Sacred Nations: The Spirits of Haitian Vodou - Papa Mystique

A drumbeat can change the room—and if you listen closely, it can change how you see spirit, ancestry, and yourself. We sit down with Papa Mystique to unravel Haitian Vodou as a living science: the nations that shape energy, the rhythms that open doors, and the ethics that keep service grounded. From Flatbush roots and a grandmother mambo to time in Haitian lakou, this story reveals practice as lineage, discipline, and deep respect for nature.

We map the nations by feel—Rada’s steady grace, Petwo’s heat, Gede’s wry pulse, Nago’s martial edge—and explore Ezili as two distinct frequencies. Freda aligns you with elegance, luck, and beauty; Dantor stands guard with justice and protection. The hounfò becomes more than a temple: it’s community choreography, with the peristyle as meeting ground and the poto mitan as axis where possession can arrive. Papa Mystique explains crisis lwa, why some houses spray rum without disrespect, and how lineages differ—Asogwe’s uniform regleman versus the varied familial currents of Leve Sèvenn and Makout.

Language carries power here. Langaj is coded speech that protects precision and transmits craft. We talk daily ancestor honor through jeté dlo, why we turn rightward as we pour, and how the ritual year follows the seasons. In Makaya time we shed what’s dead, cleanse, and reset; with spring we invite Freda’s growth and good fortune. Tradition evolves with discernment—Florida Water finds its place, Reiki may complement healing, but not everything belongs. We name the syncretic threads—African, Taíno, and Catholic—and the responsibility to serve with integrity, seek proper readings, and follow through when called.

If you’re curious about Vodou beyond the myths, this conversation offers an inside map: practical, respectful, and rooted. Grab Papa Mystique’s book, Mysteries of Haitian Vodou, for deeper study, and come back ready to question, listen, and align with the rhythm. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves culture and spirituality, and leave a review with your biggest insight or question—we’ll bring it into a future show.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Guest Introduction
• 1:20 Brooklyn Roots And Haitian Heritage
• 3:00 Upbringing, Religion, And Early Vodou Exposure
• 6:30 New York Knowledge Movements And ATR Foundations
• 9:45 Colonial Mindset And Stigma Around Vodou
• 13:15 Distinguishing The Vodou Nations By Energy And Rhythm
• 16:40 Ezili Dantor Vs Ezili Freda: Feminine Frequencies
• 19:30 What A Hounfò Is And How It Works
• 22:10 Tradition Vs Change: Old School And New School
• 27:20 Syncretism: Taino, African, And European Threads
• 31:00 Ethics And Accountability Between Devotees And Lwa
• 34:10 Finding Your Lwa: Readings, Callings, And Path
• 38:00 Langaj: Coded Language And Words Of Power
• 42:00 Possession, Drums, And Ceremony Variations
• 47:20 Lineages: Asogwe, Leve Sèvenn, And Makout
• 51:10 Honoring Ancestors: Jeté Dlo And Daily Practice
• 55:30 Cosmos, Seasons, And Spiritual Alignment
• 59:00 The Book: Mysteries Of Haitian Vodou
• 1:02:00 Community Shoutouts And Closing Calls

Transcript

SPEAKER_02: 0:16

World, how you doing? How you doing? Peace, peace to all on this beautiful Thursday. Tonight's gonna be a beautiful show. Tonight's show is gonna be powerful. A lot of information is gonna be dropped. We're taking it back home on this one, straight to the island of Haiti on this one. As you can see, tonight we got special guest Papa Mystique. To our listeners and viewers, don't for don't forget to comment, like, share, and subscribe. We got super chats, we have merchandise on our website. So do tune in without further ado. Papa Mystique, how you doing, my brother?

SPEAKER_01: 0:52

Aye bo, what's going on? Um, I'm glad to be here.

SPEAKER_02: 0:57

Yeah, finally, yeah, man. You're in the making, bro. Let's give it up, man. Papa Mystique and I were we were playing this show for about a year, but you know, as you know, life goes on. You know, we men out there doing what we got to do, take care of our families and ourselves. That's right. Time finally allowed us to meet up to get this show popping, bro. I appreciate you for coming out, man.

SPEAKER_01: 1:17

No doubt, it's a pleasure.

SPEAKER_02: 1:19

Definitely. We're we're talking about the sacred nations, the spirits of Haitian Voodoo. You know, before we get into the show, Papa Mystique, tell us about you, brother. Where you from, brother? Give us a rundown in the background.

SPEAKER_01: 1:32

Yeah, so uh I'm originally from uh Brooklyn, New York, where you're at right now.

SPEAKER_02: 1:38

Facts Brooklyn, the building.

SPEAKER_01: 1:41

Born and raised uh flatbush. But um I am Haitian. My parents immigrated here uh from Haiti. Um, we're from all over the place in Haiti. My parents directly from Port of Prince. Um, but on my father's side, OCAP, Mont Organizer, um, areas like that, my mother, um, Baadere, Domazo, and areas like that over on that side. And um pretty much, you know, uh raised in New York around a Haitian community, flatbush, a lot of Haitians. Um, in my teen years, moved down to uh Florida and Miami, another large Haitian community, and um pretty much just uh always been surrounded by you know good people uh that were able to uh form me into the person that I am today.

SPEAKER_02: 2:32

That's dope. Salute and respect, that's dope. All right, so you were born and raised here, parents immigrated from Haiti. How was your upbringing? Was it like religious?

SPEAKER_01: 2:42

Um so my upbringing is sort of you know, like most other Haitian families, in the sense that, you know, uh when a lot of Haitians immigrate over here, they kind of uh have a paradigm shift. And so they try to live life according to you know the American standards and things of that nature.

SPEAKER_02: 3:09

Definitely.

SPEAKER_01: 3:09

And so um both of my parents uh surprisingly were not religious. Uh my mother not so much. I mean, she goes to church now, but she wasn't a church-going woman when I was a young child, you know what I'm saying? Um my father, he was a traveling man, so he was, you know, he was uh you know into esoteric knowledge and things of that nature. So of course voodoo um was present there for me. But my parents actually split up when I was young. Okay, and my mother raised me, you know, in Brooklyn while my father was in Haiti, you know, um doing you know his thing uh for a while. But um, you know, she she really didn't want me to take this path, you know. She tried to keep me away from this path, gotcha, but it was just inevitable. I mean, she even put me in Catholic school for a couple of years, and that just completely backfired, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02: 4:12

She's still leading you into that path.

