the picture of jesus christ invited them to come in after the six discussions I1 decided to get baptized

of the 12 participants only 1 case 7 said that her family encouraged her

to join the mormon church she explained

two of my sons who joined the church before did encourage me to get baptized all the other participants explained that the missionaries and the holy

ghost encouraged them to join the mormon church for instance case 1

after I1 met the missionaries I1 felt the holy ghost in me I1 read what the missionaries asked me to read in the book of mormon then I1 got baptized

in summary none of them joined mormon church because of personal

and situational factors such as illness erosion of morals or natural disasters

42 the analysis in table 2 shows that 8 out the 12 participants converted in haiti 4 converted in brooklyn of the 8 converted in haiti 4 were females of the 4 converted in brooklyn 2 were males

regarding the length of time in the mormon church the analysis shows that the average number of years converted is 989.8 with a range of 1 to 15 and a standard deviation of 373.7

this analysis shows that the average age when participants in this study were converted is 248324.83 with a range of 13 to 48 and a standard deviation of 797.9

43 table 2 place joinslengthJoins Length of timeageTime Age converted

where converted length of time age converted cases haiti US 151 5 6106 10 111511 15 102010 20 213021 30 314031 40 41

1 X X X

2 X X X

3 X X X

4 X X X

5 X X X

6 X X X

7 X X X

8 X X X

9 X X X

10 X X X

11 X X X

12 X X X

44 independent variables

understanding interpretation and experience

from the conceptual framework outlined in chapter two the analysis generated dimensions for each independent variable respondents understanding was categorized along dimensional continua both empirical and explanatory respondents interpretation varied along dimensional continua

rationrationalrationalemotionalaIemiemotiotemotiolememotionalotiootlona 1 respondents experience varied along dimensional continua

participatingparticipatingnotnot participating

Understandunderstandinglnainainq six of the respondents expressed explanatory

understanding for all rituals and norms of mormonism selected for this study cases 1 3 4 5 7 and 8 the other six did not express explanatory

understanding of some mormon rituals case 12 voluntarily did not express any

understanding for these rituals temple baptism for the dead patriarchal

blessing and celestial marriage cases who did not express understanding

about some of these above and others did not express a direct or empirical

understanding of these rituals for instance most of them said they had never

heard about patriarchal blessings in haiti

baptism respondents understanding of baptism can be found in the following

quotations the purpose of baptism is to change peoples live case 12

baptism can lead us to the road of salvation case 5 several other

participants stated they understood that baptism can help them to get closer to god

45 priesthood most respondents reported that they understood that the function of the priesthood is to heal the sick and bless others for example case 12 stated that it is a power for healing helping others case 2 the priesthood can help the sick bless others case 7 the priesthood can only do a good thing such as healing comforting members case 8 gave an in depth understanding about the priesthood without the priesthood family cannot be sealed that is to say marry for eternity ordinances cannot be done and with the power of the priesthood we can heal the sick bless others temple except cases 6 9 and 12 who did not express their understanding of the temple over all the other respondents understood that the function of the temple is to help members experience blessings such as marriage for eternity to become closer to heavenly father to help them become more spiritual baptism for the dead most respondents reported that they understood that the function of baptism for the dead is to give the dead who did not have the opportunity to get baptized in the true church a chance to accept the gospel in the spirit world in other words to redeem the dead for instance case 4 said

it gives the dead a chance to accept the gospel to go to celestial kingdom case 9 it gives the dead an opportunity to accept the gospel cases 6 and 12

1 did not express their understanding about baptism for the dead case 6 I1 do

1 not understand this ordinance case 12 at first said I am not going to answer

1 this question then added I believe that salvation and exaltation are personal effort

46 holy ghost all respondents reported that they understand that the function of the holy ghost is to guide protect comfort them and help them in all areas of their lives for instance case 12 said the holy ghost is to guide us in what we should do or should no do case 5 the holy ghost is to give us light when we do not know what to do case 8 the holy ghost can help us understand whether or nor what we do is good or bad case 4 it is there to protect and guide us case 9 it can help us patriarchal blessing most respondents reported that they understood that the function of patriarchal blessing is to inform them about their future for instance case 3 it tells me about my future what good things will happen to me if I1 observe gods commandments case 1 it gives member information about their future in a spiritual way others understood that the patriarchal blessing is to guide them in their mission in this life for instance case 8 it is to help us understand our mission on earth that god is expecting from us case 4 it is to help us to plan our life wisely case 5 it is a guide that can help us succeed cases 2 610 and 11 did not express an understanding of patriarchal blessing they said they had no idea of what it is because no one never gave them any information about it

celestial marriage most respondents reported they understood that the function of celestial marriage is to be together forever for instance case 5 said

celestial marriage seals us for eternity case 1 it will help couples to live together as family after they die case 2 it gives us the opportunity to be

47 reunited with our family after we have died others understood that the function of celestial marriage is for exaltation for instance case 7 the purpose of celestial marriage is to help us to be exalted case 6 the aim of celestial marriage is to draw us closer to god only case 12 did not express how she understood celestial marriage family most respondents reported that they understood that the function of family is to bring joy for instance case 1 family can help us experience joy case 4 the purpose of family is certainly to bring happiness and joy case 10

family is to bring joy case 2 the aim of family is to help us enjoy the gospel our children and share our love case 12 the aim of family is to teach us love others reported that they understood that the aim of family is to help us become exalted make spiritual progress for instance case 5 when we have a faithful family it will help us to go to the celestial kingdom case 11 the aim of family is to help us grow spiritually case 8 the purpose of family is to help us progress word of wisdom all respondents reported that they understood that the purpose of the word of wisdom is to bring temporal and spiritual blessings for instance case 4 the word of wisdom brings good health case 5 the word of wisdom teaches us how to protect our body how to keep the temple of god spiritually alive case 6 it teaches us to stay away from problems when observed will have great blessings case 8 the word of wisdom is to help us to keep our body healthy because our body is the temple of god

48 law of chastity most respondents reported that they understood that the purpose of the law of chastity is to help us control ourselves case 8 the aim of this law is to help us to avoid adultery case 9 the aim of this law is to regulate us case 5 the purpose of the law of chastity is to help us control ourselves case 12 this law teaches us to not mistreat our body which is the temple of god others respondents understood that this law could help them receive great blessings for instance case 4 observing this law will help me get married in the temple case 11 the purpose of this law is to help us to progress case 1 when this law is observed we can grow spiritually only

