Hays 1 Aubrey Hays Prof.

Charles Arndt RUSS-168 2/28/13 Voodoo and Vampires: Connecting Louisiana and Eastern Europe through True Blood The idea that everything happens for a reason has manifested itself in many cultures. Those reasons have sometimes been a bit muddy though, and the causes of effects at one time or another have been unknown or enigmatic ones. Different cultures have dealt with the uncertainty of life in various ways. Through the HBO series True Blood, two cultures in particular have recently come into the public view in this regard, the creole culture of Louisiana and, though most viewers are unaware of its traces within the show, the Eastern European culture from whence the vampire myth originated. The ways in which these cultures peoples interact with the worlds of the supernatural gives them a common link. The legend of the vampire sprung from Eastern European cultures unease with the reality of death; it explained certain gruesome elements of the process of a decaying corpse, as well as the unwarranted deaths of the young and innocent. However, the Eastern European culture did not remain untouched by other belief systems. Christianitys presence in these Slavic countries created a dual belief society in which two systems of explanations were circulating within the same group of people. This phenomenon of dual belief is interesting in that neither belief system really overpowers the other; the beliefs merge and coexist. These dual belief systems seem to last for a very long time. They survive long after Christianity is adopted. With these survivals come long-standing traditions of

Hays 2 the people that practice both pagan and Christian lifestyles. Traditions were and are extremely important in many cultures in that they establish a common bind that people have with others who share their culture. Then again, when a new faith is introduced, such as Orthodox Christianity, they have to work to absorb that faith into their lifestyle. After several years, the church works to combine pagan and Christian beliefs together. Missionaries realized that eastern Europeans would not give up their legends and folklore so easily, so the Church sanctified the old beliefs by associating them with the saints and their respective holidays. This helped to give people a necessary outlet for their seemingly conflicting views. Long withstanding legends of vampires do not just die out and ideas of Christianity are not rejected, but both come into this society of dual beliefs and flourish in an almost super-mythical community. Because the vampire legend originated in a society with a high degree of religious affinity, it is no surprise that another region known for its religiosity was chosen for the setting for True Blood. The creole culture developed by African diaspora formed a folklore all their own. It is commonly known as Louisiana or New Orleans voodoo, and is based on West African Vodon. This religion is commonly practiced in West Africa and Nigeria centers around the vodun, which are deities associated with the various aspects of the earth or with the representation of a certain tribe of clan. Many aspects of voodoo such as voodoo dolls and gris-gris, a kind of protective amulet or talisman, were developed for the same kind of purpose that the vampire served in the Slavic cultures; voodoo became something to provide this culture with peace of mind. Along with the plantations came the influences of

Hays 3 Christianity and Catholicism; the slave trade brought many of these voodoo beliefs together with the Christian and Catholic beliefs of the plantation and slave owners. Just as the Slavic cultures adopted the Christianity, the creole cultures adopted the Catholicism of the white societies in the south. Catholicism in a way adopted voodoo as well. It is well known amongst New Orleanians that the greatest voodoo queen was Marie Laveau. Born as a free woman, she acted as a bridge between the voodoo and Catholic worlds. Catholic churches in New Orleans not only tolerated her practices, but also sanctioned them. Laveau blended her voodoo and magic practices with Catholicism, in that she mixed the ideas of saints with ideas of African spirits and deities, merging the images of Catholic saints and attributing them to one of the deities or spirits that would have been a protector of the same element or domain comparable to what the saint was a patron of. A possible combination would be that of Saint Anne, the patron saint of mothers, and a voodoo a spirit of fertility. Maman Brigitte, a spirit that protects gravestones marked with a cross, is also syncretized with Saint Brigid, a patron saint of children born out of wedlock and children born into abusive situations. Marie Laveau acted as a hairdresser for many wealthy white families, working her way into influential circles. St. Louis Cathedral, the main Catholic church in New Orleans, at one point gave her permission to practice her craft right behind the church. She is still revered by the New Orleans community; they visit her grave and draw three xs on the side of her tomb in hopes that she will grant them a wish.

