"Mèsi Flanbert m te tande station w lan wi. Mizik granmoun, pawòl gwo soulye, kongo, men kote w kite bon son Vice la?"

-anonymous guest

It is amazing that we will be "celebrating" 200 years since we gained our independence from France and yet we use words like Kongo as a derogatory remark!

Since when did we feel that word Kongo (the many Africans that we come from) was a great word to insult another Haitian? Are we not proud of the Kongos who fought against their European oppressors? This is just another sad case of the Haitian slave mentality.

This man seems to be a T vice fan, yet he feels that the old school Konpa is music for people with bad taste?  How could you not like the old, if that is where the new came from? I guess that is why we tend to screw up so many things that were great in our culture. We do not truly pay respects to our predecessors. Gwo soulye, Kongo, and granmoun being used as a derogatory remark shows that many of us have little respect for ourselves!

If you do not know where you came from, it is hard to know where you are going.  If this is indeed how many Haitians feel about Haitians in the past then we have a problem. Disrespecting the pioneers of Konpa, our Kongo ancestors, and granmouns is outright ignorant and absurd for a people who are supposed to be proud to be the first black nation. Indeed, it is this backwards thinking that keeps us back in the 18th to 19th century.

Yes, we were the first black nation...we were the first black nation to hate ourselves.

The ethnic groups contributing to Haiti's cultural heritage included the Fon, Ewe, Yoruba, Igbo, Bakongo, and Akan, among others. In Africa, these peoples had by and large been town dwellers, textile and metal artisans, and agricultural workers.

-http://www.africana.com/research/encarta/tt_386.asp

7th paragraph

Carole Demesmin - Pakèts Kongo

Since 1994 Carole Demesmin, a renowned Haitian singer, has been living in the Miami area. As is true with many of her artistic talents, her skill in making pakèts kongo (magical charms) stems from her appreciation of the creative expressions of Haitian folklore and the religion of Vodou. Born in Leogane, Haiti, she early developed an interest in drawing and designing. After being sent to Boston on a student visa, she began singing and designing sets for a local Haitian theatrical organization. Her vocal talents led her to the prestigious Berkeley School of Music, while subsequent recordings and musical tours established her as one of Haiti’s premier vocalists. She briefly attended the Massachusetts College of Art, but was unhappy with the cultural discrimination toward her work. In the early 1980s she decided to return to Haiti to learn more about Vodou and other folk traditions.

For the next ten years Demesmin studied the religion and its songs in various temples. She became a manbo (priestess) and received her ason (the rattle symbolic of her spiritual leadership) in her hometown of Leogane. It was as a Vodou initiate that she learned the art of making pakèts kongo. Pakèts serve largely as protection against negative forces and are made by manbos and oungans (priests) for their clients. The name evokes its connection to the Kongo people of central Africa. Demesmin describes this connection as central: “If you look back, you can see in many small ways that it was the Kongo tribe that tried to unite all the different African tribes in Haiti.”

The exteriors of pakèts are decorated with cloth, satin, lace, feathers and sequins, while the interiors are usually filled with sweet-smelling herbs and medicinal leaves. The predominant colors used for a particular pakèt depend on the lwa (spirit) being represented and the kind of protection desired. Pakèts always retain the same round bottom shape, with arms akimbo and feathers protruding from their heads. But individual creativity in the dressing of pakèts leads to an endless variety.

In reference to an extra-large pakèt that she designed for the lwa Ayizan (one of the oldest female divinities), Demesmin states: “She is the mother of all the lwas, of the universe, and the protector of children.” Her universality is captured by a rainbow of colored feathers attached to a stick neck. A white cloth is wrapped around the body and the arms, which are kept in their akimbo position with copper wire. After completing the body, Demesmin dresses the pakèt with white chiffon, lace and cloth flowers. Since songs and magical incantations always accompany the making of pakèts, she sings and addresses her creation as a person. Demesmin constructs pakèts as gifts for friends when requested and for her own private use. “It’s our job to pass on life,” she states “That’s why we make pakèts.”

- Joanne Hyppolite

Chemin,

I like that piece on Carole Demesmin. 

Chemin Flambert-It is amazing that we will be "celebrating" 200 years since we gained our independence from France and yet we use words like Kongo as a derogatory remark!

Since when did we feel that word Kongo (the many Africans that we come from) was a great word to insult another Haitian? Are we not proud of the Kongos who fought against their European oppressors? This is just another sad case of the Haitian slave mentality.