1 case 6 and 7 did not express their understanding case 7 1I am an old person this law does not concern me case 6 said nothing tithing most respondents reported that they understood that paying their tithing can bring blessings such as financial success for instance case 1 when someone pays their tithing god will bless him we can have financial success case 11 when observed god blesses me I1 have financial success case 5

when I1 pay my tithing I1 receive great blessings in return cases 6 and 2

when we pay our tithing we can have more money case 12 and 10 when observed can bring blessings not necessary financial success only case 8 said he understood that tithing is to test our faith

sacrament most respondents reported that they understood that the sacrament helps them remind the covenants they have made with god for instance case 1 the sacrament makes me think of my covenant of baptism

49 case 11 the sacrament helps us remember the covenant we made with god case 9 the sacrament helps us remember the covenant we made with the lord others reported that they understood that the sacrament helps them remember christs sacrifice cases 2 and 7

interpretation the initial analysis suggested that 11 of the 12 participants expressed rational interpretation of the all the mormon rituals only one participant expressed emotional interpretation case 1 of the 11 participants who expressed rational interpretation half the cases did not interpret some ordinances and norms of Morcormonsmormonsmons system belief selected in this study cases 2

6 7 10 11 and 12 for instance case 12 did not voluntarily interpret baptism for the dead or the patriarchal blessing despite an effort to get an interpretation

1 from her about these she said I am not going to interpret these case 7 the oldest respondent did not interpret law of chastity because she was too old to be concerned with this law cases 2 6 10 and 11 did not give any interpretation of the patriarchal blessing because they did not have any empirical understanding about it note that these cases joined the mormon church in haiti they explained that they had never heard about a patriarch in haiti case

6 also did not interpret law of chastity and she refused to say why all 11 cases expressed rational interpretation of all ordinances norms and values of mormon selected in this study most of them interpreted baptism as one of the steps in the spiritual journey for example cases 2 7 8 and 12 said it is the first step others interpreted baptism as a covenant for instance cases 3 5 and 6 said

50 it is a covenant others interpreted baptism as a change in their life for

instance cases 4 10 and 11 baptism means born again

priesthood most of the 11 cases interpreted priesthood as power from god

for instance cases 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 and 12 it is a power of god of the 11 only case 2 said it is a protection

temple all 11 cases said that the temple is the house of the lord a sacred

place for instance case 7 it is the house of the lord it is a very sacred

place

baptism for the dead of the 11 cases who did express rational interpretation

only 2 cases did not interpret baptism for the dead cases 6 and 12 all 9 cases who did interpret baptism for the dead said it was an opportunity for the dead to

receive the gospel in the spirit world for instance case 11 said it is an act of

charity baptism for the dead is an opportunity for the dead who did not get

baptized in the true church to receive the gospel in the spirit world

holy ghost for all 11 cases the holy ghost represented a guide a comforter

or a protector for instance case 5 the holy ghost is a guide a protector

case 11 it is a strong voice telling you what to do and not to do in a situation

case 2 it is a companion that comforts us

patriarchal blessing of the 11 cases who did express only rational

interpretation 5 cases did not express interpretation of patriarchal blessing

cases 2 6610gioglo10 11 and 12 the patriarchal blessing for the others 6 cases was a

special blessing that tells us about our mission in this life what we might

51 experience in this mortal life for instance case 4 it is a blessing that let you know the things you might experience in life case 8 it a blessing that tells you what might be fulfill in your life if you are faithful celestial marriage of the 11 cases who expressed only rational interpretation only 1 case did not interpret temple marriage case 12 most of them interpreted marriage as a sacred bond for instance cases 2 5 8 9 10 and 11 said it is a sacred bond others interpreted marriage as a sealing for time and eternity for instance cases 2 4 6 and 7 said temple marriage is eternal it means sealing for time and eternity case 12 did not interpret temple marriage family for all the 11 cases family is something holy for instance case 8 said

family is the essential institution in earth case 11 family is something special word of wisdom for all the 11 cases the word of wisdom is good principle for instance case 12 it is a great and good law law of chastity of the 11 cases who did express only rational interpretation only 2 cases did not interpret the law of chastity cases 6 and 7 all the 9 cases interpreted the law of chastity also as good regulation for instance case 9 it is a good law tithing all cases interpreted tithing as a good law for instance case 12 it is a good law that teaches us how to share

sacrament for most cases the sacrament is renewal of the commitment made in the waters of baptism for instance case 2 it is a renewal of our covenant in

52 the water case 8 sacrament is a way to renew the covenant we have made in the waters of baptism other interpreted the sacrament as a merely a sacred ordinance for instance cases 3 7 and 8 said it is a sacred ordinance

case 1 is the only one who expressed rational and emotional

interpretation this informant expressed five emotional interpretations this

means that case 1 interpreted some mormon ordinances in terms of original

cultural frame reference in other words case 1 gave to ordinances such as the temple baptism for the dead patriarchal blessing temple marriage and

sacrament meaning that reflect cultural established interpretation of past

experiences the six other rituals were interpreted in a rational way by case 1 that is to say somewhat the way the official doctrine defined them this means that case 1 interpreted baptism priesthood holy ghost family word of wisdom

the law of chastity and tithing in terms of mormon doctrine frame of reference

for instance baptism was interpreted as representing a commitment to jesus

christ a gate one needs to past to gain spirituality priesthood was interpreted

as a spiritual power a power of god the holy ghost was interpreted as

11 representing a guide for us family was interpreted as a holy thing word of

wisdom and the law of chastity were interpreted as good principles

and tithing is interpreted as representing a good law while the temple is

interpreted as a place representing a sacred place but an act of pilgrimage

referring to voodoo pilgrimage baptism for the dead is interpreted as a mystical

practice like the voodoo practice of taking the dead out of water the

53 patriarchal blessing is interpreted as representing a psychic reading similar to that of a priest or priestess voodoo reading temple marriage is interpreted as

a mystical marriage like the mariagemanage myst6remysteremystery or marriage with loas in voodoo

practices case 1 added both are eternal the sacrament is interpreted as a

11 sacred ceremony like the voodoo ceremony in which voodooist scarify animals

such as chicken and prepare a meal with the meat for participants case 1

explained the only differences between the two are those who perform the

voodoo ceremony do not have authority or the priesthood

the data show that out of the 12 cases only case 1 expressed emotional

interpretation that is to say interpreted some mormon rituals through haitian

cultural established meaning the other cases expressed rational interpretation that is to say mormon rituals through mormon established meaning

54 experience all cases did not participate in all mormon ordinances as the table below shows table 3 experience

case 1 case 2 case 3 case 4 case 5 case 6 case 7 case 8 case 9 case 10 case 11 case 12 wwisd part part part part partpant partpardpadd part part part part part part lchastlchaseuchast part part part part part part part part part part bap 1994 1984 1986 1991 1982 1991 1981 1984 1995 1990 1981 1982 friesthpriesth part part part part part no part part part part part no temple no part part no part no part part no part no part adeadbdead no part no no no no part no part no no no tmaramar no no part no part no no no no no no no pblesspoless part no part no part no part no part no no part

mission no no no no part no no no no no no no tithing no part part part part part part part part part part part sacr part part part part part part part part part part part part key partparticipatePart participate in mormon ordinances

conotnonot participate in mormon ordinances wwisdword of wisdom lchastlaw of chastity bapbaptismBap baptism friesthpriesthpriesthpriesthoodpriesthood bdeadbaptism for the dead tmartemple marriage pblesspatriarchal blessing sacr sacrament