SPEAKER_01: 4:15

Exactly, exactly. So, you know, but um I did get the opportunity, you know, to spend some time with my father in my teen years and pick up a not a lot of uh knowledge while I was with him. Um and also when I was very young, you know, I spent a lot of time in Haiti as a young boy around my grandmother, was a mumbo, and she, you know, just dropped a lot of gems on me, you know, while I was young, which actually absolutely came to make more sense as I became an older person. And so sometime in the mid-90s, I went to Haiti, spent some time in Haiti, and um, you know, went to my Bitacion and you know, met my family there that was running the Lakou. And um, they brought me in, you know, with uh open arms and you know, gave me everything that I needed to know, you know, and um we uh uh associate there ma cout, you know, we're live as Juan. So we we have a familial form of a voodoo. And so um, you know, while I spent some time there, obviously, you know, picked up the condescends that I needed in order to move forward. And um just years later, just kind of spent some time, you know, soul searching uh spiritually and uh interestingly, you know, being raised in New York, especially at the time that I was raised in New York, I was raised in New York at a time where it was cool to have knowledge, you know what I'm saying? So you know what I mean? So, you know, we had, of course, we had you know the nation of God's nerves, we had the nation of mom, we had uh just uh a bunch of ATR, different ATR movements going on in New York. So I was exposed to all of that, and having voodoo as my foundation just helped me to understand all of these different uh sciences, you know, that are around me. I don't want to even call them religions, but I call them sciences because you know they all apply to the universal knowledge. So I was just very happy that I was exposed to um this type of uh environment because it helped me to become the person that I am today.

SPEAKER_02: 6:30

Beautiful, beautiful. And that's so peace to the peace to the gods and earth, peace to all the you know the rest of the parents, the Israelites, and OI, and all other schools of thoughts out there that teach us the science because they were very um pivotal, instrumental in the upbringing of many children in the urban city. That's right. I want to go axe before we go any further. Why do parents tend to stay their children away from this culture? Like it's our culture, and I know part of it comes from colonialism, you know, the brainwashing and make them believe that your own culture is evil, meanwhile, the Europeans are studying you, and that it comes from bad experiences. So they'll take like one bad experience and say, you know what, this whole culture is is evil, right?

SPEAKER_01: 7:13

So and that's a good question, right? But we're gonna have to get to the truth of this, right? So yeah, it is the colonialism, and there is a disease in a lot of our people that was um, you know, given to them, you know, as the remnants of you know the uh revolution, right? So after the revolution, there was a lot of you know, I guess disagreement even amongst ourselves on how the country should continue. And for the most part, there was still a degree of um slave mentality that was still around, even though we kicked the the French out of our country, right? And so that slave mentality, you know, it continued, and we haven't gotten rid of it till this day. So you have a lot of our people who they try to be like the French themselves, you know what I'm saying? If you look at them, so a lot of them they don't want to speak creole, they rather speak French, you know. They um, you know, they want to say voodoo is evil, but they and they want to be Christian, which is the religion that they basically killed us if we didn't accept, you know what I'm saying? So that's that that's still lingering, you know, it hasn't gone away. It's something psychological that's within our people, and it's just gonna take a very long time for us to kind of you know get rid of it, but that's what it is, brother. You know, it is that that colonial colonial mindset, that slave mentality that is still lingering in people till this day. I can't even talk to people about you know um the history that we've gone through and try to get them to understand, you know, how the majority of us ended up being Catholic. You know what I'm saying? I just you can't talk to people about that, you know what I'm saying? So it's kind of like you know, you just kind of let people be where they're at and just grow into their own understanding. You can't force people to you know understand history, you can't force people to understand, you know, the um, you know, the ramifications of what happened to our people during slavery and even coming out of slavery.

SPEAKER_02: 9:59

All right, all right. That right there is so beautiful. As you said in the comments, they are shot now. Ditto, um Harlen Pierce Ditto, most of them idolize a Jesus that was used to colonize them, right?

SPEAKER_01: 10:10

Right.

SPEAKER_02: 10:11

Then she said something that is definitely to suppress and golden gallons say i bubble, i bubble to you, piece of the comment section. Definitely. So let's just let's get let's get into it. This is for the sake of our listeners and viewers. You later on catch on. The brother got a book also to present to you guys later, so you know there's gonna be a lot we can talk about tonight. So, right, how are the Rada, Petro, Nago, Gede, and Congo nations distinguished spiritually and ritually?

SPEAKER_01: 10:42

So that's another good question. So each of those rites are distinguished by the type of energy that they bring. Okay, these energies are on the secret or on a particular frequency, and you can tell the difference of the rights by the type of energy that they're bringing, right? So with the Lada, let's just talk about uh the tambu that is being played, which is which are the drums, right? When the Lada come, you know, they play what you call Yamvalu, and it's a different type of beat than from when they bring in Petwo, right? Now, um let's talk about Gede. Uh for Gede, we have Banda, right? So that is that too has a different type of rhythm, you know what I'm saying? It brings a different type of energy, different type of frequency. Nago, you can with Nago, that's like the that's like the old goose, right? So they bring like that militant, you know. You could kind of tell from the way that you know I'm saying the beat is beaten, they bring that militancy with that. Okay, so it's kind of like you know, you can tell spiritually, you can tell rhythm rhythmically, you know, the type of energy that is being brought, which will help you distinguish, you know, which of those rights are being presented at that time.

SPEAKER_02: 12:28

Oh, that's dope. That's dope. Okay, and see, because you know, most people only so um accustomed to seeing those from the outside. They just like I just know about petrol and rata, and but to go deep into more is that's pretty dope, man. Because it's very informative to know what we're stepping into. Um, you know, me over the place with this. How do is that and isulli donto represent contrasting feminine um principles? And I don't want to hear the average, I know you're not gonna say this, not you per se, but there's some people out there who got it misconstrued. It'd be like, if you dark skinned, you follow Isli Donto, if you light skinned, it's Izuli Freda. And I'm like, here we go again with the colorism and the in the in the and the bigotry you bring into this voodoo thing, so don't do that, right? But you know, not to stay from the question, but let's go, bro.

