Dutty Boukman

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Dutty Boukman a houngan, or vodoun priest, whose death is largely considered the start of the Haïtian Revolution. In late August of 1791, Boukman conducted a ceremony at the Bois Caïman and prophesied that Jean François, Biassou, and Jeannot would be leaders of a slave revolt that would free the slaves of Haïti.

Soon after the revolt began, Boukman was taken and beheaded by French authorities. The French then publicly displayed Boukman's head in an attempt to dispel the aura of invincibility that Boukman had cultivated. The attempt failed and Boukman was eventually admitted into the pantheon of loa (vodun spirits).

[edit] External links

• The Louverture Project: Boukman

Sources: For the circumstances of Boukman's death see:

1. Haïtian Bicentennial Committee

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