bwa kayiman and my promise to haiti
Thursday, August 27, 2009 at 09:24PM 
image courtesy tequila minsky
Earlier this month I had the privilege of participating in a performance of the re-enactment of the Bwa Kayiman ceremony. It was produced by the foundation Dream for Haiti, an organization founded by the incomparable Carl Thelemaque.
What is the significance of Bwa Kayiman? It was the vodou ceremony that kicked off the Haitian revolution. It was one of the first attempts by enslaved Africans and maroons to rid themselves of the evil system of slavery on the island of Hispaniola/Santo Domingo as it was hen called. As I mentioned to my fellow performers, while I was doing research for my book “revolution” in 2003, I discovered that some scholars think Bwa Kayiman never happened – that its just a myth. There are also Haitians who believe that because the Haitian revolution began with a vodou ceremony, it doomed us for eternity. They blame Bwa Kayiman for the state Haiti finds itself in today.
To me, this question of whether or not Bwa Kayiman took place or not is direct evidence of traditional (and very mainstream) academia’s refusal to accept oral history as evidence. There is no question in any Haitian’s mind that Bwa Kayiman took place. To us, oral history is as important as anything that ended up on paper.
For those Haitians who believe the vodou ceremony was the beginning of the end for us, I say this; you may not like vodou – but you cannot ignore it’s significance and existence in our history. This is ours. This is how our ancestors communicated with each other and kept sacred bonds with higher powers. Remember that it is the western world that placed stigmas and negativity on our spiritual practices.
So going back to why Carl would want to re-enact this controversial event….its because Haiti’s history is world history and not many people know about it. But as the children of the Diaspora – as a member of the 10th department of Haiti (the department that includes anyone who claims they are Haitian abroad) it is our duty to make sure the world remembers this history. It is our duty to make sure people understand that the civil war was was not the first time in the Americas slavery was questioned. It took 13 bloody years, but the black people of Hispaniola declared themselves – and anyone else who ever stepped foot on the island by the way – free, period. Or point finale as we say ; )
As for the show - I really did not know what I was getting into by participating. A month or two ago, I saw a posting from Carl advertising the event. I thought to myself, I need to be part of this. In particular, I thought my poem “Freedom” would be perfect for this. So I did what I always do. Figuring it couldn’t hurt to try, I emailed Carl and asked him if he still needed performers. I told him I was a poet and an actress and would love to be a part of this. He indulged me. When I first met the cast, I encountered a group of women and men that were so committed to this performance it gave me goose bumps. I knew none of them, yet in the spirit of our ancestors, they embraced me as if I had been part of the group from the beginning. I have done a lot of theatre in my life, but the women and men who performed in this piece were so good…TELMEN BON...they put some of our best actors to shame. They were channeling the spirits of these ancestors as if their life depended on it. And it did. From the story of the young woman who wanted to know what love was, to Boukman who sent a call out for revolt, to the one-armed maroon woman who carried her freedom like a badge of pride, to the mambo who predicted the events of the revolution, to the young pregnant slave who did not want her baby born into the atrocity of slavery, to me and my poem commemorating the Haitian revolution, we all gave the performance of our lives. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever performed that poem as deeply as I did that night. Something in the words….in the air….in our bodies….pushed us to a place beyond us. I think Boukman would be proud.
Haiti gets such a bad rap. Poorest country in the western hemisphere….peasants who eat dirt…..floods….it goes on and on. But that night, one woman summed it up perfectly. She said, “we may be the poorest country, but our culture is worth a million bucks.” And it’s true. You go anywhere in Haiti and there is art on the street. There is singing. Our language is even an art. It’s in our soul and that will never go bankrupt. Herein lies our resiliency. The one thing we can point to that no one else possesses and no one can take away. I’ve made it my mission in life to elevate Haiti by elevating its culture. For the country that gave me life and liberty, it’s the least I can do.