Hays 4 Marie Laveau is an example of the rest of the Louisiana voodoo community. Heavily engrossed in both the aspects of voodoo and Catholicism, they live their lives fearing and worshiping two different sets of gods and deities, practicing voodoo rituals and praying in church, doing things that seemingly contradict one another. But this is similar to the description of the society in which the dual belief systems of the Eastern European folkloric beliefs and Orthodox Christianity. The church works with the people, taking into account their traditions along with their own to quickly establish their presence as a positive one, one that is there only to help the community both within and without. A perfect example of this type of society is in True Bloods first season, following the story line of Tara. In this episode, the damaged and belligerent Tara is confronted by her alcoholic mother. At a church funeral, her mother asks her for money for an exorcism by a voodoo priestess. In the next few episodes, she goes to the voodoo priestess Miss Jeanette twice. During her second visit she receives an exorcism from Miss Jeanette in order to get rid of the demon that has been plaguing her for her entire life. Miss Jeanette proves the demons existence to her when she produces a picture of Tara as a child with black soulless eyes. She later discovers that Miss Jeanette is a fake and does not have any sort of magic powers. In a rage she starts drinking and driving and ultimately crashes. Shes arrested for drunk driving, but someone mysteriously posts her bail. She finds out that it was Maryann, a so-called social worker that helps people of her circumstance out, but Maryann is not who she says she is.

Hays 5 One could compare Maryann to a succubus of sorts. In this mythical southern city of Bon Temps where vampires exist, she is the perfect addition. She is technically a Maenad, a being that causes extreme chaos by controlling human beings by making them into animals subject only to their most basic desires of lust, hunger, and violence. According to another character in the series Daphne Landry, she has been alive for thousands of years, inhabiting the roles of Gaia, a Greek goddess of the earth, and an Egyptian goddess named Isis. It is only fitting that she would come to Bon Temps, the name of which means good times in French, if it were a place in which she felt she could survive on the supernatural beliefs of the inhabitants. She only gets stronger when these people that she controls increase their appetites. These human vices that she draws power from, lust, hunger, and violence, are right in line with the Catholic idea of mortal sins. More commonly known as the seven deadly sins, they believe these acts will throw a soul into eternal damnation. Another story line that pulses through True Blood is that of The Fellowship of the Sun. This church rejects the vampire and all that it stands for. The vampires are equated with demons; in the eyes of this church, they are soulless beings that must be defeated. One might initially think that they are the antithesis of the dual belief society, but because they acknowledge the existence of the vampire this would be a false conclusion. However, they are not dualists. The followers of the fellowship believe that good and light is the ultimate force that will reign supreme and evil and dark is the test of their obedience in opposition to the forces of good. Dualists believe good and evil coexist in constant conflict and at any time one can overpower

Hays 6 the other. This fellowship believes that evil is not a co-creative force, but is rather a destructive one. One cannot help but liken the way in which they oppose the vampires to the protests against homosexuality so prevalent by some southern Christian organizations. The creators of True Blood put vampires, traditionally hyper sexualized beings in English literature, in the position of homosexuals living in the South. Both vampires and homosexuals are looked at as morally wrong by Biblethumpers because of their sexual behaviors. This connection is evident even in the opening titles of True Blood; a sign that says God Hates Fangs is shown, which is not a far stretch from the sign so often held up by Westboro Baptist Church picketers, God Hates Fags. There are many ways in which True Blood utilizes the Louisiana swamp setting to convey certain messages. Through its portrayal of voodoo and vampires juxtaposed with those beliefs of Christianity, they comment on the nature of dual beliefs. To convey the issues of southern Christians opposing homosexuality, they put the vampire population in a similar place that the homosexual population is currently in in the South. In doing this, they invite the average viewer into worlds they otherwise would not be a part of. True Blood reimagines the legend of the vampire, making it more accessible to a modern audience and thus uses it as a plug for other themes like those of dual beliefs and the issues that are currently relevant in our country. It exposes the viewer to a world similar to our own and challenges them to think about their beliefs of what is good and what is evil, and whether or not what they believe makes them supporters of good or evil.

Hays 7 Works Cited: Arthur, Linda B. Undressing Religion: Commitment and Conversion from a Cross-cultural Perspective. Oxford: Berg, 2000. Print. Jacobs, Claude F. (1991). The Spiritual Churches of New Orleans: Origins, Beliefs, and Rituals of an African-American Religion. The University of Tennessee Press. Perkowski, Jan Louis. Vampire Lore: From the Writings of Jan Louis Perkowski. Bloomington, IN: Slavica, 2006. Print. True Blood: The Complete First Season. HBO, 2008. True Blood: The Complete Second Season. HBO, 2009.