SPEAKER_01: 13:17

Yeah, first and foremost, the the law don't have any color, right?

SPEAKER_00: 13:22

I know we have images that we say represent them, but that's all they are, they're just images, right?

SPEAKER_01: 13:31

They don't really, those are not really the color of the spirits because the spirits do not possess a color, right? They are a energy, they are a frequency, right? So when you think about that, that's how you can kind of determine whether you have a fueda or a dantor. It's based off of the energy, based off of the frequency, right? So when you're talking about someone who is fiery, when you talk about someone who's there to bring justice, someone who's there to bring, you know, uh uh protection, someone who doesn't take any, you know, crap, right? You're talking about Ezoli Dantor. Right? But when you're talking about elegancy, when you're talking about luxury, when you're talking about the finer things in life, when you're talking about someone who is royalty, a princess, you know, a queen, you know, someone who um uh uh uh just has all the finer things in life, you are talking about Ezra Lee Fueda, right? Different energy, right? So you wouldn't want to call on Fueda for protection in a situation where you are experiencing trouble. You would want to call Dante, yeah. And if you want, you know, to you know live a lavish life, you know, have money and a lot of good luck, you wouldn't want to call Danteur, you would rather call Fueda. You know what I'm saying? So that's sort of how you look at those two law, look at those two spirits, look at those two energies, is one doesn't take any crap, she's like you know, a scorned mother, and the other one, she is the one that is, you know, she's very cool, she ain't with no crap, and you know, she's just um someone who wants you to experience the good things in life, right? And that would be Fueda. So you would go to each one of them for different reasons, so that's how their frequencies pretty much differ.

SPEAKER_02: 15:45

Yeah, this is beautifully broke, beautifully broken down, man. Yo, yo, we this is gonna be a good show, man. I like how you're breaking it down, my brother. And as my brother Ron Brown said, you got that aura going on. So look you look at it. No doubt, no doubt. Absolutely about to open up a school soon out here, right?

SPEAKER_01: 16:03

Right, exactly. That's the point, that's the goal.

SPEAKER_02: 16:07

And that's and I and I and I support that. Um, what is an um for if I'm saying so if I'm saying it correctly, and how does it function as both temple and community space? Or one for or unfo, if I'm saying it correctly. Um for um for right.

SPEAKER_01: 16:21

So um for is uh like you just said, it's it's like a temple, right? It's like a um in the north, we will say a baji, you know what I'm saying? And a um for within the um for you have what you call a pegistil, which is kind of like the communion space, right? So this is uh uh a spiritual house, right? Or like a laku, right? And so this is where people come to serve the law. The um for is run by a hungan or a mumbo, and um within the house you have people who you know who come to serve. You have your your sevite, you have your voodoo, or you know, different people who come to serve, you know, within the umpfor. And different people within the um for have their roles within there. Okay, so everybody has a role within the um for. But the um for is broken up, you know, it has different chambers uh within the umpfor for you know different reasons, right? So the he'll have his space, then you know, there's another space specifically for the law, and you know, there's different sections within the hung for, but the peristil is where you know people come, they come, they gather, and you know, um they they come to serve, and within the peristil, you have the potomitan, which is basically the universal access, you know, that connects us with the spirits.

SPEAKER_02: 18:01

That's the that's the gateway. It to me, it sounds like you know how you know in Kabala it says 72 angels, access to them, right as above souls below, you know, the whole star. That's what the portomita is like that portal that connects you, right?

SPEAKER_00: 18:14

Yeah, it is it's uh it is the portal, it is the gateway. It is it is it is where it is the access point.

SPEAKER_02: 18:22

All right, so we know you know they say you know our people are always about progression and such, right? And I see you know, through times things tend to tend to evolve, some stay stagnant, some evolve. There's like there's kind of like a silent movement taking place, right? Because interesting pieces, my uncle who's old school, and then many elders that you know that I know that came around, shout out to Miss Gene, Mother Gene. Um there's something between old school voodoo and new school voodoo. It's like a silent movement going on where people like we don't do what these you like these youngsters are doing nowadays because they tend to mix things up a little bit and stray from the what they were taught. Do you see that happening on your end? Uh and do you see any do you see any conflict with that?

SPEAKER_01: 19:06

It's interesting you asked that question because I just had this conversation with somebody uh this past week. Yeah, so there is a change that is happening, and I want to say that in some instances I believe it is a good change, right? I believe it is a good change because it is helping to spread the goodness and how beautiful voodoo is, right? Because voodoo is beautiful, and voodoo, a lot of people don't know, is a universal science. It possesses universal sciences within it. So, what does that mean? That means that a lot of this. Stuff that you see a lot of the new younger people doing, it falls under voodoo. Right now, it does not to those to the old school, it does not look what we traditionally do because we have certain reglayms, we have certain ways of doing things that we've been doing. This is how our ancestors left it for us, and you know, this is how we're going to continue doing right, and that too is very important. That too is how we got here today, because if it were not for the ancestors preserving these ancestors, because that's what voodoo is, it is an ancestral tradition, okay? It's it's ancestral spirituality. So if it were not for them preserving this ancestral tradition, if it's not for them preserving this ancestral spirituality, then we would not have a voodoo today. So, yes, we need to preserve, but voodoo also evolves. How do we know this? Me and you earlier, before the show started, we were using Florida water, right?

SPEAKER_03: 21:16

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 21:17

Our ancestors didn't have access to no Florida water. That's a fact. But it got incorporated into you know certain rituals into voodoo. So is homebrey, you know what I'm saying? So is uh left dog. We didn't have our ancestors did not have access to these things, you know what I mean? Right. So what's important to understand is that yes, voodoo preserves certain ancestral tradition, but voodoo also evolves, so over time, things are going to be incorporated in order to um maintain the relevancy of voodoo. Do you understand what I'm saying? So it's kind of like if we were doing things like they like our ancestors did in a lot of different ways, then it would be so difficult to maintain it today because we don't have access to a lot of what they had access to back then.

