Le processus de zombification en Haiti (French Edition)

The process of zombification in HaitiBook SummaryDivided into two distinct yet interrelated parts, this monograph is the result of an interdisciplinary research guided by anthropological questions on the phenomenon of zombification. The first part is the product of a combination of hypothetico-deductive analyses and conclusions drawn from the fusional logic that developed between our own investigation and the conclusions of the authors from whom we drew the premises of our work. The objectification and the organization of the data collected in the field throughout the research and weighed against information garnered from history or contemporary medical literature, constitute, in a dynamic fashion, the primary architecture of our argument.This study naturally begins with a discussion on the origins of the concept of zombie itself. It also makes mention of research completed by Western universities on the phenomenon and attempts to review the history of scientific research on it in Haiti. Before plunging its tentacles into the morbid world of the secret societies of rural Haiti, it briefly examines the foundation of the ancient Western myth of ghosts and then restores the trajectory of its Caribbean counterpart through the literature up to its incarnation by the desubstantialized, anachronistic slave wearing forever a death mask amidst generalized indifference.The role of agricultural policies or the Rural Code in the formation of this peasantry and the place of vaudou in this social phenomenon are examined. At the same time, this paper analyzes the factors that continue to engender agonistic responses to the problems faced collectively by peasant communities in the 21st century, and questions, incidentally and retrospectively, the political recuperation of such practices by Haitian statesmen.This study links the ways in which the alchemy of the zombie was established in Haiti and the decisive moment in the mutation of the maroon communities in colonial times. It underlines the role of icthyosarcotoxins and other alkaloids in the process of zombification and also describes the ritual that initiates the process.The analysis and comparison of the chemical properties of these substances and the observations made in hospitals or institutions of medical research at the international level on the physiology of the human nervous system when exposed to such toxins confirmed our initial hypothesis: real zombies sometimes join the disinherited and mentally ill people with a blank stare who haunt our countryside, and certainly our cities.On the other hand, our research is naturally interested in how the local legislation deals with this practice which has progressively moved from being a mere superstition to a subject of literature and finally to the status of legal subject matter in 1835.The second part is an investigation report on a zombification case that surfaced in November 2014 in Paulite, a municipality of St. Louis du Sud in the Southern region of Haiti. The need to achieve reliable results has made the use of both the ethnographic method and modern technologies of investigation in forensic anthropology indispensable in the implementation of the research protocol for this investigation.The findings and conclusions of this report, elaborated in the light of the analysis of the genomic DNA from the subject’s hair follicle cells and those of his alleged mother, helped unravel the genesis of this purported zombification.Frantz Alix Lubin Read more