History-  The Haitian Revolution wasent just a war against the French but was also in part, a war between the native Creole slave who were born in Haiti, whos family probably goes back generations on the island and probably has Fon, Ewe, Yoruba or Ibo heritage and the newly arived congo slave.  The Creole slaves viewd the newly arived Congo as uncultured, fresh off the boat, kind of like how African Americans viewed us when we first came, the Congolese probably had a thick accent and didnt know how to dress. Hence the term "neg Congo".  The Congo's led by San Souci were waging a valiant war against the Creoles led by Christoph and Desaline.  A lot of the French troops and historians say that the Congolese were more of a problem in combat then the Creole rebels.  They were som much of  aproblem that the French hired Christoph and Desalines to shut them down because they were to much for the French.  The Congo's also came to Haiti with a war already under there belt, a war in which they invented, crafted and mastered a host of guerrila tactics that taught Christoph, Toussaint, Petion and Desalines a thing or two about battle.

So anyway, the word neg Congo as a derogatory statement runs deep, it is not something Haitians just started saying out of pure self hate, it's more of a diluted historical self hate.  To tell you the truth, I dont have much of a problem with it, it interests and amazes me that Haitian culture has been able to hold on to it for over 200 years.

I see that it is a habit of yours to go seek and rescue obscure articles that sometimes paints Haiti in a purely negative light and hold it up as brilliant journalism.  Most of these foreighn media outlets dont understand what they are writeing about.  They view Haiti through a very narrow tube, they cant unearth the essance of the struggle, hardships and triumphs of the Haitian people and they are not suppose to, because they are foreighn, it's up to you as a son of the country to write or E-Mail these misguided people and correct them, not to promote there misguided, racist, contaminated, American perception.  Sometimes it's not their fault, sometimes it's outright blantant.  Like after the "West Indian Day" parade, the New York Post ran a story on the front page titled "The Parade of death".  One person died, which is a very great tragedy, but the newspaper did a brilliant job of bypassing the almost 1 million! happy revelers to get to the dead person.  Now is that neccesary?  Maybe it is when your trying to sell papers, but it would be a mistake to read this and think that death is the essence of the parade, my point is that you cant find Haiti in an article written by Mitch or Hank from Utah, you gotta go to Haiti to find Haiti. Usually what your seeing as Haiti is a newspapers exagerated marketing plan to sell you a story.  You can buy it with your money, but dont buy it with your mind. The situation with foreighn media and Voudou is the same with Haiti. When you yourself buy in to Foreighn media's perception of your country, you become a foreighner.

It seems that everytime someone posts something about loveing Haitian chicken, you gotta snatch that chicken from them and shove child slavery down there throat.  To me, calling them child salves and calling them domestics is still arguable but it's no surprise that American journalist went for the more negative dramatic title. We know there is problems and the right people are working on them, but even the right people got to relax and eat some chicken sometime, it dont mean that we forgot...relax.

Patati Patata, you have supported my claim that this stems from mental slavery by historically pointing out that the Creoles (colony born Africans) and the Congos were at odds with each other. You see, that division still exists today along color and class lines. It is as if Haiti did not change much from the colonial days. The Haitian Revolution is incomplete. If I were to turn my back and ignore all of these problems that some of you believe is insignificant, it would not make me any more patriotic.

About the negative articles comment...

While many of you believe that Haitian patriotism is acting as if everything is cool in Haiti, i'd rather remind the young people of the problems we have. I guess you would rather me try hard to find an article with Haitians waving their flags proudly. Just remember, while we wave our flags many Haitians are suffering. I would rather have them know the truth.

P.S. Try to remember all the articles I posted...you will remember some positive articles.

Mesye!!!! M pa regrèt ranse m t'pa ranse a paske m'aprann anpil bon bagay ki fè m santim pi renmen ras mwen yo toujou. Se mwen menm ki te di mizik kongo, gwo soulye, men a laverite se ranse m t'ap ranse. Fòk nou pa pran tout sa moun di o serye. Mwen enskri non m sou furum sa lè m te nan travay mwen. Lèm vle voye bon jan diskisyon moute, m'ale sou òdinatè ke m te enskri atravè li a, men lèm sou ranse mwen ekri atravè yon lòt òdinatè.

 M respekte granmoun yo anpil, m en anpil pitye pou yo et sensèman m renmen mizik ansyen tan yo. Dè fwa w ka ap eseye bay blag epi sa blese yon lòt.