SPEAKER_02: 22:27

That's a fact.

SPEAKER_01: 22:29

So we have to evolve right now. Am I with people just bringing anything into voodoo? No, absolutely not. But let's just say there's a sister I seen. Um she's doing Reiki, I believe, right? She's doing some form of Reiki and she's incorporating it with Haitian Voodoo. I believe that's a good thing because Reiki is a form of healing, yeah, and that's what voodoo is about. Voodoo has healing within it, right? So if you're you're if you're bringing healing, uh a different form of healing into voodoo, I think that's something that you know we can see as being accepted more, you know, as we you know, as we transition into the future, I think we will see we will see more of that Reiki. See anything that's uh basically indigenous related, yeah. I can see us, you know, taking a hold of that and incorporating it it with voodoo, you know. I mean, just just because voodoo has all of these universal sciences within it, you know what I'm saying? So that's that's something that can, you know, they complement each other, and I don't see an issue with that. You know what I'm saying? I I don't see an issue with that type of you know evolving. Now, some of this other stuff people trying to do, you know, I don't agree with it, and I don't think it it belongs, but you know, if it's you know, if it's um really indigenous, because again, voodoo has you know, it's it's a it's a it's a combination of you know our African ancestors, our Tayino ancestors, and you know, though we don't like to talk about it, some of some Europeans, you know, they brought their stuff into it, and it's you can find it in voodoo as well. So um it's a it's a it's a combination of all these things, and so as the younger generation, you know, starts to you know uh learn about more indigenous practices and they want to incorporate it with voodoo. I think if it complements each other, fine, but if it's some of this other stuff, then I don't agree with it, you know, you know, for it.

SPEAKER_02: 24:57

And in our respect, I'm glad you clarified that because that's something I've been watching lately, because I see a lot of things taking place on Facebook. And don't get me wrong, I'll be listening to some people when they're talking, you know, they you know they like to give that thing they call reset and stuff like that. But the majority of the thing is incomplete, and I'm like, you about to send somebody over there to go jam themselves up. You know what I'm saying? You messing around, you got me here trying something, I'm gonna go mess myself up down the line. Right, I'm gonna be running to you know, for help and stuff, man. And I'm glad that you mentioned that, you know, the conglomeration of what Haitian voodoo consists of with Taino, African, and some European things, because there are some people I have mentioned to them in the past that you know, we have some Tain, a lot of Taino things are involved in Haitian in Haitian voodoo because you gotta go back to the the pristine state of voodoo when they're doing that, Taino's done it as well, and we don't venerate the Taino aspect as much. I don't know why. You know what I'm saying? Somebody said I respectfully I disagree to the European influence. Now the European influence is there, sister. It's there.

SPEAKER_01: 26:00

Yeah, I mean the European influence is there. We we know that. I mean, if you just look at the images that people are using, those aren't those aren't African images, those aren't Taino images, those are images from you know the the Europeans, you know what I'm saying? Um, the the black Madonna, the um uh Mateo Dola Rosa, which people look at as Isali Fueda, Saint Jacques Majet. We got a lot of songs in voodoo songs that talk about Saint Jacques. Who's Saint Jacques? Saint Jacques means saint, James. You know what I mean? So what saints don't come from Africa, says don't come from the Taino, the saints are from the Europeans, and we have voodoo songs with saints in them, so there is that influence in there, you know, even though we don't want to admit it, like I stated earlier.

SPEAKER_02: 26:54

That's a fact, Lakeisha. She said they came from Catholicism, exactly.

SPEAKER_01: 26:58

They came from Catholicism, which is the Europeans, exactly.

SPEAKER_02: 27:01

So I have a question right here: what ethical obligations exist between devotees and their law?

SPEAKER_01: 27:11

Ethical obligations. So when you are a devotee or a voodooizan and you serve the law, right, then there are certain standards that you have to meet, right? So a voodooizan is very disciplined, number one, very disciplined. We we don't we a voodooiza can't do anything, you know what I'm saying? You know how in some religions, you know, they could do certain things, and then you know they're forgiven as long as you know they confess or whatever. We don't have that type of stuff, you know what I'm saying? And so you will be held accountable, uh not just by your peers, but specifically by the law. The law can cause trouble in your life if you know if you aren't, if you call yourself a sevital, you call yourself a servant of the law, and you aren't, you know, upholding certain, you know, um standards, ethical moral or morals, you know what I'm saying? So someone who is abusing their authority as a hoon, right? The law will give him problems, the law will you know persecute them in a way that will make them see that what they're doing isn't right, you know what I'm saying? So, yes, there are ethical standards that one has to uh hold themselves up to if they are calling themselves a servant of the law.

SPEAKER_02: 29:06

That's dope right there. See, for y'all out there that's BSing, I better listen. If not, that's your ass. So I have like this is a question I have. Say I'm a regular Joe Schmo off the street. I walk into I walk into Racine Lakai Botanica. I'm like, yo, I want to who's my law is. How can I go about that?

SPEAKER_01: 29:27

You wanna what?

SPEAKER_02: 29:28

If I'm a Joe Small off the street and I'm curious about H voodoo, I come in, I'm like, I want to know who's my law. Oh I want you to guide me. What's the regular? How can I go about it? Break it down for me without violating codes and ethics.

