I saw this statue and was drawn to it. I love the color red, it catches my attention instantly. I noticed that the name was Chango. In Haitian Vodou there is the Nago Nation. In every nation there are multiple types of a particular lwa within a group.
The Ogouns: St. Jacques, Ossange, Ogou Badagri, Ogou Feraille, Ogoun Fer, Ogoun Shango, Ogou Balindjo, Ogou Balizarre, Ogoun Yemsen to name a few.
In Haiti Ogou has been syncrenized with the Catholic saint St. George. However, an interesting part of history has been left out of Haitian history that I believe is revelant to the state of the people, and one of the main reasons of the current condition of the country.
It took the beloved Ogou spirit to bring this to my attention. Now when I look at this, what comes to my mind is the opulence of the Moor. The Moors have been forsaken throughout history. We have been told that we have come out of slavery, and everything that we have ever accomplished was associated with slavery, but my perception has shifted.
Our culture has been engulfed with Catholicism and Christianity not by choice... It is said that Christopher Columbus came to Haiti and landed on Mount St. Nicholas... I wonder why, just as the pilgrimages landed on Plymouth Rock!?! We are learning more of the contribution that Columbus made... which is colonization and not civilization. Civilzations already existed on the island of Ayiti, long before the crash landing of Colonization...
But I will examine this further on just who St. Nicholas was and thus the root of colonization, and the enslavement in Ayiti.
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