Marie Laveau

This article is about the historical Voodoo practitioner. For song, see Marie Laveau (song). For the American Horror Story character, see Marie Laveau (American Horror Story).
Marie Laveau

Portrait by Frank Schneider, based on a painting by George Catlin (Louisiana State Museum)
Born Marie Catherine Laveau
September 10, 1794
French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana
Died June 15, 1881 (aged 86)
New Orleans, Louisiana
Nationality American
Occupation Voodoo Queen of New Orleans
Known for Louisiana Voodoo practitioner
Religion Roman Catholic with Voodoo roots
Marie Laveau
Voodoo Queen of New Orleans
Born September 10, 1794
French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana
Died June 15, 1881 (aged 86)
New Orleans, Louisiana
Venerated in Louisiana Voodoo, Folk Catholicism

Marie Catherine Laveau (September 10, 1794 – June 15, 1881) [1] was a Louisiana Creole practitioner of Voodoo renowned in New Orleans. (As for the date of her birth, while popular sources often say 1794, the records indicate 1801.) [2] Her daughter, Marie Laveau II, (1827 — c. 1895) also practiced Voudoun, as well as Voodoo. She and her mother had great influence over their multiracial following. "In 1874 as many as twelve thousand spectators, both black and white, swarmed to the shores of Lake Pontchartrain to catch a glimpse of Marie Laveau II performing her legendary rites on St. John's Eve (June 23–24)."[3]

Early life

Historical records surmise that Marie Laveau was born free in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, Thursday September 10th, 1801. She was the natural daughter of two free persons of color, both biracial, one of whom was Creole.[4] On August 4, 1819, she married Jacques (or Santiago, in other records) Paris, a free person of color who had emigrated from Haiti.[3] Their marriage certificate is preserved in St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans. The wedding mass was performed by Father Antonio de Sedella, the Capuchin priest known as Pere Antoine.[5]

The death of Jacques Paris was recorded in 1820.[2] He was part of a large Haitian immigration to New Orleans in 1809, after the Haitian Revolution of 1791-1804. New immigrants consisted of French-speaking white planters and thousands of slaves as well as free people of color. Those with African ancestry helped revive Voodoo and other African-based cultural practices in the New Orleans community, and the Creole of color community increased markedly.

Career

Very little is known with any certainty about the life of Marie Laveau. It is believed Laveau and her surviving daughter had the same name, her daughter being named Marie Laveau II.[6] Scholars believe that the mother was more powerful while the daughter arranged more elaborate public events (including inviting attendees to St. John's Eve rituals on Bayou St. John). They received varying amounts of financial support. It is not known which (if either) had done more to establish the voodoo queen reputation.[5] Marie Laveau ll was believed to have three children whom she shipped off to the Dominican Republic after threats were made to burn them alive. Marie's husband, Jose Huerta, had raised the children on his own to keep the voodoo tradition within his family. The last recorded descendents of this family are Victor Delgado-Huerta (born 1999) and Melenie Delgado-Huerta (born 2003). Both still practice vodoun but have not been given higher titles by the International Voodoo Society. One of the sons of Marie I and Christophe Duminy de Glapion was Alexis Celestin Glapion born 1834. He stayed in New Orleans where he and his wife Emma Vicknaire had 11 children. The last recorded descendants of this line of the family live in Detroit, MI and Boston, MA.

"The only evidence that exist(s) of any sort of occupation she had was (as) a liquor importer (in 1832) on Dauphine Street in the Faubourg Marigny (in New Orleans)."[7] Folklore says at one time she also became a hairdresser, to high standing locals of New Orleans and gained profitable information from working in her clientele's homes.[6][8] She took a lover, Christophe Dominick Duminy de Glapion, with whom she lived until his death in 1835. They were reported to have had 15 children, including Marie Laveau II, born c. 1827, who sometimes used the surname "Paris" after her mother's first husband.[3]

Of Laveau's magical career, there is little that can be substantiated, including whether she had a snake she named Zombi after an African god, whether the occult part of her magic mixed Roman Catholic saints with African spirits, or whether her divinations were supported by a network of informants she developed while working as a hairdresser in prominent white households and in a brothel she ran. She appeared to excel at obtaining inside information on her wealthy patrons by instilling fear in their servants whom she either paid or cured of mysterious ailments.[5]

Death

Plaque at the grave of Louisiana Voodoo Queen, Marie Laveau

On June 16, 1881, the New Orleans newspapers, the Daily Picayune posted her obituary. She died June 15, 1881. According to "Voodoo in New Orleans" by Robert Tallant, announced that Marie Laveau had died peacefully in her home. This is noteworthy if only because people claimed to have seen her in town after her supposed demise. Again, some claimed that one of her daughters also named Marie (many of the daughters had Marie within their names due to Catholic naming practices) assumed her name and carried on her magical practice, taking over as the queen soon before or after the first Marie's death.

