by Wade Davis
Kaempfer, Engelbert, 120
Karnice-Karnicki, Count, 131–32, 134, 135
Kline, Nathan S., 22, 23–32, 34–35, 39, 40, 44, 58, 60, 99, 101, 107, 109–12, 117, 126, 129, 148, 157, 179, 180, 188, 216, 217
Knab, Timothy, 115
knucklebones, 136
LaBonté, 149, 151, 152, 168, 169, 186
Laguerre, Michel, 211–13, 215, 250
lakous, 72, 139, 234
land disputes, 28, 158, 253–54
Leclerc, Charles, 66, 68, 205, 206
Legba, 172, 176, 179, 228
Lehman, Heinz, 23–32, 34–35, 39, 117, 129, 180, 216
Leidenfrost point, 51
lemons, 162
Leophin, Jean-Jacques, 250–55, 256, 259, 264
lepers, 160
Levé, 164
Liberia, 70
Limbé, Haiti, 189, 190, 202
limes, 101
Linnaeus, Carolus, 37
“living dead,” zombis as, 26–27, 29, 58–59, 131–42
lizards, 95, 108, 116
loas:
as expressions of God, 171–72
possession by, 47, 48, 50, 56, 98, 152, 169, 171–72, 177–79, 180–181, 182, 183, 201–2, 265, 266
worship of, 180–81
see also individual loas
Loco, 172
Lonchocarpus capassa, 40
London Echo, 132
Louisiana Purchase, 65
loup garou (werewolf), 79, 224
LSD, 59
Luisena Indians, 39
Lytton, Edward, 133
Macandal, François, 189–90, 196–200, 201, 247
Macaya, 201
McGill University, 58, 59, 61
madoulè, 262
maikua, 39
Makala nations, 251
maman, 48
maman guêpes, 163
mambos, 47, 48, 49, 50, 147, 148–49, 176
Mandelslo, Johann Albert de, 38
Mandingue tribe, 196
mandrakes, 38
marcehaussée, 193
Marie, 92
Maroons:
as forerunners of secret societies, 190–206, 212, 213, 250
poison used by, 196–201
Martineau, Harriet, 133
Mary, Virgin, 170–71
mashasha, 163
Mass of the Invalides, 160
Matilde, 92, 93
Mayan iconography, 114
Maze, Dr., 133
medicine:
Chinese, 113–14, 118–19
Egyptian, 118
herbal, 17, 21, 127
tribal, 35–37
Vedic, 22
see also drugs
medicine men, 136
Medor, 201
mental illness, drug treatment for, 22, 59, 63
Merrick, David, 216, 217
metabolic rate, lowering of, 29, 108, 116, 129, 140, 187
Métraux, Alfred, 214
millipeds, 162
mind/body interaction, 179
Mucuna, 95
mulattos, 71, 156, 203–4, 206
Murray, Gerry, 234
muscle relaxants, 21, 113
Museum of Comparative Zoology (Harvard), 108
mushrooms, hallucinogenic, 130
n’âme, 181, 186
nangarri, 136
Napoléon, 166–67
Napoleon Bonaparte, 65–66, 67, 205
Napoleonic code, 28, 71
Narcisse, Angelina, 28, 82–83, 85
Narcisse, Clairvius:
“death” of, 27–28, 30, 60, 121, 139–42
death certificate of, 26
grave of, 81
illness of, 44, 57, 60–61, 108, 111, 121–22, 126, 140
interviews with, 62, 80
medical dossier of, 60–61
physical appearance of, 62
psychological state of, 130, 137–42
“resurrection” of, 39, 99, 121
tribunal for, 81, 82, 83, 85, 253
unpopularity of, 188, 253–54
as zombi, 26–27, 28–29, 33, 73, 79–85, 157–58, 213, 223, 254
Narcisse, Magrim, 82
Narcisse, Marie Claire, 28, 29
NASA, 31
nausea, 108, 122, 123, 165
NDE (near-death experience), 140–42
Nég Guinée, 244
neurotoxins, 117, 118
New York State Psychiatric Institute, 126–27
ngmoo, 165
Nicephorus Glycas, 132
nicotine, 166
