The Journal of Negro History, Volume 7, 1922Various
History
The Journal of Negro History, Volume 7, 1922
Various
African Americans -- Periodicals
The author of this unique volume declares himself "boldly, but without
vanity, or false modesty" an esoterist, that is to say, one who is an
adept at the interpretation of the occult and secret doctrines. This
book, an exposition of the secret doctrine, is not, therefore, as its
title might suggest, a scientific treatise upon the Voudo cult as it
has existed and as it still exists in Haiti. It is rather an
interpretation and defense of the primitive religion of Africa,
particularly as it is represented in the religious customs and
practices of the common people in Haiti today.
The sentiments which have inspired this undertaking are altogether
admirable. "Haitiens," he says, "have reached a point in their efforts
to conform to an alien culture where they are in danger of losing
their personality as a people as well as their native culture." But
now if ever is the moment, after the great cataclysm in Europe, to
lift the ancestral cult from the dust and make it worthy of Haiti, of
the African race.
"We are," he continues, "African-Latins. But our Latin culture is all
on the surface. The old African heritage persists in us and controls
us to such an extent that under certain circumstances we feel
ourselves moved by mysterious forces when the silence of the night,
throbs with the irregular rhythm, melancholly, passionate and magical,
of the sacred dances of _Voudo_."
Dr. Arthur Holly is evidently learning, but he draws his knowledge
from sources that are esoteric and therefore inaccessible to all
except the adepts. What he has written is, therefore, neither science
nor history. It has the character rather of revelation. It is
impressive, but not intelligible to the uninitiated.
From his introduction, however, one gathers that he intends to show
that Christianity and Voudoism are from a common source, that "the
Bible," as he says, "belongs to us," _i.e._, the black people, but
that this earlier and more primitive form of religion which is
revealed in it has been corrupted by the white race.
It is an interesting idea, but more interesting is the evidence that
it offers of the rise, among the Negro people of Haiti, of a racial
consciousness which embraces in one conscious unity the Negro peoples
of Africa and America. It is another spontaneous manifestation of that
unrest of the black man which has found expression in pan-Africanism
and in the movement in this country headed by Marcus Garvey, whose
program is Africa for the Africans.
ROBERT E. PARK
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
_The Wings of Oppression._ By LESLIE PINCKNEY HILL. The Stratford
Company, Publishers, Boston, Massachusetts. Price by mail, $2.15.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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