55 the analysis shows that not all 12 cases have full participation in mormon rituals nevertheless some cases have a higher degree of participation than others

dependent variables

discarding angiongioriginalI1nalnai cultural practices developing folk pieepleepiety retaretaining elements of past practices

on the basis of the theoretical framework outlined in chapter two three major dependent variables were considered discarding original cultural practices developing folk piety retaining elements of past practices six indicators were measured whether or not converts discarded original cultural beliefs altered them developed folk piety or retained original tradition elements drink problems of sickness major transition of life cycles eg divorce death prediction of the future and problems of misfortune

discadiscarding

of the 12 cases 11 discarded their original cultural traditions only case 1 did not descriptions of their behaviors regarding the six indicators described previously can be found in the following tables

56 chart I11 behaviors toward past traditions discarding case 2 case 3 case 4 case 5 case 6 case 7 case 8 case 9 case 10 case I111I1 case 12

in haitian culture when someone catches a cold it is encouraged to drink rum or other alcohol when I1 take use take use take use use use take take take something tablets medicine tablets medicine tablets medicine medicine tablets medicine medicine tablets unexpected and pray and pray and pray and pray and ask and ask and ask and pray and pray and pray happens blessing blessing blessing such as a misfortune it is encouraged to drink coffee what do you do now when experiencing such situations

57 chart 2 behaviors toward past traditions discarding case 2 case 3 case 4 case 5 case 6 case 7 case 8 case 9 case 10 case I111I1 case 12

in haitian I1 pray I1 know ask for now I1 unnatural if that I1 think I1 will I1 have I1 will let I1 will pray culture and where I1 am priesthood dont sickness happens one listen to god in the will I1 will not when see such blessing believe is real I1 will not go could the holy my life of god not see someone gets authority sickness and pray in if that see a only ghost and I1 will pray be done a houngan sick and for cannot unnatural happens priest be pray pray does blessing happen sickness to me voodoo the notknownot know to I1 will I1 prey for sure where me kneel will of bad the sickness because down and pray influence comes from he I1 have the pray ask if being or she will go priesthood god for help unfaithful see a priest or I1 would priestess voodovoodoogoodo0 ask for what do you do blessing now in such a situationsituationssituation99

do you think I1 dont I1 dont think I1 dont I1 dont I1 dont I1 dont I1 dont I1 dont I1 dont I1 dont I1 dont dead family believe dead can believe believe believe believe believe believe believe believe believe can help in these help us in these in these in these in these in these in these in these in these in these someone only we help who makes baptism them when foods can help baptized lights candle the dead for them or pours coffee on the floor for himhimahim9 and do you think these can help the deaddeadadead9

58 chart 2 CONTINUED what do you pray read I1 pray I1 pray I1 pray ask for I1 pray read I1 pray I1 pray I1 pray do when you ask for my blessing my feel your life is blessing patriarchal patriarchal going nowherenowheresnowhere99 blessing blessing

chart 3 behaviors toward past traditions discarding case 2 case 3 case 4 case 5 case 6 case 7 case 8 case 9 case 10 case I111I1 case 12

what do you dod 3 I1 am when I1 am prayer I1 am a I1 praypr 3yay I1 am divorced I1 am a I1 am a I1 am when feeling single experiencing single is the divorced single and divorced divorced single you are but in difficulties but in key I1 did pray but in remarried we I1 did pray a in such a going to such in my such a in such when I1 such I1 pray should lot before situation to exper- cases marriage situation situations learned situations pray making I1 will let ience I1 will I1 use the I1 will about the I1 will pray that the will divorce or pray priesthood pray the see my decision of god separation divorce bishop be done in a relationshiprelationshipsrelationship99 what do you pray read my I1 pray prayer ask god ask see the I1 pray I1 pray I1 pray read when you and patriarchal and faith to priesthood bishop a lot spiritual experience ask blessing are the comfort benediction ask for book misfortunemisfortunedmisfortune99 for key me and pray blessing patriarchal blessings blessing

59 chart 4 behaviors toward past traditions

folk piety I1 case 1 in haitian culture when someone catches a cold it my mother always uses rum or other alcohol to heal is encouraged to drink rum or other alcohol when me there are many habits you cannot give something unexpected does happen such as a up like that especially when they are a strong part misfortune it is encouraged to drink coffee what of your ways of living I1 will pray ask for blessing do you do now in such situationssituations99 in haitian culture when someone gets sick I1 will let god decide but if my mother wants to see and does not know for sure what is the cause a priest voodoo I1 will not stop her in such situations it encouraged to go see a priest or priestess voodoo what do you do now in such situationsituationssituation77 do you think dead family can help someone who I1 think we can receive help from the dead I1 have makes food lights candle or pours coffee on the personal experience I1 think baptism for the dead ground for themthemathem7 and do you think these is a very good thing practices can help the deaddeadadead7 what do you do when you feel your life is going one day after being a mormon I1 feel that I1 did nowherenowheresnowhere99 consult a psychic equate to a priest voodoo I1 pray ask for blessing what do you do when you feel you are going to I1 believe that houngan or mambo has the Eexperience divorce or separation from a loved power to make unnatural things happen oneone7onea I1 have an example despite my mother and my father are separated they still love each other because of voodoo spells I1 will ask for the blessing what do you do when you experience I1 will ask for priesthood blessing and pray misfortunemisfortune7misfortuned7

independent and dependent variables under controlled conditions

this section focuses on the research questions posed at the end of chapter two this section is divided into four central parts section one deals with how haitian converts discard their original cultural traditions to adopt the mormon belief system section two examines what roles understanding values and norms of the new faith interpretation of the new culture and experiences in the new culture play in the transition process section three is concerned with

60 whether it makes a difference if converts join the mormon church in haiti or united states finally section four is concerned with what kind of varieties of

folk piety that haitian converts develop in the mormon church in other words whether in situation of a lifes trial converts seek the advice of both practices

how discarded

of the 12 cases only case 1 did not discard her original tradition all the other case discarded their original traditions these cases describe their original traditions as not spiritual practices the 11 cases who did discard their past cultural traditions said essentially that voodoo practices are destructive and they are satanic practices those who still practice voodoo or believe in it are ignorant case 1 who did not discard said those who practice voodoo do their things how they feel to do it

roles of understanding interpretation and experience in adaptation types discarded developing folk piety

table 4 contains the results cases 1 through 12 represent the twelve respondents the letters represent features of behaviors and dimensions of interpretation understanding and experience see keys on page 61