Obin, 150, 152, 154, 155, 168, 186
obong, 41, 42
O’Connell, Daniel, 133
Ogoun, 160–61, 172, 201–2, 241, 266
Old Calabar, 111
“Order and Respect of the Night,” 227, 228, 236
Oris, 76–77, 78, 79
ouabain, 113
oxygen deprivation, 29
Padrejean, 200
Pan-American Highway, 19, 20–21
paralysis, 117, 118, 122, 123, 165
paresthesia, 108, 116
“participant observation,” 208
passports, 210, 211
passwords, 194–96, 209, 211
peasantry, 68–70
Pedro, 247
Pentsao Chin, 118
Pentsao Kang Mu, 113, 118–19
Petit Albert, Le, 251
Petrarch, 25
Petro, 49
physostigmine, 40, 42, 110
phytochemical plants, 87–88
Pierre, Marcel, 145–48, 162, 163, 217, 218, 238, 240–41, 250
zombi poison prepared by, 44, 52, 53–56, 60, 87–101, 112
pierre tonnerre, 94, 147
Plaine du Nord, Haiti, 266–67
plantations, 67, 68, 69, 190, 201, 205
Pliny the Elder, 25
“pointing of the bone,” 137, 168
pois gratter, 95, 110, 163
poison, see zombi poison
poison ivy, 163
poison ordeal, 195–96
polychaete worms, 95, 112, 116
pomme cajou, 163
Poro society, 195
Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 45
Postilion, 119, 125
poteau mitan, 47, 49, 180, 220, 226, 229, 230, 245, 248
potions, magic, 55, 83–84
Price-Mars, Jean, 178
Prix Dusgate, 133
prostitution, 38, 98–99
“psychic driving” experiments, 59
psychopharmacology, 22
psychotic delirium, 166
puffer fish, 95, 116–26, 130, 163–64, 167
pulmonary edema, 60–61, 108, 111, 116, 122, 123
putrefaction, 133
pwin, 260
“queens,” 155, 236
Rada, 49
rage, sham, 116
Raiders of the Lost Ark, 224
Rainbow (Ayida Wedo), 176–77
Rara, 102–3, 258
rat experiments, 128
reine dirageur, 236
René, 76–77
research, on secret societies, 206–15
reserpine, 22
respiration, absence of, 25–26, 134
respiratory problems, 56, 60–61, 108, 111, 116, 121, 122, 123, 125
Retiré Bon Ange, 164
rhesus monkeys, experiments with, 30, 128
rigor mortis, 134
Rochambeau, 66
Roizin, Leon, 126–29
Romaine La Prophétesse, 201, 202, 247
sabbat, 38
Saint Anne, festival of, 159–61, 162
St. Constantine, 51
Saint Domingue, see Haiti, French colonization of
St. John, Spenser, 208
Saint-Mery, Moreau de, 196
Saint Michel de l’Attalaye Hospital, 27–28, 80
Salisbury, Richard, 161
San Poel, 211
San Salvador, 44–45
São Paulo, Brazil, 51
Saponins, 111
sashimi, 120
&
nbsp; Saut d’Eau, Haiti, 170–71, 180, 266
Savanne Carée, 79
schizophrenia, 59, 61, 135
Schultes, Richard Evans, 16–17, 21–22, 24, 38, 40, 109, 110, 115, 117, 129
Schwartz, Reverend, 132
Albert Schweitzer Hospital, 28, 60, 140
scopolamine, 166
séances, 230, 254, 263
sea toad, 84, 95, 112–16, 117, 162, 163, 164, 167
sea worms, 95, 108
seconde, 48
secret societies:
beliefs of, 240–63
ceremonies of, 216–39, 242–50
examples of, 206–7
function of, 41–43, 85, 101–4, 147, 211–12, 213
geographic location of, 169
initiation to, 194, 240–63
as malevolent organizations, 208–211, 220–21, 223, 235
Maroons as forerunners of, 190–206, 212, 213, 250
