Forget Hollywood.
Vodou — or what
most people call voodoo — is an authentic religion with origins in Haiti and it’s
practiced in New Orleans by Vodou priestess Sallie Ann Glassman. Close to the
Summer Solstice, St. John’s Eve on June 23 is celebrated in New Orleans as homage
to Catholic St. John the Baptist mixed with Haitian Vodou and other traditions. In New Orleans, St. John’s Eve remains the highest holy day of the Vodou
calendar.
In honor of this day, the
International House will celebrate St. John’s Eve from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday,
June 22 (one day early), at the boutique New Orleans hotel. The occult summer
ritual will include a head-washing ceremony by Glassman along with drumming,
dancing, chanting, Haitian rum and a bottled elixir.
Most people know that New Orleans
has ties to Haitian Vodou. French colonists developed Haiti, once called Saint
Domingue. Many French citizens, their slaves and free people of couple fled to
New Orleans in the early 19th century when slaves revolted on the island. The
faith came with them, and was made famous by a 19th century hairdresser named
Marie Laveau, now known as the “Voodoo Queen.” She always honored the biblical
St. John in her occult ceremonies, with thousands in attendance held on the banks of Bayou St. John, where she
performed head-washings, a ritual akin to baptism that leaves the participant feeling refreshed.
A Maine
native but current New Orleans resident, Glassman has been ordained in the
Haitian Kreyol tradition and ministers to many from her
Island of Salvation Botanica and Bywater temple on St. Claude, across from the St. Roch Market
(both worth a visit!). Her altar in International House’s lobby is dedicated to
Marie Laveau. The June 22 ceremony will also feature a 10-foot papier
mache statue of Marie with billowing white sheers bearing her insignia that
dance in the summer breeze. The sheers signify the porous veil between the
spiritual and the physical worlds.
To
enhance the occasion, “spirit handler” and barkeep Alan Walter, local artist
Britney Penouilh and Glassman have also co-created John’s Way, a
limited-edition bottled elixir in a handmade wooden box with custom vodou
accessories and charms.
“I created it as a handmaiden to
personal reinvigoration — the new ways and fresh starts in life that we all
need,” Walter said in a hotel press release. The bottle contains purifying
Florida water; genepi and Boomsma Clooster bitters, both rife with herbs; and
liqueurs featuring thyme, honeysuckle, caraway and Spanish moss, among other
ingredients.
“It’s
a composite creation,” Walter said. “It should be poured into tiny glasses in
ritual fashion. A bottle ought to serve at least 12.”
Bottles of the elixirs will be sold
at $100 each.
International House hosts seven
local rituals throughout the year as a way of sharing with locals and visitors
alike an authentic taste of New Orleans. Hotel officials encourage visitors to
bring offerings for Marie of blue and white candles, flowers, hair ribbons,
brushes, barrettes and Creole foods, and take a white scarf as a symbol of
spiritual rejuvenation and a reminder that we are all spiritual beings on a
human journey.
The
St. John’s Eve schedule is as follows:
6 p.m.: Introduction by Priestess Sallie Ann Glassman
6:30 p.m.: Toast
to St. John by Alan Walter
7–8 p.m.: Ceremony
honoring Marie Laveau by Sallie Ann Glassman
 |
| John's Way elixir |
 |
| Glassman's homage to Marie Laveau at her Island of Salvation Botanica |
Summertime means tomatoes and in
the South we grow ‘em, eat ‘em and celebrate ‘em. In Atlanta, they even throw a
killer festival.
