A bokor (male) () or caplata (female) is a

Vodou Voodoo may refer to: Religions * West African Vodún, a religion practiced by Gbe-speaking ethnic groups * African diaspora religions, a list of related religions sometimes called Vodou/Voodoo ** Candomblé Jejé, also known as Brazilian Vodum ...

priest or priestess for hire in

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

who is said to serve the

loa , also called loa, are spirits in the African diaspora religions, African diasporic religion of Haitian Vodou and Dominican Vudú. They have also been incorporated into some revivalist forms of Louisiana Voodoo. Many of the lwa derive their iden ...

, with both hands', practicing for both good and evil." Their practice includes the creation of

zombie A zombie (Haitian French: ; ; Kikongo: ''zumbi'') is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. In modern popular culture, zombies appear in horror genre works. The term comes from Haitian folkl ...

s and of ''ouangas'' (talismans that house spirits). The term ''bokor'' can also refer to the leader of the Makaya division of Vodou, which originated in the

Congo region The Congo Basin () is the sedimentary basin of the Congo River. The Congo Basin is located in Central Africa, in a region known as west equatorial Africa. The Congo Basin region is sometimes known simply as the Congo. It contains some of the larg ...

. It is believed that there is a grand master for all bokors that have ever lived who can be reborn in every century. During the dictatorship of

Papa Doc Duvalier Papa is a word used in many languages as an affectionate term for father. Papa or PAPA may refer to: Geography and geology * Papa, Samoa, a village on the island of Savai'i * Papa, Scotland, various islands * Pápa, a town in Hungary *Papa rock ...

(as ''Haiti's President for life'') in the 1960s, he is known of creating the army of the

undead The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if they were alive. A common example of an undead being is a cadaver, corpse reanimated by supernatural forces, by the application of either the deceased's o ...

. Duvalier's second in command,

Luckner Cambronne Luckner Cambronne (30 October 193024 September 2006) was a high-ranking political figure in François Duvalier's regime in Haiti. Cambronne was born the son of a poor preacher and had a career as a bank teller. His alliance with Franç ...

, the head of the secret police, the ''

Tonton Macoute The Tonton Macoute () or simply the Macoute, was a Haitian paramilitary and secret police force created in 1959 by dictator François "Papa Doc" Duvalier. Haitians named this force after the Haitian mythological bogeyman, (" Uncle Gunnysa ...

'' and a high-ranking political figure was known as the ''Vampire of the Caribbean'' for developing a reputation for enforcement and cruelty by selling Haitian blood and cadavers to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He was expelled from Haiti by the dictator

Baby Doc Duvalier In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to juveniles of ...

and moved to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

from 1972 until his death in 2006, and was replaced by

Roger Lafontant Roger Lafontant (1931– 29 September 1991) was the former leader of the Tonton Macoutes and a former minister in the government of Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier. He was the leader of an attempted coup d'état in January 1991, an effort ...

as leader of the Tonton Macoutes.

Description

Bokors, featured in many Haitian tales, are often associated with the creation of

s by the use of a deadening brew or

potion A potion is a liquid "that contains medicine, poison, or something that is supposed to have magic powers." It derives from the Latin word ''potio'' which refers to a drink or the act of drinking. The term philtre is also used, often specifica ...

, usually containing

poison A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...

extracted from

puffer fish Tetraodontidae is a family of marine and freshwater fish in the order Tetraodontiformes. The family includes many familiar species variously called pufferfish, puffers, balloonfish, blowfish, blowers, blowies, bubblefish, globefish, swellfish, ...

(

tetrodotoxin Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a potent neurotoxin. Its name derives from Tetraodontiformes, an Order (biology), order that includes Tetraodontidae, pufferfish, porcupinefish, ocean sunfish, and triggerfish; several of these species carry the toxin. Alt ...

). This potion induces the drinker to appear as though they were dead; thus they are often buried. Later, the bokor would return for the victim and force them to do his bidding, such as manual labor. The victim is often given

deliriant Deliriants are a subclass of hallucinogen. The term was coined in the early 1980s to distinguish these drugs from psychedelics such as LSD and dissociatives such as ketamine, due to their primary effect of causing delirium, as opposed to th ...

drugs, mainly

Datura stramonium ''Datura stramonium'', known by the common names thornapple, jimsonweed (jimson weed), or devil's trumpet, is a poisonous flowering plant in the ''Datureae, Daturae'' Tribe (botany), tribe of the nightshade family Solanaceae. Its likely origi ...

, where they enter a detached, somewhat dreamlike state. Its state is likened to being

mind control Mind control may refer to: Psychology and neurology * Brainwashing, the concept that the human mind can be altered or controlled by certain psychological techniques * Brain–computer interface * Hypnosis * Neuroprosthetics, the technology of cont ...

led. The person is alive but in a state where they cannot control what they say or do; at this point, when the person has been reanimated from the grave, or at least is moving about working for the bokor, they can be termed zombies. However, some legends dispense with this explanation, and have the bokor raise zombies from dead bodies whose souls have departed. Also, bokors are said to work with zombie astrals – souls or spirits which are captured in a fetish and made to enhance the bokor's power. Bokors normally work with the Loas

Baron Samedi Baron Samedi (), also written Baron Samdi, Bawon Samedi or Bawon Sanmdi, is one of the lwa of Haitian Vodou. He is a lwa of the dead, along with Baron's numerous other incarnations Baron Cimetière, Baron La Croix and Baron Criminel. He i ...

Kalfu Kalfu (literally '' crossroads)'' is a lwa in Haitian Vodou. He is often envisioned as a young man or as a enigmatic spirit; his color is black or red and he favors rum infused with gunpowder. He is often syncretized with the Shadow A shado ...

Legba Papa Legba is a lwa, or loa, in West African Vodun and its diasporic derivatives ( Dominican Republic Vudú, Haitian Vodou, Louisiana Voodoo, and Winti), who serves as the intermediary between God and humanity. He stands at a spiritual crossroa ...

and

Simbi A Simbi (also Cymbee, Sim'bi, pl. Bisimbi) is a Central African water and nature spirit in traditional Kongo religion, as well as in African diaspora spiritual traditions, such as Hoodoo in the southern United States and Palo in Cuba. Simbi ha ...

(snake loa), and in some cases they are said to work with Grand Bois, the loa of the forest. Bokors are similar to the

rootworker Hoodoo is a set of spiritual observances, traditions, and beliefs—including magical and other ritual practices—developed by enslaved African Americans in the Southern United States from various traditional African spiritualities and elem ...

s of

and

Louisiana Voodoo Louisiana Voodoo, also known as New Orleans Voodoo, was an African diasporic religion that existed in Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to ...

. Some may be priests of a Vodou house. Bokor are usually chosen from birth, those who are believed to bear a great ashe (power). A bokor can be, by worldly terms, good or evil, though some sources consider them an evil version of a

houngan Oungan (also written as ''houngan'') is the term for a male priest in Haitian Vodou (a female priest is known as a ''mambo''). The term is derived from Gbe languages (Fon, Ewe, Adja, Phla, Gen, Maxi and Gun). The word hounnongan means chief p ...

References

{{Afro-American Religions Haitian Vodou

Description

See also

References