Dutty Boukman

Dutty Boukman
Born Jamaica
Died 7 November 1791
Nationality Haitian
Other names Boukman Dutty
Known for Catalyst to the Haitian Revolution

Dutty Boukman (also known as Boukman Dutty) (died 7 November 1791) was an African man, enslaved in Jamaica. He is considered both a maroon leader and Vodou hougan (priest) and was an early leader of the Haitian Revolution.[1]

According to some contemporary accounts Boukman, alongside Cécile Fatiman a Vodou mambo, presided over the religious ceremony at Bois Caïman, in August 1791, that served as a catalyst of the 1791 slave revolt that marked the beginning of the Haitian Revolution.

Boukman was a key leader of the slave revolt in the Le Cap‑Français region in the north of the colony. He was killed by the French planters and colonial troops in 7 November 1791.[2][3]

Background

Dutty Boukman was a Holy Koran-educated slave born on the island of Jamaica. After he attempted to teach other slaves how to read, he was sold to a French plantation owner and placed as a commandeur (slave driver) and, later, a coach driver. His French name came from his English nickname, "Book Man," which some scholars, despite accounts suggesting that he was a Vodou houngan, have interpreted as meaning that he was a Muslim, since in many Muslim regions the term "man of the book" is a synonym for an adherent of the Islamic faith. One scholar suggests that it is likely that Boukman "was a Jamaican Muslim who had a Quran, and that he got his nickname from this."[4] Other scholars suggest that Boukman may have practiced a syncretic blend of traditional African religion and a form of Christianity.[5] Boukman was killed by the French in November 1791, just a few months after the beginning of the uprising.[6] The French then publicly displayed Boukman's head in an attempt to dispel the aura of invincibility that Boukman had cultivated.The fact that French authorities had to do this shows just how much of an impact Boukman made on the views of Haitian people during this time. However, a new study has shown that Boukman may not have been from Jamaica,[7] as previously thought, as runaway ads[8] reveal many other slaves of various origins with the name Boukman in the Saint Domingue colony. And, contrary to majority belief, that same research suggests: 1) his name was neither Dutty[9] nor Zamba; [10] 2) the name Boukman, usually written Bouqueman, has a French catholic origin;[11] 3) he may not have known how to read;[12] and 4) he was not the leader of the Haitian revolutionary army[13].

Ceremony at the Bois Caïman

According to some contemporary accounts, on or about 14 August 1791 Boukman presided over a ceremony at the Bois Caïman in the role of houngan (priest) together with priestess Cécile Fatiman. Boukman prophesied that the slaves Jean François, Biassou, and Jeannot would be leaders of a resistance movement and revolt that would free the slaves of Saint-Domingue. An animal was sacrificed, an oath was taken, and Boukman and the priestess exhorted the listeners to take revenge against their French oppressors and "[c]ast aside the image of the God of the oppressors." [14]

According to Gothenburg University researcher Markel Thylefors, "The event of the Bois Caïman ceremony forms an important part of Haitian national identity as it relates to the very genesis of Haiti."[15] This ceremony came to be characterized by various Christian sources as a "pact with the devil" that began the Haitian Revolution.[16]

According to the Encyclopedia of African Religion, "Blood from the animal was given in a drink to the attendees to seal their fates in loyalty to the cause of liberation of Saint-Domingue."[17] A week later, 1800 plantations had been destroyed and 1000 slaveholders killed.[18][19] Boukman was not the first to attempt a slave uprising in Saint-Domingue, as he was preceded by others, such as Padrejean in 1676, and François Mackandal in 1757. However, his large size, warrior-like appearance, and fearsome temper made him an effective leader and helped spark the Haitian Revolution.[20]

Pat Robertson's "Pact with the Devil" allegation

In the wake of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, veteran Christian radio and television personality Pat Robertson claimed that Haiti had been "cursed by one thing after another" since the late 18th century and, in an apparent reference to the Bois Caïman ceremony, revived the allegation that Haitians had sworn a "pact to the devil."[23][24] This view was criticized by urban legend expert Rich Buehler, who claimed that Robertson's statement was incorrect on a variety of historical points, and propagated a common claim that vodou is Satanic in nature.[25]

