“Haiti’s Pact with the Devil: The Human Sacrifice at Bois Caiman Vodou Ceremony and the Evangelical Interpretation”

I believe the idea of “pact” in Haitian history has two aspects: one is spiritual; the other is non-spiritual. I believe the African slaves made a “non-spiritual but a historical pact” (they came to a consensus and made a decisive determination) with each other to end slavery and to be freed from colonialism and slavery. The spiritual pact is a complex one because it is based primarily on oral traditions (I am not saying that oral traditions are not reliable or should not be trusted), and it is not easy to verify the historical credibility of the spiritual pact.

Interestingly, the spiritual pact has been interpreted differently in Haiti’s religious communities. Haitian Vodouizan have their own interpretation, and Haitian Protestants/Evangelicals have their own. For example, I have heard from many Haitian Christians and pastors while travelling on mission trips to Haiti that the Africans made a pact with the devil at the Bois Caiman event (This is not just a Pat Robertson’s declaration!) I have a cousin of mine who is a Christian Pastor in Haiti; one day he said to me “Toutou”/”Puppy” (That is my nickname”), you do know our ancestors made a pact with the devil. He said that to me in more than one occasions while I was in Haiti visiting my family and friends. He also said that Jean-Baptiste Vixamar LeGrand was the sacrifice at the Bois Caiman event of August 1791. He also believes there was also a pig sacrifice at Bois Caiman, but Vixamar was the real, historical, and most important sacrifice to Haiti’s Vodou lwa.

I have also heard from many other Haitian Christian pastors and lay people, both in Haiti and the Haitian Diaspora, that the African slaves made a pact with the devil. In fact, in 2016, my wife and I were at a Christian service (Sunday morning) at a local church in Fort Pierce (Florida) where we live. The “guest preacher” on that Sunday was a Haitian pastor from Haiti, whom I personally know. In his sermon, he declared that the Africans made a pact with the devil, and that Haitian Christians need to take Haiti back to God. The whole church shouted Amen. My wife and I looked at each other and got very angry. I wanted to leave the service at that moment, but my wife encouraged me to stay. So, I submitted to her will. Interestingly, the incident took place at a “white church” that supports this particular pastor’s work/ministry in Haiti.

I have heard the story of the “human sacrifice” at Bois Caiman from the lips of many prominent Haitian Hougan and Mambo, and Free Maxons (i.e., BILOLO KONGO, Toussaint Lova, MALOLO KABA) that the African slave “Jean-Baptiste Vixamar LeGrand” voluntarily gave himself up to be sacrificed in other for the slaves at Saint-Domingue to be free and independent. In other words, Vixamar is the “Christ” of the Bois Caiman Event or the Haitian Revolution itself. For those who are interested in the human sacrifice at Bois Caiman, check out these selected videos below:

1. LE JESUS CHRIST HAITIEN (JEAN BAPTISTE VIXAMAR), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC5TryBiiDw
2. Jn Baptiste Vixamar Legrand. Le Cochon du bois kay Inman, https://youtu.be/MTDPl8_rXQM
3. Reyalité sou Jan Batis Viksama LeGran é Chalmay Peral/Reyalité sou Duvalier, https://youtu.be/vDu0f8ZwnPc

Essay (s)

“La cérémonie du Bois Caïman: les grandes phases de la construction d’un fait historique” by Clermont Maudler, https://www.academia.edu/11760326/La_c%C3%A9r%C3%A9monie_du_Bois_Ca%C3%AFman_les_grandes_phases_de_la_construction_dun_fait_historique

***There are other interviews in which Vodouizan made the explicit claim about Vixamar as the “sacrifice” at Bois Caiman.