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