as “masters of the land,” 213, 223
officers of, 229, 231
origins of, 190–206
paramilitary, 101–4
political influence of, 101–4, 206, 233–39, 254–57
role of women in, 155, 226, 228, 236
secrecy of, 247, 248–49, 264–66
“selling someone to,” 223, 237–39, 252–53
songs of, 222, 229, 230–32, 249
studies of, 206–15
in West Africa, 41–43, 195–96, 207, 212, 213, 223
zombi poison used by, 154, 188, 195–96, 213, 214, 215, 223
sections rurales, 233–35
Sect Rouge, 210
sekey madoulè, 211
Senegalese, 40–41
sentinelle, 236, 245
Serpent (Damballah), 177, 183, 266
shamans, 178–79
Shango, 94
Shanpwel, see secret societies
sharecroppers, 67
sharo contest, 40
Sheffield case, 25
shellfish poisoning, 165
shock, 137
Shuar Indians, 39
Shun Nung, 118
Sierra Leone, 40, 41
Simbi, 152
Simon, Hélène, 78, 156, 218–19
Simon, Herard, 155, 157–59, 162, 164, 165, 167–69, 180, 185, 215, 218–21, 224–28, 237, 253, 257, 264–65
sisal whips, 74, 244–45
Slave Coast, 41
slaves:
abuse of, 190–91
emancipation of, 204–5, 210
freed, 196, 206, 212
revolts of, 40–43, 65–67, 69–70, 189–206, 247–48, 250
runaway, 190
trade of, 196
zombis as, 28, 62, 80, 139
snakeroot, 22
snakes, 162
Snow, Sebastian, 17–20
Sobo, 94, 228
songs, of secret societies, 222, 229, 230–32, 249
sorcerers, 139, 185, 187, 195, 196, 251
spells, magic, 100, 137, 138, 139
Sphoeroides lobatus, 125
spirits, see loas
“star of destiny,” 181
Strophantus kombe, 113
Sui Dynasty, 118
suspended animation, 26, 134
sympathetic adrenal system, 137
taboos, social, 136–38
talc, colored, 152
tali, 196
Tani, I., 125
tarantulas, 162, 163
tcha-tcha, 95, 111, 163, 164
Tell My Horse (Hurston), 214
tetrodotoxin, 117, 118, 122–26, 130, 140, 164, 165–66, 167, 187
thunderstone, 94, 147
ti bon ange, 181–83, 184, 185–86, 187, 223, 237
Ti Femme:
“death” of, 77
personality of, 76, 78, 79, 156, 188
as zombi, 27, 61, 62–63, 73, 75–79, 84, 213
ti guinin, 72
tingling sensations, 165
toads, 59, 84, 95, 108, 112–16 see also sea toad
toadstools, 112
Togo, 40
Tombé Levé, 164
tonnelle, 225–26
Ton Ton Macoute, 87, 157, 255–56, 257
Toussaint L’Ouverture, 67–68, 75, 204, 205, 206
Townsend, Colonel, 134
toxins, 112–16
trance, 134, 135
tranquilizers, 22, 129
trauma, 137
tree datura, 57
tree frogs, 163, 167
“tree of the evil eagle,” 37
tremblador, 163
truth serums, 111
Tsimshian Indians, 88
tuberculosis, 149
Tué, 164
uremia, 61, 108, 122
Vedic medicine, 22
venom, 113–14
vermifuge, 111
vévé, 47
Ville Bonheur, Haiti, 170–71, 176
Vinbrindingue, 210, 211
vision quest, 97–98
vision vine, 17
vodoun:
as basis of Haitian society, 12, 72–73, 110, 183–84, 212
Catholicism vs., 72–73, 85, 170–171, 205, 256
ceremonies of, 47–51, 182, 201, 228–29
chants of, 151, 152
as cult, 26, 72
as democratic faith, 73
initiation to, 98
orthography of, 11–12
pantheon of, 48
pilgrimage sites of, 170–71, 180, 266
psychological interpretation of, 177–80
scientific thinking vs., 173–75
sensationalist accounts of, 208–9
