"Visual Quotations"

Photographs by Richard Freeman

Quotations of Vodou

When I started my new position at the University of Florida, a colleague introduced me to Ben Hebblethwaite,a professor of French languages and cultures who was concentrating on Haitian Creole and Hiaitian culture, specifically the religious practice of Vodou. Ben had a small grant to go to Little Haiti in Miami, Fla., to document Vodou ceremonies. With my visual background, Ben invited me to accompany him to take photos and shoot some video. Soon, Ben learned he was awarded a large grant he had applied for from the National Endowment for the Humanities, to do similar work, but in Haiti. I have so far made two trips to Haiti, and several more to Miami. The images in these collections are the result.

Funding for the research excursions to Haiti were made possible by the UF-Duke NEH Collaborative Grant. Many other images, video clips of ceremonies, interviews, historical documents, and other collections are online on the Vodou Archive website: www.dloc.com/vodou. If the link is not working, just cut and paste the address into your browser (I am not sure what's wrong).