Marie Laveau: Voodoo Queen of New Orleans
© MIchelle Munro
Some believe Marie was born in 1796 in the Vieux Carre; others believe she was born in 1794 in Saint Domingue (present-day Haiti) or Hispanola in the Caribbean. Wherever she was born, it is known that she was the daughter of Charles Laveau, a wealthy plantation owner, and a slave, Darcantel Marguerite. Though born free, Marie was a mixture of white, African, and Indian blood.
Marie was raised Roman Catholic. A devout follower, she attended mass at St. Louis Cathedral every day and even had permission to hold rituals behind it. It was this cathedral that saw the wedding of Marie to a free man of color, Jacques Paris, on August 4, 1819. A short time later, Jacques disappeared and Marie began calling herself "Widow Paris." It was not until five years later that a record of Jacques' death appeared - without a certificate of interment.
Never formally educated, Marie became a hairdresser in order to support herself following her husband's disappearance. She began visiting the homes of wealthy white and Creole women on a regular basis. While she tended to their hair, the women would confess their most intimate secrets and fears to Marie as if she was nothing more than a servant and no possible threat. Later these secrets would help to make Marie the most powerful voodoo queen New Orleans - or the world - had ever seen.
Around 1826 Marie moved in with Louis Christopher Duminy de Glapion. The two were never married, but Marie did bear fifteen of his children and lived happily with Louis until his death in 1855.
The rituals of voodoo had been practiced in New Orleans since the first slave boat arrived. Though Marie was most likely a powerful and talented practitioner, a lot of her "magic" actually came from the manipulation of her clients. While a hairdresser, she organized a group of servants and slaves to serve as spies to their wealthy masters. She would use these informers to find the best way to deal with her client's problems of revenge, love, or a cheating husband. (Which did blackmailing his mistress usually cure.)
One of the most famous and widely accepted stories of Marie was the tale of how she came to be the owner of the house she and Louis lived in located on Rue St. Ann in New Orleans. Early in her practice, a wealthy white man came to her begging that she get his son declared innocent of murder at his upcoming trial. He promised to give Marie the house if she succeeded. The night before the trial, Marie put three guinea peppers in her mouth and prayed at the Cathedral. The next morning, she placed the peppers under the chair of the judge. The son was declared innocent and the deed to the house was signed over to Mary. It wasn't until later on that it was discovered she had actually approached a witness that intensely feared voodoo and threatened his life if he did not testify that the son had acted in self-defense.
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