61 TABLE 4 caselcase1 case 2 case 3 case 4 case 5 case 6 case 7 case 8 case 9 case 10 case I111I1 case 12

b a a a a a a a a a a a

al a2aa al al al a2aa al al a2aa a2aa a2aa a2aa

baWb3 bl bl bl bl blbab1 bl bl bl blbi blbi bl 0 0 0 0c3ca 0c3ca 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 key 1 each letter represents a behavior in solving problems in the context of the six indicators arespondent discarded past cultural practices brespondent developed folk pietbeliefpietybeliefpietpletpietybellefbelief this means that respondent seeks the advice of both practices to solve problems crespondentcorespondent retained some elements of past cultural practices key 2 each letter represents a dimension of interpretation understanding and experience aalconvertalI1 convert expressed explanatory understanding a2converts did not express explanatory understanding for some mormon rituals bblconvertblI1 convert expressed rational interpretation b2convert expressed emotional interpretation b3convert expressed both rational and emotional interpretation cclconvertclI1 convert participated in all rituals c2convert participated in no rituals c3convert participated in some rituals

62 to decide whether understanding interpretation and experience influence type of adaptation discarded original cultural beliefs developing folk piety or retaining original cultural beliefs the method of difference was used

see neuman 1991 appp 421423421 423 attention focused on similarities and differences among the cases the investigator looked for features in which a set of cases were similar about an outcome and causal features and another set in which the cases differed on outcomes and causal features

this table suggests that both the expression of rational interpretations for some practices and emotional for other practices seem to be a key influential feature in that it is a crucial difference between the set of cases 221212 and case 1 this means that the expression of rational interpretation regarding mormon practices may be an influencing factor for discarding popular original traditions and the expression of both rational and emotional interpretations about mormon practices may be an influencing factor for developing folk piety note that case 1 sought advice of both cultural traditions to solve problems ie developing folk piety despite participating in some mormon rituals as in the others cases therefore the initial analysis suggested that some features such as not totally participating in mormon rituals and expression of explanatory understanding are not critical to discarding original cultural traditions

this table also shows that cases 3 4 5 7 and 8 expressed explanatory understanding for all items in this study cases 2 6 9 10 11 and 12 did not express understanding for all items note that it is not a matter of length of time

63 because case 12 has fourteen years in the mormon church case 11 and 6 both have fifteen years and case 2 has nine years they did not express understanding for all items so the length of time does not seem to produce this difference what can be said about length of time in the mormon church in the case of case 1 who developing folk piety and expressing both rational and emotional interpretation yet case 1 has only two years in the mormon church and case 9 has only one year in the mormon church case 9 did not develop folk piety and express both rational and emotional interpretation so here again the length of time does not seem to produce this difference

what can be said about the role of the combination of type of understanding type of interpretation and degree of experience in discarding original cultural practices or developing folk piety the patterns of outcome bl

respondent expressed rational interpretations and c3ca respondent participated in some rituals as shown in table 4 for cases 2122 12 suggest that such combination is a crucial factor in shaping the discarding of original cultural traditions because of its regularity across cases 2122 12 on the other hand al

explanatory understanding and a2aa respondent did not show empirical understanding for some rituals are not crucial critical factors because they are not regular across these cases these patterns aaa2 bl c3ca converts did not express explanatory understanding of some mormon rituals converts expressed both rational and emotional interpretation converts participated and aaala1 bl c3ca converts expressed explanatory understanding converts expressed rational

64 interpretation converts participated in some mormon rituals indicate that al

explanatory understanding and a2aa did not express explanatory understanding did not influence discarding old traditions because al and a2aa are the only features that differ across cases it is not certain that the pattern that case 1 indicates ie al explanatory understanding bab3 expressed both rational and emotional interpretation and c3ca participated in some rituals is critical in developing folk piety practices because there are not any additional similar cases more cases of this type are needed to confirm whether or not this pattern is critical in developing folk piety beliefs so until these patterns are examined in a larger sample the full complexity of influence cannot be portrayed

differences that occur when converts join the new faith in haiti or united states

of the 12 cases 8 joined the mormon church in haiti only 4 of them joined the mormon church in the united states those who joined in haiti are cases 2 5 6 7 8 10 11 and 12 those who joined the mormon church in the united states are cases 11343 4 and 9 it appears that where the convert joins the mormon church is not an influential factor among the cases that discarded their original cultural traditions I1 found that some were converted in haiti and some were converted in united states only case 1 developed folk piety this case joined the mormon church in the united states the data are too limited to tell whether joining the mormon church in united states had any influence on developing folk piety the same is true of gender differences

65 type of varieties of folk piety that haitian converts developed

only case 1 developed folk piety that is to say seeks advice of both practices in situations of lifes trial because of the limitation of this datum saying anything about types of variety of folk piety is difficult the case who obviously developed folk practice seeks advice of both practices in most indicators considered in this study but when asked what do you do when you

1 experience misfortune case 1 said I1I will ask for priesthood blessing pray the results focused on describing how haitian converts understand interpret and experience mormon cultural traditions and to what extent haitian converts discard their original cultural practices develop folk piety and retain elements of original cultural tradition what role do understanding and interpretation of mormon rituals play in the process of transition the results show that most cases understood mormon rituals as the official doctrine taught them only one case did not interpret all mormon rituals as the official doctrine taught her one convert developed folk piety no one solely retained past practices the results show that those who interpreted mormon rituals as the official doctrine taught them discarded their original cultural traditions more in depth discussion of these findings and their implications are presented in the

next chapter

66 chapter V

discussion and conclusions

the purposes of this study were to examine a to what extent haitian

converts discard their original cultural beliefs or traditions b whether haitian

converts develop folk piety that is to what extent they seek advice from

voodoocatholicvoodoo Catholic and mormon practices in lifes trials c whether haitian converts

retain elements of their old cultural tradition and d what role understanding

and interpreting and experiencing the new cultural tradition plays when they

discard their original tradition develop folk piety and retain some voodoo

catholic elements in addition is there a difference if converts join in haiti or the

