Haiti's voodoo priests object to mass burials

[spidergains]

Dumping the dead in hurriedly excavated mass graves without proper rites is seen as desecration in a country where many believe in zombies -- dead bodies brought back to life by supernatural forces who could persecute the living.

Haitian officials say so far at least 50,000 bodies have been dumped in mass graves outside the shattered capital, Port-au-Prince, in what they view as the most efficient way to dispose of the fast-rotting corpses from Tuesday's disaster.

"It is not in our culture to bury people in such a fashion," Haiti's main voodoo leader, Max Beauvoir, said in a meeting with Preval.

Local radio is broadcasting messages for Haitians to put bodies recovered from under the rubble of collapsed buildings on the street for collection by garbage and other trucks.

"The conditions in which bodies are being buried is not respecting the dignity of these people," Beauvoir, who was educated at City College of New York and the Sorbonne in Paris, said in the Preval meeting this weekend.

More than half of Haiti's 9 million people are believed to practice voodoo, a religion with roots in Africa. Some 80 percent also are Catholic and most Haitians see no conflict between the two.
Haiti's voodoo priests object to mass burials | Reuters

 

[razzelflabben]

subscribing

 

[JustMeSee]

I don't believe that non-voodoo practicing Catholics/Christians are keen on mass burial either.

People usually want to identify their loved ones before they are separately buried.

Under the circumstances, to avoid disease and illness, there may be little choice.

 

[lawtonfogle]

I don't believe that non-voodoo practicing Catholics/Christians are keen on mass burial either.

People usually want to identify their loved ones before they are separately buried.

Under the circumstances, to avoid disease and illness, there may be little choice.

If we see being buried the way you want to, or even being buried the way your family wants you to be, as some form of freedom, either of religious nature, or of our own body, have you not just argued to sacrifice freedom for the public good?

 

[razzelflabben]

remember that Haitians are very superstitious, which makes it more than just a freedom, more than just a religious rite...

 

[ACougar]

Haiti is a country where most people still honor thier ancestors and seek thier blessing. Having thier bodies dumped in mass graves without any ritual or honoring of thier life is going to cause people who believe this way a lot more discomfort than most of us would experiance at seeing the bodies of our loved ones treated this way.

 

[tulc]

I thought this story was more interesting:
Fearful Haiti quake survivors turn to God for help | Reuters
tulc(just sayn')

 

[craigerNY]

I am thinking the answer is no but do they have the means as individuals to start digging some holes and taking notes? I am not religious myself but I do understand the strength of religious convictions and if my faith told me I must care for the remains of my wife in such a manner I'd be hell bent to see it out.

 

[ACougar]

I don't know, with 1/3 of my family dead and 1/3 missing... I can't say where I would be mentally. I might even push the dead from my mind till I had accounted for all the missing. Once I returned my attention to those I had lost, I think I would be pretty upset to hear their bodies had been unceremoniously dumped in a landfill.

I am thinking the answer is no but do they have the means as individuals to start digging some holes and taking notes? I am not religious myself but I do understand the strength of religious convictions and if my faith told me I must care for the remains of my wife in such a manner I'd be hell bent to see it out.

 

[JustMeSee]

If we see being buried the way you want to, or even being buried the way your family wants you to be, as some form of freedom, either of religious nature, or of our own body, have you not just argued to sacrifice freedom for the public good?

Yes, that is pretty much what I wrote.
I can only speak for myself hypothetically. I would likely sacrifice that freedom for the health of the living.
I don't know. I would hate to be faced with the situation.

 

[JustMeSee]

I thought this story was more interesting:
Fearful Haiti quake survivors turn to God for help | Reuters
tulc(just sayn')

Yes. I believe it says that 80% of Haitians are Catholic. It is very clear that they are praying to the Christian G-d.

 

[jellybean99]

...More than half of Haiti's 9 million people are believed to practice voodoo, a religion with roots in Africa. Some 80 percent also are Catholic and most Haitians see no conflict between the two.

Pagan symbols adopted by Christianity

Conflict? What conflict? Roman Catholic & other church authorities will have a lot of splainin' to do come judgment day:o

 

[tulc]

Pagan symbols adopted by Christianity

Conflict? What conflict? Roman Catholic & other church authorities will have a lot of splainin' to do come judgment day:o

Hey they redeemed us Pagans, I look on it as the Church just doing the same things with our symbols.
tulc(just a thought)

 

[spidergains]

Hey they redeemed us Pagans, I look on it as the Church just doing the same things with our symbols.
tulc(just a thought)

You mean like this?

or this?

 

[Mystman]

This is relevant:

BBC News - Do dead bodies in Haiti pose a health risk?

In summary: bodies killed by natural disaster don't pose the big risk that is often associated with bodies killed by infectious diseases. And while the smell & sight of decomposing bodies certainly isn't good for the mental health, dumping people in mass graves without their loved ones being able to "say goodbye" may be even worse.

At least, that's what the article claims.

 

[razzelflabben]

Yes. I believe it says that 80% of Haitians are Catholic. It is very clear that they are praying to the Christian G-d.

I have a very dear friend who is Haitian, and he will assure you that no where close to 80% are Catholic

I guess it depends on what constitutes Catholism

 

[tulc]

You mean like this?

or this?

hmmm more along the lines of the things you had in the article you posted.
tulc(who suspects there's some confusion between actual paganism and Satanism going on here)

 

[ACougar]

I wouldn't even give it that much credit... more like confusing Hollywood horror flicks with the real world.

hmmm more along the lines of the things you had in the article you posted.
tulc(who suspects there's some confusion between actual paganism and Satanism going on here)

 

[razzelflabben]

I wouldn't even give it that much credit... more like confusing Hollywood horror flicks with the real world.

let me guess, you don't think demons are real and that voodoo is just a harmless exercise?

 

[Pinhead]

Yes. I believe it says that 80% of Haitians are Catholic. It is very clear that they are praying to the Christian G-d.

It is said that in Haiti, 80 percent of the population is Catholic and 20 percent is Protestant, but 100 percent is voodoo.