Laveau, Marie 223Laveau[x], is sometimes listed as white—even though he
was much more likely of mixed race. Some accounts in-
dicate that her mother, Marguerite D’Arcantel, was also a
voodooienne, though very little is known about her. Several
other women used Laveau’s name—including at least one of
her daughters—and their exploits are sometimes collapsed
into the Marie legend.
Recent scholars, though, have found baptismal records
(as well as an August 1819 marriage record documenting
Laveau’s brief marriage to Jacques Paris) that mark her
birth as a free Creole of color in 1801. Little is known of
her Haitian-born husband Paris, who died soon aft er the
wedding under mysterious circumstances. Laveau spent
much of the next 40 years with Jean Cristophe Duminy de
Glapion, a War of 1812 veteran who died on June 26, 1855,
and who some continue to assert was of mixed race even
though public documents consistently place him as white.
Th e two never offi cially married but had several children
(probably 5—2 boys and 3 girls—though some more fanci-
ful sources suggest as many as 15). Laveau used Glapion as
her last name—and as the last name of her children—for
most of the rest of her life.
By the 1840s, Laveau was already prominent in New
Orleans’ spiritual culture. She was a participant in the cer-
emonial dances in New Orleans’ Congo Square as well as in
St. John’s Eve festivals at Lake Pontchartrain, and her leader-
ship in such ceremonies, which borrowed from (and heav-
ily sexualized) both Roman Catholic and African diasporic
traditions, became central to her legend. She combined
the growing public sense of her supernatural abilities with
knowledge gained from working as a hairdresser to New
Orleans’ white elite to position herself as one of the city’s
most important practitioners of Voodoo and also a dealer
in charms and home remedies. (Th is combination was also
likely the reason that she avoided harassment during the
periodic crackdowns on Voodoo by the New Orleans au-
thorities, especially in the 1850s.)
As she was building this public persona, Laveau was
also raising her family. Her two sons (François and Arch-
ange) and one daughter (Marie Louise) died young, but at
least two daughters—Marie Heloise and Marie Philomene
(spelled variously)—eventually joined their mother in the
world of voodoo. Some scholars note Marie Heloise as
“Marie the Second” and suggest that she joined her mother
as a “Voodoo queen.” Philomene, who had a long-term re-
lationship with the white Alexandre Legendre, similar tothe black candle are three green candles symbolizing the
principles ujima, nia, and imani. Th e black candle is always
lit fi rst to illustrate the understanding that the people come
fi rst. Candles are then lit left to right to show that the peo-
ple come fi rst, followed by the struggle, but that from the
struggle comes hope.
During the Kwanzaa celebration, if gift s are exchanged,
they are usually given to children. Included in these zawadi
(gift s) are always a book and some symbol of the child’s
cultural heritage. Commercialization of Kwanzaa is a con-
cern for many of its practitioners, and for that reason many
zawadi are handmade to avoid corporate exploitation of the
holiday. Th e fi nal day of celebration, January 1, is reserved
for somber refl ection and assessment of the preceding prin-
ciples and the work of the individual in the coming year.
Kwanzaa’s emphasis here is on recommitment to the resto-
ration of African culture and sovereignty globally.
See also: Afrocentricity; Black Power; Karenga, Maulana;
US Organization
Tiff any PogueBibliography
Copage, Eric V. Kwanzaa: An African American Celebration Of
Culture And Cooking. New York: Harper Collins, 1993.
Karenga, Maulana. Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community
and Culture. Los Angeles: University of Sankore Press, 1996.
Karenga, Maulana. Kwanzaa: Origin, Concepts, Practice. San
Diego, CA: Kawaida Publications, 1977.
Riley, Dorothy Winbush. Th e Complete Kwanzaa: Celebrating Our
Cultural Harvest. New York: Book Sales, 2003.
Laveau, Marie
Marie Laveau (1801–1881), generally referred to as a “Voo-
doo queen,” was a leading fi gure in New Orleans throughout
much of the 19th century. In part because mystical self-
representation was key to Laveau’s life, in part because she
seems to have been illiterate, and in part because rumors
continue to swirl around her memory (her tomb remains
a popular New Orleans tourist stop), many of the details of
her biography remain confused or unknown, including the
spelling of her name, which is oft en spelled either “Laveau”
or “Leveaux.” During the late 19th century, Laveau and her
family, for example, regularly listed her age in the 90s—
suggesting a birth date in the 1780s. Her father, Charles