The poems here are being done for CAPE Literatures in English. I hope that the presentation helps all students who are striving for excellence as they pursue their studies. If you do not get the sound clips, they are: Earth Song by Michael Jackson You Don't Bring Me Flowers by Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond Redemption Song by Bob Marley

1. Created by:
Patricia L. Pitt
San Fernando East Secondary School,
Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies

2. Travellers’ Tales

3. Meditation on Yellow
Jennifer Rahim, lecturer in English in the
Department of Liberal Arts at the University of the
West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad has described
this poem as “a clever, satirical monologue that
traces the evolution of the capitalist ethos in the
region.”
She notes that “Senior evokes the color yellow as
symbol of a historical continuum of plunder,
enslavement, and servitude that marks the
Caribbean’s relations with the developed world,
beginning with the conquistadors’ misguided search
for gold, then the sugar of the colonial plantation
economy, and finally the trade in sunshine and sand
of the contemporary tourist industry.”

4. Meditation on Yellow-Part 1
Gabriel Garcia Marquez wrote a novel entitled
One Hundred Years of Solitude. He has stated
that his favourite shade is:
“The yellow of the Caribbean seen from
Jamaica at three in the afternoon…”
A dominant theme in his One Hundred Years
of Solitude is the inevitable and inescapable
repetition of history. The protagonists are
controlled by their pasts and the complexity of
time.
García Márquez also used colours as symbols
in this book. Yellow and gold were the most
frequently used colours and they were
symbols of imperialism and the Spanish
Siglo de Oro. Gold signified a search for
economic wealth, whereas yellow represented
death, change, and destruction.

5. Meditation on Yellow-Part 1
El Dorado is Spanish for "the
golden/gilded one"). Legend has it
that it was the name of a Muisca
tribal chief who covered himself
with gold dust and, as an initiation
rite, dived into a sacred highland
lake.
Later it became the name of a
legendary "Lost City of Gold" that
has fascinated – and so far eluded –
explorers since the days of the
Spanish Conquistadors. Though
many have searched for years on
end to find this city of gold, no
evidence of such a place has been
found.
El Dorado came to be used
metaphorically of any place where
wealth could be rapidly acquired.

6. Persona-An Arawak of Jamaica
“Had I known I would have
brewed you up some yellow fever-grass
and arsenic
but we were peaceful then
child-like in the yellow dawn of our innocence…”
Lemon/Fever Grass Fever grass tea
Yellow sulphide
of arsenic

7. “a string of islands and two continents”
for “a string of beads and some hawk’s bells…”
Usually the word string
would be followed by
pearls, something of value.
In this case however, the
Indians received worthless
glass beads and hawk’s
bells.

8. “(you were not the last to be fooled by our patina)”
In the Taino culture of the Antilles, a
guanín was a badge of tribal
leadership, worn by the Cacique
(chief).
It was a mixture of Gold and Bronze,
made from flakes of gold extracted
from rivers; these flakes were
pounded with rocks until they
melted together into a small disc
which the Cacique could wear
around his neck or some other part
of the body.
It attracted early European visitors.

9. “As for silver/I find that metal a bit cold”
To "bite the bullet" is to endure a
painful or otherwise unpleasant
situation that is seen as unavoidable.

10. Meditation on Yellow-Part 2
Persona –Hotel/Hospitality Worker
“served by me
skin burnt black as toast
(for which management apologizes)”
“At some hotel overlooking
the sea…”

11. “I’ve been slaving…”

12. “I’ve been slaving… for your”

13. “Just when I thought I could rest…”
Tourism-the new form of colonization and
exploitation…

14. “So I serving them…”

15. “But still they want more…”
Sex tourism
“want it strong
want it long
want it black
want it green
want it dread”

16. “You cannot stop those Streggehs”
-loud, promiscuous women in Jamaica Cassia
Allamanda
Poui
Golden
Shower

17. “You cannot reverse Bob Marley wailing…”

18. Bibliography for Med on Yellow
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Hundred_Years_of_Solitude
• http://www.themodernword.com/gabo/gabo_biography.html
• http://www.soumyabrata.com/en/el-dorado-the-myth/
• http://albertdegrasse.com/?p=145
• http://jamaicanrastafarianlove.com/white-women-dating-jamaican-rastafarian-men/

19. Caribbean Basin Initiative
The Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) is a broad program to promote
economic development through private sector initiative in Central
American and Caribbean countries.
A major goal of the CBI is to expand foreign and domestic investment in
nontraditional sectors, thereby diversifying CBI country economies and
expanding their exports. The Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act of
1983 (CBERA) (amended in 1990) and the Caribbean Basin Trade
Partnership Act of 2000 (CBTPA), collectively known as CBI, provides
customs duty-free entry to the United States on a permanent basis for a
broad range of products from CBI beneficiary countries.
Once a Free Trade agreement is established the CBI is no longer enforced.

20. The Title’s Significance
The title is a play on words; the “Caribbean Basin
Initiative” which was officially unveiled by United
States President Ronald Reagan in 1982 as a way of
stimulating the economy of the entire Caribbean,
especially through increased trade with the USA. The
CBI as it is referred to, has had little success. In the
poem this externally imposed solution is contrasted
with the initiative of individuals – in this case the
Haitian people who from time to time choose the
dangerous route of migration in small open boats.

21. Author of the opening quotation
Mary Henrietta Kingsley
(13 October 1862 – 3 June 1900)
was an English writer and
explorer who greatly
influenced European
ideas about Africa and
African people.

22. “Like limpets we cling…”

23. “My mother sought a sign/in the basin…”
This is a method of telling the future
(divination) by looking into a container of
water.

24. “Not all trunks will float…”
“so we were never sinking
as low as some
we never saw rise again
out of that water”

25. “We are bound for an island…”
Guantanamo Bay
“Nothing’s stronger
than this cage…”

26. “louvri baryè pou mwen”
This is a Haitian creole
invocation to the deity
Legba at the start of
ceremonies, meaning
“Open the gate for me”.
It comes from the French,
“ouvrez le barriere pour
moi.”

27. “They’re shipping me home…”

28. Bibliography for CBI
• http://www.olivesenior.com/pdfs/gardeningGlossary.pdf
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Kingsley
• http://www.ustr.gov/trade-topics/trade-development/preference-programs/caribbean-basin-initiat
• http://www.ezilikonnen.com/the_lwa/legba.html

29. Stowaway
A stowaway is literally a person who secretly
boards a vehicle, such as an aircraft, bus, ship,
cargo truck or train, to travel without paying
and without being detected.
In Senior’s poem, it is being used as a
metaphor/symbol for something in the
persona’s mind that could lead to depression
or a mental breakdown.

30. “Without soundings there’s no telling how
unfathomable the fall”
Echo sounding is the
technique of using sound
pulses directed from the
surface or from a submarine
vertically down to measure the
distance to the bottom by
means of sound waves. This
information is then typically
used for navigation purposes
or in order to obtain depths
for charting purposes.

31. “One day light will enter this
grave”
A grave can be defined
as a
receptacle/container for
that which is dead, lost
or past.
In the poem it
symbolizes the mind or
thoughts of the persona
which were interred in
the colonial past.

32. “A hairline fracture…”
“this fault/undeclared passage…”

33. “I’ll dangle on a single hope…”

34. “how attainable the littoral…”
The littoral zone is
that part of a sea,
lake or river that is
closest to the
shore.

35. The promised land?

36. Bibliography for Stowaway
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Littoral_Zones.jpg

37. Meditation on Red
The meditation is based on a visit the author
made to the grave of the Dominican-born
writer Jean Rhys (1890-1979), author of Wide
Sargasso Sea. among many other books. Rhys
spent her last years in the village of Cheriton
Fitzpaine, Devon, England, where she is
buried. Her address was No. 6 Land Boat
Bungalows. The poem addresses Miss Rhys
and includes the titles of many of her books.

38. Meditation on Red
Olive Senior’s poem, Meditation
on Red, reflects the ambivalence
felt by it’s speaker about white
creole author, Jean Rhys. That
she is a woman, the speaker
acknowledges and celebrates; so
too the fact that she (along with
her experiences) paved the way
for women writers from the
Caribbean (of all
creeds/ethnicities). However,
the speaker also makes it
obvious that, despite her
connections with Rhys, there are
also several points where they
disconnect, especially along
racial/historical lines.

39. Cheriton Fitzpaine
“You never saw the
rolling downs…”

40. Who was Jean Rhys?
Jean Rhys (24 August 1890 – 14 May
1979), born Ella Gwendolen Rees
Williams, was a mid 20th-century
novelist from Dominica. Educated from
the age of 16 in Great Britain, she is
best known for her novel Wide
Sargasso Sea (1966), written as a
"prequel" to Charlotte Brontë's Jane
Eyre.

41. Jean Rhys

42. Memories of Jean Rhys
She terrified the children of the village of
Cheriton Fitzpaine where she lived, said
Stephenson, the wicked witch in the woods,
just as she herself had been terrified as a child
by the voodoo magic of Dominica.

43. “you were rudderless”
The mechanism that allows a
boat/ship to be steered.
Metaphorically used here to
indicate the lack of direction that
was evident in the life of Ms. Rhys.

44. “waiting for an explosion
(like that which long ago came from the attic)”
This is a literary allusion to the character Bertha Mason from the
novel Jane Eyre written by Charlotte Bronte
Bertha was Rochester’s clandestine wife. She was a formerly beautiful
and wealthy Creole woman who became insane, violent, and bestial.
She lived locked in a secret room on the third story of Thornfield and
was guarded by Grace Poole, whose occasional bouts of inebriation
sometimes enabled Bertha to escape. Bertha eventually burnt down
Thornfield, plunging to her death in the flames.

45. Red-letter Days
• A red letter day (sometimes hyphenated as red-letter day or called
scarlet day in academia) is any day of special significance
• "When slightly tight," Rhys wrote later in her life, "I can relax-also there
are red letter days when I feel that after all I'm as much fun as the next
woman really. However this doesn't happen often."

46. Contrasting landscapes and images
snowdrops, daffodils, narcissus: English spring flowers.
flame of the forest, hibiscus, heliconia, poinsettia,
firecracker– also called Fountain Bush and Coral Bush,
bougainvillea: all tropical flowers with red blooms.

47. Jean Rhys’ Book Titles found in
Meditation on Red
• Voyage in the Dark, 1935
• Wide Sargasso Sea, 1966
• Sleep it off Lady, 1976
• Good Morning Midnight, 1939
• Smile Please-An unfinished autobiography, 1979

48. Mary Stephenson
Mary Stephenson worked for the novelist
Jean Rhys in the final months of her life
before her death in 1979. During a BBC
tribute, Mary remembered the time she
spent with the author as she took
dictation of her autobiography.
At the time she answered Jean's
advertisement for a typist, Mary was in
her early 30s and she found the 87-year-
old Rhys to be, by turns, charming,
infuriating and embittered; sometimes
her memories would light her up,
sometimes they would fire her anger.
Now a writer herself, Mary's recollections
drew on extracts from the book she
typed - Jean's autobiography “Smile
Please.”

49. Bibliography for Med on Red
• http://uppersix.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/happy-twogether-meditating-on-both-yellow-red/
• http://www.qub.ac.uk/imperial/carib/rhysbio.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Rhys
• http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/jean-rhys-prostitution-alcoholis
• http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/janeeyre/characters.html
• http://www.lennoxhonychurch.com/jeanrhysbio.cfm
• http://www.answers.com/topic/jean-rhys
• http://www.spectator.co.uk/arts-and-culture/featured/3614488/part_2/turn-of-phrase.thtml
• http://www.applesandsnakes.org/page/84/Mary+Stephenson/325

50. All Clear, 1928
The poem deals
with the large
scale emigration of
West Indian males
to work on the
Panama Canal and
elsewhere in Latin
America in the
19th century to
early 20th century
and the women
they left behind.

51. “All-Clear”
• An all-clear is a term used by civil defense or
military authorities to inform others that an
imminent physical danger has passed. This
typically will end an alert or warning status
that was previously issued.
• permission to proceed because obstacles have
been removed.
• In the poem it is a metaphor-clear
complexion, clear conscience, free to move on

52. “Beating chaklata”
parched cocoa pods are pounded in a mortar as part of the
process of making chocolate for tea

53. “Same way in my sampata…”
sandals made of old car tyres; any old shoe –
also sampat, zapat. From Spanish “zapata”.

54. Heng-pon-me
knapsack made of thatch used by farmers and
travellers.

55. Johnny cakes, dokunu, cerasee
fried dumpling
pudding wrapped in banana leaf and boiled
tea made from a bitter plant – all foods
carried by poor travellers in the days before
“fast foods”.

56. The SS Atrato
SS Atrato was a 3,184 tons
iron built paddle steamer built
by Messrs Caird & Co of
Greenock, in 1853 for the
Royal Mail Steam Packet
Company. She ran on the
South American service for 17
years. She was sold to John
Morrison & Co London and in
1870 converted into a single-
screw vessel with compound
engines and three double-
ended boilers. She has been
listed as the largest passenger
ship from 1853 to 1858.

57. Guinea
British gold coin that was formerly used in the British
West Indies; then worth twenty-one shillings.

58. Bibliography for All Clear, 1928
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal
• http://www.eclipse.co.uk/~sl5763/panama.htm
• http://www.canalmuseum.com/photos/panamacanalphoto050.htm

59. Nature Studies

60. Guava/2
Scientists believe the
guava was first
cultivated in the
mountains of Peru
thousands of years
ago, but man and
birds have spread the
seeds throughout all
the tropics and the
Caribbean. The
European voyagers
carried the guava
from the West Indies
to the East Indies,
Asia, Africa and Egypt.

61. Maud made guava…
paste
jelly
drink
cheese

62. Taino Beliefs
The Taino believe everything in the universe is interconnected and spiritually alive.
They view the Earth as a flat disk suspended between the cosmos above and the
watery underworld below. The realms are connected by a supernatural shaft rising
from the bottom of the underworld, passing through a hole in the center of the
Earth and extending upward to the heavens.
The souls of the dead live in the otherworld. They are ruled by the Zemi
Maquetaurie Guayaba, Lord of the Land of the Dead. The Zemis of the underworld
are often made in the form of night flying creatures, such as bats or owls. (The
second Zemi, found at the Cinnamon Bay site, bears the image of a bat.) These
creatures are regarded as the messengers of the Dead.
In the book, Memory of Fire: Genesis, Eduardo Galeano writes:
"He who made the sun and the moon warned the Tainos to watch out for the
dead.
“In the daytime the dead hid themselves and ate guavas, but at night they went
out for a stroll and challenged the living. Dead men offered duels and dead
women, love. In the duels they vanished at will; and at the climax of love the lover
found himself with nothing in his arms. Before accepting a duel with a man or lying
down with a woman, one should feel the belly with one's hand, because the dead
have no navels."

63. Taino zemi-Maquetaurie Guayaba-
Lord of the Land of the Dead

64. Bibliography for Guava/2
• http://www.stjohnbeachguide.com/Taino%20Zemis.htm
• http://www.kislakfoundation.org/prize/200103.html
• http://www.seestjohn.com/history_taino_zemis.html
• http://www.tainogallery.com/gallery/jewelry/pendants/clay/
• http://www.trinidadexpress.com/featured-news/Guava_season-129171433.html

65. Anatto and Guinep
Anatto is a small
tree whose seeds
are used as food
colouring. Known as
bija or bixa, anatto
was one of the
sacred plants of the
Taíno who used it as
red body paint. It is
also known as
roucou.

66. Anatto and Guinep
Guinep is a Tropical fruit tree
(Melicoccus bijugatus) that bears
small green-skinned fruit in clusters
like grapes. A sacred plant of the
Taíno who called it Jagua and used it
for black body paint. Also known as
Akee in Barbados and Genip, Canep,
Chenip, Chennett and other variants
elsewhere.

67. The Traditional Uses
Anatto paste
Body stained with guinep

68. The poem ends with reference to a Sun
Sun and Moon Legend
and Moon legend. In this one, Brother
Moon tries to commit incest with his
sister Sun but she leaves a black mark
on the face of her attacker which later
identifies him. This is why Sun and
Moon are forever chasing each other
across the sky.

69. Pawpaw
This is a Tropical fruit
tree (Carica papaya)
the fruit and leaves of
which have
tenderising
properties. The poem
describes some of the
folkloric beliefs
associated with the
plant.

70. Pawpaw as a tenderizer
The most common meat
tenderizer used in India is raw
(un-ripened) papaya.
The leaves, and green skin of
raw papaya contain an
enzyme called Papain. The
connective tissue in the meat
breaks down when it comes in
contact with Papain. Papaya is
the preferred tenderizer for
red meat (Lamb, Mutton,
Goat, Beef).

71. Benefits of Pawpaw
Paw paw slices or its juices and whole food supplements (containing paw paw) are promoted as weight
loss aids, digestive aids, and natural pain relievers, as well as for other health benefits.
The paw paw is a nutrient dense food, meaning the nutrient values are very high for such a low calorie
food. Like many fruits, it is fat-free, cholesterol free, very low in sodium and high in the vitamins C, A, E,
and K.
High vitamin C content is one of the paw paw’s nutrient details that we know. One piece of fruit contains a
full day’s supply of vitamin C. It is a powerful antioxidant and must be obtained from food because the
human body cannot create its own vitamin C. Vitamin E is another well known antioxidant found in the
paw paw, well known for skin health and as a blood thinner.
Beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A, is another nutrient provided by the paw paw. The
compounds that give fruits and vegetables their different colours nourish the human body. One serving of
paw paw provides over 30 percent of the recommended daily allowance for vitamin A.
The medicinal values of the paw paw date back for many centuries. This fruit contains a natural pain
reliever. Paw paw paste was used traditionally for the relief of burns, cuts, rashes and stings. A compound
known as papa derived from the paw paw fruit has long been used as a natural meat tenderiser. It is
believed that this enzyme may help the body digest meats and amino acids more efficiently.
On the whole paw paw is an excellent source of dietary fibre which is also necessary for digestive health.
Paw paw pills are promoted for use as natural antacids, for ulcer relief and to relieve constipation.

72. Bibliography for Pawpaw
• http://www.newsday.co.tt/features/0,86008.html

73. Gardening in the Tropics

74. The Knot Garden
• Though the references are Jamaican, the
poem is speaking of political interference
and corruption anywhere.
• A Knot Garden is a formal garden of
intricate design; notice the play on
words.

75. The Knot Garden
This is a metaphor for the government trying to keep the
blacks and other races segregated because that's the easiest
and most subtle way to "defeat" us; to divide and conquer.
The poem speaks about the breaking of the knot garden
eventually since blacks are now living in upscale communities
with the whites, so there's not much they can do to stop it
now.

76. Wis
Any tough climbing vine used for tying, basket-making, etc. Also wist
(from English withe)

77. IMF Meeting
This is a reference to the
International Monetary
Fund; an international
financial institution from
which member states of the
United Nations can
withdraw funds to tide
them over hard times
(balance of payments
deficits). The draconian
conditions attached to
these loans have made
“IMF” a negative expression
in many countries.

78. “Our leader ordered…”
Hacking out paths and ditches
The intention
was to keep the
society divided
Cutting of swaths along racial,
political and
class lines.

79. “our leader finds instead…”
Higglers and drug barons – higglers
are market traders; the more
successful ones are able to move
upward in society, along with those
people who make a fortune from
the drug trade. ‘daughters of gentry’ Christopher “Dudus” Coke
– middle class girls. This is referring
to the interplay of classes as
perceived in Jamaica, referred to as
“uptown” and “downtown”. “Ghetto
boys with gold teeth” refers to poor
boys who have become successful
reggae and dancehall artists, and
who used to acquire gold teeth as a
sign of their new status. “Hits” is
Vybz Kartel
playing on both hit songs and
contract killings.

80. “In the old days, he’d
have ordered some hits himself…”
Violence has characterized Jamaican politics since the slavery era and has surfaced
at times of protest or repression. Almost every general or municipal election since
independence has been preceded and followed by gang warfare, street outbreaks,
and occasional assassinations.
Violence in Jamaican politics

81. Tax Havens
Cayman Islands,
Liechtenstein, Geneva:
all countries that are
secretive about
banking so are used to
hide illegal money.

82. Bibliography for The Knot Garden
• http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-3195.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knot_garden
• http://www.kanyetothe.com/forum/index.php?topic=137878.0
• http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/kanyewest/murdertoexcellence.html
• http://www.meppublishers.com/online/caribbeanbeat/archive/index.php?
pid=6001&id=cb80-1-44
• http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/19991214/f1.html

83. The Tree of Life
The poem is based on a Carib legend
which relates how all the world’s food
plants came into being. The Carib (along
with the Taíno) are the native peoples
of the Caribbean encountered by
Columbus. Today, Caribs are to be
found in parts of northern South
America, including Guyana and on the
island of St Vincent. This poem (as well
as Advice and Devices) also refers to the
preference of Caribbean “small farmers”
to plant a wide variety of food crops in
their plots (mixed farming), as opposed
to commercial agriculture that is based
on a single crop.

84. Motif and Metaphor
A tree of life is variously: a motif in various
world theologies, mythologies, and
philosophies; a mystical concept alluding to
the interconnectedness of all life on our
planet; and a metaphor for common descent
in the evolutionary sense.

85. The Flood
The Hebrew Bible and many other ancient histories
and mythologies record the occurrence of such a
catastrophe.

86. Bibliography for The Tree of Life
• http://firstlegend.info/thetreeoflife.html

87. SEEING THE LIGHT
The speaker is a native American.

88. “letting in light…”

89. “in their chronicles they might have recorded it by
another name…”
‘conquista, evangelismo, civilizacion’: to conquer, christianize, civilize –
refers to the intention of the European conquerors towards the native
peoples, often with negative results.

90. In 1838 and 1839, as part of Andrew Jackson's Indian removal policy, the Cherokee nation was forced to
give up its lands east of the Mississippi River and to migrate to an area in present-day Oklahoma. The
Cherokee people called this journey the "Trail of Tears," because of its devastating effects. The migrants
faced hunger, disease, and exhaustion on the forced march. Over 4,000 out of 15,000 of the Cherokees
died.

91. “We cleared just enough for our huts and our pathways, opened a pinpoint
in the canopy to let the sun through”

92. “Always gave back (to Earth) our thanks…never failed
to salute the gods ….”
Rain dance
Sun dance
Wind dance
Moon dance
“tobacco smoke for the spirits…”

93. Yuca and Maize
yuca: (manihot esculenta) – a root crop
that is one of the principal foods of natives
peoples of the Caribbean and Latin
America, including the Taíno. Known as
Cassava or Manioc in the English-speaking
islands.
Maize is commonly known as corn in
some countries. The growing of corn
first began in Mesoamerica and has
since spread throughout the American
continents. Today maize is the largest
crop in the Americas.

94. Pleiades
These are a group of stars, also called the “Seven Sisters” – that are very important
in ordering the yearly routine of Amerindian life.

95. “You told us your one God had the power…but we’ve waited in
vain…”

96. “many leaves must fall to cover up our dying”
ALL in life is only "temporary”...and it's a constant cycle of "Life & Death“
The falling leaves symbolize change/transformation .

97. Bibliography for Seeing the Light
• http://amin210.wikispaces.com/The+Sun+Dance
• http://www.native-americans-online.com/native-american-sun-dance.html
• http://www.naic.edu/~gibson/pleiades/
• http://saddleup4good.org/trail_of_tears
• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h1567.html

98. TROPIC LOVE
‘You don’t bring me flowers
anymore’ is playing on the
title of a once popular love
song (the most popular
version is by Barbra
Streisand and Neil Diamond
who is one of the
composers).

99. Mystery

100. What is mystery?
Mystery is a characteristic of Spirit present
within the soul of all people and all things.
Mystery does not need to be solved. It is not a
problem, therefore it has no solution. Mystery
is to be appreciated for its ability to inspire
awe and enable you to transcend limitations.
What are some mysteries of life that you
relate to?

101. Marassa: Divine Twins
Divine twins in Haiti – identical and mirror
images of each other. Among the Yoruba, the
twins are called Ibeji; in Cuba Ibbeyi.

102. Gemini
The Gemini motif is essentially a
symbol of opposites, inversions and
alternating contradictions between life
and death and positives and negatives

103. • The Marassa are the sacred twins of Vodou. In the
concept of One plus One equals Three, the Marassa
represent the result of a union of higher forces, bringing
into reality a third potentiality. They are often called
Marassa Dosu Dosa - a reflection of the two is three
idea.
• The Marassa represent abundance, blessings, the gift of
children, the sacredness of family and the mysteries of
the divine. The Marassa also represent special births,
such as three children, or children born with a cawl on
their face. The sacred Twins are invoked at the
beginning of every service along with Papa Legba, for
without the Marassa, nothing can come into existence .
Their combined magic produces the abundance of the
world (that one and one equally three again).
Faith, Hope & Charity
• Like all sacred Twins, they are identical, yet sexless -
they are the potential, therefore, they contain
everything - male and female, light and dark, positive
and negative.

104. Bibliography
• http://www.sosyetedumarche.com/html/marasa.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemini_(astrology)

105. Ogun: God of Iron
Warrior God of iron and of war - he controls
much of the material in the earth and
represents primitive force and energy. Oggún
in Cuba, and Ogun Ferraille in Haiti („ferraille ‟
means „iron‟). The worship of Ogun may be
traced back to Iron Age civilizations in Nigeria
and adjacent countries.

106. Ogun: God of Iron
• Ogoun is the traditional warrior, similar to the spirit of Ares
in Greek mythology. As such, Ogoun is mighty, powerful,
and triumphal; yet, also exhibits the rage and
destructiveness of the warrior whose strength and violence
can turn against the community he serves.
• Ogun gives strength through prophecy and magic. It is
Ogoun who is said to have planted the idea, led and given
power to the slaves for the Haitian Revolution of 1804. He is
called now to help people obtain a government more
responsible to their needs.
• In Yoruba mythology, Ogun (same as Ogoun) is a son of
Yemaja (Yemaya) and Orungan. In Santería and Palo
Mayombe, he is identified with Saint Peter. In all his
incarnations Ogoun is a fiery and martial spirit. He can be
very aggressively masculine, but can rule the head of
female, or effeminate male initiates to whom he takes a
liking. He is also linked with blood, and is for this reason
often called upon to heal diseases of the blood. In addition,
he is often called upon to bring work to the unemployed.

107. Ogun is metal. When you hold a horseshoe, an iron
skillet or a computer in your hand, you are holding
Ogun. He is Master of Technology, and He knows the
mysteries of all technology, from the most simple to the
most modern.
Ogun is the defender of the village, but He also can be
the aggressive warrior. He is ambivalent that way.
Ogun is the knife that kills but also the scalpel that
heals. He is an amazing transformer: He
understands the mysteries of transmuting raw ore
into useful metal, and from that understanding, he
learned the mysteries of all transformation.
Ogun is a workaholic. He loves His Forge and sticks by
it. He is anti-social and Ogun loves dogs. He is a
passionate hunter, another reason for Him to stay in
the forest.
Do not invoke Ogun if you are bleeding, lest He take an
unfortunate liking to your blood flow. Ogun is invoked to
heal diseases of the blood, and protection during
surgery. Ogun will also protect you from crime and
criminals. He can also find jobs for His devotees.

108. Edwards, Melvin (1937- ) - 1983 Gate of Ogun
Ogun is the deity of iron and war found among the
Yoruba people of West Africa. Ogun lives in the flames
of the blacksmith's forge, on the battlefield, and in the
cutting edge of iron. The gate is "a symbol of transition
representing the Middle Passage and spiritual
transformation".

109. Bibliography
• http://www.sodahead.com/fun/pagan-is-us/group-22609/gods/forum-54421/ogun-the-west-african-god-
of-iron-and-metal/discussion 681181/?
link=ibaf&q=ogun+god+of+iron&imgurl=http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs22/i/2008/025/a/e/Ogun_by_kaltblu
t.jpg

110. Babalu: Lord of the Earth
He is associated with diseases
connected with the earth such
as smallpox and is seen as
representing punishment for the
excesses of mankind. Portrayed
as an old man robed in a scarlet
gown. Also regarded as the
doctor of the poor. He is
symbolised by small gourds,
peanuts, sesame seeds, and
grains which suggest the
pustules of smallpox.
Babalu represents the idea that
life, even at it's worst, is worth
the struggle to survive.

111. What is a vever?
• A symbolic design, formed on the ground (in the peristyle) by sprinkling
wheatmeal, cornmeal, or some other appropriate powder from the hand, at or
before the beginning of a ceremony.
• Such a design represents a Loa to be invoked, and serves both as a focal point for
invocation and a kind of altar for offerings. Several vevers of different Loa may be
drawn for one ceremony.
• The designs incorporate well-recognized traditional elements, but reflect also the
individual intentions and creative skill of the Houngan or Mambo.

112. Examples of Vevers

113. Bibliography
• http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/veve
• http://www.voodooshop.com/voodoo/vever.html
• http://www.cultural-expressions.com/ifa/orisha/babalu.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babalu_Aye