Virgin Mary - Haiti Observer Blog

Saut-d'Eau falls in the Central Plateau of Haiti is at peril of running dry. Its mouth, Kaara, is not producing enough water to keep the waterfall of Saut-d'Eau at full volume, having declined in its output over the last six months.

Simon Desras, President of the Senate, worries if the falls should stop flowing, the economy of the Central Plateau will suffer. The stoppage would damage, not only the economy of the region, but affect a tradition that has taken place at the falls since 1847. In that year, an apparition of the Virgin Mary manifested at the twin falls, beginning an annual pilgrimage to Saut-d'Eau, to bathe beneath the onrushing streams that plunge down the gorge. Upwards of 20,000 bathers visit each year for this sacred rite.

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Annually, during the summer months of Haiti, Voodoo believers make the trek from all over the country to the Saut-d'Eau waterfall in Ville Bonheur. There they feast and dance in a primitive expression of ecstasy, preparing themselves for a kind of baptism under Sant d'Eau waterfall's gushing stream.

This perennial event began in 1847 when witnesses described an apparition of the Virgin Mary appearing on a palm tree. Since then other Voodoo spirits of Iwa (one of the chief gods of Voodoo) have also manifested at the Saut-d'Eau waterfall.

The Voodoo religion was brought to Haiti by Congolese slaves, becoming embedded in Haiti's culture, early in its history. But the primary religion of faith in Haiti has always been the Catholic Church. The Voodoo religion has managed to survive, in part, because of its openness to outside influences. For this reason, Catholicism has helped to shape its religious rites. And the baptism at the Saut-d'Eau waterfall is an example of this influence.

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