“I see my role as a human rights activist and as a Manbo Asogwe (high priestess) as one…to help to literally conjure memory, so that our sense of self and sense of place is restored.”

Proven FreeVodouistsProven ResilientVodouists - PR

Feb 22

Manbo Asogwe Dòwòti Désir (doo-what-tee day-seer)

high priestess

IMAGE SOURCE: Martial J. Davis and The AfroAtlantic Theologies & Treaties Institute. | TEXT SOURCE: Rachael Bongiornio. “Beyond a Religion: Vodou Connects Haitians to their African Roots.” Feet in Two Worlds. 18 Dec. 2014.

QUOTE CONTEXT: “Because we live in a world with the legacy of colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade, in some way we can describe the experience of the African decedents, particularly in the Afro-Atlantic world, in the Americas, as one that has been about anomic erasure. It’s been about erasing our culture, erasing our memory, erasing our sense of self.”

QUOTE QUESTION: Who do you look to to help restore a sense of self and place?

IMAGE CONTEXT: In recognition of the Pathway of the Ancestors tour sponsored by the Royal Palace of Hounon Houna II.

IMAGE QUESTION: In what settings does your regal self come forward?

MEDIA LITERACY CONTEXT: The text is from a website offering the work of immigrant journalists. The photo is from a website empowering the voice of Vodun practitioners.

MEDIA LITERACY QUESTION: What are the media channels for your Peoples’ voices on ancestral land and in the diaspora?

“I see my role as a human rights activist and as a Manbo Asogwe (high priestess) as one…to help to literally conjure memory, so that our sense of self and sense of place is restored.”

Manbo Asogwe Dòwòti Désir (doo-what-tee day-seer)

“There is a lot of love inside the Vodou. It is our heart and blood. So we will not back down. We have an important and strong force with us. Without it, we could not exist today.”

“We retained the language and the religion (of Africa) so both could serve us. I would say like two scissor tips cutting the skin, they could cut the chains of slavery.”