SPEAKER_01: 29:43

So a regular Joe Smo, if he walks into a botanica, asking that question, for one, he may not be talking to someone that can help him, right? Because if it's not a Haitian botanica, okay, and I know there's other stuff, you know, Santa Area, 21 divisions, all that stuff, and you know, a lot of it is very similar, things of that nature, but I'm speaking directly to Haitian voodoo, right? If it's not a Haitian Botanica, then he may not be able to get the answer that he's looking for. But let's just say it is, right? And he's like, you know, I'm interested, I want to know my law, this and that. First and foremost, I'm pretty sure he's gonna need a reading, okay? He's gonna need a reading to first try to determine what's going on, right? Do we have, you know, does he have a law walking with him? Is you know, they that those type of things need to be investigated first before he goes any further, right? Because if you're not called, if you're not haitian and you're not called, you know, your path is gonna be very different than from someone who is Haitian or from someone who is called, you know what I'm saying? Because when you're called, most of the times you're going to know who to go to, all right. You're gonna have an idea of you know, um uh who you need to go see and things of that nature, because a lot of times those things are in your dreams or they're very explicit, right? Yeah, and you may see some place, you may see someplace that you may not recognize, but then you you know, when you wake up out of the dream, you'll know that you have to go to a certain place, and when you go to that place, you know, I mean, and you explain what happened to you, the person there will know, whether it's a hunger or mumbo, they'll know, okay, and they'll give you a list song or a reading. Okay, and in that reading, you know, they'll explain certain things to you, right? They'll tell you uh which law are walking with you, they'll uh explain to you, you know, um what your path may be, yada yada yada. You know, you'll get more information than what you started with, right? And when you get this information, there's work for you to do yourself as well, you know what I'm saying? Um, because the homegrown mumbo is gonna tell you what you need to do, you know, after you tell them what you've told them, right? Yeah, and you're supposed to go back and you do these things, and then that will start your path. You know what I'm saying? Uh, a lot of people today, right? They may get a reading from one Hungon or Mumbo, you know, hear one thing, and then they'll go to somebody else, get a reading, you know, and then they'll go to some, you know, they'll just keep getting, and this kind of like you got your answer, but you didn't follow through on what you were supposed to do, and you're wondering why you don't know anything. You're wondering why you understand what I'm saying? Yeah, so the thing is when you when you want to find something out, yes, you're gonna talk to a hoon, you're gonna talk to a mumbo, you're gonna talk to somebody who's already within the practice that's gonna help to guide you along your path, you know what I'm saying? And is and it is at that point, you know, whether you accept it or not into what your path is. But the point is, as if you're an outsider, there's no way for you to know which way to go unless you know somebody that knows the route already. That's all I'm saying.

SPEAKER_02: 33:45

Yeah, that's gonna because it yeah, because language is a difficulty, as you know, because speak another language, and being that we're speaking about language and difficulty, what do they mean? And my creole is terrible, they're gonna laugh at me when they say voodoo is lungaj. You see, I'm dude.

SPEAKER_01: 34:02

I knew you were gonna ask that question. Yeah, I it it came to me. I want to say I think it was yesterday, and Lungaj came to me, and I said, He's gonna ask that question. So Lungaj, what is Lungaj, right? It's kind of like it's kind of like coded language, right? So we have certain things that we talk about that isn't readily understandable to somebody who isn't within the community, right? So you're from Brooklyn, I'm from Brooklyn, I'm kind of older than you, but when I was growing up in Brooklyn, we had what we call pig Latin. I don't know if you ever heard of pig Latin.

SPEAKER_02: 35:03

I expect act daddy, but you often say act daddy, but oh brady. Come on, son. Come on, old Brady.

SPEAKER_01: 35:09

Okay, so just think of it like that, right? So think of langage like pig Latin. There's certain things that me and another voodoo we zone will talk about, and we automatically understand what is being spoken because we langage, you know what I'm saying, and we understand, you know what I mean? Because within voodoo, we have certain words that isn't clear or you know, a clear lay sien. There's words that we speak in voodoo that are not originated from cleol Aisien, you know what I'm saying? Like if I say I bobo to a Christian, he ain't gonna know what the hell I'm talking about. But if I say that to a voodoo, he knows exactly what I'm talking about. He knows exactly what I'm talking about. He knows exactly what I'm talking about. Do you understand what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_02: 36:11

Talk about it, right?

SPEAKER_01: 36:14

So when we start talking about langage, we're talking about terminology that's used within the voodoo community that we understand, it gets even deeper than that.

SPEAKER_02: 36:25

Of course, I know I know what it's going, I know what it can be.

SPEAKER_01: 36:29

Um, you know, because uh in the beginning, I know you had mumble rose on here before. Two beautiful people. Let me just say two young, beautiful people that I know are gonna, you know, lead they say voodoo's in good hands with young people like that because they represent, you know. I'm saying they truly represent voodoo the way it's supposed to be represent two people I love. Um, but it's kind of like you know, when we look at uh langage, right? It's it's something that our iCan get it one day, you know what I mean? But it's something that we need to you know incorporate into our daily lives, you know what I'm saying? Because this is uh it is our culture, right? Voodoo is our culture, voodoo is our numb, it is our soul. You understand what I'm saying, and so you never truly know if, especially if you're ACN, you never truly know who you are unless you have voodoo, right? You out here trying to live a whole life like you know, like a the French, you know, this, that, and third, but you will never truly come into who you are because you are Acian. You are Acian. What do you mean, Asian? You know what do you mean? Because we got mumble Aiza, right? Aiza Aiza, who's a law, Aiza, who's a spirit, you know. I'm saying she's the mother, you know. She's one of the mothers of our of our country, you know. We are Asian, so if we are refusing to admit that we are Aisien, and our mother is Aiza, then we'll never truly know who we are, you know, bro.

SPEAKER_02: 38:30

You on point, bro. Yo, this is crazy. I was speaking to a brother about that the other day. Everything you just said, and I'm not talking like I'm a novice in this thing, I consider myself a forever novice because it's every day I'm learning something, right? Right, and it's funny how we say lungage, and I'm glad that you said that you felt that vibe because as we said earlier, I'm not gonna go into it. Voodoo is Langaj, and we know certain people like to use this particular thing. The book of John in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word you know, you know what I'm talking about, right? That's all language, right? Words of power, words that's why I say hence spelling, words of power. So in voodoo, like I've seen things where people move people with words, just singing when they have the um you know I'm talking about the ass on the hand, I think and they move in people and they say things, you know, they go on fast, you know. Don't ask me how to say it, but I I remember my uncle used to say certain things. I was like, damn, I felt that. You know what I'm saying? But it it's it's a beautiful day, man. I'm glad, and I'm glad you said that with the IZM, man. Because whenever I hear Haitian voodoo, that's one thing every Haitian, I don't care if you call yourself a Christian Catholic whatsoever. If you in modern day, once we smell Florida water, you hear drums, you know where you're going. I don't care what they say, right? You know, but keep going forward. Somebody said this um Racine Wellness House. May you explain in the ceremony what can make a loi mount someone because people then spread clear in people's face or spray perfume on the person? Does that make sense?