According to official New Orleans vital records, Marie Glapion Lavau died on June 15, 1881, aged 86.[9] The different spellings of her surname may result from a casual approach to spelling, and her age at death from conflicting accounts of her birthdate.

Legacy

Marie Laveau is generally believed to have been buried in plot 347, the Glapion family crypt, in Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1 in New Orleans, but this has been disputed[10] by at least Robert Tallant, a journalist who used her as a character in historical novels.[5] Tourists continue to visit and some draw "X" marks in accordance with a decades-old rumor that if people wanted Laveau to grant them a wish, they had to draw an "X" on the tomb, turn around three times, knock on the tomb, yell out their wish, and if it was granted, come back, circle their "X," and leave Laveau an offering.[10] The tomb in Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1 was vandalized on December 17, 2013, by being painted over with pink latex paint, likely in an attempt by a "homeless, mentally unstable kid" to cover up the "X" mark graffiti.[10] The paint must be removed because the structure is made of old plaster and the latex paint would seal in moisture that would destroy the plaster, but some historical preservation experts have criticized the decision by the Archdiocese of New Orleans, who maintain the cemetery, for their decision to use pressure washing rather than paint stripper to remove it.[11][12]

As of March 1st 2015 there is no longer public access to St. Louis #1 cemetery. Entry with a tour guide is required. This was done by the Archdiocese of New Orleans to protect the tombs of not only the Laveau family but the many other notable dead residing there. Continued vandalism and destruction of tombs forced them to do so. The Laveau Family tomb has just undergone extensive restoration. The practice of marking an X on any tomb is a federal crime and disrespect to the dead.

Although some references to Marie Laveau in popular culture refer to her as a "witch", she is properly described as a 'Voodoo priestess'.

The mausoleum where Marie Laveau is buried, in Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1

Artistic legacy

Because of her prominence within the history of Voodoo in New Orleans, Laveau has inspired a number of artistic renditions.

In visual art, the African American artist Renee Stout often uses Laveau as a visual motif.[13]

Numerous songs about Marie Laveau have been recorded, including "Marie La Veau" by Papa Celestin, "Marie Laveau" by Shel Silverstein, "Witch Queen of New Orleans" (1971) by Redbone, "Dixie Drug Store" by Grant Lee Buffalo, "X Marks the Spot (Marie Laveau)" by Joe Sample, "Marie Laveau" by Dr. John, "Marie Laveau" (2013) by Tao Of Sound, and "The Widow Paris" by The Get Up Kids. Marie Laveau is mentioned in the song "I Will Play for Gumbo" (1999) by Jimmy Buffett.

Laveau has offered inspiration for a number of fictional characters as well. She is the protagonist of Jewell Parker Rhodes' novel Voodoo Dreams: A Novel of Marie Laveau (1993). Laveau appears as a supporting character in the Night Huntress novels by Jeaniene Frost, as a powerful ghoul still living in New Orleans in the 21st century. Marie Laveau appears in Neil Gaiman's novel American Gods, under her married name, Marie Paris. Most prominently in comics, a character named Marie Laveau, based loosely on the real Marie Laveau, appears in Marvel Comics. She first appeared in Dracula Lives #2 in 1973.[14] She is depicted as a powerful sorceress and Voodoo priestess with great magical powers and knowledge of arcane lore, including the creation of a potion made from vampire's blood that keeps her eternally youthful and beautiful.[15] Also, a character named Marie Laveau, based loosely on the real Marie Laveau, appears in the Italian comic book Zagor. In TV, Marie Laveau (portrayed by Angela Bassett) appears as a character in American Horror Story: Coven[16] and appears in the Canadian television series Lost Girl in episode 11 of season 4. Her tomb is featured prominently in the video game Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers by Jane Jensen. The game also tells her backstory as part of the overall background and context for the tale told in the game.

Marie Laveau's tomb is the site of a secret, underground voodoo workshop in The Caster Chronicles novel Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.

Laveau's grave site, in Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1, is the setting of a pivotal scene in Robert J. Randisi's short story, "Cold As The Gun", from Foreshadows: The Ghosts of Zero.