US and what kind of variety of folk piety may develop within the LDS church the conclusions incorporate the research findings unanticipated findings and

non findings with theory and analysis in order to produce the resultant

significance of the research at hand this section first summarizes what has

been discussed in the review of the literature and the theoretical orientation as well as the data collected for the purpose of the study then this section

summarizes the limitations of this study factors that might bias the results and

applicability of finding and discusses directions for future research

As discussed in chapter two the review of literature indicated that there

are important differences between haitian cultural belief system and mormon

cultural belief system despite the fact that both cultural beliefs emphasize some

similar rituals such as the ritual of the dead guidance or comfort it was argued

67 that the voodoo cultural traditions shape haitiansHaitians understanding interpretation and the way of experiencing reality as any cultural tradition of a given society or group shapes members understanding interpretation and the way of experiencing reality the review also revealed that the cultural beliefs of the haitian community in brooklyn are deeply committed to cultural beliefs from home

theoretical orientation

A conceptual framework outlined for the purposes of this study describes key concepts of this study such as understanding interpretation experience discarding old traditions folk piety and retaining elements of old traditions and also the cultural influence on understanding interpretation and experience within the conceptual framework understanding interpretation and experience are considered independent variables discarding old tradition folk piety and retaining elements of old tradition are considered types of adaptation the conceptual framework outlined holds as a basic assumption that in a situation of life trial a persons belief systems function as a tool kit from which to draw to solve problems encountered in life swiler 1977 hannershannerzHannerz 1969 therefore the original cultural traditions that shape the belief systems of an individual will more likely be used to solve problems he or she may encounter in life I1 reasoned that voodoo cultural tradition shapes haitiansHaitians understanding interpretation and ways of experiencing reality

68 the data

in order to answer the research questions data were collected through personal interviews twelve haitiansHaitians converted in the church of jesus christ of latter day saints were selected from a pool of 133 haitian members in the midwood first branch in brooklyn the universe sampled consisted of those persons who had been members of the mormon church for at least one year of the twelve 8 had converted in haiti and 4 converted in brooklyn

findings unanticipated findings and non findings

with respect to the first purpose it was anticipated that most haitian converts would not fit in the new faith however it was found that most active converts do discard their original cultural beliefs such as believing that the loas and voodoo priestpriestesspriest priestess can heal them and make their futures bright or in other words solve their lifes problem that drinking alcohol or black coffee is good for healing that their dead family can protect them that pouring coffee on the floor or making food for their dead family is a good ritual that can help their dead family for instance we asked an informant we know that in haitian cultural belief when someone gets sick and does not know for sure where the

sickness comes from he or she will go see priest voodoo what do you do now in

such situations

one case said

in such situations I1I1 will never go see a hounganhoungan I1I1 will not heal the bad with the bad or heal evil with evil when I1I1 got baptized I1I1 made a spiritual 1tt commitment I1I1 said to jesus I will follow you if I1I1 do not have enough

69 faith to pray for healing or to ask someone to pray for me I1I1 would rather be dead then the subject added

I1 will not drink black coffee if I1I1 have a headache

another said

in such situations I1I1 will pray and talk to authorities for a blessing

gender does not seem to produce any differences in discarding original cultural beliefs

it was not expected that most converts would fit in mormon culture in other words it was not expected that most informants would believe in all the mormon ceremonial behaviors or ritual system such as the holy ghost the priesthood temple marriage baptism for the dead a living prophet and that word of wisdom law of chastity and tithing are gods revelations later I1 discussed this situation and explained why haitiansHaitians are so readily assimilated

into mormon culture

with respect to the second purpose of this study it was anticipated that most haitian converts would develop folk piety however it was found that only one convert sought advice from both practices that is to say developed folk

piety for instance this convert thinks she can receive help from dead families and the priesthood when experiencing sickness such as getting a cold or

learning about an unexpected event in these situations she asks for a blessing

and drinks rum alcohol or black coffee as the haitian traditions recommend

70 when feeling lost she consulted a psychic equated to priest of voodoo and prayed or asked for a blessing she still believes that loas hounganhou ngan and mambo have the power to make unnatural things happened such as bringing divorced people back together at the same time she believes in the power of the priesthood

with respect to the third purpose it was anticipated that few would retain behavior of old cultural traditions however no respondent solely retained behaviors of old cultural traditions that are voodoo catholic elements

with respect to the fourth purpose it was anticipated that a combination of the three patterns would influence type of adaptation however a simple pattern emerged on the basis of this finding the model proposed in chapter II11 appears too complex only one type of association was observed the others do not appear as requisites for developing a specific type of behavior the simple pattern that emerged can be designed as follow

type

discarded rational interpretation

emotional folk piety

71 with respect to the first additional purpose it was anticipated that location of conversion would produce a difference however it was found that location

conversion does not produce a difference with respect to the second additional

purpose it was anticipated that a variety of folk piety might develop however

because only one case developed folk piety there is less to say about this

additional purpose

finally the data are insufficient to support the conclusion that there is a

relationship between interpretation and type of behavior such as developing folk

piety the data do not show enough variances to support this idea despite the

purposeful selection of the subjects in order to produce variances see

methodology table 4 shows how the independent variable lacks variation of

the 12 cases 11 are very similar one of the purposes of the qualitative design

was to try to maximize the variances this did not happen nevertheless the

data suggest that most cases who are all active members are more likely to

become mormon like this happens despite the fact that they do not fully

participate in all mormon rituals and do not have much experience in mormon

cultural traditions such as baptism for the dead temple marriage missions

patriarchal blessings and attending temple ceremonies the data also suggest

that when some respondents interpreted mormon rituals through culturally

established meaning related to official mormon doctrine ie when expressed

rational interpretation based on our theoretical framework they more likely have

discarded their old cultural traditions such as drinking coffee or alcohol not

72 going to see voodoo priestspriestessespriests priestesses not consulting loas to know about their

future or how to handle misfortune or sickness although one case is insufficient

to reach any substantial conclusion regarding developing folk piety the

respondent who interprets mormon rituals through culturally established meaning

related to voodoo meaning ie when expressed emotional interpretation base

on our theoretical framework seeks advice from both belief systems to solve

lifes problems in other words develops folk piety behavior

the data here are very limited A larger sample was the object of interest

twelve informants were all that the researcher had to work with due to the

constraint of time the number of cases is not large enough to say how the

combination of the influences of understanding interpretation and experience

shapes the type of adaptation of converts in a more general sense

nevertheless the small group of respondents in this study expressed

themselves sufficiently to suggest that type of interpretation plays a crucial role in

developing a certain type of behavior

As discussed in the literature review section see footnote according to

planson 1974 haitiansHaitians have a character of duplicity about voodoo and it

appears that the self and the meaning system of these cases are transformed

into a mormon self and meaning system despite the fact they are not

participating in all mormon rituals this situation evokes a different story not

expected to emerge from the data

73 haitiansHaitians are one of the caribbean ethnic groups who have developed a folk religion that is a conglomeration of beliefs and rites of african origin which

have been mixed with the catholic practices metraux 1959 weil et al 1973

so it was expected in this study that most haitiansHaitians would mix mormon cultural

traditions with their old cultural traditions to develop some variety of folk piety