SPEAKER_01: 40:14

So yeah, um so in the ceremony and you hear them talking, you hear them playing the tambu, right? What's going on is you know they're they're trying to get the spirits to show up. You know, they're trying to get the they they they're uh trying to draw the spirits. When at the beginning of the ceremony, you know, they trace v, they feed the vev, things of that nature, you know, they go through all the different rituals, but once you hear them start hitting the tambu, right, and there is a connection between the person playing the tambu and the people that are getting the rhythm. Now they can kind of tell when the spirit is about to arrive, and so you can hear them um, they call it cassé, right? Basically, when the the drum is about to break, the tamboo's about to break, and you know, they they kind of they kind of and so the spirit they know the spirit is coming, and then so what will happen is you'll see people go into what we call a crisis de loi. This means basically means it's like a crisis otherwise, and basically it's where the people can't control themselves, and you know what I mean, and and you know, they kind of like bumping into people and stuff, you know. You see them just going all over the place. That's the crisis de loi. Now, when you see, let's just say someone, you know, they have the uh they have the barbing court, they take sip and then they right and you see that going on, that is not disrespect. They're not doing that out of disrespect, you know. And I know there are people out there, I know voodooizan out there that they don't like that stuff, they don't like the you know, they don't like the rum being spit in their face or any of that stuff being spit in their face because you know to them they kind it's an insult, it's a sick, yes, and I and here's the thing, I don't I really don't even want to go into the because voodoo is very diverse. Let me say that. So not everybody does that which you're talking about. There are groups of people who do not do that, all right. So, but I don't want to get into the different sects within voodoo, you know what I'm saying? But there are different rights or different lineages, or however you want to call it, um, within voodoo, right? Um, and there are people who do not do that, but that is not a sign of disrespect. They kind of they when you see that that's to say, basically, um let's just say oh goose saying, uh, you know, who gonna who go who gonna mess with one of mine? You know what I'm saying? Like, who gonna mess with? Ain't nobody gonna mess with none of mine, you know what I'm saying? Like, he's just kind of being the the tough law spirit that he is, you know what I'm saying? So it's not a sign of disrespect, it's just um how can I explain it? It's just kind of like he's uh he's just inviting people to say, you know, you know, he's like, what up, what's going on? You know what I mean? Like that's just that's really all it is, it's not it's not any disrespect whatsoever. And I know people they see that like, you know, I'm not with that, you know what I'm saying? And you granted there are people who don't like that, you know what I'm saying? So, but when you go to a ceremony, you kind of know what to expect based off of who which societe is having the ceremony, you kind of know what to expect, right? Yeah, you kind of know what what to expect, right? So they do that in a lot of asogue ceremonies, right? You're gonna see that in a lot of asague ceremonies, they will do that, and you know, um, certain other ceremonies, you won't see that, you know. So there's a difference. I'll just speak on it really briefly. There's the difference, and so the way Christianity has Catholicism, they got baptism, they got you know Protestants, this and that. Voodoo has something sort of similar. Where you have you got Asugwe, you got Leviswen, you got Makut. Asogwe, they have a reglement for their ceremonies, right? That if you are in uh Asugwe ceremony in New York, when you go to Asugwe ceremony in Florida, you're kind of gonna expect the same type of reglement for their ceremonies because it's uniform. But when you're talking about levein or makut, it will differ because these are familial forms of voodoo, and so someone from Oka will not have the same reglement as someone from Jacques Mel. You understand what I'm saying? Because these are two different families, and if they're not under the asogue right, then they don't have the same type of reglement for the ceremony, so that's why you'll find in different types of ceremonies, you find different things, you know. I'm saying, um, the asogue, you you you know, you'll find them in the Port of Prince, Jacques Mel, the areas like that, and in the north, like Okap, Go Naive, Lati Boni. You know what I'm saying? You probably won't find as much as ceremonies, you know what I'm saying? So there's a difference. The voodoo is very diverse, yeah. You know what I'm saying? Um, here in the States, most people are familiar with uh Aso Gue because that is the initiation right. So Asogwe affords someone who isn't Haitian to be able to initiate and practice, whereas someone who's a Levishuan or someone who's a makut, we get this from our family. So if you're not Haitian, then it's you're you're not gonna be able to get the familial form of voodoo because you don't have that access, you don't have that connection, which is why you would need to initiate. So I'll just leave that at that there without going in too deep, brother.

SPEAKER_02: 46:50

I gotta have you come back for a part two, man. You gotta, you know, it's beautiful. I love what you take of this, man. And I'm letting people know I gotta see the likes go up because the brother here is spitting facts, he's giving y'all gems, and y'all not putting enough likes on there. Y'all better put some likes, stop being lazy. Put some likes up there, yeah. Put some likes up there. Don't don't be lazy, you know what I'm saying? It's like, yo, people be so lazy, they just want all the work, they don't want to do nothing. Um, but this because we're gonna keep it basic on them, basic, basic, basic. What does it mean to zittiglo? If I'm saying it correctly, right?

SPEAKER_01: 47:28

How did I know he was gonna ask all these questions, brother?

SPEAKER_02: 47:32

The mind the mind of talking, man. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, listen. Before we started the show, we went somewhere with it. You see where we went.

SPEAKER_01: 47:38

Yes, that's good though. Yeah, and I actually have a video that went pretty viral on J The Glow. On it went pretty viral on my TikTok. Um, uh a famous uh Haitian artist saw the video, reposted it. I had no idea till somebody told me this not too long ago, and I was like, really? And you know, that's like, yeah, and I was trying to figure out why that particular video went viral, but now I know why. She she reposted it because um of we know you know how I I guess how I broke it down, but it's something that you that you honor our we honor our and it's a very simple something to honor our ancestors.

SPEAKER_02: 48:30

We're on the same page, bro.

