Miriam Chamani

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Priestess Miriam Chamani is the Mombo (Mother/Priestess) of the New Orleans Voodoo Spiritual Temple. The Temple is located next to Congo Square and the its rituals are directly connected to the rituals performed on Congo Square by Marie Laveau and Doctor John. It was established in 1990 by Priest Oswan Chamani and his wife Miriam. It is the only formally established Spiritual Temple with a focus on traditional West African spiritual and herbal healing practices currently existing in New Orleans. "Mother" or "Mombo" Miriam, as she is also known, was ordained a bishop in the "Angel Angel All Nations Spiritual Church" prior to her marriage. She has been in numerous documentaries and articles; her photo was in the New York Times as part of an article on Voodoo in New Orleans, and she's been featured in Spin Magazine, in movies, and on PBS and commercial TV in America, England and Japan. She has appeared at both the Starwood Festival and the WinterStar Symposium as both a speaker and a liturgist. She was one of the first priestesses to present authentic Voodoo rituals to the Neo-Pagan community, along with Louis Martinie' and the Temple drummers of the New Orleans Voodoo Spiritual Temple (Krewe of Nutria). Upon the death of her husband, Voodoo Priest Oswan Chamani on March 6, 1995, Miriam Chamani continued her husband's Belizan Vodou and herbalism traditions in addition to her own spiritualist practices, and continues many of the inclusive trends of Black Christian Spiritualism, seeking to serve all peoples regardless of race or belief.

Chamani was invited by actor Nicholas Cage to perform a blessing ceremony during his wedding to Lisa Marie Presley, after hiring her as a consultant for his directoral debut Sonny.^[1] On Halloween, 1999, a local radio station asked her to perform a ceremony outside the Superdome to help the New Orleans Saints win against the Cleveland Browns (which was interrupted by harassment from a Browns fan dressed as a dog).