Several Mainline and evangelical[26] Christian voices criticized Robertson's remarks as misleading, untimely and insensitive.[27][28][29][30]

References

  1. ↑ Edmonds, Ennis B.; Gonzalez, Michelle A. (2010-06-01). Caribbean Religious History: An Introduction. NYU Press. ISBN 9780814722503.
  2. ↑ Girard, Philippe R. (2010). "Haitian Revolution". In Leslie, Alexander. Encyclopedia of African American History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781851097692.
  3. ↑ Poujol-Oriol, Paulette (2005). "Boukman". In Appiah, Kwame Antony; Gates, Henry Louis, Jr. Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195170559.
  4. ↑ Sylviane Anna Diouf and Sylviane Kamara. Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved in the AmericasNew York University Press, 1998, p. 153
  5. ↑ Dubois, Laurent. Avengers of the New World (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 2004), 101.
  6. ↑ Sylviane Anna Diouf, Servants of Allah p.152
  7. ↑ Salnave, Rodney. "Boukman wasn't Jamaican". Bwa kay Il-Ment. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  8. ↑ Sherbrooke, University. "Runaway ads database". Marronnage in Saint Domingue (Haïti). Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  9. ↑ Salnave, Rodney. "Boukman wasn't Jamaican". Bwa Kay Il-Ment. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  10. ↑ Salnave, Rodney. "Boukman wasn't named Zamba". Bwa Kay Il-Ment. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  11. ↑ Salnave, Rodney. "Origin of the boukman name". Bwa Kay Il-Ment. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  12. ↑ Salnave, Rodney. "Boukman didn't know how to read". Bwa Kay Il-Ment. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  13. ↑ Salnave, Rodney. "Boukman wasn't the revolutionary army's leader". Bwa Kay Il-Ment. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  14. ↑ Charles Arthur and Michael Dash (eds.) Libète: A Haiti Anthology (Princeton, NJ: Markus Wiener Publishers, 1999), 36.
  15. ↑ Thylefors, Markel (March 2009) "'Our Government is in Bwa Kayiman:' a Vodou Ceremony in 1791 and its Contemporary Signifcations" Stockholm Review of Latin American Studies, Issue No. 4
  16. ↑ Lowell Ponte Haiti: Victim of Clinton's Old Black Magic FrontPage Magazine 20 February 2004
  17. ↑ Molefi Kete Asante and Ama Mazama. Encyclopedia of African religion, Volume 1 Sage Publications, p. 131.
  18. ↑ Sylviane Anna Diouf, Servants of Allah p. 152
  19. ↑ John Mason. African Religions in The Caribbean: Continuity and Change
  20. ↑ John K. Thornton. I Am the Subject of the King of Congo: African Political Ideology and the Haitian Revolution. Millersville University of Pennsylvania
  21. ↑ Haitian Bicentennial Committee (2004)
  22. ↑ Orr, Niela. Critic's Notebook: Hollywood, Obama and the Boxing-In of Black Achievers ‘‘The Hollywood Reporter’’. December 18, 2014.
  23. ↑ "Pat Robertson calls quake 'blessing in disguise'". The Washington Post. 13 January 2010.
  24. ↑ Robertson statement
  25. ↑ Ireland, Michael (17 January 2010). "Urban Legend Expert Debunks Haitian ‘Pact with the Devil‘". ASSIST News Service. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
  26. ↑ "Pat Robertson on Disasters: Consistently Wrong" Thursday, 14 January 2010, 1:01 PM by John Mark Reynolds
  27. ↑ Denny Burk - Associate Professor of New Testament and Dean of Boyce College (undergraduate arm of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) in Louisville, Kentucky
  28. ↑ https://twitter.com/albertmohler/status/7724222162
  29. ↑ http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/faith/2010/01/guest_post_a_message_for_pat_r.html
  30. ↑ http://pastorchrisowens.wordpress.com/2010/01/14/my-two-words-for-pat-robertson-shut-up/
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