SPEAKER_01: 48:32

Right, there you go, right, right. So you know, it's something that we do to honor our ancestors, right? And it's something very simple that you can do to honor them, and it's you're just saying thank you, you're just saying, you know, um, I appreciate you, and the water that we pour, we pour it for you know, we are on our mother's side, our bitacion on our father's side, we pour it for the dead, we pour it for those that we can't see, and we pour it for ourselves. Right? And you give, you know, you give three drops, you know, some go to the left, to the right, then to the center, some go right to left, and to the center, depending on where you're from, you know, you may do it a different way. But the point is we give three drops of water, right, in order to honor the ancestors. Some people do it barefoot, and you um basically, you know, we can do kat facad, you know, before we we we pour it, and kat facad is basically you go you're honoring the four elements in each direction: east, west, north, south. You know, you're just honoring, you know, um, you're just giving thanks. You give and you to the spirits to our ancestors, you know what I'm saying? You're pouring water. Some people pour cafe, cafe, cafe douce, cafe en met, which is sweet coffee and bitter coffee. You know what I'm saying? Some people pour uh uh rum, you know what I mean? And all you're doing, you know, matter of fact, you from New York, you know how we used to back in days, we used to get the the the 40 hours, or we pour out some for the yeah, it's the same thing, we basically are doing the same thing exactly, and you know, we just giving honor and we're giving thanks, you know what I'm saying, to them, and um, and and this is a form of appreciation. I recommend honestly, this is it's so simple to do this. I would if I would do it every morning, every morning, you know.

SPEAKER_02: 51:03

I do that, but here's the thing always get me, right? Some people say they go east, west, north, south, right? But they say depending on how they turn, do they turn left or do they turn right? Some people like, no, you turn this way, everybody have a way of doing it. And now I always say it's basically I've been taught you never turn left, you only turn right.

SPEAKER_01: 51:22

That's what I've been taught, right? So I always start, I always start to the east because the east is where the sun rises, and the east represents that fire, right? I go from east, then I go to west, then I go to south, then I go to the north, but I'm always turning right. I do not turn left at all. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? I I turn right, you know, I I'm because I'm I'm revolving like the sun, I'm revolving like the earth, you know what I'm saying? I'm doing that, I'm I'm doing that, you know. I'm saying I'm in alignment with that, and that's something that we kind of got to go into a little bit, is because the cosmos is very important. The cosmos is very important, you know what I'm saying? The the sun, the moon, the stars, the planets, all of these things we have to be in harmony and in alignment with all of these things, you know. I'm saying, like now, we are in the season of macaia, right?

SPEAKER_03: 52:25

Yeah, my hand, bro.

SPEAKER_01: 52:27

We're in the season of micaia, uh-huh. And what does that mean? That means this, okay. When you look outside, right? It's fall, it's winter, right? Leaves are falling, the trees are shedding the dead leaves, right? So, what are you shedding? You need to be setting the things that are dead to you as well. You need to be setting that negative energy. You you need to be setting all of those things that you know mean that that you don't need going into the new year. Yes, you have to get rid of the bad luck, get rid of the the jinxes, get rid of the all of the negativity because we're in winter, right? And then when we start the new year, you got to start the year fresh and brand new because we're going into spring, and you want and that's when things start to blossom, right? That's when we start to calling Fuera and asking Fueda, give me bountiful good luck, you know. I mean, give me all the beautiful things that life has to offer because the sun is making things grow. Do you follow me?

SPEAKER_02: 53:35

I got you, bro. I see what you take.

SPEAKER_01: 53:37

So, this is what we're talking about. So, we're we are connected with the cosmos, we are connecting, we have to be in alignment with all of these things, right? Because we are just like we are just like the planets, we are just like the trees, we are a part, we have to make ourselves a part of nature. I know with the world that we are in today, they do not want us to be part of a part of nature. Everything that's natural, they're taking it away from you. Back in the days, there wasn't no such thing as organic. We just went out and did the fruit, and everything was right there. It didn't have to be labeled organic because we already knew it, but because they are taking nature away from you today, right? They're making you pay more money for something that is organic, something that's supposed to just grow naturally, right? Something that, oh, if you don't want pesticides on it, you gotta pay me an extra food out, few dollars.

SPEAKER_02: 54:33

No, and then my ancestors aided, he's just washing away.

SPEAKER_01: 54:37

So, you know, we have to allow ourselves to be a part of nature. Go back to that's what voodoo is about being one with nature, being in harmony with nature. You know what I'm saying? A tree has a soul just like we have a soul, you know. I mean, a plant has a soul just like we have a soul, the animals, everything that surrounds us has a soul just like we have one. You understand what I'm saying? And so we have to learn how to be one with all of these things. That is what voodoo is about, brother.

SPEAKER_02: 55:15

That's so beautifully, beautifully put, man. Before we get up out of here, brother, I know you have a book you want to present to us because I gotta get you here for part two. But if I keep you here, you're gonna be here all night talking for the people who want this, they're enjoying it.

SPEAKER_01: 55:27

Yes, absolutely, brother. Thank you. Um, so yes, my book, Mysteries of Haitian Voodoo, it is available on Amazon. Look up Papa Mystique on Amazon. My book will pop up, Mysteries of Haitian Voodoo, and I give you a breakdown on the history of Haiti and how voodoo came into Haiti. I give you a history of um just you know how you can get into voodoo. I give you a history of the the law, a whole bunch of stuff that's in this book that is very helpful to someone who wants to learn about Haitian voodoo. You know, I had a dream that I had to write this book. I was I I was spending my life, you know, practicing, and and I had a dream. The the law came to me, and they were like, you gotta do something more than what you're doing. You know what I mean? And this book is a product of that, all right. And I I give back to the community, and I'm gonna I'm just gonna let y'all know that there are not too many books that are written by one Haitian authors on voodoo. Surprising. I mean, you know, when I went to when I went to write this book, I had to do some research of my own, and I was like, I'm looking around and I'm like, most of these books aren't even written by Haitian people. How do we have books on Haitian voodoo when these people are not Haitian? I mean, no disrespect to them, but I'm saying that you know, as something that belongs to us, how is there not a Haitian author that has written a book on Haitian voodoo? And so I wrote this book, and there is there's another book too, but it's written in Creole, it's called Ati Soleil Voodoo Aisien by one of my mentors, Hungon Sambael, out of Pichonville in in Haiti. He runs locking it, but it's written in Creole, it's called Ati Soleil Voodoo Aïssian. But my book is written in English, and it has it talks about things that you will not find in these other Haitian voodoo books, for example, a Bitaceion, a demonbre. You know, these are things that are a part of voodoo that other people can't write about because they're not Haitian, they don't have a Bitacion, they don't have a Demon Blay. You know what I'm saying? So this is one of the reasons why I wrote the book because we need something written by us that speaks to the true Haitian voodoo, not what Hollywood has put out there, not what a lot of these people other people have written out there, and so the book is Mysteries of Haitian Voodoo Unveiling the Spiritual Traditions and History of Haiti. So you'll get a get a history of Haiti, and you get a good explanation on our Haitian Voodoo. All right, make sure y'all go check that out. It's on Amazon, it's on Barnes and Noble, it's on Apple Books. I'm I'm working on making it a uh audio book, one of them audible books. I'm working on that. Um it'll be like that soon. But for right now, you get it in a print, print, or ebook, and you know, go out and support a Haitian author, Haitian Voodoo Izan, who's written a book on Haitian Voodoo.