as system of belief, 170–88
“voodoo” vs., 11–12
see also secret societies
Volunteers for the National Security (VNS), 87, 157, 255–56, 257
“voodoo death,” 136–42, 168, 180
Wasp’s Gate, 54
weight loss, 61, 108, 122
Weil, Andrew, 88–89
Wété Mo Nan Dlo, 182
whips, sisal, 74, 244–45
white frog, 153
witch doctors, 40, 136
witches, 38
wysoccan, 39
Yaqui Indians, 38, 88–89
yellow fever, 66
Zangbeto, 206
z’étoile, 186
Zobop, 211
zombi astral, 159, 167, 186
zombi cadavre, 168–69, 186, 187
zombification:
as criminal activity, 60, 62, 187–188, 212–13
fugu poisoning vs., 120–24, 125, 126
method of, 15–104, 211
as passage rite, 39
as social process, 61–62, 212–13
symptoms of, 62, 63, 110–11, 121–24
tetrodotoxication vs., 117, 118, 122–26, 130, 140, 164, 165–66, 167, 187
zombi poison:
antidote for, 32, 40, 99–101, 129–130, 148, 154, 162, 164–65
application of, 35, 59–60, 83, 84, 126, 148, 153–54, 167, 180, 187, 232, 237–39
“carbonization” by, 154
datura as, 35–43
dosages of, 125
effect of, 146–47
existence of, 58, 80, 82–83, 84, 265
“explosive,” 164, 168
fake, 54–56, 64, 87–88, 90–91, 155
as illegal, 60
ingredients for, 31, 46–47, 59, 61, 108, 129, 162–67
magical act vs., 80, 84, 101, 148, 154, 167–68, 169
medical applications of, 30
Pierre’s formula for, 44, 52, 53–56, 60, 87–101, 112
preparation of, 32, 87–88, 91–96, 124–26, 152–55, 162–63
samples of, 32, 44, 52, 158–59
as topically active, 126, 163
“traps” for, 83, 148, 153–54, 167, 232, 237–39
types of, 164, 166–67
as used by secret societies, 154, 188, 195–96, 213, 214, 215, 223
zombis:
“baptism” of, 187
existence of,
26–29, 32, 43, 55, 129, 213–14
judgment of, 147–48, 188, 213, 223, 252–53
as “living dead,” 26–27, 29, 58–59, 131–42
masters of, 28, 80
medical verification of, 27–28
press reports about, 27, 28–29, 30, 31, 44, 52, 60, 87, 97, 101, 217
psychiatric view of, 61–62
“resurrection” of, 39, 99, 121, 142, 168, 179–80, 185–87, 216–17, 265
return to homes by, 27
as slaves, 28, 62, 80, 139
as social outcasts, 29, 46, 76, 78, 79, 156, 188, 253–54
symptoms displayed by, 44, 57, 60–61, 108, 111, 121–22, 126, 140
types of, 159, 167, 168–69, 186–87
will absent from, 84, 139
see also Narcisse, Clairvius; Ti Femme
zombi’s cucumber, 35–43, 56, 57, 59–60, 61, 104, 112, 164–65
Zuni Indians, 39
About the Author
Wade Davis holds degrees from Harvard University in Anthropology and Biology, and recently received his Ph.D. in Ethnobotany. Mostly through the Harvard Botanical Museum, he has worked in the field as a plant explorer, ethnobotanist, and photographer, investigating fifteen tribal groups in eight Latin American nations, before undertaking the assignment to Haiti that led to his writing The Serpent and the Rainbow. A native of British Columbia, Mr. Davis has worked as a logger, surveyor, hunting guide, and park ranger. He has published numerous scientific papers and lectured extensively.
