When you hear the word Voodoo, what comes to mind first? For many people they say the name Marie Laveau. She is referred to as the Queen of Voodoo. She was born in 1783, to Marguerite Darcantel, a slave from Haiti and Mistress of a wealthy plantation owner, a Frenchman, Charles Laveau. She bore her father’s name and was a free woman of color. She was raised within the strict guidelines of the Catholic Church. A devout Catholic, she went to mass everyday of her life.
She was a dark skinned woman with long black hair that she Frequently wore in a single braid making her look much like an Indian or a Gypsy, probably adding to her mystique. In 1819, she married Jacques Paris, a native of Santo Domingo. He died a short time later and she was to be referred to as the “Widow Paris”. She later became mistress to Christophe Glapion with whom she had numerous children. Some accounts speak of her having as many as 15 children, it is believed however that she actually only had three daughters, one of which was also named Marie.
Marie Laveau was a hairdresser who, in 1826 became intrigued with the first New Orleans Voodoo Queen, Sanite DeDe. She began to study herbs and the secrets of the Voodoo religion. In spite of her attraction to Voodoo, she never abandoned her Catholic roots. She saw similarities between the two, particularly, between the Voodoo Loas and the Saints. Both demi-gods under one Supreme Being, each having a specific purpose. She incorporated the use of candles and Holy Water in Voodoo rituals. It was because of this “blending” of Religions that the White Creole Catholics began to find Voodoo a bit more palatable. Actually, the church was conned into believing that the Voodouns had converted to Catholicism! By the 1830’s, Marie Laveau was the Queen of Voodoo and Voodoo once again was practiced inside the city limits.
Marie Laveau went on to become one of the city’s great humanitarians. She worked beside Pere Antoine caring for the sick during the yellow fever epidemics. She ministered to prisoners on death row. She helped anyone who needed her regardless of race or ability to pay. In spite of continual acts of kindness, Marie Laveau was feared among the populace. Countless tales are told of Marie manipulating and intmidating the public. She retired as Queen in 1875. Although throughout her reign she was feared by many a New Orleanian, when she died at the age of 98 in 1881, many people believed she was a saint. She is buried in St. Louis Cemetery # 1. Thousands of visitors flock to her grave site each year to make a wish or give thanks for wishes granted. Offerings of food, money, cigarettes or anything else that someone might deem of value can be found place at the foot of the grave. Many stories have arisen of Paranormal expeeriences at the site. Beverly Taylor of the Amatur Spectral Society of Lousisan heard a voice at the tomb speak to her as she photograph the tomb. She later submitted her photograph showing an entity in front of the tomb.
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