SPEAKER_02: 59:12

When you do that audio book, you gotta put the Haitian accent to it. Bige one. Listen to it.

SPEAKER_01: 59:19

Absolutely, brother.

SPEAKER_02: 59:21

But brother, man, it was beautiful to have you on here, and I'm glad that you did put out the book. I'm gonna get me a copy of that. Um, before we I'm gonna say two things. I know you say you came up on the flat, which I'm from New Kirk Avenue originally.

SPEAKER_01: 59:33

I'm from East 18th between Albumal and Beverly Road, brother.

SPEAKER_02: 59:36

Oh man, so you probably knew Viper, mice, all of them guys back.

SPEAKER_01: 59:39

I used to live on Ocean and Newcastle, Ocean between New Kirk and Foster, too, though.

SPEAKER_02: 59:42

Oh, see, so yo, you're right.

SPEAKER_01: 59:44

1050 Ocean Avenue, brother.

SPEAKER_02: 59:46

Oh man, East 22nd. I was right. You know what I'm saying? So being that you you say you got um lessons from the gods growing the five percent. Don't you see a little bit of that in Haitian voodoo? Like you could make a connection to hold up, it all ties back because we do become. The higher power within the voodoo sacred temple. Like you know, people say they go to God, you become a god. Well, that's another conversation.

SPEAKER_01: 1:00:07

Right, yeah. So, yeah, we when we got it said, we actually, in a sense, in essence, you know, after a certain period of time, um, normally year in a day, you can become a law yourself, a spirit yourself. And so, you know, you become, you know, uh a sacred being at that point. But absolutely, you know, I think the the the lessons uh that the nations of God's and earth have put out there, I think it it did a great job of helping people to break away from that mental slavery, all right, that a lot of people were stuck in. It caused people to you know seek or search within, you know what I'm saying? It caused people to know thyself, which is very important in Haitian to do as well, you know what I mean? So, yeah, absolutely. I think the lessons uh are uh were very um helpful in my journey as well, you know what I'm saying, and not and also other people's journey, you know, um just breaking away, breaking those chains, you know what I'm saying? Um, I remember because I remember I told you my mother put me in Catholic school for two years, and I remember getting out of school and getting out of school one day. There was a guy, his name was Universal, who lived on East 17th Street. And I asked him a question about you know, they were talking about Jesus. I think Mary being pregnant. Yeah, I know, I know Universal. Yeah, you know Universal, yeah. So they were talking about Mary being pregnant. No, yeah, being pregnant, but this and that. And I asked him, he gave me a breakdown of my life that just changed my life forever. I'll never forget that. But you know, peace to that god there, Universal, man.

SPEAKER_02: 1:01:51

All right, before we go out, people, as the brother said, we in Makaya season. So if you want a good bath, you know, the dates are correct if I'm wrong, start from the 20th, 21st, and 23rd, right? To get that yuck yuck off of you. You're gonna take a trip down to Flatbush, you're gonna go to Racine Like I Botanica, located on 1836 Flatbush Avenue. This is the second time I've seen this damn number. I gotta play a lotto, but anyway, you're gonna go down to 1836 Flatbush Avenue. Racine Like I Botanico, get your herbs. Tell them that you seen you know, you seen you heard about them on the show, NYP Talk Show. Go see Mama Jean. You go there correct, man. If not, I'm gonna kick you out that store. Y'all better go there correct. Don't be playing no games, she's gonna take care of you. All right, that's right.

SPEAKER_01: 1:02:36

Get your spell, get your bang yarn.

SPEAKER_02: 1:02:39

Exactly. So, people like your brother. I appreciate you for coming out. Don't forget to comment, like, share, subscribe. Papa Mystique, man. Brother, it's an honor. What you did was beautiful. I'm gonna get me five, brother. And we gotta do another show, man.

SPEAKER_01: 1:02:52

Peace and love, make sure y'all hey, make sure y'all follow me, man, on TikTok at Papa Mystique on TikTok, on Instagram at Papa underscore mystique. If you just type in Papa Mystique, I'm gonna come up everywhere anyway. Type in Google Papa Mystique, follow me on all platforms YouTube, Instagram, TikTok. I'm always putting information out there about voodoo. Good information. Make sure y'all tap in with me, man. You know, hit me up, man. Hit my web website up wwwpapa mystique.com. Get the book off of Amazon, Mysteries of Haitian Voodoo by Papa Mystique. Google Papa Mystique and support me everywhere. You know, I mean, I'm trying to do good things for for everybody that wants to learn about voodoo, and um, you know, looking forward to y'all's support and looking forward to bringing y'all some new information as well. And I'm looking forward to coming back on the show, brother.

SPEAKER_02: 1:03:44

My brother's gonna talk to you because you know he's into the nation of gods and earth. So I know he's gonna be he's gonna be asked questions, yo, God, this and that, because he's that's his that's his real foundation. I got brushed by it, but this is his course. Okay. Salute my brother. I appreciate you coming out. All right, love.

SPEAKER_01: 1:04:04

All right, peace, beloved.