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The Battalion
Sticking pins in \<3odoo myth
Mysterious Haitian religion possesses 'power of spirits'
FRANK
STANFORD
Columnist
W arning;: The
following column
contains
I everything you wanted to
know about the practice of
Voodoo, but were afraid to
ask. And if you’re afraid to
read it, I’ll put a spell on
{you.
Vodun or “Voodoo” is the
| government recognized religion of Haiti.
It exists all over the Caribbean nations as well as Louisiana
I and some small areas in other Southern states. But what is it,
I and how did it get there?
Well, back in the days of pirates and slave trading, many
I Africans were shipped to the French island of Haiti as slaves.
All they brought with them was their African religion. France,
being a Catholic nation, sent missionaries to convert the slaves
to Catholicism, but this attempt was a big flop and from it
| Haitian Voodoo was bom.
Voodoo is a “metaphysical” or “spiritual” rather than a
I “dogmatic” religion. This means there isn’t much distinction
between mortal and divine beings. All people and things are
spirits which can transform into each other during “possession.”
When spiritually possessed, one becomes a god - a necessary
occurrence in order to worship. And, unlike the more familiar
religions, there aren’t any particular books or rules. Instead,
spirits or “loas” are the central figures of worship and the
[reasons for everything that happens.
People serve and bargain with loas on a daily basis to unite
| with them. Many of these spirits and ideas have familiar
Catholic representations. For instance, Voodoo also has
J‘baptism” and Saint Patrick is identified with the snake loa. In
■ Voodoo philosophy, the two planes of the physical and the
j metaphysical (spiritual) pass through each other instead of
I being parallel and separate. So, when introduced, the Christian
cross was adopted as the symbol for this “crossroads” of planes
and is prominent on the Voodoo flag.
There is no concept of sin in Voodoo. Because bad deeds hurt
[only one’s fellow man, he is the only one who needs an apology.
But as in all societies, there is still an important moral code.
Regulation of social and moral behavior occurs through “taboos”
that are linked to ancestral values and traditions. For instance,
murder, theft and incest are big taboos. As generations pass
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Page 11
and change, so may some taboos. For this reason Voodoo is
considered a “living” religion instead of a “preserved” one.
Everything and everyone is sacred in Voodoo. All that
exists in nature is unified by the sharing of similar
elements. This web of unity promotes the sanctity of life,
but more importantly, the sanctity of the spirit of the life.
There are two types of spirits that inhabit a person in
Voodoo.
The first, “Gro-bon-ange”, is most similar to a “soul.”
When someone dies it leaves the body, passes through
several stages where it may assume the status of a loa
(spirit) and becomes part of some moral principle.
The “Ti-bon—ange” is the impersonal cosmic consciousness
that everyone has. Upon death, this spirit becomes reusable
and rejoins the cosmic forces. Both of these spirits are released
at death and go to work for the good of the community. They
receive gifts during rituals in return.
Rituals are performed for a number of reasons such as sick
babies, the deaths of loved ones, or even positive events. These
Voodoo ceremonies promote communication with the spirits
through a priest or “mambo” (priestess). It’s quite a party by
our standards.
People gather and play music to the beat of large drums
while others dance and sing. Rum is splashed (offered) onto the
ground and an animal is sacrificed for the spirits. Black and
yellow candles are lit to create smoke in which the loas appear
and are interpreted by the priest or priestess (Voodoo has no
sexual discrimination). Usually these ceremonies will go on all
night - sometimes for days - depending on the current need.
The scary part of this religion is the Voodoo Doll stuff.
This is a minor aspect of Voodoo similar in spookiness to
Exorcism in Catholicism. As explained to me in Haiti, when
someone thinks another person has wrongfully taken their
place in some capacity, with a job or a lover etc., a photo or
some hair can be given to a priest or priestess along with
about $3.15 and a hex will be placed on the culprit. The doll
helps as a representation in some cases and whether or not it
actually works is subject to scrutiny to say the least. In fact,
I’m beginning to think mine is defective.
So, as you can see, Voodoo is not evil or scary. It is simply a
religion that is no different for those who practice it than your
religion is to you.
