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University Microfilms international 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 USA St. John's Road, Tyler’s Green High Wycombe, Bucks, England HP10 8HR Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 7B23653 CONWAY, FREDERICK JA^ES PENTECOSTAL I $n! iu THE CONTEXT OF HAITIAN RELIGION ANii health PRACTICE, THE AMENT[Ai university, PH.D., 1976 UniversiW Micronlm s liitemational 300n zlebhoao , annarboh .miabim g) COPYRIŒT by FREDERICK JAMES CONWAY 1978 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. PENTECOSTALISM IN THE CONTEXT OF HAITIAN RELIGION AND HEALTH PRACTICE by Frederick J, Conway Submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of The American University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology Signatures of Committee: Chairman: -J. Dean of the Col/eiCollege Date — 1978 The American University Washington, D.C. 20016 THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation could not have been completed without the assistance, support, encouragement and kindness of a num­ ber of people and institutions. My deepest feelings are ex­ tended to the men and women in Haiti who took time to share with me something of their often difficult lives. Their gen­ erosity is etched in my memory. The fact that their names are not mentioned does not diminish the gratitude I feel towards them. The field trips which I made to Haiti during the sum­ mers of 1974 and 1975 were supported by grants from the Antilles Research Program, Yale University. The 1976-1977 field trip was supported by a research grant (MH 07144-01) from the National Institute of Mental Health and by a doc­ toral dissertation fellowship from The American University. My earlier graduate training in Anthropology was supported by a graduate honors award from The American University. I am deeply grateful for this support. I am very grateful to the members of my doctoral dis­ sertation committee at The American University, Dr. Katherine S. Halpern, Dr. Ruth H. Landman and Dr. Geoffrey Burkhart. I am also grateful for the guidance of Dr. David Rosen of The American University. Dr. Sidney W. Mintz introduced me to ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. anthropology and to Haiti. I appreciate his comments on the draft of this dissertation as well as his encouragement over a number of years. I also appreciate the comments of John J, Conway, Mary M. Conway, Linda K. Girdner and Dr. David W. Haines, who read all or parts of the manuscript. In 1976-1977 I worked in collaboration with the Centre d'Hygiène Familae in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. I wish to ex­ press my appreciation for the help of the director of the Centre, Dr. Ary Bordes, and of his staff, who supported me especially during my stay at Savanne Palmiste. In 1975 I worked in collaboration with the Centre de Recherches en Sciences Humaines et Sociales in Port-au-Prince. I appre­ ciate the consultations of Dr. Jean-Baptiste Romain, Dr. Jeanne Philippe and Dr. Charles Romain of C.R.E.S.H.S. Linda K. Girdner joined me for three months in the field during the summer of 1977. Her insights as a fellow anthro­ pologist were very helpful to me. I also wish to acknowl­ edge the invaluable work of Michel R. H. Romain, a Haitian ethnologist, who transcribed many of my tape recordings. I wish to thank Shirley Simpson for her careful and patient work in typing the manuscript. My final acknowledgment is to my aunts, Mary M. Kelly and Catherine M. Kelly. It was through their love, support and enthusiasm that I was able to pursue graduate training in anthropology. iix Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ......................................... ii TABLE .................................................... vi ILLUSTRATION .................................. vii Chapter ONE. INTRODUCTION ................................... 1 The Problem ................................ 1 Related Research ............................ 5 A Note on Terms Used in the T e s t ........ 9 TWO. THE SETTINGS AND METHODOLOGY OF THE FIELD RESEARCH ....................................... 11 A Sketch of Haitian History and Society . 11 The Research Settings ...................... 24 Research Techniques and Kinds of Data O b t a i n e d .................................. 45 THREE. THE HAITIAN CONTEXT; VODOUN .................. 54 Introduction ................................ 54 The Family L o u a ............................ 59 The D e a d ..................................... 75 Other Supernatural B e i n g s ................. 80 The Vodoun Specialist: Houngan and Mambo . 86 Characteristics of the Belief System.... 101 FOUR. THE HAITIAN CONTEXT: CATHOLICISM............. 110 Catholicism and Vodoun: The Convergence and Divergence of Belief and Practice.... 110 The Katolik Fran and Folk Catholicism . 117 The Catholic Church as an Institution in H a i t i ................................. 123 Implications............................. 129 FIVE, THE HAITIAN CONTEXT: HEALTH PRACTICE AND BELIEFS ABOUT ILLNESS ........................ 135 General Remarks ............................ 135 Family Treatment ........................ 138 Dokth Fey and F am S a . j .................. 142 Western Medicine ............................ 149 IV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. H o u n g a n ......................................... 152 Religious Conversion ........................ 155 Decision-Making .............................. 157 SIX. PROTESTANTISM IN H A I T I ........................... 162 Introduction ................................ 162 Protestantism and V o d o u n ...................... 168 The Range of Protestant Denominations .... 174 Characteristics of the Congregations O b s e r v e d ..................................... 180 Mission Versus Non-Mission Churches ........ 185 The Structure of Protestant Church Organi­ zations ....................................... 193 Male and Female Roles .......................... 201 Protestant Activities ........................ 207 SEVEN. SYMBOLISM, IDEOLOGY AND SPIRIT POSSESSION IN HAITIAN PENTECOSTALISM ........................ 216 Images of Power and Confrontation ........... 216 The Mis i o n ..................................... 225 Trance Behavior and Spirit Possession B e l i e f s ....................................... 229 EIGHT. PENTECOSTALISM AND HEALTH PRACTICE ........... 237 Illness and Pentecostal Imagery ............. 237 Pentecostalism and Conversion ............... 240 Pentecostalism as a Health Practice ......... 253 When Healing F a i l s ............................ 259 Pentecostalism and Conceptions about Illness and Health Practice ............... 262 NINE. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS........................... 268 Appendix ONE. LIST OF PROTESTANT CHURCHES MENTIONED IN THE TEXT ..............................................274 TWO. GLOSSARY OF SELECTED HAITIAN CREOLE AND FRENCH TERMS ..............................................275 BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................ 280 V Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE 1. American Protestant Activity in Haiti ............. 165 VI Reproduced with permission