She inspired a Total Nonstop Action Wrestling gimmick, "The Voodoo Queen" Roxxi Laveaux.[17]

The mother of Hazel Levesque, one of the characters from Rick Riordan's The Heroes of Olympus book series, was known as "Queen Marie," a famous fortune teller who lived in New Orleans.

Biographies

See also

Citations

  1. ↑ "CONJURE UP THE SPIRITS OF NEW ORLEANS." The Toronto Star. (October 28, 2000 , Saturday, Edition 1 ): 1479 words. LexisNexis Academic. Web. Date Accessed: 2015/02/12.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Loustaunau, Martha, Denmke. Marie Laveau. Salem Press Enclycopedia. p. 1. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Haitian Immigration: 18th & 19th Centuries", In Motion: African American Migration Experience, New York Public Library, retrieved 7 May 2008.
  4. ↑ http://www.voodoomuseum.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15 Louisiana Voodoo Museum
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Tallant, Robert (1946). Voodoo in New Orleans (1984 reprint). New York: Macmillan Company - reprint Pelican Publishing. ISBN 978-0-88289-336-5.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 http://www.voodoomuseum.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15
  7. ↑ http://www.voodoomuseum.com VoodooMuseum.com
  8. ↑ Dalzell, Micahel D. (10/27/1996). "No Bones About It; Voodoo, Vampires and Other Slices Of Occult Life In New Orleans". The Washington Post Company. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  9. ↑ New Orleans Vital Records Death Index, RootsWeb.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Webster, Richard A. (December 30, 2013). "Repair of Marie Laveau's tomb to take months, potential suspect attempted to paint another tomb one month ago". The New Orleans Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2014-01-05. Angie Green, executive director of Save Our Cemeteries, a nonprofit that works to preserve historic cemeteries throughout the city, said she doesn't know "for sure" who is responsible for painting the vault but has a prime suspect in mind. Two weeks earlier, Green said she caught a young, clean-cut man in his early 20s painting a tomb in the back of the cemetery a "creamish, yellowish, beige." The tomb, like Laveau's, was covered in hundreds of Xs drawn on its surface by tourists. Decades ago, someone started a rumor that if people wanted Laveau to grant them a wish, they had to draw an X on the tomb, turn around three times, knock on the tomb, yell out their wish, and if it was granted, come back, circle their X, and leave Laveau an offering, said tour guide Renee Dodge. Over the years the practice spread to several other tombs in the cemetery including the one the young man was attempting to paint over two weeks before Laveau's tomb was vandalized. Green said she called the police but declined to press charges. "I didn't think he was a threat. I spoke with him and it seemed he thought he was trying to do the right thing (by covering up the Xs)," Green said. "The police said he was someone they knew, a homeless, mentally unstable kid. So we are pretty sure it was him (who painted Laveau's tomb) but no one knows for sure." .... There are even questions whether the now pink tomb in St. Louis No. 1 is actually the burial site of Laveau. The Voodoo queen married into the Glapion family that owns the tomb but there is no hard evidence that is where she was buried, Green said. "I've heard strong arguments for the tomb in (St. Louis) No. 1 or multiple tombs in (St. Louis) No 2," she said.
  11. ↑ Webster, Richard A. (January 2, 2014). "Marie Laveau's tomb suffering significant damage during restoration process, nonprofit says". The New Orleans Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2014-01-05. But when Angie Green, executive director of Save Our Cemeteries, a nonprofit group that works to preserve historic cemeteries throughout the city, saw someone blasting Laveau's tomb with a high-pressure water gun she said she immediately called the Archdiocese. "Pressure washing is terrible for any old building," Green said. "When I first saw them doing it they had two sides done and there were chips of brick and plaster from the tomb all over the ground. I asked them to stop and everyone (at the Archdiocese) said they would stop but they are still doing it." [Sarah McDonald, director of communications for the Archdiocese,] said Green's allegation that the pressure washing is inflicting significant damage is "inaccurate."
  12. ↑ "Grave disquiet; Briefs." Irish Independent. (January 29, 2015 Thursday ): 64 words. LexisNexis Academic. Web. Date Accessed: 2015/02/12.
  13. ↑ North, Bill. ...to build up a rich collection...:Selected Works From the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art. Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art. p. 110. ISBN 1-890751-11-1.
  14. ↑ Laveau, Marie – Marvel Universe Wiki: The definitive online source for Marvel super hero bios
  15. ↑ "Marvel Universe Appendix - Marie Laveau".
  16. ↑ http://www.nola.com/tv/index.ssf/2013/08/fxs_john_landgraf_on_american.html
  17. ↑ "Roxxi Laveaux, TNA's Witchy Woman", from WrestleCrap.com

External links

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