Frank Stanford is a philosophy graduate student
V
To ScRoci.
0G.N/AS£
The Battalion
Editorial Board
Belinda Blancarte, Editor in chief
Mark Evans, Managing editor
Jay Robbins, Opinion editor
Jenny Magee, Assistant opinion editor
Editorials
the views of the edi?
necessarily reflect
Battalion staff members,
student body, regents, administra
or staff.
Columns, guest i
letters express the opinions of the authors.
Contart the
Second class majors
Liberal arts majors miss out on job search aid
Liberal Arts majors deserve more
job placement and interview
opportunities to help them secure
good jobs for their future careers.
Texas A&M has always been
considered superior in several areas
of academia including engineering
and animal sciences. Students
graduating in these areas usually end
up with high paying, satisfying jobs.
These students are usually helped
tremendously by the University to get
these positions.
However, it seems that those
students majoring in Liberal Ants are
often overlooked. They are not
provided the same opportunities as
engineering, medical, law or business
majors when it comes to assistance in
their job searches.
While Liberal Arts students are
provided with some interviewing,
career advising services, orientations
and workshops, they do not receive as
many on-campus interview sessions
and are not able to take advantage of
the point system offered to other
majors, including business and
engineering students.
The point system allots students
200 points which they can use to bid
for company interviews. Students
receive 100 points for signing up and
100 more for attending an orientation.
This bidding system gives students
an opportunity to learn about a wide
variety of companies. Liberal Arts
students should have a similar
system available for their use.
The College of Liberal Arts and the
Career Center are aware of the
problems facing Liberal Arts students
and are making efforts to provide
them with more opportunities.
However, simply trying will not result
in more or better jobs.
In addition, some majors,
particularly the college of engineering,
sponsor more career fairs and offer
interview pre-selection. Students send
resumes to the placement center and
companies review them and decide
what students they are interested in
interviewing with.
Texas A&M may not be known for
its Liberal Arts College, but that
doesn’t mean it’s all right for its
students to be ignored.
They work just as hard as students
in any other major, and their course
loads are just as demanding.
The bottom line is that more should
be offered to Liberal Arts students in
terms of aiding their job search.
They are some of the brightest,
most creative students at this
University who do not, by any means
deserve to be the underdog.
Authors use ‘intelligent’ study to reach dumb conclusion
W hites are smarter than blacks. It’s
empirically proven. That’s the argument
that Charles Murray and Richard
Hermstein offer in their new, controversial book
“The Bell Curve,” reviewed recently by Newsweek.
Murray and Hermstein argue that intelligence is
determined by genetics, not environment. They say
that intellectual inferiority alone leads to lower
social classes and social problems like crime,
poverty, welfare dependency and illegitimacy.
The crux of Murray and Hermstein’s theory is
that no amount of educational or social reform can
help lower-class people. They are destined to a life of
poverty and disadvantage due to a lower average IQ.
The “eugenics movement” of the 1920s and 30s
was a similar phenomenon, according to Newsweek.
Eugenicists favored selective breeding of desirable
population groups. The “superior” Aryan race
advocated by the Nazi party, and their persecution
of Jews, Catholics and Gypsies is a particularly
salient example of this eugenicism.
A related Newsweek article, seeking to test the
validity of Murray and Hermstein’s argument,
repeatedly mentioned Arthur Jensen. He was a
Berkeley psychologist who became famous after
publishing an article in 1969 that argued that poor
results of programs like Head Start were at least a
partial result of race-based differences in IQ.
What the article failed to tell readers was that
LYNN
BOOHER
Illlillliiiiii
Columnist
.mmmL.
Jensen recanted his
argument after
studying a group of
black children in
Savannah, Georgia.
When he noticed
that their IQs were
| steadily decreasing
with age, it
suddenly seemed that an environmental factor like
accumulated racism might be the cause instead.
Murray and Hermstein have no problem spewing
forth seemingly infinite social facts. It is true that
the mean, or average IQ for the black population is
15 points lower than the mean for the white
population. These statistics have been available for
some years and are mentioned several times in the
Newsweek articles.