practices as they had before with the catholicism this was not the case when

we went back to the data to understand why most cases discarded their old

cultural traditions we found that all respondents who discarded their old

traditions describe these traditions as nonspiritualnon spiritual practices in contrast the

subject who sought advice from voodoo practices and mormon practices did not

describe the old practices as nonspiritualnon spiritual practices most subjects said

voodoo practices are destructive they are satanic practices and those who still practice voodoo or believe in voodoo practices are ignorant

it was evident form the data that most respondents endorsed the mormon

cultural meaning system all respondents explained that they would rather pray

or ask for priesthood blessing in situations of life trials they had discarded

drinking black coffee when having a headache they had discarded drinking

rum or other alcohol when catching a cold they had stopped asking the advice

of voodoo priests when experiencing sickness major transitions of life cycle

misfortunes and need to predict the future they no longer sought advice from

their dead family members they no longer poured coffee and lit candles for

dead family they not longer believed loas now they believe in the holy

74 ghost the priesthood jesus christ temple marriage baptism baptism for the dead and patriarchal blessings they believe in living prophets they believe that the word of wisdom the law of chastity and tithes are gods revelations

so why are these cases so readily assimilated into mormon practices these

cases seem to act rationally for instance when paying tithing is considered the data suggest that most of these cases understood that paying tithing can

bring financial success in voodoo tradition when someone makes sacrifices

such as buying a cow or making food for the loas according to that belief

system in return the laos or the dead bless the person by helping him or her

gain financial success however the dilemma occurs when the voodooist or a

protected forgets to fulfill a duty according to tradition the person might

experience death and sickness or the loas could make that persons enterprises

miscarry these converts understood that in contrast if a mormon does not pay

tithing he or she can only experience some difficulties such as wasting money

death or sickness will not befall them one case reported

when I1 do not pay my tithing the spirit mereimerelmerelymenelyy makes me waste mmyy money I1 remember a few months ago I1 had enough money to pay my tithing and my mortgage I1 said I1 would pay my tithing one month later do you know what happened to me my new car broke down I1 spent 550 to fix it I1 think if I1 paid my tithing my car would not break down this is the way the lord acts when we are not faithful to our promises

according to voodoo traditions any mistake like forgetting to pay tithing

from members could cost them their life or their health

likewise another case reported

75 am not frugal with my money but I1 always think to save gods money when I1 get my paycheck I1 have noticed that when I1 did not pay my tithing I1 waste my money when I1 did pay my tithing I1 always had more money

these statements illustrate how most cases in this study understood interpreted and experienced paying tithing in the mormon belief systems these

responses suggest that all those who discarded their old traditions made merely a rational choice note that none of them joined the mormon church because of

personal and situational factors such as serious illness erosion of morals or natural disasters they appear to fit the mormon belief system because this system may seem not at odds with their pursuits which may be both for spiritual and material benefits As the findings suggest they are aware of the risk of

being unfaithful in the new faith after receiving a blessing but know that it is not as severe as in their original cultural traditions

the way these converts understand and interpret tithing is not the only thing that illustrates how these subjects made a rational choice their

understanding interpretation and their experience with the priesthood also

suggest this for instance consider this statement made by a subject about the

priesthood

had some great experiences with the priesthood I1 went to haiti on vacation a couple of years ego and while I1 was there one of the sons of my brother got sick his brother is not mormon the child could not eat and drink I1 gave him a blessing then right after that I1 gave to him food and he did eat all the food another interesting experience I1 have had was that one day I1 was working on 51 street there was a woman walking beside me then a car stopped one of the passengers gets off with a gun hit the woman and took her purse that day I1 carried a hand

76 purse that had money I1 think the priesthood I1 hold protected me that day

obviously these haitian converts believe in the power of the priesthood

so why are they so ready to believe in the priesthood haitiansHaitians value the power

of a houngan or a mambo to heal a sick person according to haitian traditions the loas have the authority to transmit this power to ones faithful servants also

it is a big deal for haitiansHaitians to know that the loas protect them in lifes

circumstances nevertheless there are some great dangers when such

servants are unfaithful they might experience sickness or death from the loas

the subjects in this study understand that they can have the power of the

priesthood or be protected by it as well as by the holy ghost without the risk of

severe punishment such as death or sickness when being unfaithful in contrast

to the voodoo system

they believe that if one receives a blessing from the loas or the dead

then one commits the mistake of being unfaithful to them and he or she will pay

a high price this explains why most cases say that their old cultural traditions

are satanic not spiritual as in the mormon cultural tradition in other words

mormon doctrine seems to satisfy their pursuits without running a risk of great

danger the mormon belief system seems to be the perfect substitute for their old

cultural system this explains also why these cases might really be discarding

their old traditions to fit the new one

the subjects who discarded their old traditional beliefs thought that they

received similar benefits from the mormon faith such as protection of the

77 priesthood financial successes when they pay their tithing power to heal or to

be healed by the priesthood without the risk of the costs the conclusions of this study may help to expand one of the lannaccones assumptions which

explains that individuals act rationally weighing the costs and benefits of

potential actions and choosing those actions that maximize their net benefits

lannacconeiannacconelannaeannacconeccone 1996 p 26 in addition although all converts who discarded their

old cultural traditions to adopt mormon traditions do not see any cultural

continuity between the old tradition and the newly adopted one it seems for these mormon converts that they do represent an alternative cultural heritage

but it is a fulfillment of some aspect of their haitian cultural belief system

grounded in the voodoo tradition these converts may not be aware that they did not totally disavow their prevailing cultural traditions but merely discarded

some practices of their sources and at the same time replaced those discarded

by recent teachings

in conclusion it can be argued that those converts who seemed to have

discarded their cultural heritage and accepted the new one did so because there

is to some extent a cultural continuity between the two the argument is that

these converts seem to fit in the new culture not only because they weigh the

punishments of both practices when being unfaithful and their benefits but also

because some practices appeared to them as familiar cultural material they

may understand the mormon belief system to be the perfect adjustment of their

culture one may object that if this argument is true why are not all haitiansHaitians

78 Morcormonsmormonsmons the answer may be because they have not yet have the opportunity

to understand interpret or experience mormon doctrine another may object

why are some haitiansHaitians inactive this question could be the subject of another

study

the story I1 present has thus been filtered through our own personal

interpretive selective and synthetic judgments however the detailed evidence

from the quotes of respondents illustrates and supports the story presented

thus many factors may bias the results such as the fact that active members

were all the researcher had to interview and work with although both active and

inactive members were the objects of interest it was difficult to get an interview

with members who had fallen away from mormonism at the end of the period of

data collection some inactive members decided to be interviewed however the

researcher was ready to leave new york city in addition the subjects knew the

researcher as an active LDSLIDS person and a person associated with BYU

furthermore none of the subjects who discarded old cultural traditions overtly

admitted association with voodoo prior to joining the liisllisLDSLIDS church 8

this work is a beginning I1 have examined a very small number of trees

in the forest this is a major consequence of working in such a short time period

without funding further research may modify or reverse the finding only

however readers need to remember that as mentioned in the footnote of the literature section some haitiansHaitians especially those not members of the lower class have a character of duplicity about voodoo this means that I1 expected few subjects to tell overtly that they were associated with voodoo prior to joining the LDS church

