Guest Post From Author Dina Rae

A ton of research about Voodoo, loa possession, spells, and Haitian rituals went into my new novel, Bad Juju.  One of the most interesting books that I read was Harvard Professor Wade Davis’s Serpent and The Rainbow.  Many years ago the book was made into a movie.  Although parts of the movie failed to follow the book, enough of it was true.  Zombies are very real and part of the Haitian culture.  The zombification process is taken very seriously.  Men called bokors are extensively trained to raise the dead.  They allegedly use a combination of datura (a flower plant), ground up puffer fish, toad skins, and coup poudre in their resurrection ceremonies.

During a Haitian burial, family might nail the coffin shut, stuff the dead mouth with bricks or rocks, and/or turn the pockets of the body inside out.  They want to ensure the afterlife of the deceased.  A dessounin is performed by a houngan (priest) or a bokor to separate the soul for the spirit world.  Through foul play, a bokor supposedly can reverse death and use the corpse for his slave.

The pharmaceutical company that hired Mr. Davis believed resurrected bodies were never dead but drugged with a very powerful anesthesia and then given an anecdote, leaving them hypnotized.  They wanted Wade Davis, an ethno-botanist, to find their secret formulas and bring them back to the U.S.  Mr. David came up empty-handed, but published his observations of the fascinating Voodoo culture.

Some interesting Voodoo jargon:

Loa : spirit

Zombie astral: A soul without a body opposed to a zombie or body without a soul

Baron Samedi: Head of the Ghede Family, a family of spirits in charge of the dead.  Wears a painted white face, top hat, and tuxedo coat.

Djab: demon

Ti-bon-ange: Part of the soul that accounts for one’s individuality

Gros-bon-ange: Part of the soul that enters the Cosmos once dead

Govi: jar that a bokor would store a ti-bon-ange inside of once captured

Bad Juju: A book Dina Rae that’s free October 12th and October 13th, and .99 cents for the rest of the month: