"HAITI" par Bruce GILDEN. Editions Dewi Lewis Publishing. 1996. Imprimé en Allemagne. in-4, couverture cartonnée noire sous jaquette photo. Non paginé (112p). Texte en anglais, introduction par Ian Thomson, illustré de 56 reproductions photographiques noir & blanc, pleine page dont 26 en double page par Bruce Gilden.

Exemplaire signé par Bruce Gilden sur la page de titre.

 

"A canopy of woven rattan forms the roof of the voodoo temple. Inside an oil lamp casts a dim glow over an image of a twisting snake. This is the symbol of Damballah Wedo, patron of rain and rivers. Soon he will speak through the possessed as a serpent hissing. And other voodoo spirits - loas - will descend. Dressed in a red cassock, the voodoo priest sweats and shakes. A woman turns frantically round and round, stiffens, stands still. The chorus of drumming grows more urgent, rising in volume, as the priest waves a white rooster flapping above the crowd. Drumming furiously the tambouriers move their hands with speed; the bunched hard tips of their fingers fly. The celebrants fall rhythmically to the ground in a circle as the priest raises the sacrificial bird to his teeth, ready to cut through its neck. Next morning a headless rooster lay in the middle of the temple its claws curled daintily in rigor mortis. A lone dog snuffled curiously round the sacrifice. The priest emerged from a shack brandishing his Damballah snake staff. He gave the traditional morning greeting. "Eh la nuit? (And how was your night?). I answered in the familiar Haitian way: "Pas plus mal, merci" (No worse, thank you) …" Ian Thomson.

 

Ref LPB1044