79 twelve subjects participated in this study only a three month period was

devoted to this study A larger sample and a longer period of time are needed to

obtain valid conclusions due to the lack of resources and other factors this is

only a thesis not a dissertation some issues relating to the background and

environment of the subjects did not receive coverage or explanation for

instance a closer look at the educational background peers family and network

influences might provide deeper insights into how and why haitian converts may

discard their old cultural tradition and why they so readily discard them

furthermore a deeper examination of factors such as geographical location

ie a group of haitiansHaitians living in haiti or miami will reveal further behaviors

furthermore another group in the caribbean could be included in a study like

this moreover because this study is only the first phase in understanding

whether people who have been raised in a culture whose belief values and

norms are inconsistent with the new one adopted discard the former develop

folk piety or retain elements of the former calibration of these conclusions with

additional data may further substantiate and enhance these findings

it has been found that most cases discarded their old cultural traditions

and the interpretation suggests that on the one hand it is because these cases

seem to experience a cultural continuity for instance as in their old cultural

traditions the new one adopted also claims that members can have power of the

healing in other words both systems provide miracles individuals can receive

revelations for their lives be comforted and receive great material benedictions

80 when being faithful such as financial success on the other hand these cases seem to make a rational choice by weighing cost and benefits of the two cultural

however before addressing the implications for church action questions of conversion merit mention for those LDSLIDS haitiansHaitians are these real conversions mcguire 1992 distinguishes simple changes in institutional affiliation from real conversions she argues that one may switch institutional affiliations mainly for reasons such as friendship or marriage in these case one cannot strictly speak about conversion conversion is a resolution of the individuals problems with former meaning systems and former self mcguire

1992 p 81 in other words according to mcguire conversion is a transformation of ones self concurrent with a transformation of ones basic meaning system p 71 this process results in a whole new way of experiencing the world and oneself mcguire 1992 p 79 it seems these

LDSLIDS haitiansHait makeians a rational choice but their statements suggest that they

1 see the world now from a mormon perspective in fact these cases totally rejected their previous belief system consequently this could be considered

11 real conversion because their statements display their giving up their old perspective for the new one adopted

it would seem that mormon church administrators might consider the following recommendations if they want to convert more haitiansHaitians or help the process of conversion which according to mcguire 1992 continues as the individual increasingly identifies with the belief system adopted in other words

81 following these recommendations may helps them be more committed in the transition process 1 advise missionaries and sunday school teachers or bishops of haitian branches to emphasize besides the traditional doctrine of the church the costs of voodoo cultural traditions and the benefits of mormon cultural traditions 2 advise them to emphasize that converts can also enjoy benefits similar to those in the old cultural traditions but without the risks involved in voodooism and 3 carefully explain to the missionaries and respective members that some rituals of the two traditions may appear to have some similarities yet are really very different lack of understanding the real differences may lead to developing folk piety

it is useful at this point to mention some of the shortcomings of this explanatory study for some two major problematic features of this research will be the reliance of this study on only haitiansHaitians living in the US and on active members this study should include haitiansHaitians living in haiti because new york may be a special case as many haitian converts discard their old cultural traditions similarly those who fall away from the mormonism should be included it is hoped that future research will take up these tasks

82 references brown M K 1991 mama lola a codouvodou priestess in brooklyn berkeley

california university of california press bastide R 1950 sociologieSociosociologizelogie et psychanalpsychanalysePsychanalanaianalyseYSe paris PUF bourguignon E 1985 dec religion and justice in haitian vodounvokoun phylon vol

466 29295292 95 bourdieu P 1977 outline of theory and practice cambridge university press bourdieu P 1986 the forms of capital appp 34158341 58 in J richardson ed

handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education westport ct greenwood press duncan C M & lamborghini N 1994 fall poverty and social context in

remote rural communities ruralrunalhuralburalburai sociology 593 437461437 461 denning M & phillips 0 1979 voudournVoudourn fire the living reality of mystical

religion st paul minnesota llwellyn publications gluch P 1993 the use of music in preparing for sport performance

contemporary thought on performance enhancement A journal of

qualitative inquiry 2 335333 53 hannershannerz U 1969 soulsideSoulside inquiries into ghetto culture and community new

york columbia university press hanson T & newburg D 1992 naturalistic inquiry as a paradigm for doing

applied performance enhancement research contemporary thought on

performance enhancement A journal of ualitativequalitativequalitative inquiry 1 264826 48

83 iannacconelannaccone L 1996 rational choice theory and religion summary and

assessment new york NY routledge jacobson C K 1991 black cormonsmormons in the 1980s pioneers in a white

church review of reilaReliareliaiousreligiousiouslous research 33 146152146 152 jacobs J A & david K & katherine M 1991 the dynamics of young mens

career aspirations sociological forum 6 60939609 39 kerckhoff A 1984 the current state of social mobility research sociological

uarterlyquarterlyquarterly0 uartenleenteerly 2255 13953139 53 kephart W M 1982 extraordinary groups the sociology of

unconventional lifestyleslife styles aed2ed new york university of pennsylvania

st martins press kerboullKerboull j 1978 voodoo and magic practices london barries & jenkins

translated from the french by john shaw laguerre S M 1984 haitian in new york city ithaca and london cornell

university pres lincoln Y S & guba E G 1985 naturalistic inquiry newbury park CA sage laguerre S M 1993 the invisible immigrants new york times

magazines may 23 203220322032.20 32 macguire M B 1992 religion the social context belmont california

wadsworth inc

84 metraux A 1959 voodoo in haiti new york oxford university press

translated from the french by hugo arteriescharteriesCh reprinted new york schocken books 1972

winchmunch R 1994 sociological theory development since the 19601960s volavol3Vol 3

chicago nelson hall inc

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odea T F 1957 the cormonsMormormonsmons chicago university of chicago press

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sulton et al 1992 caribbean life in new york city sociocultural dimension

new york inc

strauss A corbin J 1990 basics of qualitative research london sage

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swartz D 1977 pierre bourdieu the cultural transmission of social inequality

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religious familial and educational identities family perspective 26