What Murray and Hermstein fail to address is
the internal validity of their data. Internal
validity refers to whether it is possible to pin a
cause on one particular variable or whether
there might be possible alternative explanations.
They make a dangerous assumption in claiming
that lower IQ scores cause poverty, crime and
other social problems.
It is just as plausible to suggest that the social
problems cause lower IQs, via poorer living
conditions, inferior schools and educational
opportunities and daily stress resulting from living
in a dangerous, crime-ridden environment. It’s also
possible that prejudice against minorities has
created these problems while IQ is irrelevant.
It appears that another social psychology theory
is applicable here. It is something called “learned
helplessness,” meaning that when people are
convinced they can’t do something, either by a
failure or being told they’re not good enough, they
quit trying. It’s entirely possible that middle-class
white children are told by teachers, parents and
society that they will succeed in school. And it seems
obvious that expectations for lower-class minorities
aren’t nearly as high.
They make a dangerous assump
tion in claiming that lower IQ
scores cause poverty, crime and
other social problems.
Interestingly, the Hostos-Lincoln Academy of
Science, a high school in the South Bronx, has taken
groups of kids who were written off as future drop
outs and turned them into college candidates. It
seems awfully strange that their IQs would have
KSBRH
■mi
rvv-w^
Dinner turns sour with
Sbisa Yell on the menu
As I entered Sbisa dining hall on Fri
day, I was dismayed to find my ears as
saulted by obnoxious and badly sung
chants advocating hatred and violence.
Yes, it was Sbisa yell, just another one of
those annoying things that the bonfire
crew undertakes. Now, this exactly NOT
the kind of thing we want promoted at
our University. I go to Sbisa once a day
to relax, attempt to enjoy my food, and
think about my day. This is difficult
enough to do under the normal conditions
at the dining hall, but these activities be
come almost impossible to do when a
hundred or more smelly, vulgar and par
ticularly loud individuals who shout
about beating the hell outta this and
“fight, fight, fight” that. There should be
some sort of regulation against this activ
ity within the confines of our dining halls.
Shane Wells
Class of ’9 7
Unsubstantiated facts
dress up perceptions
We are writing in response to Aja
Henderson’s Oct. 19 column First, we
would like to congratulate Henderson
on a well-written and thoughtful arti
cle. However, we must take issue with
her statement of “the way things are.”
Henderson took great pains to explain
the difference between facts and per
ceptions. Unfortunately, she is appar
ently confused about these concepts
herself. We question the source of the
“statement of fact” that white women
have reaped the most benefits from af
firmative action. Without statistical
or other support, this “statement of
fact” sounds suspiciously like Hender
son’s perception of affirmative ac-
tion.We would appreciate it if Hender
son would reveal the source of her in
formation. If this is indeed a reality,
then by gosh, sign us up as three
increased by so much in just four years of schooling.
Their improvement points to an external cause for
higher intelligence test performance.
Murray and Hermstein’s propositions offer a
bleak future for us. They propose that many
minorities are destined to be intellectually and
socially inferior.
Their scientific efforts are likely flawed by a
poorly-hidden political agenda. The Newsweek
article states that a major theme of “The Bell Curve”
is an “attack on affirmative action.” Obviously, if one
were interested in ending this social reform, there
would be no better way to go about it than to suggest
that blacks are intellectually inferior to whites.
Frighteningly, Murray and Hermstein’s book
simultaneously confirms white supremacist’s
beliefs while providing another reason for blacks
to doubt their abilities.
Rather than determining that IQ score gaps are
inherent and unchangeable and that those who are
privileged are smarter, we should focus on changing
the environment of less-privileged people for the
better. Hostos in the South Bronx proved it can be
done. And whatever happens, let’s hope that this
one small step by Murray and Hermstein doesn’t
prove to be a giant leap backward for mankind.
» mm& mammmmmm mmmmmmm
Lynn Booher is a junior
English and psychology major
white women in need of a little affir
mative action.
Joan Baker
Graduate Student
Accompanied by 2 signatures
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