43834383404404

85 white 0 K jr white D 1995 march integrating religious and racial

identities an analysis of LDS african american explanations of the

priesthood ban review of rellreilRelireligiousclious research 36 3 295311295 311 wellweilweli et al 1973851973 85 haiti A country study washington DC united states government wippler M G 1982 the santeriaSanmanteriateria experience bronx new york original weber M 186419201864 1920 basic concepts in sociology new york citadel press

translated by secher H P 1962 wuthnow R 1989 meaning and moral order explorations in cultural

analysis berkeley los angeles london RVC whalen W J 1964 the latter day saints in the modemmodern day new york day williams P W 1980 popular religion in america symbolic change and the

modernization process in historical perspective englewood cliffs

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86 appendices

87 appendix A

INFORMED CONSENT

1 Backbackgroundaround the purpose of this study is to investigate to what extent

haitian LDS converts understanding interpretation of the mormon practices and

experience of the mormon cultural practices influence their adaptation type this

study is being conducted by yvon milien a graduate student in sociology at

brigham young university you were chosen to participate because you are

haitian LDS convert this study will employ qualitative methods given the

exploratory nature of this research this means that interviews and participant

observation will be the primary methods of data collection

2 study procedure this study will involve data collection as interview transcripts therefore as a research subject you will be asked to participate in

at least three interviews and possibly more of approximately one or two hours

each at your own convenience and in a location of your choice all interviews

will be audiotapedaudiotaped interviews will be transcribed into verbatim written document

and given to you for your comments and clarification at the completion of the

data analysis the audiotapesaudiotapes will be stored in the principal investigators office

for the most part these interviews will be conducted from june to august 1996

3 risks there are no known risks or problems or comfortsdiscomfortsdis for you

related to participation in this study on the contrary since this research intends

to explore the way you interpret understand and experience mormon culture as

a convert with differing cultural background it should prove beneficial to all

88 haitian LDS As noted in 5 to protect your anonymity pseudonyms will be

used in this study the audiotapesaudiotapes will only be used to generate the verbatim written transcript of your interview all tapes will be kept inside the office of the

principal investigator

4 benefits there will be no cost for participation in this study the

benefits for participating in this study include a a better understanding of how

haitian LDSs interpret understand and experience their new faith and b to

what extent haitiansHaitians develop an adaptation type related to their understanding

way of interpreting and experiencing the new practices

5 confidentialconfidentialityllyilyliy because of the potentially sensitive nature of certain

questions pseudonyms will be used to protect your identity except at the

request of participant if you have any questions regarding this research

project please contact

yvon milien

3301 foraged RD 213

brooklyn NY 11210

718 4344938434 4938 through august 96

or 635 N 11301130eE

provo utah 84606

80180137080137003083700308370 0308

6 Volunvoluntarytaytax participation participation in this study is voluntary you

may withdraw at any time during the study

89 7 consent I1 have read and understand that my participation in this study is voluntary I1 have received a copy of this consent document and the related materials and have wanted of my own free will and volition to participate

research subject date

witness

90 appendix B

interview guide

1 background informationpre mormon beliefs

where did you join the LDS church

where did you get baptized

what was you age when you baptized

how old are you now

what is your marital status

how did you join the church

what was your religion before you joined the church

did you believe in god

did you believe in saints

did you believe in loa

did you believe in authority

did you believe in prophets

did you believe in apostles

did you believe in the necessity of baptism

what encouraged you to join the LDS church

tell your story what encouraged you to decide

why the LDS church

91 2 understanding interpretation of practices and experience in the new beliefs baptism

what is the purpose of baptism

how do you define baptism

tellteiljell me about your baptism experience priesthood

what is the purpose of the priesthood

how do you define baptism

do you have the priesthood

how often did you ask for a priesthood blessing

how often do you use the priesthood templetempietempe

what is the purpose of temple

how do you define temple

are you an endowed member

how often do you go to the temple

baptism for the dead

what is the purpose of baptism for the dead

how do you define baptism for the dead

have you performed baptism for the dead

how many time did you perform baptism for the dead

92 holy ghost

what is the purpose of the holy ghost

how do you define the holy ghost

tellteiljell me about your experience with the holy ghost patriarchal blessing

what is the purpose of the patriarchal blessing

how do you define patriarchal blessing

do you have a patriarchal blessing

celestial marriage

what is the purpose of the celestial marriage

how do you define celestial marriage

were you married in the temple

family

what is the purpose of the mormon family

how do you define family

are most of your family members mormon word of wisdom

what is the purpose of the word of wisdom

how do you define the word of wisdom

do you find it easyeasydifficultdifficult to observe the word of wisdom

93 law of chastity

what is the purpose of the law of chastity

how do you define the law of chastity

do you find it easyeasydifficultdifficult to observe the law of chastity pay tithing

what is the purpose of paying tithing

how do you define paying tithing

do you find it easyeasydifficultdifficult to pay your tithing sacrament

what is the purpose of sacrament

how do you represent sacrament

do you find it easyeasydifficultdifficult to attend sacrament meeting

3 discarded original beliefs developingtolkdevelopingfolkDeveloping toikFolkTolk piety retaining voodoocatholicVoodoo Catholic elements

in haitian culture when someone catches a cold they are encouraged to

drink rum or other alcohol when something unexpected happens such

as a misfortune they are encouraged to drink coffee what do you do

now in such situations

in haitian cultural belief when someone gets sick and does not know the

cause it is encouraged to go see a priest or a priestess voodoo what

do you do now in such a situation

94 do you think dead family can help someone who offers food lights

candles or pours coffee on the ground for them do you think these

practices can help the dead

what do you do when you feel your life is going nowhere

what do you do when you feel or know for sure you are going to

experience divorce or separation with a spouse

what do you do when you are experiencing misfortune such as a loss of job unable to find job

95 postscript

A paper from this thesis was presented at the annual meeting of the society for the scientific study of religion in nashville tennessee in

november 1996

96 A study of haitian mormon converts dwelling in new york city A cross

cultural perspective in understanding interpreting and experiencing

the mormon subculture

yvon milien

department of sociology

M S degree april 1997

ABSTRACT

this thesis examines the roles played by understanding interpretation of practices and experience in mormon culture when haitiansHaitians convert to mormonism in relationship to their previous cultural practices this thesis explores whether haitian converts develop one of three types of behaviors discard old practices retain elements of old practices or seek to establish a balance between former and new religious practices in depth interviews with twelve subjects living in new york city suggest that most active converts discarded their old cultural traditions this study suggests that only interpretation influences developing types of behavior however it was not expected that most converts would fit in mormon culture because of this new finding this thesis shifted to explaining why haitiansHaitians are so readily assimilated into mormon culture

COMMITTEE APPROVAL johnjohneggarlin eggar committee ctrainxtrminiidir r

1rar I1 I1 WA i-ardellardeliardeile K jacobiabi0 committee member

darwin L thomas committee member

alalaadij stephenahrde&artrnentchairstepherijffafijh r dpirtment haihal